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User: argStyopa

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  1. Re:It's not taking over "the human brain" on Online Skim Reading Is Taking Over the Human Brain · · Score: 1

    Then again, everything is relative.

    Let's remember that the OP is a person who would willingly pick up and read The Glass Bead Game in the first place; this isn't light, popular reading - not like it was a choice "Do I read Twilight or something from Hermann Hesse?"

    For the twitterverse that you comment on, this may sound patronizing but: these morons wouldn't ever have been readers ANYWAY. Ever. It's not like the twitter-morph has prevented them from being deep-thinkers.

  2. A better question: on Judge (Tech) Advice By Results · · Score: 0, Troll

    Who the fuck is Bennett Haselton and why should a give a single shit about what he says?

  3. Re:Loser Pay Legislation on Why There Are So Few ISP Start-Ups In the U.S. · · Score: 0

    Tort reform has been aggressively resisted by half of the US political system for decades, despite its issues exerting a pernicious effect on everything from education to medicine to the economy.

    https://www.opensecrets.org/or...

    Notice which party they're giving to.
    Vote accordingly.

  4. Re:Bad Neighbors on Japan Orders Military To Strike Any New North Korea Missiles · · Score: 2

    "Future historians will place tremendous blame on China's government ..."

    Unless, as many suspect, they'll be writing in Chinese. Then perhaps the 'memory' of events will perhaps be slightly different.

  5. My guess... on Algorithm Challenge: Burning Man Vehicle Exodus · · Score: 1

    ...is that the main barrier to efficient algorithms for exiting Burning Man would boil down to "Rules are a drag, man."

  6. Re:What? on Will Living On Mars Drive Us Crazy? · · Score: 1

    FWIW I was only about 50 miles south of Tower MN when they hit -60F (-51C) and was outside a fair amount of the time that evening.

    Honestly, from the POV of a northern MN resident, there isn't THAT much difference in feeling between -50C and -35C (unless there's wind), and the fact that I can say that authoritatively would already suggest that I'm a giant step more psychologically capable of accepting a martian equatorial climate of +20C down to maybe -20C, than is some mamby-pamby Californian or Floridian.

  7. Re:always Republicans on The Problem With Congress's Scientific Illiterates · · Score: 1

    And why it'll never get solved?

    "always Republicans (Score:5, Insightful) "

    Who's been responsible for our worthless education system breeding generations of ignorance that elect these congressmen? Democrats.

    Who's inculcated a culture of 'victim mentality' and balkanized the US population into enclaves of entitlement and grievance? Democrats.

    Who politicized science away from a simple, relatively objective process into advocacy, spinning facts to suit political goals? Democrats.

    Just sayin'. There's PLENTY of blame to go around. As much as the Republicans seem to be a party of know-nothings, Democrats (with their recent political successes) are more of an arrogant, patronizing party of know-it-alls. Let's remember that the Democrats position on nuclear power since the 1970s has, for example, made global warming immeasurably worse.

  8. Re:Reconciling the Irreconcilable on The Problem With Congress's Scientific Illiterates · · Score: 1

    "...The outcome is pretty clear, either science wins or humanity looses."

    When one is railing against ignorance, one needs to make sure they use words correctly.

    I'm just sayin'.

  9. What? on Will Living On Mars Drive Us Crazy? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "...The stress will be compounded by the fact that the only time the crew will be able to leave their habitat-yurt is when they're wearing puffy, insulated uniforms that simulate space suits..."

    Seriously, they're doing this in HAWAII?

    That quote above is pretty much normal life for 6 months every year in MN...he said, looking out the window at 10" of new snow on April 4.

    I'm only 80% joking. I kind of wonder if the people from here (and northward into America's hat) would be just psychologically better prepared for this sort of thing from a lifetime of having great chunks of your year sequestered inside.

  10. So, where's the anti-Muslim stuff? on Brendan Eich Steps Down As Mozilla CEO · · Score: 1

    ...I mean, mainstream Islam is seriously anti-gay.

    So all these folks hounding this guy for his (relatively trivial) political support for a cause 6 years ago must certainly then be ardent and vocal in their anti-muslim rhetoric?

    Because hounding someone out because of their 'intolerant' views is one thing.
    Picking on someone because you know they're not going to fight back just makes you a pussy.

  11. Not sure about this answer... on Interviews: J. Michael Straczynski Answers Your Questions · · Score: 1

    "...The only way to get HD versions of the episodes would be to re-render every single CGI and comp shot, and Warners will never, ever pay to have that done..."

