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User: DeadChobi

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  1. Re:Brian Peppers on Censored Wikipedia Articles Appear On Protest Site · · Score: 1

    What matters is that they did not cite their sources properly. The run-on sentence is a source of misunderstanding.

  2. Re:Just so I understand... on ISP Rise Against P2P Users · · Score: 1

    The entire purpose of an analogy is to compare two seemingly unrelated things so that one can draw a logical conclusion. No matter how bad you think the analogy is, if you get his point it's still a good analogy. And I wouldnt call it a "car" analogy so much as an "engine" analogy, whereby the engine isnt designed to continuously be at 100% utilisation because of mechanical constraints. Broadband connections are also not designed to be at 100% utilisation because of the amount of bandwidth the companies would have to lease. Yes, on the engine side of the analogy the reasons are mechanical, and on the broadband side of the analogy the reasons are economic. Doesnt stop the two situations from being similar.

  3. Re:Can we get past this? on A Stark Warning On Climate Change · · Score: 1

    I would like to point out that Nuclear power does not produce any appreciable greenhouse emissions, and the fuel used in Nuclear reactors can be recycled and reused.

    Many people think of Hanford, up here in Washington, when they think of Nuclear power plants. They think of how difficult it will be to clean up after Hanford, and how dangerous a lot of the chemicals used are. Well this assumes that Hanford represents the peak of technological efficiency and cleanliness for Nuclear power. Hanford consists of the first 4 nuclear fission piles built in the United States.

    Now, it's entirely possible to develop clean, efficient nuclear power that's safe and doesnt produce radioactive water. We've all heard about Pebble Bed Reactors, and China has even tested the theory that they dont go critical by turning the cooling system in their prototype off and waiting. Furthermore, all we have to do with the waste is box it up in glass, put that in concrete, and bury it.

    Contrast all of the above with our inability to control smog and greenhouse gas emissions. An international drive toward fission power, combined with a similar drive toward battery-powered cars, or cars which use some other fuel as a battery for electrical power, would significantly reduce our greenhouse emissions while also reducing our dependance on fossil fuel energy sources. Most importantly, it would buy us time to develop a real solution without destroying air quality.

    I'd say that being able to breathe when I go outside is more than worth a shift in the power-generation and utilization paradigm of this magnitude.

  4. Re:Go for it! on Computer Science as a Major and as a Career · · Score: 1

    Interesting. I hope I get to study it sometime just for its own merit.

  5. Re:Go for it! on Computer Science as a Major and as a Career · · Score: 1

    He's referring to Linear Algebra and other matrix-related mathematics. Those arent the elementary algebra that you learn in high school. At my college, one of the pre-reqs for Linear Algebra is first-year calculus.

  6. Re:Typical mapper issues on Satellite Navigation a Real Crackpot! · · Score: 1

    I usually ask for directions and an address. I put the address into Mapquest and Google Earth, then I compare it with the directions. Works for me. It helps that since I live in Washington we never build roads, so there's nothing to update. Plus, if you know an address and are passingly familiar with the local roads here, you can usually find your way anywhere. The first two or three numbers of the house number are always a street or avenue number. The street listed is the nearest cross street to the house or place of business. Say what you will about the post office, but the American addressing system is wonderful. In some cities here, you can also find your way around by looking for block numbers as well as street names, since they're all named.

    I just wish that this state had made the road signs actually readable from more than 5 feet away. It would really eliminate panic stops.

  7. Re:X-box = suxbox on The New Japan 360 Plan · · Score: 1

    Or like Chevy trying to sell a car in South America called the Nova? If you dont get the joke, then you probably dont speak any Spanish.

  8. Re:For Fuck's sake on Trapping Toxins Using Gold Nanoparticles · · Score: 1

    Eventually, we will get to the point where the entire english language will consist of one word. But that word will be composed of thousands upon thousands of fragments of the words that came before it. Or perhaps we should call them "Nano-words."

  9. Re:The DETAILS may be new, the idea isn't! on Bacteria Propel Themselves with Slime Jets · · Score: 1

    Does it mean I'm a nerd if I'm sitting in a college computer lab reading slashdot and wondering if the person next to me would be offended if I started Wiki'ing for Myoxobacteria so that I can read about all the neat stuff they do?

