If you were to go to McDonalds and buy a Big Mac would you be paying an Big Mac tax?
If I went to McDonald's and the only way to get a Big Mac was with Fries, a Coke, and a Sundae (with wonderful "extra" options like salad, milk, and coffee available only if I purchase a "base" value meal), you sure as hell can bet I'd see it as a "tax".
Of course, the solution is to not go to McDonald's. Right up until I realize that McDonald's has been granted a monopoly in my area. Going to Burger King requires that I MOVE 30 miles away because they can only serve local residents. Worse yet, nice restaurants have all been driven out of business by a government-sponsored monopoly. So my options are currently go to McDonald's and pay the McTax, or don't go out to eat.
Let me get this straight. The console that actually uses the Flash plugin for console-style games is stuck at Flash 7 because "Adobe doesn't have an SDK for Flash 9", but somehow Sony manages to get an SDK for Flash 9?
In the case of WiiWare, I was thinking about promoting the online capabilities of the console rather than the individual titles themselves. At least then users might hook up their consoles and Nintendo could realize better royalties across ALL WiiWare titles. Beyond that, I think that sites like WiiWare World already do an excellent job promoting the titles themselves.
Unfortunately, it seems like all that developers have been able to do with it is create a bunch of crappy mini games where the only point seems to be to flail ones limbs around.
Unfortunately, it seems like all that developers have been able to do with the PS3 is create a bunch of crappy first person shooters where the only point seems to be to fire guns in random directions and hope you hit something.
I don't know how up to date you've been keeping with the Wii, but the age of mini-games is over. Save for Rayman Raving Rabbids 3, I can't think of a single title in recent memory that's based on mini-games. If any exist, it is probably a shovelware title that you should avoid. Spend your money on Boom Blox, Wario Shake It, Zack and Wiki, or one of the many excellent WiiWare titles instead.
Immaturity is when you seek out the things you were forbidden from as a child.
Maturity is when you're not afraid of what other people think. Especially when you base your choice of entertainment on such unpopular concepts as "fun", "uplifting", "social", and "family friendly".
I don't think you understand how many Wiis Nintendo is producing. Let me draw a comparison for you.
In the eight years that the PS2 has been available, it has sold about 140 million units. That's a lot by game console standards. In fact, it's a lot by the standards of pretty much any electronic device ever mass marketed. The PS2 is the most popular console in the history of video games.
To reach that lofty level of 140 million in 8 years, it would have taken a manufacturing capacity of ~1.5 million units per month. Nintendo is producing 2.4 million units per month. If Nintendo maintains that rate, they will produce 115.2 million consoles in the next 4 years. That's in addition to the 30 million consoles already on the market. That right there is over 145 million consoles in 6 years.
I will reiterate that the assumption is that production stays steady. However, Nintendo has already promised additional increases in production! Unless there is a massive and sudden drop-off in demand, Nintendo will not only be exceeding the record set by the PS2, they will shatter it to pieces.
I've not checked many review sites so if I'm bringing up a biased, poor review site by all means, reject what I'm saying
One comment I'd like to make is that Gamespot is useless. They have no journalistic integrity, and their reviews are awful to boot. Check IGN or MetaCritic instead.
You go to the Wii section in any store and the shelves are stocked with what I deem "exploitware".
I do not disagree with this statement. However, I would caution you to think carefully about the PS2 before you derive too much from it. How much PS2 software was AAA stuff? How much of it was excellent stuff that didn't get the attention it deserved? How much of it was pure, unbridled crap? (Even worse, do you know how much of the last category has been ported to the Wii to "cash in"?)
The biggest issue with the Wii is that some of the best games fall into the category of "don't get enough attention". Gamers pay attention to Monkey Ball Wii when Mercury Meltdown Revolution is the superior title. Zach and Wiki bring back the point and click adventure genre, but no one can be bothered to buy it. Geometry Wars Galaxies is several dozen shmups in one, but hardcore gamers ignore it. Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection is the most amazing pinball simulation EVER, but it goes directly to the bargain bin. Boom Blox... well... Boom Blox is just overpriced IMHO.
And then there's WiiWare. Awesome, great, terrific, incredible games like Defend Your Castle, Toki Tori, Strong Bad, World of Goo, Wild West Guns (if you like light-gun games), Mega Man 9, Bomberman Blast, and LostWinds, yet most of the Wii owners I see don't even bother to hook up their Wii's Wifi.
