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User: wtansill

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  1. Re:Telecommuting vs outsourcing on The Real Reasons Companies Won't Hire Telecommuters (oreilly.com) · · Score: 1

    Don't some of these same reasons apply to hiring developers in India or wherever? Yet that gets done all the time.

    My thoughts exactly. Outsourcing is nothing so much as a huge investment in foreign telecommuters...

  2. Re:Nothing related to guns can be considered "smar on Smart Guns To Stop Mass Killings · · Score: 1

    Dunno. Why not ask him?

    BTW - while the link I posted was from a pro-RKBA site, please notice that the article was reprinted by permission of Northwestern University School of Law, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 86, issue 1, 1995

    And, as I noted in my original post:

    "Statistics aside, I have the moral right and duty to protect myself from unwarranted aggression. This right was recognized in the middle ages as existing independently of any government, and was codified in the English Bill of rights, which was one source of inspiration for our own Second Amendment. That a gun helps me in that effort is indisputable."

  3. Re:We need gas control! on New York Passes Landmark Gun Law · · Score: 1

    You really want to kill a lot of folks while keeping your planning under the radar? Get a gas can and a book of matches:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Land_fire

  4. Re:We need gas control! on New York Passes Landmark Gun Law · · Score: 1

    Most countries with high gun ownership rates and low murder rates tend to have hunting rifles, not assault weapons. They also have extensive systems that work to prevent guns from coming into the wrong hands.

    That's an indefensible statement.

    First, the term "Assault Rile" relates specifically to "intermediate caliber select-fire weapons". As in firearms, both rifles and carbines that have full-auto capabilities. Try getting your hands on one of those outside the military. It can be done, but it requires a ridiculous amount of paperwork, time and money as existing weapons are tightly regulated by the ATF. Give it a try and see how long it takes you.

    What the media mistakenly refer to as "Assault Weapons" (a vague term made up by the Brady's a while back which has no legal definition) are semi-automatic only rifles having cosmetic features that mimic the appearance of an Assault Rifle without the select-fire ability.

    In fact, there are many, many "hunting rifles" out there that are more powerful, although the 5.56x54 NATO cartridge can and has taken down deer and smaller game. BTW - I find it very "interesting" that when the police purchase these so-called "assault weapons", they are immediately renamed, becoming "patrol rifles" - a far more palatable term.

  5. Re:Nothing related to guns can be considered "smar on Smart Guns To Stop Mass Killings · · Score: 4, Informative
    Sorry, but that study (and the one by Kellerman) have been pretty thoroughly debunked. If you want so good statistics, see the Kleck and Gertz study:

    http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcdguse.html

    Also, read the book More Guns Less Crime, by Professor John Lott.

    Statistics aside, I have the moral right and duty to protect myself from unwarranted aggression. This right was recognized in the middle ages as existing independently of any government, and was codified in the English Bill of rights, which was one source of inspiration for our own Second Amendment. That a gun helps me in that effort is indisputable.

  6. Re:Could we hear some Germans tell this story? on Germany Exports More Electricity Than Ever Despite Phasing Out Nuclear Energy · · Score: 1

    So I just had a look at my most recent electric bill which provides my usage numbers for the past 13 months. According to those numbers, I used between 779 KWh and 1,291 KWh, averaging 1,001 KWh/month. I'm on the budget plan, meaning my payment is the same each month regardless of usage (with an annual settle-up to account for any over/undercharges). By my calculations, I pay about $0.11/KWh, vs. your $0.31/KWh. Does your electric company do something "special" for you in addition to simply providing electricity? For nearly triple the price/KWh I sure hope they do!

  7. Don't avoid legacy code on Ask Slashdot: How To Avoid Working With Awful Legacy Code? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Certainly don't become trapped with a dying language, but do not arbitrarily rule out working with legacy code. Think of it as a challenge instead:

    1) You always learn something even if it's negative (don't do that!!!)
    2) You gain insight into another's thought process. Sometimes that's scary, but again, you learn something - a new perspective, perhaps.
    3) Really bad code can let you pull off the impossible - improving performance, reducing resource utilization, etc. You can become the "go to" person, with the job security and good performance evals that come with it.

    Give it a shot before turning up your nose.

  8. Spock was not a founding father... on Texas Supreme Court Cites Mr. Spock · · Score: 0

    Had he been, he would have known that the Constitution was constructed to avoid the tyranny of the majority.

  9. But ... on Swedish Police Shoe Database May Tread On Copyright · · Score: 1

    it's different when the "Authoritez" do it! Really! And it's for the children!!!!!

  10. Out of context on Students Show a Dramatic Drop In Empathy · · Score: 1

    None of the questions have any surrounding context that would add or subtract from any feelings of empathy I may or may not have. Whether I (or anyone else, for that matter) feels empathy towards a subject depends greatly on the circumstances. Do I feel empathy towards the folks being impacted by the gulf oil spill? Sure. Why? Because their way of life is being altered in ways we can't even begin to measure through no fault of their own. Do I feel empathy for a guy who burned himself to a crisp because he was too realize he shouldn't smoke while fueling his Prius? Very little, actually. Don't do stupid shit ya dumbass!

