Sometime back I read an item which argued that there is some evidence that the Black Death was not caused by bubonic plague at all but rather by an aids like virus. After I RTFA (in the/. item) it didn't seem to point out this possibility. Have a read of the ABC (Australian) Science article and note the bit about a village in England in the time of the Death, it was sealed off and food was passed in from outside, after some years(?) it was given the all clear. To this day the population has a high count of genes implicated in immunity to AIDS. The obvious implication being that rather than a bacterium the Black Death was a human to human virus. Which of course is probably still out there since the Black Death came back time and time again over the decades.
there's an underlyting wrongness about communism that doesn't have enough checks and balances
Agree totally. In principal Communism is a good idea as in "mum and apple pie" crap. But the reality is that some people just can't be trusted, in any society. I like how the writers of the US constitution had a very healthy disrespect for inate human goodness. However, such skepticism seems woefully missing these days... and given enough time and apathy will erode those bulwarks. I blame Hollywood the true opium of the people (seriously).
I heard yesterday about the earthquake and they mentioned that there were tidal waves along the Sumatran coast and a reported death toll of 3. Immediate reaction was to remember the death toll from the tsunamis that followed Krakatoa's destruction in 1883, around 30,000 dead (from memory). So I figured the final death toll was going to be very high (I'm sure there are more people in these villages now than in 1883). But last night in a late item they said that the earthquake was 8.9, my jaw dropped (literally). Those poor people. The death toll is going to be very very high I fear. Hope I am wrong. What's worse even as the toll mounts the towns nearest the epicentre are ominously quiet. Not much you can say about a tragedy like this, just pray to whatever deity or otherwise that you never experience that kind of trauma yourself, and that you can somehow help.
I think my point was that normally geeks don't see applications from the 'newbie' perspective. In this case from my limited perspective a lot of the argument about the non-intuitive nature of the GIMP seemed like crap (they both seemed non-intuitive). I'm not arguing about the merits of the tools but how intuitive the interfaces are and being a newbie in that position makes me an expert. That is the target audience. If you can't get people to learn an application then you wont have a market.
anyone who complains that it took hours to learn GIMP, have not only not learned GIMP, but haven't learned photoshop either
Took me hours to learn the GIMP, but then again I had never used Photoshop either. So when I did get access to Photoshop, you know what? My first reaction as someone new to both applications was: "Huh? They're both almost the same!"
Took me hours because I had never even used any sophisticated image manipulation tools before. My basic complaint about both at the time was, how come with all these fantastic options I can't even just draw a line with an arrow on an image?
I was keen on the idea of these kinds of drugs etc when they first came out years ago. But I started thinking: "Evolution would prefer humans to operate at optimal levels. Why then haven't we evolved to make use of this extra potential all of the time?" The answer can only be that there is a price. Under stress we can do amazing things and not just physically, but stress itself is damaging... endure it long enough and it will kill you. For the brain perhaps there is also a price for operating at a higher level... more data required I think.
br.
Can't say I've heard of any civilization-ending events in my lifetime
Yeah but they're doozies when they happen.
I don't think there is much risk in the next 10,000 years of humans going extinct. But the chances of civilisation biting the dust is pretty high. And the chances of our civilisation ending is just about 100%. Just look at history. To me the big question is: if civilisation goes into another dark age will we have the resources to come out of it? In space lots of resources, on Earth... ahem.
Everything I have read on this, admittedly limited to New Scientist and Nature etc, says Precambrian. And they argue the subsequent warming was the trigger for the Cambrian explosion around 550 million + years ago (don't quote me on the exact times). OK here's another link which definitely says 600 - 800 million years ago.
If it happened in Silurian times then the dominant land life would have been wiped out... reptiles etc, in fact aren't you talking about the time of the Permian? Think about it... if it happened then there would have been no dinosaurs or proto-mammals etc.
Been a long time since I've studied geology but vague memories tell me you've got something wrong. There is quite a bit of geological evidence for glaciation in the late Precambrian, if you go back the the very early times.. Archaean(?) then there are suggestions but no solid evidence.
Actually there was once a 'total' ice age. Well it's a hypothesis, but gaining in credibility. It was a doozy, but a long time ago. Check it out : Snowball Earth. The global ice age was ended by volcanism producing CO2, as normal, but this built up because the rocks that would remove the CO2 through weathering were under the ice, so a warming period began which brought the world back... one almighty feedback. Long long time ago Precambrian, still it probably did happen once... could happen again if the CO2 and methane was low enough I guess.
