There's long been a bit of an argument over which is smarter: The Parrots, or the Corvids. Naturally, I support the latter team.
And I the former.
But I have to admit, one of my favorite animal movies is where the guy leaves a baited hook dangling through a hole in the ice, and while he's away a corvid lands on the cross-beam that the line is tied too and pulls the fish up, an inch or two at a time, by pulling up some line and then standing on it while reaching for another pull.
grrlscientist writes with news of a cockatoo named Figaro, who was observed to construct and use his own tools
That's just epic. When the economy doesn't support the First World manufacturing industry, you can rely on parrots take over. I think I'll sleep much better now.:-)
I've seen a video of a manufacturer using birds trained to identify defective plastic screws as they passed by a little window on a conveyer.
People replaced with machines, machines replaced with birds... what's the world coming to?
There's been a lot of back and forth revision of the definition over the years. I remember it was originally something like "Any object used outside of its natural scope to achieve a goal." Then people realized this meant otters used stones as tools to open clams so it became "Any object that has been modified to increase efficiency for a purpose outside of its natural scope." Then we had video of apes stripping leaves from branches to stick them in anthills... and the revision continues on ad infinitum because heaven forbid that humans have to share the title of "Tool-maker/user" with lesser beings.
FYI, it's well-accepted that apes make tools. And not just the well known anthill thingy; 7 or a dozen different things, IIRC.
was that the response team that violated orders not to respond? being serious not a troll. I've read a lot on it including the timeline and I have never read this. I know there were some CIA guys that responded in direct violation over their orders, and they lost their lives saving some embassy workers at a different base.
You have probably read more about it than I have, so I'll defer to your views on that topic.
... you'll find that the affair was apparently discovered by the FBI during an investigation into Petraeus' biographer, Paula Broadwell.
"The biographer for resigning CIA Director David Petraeus is under FBI investigation for improperly trying to access his email and possibly gaining access to classified information, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Friday." (NBC News).
Interestingly, the Feds are always arguing that they don't need warrants to access your e-mail because it's inherently insecure.
Sometimes shit happens and there's no way to plan for it.
'Shit' didn't just happen. A pending attack or assassination was a big concern for Ambassador Stevens months beforehand, and his requests for more security went nowhere.
Past that, there's some concern that Obama failed miserably when Hillary Clinton's legendary '3 am phone call' came.
Even if you want to say 'shit happens' for the latter, the former is still a good reason to look into the deaths of 4 Americans.
In any case, your absolute lack of curiosity on the subject makes you every bit the mindless partisan you accuse republicans of being.
Those of you who get your "news" from FOX may be interested to learn that -
a) the requests for security were for a different embassy
b) a CIA response team was on site 28 minutes after the alarm went out
If this had been under Bush the mainstream media would be on his ass 24x7.
Oh, please. The mainstream media never got on Bush's ass 24x7 about *anything*. Ignore intelligence reports warning of an immanent attack? No problem. Let OBL get away? No problem. Lie us into a war? No problem. Authorize torture? No problem.
He resigned 5 days prior to the congressional hearing on what transpired at the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and other US personnel. Hillary Clinton took full responsibility for the lack of security, and of course the media let it die out right there and not have any negative repercussions on Obama or his administration in general. The buck stops with Hillary. Or whomever else it can stop at short of Obama.
There's a controversy about Benghazi outside FOX News and grandstanding Republican committee chairs?
I could care less where he sticks his dick. all i care about is does he get the job done. look at clinton he was getting office nookie and he got the job done anyway.
Uhm, I don't think it was Clinton who got the job done.
Well, most of the campaign staff is now unemployed, so I'm not sure they care that much. Romney's lucky that's the only thing that went up after the loss...
What's with the poor "Habitable Zone" being "So-Called"? That makes it sound like it's not the correct name for it, but being the correct scientific term, how can it be incorrect? Okay, maybe it's the "Circumstellar Habitable Zone", but come on!!! It IS the theoretically "habitable zone" of a parent star, you could call it the so-called "Goldilocks Zone", because the phase "Goldilocks Zone" is just colloquial./me ends rant.
I think "Goldilocks zone" is actually better, because it's the zone that's "just right". "Habitable" isn't a boolean proposition everywhere.
I wonder if Teh Management would consider truncating AC posts to a shorter "Read the rest of this comment" than the above.
Like maybe, 10 lines. If they're actually saying something relevant and interesting (which they often do), it would still be easy enough to click the link.
Slashdot Mirror
Between this and the (possible) discovery of the Higgs Boson, we may be about to launch into a new era of particle physics theory and research.
its the lifetime of the product
So a lifetime warranty means it's warranted until it breaks down?
Was it Petraeus making it with his wife?
facepalm.
It should have been "Ask Slashdot: What do I tell my girlfriend when...".
There's long been a bit of an argument over which is smarter: The Parrots, or the Corvids. Naturally, I support the latter team.
And I the former.
