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User: bussdriver

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  1. Re:Over Simplification on Climate Researchers Feeling Heat From White House · · Score: 1

    The basis on which the government was designed is that power corrupts. The whole idea people miss is that corruption is NORMAL. They should not get put off by that fact. The system is supposed to produce some good as a result of corrupt factions fighting for public support so they can keep their power.

    The system does not work with a corrupt society or a lazy ignorant one...
    We can not continue to allow politicians to "ebay" their votes, and that is just the 1st step towards reasonable recovery.

    I can understand you wanting to save face for voting for the man who will go down in history as the worst president ever; however, self-delusion is not a healthy practice for any reason. On the environment Clinton was clearly BETTER.

  2. Re:The Democrats DO HAVE vision. on Democrats May Promise Broadband for All · · Score: 1

    Any scientist should be able to explain to you why criticism is necessary and alternate solutions are not a prerequisite for criticism.

    If you could have multiple parties, it would some what resemble the various factions infighting within the DFL(and to a lesser extent the GOP.) Government would move slower, but we'd have real debates on issues in the public instead of inside the party. Political parties HURT the country, the more there are, the better off the country is.

  3. Re:Printed Logs Not a solution on OSS Election Systems Desired, but Not Ready · · Score: 1

    25 Problems with Printed voter reviewed logs:

    0) Its just less flawed, its a false sense of security.
    1) Recounts are done from a paper log you can't review; multiple printouts. (1 voter, 1 official, 1 for election officials)
    2) How many people can read the small print?
    3) Will you have time enough to read it scrolling bye?
    4) Will you see the last person's? (tons of white space + shield)
    5) Will a bug or miss-configuration cause it to scroll past the viewable area?
    6) What happens if the printer gets low on ink? or fails?
    7) What happens if paper runs out? (see 2004)
    8) Provisional ballots are made for screwing you. You can't get them counted. (see 2004)
    9) Will it be complicated and hard to read? (think how you'd do it, without small print)
    10) It is known science that a % of people will misread the result because in their mind they expect to see something else! (now go back to 9)
    11) Anybody can print out LOGs and possibly switch them to change the record. (especially IT)
    12) What about Error Corrections? Modications have to be logged as well; otherwise, whats the point of review?
    13) Exploit error correction logging to change votes
    14) Insert an extra line inbetween votes (so its covered by the privacy shield on the printer) that adds or subtracts from log totals
    15) Legally don't give paper logs any stand against the electronic record, so a court/political battle can happen
    16) Attack the validity of the paper record, with a conspiracy theory--just don't use the keyword 'conspiracy'
    17) Attack the validity of HUMAN recounting of the paper record, do FUD, don't put in a real plan, etc. rerun 2000
    18) Use/Require Optical readers to count the paper record, buy them from the same vendor.
    19) Errors that print out invalid log entries, lowering the validity of the paper, also causing sections to be removed.
    20) Use thermal transfer paper, store in a hot location.
    21) Don't allow public review of the log, especially if the printer puts out watermark (like all the color ones do today)
    22) Create a signature/watermark on printouts, then have bugs in it. Forget to use any special paper as well.)
    23) Create pre-printed logs, load those into the machines on election day (think of the white space)
    24) A % of voters will not review the paper, know what it is, or care enough to raise a fuss when they see a problem.
    25) Make printouts shared between machines, making most of the above problems bigger

  4. Public Funded and Equal on President Defends Global Outsourcing · · Score: 1

    You will not solve it until you only allow fixed and equal time for each side combined with banning any other ads, etc.

    Reality:
    MOST the time the side with most the money wins. period.

    Money raising is NOT democratic!

    Paying reporters to say propaganda has to be made illegal. (which not only bush as done, but they've had agencies do it.)

    Remember, a real debate has equal time and a fair moderator. The process needs to be about content; and you will not get that when its essentially unrestricted. So much money is at stake (==motivation) that any tiny hole compromises the system.

    We have no hope of fixing the current system.

