I think he was referring to the "Blue Shift" expansion pack... though it's only single player
The blue shift pack lets you play new areas in Half Life's Black Mesa... only it's as one of the hapless security guards that you ran across during your original incarnation as Freeman.
I was enjoying your post, right up until you brought the G7-conspiring-to-keep-the-poor-nations-under-their -boot into it.
Several points:
First, climatologists are correct in being cautious about inappropriately generalizing their conclusions, as you stated. Any time you take a number of studies and pool their data in an attempt to draw a conclusion, you should be careful; meta analysis are often seen as suspect.
Second, I don't think the !EARTHFIRST! and ALF folks are altruistic... I think many of them are waaaay out there (and some of them are frankly terrorists, particularly the ALF). Bench research on animals models is extremely valuable... living systems are mind-bogglingly complex, and computer models only react as they are programmed (sorry, animal lovers).
Third, I'm very interested in seeing how complex systems adapt. You are absolutely correct that complex systems have more potential points of failure (I think that's what you were getting at). And it's certainly true for human systems, but I think the difference is that human systems have the potential to act intelligently (at least in theory). Humans take their environment with them, and can also influence their local environment, for better or worse. That having been said, for an extrememly radical climate shift, you're probably right.
With regard to global society being unstable... no argument from me on that one.
I'm asking the questions because I don't know the answers, and I remain unconvinced. How's that? If you have the answers, please expound upon them and enlighten me and the other readers. I'm not convinced that a single mountain in Africa is proof of global warming, but I am willing to let the climatologists prove their case. Can you say the same? Your "head in the sand" comment seems to indicate that you come from the global warming side of the house. If that's the case, I can understand your defense of the article, but I cannot understand your attack on my reluctance to accept it at face value. Attacking a statement of skepticism with "head in the sand" comments makes you sound like an activist, not a scientist.
Also, on the topic of character assassination, maybe you honestly missed the attempt at levity in my Saddam Hussein reference, but to say I sound like a lawyer?
What is wrong with asking questions, rhetorical or otherwise? Do you work for Saddam Hussein's Board of Elections?
I question improbable conclusions based on a single data point as a matter of routine. With global warming, it's not the hypothesis that's the problem, it's the remedies that you must implement if the hypothesis is accepted as valid.
The global-warming crowd could potentially impact the livelihood of millions of people by restricting or shutting down the industries that employ them. The effect that could be created on the economy of many first-world nations is not to be taken lightly. And how will we get third-world nations to abide by our strict pollution controls? We can't even make them stop having civil wars, halt ethnic cleansing, or prevent them from using bio weapons on one another. Cleaner emissions for their "technicals?" I'm not going to hold my breath.
I think when the stakes are as high as they are in the global warming debate, the burden of proof should be equally hefty.
Feel free to disagree, but I think a lot of steel workers, UAW guys, and Coal miners wouldn't appreciate being in the unemployment because of an unexamined/unquestioned hypothesis.
Also, not to be argumentative, but it sounds to me like you are also rejecting evidence that doesn't fit with your beliefs; Creationism could be true, after all...
Nice to hear from someone who's actually been to the location in question. Sounds like quite the adventurer vacation... must have been a blast.
Perhaps I was not specific enough in my previous post.
My skepticism comes from watching what anecdotal evidence like this is spun into; typically an indictment of our entire culture/evil capitalists/earth-destroying SUVs, etc, etc. Having studied the bio sciences, one of the things I've been most impressed with is their complexity and resilience.
Biological systems and their denizens adapt in myriad ways to environmental changes, including increased CO2 and other greenhouse gases (which the ocean should buffer quite nicely, considering it covers 75% of the earth's surface) I'm not certain global warming has been proven to the bulk of the scientific community's satisfaction.
You see the occasional shrill "!EARTHFIRST!" communique about the plant's imminent demise... feh. Earth is tougher than we are, and will probably dispose of us in some gruesome fashion as our population steadily increases.
One thing I'm sure of, you cannot extrapolate from a single mountain in central africa to the destruction of our plant, though I'm sure global warming proponents will try...
