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User: nomadic

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  1. Re:As Frontalot says on Ask Slashdot: Do You Still Trust Bitcoin? · · Score: 1

    I have never heard of any residential mortgage agreement having an acceleration clause tied to a change in debt/equity ratio. Do you have any citations for this? By the way, even if such a clause existed, it was something you contracted for, so it's not like it was completely out of the blue.

  2. Re:Education does not qualified make... on Do We Really Have a Shortage of STEM Workers? · · Score: 2

    "Trying to get more people educated in a field by saying "we need more people with STEM degrees!" is like saying I need more people who know how to run. I don't want someone who knows how to run, I want someone who loves running." And I want a billion dollars, a private island, and a private masseuse. I'm not going to complain when I don't get it, though. What you should reasonably expect when you hire is someone who will do the job you pay them reasonably well and be a net asset to your company; most people don't "want" to work, they work to live. Expecting them to find spiritual fulfillment in helping your company do whatever it is it does is unreasonable.

  3. come on on Navy Won't Investigate Nuclear Pollution At San Francisco's Treasure Island · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    This is slashdot, where most posters don't believe nuclear waste can be harmful to anyone you commie pinko liberal terrorist.

  4. Re: Abolish software patents on Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Newegg Patent Case · · Score: 1

    Strong patent protection is a characteristic of the steepest technology jump in human history. The 20th century saw technological innovation increase exponentially, frequently driven by well-funded R&D departments at large corporations. They would not have developed these things without patent protection because it would put them out of business. I have never heard a plausible explanation of how a company that spends a billion dollars developing a technology can compete if their competitors can undersell them simply because they don't have to recoup the R&D budget.

    And while the Constitution does not mandate copyright and patent laws, it does legitimize it, removing the argument that implementing them is violative of free speech.

  5. Re: Abolish software patents on Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Newegg Patent Case · · Score: 1

    There's no proof that they aren't. And legally they are enshrined in the Constitution.

  6. Re:Nothing is obvious ... on Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Newegg Patent Case · · Score: 1

    That would be horrific to the parties involved; someone trying to recover under a contract in New York should have to go to Hawaii? Litigation is expensive enough without multiplying the cost like that.

  7. Re:problem with the system on Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Newegg Patent Case · · Score: 1

    "The point of the patent system (as I understand it at least) is to ensure that information doesn't get lost."

    Nah, the purpose of the patent system is to encourage invention.

  8. Re:Nothing is obvious ... on Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Newegg Patent Case · · Score: 1

    "Since we can't test for obviousness, both the patent office and the courts have decided to ignore obviousness, thus destroying any possible usefulness of a patent system."

    That doesn't really compute there. You're assuming both that patents never work without things going to litigation, that when they are litigated that it's only about "obviousness," and that in every patent case (the vast majority of which I am sure you are unfamiliar with) the courts "ignore" obviousness.

  9. Re: Cryptonomicon? on Ask Slashdot: What Are the Books Everyone Should Read? · · Score: 1

    Interesting! I had the opposite situation; read Neuromancer a couple of times but tried Cryptonomicon twice and just couldn't get through it. Just found it tedious.

  10. Re:woo on Intel Linux Driver Now Nearly As Fast As Windows OpenGL Driver · · Score: 1

    I used to swing back and forth between Windows and Linux, but honestly the past few years it's been all Windows. Windows 7 and Windows 8 are actually decent OSes, plus they run the software I need and the games and media that I want.

  11. hmm on Why People Are So Bad At Picking Passwords · · Score: 1

    I also blame sysadmins who frequently don't understand that security is contextual; you do not need the same level of password complexity for a gardening forum or slashdot that you need for your bank account. But you still see ridiculous requirements for low-security sites.

  12. woo on Intel Linux Driver Now Nearly As Fast As Windows OpenGL Driver · · Score: 4, Funny

    This should convince anyone that open source linux software can compete with windows, given 22 years.

  13. Re:Waiver of rights on Woman Fined For Bad Review Striking Back In Court · · Score: 1

    Actually voiding a contract is a term of art in the law and refers to a court finding that a valid contract never existed. Just because the terms were never fulfilled doesn't mean the contract didn't exist; the contract isn't the completed transaction, it's essentially a binding promise on both parties to perform. Just because performance wasn't made doesn't mean the promise never existed.

    Arguing that the contract is void is basically trying to say that the promise never existed, and is a defense by the breaching party to invalidate the contract (and thus not be responsible for fulfilling its terms), not the plaintiff in a breach of contract action.

  14. Re:Fret not on Woman Fined For Bad Review Striking Back In Court · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "We have grown dependent on freebies and handouts as our government tries to "domesticate" its citizenry into the role of owned beasts of burden."

    What freebies and handouts would these be? By developed nation standards we do not spend that much on social welfare programs.

  15. Re:Waiver of rights on Woman Fined For Bad Review Striking Back In Court · · Score: 1

    No, there was consideration, and the contract was valid -- KlearGear just breached it.

  16. Re:Waiver of rights on Woman Fined For Bad Review Striking Back In Court · · Score: 1

    Ehh, sort of. A contract certainly existed because the consideration was memorialized in the order form, any email receipt, etc. There was just a breach.

  17. Re:Waiver of rights on Woman Fined For Bad Review Striking Back In Court · · Score: 1

    Actually, that's a breach. Voiding a contract and breaching a contract are two different things.

  18. Re:What can the UN actually do? on US Working To Kill UN Privacy Resolutions · · Score: 1

    No, it doesn't have that clause, and the UN is not free to operate, spy, arrest, or even kill anyone in the US. Just completely false.

  19. Re:Dear NSA: on US Working To Kill UN Privacy Resolutions · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Every tyranny is exercised by the few over the many. Your numbers don't mean much.

  20. Re:Like WANTING to be gay or lesbian on Is a Postdoc Worth it? · · Score: 1

    Like I said, dating would be a lot easier if it was me. Unfortunately, I am straight.

  21. Re:Horse already left the barn on Is a Postdoc Worth it? · · Score: 1

    Interesting; I wonder if that includes Psy.D. and Ed.D. students of whom there are a large number and who frequently pay their own way I believe. I did almost went to a program where I wouldn't get funding though I could teach a few courses a semester to pay my way, but it was a relatively inexpensive program anyway (like 5k a semester full-time, and I would be coming in with enough credits that I wouldn't have to pay more after that) and I was under the impression it was incredibly rare.

  22. Re:Like WANTING to be gay or lesbian on Is a Postdoc Worth it? · · Score: 1

    Nope. Why?

  23. Re:Like WANTING to be gay or lesbian on Is a Postdoc Worth it? · · Score: 1

    Do you know how easy it is to find sex if you're gay? A gay friend has remarked on several occasions how bad he feels for straight men having trouble getting sex.

  24. Re:Depends.... on Is a Postdoc Worth it? · · Score: 3, Funny

    I need another hint.

  25. Re:Horse already left the barn on Is a Postdoc Worth it? · · Score: 2

    Do that many people pay for their PhDs? I'm not paying for mine; I wouldn't do it if I had to (racked up enough debt from law school). I look at it as a low-pay but enjoyable job that I can live on for a few years before trying the tenure-track-job lotto.