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User: nobodyknowsimageek

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Comments · 51

  1. Re:Children or not on Chicago Sends More Than 100,000 "Bogus" Camera-Based Speeding Tickets · · Score: 1

    I don't believe that speed limits being too low is the primary cause of people following too closely. The primary cause of tailgating is poor driving habits. Most drivers that tailgate will do so REGARDLESS of the prevailing speed of traffic. They either don't know any better, are not paying attention, or are just raging a$$holes (mostly this).

    In fact, it is my opinion that raising the speed limit will actually increase the incidence of people following too closely, because most drivers don't seem to have a CLUE that following distance should increase as speed increases.

  2. Re:Oh dear on Donald Trump Thinks Going To Mars Would Be "Wonderful" But There Is a Catch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You are entirely neglecting the fact that the reason the toxins are there is from mining by a private corporation that never cleaned up its mess. But EPA bad, corporation good, right?

    Moron

  3. Re:If Only on Registered Clinical Trials Make Positive Findings Vanish · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yes because climate scientists are all trying to get rich by pandering to the Government? THis is the most ridiculous argument against climate change. The only "scientists" with a demonstrable financial interest are the corporate shills denying the evidence. Take a look at the history of the campaign to end leaded additives in gasoline. The kind of corporate-funded "research" trying to discredit the voices sounding the alarm against lead in fuels sound eerily similar to what is going on in the climate change debate today.

  4. Better idea: use a water gun? on Kentucky Man Arrested After Shooting Down Drone · · Score: 1

    Just have a high power water gun handy; if you start soaking the drone I bet the operator will clear out. If not then maybe you can knock it down :)

  5. Re:doesn't do a thing for DNA mutations on Telomere-Lengthening Procedure Turns Clock Back Years In Human Cells · · Score: 1

    so the slowly-sickening cells live longer. a new boon to geriatric medicine, a new torpedo in the side of Medicare and Social Security.

    No. This could allow cells copy themselves without replication errors for more generations. This is not "preserving" cells that are growing sicker; the existing cell is copying itself, and having a longer telomere means the succeeding generations are protected longer from errors. From one of the first links I googled (http://www.tasciences.com/what-is-a-telomere/):

    "Many scientific studies have shown a strong connection between short telomeres and cellular aging."

  6. No publicity is bad publicity? on Groupon Backs Down On Gnome · · Score: 1

    The cynic in my says that Groupon did this intentionally to generate a firestorm of controversy to get themselves some free publicity. The only other possible explanation is that they are incredibly foolish.

  7. Re:Recommended documentary on eyewitness testamony on Study Weighs In On the Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony · · Score: 1

    The key is that you MUST say that you are not answering because you are invoking your 5th amendment right not to incriminate yourself. If you say nothing at all, then your silence may be used in court. If you say you are not answering because of 5th amendment, then your refusal to answer may NOT be used in court.

    It is indeed a perverse ruling, but you can protect yourself by knowing how to respond.

  8. Re:Fuck 'em on Researchers Now Pulling Out of DEF CON In Response To Anti-Fed Position · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is rather difficult to trust a group of people with a long history of lies, abuses, manipulation, and little or no accountability.

    That also explains why I don't trust much coming out of the "hacker" community, either. :)

    See what happens when you make sweeping generalizations about a community based on the wrongdoings of some members of that community?

  9. Re:But, Corporations are People! on The Amish Are Getting Fracked · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you think that you can evade the bad behavior of Corporations simply by "not buying from them" then you are incredibly naive.

  10. Re:Sure it rates a sequel. Not to say it'll be goo on Green Lantern Writer To Pen Blade Runner Sequel · · Score: 1

    ... I'm there to be entertained, not to think. ...

    Watch TV then. Good film is supposed to make you think.

  11. Re:And... it's gone on North Korean Missile Raised To Firing Position, Says US Official · · Score: 1

    You are either a shill for NK, or a stooge. NK has REPEATEDLY threatened imminent attacks on US soil in the past month. They even showed a video of KJU conferring with his generals, with a map of the USA showing missile tracks targeting several cities.

    The general consensus is that Kim is posturing mostly to strengthen his internal political position, but he is doing it in an extremely dangerous and unpredictable way.

  12. Re:Probably Bought with Laundered Tax Free Income on Crazy Eric Schmidt, His Yacht Prices Are Insaaane! · · Score: 1

    I don't think the treaties necessarily would prohibit charging fees after a rescue. Certainly you can be fined after a rescue if you were negligent; it doesn't take too much to imagine a fee charged for a rescue if the boat owner was a US citizen and yet had avoided paying sales tax on their yacht by registering in a tax-haven, and was subsequently rescued in US waters.

    It could even be structured so that the fee would be nominal for "normal" boats; e.g. 0.1% of the last sale price. But that $20M yacht? That will be $20 grand please.

    Most "normal" boat owners will have paid the sales tax anyway, and be exempt from the fee.

  13. Re:Make reasonable laws - AND ENFORCE THEM VIGOROU on Speeding Ticket Robots — Laws As Algorithms · · Score: 1

    In California, the "Maximum speed law" states that the maximum speed you can drive is no faster "than is safe". This means you can be ticketed for driving at the posted speed limit if it is (subjectively) not safe under the current conditions (i.e. weather, traffic, etc).

    Theoretically it also means that driving OVER the posted speed might not be ticketable; I had a driver's ed instructor who claimed that he had gotten a speeding ticket thrown out by arguing in traffic court that he was driving safely, even though over the posted limit; YMMV.

    Effectively this means that a cop could ticket you at ANY speed, and argue that it was unsafe. My experience is that in normal traffic, the "up to 10mpg over" rule is the norm, at least on the freeways/highways.

