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User: Powercntrl

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Comments · 1,136

  1. Re:Horse shit on Google's Schmidt Drew Up Draft Plan For Clinton In 2014 (itwire.com) · · Score: 1

    Trump burning down a huge portion of a corrupt Government is a solid option at this point.

    You bought it hook, line and sinker if you believe he has any intention to "burn down" the system which allowed him to become a billionaire and pay no income taxes since the 90s.

  2. Re:Like fear of the brown people... on Google's Schmidt Drew Up Draft Plan For Clinton In 2014 (itwire.com) · · Score: 1

    I know full well that if/when I lose my current job, I will find it very, very hard to find a similar opportunity. Age, education, and shrinking work forces will put me at great risk of taking a 60% pay cut, permanently. This is the reality for knowledge workers over the age of 40 in the US.

    Exactly how is Trump going to remedy this situation? Trump's plan to bring back American jobs is just Bernie Sander's "$15/hr for flipping hamburgers" socialist pill, in an easier-to-swallow coating. You think things are bad now, wait until all the transportation industry workers lose their jobs due to delivery drones and autonomous vehicles. Funny how none of the candidates want to talk about that elephant in the room.

    Now she watches the ACA destroy her options for healthcare, threatening her with the choices that may be made in the next few years being given to bureaucrats who will not be able to do anything but cut costs.

    The ACA isn't the reason health insurance costs so much - it's the insurance companies. Let's assume Trump wins and waves his magic wand to make Obamacare go *poof*. The insurance companies already know how much people are willing to pay for health insurance (the ACA has been around for 6 years now), do you honestly think they're just going to go "Well, party's over boys, time to slit our own throats with some race-to-the-bottom competition."? If anything, they'll just use their newfound freedom to go back to denying coverage for a myriad of reasons and continue to rape customers on pricing (that's step 3: profit!).

    You think the white middle-class in America is crying wolf? We see the snowball coming down the hill.

    And your supposed savior is a man who has made a significant portion of his wealth peddling false promises (Trump U, his many, many "get rich quick" books) of ascension to people on the lower planes. No wonder he has such a cult-like following.

  3. Very rarely with 100s of partners a year, yet this is "not uncommon" in the gay male community.

    They are on average promiscuous on a level heterosexuals just don't get close to.

    Perhaps because it's an election year, I've gotten into the habit of fact-checking statements which sound suspiciously like they've been pulled out of an ass.
    Or, maybe I just lament the ending of Mythbusters. Either way, Myth Busted.

    TL:DR version: They took some usage data from a popular dating site and discovered that both gays and straight people have roughly the same amount of luck getting laid. Science, bitch.

  4. I hope they're installing some softer floors on Apple's Redesigned London Store Has Untethered iPhones (cnet.com) · · Score: 2

    Theft isn't the only reason Apple tethers their display phones to the tables; tethering also serves to prevent drop damage. I'd inadvertently discovered this during a visit to the local Apple store, after previously having pigged out on some greasy pizza from the mall's food court. Thanks to the security tether, the slippery wayward iPhone simply did a bungee jump out of my hand, rather than an impromptu "drop test" on Apple's slate/stone/some-sort-of-rocklike-substance floor.

    Of course, after a drop or two, the demo iPhones will finally be an accurate representation of what the phone will look like if you use it without a protective case.

  5. Re:Only a matter of time on Soylent Halts Sale of Bars; Investigation Into Illnesses Continues (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 1

    And I still don't exactly know what problem soylent is supposed to solve.

    The inventor needed more money in his bank account.

    Seriously. For emergency rations, even military MREs are more palatable than this crap. If some hipsters want to eat post-apocalyptic instant-bowl-of-snot-powder, manufactured in a rat-infested warehouse, more power to them. There's a reason this type of food is such a frequent trope of dystopian sci-fi: there are few things as morale-crushing as a bland, thoroughly joyless meal.

  6. Re:Why is this here? on WikiLeaks' Big Tuesday Announcement Will Now Take Place Via Video (thehill.com) · · Score: 1

    after vainly pushing anti trump stories for months, recent increase in pro trump tilt in /. summitries is due to editors here wising up to the fact that readers and commenters here are generally pro trump (just look at the moderation points of comments in any trump/clinton/election comments; evidence is definitive ).

    One would hope it's due to US I.T. workers fear of globalization/outsourcing. I find it hard to believe /.'s readership, even in this day and age, could support someone who willfully ignores scientific fact as readily as Trump. As an example, when it comes to renewable energy, Trump pretty much talks right out of his ass.

  7. Re:He Is A Darling Of The Cyber Rebels on WikiLeaks' Big Tuesday Announcement Will Now Take Place Via Video (thehill.com) · · Score: 4, Informative

    We are all looking forward to whatever "October Surprise" he can cook up for The Establishment Candidate.

