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User: rmdingler

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  1. Sometimes people get confused in their loyal devotion to a particular party.

    The elephants and donkeys keep rotating as President while we angrily unelect the responsible ruling party approximately every eight years.

    But neither side trusts the public that votes it in or is disinterested in its' surveillance.

  2. The only thing I would add is that if all Mr Nicholl wanted to do was silence the cellphones, he could've left the jammer in the bag.

    Bringing it into plain view ratchets it up a notch to, "I am making a point here. Look at me!"

  3. AI is an alpha go, initially... on Mars InSight Mission To Launch In 2018, After $150M Failure and Delay (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 2

    Of course there are some advantages to help settle another sphere using robotic crews, but unless the goal is to spread our bloody androids throughout the universe, human settlements are a must.

  4. Instantly sounds better on Biometric Tech Uses Sound To Distinguish Ear Cavity Shape · · Score: 2
    (From the Grammarist:)

    Nelson says: December 20, 2011 at 11:39 am I distinguish the following way:

    Instant(ly) – happens right away

    Instantaneous(ly) – starts happening right away

  5. Snowflakes on Biometric Tech Uses Sound To Distinguish Ear Cavity Shape · · Score: 1
    With the exception of identical twins and clones, each of us has a unigue fingerprint, iris, DNA, and now, ear cavity.

    At some point it becomes necessary to ask how many ways are necessary to identify each of us.

    One last method of identification.

  6. Lee underestimated the computer on Google's AlphaGo Beats Lee Se-dol In the First Match (theverge.com) · · Score: 2

    This is a great accomplishment for A.I., but it's likely he will rebound from this opening round loss.

  7. Re:I really hope on Why Japan Is Facing Pressure To Return To Military Research (thestack.com) · · Score: 1
    Indeed. We need to be moving away from war-ready instead of toward it, as a planet.

    Let's not forget there are 23 US military bases already in Japan, providing some considerable deterrent to aggression.

    In some ways, the growth of the Nippon economy can be tied to the lack of a huge defense budget.

  8. Re:Makes off, my arse on Feds: Brink's Employee Makes Off With $196,000 In Quarters (cnn.com) · · Score: 2
    Certainly.

    Indeed, you are never more truly alive than when your night's lodging and dinner depend on your success today.

    But don't forget, his short-sighted paradigm makes for some lean, low times to offset the high of the times you succeed.

  9. Re:Where would they get the idea? on FBI Quietly Changes Its Privacy Rules For Accessing NSA Data On Americans (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1
    Bordering?!

    What? So, like, my naivete is in need of a wall? A big wall that keeps getting 10 ft taller?

  10. Makes off, my arse on Feds: Brink's Employee Makes Off With $196,000 In Quarters (cnn.com) · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The bags were stored on skids in the doubtless aptly named Coin Room. An April 2014 audit of the coin inventory showed that four of the bags had been filled mostly with beads. Those bags each contained only $1,000 in quarters, which had been strategically situated so the coins were visible through a plastic window in the necks of the bags, according to federal authorities.

    Diabolically clever scheme unravels under the slightest scrutiny.

  11. Where would they get the idea? on FBI Quietly Changes Its Privacy Rules For Accessing NSA Data On Americans (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1
    You know, the really positive takeaway is that we're hearing about this nonsense and it is totally correctable. These people work for us.

    The team that's implementing these "classified revisions" just needs to have it explained to them that we don't want security in exchange for reduced freedom.

  12. Re:Support your legacy postal service on Paperless Statements Not Always Best Choice, Says New Report · · Score: 1

    I think he means "snail."

    He thinks you're correct, but the clam joke was better.

    And I think he's either British or an English graduate student.

    Aw. That is the single nicest thing I've ever been called on /. Is this a trick?

  13. Pocket personality? on Reports Coming In Of Mass IBM Layoffs Underway In The US (ieee.org) · · Score: 1
    When I was a younger man, I used to frequent a hole-in-the-wall, after work, beer joint with a jukebox and a couple of pool tables... (To be fair, I was friends with the jukebox and one of the pool tables since childhood).

