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User: dwywit

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  1. Re:So In Effect... on Cobalt-60, and Lessons From a Mexican Theft · · Score: 1

    That just might instigate a new protocol for dealing with people who die from "food poisoning" - check 'em for radiation before the autopsy.

    Although IIRC some of the symptoms from a lethal dose of radiation have distinct characteristics and aren't confused with other causes.

  2. Re:They Were Lucky on Some Londoners Cut Off As Failed Copper Thieves Take Fiber · · Score: 2

    Dayum! I doubt if they even knew what hit them.

    Evolution in action.

  3. Still got problems on Final Days For Australia's Analog TV · · Score: 1

    Especially the Sunshine Coast Region, where I live. The cheapskates put in Single Frequency Networks and some channels just aren't working. There's other problems, too. Even people with a clear line-of-sight to the tower need masthead amplifiers. At least I can get the ABC and SBS channels, but I mostly watch streaming stuff from ABC's iview and SBS OnDemad, anyway.

  4. Re:Waiver of rights on Woman Fined For Bad Review Striking Back In Court · · Score: 2

    But for nearly all intents and purposes, the government *does* exist. It is a legal construct, and the people elected to represent our interests possess the power, via legislation, to affect many aspects of your life. You're right that "other people grant you rights", but they don't do it as individuals, they do it via the legal entity known as government. One of the things that's handy about having a "government" grant you rights, pass legislation, etc, rather than individuals is that you don't have to re-affirm legislation every time there's an election. Collectively, we agree to the legal construct because life would be chaos otherwise.

  5. Re:Hallo Windows man on Microsoft Customers Hit With New Wave of Fake Tech Support Calls · · Score: 3, Funny

    I look forward to these calls - any time the CND shows "OVERSEAS" I get ready.

    "Hello Sir, I'm calling from....your computer is...." the usual crap.

    "Which computer? I have lots"

    "All of them" (that was funny)

    "Which IP address?"
    Lather, rinse, repeat.

    Finally tell them I use Linux. One guy actually called me a liar when I said that. I held him on for a few minutes denying I used Windows (if he's going to lie to me, I will return the favour) - he got more and more angry, finally called me a fucking arsehole and hung up. My kids came and asked why I was laughing so much.

  6. Re:Macro Nutrients... on Soylent: No Food For 30 Days · · Score: 3, Informative

    I was wondering about that - doesn't lack of fibre lead to an increase in colon cancers?

    I don't think the "inventor" has given enough thought to the complex dance of gut flora (good and bad), macro and micro-nutrients, and the sheer diversity of humans. One size does NOT fit all. For example, if you're somewhat prone to colon cancer (genetically), a healthy diet of conventional food with lots of fibre may be all that's keeping that cancer from developing.

    What about the decrease in effort for the digestive system to process "soylent". Wouldn't your digestive tract eventually weaken and degrade from not having enough work to do?

    At least he doesn't advocate giving up conventional food completely.

  7. Re:Shipito on Ask Slashdot: Package Redirection Service For Shipping to Australia? · · Score: 1

    Small market (number of customers), large range (geography), lack of competition, and risk. Delivery to some locations entails a moderate level of danger, e.g. if you drive to my place, it's possible that you'll meet a venomous snake along the way.

  8. Re:I make beer... on The Fascinating Science Behind Beer Foam · · Score: 2

    Nuh - it's fat/oil. Collapses beer foam very quickly. Try this (and it's only in the interest of science that I recommend wasting a beer this way). Wipe a smear of cooking oil around the inside of a clean empty glass. Do it as far down the glass as you can get your finger, then tilt the glass and pour cold beer down the side of the glass to make sure the beer comes into contact with the oil. Put the glass down then pour cold beer the same way into another clean glass. Observe which one keeps the head longer.

    There are some valid reasons to add certain salts/minerals to beer when brewing - some water supplies lack trace elements or salts needed by the yeast. I wouldn't recommend dumping plain ol' NaCl in there, though - it's a yeast growth inhibitor.

  9. Re:For real? on Advances In Cinema Tech Overcoming a Strange Racial Divide · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sounds unlikely to me - although some films were produced to "enhance" skin tones. Kodak had a specialised film made for weddings and portraits, and I can't remember seeing anything other than caucasians in the example brochures. You can enhance any part of the spectrum you want, but enhancing caucasian skin tones would negatively affect other parts of the spectrum. Besides, it's a creative decision as to how a film should "look", so it's largely up to the director, art department, and editor what the finished product looks like. You can have blue & orange (the current fad), or wash it all out a la 70's westerns - there's lots of ways to influence the final product - choice of emulsion, choice of lighting, and choice of post-processing, to name a few.

