pre-med student who ate, drank, and breathed the blood, urine and vomit of yellow-fever victims
Medical students used to be willing to submit to multiple medical studies to get a "leg up" in the research world. Today, medical students usually willingly submit purely for financial reasons... these drug companies are willing to pay a lot of medicine.
In medical school I tested a certain blood pressure medicine... and it gave me a certain "standing at attention" side effect. I always wondered if that drug was a pre-market version of viagra.
Not to push your idea too far, but perhaps virus writing and slashdotting are somewhat related.
No, I'm not trolling...
Virus writers get a lot of attention and feedback regarding their work. They usually believe they are exposing some weakness or highlighting some security risk. They see their actions on the news and the internet.
Slashdot posting gives some similar stimuli. By posting an excellent message, the author receives moderation and more people start discussing the idea. Likewise, most slashdotters are posting to expose an idea or highlight something they think somebody else might appreciate.
Both activities give certain rewards. Just like trolling is a cheap (immoral?) way of getting good slashdot stimuli such as responses and emotion... virus writing is a cheap (immoral?) way of getting "rewarded" for programming.
I think the worship of Rand (Atlas Shrugged) is stupid... however, it serve to remind us that people do certain things for rewards--slashdot or virus writing included.
Davak
Re:OT: vegetative state
on
Kylix in Limbo
·
· Score: 1, Offtopic
Living wills are excellent supporting data; however, the family still makes the final decision in most cases.
For example, if this lady would could have had a living will that said: "Remove support if I am in a irreversible condition." The parents would argue that it's reversible and the husband would argue otherwise.
As an ICU doctor, I see people die everyday. I make sure they die with respect and painlessly.
The worse thing that can happen is that somebody lives out his/her life in ways against his/her will. People have the right to die on their terms.
Sad.
David
OT: vegetative state
on
Kylix in Limbo
·
· Score: 0, Offtopic
Off topic... but the quote struck a nerve.
"If you can't resuscitate the patient, remove the feeding tube," the attendee said. "Don't just let it linger in a vegetative state."
As a doctor, it kills me that they are making a symbol out of that poor little girl. Please let my spouse decide what is best for me.
There's a difference in being alive and really "being alive."
Regarding apple, I agree completely. Apple would have been an alternative choice for my parents and would easily allow them to do all the things that their current system allows.
Apple didn't enter my mind here--I was just trying to explain the paradox between my love for microsoft software and my distrust for their business practices.
Mainly, my parents eventually picked a PC system because I could better help them debug and pick out software--not because PC >> apple in features/ease.
Please turn off the troll-claims and apple flames or my buddy arn over at macrumors.com will refuse to come over for my next dinner party.
I don't completely believe that Microsoft is evil. Microsoft helps my parents get online, have email, print pictures, and surf the web. There's no other easy software package out there expect that produced by microsoft that allows them to do it.
While I appreciate their products, it's hard to argue that they are not borg-like in their actions.
I think that it is more likely that microsoft would absorb google into the windows package. Google hooks would be built into everything!
Like most Microsoft borg activity, a lot of these google hooks would be helpful and appreciated. On the other hand, microsoft would have access to a huge database of information that we don't want them to have.
Microsoft would know your every search... your every desire. Microsoft would know all the things google knows--information to the extreme.
Google is a search company... and that's it. I appreciate that. They catalog information... and give it to me.
Microsoft wants to be on every computer in the world. I expect that... that's the dream of most operating systems. They also want to be a part of everybody's life--audio/video, cars,cell phones, everywhere. That's spooky enough.
However, give them access to all the information and all our searches... too damn scary.
True... I am just suggesting to delay the "buy" part which should increase... yes, profits.
I agree yahoo is on an upward trend. I haven't lost anything because I haven't sold it yet. However, if I wouldn't have bought so early, I would be even doing better now.
They and other senior executives have in recent weeks been interviewing investment banks with a view to taking the company public at a valuation of $US15 billion to $US25 billion ($21 billion to $36 billion).
