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  1. Re: Umm.... not so much.... on 'Elon Musk's Hyperloop Is Doomed For the Worst Reason' (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 1

    and the only self driving fatality has been a Tesla that couldn't detect a semi-trailer sitting still!

  2. How about "Fuck greedy governments!"?

  3. It's been zero every time I've encountered it on Ask Slashdot: What's the Harm In a Default Setting For Div By Zero? · · Score: 1

    If 1/0 = infinity then 0 * infinity = 1 and
          2/0 = infinity then 0 * infinity = 2 etc ad nauseum through all the numbers

    What is wrong with this (algebraic) picture?

  4. Re:Infinity on Ask Slashdot: What's the Harm In a Default Setting For Div By Zero? · · Score: 1

    Infinity is undefined!

  5. Re:Research some of the linguistic discussions on Ask Slashdot: What Would a Constructed Language Have To Be To Replace English? · · Score: 1

    Old language joke error; the meeting was on Esperanto!

  6. Research some of the linguistic discussions on Ask Slashdot: What Would a Constructed Language Have To Be To Replace English? · · Score: 1

    James Cameron director of Avatar, Aliens, Terminator, Titanic et al is a (perhaps mad) genius. He created an artificial language for Avatar. There is an interesting article of a discussion he had on this subject. He knows a lot about artificial languages and languages in general. The discussion covered what makes a language "live"; a pool of active users interacting in real life, ambiguity... (I think) he considers Klingon an active language but not Esperanto. See if you can find the article. It's worth while given your interest.

    Pidgin is a language form that arise when many diverse workers are thrown together. Cajun is the form that arises amongst the children. Each has its own grammar that arises no matter what the mix of languages. Read about those before you try to invent your own. Computer languages are not the same as human languages although I attended a meeting of sysadmins on regular expressions and the discussion of examples sounded like s Gilbert and Sullivan song! :-)

    Finally, an old language joke: there was an international meeting of academics where they all spoke a common language, Yiddish! :-)

  7. Handle the legal details and leave family stories on Ask Slashdot: Terminally Ill - What Wisdom Should I Pass On To My Geek Daughter? · · Score: 1

    There are a lot of details you should handle, legal and otherwise.

    Look at * diesmart.com * It provides the most information and the best roadmap. Created by a friend and a wonderful lady who went through it all with her mother. You can die knowing you didn't leave anything unresolved.

    My mother had a "burial" policy and specified that she be cremated and the remainder used for a family celebration. My sister did the same. Throw your own farewell party!

    My sister died rather unexpectedly last year. She was the oldest in the family, six years my senior and had many family stories that are now lost. The one thing I had planned to last summer was to visit her and record those stories. Now they are lost and I am the one with the most family stories.

    In any case, video is now easy to do and I urge you to record your family stories and your memories. If you have the writing discipline, do a journal. If you have siblings or other relatives,you might ask for their help. I think that if you do that, you will say everything you need to say. I'd let your family see them before you go.

    A little genealogy might fill in some blanks. There are 14 family history libraries around the country usually next to an LDS temple.

    "If lie has meaning, then death has meaning as death ends life!" - Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

  8. Yes but a few will still be needed on The Robots That Will Put Coders Out of Work · · Score: 1

    Why is there no map theory? Because a map is a theory.

    Code is a theory about solving a problem. There is no general theory about problem solving.

    It's the major reason CASE failed. You could get the job done in less time than it takes to search a library of code.

    Until Big Blue is sentient, if ever, it will be able to search code and suggest or possibly refactor and apply solutions. Another big drop in the need for coders follows. It will do what most coders can't do; look at all possible solutions and understand if there is a good fit.

    Are there truly 1M-1.5M unique apps? Which are the truly best ones and how does one find them?

  9. The Amazon Reviews are great reading on $10K Ethernet Cable Claims Audio Fidelity, If You're Stupid Enough To Buy It · · Score: 1

    Droll, funny sarcastic.

  10. We contacted,,,and they refused to comment. on Is Chernobyl Still Dangerous? Was 60 Minutes Pushing Propaganda? · · Score: 1

    A PR person told me that his company tried to contact 60 Minutes before the show was aired and got no response to the calls. 60 Minutes still used the tagline in the subject heading.

    CBS is the network whose lead "reporter" had to step down for fabricating a story that he broadcast.