I don't know if this is a failure to market on Nintendo's part or what. Obviously Nintendo's stuff sells well enough, so one has to wonder what gives. In part, I have seen publishers take a defeatist attitude toward the Wii. (e.g. The only reason why anyone heard of Zach and Wiki was because IGN tried to jump-start a grass roots movement. Capcom spent diddly squat on advertising and promotion.) Which, unsurprisingly, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Still, you'd think that publishers would want to nail their support for this machine while the iron is hot.
I honestly don't think they "get" it. Until they do, a Wii owner has to be a discerning owner. Because that's the only way you're going to find the good games. And there are PLENTY. From Excite Truck to Wario Shake It, the games are there. They're just not getting much attention.
...water is wet, the sky is blue, and Macs and PCs use the same hardware. i.e. There is nothing surprising here. The demand for the Wii has been mercilessly out of whack with what is possible (or at least practical) to manufacture, since day one. I know a lot of people thought the shortage was over when Wiis temporarily became available during the summer. (Note that I said "available", not "abundant".) The problem is that console sales always cycle during the summer. The best sales are obviously around Christmas, both before and after. (After for all the folks who couldn't get one during the Christmas season.) Being at the opposite end of the year, summer is obviously going to be the low-point for sales. Consumers are spending their money on vacations and outdoor fun rather than game consoles.
What I find far more interesting is the extreme vitriol expressed by those who commented on the ComputerAndVideoGames.com story. It seems the more successful the Wii becomes, the more the hardcore gamers hate it for its success.
Um, dude. I'm right here. (*waves hand*) And I thought that post was rather unfair to your comment. My response would have been some sort of grumbling about the fact that Chrome didn't catch the spelling mistake when I copied and pasted it. (I did check! Worst. Spell. Checker. Ever.)
On his second point, I have no idea why anyone is trying to drag religion into this. As I recall, the original theory of the Big Bang was not acceptable to the Catholic church either. Funny thing, though. It wasn't acceptable to science, either. Until it was refined, many of the issues worked out, and the Pope stopped by to say "God created the Universe with a Big Bang". There. Settled on both sides.
Perhaps we'll prove tomorrow that both the scientists supporting the theory and the Pope were wrong. Maybe the next Pope will declare that God created the universe with a series of pops after science disproves the big ol' bang. Personally, I'm not really vested either way.:-)
As for the identity of the AC? Looks like Yet Another Slashdot Troll(TM).
I am not an astrophysicist (IANAAP?), but this would seem to have some interesting implications for galactic mechanics. For one, does this means that stars are continously recycled by the black hole believed to be at the center of each galaxy? i.e. They get sucked in, crushed, then ejected as gassous emmisions which then collect and reform as a new star.
Wouldn't this also create a "galactic wind" similar to the solar wind experienced inside a solar system? Could such a wind (as weak as it may be on a micro scale) be responsible for the universe's apparent anti-gravity effect? It seems to me that if a galactic wind did exist, it would cause the galaxies to repel each other as the particles communicate back the forces of the particle collisions over billions of years.
Speaking of Black Holes, I was just listening to an interview with Brian Greene on NPR this morning. It seems that he has released a children's book designed to help children understand Relativity. Specifically, the link between gravity and time. Amazon has a nice video* where Mr. Greene explains the story and how he attempts to create an emotional connection between readers and the physics of Relativity.
* Full Disclosure: I did NOT include a referral code. This is a clean link ** Someone should really make a joke out of LHC doomsday and how we're all saved. I couldn't come up with anything funny.
You should be able to see that they're spread across recent days, though. I never really stopped posting, but I did slow down for a while. I've noticed that many folks stop noticing my posts if I don't grab a significant share of first posts.
Of course, it's always funny to type up a response from the mysterious future only to have someone accuse me of collusion, trolling, being able to type 500 words per minute, and whatever else they can come up with. Pretty sad.
You send them your public key, they send you an mp3 encrypted with it?
More or less, yeah. Obviously there should be a standard around it to ensure that devices are compatible.
Why don't I give my key to my six billion closest friends?
Because it's a waste of effort? Switching out identities would be a pain in the arse. If you understand how to do that, it's much simpler to decode the files.
Why don't I just simulate the computation done by the devices on my general-purpose computer, extract the resulting drm-free audio/video stream and dump it to disk?
