"It will miss us, and if it did hit us, it wouldn't do any damage anyway, but I managed to pick up on some chatter between planetary scientists and found out that the 'asteroid,' or whatever it is, gives us a new standard: a 10-meter-wide asteroid can be detected two days before it potentially hits Earth. A pretty useful warning if you ask me."
Whether or not something that size, or even a lot larger, would get picked up depends on so many factors that being the least bit confident seems a bit premature. Orbit, speed, albedo, whether or not the right telescope was pointing the right way under the right weather conditions...all these factors (and no doubt a whole bunch of others I didn't think of)...would determine whether or not the thing was spotted. And having noticed it, would there be time to do anything about it?
The author might be right that a new standard has been reached, though I wonder whether luck had more to do with it. Whether that new standard has any practical value is another question entirely.
Is the problem that bad, or is this just the latest version of Chicken Little? I use Avast! Antivirus, Malwarebytes, Spybot and Comodo's firewall. They update and scan each night when I'm not at the computer (which is on 24-7, by the way, and has been for more than five years). I've never had a virus or any serious malware infestation. Never. A few tracking cookies, the occasional inactive trojan and the like are invariably sacrificed at the nightly slaughter.
And yet you believe I should give up what freedom I have to governments with a track record that would make any intelligent person cringe in a futile quest for perfect security. They're more dangerous than the malware, and much, much harder to keep under control. I really hope your fear doesn't spread, and stampede people to give up freedom they'll never get back.
The US has been profiting from the "Brain Drain" for the best part of a hundred years. Now, finally, the countries from whom they've been recruiting the best and brightest have some solid reasons to go home after enjoying the benefits of a US postgraduate education (which often was paid for by the other country at a rate two or three times that charged to US students). Meanwhile, undergraduate, secondary and primary education in the US has been degraded by underfunding to the point where fewer and fewer Americans are able to take advantage of the superb post-grad opportunities.
I suspect the problem is even more widespread. Isn't the age of consent in quite a few US states 18? Clearly anybody under that would have to be considered a child, and I believe US child pornography laws are even more restrictive than those of the UK. Don't they say something to the effect that even if somebody appears to be under the legal age (a very young-looking 19-year-old, for example), creating an image of them is considered child pornography?
I really, really don't like the looks of this whole situation. And on top of everything else, a study by a very reputable UK security firm says the scanners aren't always effective...especially against exactly the kind of stuff the guy with the bomb in his gauchies was carrying.
How many times will "Hubicha Kokov", "Miles O'Toole" and "Leck Depolski" turn up before the scumbag authorities notice something weird? Along with appropriate "catch me if you can" software, of course.
In many cases, they aren't. If there's any identifiable group more committed to old, ineffective ways of working, I can't think of one off-hand. Part of that culture includes working interns to death for so many hours that truck drivers aren't allowed (for safety reasons) to come near them and prescribing pills for every little problem because it makes the patient shut up and go away happy. They're prime candidates for drug company advertising, and enthusiastic participants in the scam.
Well said. If I had mod points at the moment, I'd give you one. Control over search results is control over the information received by a significant minority of the population...the few who are willing to get up off their fat bums and actually look for another point of view.
So would I be correct in asserting that the cowardly douchebags would rather stifle something as central to democracy as free speech than put up with a few rioting morons?
Or is it that the people who get to make such assertions fear free speech because it would expose them for the money-grubbing, honourless thieves that they are?
That's because the current (minority) prime minister still has Bush's ass hairs all over his mouth. Our previous PM would have reminded the more dickish Americans that Canada opened its airports unconditionally in the wake of 9-11, when nobody knew how many of your aircraft were flying bombs. He might also have noted that none of the terrorists came through Canada...they got in through YOUR system. And perhaps added that Canada's record for slaughtering civilians in foreign countries is nowhere near what yours is, so we are, in fact, a less desirable target than you.
You're like far too many Americans...arrogant, short-sighted, quick to forget a kindness and slow to forget an insult. And you're so bloody ignorant about world affairs and propagandized by your own government that you can't figure out why you're so unpopular.
So don't talk to me about "downsides" sunshine. Go get a clue.
Many, thanks for taking part in a discussion where common sense is always the first casualty. Scientists might sometimes be dogmatic and wrong, and even, occasionally, dishonest. But it's religious people who will murder you, your family (including pregnant wife) and everybody you talked to just because you won an argument.
And if I had the resources of a multi-million dollar corporation behind me, perhaps you might have a point. As it is...well, the best I can say is that I was ahead of you in correcting myself...just seconds after the original post, and I should have been aware that snark is what usually comes from fat people who call anybody under 200 pounds anorexic.
Bell & Howell. They were respected manufacturers of projectors, binoculars and the like. Got bought out and turned into an even cheesier version of K-Tel.
Sadly, in spite of their great intelligence, these creatures (known to Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons as "Ugh-Geek") spent their lives in the back of their parents' caves, seldom venturing forth to engage directly in life. As a result, they seldom had contact with the female of the species and died out.
