Wow, that would be a whole new world for advertisers!
Talk about targeting based on keywords (keyconcepts?), so every time a 12-70yo male user is connected, they're saturated with product ads by whatever company bought the thought-concept BOOBIES...your targeted ads could be more revealing than ever before!
It (sic) August, McAfee released its report on the Top 10 Most Dangerous Celebrities online in which Cameron Diaz took the top spot.
Yeah, keep us posted on those dangerous celebs, McAfee. Not only are they diluting the value of your entertainment dollar, they're also after your lolcat collection! The problem's so monumental, we can't even take the time to proofread our blurbs!
There's your metric on whether this article should be taken seriously or not,/. .
If I form a publishing company in order to print a newsletter that I will distribute in my neighborhood, I must allow anyone who wants me to print their own communication - no matter what I think of it - to tell me how I should use the pages of my publication?
Sorry, your analogy just doesn't hold together. If you are publishing something, you are acting more like a website, not an ISP, in that you are creating content intended to share with others.
The ISP's are more akin to the post office in your scenario. Should the local post office be able to decide where and to whom you can deliver your publication, even when you've paid the same postage as everyone else?
And if it's only a local publication, then should the city decide for you which sidewalks you are allowed to walk on in order to deliver your content to your consumers?
(Unfortunately, the post office analogy kinda bites net neutrality concepts in the bum too, since providers of content can pay extra to have speedier service to their target audience. Although that process could be likened to simply paying the ISP for bigger pipes/faster connection, since there's currently no way that I'm aware of that you can pay the post office to slow down someone else's mail delivery...)
If we on Slashdot start calling cookies "malware" then it's no different than when ordinary computer users don't know the difference between a virus and a trojan.
Ordinary cookies don't actively fight removal by the user, and once they're gone, they're gone.
Ordinary (non-malware) applications don't actively fight removal by the user, and once they're gone, they're gone (okay, other than some leftover user/config data sometimes, but the program itself is gone and no longer does what it was designed to do).
The 'Evercookie', on the other hand, behaves exactly like malware in that it actively resists being deleted by the user, even to the point of rebuilding itself after deliberate removal attempts, and all for the benefit of a third party.
You have a good point, in that the expected positive outcomes and the expected negative outcomes have to be weighed in order to implement any decision. This is standard logic, which most people (if not all) are familiar with applying on a daily basis.
If I am buying a car, I must consider how much I expect to save in transit costs and carpools (positives) vs the expected operating and maintenance costs (negatives). There are also a host of other, less quantifiable decision factors (convenience, appearance, environmental impact, etc.) that will ultimately affect the final decision, based on the subjective values I place on each. However, buying a car only affects me and my family. If I goof up, and discover that the car I bought has a much higher maintenance cost than anticipated, or manufacturer's defects that I didn't discover through my research, the result will (usually) only be negative for me and mine.
For pretty much any geo-engineering project, the consequences of any "oops, didn't think of that!" errors affect the entire planet, and they have a greater tendency to be irreversible.
I'm not saying that this particular solution is a good idea. It may turn out that all geo-engineering solutions are, on the balance, bad ideas. But I dislike this defeatist "better not meddle" attitude. Either: (1) the balance of evidence says that solution X is a bad idea, in which case we shouldn't do it; or (2) the balance of evidence says that solution X is a good idea, in which case we should do it; or (3) we have no data one way or the other, in which case we may as well just flip a coin.
The balance of positive evidence for any project with such far-reaching consequences simply has to be near perfect, that's all.
It's not enough that the anticipated results be 'more good than bad'. Negative effects and their probable outcomes must be accredited more weight in the decision process than the positives, because that one anticipated negative, along with the inevitable unanticipated negatives, will affect everyone on the planet, and could easily leave us worse off than we were before. I'd rather be a pessimist designing solutions to help people adapt their local environment to 'global warming' than an optimist who just discovered that people and society suffer even more from an unanticipated, world-wide ice age than they would have if we'd left things alone...
The problem is that people don't acknowledge that "doing nothing" is inherently a decision.... "Since the evidence isn't persuasive, I say we do nothing for now, but if someone can mount enough evidence of X being a good idea, then I will support it".
True...but the more far-reaching the consequences of the action, the greater is the burden of proof required to responsibly implement it, or overcome that 'do nothing' decision. The evidence for doing something that will affect the entire planet had better be 1) objective, 2) observable, 3) verifiable, and 4) absolutely, completely, without-a-doubt 'persuasive'
they made "practically no allowance for engineering difficulties," and that these problems would have to be solved before any satellite like it could be deployed.