There is considerable genetic variation among racial groups with respect to many drugs.
For example, certain persons of american indian descent have an enzyme deficiency that results in certain paralytic drugs having a greatly prolonged duration of action. Naturally, this is not always something you want in a normally rapid-on/rapid-off neuromuscular blocking agent...
There are also racial tendencies with regard to what classes of blood pressure medications work best with certain racial groups.
This kind of variation (along with anatomic variants) can make the practice of medicine very challenging. Don't go into medicine if you don't like surprises!
Also, I concur with the previous poster that RMS can be a bit abrasive and confrontational in his opinions... but I don't think that personally attacking him is particularly productive.
He is a strongly opinionated idealogue... such people generate visceral responses from others. I think, however, that taking fire has little effect on him, or his strident commentary (which can be devastatingly on-target).
It's a free country, and one is certainly free to fire back... it's not wrong. I'd just rather nod, disagree, and go on about my business. It's better for my blood pressure.
operating through a lap scope is very different than an open abdominal case.
I know of almost NO truly emergent cases where you are rushed into the ER and get a laparoscopic surgery (occasional ectopic pregnancy perhaps). I'm not talking about the run-of-the-mill appendicitis or Cholecystitis cases that are done by lap scope... I'm talking about splenic rupture, Aneurysms, lacerated livers... That kind of surgery is almost always done with an open belly, and done in a big hurry.
I don't know if we will ever see the day where an emergent splenectomy on an unstable patient will be done remotely. The equipment is just not there yet
There are several curriculum structures in place for US medical schools (can't speak to the ones outside the US). Most schools subscribe to the traditional path where basic sciences are taught in the first two years, and clinical medicine in the last two years.
There is a less-common curriculum where clinical medicine is mixed in all along the way, with no division between basic science and clinical. I don't think anyone has demonstrated the superiority of one path over another... but I digress.
Becoming a doctor is much, much more than just taking in the material (which, BTW, is so vast that doctors specialize to be deeply educated about one thing, rather than superficially knowlegable about many things).
There is a process by which one BECOMES a doctor, far more than just the facts. There is a medical community, philosophy, a work ethic, a merciless (and pathological) schedule, and a whole way of interacting with other people and the world. It is difficult to explain, and you don't see the change while you are going through it. It's only in looking back that you can appreciate the changes that a career in medicine imposes.
This curriculum might work... but ONLY for a few of the basic sciences. Another poster already made the point... you MUST have hands-on... The wacky "no cadaver/no animal lab" people are fooling themselves... there is NO substitute for using your hands. Think I'm full of it? ask any surgeon. Mechanical skills are learned by doing, not by looking at a screen (try learing to type while never touching a keyboard).
Here's a similar story... first hand
on
When Users Attack
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Well-said, and in far fewer words than I used.
I have a very visceral reaction to this kind of abusive behavior, particularly when it comes from someone in a position of responsibility.
Had a similar incident when I was in elementary school, except I was the butt of the joke... never forgot it either (even 20+ years later).
Like most young geeks, I was socially awkward until college... took a while to grow into my brain, so to speak. A particular teacher was telling the class about a really funny 1-800 number he had called, like a "joke of the day"... something like "1-800-Quick." He assigned me to go call it and come back with the "Joke of the Day." I recognized the number of digits was wrong, and said something to that effect. He told me to shut up and go call it... so I went.
As I sat in the office down the hall trying to find a "Q" on the telephone dial (not realizing there wasn't one... I was only 11 years old at the time), I never even considered the possibility that the "Joke of the Day" was on me. Only after I got back to the classroom and reported my bewilderment at not being able to find a "Q" on the telephone dial did I find out that this "teacher" was really one of the enemy.
There is nothing quite like being forced to stand in front of a whole room full of people while they laugh at your "stupidity," trying not to gag from that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that says "you've been set up." I actually recommend the experience to the original poster... might teach him some empathy.