They were, however, responsible for some spectacularly rude and imaginative cave paintings, which are currently barred from public view, and truly astonishing amounts of a DNA-bearing substance on the bedding material in their "cribs".
Nowhere in Avatar does it explicitly state that technology is the cause of an Earth where there's "no green left" (that's as close as I can recall to a quote from the lead character). It could just as easily been our tendency to breed like flies on a dung heap that led to the paving of the planet. It's also pretty clear that the main driving force behind the attempted rape of Pandora isn't Earth's government, but a greedy, conscienceless corporation.
It's typical of apologists for the on-going, real-life ecological devastation we're inflicting on our little blue planet to try to misrepresent Cameron's message as anti-technology. In fact it's clearly a cautionary tale against our current trend toward a global corporate oligarchy. The tech in the film is a tool, neither good nor evil. It's used by the heroes for positive purposes and the villains in the service of corporate greed.
You beat terrorists by raising a middle finger in their direction, mocking them mercilessly and accepting casualties once in a while. You kiss terrorist arse when you pull this kind of crap. What's next, handcuff passengers to their seats and have police strutting up and down the aisles during flights? Give me an effin' break!
If I called Rep. Grayson "My least favourite douchebag", would that get me in trouble? Or perhaps "My personal definition of an asshat"?
I wonder what got into the people of Florida to elect such a pathetic waste of oxygen. Clearly this guy isn't qualified to run a fast food joint, much less make decisions affecting the lives of thousands of people. Maybe everybody will get lucky and he'll drown from looking up too long during a rainstorm.
I have so far managed to avoid seeing all three of these abortions. I was lucky to have a couple of friends who went to the first one. When their eyes stopped bleeding, they swore to me on a case of single malt Scotch that if I was foolish enough to waste my money watching such drek, I would henceforth be known to them as, "That Dumb Asshole".
Their firm response to having their wallets heartlessly drained by a movie that apparently would have given Plan 9 From Outer Space some competition as Worst SF Film Ever saved me from attending until enough reviews were out to thoroughly support their opinion.
Besides, my mom would have been upset if she happened to drop by and overhear my new nickname.
Slashdot Mirror
"The portions of the chromosome evolving fastest are related to sperm production..."
God help us if the little bastards learn how to fly.
"It will miss us, and if it did hit us, it wouldn't do any damage anyway, but I managed to pick up on some chatter between planetary scientists and found out that the 'asteroid,' or whatever it is, gives us a new standard: a 10-meter-wide asteroid can be detected two days before it potentially hits Earth. A pretty useful warning if you ask me."
Whether or not something that size, or even a lot larger, would get picked up depends on so many factors that being the least bit confident seems a bit premature. Orbit, speed, albedo, whether or not the right telescope was pointing the right way under the right weather conditions...all these factors (and no doubt a whole bunch of others I didn't think of)...would determine whether or not the thing was spotted. And having noticed it, would there be time to do anything about it?
The author might be right that a new standard has been reached, though I wonder whether luck had more to do with it. Whether that new standard has any practical value is another question entirely.
Is the problem that bad, or is this just the latest version of Chicken Little? I use Avast! Antivirus, Malwarebytes, Spybot and Comodo's firewall. They update and scan each night when I'm not at the computer (which is on 24-7, by the way, and has been for more than five years). I've never had a virus or any serious malware infestation. Never. A few tracking cookies, the occasional inactive trojan and the like are invariably sacrificed at the nightly slaughter.
And yet you believe I should give up what freedom I have to governments with a track record that would make any intelligent person cringe in a futile quest for perfect security. They're more dangerous than the malware, and much, much harder to keep under control. I really hope your fear doesn't spread, and stampede people to give up freedom they'll never get back.
"The test chamber takes approximately five days to cool a mirror segment to cryogenic temperatures."
My ex could do it in about one and a half seconds with a single glare. Of course, then she'd have to bask on a rock for a couple of hours to recover.
The US has been profiting from the "Brain Drain" for the best part of a hundred years. Now, finally, the countries from whom they've been recruiting the best and brightest have some solid reasons to go home after enjoying the benefits of a US postgraduate education (which often was paid for by the other country at a rate two or three times that charged to US students). Meanwhile, undergraduate, secondary and primary education in the US has been degraded by underfunding to the point where fewer and fewer Americans are able to take advantage of the superb post-grad opportunities.
I suspect the problem is even more widespread. Isn't the age of consent in quite a few US states 18? Clearly anybody under that would have to be considered a child, and I believe US child pornography laws are even more restrictive than those of the UK. Don't they say something to the effect that even if somebody appears to be under the legal age (a very young-looking 19-year-old, for example), creating an image of them is considered child pornography?
I really, really don't like the looks of this whole situation. And on top of everything else, a study by a very reputable UK security firm says the scanners aren't always effective...especially against exactly the kind of stuff the guy with the bomb in his gauchies was carrying.
Perfect. There have been suicide bombers younger than that. I feel much safer now...if perhaps a tad undignified.
