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User: theshowmecanuck

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  1. Land of Walmart... What's the Point? on Arkansas Declares a High School CS Education State of Emergency · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Waltons outsource everything to China anyway. So why does Arkansas need programmers.

  2. Re:What's the problem? on Facebook Will Soon Be Able To ID You In Any Photo · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's what SHE said.

  3. Where are their customer service people? on Verizon Sells Off Wireline Operations, Blames Net Neutrality Plans · · Score: 1

    The service is bad because most of their IT support is offshored. So much for saving American jobs.

  4. Re:Literally? on Does Showing a Horrific Video Serve a Legitimate Journalistic Purpose? · · Score: 3

    I see you haven't learned to think for yourself.

  5. Re:Literally? on Does Showing a Horrific Video Serve a Legitimate Journalistic Purpose? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Generally I agree. But to be argumentative (NO, not on Slashdot!), I disagree.

    Showing horrible stuff allows us to call bullshit on politicians (I am thinking tea party) and their propaganda wing (I am thinking Fox News) who want to claim everything is an act of terrorism. People and groups who would tell you that pressure cookers are 'weapons of mass destruction', and countries that fund real terrorists and flog prisoners in medieval fashion are our friends (I am thinking Saudi Arabia); thereby minimizing what real terrorism and weapons of mass destruction are. This is often so they can surreptitiously push their own agenda.

    Being able to see unfiltered events allows us to look critically and say, sure there is an argument that the Boston marathon bombing was terrorism (or attempt at it), but a pressure cooker is NOT a weapon of mass destruction. When we see pictures of dozens and dozens of people killed in chemical weapons attacks by Assad in Syria, we see what WMDs really are so that we take politicians to task for exaggerating things to try to help their own ends.

    Or when we see that dipshit on Parliament Hill in Ottawa who killed the cenotaph guard and was killed in the parliament buildings. In his mind he was a terrorist maybe, but Canadians could see him as a radicalized idiot not a terrorist. Panic averted.

    Without context, as harsh as it is sometimes to gain, proper judgement cannot be made. We cannot trust the politicians and spin doctors to tell us what something is. We need to do that ourselves and require the information to do so.

    I admit there is a danger that people can get desensitized to it, which can also impair judgement. Then we get absolutely fucking ridiculous comparisons trying to demonize people particular interest groups disagree with. For example, people who try to compare Hillary Clinton to Hitler (full disclosure, I lean on the Democrat side, but don't really like Clinton... former director and corporate lawyer for Wallmart, and good friend of the Waltons... not really that different from a Republican except when trying to get elected). What a bunch of fucking nonsense. It completely minimizes the horror that was Hitler's Germany. Any comparison like that is quite plainly, mentally retarded. Being desensitized to the murder of 12 million people and the death of tens of millions in battle and collateral damage from bombings (granted this is partly due to the distance in time) lends itself to unrealistic comparisons. But I think it can be extrapolated to desensitization from over-exposure of items in the news.

  6. Re:Optics! on What Happened To the Photography Industry In 2014? · · Score: 1

    To paraphrase Ansel Adams, it's possible to make a good print from a bad negative, but you can't make a great print from a bad negative. Same thing applies with 'phone cameras' and '(D)SLRs', respectively. You can lump range finder cameras, medium and large format cameras in with SLRs in this regard. In fact, I think the larger the format the better, especially with film.

  7. Re:Science... Yah! on Science's Biggest Failure: Everything About Diet and Fitness · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I switched to low carb (not no carb) and higher fat (not all fat) diet. It makes me feel full longer. The fat and protein make me feel satiated and I don't feel hungry. Consequently I eat less. So far I've dropped 35 lbs and am continuing to lose weight. I also resumed swimming regularly. Yes you have to eat less than you burn. But what you eat can significantly affect how hard that is. If you are always feeling hungry, you'll never keep at it. And occasionally I do have a carb binge. Go to the movies and eat a large bag of popcorn, or have some pie. Then I put that behind me and do good for a couple more weeks. Eating low carbs has the added benefit of lessening the feeling to eat chips and pies and popcorn, etc. But every now and then is nice and I don't have the urge again for a long while. From this I have come to believe that our institutionalized consumption of carbs, including pastas, breads, and sugar has made us addicts of them, and that they aren't needed. At least not needed in the kinds of quantities we have traditionally eaten them.

