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User: cyberchondriac

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  1. Re:No s**t Sherlock on Study: Police Body-Cams Reduce Unacceptable Use of Force · · Score: 2

    Yes, it goes both ways. Very often the viral videos you see of police brutality does not show what led up to the transgression, so, a portion of the cases may be misrepresented by way of missing context.
    This way, everyone has an objective look at the entire encounter. The cameras are a win-win for everyone.

  2. Re:How ghey on NuSTAR Takes Beautiful X-ray Image of Sol · · Score: 2

    Sunne (or Sunna) was the OE/Germanic/Scandinavian name for the Sun (thus it's common name). Sol is the latin name for our Sun. That's why our star system is the "solar" system. It tweaks my OCD when people -especially scientists- refer to another star system as a "solar" system.
    Sol /= star, it means our particular star. Though I have a feeling continued usage of it in manner will ultimately change the definition.

  3. Re:i'm not going to see this on Ars: Final Hobbit Movie Is 'Soulless End' To 'Flawed' Trilogy · · Score: 1

    Perhaps not, but still, there's enough there in the story that it could have been done much, much better. The difference between Jackson's Hobbit and Jackson's LotR is night and day. The LotR trilogy is a modern classic, the Hobbit trilogy is a big fat misfire. He really did eschew themes, morals, and deeper thinking for soulless CGI action; it's like the new Star Trek films all over again.

  4. Re:Blah on Ars: Final Hobbit Movie Is 'Soulless End' To 'Flawed' Trilogy · · Score: 1

    Hemispheres is even better, IMO.

  5. Re:sounds like relevent expertise on "Star Trek 3" To Be Helmed By "Fast & Furious" Franchise Director Justin Lin · · Score: 2

    Nemesis itself also being probably the worst Star Trek film in history. Though most of the TNG movies were stinkers, except the Borg one. I loved the TNG series, it's a shame that whatever the series had didn't translate over to the big screen very well.

  6. Re:Mod me down if you will on ESA Carries Out Asteroid Impact Drill · · Score: 1

    It's like a new form of Godwin's Law. Any negative discussion of any country's activities on the planet must invoke and be applied to the US as well, and usually compared even more favorably than the US as well. The one exception might be North Korea.

  7. Re:I had this problem, then I got f.lux. on Study: Light-Emitting Screens Before Bedtime Disrupt Sleep · · Score: 1

    Ar ar ar. At least he didn't mention a butane torch.

  8. Re: Always good to have confirmation of the obviou on Study: Light-Emitting Screens Before Bedtime Disrupt Sleep · · Score: 1

    Huh.. I read my Nexus 7 almost every night, I've never had a problem sleeping, but I'll give Twilight a shot anyway. I could use a little extra screen dimming (even if the blue wavelengths don't seem to bother me).

  9. Re:Screw them on Hackers' Shutdown of 'The Interview' Confirms Coding Is a Superpower · · Score: 1

    On paper, that might sound viable to you. But it would pretty well result in NK attacking and lashing back out at anyone they could: SK, Japan, etc..
    Chances are the theater threats were .. well, pure theater. But an actual military attack on Pyongang, hello WWIII, or at least the Korean War again.. And I'm sure the Chinese would just sit tight like good little dogs because the ol' USA told them to. The world is not that simple, do not let your emotions cloud your better judgment. K-Ju and crew (love that) will get their just desserts. I suspect we're going to hack back the fuck out of them.

  10. Re:State sponsored hack= state terrorism/act of wa on Hackers' Shutdown of 'The Interview' Confirms Coding Is a Superpower · · Score: 1

    Anyone else read KJU in their head as "K-Ju"? Its like J-Lo, or J-Law, or .. you get the idea. I kinda like it. I just hope his nudes aren't leaked as retribution.
    .

  11. Re:Established science CANNOT BE QUESTIONED! on Skeptics Would Like Media To Stop Calling Science Deniers 'Skeptics' · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You're really broadly generalizing though. Denying one controversial subject doesn't mean someone denies all science.
    Skepticism is a healthy attribute, it indicates critical thinking, and an open mind.