As far as I'm concerned, that kind of behavior on the part of any "teacher" is a career-ender, and in the same category as a psychiatrist who sleeps with his patients, or a cop who takes bribes. All should be fired, gone, sacked, history.
Were it my child, I'd be all over the principle like white on rice.
Your teacher decided to use the authority and trust inherent in his position to publicly humiliate and victimize some kid... and YOU went along with it like a good little drone.
What made you think something like that was OK? I'll BET the kid has behavior problems. If the teachers did this to him in addition to the abuse you probably heaped on him, it's no mystery why.
Amazing that somebody didn't have the balls to speak up, but I guess you thought it would be cool to have a laugh at his expense. Sounds to me like this Chris could be any geek... young, intelligent, and mostly misunderstood/subjugated/hated by people like you.
Yeah... hilarious... I'll bet Chris thought it was a hoot.
Actually, a crucible of thermite above your hard drive (with something to catch it... can't have that stuff burning through the foundation of your house) would work wonders...
It's worth noting that you can upgrade the internal hard drive to a larger one. Do a google search and you should find a page on how to do it. A swedish hacker authored the instructions, and also has a page on linux drives for the archos. I can't remember his name, but the instructions are step-by-step and perfectly understandable... your little brother could probably do it.
The short version: You get a regular 9.5mm laptop hard drive, fat32 format it, copy the current firmware (archos.mod), and change out the drive.
I originally had the archos 6000, and I still do... except it's now a 20gig version. Everything works as adverised... it was pretty cool having an archos 20 before it was available in the store.
Ignorance may be bliss, but I'm sure as hell going to know everything about the who/what/when, etc of my kids lives, particularly when they reach adolescence. As a teen, I would have thought a device like this truly EVIL, and whined about lack of trust, loss of privacy, blah blah blah. All selfishly, of course... such a device would have cut into my Road-Warrioresqe style considerably (I don't know about the other posters here, but I just barely survived my own teenage years).
This is going to rub this crowd the wrong way, but privacy does not exist for minor children. When they live under your roof as a minor, somebody has to be the supervising adult. Supervision is not a parental right... it's a parental DUTY. If you've got one of those rare children who never screws up, is always trustworthy, and always does the right thing, good for you... but you are probably living with Eddie Haskel, and you just don't know it. Denial ain't just a river in egypt.
A little judicious supervision, even electronic, is simply part of being a parent... You can extrapolate this, and the same prinicple applies... think "dating"...
"Hey boy... before you take my daughter out, don't do anything you wouldn't want me seein' through a rifle scope, dig?"
If more parents were more involved, it could only be an improvement...
As I recall (I was living in the city where this happened at the time, working in a medical capacity), there is more to the "wrong leg cutoff" story.
While I was not involved in his care, I still respect patient confidentiality. It's worth noting however that his disease process WAS NOT cancer. There is way more to this story than you realize.
The "wrong" leg was marked by the nurse, and the surgeon operated on it. The patient, an older gentleman, was interviewed on the local news soon after he awoke from the surgery... . He was not upset... his statement was something to the effect of "oh well, these things happen."
THEN some local attorneys got a hold of him and said "we'll make millions!!" and maybe they did... the final terms of the settlement were never disclosed. However, he will probably get his medical care paid for at that facility for the rest of his life.
Not as cut-and-dried as most media outlets made it out to be, particularly when you know the details. For those of you curious about this case, take heart in the fact that you may not find anything/anyone willing to talk about it... would you want your Mom or Dad's medical details on Slashdot? Most physicians take their confidentiality oath (part of the hippocratic oath) very seriously. Keep in mind that in cases like this, that unless released by the patient, the physician is ethically and legally bound by his confidentiality oath, and cannot even defend himself, while the patient can go on the TV news and say anything he wants...
A good point... I was referring primarily to games that run on Windows and not Linux. I do believe that games ported to linux are at least the equal of their Windows counterparts (provided proper driver support exists).
Let's be honest, Linux is fun, but it's not a one-size-fits-all toolkit. There are some things (flame on!) that windows simply does better (games), though they are largely due to their dominance in the marketplace. Given a cheaper, better functioning product, people WILL switch.