  10. Re:Yeah, but they nailed the "documentation" part on Oracle Attacks Open Source; Says Community-Developed Code Is Inferior · · Score: 1

    Well the AS400 when delivered did have a dud service processor - wouldn't IPL. Never seen so many embarrassed CSRs. As soon as a new module turned up, it went in and life went on.

    And it wasn't a problem at all. Once it was loaded with software+data and tested, we stuck it in the corner and forgot the tech support phone number - that thing ran for almost 6 years without anything other than routine maintenance. It became more expensive to keep paying the maintenance contract on that model than it was to buy a new model + maintenance.

    The manuals on the other hand, were too big to fit in my backpack to take home and read.....

  11. Re:Yeah, but they nailed the "documentation" part on Oracle Attacks Open Source; Says Community-Developed Code Is Inferior · · Score: 1

    Computer systems are often complex, and if you've ever tried to use, administer or otherwise manage a large IBM installation, you'll be grateful for the "sequoia". There's more to computer systems than PC clients and Apache servers.

    The manuals for my first AS400 (E35) took up more space than the machine. Fortunately it's all available online now.

  12. Re:Rule #4 on An Animated, Open Letter To J.J. Abrams About Star Wars · · Score: 1

    You betcha. You can like or dislike a character, but if your response is "meh", then the story-tellers have failed. It might be the script, direction, or acting, but someone, somewhere has not done their job.

  13. Re:Alphabet on Android 4.4 Named 'KitKat' · · Score: 1

    Manufactured infant formula doesn't contain the immunity/protective factors that human breast milk contains, therefore infants (especially those already compromised by other environmental conditions such as slum dwelling, chronic sub-standard diets in the region/country, etc) fed on that formula are denied the benefits of said protective factors, thus leading to increased levels of disease and consequently death in infant populations. Human breast milk (with some exceptions such as maternal drug intake - both prescribed and "recreational" drugs, and some maternal diseases) is nearly always the best food for infants. It's sterile (unless the mother has certain diseases), and has the ideal blend of nutrients for infants. Manufactured formula can come close, but it shouldn't be promoted as the superior quality food, except in the cases I mentioned above.
     
    As always, it's the mother's choice whether to breastfeed or not, but she shouldn't be misled about the benefits/quality of one over the other.

  14. Re:Lets be clear about preferences on Wikileaks Party Making Questionable Deals In Attempt To Win Senate Seat · · Score: 1

    Aw, crap. Federal MHR ballots are not optional preferential - you've got to number EVERY box or it's an informal vote. It's going to be interesting - I'm in the electorate of Fisher http://www.aec.gov.au/election/qld/fisher.htm - 10 MHR candidates (including Peter Slipper), and 82 senate candidates. I'm going to download the CSV and try to work out my numbering before I get to the polling booth.

  15. Lets be clear about preferences on Wikileaks Party Making Questionable Deals In Attempt To Win Senate Seat · · Score: 2

    The VOTER decides the preferences, i.e. it's the voter who writes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on, not the parties. All the parties do is print how-to-vote cards that get handed out near the polling stations. It's always been the voter who decides preferences, so if you the voter can't be arsed doing a little research and making your own decisions, and are happy to fill out your ballot according to your party's how-to-vote card, then you deserve the consequences.

    Admittedly the senate ballot paper is a pain to fill out completely (numbering every box rather than put a "1" above the line, as most major parties would have you do), but fer crissakes, it's only once every few years, and worth a little research and mental arithmetic.

    That reminds me - I should find out if the MHR ballot is optional preferential - that's the best system - you can vote 1 for your preferred candidate, then further numbering is optional.

  16. Re:Unconstitutional Drone Strike on Canadian Geese on Canadian City Uses Drone To Chase Off Geese · · Score: 1

    Try this - it will make your cycling a bit more strenuous, though:

    buy a goose-predator-shaped kite (or 2 or 3 of different species for variety), tie it to your bike seat on a sping-loaded line, and pedal off. The kite starts to fly up and behind you; the faster you go, the higher the kite flies, and the earlier it gets seen by the geese ahead of you.

    BAM, geese fly away before you reach them.

  17. Re:I left the first time they were hacked... on LinkedIn Now Targeting Universities, 14-Year-Olds · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I left when people I barely knew started "endorsing" me for skills I don't have.
     
    "Oh you work in IT, right? I'll endorse you for SEO skills"
     
    Never been so insulted in my life.

  18. Re: A patent on making textbooks less boring? on Bill Gates Seeking Patent To Make Shakespeare Less Boring · · Score: 1

    Well done, sir. I grant you the win in this case, but not when the mods judge our race.

  19. Re:Better plots? on Hollywood's Love of Analytics Couldn't Prevent Six Massive Blockbuster Flops · · Score: 1

    And the expressions on Otto's face then and at various points throughout - that's what I mean by "competent actor".

