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User: JCMay

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Comments · 669

  1. Re:It's about time on States Link Databases to Find Tax Cheats · · Score: 1
    No, the other poster was correct. Perhaps you mean the RESERVATION of powers, as stated in the Tenth Amendment:


    The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.


    The "Seperation of Powers" as the previous poster mentioned is normall called, in your eighth grade civics book, a "system of checks and balances."
  2. Re:please everybody on The Subtle Tyranny Of Spreadsheets · · Score: 1

    Yeah-- OpennOffice.org can do that.

  3. Evaporator? on Cheap Solar Cooling Solution? · · Score: 1

    How humid is your environment? If it's a relatively low-humidity environment, why not use an evoporative cooling system? Basically, blow air through a box into which you spray a fine mist of water. As the water evaporates, it absorbs energy from the air, cooling it.

    Your PV system then only has to run a fan.

  4. Re:Preach on, on Congress May Force Revealing of Car Computer Secrets · · Score: 1

    You mean a misaligned brake caliper? I'm not sure how that happen, much less trigger a fault code. Brake calipers (for disk brakes), are bolted to a mounting flange. There's no alignment needed or possible. There's basically two moving parts in a disk brake system- the rotor that spins with the wheel, and the plunger inside the caliper. The caliper presses the pads into the sides of the rotor, slowing it by friction.

    Perhaps you mean that the ABS system was faulty? The lock-up accelerometer may not have been working on that wheel, rendering the ABS system inoperative. Either that, or perhaps the fluid level sensor was bad.

  5. Re:Build your own on Flat Panel Antenna for C-band TVRO? · · Score: 2, Informative

    I saw something similar to this a few weeks ago at an Engineers' Week presentation. One company was showing their planar "parabolic" reflectors. It was basically a fixed-beam rectangular reflectarray that duplicated the funcionality of a parabolic dish. It would still need a feed at the focus of the reflectarray.

  6. Re:Huge? on Flat Panel Antenna for C-band TVRO? · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yep. It'd be in the realm of the same size of a C-band dish, about ten feet across. I've seen Ku-band fixed beam arrays like the one mentioned, but I've not seen a C-band array like that.

  7. Re:Don't you mean... on Linux the Tortoise to Microsoft's Hare? · · Score: 1

    ValuJet's Critter logo was cartoonish. Critter (the bug-eyed little airplane character on the sides of its jets) was cool and fun, which was just what the upstart airline wanted to portray itself as.

  8. Re:bios on A Motherboard That Doesn't Require An OS · · Score: 2, Informative

    Every board has a CPU (Actually, every chip is some kind of CPU), even if it is a dedicated CPU


    Every chip is a "CPU?" Okay...



    From Dictionary.com: central processing unit (n. Abbr. CPU ) The part of a computer that interprets and executes instructions. None of the chips I've mentioned interpret or execute instructions.

    I think what most people around here want is something akin to the old Amiga Autoconfig system, plus a way to automate driver updates, and the whole shebang be platform independent.
  9. Re:purely anecdotally on The Command Line - Best Newbie Interface? · · Score: 2, Funny

    If that's all you want to do, would you not be better served by a correcting typewriter? There's less to figure out, fewer boxes to clutter your desk, and "ink refills" aren't $50 a pop!

  10. Re:Who actually pays? on Is Windows Worth $45? · · Score: 3, Informative

    You're thinking of ASCAP and BMI.

  11. Re:OT: .sig on 'They Can Sue, But They Can't Hide' · · Score: 1

    Ah, but the Constitution was designed to maximize the People's (and States, for that matter) liberty by strictly and severly limiting what the Federal Government would be allowed to do.

    The Federal government was not designed with "efficiency," whatever that means, in mind. The Federal government exists only to protect the States from invasion, coin money, make treaties with foriegn countries, and a very small list of other activities. It was only the bare minimum the Framers thought necessary to preserve the States and their Union. By giving it as little power as possible, they sought to ensure the liberty of the States and the People.