British Columbia has had a carbon tax for a couple of years.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/29/bc-gas-prices-carbon-tax.html
How many times will "Hubicha Kokov", "Miles O'Toole" and "Leck Depolski" turn up before the scumbag authorities notice something weird? Along with appropriate "catch me if you can" software, of course.
In many cases, they aren't. If there's any identifiable group more committed to old, ineffective ways of working, I can't think of one off-hand. Part of that culture includes working interns to death for so many hours that truck drivers aren't allowed (for safety reasons) to come near them and prescribing pills for every little problem because it makes the patient shut up and go away happy. They're prime candidates for drug company advertising, and enthusiastic participants in the scam.
Well said. If I had mod points at the moment, I'd give you one. Control over search results is control over the information received by a significant minority of the population...the few who are willing to get up off their fat bums and actually look for another point of view.
So would I be correct in asserting that the cowardly douchebags would rather stifle something as central to democracy as free speech than put up with a few rioting morons?
Or is it that the people who get to make such assertions fear free speech because it would expose them for the money-grubbing, honourless thieves that they are?
That's because the current (minority) prime minister still has Bush's ass hairs all over his mouth. Our previous PM would have reminded the more dickish Americans that Canada opened its airports unconditionally in the wake of 9-11, when nobody knew how many of your aircraft were flying bombs. He might also have noted that none of the terrorists came through Canada...they got in through YOUR system. And perhaps added that Canada's record for slaughtering civilians in foreign countries is nowhere near what yours is, so we are, in fact, a less desirable target than you.
You're like far too many Americans...arrogant, short-sighted, quick to forget a kindness and slow to forget an insult. And you're so bloody ignorant about world affairs and propagandized by your own government that you can't figure out why you're so unpopular.
So don't talk to me about "downsides" sunshine. Go get a clue.
Many, thanks for taking part in a discussion where common sense is always the first casualty. Scientists might sometimes be dogmatic and wrong, and even, occasionally, dishonest. But it's religious people who will murder you, your family (including pregnant wife) and everybody you talked to just because you won an argument.
And if I had the resources of a multi-million dollar corporation behind me, perhaps you might have a point. As it is...well, the best I can say is that I was ahead of you in correcting myself...just seconds after the original post, and I should have been aware that snark is what usually comes from fat people who call anybody under 200 pounds anorexic.
I figure God must love child molesters, since he made so many of them priests.
Oops, my bad. TFA listed B & H.
Bell & Howell. They were respected manufacturers of projectors, binoculars and the like. Got bought out and turned into an even cheesier version of K-Tel.
Sadly, in spite of their great intelligence, these creatures (known to Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons as "Ugh-Geek") spent their lives in the back of their parents' caves, seldom venturing forth to engage directly in life. As a result, they seldom had contact with the female of the species and died out.
They were, however, responsible for some spectacularly rude and imaginative cave paintings, which are currently barred from public view, and truly astonishing amounts of a DNA-bearing substance on the bedding material in their "cribs".
Since the whole planet was toxic anyway, if they REALLY needed the ore that much they'd just nerve gas the entire area.
If that's your answer, "Give us what we want or we'll commit genocide", then I think we're very lucky you aren't in a position of power.
Nowhere in Avatar does it explicitly state that technology is the cause of an Earth where there's "no green left" (that's as close as I can recall to a quote from the lead character). It could just as easily been our tendency to breed like flies on a dung heap that led to the paving of the planet. It's also pretty clear that the main driving force behind the attempted rape of Pandora isn't Earth's government, but a greedy, conscienceless corporation.
It's typical of apologists for the on-going, real-life ecological devastation we're inflicting on our little blue planet to try to misrepresent Cameron's message as anti-technology. In fact it's clearly a cautionary tale against our current trend toward a global corporate oligarchy. The tech in the film is a tool, neither good nor evil. It's used by the heroes for positive purposes and the villains in the service of corporate greed.
You beat terrorists by raising a middle finger in their direction, mocking them mercilessly and accepting casualties once in a while. You kiss terrorist arse when you pull this kind of crap. What's next, handcuff passengers to their seats and have police strutting up and down the aisles during flights? Give me an effin' break!
...he becomes a judge.
This stinks of a fix. I hope somebody can find grounds for an appeal.
If I called Rep. Grayson "My least favourite douchebag", would that get me in trouble? Or perhaps "My personal definition of an asshat"?
I wonder what got into the people of Florida to elect such a pathetic waste of oxygen. Clearly this guy isn't qualified to run a fast food joint, much less make decisions affecting the lives of thousands of people. Maybe everybody will get lucky and he'll drown from looking up too long during a rainstorm.
I have so far managed to avoid seeing all three of these abortions. I was lucky to have a couple of friends who went to the first one. When their eyes stopped bleeding, they swore to me on a case of single malt Scotch that if I was foolish enough to waste my money watching such drek, I would henceforth be known to them as, "That Dumb Asshole".
Their firm response to having their wallets heartlessly drained by a movie that apparently would have given Plan 9 From Outer Space some competition as Worst SF Film Ever saved me from attending until enough reviews were out to thoroughly support their opinion.
Besides, my mom would have been upset if she happened to drop by and overhear my new nickname.