Indeed. In fact, why not do it today? There are very few barriers preventing it. In fact, I used to have a plugin that would use Quicktime to transcode my iTunes files into MP3s so I could load them onto my wife's MP3 player. The only reason why I don't use it now is because she has a device compatible with the DRM. (aka an iPod)
And there-in lies the rub. All you can accomplish with DRM is to keep honest people honest. It's a barrier, not a brick wall. A brick wall is impossible as long as it is possible to play the file. Which was my exact point.
Hmm, the link you provided to chernobyl.info doesn't mention airborne hazard at all
My apologies, you are correct. I appear to have mixed up my links when posting. This should be the correct link:
http://www.ichtj.waw.pl/ichtj/nukleon/back/full/vol47_2002/v47n2p069f.pdf A good correlation between the Cs-137 activity and dust content in the air indicates that in the observed period the main source of Cs-137 activity is the dust with soil and vegetation particles. The effect of radiation from inhalation is negligible (626 pSv).
Maybe we should start a "better off dead" tally?
You'll notice that I was very up front with the numbers. I repeatedly mark a "maximum human impact" rather than simply discounting these people. Yes, their lives have been made far more difficult. I don't think it's fair to say that these people are "better off dead". Having to take medication for the rest of your life is comparable to situations like diabetes. It's a dampener on your life, but is that the same as having nothing to live for?
Some of these people were pretty messed up. (Particularly the ones who survived being in the reactor building, but were slow in getting out.) But the vast majority are living as decent lives as their country can provide them. But at least they're alive and actually living lives. Compare that to the Great Smog (12,000) or Bhopal (11,000). They died in agony and are DEAD. There's no coming back for them. They're not getting to tell their own kids or grandkids about the tragic experience. They are simply gone.
Placed in a life or death situation, are you sure you'd rather share the fate of those who are simply lost rather than those who are hurt but still living?
Untrue! It is possible to cryptographically lock media to your identity. (Whereby your identity is represented by a public/private key pair.) By loading your key to your different devices (something that can be done transparently if there is a standard), you can remove the media barriers while still throwing up barriers against illicit sharing.
Granted, the result would do little more than keep reasonably honest people honest, but that's about the best that companies can do anyway. If you can play it, you can crack it. So what's the point in coming up with ever-more convoluted DRM schemes? They all rely on security through obscurity, and are thus guaranteed to be circumvented.
If token DRM would give companies a warm, fuzzy feeling, than I'm all for it. (Assuming that a consumer-friendly standard is drafted and a good key backup system is provisioned in the standard.) It may not do much to stop full-on pirates, but what will? It will achieve the exact same goals as current DRM, but without all the anti-consumerism. A friendly compromise if you will.
Unfortunately, I have my doubts about the industry accepting such an idea. The RIAA's position appears to be that everyone is dirty-rotten pirates that must submit to their lord and master, the music cartel. Because if they don't submit, they'll just go back to their evil, immoral ways!
Yeah. The industry would be a lot better off if the RIAA was dissolved.:-/
Sorry, http://www.neis.org/press/NASBIERVII.htm does not exist on our site. If you suspect an error on one of our pages, please send email at: webmaster@neis.org
So your source is a non-existent press release published by an activist organization with no credibility? Well, I'm convinced.
Or not. Your figures are bunk.
As for the incidents you reported, yeah, power generation has a lot of dangers.
None of those accidents were nuclear, but they all resulted in deaths. When you're dealing with megawatts of power, it's important to remember that a megawatt of generated power can just as easily become a megawatt of destructive force.
There are actually quite a few more accidents at nuclear plants than the ones you listed. What's fascinating, though, is that there are so few deaths or injuries. As with other power generating technology, Nuclear has become better understood and safer over time. Fewer and fewer people are dying from regular power generation, and nobody is dying anymore from nuclear generation. That's despite the fact that 19.4% of US Power is Nuclear. As a resident of Illinois with 11 power generating reactors online, I'm proud to say that we have provided nuclear power to the nation for over 30 years and in a very safe manner. A benefit you are no doubt receiving.
I honestly hope they build more of those suckers in my back yard. Because I sure as hell would rather be breathing the clean air offered by nuclear options rather than the toxic, radioactive crap produced by the coal plants used to provide over 50% of the US's power needs.
My hat goes off to you for a decent try, sir. It's more than I can say for the NeverVotedBush's failure to back up his statements.