    Hillary may be part of the establishment, but Trump is a textbook example of the type of people the establishment works for. Trump supporters are like a bunch of cows who'd rather be herded by a slaughterhouse owner, solely because they've had bad experiences with farmers.

  8. Re:LOL, the whole system is rigged on Online Journalists Launch An Onslaught Against Donald Trump (nytimes.com) · · Score: 1

    Vote Trump = Small hands and a gosh-darn good time for at least the next 4-years

    Yeah, Trump's proposal to shut down the EPA will be great. Let's toast his victory with some refreshing Flint Michigan tap water!

    Seriously, Trump supporters, if you want a huge wall, air pollution out the wazoo, no gay marriage, and plenty of low-paid manufacturing jobs: FUCKING MOVE TO CHINA.

  9. Re:So what... on Online Journalists Launch An Onslaught Against Donald Trump (nytimes.com) · · Score: 1

    You'd assume most blue collar workers who do pay a shitload in taxes would be pissed by that line of thinking.

    Or at least be reminded of what happened to Al Capone.

    But nope, most Trump supporters are too busy hating on Hillary, brown skins, LGBTs, etc. to care what Trump represents as an actual political leader. He could be out in the street clubbing puppies, and the "Make America White Again" folks would still vote for him.

  10. Re:Whoopty Doo on Online Journalists Launch An Onslaught Against Donald Trump (nytimes.com) · · Score: 2

    One thing is for sure, it has nothing to do with intelligence.

    Intelligence is backing up your political views with facts, sound logic, and reason. Gary Johnson, for example, agrees with the science of climate change, but considers protecting business interests to be a higher priority than the environment. You may disagree with that position from a moral perspective (personally, I do), but his logic is undeniable.

    Donald Trump thinks climate change is a Chinese conspiracy to harm our economy. Many of Donald Trump's positions are based on superstitions, incorrect assumptions, and irrational fears. Sorry, but it's the textbook definition of lacking intelligence, if you can't see why supporting such a candidate is indicative of suffering from idiocy.

  11. Set yourself on fire starter set? on Australian Airlines Ban Use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Phones After Battery Fires (reuters.com) · · Score: 2

    Hoverboard, e-cigarette, Note 7, and you're got that "tribute from district 12" Halloween costume nailed.

  12. Complete rip-off of existing game on Super Mario Is Coming To The iPhone (popularmechanics.com) · · Score: 1

    It's more-or-less Rayman Jungle Run (they even copied the "wall hopping" mechanics, which I can't recall being present in any classic Mario game). It came out FOUR FREAKING YEARS AGO. But I guess Nintendo won't be sued by Ubisoft, because, well, they're Nintendo.

  13. It's not the app America needs... on Want To Hunt Bank Robbers? There's an App For That, Says The FBI (networkworld.com) · · Score: 1

    ...it's the app America deserves.

    I've seen enough Batman movies to know it's a bad idea to be a vigilante. Also, bat nipples.

  14. Re:Ignorant fools on Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions? (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 1

    That's a nice, happy, clean cow out in pasture too in the article. The exact opposite of what people are actually eating. It's a muddy, grassless horror show out there, and I can't imagine how it would look with a thousand sickly cows wearing festering, manure-soaked backpacks permanently attached to their bodies.

    It probably looks like this. Nature is violent and gross. Ever hear of cookie cutter sharks? They're basically vicious little living hole saws, and they chew gaping holes into the flesh of pretty much anything they can get their mouth on. Oh, and then there's the mantis shrimp, which literally smashes its prey to death. I'll close with some appropriate song lyrics from The Lorax:

    Well there's a principle of nature (principle of nature)
    That almost every creature knows.
    Called survival of the fittest (survival of the fittest)
    And check it this is how it goes.
    The animal that wins gotta scratch and fight and claw and bite and punch.
    And the animal that doesn't, well the animal that doesn't winds up someone else's lu-lu-lu-lu-lunch (munch, munch, munch, munch, munch)

  15. Ugh, the vegan preaching... on Can Cow Backpacks Reduce Global Methane Emissions? (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 2

    I'm blowing my chance at moderating this story, just so I can say this: There's not a damn thing you can say or scientific study you can point to that will make me stop eating meat. Even if it meant becoming a "second amendment person" (thanks, Trump) and hunting animals, I would. I could watch a PETA "Meat is Murder" propaganda video while chomping down on a burger and it wouldn't faze me in the least. Like religion and most republican policies, my decision to eat meat isn't based on reason or logic. It's based on a deep carnal desire to devour animal flesh, compounded with my belief that it's also delicious.