  5. Re:Remove the violence? on The Impact of Violent Gaming · · Score: 1

    Nintendo does it well, they are not bent on this darkside thing like the others and make fun games. Men who are not insecure can play a little kid looking game and have more fun. (since people identify with cartoons more--according some other slashdot posted 'study')

    Japanese kids see a lot more and they don't have the mess we do. Canadian adults have more guns and they don't have the mess we do.
    Something is wrong with americans. They want us to be consumer drones that don't question or protest and work over 40 hours a week, and the downside is they are more suggestible to things like violent video games and tv.

  6. Re:Illogical on Rumsfeld Requests 24-hour Propaganda Machine · · Score: 1

    The reasons for violence for invading Iraq are not even similar to the reasons for those resisting or getting revenge against the invadors of Iraq.

    Amazing how hard it is for so many americans...

    So the violence justified by the french resistance in WW2 also justifies germany invading france by use of violence? (well thats not similar enough; this iraq thing makes vietnam look smart.)

  7. Re:what moderates? on Rumsfeld Requests 24-hour Propaganda Machine · · Score: 1

    We don't hear too many moderate christian voices on our airwaves either. (or even christ-like voices for that matter...)

    It seems like the ratio of NUTS vs SANE groups in the media does not differ much on either side of the world. With a few controlling the coverage, it makes one wonder if it a goal to create more conflict to distract us.

  8. Re:Oh the childishness on Quad Core Chips From Intel and AMD · · Score: 1

    Clearly the next big hype from intel will be around multi-core cpus. Even less to gain than from there waste for high clock speed fad. (now they are running smarter, at lower rates.)

    Nearly everything is starved for bandwidth. The real gains naturally are low bandwidth well designed code for multiple threads. MOST consumers will not be running that, and with an advanced GUI like OS X, the work is being dumped on the GPU more each revision... Making the extra cpu less influential than it was before 10.3 and 10.4. If you have tasks that can properly exploit the 4 cpus, then it IS worth it.
    I was slowed down by the RAID, RAM, BUS before the Quad G5 and its even more clear with 4 cpus.

  9. Re:better data on MacWorld's iMac Core Duo Benchmarks Debunked? · · Score: 1

    Install the developer tools and you get a preference pane that lets you turn off the extra cpus. Then you can do a real intel vs g5 test.

    I have a Quad, and the laptop is comin. I plan to test single cpus and compare them; but you are in better shape since you have a 2Ghz G5 to compare with. Some CLI bench marks would be nice; but i'd like to see some comparisons between chips at the same speed that are more cpu bound.

    Isn't anybody interested in comparisons between processors? Years of G4/G5 hype and now it should be easier to compare, and nobody is interested?? It would seem to me that single cpu tests of FFTs using the highly optimized vector library on both would give a good clue of science performance.

    Also, apple didn't use GCC, and there is no way IBM's compiler stands up to intel's compiler. Apple used GCC before to make the G5 look better, because its not fair to use the intel compiler for comparison, it is just too much better than the rest---besides lots of software doesn't use it.

  10. THINK ABOUT IT on Firefox 's Ping Attribute: Useful or Spyware? · · Score: 1

    Say this becomes commonplace in all browsers so that its an issue, many sites use javascript or images to do similar things in order to generate better web stats. Unless you turn off javascript and images, or edit the site's code you already have this sort of thing going on.

    This method is more upfront, and will allow stats to be done without javascript---and it will make it easier for an extension to track and disable it. Right now, its nearly impossible to block them from doing it short of turning off javascript and images.

  11. Re:I track my spam on Spam is Dead · · Score: 1

    2003:9,000-10,000 (don't remember exact)
    2004:11,000 (don't remember exact)
    2005:20,764
    I've had an unfiltered account for years (client side filter, but i still keep them for a year.)

    Within a month of the can spam law starting I noticed a large increase in spam. I don't know if it was related, but since then its been almost double.