Yes, those pesky 'engineering difficulties' are always holding back the great thinkers of the day...'oh, wait, you actually want to build that space elevator thingie? Well, find me a material that's about 10 times stronger than carbon nanotubes, at least half the weight, impervious to all weather, impact damage and other wear and tear, and economic enough to produce the 36,000 km needed, then we'll talk!'
Engineers. Such buzzkills, the lot of them.
Seriously, though, just because we can imagine it, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen, at least not in our lifetimes. Science and engineering are moving forward at an incredible clip, but some things will be 'just out of reach' for quite a while yet.
That being said...the potential for using this solar sail as propulsion for extra-orbital vehicles is definitely much more feasible. Now that is exciting news!
The bakery in your local grocery store wafts the smell of fresh bread for a reason and the sugary cereals sitting on the lower shelves are decorated brightly so the little ones can pick them out more easily. Even at the less devious end of the scale, like a farmer's market, you still need to be advertised to to know the product exists, right?
Fair enough, passive advertising is, to some degree, necessary, and possibly even desirable (I can't even believe I'm saying that...)
OTOH, my local baker doesn't jump out at me as I walk by, waving a Mario-shaped carrot cake in my face, all thanks to their inference of what I would be most likely to buy based on the T-Shirt I was wearing each day for the last week when I walked past their storefront, my gender, apparent age bracket, and what I glanced at in their display window...all automatically compiled from their handy spy cams...
...and my local pharmacist doesn't tap me on the shoulder and try to tell me all about the new line of vibrating condoms they got in last week, because he noticed I was browsing through the Victoria's Secret collection when he was following me around last month...
...and my grocery store doesn't have people hired to block the aisle I want to go down until they can show me whatever crap it is they have on sale, ask me 15 questions about my experience with them so far, and try to muscle me over to the appropriate aisle anyways if I say 'no thanks'...
As far as I'm concerned, any advertising that tries to shape itself to me by spying on me and trying to predict my behaviour is unethical, and intensely creepy. If I am interested in certain things, I will seek them out, I don't want them seeking me out!
...and it's nearly impossible to care about anything else, including food.
I didn't have insomnia, but I did enter one of those 'Hands On' contests, you know, where the last person to take their hand off the items wins it? Along about the second full day into the contest, my appetite was just gone, completely. Absolutely nothing looked or smelled appealing, and it was a struggle to choke down half a milkshake (usual favourite) or something equivalent in a day. Many people don't realize it, but sleep is so necessary to our health that extended deprivation will actually cause the body to ignore other critical survival needs, until it gets the needed rest. It was a real eye-opener for me, I tell you. (er, no pun intended...sorry)
The contest was for a stipulated maximum of four days (96 hours), and ended about halfway through the fourth (86 hours). I was wrecked, but at least I did it to myself (being younger and much more foolish way back when).
You have my very deepest sympathies for having to endure that torment for six months, involuntarily. I can't even begin to imagine how you pulled through. Good on you!
(Note; while "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" was written by the Arrogant Worms, Captain Tractor does a better version of it IMHO. The difference between the recordings are often misattributed as well)
Yes, Captain Tractor is often erroneously acclaimed as creating this iconic song (iconic for people in Western Canada, at least), however I much prefer the Arrogant Worms version, either the studio or the live versions. Just more appealing and lively than Captain Tractors', in my opinion.
By the way, great list of additional Canadian talent! All well worthy of a listen, and to whose ranks I must add Hawksley Workman. Perhaps one of the best live performers I have ever had the privilege to see, and a genuinely talented artist in his own right. If you ever have a chance, don't miss out, his voice is simply amazing IRL (even better than on disc, seriously!)
Moxy Fruvous is also a treat to see live if you have the chance (I wasn't actually much of a Fruvous fan until I saw them live, but they really bring their music to life in front of an audience!)
Canadian content is alive and well, we just have to be able to tune out some of the racket south of the border on occasion...;o)
No, I'm not insulting you. Arrogant Worms is a fantastic and *mostly* under-appreciated Canadian band specializing in comedy, with several songs paying direct tribute to their country of origin (even if tongue-in-cheek sometimes).
Check out "We are the Beaver", "Canada is Really Big", "Proud to be Canadian", "The Canada Song", "The Mountie Song, "Rocks and Trees" and, of course, "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" to really get your canuck on. While you're at it, check out some of their other non-Canada-centric hits, such as "Carrot Juice is Murder", "Jesus' Brother Bob" and "Car Full of Pain".
