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User: purpledinoz

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  1. Aren't there any lessons learned from prohibition? on Cartels Are Using Firetruck-Sized Drillers To Make Drug Pipelines · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's a losing battle trying to fight the forces of economics. The Prohibition was basically a gift for the criminals and gangs to make easy money. We're seeing the same thing here. Why is weed illegal anyway? It's arguably just as harmful as alcohol and tobacco. I'm certain that Colorado an Washington won't crumble into anarchy as a result of legalization.

  2. Re:And the opinon of the NY Times matters because? on The New York Times Pushes For Clemency For Snowden · · Score: 1

    Snowden did far more harm than good.

    ...

    All he did was confirm what everyone already knew, that the NSA was spying on everything.

    Uuuh, so how did Snowden do any harm if everyone already knew that the NSA was spying on everything? What Snowden did was shine the light on the NSA's illegal activities. Should the government be able to do whatever it wants to anyone it wants? Should the voters even have a say about this? This is essentially where this is headed, think about it: Guantanamo, secret courts, secret laws... But it seems the US voters want this, so you get what you vote for.

  3. Re:Think about what this actually means. on UK Introduces Warrantless Detention · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't be surprised if this "controlled area" gets expanded by 10 miles, then 50 miles, then 100 miles, then the whole country.

  4. Re:Wrong on Are Tablets Replacing Notebook Computers? (Video) · · Score: 1

    But many people are just consumers, so they are probably opting for the tablet rather than a laptop. Also, it's simple economics. You get a better screen for a lot less money. Have you ever tried buying a laptop with a good screen lately? They're mostly $1K+.... You can get a 1920x1200 kindle fire for $230. That's a friggin bargain compared to a laptop with the same screen resolution. I hope the laptop makers get destroyed by tablets, and finally force them to bring out laptops with good screens for a good price.

  5. The bigger issue is on Google Fixes Credit Card Security Hole, But Snubs Discoverer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    why are credit card numbers even available to be indexed in the first place?

  6. Re:Science isn't critical thinking... on Getting Evolution In Science Textbooks For Texas Schools · · Score: 1

    I also demand that we put flying spaghetti monsters in our science textbooks. And while we're at it, how about goblins, wizards, and unicorns too...

  7. Re:If they're concerned on picking winners or lose on A War Over Solar Power Is Raging Within the GOP · · Score: 1

    And who would be responsible for ensuring these external costs are accounted for in the price? I don't see how this would be possible without government involvement.

  8. Re:Yes! on BlackBerry's CFO, CMO, and COO Leave Company · · Score: 1

    Phew, Alicia Keys is still the Global Creative Director!

  9. Re:If they're concerned on picking winners or lose on A War Over Solar Power Is Raging Within the GOP · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And maybe encourage saving energy more strongly. One thing that struck me when I was on business in Phoenix, Arizona, is how energy inefficient everything was. I would take warm showers in my air conditioned apartment, while it was 40C outside. The water was no doubt heating with electricity or gas. Why not use solar water heaters? And why are the offices air conditioned so much? What a huge waste of energy. The apartment was equipped with a washing machine and a dryer. Do people in the desert really use a dryer? You can just hang your clothes out for an hour and everything will be bone dry. Why were people driving huge trucks just to go to work? There is HUGE potential for reducing energy consumption, which I suspect is the lowest hanging fruit.

  10. Disclaimer: This only applies if you are wealthy and connected.

  11. Re:I donâ(TM)t suppose... on Feds Confiscate Investigative Reporter's Confidential Files During Raid · · Score: 1

    There's the ideal, then there's reality. The reality is, the Constitution no longer applies in the USA.

