Slashdot Mirror


User: vandan

vandan's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
1,176
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 1,176

  1. Re:O RLY? on The Animal World Has Its Junkies, Too · · Score: 1

    Oh dear. You do realise that you're an animal, right? And your signature suggests that you don't believe in God. I'm trying to reconcile these two beliefs that you hold, and yet can't.

  2. Re:Entheogens are our birthright... on The Animal World Has Its Junkies, Too · · Score: 1

    I'm missing the 'like' button from facebook all of a sudden ;) Totally agree ...

  3. Psychoactive users are not junkies on The Animal World Has Its Junkies, Too · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a common perception ... and totally wrong ... that psychoactive users are junkies. Far from it. I have participated in multiple voluntary studies with the Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, where they study recreational drugs ( E, LSD, etc ) ... and have asked them each time what they thought of my habits, and that of my peers. Each time they said the same thing ... that it was a pleasure to work with people who actually had their life together ... that the real 'junkies' use heroin, alcohol, cocain, etc ... and the recreational drug users, in contrast, are well in control of their activities, and leading productive lives. In fact I would go a step further and say that psychoactive drug users have their life together far more than the average person.

  4. Re:Much as I love Linux .... on GNU/Linux and Enlightenment Running On a Fridge · · Score: 1

    :) Was thinking something very similar, just as I came to your post.

  5. Intel Graphics? on IE9, FF4 Beta In Real-World Use Face-Off · · Score: 1

    The story doesn't mention the GPU in use, but it does mention it's an i7 processor. So I assume it's using an i965-class GPU. These aren't exactly known for speed or stability on linux. I believe FF4 uses Cairo, which in turn uses XRender, and my experience with integrated Intel GPUs and XRender is that pure software ( ie X on FBDev ) is faster. I would have liked to have seen a system used which could actually accelerate the drawing operations.

  6. Re:Still depends on Fielding? on Conroy Still Hell-Bent On Internet Filter · · Score: 1

    While I will rejoice in Fielding being dumped, I'm sceptical that Labor will backflip over this issue without being pressured. We'll see.

  7. Re:The whole universe is alive on Transition Metal Catalysts Could Be Key To Origin of Life · · Score: 1

    Wooot! Another insightful post on Slashdot. Maybe I should spend more time here? Yeah I agree completely ... the way we call organisms individuals, separate from their surroundings, is completely arbitrary. If you haven't already read them, you may be interested in 'Autopoiesis and Cognition' by HR Maturana, FJ Varela and 'Web of Life' by Fritjof Capra.

  8. Re:The electro-dynamic field came first, of course on Transition Metal Catalysts Could Be Key To Origin of Life · · Score: 1

    I agree with your attack on materialism, and also that Darwinists have an agenda as do Creationists. But instead of focusing on electromagnetic fields, which is itself inside the domain of the material, I think the source of life lies in a domain of organisation and thought ... one which 4-dimensional physics is enfolded in.

  9. Re:I'm tired of this... on Teacher Asks Students To Plan a Terrorist Attack · · Score: 1

    Wow ... an insightful post. This is slashdot, right?

  10. Re:That's how the market is supposed to work. on Just One Out of 16 Hybrids Pays Back In Gas Savings · · Score: 1

    We bought a Civic hybrid with 30,000kms on it. We paid exactly the same as we would have for other Civic models. We got the battery checked out - was in 'perfect' order. It uses about 5.5 l/100km in the city, which is considerably better than the other Civic models, which I expect would be getting around 7 or 8 l/100km. So for us it's making very good economic sense. I don't expect to be changing the battery any time soon - they're supposed to go 10 years in this model. Maybe you should check out 2nd-hand models in your analysis.

    Other people have already commented on the hand-outs to big oil fouling up your whinging about subsidies to hybrid tech.

  11. Re:It's actually 84 on A How-To Website For Australian Voters · · Score: 1

    One is reminded of that Churchill quote about democracy being the worst form of government ...