Guaranteed to make you groan with the puns, at the very least...;)
Unfortunately, the vast majority of web users don't give a rat's arse if half a dozen leech scripts are hooking into their site, as long as it loads 'fast' and looks 'cool'.
I am a strict NoScript user as well, and I tell you, it is always a struggle when friends (or even my tech-savvy spouse!) want to use one of my machines to check something out. It seems like *every* time I have to show them how to allow (temporary) access to the leech scripts, and help them identify which ones probably aren't needed to load that flash vid of the cute kitties they want to watch...
I did have one ray of sunshine last week, however, when one person using my computer and picking off the scripts with me said "jeez, I didn't realize how much crap is on that site. Maybe I should install this NoScript too?"
Have punitive damages go into an account that is used to fund Public Defenders, or something similar.
Hear hear.
As long as the **AA(sshats) are making bundles of money off of nuisance litigation, rather than, y'know, actually contributing to society in any meaningful way, they will continue with this warped 'business plan' as long and as hard as they can, even if defendants start getting uppity (or even, pray, 'vexatious').
Set up a fund to provide grants to emerging artists, and ALL punitive damages go into that fund. If the RIAA only receives actual damages for each instance (i.e., $0.99 per infringement, or even $0.99 times u/l ratio), how long do you think they'll keep those lawyers on retainer?
At least that way the 66-year-old grandmothers of the world will be safe (well, safer) to own a computer without having black hats come a-knocking, and any truly, large-scale commercially infringing parties will be indirectly supporting new creative works through punitive fines.
{dusts off hands} OK, that problem solved. Next question?;p
My imagination machine must be broken today, but I'm having a hard time seeing what this would be good for? Is it more useful to have the battery spread all over the place than it is to have it nicely tucked away in a protected compartment, easy to access, detach and replace (unless you're an iPiddle user)?
The only thing I could really see this being useful for is in cases where concentrated battery weight throws off balance or maneuverability for moving equipment, like electric cars or bicycles, and even then, this isn't saying you'd need less weight in batteries, you could just distribute the battery weight load more evenly.
Orr...actual digital 'paper', that records pen (stylus) strokes on a piezoelectric surface to an embedded memory card for later uploading. This could be made to look much more like a standard piece of paper than today's attempts, just a bit thicker, like writing on parchment or leather. Of course, you'd have to depend on additional advances in display thinning technology for user feedback. And there would still be an unbalanced weight load on the device due to the memory storage requirement. And it's not like you can fold it in half and stick it in your pocket (bendable, not necessarily foldable).
Any other actual usage ideas where this would provide a practical advantage over current technology?
QOTD - is there such a thing as a narcissist with low self-esteem?
That should be the target audience for FB ads!
"Do you see yourself as worthless? Do you want to share that with ALL your friends, as well as random strangers and potential stalkers? Well, do we have the place for you!"
AT&T calls it paid prioritization. You call it quality of service fee (possibly tongue in cheek). I call it double dipping.
And I'd call it an old fashioned extortion racket.
"So hey, y'know, accidents happen, especially what with all them vulnerable li'l packets just runnin' around all over the place. But you make it worth Big AT&T's while, and he'll be sure nothing unfortunate happens, y'know?"
This whiffs strongly of someone who's scrambling to find something before the submission date, so grabs the first crackpot study she finds, throws in some butt-tightening exercises (do this or you'll DIE) and throws it at the editor...
Seriously, the numbers are all statistical, but with no context, they are (as some of you have pointed out) completely useless. 37% more likely to die than what? an 80 year old grandmother? Does sitting shorten the average lifespan by 37%? get serious.
To be fair, the fault may lie in the write-up rather than the actual study, but since she doesn't link to anything to back up her scribbles, one would have to be interested enough to dig through the ACS studies to find the original (if it's even public). Sorry, I am not that interested.
... you won't get as much exposure as the mass of idiots repeating the falsehood because they heard it somewhere, and even to a lot of those who hear you debunking it, you'll just sound like some conspiracy-theorist for attacking what they know for a fact.
"A lie can run around the world before the truth has got it's boots on."
Slashdot Mirror
Wow, that would be a whole new world for advertisers!
Talk about targeting based on keywords (keyconcepts?), so every time a 12-70yo male user is connected, they're saturated with product ads by whatever company bought the thought-concept BOOBIES...your targeted ads could be more revealing than ever before!
However, my girlfriend hand...
So...which one is your 'girlfriend' hand, the right or the left?