    There's nothing in the Constitution that would prohibit the States from providing Medi-(care|caid) or Social Security programs; it's just not constitutional for the Federal Government to do so. (Did it stop them? No. We have proven ourselves time and again more than willing to elect leaders in Congress that have absolutely no respect for the Constitution of the United States.)

    Furthermore, Williams' argument had nothing to do with "efficiency," but with fundamental fairness and justice. It's only right that the paying peole have more say in what goes on than those that aren't paying.

  12. Re:OT: .sig on 'They Can Sue, But They Can't Hide' · · Score: 1
    I'd like to respond to both you, Morosoph, and the other guy (gaijin99) that replied concerning my sig:

    As I expected, you both were quick to disagree with Williams' analysis while completely missing his punchline:


    My entire discussion and concerns would be irrelevant were Congress to heed its constitutional authority - the authority enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.


    The real premise of Williams' essay is that the Federal Government must be made to operate within its Constitutionally-proscribed limits.

    Both of you mention programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Neither of these programs are constitutionally allowed; they're illegal. There's nowhere in the Constitution that gives the Federal Government the authority to take my money at the point of a gun and make me save it for future medical expenses or as a retirement savings. There's nowhere in the Constitution that allows the Federal Government to take money from me and give it to somebody else as charity (can you say "Farm Bill?"). There's not even Constitutional authority for a national park service. None for Education.

    Yes, right there in Article I, Section 8 there are the words "general welfare." But welfare of whom? General welfare of the United States! The Federal Government is to protect the welfare of the States, not the People. Protection of the People is a power reserved to the States and themselves (Amendment 10).
  13. Re:Coffee is also a great way to lose weight on Coffee is a "Health Drink" · · Score: 1
    Actually, lack of sleep will make weight loss more difficult! From that article:

    Dr. Jana Klauer is an expert on obesity, and she says new studies show a link between sleep and weight loss. Sleep deprivation causes a rise in the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn raises insulin levels, preventing fat burn.

  14. Re:Then don't file frivolous malpractice lawsuits. on 'They Can Sue, But They Can't Hide' · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The Doctors records of misconduct and related board actions are private. Doctors want this info on others, but they do not want others to have the same level of detail on them.


    No, the previous post said that lawsuits are matters of public record. If a doctor is sued, no matter what the outcome, anyone can go down to the courthouse and view the transcript.

    Now, if you're saying that it's not fair that there's no web-searchable list of doctors that have had malpractise suits brought against them, why don't you start one?
  15. Re:cost on Roomba + Tablet PC = ? · · Score: 2, Informative
    As a happy Roomba owner (had mine over a year now), I will rebut.

    • No, the Roomba doesn't have a loud buzzer to warn people of its presence. Why? It's freakin' LOUD! If you don't here the Roomba running, you wouldn't hear the buzzer!
    • Does the "real" Roomba(TM) carefully trace around furniture legs.(sic) Sure it does, provided they're large enough. I've got a four footed pedistal table in the dining room. It goes under there and around its feet just fine.
    • Does it "remember" to go around the couch. NO, it just bounces around, util it is about outta juice, and then homes in on the power. No, that's not right, either. While it doesn't have an internal map of its environs, it's only $200. Yes, its motions look random, but it really has at least three different patterns: spiral, edge following, straight line until an obstacle is met. It has three different room size settings, which really just adjust a timer. Larger rooms get more time on the clock. Yes, it can run out of power, but no, it won't look for the charger. It just blinks a red LED and chimes a four-note tune that my wife and I have taken to mean, "I'm so tired!"
    • It doesn't suck well with its tiny little impeller, but it has something a dustbuster doens't: sweeping roller brooms. The Roomba uses suction to pick up dander and dust, but larger items like coins, sand, furballs, etc., get picked up with the rubber flapper/brush roller combination. Quite effective on our wood floors.


