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User: rdmiller3

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  1. Harvard was a Seminary on Could You Pass Harvard's Entrance Exam From 1869? · · Score: 1

    The Latin and Greek requirements make sense when one knows that at that time Harvard was primarily a school for training Christian clergy.

  2. "Supersonic Sound Waves"? on US Military Deploys Personal Gunshot Detectors · · Score: 1

    "Supersonic sound waves"?

    Right. Welcome to the idiocracy.

  3. There's no way he said that. on Ozzy Osbourne's Genome Reveals Some Neanderthal Lineage · · Score: 1

    Ozzy never did say that. The man can hardly speak! Sure, he's alive but his brain has been seriously fried.

    The "Neanderthal" stuff is just another cheap attempt to get publicity. Most Caucasians have those genes.

  4. Re:and... on Steve Jobs Tries To Sneak Shurikens On a Plane · · Score: 1

    Yeah, because you might threaten yourself and hijack your own plane. Right?

  5. Anti-Terrorism is a Religion on Steve Jobs Tries To Sneak Shurikens On a Plane · · Score: 1

    "Deemed to be a hazard" TO WHOM? Like he's going to hijack his own private jet?

    Like a religion, "security" or "anti-terrorist measures" don't have to make sense nor be based on anything anyone can see or prove. It's all based on scary fiction, like Hell.

  6. Re:well known crackpot area on Follow Up On Solar Neutrinos and Radioactive Decay · · Score: 1

    It doesn't make sense to debate about possible causes for an effect that no one else has observed. Is there any confirmation that decay rates show any significant variation?

  7. HOW MUCH, IF ANY? on Follow Up On Solar Neutrinos and Radioactive Decay · · Score: 1

    I can't find anything which says how much variation they claim to have seen. Usually when the word "significant" is missing, it means that the variation can't be reliably distinguished from measurement error.

    I don't give a rip what they think might be causing variation in decay rates. Not yet.

    I want to see some verification that decay rates actually vary at all, first. Last I heard, they don't

  8. Operator Precedence on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 1

    The whole thing is a misunderstanding of operator precedence, that's all.

    Ask the same people about "8+3*4" and they'll probably get that wrong too.

  9. Abandoning Archaic Nonsense is Not "Harm" on Tracking the Harm Games Do · · Score: 1

    Escaping from the oppressive influence of religious tradition is not a bad thing.

    People no longer feel threatened enough by the dirty old men in robes to suffer through boring church services and unhappy marriages. Good on them.

  10. Esperanto, for real on Google Engineer Decries Complexity of Java, C++ · · Score: 1

    That's, "La angla estas tro malfacila! Parolu esperante."

    Come on over to Lernu.net and learn Esperanto for real.

  11. Limiting access of (specificially) photographers on Ban On Photographing Near Gulf Oil Booms · · Score: 2, Insightful

    65 feet is only a couple of boat-lengths. That's pretty close. If I was working those booms, I'd be worried about any boat that close running over or afoul of the boom.

    So photographers are limited to 65ft. How close can other people get? Is that still 300ft? My guess is that reporters are belly-aching because they can't get close enough to dip a gloved hand into the oil and show it to the camera.

  12. Nations Divide but People Unite on Pope Rails Against the Internet and Transparency · · Score: 1

    Can we please, please get over the archaic notion? A "nation" does not act as though it were one person.

    If you want to know what people in Iraq are like, get to know some of them! Oh, what's that? You can't? Well DUH! Maybe that's the problem.

  13. Tax Dollars at Work on Wisconsin Designates State Microbe · · Score: 1

    So this is what one of the nation's highest tax rates goes to pay for.
    :(

  14. Spy Satellite. Duh! on Meteor Spotted Yesterday Over Midwestern United States · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This doesn't make sense for a "meteor". The atmosphere is less than 200 miles thick, and the chance that a meteorite will skim across that relatively thin layer of atmosphere long enough to be sited along a 700-mile path over multiple states is infinitesimal. Multiply that by the tiny fractional probability that it would have enough mass to burn that long and the odds look impossible.

