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User: bussdriver

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  1. Typewriter; until a secure computer can be made on German NSA Committee May Turn To Typewriters To Stop Leaks · · Score: 1

    Verifying any computer based device is going to be difficult, time consuming and costly.

    They probably secure the area well enough to not worry about SOUND giving away what is being typed as well as used ink ribbons, electronic broadcasts from electric typewriters, and visuals of the typist or the papers being shuffled around... or improperly shredded. It has been a long time, it's quite possible they will mess up on the old tech they've long forgotten about securing.

    At least with analog electronic typewriters the signal isn't going to stand out like it does with digital devices. They are still probably better off with mechanical typing until they can secure a device.

    Next leaker will let us know that the electronic circuits in typewriters are sending wifi signals...

  2. Action is needed; arguing is a delay tactic on The Last Three Months Were the Hottest Quarter On Record · · Score: 1

    Deniers need to be put on record for future reference. Put their beliefs on record.

    Then their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren can be ashamed of them for being the gullible selfish pricks they are. Just as people don't like to think of their ancestors who were criminals, racists, murderers, Nazi, etc. Plus people who live long enough can be reminded what idiots they are (sadly, that won't stop them from being elected to office, at least in the USA.)

  3. Wrong on FCC Public Comment Period For Net Neutrality Ends Tomorrow, July 15 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Like most every political issue in the dysfunctional USA discourse, we have multiple off topic debates created as distractions from the real issues. Some of it promoted intentionally. I wouldn't expect comcast to stop at merely paying bums off the street to fill up public comment time at the FCC (as they have done, proving they have no respect for democracy.)

    This is not about technical packet routing but the policies beyond the technical issues. Comcast purposely screwing up NetFlix in order to make them pay and then pass that onto their customers as a Comcast tax. You pay for bandwidth, NetFlix pays for bandwidth. If both of you use the full amount of bandwidth you are promised and PAY FOR and the ISPs can't deliver on their marketed promises... then that is a legal issue for the ISPs making the false claims.

    This is also an issue of corporations playing favoritism with those packets. It doesn't matter if your car is broken down into atoms and sent in one big data flow -- when the corporation IDs all the atoms for your car and does not like your destination then slows down only your atoms... it doesn't matter what technical router issues they can dream up as an excuse for intentional discrimination which is not based upon neutral technical issues (like SIP needing priority.) That is smokescreen for their real agenda... to turn internet into cable TV.

  4. BAN YEAST! on Biohackers Are Engineering Yeast To Make THC · · Score: 2

    Industrial hemp is banned because of the drug ban despite the fact it is not the smoking kind of hemp. Under that logic, they have ban all yeast because 1 species can make you high.

  5. Re:it's just a speculum on Hair-Raising Technique Detects Drugs, Explosives On Human Body · · Score: 1

    They can't molest people legally-- EXCEPT the TSA. The TSA, NSA, CIA and military are above the laws already.

  6. Personalization - another enemy of democracy. on Google's Experimental Newsroom Avoids Negative Headlines · · Score: 1

    Life is 2nd grade. Or perhaps "Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten"?

    Adults are merely conditioned and learn to ACT "mature," under the masks and habits we are all children... Psychology focuses so much on childhood for good reason.

    Humans will avoid negative stimulation; it's natural behavior. If you have too much freedom and always have positive options you will avoid negative things ALL THE TIME. This will result in a lack of contrast which is necessary for your mind to function since just about everything you think is relative interpretation. What you end up with is a "wimp" who experiences just as much pain and suffering from a pin prick as a physically abused person does when being hospitalized.

    People so fragile they commit suicide because of anonymous insults posted against them online... People so fragile they can be controlled by minor fears and name calling--- and most threatening, people being made incompetent citizens by being unable to face the bad news necessary for them to participate in their democracy.

