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User: awrowe

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Comments · 141

  1. Re:Jupiter has water on Does Jupiter Have More Water Than NASA's Galileo Detected? · · Score: 1

    it's a big ball of gas.

    It's worth pointing out that even though it is called a "gas giant", it doesn't mean it is bereft of a rocky core. It in fact does have a rocky core which is suspected of being icier than previously thought.

    In addition, given the densities and temperatures to be found there, people generally assume there can't possibly be any life there. I don't know either way, but I would suspect there is a point within the atmosphere where heat and pressure reach some sort of "sweet spot" which allows bacteria to exist, similar to those found in this study.

    I would say it is no less likely a source of life as any other of the weird places we've found it on this planet.

  2. Re:Shocking! on Sonic.net's CEO On Why ISPs Should Only Keep User Logs Two Weeks · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is such a bullshit argument! It is not necessary to have something to hide to desire privacy. Government is there to facilitate lawful activity by its citizens, not to oversee every aspect of a citizen's activities. Innocence before proven guilt is the doctrine here. Trotting out the "nothing to fear, nothing to hide" argument just makes you part of the problem.

  3. Re:They don't enforce snooping on everything on Ask Slashdot: What's Your Take On HTTPS Snooping? · · Score: 1

    No. If they allow me to use their resources for personal use, then I would expect the information transmitted over their wires to be treated with the same respect I am expected to display for their data.

    You might be looking at it from a narrow perspective of "their stuff, their rules", but unfortunately, that just doesn't hold water any more. If the resources are denied to me, that's just fine, it might be a pain in the arse, but I can deal with it. However, if I'm allowed access to the resources, then the very nature of the allegedly (tin hat anyone?) democratic, freedom loving society the western world purports to encourage demands that my privacy be respected.

    Might sound ridiculous bringing 'democracy' and 'rights' into an argument like this, but there is such a thing as the thin end of the wedge. If you allow small nibbles to be taken from your freedom (I won't say 'rights', because it's beeen used and abused by fat people demanding hot hamburgers) then it will eventually escalate till the concept of freedom becomes no more than a farce.

    The argument someone will pull in relation to the statement above is "difference between government and private enterprise", to which I call a big hearty bullshit. Government is 'allegedly' (that word again, tin hats?) supposed to represent the people and their desires. Since when in the blue fuck have private enterprises superceded government? Government is supposed to facilitate the functioning of private enterprise within the framework of a society. By 'framework' I mean 'laws'. If you have allowed private enterprise to twist the concept of societal rules to the point where citizens are denied basic protections to their privacy, then you have bigger things to worry about than HTTPS snooping.

    Yeah I am a bit disgruntled by this argument. Look around a bit and you will see your personal space is being subtly chipped away by corrupt governments, avaricious private enterprise and useless sheep who pull the "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" argument. It's bullshit. So, in answer to the original Ask Slashdot, yes it is worth leaving a job over. It's worth climbing the highest tower and screaming your outrage over it. If you continue to just look at it and think "Doesn't affect me, but interesting technique" then you are contributing to the gradual erosion of society.

    Something to think about, the US Constitution is a beautiful document. Some things in there I like, some things I don't, but on the whole, it lays down the basic premise for a nation and society which considers independant thinking and the ability to disagree with your government to be as important and necessary as the basic human needs for food and water. Want to see how that has been twisted?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:First_amendment_zone1.jpg

  4. Re:They don't enforce snooping on everything on Ask Slashdot: What's Your Take On HTTPS Snooping? · · Score: 3, Informative

    Fair enough. I get a half hour break for lunch, during which I have been informed I may use the company internet connection. If they are snooping my https details during that period, we have a problem captain.

  5. Re:They don't enforce snooping on everything on Ask Slashdot: What's Your Take On HTTPS Snooping? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So "if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"? That is the biggest pile of cocksucking mindless groupthink around. This kind of thinking leads to the overturn of the concept of innocence before proven guilt. Whether a person is planning hideous treason or just checking facebook to see what aunt Mabel thinks of the fried pineapple she had for breakfast, if we allow that basic privacy to be intruded upon, then we might as well give up the pretence of a free society. Privacy is there for a reason. The fact data can be collected doesn't mean it should be.

