Not to get pedantic, but I don't think our brains were designed to be pummeled UFC-style either.
I'll see your pedant and raise you one. I think that most people here would agree that our brains weren't designed at all. But, through quite a number of years of evolution, most of us are born with bodies that can recover well from a certain amount of abuse. A well-conditioned body much more so. But a boxer's brain is exposed to several sigmas beyond the mean life-long pummeling levels that the human brain has seen pretty much ever. A UFC fighter's abuse may be on a par with men just tens of thousands of years ago.
You're not going to claim that if astronomers really wanted to be scientific, they would start their research by gathering up a bunch of hydrogen and piling it together in empty space and then watching what happens, are you?
I'm not an astronomer and I understand your point. But if you can get that project funded, I want on the team. 'Cuz that would be about the most bad-ass experiment ever conducted. Move over LRC, we've got something better cookin'.
The gloves lessen the blow, but they also make it possible to sustain a fight for 10 rounds... that is where the damage occurs. Getting knocked out isn't that big of a deal, it's the repeated blows that mess you up.
You'd be surprised how many perfectly intelligent people fail to understand that. I watch a lot of UFC/MMA, but have never liked boxing. People who know I'm into UFC but don't really grasp the sport get confused when I tell them that I don't like boxing because it's too brutal. Our brains just weren't meant to be pummeled like that - Especially for those kind of durations. You often see UFC fighters get knocked loopy and wander off exhausted and beaten, but rarely do you see one truly punch-drunk.
Maybe our helmets need a warning label: War may be hazardous to your health and has been known to cause such side effects as brain damage, PTSD, maiming, and death in many people during and after exposure.
War really does lead to some of our race's biggest advances.
Ants don't build a better anthill after you kick it over, they just build the same old design as before.
Wrong race. Our race tends to come up with new and innovative ways of killing each other so that we can avoid being killed. And, if you want to stick to structures, Munich is a really interesting place to visit. They pretty much did rebuild the same human ant-hills after they got bombed to the ground. My understanding is that they built it about as close to the original lay-out as practical. But, even in that single very unusual example, they at least had the sense to completely revamp the infrastructure when they were putting it back together.
If you're saying something too clever for me and it went over my head, I apologize for the ramble.
I think that a scientific study for determining just how much military helmets actually contribute to brain damage when the soldier is exposed to an explosion would start by base-lining the brain conditions of 50 or so soldiers. Then, expose them all to the same explosion at the same stand-off orientation, half of them wearing helmets and half without. Then, re-test.
If the guys without their helmets on come out behind the guys wearing helmets, we should re-title this, "Military Helmet Design Fails to Completely Prevent Brain Damage".
Still, if they can model it up and do better, that sounds great.
Plenty of things explode with no casing whatsoever, but they usually need a solid mechanical shock to detonate - TNT and C-4 come to mind. Lithium polymer batteries are not on that list. Also, the type of explosions that you're referring to can occur without a metal casing - Plastic, glass, or even cardboard can also contain out-gassing pressure to some degree - M-80s and PVC pipe-bombs come to mind.
Now that I'm done being pedantic, you're likely correct. These cases would probably melt before any significant pressure built up inside causing an explosion. But, if it's in your pocket, "venting with flame" is an insufficient step in the right direction.
I actually see the Sony-battery recall as being a reason to believe Apple on this one. With the Sony recall, they realized that there was a problem with their batteries; they were worried that it was going to bite them in the ass; and they issued a recall. That's responsible to the public and to the stock-holders. In this case, they looked into it and decided that there was no recall necessary. The fact that they issued a massively expensive recall before and aren't doing the same thing now tells me that they believe what they're saying.
Note: I'm not an Apple fanboi. To my knowledge, I do not nor have I ever owned an Apple product.
I know little about these specific explosions, but modern high-density batteries pack a heckuva lotta energy into a tiny package. If mechanical damage causes an electrical cell-short, you can expect that energy release to be pretty dramatic. If not an explosion, certainly a rapid heat discharge. That's tough to design around unless you just make the thing bigger and heavier to withstand the pressures exerted by the worst-case ass-press.
Having witnessed a couple of deaths of loved ones in their own homes after a couple of weeks of hospice (I have a lot of respect and admiration for hospice workers), I would say that would be the best. Time to tie up loose ends, stare death in the face, stay comfortable, avoid machines and contraptions maintaining bodily functions for you, and end your days at home - That just seems right to me, assuming it's an option.