  7. It's a Spectometer on Hair-Raising Technique Detects Drugs, Explosives On Human Body · · Score: 1

    They will be able to detect many substances and do statistics on those. You might test off for drugs if you have a lot of money or handled a lot of money-- assuming you would leave your wallet out of the machine as one does at the airport -- if you handled a lot of money you'd get the extra treatment... in which case wash your hands before you go thru it; then you'll probably fit within the normal levels (assuming they calibrate the machine properly-- so many people use plastic that cash users will stand out from the average person.)

    I'm sure that some law will prohibit forcing people to have their recent diet tested to be a passenger... but pilots etc will not and this could make drug/alcohol tests CHEAP and commonplace. No more blowing into a tube which has to be sanitized each time-- you just breath in a general direction!

    Passive tests could be done without you knowing - there are evil uses for this. Making you wait in a long hall way for your interview for a job... they could charge the bench or the floor and use the security cameras... You could be ruled out for the job without knowing it was because of your medication (it's not like HR would buy the most accurate machines.) No, you CAN be discharged without a big shock so you wouldn't suspect it.

  8. THIS IS GREAT! on Hair-Raising Technique Detects Drugs, Explosives On Human Body · · Score: 1

    I fixed a dozen of them for my high school when I was a student there. I had them all running together. Fun times! The shocks don't really hurt much; I kind of liked it... avoiding puns...

    Discharging can be done in ways that don't feel so bad, as the parent alluded to... I'm sure the HS mall cops will enjoy watching people jump who don't follow directions (and purposely being unclear with people they do not like.)

    Now if HS put just a fraction of that wasted money on naked scanners and molesting children... They could still waste $$$ for contracted devices but these actually work and have to cost significantly less. (Hey, the pedo job is 1 more salaried position for people who don't want naked photos of themselves taken; so it's not cheap either.)

  9. Re:Campaign? Where is it? on When Beliefs and Facts Collide · · Score: 1

    Wow, I didn't realize there was a vast conspiracy of local and international organizations working for the DNC to sucker the planet into moving away from old technology upon which the US dollar gets much of it's strength...
    Thank you for informing me, I'll rush right out and make a tinfoil hat!

    YOU are the one claiming all the experts are wrong; the burden of proof is on you to disprove the science. If you can't find the science, then you have little hope.

    I'm just fine to trust the majority of the worlds scientists; I don't have time to learn it all on my own to gain enough expertise to rebut the majority of them (especially when I achieve that level of skill I will most likely agree with them, unless I'm big fool -- who somehow managed to learn the topic while still being a fool. )

    Sheeple don't follow expert opinion; they are herded by whatever barks at them or feeds them. Mr. Dittohead, you are the one bleating out buzzwords from the propagandists, not me.

    The two party thing is a false dialemma to distract slow people/ A billion a year in propaganda sure goes a long way to make people think two themes of the same vote are two choices!

  10. Re:I want voters to go to college on US Tech Firms Recruiting High Schoolers (And Younger) · · Score: 1

    If your high schools are including courses that your college accepts for credit, then BOTH institutions are failing students! (aka; that is, today aka "customers")

  11. Campaign? Where is it? on When Beliefs and Facts Collide · · Score: 1

    Where is the Democrat campaign to define liberal as believing in global warming???

    We KNOW PR corps are being paid to conflate the issue with conservatism. That is a fact. But where is the other side? Some tiny non-profits who might be trying it as a strategy? Maybe. Somehow I would think any that do would be going with SCIENCE instead of beliefs. When you can use science.... you do... when you can't, you resort to emotions and beliefs.

    Politicians like science when they can exploit it; but they never praise science too highly because they know that it is going to backfire upon them sooner or later. Governing people isn't a game of reason or logic; today (with money) it is a science of human manipulation --- which means if your voters think Obama has no birth certificate, you appease their idiocy by acting the fool before the election.

  12. Re:You are ignorant. on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    ha ha. It's funny how we each think the other is out of touch with reality. Partisan, look it up - perhaps you are not using the correct word.

    Democracy Now doesn't have a party; but if you include 3rd parties, then they'd be closest to being Green Party (which is a party without a whole lot of cohesion to begin with.) Democrats, they are not. They do have a philosophical bias (who doesn't?) Just because there is a huge amount of Republican crazy and stupid to cover doesn't make anybody partisan for picking the abundance of low hanging fruit on the "right".

