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User: meerling

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Comments · 2,572

  1. Re:Sure, a "letter" on Canadian Prime Minister To Music Lobby: Here's Your Copyright Term Extension · · Score: 1

    It's not true, that's been studied quite a bit it seems. However, science, statistics, and ethics mean nothing to a politician looking for a treat or with an ax to grind.

  2. Re:Happy and sad news on Planetary Society Wants To Launch a Crowd-Funded Solar Sail · · Score: 1

    Trash?
    Why, because you don't agree with scientific exploration? It's a real world proof of concept and will give a real basis to build upon this technology and technique. Besides, those 3 cubesats in it are more than just com systems, though the data from even that has some value. As far as satellites and probes go, this is small and cheap, so it's bang for the buck is better than most.

    "bureaucrats" ...
    You mean the old sods that can't figure out the value of anything other than bribes, err, campaign contributions, and pork, err, vote buying by spending money on local though dubious projects? Yeah, that means nothing. In case you haven't noticed, our current crop of politicians are lucky they can read.

    not a meaningful "experiment"
    Great, just tell me what the actual acceleration it would achieve is, and what all the data it's other sensors (whatever those will be) will send back, and I'll accept that statement of yours. You can't? Well of course not, that's why we do these kinds of things. We can make mathematical models and analyze those all we want, but until we get realworld data, we just don't know if there's anything else out there to mess with the results. Did you know there has been anomalous thrust on the pioneer and voyager probes? Funny how we would have no idea something like that could happen until we actually sent those probes for real. By the way, they are still studying that data, and they think they've figured that mystery out, but it's not up to the whole seven sigmas thing yet.

    NASA does not waste its limited budget
    I'm glad you recognize NASAs budget limitations and understand that at the current funding levels and lack of appropriate launch vehicles they can't even keep up with their current orbital responsibilities. You do know that our network of both communication, weather, and GPS satellites is in poor repair and greatly in need of new satellites? Well it's true.

    Are you worried that all this research and exploration of space has no apparent benefit to us? Well let's put it this way, it has been reported that less than 2 measly centuries ago, early pioneers of electricity were ask of what use electricity had. At that time, they just didn't know. These days, you probably can't imagine living without it.

  3. Re:I already feel the smell of a GoogleGlass failu on Oculus Rift Hardware Requirements Revealed, Linux and OS X Development Halted · · Score: 2

    Virtual Boy didn't fail because people don't want VR or immersive tech, but rather because the hardware used had serious issues. It was heavy, expensive, dorky, and the display was basically a lot of low res RED pixels. Just red. It was horrible. I wouldn't pay 50 cents for one new.
    Now mind you, I'm not saying that Occulus will succeed, just that if you are going to choose an example to back up your claim that people don't want VR, try to chose something that wasn't an obvious failure to begin with. For example, if you want to claim people don't like hamburgers, don't use the teriyaki & mustard maggot burger as an example of why people don't want hamburgers.

  4. Re:More hoops before travelling through USA on Judge: Warrantless Airport Seizure of Laptop 'Cannot Be Justified' · · Score: 1

    You could also write a script to make a ton of garbage files filled with random characters. That should make a paranoid 3-letter creep get a hard on when they see it, and lose all their hair over the next several weeks as they try to decrypt these obviously encrypted files.

  5. Sad, but true.

  6. Re:It was an app on a WORK-Issued Phone! on Worker Fired For Disabling GPS App That Tracked Her 24 Hours a Day · · Score: 2

    24/7 on call isn't the same as having an alien tracking probe in your anus like cartman.
    Though it sounds like this "employer" seems to think they can do whatever they want, including that.
    A school has already gotten in trouble for intruding on students outside of school time through monitoring software on the laptops, so this company is most likely going to get a nasty slap from the judge.

  7. Re:Not yet statistically significant on Self-Driving Cars In California: 4 Out of 48 Have Accidents, None Their Fault · · Score: 1

    Actually autonomous cars have several selling points, despite not being "for sale" yet.

    sell′ing point`
    n.
    a feature that appeals or is expected to appeal to prospective buyers.
    [1920–25]
    Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Re:that's fine on Self-Driving Cars In California: 4 Out of 48 Have Accidents, None Their Fault · · Score: 1

    Why? Are you an ambulance chaser?

  9. Re:how long until the internet dies? on FCC Tosses Petition Challenging Its New Internet Regulations · · Score: 1

    Kind of like the italian russian space station posting lower down?
    Still seems to me that the AC I was talking about was just being sarcastic. No fear or ranting, just a simple ridiculous statement. Unlike some of the other posters around here. Of course, that's just a guess on my part since I can neither read minds, nor do we have a Sarcasm Element in HTML. Damn we could seriously use that one. :)

  10. Re:how long until the internet dies? on FCC Tosses Petition Challenging Its New Internet Regulations · · Score: 1

    I figure it was a sarcastic comment.

  11. Re:Sort of dumb. on Recruiters Use 'Digital Native' As Code For 'No Old Folks' · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unless of course you live in an area where there are more people that are skilled, talented, and have experience than there are available positions. Your false assumption is based on the idea that there are more jobs than skilled people to fill them. It may be true in some areas, but not all.

  12. Re:Poster sounds sympathetic, but sounds like thre on VA Tech Student Arrested For Posting Perceived Threat Via Yik Yak · · Score: 1

    South Korean ferry sinking last year? (16 may 2014)

  13. Re:They did this with Occupy Wall Street on Inside the Military-Police Center That Spies On Baltimore's Rioters · · Score: 1

    I don't know about you, but I did what I could to stop what I knew was coming.
    Didn't do a damn bit of good, other than there being a record that these results were foreseen.

