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User: Stachel

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  1. Re:Unbelievable on Once-Shrinking Greenland Glacier Is Now Growing, NASA Study Shows (nbcnews.com) · · Score: 1

    > You would think an omnipotent, omniscient product would sell itself.

    The omnipotent being must be pretty insecure that it demands constant affirmation from its followers.

  2. > Nearly 3 out of every 4 (72% exactly)

    What's the point of dumbing down the percentage and then mentioning it specifically. In the same sentence?

    I'm pretty sure nerds have a concept of what "72%" means.

  3. > the plane headed back to the gate

    Proof that the pen is mightier than the sword.

  4. Re:This makes me irrationally happy. on Online At Last: Comet Lander Philae Wakes Up · · Score: 1

    Isn't any location unique?

  5. I am impressed on Former NATO Nuclear Bunker Now an 'Airless' Unmanned Data Center · · Score: 2, Informative

    I had to look up this European Air Force. Turns out they've existed longer than I thought! From http://www.europeanaf.net/:

    The European Air Force has now reached its teens!

  6. Hyperbole much? on World's Largest Amphibious Aircraft Goes Into Production In China · · Score: 1

    As I clicked to the fine article I was prepared to see a description of a gigantic airplane, overshadowing a Catalina, perhaps even a Spruce Goose. Yet the actual airplane is a little underwhelming.

    TFA reads: "Larger than Boeing's 737 jet, the TA600 aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 53.5t and a maximum range of over 5,000km."

    If one defines "larger than" as "having a higher MTOW" then the TA600 is indeed larger than a 737. That is, a 737-200 (1968 vintage). More recent versions are considerably heavier.

    The other stats, 8.9m-long, 12.46m-wide and a maximum cruise speed of 231km/h aren't very impressive either.

    It looks like a nice plane though, I hope it succeeds and that we'll see it often. There aren't enough amphibious planes around. But it will take a lot to make it more awesome than a Grumman Goose ;)

  7. Typical Discovery story? on Red Dwarfs Could Sterilize Alien Worlds of Life · · Score: 1

    "potentially deadly"
    "could have significant impacts"
    "a problem for life"
    "estimate"
    "it can strip"
    [...] Cohen told Discovery News

    A lot of 'ifs' and some potential for drama, that's Discovery channel for you nowadays. Everything needs to be spiced up and 'made more interesting' by adding suspense, drame, etc.

    Even a walk in the park can be potential disaster, not to mention the problems that can occur while taking candy from a baby.

    Good thing I have 56 other channels ;)

  8. Daily snapshot on Ask Slashdot: How Would You Feel About Recording Your Entire Life? · · Score: 1

    On New Years Day 2010 I set my self the target of publishing one snapshot a day on my personal website, as a means of recording what I was doing that day.

    I've been keeping it up, publishing about 20 snapshots a month (it's more difficult than it seems, especially when you're in a work/sleep rut ;) ). And I enjoy looking back at them and remembering what they relate to.

    It's not about the detail on the photograph (there are usually no people in it) or the quanitity (there's never more than one for a day) but each one acts as an 'anchor' to events in the past. Even simple things, like the staircase of the building where I work, my old car, flowers in spring, a birthday cake, can bring back a pallette of feelings and memories.

  9. It's science, Jim on Voyager 2 Speaking In Tongues · · Score: 1

    "It's science, Jim, but not as we know it."

  10. Re:I'm all for it on UK Plans To Link Criminal Records To ID Cards · · Score: 1

    It is interesting that this OP was modded "funny" rather than "interesting".

    Disturbing, that's what it is.

  11. I'm all for it on UK Plans To Link Criminal Records To ID Cards · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In fact, why not take it a step further? Why limit the use of this system to the protecting only of children and vulnerable people?

    I propose a system where offenders are clearly marked using clean, unique identifiers, worn in a visible place. For example, on their lapels or coats. By marking people this way, it will be easy to pick them out to disallow access to certain areas and to provide for continuous easy monitoring of their ways.

    Distinctions could be made between sex offenders, thieves, previously convicted enemies of the state, etcetera, by using a colour-coding system of sorts.