  8. Re:cancer on Telomere-Lengthening Procedure Turns Clock Back Years In Human Cells · · Score: 1

    You MIGHT die of cancer, but you WILL die of old age. My question is will it reverse aging? Can you rejuvenate?

  9. Re:Not always a good thing. on Microsoft To Invest In Rogue Android Startup Cyanogen · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The issue is, per this post on Cyanogenmod Forums:

    CM devs are consumers first. What this means is that they do not divide up devices among other developers, or assign devices like one would at a job. Developers work in their spare time without monetary compensation. Because of this, the developers are free to work on any device they choose to purchase.

    Now, what does this mean to you? First off, requesting anywhere in the CM forum, the CM Blog, or the Facebook/Google+/Twitter accounts for device XX to be supported is probably a waste of your time and anybody who reads said request. CyanogenMod does not work on device requests as there is no guaranteeing that a current CM maintainer is even interested in the device. Additionally, its not as simple as 'porting' code, the device trees must be coded from scratch and made to work with the AOSP sourced code and CM enhancements. This takes a large amount of time and effort, especially when the device's OEM fails to release the latest version of Android for it. Second, in hoping a worthy developer sees the post and decides to take up the project... well, that is probably just wishful thinking. Many developers do not like interacting with end users (too much finger pointing between both devs and users or anger directed at the devs for something working other than how the user expects - it happens far too often); because of that, many developers don't frequent the forum (or if they do, they only view the forums for the devices they maintain). The best way to get a device official support is not requesting it from the CM team, but learning how to do it yourself or encouraging a maintainer of an unofficial build to submit their code for review.

    So, Cyanogenmod devs will support what strikes their fancy. And if they are no longer interested in a device, it won't be supported any longer. Now if they get financing, maybe this will change as most consumers want some stability and continued support. It is one of the things that could differentiate itself from the phone makers... if they care to. If not, in this regard they won't be any different. And it would be a shame since it is nice to get rid of bloatware.

    The vast majority of people will not port their own devices. They either don't have the time or the technical know-how or nether. I will use the stock OS if it isn't available as a stable CM. In fact I do with my P600 Samsung Note. But even if they did, after reading that sticky from the forum, I am less willing to adopt CM and choose to just root the device instead.

  10. Re:Great! on Alibaba Face Off With Chinese Regulator Over Fake Products · · Score: 1

    And China will execute people for corruption and bribery.

  11. Re: Of Course on Apple Agrees To Chinese Security Audits of Its Products · · Score: 1

    Someone please explain to me why this would be flamebait? I am just pointing out facts that people here on Slashdot get modded up for all the time.

  12. Re: Of Course on Apple Agrees To Chinese Security Audits of Its Products · · Score: 0

    I had the same first reaction but after thinking, there is some merit to this idea. China has a fairly stable set of policies. North America and Europe often change policies based on election cycles and what the latest 'lobbyist' put in his political puppet's pocket. No judgement on what the best system is, but the point does have some merit. Both of course have even more back room deals.

  13. Re:Useless Art Project on Researchers Moot "Teleportation" Via Destructive 3D Printing · · Score: 2

    This idea has been used in several scifi and fantasy stories/books for how to transport people. In a few they expand a bit on the possible moral conundrums this can cause. This is just an applied science version of the same thing. Would you blast a post about a scifi story that this kind of discussion? Scifi is near and dear to most slashdot readers.

  14. Of Course on Apple Agrees To Chinese Security Audits of Its Products · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Since most of their operations are in China (even if de facto), they are essentially a Chinese company. They have to agree.

  15. Re:No way! on Senator Who Calls STEM Shortage a Hoax Appointed To Head Immigration · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, they just wanted more money. Once the lobbyists line the pockets of those two, they will tell everyone they have come into possession of 'new facts' and change their stance to allow more off shoring and Indian and Chinese workers in.

