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User: LNO

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  1. Re:I have no doubt this is true in the whole on Animal Drug Investigation Reveals Pet Medication Often Doesn't Work · · Score: 1

    I have the same anecdotal experience. We had a toller with hip dysplasia. When his food was supplemented with glucosamine/chondritin/MSM, he was able to walk up and down stairs and jump up on the bed. When we stopped for a period of weeks, he was unable to do that without vocalizing in pain. Restoring the supplements caused the symptoms to go away.

    I recognize that they're clinically unproven - and if we saw no benefit on it we'd go right to Rimadyl as needed. I've tried it for my creaking arthritis and seen no benefit whatsoever, so it's ibuprofen for me.

  2. Rimadyl = carprofen on Animal Drug Investigation Reveals Pet Medication Often Doesn't Work · · Score: 2

    When I read this, I was surprised that there was no mention of Rimadyl, as that's been the go-to NSAID for our dogs after surgeries. One google later let me know that Rimadyl was, indeed, carprofen, and I read the article again with that in mind.

    Three times does "carprofen" appear in the article:
    "Its examples include one relevant to Kaleb, considering the effectiveness of glucosamine and chrondroitin versus an NSAID called carprofen in treating dogs with osteoarthritis. The bottom line: “Carprofen is superior to glucosamine/chrondroitin supplements in reducing the clinical signs.”"
    and
    "We plan to get some fresh tests to see how stable his kidney function is, and talk to our current vet in San Francisco about whether it’s time to try carprofen. "

    If you're using non-proven supplements to treat your pet's pain instead of veterinary-recommended NSAIDs, then, yeah, perhaps it's time to talk to your current vet about whether it's time to try the painkiller that is clinically superior.

  3. Re:It's not the fan or mechanical components on Scientists Extract RSA Key From GnuPG Using Sound of CPU · · Score: 4, Informative

    Even that gets filtered out:

    "Q12: Won't the attack be foiled by loud fan noise, or by multitasking, or by several computers in the same room?

    Usually not. The interesting acoustic signals are mostly above 10KHz, whereas typical computer fan noise and normal room noise are concentrated at lower frequencies and can thus be filtered out. In task-switching systems, different tasks can be distinguished by their different acoustic spectral signatures. Using multiple cores turns out to help the attack (by shifting down the signal frequencies). When several computers are present, they can be told apart by spatial localization, or by their different acoustic signatures (which vary with the hardware, the component temperatures, and other environmental conditions)."

  4. It's not the fan or mechanical components on Scientists Extract RSA Key From GnuPG Using Sound of CPU · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's more awesome than that. The white noise generated by the fan doesn't matter at all.

    "The acoustic signal of interest is generated by vibration of electronic components (capacitors and coils) in the voltage regulation circuit, as it struggles to maintain a constant voltage to the CPU despite the large fluctuations in power consumption caused by different patterns of CPU operations. The relevant signal is not caused by mechanical components such as the fan or hard disk, nor by the laptop's internal speaker."

    The attack scenarios are even more fantastical. I have no idea how plausible they are, but wow, regardless:

    "We discuss some prospective attacks in our paper. In a nutshell:
    Install an attack app on your phone. Set up a meeting with your victim, and during the meeting, place your phone on the desk next to the the victim's laptop (see Q2).
    Break into your victim's phone, install your attack app, and wait until the victim inadvertently places his phone next to the target laptop.
    Have a web page use the microphone of the the computer running the browser (using Flash or HTML Media Capture). Use that to steal the user's GnuPG key.
    Put your stash of eavesdropping bugs and laser microphones to a new use.
    Send your server to a colocation facility, with a good microphone inside the box. Then acoustically extract keys from all nearby servers.
    Get near a TEMPEST/1-92 protected machine, such as the one pictured to the right. Put your microphone next to its ventilation holes and extract its supposedly-protected secrets."

  5. Re:hemoglobin test on Affordable Blood Work In Four Hours Coming To Pharmacies · · Score: 1

    Platelets. Every two weeks, or up to 24 times a year. I switched from whole blood donations to that, and every other Saturday morning at 7:30 I head in, pick out a movie I've been meaning to watch (this past Saturday was Hotel Rwanda), watch for two hours, and go home. Take a look at it if you haven't yet. ARC and Memorial Blood Centers count that as double towards your gallon record, too. I'm at 34 with MBC so far, and can't recall where I left off with ARC.

  6. Just more from Big Astronomy on No, the Earth (almost Certainly) Won't Be Hit By an Asteroid In 2032 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's all a scam. They're hiding the possible cure for asteroid impacts, because this way they can continue to get unlimited grant money from the government. They've already planned their off-planet habitat for when the earth is destroyed, but they won't admit to its existence because then the sheeple would question the purpose of those radio telescopes and interplanetary probes.

    WAKE UP! STOP BIG ASTRONOMY!

  7. Re:55% on Give Your Child the Gift of an Alzheimer's Diagnosis · · Score: 5, Informative

    The advice "carpe diem" ("seize the day") is as good now as it was 2000 years ago when Horace wrote those words.

