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User: Willuz

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Comments · 66

  1. Squeeze in more seats on Boeing Unveils Cabin Design For Commercial Spaceliner · · Score: 1

    Nope, that's not what it will look like at all. It's microgravity so now they can squeeze passengers in horizontally AND vertically. There are already airlines that charge wide people for two seats. Now tall people will be charged because they take too much head room.

  2. Re:Open source shovels and hoes on Plant Breeders Release 'Open Source Seeds' · · Score: 1

    I cited actual an actual peer reviewed study. You sited an anecdotal opinion piece from an absurdly biased internet "news" site. The title of the article is a joke followed by a question but I read it despite this sad attempt at journalism. What I discovered is that your citation doesn't even support your original argument. The farmer in the article just used traditional crop rotation methods to reduce his use of GMO seeds, pesticides and herbicides. This single example is also in one of the most fertile farming valleys in North America.

    There is no point in continuing a "conversation" with someone who is so easily fooled by baseless suppositions but adamantly opposed to science.

    I would have ended the conversation when your resorted to personal insults but this topic really bothers me. Organic farmers and health activists aren't just saying "Hey! This way is better!". They said that but they're still being outperformed by other farmers so they have resorted to lobbying politicians to make everyone else's way illegal. I'll end this conversation with this final unbiased example citation and hope that at some point you chose facts over feelings and assumptions.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01...

  3. Re:Open source shovels and hoes on Plant Breeders Release 'Open Source Seeds' · · Score: 1

    Weeds can become resistant to roundup but this is not a serious issue. I can be easily solved by the application of alternative herbicides when a roundup resistant strain appears. The alternative herbicide will kill the roundup resistant weeds before they spread. Without weeds leaching nutrients the crops grow healthier and fuller so the world receives more food.

    Insects are somewhat trickier because of their greater mobility and faster life cycles, but there are also procedures in place to handle this. These GMO crops are very different from roundup resistant crops in that they actually attack insects by producing pesticides. Every farmer who uses GMO crops that produce insecticides is required by contract and EPA regulations to also plant non GMO refuges within every field. These refuges allow non resistant insects a place to live so that in the highly unlikely event that an insect develops a resistance it has plenty of non resistant mates available and the resistance is lost in cross breeding. There are absolutely no documented incidences of insects developing Bt resistance when the refuge system is utilized. However, just in case there are new strains being developed which use up to two of the three effective pesticides. This means that in the really truly extreme unlikelihood that an insect becomes resistant to both insecticides they simply plant another strain that uses the third type and it kills the insects.

    Peer reviewed citation: http://www.nature.com/nbt/jour...
    Simple diagram: http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/learn/r...

    There are mountains of evidence showing that GM crops produce more food per acre and have a very positive effect on feeding the world. They are also better on the environment because they reduce the usage of harsh herbicides and insecticides. There is no credible evidence that GMO crops have any negative effect on consumers. The few studies which claimed cancer links were proven false and have since been retracted. Continuing to make this work does require ongoing research and the development of new GMO plants. This research is expensive and that's why the seeds cost more. In the end the farmers still win because the increased output of the fields more than offsets the extra cost of the seed. In the process the entire world wins because we produce more food.

    That is, until fear mongering groups who have no scientific proof fight to have laws put in place to prevent anyone from growing GMO crops. In their fight to "save" the world from GMO billions of people starve due to famines that could have been prevented.

  4. Re:Open source shovels and hoes on Plant Breeders Release 'Open Source Seeds' · · Score: 1

    I don't believe that citation of such a claim is necessary when also stating that insects would develop a resistance to a herbicide.

  5. Re:Open source shovels and hoes on Plant Breeders Release 'Open Source Seeds' · · Score: 1
    You assume that I know nothing then state that your difference of opinion makes your smarter than me. Unfortunately, you support your difference of opinion with absurdly false statements that only succeed in proving your own lack of understanding. I will make no assumptions concerning your intelligence but your conceit has been confirmed by your baseless insults.

    Yes, those seeds are developed to oh say, be resistant to Roundup herbacide. Funnily enough after a few generations of insects, so are the insects

    I am 100% certain that we don't need to worry about INSECTS developing a resistance to a HERBACIDE. I could continue to discuss the pros and cons of both Glyphosate resistance or the vastly different topic of genetic modification resulting in the plant producing insecticide. However, there is no point in continuing an conversation with someone who wields both ignorance and contempt with such pride.

  6. Open source shovels and hoes on Plant Breeders Release 'Open Source Seeds' · · Score: 1

    They should also offer open source shovels and hoes for the farmers. After all, those tractors and harvesters are all patented by evil corporations. The farmers should go back to using hand tools so that we're not permanently addicted to high efficiency farm tools.

