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User: protest_boy

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  1. Re:so it got dumber? on DeepMind's Go-Playing AI Doesn't Need Human Help To Beat Us Anymore (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    No. It happened to have an initial win-streak of 100 games to zero. That doesn't guarantee a win is going to happen every single time.

    There's no information given on how long it took to play the first 100 games. It might have been hours, or a few days, or a week. Continuing to play against the original software for 40 days, it eventually trended towards an overall winning percentage of 90%. We don't know how many games were played across those 40 days, it could have been thousands. Also perhaps the original software was improving its own play at the same time?

  2. Re:Explosion on cargo compartment vs cabin on TSA May Recommend Stowing Laptops In Cargo For US Domestic Flights (cbslocal.com) · · Score: 1

    Apparently the battery of a laptop can be partially replaced by an explosive material. The laptop still works and will power on and presumably, not appear suspicious in the x-ray machine. But it's a small amount of explosive, and so for it to be effective, it has to be placed up against the outside of the fuselage. If the bag were checked there's no telling where it would be and it probably wouldn't cause serious structural damage.

  3. Re:Over/under: Invasion of sovereign nation or tru on US Announces Response To Russian Election Hacking [Update] (reuters.com) · · Score: 4, Informative

    The USA and a bunch of other countries imposed strong sanctions on Russia as a result of their aggression in Ukraine. Is that not concrete action?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  4. I don't believe the claim on Elon Musk: Tesla's Autopilot Software Could Save Half a Million Lives Every Year (fortune.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think there's a huge unrealized danger to these quasi-autonomous cars because people will treat them like a a fully controlled car and do things they shouldn't (e.g. read the news paper, watch a movie, doze off, etc.). Right now the drivers of these expensive Tesla cars are not representative of the larger driving public. If we put this technology into 100% of the cars on the road I predict the number of accidents due to imperfect AI will rise significantly because of driver inattention. It may still prove to be an improvement over human controlled, but I doubt the numbers of lives saved will be what Musk claims.

    Give me a car that will take me to work while I nap in the backseat. I have no interest in being on the road filled with semi-autonomous cars.

  5. NBCs coverage online makes me rage on US Cord Cutters Getting Snubbed From NBC's Olympic Coverage Online · · Score: 2

    I'm basing this post off of my previous experience watching the summer olympics online. I don't expect it will be any different this time around, but perhaps NBC will surprise me.

    Two years ago, as I am now, I'm "borrowing" my sister's login and password for her paid TV subscription. Why doesn't NBC allow non-subscribers to buy online streaming access? I would pay some amount of money (maybe $30?) to get access to the online coverage and they aren't letting me. I can't think of a reason why they don't make this an option...

    That is, I would pay for it if the online coverage wasn't terrible in several different ways. First, spoilers are EVERYWHERE on the website and cannot be avoided. Unless I stay up until 3am to watch an event live there's no way I can watch the event the following day without inadvertently seeing the results on the website while trying to get to the recorded stream. Sometimes the spoiler is even part of the video itself ("Watch Bode Miller win gold!")!

    Second, many or most of the broadcasts online are commentator free. Even IF you know all the ins and outs of curling rules, commentators are very helpful in conveying exactly what it is that you're watching (e.g. who is the player or team being shown? What is the significance of this match in the tournament? Who are they playing next? etc.). The prime-time TV broadcasts that are heavily edited to show the most interesting bits are completely unavailable online.

    Third, high profile medal events cannot be watched until the DAY AFTER the prime-time TV broadcast has occurred unless you stay up until 3am to watch it live. Not only do you then have to impossibly dodge the spoilers on the website, but also radio, TV, co-worker conversations, etc. the following day.

  6. Richard Dawkins has an opinion on this on Watch Bill Nye and Ken Ham Clash Over Creationism Live · · Score: 5, Informative

    Why I won't debate creationists:
    http://old.richarddawkins.net/...

    I couldn't agree more.

  7. Re:How long would that last... on Programmer Privilege · · Score: 1

    Your old boss must have been a fan of Teddy Roosevelt who is quoted as saying, "When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it."

    This phrasing is a bit more honest than saying "I know how to do that" which is a lie and is frankly dangerous and stupid when it comes to forklift driving =/

  8. Re:OP here. on Fighting TSA Harassment of Disabled Travelers · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Good luck with your FOIA. I have a TSA issued TWIC card and just for fun I decided to get access to the information they have on file related to that card (finger prints, background check results, etc.) by issuing a FOIA request. It took them 11 months to produce a laughably incomplete response which consisted of: a scan of my passport photo and a photocopy of the standard application for the TWIC. The appeal process took about another 4 months but I did eventually get (mostly) what I was looking for.

    Your request is considerably more complicated than mine was. Good luck!

  9. Armadillo Run on Learning Rocket Science With Video Games · · Score: 1

    It's similar in game play to World of Goo, but more technical, and more varied. It's rather old, but it appears that it can still be purchased.

    http://www.armadillorun.com/

  10. Re:Expecting honesty from politicians?!???!?!! on Democratic Super PAC Buys Newtgingrich.com · · Score: 1

    Find a post where someone says all taxes should be abolished.

    Can't?

    OK, then maybe we can start the discussion again.