    Considering the processing power today in 2014 vs 1994-1998 (series run years), fans could probably render all the CGI scenes into HD on their Ipads between watching videos of cats over the span of a weekend:

    For example:
    Intel Pentium 90 (March 1994)
    Transistor Count: 3.2 million
    Clock Speed: 90 MHz
    Process Scale: 600 nm
    Thermal Design Power: 9 Watts
    CTP Benchmark: 90 MTOPS
    Benchmarks: 0.09 GFLOPS
    Dhrystone: 107 DMIPS

    Core i7-3770 (Ivy Bridge) (April 2012)
    Transistor Count: 1,400~ million
    Clock Speed: 3,400 MHz
    Process Scale: 22 nm
    Chip Size: 160 mm2
    Thermal Design Power: 77 Watts
    CTP Benchmark: 136,000 MTOPS (Base)
    Benchmarks: 108.8 GFLOPS (Base)

  12. Re:Are people not allowed to have opinions? on OKCupid Warns Off Mozilla Firefox Users Over Gay Rights · · Score: 1

    So in turn you support Evangelical Christian companies boycotting people and causes in favor of gay marriage, abortion, etc? How do you feel about the Hobby Lobby case at the Supreme Court? OK with CEOs limiting services to people who disagree with them in their company?

    Just making sure you're not a hypocrite, nor that High Horse you're riding in on.

  13. April Fools? on Department of Transportation Makes Rear View Cameras Mandatory · · Score: 1

    The story's not that incredible (I wouldn't be surprised if the US government mandated all children be encased in bubble-wrap before leaving home, frankly), but this made me smell an April Fool joke: "... 13 to 15 deaths and 1,125 injuries may be prevented with the implementation of this new requirement...."

    If serious, that's ridiculous. More people are killed by plungers every year.
    If not serious, then very well played. A joke that's so subtly on the border of credulity that you have to actually figure out you're being pranked is well done.

  14. Re:Report Summary on UN Report: Climate Changes Overwhelming · · Score: 1

    By slashdot's standards (if applied objectively) the whole IPCC is flamebait, you tendentious fucks.

  15. Re:Buried the lede on UN Court: Japanese Whaling "Not Scientific" · · Score: 1

    Not just because I'm a bit of nihilist on Mondays, I suspect that it has a great deal to do with the ossification of the various national and international systems.

    We've had the longest span of great-power peace really ever in modern history...of course that doesn't actually mean "peace", but it does mean an absence of outright war.

    Which means that there haven't been any cataclysmic shocks to the system. The dirt's not getting turned over, so to speak. The closest thing to a 'rewrite' since 1945 was the collapse of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact...but this means that the West has churned on obliviously for 70 years. The only time I can think of before that was the end of the 19th century and likewise we had a massive agglomeration of wealth and governmental systems that disregarded the masses (until they needed them in 1914, of course...).

    More importantly to this discussion, in re the US, is that the US has been essentially free from any threat since 1812....200 years of safety has made our elites indolent, lazy, and self-indulgent because frankly they haven't been put up against the wall by an angry mob since well out of memory.

    As long as they keep us distracted with TMZ, the Kardashians, the latest MMO release (and for the "engaged" the very meaningful red vs blue arguments between Republicrats and Democans, or are we arguing over abortion today?) the benighted public is like a cheerful herd of milk cows, happily tromping out in the morning, munching nice grass during the day, to be called in the evening to be milked. It's not a bad deal for the cows, actually.

  16. Report Summary on UN Report: Climate Changes Overwhelming · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    "Really, the sky is falling! Really truly, we mean it this time. Don't pay attention to the previous reports that predicted the end of glaciers, an ice-free arctic, etc by around now, we were slightly off. But this time, we're absolutely positive the sky is falling.

    Really.

    Seriously."

  17. Government intrusiveness on If Ridesharing Is Banned, What About Ride-Trading? · · Score: 1

    In my view it's patently obscene that the government can step in and ban what is essentially a private transaction that breaks no laws.

    Can they ban me buying vegetables from a neighbor, to protect the local supermarket?

    Can they ban me paying a kid to mow my lawn, to protect the local lawncare service?

    What the government CAN legitimately offer is licensure; ie, with a CERTIFIED "taxi" you have someone who has paid the fees, gotten the registration and the 'license' to do this for a living. This would nominally ensure that the carrier has insurance, is regularly inspected for safety, etc. I should expect to pay more for such a service, no doubt.

