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User: Motard

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  1. Re:Government control of our lives... on Amazon Seeks US Exemption To Test Delivery Drones · · Score: 1

    Ah, but here you are mistaking the difference between a corporate entity and a person.

    Unless you believe Citizens United the rights of a corporation are different than those of a person.

    There really is no difference within this context. If I have a lemonade stand and would like to deliver lemonade by drone I would be subject to the same regulations as Amazon. Just as I'd be subject to health department regulations like Applebee's is.

  2. Re:WTFis "as much energy as well-thrown baseballs" on Physicists Spot Potential Source of 'Oh-My-God' Particles · · Score: 1

    Steerriikke!

  3. Re:What's the point on Here Comes the Panopticon: Insurance Companies · · Score: 1

    In the long run "subsidizing the people who don't take care of themselves" will save money for everyone. Even you. A rising tide lifts all ships and all that stuff.

    Really, the best thing we can do now is to make sure everyone is healthy and educated and happy. You just never know where the next Einstein will come from.

    Or Hawking. I wonder what his FitBit readings would look like.

  4. Re:FOOL Cells is what they are on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    So for $70,000 why would I want to buy this car versus a Tesla Model S? Or two Chevy Volts?

    Thanks you for weighing in, Elon. I think I can give you some answers....

    1) The Toyota is cheaper.

    2) It can be refilled quickly.

    3) GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota, (and even Hyundai, for fuck's sake) don't agree with you.

  5. Re:Nice to see. on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    Why do you have to wait for the charge, if you can just replace the battery?

    Spoken like a true cell phone user. Who is going to keep thousands of fully charged 1000lb batteries all around the nation so you can visit your site of the day?

    You don't think you're gonna pay for that?

  6. Re:Hydrogen? on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    I don't assume they're going to put the fuel tanks on the roof of the car?

    Why would you think that that would even be a good idea? It would actually be much safer than mounting a gas tank up there (and much lighter)

    But Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, (among others) have not found it necessary.

  7. Re:Nice to see. on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    If there was a high school science fair project that demonstrated some sort of free energy, I would definitely sit up and take notice. If only to debunk it.

    But who said anything about Free energy? It could be anything generated by a Bunsen burner or pond pump. In the real world, it could be anything from Germany's solar plants, or Iceland's abundant hydroelectric or geothermal power.

    I don't see where you get "Free energy" from that.

    We don't ever need to get beyond 'cost effective' - that would be fine. If we could get to 'ubiquitous', it could be a world saver.

  8. Re:Nice to see. on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    It is a bit fanciful, but every part of it would be demonstrable at a high school science fair.

  9. Re:Nice to see. on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    Electrolysis may not be the most efficient way, but neither is carrying an extra 1,000lbs worth of batteries to haul around your electricity - as a Tesla does (comparision: Tesla Model S vs. Honda FCX Clarity).

    But efficiency may not be that much of an issue. When you think about it, solar power can never be very efficient because the vast majority of solar power never comes anywhere remotely near earth. Yet solar power can still have a significant impact.

    Why, let's just take some of Germany's new 22GW solar capabilities and merge them with the hydrogen zeppelin tech they had in the 1930s. These could now be piloted automatically by GPS (a heck of a lot easier than a Google driverless car). The hydrogen already on board could power the craft all the way to a delivery point where the hydrogen (providing a few thousand tankfuls of H2) could be replaced with helium for the trip back.

    Of course, by this means of delivery, production wouldn't be limited to sunny Germany, but could utilize all sorts of energy of the sort that's available in places like Iceland. Hydrogen can float itself anywhere in the world. You can't do that with a battery.

  10. Re:Hydrogen? on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is a common, but knee-jerk reaction. But as bad as it looked, I think many would be surprised to learn that most of the people aboard the Hindenburg survived the disaster despite it being engulfed in flames hundreds of feet off the ground.

    Imagine if it were filled with gasoline fumes. Everyone on board would've been dead as well as most of the people on the ground.

    Toyota was fired bullets at its pressurized tanks. Regular bullets just bounced. 50 cal rounds too chunks out. It took an armor piercing round to penetrate the tank. When that happened, the hydrogen simply leaked out. And, being lighter than air, it just rose up into the atmosphere instead of pooling on the ground.

  11. Re:Fuel cell car for $20k on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    The future. Perhaps before you can get a $20K Tesla.

    Unless you'll settle for a forklift. These are starting to make big inroads on battery powered forklifts in warehouses.

  12. Re:Fuel cells are idiotic for cars on Toyota's Fuel Cell Car To Launch In Japan Next March · · Score: 1

    HFC Cars *are* electric cars. Hydrogen *can* come from fossil fuels, but can also come from water, or other sources.

  13. Re:Thanks for pointing out the "briefly" part. on Half of Germany's Power Supplied By Solar, Briefly · · Score: 2

    What does 22GW look like? If all of the collectors and ancillary equipment were in the same place, how many acres would the facility be?