It's almost nice to see MS trying to compete on the merits, though the IP comment about the GPL was a little backhanded.
Medicine is full of "proven" (and later disproven) ideas and treatments.
Often these things start out as something that seems intuitively obvious, but later turns out to have unintended consequences. Examples abound in lot of areas:
politics... (raising taxes SHOULD produce more revenue... oops, maybe not),
consuming... (I bought this super cheap, I got a deal! What? Whaddya mean it's stolen??)
computing... (it's the latest version of Windows, but it's less stable than the last version!).
The difference in medicine is that you deal with peoples' lives, and you have a pack of lawyers yipping at your heels all the time. Medicine involves multi-billion dollars, and makes big news when it turns out that some well-intentioned treatment was costing people their lives... also makes great grist for the trial lawyer mill. Anyone remember silicon breast implants and the supposed link to autoimmune disease? All bunk... but it made a lot press, and a lot of people made a lot of money over the scare.
Makes the argument for evidence-based medicine pretty compelling... it also makes you want to ask "why" we do things (never underestimate the power of dogma).
I'd take this study with a grain of salt... few physicians worth their salt base their practice and/or advice on a single study.
Slashdot Mirror
I think he was referring to the "Blue Shift" expansion pack... though it's only single player
The blue shift pack lets you play new areas in Half Life's Black Mesa... only it's as one of the hapless security guards that you ran across during your original incarnation as Freeman.
the "Delightfully Named" Mr. Heckel (to shamelessly borrow a phrase from OpinionJournal.com's "Best of the Web Today")
Heheh... I can't believe that's actually the perp's name.
Too funny.
I was enjoying your post, right up until you brought the G7-conspiring-to-keep-the-poor-nations-under-their -boot into it.
Several points:
First, climatologists are correct in being cautious about inappropriately generalizing their conclusions, as you stated. Any time you take a number of studies and pool their data in an attempt to draw a conclusion, you should be careful; meta analysis are often seen as suspect.
Second, I don't think the !EARTHFIRST! and ALF folks are altruistic... I think many of them are waaaay out there (and some of them are frankly terrorists, particularly the ALF). Bench research on animals models is extremely valuable... living systems are mind-bogglingly complex, and computer models only react as they are programmed (sorry, animal lovers).
Third, I'm very interested in seeing how complex systems adapt. You are absolutely correct that complex systems have more potential points of failure (I think that's what you were getting at). And it's certainly true for human systems, but I think the difference is that human systems have the potential to act intelligently (at least in theory). Humans take their environment with them, and can also influence their local environment, for better or worse. That having been said, for an extrememly radical climate shift, you're probably right.
With regard to global society being unstable... no argument from me on that one.
hmmm... Thanks for "spelling it out" for me.
I'm asking the questions because I don't know the answers, and I remain unconvinced. How's that? If you have the answers, please expound upon them and enlighten me and the other readers. I'm not convinced that a single mountain in Africa is proof of global warming, but I am willing to let the climatologists prove their case. Can you say the same? Your "head in the sand" comment seems to indicate that you come from the global warming side of the house. If that's the case, I can understand your defense of the article, but I cannot understand your attack on my reluctance to accept it at face value. Attacking a statement of skepticism with "head in the sand" comments makes you sound like an activist, not a scientist.
Also, on the topic of character assassination, maybe you honestly missed the attempt at levity in my Saddam Hussein reference, but to say I sound like a lawyer?
Hmph... a low blow.
What is wrong with asking questions, rhetorical or otherwise? Do you work for Saddam Hussein's Board of Elections?
I question improbable conclusions based on a single data point as a matter of routine. With global warming, it's not the hypothesis that's the problem, it's the remedies that you must implement if the hypothesis is accepted as valid.
