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  1. Re:Taxes are never theft in a democracy on Nonpartisan Tax Report Removed After Republican Protest · · Score: 1

    I can't believe this was modded down as a troll. This is one of the clearest explanations of why taxes must exist I've seen posted here.

  2. Re:1984 - since 1950's ! on Complex Systems Theorists Predict We're About One Year From Global Food Riots · · Score: 1

    In what way is rapeseed "one of nature's most toxic oils?" Are you referring to varieties of rapeseed that are not bred to have low levels or erucic acid and glucosinolates?

  3. Re:I have HBO... on Who's Pirating Game of Thrones, and Why? · · Score: 0

    Have you heard of DVRs? How about HBO Go? There are legal ways to do what you need to do here.

    Now, if only you could get HBO without having to pay for a full cable subscription...

  4. Re:many engineers are religious on Analytic Thinking Can Decrease Religious Belief · · Score: 1

    Please don't misrepresent liberal ideals as "anything goes." That's a distortion that only serves to demonize people who want to improve the world by changing things vs. preserve the status quo by conserving it. I don't think there is strong evidence to support your assertion that there is more evil these days than at some time in the past. Of course, we'd need to agree on a definition of "evil" first, which would take a while.

  5. Re:Surely just any thinking at all would do it on Analytic Thinking Can Decrease Religious Belief · · Score: 1

    I'd be curious as to whether they asked any question to gauge the respondents' knowledge of what is in the bible. They may respond differently if they'd actually read it.

  6. Re:You might as well say... on Analytic Thinking Can Decrease Religious Belief · · Score: 1

    I am glad to see someone making this distinction somewhat more clear. To add to that, I'd like to point out that what follows from this is that not all Truths are based in Fact. In other words, what one believes as True may in fact not be a Fact. Where this grates against most analytical thinkers is the underlying desire for consistency between Truth and Fact. This is a value shared among fans of Science and Rationality, and individuals who hold this value experience cognitive dissonance when faced with a Truth that is based in Fiction. Personally I strive to align my beliefs to factual Truths. I acknowledge that my senses and intellectual capacity are limited by the Fact of my humanity, and limit my conclusions accordingly.

  7. Re:Yeah...but on How the US Lost Out On iPhone Work · · Score: 1

    Many people with jobs do not have health insurance, even if their employer offers it. Reasons for this include the proportionately high cost of the employee contribution (it's the same regardless of your hourly rate) and the fact that many minimum-wage jobs only offer benefits for employees who work more than 30 or 35 hours a week, but don't offer that many hours per worker.

  8. Re:I dont use... on What Free Antivirus Do You Install On Windows? · · Score: 1

    I can back this up -- I have been using Comodo for over a year after switching from AVG, and have had great success. I've switched my family over as well, and the virus complaints have gone way down. On top of that, I've started recommending Comodo for clients of mine, and they have been thrilled with the result. The smaller memory footprint alone makes it an easy sell over AVG. Aside from one nasty upgrade bug last October, it's been a huge improvement. Let me put it this way -- it made me stop thinking about anti-virus software. Isn't that the whole point?

  9. Re:Combating Cyberfraud on Copyfraud Is Stealing the Public Domain · · Score: 1

    I accidentally clicked the anonymous coward link on that. I am actually serious about this idea, though.

  10. Re:It's not a populatiry contest on Torvalds Rejects One-Size-Fits-All Linux · · Score: 1

    Exactly. And the best part is, Linux doesn't _have_ to grow at all. 'Linux' is not a company, it doesn't have shareholders or investors -- it's just a tool, code written for a purpose. Economists (or at least market analysts and the business writers who need to fill pages every day) still have not figured out that their old models don't apply to FOSS products.

  11. Re:$30 mil? Seriously? on Canonical Close To $30M Critical Mass; Should Microsoft Worry? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And that's the problem -- people think a product or service has to make tons of $$ to be successful. Something like Ubuntu subverts our capitalist assumptions, because it actually gets cheaper the better it gets, and the more people who use it. Supply and demand work differently.

