I will violate my rule of not engaging directly with APK on this one.
The challenge
1. You threatened to sue me for libel on several occasions.
2. I told you to have your lawyer contact me and I will arrange to receive service.
3. **crickets**
You keep threatening to sue people for libel, people keep saying "Ok, see you in court", and you ALWAYS back down. Coward. And then you wonder why people don't take you seriously? So, the challenge is simple - show us ONE example of where you've successfully sued somebody - anybody - for libel.
The poster I was replying to claimed that it took 10 seconds to get the first pic, and a phone would be slower. There were also a few other statements about the purported superiority of a "real camera."
Second, most people don't own a "serious DSLR," so what's the point again?
Third, I also have a video camera from the early part of the last decade that can take pictures and videos simultaneously. The pictures are NICE because the optics are larger, and it has 3 sensors - one for each color. It actually has to down-sample for video.
Studies show that parents who know what they're doing can be a real benefit when they home school. And yes, the "study by the clock" thing is impractical. It's not normal for kids to sit all day - play is part of socialization as well as helping combat obesity.
Breaking the day up into smaller segments has three benefits - less boredom, quicker uptake of the materials, shorter time overall. That certainly benefits both sides of the equation.
Unfortunately, too many parents need help with their kid's homework. And others have forgotten what it's like to be a kid trying to learn something.
Here's one lie pulled from the EFF's announcement:
As the White House reacted to the drone crash with a call for more regulation, the manufacturer of the downed quadcopter announced it would push a firmware update to all its units in the field, permanently preventing those drones from taking off or flying within 25km of downtown Washington DC.
It is physically impossible to do that. The drones can't me modded directly - you need to connect them to a PC.
And immediately, another two lies:
This announcement may have been an effort by the manufacturer DJI, whose Phantom model is one of the most popular consumer drone units, to avoid bad press and more regulation. But it also reinforced the notion that people who "own" these drones don't really own anything at all. The manufacturer can add or remove features without their agreement, or even their knowledge.
The owners still have complete control of their property. The manufacturer can NOT add or remove features without explicit action takent by the owner. They can choose not to update it. They can also use the "ignore no-fly zones" switch. They can also petition DJI to change the no-fly zone. Not very likely, since most of Washington is already a restricted zone, but that's another matter.
As to why it wasn't on the no-fly zone list, if anyone had bothered to look, they would have known this is just part of their regular process - they started with the bigger airports and are still working their way down to update the list.
He's threatened to sue me for libel for "damaging his good name". I pointed out that he's known all over the net as the Hosts File Troll, so it's simply impossible for me to damage his name or reputation. I also said to feel free to have his lawyer contact me and I'll tell him where to serve me. Nothing happened except more empty threats.
I've also repeatedly pointed out that the spamming and the personal attacks are what got him such a low reputation to begin with.
So now I don't bother replying to him any more. Problem solved. And when I log in and see there's 120 replies to my posts, and over 100 are anonymous, I know he's lost it again:-)
His animosity towards me in particular is probably from when I organized a campaign to troll the troll, complete with instructions. Things like logging in anonymously to pretend you're him, and watch him fight as to who the real APK is. The solution, of course, would be to get an account, but he can't. Banned.
Of course, he makes the same claim about me "being banned for a year." Simply not true - I couldn't use a computer (or read a book, or a lot of other stuff) due to bleeding retinas. I did once receive the "pink page of death" for 3 days due to someone mod-bombing me, but that just gave me an excuse to take a break:-)
Sure, the phone beats out the camera for convenience. But if you need to take two pictures in less than 10 seconds? Forget it, most phones do a truly awful job of that - if they can do it at all. Camera makers need to sell more cameras that can take pictures FAST. When the camera can go from off to having taken a picture in less than 10 seconds, and take another in less than that amount of time, it is faster than any phone out there
I don't know what low-end phone you're using, but I can take my phone out of my pocket and snap a picture in less than 6 seconds (just tried it) - and another one immediately after, etc... or I can take a video AND stills at the same time. I guess there's a speed advantage to being "always-on" that cameras can't match.
You won't see me disagreeing. I hate the expression "face time", but parents who don't give their kids enough face time are really doing damage without even realizing it.
Go to the manufacturer's website - it's (the switch) is mentioned right on there. That nobody mentioned it just shows that everyone is a sucker who is ready to believe any and all fear-mongering by the EFF rather than take a minute to go to the source.
The EFF claimed that this was an example of "how the concept of ownership is increasingly being pulled out of users' hands". Total BS. Total FUD.
Nobody has to install the update. They remain entirely in control of their property.
It's gotten to the point that Microsoft and Apple have more cred than the EFF.
The original bone of contention was whether it was possible to turn off caller ID on cell phones. I pointed out that the recipient cannot turn off caller id, as well as the fact that the system may not honor a request by the caller to block their number.