</tasteless>
FTFA:
It (sic) August, McAfee released its report on the Top 10 Most Dangerous Celebrities online in which Cameron Diaz took the top spot.
Yeah, keep us posted on those dangerous celebs, McAfee. Not only are they diluting the value of your entertainment dollar, they're also after your lolcat collection! The problem's so monumental, we can't even take the time to proofread our blurbs!
There's your metric on whether this article should be taken seriously or not, /. .
... and we got all four seasons* to test your technologies too!
Yep. All four of 'em.
1. Almost Winter
2. Winter
3. Still Winter
4. Construction
(how's your Almost Winter goin', eh?)
If I form a publishing company in order to print a newsletter that I will distribute in my neighborhood, I must allow anyone who wants me to print their own communication - no matter what I think of it - to tell me how I should use the pages of my publication?
Sorry, your analogy just doesn't hold together. If you are publishing something, you are acting more like a website, not an ISP, in that you are creating content intended to share with others.
The ISP's are more akin to the post office in your scenario. Should the local post office be able to decide where and to whom you can deliver your publication, even when you've paid the same postage as everyone else?
And if it's only a local publication, then should the city decide for you which sidewalks you are allowed to walk on in order to deliver your content to your consumers?
(Unfortunately, the post office analogy kinda bites net neutrality concepts in the bum too, since providers of content can pay extra to have speedier service to their target audience. Although that process could be likened to simply paying the ISP for bigger pipes/faster connection, since there's currently no way that I'm aware of that you can pay the post office to slow down someone else's mail delivery...)
If we on Slashdot start calling cookies "malware" then it's no different than when ordinary computer users don't know the difference between a virus and a trojan.
Ordinary cookies don't actively fight removal by the user, and once they're gone, they're gone.
Ordinary (non-malware) applications don't actively fight removal by the user, and once they're gone, they're gone (okay, other than some leftover user/config data sometimes, but the program itself is gone and no longer does what it was designed to do).
The 'Evercookie', on the other hand, behaves exactly like malware in that it actively resists being deleted by the user, even to the point of rebuilding itself after deliberate removal attempts, and all for the benefit of a third party.
You have a good point, in that the expected positive outcomes and the expected negative outcomes have to be weighed in order to implement any decision. This is standard logic, which most people (if not all) are familiar with applying on a daily basis.
If I am buying a car, I must consider how much I expect to save in transit costs and carpools (positives) vs the expected operating and maintenance costs (negatives). There are also a host of other, less quantifiable decision factors (convenience, appearance, environmental impact, etc.) that will ultimately affect the final decision, based on the subjective values I place on each. However, buying a car only affects me and my family. If I goof up, and discover that the car I bought has a much higher maintenance cost than anticipated, or manufacturer's defects that I didn't discover through my research, the result will (usually) only be negative for me and mine.
For pretty much any geo-engineering project, the consequences of any "oops, didn't think of that!" errors affect the entire planet, and they have a greater tendency to be irreversible.
I'm not saying that this particular solution is a good idea. It may turn out that all geo-engineering solutions are, on the balance, bad ideas. But I dislike this defeatist "better not meddle" attitude. Either: (1) the balance of evidence says that solution X is a bad idea, in which case we shouldn't do it; or (2) the balance of evidence says that solution X is a good idea, in which case we should do it; or (3) we have no data one way or the other, in which case we may as well just flip a coin.
The balance of positive evidence for any project with such far-reaching consequences simply has to be near perfect, that's all.
It's not enough that the anticipated results be 'more good than bad'. Negative effects and their probable outcomes must be accredited more weight in the decision process than the positives, because that one anticipated negative, along with the inevitable unanticipated negatives, will affect everyone on the planet, and could easily leave us worse off than we were before. I'd rather be a pessimist designing solutions to help people adapt their local environment to 'global warming' than an optimist who just discovered that people and society suffer even more from an unanticipated, world-wide ice age than they would have if we'd left things alone...
The problem is that people don't acknowledge that "doing nothing" is inherently a decision. ... "Since the evidence isn't persuasive, I say we do nothing for now, but if someone can mount enough evidence of X being a good idea, then I will support it".
True...but the more far-reaching the consequences of the action, the greater is the burden of proof required to responsibly implement it, or overcome that 'do nothing' decision. The evidence for doing something that will affect the entire planet had better be 1) objective, 2) observable, 3) verifiable, and 4) absolutely, completely, without-a-doubt 'persuasive'
from TFA
they made "practically no allowance for engineering difficulties," and that these problems would have to be solved before any satellite like it could be deployed.