  10. Re:E vs W RPGs on The Oblivion of Western RPGs · · Score: 1

    Pay up. I cried and was emotionally attached to the characters in Planescape: Torment.

  11. Re:Western RPGs ARE RPGs! on The Oblivion of Western RPGs · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let's not forget about tasty, refreshingly warm and flat, Nuka-Cola! Now with extra Roengens!

    The only "western" RPGs that I really enjoyed were Fallout and Planescape: Torment.

    I thought Fallout was an incredible game because it had some of the most goofy quests, like defeating a scorpion at chess or becoming a pornstar. But it also had a dark side to it, as in the Master's plot to turn the world into an army of super-mutants. I really enjoyed the Mad Max-esque "one man against the world" play style, and how you could choose to do many things, but ultimately you were required to save the world. And at the end, you could sleep with Miss Kitty.

    In PS:T, the most endearing character had to be Morte the floating talking skull. Who could forget such exploits as finding a hooker so that she could curse Morte out. There was also Fall From Grace, or the slew of other characters who would join you because they knew you in a past life or wanted to see you succeed in dying for the last time. The Nameless One's story was gripping, and learning about who he was in his past lives was as much a part of the game as making his current life your own. PS:T was really a game about adolescence, about finding out who you really were and finding out who you can become.

    Morrowind was an interesting diversion, but without a lot of depth to the NPCs, I eventually got bored with running around looking for loot. I wanted to find the mystery behind the disappearance of the Dwarves. What really broke Morrowind for me was that you werent thrust into the story. You had to hunt it down, and search for it in every bookseller and necromancers' den. It didnt help that every question I asked the NPCs was met with dry, encyclopedic explanations like "The Dunmer are a dark-skinned race of Elves who live in the province of Morrowind." Bethesda was so focused on creating a gigantic world that they never focused on populating it with anything more than the vestiges of humanity.

    I'm still waiting for another publisher to release the last great RPG. I'm looking for a game with character development and open-ended gameplay. I've played three such games to date, Fallout, Planescape: Torment, and Betrayal at Krondor. I really havent seen many new developments. Ultimately, without intriguing characters, a rich backstory, and an ultimate goal, the Western RPG is doomed to die. I'm hoping that someone, somewhere remembers what a great PC RPG is, and how to make one.

  12. Re:Game consoles aren't all about powerful hardwar on Revolution Horsepower Revealed · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree with you, and I'd further like to say that at some point all the graphics in the world dont improve gameplay. In fact, games I found fun 5 or 10 years ago that get revamped with "cutting-edge" 3d graphics are less fun to play. Fighting games and puzzle games are actually bogged down by graphics, as it's the intensity of the gameplay that really makes those games.

    And for $200 or less, I'd definitely buy a Revolution. I've been waiting for a controller that doesnt rely on the 40 year old meme of arrow keys and buttons to control your avatar. That was acceptable back in the age of sprite-based games, where there was no way to convey a sense of depth. Revolution is an appropriate name for their new system because, with the advent of fast 3-dimensional rendering, it has become possible to completely immerse one in a game, simply by giving them the ability to act out what they want their avatar to act out. The Revolution controller seems to be a step in this direction.

    If people dont think that the step is large enough, I'd like to point out that Rome wasnt built in a day.

    In games like Armored Core, DOA2, and Soul Calibur 2, I get frustrated by my inability to make my avatar do what I want it to do. Maybe it's just me, but playing a game isn't about tapping a few keys and completing a pre-defined action anymore. I'm expecting something more intuitive from the Revolution. I'll wait and see, but for now they have me interested, and at a price point that I can accept.

    And as for the article? There were about two sentences with any real information. The rest of it was drawing wild conclusions based on hardware specs. This wont be news until we see some gameplay. After all, that's what video games are about, right? Gameplay?