    • By the way, what kind of behaviors do you want? Its brain is a Microchip PIC microcontroller with something like 256 bytes of memory. Whoopee!
  16. Re:All Your Rights Are Belong To Ashcroft on Too slow! FBI Shuts Down Hosting Service · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I voted in the last election, and I live in Brevard County, Florida. I voted for Howard Phillips, the candidate that best matches my values.

    As years go by I become increasingly disappointed with the lack of non-rehtorical difference between the Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans talk a good game, but their implemented policies show their true colors: they're not for limited government any more than the Democrats. They'll drive over the cliff at a safe 55 miles per hour instead of the Dem's 100, but they're going over the cliff just as sure.

    Some of my letters to Federal officials were obviously NOT congruent with the Republican platform.

  17. Re:new name on Imminent Mandrake Name Change? · · Score: 1

    I thought a "drake" was a male duck?

  18. Re:Who to believe? on Scientists Challenge U.S. on Scientific Distortions · · Score: 1

    Okay, "somebody took some core samples and here's what they found." Although there appears to be a temporal relationship to ice-trapped CO2 levels and a change in human history, there's not enough data in evidence to prove a causal relationship between them. That's the whole point of my first post- there are too many confounding influences and insufficient data to draw real conclusions.

    Krakatoa happened in that time period. Other volcanoes were also active.

    There are also other sources of CO2 as well.

  19. Re:Who to believe? on Scientists Challenge U.S. on Scientific Distortions · · Score: 1

    Human carbon dioxide emissions raise the overall temperature. It's proven, and it doesn't need more study. If you disagree, you are wrong, just as wrong as you are if you disagree with the fact of evolution (as opposed to the *theory* of how it happened.) There is no middle ground here, there is science, and there is expensive wishful thinking in the form of industry/government supported pseudo-science.


    As an engineer and veteran science fair judge, I disagree with your conclusions with regard to "proven." There has been no experiments done that do not have serious design flaws or uncontrolled confounding factors to obscure the results. How do human CO2 emissions compare with natural CO2 emissions from both geologic and organic sources? How does one go about measuring the output of these three sources? What about extraterrestrial sources (comets, meteors, etc)?

    Also, I don't see how anyone could say "the fact of evolution" with a straight face. Facts are demonstrable; what most people consider evolution, the change of one species into another over time, has never been demonstrated. There is a theory that some scientists have used to explain the wide variety of speieces evident in the world, but it's not a fact.
  20. Re:Ugly is what ugly does on Malicious E-Cards - An Analysis of Spam · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What's sad is that Mozilla Firebird^H^H^H^Hfox now automatically launches certain files, just like IE. Clicking on a .doc, .xls, or .ppt file will automatically open an MS Office application. With all the problems with VB viruses it's unfortunate that Firefox makes this the default.


    There's a fundamental difference between starting an external viewer to view a downloaded file, and just executing the downloaded file. It's not the browser's fault that the external viewers have scripting languages that cause security issues, is it?

    There's nothing wrong with viewing something in Acrobat Reader. I appreciate that when I see articles in Word format that Firefox opens OpenOffice.org's swriter for me.

  21. Re:Your sig on Intel Devises Chip Speed Breakthrough · · Score: 1

    He's drinking tequila for breakfast-- what do you think? :)

  22. Re:Vonnegut ! on Harlan Ellison Can Sue AOL Under DMCA · · Score: 3, Informative

    Are you sure about that?

  23. Re:Loss of service on Cable Modem Hackers Release Improved Firmware · · Score: 0, Troll

    You posted a link that points at 192.168.100.1? Are you trolling, or just inept?

  24. Re:That's dedication... :( on Armoring Spam Against Anti-Spam Filters · · Score: 1

    Those pills turn you into Fred Schneider!? Egads!

  25. Re:They talk about concerns on Intel Shifting 64-bit Plans · · Score: 1

    No, they'd heavily go after Conneticut