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User: SuperBanana

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  1. Why are you a corporate shill? on Interviews: Ask Malcolm Gladwell a Question · · Score: 5, Interesting

    http://shameproject.com/report...

    Why did you, after college, attend the National Journalism Center, a corporate-funded program created to counter the mediaâ(TM)s alleged âoeanti-business biasâ?

    Why, as someone who is half-Jamaican, have you repeatedly associated yourself (and apparently continue to do so) with the white supremacist organization EPPC, which fights activists for economic justice?

    Why did you write for American Spectator, which churned out anti-Clinton conspiracy theories?

    Why did you recycle tobacco industry propaganda and quote lobbyists for Washington Post articles you "wrote"? Why did Phillip Morris consider you, according to their internal documents, to be a "friend" who could be counted on for pro-tobacco-industry stories?

    Why did you clearly promote drugs for treating ADHD in kids, in which you heavily quoted researchers who were paid heavily by the pharma industry?

    Why did you cite a pharma-industry cited study and defend the industry when it was attacked for high drug costs?

    Why did you blame the victims in the Enron collapse, defending executives who committed gross fraud?

  2. already expected to be stowed. on Flight Attendants Want Stricter Gadget Rules Reinstated · · Score: 1

    RTFA (or the summary.)

    Those items are already expected to be stowed.

    The electronic device rule implies that you do not have to stow the devices, hence their objection.

  3. already supposed to be put away on Flight Attendants Want Stricter Gadget Rules Reinstated · · Score: 1

    Those items are already expected to be stowed.

    The electronic device rule implies that you do not have to stow the devices, hence their objection.

  4. projectiles are a reasonable concern on Flight Attendants Want Stricter Gadget Rules Reinstated · · Score: 1

    I do high performance driver education events, and you're required to empty the car of everything not bolted down to it - everything comes out and goes into a box that you leave in the pits. Video cameras have to be tethered (because tripod mounts in traditional video camcorders are designed to break off if they're stressed too much.)

    Anything not bolted down can become a projectile.

    Lot of people don't think about this with their cars, but at least then, you're by and large only placing yourself, and a limited number of passengers who chose to ride with you, at risk.

  5. brilliant way to hide the genuine bad reviews, too on Small Restaurant Out-Maneuvers Yelp In Reviews War · · Score: 1

    Pay no attention to the fact that what they're really doing is strongly diluting the actual poor reviews.

    Honestly, the FAQ on their website makes them sound like complete fucking assholes. You don't have to bend over backwards for customers, but you really don't need to go around insulting the hell out of them.

  6. One every 8.5 days, actually on Toyota and Tesla May Work Together Again · · Score: 1

    There aren't "stories every day" about Tesla, but every time there's a Tesla story, there is someone bitching and moaning about "all" the Tesla stories.

    There have been 30 stories since January 1st - that equals about one story every 8.5 days.

    You can count yourself, if you like. They do get clustered a bit, probably because when one piece of Tesla news hits, everyone starts paying more attention to Tesla related topics.

    http://slashdot.org/tag/tesla

  7. "more than a year" = "immediately"? on Tesla Removes Mileage Limits On Drive Unit Warranty Program · · Score: 1

    There's a problem and they're handling it immediately and responsibly,

    Uh, these drivetrain failures have been happening for at least a year. Google around and you'll see reports of failures around early 2013.

    Edmund's Tesla has had the drive unit replaced FOUR times since they bought it last year.

    http://insideevs.com/edmunds-long-term-tesla-model-s-on-fourth-drive-unit-going-up-for-sale/

  8. Yes, for repeater modules. 3000-4000VDC on Kevlar Protects Cables From Sharks, Experts Look For Protection From Shark Week · · Score: 2
    Transatlantic fiber optic cables have repeater modules spaced along the cable to re-boost/time optical signals. They're powered off several thousand volts DC; 3k-4k.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_landing_point

    (for example. There are also some cool youtube videos on this subject, I believe.)

  9. current for repeaters on Kevlar Protects Cables From Sharks, Experts Look For Protection From Shark Week · · Score: 1

    It's actual photonic capacitance causing the induced charge within the lining

    I doubt this is anywhere near as significant as the 3000-4000VDC electricity for the repeater modules along the cable.