Johnny has given us a $400 billion trade account deficit. The level of personal debt is at an all time high because he pump-primed the economy so hard. The reason we are in such a growth environment is because Johnny inherited the deregulated economy of Keating. Why do you think interest rates were dropping 2 months after he took power? That only comes from years of previous work. Now he's thrown it away, neither Costello nor Howard can believe things have gone so well because they know how bad things will eventually get, that's why they keep warning people.
The reason the Aussie economy is doing so well is because we are attracting so much foreign investment because the American dollar looks so bad. But when the US dollar recovers then all hell will break loose in Australia. As scum like yourself, I can't believe people are so stupid or naive as to forget that the fundamental principal of all nations is self interest. Especially, the US which is noted for its self interest. They don't give a fuck about us (as a government) and we shouldn't be surprised if they take full advantage if we just roll over.
The reason Howard was re-elected was that people were scared about interest rates going up. But they are going to go up anyway. Even if it takes 12 months this current environment will not last.
... even highlighted the main issues. How to Kill a Country. A bit dramatic but the agreement undermines some crucial aspects of our sovereignty. The PM (Prime Minister) laughed off the IP issues as just "technical matters". Yeah right. Shafted a-fucking-gain.
OK. Will get modded down to oblivion for this but I got karma to spare and besides what I'm about to say is the truth. I'm not trolling. The Cameron movie that to me MOST closely resembles Terminator is in fact Titanic. The similarities are striking. If you bother to go deeper than the robots killin stuff part you'll see what I mean. OK here's my list
Both profess a fear of technological monsters created out of arrogance
Both involve a brief whirlwind romance by a 'survivor' male who dies. But the female finds strength to go on and fight.
Both involve stories connecting two different eras.
Both eras are connected by a momento (diamond / photo).
In both instances the authorities lock up the hero when the monster threatens.
That's enough for now, there are lots more... if you think about them long enough you realise the common elements in all of Cameron's movies, but Titanic and Terminator just really stood out for me. Personally, I think Titanic was a better movie by far than Terminator.... puzzling the negative press it gets here... probably lots here didn't even see it.
Client side java is not dead. Applets may be, but client side gui applications are still being written. Ask the Eclipse people if they think it is dead.
... who in the IT industry is dumb enough to surf using IE? Not being nasty but really we of all people should know better. Others yeah I can sympathise but Register readers ?
Ditto, been around on Slashdot for ages (my current id is also NOT my original), and have to agree there were never any standards on slashdot. That is what made it what it is, both the good and the bad. If standards were imposed it would be better in a non-important sense and worse in an important way.
It has been seriously suggested that a 5C temperature rise if it lasted long enough would release the stores of methane hydrates in the ocean depths causing another 5C rise. The resulting 10C rise would produce a global crisis, certainly a mass extinction event. Humans might or might not survive, but I'd bet civilisation would not. There are so many people in the world today with access to weapons that a crisis could rapidly go global. And the technology would not protect the advanced nations if all their crops all failed. The disruption might be brief as in a few decades or centuries but don't forget the saying "civilisation is just 3 meals away from anarchy".
The point the authors made was not that humans are good sprinters, which we aren't, but that we are extremely good long distance runners. We can outrun most other creatures over long distances. This was important when we expanded into the savannah and had to beat the hyenas to any newly fallen carcass. I read this in Nature and New Scientist and also heard an interview with the guy (who used the hyena example)... interestingly the radio interview was on a mainstream station, prime time before I had even seen any mention in the journals. One example the guy gave was that over long distances humans can outrun horses, assuming you've got people who are used to running a lot. Interesting. I remember locally there was this guy, became a national folk hero, he was in his 60s ran everywhere on the farm chasing cattle. Decided to go in an ultra-marathon, about 1,000 km. First effort he beat the world leaders by about 8 hours or more , can't remember the exact lead he had, fellow Aussies might remember Cliff Young. This gives an idea of the 'typical' endurance of a hunter pursuing game.
Slashdot Mirror
Or am I too forgiving of /. editors?
