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User: TranquilVoid

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Comments · 543

  1. Re:More detailed ratings are a good thing on Sweden Considers Adding "Sexism" Ratings To Video Games · · Score: 1

    Good point on European history. Americans are less trusting in general. They distrust their democratic government and even each other (see guns). Possibly this is justified (NSA/murder rates) and possibly it is self-fulfilling. Personally I think a society where the citizens can trust each other is healthier.

    That aside, there are cultural differences, where Americans value independence and idealism more than Europeans, and a lack of trust is simply an outworking of that (it doesn't mean maximising trust is the goal). The USA also has a much larger and geographically/ethnically diverse population which makes valuing independence over conformity more of a necessity.

  2. Re:The Fix: Buy good Chocolate! on MARS, Inc: We Are Running Out of Chocolate · · Score: 1

    So they can improve the quality of their dessert --- sometimes significantly -- without as much added price as you'd normally think since the chocolate is diluted by so many other ingredients.

    To a degree, but the dilution also works against this, depending on how trained your palette is. When baked in a cake I find very little difference between Lindt, Valrhona, some Italian couverture I bought whose name escapes me, and even Cadbury. It's like chefs saying there is no such thing as cooking wine - true mostly if your life's work is focusing on subtle flavour differences.

    For ganache and handmake chocolates, however, it makes a lot more sense. I intend to try Callebaut next, $50/kg for Valrhona is breaking me :)

  3. Re:Most people don't object to public breast feedi on Debunking a Viral Internet Post About Breastfeeding Racism · · Score: 1

    It's all about context. Nursing a child is not a sexual act. Stop trying to sexualize it, you freak.

    If this were true then mothers would have no problems with men staring at them while nursing. Breasts are sexual in Western cultures in the vast majority of situations in which they are exposed, and the mind doesn't immediately ignore that context.

    Breastfeeding in public is one of those strange issues that causes a lot of argument but doesn't seem to actually bother many people. It's natural to feel slightly uncomfortable around it, so you politely don't stare, and mothers try to be as discreet as possible.

  4. Re:Sadly, not surprising. on Australian Courts Will Be Able To See Your Browsing History · · Score: 1

    As of the 1st of September this year, Australian's in the state of Victoria have lost the right to protest.

    I don't support them but that's not a fair summary of the laws. They have made it illegal for protesters to threaten violence or create blockades. One example would be abortion protesters creating a barrier around a clinic, but this law is mostly aimed at unions who can physically stop 'scabs' entering a workplace with implied, and sometimes actual, violence.

  5. Re:You forgot half the effect... on We Are All Confident Idiots · · Score: 1

    Firstly, it's an impressively mature outlook to think of yourself as fortunate for being intelligent rather than being angry at the majority for being 'idiots'.

    Secondly, success within a species as social as humans depends on a lot more than individual intelligence (tests are typically very individual). A lot of success comes from relational ability and if you are below average in this then it can hamper the use of your intellectual abilities. Compounding this, low relational ability doesn't seem correlated with a low need for relationships. Another factor is that the majority will create structures than benefit average people and, if you are exceptionally intelligent or dumb, will not be able to make full use of them.

  6. Re:Boys are naturally curious... on Solving the Mystery of Declining Female CS Enrollment · · Score: 1

    There may be some innate difference, but no innate difference is going to make a 4 year old declare that girls can't do physics.

    I agree, but it's more subtle than that. Children are in hyper-learning mode, and they are constantly on the lookout for what to do and what not to do. You might say they have an innate desire to figure out their 'role', to use a sociological term. Combine this with the fact that all animals quickly distinguish between male and female and you can see how children amplify any inherent gender differences.

    Children also tend to have incomplete information, so they may see one physicist depicted who happens to be male. Part of this unbalanced information comes from the home, where parents usually fall into distinct roles.

  7. Re:Anyone else not bother with the interm releases on Ubuntu 14.10 Released With Ambitious Name, But Small Changes · · Score: 1

    However LTS releases periodically update the kernel, I assume for the same driver (as well as security) reasons, or is this different? The main drawback I see with LTS is that many application packages remain old, so you miss out on new features to LibreOffice etc.