    Seriously though, the patented seeds are all developed at great expense to have special properties and resistances. If the farmers don't want to deal with the licenses there are plenty of seeds for them that aren't roundup resistant. The picture in the article says all you need to know, They're sending envelopes of seeds that obviously aren't enough for a real farm. This is just a publicity stunt and more feel good pointless crap to make liberals feel like they're saving the world without leaving their own back yard.

  7. Re:A win? on Netflix Gets What It Pays For: Comcast Streaming Speeds Skyrocket · · Score: 1

    Actually we're already there. My water company will setup a separate meter (for a monthly fee of course) for water used outside the house. This excludes the outside water from sewer costs which are twice as much as the water itself. So yes, shower water does cost 66% more than car washing water.

  8. Re:News for nerds on Photo Web Site Offers a Wall of Shame For Image Thieves · · Score: 1

    There has been a serious decline in quality of articles here lately. What happened? Suddenly Slashdot is just yesterday's Reddit.

  9. Re:I just went through this... on Ask Slashdot: When Is a Better Career Opportunity Worth a Pay Cut? · · Score: 1

    He's probably talking about a nine nines schedule where you work nine hour days and take off every second Friday.

  10. Re:Ungrateful krauts on Amazon Workers Strike In Germany As Christmas Orders Peak · · Score: 1

    I can't site a source but a visit to Germany would make it obvious how they do this. The strong labor unions make it too expensive for large businesses that want an army of interchangeable meat puppets to work for pennies. This gives the small local businesses an strong advantage so you get many more small businesses. There are extremely few chain restaurants so the minimum wage unskilled jobs just aren't there. This results in people working in family owned businesses and often making a career of it. The food is far more expensive, but you're being served by someone who is proud of a restaurant they feel responsible for.

    Unfortunately, all of this results in a much higher cost of living. Germans are culturally accustomed to this and the system works for them. Most Americans would claim poverty if they had to live as most Germans do. Americans have a vastly different idea of what's "necessary" for living in comfort.

  11. Complicated on purpose on Why Cloud Infrastructure Pricing Is Absurd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Most IT services and applications have gone to extremely complicated price models now. The purpose is to confuse upper level management so that they just decide to buy the highest level of service because they can't figure out what any of the levels mean.

    Try reading the MS SQL Server license guides. It's more complicated than the software itself and even has quick reference guides and instructions on how to read the guides. Most managers just say to buy the most expensive so they know they're covered.

  12. No more public WiFi on Thousands of Germans Threatened With €250 Fines For Streaming Porn · · Score: 1

    This is why, on my recent trip to Germany, I was unable to find WiFi ANYWHERE. Not even coffee shops had WiFi for customers because the shop would be fined for anything a customer did on their network. Hotels gave out individual logins for each customer so that usage could be tied to a person. Prosecution like this is bad for everyone because it severely limits access to the internet. Without access the very companies that are prosecuting will also lose more money than they ever gained through their supposed fight against piracy.

  13. Re:Another inflated slashvertisement for amazon.co on Book Review: Secret History: the Story of Cryptology · · Score: 1

    Agreed. Neal Stephenson already fully covered the birth and development of encryption in simple terms for the non-mathematician.

  14. Re:Kodak vs Instagram? Really? on Digital Revolution Will Kill Jobs, Inflame Social Unrest, Says Gartner · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Not only is it an extremely bad comparison but it's absurdly shallow in estimating jobs. Instagram is generating countless jobs by creating a new market niche to be filled.

    - New cell phones to make uploading to instagram easier and faster
    - New cameras to support communication with cell phones
    - New cell phone towers so that photos can be uploaded anywhere

    It may take fewer people to do a single job, but that makes the product cheaper and more available. Greater availability increases the need for all related services and products so the jobs just move to new areas. The key lesson is that job mobility is the most important skill to have for the future. All jobs will require computer skills.

  15. Re:Cautiously Optimistic on Possible Cure For MS Turns Common Skin Cells Into Working Brain Cells · · Score: 4, Informative

    Exactly right, this is just a way of repairing damage already caused by MS and does not "cure" or slow the disease at all. Still an important step though, since damage is permanent for most people.

    It's easiest to think of MS as mice chewing the insulation off the wiring in your car resulting in short circuits and lost signals. Curing the disease would be getting rid of the mice. This treatment is like taking your car to the shop to have the wiring replaced, but the car is still full of mice that will eat the wiring again. The current treatments for MS just put the mice (mostly) to sleep, but they're still there and could awake at any time and some people's mice are more resistant than others.

  16. Re:Who's *FORCING* you to work for those sites? on "Micro-Gig" Sites Undermining Workers Rights? · · Score: 2

    Exactly.
    If you chose to be your own boss, then there's only one person to blame when your boss treats you poorly. You do work for customers on your terms at a rent-a-coder site, not forced labor for a slave driver.

  17. Re:Absurd. on Are There Any Real Inventors Left? · · Score: 1

    Absurd is an incredible understatement of the idiocy of the article. The light bulb was every bit as dependent on previous technology. Without blown glass, methods for extruding wire and countless tools it could never have been created. For Edison the tools were wire and glass. Now the tools are silicon, advanced alloys and software but they are no less of an invention because of it.