Cesium-137 does not pose a significant airborne hazard. While it can spread by airborne dispersion, the hazard of Cs-137 is that it is water soluble and is treated by the body as if it were potassium. Cs-137 has a half-life of ~30 years and is one of the key isotopes still posing a potential danger in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
FWIW, much of the dispersion of Cs-137 and Su-90 materials into the food supply were caused by nuclear weapons tests and thus are commonly found around the world. Levels have been dropping since testing ceased.
That must be why the Windscale reactor in the UK was still sitting with fuel in it since the 1957 accident until just this year - and decommissioning and cleanup can only now proceed.
You really don't have a clue, do you? Windscale was sealed off because 11 metric tons of radioactive material combined with massive quantities of flammable graphite burned the structure to the ground. As much cleanup as possible was done with the materials, including removal of as many fuel rods as was safe at the time. After that, it was capped for safety and left to sit.
Full decommissioning started in the 80's. The problem wasn't a matter of radiation (the materials had decayed down to ~1% of their original radioactivity), the problem was the safety of a heavy industrial structure that had suffered extreme damage. All that planning that went into the decommissioning was to prevent on-site accidents due to structural issues, prevent accidental release of the remaining isotopes, prevent fires from breaking out (remember, the graphite is probably still flammable having been sealed off from oxygen), and to acquire the necessary heavy machinery to make it happen.
TMI's reactor (which was in much better condition) was entered by humans a year later. The reactor head was removed 5 years after the incident. Defueling began 6 years after the incident.
Let's just get your FUD out of the way right now. WHAT alpha and beta emitters would become airborne and pose a toxicity risk in the case of a nuclear accident? Please, give us a few detailed examples. Link us to a few respectable sources. BACK UP YOUR STATEMENTS WITH A FEW FACTS.
(For those watching at home, here's a hint: Dirty bombs don't work.)
One thing about the potassium in our bodies - unless you get the levels seriously out of whack, it won't kill you.
And neither will external materials that have low-level radioactivity for 10,000 years.
Polonium 210 is an alpha emitter (you know - the kind you toss about as not being able to penetrate the dead skin on our bodies). Unfortunately 89 nanograms, ingested, is the median lethal dose.
Let's be clear for a moment: Litvinenko was poisoned. He didn't accidentally ingest 10 micrograms of Polonium 210 any more than you or I have accidentally ingested 5 mg of Pu-238. With a half-life of about 1/3yr, a temperature that easily exceeds 500C, and a heavy weight that prevents it from becoming airborne, Polonium poses little risk outside the laboratory or industrial environments where it is used. In addition, Polonium is a highly stable heavy metal that is unlikely to chemically bond to common materials and/or make it into the water or food supply like the more concerning Su-90 or I-131.
The greatest concern with Polonium-210 is that tobacco fertilizers contain the material, probably from natural Uranium decay in the soil. The tobacco plant absorbs the chemical and thus it gets into cigarettes. The quantities are miniscule, even by Polonium-210 standards (partially owing to the short half-life), but enough to eventually lead to lung cancer.
And while it is obvious to anyone versed on the subject that a coal plant belches out far more radioactive material than a properly operating coal plant, when a nuclear plant goes south, it can do it in a big way. TMI let some 40,000 curies of radioactive Krypton out. Chernobyl was far worse and directly killed a lot of people, contaminated a huge area of the Ukrane, and spewed contamination across Europe.
That last one was caused by burning coal. 12,000 deaths from a disaster caused by burning coal. Versus a maximum impact from nuclear power of ~4,050 people. (Only a small handful of who directly lost their lives.) And that's DESPITE the USSR building a sub-standard facility, DESPITE the USSR requiring untrained personal to safety test the facility, DESPITE the lousy and late evacuation job, and DESPITE the massive release of radioactive materials.
If that's not sinking in, read it again. Coal is MASSIVELY more dangerous than nuclear power plants. Period, end of story. If you have your brain even half-way engaged, you should be demanding that every one of our coal plants be ripped out.
I think it's pretty convenient and disingenuous that you and your other proponents of nuclear power continue to blame every accident on "bad designs".