When my father-in-law passed (fairly recently), he was not asleep. He was on morphine, but he was aware of his surroundings and was holding hands with his wife and had his family around him when he closed his eyes and checked out. I hope I'm that lucky.
Actually, even though you might be a way from finding hookers and blow (I assume those apps would be invite only), there are already apps for identifying speed traps and DUI check-points. The cops (for some reason) have been whining about them.
It will then use the 3g to access a database of previous slashdot comments, and suggest 10 appropriately snarky things to say.
I'd be happy if it would just keep track of their (personally tailored) karma status. If a Jehova's Witness shows up at my door and my head's-up display says DFTT, it would save me about an hour a month. (Not that I don't enjoy feeding the trolls, it's just not productive).
Additionally, if I'm looking at some building/statue/whatever and somebody walks up with a comment that I interpret as 50% BS/50% Insightful and has 'Super-kadooper-excellent-karma' floating above his head, I may actually listen to what he has to say.
I've already posted here otherwise I'd help you on your inevitable path to a '+5'. Half the posts on here (including my priors) could be eliminated by that single Brave New World quote.
Life is about the experience. Enjoy every dirty, awful bit of it.
Thanks for that. I've heard many times people saying that they'd like to die quietly in their sleep without ever seeing it coming and I just don't get it. The ugly parts of life are still life. I don't enjoy pain, but in my view death is the end of life (chuckle all you want - many people disagree). And it's the only thing that we all share. I'd like to see it coming and, avoiding years of agony, a few days of despair and slipping away seem interesting. Sorry, morbid.
Life is what it is - Work to make it as good as you can, but embrace it all. Even the awful stuff.
Indeed - I'm a pretty bright guy by most standards - Maybe not the brightest on Earth, but I did ace my GREs (OK, not the Verbals, sue me...) But I've sometimes envied the golden retriever. If you give it a squeaky toy, scratch its head, and are willing to throw a ball for a couple of hours a day, it lives in heaven all the way up to when you have to take it (still wagging its tail, but with too many old-age issues to endure) out to the mesa and dig a hole. If there are any slashdotters out there who somehow missed the 'Blue Crayon' episode of The Simpsons, find it. It's not really philosophical and won't change your life, but I think we've all been there.
if you were intentionally posting arguments you didn't believe in in order to start some argument, then that's precisely the situation that "troll" is appropriate.
Agreed. But if you can read that post and not pick up the sarcasm (especially with the footer), then you might be brain damaged. I wasn't trying to "start some argument", I was supporting the parent poster with some pretty blatant 'Think of the children' ludicrously exaggerated parallels. I just overestimated the comprehension level of some slashdot posters. I even included a disclaimer at the bottom declaring sarcasm for people that still thought that I was somehow supporting those idiotic notions or trying to start some kind of dispute over them.
I'll reference you here. If you'd posted earlier, I would have awarded you the "No fucking shit" award, but I gave it away too early.
I'm as amazed and disappointed as you, but it's been interesting to watch. Over the last couple of hours I've watched that post bounce from my starting '2', down to a '0', up to a '5', and now back down to a '1' (lower than your current '2' lamenting the fact that so many people missed the point.) And I don't think I've ever seen so many 'Whoosh'es responding to people's comments to a single post. I've no idea whether I'm coming out karma positive or negative today, but I've enjoyed watching the "Shoot first and read the post later" haters crawl out of the wood-work.
Yes, but unfortunately the message you're sending may be, "Despite the fact that I'm doing a fine job here, I'm actively searching the market for a new job. You may now consider me a short-timer that may bail out in the middle of my next project and cost the company a goodly amount of money to bring somebody else up to speed. Please move my name to the top of the RIF list."
You should also educate your children on what to do if they encounter an unsecured firearm. Your scheme does nothing to protect them if they wind up at a friends house whose parents aren't as diligent as you are.
There's the number 1 point. Secure your firearm (or anything else harmful in the house including medication and your Internet connection) "well enough" and then educate your kids.
