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User: aXis100

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  1. Re:I don't think this is worth doing. on The LHC, Black Holes, and the Law · · Score: 4, Informative

    If it actually occuurred, an LHC black hole wouldnt swallow the solar system. It wouldnt even swallow the moon. It would have the same mass as the earth and would continue to follow roughly the same orbit (not accounting for solar wind and photon momentum).

  2. Re:Smoke test on Slovak Police Planted Explosives On Air Travelers · · Score: 1

    I'm betting that the man arrested in dublin was scanned at the dublin end. That said, they still knowingly let planes depart with unrecovered explosives.

  3. Re:While slightly humorous on 2009 Darwin Award Winners Announced · · Score: 1

    If the bike was that important to her, it'a bit odd she drove it in a terrible storm (to get beer), sped through a barrier and into a flooded crossing.

  4. Re:Weak. on 2009 Darwin Award Winners Announced · · Score: 1

    Chances are they'd already had kids. Darwin award recipients must do the gene pool a favour by not contributing to it before they die.

  5. Re:Bono should be pleased... on At Current Rates, Only a Few More Years' Worth of IPv4 Addresses · · Score: 1

    Nah, they'll just switch to hole punching to get through the NAT, just like Skype.

  6. Re:Rare Earths Not Necessarily Rare on China Moving To Restrict Neodymium Supply · · Score: 1

    Some of my customers are in the nickel industry, and as the price cycles they regularly go from:
    1) Owning the mines and the refineries
    2) Keeping the refinery but selling off the mines to smaller, leaner companies that can still make a profit
    3) Monthballing everything until it's financially viable again.

    They can go from 1 to 3 and back again within a few years, it's really quite suprising what favourourable (or unfavourable) market conditions will do.

  7. Re:Mixed emotions on New Aliens Vs. Predator Game Doesn't Make It Past AU Ratings Board · · Score: 1

    I love AvP, it's like 2.5 games for the price of 1.

    Marines/Predator arent that far different, but the Alien campaign is a great departure from the norm.

  8. Re:This is a great development on NASA Tests Flying Airbag · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Big sky theory. This of course stops as soon as you fill the air with flying cars.

  9. Re:Somewhat pointless on NASA Tests Flying Airbag · · Score: 1

    Helicopers can regain quite a bit of control and actually perform a propper landing if they loose power high enough. They can dive and autogyro to get the rotors spinning, then level out at the last second for an emergency landing.

    Not something I'd want to experience though.

  10. Re:Exercizing Meat on Scientists Create Artificial Meat · · Score: 1

    You still preferably want the muscle tissue to line up as fibres, so i think that an axial stress would be neccesary.

  11. Slippery Slope on UK Pub Reportedly Fined For Illegal Wi-Fi Download · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is scarily along the lines of the iiNet (popular Australian ISP) versus AFACT (Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft) case that just finished in the courts a few days ago. We're all waiting for the Judge's ruling next year as it could set a huge precedent.

    See http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=afact+vs+iinet

  12. Re:Computer Scientist on Do You Hate Being Called an "IT Guy?" · · Score: 1

    Are you actually an Engineer by degree though?

    Part of the issue with "IT Guys" is that software development is still nowhere near as formal and structured as other forms of engineering. Many of the best programmers I've met have a Computer Science degree (nothing wrong with that), and just have the right mindset and artistic flair. In fact, it's not the style of programming that is the issue - that's just personal preference. How many programmers formally specify the requirements of their product, design the classes, implement that design, construct unit tests and then formally verify that the code is correct? Many do, but it's by no means neccesary.

    Now this is not specifically referring to you, but other "Software Engineers" I've met:
    Any savvy computer user can cut code, eg VBA and Excel macros - just like any handyman can assemble a flat pack storage cabinet. When the handyman gets good enough to build himeslf an an entire house, he doesnt start calling himself an Engineer, but some programmers do when they reach an equivalent milestone. A real structural engineer accounts for stability of the ground, wind loads, and thermal expansion. Yet software still comes out all the time with buffer overflows.