The global-warming crowd could potentially impact the livelihood of millions of people by restricting or shutting down the industries that employ them. The effect that could be created on the economy of many first-world nations is not to be taken lightly. And how will we get third-world nations to abide by our strict pollution controls? We can't even make them stop having civil wars, halt ethnic cleansing, or prevent them from using bio weapons on one another. Cleaner emissions for their "technicals?" I'm not going to hold my breath.
I think when the stakes are as high as they are in the global warming debate, the burden of proof should be equally hefty.
Feel free to disagree, but I think a lot of steel workers, UAW guys, and Coal miners wouldn't appreciate being in the unemployment because of an unexamined/unquestioned hypothesis.
Also, not to be argumentative, but it sounds to me like you are also rejecting evidence that doesn't fit with your beliefs; Creationism could be true, after all...
Nice to hear from someone who's actually been to the location in question. Sounds like quite the adventurer vacation... must have been a blast.
Perhaps I was not specific enough in my previous post.
My skepticism comes from watching what anecdotal evidence like this is spun into; typically an indictment of our entire culture/evil capitalists/earth-destroying SUVs, etc, etc. Having studied the bio sciences, one of the things I've been most impressed with is their complexity and resilience.
Biological systems and their denizens adapt in myriad ways to environmental changes, including increased CO2 and other greenhouse gases (which the ocean should buffer quite nicely, considering it covers 75% of the earth's surface) I'm not certain global warming has been proven to the bulk of the scientific community's satisfaction.
You see the occasional shrill "!EARTHFIRST!" communique about the plant's imminent demise... feh. Earth is tougher than we are, and will probably dispose of us in some gruesome fashion as our population steadily increases.
One thing I'm sure of, you cannot extrapolate from a single mountain in central africa to the destruction of our plant, though I'm sure global warming proponents will try...
So there is ice melting at the top of a mountain in Africa... proof of global warming? Uhmm...
Could there be other factors to account for such a profound localized decrease (80%??). The polar icecaps certainly don't look 80% smaller to me...
Could it have something to do with more local climatalogical factors? Increased industrialization in Africa? Loss of vegetation on that continent?
Seems like an awfully high decline, that hasn't to my knowledge been demonstrated in other places in the world.
Sorry... too skeptical to buy this one.
Cheese-eating surrender monkeys
But I've gotta be honest... I forgot who said it... The Simpsons?
(no offense to the French, BTW)
There is considerable genetic variation among racial groups with respect to many drugs.
For example, certain persons of american indian descent have an enzyme deficiency that results in certain paralytic drugs having a greatly prolonged duration of action. Naturally, this is not always something you want in a normally rapid-on/rapid-off neuromuscular blocking agent...
There are also racial tendencies with regard to what classes of blood pressure medications work best with certain racial groups.
This kind of variation (along with anatomic variants) can make the practice of medicine very challenging. Don't go into medicine if you don't like surprises!
Agreed. Offtopic is offtopic.
Also, I concur with the previous poster that RMS can be a bit abrasive and confrontational in his opinions... but I don't think that personally attacking him is particularly productive.
He is a strongly opinionated idealogue... such people generate visceral responses from others. I think, however, that taking fire has little effect on him, or his strident commentary (which can be devastatingly on-target).
It's a free country, and one is certainly free to fire back... it's not wrong. I'd just rather nod, disagree, and go on about my business. It's better for my blood pressure.
RMS has an opinion, and has expressed it... I don't see where all the ad hominim vitriol is coming from.
Like him or not, RMS is one of the Free Software movement's Great Thinkers (TM).
Sheesh... let him expound upon his point, and if you don't like it, ignore it.
operating through a lap scope is very different than an open abdominal case.
I know of almost NO truly emergent cases where you are rushed into the ER and get a laparoscopic surgery (occasional ectopic pregnancy perhaps). I'm not talking about the run-of-the-mill appendicitis or Cholecystitis cases that are done by lap scope... I'm talking about splenic rupture, Aneurysms, lacerated livers... That kind of surgery is almost always done with an open belly, and done in a big hurry.
