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User: Scoria

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Comments · 657

  1. Re:Step 1. on Health Insurance When Leaving the Corporate World? · · Score: 1

    We met on a sunny day at the hospital. I looked her in the eye and I stole her heart.

    No, literally. The line was too long and I had a lunch meeting scheduled at noon. So I stole her heart.

  2. Re:Move to Canada on Health Insurance When Leaving the Corporate World? · · Score: 1

    Statistics are fun. Figures below are quoted in or converted to the mighty American dollar.

    People in Canada spend, on average, $3,895 per year on health care. Meanwhile, Americans spend $7,290. The United States has about 2.4 doctors per thousand people. Canada has 2.2. The United States has 10.6 nurses per thousand people, while Canada only has 9. Clearly, our system is better.

    Or is it? The life expectancy in Canada is nearly 81 years, while in the United States it's about 78. The Canadian government spends about 16.7% of its revenue on health care, while the American government spends about 18.5%. (This part is blind speculation, but one might attribute that to our large "baby boomer" population, since their health care costs are greater.)

    Nonetheless, it certainly does seem as though the Canadians, despite their "evil" single payer system, are spending less and getting more for their dollar. And even if they were spending more, what would you pay to spend three extra years (on average) with your mother, son, father, or daughter? As far as the United States is concerned, the statistics seem to point out that we're very well equipped from a logistical perspective. It's just not evenly distributed, though, is it?

  3. Re:Step 1. on Health Insurance When Leaving the Corporate World? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think it's hilarious that there are all of these complaints about what basically amounts to triage, which is a practice that nearly every developed medical system engages in. Even those used by Americans who are lucky enough to have insurance.

    But, hey, single payer systems are bad because "big government" is going to "socialize your wealth" and "destroy the American dream." Seeing as the average American has no wealth and only debt (at 24.99% interest, despite the bank bailout -- thanks, guys), what would be wrong with socializing that? We already do it for AIG. ; )

    In addition to some of them having been bashed over the head with the idea that good health care practices are bad, people have been gradually indoctrinated by billions of dollars in advertising dollars that were spent by the health care industry. These efforts reach at least as far back as the 1960s. More recently, it's gone completely unchecked as the media outlets that were supposed to work for us surrendered to the will of the machine. There are reasons our more "capitalistic" (i.e., greedy) tendencies used to be more heavily regulated.

  4. Re:Move to Canada on Health Insurance When Leaving the Corporate World? · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm pretty sure the parent post was meant in jest. But, at the same time, the United States might be the only developed nation in which such a huge chunk of the population could be so blindly frightened and misinformed. How the people formed such a masochistic relationship with the big corporations -- one so strong that they'll stand in the street and protest against their own interests -- is beyond me.

    Maybe this entire American health care "debate" could be summarized with an infamous quote from a man protesting a perceived intrusion on his lifestyle by Obama: "Keep your government hands off my Medicare!"

  5. Good job, New York Times. on NYT Exposes the Identity of Fake Steve Jobs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now, if only we could get those investigative journalists of yours to apply their talent where it really makes a difference...

  6. Re:Uh Oh... on Michael Moore's New Film Leaked To BitTorrent · · Score: 5, Informative

    Moore isn't on the other side of the P2P debate. He has stated several times that he would rather someone pirate his work than not see it at all. The studios, on the other hand, might be totally different animals!

  7. College Students are Vulnerable on RIAA Says Accused Students Are Settling · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Many college students live off of credit cards and have no time for anything else. Consequently, without neither the time nor the financial resources to defend themselves, they are a vulnerable group. As former college students, the RIAA attorneys almost certainly know that.

  8. Re:And yet on India Brings Back Orbiting Satellite to Earth · · Score: 1

    Slashdot did mention China's recent test of their anti-satellite weapon. However, they referred to it as a laser weapon, which is slightly less than accurate.

  9. Re:So uncool on Microsoft Launches Comical Effort to Fight Piracy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It depends on what age group Microsoft ultimately targets with their campaign. A 9 or 10-year-old would be much more likely to accept their propaganda than, say, a 14-year-old. Microsoft seems keenly aware that older people can generally recognize their campaign for what it is, but that younger people won't be as cynical, and might not differentiate this from anything else they are taught in the classroom.