  20. Re:Better plots? on Hollywood's Love of Analytics Couldn't Prevent Six Massive Blockbuster Flops · · Score: 2

    I'd mod you up if I had points today. I watched "A fish called Wanda" again last night - hadn't seen it for many years, and it still made me laugh. I'd forgotten just how funny it was. A plot that was just outside plausible (thus satisfying my own rule about suspension of disbelief - i.e. don't make me stretch too far). A little bit of stunt work, some very clever dialogue, and competent actors (as opposed to movie stars). Clever casting that appealed to both sides of the atlantic, and a director who knew how to direct a movie, as opposed to a director with his thumb on the detonator for the next explosion/car flip/whatever.
     
    I don't mind watching stuff like "The Avengers" - it has a great deal of eye candy, and I can accept it's just there for visual entertainment, but we need more than visual entertainment, and cinema is capable of so much more.

  21. Re:Cool! on Apple Powering Nevada Datacenter With Solar Farm · · Score: 1

    Except that a data center of this size and reputation can't afford to go down, hence there'll be some big BIG BIIIIG backup generators, and I imagine there'll also be a system (some batteries or big caps) to buffer grid fluctuations. I didn't read the article, but are they planning to run their machines on DC?

  22. Re:The B-Ark? on UnGrounded: British Airways Attempts to Bottle Some Startup Spirit · · Score: 1

    Especially a BA aircraft - just returned to OZ from the UK via Singapore - flew BA from London the Singapore - I was scared when the damn thing took off - seconds after the wheels left the ground, the whole plane was shuddering and shaking. Noisy, too. Contrast Qantas from Singapore to Brisbane - smooth and quiet. Both aircraft were 747-400s - obviously the BA craft was older, but it was still a BIG contrast to the Qantas jet. Ditto for the staff - to BA, you're a fleeting customer - to Qantas, you're a mate/buddy.

  23. Someone should tell Chris Hadfield on Space Coffee, Just the Way You Like It · · Score: 4, Informative

    "No spills in microgravity can be allowed, as these have a tendency to migrate into equipment and cause faults. "

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtXfwk7PXg

  24. Re:Think about alternative business models on Ask Slashdot: Are There Any Good Reasons For DRM? · · Score: 1

    I think copyrights are (or should be) structured fairly to serve a number of interests - those of the public, and those of the author/s (note that I didn't say copyright holder - I wouldn't grant the same rights of exploitation to an entity who has bought the copyright from the author) i.e. you seem to be saying that copyrights should primarily serve the public interest, and I disagree. I can respect your position about driving the hardest bargain possible, but as an author, I also want to drive the hardest bargain possible for my own benefit. I put in time, effort and money to create a work of interest and/or value, and I'll exploit that as much as possible.
     
    BTW your statement about "quoting your post" is silly - this is, for all intents and purposes a public forum and we all have the expectation that our posts could be quoted - so there's an implicit permission granted to do so - don't want your post quoted? Don't post it.
     
    "Reasonable" is quite a valid term, used frequently in the legal system - as you should know if you're a lawyer. I had the term "reasonable" explained to me by a judge when I was on jury duty - I was told it's an important part of considering all sorts of legal questions. So why shouldn't copyrights and exploitation of creative work be guided by what's "reasonable"? Why do you want creative works not treated reasonably?

  25. Re:Think about alternative business models on Ask Slashdot: Are There Any Good Reasons For DRM? · · Score: 1

    There's a bit more to law and justice than the U.S. constitution. Granted, much of this happens under the jurisdiction of the U.S. constitution, but there are these concepts known as "natural justice" and "common law". Not being an expert on the U.S. constitution, I can't comment on "sweat of the brow" being unconstitutional, but whether a right to compensation for your work is enshrined, excluded or just not mentioned under a constitution or even a bill of rights, surely you're not seriously suggesting that the author of a creative work isn't entitled to compensation/income from that work, unless they've chosen to release it into the public domain?
     
    I both create and consume content - and I respect the rights of those whose work I want to exploit (musicians, mostly). I ask their permission (and usually get it just by asking politely), but I'm also prepared to negotiate a licence and whatever fee that entails. Sometimes I've had to say "sorry, I can't afford that" and then I don't use that material. It's really that simple - can't afford it? Don't use it. Just because it's relatively easy to copy and distribute digital material doesn't mean you have the right to do so. I don't have the money to prevent you copying my work, so I just have to suck it up. If you buy one of my DVDs, I'm happy for you to back it up, format-shift it to as many of your devices as you want, sell it on, lend it, give it away etc, but I'm not happy for you to make copies for your friends or upload it to youtube, vimeo, etc. I think that's a reasonable approach.