  8. Re:Incompetent Administration (Thanks GWB) on Former Department of Defense Chief Expects "30 Year War" · · Score: 1

    However, I really think if we were going to invade, then yes we should have taken the country and made is US territory.

    I disagree. When it works democracy does so because it gives people with different voices a say in the system, alleviating the need to solve differences with violence. You may contend that the Iraqi people are not currently suited to democracy, but for the US to autocratically rule Iraq it would be forced to do so with an even more brutal hand than Saddam Hussein, since you've not only ruled out democracy but must rule as complete outsiders devoid of ethnic glue. Doing so would be for the US to lose a piece of its soul.

  9. Re:April Fools? on Tetris To Be Made Into a Live Action Film · · Score: 1

    That was my initial reaction but then Tetris' total lack of plot

    I'm tipping Michael Bay to direct.

  10. Re:DAESH, not ISIL on US Strikes ISIL Targets In Syria · · Score: 1

    Exactly. Applying the "No True Scotsman" fallacy is fallacious itself, as being Scottish has a strict definition of being a registered citizen in the internationally-recognised country of Scotland. Most people applying this to ISIL want self-identification as the test of Islamicism, but that makes any discussion on the role of Islam in their behaviour meaningless.

  11. Re:They need to get their shit together on South Australia Hits 33% Renewal Energy Target 6 Years Early · · Score: 1

    Well wind farms are an eyesore, and tend to be more distributed than coal mines. Same with solar, I recall a posting of a group of German houses all with panels. From the comment I gathered it was meant to show how pretty it was, but to me it looked horrible. Sure, panels are shiny when new, but after ten years, when the novelty of the technology has worn off, they will be seen as industrial looking - they won't age rustically like shingles or tiles.

    Of course in Australia it would be much better to do mass solar rather than vote-buying subsidies for rooftop systems. There's certainly a lack of political will (otherwise called democracy) and we're not going to see any environmental leadership from the current government.

    I wouldn't single out SA, since WA, QLD and Tasmania are all the butt of jokes about being backward (NT and Canberra are ignored). So interestingly, the more populous NSW and Victoria are making the jokes, much like city dwellers always mock townfolk.

  12. Re:International Copyright on Quickflix Wants Netflix To Drop Australian VPN Users · · Score: 1

    Licensing is the direct cause, but greed is the reason there were exclusivity agreements to begin with.

    I disagree. Networks seek exclusivity agreements to reduce risk, it's standard business practice for large companies. Without there's a chance their investment will be suddenly worthless as another network shows the same content, so they pay a premium for certainty.

    Of course everything in capitalism is greed in some sense, even the salary you as a worker can ask for from your employee. There's a fine line between standard market practices and profiteering.

  13. Re:Most taxes are legalized theft on New Global Plan Would Crack Down On Corporate Tax Avoidance · · Score: 1

    It's the government that grants itself permission to take away my property.

    The counter-argument would be that property is defined by the government, i.e. society as a whole, not the individual. You may consider the piece of land you sleep on to be yours in some intrinsic way, but there is plenty of debate on whether property is an inalienable right, if such rights exist.

  14. Re: illogical captain on Why Atheists Need Captain Kirk · · Score: 1

    Actually it is quite natural because, for religious people, moral meaning relies on the eternity of their metaphysical beings. Philosophically meaning is about affect. If object A has precisely no affect on object B, then for object B, A is meaningless. If all we are is a chance, temporal assembly of atoms and, no matter what our actions, the end result of the universe is extinction, then morals are indeed meaningless.

    Certainly ethical behaviour has non-religious sources, mostly from a (short term) species survival point of view, but this is different from the absolute sense with which most people consider morality.

  15. Re:Consider owner !=user on Ask Slashdot: What Smartwatch Apps Could You See Yourself Using? · · Score: 1

    or swinging an axe

    I've lost count of the number of times I've been in mid-swing, got a call, and had to waste a valuable split second while the head fell before answering.

    But interesting post.

