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User: dhananjay

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  1. Re:An easier and cheaper idea on Running Your Own Ghost Investigation? · · Score: 1

    Bravo. Such a great book. However, what I've found in my own attempts to deploy that book into the midst of strident belief is this: you cannot reason someone out of a position that they did not reason themselves into. I'm not suggesting it's entirely futile, but it is a very hard thing to do. I did, not too long ago, actually get an 'earth is 6,000 years old' believer to reevaluate and eventually reject that claim, but that is a rare thing, and I'm not sure the belief was that strong to begin with. If you have not read that book, treat yourself to a very nice read on the foundations of science and skepticism, among other things.

  2. Re:I have moments of agreement with TFA... on Microsoft's Unique Innovation · · Score: 1
    -- they made it possible for a business to conduct complete workflow thru their software, from beginning to end
    that is a critical insight; I think in the coming years, we're really going to see MS get thrashed. they have been a dominant player for a long time now .... too long.

    in terms of corporate life-cycles, they have already peaked. web 2.0 stuff is going to clobber them; ajax and ajax-like technologies are just the beginning of a new wave of thin(ner) clients, which will make software 'suites' far less potent than in the past.

    recall the dominance of "network television"; microsoft belongs to that family of companies that is literally leaching off of a particular economic and cultural inertia. it's just a matter of time until redmond's hegemony takes a precipitous decline.

  3. Re:MS shill. on Microsoft's Unique Innovation · · Score: 1

    actually, carroll was a zdnet writer who BECAME a microsoft employee. but yeah, zdnet is pretty pro-ms ... except for the apple blog, and the open-source blog, and a few other things, but why quibble?

  4. not just a pc mag "writer" on PC Mag - Mac OS X Insecure · · Score: 1
    "At PCMag.com, he oversees all strategic, editorial, and production activities related to the magazine's Web site."

    http://www.pcmag.com/author_bio/0,3055,a=204,00.as p
    (love tha dot asp link....hmmmm...)

    from his bio; he's the "senior executive producer" of pc mag, which sounds pretty damn important.

    folks, he's a 'technology reporter', which means he doesn't know how to attach an ethernet cable. or even what an ethernet cable actually is.

  5. DON'T GO to their forums on PC Mag - Mac OS X Insecure · · Score: 3, Interesting

    no point in generating revenue for them to produce more pap like this character's "analysis".

  6. it's not politicized .... on President Bush To Call For Return To Moon? · · Score: 1

    I think that might be algorythm actually. look at the rest of the page on that search and you'll see the recurring terms 'miserable failure' and 'bush' --- from an Atlantic Monthly article.

  7. Re:I couldn't agree more on President Bush To Call For Return To Moon? · · Score: 1
    molly ivens notwithstanding, though you have essentially slandered her, bush is absolutely going to be lying if he makes huge promises about a base on the moon.

    left, right, whatever: mendacity and corruption and cynical political gamesmanship are easy to see (especially if you don't have knee-jerk reactions) and these guys have it in spades. (remember what rove said after the "war" started: "use the war" for political gain; and what rumsfeld said that awful day two years ago: "sweep it all up, things related and not" (emphasis added).

    god I'd love to see us on the moon, but these guys are liars and cheats, not dreamers and leaders. we'll need someone else to take us there.

    your ad hominem attacks are shameful btw and do not serve you well

  8. Re:Please, no hobbit! on Peter Jackson Hints At The Hobbit · · Score: 1

    movies don't squash imagination; weak minds and poor guidance squash imagination. movies are fun. I hope he gets to make it because I think he did a fabulous job with the adaptation of LOTR.

  9. pick it back up on Peter Jackson Hints At The Hobbit · · Score: 1

    if you made it through catholic school and/or homilies such as you describe, the first few chapters will be a breeze. after that it becomes really, really nice compendium of stories. Don't worry about remembering all the names the first time through (there's an extensive index and glossary if you get lost). The Silmarillion will help you to appreciate the depth of Tolkien's commitment and creativity and puts a the rest of the middle-earth books in context, and contains some fabulous tales itself.