  13. Re:Ballmer needs to stomp his feet and party's ove on The SLI Godfather · · Score: 1

    That's actually a violation of antitrust laws here in America. If Microsoft really did that and nVidia had proof of it, nVidia could submit that proof to the Attorney General's office and Microsoft would be facing one fat lawsuit. There would be no escaping this one either, as recording a threat like that is proof that Microsoft is engaging in anti-competitive business practices. So I'm thinking that nVidia has little to worry about. Just forward a threatening email to some powerful people and Microsoft is stuck fighting a court battle. If Microsoft tried to weasel out of the lawsuit by secretly implementing code that made it harder to develop video card drivers, and it was determined that they were specifically targeting nVidia, they'd get raped a bit harder. Too bad anti-trust trials are only civil proceedings.

  14. Re:too kind a description on Continuous Partial Attention · · Score: 1

    Well, I think the OP meant that the Earth was really designed and built cooperatively by Sony and Apple to be part of the world's largest timepiece.

    Maybe Genesis in the Bible wasnt really about a God doing all the work. Maybe it was just documentation of Sony's greatest work? Just think of all the free advertising!

  15. Re:They can insist all they want, but... on Continuous Partial Attention · · Score: 1

    Love the sig. But leave my Legos alone!

  16. Re:What happens on failure? on Electronics Inside Optical Fiber · · Score: 1

    Or, if they can spin the glass to a microscopic size, possibly an optical integrated circuit or optical pathways between chips in a computer? This would be possible if the creators have managed to insert electronics which can translate between electronic and optical signals quickly. Imagine the wires inside your computer being layed out with this stuff. Unless I'm mistaken, it would significantly reduce all the electrical noise problems common in PCs today. Since the throughput through an optical fiber can be much greater over short distances, a few of these things could revolutionize the way data is transferred between components in a computer.

  17. Re:sex is immoral (Off-topic) on FCC Levies Record Indecency Fine · · Score: 1

    My parents got divorced and both handled it like mature human beings. My dad agreed to partial custody of my brother and I, they both sold off the house that we lived in and split the cost according to who was taking who, and my father willingly pays child support with the understanding that he's responsible for us since we're his sons. As I understand it, since my mother was (and is) a working professional, she didnt try to wring alimony payments out of him, or take more than what she felt was her share. I think a lot of what ruins marriage is simple greed and the feeling that you have to take what you can, not what you should. No prenuptual agreement forced them into their settlement, and they both kept their priorities straight.

    In fact, the legal system was screwing it up. Back when my parents had first gotten divorced the office that handles child support was frequently making payments a month late, or withdrawing the payment from my dad's account twice and only making one payment. So they decided to cut the shitty office out of the loop since it was interfering in the settlement.

    When two people have a messy divorce, the only winners are the lawyers. Even a prenuptual agreement has to be enforced, and that enforcement costs money.

    Though I would agree with you in principle, since you really cant tell whether a woman is going to be utter scum and try to rape you of your livelihood for revenge or greed. Even the sweet ones can be downright vicious if you've somehow slighted them. The lesson inherient in the prevalence and precedents of divorce proceedings is that, when you're going to get married, make absolutely sure you've chosen the right woman.

  18. Re:Why does he have to be a roboticist? on U.S. Army Robots Break Asimov's First Law · · Score: 1

    I disagree with you about Star Trek and physics. I watch Star Trek TNG, and the original Star Trek. Most of the stuff said on the former is bullshit and is actually pulled partially from theoretical physics ideas that were developed in the 70's and 80's.

    Like when the ship struck a giant superstring? That's one of the theories of the universe that are an extension of superstring theory. If you've read The Elegant Universe, evangelism of string theory aside, you would recall that they had the foundation for string theory long before STTNG even began airing. The vast majority of the technobabble that they utter on that show comes from scientific theories that WERE DEVELOPED BEFORE THE SHOW AIRED. So the idea that Star Trek can possibly influence modern science is ludicrous.

    Have you ever listened to the "technical" explanations given on the show? All they do is mention a subatomic particle, some futuristic-sounding technical instrument that malfunctions because of that particle, and then another futuristic-sounding instrument that will be required to repair the first instrument, but is difficult to access by some marvelous feat of engineering.

    Granted, the idea that faster-than-light travel is possible is something inspired by that show, but half the stuff that they take as absolute fact isnt even observable theory. String theory is a good example of this. Wormholes are another.