But I have to admit, one of my favorite animal movies is where the guy leaves a baited hook dangling through a hole in the ice, and while he's away a corvid lands on the cross-beam that the line is tied too and pulls the fish up, an inch or two at a time, by pulling up some line and then standing on it while reaching for another pull.
grrlscientist writes with news of a cockatoo named Figaro, who was observed to construct and use his own tools
That's just epic. When the economy doesn't support the First World manufacturing industry, you can rely on parrots take over. I think I'll sleep much better now. :-)
I've seen a video of a manufacturer using birds trained to identify defective plastic screws as they passed by a little window on a conveyer.
People replaced with machines, machines replaced with birds... what's the world coming to?
There's been a lot of back and forth revision of the definition over the years. I remember it was originally something like "Any object used outside of its natural scope to achieve a goal." Then people realized this meant otters used stones as tools to open clams so it became "Any object that has been modified to increase efficiency for a purpose outside of its natural scope." Then we had video of apes stripping leaves from branches to stick them in anthills... and the revision continues on ad infinitum because heaven forbid that humans have to share the title of "Tool-maker/user" with lesser beings.
FYI, it's well-accepted that apes make tools. And not just the well known anthill thingy; 7 or a dozen different things, IIRC.
Those of you who get your "news" from FOX may be interested to learn that -
a) the requests for security were for a different embassy
b) a CIA response team was on site 28 minutes after the alarm went out
You are a liar, Black Parrot.
I'm willing to entertain the idea that I'm misinformed, but you'll need to do more than call me a liar to convince me that I am.
What part of "24x7" do you not understand?
(Hint: there are only three parts.)
was that the response team that violated orders not to respond? being serious not a troll. I've read a lot on it including the timeline and I have never read this. I know there were some CIA guys that responded in direct violation over their orders, and they lost their lives saving some embassy workers at a different base.
You have probably read more about it than I have, so I'll defer to your views on that topic.
by several years
... you'll find that the affair was apparently discovered by the FBI during an investigation into Petraeus' biographer, Paula Broadwell.
"The biographer for resigning CIA Director David Petraeus is under FBI investigation for improperly trying to access his email and possibly gaining access to classified information, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Friday." (NBC News).
Interestingly, the Feds are always arguing that they don't need warrants to access your e-mail because it's inherently insecure.
'Shit' didn't just happen. A pending attack or assassination was a big concern for Ambassador Stevens months beforehand, and his requests for more security went nowhere.
Past that, there's some concern that Obama failed miserably when Hillary Clinton's legendary '3 am phone call' came.
Even if you want to say 'shit happens' for the latter, the former is still a good reason to look into the deaths of 4 Americans.
In any case, your absolute lack of curiosity on the subject makes you every bit the mindless partisan you accuse republicans of being.
Those of you who get your "news" from FOX may be interested to learn that -
a) the requests for security were for a different embassy
b) a CIA response team was on site 28 minutes after the alarm went out
That's a pretty brazen and stupid accusation.
Yeah, I should have said "outside FOX News and their cult followers, or grandstanding Republican committee chairs and their shills".
If this had been under Bush the mainstream media would be on his ass 24x7.
Oh, please. The mainstream media never got on Bush's ass 24x7 about *anything*. Ignore intelligence reports warning of an immanent attack? No problem. Let OBL get away? No problem. Lie us into a war? No problem. Authorize torture? No problem.
For that matter, there's no evidence that anything particularly objectionable took place in Benghazi involving that day.
(Other than the attack itself.)
He resigned 5 days prior to the congressional hearing on what transpired at the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and other US personnel. Hillary Clinton took full responsibility for the lack of security, and of course the media let it die out right there and not have any negative repercussions on Obama or his administration in general. The buck stops with Hillary. Or whomever else it can stop at short of Obama.
There's a controversy about Benghazi outside FOX News and grandstanding Republican committee chairs?
I could care less where he sticks his dick. all i care about is does he get the job done. look at clinton he was getting office nookie and he got the job done anyway.
Uhm, I don't think it was Clinton who got the job done.
Nice try. I beat you by milliseconds.
So you got first neener.
Late night comics, I mean. The rest of us, not so much.
http://crooksandliars.com/files/vfs/2012/11/Election_night.jpg
Well, most of the campaign staff is now unemployed, so I'm not sure they care that much. Romney's lucky that's the only thing that went up after the loss...
http://crooksandliars.com/files/vfs/2012/11/biotch.jpg
The suddenists think Something Wonderful Happened ~50,000 years ago,
I think they are off by an order of magnitude, extant evidence shows that brewing alcohol only started about 10,000 years ago.
And the first Slashdotter got laid a mere three weeks ago!
What's with the poor "Habitable Zone" being "So-Called"? That makes it sound like it's not the correct name for it, but being the correct scientific term, how can it be incorrect? Okay, maybe it's the "Circumstellar Habitable Zone", but come on!!! It IS the theoretically "habitable zone" of a parent star, you could call it the so-called "Goldilocks Zone", because the phase "Goldilocks Zone" is just colloquial. /me ends rant.
I think "Goldilocks zone" is actually better, because it's the zone that's "just right". "Habitable" isn't a boolean proposition everywhere.
Is this a dupe of yesterday's "we've now identified Krypton" story?
I wonder if Teh Management would consider truncating AC posts to a shorter "Read the rest of this comment" than the above.
Like maybe, 10 lines. If they're actually saying something relevant and interesting (which they often do), it would still be easy enough to click the link.