  12. Use libraries, not frameworks on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Choose Frameworks That Will Survive? · · Score: 1

    I'm not saying all frameworks are bad... There are a bunch of frameworks out there that will definitely be there for a while. But I don't like to be constrained to a framework. At the beginning, things might seem like it's going well and development seems to be going so fast, until there's a requirement that your framework doesn't support. Then you spend the rest of your life figuring out how to work around the framework. I prefer to develop as much as I can independent of a framework (ie - building libraries), using whatever libraries necessary to get the job done fast, then use the code in the framework. If you have to change the framework, then a lot of your code is still usable without any framework dependencies.

  13. Re:Incompetent Press on Apple Announces iPad Air · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sweet, 64-bit processor. Now I can have more than 4 billion friends on facebook!

  14. Re:Western democracy is at an end on China's State Press Calls For 'Building a De-Americanized World' · · Score: 1

    After living in Germany for a few years, I have to say, I really like the German election system. I believe it's much fairer than the Canadian system. Even if you're in a neighbourhood dominated by a party, you're vote still has an effect.

  15. Re:DOH. Because China's most likely to get screwed on China's State Press Calls For 'Building a De-Americanized World' · · Score: 1

    China tried to have its cake and eat it too. They pegged their currency artificially low vs the USD to make their exports cheap, which means they had to accumulate USD. Now they're holding a giant bag of increasingly worthless USDs. I like the way Peter Schiff puts it: the US has a great deal. It gets goods from China in exchange for worthless USD paper.

  16. Re:Check their work on Oracle Attacks Open Source; Says Community-Developed Code Is Inferior · · Score: 2

    Or just install an Oracle Client. If you're lucky, it works. Also Oracle DB is a pain in the ass (from a developer's perspective):
    - 30 char limit for names? WTF? It's not 1992
    - no auto-incrementing column (can't even use a sequence as the default value). Supposedly this awesome new feature is coming soon...
    - Timestamp With Timezone is awesome, until you want to index it
    - What's the deal with the number types? NUMBER(10), where is int32, int64?

  17. Re:H1B working as intended. on Justice Department Slaps IBM Over H-1B Hiring Practices · · Score: 1

    Couldn't both be happening? Some companies are having a real hard time finding good developers, others are using it to drive down wages. I think, in the long run, bringing in as much high-skilled workers to the US as possible is for the better. Companies will open offices where there are highly skilled people available. Canada has the opposite problem: Brain Drain. A lot of highly skilled people leave Canada to work in the US. Canada would definitely benefit from the US tightening its H1B program.

  18. Re:From Yesterday. on John Gilmore Analyzes NSA Obstruction of Crypto In IPSEC · · Score: 2

    It's time that security standards are developed outside of the USA, without any US involvement.

  19. David Hasselhoff CD Reviews on Amazon Selects Their Favorite Fake Customer Reviews · · Score: 1

    My favorite is the 1000+ reviews for Looking For-Best of David Hasselhoff.

  20. Re:In the Long Run, All of Europe is Fucked on Is Europe's Recession Really Over? · · Score: 1

    Things aren't allowed to collapse until the German election is over. Expect to see things to move after this September.

  21. Re:Measures of uncertainty on Is Europe's Recession Really Over? · · Score: 2

    And then adjusted later to reality.

  22. Re:No so much on Medical Costs Bankrupt Patients; It's the Computer's Fault · · Score: 1

    America has the worst of both worlds, which is why they spend so much on healthcare. As people argue about the choice between "socialism" vs "capitalism", laws are being created to swindle the masses for the profit of the few. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor. Absolutely the worst possible outcome.

  23. Re:Not surprising on Bradley Manning Convicted of Espionage, Acquitted of 'Aiding the Enemy' · · Score: 1

    Too bad the Feds aren't going after the real criminals on Wall Street.

  24. Alicia Keys on BlackBerry Cuts 250 Workers, Calls It Efficiency · · Score: 1

    Is Blackberry still sending wheelbarrows full of money to their "Global Creative Director", Alicia Keys?

  25. Re:'Schrödinger's Cat' ? on Fedora 19 Released · · Score: 2

    Just don't look. It will be up and down at the same time.