Yes, those pesky 'engineering difficulties' are always holding back the great thinkers of the day...'oh, wait, you actually want to build that space elevator thingie? Well, find me a material that's about 10 times stronger than carbon nanotubes, at least half the weight, impervious to all weather, impact damage and other wear and tear, and economic enough to produce the 36,000 km needed, then we'll talk!'
Engineers. Such buzzkills, the lot of them.
Seriously, though, just because we can imagine it, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen, at least not in our lifetimes. Science and engineering are moving forward at an incredible clip, but some things will be 'just out of reach' for quite a while yet.
That being said...the potential for using this solar sail as propulsion for extra-orbital vehicles is definitely much more feasible. Now that is exciting news!
How do you buy food?
The bakery in your local grocery store wafts the smell of fresh bread for a reason and the sugary cereals sitting on the lower shelves are decorated brightly so the little ones can pick them out more easily. Even at the less devious end of the scale, like a farmer's market, you still need to be advertised to to know the product exists, right?
Fair enough, passive advertising is, to some degree, necessary, and possibly even desirable (I can't even believe I'm saying that...)
OTOH, my local baker doesn't jump out at me as I walk by, waving a Mario-shaped carrot cake in my face, all thanks to their inference of what I would be most likely to buy based on the T-Shirt I was wearing each day for the last week when I walked past their storefront, my gender, apparent age bracket, and what I glanced at in their display window...all automatically compiled from their handy spy cams...
As far as I'm concerned, any advertising that tries to shape itself to me by spying on me and trying to predict my behaviour is unethical, and intensely creepy. If I am interested in certain things, I will seek them out, I don't want them seeking me out!
I suppose it does help cover a business' rear a bit in the legal department.
Yes, I always hate it when my legal department is showing. ;)
...and it's nearly impossible to care about anything else, including food.
I didn't have insomnia, but I did enter one of those 'Hands On' contests, you know, where the last person to take their hand off the items wins it? Along about the second full day into the contest, my appetite was just gone, completely. Absolutely nothing looked or smelled appealing, and it was a struggle to choke down half a milkshake (usual favourite) or something equivalent in a day. Many people don't realize it, but sleep is so necessary to our health that extended deprivation will actually cause the body to ignore other critical survival needs, until it gets the needed rest. It was a real eye-opener for me, I tell you. (er, no pun intended...sorry)
The contest was for a stipulated maximum of four days (96 hours), and ended about halfway through the fourth (86 hours). I was wrecked, but at least I did it to myself (being younger and much more foolish way back when).
You have my very deepest sympathies for having to endure that torment for six months, involuntarily. I can't even begin to imagine how you pulled through. Good on you!
(Note; while "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" was written by the Arrogant Worms, Captain Tractor does a better version of it IMHO. The difference between the recordings are often misattributed as well)
Yes, Captain Tractor is often erroneously acclaimed as creating this iconic song (iconic for people in Western Canada, at least), however I much prefer the Arrogant Worms version, either the studio or the live versions. Just more appealing and lively than Captain Tractors', in my opinion.
By the way, great list of additional Canadian talent! All well worthy of a listen, and to whose ranks I must add Hawksley Workman. Perhaps one of the best live performers I have ever had the privilege to see, and a genuinely talented artist in his own right. If you ever have a chance, don't miss out, his voice is simply amazing IRL (even better than on disc, seriously!)
Moxy Fruvous is also a treat to see live if you have the chance (I wasn't actually much of a Fruvous fan until I saw them live, but they really bring their music to life in front of an audience!)
Canadian content is alive and well, we just have to be able to tune out some of the racket south of the border on occasion... ;o)
Kudos, good sir. You made me snort Coke out my nose.
(better than milk, I guess...)
Arrogant Worms.
No, I'm not insulting you. Arrogant Worms is a fantastic and *mostly* under-appreciated Canadian band specializing in comedy, with several songs paying direct tribute to their country of origin (even if tongue-in-cheek sometimes).
Check out "We are the Beaver", "Canada is Really Big", "Proud to be Canadian", "The Canada Song", "The Mountie Song, "Rocks and Trees" and, of course, "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" to really get your canuck on. While you're at it, check out some of their other non-Canada-centric hits, such as "Carrot Juice is Murder", "Jesus' Brother Bob" and "Car Full of Pain".
Guaranteed to make you groan with the puns, at the very least...;)
Hear hear!
Unfortunately, the vast majority of web users don't give a rat's arse if half a dozen leech scripts are hooking into their site, as long as it loads 'fast' and looks 'cool'.