  10. Re:And a negative side effect? on Month of Apple Bugs - First Bug Unveiled · · Score: 1, Funny

    He would, but they were all absorbed by Steve Jobs and his reality distortion field. Sorry.

  11. Re:So long, Saddam you worthless shit on Parasites Makes Us Dumber or Sexier · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly, this is a textbook case of toxoplasmosis. You should keep your hands out of the litter box.

  12. Hey, Rummie! on Army Game Proves U.S. Can't Lose · · Score: 1

    I didn't know you made computer games! You're a man of many talents.

  13. Rose Colored Glasses on Democrat Win May Be Good News For Internet Policy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm all for change, but let's not overlook the fact that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

  14. Re:Let's be frank... on How Warcraft Really Does Wreck Lives · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have had several friends turn to World of Warcraft, and their subsequent addictions might, of course, have been considered unhealthy. However, their overall living situations were equally unhealthy, and World of Warcraft was merely serving as an escape from conditions they felt could not be changed.

    When people who are obsessed with absolute personal accountability realize that not everything is a conscious decision, then the world will be a better place overall. True addiction, meanwhile, knows no boundaries.

  15. Well, it's like anything else. on DVDs w/ Built in USB Ports for Copy Protection · · Score: 4, Funny

    If the computer reads it, then it can be cracked. Probably with a seven-line PERL script, no less.

  16. Re:Well yeah on Zero-Day IE Exploit In the Wild · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You shouldn't blame the language. Blame their implementation of that language.

  17. Wow, nice resolution! on Zero-Day IE Exploit In the Wild · · Score: 1

    The Sunbelt blog notes, "This exploit can be mitigated by turning off Javascripting."

    I'm certain that most Internet Explorer users don't write JavaScript.

  18. Re:Let's face it... on Google Sends Legal Threats to Media Organizations · · Score: 1

    "I yahooed you"

    I said this to a girl at dinner once and she slapped me in the face. Please advise.

  19. Re:Why stop at a bridge? on Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government · · Score: 5, Funny

    And, after you visit Hungary to eat at Burger King, you can catch an interstellar flight to the distant space colony of Vomitus, bastard cousin of Romulus.

  20. Dvorak, what are you thinking? on IE The Great Microsoft Blunder? · · Score: 1

    Dvorak couldn't be more incorrect. The dominance of Internet Explorer has guaranteed that every user must have at least one Windows machine in order to access some critical services, such as online banking and even confidential health communication systems. Without Internet Explorer and its proprietary extensions, Microsoft would be more threatened by other platforms, as there would no longer be such a critical justification for using their operating system.

    Internet Explorer, despite having a poor reputation within the IT community, has been tremendously beneficial to Microsoft throughout its lifespan. Perhaps it is offered freely because Microsoft considers it to be one of their greatest strategic assets.

  21. Re:It Just Works on Boot Camp Flaw Leaves Some Users Fuming · · Score: 1

    From Wikipedia:

    Terminals which do not have the backspace code mapped to the function of moving the cursor backwards and deleting the preceding character would display the symbols ^H (caret, H) when the backspace key was pressed. This sequence is still used humorously by hackers to denote a deletion, much like overstriking. Example: My slave-dri^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hboss decided to stall the project.

  22. Re:Well... on Boot Camp Flaw Leaves Some Users Fuming · · Score: 0

    I propose the term "Xtreme Beta."

  23. Re:Well... on Boot Camp Flaw Leaves Some Users Fuming · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I attribute this largely to the dilution of the term itself, personally. The introduction of Web 2.0 seems to have convinced many users that "beta" now indicates that production quality software has arrived, but the developer would rather not be held liable for defects. It is quickly becoming shorthand for "use at your own risk."

    Maybe Apple should have referred to Boot Camp as alpha software.

  24. It Just Works on Boot Camp Flaw Leaves Some Users Fuming · · Score: 3, Funny

    Boot Camp is a highly educational product from the sadistic^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H mind of Steve Jobs. Those users came looking for an authentic Windows experience, and Apple delivered!

  25. No support for iPod. on Viruses Engineered to Construct Batteries · · Score: 5, Funny

    No support for larger devices. Not human sized. Lame.