  6. Re:We have already failed on NASA, Congress Reach Accord On Commercial Crew Program · · Score: 1

    You don't mean....investors will actually have to take a risk, do you?

    That's an entirely new concept. Its always been "1) invest in the bigass company which has all the government contracts, 2) profit."

    If this is the case, it can only be a good thing. Time for governments to be less of a pork barrel and more of a background participant.

  7. Re:Get a copy of The China Study on The Mathematics of Obesity · · Score: 1

    Citation?

  8. Re:Those wanting to photograph without damaging ca on Venus To Transit the Sun In June, Not Again Until 2117 · · Score: 1

    That page mentions that Galileo didn't blind himself by looking at the sun through a telescope, which I'm quite happy to accept. As that page states, he fell in love with solar projection and quite wisely performed his studies on the sun using that method.

    The way you are using that page however seems to imply that looking at the sun through a telescope will do no harm. So again, I reiterate. You look at the sun directly through a telescope, then come back and tell us how safe it is. Alternatively, join the crowd of soon-to-be-living-with-reduced-vision people I mentioned.

    It's one thing to disprove a myth, it is quite another to infer causality from the act of disproving it. Just because Galileo didn't blind himself by looking at the sun through a telescope doesn't make it safe. It's decidedly unsafe and suggesting it is anything else borders on criminal irresponsibility.

    Looking forward to your response, although I suspect I will have to wait some time if your response includes empirical data from that little experiment I suggested.

  9. Re:Those wanting to photograph without damaging ca on Venus To Transit the Sun In June, Not Again Until 2117 · · Score: 1

    soon-to-be-living-with-reduced-vision

    Maybe read this first before spreading disinformation? http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/vision/Galileo.html

    Put your eye against even a replica Galilean telescope which is pointing at the sun and I'll challenge you to read it again if you like.

  10. Re:Google has lowered itself to patent proxy wars on German Court Grants Motorola Xbox and Windows 7 Sales Ban · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Oh yeah, cos Microsoft can be trusted, they have proved that repeatedly over the years.

    Good ole trustworthy Microsoft

    I'm neither a Google fanboy or a Microsoft shill. I like Google as a company and I enjoy a lot of their products and I use a lot of Microsoft products as well. The only thing these companies can be trusted to do is look after their bottom line. Any other community based action they take is a plus and has an expected life span of about a millisecond. You could turn around and find it gone with no explanation or comeback whatsoever.

    As far as Android goes, I would choose it over iOS and WP7 in a heartbeat, simply because I like the platform. I am currently waiting for Windows 8 to come out so I can plant it on my Acer W501 tablet, where I think it will excel. Kinda wish I got the A500 though, cos it looks a better platform again.

    Don't talk about trust when it comes to companies. The word is almost meaninless when applied to them.

  11. Re:Those wanting to photograph without damaging ca on Venus To Transit the Sun In June, Not Again Until 2117 · · Score: 1

    Baader Solar Safety Film

    Its really easy. Make your own filter, fit it over camera, telescope, binoculars, whatever.

    And no, I'm not connected with First Light Optics or Baader. I don't care where you get it, but unless you want to join the soon-to-be-living-with-reduced-vision crowd up there, use this stuff or something like it instead of the welders goggles, floppy disk film or whatever else they are advocating.

  12. Re:I might just be a luddite, but on UK To Dim Highway Lights To Save Money · · Score: 2

    If you are driving at night at such a velocity that you are unable to brake within the length of the beam of your headlights, one of two things is happening. 1) your headlights aren't focussed correctly or 2) you are an idiot driving outside the conditions. It's usually number 2.

  13. Re:I am shocked on The Web's Worst Privacy Policy · · Score: 2

    You mean, except in the article?

  14. Re:My Awesome Bio on DARPA Chooses Leader For 100-Year Starship Project · · Score: 1

    I had a fat finger problem and moderated your answer "redundant" instead of "insightful". Invalidating the moderation, sorry.

  15. Re:Wrong on Why Richard Stallman Was Right All Along · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeees, to a point - although the following couple of paragraphs give some seemingly light hearted and off the cuff justification of incest and necrophilia - he fails to address the pedophilia mentioned by the person he originally quoted.