    The advice "carpe diem" meant something different 2000 years ago when Horace wrote those words. Then, he wrote "carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero" -- or, as your translation states, "seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next". His meaning was more along the lines of the ant vs the grasshopper in Aesop's fable. Seize the day, prepare for your future, work while you're healthy, make hay while the sun shines, and pack your 401k with as much as you can afford (or at least enough to get your full company match). Make sure your future is secure today, because you don't know what'll happen to you tomorrow.

    Nowadays, "carpe diem" is usually interpreted to mean something akin to your post. Go see the world, party with your friends, have a great time, even YOLO. It can still be good advice (you might get Alzheimer's when you're 50, so see the world today while you can appreciate it) but the fact remains that the meaning of the exhortation has changed in the modern era.

  8. Re: Really? on Shutdown Cost the US Economy $24 Billion · · Score: 1

    I was a marrow donor back in 2008. I never met my recipient as he passed away due to non-transplant-related causes after eight months (slipped in the shower? hit by a car? heart attack?), but I've wondered what it would have been like. Did you ever meet or talk to yours?

  9. More to it than running out of money on Work Halted On Neal Stephenson's Kickstarted Swordfighting Video Game · · Score: 4, Informative

    Sure, they raised over $500k from 9000+ backers, but they hadn't raised that money to make a sweet swordfighting game... they raised that so they could raise their profile to get funding from more traditional sources. From Kotaku's take on it:

    "Despite hitting its funding goal of $500,000 last year, development on the game is grinding to a halt, with Stephenson writing on the game's Kickstarter page that CLANG is now an "evenings and weekends" project because the money has run out, and many developers have sought contract work elsewhere.

    But wait. That's not all. Turns out the money was never going to fund development of the game in the first place; the developers were simply using it as a starting point from which they could attract venture capitalist and/or publisher backing, which for whatever reason hasn't materialised."

  10. Junis emailed to say hello on Getting Afghanistan Online · · Score: 2

    Those of us who have been here for twelve years have fond memories of JonKatz posting about Junis, who hid his "ancient Commodore" (one of four in the village) under the boards of a chicken coop. And of course he was obsessed with Linux, mesmerized by open source and Slashdot, and all of that was totally plausible.

    Shine on, Junis and the Slashdot of yesteryear. Shine on.

  11. The devil, as always, is in the details on How Deadbeat Facebook Friends and Using ALL-CAPS Can Lower Your Credit Score · · Score: 5, Informative

    The summary leaves out that the companies described aren't the major financial institutions in the US. The one who checks to see if you're friends with someone who defaulted on a loan from the same lender? Lenddo, which makes loans in the Phillippes, Colombia, and Mexico. The one who LOOKS FOR ALL CAPS? Kreditech in Germany, which uses that and "up to 8,000 data points" when assessing the loan (though I can't argue with that; as someone sitting down with a banker in person and YELLING THAT THEY WANT A LOAN is probably not a reliable borrower).

    As for whether lenders should just use FICO, if FICO is available? It's reliable and predictive, and more difficult to game, but in an emerging market where your prospective borrowers don't have FICO history, what do you do to suss out whether a borrower is likely to default or not?

  12. Someday they'll film it right? on Science Fiction and Fantasy Author Richard Matheson Dead At 87 · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you haven't read I Am Legend, you're doing yourself a disservice. The three adaptations mentioned in the summary are The Last Man On Earth in 1964 starring Vincent Price, The Omega Man in 1971 starring Charleton Heston, and I Am Legend in 2007 starring Will Smith. Of all of these, the oldest is the closest to the actual novella and takes the fewest liberties.

    When the 2007 version was in preproduction, I was geeking out as I could not wait to see this done with modern technology and techniques. Of course, as I should have known (and we should all have known with, say, Ender's Game or World War Z) that what made the book excellent is not what would be shown on the screen.

    Even though the story is 59 years old, I'm still loathe to spoil it. Go read it. Do Richard Matheson one last tribute.

  13. The best part of the article is at the bottom on N. Carolina May Ban Tesla Sales To Prevent "Unfair Competition" · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's just more money-in-politics. The sponsor is State Senator Tom Apodeca, who received the maximum amount allowed ($8000) in campaign contributions from the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association. Of course, they are AGHAST at the idea that they've got a financial stake in this...

    Robert Glaser, president of the dealers association, told the News & Observer that the law prohibiting Tesla sales isn’t just about his industry’s self-interest. Pointing to the Tesla representatives at a recent hearing, he said, “You tell me they’re gonna support the little leagues and the YMCA?”

    If that’s the real issue, then I may have some good news for all concerned: I asked O’Connell, and he assured me Tesla would be happy to support the little leagues and the YMCA if that’s what North Carolina requires in order to do business there. Problem solved! Right, Mr. Glaser?

  14. Re:Why would anyone major in QA? on A Case For a Software Testing Undergrad Major · · Score: 0

    I agree with you that the best QA testers are usually the people overqualified for it. I disagree that most of the fun and pay is in CS. I've spent over a decade in QA -- moving from grunt entry-level tester to lead to manager -- and not only is the pay commensurate with talent and experience (in the right company, of course) but the fun is why I stay in this job. (Although I do have less fun managing than I did testing...)