    I don't know if that happened but the Chernobyl story may surface other companies with the same experience.

    Ever notice how newspaper "retractions" are buried in back pages?

  11. US Figures seem the opposite on Fuel Efficiency Numbers Overstate MPG More For Cars With Small Engines · · Score: 1

    I bought a 2013 Dodge Caravan new. Its mileage is rated at 17 city 25 highway. I have gotten as high as 31 MPG on a (very level) freeway and generally about 28-29 on a long trip with some mixed terrain. The people at the dealer seem unsurprised. I drive at freeway speeds, usually 70-75 MPH. City mileage is 17-19.

  12. Lasers have sounds? on The Physics of Space Battles · · Score: 1

    Also the "laser" weapons sound like machine guns

  13. In the old days, the sound was a DC3 on The Physics of Space Battles · · Score: 1

    In the Gene Autry and Buck Rogers serials, the "Space Ship" sounded just like a DC-3, the major airliner back in the day.

  14. Planck analysis is "relatively definitive" on "Big Bang Signal" Could All Be Dust · · Score: 1

    At least we know where he stands more or less.

  15. And he's still lying. on CIA Director Brennan Admits He Was Lying: CIA Really Did Spy On Congress · · Score: 1

    He authorized it and he used it.

  16. One term kills the humanities - post-modernism on Fixing the Humanities Ph.D. · · Score: 1

    "There is no truth!" What can you do with that thought? Other than to use it to denigrate "western white men" and prompt the whole PC canon of BS!

  17. decay of memories on Mathematical Model Suggests That Human Consciousness Is Noncomputable · · Score: 1

    "retrieving memories repeatedly would cause them to gradually decay." What is the science that shows they don't?

  18. What job title would you like to have someday? on Blowing Up a Pointless Job Interview · · Score: 1

    This was popular back in the day. "What job title would you like to have someday?" "I always liked Lord of the Universe but lately I've grown fond of Ming the Merciless, Ruler of the East." The interviewer broke up laughing and said, "I always thought this was a BS question!" I was offered the job but never called back.

  19. BSOD on Ask Slashdot: What's the Most Often-Run Piece of Code -- Ever? · · Score: 1

    over and over and...

  20. Old Couple both forgot on Ask Slashdot: How To Protect Your Passwords From Amnesia? · · Score: 1

    Back in the 60s,there was a tale amongst scavengers (redevelopment was big in Chicago then) of one who bought rights to take the furniture of an old couple who both went into a care facility. He found $30,000 under a fridge. They forgot almost everything! If you don't have anyone you can trust then you are surely an island or a mole terrified to retune to your burrow. (password donnekafka).

  21. Satanism is not legally a religion on Satanists Propose Monument At Oklahoma State Capitol Next To Ten Commandments · · Score: 1

    SCOTUS has ruled that satanism is not a religion. A religion is a belief in god.

  22. Check the building wi-fi first on Ask Slashdot: Easy Wi-Fi-Enabled Tablet For My Dad? · · Score: 1

    Go to his place with a tablet or notebook and check his access first. It won't be a help is he constantly loses his connection. He will have no idea what the problem is and will blame himself or the tablet when he should probably blame you. :-)

  23. Read Gregory Chaitin on random numbers on Dial 00000000 To Blow Up the World · · Score: 1

    He defines it as one that can't be expressed in fewer bits than the number itself has. In effect, prime numbers are the random set.

  24. Re:Illusion shattered on Dial 00000000 To Blow Up the World · · Score: 1

    00000000 is just as random as any other code. My grandfather used to play 1-2-3-4-5-6 in the lottery, and when someone would point out that that number would never come up, he'd gleefully educate that person on probability.

    Besides, the code that WOPR was trying to crack was a 12-digit alphanumeric string of the style JPE-1704-TKS.

    Not according to Gregory Chaitin's definition of random. Any repetition could be entered by someone absent-mindedly hitting a key over and over while trying to think of a better one. Using a dail would make it the least likely repetition vs. 1111111. A child might enter 123456 just for fun making it not random.

  25. Re:First Spoof on British Intelligence Responds To Slashdot About Man-in-Middle Attack · · Score: 1

    He attributed that quote to its correct source Benjamin Disraeli! It should now be "Lies, damned lies, statistics, and computer models!