    The problem is that Churchill was a racist, biggoted prick. If he lived in our times, he could have been charged with war crimes ( though of course like current politicians who commit war crimes, there is little chance that this would actually happen ).

  12. Re:Facebook? Bueller? on Google Defends Privacy Policies · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Precisely. Let's remember that it was Google who told the US government to take them to court before they'd hand over search query data. I'm not saying Google is perfect. But as the post above notes, Google collect data for the sole purpose of providing targeting data to their customers - advertisers. Worst-case scenario is that some advertisers have slightly more information on your browsing habits. This is far from the end of the world.

    But you are spot on when you worry about the government getting their hands on this information. I can see problems for people discussing:
      - euthanasia
      - recreational drugs, including medical use, drug law reform, harm minimisation programs, etc
      - political activism
      - criticism of government
      - criticism of big business
      - workers' rights ... which are all quite valid topics, which ever side of the so-called 'great divide' you come down on.

  13. Gtk2-Perl on Adding Some Spice To *nix Shell Scripts · · Score: 1

    I really can't praise Gtk2-Perl enough. Using Glade to quickly build your GUI, and Perl to quickly build your logic, it's a knock-out combination. The end result looks just like a gnome application ( using Gtk2 ), and for 95% of cases, runs as fast as well. I liked it so much, I wrote some database classes, Gtk2::Ex::DBI and Gtk2::Ex::Datasheet::DBI ... see: http://entropy.homelinux.org/axis/.

  14. Tasers are more lethal, not less lethal on Testing the Safety of Tasers On Meth-Addled Sheep · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The 'less lethal' argument is complete bullshit. The fact is that police are far more likely to use 'less' lethal weapons, on the assumption that there is much lower burden on them to prove the need for weapons use. There are many more situations completely out of the control of police that turn 'less' lethal weapons into 'completely' lethal weapons.

      - heart conditions, pacemakers etc ( yes, young people can have pacemakers )
      - pregnancy
      - short period of time since last taser assaults ( we've all seen videos of repeated taser assaults )

    If police can't subdue people with their bare hands and training, then they shouldn't be police. Giving them so-called 'non' or 'less' lethal weapons only leads to more deaths due to a massive increase in the use of the weapons, combined with a very worrying deathrate ( hundreds of deaths per year according to Amnesty International ). As for police in the US where everyone has a gun ... I have no answer for that. Do whatever the hell you want over there. In sane countries where it's illegal to carry around lethal weapons, I expect the police to also be unarmed.

  15. Crackpot on James Lovelock Suggests Suspending Democracy To Save the World · · Score: 3, Informative

    This guy has lost the plot. First nuclear power as a way to save the planet. Now 'putting democracy on hold' to achieve the same goal.

    Now, I'm under no illusions as to the state of our alleged democracy: we don't have one. We are wage slaves who delegate our power to representatives of the ruling class. But do we really want to be 'officially' handing over the keys like this?

    Surely the only way to achieve the kind of world-wide change we need is a world-wide democratic revolution ( and no, I'm not talking about American / Western style democracy, but REAL democracy ). Bring on the TRULY democratic, one-world government!

  16. Lordy lord, it's not that bad on Venezuela's Last Opposition TV Owner Arrested · · Score: 1, Insightful

    These TV station smart-asses have been openly advocating for Chavez to be assassinated. I'm sure if some 'independent' TV station started calling for President Obama's assassination, there would be some arrests over that too.

    The problem is that Chavez is trying to implement some real social reforms, but the capitalists would very much prefer that not to happen. One of their weapons in the battle is these 'independent' TV stations, that are about as independent as Fox News.

    Good riddance I say. There are enough far-right freak-shows with access to mass media already. Time to claw things back and give Chavez a chance to reform the country, like a majority of the population say they want.

