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User: Earl+The+Squirrel

Earl+The+Squirrel's activity in the archive.

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  1. Yet the article was blocked for me... on German Supreme Court Rules Ad Blockers Legal (faz.net) · · Score: 2

    ....because I have An Ad blocker on. The Irony of it all...

  2. It's because of the song... on Why the World Only Has Two Words For Tea (qz.com) · · Score: 2

    I thought this was obvious....it's because of the song... Tea for Two and Two for Tea...la la la...

  3. Re:Fuck Forbes on Apollo 17 Soil Matches Ancient Earth's Ocean Ridges In Water Content · · Score: 1

    And hide it behind a link that doesn't work without Ad Block turned off...

    Not News I'll look at...

  4. Tape off switches, Really? Simple answers.... on Smart Homes Often Dumb, Never Simple · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised that he hadn't figured this out... only thought about removing switches (or taping them down) for a few minutes.

    Then I found two VERY simple solutions. GE makes a switch that is a toggle that says "in the middle" (i.e. push it up turns on, then moves back to a center position, and visa versa to turn off). It doesn't take a certified installer to figure this out. That way works for both "non-smart" use, and "smart" use (i.e. via phone, tablet, etc.)

    Also, the GE smart bulbs that I got with my Wink are smart enough to reset if you turn off the power and turn it back on. Absolutely NO need to tape anything off.

    I think he didn't think very much about this, or wasn't very creative... didn't take me that long to do it, and the DIY has worked well enough that it passed the "Wife doesn't want anything that is tech just for tech sake" test...

    It's actually FINALLY getting to the point where the DIY person can tackle this if they don't get sucked into the hype and actually THINK about the use cases before deploying stuff willy nilly...

  5. You don't realize the impact this has.. on After 40 Years As a Double Amputee, Man Gains Two Bionic Arms · · Score: 1

    This is my cousin Les. You can't imagine what it is like to see this type of breakthrough for him after 40 years (I was 10 when the accident happened)
    I've seen how amazing Les is and how he gets around and deals with life without his natural arms for most of my life. I've gone dune buggy racing with him driving (he's a crazy driver :-) ) and many other fun things. But to see these videos, I'm just awe struck. Not only is it impressive technology wise, but it's just awe inspiring and brings immense joy to see the gift that this can bring back into Les's life. (esp. this time of year) This is one of the best Christmas presents this year.

  6. Re:Electrical Accident? on After 40 Years As a Double Amputee, Man Gains Two Bionic Arms · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I can comment with some authority on this (this is my cousin in the article!)

    Yes, an electrical accident can make you lose both arms and stop your heart, however the fall that occurred afterwards (at least according to the doctor) restarted his heart. I saw the sun glasses he was wearing that changed color based on sunlight (which were permanently stuck in a darkened state) so the whole situation and environment around this was probably a once in a lifetime situation.

  7. Not bad, just lazy. on Does Relying On an IDE Make You a Bad Programmer? · · Score: 1

    As one poster wrote, using a spell checker when you write a novel doesn't make you a bad writer. That's true, but it doesn't make you a better speller.

    An IDE doesn't make you a bad programmer, but it doesn't make you any better at retaining the language specifics (any more than a spell checker helps you become a better speller... people don't use it to "improve a weak skill" they use it "instead of developing the weak skill"... )

    I've seen plenty of folks who can think, but couldn't do ANYTHING without an IDE. That's like a carpenter who uses an electric circular saw, but couldn't use a hand saw if the power was out....

  8. Open Source, but voids a warranty? on Google Releases Glass Factory System Image, Rooted Bootloader · · Score: 1

    It it just me, or does this make no sense. Isn't Open Source suppose to ALLOW you to run the SW in any form, as you like on a piece of HW?
    Ok, so this only runs on Google's HW... and they are within their right to set terms of what they're going to support. But this sure sounds really screwed up...
    and at least doesn't seem to follow the "spirit" of Open Source, though it does follow the "letter-of-the-law"...

    Google continues to slide on my score sheet. Use to seem to be taking a new exciting path, now just turning into yet another huge corp, with a similar mental model as any other. (Granted they all have their own tweaks, but they're not anything special any more). Nothing to see here, move along there...

  9. History repeats and repeats... on Orson Scott Card's Superman Story Shelved After Homophobia Controversy · · Score: 2

    For some reason, the whole "this person" or "that person" is homophobic is starting to sound like in the 50's when it was "that person is a commie".
    People are getting attacked for believing (or are even assumed to believe) something others don't believe in. The side that's screaming the loudest then gets to blacklist those folks and keep them from working. Sheesh.

  10. I want my Dick Tracy watch on Ask Slashdot: What Features Belong In a 'Smartwatch'? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I want a souped up Dick Tracy watch... with not just a speaker, but video... like this

  11. This version going to get released? on Jonathan Coulton Re-records 'Code Monkey' For Us · · Score: 1

    We going to see a version of this on his site?