That said, my shotgun is on a high shelf in the closet with a chamber-lock and the barrel removed. The chamber-lock key is in a high drawer in the office. The shells are on a high shelf in the garage. If somebody breaks in while I'm in my bedroom, I'm going for the shotgun, but only because the barrel is a good blunt instrument.
I suspect your trolling, but your comment floored me.
What about my trolling? I think that the phrase, "The first mod that hits me with a Troll will get a mighty pounding from my Whoosh hammer," should have been your first clue that those weren't heart-felt. Don't know why I'm replying to you instead of the half-dozen other folks who completely missed the point - I think you just had the highest 'Duh' factor.
Also your analogies are silly.
No shit. Really? My completely over-the-top "Won't somebody think of the children?" parallels were silly? I hadn't noticed that - Thanks for clearing that up for me. I thought that all of slashdot would support 100% postal package searches, pat-downs before boarding public transit, monitoring of 100% of phone traffic, and holding manufacturers of all tools responsible for irresponsible misuse.
P.S. In case it didn't come across, the above post may have contained sarcasm.
Thank you for that - In less than 30 minutes, I've managed 7 direct replies. 5 of those saying the equivalent of, "Yes, you idiot! Of course the postal office should be immune because they don't search every package!" I don't know whether to weep or just facepalm and walk away.
My Whoosh hammer and I have some travel arrangements to make.
They should provide a service and be blind to anything on their networks.
OK - take that argument into some other industries:
Do you really think that the postal service should be immune if they carry a package containing methamphetamine? Even if they deliver it to a 13-year-old child? Do you really think that a bus-line should be immune if they give a ride to a terrorist with a bomb in his back-pack on his way to blow up a kindergarten? Do you really think that the phone company should be immune if they allow a 6 year old child to call a fetish phone-sex line? Do you really think that a gun-company should be immune if they manufacture a weapon and a child accidentally shoots his friend while showing it off?
Please think about what you're suggesting before just blurting it out. Prosecute them all, let the gods sort them out.
P.S. - The first mod that hits me with a Troll will get a mighty pounding from my Whoosh hammer.
Slashdot Mirror
Not to get pedantic, but I don't think our brains were designed to be pummeled UFC-style either.
I'll see your pedant and raise you one. I think that most people here would agree that our brains weren't designed at all. But, through quite a number of years of evolution, most of us are born with bodies that can recover well from a certain amount of abuse. A well-conditioned body much more so. But a boxer's brain is exposed to several sigmas beyond the mean life-long pummeling levels that the human brain has seen pretty much ever. A UFC fighter's abuse may be on a par with men just tens of thousands of years ago.
* LHC *
Oops.
You're not going to claim that if astronomers really wanted to be scientific, they would start their research by gathering up a bunch of hydrogen and piling it together in empty space and then watching what happens, are you?
I'm not an astronomer and I understand your point. But if you can get that project funded, I want on the team. 'Cuz that would be about the most bad-ass experiment ever conducted. Move over LRC, we've got something better cookin'.
The gloves lessen the blow, but they also make it possible to sustain a fight for 10 rounds... that is where the damage occurs. Getting knocked out isn't that big of a deal, it's the repeated blows that mess you up.
You'd be surprised how many perfectly intelligent people fail to understand that. I watch a lot of UFC/MMA, but have never liked boxing. People who know I'm into UFC but don't really grasp the sport get confused when I tell them that I don't like boxing because it's too brutal. Our brains just weren't meant to be pummeled like that - Especially for those kind of durations. You often see UFC fighters get knocked loopy and wander off exhausted and beaten, but rarely do you see one truly punch-drunk.
Maybe our helmets need a warning label: War may be hazardous to your health and has been known to cause such side effects as brain damage, PTSD, maiming, and death in many people during and after exposure.
War really does lead to some of our race's biggest advances.
Ants don't build a better anthill after you kick it over, they just build the same old design as before.
Wrong race. Our race tends to come up with new and innovative ways of killing each other so that we can avoid being killed. And, if you want to stick to structures, Munich is a really interesting place to visit. They pretty much did rebuild the same human ant-hills after they got bombed to the ground. My understanding is that they built it about as close to the original lay-out as practical. But, even in that single very unusual example, they at least had the sense to completely revamp the infrastructure when they were putting it back together.
If you're saying something too clever for me and it went over my head, I apologize for the ramble.
