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User: Coisiche

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Comments · 647

  1. Re:The over-65's swung it for No on Scotland Votes No To Independence · · Score: 1

    Yes, you did not say the Scottish vote was solely behind the majority so I apologize for misinterpreting your words. Just my over-reaction because of too much annoyance with the whole "there can't be a Labour government without Scotland" meme that I encounter too frequently.

  2. Re:Interesting geographical breakdown on Scotland Votes No To Independence · · Score: 1

    The council areas where the vote was Yes, and I thought there were just three, do have one thing in common; they are the poorest in Scotland. So another demographic in the vote split does seem to be personal wealth

  3. Re:The over-65's swung it for No on Scotland Votes No To Independence · · Score: 1

    Perhaps they remembered that although Scotland didn't vote in the current Government, it did vote in the previous one which caused many of the current economic problems.

    Fallacy.

    Scotland has 59 Westminster MPs and historically about 40-50 of them tend to be Labour. The smallest majority of the Blair\Brown Labour governments was 66. Now 66>59, so tell me again how Scotland voted in these governments.

    That's the real problem with the UK; the right-wing, swivel-eyed loons do such a sterling job with their propaganda that all of England automatically believes without question that there can't be a Labour government without the Scotland vote when it only takes simple fucking arithmetic to debunk.

    So are you going to be honest and put "Can't do basic arithmetic" on your next annual appraisal?

  4. Re:Youtube Comments on Robo Brain Project Wants To Turn the Internet Into a Robotic Hivemind · · Score: 1

    This is all reminding me of an episode of Odyssey 5 where Ted Raimi portrays an AI that learned everything from those aspects of the internet and was inadvertently housed in a synthetic body instead of the nastier AI the body was intended for.

    He turned out not to be the villain that the Odyssey 5 crew had been expecting.

  5. There's a more useful algorithm on Algorithm Predicts US Supreme Court Decisions 70% of Time · · Score: -1

    A more useful algorithm would be one that evaluates if the decision is free from bias and not influenced by money.

    Of course, finding the test data for it would be a bit of a problem.

  6. Re:Uh oh, this isn't good (if it works) on US Intelligence Wants Tools To Tell: Who's the Smartest of Them All? · · Score: 1

    Well, not really. See, the elite are not actually going to use those tests on themselves or their offspring so there are always going to be incompetent cretins put in charge of things because being born into privilege is divorced from any natural ability. They're not interested in making themselves better, only richer.

    What this is really about is that they need an easy way to identify skilled workers. There is not going to be any state education so they need to be able to identify potential candidates from within the uneducated 99% and if a machine can just scan someone then that's their ideal solution. Something that's easy to use and gives results that are easy to interpret, obviously.

  7. Re:Tomorrows headline.. on Brain Injury Turns Man Into Math Genius · · Score: 1

    Yeah, it's a bit of an out-lier in the spectrum of brain injuries. All I got from mine are ataxia and diplopia which are things I can't see anyone wanting.

  8. Re:Eh... on Star Wars: Episode VII Cast Officially Announced · · Score: 1

    I enjoyed the hell out of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Singular. The sequels were shite.

  9. Plot idea for them on Yahoo To Produce Sci-Fi Streaming Sitcom · · Score: 1

    Media Wars: The executives of established media feel they aren't getting richer fast enough and some Johnny-come-latelys who initially made their money through technology are stepping on their lawn.

    • Be reduced to tears when you see the legislative ideas they come up with to protect their turf
    • Gasp at the amounts spent on bribery, I mean lobbying
  10. Simulating meat does seem bizarrely common on Bill Gates & Twitter Founders Put "Meatless" Meat To the Test · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In the UK, Quorn is the main faux meat mycoprotein. I'm not a vegetarian but I have tried a few of their products and they are, without exception, all about simulating meat.

    The simulated chicken pieces are probably the most realistic; so much like the real thing in terms of appearance, texture and taste it's uncanny. The steak strips aren't as good texture wise, nor is the lamb cutlet, but both are ok taste wise although to visual inspection the lamb one is obviously artificial. The sausages are good but since the meat content of real sausages is questionable anyway, I don't think there's much comparison to draw. The biggest fail is the Quorn bacon rashers. You have to wonder why they bothered trying. Nothing can compare with real bacon and we can't help vegetarians who chose to give that up.

  11. Re:NASA Proposes "Water World" Theory For Origin o on NASA Proposes "Water World" Theory For Origin of Life · · Score: 1

    Fortunately, if there Is a real God, I suspect "he"s not going to be that hung up on whether his creations beleived without evidence or not.

    My opinion too. For the record I don't believe any intelligent entity was involved in the creation of the universe, but if there was then after 14 billion years I don't think they will give a toss about what any of the multitudinous lifeforms that inhabit it think or do.

  12. More than just Tucker on Peter Capaldi Unveiled As the New Star of Doctor Who · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Okay, he is, now, best known for the Malcolm Tucker role but I remember him better in other roles; the Angel Islington in a BBC adaption of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (although that show was really stolen by Paterson Joseph's Marquis De Carabas) and as Uncle Rory in the TV adaption of Iain Bank's Crow Road.

    And it's kind of nice that the Doctor is portrayed by an actor older than me again. That hasn't happened for a while.