    Come on, he is the archetypal anti-social computer nerd. His humour is ponderous, tasteless and generally not funny. Easily twisted though.

  16. Re:Wrong on Why Richard Stallman Was Right All Along · · Score: 1

    Whole quote please, including the words disappeared by that ellipsis and the preceding paragraph for context.

  17. Re:democracy on 15 Years In Jail For Clicking 'Like' · · Score: 1

    Not usually a conspiracy theorist but if you don't recognise that this already happens in every western 'democracy' you care to name, then you need some observation training.

    In this instance, Thailand is simply being more open about the process.

  18. Re:Smart on What's Keeping You On Windows? · · Score: 1

    Fair enough, you make very good points. Excellent points, in fact. Now, if we could just train human beings to work as perfectly economically logical agents who never have a desire to find out why something does something, or even better, why something didn't do what it was supposed to, you would win the argument absolutely hands down.

    The fact that for all your talk of ROI and buzzwords, you fail to take in the fact that people get a quiet sense of satisfaction from spending an afternoon scavenging bits and pieces from all over the place, clicking them together and having a little fileserver or LAN webserver which will run quietly for years, is why unfortunately, you lost. Not just the argument, but The Game as well.

  19. Re:Where is this going to end on Tweeter To Be Prosecuted, Twitter Now Censoring? · · Score: 1

    Incorrect, it isn't an absolute defence, it has to be coupled with being in the public interest, which is where much of the problem lies. I dont believe that where a footballer puts his dick is in the public interest, or of anyones interest except his wife and family.

  20. Re:Slashdot is not UK based on Tweeter To Be Prosecuted, Twitter Now Censoring? · · Score: 1

    Superinjunctions wont necessarily have been applied solely to philandering. I'm pretty sure these things will have been used for more nefarious purposes. *tin hat* Regardless of the tin hat, the point is valid, super injunctions are bad law.

  21. Re:Slashdot is not UK based on Tweeter To Be Prosecuted, Twitter Now Censoring? · · Score: 1

    Word I heard was, it's Gareth Barry. No idea if thats true or not.

  22. Re:FIRST LAWSUIT! on Tesla Sues BBC's Top Gear For Libel · · Score: 1

    Well hold on a minute.

    To get it out of the way, I agree that the vast majority of Top Gear shows are done in a tongue in cheek manner. A lot of the content within the reviews is done for laughs and to make it visually appealing.

    Also, while I find him funny, Clarkson can be a bit of a tit a lot of the time as well.

    Lets just keep in mind though, at no point in any of the stories associated with this article, is there any proof that anything was falsified, or that an agenda was being pursued. All we have is a recollection that the main story of the show was based around pushing hydrogen as a fuel rather than electrics.

    Instead of pushing opinion as fact, lets find out the facts and form opinion from it.

  23. Re:Android is what you want on Open Source-Friendly Smartphones For the Small Office? · · Score: 1

    Point of interest, if you can find an ereader app for Android, there is a program called calibre which will happily download entire sites and convert them into the ebook format of your choice. I currently use it to download a couple of broadsheets from australia, as well as the BBC news website. It grabs the site, converts to EPUB and uploads onto my dedicated ereader. In order to customise the sites you want to download, calibre uses pyhthon scripts it calls recipes, which are pretty easily written. It's open source - has a project page on sourceforge - and seems to be a fairly active project. http://calibre-ebook.com/

  24. Re:Maybe... on Crytek Dev On Fun vs. Realism In Game Guns · · Score: 1

    Use a bfg on a gopher, the hole would suddenly be a HELL of a lot closer

  25. Re:Indian government develops computers? on India's $35 Tablet Computer · · Score: 1

    I can see your point there about government interference leading to useless products, but keep in mind, you are talking about governments like the US, Great Britain and Australian governments. Western governments. Unfortunately, governments like these see projects like this one as being yet another trough to dip their snouts in, rather than being the enlightened attempts at self improvement they could be.

    Personally, I think this is an awesome idea and if I'm given the chance, I'll jump on it. Lightly, so my oversized western arse doesn't break it.