  16. Disrupt to ISP's Gorilla Broadband?? on TWEETHER Project Promises 10Gbps MmW 92-95GHz Based Wireless Broadband · · Score: 0

    Could something like this could completely hose all the ISP's if open sourced and if it works well? Here's the concept: People like the dd wrt folks could customize router firmware to act as repeaters and whoever wants can set up relay stations with home type routers, weatherproofed and sitting on a pole outside if need be, creating a de facto municipal wireless broadband network without needing ISP's. I guess some question are: how to hook it up to the regular Internet's backbone, address space, etc. Could a Gorilla Internet be created with something like this?

  17. Re:Big Brother Is Expanding His Reach on Google Aims To Be Your Universal Translator · · Score: 1

    One organization. How many businesses are doing the same thing, but because there is no oversight we don't see it. My guess is, as many as can get away with it. All the ad sense and analytics make what the NSA is doing look like a plastic kiddy pool compared to Lake Superior. Sure they're doing stuff we don't like. Businesses are doing it too. The one thing I will say on Google's side is we can see some of it.

  18. Re:30 years? on The Current State of Linux Video Editing · · Score: 1

    developers cum cats who don't like being herded in the same direction; so you get 50 versions of something all half assed trying to do the same thing. That, instead of one or two versions doing it in a most excellent way if the same developers worked together and learned give and take instead of 'take my ball and go fork it'.

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

    Presumably if they manage to make something to go to Mars it will have to be a closed loop system since they won't have a way (or an easy way) to top up many types of consumables. I can see getting the idea of landing with these fins to work, but I would think if they wanted to keep it for a long voyage, they'll have to figure out how to make it closed loop at some time.

  20. Re:On odd artifact of affect... on Lost Beagle2 Probe Found 'Intact' On Mars · · Score: 1

    I was thinking maybe that they found it drinking cocktails in a bar on Titan. But your comment made me think of this South Park episode. Si.

  21. Re:People forget about people. on Pirate Activist Shows Politicians What Digital Surveillance Looks Like · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The rhetoric and crazy gets dialed up to 11 straight out of the gate.

    Same reason I stay away from churches and religion in general. Each have their own agenda, whether the people who belong realize it or not.

  22. No on IEEE: New H-1B Bill Will "Help Destroy" US Tech Workforce · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Self inflected wounds cannot be blamed on the weapon. The American people did it to themselves by electing these assholes. If the people who don't like this wanted to avoid it, they would have either voted or voted for someone else. You can't say both parties would do it, because an active electorate would have ensured someone who met the needs was on the ballot. If you are Democrat, make sure a Democrat who don't do this gets nominated. Likewise, Republican. Or find an independent.

  23. Big Brother Is Expanding His Reach on Google Aims To Be Your Universal Translator · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We know Google really isn't into the whole "don't be evil" thing anymore as they have become a giant corporation like all others. And while I like the idea of something like this being freely available, the first thing that came to my mind was that now they will have access to people's actual conversations, not just search queries. I've thought for a long time that 'big brother' will not come from governments, but from corporations. Maybe it comes from watching the original 1975 Roller Ball movie and it's basis around the 'corporate state'.

  24. Re:what about spectrums rights? on Where Cellular Networks Don't Exist, People Are Building Their Own · · Score: 1

    The reality is the cartels will legitimize and become legal corporations. Then the current cartel bosses will become legitimate respectable businessmen, just like the owners of many major liquor companies did after American prohibition in the 1930s. As an example, review of the Bronfman family of Montreal and their company, Seagrams, at one point the largest distilling company in the world. As an aside, it is also a good example, and a sad one, of the descendants completely fucking things up. Regardless, legalizing marijuana will create another case of history repeating itself.

  25. Re:what about spectrums rights? on Where Cellular Networks Don't Exist, People Are Building Their Own · · Score: 1

    I'd imagine some of the cartels might if they use this network to resist them.

    Ha! You could use the same phrase to describe the situation in Canada and the USA wrt the phone companies.