    Obviously false statements, like calling the iPhone the first touch screen phone, show the ignorance of the writer. There are plenty of brilliant people inventing amazing new creations that are clearly beyond the comprehension of the writer. I've witnessed the invention of new molecules that bind pharmaceuticals and give them new properties and delivery methods. A new molecule is obviously an invention since it's parts are only atoms, but the advanced tools allowed the construction of the molecule.

    This article certainly does not qualify as a new invention. It's just another version of Obama's "You didn't build that" ideals.

  18. Re:Assault Rifles on Newspaper That Published Gun-Owners List Hires Armed Guards · · Score: 1

    Besides for America to turn into a dictatorship would take the support of a good chunk of Americans. The dictatorship would probably be right wing religious with the majority of gun owners backing up the dictatorship as it is needed to stop those horrible liberals who only won the election due to immigrants or some such excuse.

    Yes, it would most certainly be those right wing religious gun owners leading a revolution. The world has certainly never seen a revolution and dictatorship created by a party claiming that oppressed workers should take back the money from the rich oppressors. Revolutions start by convincing a majority that everything is someone else's fault. Revolutions often end with a single person seizing power during the chaos. It seems that Dryeo already believes the straw man arguments and there are likely a great many more.

  19. Re:A Gentle Rant About Fixed Width Web Content on A Gentle Rant About Software Development and Installers · · Score: 1

    I felt the same way about fixed width. Then I tried to open my website on a cell phone... Unfortunately, most current web CMS require fixed width to work properly on smaller screens. Fortunately, in Windows all you need to do is hold Shift and scroll the mouse wheel up to zoom. In some browsers the zoom ratio is even site specific so all pages on the size use the same zoom.

  20. Keep it simple on Ask Slashdot: How To Add New Tech To Old Van? · · Score: 1

    Leave it to /. to come up with a bunch of ridiculously overengineered solutions.

    Try this DC/DC ATX power supply which is designed for exactly this purpose: http://store.mp3car.com/M4_ATX_250W_Intelligent_DC_DC_PSU_p/pwr-031.htm
    Why should you install a battery backup? Your van already has one and it's called a "car battery".
    Inverters are horrendous. Why go from DC to AC to DC introducing noise and failure points when a DC/DC supply is cheap and reliable.
    Forget the full size computer monitors and get a Lilliput that's designed to run on 12v DC
    Build a Mini ITX computer with a fanless mobile Core 2 Duo like this: http://www.stealth.com/littlepc_625_fanless_print.htm
    Spend LOTS of time reading the forums at MP3car.com
    The key to any carputer installation is simplicity. Failure is garunteed so follow the KISS method to reduce the frequency. Also, feed the sound to a car stereo instead of directly to an amp. When you cross a train track and the carputer dies, you will be happy to be able to tune in the radio instead.

  21. Re:It's stupid to compare to Facebook's profit on Facebook IPO Stumbles Out of the Gate · · Score: 1

    No I block cookies and avoid linked accounts that pass my browsing habits back to Facebook. Since they can only base ad targeting on my Facebook profile it sees single male and that ranks highest.

  22. Re:It's stupid to compare to Facebook's profit on Facebook IPO Stumbles Out of the Gate · · Score: 3, Informative

    My facebook is always covered in ads for young hot single women in my area. If they're generating that much revenue then they must be incredibly wealthy young hot single women and it should be easy to find myself a sugar mama.

  23. Lied about income too? on Are Rich People Less Moral? · · Score: 1

    Except that they selected their own wealth and standing on a scale of 1 to 10. I think it's more likely that some people lied and put themselves in higher income brackets then continued to lie and cheat throughout the test.

  24. Re:So both and get it done! on Debt Reduction Super Committee Fails To Agree · · Score: 2

    No, the D's weren't compromising any more or less than the R's. They want to do it all with tax increases and agreed to lower the amount of the tax increase by the amount of the Bush tax cut. However, this is only with an amendment that the Bush tax cuts would not be renewed. That's not a compromise at all, it's just saying give us 100% of what we want, but we'll wait a year to collect the last 10% right before elections so we can throw it back in your face.

    The root of the issue here is that neither party has decided that a solution is more important than political posturing.

  25. Re:PowerVM on VMware, a Falling Giant? · · Score: 1

    For developers PowerVM falls well short due to the lack of snapshots. I have yet to find a product that supports the robust multiple snapshot tree that VMWare Workstation provides.

    The ability to instantly reset to multiple previous points in a configuration or installation is invaluable when creating application installations and identifying bugs. Multiple times I have seen the development team mess up an installer because they were testing it by installing/uninstalling. A file gets left out of the final build but they never knew because it was a remnant from a previous install. With a snapshot you can instantly reset to before the app ever touched the system.