  11. What to do .. on What Do You Do When Printers Cost Less Than Ink? · · Score: 1

    Target practice? How many .40 S&W rounds do you think it can take?

  12. Re:Put the damn thing in neutral! on Toyotas Suddenly Accelerate; Owners Up In Arms · · Score: 1

    The other thing to consider is that no car ever made has enough engine power to overcome the brakes. Even if you don't put the transmission in Neutral, you should be able to stop the car barring massively failed brakes.

    Don't believe me? Go start your car. Step on the brakes and hold them, and then put the transmission in gear. No matter how much you rev the engine, the car won't move other than torquing over a bit. The brakes are designed specifically to overcome the engine.

  13. Joystick control on Toyota Experimenting With Joystick Control For Cars · · Score: 1

    This is an exceptionally bad idea. Even with extensive training, in an emergency, you do not think about how to react, and decades of "muscle memory" kicks in. There will be many, many instances of someone in a crisis situation trying in vain to stop their vehicle by attempting to stomp on a non-existant brake pedal.

    If you change the QWERTY keyboard, for example, all you have are some frustrated touch-typists. Change this interface and you're going to have scores of dead bodies followed by inevitable lawsuits. A steering wheel and pedals may not be the best interface, but it's too late to change unless you have both systems in place for decades until a new generation of drivers are trained to use only the joystick mechanism.

  14. I wonder ... on Dead Salmon's "Brain Activity" Cautions fMRI Researchers · · Score: 1

    what would the readings be if they hooked up my PHB and scanned his "brain" ...

    Just sayin'

  15. This is old news folks ... on Woman With Police-Monitoring Blog Arrested · · Score: 1

    This is publicly available information to start with, and, according to someone in the know, the town is very small, and the officers are quite brazen about being "undercover cops" to the point where her disclosure came as no surprise to anyone in town. For a longer discussion, try this:

    http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum54/29292.html

  16. Re:Can someone explain this guy's logic to me on Electric Company Wants Monthly Fee For Solar Users · · Score: 1
    I may still be connected to the grid, but solar power usage already provides net benefits to the company:
    • The reduction in demand allows the company to reduce its capital needs since they have less need to string new cable, less need for new generating capacity, land acquisition and attendant zoning/legal fees, etc.
    • The reduction in demand allows the company to reduce its consumption of fossil fuel - lessening both its direct fuel costs and its need to potentially purchase costly carbon offsets.

    And yet they still want to chage customers more money?

  17. I can see it now on MIT Develops Camera-Like Fabric · · Score: 4, Funny

    Many offices, courthouses, etc. ban cameras from the premises. "Excuse me ma'am -- you'll have to take off all your clothes before we'll let you in ... "

  18. Simple, market-based solution on Copyfraud Is Stealing the Public Domain · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The RIAA, MPAA, etc. all claim insanely high valuations for copyrighted content; witness the latest verdic against now-convicted "pirate" Jamie Thomas-Rasset who is now on the hook for 1.92 million. Fine. Let them copyright to their heart's content.

    But let's also update the tax code to capture the full monetary value of these copyrighted works. Oh, and since "intellectual property" does not deteriorate over time as would a piece of real property, the tax code should explicitly disallow depreciation.

    I suggest we start collecting back taxes on all of those old "Steamboat Willie" cartoons that Disney started putting out in the early part of the 20th century, along with old music catalogs and so forth. Let's see how truly valuable these IP assets are, and how many are suddenly not worth keeping copyrighted.

  19. Pity on Smile! Urine Candid Camera! · · Score: 1

    They could instead have had some real fun with this:

    http://www.rafelandia.com/mas863/urinecontrol.html

  20. Maybe it will help. on Sci-Fi Writers Dream Up Ideas For US Government · · Score: 1

    Hopefully the Sci-Fi guys will help the cops and bureaucrats learn the difference between real threats and advertisements for a TV show:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_Scare.

  21. Re:Bring the over-overlords! on Texas Makes Zombie Fire Ants · · Score: 1

    When they mentioned bringing the natural predator from another continent, I imagined this. Now, that would be a cool animal to set loose in Texas!

    Won't be long before we have a recipie for that...

  22. I'm prepared for this on The Underappreciated Risks of Severe Space Weather · · Score: 1

    My business selling stone axes, spears, hide scrapers and other primitive tools will make a killing once the grid goes down!

  23. Re:Jail time? on Feds Demand Prison For Guns N' Roses Uploader · · Score: 1

    Fortunately I've never had worse than a moving violation, and so was unaware that a misdemeanor could involve incarceration. Thanks for the education!

  24. Jail time? on Feds Demand Prison For Guns N' Roses Uploader · · Score: 1

    For a "crime" described as a misdemeanor? Isn't that whole "cruel and unusual punishment" clause still in effect somewhere?

  25. What happens if they get it backwards? on Race For the "God Particle" Heats Up · · Score: 1

    What if they find the SATAN particle instead?