    If you were outside of the confines of the popular (and narrow) ideologies in this culture, you would see things more clearly. This is where I suggest living abroad for a while; although, without an open mind you can't learn much. Me, I'm so far from the norm the two parties look nearly identical and the USA left/right is an insult to intelligence; a false dialemma which looks just like a childish black/white worldview.... except way too many adults are stuck in this immature perspective defended by mature rationalizations. Billions are spent making people believe good cop and bad cop are not both trying to screw you over and fighting over which one of the two is the bad cop. It doesn't matter; it's all a smokescreen.

  13. Australia - an example for study on When Beliefs and Facts Collide · · Score: 1

    Australia's industry hired PR (aka propagandists) to attack climate change science. The publicly stated plan by the company they hired was right out in the open for people to read-- they would base their campaign around what worked in the USA. To redefine large demographics (like conservatives) so that the issue became part of their identity of who they are. That is how Australia which had high numbers of acceptance (and 1st hand experience with crazy weather) but went quickly to a high "skeptic" nation almost as bad as the USA.

    Clearly the PR people know how to hack human brains better than the academics who are way way behind the curve (proving things and discovering truth is much harder than just using whatever seems to work without needing to know why it works.)

    Identity psychology is extremely powerful stuff and a deep subject.

    Searching for truth (science) may have some flaws due to the fact humans are involved, but it is still the best we've got. The elite scientists are the people who logically should be authoritative on their topics. You can dismiss them all you wish and go have the shit doctor or dentist or nuclear engineer, but me, I want elite expert advice and facts. Not mere opinions. If you are not a psychologist then they should feel superior to you when you spout baseless made-up psychology.

    Academics may be greatly undermined today than in the past, but they still have plenty of freely exploring intellectuals without external controlling forces biasing their results. Government laboratories are a less free variation but are also in decline. Those two are the best we've got; there is nothing else. Think tanks are merely propaganda organizations which spew out whatever technobabble you pay them to do; with heavy agendas being their sole purpose for existing (as opposed to the pure actual research the other two aspire to.) Corporations have different agendas with their own strengths and weaknesses. As far as not liking what science is saying... well, "reality has a liberal bias" is simplistic but a generally correct assessment. Reality sucks, that is why people work so hard to escape or blind themselves from it.

  14. I just assumed the post was correct about 12V-- 48V makes far more sense especially given US code limits DC to 48V (or 50V I forget; either way I still think it is as lousy as their solar panel V caps... 6V will kill you under the proper conditions.) otherwise, the standard might have gone higher.

    Good idea about 220V but US stuff is 120V; I suppose one could wire up the house and use cheap plug adapters all over the place. We can do 240V, which I do have wired in a few places but that takes another wire! It's not like EU 220V.

    Way too entrenched to ever change; best we can hope for are new DC standards and solar electrical regulation changes. Maybe after 50 years when most everything is running DC they can start to shift the grid to modern high voltage DC grid. That is assuming the USA isn't too far into 3rd world status by that time.

  15. Resistance losses on Philips Ethernet-Powered Lighting Transmits Data To Mobile Devices Via Light · · Score: 1

    Wasting power to run LEDs in a goofy way, negating some of the benefit of using LEDs. (vs florescent which they only just caught up with and still have a greater total cost last time I looked into it.) The electronics pulling power from ethernet also come with losses... thing is an office building is going to multiply it much more than a household.

    CAT5 isn't the way to run low Volt power distances. Using your typical 14G wire is going to lose power over 12V as well, but not as much. Yes, I realize the total losses per year amount a few bucks for a whole house lighting system that is on 24/7 but since I never did the math vs those incredibly tiny ethernet wires I can't say how much you are losing... other than I remember the resistance loss involved dividing by the cross sectional area, so the larger the area the smaller the losses. 22G is a really tiny wire vs 14G or 12G. When I figured it, the 12G wasn't worth the extra money, so maybe almost 10G in difference doesn't amount to much... One can get 2 wire 14G pretty cheaply (I fail to see why code would require 3 wire for this) and I wouldn't run cat5 at this point...