    Easy: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/michele-bachmann-taxpayers-should-keep-every-dollar-they-earn.php

    The way the republican party is going you can't find anything too extreme that one of them hasn't said at some point

  11. Re:Can I finally use my damn TWIC card for somethi on TSA Announces Pilot of Trusted Traveler Program · · Score: 1

    Not like anyone cares, but I found the new and improved final ruling about data retention:

    TSA will retain the data it receives in accordance with record schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). TSA will retain records for individuals who are not a match or potential match to a watchlist for one year after the individual no longer has access. In addition, for those individuals who may originally have appeared to be a match to a watch list, but subsequently cleared, TSA will retain the records for at least seven years, or one year after access has been terminated. For individuals who are an actual match to a watch list or otherwise determined to pose a threat to transportation security, TSA will retain the records for 99 years, or seven years after TSA learns that an individual is deceased.

    http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_tsa_twic_fr.pdf

  12. Re:Can I finally use my damn TWIC card for somethi on TSA Announces Pilot of Trusted Traveler Program · · Score: 1

    Oh how I wish! I've been hoping they would let TWIC holders bypass TSA security at airports since I got my card a couple of years ago.

    Tangent: I had to get the card for my job and was rather unhappy at having to surrender my fingerprints to the government. I spent a while digging through their documentation online to find out what happens to my personal data (fingerprints) after my card expires. The short answer is, they haven't decided yet what they'll (pretend) to do with the data when the card expires. Also, yours and my fingerprints were sent to multiple government security agencies for that background check. Can I assume those agencies are going to delete my information once they are done with the background check? Sadly, no :-(

  13. Re:How can they say that it's a game of skill? on Revised Mass. Gambling Bill Won't Criminalize Online Poker · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In any game or sport there are elements of luck. Take Scrabble for example. I doubt many would deny that Scrabble is a game skill. Yet there's a huge amount of luck involved in which letters you choose, and when you get them.

    Granted, luck plays a large factor in a single hand of poker. However, poker is not a game of individual hands. The better players will be distinguished from the less skillful in the long run; hundreds of thousands of hands.

  14. Re:Gambling online is completely fucking stupid on Mass. Gambling Bill Would Criminalize Online Poker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I would go so far as to say it is almost a 100% certainty that you are being cheated, systematically, in a way you can never detect. It is not necessary for them to kill you in every hand. Only to ensure that their shills win at a slightly elevated rate.

    You don't have a very good grasp as to how online poker works. There is no reason whatsoever for an online casino to cheat their customers. In fact, it works against their interest. Money is taken out of each and every pot played. It is NOT in the casino's interest to make their customers go broke faster than normal. If you go broke fast, you may leave forever. If you go broke slowly you will likely reload your account with new funds. Regardless, a hired "shill" will not be able to pull a profit undetected faster than the rake which collects money every single hand on every single table.

    You sound like the many many people who try online poker, lose badly, and chose to blame the system rather than a lack of skill.

  15. Re:Mutant! on 15-Year-Old Invents Algae-Powered Energy System · · Score: 2, Informative
  16. Re:He is describing Shadowbane on The Lameness of Warcraft · · Score: 1

    Yes, Shadowbane had so much going for it. Unfortunately it was the worst implemented game ever. Constant server crashes, and lag that made any decent sized battles unplayable.

    It really is a shame. The first game developer that makes another Shadowbane but without constant crashes and software issues will rake in tons of cash.

  17. Another great periodic table on Chemical Haiku: Elements' Qualities in a Few Syllables · · Score: 0, Redundant
  18. Re:Reliability of its predictions on Nerd Vacation to the Earth Simulator · · Score: 2, Funny

    Boston?! Heh, try Colorado. Today it was sunny and snowing in Fort Collins. Let's see this supercomputer predict that!

  19. Re:How come we've never heard of this? on Nerd Vacation to the Earth Simulator · · Score: 4, Informative

    Looks like it's been #1 since at least June of last year.

    http://www.top500.org/list/2002/06/

  20. Re:Reliability of its predictions on Nerd Vacation to the Earth Simulator · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Imagine if the weather was able to be predicted even 10 days in advance with near 100% accuracy. An accurate and reliable forcast would GREATLY effect everything from cargo transport, to disaster preparedness, to "will I have to scrape my windshield in the morning." I can't even begin to fathom how much money would be saved. Too much for my puny brain to comprehend.

  21. Hmm on Nerd Vacation to the Earth Simulator · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder if we can slashdot the worlds fastest supercomputer? ;-)

  22. I can on What's Your Earliest Memory? · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was born in June of 1979. Mount St. Helens erupted in May of 1980. I live in Colorado and can clearly remember the effects of the eruption. I can remember wiping ash off the fender of my Dad's truck, and I remember my neighbor washing his white car almost daily for a week. I can remember tracking ash into the house off my bare feet. I suppose it is possible that these "memories" were implanted in my brain but I can see myself doing these things from a FIRST person perspective. This is why I don't think these memories were suggested to me by my parents or anyone else.

  23. Re:once upon a time on Slashdot... on Planetary System Similar to Sol · · Score: 1

    Any good scientist would never say they know everything about ANYthing.

  24. Which was... on Nanotech Products Hitting the Market · · Score: 2, Informative
  25. The options are inadequate on Bell Labs, Preserving Delicate Sensibilities · · Score: 3

    It seems to be missing the "Drunken Hobo" and "Jive" voice option. Welcome t' da damn Bell Labs text-t'-speech system. Step off, Pharoah.