Selling 2 billion of a 25 billion company isn't going to change any control.
However, if Microsoft were to buy all 2 billion, it would accomplish two things for the beast:
1. It would give them some input into the company. Not enough to change things... but perhaps enough that google would be pressured into "keeping the stockholders" happy. 2. It's just a smart investment moneywise for microsoft. Make money from the "competition."
I can not imagine anything more evil that microsoft + google. Microsoft would be unstoppable.
Fear.
Davak
Re:What about the dangers?
on
Hackers On Atkins
·
· Score: 5, Informative
As one of slash's physicians, I feel I should contribute a little research on the topic. The summary of the research is that Atkin's probably works and probably lowers cholesterol. I recently read a study that followed people out for 12 months that found the diet safe.
I tend to follow the Mediterranean diet but have no better science supporting it either.
This New England Journal of Medicine article agrees with my beliefs. The important thing to remember is that weight loss requires changes to diet for life! Any diet, even Atkins, only works as long as you can follow it...
BACKGROUND: Despite the popularity of the low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat (Atkins) diet, no randomized, controlled trials have evaluated its efficacy. METHODS: We conducted a one-year, multicenter, controlled trial involving 63 obese men and women who were randomly assigned to either a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet or a low-calorie, high-carbohydrate, low-fat (conventional) diet. Professional contact was minimal to replicate the approach used by most dieters. RESULTS: Subjects on the low-carbohydrate diet had lost more weight than subjects on the conventional diet at 3 months (mean [+/-SD], -6.8+/-5.0 vs. -2.7+/-3.7 percent of body weight; P=0.001) and 6 months (-7.0+/-6.5 vs. -3.2+/-5.6 percent of body weight, P=0.02), but the difference at 12 months was not significant (-4.4+/-6.7 vs. -2.5+/-6.3 percent of body weight, P=0.26). After three months, no significant differences were found between the groups in total or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. The increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and the decrease in triglyceride concentrations were greater among subjects on the low-carbohydrate diet than among those on the conventional diet throughout most of the study. Both diets significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure and the insulin response to an oral glucose load. CONCLUSIONS: The low-carbohydrate diet produced a greater weight loss (absolute difference, approximately 4 percent) than did the conventional diet for the first six months, but the differences were not significant at one year. The low-carbohydrate diet was associated with a greater improvement in some risk factors for coronary heart disease. Adherence was poor and attrition was high in both groups. Longer and larger studies are required to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diets.
Is a cracked version of some latest software package new data?
Honestly, only about 25k in the *.exe has been changed... but this would count as a doubling of information, hard drive space, whatever.
Likewise, when we chart medical information, we often duplicate the information from note to note to remind ourselves and others about the important aspects of the patient's history. Really...it's just data duplication.
An audio producer may lay down gigs of tracks for one song. In my research lab we burn a DVD almost full of new data each day. In the hospital we record more and more detailed information into our systems.
Sadly, an assload of this information is useless, useless, useless. I spend more time detailing information in the medical chart than I actually spend with the patient.
In my lab, more data is better... however, when it's just useless information to keep the shark lawyers off my back it's a bad thing.
The download versions from our web site last for 10 days following installation. Re-install will not allow an additional 10 days. Sorry. If you download and install Ability Write in January and then download and install Ability Spreadsheet in May, then Spreadsheet will not run since Ability shares the trial period across all Ability applications.
10 days? 10 days? Who just allows 10 freaking days for evaulation these days?
However... according to their FAQ, the software can import/export Microsoft documents upto XP. Looks like 2003 is not supported yet.
Anyway, good luck. I think we all agree that it does not matter if it's OpenOffice or this software package, any competition against the giant is good competition.