    When I look for a good QA tester, I want someone who could be a developer, but would rather break things than fix things. I want someone who looks at code not as something beautiful to be admired, but as a house of cards to be knocked down, and those who understand the underlying structure are better at knocking down that house of cards. Anyone (well, almost anyone) can follow a rudimentary manual test and click where they're told to click. It takes someone else to think outside of the box, as odious as that phrase is, and attack a site or an application beyond the requirements.

    Bad tester: "Huh, when I click this button, it takes a long time for the results to return. At least I can still click around..."
    Better tester: "Huh, that's asynch, and I know from the architecture diagram that I can then do X and Y, and oh look, I brought down the site."

    As I hinted at in another comment above: the developer builds the sand castle, and QA kicks it down then waits for the developer to build a better sand castle.

  15. Re:Developer? on A Case For a Software Testing Undergrad Major · · Score: 1

    Because testing has a different kind of personal reward than development does. Having done both, I understand the self-satisfaction of building an elaborate system that matches requirements, that adheres to best practices, that is elegant in its simplicity. I also understand the self-satisfaction of kicking over that sand castle and it being the developer's responsibility to build it better and more securely.

    Developers often skip those best practices (however they're defined) and an educated tester can have a field day with something as simple as SQL injection, then say "Have a fun weekend! I'll test the new build on Monday."

  16. Re:I would now like to be a philology nazi. on Study Hints At Time Before Big Bang · · Score: 0

    Etymology:
            Middle English, from Latin universum, from neuter of universus entire, whole, from uni- + versus turned toward, from past participle of vertere to turn

  17. Re:Why Not a New One? on Next Prince of Persia Game Promises Fresh Start · · Score: 1

    The second one was The Shadow and The Flame. It's even in the title: Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame.

  18. Re:visa application on What Examples of Security Theater Have You Encountered? · · Score: 0

    Even if you are part of the tiny demographic that are even questioned, does Immigration think undesirables are going to tell the fucking truth on the application form?

    This results in two possible situations:

    1) An undesirable tells the truth on the form. Holy shit, he fell for it. Reject.
    2) An undesirable lies on the form. Once this is uncovered, he's now committed an immigration violation, which is grounds for deportation. It's an easy excuse to kick someone out of the country -- look at their immigration papers, find the smallest thing out of line, and boot them.

  19. Re:At a quick read on The Secret History of Star Wars · · Score: 0

    (...for some reason, trying to display a previous post in the thread erased everything in this reply box. Bah. Rather than retype everything, I'll just summarize it, which would probably be a smarter idea...)

    My intent with linking the about.com summary was nothing more than providing a few paragraphs of introduction to the modern dispute about feudalism. It'd certainly be foolish to try to address all of the concerns in a half dozen webpages.

    The largest issue, as you noted, is that pure theoretical feudalism is an artificial construct and inapplicable across an entire continent for nearly a millenium. Unfortunately, due to pressures of time, space, or the audience involved, the term is used as a convenient shorthand to avoid addressing the far more complex arrangement of landholding and obligation that existed.

    I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on Reynolds' work, if you have a chance to read it. And if someday you want to try your hand at multiplayer EU, I'm always game. :-)

  20. Re:We'll never know on The Secret History of Star Wars · · Score: 0

    I can't claim to be anything other than the same - and I'm taking the day off tomorrow to make the most of the v1.2 patch for Europa Universalis: Rome. :-)

    Regarding Reynolds, there's a good summary of modern scholarship about feudalism. Her book is exhaustive in its arguments, but for a Joe Random with a good grounding in the field, it's certainly worth reading.

  21. Re:We'll never know on The Secret History of Star Wars · · Score: 0

    Completely unrelated- I've always been a fan of your posts, being an aficionado of history myself. I did note your reference to feudalism there, and wondered if you'd had a chance to see Susan Reynolds' Fiefs & Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted in which she tackles and dismantles the very concept of feudalism as an applicable model.

    Of course, when posting on a forum such as /., it's justifiable to use the word as shorthand.

  22. Re:Limited application on New 25x Data Compression? · · Score: 3, Funny

    I, as well, can compress data to 1/25th of original size... but it only works on slashdot articles, which are highly compressable due to the large amount of redundant data.

  23. How on earth? on The Formula for a Successful Sitcom · · Score: 1

    Son, I say, that's what they call "British humour", son.

  24. Oh, now this sounds juuust perfect on Google Web Accelerator · · Score: 1

    Google Web Accelerator uses various strategies to make your web pages load faster, including:

    * Sending your page requests through Google machines dedicated to handling Google Web Accelerator traffic.
    * Storing copies of frequently looked at pages to make them quickly accessible.
    * Downloading only the updates if a web page has changed slightly since you last viewed it.
    * Prefetching certain pages onto your computer in advance.
    * Managing your Internet connection to reduce delays.
    * Compressing data before sending it to your computer.


    No, boss, honest! I have no idea how those pictures got onto my computer! I don't even LIKE Bob Saget goat porn!

  25. Re:Looks like.. on Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL E-Commerce · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Shine on, you crazy diamond...