  10. Cherry picking one's evaluative criteria on Brookings Study Calls Solar, Wind Power the Most Expensive Fossil Alternatives · · Score: 1

    Cost is not the only consideration. It also by and large doesn't matter - environmental damage does. And build time.

    Nuclear power plants can only be built so fast...I believe the chief restriction at the moment is how fast the containment vessels can be manufactured, and there's already a backlog.

    What's frustrating is that we're pouring billions into fusion research with virtually no evidence of payout, instead of going with the solutions we have today, and then working on fusion once we've stopped fucking over the planet quite so quickly.

  11. Re:It wasn't his fault on Senior RIKEN Scientist Involved In Stem Cell Scandal Commits Suicide · · Score: 0

    Haruko Obokata was the lead researcher on those, and also the person responsible for fabricating the research results. Sure, his name was on it as a co-author, but that sounds more like the result of office politics than actually believing what she was publishing.

    "Who's listed as author and in what order" is full of politics and bargaining. It's extremely common for first author to be a PI (faculty member or head of a group/lab) simply because the research happened in their lab and the actual primary researcher did most/all of the work.

    Sometimes one researcher gets "scooped" and in exchange for providing help/data, gets authorship on someone else's paper as a sort of last-ditch attempt to get something out of their work.

  12. they will not release the note on Senior RIKEN Scientist Involved In Stem Cell Scandal Commits Suicide · · Score: 1

    Especially in a country like Japan where suicide is a huge problem, the note's contents will never be released.

    Reporting on suicide has serious ethical consequences, and revealing the contents of the note means others will see suicide as a valid way to bring their ideas, grievances, or innocence to public light.

    In most cases suicides are not reported, and even if they are newsworthy, generally the suicide nature is downplayed as much as possible.

    It's one of those really sucky problems that's hard to deal with. Few really realize how much of a problem it is, but bringing awareness often makes it worse. One of the many things insidious about mental illness.

  13. Re:Yubikey is the way to go... on Ask Slashdot: Open Hardware/Software-Based Security Token? · · Score: 1

    The submitter asked:

    "I've been wondering whether there are any feasible and working FOSS and open hardware-based security token generator projects out there"

    Is Yubikey open source software and hardware? Because it appears to be neither.

    RSA was in the NSA's back pocket. Why wouldn't these people? How can their hardware or software be audited?

  14. Re:I know you're trying to be funny, but... on Linus Torvalds: "GCC 4.9.0 Seems To Be Terminally Broken" · · Score: 1

    I replied to someone who said that "his manner is coarse." They were speaking of Linus's general manner, not his specific conduct in this particular case.

    Linus has a long history of name-calling, mocking, ridiculing, etc.

    Context.

  15. taking things out of context on Linus Torvalds: "GCC 4.9.0 Seems To Be Terminally Broken" · · Score: 1

    I replied to someone who said that "his manner is coarse." They were speaking of Linus's general manner, not his specific conduct in this particular case. Linus has a long history of name-calling, mocking, ridiculing, etc. So no, I have not "just learned to read recently" (hello, abuse.) You, apparently, are unaware of something called "context"

  16. Re:I know you're trying to be funny, but... on Linus Torvalds: "GCC 4.9.0 Seems To Be Terminally Broken" · · Score: 1, Insightful

    His manner is coarse

    It's not "coarse", it's abusive. Namecalling, mocking, ridicule, hyperbole. That's abuse.

    you must admit that he's gotten the job done. Linux advances on schedule, patches get incorporated, code gets tested, and all proceeds smoothly.

    I sacrificed a chicken yesterday and successfully committed code. You must admit that the ritualistic sacrifice got the job done.

    ("Getting the job done" does not, and has never required being abusive to others. Getting the job done while being abusive is not proof that being abusive is required or even was part of, "getting the job done.")

  17. Strawman argument on Linus Torvalds: "GCC 4.9.0 Seems To Be Terminally Broken" · · Score: 0, Troll

    Strawman argument. Nobody except you has posited that "all opinions are valid", and nobody suggested that criticisms can't be made. You invented that position to attack it.