All calls to womens shelters show who called, even if you turned off caller id at the caller's end.
Thanks. I don't think he understands how people work. Must be lonely to be him, living as if it's the 20th century, with only his imaginary Anonymous Coward "supporters" to keep him company.
I've seen this so many times in the last few years. Cheap smartphones == addicted pre-schoolers. Kids in high chairs are being given the phone to look at and watch youtube videos, the parents are also on phones and tablets, and half the time when I call all I get is the kid who thinks it's just another game.
Or I walk into a home and everyone's gathered around the TV watching a movie of the hockey game or whatever - but nobody is actually watching the TV. They're all playing games on phones and tablets, checking Facebook, etc. Conversation is impossible in such an environment.
Or it's 3am (like last night) and I can hear some kid playing a Facebook game and the parent shouting for them to turn it off... the peace lasts maybe 15 minutes.
10 years ago I expressed doubt Internet addiction existed. I was wrong. The same smartphones that let bosses keep a leash on people after hours is keeping people from communicating with each other. It's really anti-social media, with no real communications involved. Heck, even the trolls here are more interesting.
The NSA would like to subscribe to your newsletter:-)
It's always been a question of "who will watch the watchers?" If you don't like a service, leave it. If you don't like a user, ignore them. People feel that if they don't read everything in their "virtual world" they're missing something. Of course, in the meantime they're missing so much that's going on around them in the real world without even noticing it.
But back to Twitter... it's the Internet! It's a free-speech zone. The threats are NOT REAL. Learn to laugh at them instead of getting upset. Or just ignore them! If you can't do that, if you have to compulsively read every post when you KNOW some are going to upset you, then maybe the Internet just isn't for you.
Even when we were kids, we knew that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."
Better that we work through the ugly issues in public than drive them underground where they won't be challenged.
Seriously, he has nothing else to live for except his hosts file. It's what gives meaning to his existence, and he uses it as both a lever and an excuse to browbeat others. It's why most people who reply to him do so anonymously nowadays - and why he keeps thinking that many of those anonymous posts are from me (none of them are).
However, he does serve a purpose - he gives an insight into why "haters gotta hate". Some people just can't accept change. Before the internet, he'd just sit there and grumble under his breath. The internet gives him a platform and a sense of empowerment, that if he posts long enough, loud enough, he'll "win".
And lets face it - he's good for comic relief, as well as practice in not letting spamming trolls get under your skin:-)
Of course, I could be wrong, and it's due to him eating too many paint chips as a kid.
Measles itself is unpleasant, but the complications are dangerous. Six to 20 percent of the people who get the disease will get an ear infection, diarrhea, or even pneumonia. One out of 1000 people with measles will develop inflammation of the brain, and about one out of 1000 will die.
And remember. the chance of contracting measles in this country is low because of widespread vaccination:
Why is vaccination necessary?
In the decade before the measles vaccination program began, an estimated 3–4 million persons in the United States were infected each year, of whom 400–500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis. Widespread use of measles vaccine has led to a greater than 99% reduction in measles cases in the United States compared with the pre-vaccine era.
However, measles is still common in other countries. The virus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly in areas where vaccination is not widespread. It is estimated that in 2006 there were 242,000 measles deaths worldwide—that equals about 663 deaths every day or 27 deaths every hour. If vaccinations were stopped, measles cases would return to pre-vaccine levels and hundreds of people would die from measles-related illnesses.
Going back to the pre-vaccine days, including population growth, we'd be seeing almost 10 million cases a year un the US (so much for your "tiny risk of exposure"), over 1000 deaths every year, and several thousand cases of chronic disability from measles encephalitis.
Not getting vaccinated for measles is a deliberate act of recklessness.
It still needs to be done long enough to have the desired effect. If the kids would rather play games and are addicted to facebook games (I've seen this with pre-schoolers) it's going to be a challenge to get their attention, to say the least. At least in a school environment those distractions aren't in the next room.
Slashdot Mirror
I will violate my rule of not engaging directly with APK on this one.
The challenge
1. You threatened to sue me for libel on several occasions.
2. I told you to have your lawyer contact me and I will arrange to receive service.
3. **crickets**
You keep threatening to sue people for libel, people keep saying "Ok, see you in court", and you ALWAYS back down. Coward. And then you wonder why people don't take you seriously? So, the challenge is simple - show us ONE example of where you've successfully sued somebody - anybody - for libel.
But you're good for a laugh. *POKE* *POKE*.
The poster I was replying to claimed that it took 10 seconds to get the first pic, and a phone would be slower. There were also a few other statements about the purported superiority of a "real camera."
Second, most people don't own a "serious DSLR," so what's the point again?