  16. Re:Send in the drones! on Russian Military Forces Have Now Invaded Ukraine · · Score: 1

    The proper response to this is to strengthen military forces in new NATO member states surrounding Russia, including US boots on the ground. This will make a clear line that Russia knows it cannot cross without provoking all-out war. Unfortunately Ukraine is not part of NATO.

    I don't think this is unfortunate as the expansion of NATO is partially responsible for Russian aggression - they have a motivation to maintain a strong buffer. What you otherwise suggest has merit but is still risky. The U.S. is unlikely to engage Russia in war over an invasion of Latvia, for example, regardless of what the NATO agreement says. Placing U.S. troops there might change that, but the risk is that Russia considers it a bluff.

  17. Flamebait on Canada Tops List of Most Science-Literate Countries · · Score: 1

    I also wonder if the vaunted Canadian healthcare system plays a role. When advances in medical science are something you automatically expect to benefit from personally if you need them, they look a lot better than when you have to scramble just to cover your bills for what we have now."

    Or conversely, maybe when the government looks after your health you don't need to worry about researching it yourself, and you take it for granted and don't value it as much. But let's stir up a big argument about capitalism versus socialism.

  18. Re:Amazing on Among Gamers, Adult Women Vastly Outnumber Teenage Boys · · Score: 1

    Possible, like the saying that musicians have the worst sound systems. Still I'd say this is backwards. The more you value any activity, the more likely you are to seek out the community and other indirect aspects of what you enjoy.

    For example, technology. Surely discussing IT on Slashdot indicates you are more an enthusiast than someone who clocks more 'technology' hours than you simply web browsing on their consumer device.

  19. Not Unexpected on News Corp Australia Doesn't Want You To Look Closely At Their Financials · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's hardly surprising for a company to hold its financial results close to its chest, but this is made more delicious given how much time they spend pointing out the downsizing of rival Fairfax Media.

    Fairfax papers, especially, have suffered from the internet while News Corp has soldiered on, but it was only a matter of time. Being more left-wing, Fairfax's demographic is younger and more inclined to embrace new technology. As they age, and likely become more conservative, they will still consume news online rather than return to dead tree papers.

  20. Re:Dissappointed on Australia Repeals Carbon Tax · · Score: 1

    I think you misunderstand the concept of a mandate. It is used when a party wins an overwhelming majority in the lower house to suggest that the upper house, where the party has a minority, should capitulate on a particular issue. I.e. suggesting the checks and balances should step aside. It has nothing to do with complaining about losing in a democracy.

    Personally I think a mandate almost never exists. In a representative system you might say that all elected members have a mandate to vote as they campaigned.

  21. Re:Thanks for pointing out the "briefly" part. on Half of Germany's Power Supplied By Solar, Briefly · · Score: 1

    Very informative. The density of the German population makes sense, but can you explain why Germany, a nation with a lot of manufacturing, would have less troubles than the US with balancing?

    P.S. I'm hoping the answer is their lack of strong sunlight, for delicious irony.

  22. Re:Everybody is wrong... on Robert McMillen: What Everyone Gets Wrong In the Debate Over Net Neutrality · · Score: 1

    All caches have a non-zero miss change, it doesn't mean the concept is useless. In this case it could still work. If it predicts your Sunday night show 80% of the time, then for the 20% miss you'll have to stream from the original server. However if the 80% applies to all customers then network congestion has been significantly reduced and your streaming can work at HD.

  23. Re:Forum admin disput on Ask Slashdot: Where's the Most Unusual Place You've Written a Program From? · · Score: 1

    It's not stated but my assumption is that the admin was removing his/her sig.

  24. Re:Gox used margin trading & fractional reserv on Sifting Mt. Gox's Logs Reveals Suspicious Trading Patterns · · Score: 1

    How does fractional reserve work with Bitcoin? If they loan out some deposited coins, fair enough, but if the original owner draws on it they cryptographically need that exact coin, not some other random one.

    Or do depositors hand over the coins to the exchange for a virtual account, destroying the signed-ownership benefit of Bitcoin and replacing it with trust in an institution?

  25. Re:I Read TFA... on Places Where the Silicon Valley Bubble Could Pop · · Score: 1

    It's worse than that, half the posters don't even read the post they're replying to, they just want to say their bit.