    I specifically said: it's fine to tell people they did something wrong. What you may not do is be abusive.

  18. I know you're trying to be funny, but... on Linus Torvalds: "GCC 4.9.0 Seems To Be Terminally Broken" · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...the people who deserve the apology are the people who were subject to an abusive tirade.

    You can point out someone made a mistake. There's no obligation to be "nice" when doing so. There is an obligation to not be abusive, which is what Linus repeatedly does. Abuse includes mockery, ridicule, name calling, etc.

    He's being a bully, pure and simple - using his popularity to shove around others. That should not be tolerated, full stop.

  19. Re:Bitcoin, rent, tor on Ask Slashdot: What Would You Do With Half a Rack of Server Space? · · Score: 1

    TOR exit nodes are in very short supply, and as a company you already have the protection of incorporation that prevents the biggest fear of exit operators (and the reason there are so few), being caught up in an investigation by police who kick down doors first and ask questions late

    LOL....

  20. Re:power, so no, not really? on Ask Slashdot: What Would You Do With Half a Rack of Server Space? · · Score: -1

    Clearly you read neither the slashdot text (which says "what should we do with these resources") not "what should we do with this website content." It's not even said that the setup is running a public-facing website, or even a website at all.

    The commenter very clearly meant "donate the equipment to us."

  21. One of the most common failover mistakes... on Ask Slashdot: What Would You Do With Half a Rack of Server Space? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Keep everything ready, so you can switch back when the cloud services fail and/or your management team changes.

    Did you miss the part about them trying to cut opex? *siiiiiigh*

    Even that aside...Maybe the latter, but not the former. One of the most common mistakes of failover environments is using the "old stuff" for failover/backup.

    That works great, until you exceed the computing/storage capacity/bandwidth of the original hardware.

    Let's say in a year traffic is up 30%. Something goes wrong, big time, with Teh Cloudz. You've done a good job of keeping the old hardware current and replicated. You 'flip the switch'...and the old environment promptly chokes...oops.

  22. power, so no, not really? on Ask Slashdot: What Would You Do With Half a Rack of Server Space? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unless you're getting power donated as well, you definitely should not be accepting every machine you can get.

    If this stuff more than a few years old, the power bill is going to quickly eclipse the cost differential of better hardware.

    Electricity costs vary, but a ballpark of 1 watt/year = $1 is roughly right around here. That doesn't include cooling. A probably conservative but very rough ballpark power estimate would be 3kW for that equipment...I didn't count hard drives, the firewall, the router, etc.

  23. Elective surgery on a critical organ on Laser Eye Surgery, Revisited 10 Years Later · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's how a friend's father, an eye surgeon, put it.

    It doesn't always go right, and (yes, rarely) it goes very wrong. There are no take-backs with the laser surgeries.

    If you must, do the surgery that is reversible - they insert a small piece of plastic that corrects the lens shape.

  24. Why are Zorro cards worth anything at all? on The Almost Forgotten Story of the Amiga 2000 · · Score: 1

    the seller has no clue about what Zorro cards are inside

    I can understand the display cards and SCSI cards - those have function - but everything else (framegrabber cards and such) seems like rather hopelessly outclassed stuff?

  25. You forgot about Chernobyl on EPA Mulling Relaxed Radiation Protections For Nuclear Power · · Score: 1

    230,000 were killed by the Banquiao hydroelectric dam disaster.

    Not quite. 20,000 were killed in the immediate flooding. The rest were killed in the epidemics, famines, etc that followed.

    Even if the worst nuclear accident in history happened EVERY YEAR, it would still be safer than hydroelectric.

    If you're going to claim indirect deaths as you did above, then I'm going to claim indirect deaths too.

    http://www.who.int/ionizing_ra...

    Chernobyl didn't kill that many people directly/immediately, but it has impacted the health of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. It will continue to do so, for generations. Nuclear disasters never go away.

    Where X is 10-100 times larger than Y: Increasing the cancer risks for X people isn't 'better' than immediately wiping Y people off the map.