  10. a little perspective please? on Big Mac Officially Ranks 3rd · · Score: 1
    Blue Gene/L will be capable of performing 360 trillion calculations per second, or 360 teraflops
    are there any rocket scientists here who can put this into perspective? Earth simulator does 35 teraflops; this new one is going to do TEN TIMES as many?
  11. Re:server? on Move Over Mini-ITX, Here Comes The gigaQube · · Score: 1
    honestly, I think that's very nifty.

    but you should ammend your statement a bit just to be candid:

    Small, cool, quiet, cheap, and fun to build as well as decisively ugly.

    I get that cooling would be a breeze, but is there no danger of fire? spark ... poof.

  12. Re:Stupid, Ignorant, Spoled Brat on China Detains Internet Essayist for Subversion · · Score: 1

    comparing the "battle of seattle" to tienamen sqaure is like comparing a bug bite to a machine gun wound. first world activists are so histrionic it's a wonder anyone listens to us at all.

  13. honesty? on China Detains Internet Essayist for Subversion · · Score: 1
    you have made a virtue out of their totalitarian authority. they are not 'honest' or 'upfront'. they are jack-booted thugs.

    media control and the machinations of states have profound effects on those of us fortunate enough to live in liberal democracies, but the impact is nothing like what the government in Beijing does to its populace.

    are we democracies somewhat hypocritical? yes, but short of threatening the lives of various government officials, I can literally say anything I want. I'm doing that right now, in fact, with impunity.

  14. Re:Lot's of sales... No profit... on Windows iTunes Sells A Million Songs In 3.5 Days · · Score: 1

    doesn't matter for now; this is a paradigmatic change, not necessarily started by apple or done best, but they have launched a pretty solid piece of software into the windows world and I think it is going to take that OS's audience by storm. they are going to set the standard for this experience, to be surpassed soon enough by others; this inroad and the sales are nothing short of remarkable any way you look at it.

  15. Re:What's in a name? on Is Bluetooth Dead? · · Score: 1

    I had heard it was because this King liked blueberries and so stained his teeth.

  16. please on Slashback: Lamo, Trilogy, Searching · · Score: 1
    ooooh! pick on the kids who play d&d. they tend to also write exceptional code. btw, they aren't all scared of singles bars, not to say that there's any virtue in going to them.

    as for actually playing d&d while watching 10 hours of LOTR .... it reminds me of that seinfeld with george trying to eat a pastrami sandwhich while watching tv and having sex at the same time. focus people.

    also, get out and exercise once in a while, you'll live longer.

  17. murphy's law on Ig Nobel Awards 2003 · · Score: 1

    if you haven't read it, the AIR feature on murphy's law is a great read.

  18. Re:omg on Closest Asteroid Yet Flies Past Earth · · Score: 1
    I did in fact spend the rest of the night reading about Nemesis and punctuated equilibrium and iridium deposits.

    It doens't appear there is much wide support for the notion, but it remains compelling, if only because it is remotely plausible (esp the bit about iridium).

    I do have trouble accepting the notion of a 26million year orbit; it seems there could be any number of causes for disturbing the Oort Cloud masses that woudl send material flying into us, but Richard Muller seems to think he can offer a good explanation of how that extended orbit might work for Nemesis.

    I did not find very much recent work on the issue, and agree with you that there is not much outside of rabid discussion groups.

    I think the alarming bit is that we noticed this recent fly-by after it had passed us ... unnerving :)

  19. omg on Closest Asteroid Yet Flies Past Earth · · Score: 1

    is this real? can someone reallly smart clarify the parent comment? is god about to rain power word: kill on us?

  20. see here on Is Google's Future: Star Trek? · · Score: 1

    about markov chains. you can grab a c program to compile and then make your own books.

  21. Re:I can see it already... on Is Google's Future: Star Trek? · · Score: 1

    that is so funny I am weeping