Sometime back I read an item which argued that there is some evidence that the Black Death was not caused by bubonic plague at all but rather by an aids like virus. After I RTFA (in the /. item) it didn't seem to point out this possibility. Have a read of the ABC (Australian) Science article and note the bit about a village in England in the time of the Death, it was sealed off and food was passed in from outside, after some years(?) it was given the all clear. To this day the population has a high count of genes implicated in immunity to AIDS. The obvious implication being that rather than a bacterium the Black Death was a human to human virus. Which of course is probably still out there since the Black Death came back time and time again over the decades.
there's an underlyting wrongness about communism that doesn't have enough checks and balances
Agree totally. In principal Communism is a good idea as in "mum and apple pie" crap. But the reality is that some people just can't be trusted, in any society. I like how the writers of the US constitution had a very healthy disrespect for inate human goodness. However, such skepticism seems woefully missing these days ... and given enough time and apathy will erode those bulwarks. I blame Hollywood the true opium of the people (seriously).
I just had an image of a Roman soldier holding a spear aloft saying "Hey Maximus, looks like a storm comi.." BANG!
I heard yesterday about the earthquake and they mentioned that there were tidal waves along the Sumatran coast and a reported death toll of 3. Immediate reaction was to remember the death toll from the tsunamis that followed Krakatoa's destruction in 1883, around 30,000 dead (from memory). So I figured the final death toll was going to be very high (I'm sure there are more people in these villages now than in 1883). But last night in a late item they said that the earthquake was 8.9, my jaw dropped (literally). Those poor people. The death toll is going to be very very high I fear. Hope I am wrong. What's worse even as the toll mounts the towns nearest the epicentre are ominously quiet. Not much you can say about a tragedy like this, just pray to whatever deity or otherwise that you never experience that kind of trauma yourself, and that you can somehow help.
I think my point was that normally geeks don't see applications from the 'newbie' perspective. In this case from my limited perspective a lot of the argument about the non-intuitive nature of the GIMP seemed like crap (they both seemed non-intuitive). I'm not arguing about the merits of the tools but how intuitive the interfaces are and being a newbie in that position makes me an expert. That is the target audience. If you can't get people to learn an application then you wont have a market.
anyone who complains that it took hours to learn GIMP, have not only not learned GIMP, but haven't learned photoshop either
Took me hours to learn the GIMP, but then again I had never used Photoshop either. So when I did get access to Photoshop, you know what? My first reaction as someone new to both applications was: "Huh? They're both almost the same!"
Took me hours because I had never even used any sophisticated image manipulation tools before. My basic complaint about both at the time was, how come with all these fantastic options I can't even just draw a line with an arrow on an image?
I was keen on the idea of these kinds of drugs etc when they first came out years ago. But I started thinking: "Evolution would prefer humans to operate at optimal levels. Why then haven't we evolved to make use of this extra potential all of the time?" The answer can only be that there is a price. Under stress we can do amazing things and not just physically, but stress itself is damaging ... endure it long enough and it will kill you. For the brain perhaps there is also a price for operating at a higher level ... more data required I think.
br.
Can't say I've heard of any civilization-ending events in my lifetime
Yeah but they're doozies when they happen.
I don't think there is much risk in the next 10,000 years of humans going extinct. But the chances of civilisation biting the dust is pretty high. And the chances of our civilisation ending is just about 100%. Just look at history. To me the big question is: if civilisation goes into another dark age will we have the resources to come out of it? In space lots of resources, on Earth ... ahem.
when evil mutant blue-green algae started eating the CO2 and farting toxic oxygen
Bastards!
Everything I have read on this, admittedly limited to New Scientist and Nature etc, says Precambrian. And they argue the subsequent warming was the trigger for the Cambrian explosion around 550 million + years ago (don't quote me on the exact times). OK here's another link which definitely says 600 - 800 million years ago.
If it happened in Silurian times then the dominant land life would have been wiped out ... reptiles etc, in fact aren't you talking about the time of the Permian? Think about it ... if it happened then there would have been no dinosaurs or proto-mammals etc.
Been a long time since I've studied geology but vague memories tell me you've got something wrong. There is quite a bit of geological evidence for glaciation in the late Precambrian, if you go back the the very early times .. Archaean(?) then there are suggestions but no solid evidence.
Actually there was once a 'total' ice age. Well it's a hypothesis, but gaining in credibility. It was a doozy, but a long time ago. Check it out : Snowball Earth. The global ice age was ended by volcanism producing CO2, as normal, but this built up because the rocks that would remove the CO2 through weathering were under the ice, so a warming period began which brought the world back ... one almighty feedback. Long long time ago Precambrian, still it probably did happen once ... could happen again if the CO2 and methane was low enough I guess.