  17. Re:Doesn't anyone realize that on Cellulosic Biofuel Finally Ready For the Road · · Score: 1

    I was wondering how long it would take before someone with intelligence posted to Slashdot. Unfortunately your solution doesn't fit in the pro-consumption market economy, or in the minds of the wages slaves conditioned to live in said environment.

  18. Re:Biofuels dont cause hunger on Cellulosic Biofuel Finally Ready For the Road · · Score: 1

    Dear AC, your logic applies equally well to the free market. Central planning alone will of course not feed people. You need central planning by democratic means. The examples you gave ( post-Lenin Soviet Union, and North Korea ) are central planning, but by particularly undemocratic dictatorships.

    But nice try, Mr Free Market.

  19. Re:Late to the party? on Cellulosic Biofuel Finally Ready For the Road · · Score: 1

    Green lords? Homepage link? Signature? You're a nutcase mate. Either that, or on the payroll of a big oil co, or both.

  20. This assertion lacks intelligence on When Will AI Surpass Human Intelligence? · · Score: 1

    People making these outrageous claims are showing a fundamental lack of understanding of what intelligence actually is. Intelligence is inextricably linked to life and consciousness. It doesn't matter how many transistors you throw at 'artificial' intelligence, it's still just that: artificial. It has no intelligence, just as it has no life. It has a very fancy set of instructions that attempt to mimic some characteristics that humans identify as being of an 'intelligent' origin. There's a big difference. Added complexity will not bridge the gap.

  21. Re:Energy Diversity is Good on Wind Could Provide 100% of World Energy Needs · · Score: 1

    Energy diversity is where it's at. Each form of power has a different set of NIMBY problems. Different people will have stakes in different forms of power generation, which will distribute the political power of those interests.

    I agree with the diversity point. I think it's perfectly valid of local communities to proclaim 'NIMBY', but at the same time, they should only be able to draw power locally. This way, local communities can decide what method of power generation suits them. I'm not so sure about the point about distributing political power. This is an extremely important issue - perhaps the most important one - and I doubt whether we've found a satisfactory solution yet.

    We need to have wind, tidal, solar thermal, and next-gen nuclear.

    First three, sure. 'Next-gen' nuclear though? There's nothing 'Next-gen' about nuclear. It's as eternally dangerous as ever. It's still the most expensive method of boiling water known to man. We still can't contain the waste, even for a decade. What's more, if some business guarantees that in 500 million years, their containment method will still be satisfactory, what kind of naive fool would take their word for it? They're not going to be around to hold accountable, are they? Let's put all this bullshit talk about 'clean' coal, 'next-gen' nuclear, 'ethical' business, and other oxymorons in the garbage, and work on proven clean, renewable technology, OK?

  22. Re:Except on Wind Could Provide 100% of World Energy Needs · · Score: 1

    These 'people' are employees of major energy producers, or their lobbying contractors.

  23. Surprised? on Google Chrome's Inclusion of FFMpeg Vs. the LGPL · · Score: 1

    I predicted this in my blog on that bastards a couple of days back. Simple solution: boycott them. The world has enough browsers controlled by monopolistic corporations already. Support Firefox.

  24. Nice html engine. Pitty about the UI on Google Announces Chrome For Mac and Linux Dev Builds · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I find the Chrome interface quite revolting. But what's even worse is the psychotic bitchings of Ben Goodger, former Mozilla developer. My response to Ben discusses the issues he raised.

  25. Re:Um.... on Harsh Words From Google On Linux Development · · Score: 1

    What a stupid post! What an idiot you must be! Clearly you've never programmed before, as your oh-so-light-on-substance first sentance 'GTK isn't as nice as everyone makes it out to be' has absolutely nothing to do with your 2nd assertion 'Basically what everyone has been doing is talking red hat, and suse and making their product work on that' which also appears to be remove from your arse without any sanitising.

    I have written applications and libraries ( http://entropy.homelinux.org/ ) that 'just work' on Windows, Linux and OSX using Gtk+, and I've not any any issues you are attempting to allude to.