  14. Seems unlikely this is really a danger... on "Dark Lightning" Could Expose Airline Passengers To Radiation · · Score: 1

    Airplanes routinely try to avoid thunderstorms because of the danger of wind shear. At most this danger might lead to increasing the preferred distance; but it seems unlikely that there much added risk vs. proximity to a lightning strike while on the ground.

  15. Re:slow news day? on No Such Thing As a Tax-Free Lunch At Google? · · Score: 1

    I thought we valued people paying their fair share of taxes.

    The Googlers are certainly in the top 5% of earners in the US, many of them are probably in the top 1%.

    Why wouldn't you want them paying their fair share?

    Are we going to go after schoolchildren that trade desert cups at lunchtime because one has a higher value than another and can be called taxable income? If I pay the check for a date does that mean she has to declare it on her taxes?

    Any company that provides free (to the employee) lunch is eating the cost, pardon the pun. If the issue is whether the lunch benefit is taxable, perhaps buying the food from a supplier should already pay the tax. I have no idea if it does right now or not, or what tax arrangements are to be had, but to call this a Google problem is just looking for a reason to be bitchy at those who have more than you.

    Your arguments are specious at best; children trading cups do not have an employer/employee relationship. The company is not "eating the cost"; providing these meals is certainly treated as an expense, which means they are writing it off and thus getting a tax break. Seen in this light this is a tax-dodge; a way of compensating their employees, (and receiving a tax break on the expense) while their employees do not pay taxes on the benefit.

  16. Re:Better answer on Microsoft Creative Director 'Doesn't Get' Always-On DRM Concerns · · Score: 1

    >

    Only geeks complain about DRM. Not saying I'm all for it but I can tell you most console users don't give a shit.

    This is demostrably false. non-geeks complain about DRM when:

    1) they are unable to play content they have purchased because the DRM is broken
    2) the DRM cripples their machine
    3) the DRM interferes with their use of other software

    All of these things have happened. DRM is a losing strategy long-term. I say this as an ex-employee of a company that sold DRM to both the movie industry and gaming industry (hint: they managed to get Congress to mandate licensed use of their tech in VCRs).

  17. Re:Oh? on North Korea Kills Phone Line, 1953 Armistice; Kim Jong Un's Funds Found In China · · Score: 5, Informative

    There was a book, subsequently made into a move: "The Mouse that Roared". The only flaw in their plan was that their tiny little invasion force actually landed on the East Coast, managed to capture a Doomsday device the US had built, and thereby won the war. Hilarity ensued!

  18. Wrong approach on Is Code.org Too Soulless To Make an Impact? · · Score: 1

    I don't think "Encouraging more kids to learn to code" makes any sense at all. That is a top-down approach. Not everybody is cut out to be a coder, in the same way that not everybody is going to become a professional athlete, or a doctor, or any other profession.

    Please DON'T tell kids that coding is guaranteed to make them financially successful; first of all it's not true, and secondly that is the wrong way to find your passion. First and foremost kids should be encouraged to find their passion, and THEN figure out how to be successful at it. And success does not always have to be measured in $$$.

    If we want to increase to pool of talented coders, the right approach is to provide opportunity for kids that express an interest to have the tools they need to figure out if coding is the right thing for them. Some of them will find that it is; some may not, but they may find their way into something related and will be the better for having had the experience.

  19. Re:Hope no one hacks our entire Air Force one day on Future Fighters Won't Need Ejection Seats · · Score: 0

    You have obviously never worked on a government contract.

  20. Re:Retrieved Samples Without DPRK's AF Scrambling? on Update — Sensors Do Not Pick Up North Korean Radioactivity · · Score: 1

    I think you could make the case that the Allies won the war in large part due to superior cryptography. If the British (and later the US) had not been breaking the German and Japanese naval codes for most of the war, things might have turned out very differently.

  21. Re:California on California's Surreal Retroactive Tax On Tech Startup Investors · · Score: 5, Funny

    NO NO! We hate it here! It's terrible! Don't move to California, the weather isn't nearly as nice as you think! And there are all these liberals everywhere! And the GAYS!

    By all means move to the East Coast; or Texas! Anywhere else but here.

    (wink wink).

    signed,
    lifelong Californian

  22. Re:Cue huge pushback from the AMA in 3...2... on FDA May Let Patients Buy More Drugs Without Prescriptions · · Score: 2

    IMHO, what's needed is a new, "basic doctor" type degree that has the power to prescribe most meds and monitor most medical conditions but doesn't 8-10 years of education and training costing the GDP of a small country.

    There is such a thing; they are called Physician's Assistant, or PA for short. They can do nearly everything a doctor can do, including prescribe most medications. The education requirements are significantly less than that for an MD.

  23. Re:Best Buy fails again on Best Buy Scans Drivers License For Returns — No More Allowed For 90 Days · · Score: 1

    Considering that they just announced a loss of 1.7 BILLION and their CEO resigned, I think 5 years is optimistic. BB will be out of business much sooner than that.

  24. Priorities on Ask Slashdot: Does Being 'Loyal' Pay As a Developer? · · Score: 1

    This is really a question of your priorities, and a little bit about whether you think your current company is likely to be successful; I say that because a small company generally has much better growth potential, but also a much higher chance of failing.

    Personally I think the pay rise you mention is pretty small change. The convenience of the commute is nice. But it seems to me much more important to ask yourself if the new/bigger company offers you a better career opportunity than your existing one. Another important consideration is the personal relationships you have at your current position. In my 25+ years in software, those relationships have been far and away more important than any other consideration.

  25. These data breaches are SHOCKING! on SAIC Loses Data of 4.9 Million Patients · · Score: 1

    News flash: convenience trumps security and leads to data breach/leakage.
    Our other top story: dog bites man; film at 11.