    If you truly were satisfied with your lifestyle choice, you wouldn't feel the need to seek validation by attempting to convince others to come to the same conclusion.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go put a "I'm with Her" sticker on my economy car, and then order some meaty Tuscan pasta on my iPhone from Pizza Hut.

  16. Cricket on T-Mobile Brings Back Unlimited Data For All (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    I've been using the same $35/mo plan with Cricket since back when they were AIO. Unlimited talk, unlimited text and 2.5GB high speed data (plus throttled-back-to-the-stone-age unlimited). T-Mobile has nothing that can touch it, coverage (Cricket uses AT&T's towers) or price-wise.

    Also, it seems Cricket is also beating T-Mobile's unlimited pricing if all you want is a single line. They're offering unlimited data for $65/mo, with autopay. Yay for competition.

  17. Good luck with all those pogo pins on World's First Modular Smart Phone Hits the Market · · Score: 1

    If you actually use this phone in the real world, it will be glitching like an old school Nintendo game when dust, dirt and corrosion get between the contacts of all the "modular" components.

    Honestly, every time I've ever purchased a newer mobile device, the old one seemed to have become equally deficient across all its specs - RAM, flash storage, screen size/quality, and camera resolution/quality. I've never once thought "Gee, it's awesome to be rocking Ice Cream Sandwich, a 480x800 3.7" display, 512MB RAM, a 1GHz single core CPU, and 8GB of flash, but man - this 8MP camera sure is killin' me!"

    Sure, repairability is a nice feature, but it's not difficult to replace the display assembly on a modern iPhone (I've done it myself, and it takes less than 5 minutes if you've got the proper tools). You're likely looking at an entire replacement phone anyway if you've killed the motherboard (example: water damage), or smashed the housing up too badly (fell in a blender, 50' drop, etc.)

    Spec wise, this seems similar to the unlocked Blu phones Best Buy sells. If you're not making a "flagship killer", you're caught in a very competitive race to the bottom. I get that this is supposed to be better for the Earth or conflict regions where rare earths are mined, but there's got to be a way to ease your conscience without such pathetic hardware specs.

  18. Bitcoin has lots of problems on Best Way To Mine Bitcoins - Allow Errors! · · Score: 1

    The problem with Bitcoin is not that is has no value, the problem with it is that it has significantly less utility than legal currencies, can have significant shifts in value, and that things like this "innovation" can affect the value in a way that isn't representative of any economic indicator.

    You missed one of the largest problems with Bitcoin: It was designed to be deflationary. Most fiat currencies are designed to be slightly inflationary, which encourages people to spend or invest it (the economy, in a nutshell), rather than hoard it or invest in it on speculation that it might be worth more in the future. Unlike investing in a business, precious metal, or commodity, when you buy Bitcoin you're not putting your faith in peoples' ability to turn a profit, the labor and costs involved in mining and extracting a rare element, or something with intrinsic value. You're simply buying into a cryptocurrency modeled after a pyramid scheme.

    To truly picture what's wrong with Bitcoin, think of a new iPhone release. Yeah, some of the people buying them are speculating that they'll be able to sell them for a profit on eBay. Perhaps some of the buyers on eBay are speculating they can re-sell the phones in their bodega cell phone shops. But ultimately, at the end of the line are people who just want to actually buy an iPhone to use it.

    Bitcoin's utility is limited by the hassle of exchanging it to and from fiat, its unstable value, and extremely limited merchant acceptance. It's kinda like paying a fee to have someone hold your wallet and randomly add or remove some of your money, and most of the time tell you "no" when you ask if you can spend your money at a merchant. Doesn't look like such a great investment, does it?

  19. Huh? on Kim Jong-Un Found To Be Mac User · · Score: 1

    I gave up swearing years ago, along with a few other choice words, in the real life world. Took only a week, no big deal.

    If it bothers you to use vulgarities, don't use them. Writing "p*ssed" instead of "pissed" just makes it look like you're trying to get around some nonexistent profanity filter. Or, maybe you were just using self-censorship to set the proper North Korea mood.

    Either way, allow me to defer to the late George Carlin's thoughts on the matter of swearing.

  20. Look at past innovations on Ask Slashdot: Time To Get Into Crypto-currency? If So, Which? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The automobile was more convenient than owning a horse. MP3 is more convenient than dealing with CDs. Try actually using cryptocurrency and it rapidly becomes apparent that it's far simpler just to whip out your credit/debit card, or good old cash. If you're buying something online, PayPal's more or less got your back if the seller screws you over. Ordered an iPhone and received this instead? File a claim.

    The only reason anyone bothers with Bitcoin is because they believe a bigger fool will buy the Bitcoins off of them at a later date, or because they're buying things (contraband merchandise) that they don't want legitimate payment processors knowing about. Most legitimate businesses that accept Bitcoin simply use a payment processor that immediately exchanges the Bitcoins for cash, and generally you're the one eating the transaction fees on both ends (unless you get lucky and Bitcoin fluctuates up in the time since you exchanged cash for your Bitcoins).

