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  1. Buy the real thing. on Review of the Model M-Inspired Unicomp Customizer Keyboard · · Score: 1

    You can also buy the real thing from Clickykeyboards. They sell never-opened IBM M model keyboards for roughly the same amount as Unicomp. I'm using a 1995 Model M from them now, and I absolutely love it.

  2. Why not just buy one? on Using Two Monitors Makes You More Productive? · · Score: 1

    20" LCD monitors are ~$200 from Dell, and I imagine even better deals can be found. My company had 17" square LCDs as standard; I found a 20" widescreen much more useful, so I just bought one.

    I figure I often spend more than that in a month on games, a new graphics card, etc. for a computer that I spend, at most, an hour or two a day on. Why not put a little into the one I spend eight+ hours a day staring at?

    Just make sure they don't take it away from you on the next audit -- put your own lock on it.

  3. Re:Actually we should be thanking Google. on Tax Accounting Evil at Google? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm open to correction, but my guess is that the bulk of Google's people, physical facilities, and customer base is located in the U.S. That means Google enjoys a considerable set of benefits provided by local, state, and federal governments. Police protect it from being robbed; firefighters protect it from burning down; various agencies pave roads, provide power, etc., etc. Those governments also provide an educated workforce and help secure a style of living that tempts folks to come and stay in the areas surrounding Google. Those are likely among the reasons why Google *isn't* HQ'd in the Bahamas as you suggest.

    If the bulk of their work is being done here, they should pay for those benefits. The linked Merck article provides an egregious example: all activities done in the U.S., but parent transfered IP as a sham to a foreign subsidiary, to whom the parent paid massive "royalties," zeroing its taxable revenue. That doesn't sound quite as bad as what Google's doing (their Irish sub actually has employees), but it sounds as though the SEC feels that Google isn't paying in proportion to the work that gets done here.

  4. And Lo.. on Single-Celled Species' Genome As Complex As Ours? · · Score: 1

    And on the final day, lo did the Creator endow life in the image of his Great Noodly Appendage.

  5. Press Release on Evolution No Longer Worth Learning, Says Government · · Score: 1
    David Dunn, Chief of Staff for U.S. Department of Education states:

    "Recent news reports have suggested that Evolutionary Biology is not an eligible major under the new SMART grant program. This is incorrect and in fact the opposite is true. Evolutionary biology is a major eligible to receive SMART grants under the 'Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology' category of majors.

    "The misunderstanding occurred as the result of a draft document that omitted evolutionary biology from a list of majors put forth for use by colleges. As soon as the omission came to our attention, we took steps to correct it. However, regardless of its omission on that one document, evolutionary biology was and continues to be SMART grant eligible.

    "The Department is making the necessary correction which will be in place before final guidance on AC/SMART grants is issued."

    What is interesting about this is that it doesn't stick with the "clerical error" bit. (Which, if you look at the PDF, is ridiculous -- the line, and just that line, is blanked out. Tough to do accidentally.) Now this sounds like a draft that was not meant for the public. That suggests this sort of nonsense is at least being talked about. Sad.

  6. Quick! on Largest Object in the Universe Discovered · · Score: 1

    Somebody get Milla Jovovich!

  7. Of course he said that... on Hawking Says Humans Must Go Into Space · · Score: 1

    he already has his exoskeleton built.

  8. I'm planning on doing this, too. on Digitizing a Large Amount of Photos? · · Score: 3, Informative
    High resolution scanning of 35mm negatives is reasonably expensive. For reference, Digital Pickle charges $0.75/picture. If you have time on your hands and money that you can part with for a few months, you mgiht consider getting a very good film scanner, treating it very gently, doing the scanning yourself (or, as others have suggested, paying a very careful teenager), then reselling the scanner.

    The Nikon Coolscan line appears well reviewed. The best of the line, the 9000, runs ~$1700 on eBay, or ~$1900 new. If you don't need to do any medium format film scanning, consider the 5000, which operates faster. Once you've scanned everything you have, resell it on eBay. With luck, the only thing you'll lose is your time.