  12. Win for hobbyist on A Video Ad, In a Paper Magazine · · Score: 1

    I see: a win for electronics hobbyist: cool screens for hobby projects against a price that's likely to be less than currently available screens due to the high numbers.
    The waiting is for the first programmable microcontroller projects that use this screen (Arduino, for example).

    I'm afraid most of the electronics will end up being trashed (burned, landfill) when the paper is read, unless there's a recycling program for them (which TFA didn't mention)...

  13. Re:We don't live in a comic-book universe... on Hacking Nuclear Command and Control · · Score: 1

    Do we have ANY super-villain cyber hackers in the world who WANT to start a nuclear war and launch 100,000 hiroshima type bombs?

    The Walking Dude is looking for revenge after failing to get the most out of the Captain Trips situation.

  14. Re:With three weeks to go until my 39th birthday.. on Brains Work Best At Age of 39 · · Score: 1

    Rejoice!
    I, OTOH, have only four weeks to go to my 40th birthday...

  15. Re:WTF? on Qantas Blames Wireless For Aircraft Incidents · · Score: 1

    > first hit commercial aircraft (see if you can guess it's nickname),

    The A320 is called the 'John Wayne', because it 'chops down trees, moves mountains and kills Indians'.

    Ref. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCwYAzqvcrQ.

  16. Re:O RLY? on Senator Questions Rise In US Texting Prices · · Score: 1

    You made a typo. Let me fix it for you:
    You have a nice seat in the senate, and it would be a sham if anything were to happen to it.

  17. Short and concise, please on HP Seals the Deal, Buys EDS For $14B · · Score: 1

    Why go through the trouble of writing "just under $14 billion" when "$13.9 billion" would do? Does word count matter in a post?

    And as far as the 'just under' is concerned: 0.1 may be a small number, but when multiplied by $10^9 it's a sum that exceeds the GBP of about 70% of the world's nations... (do the math).

  18. Discovery Channel on 'Hundreds of Worlds' in Milky Way · · Score: 1
    From TFA:

    BBC news [...] possibly [...] may be [...] suggests [...] could have [...] may [...] believe. [...] they say. I didn't read the study nor the article from the BBC news, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were written by the same guys who are on the staff of the Discovery 'Artificial Drama and Speculation' Channel.
    How is this news?
  19. Nucular on Toshiba Builds Ultra-Small Nuclear Reactor · · Score: 1

    Nucular. It's pronounced 'nucular'.

  20. Privacy on FTC Approves Google-DoubleClick Deal · · Score: 1

    My answer: Privoxy.

  21. Re:Now, for the most useful one on Gene Found to Explain Repeated Mistakes · · Score: 1

    You claim to be so proud of your democracy.
    The United States of America is not a democracy, it's a federal constitutional republic.

  22. Re:This really that bad? on What NASA Won't Tell You About Air Safety · · Score: 1

    the answer is firing the self-centered idiots more concerned with their career than with keeping passengers safe.
    The more self-centered a pilot is, the better: if the pilot survives the flight it's likely the self-loading cargo will, too.

  23. Re:Star Wars on The United States Space Arsenal · · Score: 1

    insurgents I guess you are referring to the patriotic freedom fighters who want to rid their great country of the capitalist, heathen invaders?

  24. Re:Incredible! on US's Slow Embrace of Information Technology · · Score: 1

    The computer takes not only knowledge and mental ability, but the worst part it takes EFFORT to use. (emphasis mine)

    I think this is one of the causes for (young) people getting dumber and education getting worse. People are less and less inclined to put an effort into something in order to obtain a result. Everything has to be obtained quickly and easily, whether it be grades, nourishment, money.

    Putting in an effort to learn something (whether computing, driving a car, a profession, horticulture) is not a bad thing. It is an opportunity to enrich your knowledge, experience, dexterity, and thus the quality of your life. If you're too lazy to put in an effort to learn something or experience something, you might as well get become Borg and sit on that couch all day, watching 'mind numbing, spirit crushing gameshows'.

  25. Dutchies can do that, too on Open Source Federal Income Tax Software · · Score: 1

    FWIW: on the site of the Belastingdienst (the Dutch equivalent of the American IRS), you can download official Linux versions of their software to file (some of) your Dutch tax returns.

    The Windows version already worked under Linux with Wine, but since 2006 there's a native Linux version. Macintosh is supported as well (since 2004, or so).