    More likely, this was a massive satellite in near earth orbit. That's really the only reasonable thing which would match the observations.

    So, since it's not being reported as a satellite it's probably a secret satellite. We already know that NASA launches classified payloads. It's safe to assume that other countries do too. Stealth technology would be simple, just build it with flat metal sides painted black and power it with a self-contained reactor (and there's your mass).

  15. Location Data? on Could the Tumbleweed Rover Dominate Mars? · · Score: 1

    Location data could be difficult. There's no GPS on Mars. The cheapest solution would be to give the Tumbleweeds an omnidirectional beacon strobe. Then it could be spotted from orbit when it's on the night side. Accurate location info would be easiest to get just after dusk and before dawn because landmarks on the day side would be visible to the satellite.

  16. Promoting their agenda using others' advances. on Space Shuttle Spy Gets 15 Years · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Chinese government wants to promote their own agenda. Let them do so using their own advances, not by stealing the advances built by cultures which actually encourage advance.

    Let the culture which reveres "ancient wisdom" prove its value by using feng shui to launch their space vehicles.

  17. This won't replace the drill. on Plasma Jets Could Replace Dental Drills · · Score: 3, Informative

    The drill isn't just for killing the bacteria inside cavities (called "caries" by dentists). The drill is used to make an undercut hole large enough to get stuffed with filling material. In doing so, it removes not only the bacteria but also the food-material that the bacteria was growing on. A plasma jet won't do either of those things, so they would still need to use a drill.

  18. Forward-Backward Pistol on Gun With Wireless Arming Signal Goes On Sale Soon · · Score: 1

    There is already an existing, better idea. I don't remember exactly where I saw it, but I think it was in a "Get Smart" episode or movie.

    The forward-backward pistol looks like an ordinary pistol but it can fire either towards the front or towards the rear, depending upon which way the user pushes the trigger.

    The trick is that it's counter-intuitive.

    To fire forwards, you have to get your finger behind the trigger and push it forward. If you pull the trigger backward toward yourself, you shoot yourself.

    Although it was hilarious seeing this pistol's peculiarity in a comedy sitcom, I admit that it may not be so hilarious from the viewpoint of a user under stress.

  19. Kudos for Eating Their Own Dog Food on Newsday Gets 35 Subscriptions To Pay Web Site · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think we should congratulate the 35 members of the Newsday staff who ponied up $5/week to subscribe to their own web site.

  20. Counting Papers Measures What? on China Will Lead World Scientific Research By 2020 · · Score: 1

    Merely counting papers published is like counting slashdot posts. It's only a measure of publication through a particular channel and accounts for neither novelty nor quality of content.

  21. SETI's filters 100% effective against ET spam. on SETI Founder Outlines Ambitious Future Plans · · Score: 2, Funny

    On the plus side, SETI's record for filtering extraterrestrial spam has been flawless.

  22. So they can give it to the tribes, right? on Mexico Wants Payment For Aztec Images · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Of course, the Mexican government is going to be sure and give that money to the indiginous tribes, the descendants of the original artists, right?

  23. Re:Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it on Air Cannon Ties Pirates In Knots · · Score: 1

    Actually that's not far from the truth. Escalation of naval power did little to stop the pirates of the Barbary coast until someone got smart and pointed the ships' guns at the homes and palaces of the pirates on land.

  24. History on Air Cannon Ties Pirates In Knots · · Score: 1

    Historically, the most effective strategy has been to find out where the pirates live, then send the navy there to point big guns at their homes.

  25. Dilbert already covered this. on Schneier Asks Why We Accept Fax Signatures · · Score: 4, Funny

    Scott Adams already covered this in "Dilbert".

    The accounting trolls told Dilbert that they wouldn't accept copies of his expenses... but he could FAX them.