  12. Re:I Keep My Junk on What Should I Do With My Tech Junk? · · Score: 1

    You probably know this, but your boss is an asshole.

  13. Re:Burn Notice on MacGyver Film In the Works? · · Score: 1

    You know, I hadn't made the connection, but I definitely see the parallels. I'm a fan of both shows (grew up wanting to be MacGyver) and I was thrilled when I heard USA had ordered more episodes of Burn Notice. Let's hope the writers can keep it up.

  14. Re:RTFP! on Crime Reduction Linked To Lead-Free Gasoline · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That doesn't make abortion right
    Exactly, it's preventing a lifetime of neglect and misery that makes it right, along with the other benefits to society brought about by decreased population growth.
  15. Re:Well almost like wikipedia on Amazon Patents Including a String at End of a URL · · Score: 1

    I have a keyword shortcut in firefox set up so that I can type "w $whateverIwanttolookforonwikipedia" and it takes me right there. I'm suing those Amazonians!

  16. Re:Better term is drift... on Rate of Evolution Metrics Observed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Thank you -- I'd mod you insightful if I had points. My biggest pet peeve with the so-called debate around evolution is the notion that there is some sort of directionality to it. Popular media tends to reinforce this by using phrases like "more evolved."

  17. Re:Terror is winning on Justice Department's Bio-terror Mistake · · Score: 5, Informative

    Jose Padilla
    Yasser Esam Hamdi
    Kevin James

    Were born in the US, and are just a few of the US Citizens in Gitmo
    I'm not saying any of these men are innocent -- just that they deserve due process under the law like any other citizen, regardless their religion or hairstyle.

  18. Re:Gov't had something to do with it? on Alex the African Grey Parrot Dies · · Score: 1

    Pardon my ignorance, but would keeping the bird cold (not frozen) reduce the tissue degradation you mention? I wondered the same thing, but assumed that the bright people Alex worked with would have thought of this. Although grief often makes clear thought difficult.

  19. Re:Honestly... on James Hansen on the Warmest Year Brouhaha · · Score: 1

    Funny, I read the article as an email, not a peer-reviewed publication. I found no problem with the tone, though it was infused with opinion. I, however, am able to take that with a grain of now-plentiful sea salt.

  20. Re:No kidding on Scientists Offer 'Overwhelming' Evidence Terran Life Began in Space · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey, it's his story -- he can do with it what he wants. Well, I guess not now that he is dead.

  21. Re:Not enough framewurkz on Building a Fast Wikipedia Offline Reader · · Score: 1

    You must be a Windows developer. What you call "duct-tape Linux development" is what the Unix/Linux development philosophy is all about -- individual tools optimized to do a single job, that can be strung together to accomplish arbitrary tasks.

  22. Re:Not so sure Nimoy's playing Spock on Leonard Nimoy to Play Spock in Next Star Trek Movie · · Score: 1

    I got the same impression -- though I think from a rumor site somewhere. My notion is that Nimoy would play another Vulcan, perhaps related to Spock? I'm not enough of a Trekkie to know whether Spock's grandfather was ever named or introduced, but that could make sense.

    Especially as they would need to explain why Nimoy and Shatner have aged at roughly the same rate, while Vulcans are supposed to age more slowly.

  23. Re:Sadly, the option most nerds overlook... on First Thing IT Managers Do In the Morning? · · Score: 1

    To add another point of view, I would say you sound like exactly the type of manager I'd like to work for, and would like to be myself. I've always straddled that chasm between the technical and interpersonal, and lately I've wondered whether companies really appreciate the value of those who build that bridge.

    Maybe it's because I live in a town with depressed IT salaries, but I've considered going back into development, in order to increase salary. Not often a manager looks to take a step "back" in order to move up.

  24. Re:Coffee machine1st thing I look at on First Thing IT Managers Do In the Morning? · · Score: 1

    Actually, you're not at work until you walk through the door -- it's last thing you do before you get there.

  25. Re:I hope no one died. on Eta Carinae, Soon To Be a Local Supernova · · Score: 1

    I just hope that any local civilizations had advanced far enough

    As an antiteleologist, I take offense at this statement.