    I have no problem with evolution or Darwin whatsoever, believe solar power will be a fantastic resource when it matures, would like to eventually see an end to use of fossil fuels as soon as it becomes economically feasible to do so, am skeptical of religion (IMO religion is conveniently pre-packaged cereal box spirituality /philosophy at best); and think creationism is a fairy tale; but whereas AGW is concerned, I'm skeptical (but open minded) because of all the politics and hypocrisy that surrounds it. Al Gore and friends drone on and on about the dangers of carbon dioxide and man's apocalyptic effect on the planet, then all go fly their fuel-hog private personal jets to a summit to discuss it. Same is true of Gore's personal practices (i.e. his house), he seems very unconcerned in practice about those things which he champions in print or video. Such a strong proponent is expected to lead by example. The UN says AGW is critical to address, yet China hasn't had to abide by any accords, being probably the worst pollution offender currently on the planet.
    Additionally, all climate and weather forecasts, whether next weekend or 100 years from now, despite the differences, are based on computer models, which are far from infallible. For these reasons, I'm still skeptical; however, I'm not unable to be swayed, given further evidence that isn't dressed up with carbon taxes and other political aspects; additionally, it sure would help if all the celebrities endorsing the tenant of AGW actually practiced what they preached.
    Science is a process, a living, dynamic, self-correcting process. It must never be wielded as dogma.

  12. Re:fire them on Hackers Compromise ICANN, Access Zone File Data System · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think the squirrel would disagree..

  13. Re:What's the purpose of all those bodyguards then on Top Five Theaters Won't Show "The Interview" Sony Cancels Release · · Score: 1

    You're forgetting, there are 18,000 different theatres, it's not so easy, there's no magic to stop these kinds of things (if they're real, that is) as you imagine. Even the NSA, police, etc.. can't read minds, use a crystal ball, or have Superman's x-ray vision, even with all the data they collect.
    But even if it is a ruse as we suspect, the hackers still hold tons of personal information about Sony's employees, their addresses, medical records, etc.. so possibly Sony is more concerned over abuse of that data, and is trying to appease NK.
    Not that it matters, because appeasement never works. Never in the history of man has it worked, as an end to itself. Even war has a better track record of stopping aggression than appeasement. Unless the appeasement is used merely as a delay tactic, then it may have some strategic value there.

  14. Re:Sets a precedent on Top Five Theaters Won't Show "The Interview" Sony Cancels Release · · Score: 1

    I thought they already did.

  15. Re:Land of the free on Reaction To the Sony Hack Is 'Beyond the Realm of Stupid' · · Score: 1

    And home of the lawyers and their overly litigious legal system. If one single attack occurred, somebody would surely file suit against Sony, knowing this country. They're probably hedging their financial bets, even as silly as the whole thing is. Same reason we have idiot warning labels on stuff like Playdoh, saying not to shove the the whole can's contents up both nostrils or something.

  16. Re:Skin deep, but that's where the money is ! on Researchers Accidentally Discover How To Turn Off Skin Aging Gene · · Score: 1

    You forgot the fact that many of these companies are part of the same groups, and most of these groups are led (in various ways) by people who went to school together and enjoy regular parties together, or have mutual friends or influential friends of friends who do.

    and you just know this, how? Bottom line is, something like this that actually works (for a change) would be a cash cow. Like a real cure for baldness. Everyone ages. It's not like only a few selective people will want it. A bit like the undertaker business, you don't have to worry about running out of customers. Nearly everyone will want this, and the more affordable it is, the more people can and will buy it - economies of scale.

  17. Re:Easier method on Virtual Reality Experiment Wants To Put White People In Black Bodies · · Score: 1

    Yes, that's a great reason to adopt a child, to use him or her as a social experiment. That'll teach 'em humanity.