  12. A reason for a return trip for at least two people on Images Show Apollo Moon Flags Still Standing · · Score: 1

    So, since Neil and Buzz's flag fell over, I think they can call dibs on a 2nd flight to the Moon to fix that.... to be historically accurate they'd have to be the ones who did it... like having the original painter repair a masterpiece... the only way to do it right :-)

  13. Scientific American Published a book on it. on Ask Slashdot: The Very Best Paper Airplane? · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Great International Paper Airplane Book by Scientific America : http://www.amazon.com/Great-International-Paper-Airplane-Book/dp/0671211293
    had, at least at the time, the "best performing" for time aloft, distance, etc. The designs were very solid.

  14. Re:It has been seen before on Google Pulls Plug On Programming For the Masses · · Score: 0

    Yeah, there should be a web page for ALL the various products that Google has killed, and some of the "impact" assessment. I mean how many is it by now?
    Geeze, off the top of my head I can think of a few... Wave, Gears, Bookmark sync, Google Answers, Google Video, Dodgeball, etc, etc.

    Using a Google tool in any sort of "production" environment is a real crap shoot, in my opinon...

  15. 4 Days til Spock turns 80 too.. on Happy 80th Birthday, William Shatner! · · Score: 1

    Wonder who looks older... surprisingly their birthdays are only 4 days apart...

  16. Is this an Apple or HP announcement? on Security Warning Over Web-Based Android Market · · Score: 1

    I was watching this on engadget and couldn't tell from the images whether I watching an Apple or HP announcement.

    This picture ... change TouchPad to iPad and put the guy in a black turtleneck....sure looks like the iPad announcement.. Look at this picture from the original iPad announcement... sure looks similar to me.

    This e-mail app looks pretty damn close to the iPad one.

    This keyboard sure looks almost identical to the iPad.

    In general, I saw this as a rehash of the Apple and Google approaches to a common OS for Phone and Pad. Can't speak to either on "pc" though both have leaked rumors at least of having their OS on some form of a PC. To me this was a big "yawn" from a late comer to this space.

  17. So, Safety?? on Airbus Planning Transparent Planes · · Score: 1

    Let's see, how frequently do airplanes have to use the following FAA rule:

    1. Practice the "see and avoid" concept at all times regardless of whether the operation is conducted under Instrument (IFR) or Visual (VFR) Flight Rules.

    (from http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/tracon/anchorage/pilots_info/mca/ )

    I'm thinking FAA would frown on this type of plane simply because of the potential safety issue...

    "Hey, did you see that big transparent plane over their thru the fog?"

  18. A suggestion... on Throttle Shared Users With OS X — Is It Possible? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Put a 10 MBit switch between his computer and the network... that'll do it... 8-)

  19. Why does everything have to appeal to everybody?? on Sci Fi Channel Becoming Less Geek-Centric "SyFy" · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I read the article and it says it has to "appeal to a more mainstream audience", and yet it's earnings and revenue are up sharply this year. So, what logic says that they need to appeal to a wider audience?? Do they think that going more mainstream (which I suspect means also changing some of the type of programming as well....) won't cause any of the existing audience to leave? This sounds like the media equivalent to New Coke.

  20. Time for Change... on Barack Obama Wins US Presidency · · Score: 0, Troll

    Remember that, cause all we're going to have left is "change" after he's done with spending...

  21. Re:This from.... on France Bans BlackBerries In Govt. On Fears of Spying · · Score: 1

    Pot, Kettle, Black...

    It's like saying "The police should stop all these people speeding" while you drive 80 on the highway...

  22. This from.... on France Bans BlackBerries In Govt. On Fears of Spying · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The country that is accused of spying on AirFrance aircraft?
    http://www.iht.com/articles/1991/09/14/spy_.php/

  23. 100 cores on the chip on the wall... on Intel Shows Off 80-core Processor · · Score: 1

    I wonder how long before our kids are singing,

    100 cores on the chip on the wall, 100 cores on the chip
    take one down, pass it around
    99 cores on the chip on the wall....

  24. Re:Quit'cher Bitchin' on Daylight Saving Change Saved No Power · · Score: 1

    Not everything COULD be patched....I've got a DVD/VCR player that the brain surgeons who designed it didn't THINK that Congress could or would ever change the dates. So for the rest of it's "useful" functional life, I've got to deal with its time twice a year. I imagine that other such devices exist...so, I don't know about you, but it cost me $$...(cause my wife is going to make me replace the thing because of the panic it caused when she thought the time was an hour different....)

  25. Given Google's Push to the corporate desktop on Do You Allow Webmail Use on Your Network? · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I've been part of the Google Beta testing for hosted e-mail (for my own domain) and also been part of the testing for the Google Apps for businesses. During that time, I've not had any issues with spam nor malware mail. Given Google's intent to host small businesses, I strongly suspect that they will pay close attention to security issues, esp. on their e-mail service. I've been pleasantly surprised as to how good their spam filtering works. My wife also has noticed that spam has pretty much gone away. You can access your e-mail both on the hosted site, and at least via a pop client, so you could possibly insert additional security on the pop client, but give folks access to a web version of the e-mail as well.