TMI was not a "bad" design for its time. By modern standards it is, but then it was acceptable. And guess what? NOBODY DIED. Chernobyl on the other hand lacked BASIC safety measures. Like concrete for example. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that putting a solid concrete bunker around a super-heated boiler is a good idea in case it should explode. (Boiler explosions are a VERY common industrial accident, regardless of nuclear materials.) For some stupid reason, the bunker wasn't there. Furthermore, the untrained techs who performed the tests actually DISABLED the shutdown systems by cutting wires so that the reactor could not auto-sc
Slashdot Mirror
If I went to McDonald's and the only way to get a Big Mac was with Fries, a Coke, and a Sundae (with wonderful "extra" options like salad, milk, and coffee available only if I purchase a "base" value meal), you sure as hell can bet I'd see it as a "tax".
Of course, the solution is to not go to McDonald's. Right up until I realize that McDonald's has been granted a monopoly in my area. Going to Burger King requires that I MOVE 30 miles away because they can only serve local residents. Worse yet, nice restaurants have all been driven out of business by a government-sponsored monopoly. So my options are currently go to McDonald's and pay the McTax, or don't go out to eat.
THAT is how Comcast is a tax.
Sony's access to Adobe's software proves it once and for all: They are in league to create a new Access of Evil!
Let me get this straight. The console that actually uses the Flash plugin for console-style games is stuck at Flash 7 because "Adobe doesn't have an SDK for Flash 9", but somehow Sony manages to get an SDK for Flash 9?
WHISKEY
TANGO
FOXTROT
I demand a recount! Or a refund! Or something.
In the case of WiiWare, I was thinking about promoting the online capabilities of the console rather than the individual titles themselves. At least then users might hook up their consoles and Nintendo could realize better royalties across ALL WiiWare titles. Beyond that, I think that sites like WiiWare World already do an excellent job promoting the titles themselves.
Unfortunately, it seems like all that developers have been able to do with the PS3 is create a bunch of crappy first person shooters where the only point seems to be to fire guns in random directions and hope you hit something.
I don't know how up to date you've been keeping with the Wii, but the age of mini-games is over. Save for Rayman Raving Rabbids 3, I can't think of a single title in recent memory that's based on mini-games. If any exist, it is probably a shovelware title that you should avoid. Spend your money on Boom Blox, Wario Shake It, Zack and Wiki, or one of the many excellent WiiWare titles instead.
Immaturity is when you seek out the things you were forbidden from as a child.
Maturity is when you're not afraid of what other people think. Especially when you base your choice of entertainment on such unpopular concepts as "fun", "uplifting", "social", and "family friendly".
I don't think you understand how many Wiis Nintendo is producing. Let me draw a comparison for you.
In the eight years that the PS2 has been available, it has sold about 140 million units. That's a lot by game console standards. In fact, it's a lot by the standards of pretty much any electronic device ever mass marketed. The PS2 is the most popular console in the history of video games.
To reach that lofty level of 140 million in 8 years, it would have taken a manufacturing capacity of ~1.5 million units per month. Nintendo is producing 2.4 million units per month. If Nintendo maintains that rate, they will produce 115.2 million consoles in the next 4 years. That's in addition to the 30 million consoles already on the market. That right there is over 145 million consoles in 6 years.
I will reiterate that the assumption is that production stays steady. However, Nintendo has already promised additional increases in production! Unless there is a massive and sudden drop-off in demand, Nintendo will not only be exceeding the record set by the PS2, they will shatter it to pieces.
I hope that clarifies the situation.
One comment I'd like to make is that Gamespot is useless. They have no journalistic integrity, and their reviews are awful to boot. Check IGN or MetaCritic instead.
I do not disagree with this statement. However, I would caution you to think carefully about the PS2 before you derive too much from it. How much PS2 software was AAA stuff? How much of it was excellent stuff that didn't get the attention it deserved? How much of it was pure, unbridled crap? (Even worse, do you know how much of the last category has been ported to the Wii to "cash in"?)
The biggest issue with the Wii is that some of the best games fall into the category of "don't get enough attention". Gamers pay attention to Monkey Ball Wii when Mercury Meltdown Revolution is the superior title. Zach and Wiki bring back the point and click adventure genre, but no one can be bothered to buy it. Geometry Wars Galaxies is several dozen shmups in one, but hardcore gamers ignore it. Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection is the most amazing pinball simulation EVER, but it goes directly to the bargain bin. Boom Blox... well... Boom Blox is just overpriced IMHO.