    I'm planning on doing this in a couple of months.

  9. Re:Security Through Obscurity Fails Yet Again on Tracking Satellites That Aren't There · · Score: 2, Insightful
    The defense that because anyone can do this (or rather, here, any other large group of obsessed, well-coordinated individuals working doggedly for over a decade could do this), it is therefore ethical to do so strikes me as nonsense. That is true of lots of other activities everyone would agree are improper. To offer up a silly example: just about anyone *can* buy a sniper rifle, climb to a clocktower, and plunk down civilians. Anyone *can* monitor your cell phone traffic and sell it to a jealous ex. Etc.

    From the article, there appears to be evidence people whom most folks would agree are "Bad" use info about satellite patterns to go about their doing their Bad things. Why have your hobby be making their life easier? Why not make them go through the effort of watching the sky with high powered binoculars every night for decades? Can't there be hobbies just as fun that don't (at least tangentially) help Bad folks?

  10. Bah. I want genetically engineered mouth bacteria. on Army Develops New Chewing Gum · · Score: 1

    Gum? Bah. A stopgap measure. I'm waiting for new mouth bacteria.

  11. Co-sponsored by... on X Prize Founder Launches Rocket Racing League · · Score: 4, Funny
  12. Obligatory SNL reference on New .XXX Top Level Domain · · Score: 1
    Maybe this'll free up some web addresses...

    [Scene of father helping son ride a bicycle for the first time, then, cut to the living room of their house]

    Father: Trust, an important part of building a family, and an important part of building his future. That's why I rely on Dillon/Edwards and Company. For nearly a century, investors on Wall Street have trusted Dillon and Edwards with their financial future. And now all of the resources from America's oldest investment firm are available on-line.

    [Father is at the computer as the website appears, along with web address]

    Father: Dillon and Edwards on the Internet, at www.clownpenis.fart. A lot of investment companies rushed onto the Internet, but Dillon and Edwards took their time. Sure, when they were ready, there was one web address left, but it's one you can count on.

    Announcer #1: For mutual funds, count on...

    Announcer #2: ...clownpenis.fart.

    Announcer #1: Online brokerage...

    Announcer #2: ...clownpenis.fart.

    Announcer #1: Retirement and tuition planning...

    Announcer #2: ...clownpenis.fart.

    [Caption: Dillon/Edwards Investments-www.clownpenis.fart]

    Announcer #1: Dillon and Edwards Investments...

    Announcer #2: ...at www.clownpenis.fart.

  13. Re:I'm confused by the distance on Laser Painting Could Lead to 25-Year Prison Term · · Score: 2, Informative

    Other articles have described the plane as flying at 3,000 feet. These articles also describe the laser as a "high-powered ... commercial grade laser used for checking fiber optic lines," not the sort you'd typically find attached to a keychain. I haven't used a laser like that before, but I suppose I wouldn't be surprised if it traveled a mile and was still bright.

  14. Mmmm.. on The Ultimate All-In-One Storage Solution · · Score: 1
  15. Obligatory Simpons Reference on Stealth Inflation · · Score: 1
    Homer: Woo-hoo! A perfect day. Zero bears and one big fat hairy paycheck.

    [opens it up]

    Hey! How come my pay is so low? ... Bear patrol tax! This is an outrage! It's the biggest tax increase in history!

    Lisa: Actually, Dad, it's the smallest tax increase in history.

    Homer: Let the bears pay the bear tax. I pay the Homer tax.

    Lisa: That's home-_owner_ tax.

    "Much Apu About Nothing"
  16. Re:Stupidity or Insanity? on Terahertz Scanners See Inside Sealed Packages · · Score: 1
    That confuses morbidity (the number of people something kills) with mortality (the percentage chance of death). Tobacco killed more people last year than a car-dropped-on-one's-head, but that doesn't mean it is more dangerous.

