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User: rossz

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Comments · 1,794

  1. It's a Trap! on Senate Bill Would Ban Most Bulk Surveillance · · Score: 2

    Given that the executive branch, that being the POTUS, has never seen a surveillance law it didn't like, I seriously doubt this law would actually impede the government's lust for any and all information on the People.

    Besides, the actual implmentation of any law is always the exact opposite of the bill name. My guess, "The USA Freedom Act" means "freedom for the government to do whatever the fuck they want."

  2. Re:Millionare panhandlers on Cable Companies: We're Afraid Netflix Will Demand Payment From ISPs · · Score: 2

    Here in San Francisco, beggers will complain if you give them non-vegan food. That's if they don't complain about getting food since a good number of them are looking for drug money.

  3. Re:It all means nothing on US Pushing Local Police To Keep Quiet On Cell-Phone Surveillance Technology · · Score: 3, Informative

    Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil.

    If every single person who said they would vote third party if it wasn't throwing away their vote actually voted third party, we'd see some serious changes. Just accept that it doesn't matter one bit whether a democrat or a republican wins the election. The results will be the same. Once you accept this simple truth, you are free. Now you can vote for a third party candidate without that fear of letting "the other guy" win. Vote third party. Always. I don't care which third party. Just don't vote for the status quo.

  4. Re:NO it does not. on Aliens and the Fermi Paradox · · Score: 1

    Which, sadly, enforces the theory that FTL is not possible.

  5. Re:Too bad they might no't be able to use them on LAPD Gets Some Hand-Me-Down Drones From Seattle, Promises Discretion · · Score: 4, Funny

    I disagree with your assessment that law enforcement, specifically LAPD, are human.

  6. Re: private market on Oregon vs. Oracle: the Battle of Blame Heats Up · · Score: 1

    The free market isn't always the answer (and I'm somewhat of a libertarian). All the big iron and big database companies have a history of making big promises, then delivering something that isn't capable of doing what the sales people claimed. They're also experts and hiding bullshit in the contracts so they have their asses covered. But if they were given another few million dollars they can fix things. Pinky swear.

  7. It's Cox, they're lying on Cox Promises National Gigabit Rollout; Starting With Phoenix, Las Vegas, Omaha · · Score: 3, Interesting

    And even if they weren't lying and actually made the service available, they'll put a 5Gig cap on your data and charge a small fortune for more.

  8. Re:This can't be about the Fourth Amendment... on California Legislation Affirms Privacy Rights Against NSA Spying Methods · · Score: 1

    The Fourth Amendment only applies to the Federal government ...

    Wrong. The 14th Amendment says otherwise, and the Supreme Court would also disagree with your statement.

  9. Re:So - who's in love with the government again? on Beer Price Crisis On the Horizon · · Score: 0

    If they actually cared about what was being put into dairy cattle, they would do something about the steroids and other fun things used to massively increase production. This case is all about expanding government power and absolutely nothing to do with consumer safety.

  10. Re:So - who's in love with the government again? on Beer Price Crisis On the Horizon · · Score: 2, Informative

    They didn't have the science to know it was asbestos causing health problems 4400 years ago. We have the science now. We figured out that it was a bad thing. Using modern science, we would know if feeding beer waste to cattle is bad. Perhaps in a thousand years to they might have new science that shows eat steaks from beer waste fed cattle increases the likelihood of cancer by .00001%.

  11. Re:So I was all "Social contract, move to Somalia" on Beer Price Crisis On the Horizon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And how many people will consider beer waste handling as an important enough issue to vote out someone? None. They're going to be more interested in big ticket items like gay rights or abortion. This is how the government stealthes in an array of regulations that eventually consume our every moment.

  12. Re:McGuffey's 4th New Eclectic Reader:"The Colonis on Ask Slashdot: Are You Apocalypse-Useful? · · Score: 1

    Way back in the dark ages when I was in high school (the 70s) we had a project to select the people required to colonize another planet. I argued intensely with my group about a fundamental error they were making. They chose mostly science and engineering types. Not one farmer was included. A modern farmer doesn't just stick seeds in the ground and ride around in a tractor. He also analyzes the soil to know what should be added for a healthy crop along with a lot of other "sciency" things. On another planet, that is especially important.