Visually it displays pages faster
Huh? Are you sure? I have always seen the reverse. What version of IE? What version of FF? Something isn't right here.
Johnny has given us a $400 billion trade account deficit. The level of personal debt is at an all time high because he pump-primed the economy so hard. The reason we are in such a growth environment is because Johnny inherited the deregulated economy of Keating. Why do you think interest rates were dropping 2 months after he took power? That only comes from years of previous work. Now he's thrown it away, neither Costello nor Howard can believe things have gone so well because they know how bad things will eventually get, that's why they keep warning people.
The reason the Aussie economy is doing so well is because we are attracting so much foreign investment because the American dollar looks so bad. But when the US dollar recovers then all hell will break loose in Australia. As scum like yourself, I can't believe people are so stupid or naive as to forget that the fundamental principal of all nations is self interest. Especially, the US which is noted for its self interest. They don't give a fuck about us (as a government) and we shouldn't be surprised if they take full advantage if we just roll over.
The reason Howard was re-elected was that people were scared about interest rates going up. But they are going to go up anyway. Even if it takes 12 months this current environment will not last.
... even highlighted the main issues. How to Kill a Country. A bit dramatic but the agreement undermines some crucial aspects of our sovereignty. The PM (Prime Minister) laughed off the IP issues as just "technical matters". Yeah right. Shafted a-fucking-gain.
Canopic Group
My brain keeps trying to tell me that they got 'Canopic' from "CAN-O-PICkles" ... which is a perfect description.
.... transvestigations ....
The last two java projects I worked on were client side Java. Swing etc.
You have to give them away though
Like Poseidon or MagicDraw ? There are commercial products in client side Java. I don't care whether it survives or not, but it aint dead.
OK. Will get modded down to oblivion for this but I got karma to spare and besides what I'm about to say is the truth. I'm not trolling. The Cameron movie that to me MOST closely resembles Terminator is in fact Titanic. The similarities are striking. If you bother to go deeper than the robots killin stuff part you'll see what I mean. OK here's my list
That's enough for now, there are lots more ... if you think about them long enough you realise the common elements in all of Cameron's movies, but Titanic and Terminator just really stood out for me. Personally, I think Titanic was a better movie by far than Terminator.... puzzling the negative press it gets here ... probably lots here didn't even see it.
The parent is right, client-side Java is dead.
Client side java is not dead. Applets may be, but client side gui applications are still being written. Ask the Eclipse people if they think it is dead.
Ditto, been around on Slashdot for ages (my current id is also NOT my original), and have to agree there were never any standards on slashdot. That is what made it what it is, both the good and the bad. If standards were imposed it would be better in a non-important sense and worse in an important way.
It has been seriously suggested that a 5C temperature rise if it lasted long enough would release the stores of methane hydrates in the ocean depths causing another 5C rise. The resulting 10C rise would produce a global crisis, certainly a mass extinction event. Humans might or might not survive, but I'd bet civilisation would not. There are so many people in the world today with access to weapons that a crisis could rapidly go global. And the technology would not protect the advanced nations if all their crops all failed. The disruption might be brief as in a few decades or centuries but don't forget the saying "civilisation is just 3 meals away from anarchy".
The point the authors made was not that humans are good sprinters, which we aren't, but that we are extremely good long distance runners. We can outrun most other creatures over long distances. This was important when we expanded into the savannah and had to beat the hyenas to any newly fallen carcass. I read this in Nature and New Scientist and also heard an interview with the guy (who used the hyena example) ... interestingly the radio interview was on a mainstream station, prime time before I had even seen any mention in the journals. One example the guy gave was that over long distances humans can outrun horses, assuming you've got people who are used to running a lot. Interesting. I remember locally there was this guy, became a national folk hero, he was in his 60s ran everywhere on the farm chasing cattle. Decided to go in an ultra-marathon, about 1,000 km. First effort he beat the world leaders by about 8 hours or more , can't remember the exact lead he had, fellow Aussies might remember Cliff Young. This gives an idea of the 'typical' endurance of a hunter pursuing game.
Humans of course are not descended from apes but from a common ancestor ... which was not an ape.