    So you're right that tobacco is a greater scourge than herion -- it kills more people -- but that is likely due to its popularity. I'd bet that a comparison of mortality rates (likely difficult to obtain accurately for heroin though) would reveal that heroin is more dangerous than tobacco -- i.e., that average recerational use of heroin puts one at a greater health risk than tobacco -- even controlling for adulteration.

  17. Greatest mystery of today? on Pirate Hunter · · Score: 1
    Who killed JFK? How can we block the HIV virus? Is there (other/any) intelligent life in the universe? Does (a) god exist? Pirates: good or bad?

    Uh huh.

  18. Not going to white collar resort prison... on Disgruntled Fan Arrested, Indicted For Spam Attacks · · Score: 1

    Here's hoping he gets sent to this kind of prison.

  19. Re:In case you don't like PDF on The Design Of The Google File System · · Score: 1

    And see also here.

  20. Thankfully, I have a policy with Old Glory. on Hydrodemolition Robot Crushes With Water · · Score: 1
    Because when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free, because they're made of metal, and robots are strong.

    Old Glory: For when the metal ones decide to come for you. And they will.

  21. Re:What a mess on Computing PageRank on your PC? · · Score: 1
    Indeed.

    OED Online:

    grok, v. U.S. slang. Also grock.

    [Arbitrary formation by Heinlein (see quot. 1961).]

    a. trans. (also with obj. clause) To understand intuitively or by empathy; to establish rapport with. b. intr. To empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment.

    1961 R. HEINLEIN Stranger in Strange Land iii. 18 Smith had been aware of the doctors but had grokked that their intentions were benign. Ibid. xxiv. 250 Now that he knew himself to be self he was free to grok ever closer to his brothers. 1968 T. WOLFE Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test vi. 86 Instead they are all rapping and grokking over the sound it made..as if they had synched into a never-before-heard thing, a unique thing. 1968 Playboy June 80 He met her at an acid-rock ball and she grokked him, this ultracool miss loaded with experience and bereft of emotion. 1969 New Yorker 15 Mar. 35, I was thinking we ought to get together somewhere, Mr. Zzyzbyzynsky, and grok about our problems. 1975 D. LODGE Changing Places iv. 137 Nestling earth couple would like to find water brothers to grock with in peace. 1984 InfoWorld 21 May 32 There isn't any software! Only different internal states of hardware. It's all hardware! It's a shame programmers don't grok that better.

  22. Re:Good for us on TiVo To Sell Customer Data · · Score: 1
    Isn't the opposite likely to happen?

    Geek + Babylon 5/Star Trek/Anime/etc. = High TiVo ratings = TV execs know that ads on that show skipped = No ad revenue = Show cancelled.

    Non-geek + Nth varient of Golden Girls = Low TiVo ratings, high traditional ratings = Advertising absorbed = Ad revenue = New this season on ABC, "N+1 varient of Golden Girls!!"

  23. Mmmm... on ILM Now Capable of Realtime CGI · · Score: 1

    Holodecks.

  24. Well, yes, but until then.. on The Economics of Spam · · Score: 1

    An excellent point, and not one with which I disagree. I think federalizing anti-spam law would be a fantastic idea; this is exactly the sort of cross-border commerce that the federal government is designed to regulate. Congress has taken a couple of (aborted) runs at it, but hasn't managed to pass anything yet.

    Granted, there is still the problem of conflicting national approaches..

  25. Re:$5 to anyone who proves this statement wrong- on The Economics of Spam · · Score: 1

    And, as a technical matter, she is almost certainly breaking California law.

    Is she conducting business in California? Yep.

    Is she sending spam to California residents? Yep.

    Is she using equipment located in California? Yep. (Here, she using both the equipment of the recipients and, apparently, servers in Berkeley.)

    Has she included the "ADV:" tag in her subject lines, as required by statute? Nope. (She indicates as much in the article.)

    Hell, she's all but admitted to violating California law.

    If I were her, I'd be a little worried about little Chris & Craig's college fund. If she pisses off the wrong folks, she could find herself in court.