  13. Re:Trucking? on Full-Size Remote Control Cars · · Score: 1

    Yeah, freight seems a good justification for this. However I expect that the majority of road use is about moving people between locations so remote control seems a bit pointless.

    Or maybe it's a growth opportunity. I guess you could hire a chauffeur in another country to drive the vehicle for your commute to work while you read the paper. Or maybe drive it home after a night on the town. "Yes officer, I'm completely drunk but I'm not driving the car. I've hired a guy on the other side of the world to do it."

  14. RIP Iain on Iain Banks Dies of Cancer At 59 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Farewell Sun-Earther Iain El-Bonko Banks of North Queensferry; that's the Culture style name he gave himself once. I don't think there will ever be a fictional place that I wanted to live in as much as your Culture.
    I encountered him a few times at Edinburgh Book Festival events and other signings. It was handy being able to say "Make it to Iain, spelled the same way".

  15. Re:Porn is bad and dirty on No Porn From Public WiFi Hotspots In the UK Proposed · · Score: 1

    Aye, the CCTV cameras are just being installed everywhere these days.

  16. Re:It's The American Drean on US CEO Says French Workers Have Three-Hour Work Day · · Score: 1

    The problem is that humans of today aren't any different than the ones from 2000 years ago (or even more)

    Actually, some claim that we are. I think that the story might also have been on slashdot a couple of weeks ago.

  17. Re:But I'm telling you... on Canadian Court Rules You Have the Right To Google a Lawyer · · Score: 1

    90 these days. And gearing up from heroic instances is enough to get you into Mogu'shan Vaults LFR, although being flung in with 24 other random people can be a bit of a trying experience.

    Anyway, you wouldn't need to be in the same raid, any toon on the same realm could whisper the raiding lawyer (or any realm if said lawyer had responded to your RealID request).

  18. Re:The reporter does not like electric vehicles on NY Times' Broder Responds To Tesla's Elon Musk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Male motoring reporters don't like electric cars. Simple fact.

    In the UK Top Gear program, the only presenter ever to make a grudging positive comment about an electric vehicle is James May, nicknamed Captain Slow by the others. I suspect there might be an agenda at work there.

  19. Is it really a good choice? on Python Trademark At Risk In Europe · · Score: 2

    I live in UK and the first association I make when encountering the word "python" is with Monty Python's Flying Circus. That would also be true of many people I know. Why would anyone want to use that as a trademark in this country when so many people will immediately think of a comedy team?

  20. Lot of speculation on Earth-buzzing Asteroid Would Be Worth $195B If We Could Catch It · · Score: 1

    The article is big on using "if", "might be", "could range". So that $195B will represent the most wishful of optimistic estimates. We need to get the technology for better assessment of the composition of asteroids when they're still a distance away before trying to figure out how to harvest them when they're nearby.

  21. Re:UK a US state? on EU Data Protection Proposal Taken Word For Word From US Lobbyists · · Score: 2

    It's going to be complicated.

    Could end up that Scotland is part of the EU and the rUK exits the EU. Then Wales and Northern Ireland could be unhappy about still being lumped with England since the strongest anti-EU sentiment is definitely concentrated in the south-east of England.

    The Conservative party is the most vocal anti-EU of the main parties and yet also the most vocal about adopting Central European Time. Bit schizophrenic, eh? Of course the pro-Tory press will daily promote the idea that European legislation on human rights makes it easy for terrorists to avoid jail and give all prisoners who actually end up there a cushy time while immigrants get an easy life at tax payers expense. The people who swallow all that seem to be a bit oblivious to the fact that EU directives on human rights and employment also protect them, which is the real reason the Tories want out; it'll be easier to oppress the proles.

  22. Re:MEP elections on EU Data Protection Proposal Taken Word For Word From US Lobbyists · · Score: 2

    Same in the UK. The European parliamentary constituencies are larger than national parliamentary constituencies, so a MEP will represent many more people. In the European vote I have a choice of candidates, normally one from each of the main parties and possibly the occasional independent. I can't recall my choice from the last one now but I think it was 5 or 6 candidates. In comparison local government and national parliament elections offer a choice from about 7 to 12 candidates depending on how many single issue candidates there are.

  23. Something in the name? on Pope To Resign Citing Advanced Age · · Score: 1

    Popes have resigned before, admittedly not always by choice, but a surprising number seem to have taken the name Benedict. Benedict V, IX and now XVI. That's half of the popes who have stood down named on the BBC site, so that 50% number is a bit dependent on how good their researcher is.

    Top marks to Celestine V who in 1294 issued a solemn decree that it was permissible for a pope to resign and then promptly did so.

  24. Is this only army? on Handheld Black Hornet Nano Drones Issued To UK Soldiers · · Score: 1

    If the UK government is going to bulk buy for a better cost then there are probably other parts under the government umbrella that are going to get some. Like M16. Like the police. Could be useful to buzz in for some pictures of faces in a crowd.

  25. Re:Anti gravity applications? on Electricity Gives Bubbles Super Strength · · Score: 1

    It's either a careless typing mistake in typing the name of my home town of Auchterarder, which would not be serious in any way because I'm a very poor typist, or it's a case of being unable to correctly name the place in which I spent my first eighteen years which would be indicative of something more serious.