And then there's WiiWare. Awesome, great, terrific, incredible games like Defend Your Castle, Toki Tori, Strong Bad, World of Goo, Wild West Guns (if you like light-gun games), Mega Man 9, Bomberman Blast, and LostWinds, yet most of the Wii owners I see don't even bother to hook up their Wii's Wifi.
I don't know if this is a failure to market on Nintendo's part or what. Obviously Nintendo's stuff sells well enough, so one has to wonder what gives. In part, I have seen publishers take a defeatist attitude toward the Wii. (e.g. The only reason why anyone heard of Zach and Wiki was because IGN tried to jump-start a grass roots movement. Capcom spent diddly squat on advertising and promotion.) Which, unsurprisingly, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Still, you'd think that publishers would want to nail their support for this machine while the iron is hot.
I honestly don't think they "get" it. Until they do, a Wii owner has to be a discerning owner. Because that's the only way you're going to find the good games. And there are PLENTY. From Excite Truck to Wario Shake It, the games are there. They're just not getting much attention.
...water is wet, the sky is blue, and Macs and PCs use the same hardware. i.e. There is nothing surprising here. The demand for the Wii has been mercilessly out of whack with what is possible (or at least practical) to manufacture, since day one. I know a lot of people thought the shortage was over when Wiis temporarily became available during the summer. (Note that I said "available", not "abundant".) The problem is that console sales always cycle during the summer. The best sales are obviously around Christmas, both before and after. (After for all the folks who couldn't get one during the Christmas season.) Being at the opposite end of the year, summer is obviously going to be the low-point for sales. Consumers are spending their money on vacations and outdoor fun rather than game consoles.
What I find far more interesting is the extreme vitriol expressed by those who commented on the ComputerAndVideoGames.com story. It seems the more successful the Wii becomes, the more the hardcore gamers hate it for its success.
Um, dude. I'm right here. (*waves hand*) And I thought that post was rather unfair to your comment. My response would have been some sort of grumbling about the fact that Chrome didn't catch the spelling mistake when I copied and pasted it. (I did check! Worst. Spell. Checker. Ever.)
On his second point, I have no idea why anyone is trying to drag religion into this. As I recall, the original theory of the Big Bang was not acceptable to the Catholic church either. Funny thing, though. It wasn't acceptable to science, either. Until it was refined, many of the issues worked out, and the Pope stopped by to say "God created the Universe with a Big Bang". There. Settled on both sides.
Perhaps we'll prove tomorrow that both the scientists supporting the theory and the Pope were wrong. Maybe the next Pope will declare that God created the universe with a series of pops after science disproves the big ol' bang. Personally, I'm not really vested either way. :-)
As for the identity of the AC? Looks like Yet Another Slashdot Troll(TM).
I am not an astrophysicist (IANAAP?), but this would seem to have some interesting implications for galactic mechanics. For one, does this means that stars are continously recycled by the black hole believed to be at the center of each galaxy? i.e. They get sucked in, crushed, then ejected as gassous emmisions which then collect and reform as a new star.
Wouldn't this also create a "galactic wind" similar to the solar wind experienced inside a solar system? Could such a wind (as weak as it may be on a micro scale) be responsible for the universe's apparent anti-gravity effect? It seems to me that if a galactic wind did exist, it would cause the galaxies to repel each other as the particles communicate back the forces of the particle collisions over billions of years.
Speaking of Black Holes, I was just listening to an interview with Brian Greene on NPR this morning. It seems that he has released a children's book designed to help children understand Relativity. Specifically, the link between gravity and time. Amazon has a nice video* where Mr. Greene explains the story and how he attempts to create an emotional connection between readers and the physics of Relativity.
* Full Disclosure: I did NOT include a referral code. This is a clean link
** Someone should really make a joke out of LHC doomsday and how we're all saved. I couldn't come up with anything funny.
I made a few posts, but I don't think notifications get sent out anymore. Which is, to be perfectly honest, rather annoying. :-/
You should be able to see that they're spread across recent days, though. I never really stopped posting, but I did slow down for a while. I've noticed that many folks stop noticing my posts if I don't grab a significant share of first posts.
Of course, it's always funny to type up a response from the mysterious future only to have someone accuse me of collusion, trolling, being able to type 500 words per minute, and whatever else they can come up with. Pretty sad.
More or less, yeah. Obviously there should be a standard around it to ensure that devices are compatible.
Because it's a waste of effort? Switching out identities would be a pain in the arse. If you understand how to do that, it's much simpler to decode the files.