Re:That was a great quote to leave unchallenged:
on
CNN Reports on Diebold
·
· Score: 4, Informative
You wanna see the crap these guys discuss privately?
http://www.why-war.com/features/2003/10/diebold.ht ml#excerpts "Elections are not rocket science. Why is it so hard to get things right! I have never been at any other company that has been so miss [sic] managed." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/announce.w3archive/20011 0/msg00002.html ]
In response to a question about a presentation in El Paso County, Colorado: "For a demonstration I suggest you fake it. Progam them both so they look the same, and then just do the upload fro [sic] the AV. That is what we did in the last AT/AV demo." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/support.w3archive/199903/msg00098.html ]
"I have become increasingly concerned about the apparent lack of concern over the practice of writing contracts to provide products and services which do not exist and then attempting to build these items on an unreasonable timetable with no written plan, little to no time for testing, and minimal resources. It also seems to be an accepted practice to exaggerate our progress and functionality to our customers and ourselves then make excuses at delivery time when these products and services do not meet expectations." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/announce.w3archive/20011 0/msg00001.html ]
"Johnson County, KS will be doing Central Count for their mail in ballots. They will also be processing these ballots in advance of the closing of polls on election day. They would like to log into the Audit Log an entry for Previewing any Election Total Reports. They need this, to prove to the media, as well as, any candidates & lawyers, that they did not view or print any Election Results before the Polls closed. However, if there is a way that we can disable the reporting functionality, that would be even better." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/rcr.w3archive/200202/msg 00051.html ] (emphasis added)
This article doesn't have anything to do with the previous Diebold evilness...
This article is more about the general problems with touchscreen voting in general.
I think touchscreen voting is a good thing!
Yes, it will be less secure. Yes, it makes everybody nervous note to have things on pen and paper... However, you can say that about everything that is now done electronically! Heck, it just paid all my monthly bills online this am. My granddad would never trust "these new fangled machines" to send/accept his money.
There will be problems with new machines... it's good we are talking about them now. Hell, I just hope that this is another step toward online voting. Woah... talk about security problems then.
One wealthy businessman handed Etrema $1.5 million to stop the slight vibrations on his yacht when he hit top speeds. Terfenol did the trick, allowing him to dine at sea without having his meal shimmy off the plate. [And] a local church hired the firm to build a special pew so that a deaf person could hear the service.
This interests me more than the original article. How does a speaker-like material stop vibrations? Sure sound is a vibration... but to cancel out another sound/vibration it would have play the inverse sound at exactly the same time to cancel it out.
I'm assume the pew above just converted the sounds to either physical vibrations which the person could feel... or just adjusted the frequency to something that could be better heard/perceived.
RIAA sees this as a direct attack against them. This is a counterstrike:
Kelly Mullens, a spokeswoman for Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group, said, "It is unfortunate that MIT launched a service in an attempt to avoid paying recording artists, union musicians and record labels. Loudeye recognized that they had no right to deliver Universal's music to the MIT service, and MIT acted responsibly by removing the music."
The RIAA here is directly charging MIT with trying to break copyright. There are not suggesting that MIT made a mistake... or that Loudeye misrepresented itself. The RIAA is trying to make an example out of MIT.
I always hear rumors of "frying the processor." Has anybody actually seen this happen? I locked up my CPU hundreds of time with overheating due to overclocking or dead fans... and I have never actually burned out my processor.
My buddy works at a local computer shop and he has never seen it either. He's seen burned out CPUs for other stuff (mice, etc) but never from just overclocking...
"This is a very sensitive topic. I may not want the store to be broadcasting what I bought last time I was in here. You're getting closer and closer to being inside my home."
No kidding.
We all worried about the privacy of cookies... Now they know what I am buying, eating, and drinking.
I don't want anybody to know that I drink big "foties" of malt liquor. I don't want anybody to know I eat fat-ass hot dogs... and survive on captain cruch cereral.
When do they start feeding all of this into a huge database? Big "foties" + hot dogs + shopping at 1:30 am = terrorist?/paranoid mode off.
Slashdot Mirror
If a beautiful girl calls me over to her house to repair her vibrator... I am not sure that would be a horrible job.
/pun mode off
She would probably be pretty excited to see me.
