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User: jstave

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  1. Re:Soulskill is a wee-todd. Title written by moron on Newly Discovered Asteroid To Pass Within Geostationary Orbit Sunday · · Score: 1
    Thanks for the explanation.

    I did generalize it, assuming that any orbit with a 24h period is geostationary. Perhaps that was ill advised :)

    Heh. Especially if you're going the wrong way.

  2. Re:Soulskill is a wee-todd. Title written by moron on Newly Discovered Asteroid To Pass Within Geostationary Orbit Sunday · · Score: 1

    Infinite set? I thought that 'geostationary orbit' meant an orbit only at a specific distance, only around the equator. What am I missing? What other orbits would be geostationary?

  3. Not just microbiome studies on How To Read a Microbiome Study Like a Scientist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Those 5 questions should be asked of pretty much every scientific study done, no matter what the field

  4. a man, a plan, a canal: panama on With Chinese Investment, Nicaraguan Passage Could Dwarf Panama Canal · · Score: 0

    OK, so who can come up with a palindrome that uses the words 'canal' and 'Nicaragua'?

  5. Re:Where's the queue? on Possible Habitable Planet Just 12 Light Years Away · · Score: 3, Funny

    So you're planning to hitchhike to Tau Ceti? You do know it's off season and the hotel rates are insane? You don't even want to know what a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster will set you back.

    A properly made Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster will set you back into infancy, no matter what the season.

  6. Defies the diffraction limit of light? on Researchers Create Working Nano Laser · · Score: 1

    Can someone explain what they mean about defying the diffraction limit of light? How can that be?

  7. Re:Distance remains the same? on Astronomers Fix the Astronomical Unit · · Score: 1

    Assuming the sun as at the center of the ellipse - which I believe it isn't in this case. So it's right roughly once a year.

    Actually, depending on how big the ellipse is compared with the circle with a 1 AU radius, it could be right from 0 times (circle way too big, or way too small), to as many as 4. Play around with an ellipse and a circle centered at one focus and you'll see what I mean. As the relative sizes change, the number of times it's right changes too. Thank god we got *that* straightened out.

  8. Re:Why? on Why Were So Many "Crazy" Higgs Boson Stories Published? · · Score: 2

    Aha! *Now* I understand why everyone is talking about the Higgs Bosom!

  9. Re:it's own antiparticle? on Scientists Find Long-Sought Majorana Particle · · Score: 2

    OK, thanks. That makes some sort of sense (in the "I don't understand the math" kind of way). So what's the difference between two particles meeting and a single particle by itself? The former is the same as the latter, just double the amount, right?

  10. Re:it's own antiparticle? on Scientists Find Long-Sought Majorana Particle · · Score: 1

    But, neutrons have no electric charge and there's such a thing as an anti-neutron. What am I missing here?

  11. it's own antiparticle? on Scientists Find Long-Sought Majorana Particle · · Score: 2

    From one of the articles: "a particle that is its own anti-particle" Can one of the physics geeks on here explain how that works? I was under the impression that when particle and antiparticle meet, they go boom. How can this thing not annihilate? Or is it that this bit of matter *can't* turn into energy? The wikipedia entry on this didn't make any sense to me.

  12. Re:Slashdot on 100,000 Domains Sold for $164 Million · · Score: 1, Funny

    Cool. Now, lets see if http://slsahdot.org will be slashdotted -- excuse me -- slsahdotted.

  13. Re:Prior art? on Microsoft's 'IsNot' Patent Continued... · · Score: 1
    IsNot compares the addresses of the variables, not the value. The equivalent in C is &a != &b instead of just a != b
    In C, maybe. In Java, if 'a' and 'b' are objects, the == and != operators do compare addresses. You have to call a.equals(b) to compare by value.
  14. What about tolls? on California Wants GPS Tracking Device in Every Car · · Score: 1

    A per-mile use tax is in place in a lot of states. Its called a toll booth. Are there no toll booths on CA highways?

  15. Re:Closing the gap on Intel's New Chips, High Power And Low · · Score: 1

    Then there are those of us who only want to deal with one computer, but still want to be able to move it around. For me, a "workstation replacement" (it isn't really, but that's the term) is the way to go, so that I can have a machine with a decent amount of power, but still take it with me if I need to.

  16. Oops on NASA Details Earthquake Effects on the Earth · · Score: 1

    Hit the wrong damn key. The subject was supposed to be "Won't matter". Who put that apostrophe so close to the 'enter' key?

  17. Won on NASA Details Earthquake Effects on the Earth · · Score: 4, Informative

    According to this article the moon's orbit is causing our day to lengthen by about 2 milliseconds per century anyway. I, for one, am greatly relieved. ;-)

  18. stapled floppies? on India's Cops Meet Technology · · Score: 1

    It seems to me that 'modern' 3.5 inch floppies wouldn't lend themselves to stapling very easily. This makes me wonder -- is it common in India to use the old 5.25 inch or 8 inch floppies? For the youngsers out there, these were truly floppy, as both disk and enclosure were flexible, unlike the rigid plastic casing on the 3.5 inch floppies.

  19. Typo! on Firefox New York Times Ad Hits the Presses · · Score: -1

    Dammit, they misspelled my name!

  20. a really good site for digital camera info on Guide to your Perfect Digital Camera · · Score: 3, Informative

    Another really good resource for selecting and learning about digital cameras can be found at imaging-resource.com.

    It has quite detailed reviews of pretty much every digital camera out there as well as sample images (there are even pages that allow you to compare images of the same thing taken by different cameras) and discussion forums.

    I found it particularly useful when I was picking out my camera.

  21. Re:Not the first, second or third on Non-Invasive Computer Control Through Brainwaves · · Score: 1

    That must be why when I posted the exact same story yesterday, it was rejected.

  22. how do they know what it was made of? on Ankylosaurs Had Composite Armor · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I understand how they can talk about the structure of the armor, but, given that these are fossils, and therefore have had their organic substance replaced by minerals, how do they know what the structure was composed of?

  23. Something new? on 2004 Election Weirdness Continues · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does anyone else get the impression that this kind of crap has been going on since day one? At least now we're paying more attention and noticing it -- that's a good thing.

  24. Re:Giant Faces on Evidence of Glaciers on Mars? · · Score: 1

    It was a reference to the face on mars which, not surprisingly turned out to not look like a face at all.

    Of course, I originally read the comment as "...giant feces flowing across..." which kinda ruined my lunch.

  25. "speculative emergency situations..." on Hardware That Recognizes You · · Score: 3, Insightful
    But if we remove speculative emergency situations, the technology seems to be interesting.

    Given that this is for smart guns, I'm a little concerned with what appears to be the suggestion that emergency situations are rare and not worth much consideration. With the exception of practice on the firing range, all situations a handgun is being used are emergency situations. As such, something like the technology not working if the users hand has blood (or grease or dirt...) on it is a show-stopper.