  12. Re:Smart people will on Slashback: Little Red Hoax, Firefly, Google · · Score: 1

    Smart people will see how those that reported the Little-Red-Book story do retractions. They should have to report past errors and do so in an open way (not burried somewhere in the back hidden in the advertizing.)
    Do you see Fox retract much of anything?
    I bet if we required retractions, Fox would setup the Fox Retraction Channel -between 2 music channels, all text with no sound, and written by lawyers. At least they'd document their own misinformation.

  13. Re:Finding flaws with a magnifying glass on Apple's Aperture Reviewed · · Score: 1

    I can say for a FACT that Final Cut Pro kicked ass at its release. Adobe Premiere totally sucks, crashed all the time, and was super slow to work in. FCP was so far above it and THAT is why it sold so well, not the marketing. AVID was better, but it cost a TON more. It was like a cheaper avid for the rest of us. And that was version 1.0.0. Everybody had hardware troubles. Premiere didn't even support DV at the time of FCP 1.0.0.

    DVD Studio Pro 1 was ok. I also had the misfortune of using and seeing some other products of the time. It killed them by its PRICE and ease of use. It wasn't perfect, but bug-wise it was on par at version 1. In fact I still like version 2 better--before they added the kitchen sink.

    Yes, they didn't start totally from scratch with new teams of developers. Their version 1.0 on both products were more like a major rewrite from an existing product---nothing like a newbe version 1 release.

  14. nothing new on iPod Tax Causes Sour Apples · · Score: 1

    Many resale stores now play games with product placement payments, among other forms of bribery. It used to be they just resold products, now they sell shelf space for products and promotions AND markup the selling price! Remember when Microsoft payed stores to push their xbox? even giving a bit to the store employees?

  15. Addendum on RIAA Sues a Child · · Score: 1, Informative

    *) punitive damages can be small, but need to be multiplied by amount infraction: for example, McDonalds loses a case about hot coffee. their legal fees will be far more than the damages---but if they continue despite losing, they get fined for each cup of coffee they sell, the state gets the money. So they better clean up their act within X days or they will be facing some large damages----and the state profits by enforcement.

    *) special rules for citizen vs corporation. the corporation has to fit the legal bill or something like that. If its such a threat to them, then they can afford to pay double the legal bill. We must stop this corporate terrorism in our courts. (yes I used the T word because thats what it really is.)

    *) Lower courts, a local judge who is picked from the community to serve for a month. Cases go thru there 1st, and don't cost people anything, sort of a moderation filter before entering the system. other countries to this to save money & on load. Its great experience for the people being judges. I'd also not allow lawyers. Its a kind of a small claims court. Citizen judges learn about reality and cost less than a local judge. So what if the moron down the street messes up your day in court? Then you move to a higher court. (but it costs you) I'm sure it will save the system more than it costs to run it.

    Legal fees are motivation for most lawyers. capping it too low will stop decent pro-bono work. Perhaps a requirement system for firms for doing pro-bono work? The REAL problem is the system is so corrupt it can't be fixed. Lawyers are the judges and politicians who control 2 branches, and usually get whatever they want from the executive branch as well. There is a huge bias. Many provide benefits for their firms while in power.

  16. Re:Its a BIG deal on RIAA Sues a Child · · Score: 1

    its NOT theft, and that has a big impact on how many people morally perceive the act. That is exactly why the the corporations try to mislabel it; its classic manipulation not unlike what the politicians do.

    Culturally, the norms related to copying differ. In the USA, intellectual property is no longer a silly term and the government has been twisted into extending IP law beyond its roots, to an a different purpose. The culture is still behind from these changes, which they hope to make part of our "morals" over the next few generations.

    The corporations in music, never did anyone a whole lot of good, and now find their worldview out of date and not very compatible. They are leveraging their massive power to try to force their old ways onto the world by exploiting systems any way they can. Their death or adaptation is inevitable; unless, they slow progress thru some sort of overtly oppressive means.....and they are trying. Same pattern thru-out history.

