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User: dr_db

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Comments · 93

  1. Oh, I laughed when I read this on Spam Text Prematurely Blows Up Suicide Bomber · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Made me think of Achmed and his 'premature detonation.'

    Sad to think this is how people need to express their world view, happy when it turns out like this for them.

  2. Re:A better question on Xbox Live Labels Autistic Boy "Cheater" · · Score: 1

    My autistic son was better playing quake than I was when he was two. He would stand there wobbling around with crappy balance and shoot people with the rail gun that I wouldn't hit with a shotgun. He saw me playing it *once* and got on it the moment I left the machine. I am hoping some kind of technical career for him, as (a) he can do shit on the computer that I can't fathom at times, and (b) there is nothing mechanical he needs to see more than once to figure it out. Now at age 8 and counting.

    There is a good chance that he was cheating, and simply not able to understand the social implications of it - after all, not understanding social interactions is a defining aspect of autism. My son would figure out how to install a cheat in seconds.

  3. Citation supplied on Laser Incidents With Aircraft On the Rise · · Score: 1

    Here is one that I knew about off hand...

    http://articles.cnn.com/1997-05-14/us/9705_14_russia.laser_1_laser-device-russian-ship-laser-burns?_s=PM:US

    Google will return more.

  4. Re:What next? on New Material Can Store Vast Amounts of Energy · · Score: 1

    I wonder how many people even got that was a quote.

    I muched prefered the nights dawn trilogy, and I am not buying a single part of the dreaming series until they are all out in paperback. I did not enjoy waiting for Judas unchained so I could continue reading the same book.

  5. Re:Surprising? on Feds At DefCon Alarmed After RFIDs Scanned · · Score: 1

    Fries with Gravy ... and Cheese.

    Never could get them to make it right when I was travelling down south. A good dark brown beef gravy with mozzarella cheese curds would sure hit the spot right now. mmmmm.

    And I am not in a French region of Canada, but I still enjoy it. Immensely,

    Off topic, we also have a far wider variety of chip flavours, and other gut size-enhancing snacks.

  6. NCC-1701 version on Could We Beam Broadband Internet Into Iran? · · Score: 2, Funny

    We would have to ask Scotty if we had enough power to beam broadband.

  7. Re:Why aren't more roads concrete? on Broke Counties Turn Failing Roads To Gravel · · Score: 1

    Posting from a place that gets cold... The expansion cracks get ridiculous in the winter, hammers like a flat tire. And they seemed to need lots of maintenance, if my experiences in Winnipeg were any indicator. Where I am now they will put down a concrete pad where trucks stop and rut up the road, like at lights, but the rest is asphalt. The asphalt cracks about every 14 feet after a couple years from the cold/hot cycle.

    Also, watermains tend to be run under roads as well, and it's much easier and quicker to patch a cut when they make a repair when the road is asphalt. The curing time to full strength isn't measured in days.

  8. Re:The Opposite on Japanese Scientists Claim To Reconstruct Images From Brain Data · · Score: 1

    Your thinking small with dream sequences. *If* you could feed it back in, and quickly, think accelerated learning.

  9. We don't have an energy problem... on GE Microbes Make Ersatz Crude Oil From Many Sources · · Score: 1

    What we really have is a storage and distribution problem. Electric would be fantanstic, if batteries didn't suck. When driving to another city, stopping to recharge for 4 hours is, well, problematic. Flywheels likely would be nice if they could store enough energy.

    Hydrogen is simply a distribution and storage solution, and somewhat energy intensive to boot.

    Put in a solar farm in Nevada - sure you could power the entire US, it's just the transmission losses would be brutal, and unworkable. I see people all happy happy about the effeciencies of PV's, however they have their load of issues as well, and don't forget it.

  10. Re:Where is MicroSoft's entry? on Purdue Students Win Rube Goldberg Contest · · Score: 1

    Sigh, I was trying to be funny, after a 2 week SBS disaster. Yes, many things are easier in Windows, as long as you are on the beaten path. Exiting that path usually becomes an edventure though.

  11. Where is MicroSoft's entry? on Purdue Students Win Rube Goldberg Contest · · Score: 2, Informative

    I am sure that all admins can attest to the fact that MS products require a ridiculous number of extra steps to perform simple tasks.

