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User: tombeard

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  1. Re:Here it comes. on Cars Emit More Black Carbon Than Previously Thought · · Score: 1

    Brake pads are made of ceramics. Ceramics are made of silica, not carbon. They wear against steel, which does have a tiny proportion (0.3%) of carbon it is primarily composed of iron.

  2. Re:Ya I think peopel confuse the argument on Cars Emit More Black Carbon Than Previously Thought · · Score: 1

    The point where you lose my support is when you say you can force people to adopt your solution. If the danger is so pressing and dire then everyone would see it, yet they still might chose other actions then the one you want to impose. If you think this problem is so very pressing then please live your life accordingly, and you are welcome to try to persuade me to emulate you. But once you propose forcing me to adopt your conclusion I lose any respect I might have had for your solution and see you as just another moralizing petty tyrant.

  3. Re:Telling idiots what they want to hear... on Proposed Law Would Give DHS Power Over Privately Owned IT Infrastructure · · Score: 2

    Todays mid day news shoutout was to Mrs. Johnsons 6th grade class. The pic showed them lined up outside with wands and bubble soap. They were learning about wind direction.

  4. Re:Telling idiots what they want to hear... on Proposed Law Would Give DHS Power Over Privately Owned IT Infrastructure · · Score: 1

    I'm an ME, so I'm decent at math at least through DEs. MY wife helps grade school children with their homework. I really can't describe the absolute crap they are teaching them for math. Yes, it is all "true and correct", but it is so convoluted and obtuse it is of no practical value. And the teachers don't know how this crap works, they only teach examples from the book, which often turn out to represent special cases although that is never identified. I have no doubt this is done to convince the kids that math makes no sense and is too hard for them to ever learn. You could argue that those that do "get it" will make great scientists and engineers, but 99% of them are left unable to understand basic concepts.

  5. Re:Oh, great... on A5 Mystery Solved (Why Siri Won't Run On iPhone 4) · · Score: 1

    No, now that our government approved tracking/monitoring device can hear side conversations as well its utility in enhanced.

  6. Theory of Climatic Stability on Don't Worry About Global Warming, Say 16 Scientists in the WSJ · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I don't remember ever reading of The Theory of Climatic Stability. Maybe I was inattentive, but when did it stabilize? I recall the earth has been a hot dry desert and a frozen iceball and that CO2 has changed from 0.02% to 0.2%, and oxygen from nothing to poisoning off all existing life above water. Am I to understand it actually stabilized in ~1800 and any change since then is my bad?

  7. Re:How about chemical representations? on IBM Shrinks Bit Size To 12 Atoms · · Score: 1

    So what are you going to "stick" these bit to? And how would you change them? Not being negative, you might have a grand insight.

  8. Re:Author Misidentifies Core Problems with SOPA on Why Politicians Should Never Make Laws About Technology · · Score: 2

    Yea, like drunken airline passengers could never be charged under terrorism laws because they were only meant for real terrorists, not drunk airline passengers. Pick your link. The people in charge of incarcerating other people have taken any excuse to do so, no matter how torturous the interpretation of the law. And the courts have, since they are in the same business, decided this is just fine. So be very careful what you allow.

  9. Re:Why BASIC? What for? on Why Can't We Put a BASIC On the Phone? · · Score: 1

    FWIW, I used to write self modifying code in Rocky Mountain Basic. The editor was the user interface on HP200 computers. My programs interfaced with spectrum analyzers, multi channel data recorders, programmable tracking filters, and a matrix switch to shuffle all the signals. You actually can use basic for very useful work. There are a number of Basics available for unix if you look for them. My most recent programs have all been in perl, but I am just a language slut.

  10. Re:Why don't they just ... on New Kind of Metal Theorized To Be In the Earth's Lower Mantle · · Score: 1

    Remember your propulsion system is mounted on the outside, so you have to come up with a drive system that can take the heat and pressure.

  11. Re:too bad on JPMorgan Rolls Out (Another) FPGA Supercomputer · · Score: 1

    Economics Ph's gotta eat too y'a know.

  12. Re:risk vs. electricity on JPMorgan Rolls Out (Another) FPGA Supercomputer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    More importantly, it makes it impossible for anyone to dispute their results. After all, no one else has exactly the same system so no one is better qualified to evaluate their conclusions. "No, we made the best possible choice at the time. You would know that if you had OUR analytic engine, but since you don't your speculations are baseless."

  13. Re:Danger on Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones · · Score: 1

    Just about everyone that has safely avoided an accident with me by driving as they should has also been talking on the phone. Your point?

  14. Re:There are already laws against bad driving on Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones · · Score: 1

    "Following too closely will result in a ticket."
    I have never seen or heard of anyone being so ticketed.

  15. Re:It has nothing to do with "bad drivers" on Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones · · Score: 1

    Hmmm. Maybe we DO need a new law. Maybe something like reckless/negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Na, nobody would ever stand for that.

  16. Re:Bad drivers have reduced concentration on Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones · · Score: 1

    Na, the pilots have iPads now.

  17. Re:Because it's easy on Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones · · Score: 1

    That is the subset that also owns cars.

  18. Re:because its simple on Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones · · Score: 1

    They did say that driving while phoning is as dangerous as driving drunk. Since 80%+ of the drivers I see on the road are using one it is clear we need to repeal the drunk driving laws because it is relatively safe. Those 80% don't die every day, I would have noticed the decline in congestion on the roads by now.

  19. Re:Good! on NTSB Recommends Cell Phone Ban For Drivers · · Score: 1

    I find there is substantial difference in a cell conversation and talking with my passenger. First, the passenger is in the same environment and has a stake in us not crashing, and his warnings might even avoid calamity. But more important, listening on a cell seems to require far more concentration then listening to a companion. People in the grocery store can't walk and cell talk at the same time, of course they can't do it and drive. That said, I value my freedom too much to suggest that any law like this should be adopted. Safety isn't everything. And maybe all we need is better sound quality.

  20. Re:stop crying on TSA Facing Death By a Thousand Cuts · · Score: 1

    You have radiation emission records to back that up? They don't.

  21. Re:Government too powerful anymore? on TSA Facing Death By a Thousand Cuts · · Score: 1

    It might have been a "noble ambition" but it was never a good idea.

  22. Re:My Pet Rock Is Better on TSA Facing Death By a Thousand Cuts · · Score: 1

    Well, they have caught a few people, most of whom we talked into aspiring to hurt us and gave them pretend means so they could be arrested and thus justify the effort.

  23. Re:Friggen finally on TSA Facing Death By a Thousand Cuts · · Score: 1

    The Cuyahoga doesn't burn any more because there isn't and industry left in Cleveland. Crime drove out the nightlife that developed around the now clean water and all that's left is a scenic park. Progress?

  24. Re:Oh look, the pendulum. It swings back. on TSA Facing Death By a Thousand Cuts · · Score: 3, Insightful

    While I agree with this in principle I can't support it. With 50 states we now have far too many voices for any to be heard above the roar, this country worked much better when there were 13 states and even then it took years to amend the constitution. With the 50 we now have it is impossible, so government has abandoned the amendment process and instituted bureaucratic decree. The existing states should band together in regional clusters and those clusters should be governed by the national government. I can't support that happening though because I would end up living in Jesusland.

  25. Re:Analytics for Mobiles on Carrier IQ Drama Continues · · Score: 1

    Doesn't matter the amount as long as they were charged. That is certainly a population base for a class action lawsuit.