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User: avandesande

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Comments · 5,075

  1. Steinways are rather average in cost compared to several other makes. Obviously the guy just pulled a name out of a hat.

  2. Your comment about Steinways is patently ridiculous. There is no such thing as an inexpensive concert grand, so I am not sure what you are comparing one to. A Bösendorfer perhaps?

  3. Re:Probably not on Tesla: A Carmaker Or Grid-Storage Company? · · Score: 1

    Yeah using expensive lithium polymer batteries for utilities sounds like a bunch of bologna- there is a bunch of research right now going into making inexpensive sodium ion/sulfur batteries for this purpose.

  4. What Strads did they use? on Elite Violinists Can't Distinguish Between a Stradivarius and a Modern Violin · · Score: 1

    It's well known that many Stradivarius violins have only average sound quality- and there hundreds of them.

  5. Re:Depends on Should Microsoft Be Required To Extend Support For Windows XP? · · Score: 1

    Or maybe you could write them a check. See how easy that is!

  6. Re:Medicalizing Normality on Continued Rise In Autism Diagnoses Puzzles Researchers, Galvanizes Advocates · · Score: 1

    What about people that for whatever reason are living in a very geographically isolated existence? They would survive in a situation that would kill a more sociable person.

  7. Re:Plant the evidence... on DOJ Pushes to Expand Hacking Abilities Against Cyber-Criminals · · Score: 1

    Not to mention that if their machine is proven to be 'hackable', then maybe it already has been hacked.

  8. Re:Belize on Interview: Ask John McAfee What You Will · · Score: -1, Troll

    Wow! Talk about a leading question. Why is this rated so high?

  9. Re:Star Trek covered this on Time Dilation Drug Could Let Heinous Criminals Serve 1,000 Year Sentences · · Score: 1

    Not to mention that punishment is trivial... pretty much anything you can think of can and has already been done.

  10. Re:Ridiculous. on Time Dilation Drug Could Let Heinous Criminals Serve 1,000 Year Sentences · · Score: 1

    Haven't seen it so for but thought I would add...

    The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights (ratified December 15, 1791[1]) prohibiting the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments, including torture. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause also applies to the states. The phrases in this amendment originated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689.

  11. Use the Moon instead on The Earth As a Gravitational Wave Detector · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Since the moon is much more stable than the Earth, would it be a better detector? Have seismic readings been taken on the Moon?

  12. Re:WHAT A RETARDED WASTE OF BREATH on Happy Pi Day · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Pretty much every 'holiday' is arbitrary and somewhat retarded (read about the history of Valentine's day for an example). Nice to have a day for math and geeks!

  13. Re:Is "impact" such a bad thing? on Power Cables' UV Flashes Apparently Frighten Animals · · Score: 1

    To me it is ridiculous to think that power lines could have any where near the impact that a well-traveled roadway does.

  14. Re:Life extension is bad on Men And Women Think Women Are Bad At Basic Math · · Score: 1

    Let's assume for the discussion that 'life extension' means retaining a good percentage of a person's mental and physical capacity during this extra time...
    From an economic standpoint, raising and educating a person to adulthood is very resource intensive and risky. If a person reaches adulthood and is provably productive, doesn't it make sense that extending their lifespan adds value to society?

  15. Re:Chemistry? on Can Science Ever Be "Settled?" · · Score: 1

    It depends on what you mean by chemistry- but I would say far from it as far as practical chemistry is concerned. Sure we can synthesize anything but doing so in an economical fashion is another matter.

  16. Re:But He Isn't on Should Newsweek Have Outed Satoshi Nakamoto's Personal Details? · · Score: 1

    Always get a lot of eyebrows and misspelling of my surname but it is the equivalent of 'Smith' in the Netherlands.

  17. Re:The fed killed drug research for decades. on First LSD Test In 40 Years Reveal Drug Helps Terminal Patients Prepare For Death · · Score: 1

    I think though that some of these ideas are changing... full employment is impossible and govmts need to find other ways to occupy their time than work.

  18. Re:Ballmer is supposed to be a nice guy on Steve Ballmer Blew Up At the Microsoft Board Before Retiring · · Score: 1

    That's not necessarily true- he had to answer to the Board of Directors and they might not be willing to make the changes needed to fix the company. He may have been asked to answer a question where the answer is "mu".

  19. Sound Like Software Development on Mathematicians Are Chronically Lost and Confused · · Score: 1

    EOM

  20. Re:huh? on Microsoft's Attempt To Convert Users From Windows XP Backfires · · Score: 1

    (was talking about windows 7 here, don't know much about 8)

  21. Re:huh? on Microsoft's Attempt To Convert Users From Windows XP Backfires · · Score: 1

    Not really- if you turn off the eye candy it will run fine on an atom-class machine. You can see videos of people doing so on youtube....

  22. Re:Change is good on Steve Ballmer Blew Up At the Microsoft Board Before Retiring · · Score: 2

    I don't think anyone is arguing money can't be made with hardware- just that pursuing both software and hardware systems is difficult and fraught with risks.

    Look at Apple's wild swings.... I don't really have an opinion on Apple but I certainly think they could be very profitable or not 5 years from now.

  23. Re:Mischaracterization of problem on Teaching Calculus To 5-Year-Olds · · Score: 1

    Music is completely based on math- 'A' an octave lower than concert pitch A440 is 220hz, and the cycle of 5ths designate the various keys.

    You seem to be confusing musical skill with musicianship. Musical skill simply means mastery over the tonal qualities(tempo, intonation, intensity etc) of an instrument. It is completely measurable and there is software that does this.

    Musicianship OTOH is completely subjective- many musicians are criticized for being skilled but boring or uninspiring to listen to.

    I would encourage giving "Gödel, Escher, Bach" by by Douglas Hofstadter a look if you are interested in the debate.

  24. Re:Mischaracterization of problem on Teaching Calculus To 5-Year-Olds · · Score: 1

    Right. Name a single classical composer who was not a skilled musician. Learning an instrument after all is a technical exercise....

  25. Re:Tried it already. It kind of flopped. on Low-Protein Diet May Extend Lifespan · · Score: 1

    Not a problem when you have an ethanol fuel mandate to sop up any excess. Selling 5 cents worth of processed food in a box for 3 dollars is a big business- Monsanto doesn't do this but they are certainly an important link in the chain.