    I'm not a physicist. Yet. But I'm vaguely offended by the implication that culture does anything but inspire interest in some avenues of research. I'm even more offended by the implication that, without a television show, Physics would be "years behind what we have now." Pick a different example, please.

  19. Re:Spoof away - I still screen my calls, do you? on Caller ID Spoofing Becomes Easy · · Score: 1

    Well, most of the time I assume that my call is expected. If someone to whom I'm not calling answers the phone I ask to speak with the person I am calling. If they ask for my name I supply it.

    I really dont see any need to identify myself until the person on the other end seems to need it. None of my friends have ever mistook me for someone else because I dont immediately identify myself. Most of the time they recognize my phone number too, so that's not a problem either. If I'm calling someone's office and they've solicited a call from me I do usually identify myself, but if it's a friend I'm calling there's really no need as most of them recognize me by voice or phone number. We dont block ours here.

  20. Re:Impressive on Symantec Users, Start Your Keyloggers · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I hang out with friends from high school on IRC. MSN and AIM suck for that, because you have to initiate contact. On IRC, all you do is type something, and all your friends see it. If they want to respond, they can. With modern IM's, when you initiate contact it's at the other person's inconvenience. You can leave a copy of XiRCON or mIRC minimized and idle 24/7. If you want to talk to people, just pop it up and you've got a convenient-for-both-parties instant line of communication. This is in contrast to instant messengers, which steal focus and make annoying sounds.

  21. Re:That blog's comments made me cringe on iTunes, One Billion Suckers Served? · · Score: 1

    So, what you're saying is that you get liner notes and a pretty case for your digital files? No? I thought not. When I buy a CD the first thing I look at is the liner notes. I like getting a paper copy of the lyrics, and sometimes there is commentary about the band and the music. Do you get that with iTunes? Call me a material fetishist when you do.

    And no, getting the stuff online does not count unless you have a color laser printer and can find it in 300+dpi. It's a lot more satisfying to own the case. There's a whole range of effort that goes into that visual presentation, and if it's an OST for an Anime you can score some really good art. One of my old Two-Mix CDs has a paper cover and the liner note is at least 10 pages of lyrics. And can you even buy Anime OSTs on iTunes, or do they just sell shit from whatever country you're in? Can you get full-size(4CD) game OSTs?

    When you buy a CD, you're not just buying the music. You're buying the case, the liner notes, the effort that went into the arrangement of the recording, and most importantly you're buying an archive that will last you upwards of 15 years if you take care of it. What happens if your HDD crashes and you dont have a backup? Gotta buy the song again?

    I'm acutely aware that collecting these things is a nerdy habit, but I likes me some cheesy Jpop. Cheesy J-pop with cheesy J-pop liner notes, and cheesy director's commentary about cheesy anime shows.

  22. Re:Thirsty Wankels... on RX-8 Hydrogen RE a Dual Fuel Car · · Score: 1
    Actually, with the way fuel economy calculations are currently performed in the US, you will never get the listed economy from your car, period. Is it calculated differently in the UK?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy

  23. Re:Spitfire Engine Utah Salt Flats Bound on RX-8 Hydrogen RE a Dual Fuel Car · · Score: 1

    Wait a second, can you explain, using Thermodynamics, what this engine does and how a completely closed system can possibly contribute power to something? I dont think I understand what you mean. I'd like to hear it rephrased for a technical audience. Could I score some thermodynamic specs to back up your claim?

    I read the two links you attached, but none of them had any real information. They were just hype-pamphlets. If you want to attract a technical audience for your claims, providing no real information is a real turn-off for us. One of the pages even claimed a 200% success rate, implying that there were twice as many successes as trials.

  24. Re:SS2: the only game I keep coming back to on What Game Do You Love? · · Score: 1

    Ahh, a man after my own heart. I'll never forget the day Shodan called me a flesh-bag and threatened to kill me. Man, I loved that game. I just wish someone would remake it using the Doom III engine, so that we can finally get the lush 3D environment to go with the immersive gameplay. Oh, and the music was also what did it for me. I played System Shock 2 more times than I played Doom.

    Best FPS of all time.

  25. Re:What about the transhumanists? on RFID Injection Required for Datacenter Access · · Score: 1

    For the Arm! Preserve our humanity!