  18. Re:Easier method on Virtual Reality Experiment Wants To Put White People In Black Bodies · · Score: 2

    .... and yet have to be shot.

    They do? Sorry, that broken turn of phrase just made me laugh.

    LOL.. - sorry, that's a pointless cliche, but I literally really did. I hadn't caught that when I first read the comment. Kinda made my day. What a difference the order of two words makes.

  19. Re:First amendment? on Sony Demands Press Destroy Leaked Documents · · Score: 1

    No, the thing is people are saying Sony has no right or grounds to sue or anything. But if employee medical records are released, those are pretty good grounds. I don't think they'll be able to do a whole lot now about the opinionated emails though.

  20. Re:Interesting, but ... on Want To Influence the World? Map Reveals the Best Languages To Speak · · Score: 1

    Excellent point. Various cultures sometimes have unique concepts that another culture's language may not. And some concepts just seem better expressed by a certain language. For example, "je ne sais quoi" sums it up better than saying, "she has a certain something about her", IMO. There are additional intangible elements of expression there.

  21. Re:Interesting, but ... on Want To Influence the World? Map Reveals the Best Languages To Speak · · Score: 1

    So you advocate Monoculture?

    Let's go one step further. 'Murican! Don't need nothin' else!

    Who said anything about 'murican? Though I disagree with him if he advocates trashing other languages. I think some languages are fascinating and/or pleasant to hear: Gaelic, Brythonic, French, German, I even like Old English (Anglo Saxon) and Norse. Finiish and Russian are interesting. For some reason though, I don't like Spanish or Italian much, even though I like old Latin. I know, it makes little sense. But anyway, language is a part of culture, they can't be so readily separated.

  22. Re:First amendment? on Sony Demands Press Destroy Leaked Documents · · Score: 1

    No it's really not. Read number two again. That's not an absolute. Everything *should* be private unless it's the owning party wants it distributed, or , if the owning party does not want it public, but there is criminal content.
    I have no right to distribute your personal email, unless you want me to, or there is something illegal in it. Corporations shouldn't be "a person" , BUT, they are made up of people who still retain some of their individual rights, and not all correspondence is necessarily strictly business related to the corporation. Would you be okay with it if your own email inbox/outbox where you work was hacked and released? ...assuming you work for a company.
    The main point is, we can't advocate for privacy, and then immediately toss that principle in the trash the moment it's somebody we don't like.

  23. Re:First amendment? on Sony Demands Press Destroy Leaked Documents · · Score: 1

    " unless the owning party wishes it distributed or is under criminal investigation" .. those are conditions, not absolutes. Therefore, it's not a real dichotomy.
    But you can't decide that when it's you, it's private; but when it's Amy Pascal or Scott Rudin personally disparaging Angelina Jolie (whether you agree or not), it's public.
    Also, medical records of employees, not fair game.
    Now, If verifiable revelations of law breaking come out, that's different. But just because it's a group of people working for a corporation doesn't mean they're not still people when you're looking at individual emails that express personal opinions, not company policies or actions.

  24. Re:First amendment? on Sony Demands Press Destroy Leaked Documents · · Score: 1

    Fucking calm down. I'm sick of people trash talking. I'm talking about the emails between Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin where they trash Obama, and Jolie, the release of private employee health records and info, and payscales. You don't have any right to see their employees medical records and history. I'm looking at http://www.cnet.com/news/13-re... and so far I see nothing of this bribe you're talking about.

  25. Re:First amendment? on Sony Demands Press Destroy Leaked Documents · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How are Sony's private memos, emails, and employee information a "matter of public importance" ??
    So, when J-Law's photos are leaked, or juicy Sony private emails are leaked, those leaks are to be protected under the first amendment-?, but if the NSA does it in the context of looking for matters that actually *are* of public importance (possible criminal activity, technically), suddenly these same people scream about their privacy being violated.
    This seems rather hypocritical.
    1) Either nothing is private, or
    2) Everything is private unless the owning party wishes it distributed or is under criminal investigation.

    Personally I prefer the latter.