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User: Flyskippy1

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  1. Re:What is a "drone"? on FAA: Small Drones Must Be Registered By February (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 1

    Those rocket motors are filled with black powder, the regular sulfer, saltpeter, and charcoal kind. It is generally not considered an explosive for legal purposes. Because if it was I'm sure the NRA would have a fit.

  2. Re:chemistry vs genetics on Help Save Endangered Rhinos by Making Artificial Horns (Video) · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't see it in this article, but I saw another article about the same topic a while ago.

    The genetic sequencing is necessary so that they can create artificial DNA sequences to include in the fake horns. Otherwise you could easily detect the fake horns by doing a DNA test on a sample. The point is to make it as hard as possible to distinguish the real from the counterfeit.

  3. Resume Red Flag on Are Certifications Worth the Time and Money? · · Score: 2

    Having conducted probably 500 software developer interviews, I can tell you that seeing Certificates listed on a candidate's Resume is typically a red flag that indicates they will not be a good candidate. It doesn't mean they will absolutely be bad, just an indication that they probably aren't right for the sorts of positions I hire for. Kind of like seeing "Microsoft Office" listed prominently under their "Skills" section.

  4. Bank Tellers knew my face and name... on Privacy Advocates Leave In Protest Over U.S. Facial Recognition Code of Conduct · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Haven't people been complaining for decades that businesses don't recognize them anymore? There has often been nostalgia for a time when people were recognized by name when they walked into their bank.

    Wouldn't this just be reviving the "Good Olde Days", at least for small town America? Or is facial recognition only okay when done by a MeatCreature?

  5. 15 co-authors on 17-Year-Old Radio Astronomy Mystery Traced Back To Kitchen Microwave · · Score: 2

    I'm surprised that the paper (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1504.02165v1.pdf) required 15 co-authors. It seems like the sort of thing I'd give to an undergrad to write once somebody figured it out...

  6. Re: Wait a minute on SpaceX Landing Attempt Video Released · · Score: 1

    More fluid, except that they use fuel (RP-1) as the hydraulic fluid, so after it flows from the high pressure tank through the hydraulic system they can dump it into the main fuel tank to reuse.

  7. Re:Evolution... on The Evolution of Diet · · Score: 1

    How? Genetic Engineering. Much faster than waiting around for Natural Selection. And much more ethical than Artificial Selection (Eugenics).

  8. Citation Needed on The Evolution of Diet · · Score: 4, Informative

    The assertion that foraging people "traditionally didn't develop high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, or cardiovascular disease" needs a big 'Citation Needed' mark.

    This Slate article does a great job of explaining how decades of peer reviewed papers on the Inuit all make the mistake of assuming lower cardiovascular disease based on a flawed assumption in a single paper in the 1970s:
    http://www.slate.com/articles/...

  9. Our they could use Planes on Google's Satellites Could Soon See Your Face From Space · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They could get better and better satellites with higher resolutions, and continuously lobby the US government to allow higher resolutions to be released.

    Or they could use planes, and StreetView cars... Like they currently do.

  10. Re:Looks ok to me on Chicago Red Light Cameras Issue Thousands of Bogus Tickets · · Score: 1

    even if sentenced .025% of innocent people to death it would be doing far better than current efforts.

    Assuming 300M people in the US are innocent people, or at least innocent of a capital crime, sentencing 0.025% of innocent people to death would execute 75000 people. That's about 1000x the current rate of executions, so I think it would be worse than current efforts. :)

    Unless you meant that 0.025% of people sentenced to death being innocent would be better then current efforts. That one's probably true.

  11. Re:Alternate use for this technology on DARPA Successfully Demonstrates Self-Guiding Bullets · · Score: 1

    I seem to recall reading that the Iron Dome missiles were in the thousands of dollars per shot range, though with several sent after every target rocket. They only try to shoot down incoming rockets that will actually hit an occupied area, though.

  12. On the plus side: Free Dry Ice! on Coldest Spot On Planet Earth Identified · · Score: 2

    Well, as this is cold enough for Carbon Dioxide to freeze, I imagine it gets a cool witch's cauldron effect when it warms up for the summer...

  13. Re:Take that Darwin on Scientists Find Olfactory "Memory" Passed Between Generations In Mice · · Score: 2

    Yes, I'm trying to be funny. :) Lamarckian evolution (sorry for misspelling it in the original post) is pretty much completely discredited. Though at the time it was a good theory, it lacked a reasonable mechanism. While epigenetics displays some Lamarckian behavior, it doesn't completely fulfill the ability to pass on "acquired traits" and doesn't give the long term changes needed for species differentiation.