    For new wiring, probably it is best to aim for the max DC of 48V and wire up the LEDS to run at 48V so then you can use thinner copper. All this being said, peak copper is about 7 years away so the goal is going to be using less copper... power losses are not going to be significant compared to construction cost... I'd still just run cheap small gauge wire than ethernet which needs special parts to extract the power; despite it being nice using the network cable... cat 6-7 type uses are likely not going to like all the noise these devices introduce anyway.

  16. Statistics... and cell phone use on Unintended Consequences For Traffic Safety Feature · · Score: 1

    We have a huge increase in driving with smart phones while these cross walks in some areas have been around a really long time. Have they compensated these numbers with smart phone usage? I've been using those counters forever but I do not stop watching the road while reading them (perhaps if I had no sense of time I'd have to stare at them constantly? but I'd still see well enough around me.)

    What they should do is get rid of yellow lights! Go to 2-3 color LEDs so there is only 1 bulb... Then make the thing shrink the green smaller (turning off border LEDS) so the green light gets smaller instead of a yellow. Blinking is also something that could be done and I'd bet blinking gets more attention than a change in color. Maybe we should just go back to NOT telling everybody too much information? KEEP IT SIMPLE. Instead of putting up blocks so drivers can't read the timers, how about not wasting the $$ on timers in the 1st place?

    Have the no-walk start blinking at the proper time and set a standard for how long -- because I've seen signs that gave no realistic amount of time to slowly walk at old person speed. No-walk should blink for the length of time to cross because somebody could then step off the curb at any point "walk" is up and not worry about it.

    Roundabouts should also be used more; spending $600 per year for EACH intersection (doesn't include construction cost) is a waste of money in addition to the increased insurance rates for everybody they also create.

    Wasn't there a city in Europe that did away with these traffic signs completely? People had to slow down and pay more attention without all the constant guidance.

  17. Re:You are ignorant. on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    I do not have to prove anything to the likes of you. Since the other replies didn't even get you to consider your ignorance on the topic you are not open to serious discussion making such efforts pointless.

    FOX is propaganda and naturally, they don't say what they are. Just as propagandists renamed themselves P.R. after WW2. That doesn't mean they are less political. GOP-TV is what they really are and if you know anything about their history you'd realize this. It's obvious if you know their history and also why they promote Reagan as a Saint...

    Democracy now isn't radical or propaganda. They don't try to hide their bias with lies. They are more neutral and open than FOX ever could be even if somehow FOX tried... it's entertainment 1st even if you get rid of #2 (propaganda.)

    You ever listen to Democracy Now? It's the most depressing news program I've ever heard. It does not try to help you maintain your reality bubble and it features a wide range of opinions from outside the narrow spectrum; far more than the mainstream US media. It has become more focused in the later years, I was listening back in the 90s when they tried to find intelligent experts from mainstream positions but it didn't prove that fruitful; especially given how radical things have become in the USA as well as the general shift to the "right" across the board. Shouting matches and the disgraceful stuff that passes as "news" today is not allowed. It is NOT entertainment and it is NOT fun. It is what real news is. They try to fill the massive hole left by the so-called "news" today.

  18. Re:You are ignorant. on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    You really have no idea. I pity you. If you think my indie news link is radical politics and only for the brainwashed... total irony. Well, I hope that you will never give up or learn anything so you continue to be unconvincing to intelligent people rather than have to face yourself someday or be capable of influencing thinking people.

    The other reply to you did well enough pointing out your ignorance.

  19. not rape on Julian Assange Plans Modeling Debut At London Fashion Show · · Score: 1

    Rape was not involved. Don't people read or remember anymore??

    He wasn't charged; it is questioning but under their system questioning is higher level than it is here it's still below being charged with the crime. The crime in this case is involuntary rape using US terms; we don't have something like that here which is way it sounds so stupid. Even over there they have a top court ruling that essentially throws it out, making it one of those laws on the books but is functionally dead. They are stretching in the extreme to persecute him and anybody who can't see that with even half the facts is gullible as hell.