I don't know if we will ever see the day where an emergent splenectomy on an unstable patient will be done remotely. The equipment is just not there yet
There are several curriculum structures in place for US medical schools (can't speak to the ones outside the US). Most schools subscribe to the traditional path where basic sciences are taught in the first two years, and clinical medicine in the last two years.
There is a less-common curriculum where clinical medicine is mixed in all along the way, with no division between basic science and clinical. I don't think anyone has demonstrated the superiority of one path over another... but I digress.
Becoming a doctor is much, much more than just taking in the material (which, BTW, is so vast that doctors specialize to be deeply educated about one thing, rather than superficially knowlegable about many things).
There is a process by which one BECOMES a doctor, far more than just the facts. There is a medical community, philosophy, a work ethic, a merciless (and pathological) schedule, and a whole way of interacting with other people and the world. It is difficult to explain, and you don't see the change while you are going through it. It's only in looking back that you can appreciate the changes that a career in medicine imposes.
This curriculum might work... but ONLY for a few of the basic sciences. Another poster already made the point... you MUST have hands-on... The wacky "no cadaver/no animal lab" people are fooling themselves... there is NO substitute for using your hands. Think I'm full of it? ask any surgeon. Mechanical skills are learned by doing, not by looking at a screen (try learing to type while never touching a keyboard).
Well-said, and in far fewer words than I used.
I have a very visceral reaction to this kind of abusive behavior, particularly when it comes from someone in a position of responsibility.
Had a similar incident when I was in elementary school, except I was the butt of the joke... never forgot it either (even 20+ years later).
Like most young geeks, I was socially awkward until college... took a while to grow into my brain, so to speak. A particular teacher was telling the class about a really funny 1-800 number he had called, like a "joke of the day"... something like "1-800-Quick." He assigned me to go call it and come back with the "Joke of the Day." I recognized the number of digits was wrong, and said something to that effect. He told me to shut up and go call it... so I went.
As I sat in the office down the hall trying to find a "Q" on the telephone dial (not realizing there wasn't one... I was only 11 years old at the time), I never even considered the possibility that the "Joke of the Day" was on me. Only after I got back to the classroom and reported my bewilderment at not being able to find a "Q" on the telephone dial did I find out that this "teacher" was really one of the enemy.
There is nothing quite like being forced to stand in front of a whole room full of people while they laugh at your "stupidity," trying not to gag from that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that says "you've been set up." I actually recommend the experience to the original poster... might teach him some empathy.
As far as I'm concerned, that kind of behavior on the part of any "teacher" is a career-ender, and in the same category as a psychiatrist who sleeps with his patients, or a cop who takes bribes. All should be fired, gone, sacked, history.
Were it my child, I'd be all over the principle like white on rice.
Nice.
Your teacher decided to use the authority and trust inherent in his position to publicly humiliate and victimize some kid... and YOU went along with it like a good little drone.
What made you think something like that was OK? I'll BET the kid has behavior problems. If the teachers did this to him in addition to the abuse you probably heaped on him, it's no mystery why.
Amazing that somebody didn't have the balls to speak up, but I guess you thought it would be cool to have a laugh at his expense. Sounds to me like this Chris could be any geek... young, intelligent, and mostly misunderstood/subjugated/hated by people like you.
Yeah... hilarious... I'll bet Chris thought it was a hoot.
Slowing down already...
are they running the freakin site on one of these things?
hmph.
Actually, a crucible of thermite above your hard drive (with something to catch it... can't have that stuff burning through the foundation of your house) would work wonders...
$.02
Great quote... most people have never heard of him.
It's worth noting that you can upgrade the internal hard drive to a larger one. Do a google search and you should find a page on how to do it. A swedish hacker authored the instructions, and also has a page on linux drives for the archos. I can't remember his name, but the instructions are step-by-step and perfectly understandable... your little brother could probably do it.
The short version: You get a regular 9.5mm laptop hard drive, fat32 format it, copy the current firmware (archos.mod), and change out the drive.
I originally had the archos 6000, and I still do... except it's now a 20gig version. Everything works as adverised... it was pretty cool having an archos 20 before it was available in the store.