  17. Re:THERE IS ALREADY A MARKET: on Video iPod Oct 12? · · Score: 1

    The iPod should RECORD video from a DV camera!! those tiny drives just need to sustain the datarate, my 1st gen, is too small, but it could record video thru the powerbook.

    Apple keeps misunderstanding a significant number of requests a video ipod as a player. Many of us in the video world have been asking to RECORD video for years now, and just get filed under "video ipod" in their requests database.

    It could change the video camera market, where the iPod becomes the new tape format. (or similar sized firewire drives) There is already a mess of various devices that filled in, but they are not standard, and the camera vendors are going to expensive incompatible hard drive setups.

  18. Re:Somebody please tell me on Diebold Insider Comments on Voting System Flaw · · Score: 1

    SIMPLE: Americans forgive the village idiot for their actions.
    We've all got them, in town, at work, and in office.
    We feel safe that powerful people are idiots, smart or slick ones are viewed as a threat.

    Playing the idiot gets you out of a lot of trouble- students do it all the time, and it continues into their adult life.

  19. Re:Attention spans are a result on Berners-Lee Says Internet Will Make Kids Creative · · Score: 1

    How do you think modern kids get short attention spans? Could be the 100s of lbs of sugar they eat per year (mostly an american problem.) Could be the TV. Could be the video games. Could be the internet too.

    More kids without those were creative. Seems like a simple solution. Even back then, kids had to be taught to be creative--once started, they will continue one their own. Some never got started sure, but more don't have a chance today.

    My artist mother got us started, and then starved us of tv/etc. which gave us time to learn the lesson.

    Toys, media, games, leave less open to imagination. Movies especially. (except perhaps harry potter)

  20. Re: BOOKS and freetime on Berners-Lee Says Internet Will Make Kids Creative · · Score: 1

    learning how to play and having TIME is all that is required.
    Books require imagination and help with it to a degree.
    Internet is more passive reading as far as html--and hardly any of that is like a book.

    I know many teachers, and I can tell you that american kids are LESS creative now than ever before. Internet doesn't have the power to undo the damage everything else causes.

    Necessity is the mother of invention. Kids only need to be given 1 lesson: to try to come up with your own activity. Parents only need to get them to learn that with a little guidance at an early age.

    Peers CAN help or hinder. Most kids now would hinter it because they are passive consumers already.

  21. Re:Parent lives in a cave on Realism vs. Style: the Zelda Debate · · Score: 1

    cartoons are not taken seriously in the USA. period.
    I personally know many game playing people in a wide age range, and most of them think like the rest. Only a few real gamer types don't mind---but sometimes still complain about this "realism" people think some games have.
    Its far more the case that anime fans play video games than people who play games like anime.

  22. Re:MOD PARENT UP on Realism vs. Style: the Zelda Debate · · Score: 1

    dead on brother

  23. Re: No such thing as real. on Realism vs. Style: the Zelda Debate · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Nobody has real looking graphics! I've heard this whole real vs toon thing since the SNES--- and anything "realistic" from back then is a joke today.
    "realistic" graphics are for shallow people without imagination or those who have some serious insecurity issues (americans are brought up with major insecurities so they consume more.)

    I suppose next they will want nintendo to add voice overs to the game because its more realistic than learning to read.

    I just hope the new Zelda at least is on par with Windwaker gamewise. They probably need the extra time to make it into a real nintendo game---not to tweak the graphics.
    Windwaker had MORE emotions come out from a game than I've ever seen. Studies show that toons do a better job at this, so I don't see how they will be able to top windwaker on that.

  24. Re:But they are on Death to the Games Industry · · Score: 1

    The people 'high up' are into spending time keeping the public entertained, that IS the problem. If they did pursue video games and movies, it would be too obvious to too many people.

  25. Re: Do the mice now eat brains or just "protein"? on Australian Science Makes the Regenerating Mouse · · Score: 1

    Zombie dogs, zombie chimps, and now zombie mice...
    I suppose rabits are next? Then real chimps and real dogs then real people?

    I think I'll just stay at the winchester...