Third, I also have a video camera from the early part of the last decade that can take pictures and videos simultaneously. The pictures are NICE because the optics are larger, and it has 3 sensors - one for each color. It actually has to down-sample for video.
And I'm not on Instagram and never have been.
Studies show that parents who know what they're doing can be a real benefit when they home school. And yes, the "study by the clock" thing is impractical. It's not normal for kids to sit all day - play is part of socialization as well as helping combat obesity.
Breaking the day up into smaller segments has three benefits - less boredom, quicker uptake of the materials, shorter time overall. That certainly benefits both sides of the equation.
Unfortunately, too many parents need help with their kid's homework. And others have forgotten what it's like to be a kid trying to learn something.
Probably not, since if you don't update, you can still fly it. You haven't lost anything.
Here's one lie pulled from the EFF's announcement:
As the White House reacted to the drone crash with a call for more regulation, the manufacturer of the downed quadcopter announced it would push a firmware update to all its units in the field, permanently preventing those drones from taking off or flying within 25km of downtown Washington DC.
It is physically impossible to do that. The drones can't me modded directly - you need to connect them to a PC.
And immediately, another two lies:
This announcement may have been an effort by the manufacturer DJI, whose Phantom model is one of the most popular consumer drone units, to avoid bad press and more regulation. But it also reinforced the notion that people who "own" these drones don't really own anything at all. The manufacturer can add or remove features without their agreement, or even their knowledge.
The owners still have complete control of their property. The manufacturer can NOT add or remove features without explicit action takent by the owner. They can choose not to update it. They can also use the "ignore no-fly zones" switch. They can also petition DJI to change the no-fly zone. Not very likely, since most of Washington is already a restricted zone, but that's another matter.
As to why it wasn't on the no-fly zone list, if anyone had bothered to look, they would have known this is just part of their regular process - they started with the bigger airports and are still working their way down to update the list.
The EFF is not credible any more.
He's threatened to sue me for libel for "damaging his good name". I pointed out that he's known all over the net as the Hosts File Troll, so it's simply impossible for me to damage his name or reputation. I also said to feel free to have his lawyer contact me and I'll tell him where to serve me. Nothing happened except more empty threats.
I've also repeatedly pointed out that the spamming and the personal attacks are what got him such a low reputation to begin with.
So now I don't bother replying to him any more. Problem solved. And when I log in and see there's 120 replies to my posts, and over 100 are anonymous, I know he's lost it again :-)
His animosity towards me in particular is probably from when I organized a campaign to troll the troll, complete with instructions. Things like logging in anonymously to pretend you're him, and watch him fight as to who the real APK is. The solution, of course, would be to get an account, but he can't. Banned.
Of course, he makes the same claim about me "being banned for a year." Simply not true - I couldn't use a computer (or read a book, or a lot of other stuff) due to bleeding retinas. I did once receive the "pink page of death" for 3 days due to someone mod-bombing me, but that just gave me an excuse to take a break :-)
He's some strange brew ...
Sure, the phone beats out the camera for convenience. But if you need to take two pictures in less than 10 seconds? Forget it, most phones do a truly awful job of that - if they can do it at all. Camera makers need to sell more cameras that can take pictures FAST. When the camera can go from off to having taken a picture in less than 10 seconds, and take another in less than that amount of time, it is faster than any phone out there
I don't know what low-end phone you're using, but I can take my phone out of my pocket and snap a picture in less than 6 seconds (just tried it) - and another one immediately after, etc ... or I can take a video AND stills at the same time. I guess there's a speed advantage to being "always-on" that cameras can't match.
There appears to be a character limit in what can be posted in the headli
Craters Pop As NASA's Dawn Probe Approaches Ceres
Craters Seen As NASA'S Dawn Probe Nears Ceres
The 2nd would have been both more accurate and shorter.
You won't see me disagreeing. I hate the expression "face time", but parents who don't give their kids enough face time are really doing damage without even realizing it.
Go to the manufacturer's website - it's (the switch) is mentioned right on there. That nobody mentioned it just shows that everyone is a sucker who is ready to believe any and all fear-mongering by the EFF rather than take a minute to go to the source.
The EFF claimed that this was an example of "how the concept of ownership is increasingly being pulled out of users' hands". Total BS. Total FUD.
Nobody has to install the update. They remain entirely in control of their property.
It's gotten to the point that Microsoft and Apple have more cred than the EFF.
The original bone of contention was whether it was possible to turn off caller ID on cell phones. I pointed out that the recipient cannot turn off caller id, as well as the fact that the system may not honor a request by the caller to block their number.
All calls to womens shelters show who called, even if you turned off caller id at the caller's end.
It allowed it. Just like it allowed two tablespoons of tomato paste on a slice of pizza to count as a vegetable.
It's unremarkable, mostly, except for one other thing: It was written by a computer algorithm, and nobody cares..