Davak
pre-med student who ate, drank, and breathed the blood, urine and vomit of yellow-fever victims
:)
Medical students used to be willing to submit to multiple medical studies to get a "leg up" in the research world. Today, medical students usually willingly submit purely for financial reasons... these drug companies are willing to pay a lot of medicine.
In medical school I tested a certain blood pressure medicine... and it gave me a certain "standing at attention" side effect. I always wondered if that drug was a pre-market version of viagra.
Anyway, I got wood and $50 bucks out of it.
Davak
Not to push your idea too far, but perhaps virus writing and slashdotting are somewhat related.
No, I'm not trolling...
Virus writers get a lot of attention and feedback regarding their work. They usually believe they are exposing some weakness or highlighting some security risk. They see their actions on the news and the internet.
Slashdot posting gives some similar stimuli. By posting an excellent message, the author receives moderation and more people start discussing the idea. Likewise, most slashdotters are posting to expose an idea or highlight something they think somebody else might appreciate.
Both activities give certain rewards. Just like trolling is a cheap (immoral?) way of getting good slashdot stimuli such as responses and emotion... virus writing is a cheap (immoral?) way of getting "rewarded" for programming.
I think the worship of Rand (Atlas Shrugged) is stupid... however, it serve to remind us that people do certain things for rewards--slashdot or virus writing included.
Davak
Living wills are excellent supporting data; however, the family still makes the final decision in most cases.
For example, if this lady would could have had a living will that said: "Remove support if I am in a irreversible condition." The parents would argue that it's reversible and the husband would argue otherwise.
As an ICU doctor, I see people die everyday. I make sure they die with respect and painlessly.
The worse thing that can happen is that somebody lives out his/her life in ways against his/her will. People have the right to die on their terms.
Sad.
David
Off topic... but the quote struck a nerve.
"If you can't resuscitate the patient, remove the feeding tube," the attendee said. "Don't just let it linger in a vegetative state."
As a doctor, it kills me that they are making a symbol out of that poor little girl. Please let my spouse decide what is best for me.
There's a difference in being alive and really "being alive."
Oh... touche.
Regarding apple, I agree completely. Apple would have been an alternative choice for my parents and would easily allow them to do all the things that their current system allows.
Apple didn't enter my mind here--I was just trying to explain the paradox between my love for microsoft software and my distrust for their business practices.
Mainly, my parents eventually picked a PC system because I could better help them debug and pick out software--not because PC >> apple in features/ease.
Please turn off the troll-claims and apple flames or my buddy arn over at macrumors.com will refuse to come over for my next dinner party.
I don't completely believe that Microsoft is evil. Microsoft helps my parents get online, have email, print pictures, and surf the web. There's no other easy software package out there expect that produced by microsoft that allows them to do it.
While I appreciate their products, it's hard to argue that they are not borg-like in their actions.
I think that it is more likely that microsoft would absorb google into the windows package. Google hooks would be built into everything!
Like most Microsoft borg activity, a lot of these google hooks would be helpful and appreciated. On the other hand, microsoft would have access to a huge database of information that we don't want them to have.
Microsoft would know your every search... your every desire.
Microsoft would know all the things google knows--information to the extreme.
Google is a search company... and that's it. I appreciate that. They catalog information... and give it to me.
Microsoft wants to be on every computer in the world. I expect that... that's the dream of most operating systems. They also want to be a part of everybody's life--audio/video, cars,cell phones, everywhere. That's spooky enough.
However, give them access to all the information and all our searches... too damn scary.
True... I am just suggesting to delay the "buy" part which should increase... yes, profits.
I agree yahoo is on an upward trend. I haven't lost anything because I haven't sold it yet. However, if I wouldn't have bought so early, I would be even doing better now.
Davak
They and other senior executives have in recent weeks been interviewing investment banks with a view to taking the company public at a valuation of $US15 billion to $US25 billion ($21 billion to $36 billion).
Selling 2 billion of a 25 billion company isn't going to change any control.