  14. Re:More sunlight on Half of Germany's Power Supplied By Solar, Briefly · · Score: 2

    Behold the power of Angela Merkel's sunny disposition.

  15. BREAKING: Scientists Discover Preferences... on Climate Change Prompts Emperor Penguins To Find New Breeding Grounds · · Score: 2

    ...In Highly Evolved Species. Film at 11:00.

  16. Re:Nothing to do with software on The Supreme Court Doesn't Understand Software · · Score: 1

    The only quibble I have in regard to your reply is the use of the word 'allowed'. That is a defeatist word no matter which side of the orange you're on.

  17. Re:Nothing to do with software on The Supreme Court Doesn't Understand Software · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, it will be reduced to this, as it has over recent history.

    Software = Money, or Software != Money.

    A too often ignored, third option, is that "There should be money in software."

    I've been around IT for a looong time, and it's been only recently that there's been a complete crowding out of the middle ground.

    I think the big corporations - ones like IBM, Oracle and SAP started it. Even through the personal computer revolution, they kept pushing high priced enterprise solutions that were, as we all know, products that any of us could create.

    Eventually, it came down to the point that 'we' did. GNU, Linux, Apache, etc.

    And it eventually came down to one extreme versus the other.

    Some very good products with relatively modest goals got squeezed right out of the picture.

    A good example is Delphi. This arose from Turbo Pascal which was very popular amongst computer enthusiasts, even though it cost around $40-$50 (about the same as a game).

    But when the holy war came, it was not on any side.

    It was demonstrably better than VB, and leagues beyond anything the open source community had to offer - well, at least until the Free Pascal related Lazarus project was created. And even that tends to lag behind, despite some intriguing platform options.

    So, it appears at first they thought that they needed to be an enterprise product - and that failed for a lack of soulless corporate sales weasels.

    Then they decided to court the open source community with a stripped version called Kylix. But they found out rather quickly that this community didn't like stripped down anythings - and, in any case, wouldn't pay much, if anything for anything.

    Now finally, it's been bought up by Embarcadero but has gone back to the enterprise style pricing (which probably means you can get it for nothing if you buy their database tools)

    I really long for time when we could buy good tools for a reasonable price, Buying or using Turbo Pascal was never a career threatening proposition, but it's really the sort of middle road that's no longer available.

    So, with all that said, I do think this SCOTUS decision, while going to far for some, and not far enough for others, is a good step in the right direction of common sense. As I understand it, they said that just because it's on a computer does not mean it's novel.

  18. REDSKINS JERSEYS FOR SALE -- CHEAP!!! on Washington Redskins Stripped of Trademarks · · Score: 3, Funny

    Get 'em while they're hot. Official (looking) Redskin Jerseys.

    We will also make complete Redskins uniforms for you little league team.

    Call Q.T. Industries - Beijing.

  19. Re:Junk on America 'Has Become a War Zone' · · Score: 0

    It doesn't matter. A key point that seems to be missed here is that this county got an MRAP for $5,000. If they only ever use it to stand behind during stand offs it will have been worth the money.

  20. Re:Turing Test Failed on Turing Test Passed · · Score: 1

    I wrote a better Eliza clone back in the early '80's.

    Me:

    My dog has fleas.

    Eugene Goostman:

    No, we don't have a dog at home.

    Me (circa 1982):

    My dog has fleas.

    SAI (stupid artificial intelligence):

    Oh? Tell me more about your dog....

    Busted in one. Who the hell were these judges?

  21. Re: UPS had no knowledge on UPS Denies Helping the NSA 'Interdict' Packages · · Score: 1

    Isn't UPS pretty much made up entirely of mailroom dudes?

  22. Re:Framing the issue on Future of Cars: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Or Electric? · · Score: 1

    Hydrogen tanks are real. Actually,every single piece of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are here. The Honda FCX clarity has been on roads for years and demo vehicles from many manufacturers are taking tours across Europe. Toyota's test vehicles even worked during the polar vortex influenced cold snap this last winter.

    You're right about electricity though. It's very versatile. In fact, some day I hope to use it to generate hydrogen that I will use in my vehicle so I don't have to haul around 1,000lbs (the difference in weight between a Tesla Model S and a Honda FCX Clarity) worth of batteries.

  23. Re:hydrogen has been done. on Future of Cars: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Or Electric? · · Score: 1

    Given that most of the people aboard the Hindenburg survived the disaster, perhaps it's not all that effective.

  24. Re:hydrogen has been done. on Future of Cars: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Or Electric? · · Score: 1

    And proved that they could create, contain, and transport hydrogen over long distances - in the 1930s.

  25. Re:hydrogen is just a way of storing electricity on Future of Cars: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Or Electric? · · Score: 1

    Yes, they have. Toyota has fired bullets at their fuel tank. They bounced off, just causing nicks. It took an armor piercing round to penetrate it. Then all that happened was that the hydrogen leaked out.