    Seriously: FUCK YOU GOVERNMENT. If I want to risk my ass being robbed, murdered, or raped by some random stranger-driver to save a few bucks, that's MY business. I don't mean that sarcastically: as an adult that should be MY choice.

  18. Re:Buried the lede on UN Court: Japanese Whaling "Not Scientific" · · Score: 1

    NO country complies with such rulings, unless it's in their interest do so, or unless they are compelled.

    The problem with the US (who has since WW2 largely complied even with rulings against itself, contrary to your implication above) is that moronic recent political leaders don't understand that following such rules (except in extremis) IS in the US's broader long-term interest in fortifying the legal conduct of all other states.

  19. Chromatic change over time? on Famous Paintings Help Study the Earth's Past Atmosphere · · Score: 1

    Setting aside artistic license, and the possibility that any artist may well have had chromatic aberrations in their vision, didn't we JUST have a story in the last month or two specifically discussing the changing of colors used in rennaissance paintings, and how displaying them in different colored lighting environments would likely allow us to see the pictures in (something more like) their original hues?

    Seems like another effort to "prove" how the sky is falling, climatologically speaking.

  20. Re:Walmart employees, rejoice! on Wal-Mart Sues Visa For $5 Billion For Rigging Card Swipe Fees · · Score: 1

    If they're so miserable working there, they can go find another job suitable for their utter lack of employability.

    Oh wait, they probably can't.

    It's almost like people who have zero skills, experience, education are stuck with shitty jobs! /astonishing.

  21. I'm not kidding on China Arrests 1,500 People For Sending Spam Messages From Fake Mobile Bases · · Score: 1

    The Chinese government would certainly go up a point in my estimation if they'd now murder these people.

    I'm absolutely serious. Then hunt down the sponsors of spam, kill them too.

    Some people may think that would be unbelievably harsh; but what's the point of a despotic, reactionary regime if once in a while it can't do the stuff nobody else dares to?*

    People always judge punishments as absolutes, when rational actors are taking punishment * likelihood = danger. If you can't increase the likelihood (because it's a world-wide thing) you can at least ramp up the punishment to crazytown levels and probably raise the resulting danger to a level where the subjects start to take it seriously.

    Here's my guess: people would stop spamming from China.

    Considering it is a process that brings in revenue with little to no effort, how else are those people ever going to be de-incentivized to stop? And if they send out hundreds of millions of ads a day that take 6 seconds to recognize and delete, that's tens of thousands of dollars of peoples' time EVERY DAY that they're stealing, no?

  22. Or maybe... on Security for the 'Internet of Things' (Video) · · Score: 1

    ...connecting some things to the internet is simply a dumb idea?

    Why would I want my OVEN connected to the internet.
    One has to be there to put the ingredients, etc in, no?
    And if it's going to cook food while I'm not there...will it then eat it for me too?

    Seriously, the technophilia is just stupid sometimes.

  23. Automation is like any economic process on Job Automation and the Minimum Wage Debate · · Score: 1

    ...it's a matter of cost.
    And I suspect that, when it happens, it'll happen quickly in a cascade. Economics will justify it, people will suddenly realize that hey, I actually get MORE consistent service from a robot than a bored human drone, and then it will be a tidal wave.

    We've known about the Bakken Shale for nearly 100 years, and its rich trove of sweet light oil just lurking there for the price to justify the cost of retrieval. It is, and it's set off an energy renaissance in the US - something the mainstream public and I'd guess even experts didn't suspect the impact of when we were sitting in gas lines in the 70s.

    Can a robot replace a janitor? Not completely, but most of them? Yes.
    You still would have a skeleton crew of janitors, but increased automation will mean that Charley isn't slow-walking behind a floor-polisher for 3 hours at night, he's actually doing something a human needs to do because the floor will be polished by the robo-buffer.
    Can software replace a fast food worker today? No. But considering that the process of fast-food cooking and delivery is almost without human thought today already (ie "cook fries in oil that is precisely X degrees for Y time; after Z uses refresh oil") it wouldn't take a great deal of design implementation at build time to automate MUCH of the process.

    So no, automation can't replace ALL of the jobs...but it can and will surely take most of them.

  24. A new Diablo expansion? on Diablo 3 Expansion Reaper of Souls Launches · · Score: 1

    I the people playing are both going to be delighted!

  25. Re:IPCCFUD on IPCC's "Darkest Yet" Climate Report Warns of Food, Water Shortages · · Score: 1

    If you don't see histrionics in using words like "tamed", I'm not going to be able to explain it to you.