However, if Microsoft were to buy all 2 billion, it would accomplish two things for the beast:
1. It would give them some input into the company. Not enough to change things... but perhaps enough that google would be pressured into "keeping the stockholders" happy.
2. It's just a smart investment moneywise for microsoft. Make money from the "competition."
I thought that way too... ...then I bought yahoo.
Google will open very, very strong... and then lose down after the fireworks are over.
Once it settles, then buy! Look at the yahoo chart above to see about what I am speaking.
I agree buying google... just wait until the right time.
I can not imagine anything more evil that microsoft + google. Microsoft would be unstoppable.
Fear.
Davak
As one of slash's physicians, I feel I should contribute a little research on the topic. The summary of the research is that Atkin's probably works and probably lowers cholesterol. I recently read a study that followed people out for 12 months that found the diet safe.
I tend to follow the Mediterranean diet but have no better science supporting it either.
This New England Journal of Medicine article agrees with my beliefs. The important thing to remember is that weight loss requires changes to diet for life! Any diet, even Atkins, only works as long as you can follow it...
New England Journal of Medicine Article
BACKGROUND: Despite the popularity of the low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat (Atkins) diet, no randomized, controlled trials have evaluated its efficacy. METHODS: We conducted a one-year, multicenter, controlled trial involving 63 obese men and women who were randomly assigned to either a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet or a low-calorie, high-carbohydrate, low-fat (conventional) diet. Professional contact was minimal to replicate the approach used by most dieters. RESULTS: Subjects on the low-carbohydrate diet had lost more weight than subjects on the conventional diet at 3 months (mean [+/-SD], -6.8+/-5.0 vs. -2.7+/-3.7 percent of body weight; P=0.001) and 6 months (-7.0+/-6.5 vs. -3.2+/-5.6 percent of body weight, P=0.02), but the difference at 12 months was not significant (-4.4+/-6.7 vs. -2.5+/-6.3 percent of body weight, P=0.26). After three months, no significant differences were found between the groups in total or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. The increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and the decrease in triglyceride concentrations were greater among subjects on the low-carbohydrate diet than among those on the conventional diet throughout most of the study. Both diets significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure and the insulin response to an oral glucose load. CONCLUSIONS: The low-carbohydrate diet produced a greater weight loss (absolute difference, approximately 4 percent) than did the conventional diet for the first six months, but the differences were not significant at one year. The low-carbohydrate diet was associated with a greater improvement in some risk factors for coronary heart disease. Adherence was poor and attrition was high in both groups. Longer and larger studies are required to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diets.
Definition of assload
/end of my stupid point
Assload is a relative term... like "a lot"
Normally one wouldn't ask "how many Libraries of Congress is a lot?"
The parent post is an obvious example of the cause of the information explosion. :)
Who cares though? As data expands, it gets cheaper and cheaper to store it...
Bravo.
Is a cracked version of some latest software package new data?
Honestly, only about 25k in the *.exe has been changed... but this would count as a doubling of information, hard drive space, whatever.
Likewise, when we chart medical information, we often duplicate the information from note to note to remind ourselves and others about the important aspects of the patient's history. Really...it's just data duplication.
Davak
An audio producer may lay down gigs of tracks for one song. In my research lab we burn a DVD almost full of new data each day. In the hospital we record more and more detailed information into our systems.
Sadly, an assload of this information is useless, useless, useless. I spend more time detailing information in the medical chart than I actually spend with the patient.
In my lab, more data is better... however, when it's just useless information to keep the shark lawyers off my back it's a bad thing.
Davak
The download versions from our web site last for 10 days following installation. Re-install will not allow an additional 10 days. Sorry. If you download and install Ability Write in January and then download and install Ability Spreadsheet in May, then Spreadsheet will not run since Ability shares the trial period across all Ability applications.
10 days? 10 days?
Who just allows 10 freaking days for evaulation these days?
However... according to their FAQ, the software can import/export Microsoft documents upto XP. Looks like 2003 is not supported yet.