Indeed. In fact, why not do it today? There are very few barriers preventing it. In fact, I used to have a plugin that would use Quicktime to transcode my iTunes files into MP3s so I could load them onto my wife's MP3 player. The only reason why I don't use it now is because she has a device compatible with the DRM. (aka an iPod)
And there-in lies the rub. All you can accomplish with DRM is to keep honest people honest. It's a barrier, not a brick wall. A brick wall is impossible as long as it is possible to play the file. Which was my exact point.
The answer is in my history... ;-)
A better name would probably help, too.
Customer: "What do you have to compete against the sexiness of the iPhone?" ...
T-Mobile: "We have just the thing... a GOO-Phone!"
Customer:
My apologies, you are correct. I appear to have mixed up my links when posting. This should be the correct link:
http://www.ichtj.waw.pl/ichtj/nukleon/back/full/vol47_2002/v47n2p069f.pdf
A good correlation between the Cs-137 activity and dust content in the air
indicates that in the observed period the main source of Cs-137 activity is the dust with soil and vegetation particles. The effect of radiation from inhalation is negligible (626 pSv).
You'll notice that I was very up front with the numbers. I repeatedly mark a "maximum human impact" rather than simply discounting these people. Yes, their lives have been made far more difficult. I don't think it's fair to say that these people are "better off dead". Having to take medication for the rest of your life is comparable to situations like diabetes. It's a dampener on your life, but is that the same as having nothing to live for?
Some of these people were pretty messed up. (Particularly the ones who survived being in the reactor building, but were slow in getting out.) But the vast majority are living as decent lives as their country can provide them. But at least they're alive and actually living lives. Compare that to the Great Smog (12,000) or Bhopal (11,000). They died in agony and are DEAD. There's no coming back for them. They're not getting to tell their own kids or grandkids about the tragic experience. They are simply gone.
Placed in a life or death situation, are you sure you'd rather share the fate of those who are simply lost rather than those who are hurt but still living?
Untrue! It is possible to cryptographically lock media to your identity. (Whereby your identity is represented by a public/private key pair.) By loading your key to your different devices (something that can be done transparently if there is a standard), you can remove the media barriers while still throwing up barriers against illicit sharing.
Granted, the result would do little more than keep reasonably honest people honest, but that's about the best that companies can do anyway. If you can play it, you can crack it. So what's the point in coming up with ever-more convoluted DRM schemes? They all rely on security through obscurity, and are thus guaranteed to be circumvented.
If token DRM would give companies a warm, fuzzy feeling, than I'm all for it. (Assuming that a consumer-friendly standard is drafted and a good key backup system is provisioned in the standard.) It may not do much to stop full-on pirates, but what will? It will achieve the exact same goals as current DRM, but without all the anti-consumerism. A friendly compromise if you will.
Unfortunately, I have my doubts about the industry accepting such an idea. The RIAA's position appears to be that everyone is dirty-rotten pirates that must submit to their lord and master, the music cartel. Because if they don't submit, they'll just go back to their evil, immoral ways!
Yeah. The industry would be a lot better off if the RIAA was dissolved. :-/
So your source is a non-existent press release published by an activist organization with no credibility? Well, I'm convinced.
Or not. Your figures are bunk.
As for the incidents you reported, yeah, power generation has a lot of dangers.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4207/is_19950213/ai_n10185056
http://www.topix.com/us/osha/2008/08/snowflake-man-is-killed-in-power-plant-accident
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSWNAS1045
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN0244772420071003
None of those accidents were nuclear, but they all resulted in deaths. When you're dealing with megawatts of power, it's important to remember that a megawatt of generated power can just as easily become a megawatt of destructive force.
There are actually quite a few more accidents at nuclear plants than the ones you listed. What's fascinating, though, is that there are so few deaths or injuries. As with other power generating technology, Nuclear has become better understood and safer over time. Fewer and fewer people are dying from regular power generation, and nobody is dying anymore from nuclear generation. That's despite the fact that 19.4% of US Power is Nuclear. As a resident of Illinois with 11 power generating reactors online, I'm proud to say that we have provided nuclear power to the nation for over 30 years and in a very safe manner. A benefit you are no doubt receiving.
I honestly hope they build more of those suckers in my back yard. Because I sure as hell would rather be breathing the clean air offered by nuclear options rather than the toxic, radioactive crap produced by the coal plants used to provide over 50% of the US's power needs.