  12. Re:Mercury is as much a non-issue as it can be on Geo-Engineering to stop Climate Change · · Score: 1

    Nope, I have had many burn out as well. I live in a rental, and all the fixtures are enclosed, which leads to rapid failure. In fact, I had a couple regular filament bulbs that outlasted the cf's. Some cf's are even fussy if they are bulb up/down in terms of life.

  13. Cattle powered on New Rocket Engine Successfully Tested · · Score: 4, Funny

    Will this be rated in cowpower?

    I can see it now - "Where do you stupid bovines think you're going? The mooooooooooon?"

  14. Defensive? on Researchers Find Potential Cure for Cancer · · Score: 3, Informative

    It actually did make me take a second look. Although I wonder if they are doing it to prevent some other company the chance to patent a part of the process and profit for themselves - i.e. patent it before someone else.

    For the guy asking about perspective, take a look at the sugars vs. hepatitis article from a couple days ago, where they were working around a patent for treatment to produce a low cost version, while the drug company charged $14,000/yr for treatment. A cure for cancer is worthless to most of the population if it costs a million bucks.

  15. Re:Why on A $200-Million Floating Nuclear Plant? · · Score: 1

    Because when you are in the far north, the sun goes down in October, not be seen again for March. Solar don't work so good when there is no sun.

  16. Hell we even have cellphone loaded meters... on Top off Your Parking Meter with a Cell Call · · Score: 1

    We've had them in the downtown and broadway area for months now.

  17. Actually, what Apple reference? on Why Vista Release Date Really Slipped · · Score: 1

    I think I have missed something here.

  18. At least it will be easy to detect..... on Centrifuge May Be Superseded by Laser Enrichment · · Score: 1

    All they need to watch for is large aquariums for the sharks.

  19. Re:LED efficiency versus Compact Fluorescents on The End Of The Light Bulb? · · Score: 1

    I didn't know that. I have bought bulk from Ikea, and I bought many packages of philips. None said anything about being fixture rated, or had a not-recommended warning printed anywhere on the packaging, or bulb itself.

    I'll have to look into that, as I have kids that love to leave the lights on all over the house, and I would love to not pay bills while I switch-train them.

  20. Re:LED efficiency versus Compact Fluorescents on The End Of The Light Bulb? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    CFL's do not like enclosed fixtures - I live in a rental, so I am not inclined to change them, but *every* cfl I put in those fixtures failed. I did post-mortens on them, some seemed to have unsoldered themselves (wires off the board) and others just seemed to have died. They never seemed to feel hot enough to melt solder, but the conditions in the base while running might have been pretty rough. So 15 have failed, 2 survived (in open socket applications). Many rooms in my house have regular tube fluorescents, which rarely give me trouble.

  21. Can't even post a bug for the beta on Microsoft's AntiSpyware Disabled by Spyware · · Score: 1

    Public download, but can't provide feedback without becoming a MVP. Sigh.

    I have my taskbar on the left edge of the screen, and any "toast" windows that popup in the bottom right corner just quickly scroll up and off the screen.

    But, I guess someone else will have to report it.

  22. Slashdot Etched! on Electrolytic Etching, For What A Dremel Can't Do · · Score: 1

    There is a coil pattern etched into the case after the network cable sitting there vaporized.

  23. Because rail is not just-in-time on The Super Superhighway · · Score: 1

    The subject says it all. My experience with rail shipping, in Canada, is that it's incredibly slow. Stuff showing up a week or more late, on an already lax schedule. I would like to see more rail traffic, but what they are doing is unimpressive.

    Next time you go to a grocery store, take a look at that produce - it's shipped by truck because it's there fast, someone is close to the reefer (heating/cooling) to maintain the quality, rather than having a unit die a mile back on a train and nobody noticing. Or you can get your produce a week (yum, yum) later by rail.

  24. Why it's called the Pentium on RIP Pentium II, 1997 - 2006 · · Score: 1

    The real reason they called it Pentium is they could not trademark 486, 586, etc as a name. They were fighting AMD in court over this during the era of the 486, and lost, hence the next processor was the Pentium. Of course, most people would not be able to determine what greek value is next, hence the Pentium 2, Pentium 3, etc.

  25. Re:Don't laugh (or do, I don't care) on Envisioning the Desktop Fabricator · · Score: 1

    I read somewhere that somewhat had modified an inkjet printer to spew out cells, and had printed a 2d slice of kidney - I think it was a kidney, that remained viable. They were going to work on making a 3d printer next. So I suspect that biological items will be printed in the near future, actually.

    The main problem will be the consumables.