FAQ (google) 110k
Anyway, good luck. I think we all agree that it does not matter if it's OpenOffice or this software package, any competition against the giant is good competition.
You wanna see the crap these guys discuss privately?
t ml#excerpts
1 0/msg00002.html ]
3 /msg00098.html ]
1 0/msg00001.html ]
g 00051.html ] (emphasis added)
http://www.why-war.com/features/2003/10/diebold.h
"Elections are not rocket science. Why is it so hard to get things right! I have never been at any other company that has been so miss [sic] managed." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/announce.w3archive/2001
In response to a question about a presentation in El Paso County, Colorado: "For a demonstration I suggest you fake it. Progam them both so they look the same, and then just do the upload fro [sic] the AV. That is what we did in the last AT/AV demo." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/support.w3archive/19990
"I have become increasingly concerned about the apparent lack of concern over the practice of writing contracts to provide products and services which do not exist and then attempting to build these items on an unreasonable timetable with no written plan, little to no time for testing, and minimal resources. It also seems to be an accepted practice to exaggerate our progress and functionality to our customers and ourselves then make excuses at delivery time when these products and services do not meet expectations." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/announce.w3archive/2001
"Johnson County, KS will be doing Central Count for their mail in ballots. They will also be processing these ballots in advance of the closing of polls on election day. They would like to log into the Audit Log an entry for Previewing any Election Total Reports. They need this, to prove to the media, as well as, any candidates & lawyers, that they did not view or print any Election Results before the Polls closed. However, if there is a way that we can disable the reporting functionality, that would be even better." [source: http://chroot.net/s/lists/rcr.w3archive/200202/ms
This article doesn't have anything to do with the previous Diebold evilness...
This article is more about the general problems with touchscreen voting in general.
I think touchscreen voting is a good thing!
Yes, it will be less secure. Yes, it makes everybody nervous note to have things on pen and paper... However, you can say that about everything that is now done electronically! Heck, it just paid all my monthly bills online this am. My granddad would never trust "these new fangled machines" to send/accept his money.
There will be problems with new machines... it's good we are talking about them now. Hell, I just hope that this is another step toward online voting. Woah... talk about security problems then.
Davak
One wealthy businessman handed Etrema $1.5 million to stop the slight vibrations on his yacht when he hit top speeds. Terfenol did the trick, allowing him to dine at sea without having his meal shimmy off the plate. [And] a local church hired the firm to build a special pew so that a deaf person could hear the service.
This interests me more than the original article. How does a speaker-like material stop vibrations? Sure sound is a vibration... but to cancel out another sound/vibration it would have play the inverse sound at exactly the same time to cancel it out.
I'm assume the pew above just converted the sounds to either physical vibrations which the person could feel... or just adjusted the frequency to something that could be better heard/perceived.
The RIAA here is directly charging MIT with trying to break copyright. There are not suggesting that MIT made a mistake... or that Loudeye misrepresented itself.
The RIAA is trying to make an example out of MIT.
1. MIT found a way to "get around" the system using the analog hole.
2. RIAA picked holes in contracts until they could close down MIT's system.
Nothing new here. RIAA is still evil.
I always hear rumors of "frying the processor." Has anybody actually seen this happen? I locked up my CPU hundreds of time with overheating due to overclocking or dead fans... and I have never actually burned out my processor.
My buddy works at a local computer shop and he has never seen it either. He's seen burned out CPUs for other stuff (mice, etc) but never from just overclocking...
Anybody?
Davak
"This is a very sensitive topic. I may not want the store to be broadcasting what I bought last time I was in here. You're getting closer and closer to being inside my home."
/paranoid mode off.
No kidding.
We all worried about the privacy of cookies... Now they know what I am buying, eating, and drinking.
I don't want anybody to know that I drink big "foties" of malt liquor. I don't want anybody to know I eat fat-ass hot dogs... and survive on captain cruch cereral.
When do they start feeding all of this into a huge database? Big "foties" + hot dogs + shopping at 1:30 am = terrorist?