Depends. Do you open your gifts in the vacuum of space?
Sounds like a job for....
THE GLOVEBOX!!!
No, not that glovebox, this glovebox. What do you think this is, a redneck website?
My hat goes off to you for a decent try, sir. It's more than I can say for the NeverVotedBush's failure to back up his statements.
Cesium-137 does not pose a significant airborne hazard. While it can spread by airborne dispersion, the hazard of Cs-137 is that it is water soluble and is treated by the body as if it were potassium. Cs-137 has a half-life of ~30 years and is one of the key isotopes still posing a potential danger in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
FWIW, much of the dispersion of Cs-137 and Su-90 materials into the food supply were caused by nuclear weapons tests and thus are commonly found around the world. Levels have been dropping since testing ceased.
You really don't have a clue, do you? Windscale was sealed off because 11 metric tons of radioactive material combined with massive quantities of flammable graphite burned the structure to the ground. As much cleanup as possible was done with the materials, including removal of as many fuel rods as was safe at the time. After that, it was capped for safety and left to sit.
Full decommissioning started in the 80's. The problem wasn't a matter of radiation (the materials had decayed down to ~1% of their original radioactivity), the problem was the safety of a heavy industrial structure that had suffered extreme damage. All that planning that went into the decommissioning was to prevent on-site accidents due to structural issues, prevent accidental release of the remaining isotopes, prevent fires from breaking out (remember, the graphite is probably still flammable having been sealed off from oxygen), and to acquire the necessary heavy machinery to make it happen.
TMI's reactor (which was in much better condition) was entered by humans a year later. The reactor head was removed 5 years after the incident. Defueling began 6 years after the incident.
Let's just get your FUD out of the way right now. WHAT alpha and beta emitters would become airborne and pose a toxicity risk in the case of a nuclear accident? Please, give us a few detailed examples. Link us to a few respectable sources. BACK UP YOUR STATEMENTS WITH A FEW FACTS.
(For those watching at home, here's a hint: Dirty bombs don't work.)
And neither will external materials that have low-level radioactivity for 10,000 years.
Let's be clear for a moment: Litvinenko was poisoned. He didn't accidentally ingest 10 micrograms of Polonium 210 any more than you or I have accidentally ingested 5 mg of Pu-238. With a half-life of about 1/3yr, a temperature that easily exceeds 500C, and a heavy weight that prevents it from becoming airborne, Polonium poses little risk outside the laboratory or industrial environments where it is used. In addition, Polonium is a highly stable heavy metal that is unlikely to chemically bond to common materials and/or make it into the water or food supply like the more concerning Su-90 or I-131.
The greatest concern with Polonium-210 is that tobacco fertilizers contain the material, probably from natural Uranium decay in the soil. The tobacco plant absorbs the chemical and thus it gets into cigarettes. The quantities are miniscule, even by Polonium-210 standards (partially owing to the short half-life), but enough to eventually lead to lung cancer.
Let's count up the deaths, shall we?
Three Mile Island: 0 deaths
Chernobyl: 47 deaths (there were also 4,000 cases of Thyroid cancer that were successfully treated)
London Great Smog: 12,000 deaths
That last one was caused by burning coal. 12,000 deaths from a disaster caused by burning coal. Versus a maximum impact from nuclear power of ~4,050 people. (Only a small handful of who directly lost their lives.) And that's DESPITE the USSR building a sub-standard facility, DESPITE the USSR requiring untrained personal to safety test the facility, DESPITE the lousy and late evacuation job, and DESPITE the massive release of radioactive materials.
If that's not sinking in, read it again. Coal is MASSIVELY more dangerous than nuclear power plants. Period, end of story. If you have your brain even half-way engaged, you should be demanding that every one of our coal plants be ripped out.
(The 125,000 death figure, BTW, is a myth.)
TMI was not a "bad" design for its time. By modern standards it is, but then it was acceptable. And guess what? NOBODY DIED. Chernobyl on the other hand lacked BASIC safety measures. Like concrete for example. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that putting a solid concrete bunker around a super-heated boiler is a good idea in case it should explode. (Boiler explosions are a VERY common industrial accident, regardless of nuclear materials.) For some stupid reason, the bunker wasn't there. Furthermore, the untrained techs who performed the tests actually DISABLED the shutdown systems by cutting wires so that the reactor could not auto-sc