    And of course Darwin was wrong in some respects. He was just much more correct than anyone before him.

  14. Take that Darwin on Scientists Find Olfactory "Memory" Passed Between Generations In Mice · · Score: 4, Funny

    Score one for Lamarkian evolution. (And epigenetics). I knew Darwin was wrong...

  15. Re:*sigh* Not Again... on Man Charged in Model Airplane Plot To Bomb Pentagon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yep, another case of the FBI finding a 'terrorist' by finding a mildly disgruntled guy, giving him fake weapons and explosives, suggesting a terrorist plot to him, and then 'catching' him when he did exactly what they wanted him to do.

    Like these guys:
    http://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-arrests-terrorists-sting-operations-dallas-springfield/story?id=8666300

    And these guys:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/11/families-struggle-in-the-_n_957365.html

  16. Keep those Confidential Memos confidential on Canon Blocks Copy Jobs Using Banned Keywords · · Score: 1

    I imagine the first terms to be added could be something like "Company Confidential, Do Not Copy" or "Sensitive Business Information".

    That said, copiers already block copying of certain patterns, such as US currency. With a little trial and error it's not hard to figure out exactly what on the dollar bill is being matched. Just add it to your documents, and no body will even be able to print them. (Careful, as some brands of printers will lock themselves and require a service call after you try to copy money.)

  17. Re:Huge amount of text ads on Microsoft Bing Search Launches Early Preview · · Score: 1

    Um... what advertisements? There are no advertisements on that page that I see. (I even turned off my ad-blocker to be sure I wasn't missing any.)

  18. Re:How much is your time worth on Handmade vs. Commercially Produced Ethernet Cables · · Score: 1

    Yes, the 100m limit was put in place to minimize the amount of time you had to wait to detect a collision, but it was also put in place when people hooked up a chain of computers to the same coaxial cable for their ethernet. Unless you are still using hubs, collisions aren't a huge problem, as the only thing to collide with is yourself. Use a switch and you can go above 100m easily.

  19. Windows Mobile? on Which Phone To Develop For? · · Score: 5, Informative

    Why not develop it for Windows Mobile? It doesn't have as many restrictions as an iPhone or blackberry, is well established, is widely available, and has a good sdk.

    Though, I will say that the most flexibility would probably be from a web-based app. Then you wouldn't be limited to a phone. However, it wouldn't be too difficult to make something that could work both on Windows Mobile and desktop Windows.

  20. Link missing? on Standard Web Fonts 'Updated' In Vista · · Score: 1

    Is there an actual article that does with that pdf?

  21. Re:Augmentation of senses on Headband Gives Wearer "Sixth-Sense" · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's especially helpful if you're blind and want to fight the criminal acts of the Kingpin.

    Does it come with a red suit and little horns?

    -Chris

  22. The best solution is not to block them! on How To Configure Real PC Parental Controls? · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Don't get software to block them, just get software to track where they go. And tell them about it. They'll always be able to find some porn site that doesn't get blocked, but you'll be able to tell it's porn.

    They'll know that if they go to a porn site or try to disable the software, you'll know about it. Which is more of a deterent then some anonymous blocking could ever be.

    -Chris

  23. 350kw=469.4 hp on How to Reach 200 MPH on Hydrogen Fuel Cells · · Score: 1

    I don't suppose anybody can figure out how 350kw can generate 770 hp, since 350kW is only 469.4 hp at 100% efficiency. Maybe they have their facts wrong, or does half the power come from magic?

  24. Unbaised observer? on Microsoft Takes On the OLPC · · Score: 1

    An unbiased observer might wonder if they are just going against open source? Hmm... Maybe. Or maybe they are giving cheap standard software to school children because they believe in charity. Can the open source community blinded by their distrust and only capable of seeing evil in everything Microsoft does?

  25. It's not a new computer! on Repair Computer, Repurchase OS? · · Score: 1

    Back in my garage, I have the axe used by George Washington to cut down that famous cherry tree. It's had seven new handles since then, and 3 new axe-heads, but it's the same axe!

    Now, you're probably fine with just replacing the motherboard, but how many parts can you replace before the computer is no longer legally the same OEM computer that you have a Windows license for? What if you replace the motherboard, cpu, and case, leaving only the harddrive, with the copy of windows, original. Is it still the same OEM computer? (Actually, I'm sure legally that if you replaced even one of those with non-OEM parts, the license probably can be voided, but in practice Microsoft is nicer than that. It might be fun for MS to attempt to detect a change of the case, though. *_*)

    So, is this a legal or philisophical question? Aren't the intersections of law and philosophy fun?