I think that a scientific study for determining just how much military helmets actually contribute to brain damage when the soldier is exposed to an explosion would start by base-lining the brain conditions of 50 or so soldiers. Then, expose them all to the same explosion at the same stand-off orientation, half of them wearing helmets and half without. Then, re-test.
If the guys without their helmets on come out behind the guys wearing helmets, we should re-title this, "Military Helmet Design Fails to Completely Prevent Brain Damage".
Still, if they can model it up and do better, that sounds great.
Plenty of things explode with no casing whatsoever, but they usually need a solid mechanical shock to detonate - TNT and C-4 come to mind. Lithium polymer batteries are not on that list. Also, the type of explosions that you're referring to can occur without a metal casing - Plastic, glass, or even cardboard can also contain out-gassing pressure to some degree - M-80s and PVC pipe-bombs come to mind.
Now that I'm done being pedantic, you're likely correct. These cases would probably melt before any significant pressure built up inside causing an explosion. But, if it's in your pocket, "venting with flame" is an insufficient step in the right direction.
I actually see the Sony-battery recall as being a reason to believe Apple on this one. With the Sony recall, they realized that there was a problem with their batteries; they were worried that it was going to bite them in the ass; and they issued a recall. That's responsible to the public and to the stock-holders. In this case, they looked into it and decided that there was no recall necessary. The fact that they issued a massively expensive recall before and aren't doing the same thing now tells me that they believe what they're saying.
Note: I'm not an Apple fanboi. To my knowledge, I do not nor have I ever owned an Apple product.
I know little about these specific explosions, but modern high-density batteries pack a heckuva lotta energy into a tiny package. If mechanical damage causes an electrical cell-short, you can expect that energy release to be pretty dramatic. If not an explosion, certainly a rapid heat discharge. That's tough to design around unless you just make the thing bigger and heavier to withstand the pressures exerted by the worst-case ass-press.
...normally placed safely in the checked luggage..
You're apparently using a definition of "safely" with which I was previously unaware.
Having witnessed a couple of deaths of loved ones in their own homes after a couple of weeks of hospice (I have a lot of respect and admiration for hospice workers), I would say that would be the best. Time to tie up loose ends, stare death in the face, stay comfortable, avoid machines and contraptions maintaining bodily functions for you, and end your days at home - That just seems right to me, assuming it's an option.
When my father-in-law passed (fairly recently), he was not asleep. He was on morphine, but he was aware of his surroundings and was holding hands with his wife and had his family around him when he closed his eyes and checked out. I hope I'm that lucky.
Actually, even though you might be a way from finding hookers and blow (I assume those apps would be invite only), there are already apps for identifying speed traps and DUI check-points. The cops (for some reason) have been whining about them.
It will then use the 3g to access a database of previous slashdot comments, and suggest 10 appropriately snarky things to say.
I'd be happy if it would just keep track of their (personally tailored) karma status. If a Jehova's Witness shows up at my door and my head's-up display says DFTT, it would save me about an hour a month. (Not that I don't enjoy feeding the trolls, it's just not productive).
Additionally, if I'm looking at some building/statue/whatever and somebody walks up with a comment that I interpret as 50% BS/50% Insightful and has 'Super-kadooper-excellent-karma' floating above his head, I may actually listen to what he has to say.
I've already posted here otherwise I'd help you on your inevitable path to a '+5'. Half the posts on here (including my priors) could be eliminated by that single Brave New World quote.
Life is about the experience. Enjoy every dirty, awful bit of it.
Thanks for that. I've heard many times people saying that they'd like to die quietly in their sleep without ever seeing it coming and I just don't get it. The ugly parts of life are still life. I don't enjoy pain, but in my view death is the end of life (chuckle all you want - many people disagree). And it's the only thing that we all share. I'd like to see it coming and, avoiding years of agony, a few days of despair and slipping away seem interesting. Sorry, morbid.
Life is what it is - Work to make it as good as you can, but embrace it all. Even the awful stuff.
Indeed - I'm a pretty bright guy by most standards - Maybe not the brightest on Earth, but I did ace my GREs (OK, not the Verbals, sue me...) But I've sometimes envied the golden retriever. If you give it a squeaky toy, scratch its head, and are willing to throw a ball for a couple of hours a day, it lives in heaven all the way up to when you have to take it (still wagging its tail, but with too many old-age issues to endure) out to the mesa and dig a hole. If there are any slashdotters out there who somehow missed the 'Blue Crayon' episode of The Simpsons, find it. It's not really philosophical and won't change your life, but I think we've all been there.
if you were intentionally posting arguments you didn't believe in in order to start some argument, then that's precisely the situation that "troll" is appropriate.