    If you really want to live in the brave new world of electronic payments, get a phone with NFC and try using that for awhile. You'll quickly discover it's still more convenient to use a form of payment that's accepted everywhere (cash, credit/debit), rather than remembering which merchants have functional NFC equipment and fumbling with your phone.

  21. Re:Not a big deal on Video Game Cheaters Outed By Logic Bombs · · Score: 1

    So being a cheater yourself, tell us what the fuck inspires you. It's a game, what possible enjoyment is there in cheating to win? why play at all?

    Some people don't have the time to invest in practicing. You're working 40+ hour weeks and could be playing against prepubescent twerps who spend every waking moment on the game. Even game developers have realized this and added pay-to-win shit to some games. Grind or spend, baby.

    I never really got into any of the online MMO or FPS games, but I do play Angry Birds 2 once in awhile on my phone. I've got a hack for unlimited in-game currency, and it gives a bit of an advantage in the multiplayer "arena", since I can play every battle with all the premium power-ups. Of course, this isn't really a cheating hack, since Donald Trump could easily do the same thing, if he traded his presidential ambitions for an Angry Birds addiction.

  22. Re:Apple doesn't need a killer device. on Apple: Losing Out On Talent and In Need of a Killer New Device (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1

    Most people buy their phones through a contract, which means that even if iPhones are more expensive, they are quite affordable over 18 months

    Thanks to T-Mobile's success in using newspeak to convince the public that subsidized phone contracts are pure Satan-piss evil, the major carriers in the US have all pretty much switched to a model where wireless service is sold on a "no contract" basis, but you finance the full cost of your phone.

    Under the previous, 2 year contract arrangement, you'd pay the same for your wireless service whether you opted for the $0 Huawei Dolphin Fart Pro running Froyo, or the "$199" iPhone du jour. Might as well get the iPhone. However, now that carriers expect you to finance the full cost of your phone, there's some serious money to be saved going with a Moto G, ZTE Zmax 2, Blu Vivo XL, etc. All of those phones cost under $200.

    Apple is certainly not doomed, but their glory days of iPhones flying off the shelves might be behind them.

  23. Re:It was the first standard for video? on In Memoriam: VGA (hackaday.com) · · Score: 1

    When szczys said "video" szczys meant porn. VGA was the first standard that allowed users to watch downloaded porn that was as good as what they could watch on videotapes.

    CGA, EGA, MDA and Hercules couldn't equal a videotape.... and PCs didn't come equipped with NTSC, PAL or SECAM.

    You couldn't actually watch VHS quality video on a PC until circa 1995. Even then, you needed a video card with a dedicated MPEG decoder, or at least a Pentium 90MHz (that's 0.09GHz for you younger millennials) CPU and a video card that supported video overlay acceleration (if you wanted to watch it full screen without it getting choppy). But your bigger problem would have been the lack of broadband access - at the time, even AOL was still charging by the hour, for dial-up.

    VGA, as it existed when it superseded EGA - well, it was good for looking at pixelated 256 color still images. Magazines (images and words printed on processed dead trees, don't see them much these days) still had the advantage when it came to clarity of what you were looking at.

  24. It's worse than that. on Obama Proposes $4 Billion Investment In Self-Driving Cars (transportation.gov) · · Score: 1

    Truck drivers. There sure are a lot of them in the US.

    Not just truck drivers - any job that involves moving someone or something from point A to point B with a human behind the wheel is a target for elimination. For the most part, a job in the transportation industry pays a livable wage. If transportation jobs are rendered obsolete by autonomous vehicles, we're talking a mind-mindbogglingly huge number of workers who will have to retrain for another career, or fight for the remaining low-wage jobs that are available to unskilled workers.

    As much as politicians love scaring the American public with the specter of terrorism, it's the dropping value of an hour of unskilled human labor which should really be sending chills down peoples' spines. The point some members of the liberal camp fail to see is "minimum wage", is a misnomer. It's a minimum cost of labor, and raising it is akin to price fixing a commodity that is in obvious oversupply. Some municipalities have already done just that. Allow that to sink in: We have so many unskilled laborers willing to work for unlivable wages, that we've actually had to pass laws mandating they're paid more than the free market can bear.

    Star Trek and and the Spaceship Earth attraction at EPCOT told us automation would provide us with a life of leisure, while we're free to pursue our dreams. You'd spend the day composing music, designing surfboards, painting, etc., while Mr. Roboto goes to work for you. In the real world though, Mr. Roboto works for the big corporations, and they see no need to employ *you*.