I am a strict NoScript user as well, and I tell you, it is always a struggle when friends (or even my tech-savvy spouse!) want to use one of my machines to check something out. It seems like *every* time I have to show them how to allow (temporary) access to the leech scripts, and help them identify which ones probably aren't needed to load that flash vid of the cute kitties they want to watch...
I did have one ray of sunshine last week, however, when one person using my computer and picking off the scripts with me said "jeez, I didn't realize how much crap is on that site. Maybe I should install this NoScript too?"
Hallelujah!
...but did anyone else initially read the guy's name as 'McLuggage'?
If he had a warped sense of humour, wonder if he'd consider naming his kids Valise and Satchel? ;o)
True...but would that really be more efficient than using stacks of traditional batteries? The energy density is not greater, remember.
Perhaps one could 'wrap' the battery around the device, although I still fail to see how this could be a benefit...?
Have punitive damages go into an account that is used to fund Public Defenders, or something similar.
Hear hear.
As long as the **AA(sshats) are making bundles of money off of nuisance litigation, rather than, y'know, actually contributing to society in any meaningful way, they will continue with this warped 'business plan' as long and as hard as they can, even if defendants start getting uppity (or even, pray, 'vexatious').
Set up a fund to provide grants to emerging artists, and ALL punitive damages go into that fund. If the RIAA only receives actual damages for each instance (i.e., $0.99 per infringement, or even $0.99 times u/l ratio), how long do you think they'll keep those lawyers on retainer?
At least that way the 66-year-old grandmothers of the world will be safe (well, safer) to own a computer without having black hats come a-knocking, and any truly, large-scale commercially infringing parties will be indirectly supporting new creative works through punitive fines.
{dusts off hands} OK, that problem solved. Next question? ;p
My imagination machine must be broken today, but I'm having a hard time seeing what this would be good for? Is it more useful to have the battery spread all over the place than it is to have it nicely tucked away in a protected compartment, easy to access, detach and replace (unless you're an iPiddle user)?
The only thing I could really see this being useful for is in cases where concentrated battery weight throws off balance or maneuverability for moving equipment, like electric cars or bicycles, and even then, this isn't saying you'd need less weight in batteries, you could just distribute the battery weight load more evenly.
Orr...actual digital 'paper', that records pen (stylus) strokes on a piezoelectric surface to an embedded memory card for later uploading. This could be made to look much more like a standard piece of paper than today's attempts, just a bit thicker, like writing on parchment or leather. Of course, you'd have to depend on additional advances in display thinning technology for user feedback. And there would still be an unbalanced weight load on the device due to the memory storage requirement. And it's not like you can fold it in half and stick it in your pocket (bendable, not necessarily foldable).
Any other actual usage ideas where this would provide a practical advantage over current technology?
...flight connections are going to be even more of a hassle than they are now!
< /sarcasm>
QOTD - is there such a thing as a narcissist with low self-esteem?
That should be the target audience for FB ads!
"Do you see yourself as worthless? Do you want to share that with ALL your friends, as well as random strangers and potential stalkers? Well, do we have the place for you!"
{/sarcasm}
...and my tummy...but not my head.
AT&T calls it paid prioritization. You call it quality of service fee (possibly tongue in cheek). I call it double dipping.
And I'd call it an old fashioned extortion racket.
"So hey, y'know, accidents happen, especially what with all them vulnerable li'l packets just runnin' around all over the place. But you make it worth Big AT&T's while, and he'll be sure nothing unfortunate happens, y'know?"
This whiffs strongly of someone who's scrambling to find something before the submission date, so grabs the first crackpot study she finds, throws in some butt-tightening exercises (do this or you'll DIE) and throws it at the editor...
Seriously, the numbers are all statistical, but with no context, they are (as some of you have pointed out) completely useless. 37% more likely to die than what? an 80 year old grandmother? Does sitting shorten the average lifespan by 37%? get serious.
To be fair, the fault may lie in the write-up rather than the actual study, but since she doesn't link to anything to back up her scribbles, one would have to be interested enough to dig through the ACS studies to find the original (if it's even public). Sorry, I am not that interested.
Smacks of junk science to me...
... you won't get as much exposure as the mass of idiots repeating the falsehood because they heard it somewhere, and even to a lot of those who hear you debunking it, you'll just sound like some conspiracy-theorist for attacking what they know for a fact.
"A lie can run around the world before the truth has got it's boots on."
- Terry Pratchett / James Watt