    There was an older gentleman who always sat at the bar. He received what can jealously be reported as more than his fair share of attention from the lasses. He was always pleasant, confident, and great company. Irrationally happy, if you will.

    I asked him what the secret was one day. He winked and told me to always keep a little jingle in your pocket.

  14. Re:Support your legacy postal service on Paperless Statements Not Always Best Choice, Says New Report · · Score: 1

    I have to tell you, I didn't think anyone would get that.

  15. Support your legacy postal service on Paperless Statements Not Always Best Choice, Says New Report · · Score: 1
    The mail that rhymes with a mollusc has been beaten up in the modern age by facsimile, email, text, and all manner of twitter;

    But, there are still useful applications for the slower delivery of tangible paper reproductions, including many legal documents and even holiday cards.

    You may have also noticed that when people are free to speak quickly and repeatedly without careful thought, much of what escapes into the electronic noise is tripe.

  16. Re:China's fault? Or the USA's? on Apple Is Not Such a Freedom Fighter In China (latimes.com) · · Score: 1

    +1 uber informative

  17. Re:Not so Big, but definitely Blue on Reports Coming In Of Mass IBM Layoffs Underway In The US (ieee.org) · · Score: 1

    I cannot attest to the quality of the jobs, but Burlington, Vermont has made the list of top ten lowest municipal unemployment (nationwide) a few times recently.

  18. Re:Not so Big, but definitely Blue on Reports Coming In Of Mass IBM Layoffs Underway In The US (ieee.org) · · Score: 1
    It sounds like an no-brainer to pick loved ones over wealth, especially considering the question's phrasing.

    We are then forced to consider what forces might be in play that make so many of us apparently opt for the other selection.

    One possible explanation is found in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which places Safety ahead of Love/belonging in his well known pyramid.

  19. Re:Not so Big, but definitely Blue on Reports Coming In Of Mass IBM Layoffs Underway In The US (ieee.org) · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I agree with the statement that

    family quality time

    and a successful career are often at odds with one another.

    Don't forget to ask yourself this before you decide each option's weighted value:

    When you are finally dying of something money cannot fix, will you ask for your collected gold and silver to be sent to your bedside?

  20. "I'll stay with Judy" on Google Is Testing Voice-Activated Payment App, Hands Free (cnet.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What could go wrong with voice-activated dollars departing my wallet?

  21. Not so Big, but definitely Blue on Reports Coming In Of Mass IBM Layoffs Underway In The US (ieee.org) · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It's a great question, but you have failed to put your self in the shoes of some of these longtime employees.

    An Uncle of mine owns a paid for house in Nashua, NH and has worked for IBM near there for decades. Some folks are just going to settle where they are, and where they are doesn't offer a a f*ck ton of alternative employment opportunities.

    It really just depends on where you are in your career, I suppose.

  22. Small pool of talent on Security Talent Shortage Hits Cybercrime Groups, Too (csoonline.com) · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...find people who are both trustworthy and are willing to break the law.

    It is also difficult to train a hunting dog to bring you ducks but leave the chickens alone.

    You can do it; just remember that dogs are much easier to train and far more loyal than their human counterparts.

  23. Indeed. To be fair, most of the objective, broad spectrum polls and studies end up with much less controversial results.

    Controversy inspires debate. Clicks are money.

  24. Some jobs will always be safe on Mercedes-Benz Swaps Robots For People On Assembly Lines (theguardian.com) · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The threshold for profitable robotic replacement does keep dropping.

    People are flawed creatures capable of manufacturing more profitable iterations of themselves for the workplace.

    What jobs are safest?

  25. It seems NASA's interstellar boundary explorer (an admittedly clever word triplet) has discovered what they believe is a feed back loop from the Heliosphere...

    made possible by the existence of magnetic fields elsewhere in the universe.