  13. Re:Looks like a step in the right direction on New Theory of Gravity Decouples Space & Time · · Score: 1

    Tieing causality to the speed of light may be equally flawed.

  14. Re:Yay! The FUTURE! on Laser Weapon Shoots Down Airplanes In Test · · Score: 1

    I'm not so sure that shining 100kw plus of laser at a target will reduce colateral damage. Anyone who sees it could be hurt by simple reflections. Expect the blind casualties to start increasing.

  15. Re:This is silly on US Government Using PS3s To Break Encryption · · Score: 1

    Maybe because with Sony subsidising the cost of the consoles, $300 is a steal! It doesn't matter if there is an unnecesary graphics card or not, it is a bargain for a serious multiprocessing computer.

  16. Re:I never did understand on Are There Affordable Low-DPI Large-Screen LCD Monitors? · · Score: 1

    Theoretically Yes, practically no. At least on Windows.

    Have you every tried turning on the large fonts setting? It breaks the sizing of alot of dialogs because most apps aren't built for anything but the standard font size.

  17. Re:Shoot, there goes my Irish Coffee. Is Decafe ok on Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks May Be Illegal · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but do people have half a dozen plus irish coffees in a single night, then dance around like hooligans? No - and I'd bet most people usually only have one after a substantial restaurant meal and beer/wine.

  18. Re:bah on StarCraft AI Competition Announced · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you like TA, check out Spring at http://springrts.com/

    This is an open source fully 3d replica of TA. They've now built it to the point where it is a base engine that can host one of several mods - mostly based on TA style models and concepts, although a few are completely unique. AI's are plugins that can work over several mods if the author chooses so.

    My favourite is the Complete Annihillation Mod - http://springrts.com/wiki/Complete_Annihilation
    The "chicken" mode has a weak AI, but enough brute force (attack waves) to keep you on your toes.

  19. Re:retitled "Court pitches first amendment" on Judge Rules Web Commenter Will Be Unmasked To Mom · · Score: 0

    But it wasn't the political criticism's that got him in trouble - it was when he made unrelated insults towards her son. Whilst yes, he would certainly hear worse in the playground, this was in a public place and I think he crossed a line there.

  20. Re:Solar Wind on Tech Allows Stable Integration of Wind In the Power Grid · · Score: 1

    Good thing we didnt cut down massive amounts of the worlds forests or we might speed the wind back up..... oh wait a sec..

  21. Re:I don't buy it on Plowing Carbon Into the Fields · · Score: 1

    There's a thought that carbon particled (activated carbon, charcoal & soot) can adsorb some of the dissolved nutrients in rainwater and then release them later.

  22. Re:I hate journalism on Lost Northwest Pilots Were Trying Out New Software · · Score: 1

    They should be in contact with air trafic controllers well in advance of landing to ensure they have clearance and scheduling.

    The 110 miles / 12 minutes is *beyond* their destination. They should have been paying attention, responding to calls, and descending well *before* their destination. The 90 minutes is hardly suprising.

  23. Re:nothing to see here on Laptop Fires On Airplanes · · Score: 2, Informative

    Did you not hear/read about the several large battery recalls last year? The batteries were internally shorting on their own (flakes of lithium floating around), no solid piece of copper required.

  24. Re:Joystick control is used all over the place. on Toyota Experimenting With Joystick Control For Cars · · Score: 1

    You can reduce the sensitivity of the joystick at speed, or give stong feedback, so people dont make unsafe steering changes.

  25. Re:and here in USA... on CSIRO Reinvests Patent Earnings · · Score: 1

    That's bogus. You can keep the money and use it for 1) further investment or 2) increase your cash position to better guarantee against risks. Clearly #2 wasnt happening in the USA much, which is why all of the banks collapsed.