  20. You are ignorant. on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    You give away you know nothing. Turn off your TV and learn to think.

  21. Article is a Troll on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    Just /. trolling for "news" to get people blabbing.

    Not worth my time; but somebody could write up a similar thing talking about immunizations and parents of Autistic children...

    They have Autistic children so they must consistently out perform pHDs on things their children (or the pregnant mother) did during their development.

    Too bad the internet wasn't 20 years younger so I could have experienced all this BS with the fight over smoking causing cancer.

  22. Energy stuff people forget to talk about on Germany's Glut of Electricity Causing Prices To Plummet · · Score: 1

    1) Cutting waste in demand is a huge huge factor-- migrating to light bulbs from incandescent heaters was a BIG DEAL no matter the power sources; which do not get cheaper over time. You waste power because it was cheap; it is going up overall and for most, incomes have been in decline. Population rise = more demand; cheap fuels are running out, expensive coal and oil are plentiful; ignoring the high indirect costs of their continued over use. Fixating on old tech is ignoring the underlying problems. Even with cheap fusion power, if 7 billion people used the power of an American we'd have global warming just from the heat loss all that energy use produces. In the USA, we had to have a big fight just to kill the stupid light bulbs and raise car millage; hell just getting seat belts was a huge fight and even involved espionage.

    2) Next Generation grid - no, not the "smart grid"; but a modern smartly designed grid which Germany has also been working on. Wind and sun happen somewhere in the nation. You can't route power around the earth cheaply enough (yet) but you can run it 100s of miles and have been for a century - it can be done smarter, cheaper, and more distributed.

    3) Power storage. Germany just started a huge initiative that will move storage technology forward in a huge way just like their Solar policies did. From household to local to regional power storage, Germany is going to be leading on it.

    4) Solar power surpassed nuclear power in cost. It doesn't need heavy regulation to keep it safe and risk the neglect and corruption nuclear power always brings (government run plants have significantly less risks.)

    5) Initial Costs; aka long term investment. Without somebody jump starting it, we'd never be "ready" -- see Tesla. Germany can afford to be early adopters and smart enough to have an economic boom at the same time instead of taking a loss.

    6) German power is more democratic, more distributed. It seems to be getting more so with time. A different kind of market is forming. They may even get to having their backup baseload being actual public utilities where the gov runs them at a loss for energy emergencies. It's not going to be profitable to run a conventional power company in the climate they are creating. WHY SHOULD THEY DEFEND AN OUT OF DATE INDUSTRY?

  23. Russians like money on Germany Scores First: Ends Verizon Contract Over NSA Concerns · · Score: 1

    Russians have gas/oil and need money.
    EU has the money and wants gas/oil.
    They exchange them.
    Putin has the power to upset everybody a great deal, to the point where he might not survive such a disruption. EU doesn't have the power to upset it's people by pushing Putin into such a situation- they still have democracy... Either way, they are not going to change their economic situation for long.

  24. soft science on Human Language Is Biased Towards Happiness, Say Computational Linguists · · Score: 1

    We are talking about something that is not simple and clear cut to begin with. Welcome to the the edge of science, the "soft" sciences where the boundaries of science are routinely explored and often exceeded. Hey, at least they can be serious, educated and somewhat formal in their attempts rather than just guessing the result like some cable newscaster.

  25. What perjury? I don't remember him doing that... on Former NSA Chief Warned Against Selling NSA Secrets · · Score: 2

    Where did he conduct perjury? I don't think he did. He LIED plenty but that is not a crime. Contempt of Congress etc? Well, something they seem to love to do is to NOT swear in these officials "out of respect" so while you may testify to congress under oath and they may require you to do so, these people are allowed to skip the disrespectful procedure. (Besides they feel there are legitimate public lies these officials have to make from time to time... which they could simply decline or put it off for the private session... which again, they probably don't do under oath.)