It may go without saying, but...
woot!
Not slashdotted yet!
I actually got to view the featured site without having to wait until either the next day, or a multiple of mirror appear...
Woot!
Mod that man UP!
Ignorance may be bliss, but I'm sure as hell going to know everything about the who/what/when, etc of my kids lives, particularly when they reach adolescence. As a teen, I would have thought a device like this truly EVIL, and whined about lack of trust, loss of privacy, blah blah blah. All selfishly, of course... such a device would have cut into my Road-Warrioresqe style considerably (I don't know about the other posters here, but I just barely survived my own teenage years).
This is going to rub this crowd the wrong way, but privacy does not exist for minor children. When they live under your roof as a minor, somebody has to be the supervising adult. Supervision is not a parental right... it's a parental DUTY. If you've got one of those rare children who never screws up, is always trustworthy, and always does the right thing, good for you... but you are probably living with Eddie Haskel, and you just don't know it. Denial ain't just a river in egypt.
A little judicious supervision, even electronic, is simply part of being a parent... You can extrapolate this, and the same prinicple applies... think "dating"...
"Hey boy... before you take my daughter out, don't do anything you wouldn't want me seein' through a rifle scope, dig?"
If more parents were more involved, it could only be an improvement...
As I recall (I was living in the city where this happened at the time, working in a medical capacity), there is more to the "wrong leg cutoff" story.
While I was not involved in his care, I still respect patient confidentiality. It's worth noting however that his disease process WAS NOT cancer. There is way more to this story than you realize.
The "wrong" leg was marked by the nurse, and the surgeon operated on it. The patient, an older gentleman, was interviewed on the local news soon after he awoke from the surgery... . He was not upset... his statement was something to the effect of "oh well, these things happen."
THEN some local attorneys got a hold of him and said "we'll make millions!!" and maybe they did... the final terms of the settlement were never disclosed. However, he will probably get his medical care paid for at that facility for the rest of his life.
Not as cut-and-dried as most media outlets made it out to be, particularly when you know the details. For those of you curious about this case, take heart in the fact that you may not find anything/anyone willing to talk about it... would you want your Mom or Dad's medical details on Slashdot? Most physicians take their confidentiality oath (part of the hippocratic oath) very seriously. Keep in mind that in cases like this, that unless released by the patient, the physician is ethically and legally bound by his confidentiality oath, and cannot even defend himself, while the patient can go on the TV news and say anything he wants...
A good point... I was referring primarily to games that run on Windows and not Linux. I do believe that games ported to linux are at least the equal of their Windows counterparts (provided proper driver support exists).
Beautiful...
Let's be honest, Linux is fun, but it's not a one-size-fits-all toolkit. There are some things (flame on!) that windows simply does better (games), though they are largely due to their dominance in the marketplace. Given a cheaper, better functioning product, people WILL switch.
It's almost nice to see MS trying to compete on the merits, though the IP comment about the GPL was a little backhanded.
It's almost... almost too good to be true...
Medicine is full of "proven" (and later disproven) ideas and treatments.
Often these things start out as something that seems intuitively obvious, but later turns out to have unintended consequences. Examples abound in lot of areas:
politics... (raising taxes SHOULD produce more revenue... oops, maybe not),
consuming... (I bought this super cheap, I got a deal! What? Whaddya mean it's stolen??)
computing... (it's the latest version of Windows, but it's less stable than the last version!).
The difference in medicine is that you deal with peoples' lives, and you have a pack of lawyers yipping at your heels all the time. Medicine involves multi-billion dollars, and makes big news when it turns out that some well-intentioned treatment was costing people their lives... also makes great grist for the trial lawyer mill. Anyone remember silicon breast implants and the supposed link to autoimmune disease? All bunk... but it made a lot press, and a lot of people made a lot of money over the scare.
Makes the argument for evidence-based medicine pretty compelling... it also makes you want to ask "why" we do things (never underestimate the power of dogma).
I'd take this study with a grain of salt... few physicians worth their salt base their practice and/or advice on a single study.