Thanks. I don't think he understands how people work. Must be lonely to be him, living as if it's the 20th century, with only his imaginary Anonymous Coward "supporters" to keep him company.
But things could be worse :-)
I've seen this so many times in the last few years. Cheap smartphones == addicted pre-schoolers. Kids in high chairs are being given the phone to look at and watch youtube videos, the parents are also on phones and tablets, and half the time when I call all I get is the kid who thinks it's just another game.
Or I walk into a home and everyone's gathered around the TV watching a movie of the hockey game or whatever - but nobody is actually watching the TV. They're all playing games on phones and tablets, checking Facebook, etc. Conversation is impossible in such an environment.
Or it's 3am (like last night) and I can hear some kid playing a Facebook game and the parent shouting for them to turn it off ... the peace lasts maybe 15 minutes.
10 years ago I expressed doubt Internet addiction existed. I was wrong. The same smartphones that let bosses keep a leash on people after hours is keeping people from communicating with each other. It's really anti-social media, with no real communications involved. Heck, even the trolls here are more interesting.
Next up - making 2 years of sitting on the couch playing games equivalent to 2 years of physical education!
After all, if Reagan can try to classify ketchup as a vegetable ...
"I didn't speak up when they came for those of poor grammer (sic), I said nothing because I communicate propperly (sic)."
They didn't get you when they came for those with bad spelling?
The NSA would like to subscribe to your newsletter :-)
It's always been a question of "who will watch the watchers?" If you don't like a service, leave it. If you don't like a user, ignore them. People feel that if they don't read everything in their "virtual world" they're missing something. Of course, in the meantime they're missing so much that's going on around them in the real world without even noticing it.
Go try to read one of those threads APK shits all over and then come back and tell us you don't see a need for censorship.
Or you can use it as an excuse to exercise your creativity and watch him descend into personal attacks :-) If I were to take the more than 1,000 posts he's made attacking me in the last 6 months to heart I'd be a wreck.
But back to Twitter... it's the Internet! It's a free-speech zone. The threats are NOT REAL. Learn to laugh at them instead of getting upset. Or just ignore them! If you can't do that, if you have to compulsively read every post when you KNOW some are going to upset you, then maybe the Internet just isn't for you.
Even when we were kids, we knew that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."
Better that we work through the ugly issues in public than drive them underground where they won't be challenged.
Nah, he just has a "thing" for me :-)
Seriously, he has nothing else to live for except his hosts file. It's what gives meaning to his existence, and he uses it as both a lever and an excuse to browbeat others. It's why most people who reply to him do so anonymously nowadays - and why he keeps thinking that many of those anonymous posts are from me (none of them are).
However, he does serve a purpose - he gives an insight into why "haters gotta hate". Some people just can't accept change. Before the internet, he'd just sit there and grumble under his breath. The internet gives him a platform and a sense of empowerment, that if he posts long enough, loud enough, he'll "win".
And lets face it - he's good for comic relief, as well as practice in not letting spamming trolls get under your skin :-)
Of course, I could be wrong, and it's due to him eating too many paint chips as a kid.
How serious is the disease?
Measles itself is unpleasant, but the complications are dangerous. Six to 20 percent of the people who get the disease will get an ear infection, diarrhea, or even pneumonia. One out of 1000 people with measles will develop inflammation of the brain, and about one out of 1000 will die.
And remember. the chance of contracting measles in this country is low because of widespread vaccination:
Why is vaccination necessary? In the decade before the measles vaccination program began, an estimated 3–4 million persons in the United States were infected each year, of whom 400–500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis. Widespread use of measles vaccine has led to a greater than 99% reduction in measles cases in the United States compared with the pre-vaccine era.
However, measles is still common in other countries. The virus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly in areas where vaccination is not widespread. It is estimated that in 2006 there were 242,000 measles deaths worldwide—that equals about 663 deaths every day or 27 deaths every hour. If vaccinations were stopped, measles cases would return to pre-vaccine levels and hundreds of people would die from measles-related illnesses.
Going back to the pre-vaccine days, including population growth, we'd be seeing almost 10 million cases a year un the US (so much for your "tiny risk of exposure"), over 1000 deaths every year, and several thousand cases of chronic disability from measles encephalitis.
Not getting vaccinated for measles is a deliberate act of recklessness.
s/Google/Facebook/gi;
I can't figure out how they're going to do this. It's not like everyone has a unique name - quite the contrary.
LA-style traffic jams in Nebraska's hard to swallow, though. What crowd of people would be crazy enough to be living in Nebraska to cause them?
Maybe the crowds that leave the places with the underwater airports?
It still needs to be done long enough to have the desired effect. If the kids would rather play games and are addicted to facebook games (I've seen this with pre-schoolers) it's going to be a challenge to get their attention, to say the least. At least in a school environment those distractions aren't in the next room.