    When it came time to present our choices to the class, I immediately said that our group would be dead within a year due to starvation. Surprisingly, none of the other groups bothered to include a farming expert.

    Also, I argued that every essential skill had to be duplicated. You didn't want to have just one medical doctor because shit happens.

  13. Re:Let it die on How Cochlear Implants Are Being Blamed For Killing Deaf Culture · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A good friend of mine has two autistic sons. She would give anything for them to be cured. Alas, she knows that isn't going to happen.

    As for the deaf, one of the activist's arguments is "we aren't broken." Uh, yes you are. It's great when you can overcome a handicap, but it is still a fucking handicap. Here's a few reasons why you don't want to be deaf:

    1. Beethoven's Ode to Joy
    2. Children laughing as they play
    3. Birds singing
    4. A smoke alarm waking you from sleep and saving your life
    5. The best part of farts

  14. Re:If BITC are property.. on IRS: Bitcoin Is Property, Not Currency · · Score: 1

    Keep in mind that all the judges in tax court got there by working for the IRS first. A blatant violation of the separation of powers.

  15. Re:Stop on Crowdsourcing Confirms: Websites Inaccessible on Comcast · · Score: 1

    I'm on Comcast and 8.8.8.8 works just fine for me.

  16. Re:Why? on The Next Keurig Will Make Your Coffee With a Dash of "DRM" · · Score: 1

    My espresso maker can make 1 oz up to 8 oz at a press of a button (Jura Capresso). I love that machine.

  17. Re:Why? on The Next Keurig Will Make Your Coffee With a Dash of "DRM" · · Score: 1

    I pay $35/lbs for my coffee beans. It's Jamaican Blue Mountain.

  18. Re:Change on "Microsoft Killed My Pappy" · · Score: 1

    Nope. We wrote their Constitution.

  19. Re: Change on "Microsoft Killed My Pappy" · · Score: 1

    Abusive spouses almost never change. Abusive corporations never change except for the worse.

  20. Re:My WoW replacement on Ask Slashdot: What Games Are You Playing? · · Score: 1

    Ditto. The Panda bullshit was their last chance. They failed. I jumped back to Warhammer Online for the last couple of months of its life (which turned into a horrid cluster fuck so I bailed on the last week), then finally fired up Rift. I'm enjoying it. I played it over a month before I finally decided they deserved some money, then bought a three month patron pack.

  21. Easy to do now on California Bill Proposes Mandatory Kill-Switch On Phones and Tablets · · Score: 1

    It doesn't require a kill switch. It doesn't require a change in hardware or an upgrade in the software. All it takes is a central database of the unique codes (I forget what they are called) each cell phone has that all reported stolen phones would be placed on and the legal requirement that a cell phone can not be activated if it is on the list.

  22. Re:In otherwards on Virtual Boss Keeps Workers On a Short Leash · · Score: 1

    Noam Chomsky is not a libertarian. He's an extreme left moron.

  23. The Artists should be thrilled on Why the Major Labels Love (and Artists Hate) Music Streaming · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the record companies were honest, the artists would be making more money so would love streaming services. Unfortunately, the record industry is controlled by a bunch of thieving assholes who see paying artists as unnatural. So the record companies are making money hand over fist, and the the artists get screwed, as usual.

  24. Re:Collusion, in tech? on Silicon Valley Workers May Pursue Salary-Fixing Lawsuit · · Score: 1

    I was planning on suggesting this to my boss. Since we can't fill a senior level position, let's at least get a junior or mid level tech. It will reduce the work load on me somewhat, even if he (or she) can't handle the more complicated problems. And if the person is smart enough, he could quickly become proficient in the tools we are planning on implementing over the next year.

  25. Re:Collusion, in tech? on Silicon Valley Workers May Pursue Salary-Fixing Lawsuit · · Score: 2

    I work in a three man devops department. For months we've been short a man. Last friday the other guy quit without notice. So it's now just me running a three man department with limited hope of filling the two empty slots in the immediate future. There are lots of system admins around, but not a lot of them have advanced devops experience.