Agreed. But if you can read that post and not pick up the sarcasm (especially with the footer), then you might be brain damaged. I wasn't trying to "start some argument", I was supporting the parent poster with some pretty blatant 'Think of the children' ludicrously exaggerated parallels. I just overestimated the comprehension level of some slashdot posters. I even included a disclaimer at the bottom declaring sarcasm for people that still thought that I was somehow supporting those idiotic notions or trying to start some kind of dispute over them.
I'll reference you here. If you'd posted earlier, I would have awarded you the "No fucking shit" award, but I gave it away too early.
Your boss isn't your enemy...
I've worked in places like that. I hear they still exist. You're fortunate to be in one.
Not that I'm whining - Right now I'm just happy that the pay-checks are clearing and the recent (major) RIF didn't include me.
I'm as amazed and disappointed as you, but it's been interesting to watch. Over the last couple of hours I've watched that post bounce from my starting '2', down to a '0', up to a '5', and now back down to a '1' (lower than your current '2' lamenting the fact that so many people missed the point.) And I don't think I've ever seen so many 'Whoosh'es responding to people's comments to a single post. I've no idea whether I'm coming out karma positive or negative today, but I've enjoyed watching the "Shoot first and read the post later" haters crawl out of the wood-work.
Yes, but unfortunately the message you're sending may be, "Despite the fact that I'm doing a fine job here, I'm actively searching the market for a new job. You may now consider me a short-timer that may bail out in the middle of my next project and cost the company a goodly amount of money to bring somebody else up to speed. Please move my name to the top of the RIF list."
You should also educate your children on what to do if they encounter an unsecured firearm. Your scheme does nothing to protect them if they wind up at a friends house whose parents aren't as diligent as you are.
There's the number 1 point. Secure your firearm (or anything else harmful in the house including medication and your Internet connection) "well enough" and then educate your kids.
That said, my shotgun is on a high shelf in the closet with a chamber-lock and the barrel removed. The chamber-lock key is in a high drawer in the office. The shells are on a high shelf in the garage. If somebody breaks in while I'm in my bedroom, I'm going for the shotgun, but only because the barrel is a good blunt instrument.
I suspect your trolling, but your comment floored me.
What about my trolling? I think that the phrase, "The first mod that hits me with a Troll will get a mighty pounding from my Whoosh hammer," should have been your first clue that those weren't heart-felt. Don't know why I'm replying to you instead of the half-dozen other folks who completely missed the point - I think you just had the highest 'Duh' factor.
Also your analogies are silly.
No shit. Really? My completely over-the-top "Won't somebody think of the children?" parallels were silly? I hadn't noticed that - Thanks for clearing that up for me. I thought that all of slashdot would support 100% postal package searches, pat-downs before boarding public transit, monitoring of 100% of phone traffic, and holding manufacturers of all tools responsible for irresponsible misuse.
P.S. In case it didn't come across, the above post may have contained sarcasm.
Thank you for that - In less than 30 minutes, I've managed 7 direct replies. 5 of those saying the equivalent of, "Yes, you idiot! Of course the postal office should be immune because they don't search every package!" I don't know whether to weep or just facepalm and walk away.
My Whoosh hammer and I have some travel arrangements to make.
They should provide a service and be blind to anything on their networks.
OK - take that argument into some other industries:
Do you really think that the postal service should be immune if they carry a package containing methamphetamine? Even if they deliver it to a 13-year-old child?
Do you really think that a bus-line should be immune if they give a ride to a terrorist with a bomb in his back-pack on his way to blow up a kindergarten?
Do you really think that the phone company should be immune if they allow a 6 year old child to call a fetish phone-sex line?
Do you really think that a gun-company should be immune if they manufacture a weapon and a child accidentally shoots his friend while showing it off?
Please think about what you're suggesting before just blurting it out. Prosecute them all, let the gods sort them out.
P.S. - The first mod that hits me with a Troll will get a mighty pounding from my Whoosh hammer.