    Like usual, it's not a question of "If it can be abused?", but rather "When will it be abused?".

  14. Re:AT&T customer uses $24,298.93 in services on AT&T Bills Elderly Customer $24,298.93 For Landline Dial-Up Service · · Score: 2

    The first person at AT&T that was spoken to should have been able to identify the HUGE charges for long distance numbers. They should have also been able to tell him the numbers, as well as when the calls were made, and for how long.
    I know I used the word "should" when "can" is more appropriate, I was being nice, and refuse to accept that something that was a standard capability in both the 80s and 90s is suddenly non-existent in this age of data retention.

  15. Re:The problem isn't the FBI ... on FBI Slammed On Capitol Hill For "Stupid" Ideas About Encryption · · Score: 1

    Put in back doors, and you can kiss any American "security" software goodbye. Let's not even bother with the whole issue that a backdoor will be found and opened, then all hell will break loose, and stick with the fact that nobody on the planet will knowingly buy or use "security" software that is known to have a backdoor.
    If they get away with this backdoor crap, how long until they are demanding master keys to your house. (Yeah, that's a bit of hyperbole, but only because the physical expense would be huge.)

  16. Re:What's the problem on Disney Replaces Longtime IT Staff With H-1B Workers · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I just wanted to say Thank You, and no hard feelings. It seems we've found a couple of interns that will do your entire departments for a pepperoni pizza and 2 liter of coke per shift. You have 6 hours to train your replacements and will be expected to have vacated the premises or security will detain you until the police arrive and you will be prosecuted for trespassing.
    Don't forget your NDA, you can't say anything about what this company does.
    Thank you very much, and hit the road bud.

  17. Re:What's the problem? on Senate Advances "Secret Science" Bill, Sets Up Possible Showdown With President · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "...argue that the secret science legislation would force EPA to ignore numerous studies. They say that not only do many studies contain public health or industry-submitted data that are confidential, but the legislation provides too little funding for EPA to obtain all the necessary raw data. And many studies, such as longitudinal surveys, are not realistically “reproducible,” scientific organizations worry."
    _
    As far as republican backed industry is concerned, anything like health and environmental issues that prevent them from doing whatever the hell they want is bad. The EPA is a big supplier of those things they hate, so if they can cripple the EPA, they get to do more things to make them money, despite it being dangerous to the public health and safety.
    So yes, they are trying to pull a fast one by attempting to eliminate as much as they can.
    It's kind of like a mafia lawyer trying to get the judge to throw out all witness testimony that is not 1st hand police testimony, or all evidence that has been touched or operated by someone other than a cop. So Uncle Johns being in the room and seeing Vinnie the Slasher cut up the victim gets thrown out, along with the fingerprints from the door because Uncle John used it to run out screaming for the cops, of which he is not one of. And forget witness protection also, you can't hide the names and address of Uncle Johns family either, since that kind of confidential information isn't "transparent" enough...

    Again, yes, it's a scam attempting to cloak itself in respectability. (Or more like trying to sneak sarin into the theater by hiding it in an empty first aid kit wrapped in bandages.)

  18. Re:Fast track on University Overrules Professor Who Failed Entire Management Class · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As security guards had been assigned, I doubt there was any form of "blind-siding" going on. Perhaps the administration were wearing blinders, but they certainly were aware that things were seriously out of whack.

  19. Re:"Full responsibilty?" on Drone Killed Hostages From U.S. and Italy, Drawing Obama Apology · · Score: 1

    Funny how so many people are assuming or asking about something like that.
    Do you know nothing about how leadership "takes full responsibility" for anything people at least 2 management levels lower do?

    Basically it means they'll yell at some underling to fix this, and actually check in on progress once a week or so as long as people keep bugging them about it. Also, they'll do the "sad face in public" thing to help with press releases and photo ops.

    Doesn't matter if it's a politician or a corporation, it's all the same dance card. (One of these days I'm going to look up "dance card" and find out what that is, assuming someone bothered to wiki something that old.)

  20. Re:Ha ha. on Update: No Personhood for Chimps Yet · · Score: 1

    Lawyers don't care about them, most of the lawyers are concerned about getting paid and making a name for themselves in the shark tank, err, legal field.

  21. Re:Genius! on Update: No Personhood for Chimps Yet · · Score: 1

    Sure you could, but as their biology has a greater dissimilarity to human those results are fairly worthless for many things. So why do you want to do that again?

  22. Re:Habeus Corpus on Update: No Personhood for Chimps Yet · · Score: 1

    Only because they don't know how to build nuclear weapons.
    Yet... ;)

  23. Re:A great way to transport it... on William Shatner Proposes $30 Billion Water Pipeline To California · · Score: 1

    Transparent aluminum was invented about a decade ago. The government has been looking in to using it for various things, including replacing the viewports in tanks with it as it's far more efficient for that kind of thing than glass.

  24. Re:A great way to transport it... on William Shatner Proposes $30 Billion Water Pipeline To California · · Score: 2

    It was about time for California to try and tell Oregon to divert one of it's rivers again. They attempt that on a regular basis. It's never going to happen, that water flow is important where it is even if nobody is drinking it.
    Nobody is going to let California take their water resources, period. They need to find another solution, like reduce water needs, or build some desalination plants.
    Besides, if a kickstarter doesn't reach funding, you don't get any of the money, and even if you did, wasting it on a politician would be really stupid.

  25. Re:Varies, I suppose on Utilities Battle Homeowners Over Solar Power · · Score: 1

    There are other methods to store excess power, but I doubt one homes solar panels would make it feasible for the home owner to install.
    One of the common methods is to pump water to a higher altitude (up a hill, or into a water tower), so when you need the power, let it run back down to the generator. (The pump is the generator, just running in reverse.)