Yeah, Biodiesel sure looks good on paper (I live in Santa Cruz, CA, a hot-bed of biodiesel activism)--you can burn recycled fast-food deep-fryer oil, the exhaust smells like french fries (less sulfur).
One problem: I got behind a biodiesel-burning Benz the other day. Thought to myself: Hmmm...smells like french fries. Then my eyes and nose started burning.
Less sulfur is good, but it's still diesel--still lots of carbon, CO2, etc. Some folks attribute increases in childhood asthma to all the diesel we burn.
So, biodiesel=good--a step in the right direction--but, we still need to structure our lives and society so that we drive less (way less) and rely less on burning feul (however sexy).
I submitted a story yesterday (rejected:( ) about this article by Gary Krakow which tempers some of the iPod hysteria. I've met a number of folks (some of whom were musicians) that have bought iPods for their "cool" factor without examining all the features, limitations (no 16-bit 44KHz audio recording unless you install Linux), or the competition's offerings.
Archos has had a portable media device that records video/audio from analog inputs for a number of years now.
Estonia is the country that gave us KaZaa (or at least the programmers who wrote the code).
As for security of on-line elections vs. paper elections--bah!! I've never had to show any form of identification when I've voted (here in the U.S.). Identity verification is done via signature (and how closely do you think each signature is examined?). Besides there's all sorts of monkey business that could go on behind the scenes (just how many elections monitors are there?).
What *really* scares me is proprietary electronic voting machines from companies owned by high-profile Republicans.
Tell me about it!! Between my own dental mess and my kids' health, I've been a bit humor-impaired recently.
Anyways, to be fair, there comes a time when a running gag gets stale. I think the "overlords" gag has almost reached (or recently passed) that point.
Here's to maintaining (sensible) humor! Er, and thanks for cutting me a bit of slack:)
Sorry to annoy you, but this is what's known in the world of comedy as a "running gag" (however, it's the first time *I've* participated in the perpetuation of this particular example).
Perhaps I betray the level of sophistication of my sense of humor, but *I* find this particular "running gag" to be amusing. I thought my incantation was just a little bit clever given that the post to which I reply actually *does* refer to a change in leadership.
Apologies again if your funny bone was rubbed the wrong way.
If there's not already such a beast, I'm thinking I ought to market a complete line of clothing (hats too of course) with embedded conductive metal fibers to act as a personal Faraday Cage and block out EMF's.
Of course, they are marketing a conductive paint that you can use to paint your walls. I think the marketing angle on that is to keep people from snooping *your* wireless signal.
I must remember to keep my sense of humor about all this...
Ah, if only "science" was more scientific and less religious/political.
Forgive my laziness for not citing references (my dad has a good textbook in German), but you do realize that research requires funding, and funding requires (political) will-power, don't you? There's a lot more research in the field in Europe, I understand, and I suspect many of the US studies that find EMF's to be harmless are funded by cell-phone manuracturers.
Can you cite the research into the efficacy of quartz crystals in healing? I've never seen that. If you can't prove it doesn't work, don't knock it. I'm not making any sweeping statements here, just asking some questions.
I'll be the first to admit that I spent a lot more time as an undergrad working on music than doing my homework (and too much time as a professional reading/. rather than programming), but I was surprised to find that one of my MS-candidate TA's didn't realize you could use an audio speaker as a microphone as well...
You *did* see the recent article stating that nearly a third of medical studies are contradicted by subsequent studies?
Thanks for the qualified clarification (Wow!! I think I'm only *now* getting a sense of what a powerful resource Slashdot can be--all those theories I've had bouncing around my head (but have been too lazy to research), and a large, attentive audience of skilled professionals).
Your comments about nuclear testing plus an earlier one about diet, pesticides, etc. bring to mind another recurring thought: despite our sensitivity, humans (and other living things) *are* incredibly resilient. Our bodies can adapt to a host of hostile environmental factors. Of course, our adaptability has its limits, and, when a preponderance of factors overwhelms our resilience, I imagine things tend to break down fairly catastrophically.
BTW, I *am* a Wi-Fi user at home. After (guilty) months, I finally ran copper to my room and removed the WiFi-Ethernet bridge from near my bed (which I share with my two young children (no Michael Jackson jokes, please)). I *am* counting on the inverse-square law to save me.
Very funny, AC. Let me know where to send the card when you get brain cancer from yakking on your cell-phone all day.
Or will it be testicular cancer from surfing Wi-Fi on your laptop all day?
Of course, DDT and Thalidimide are perfectly harmless say our researchers. So are silicone implants.
Am I the only EE (by training if not practice--I do software for a living) around that's a little concerned about the long-term effects of all this (additional--we've been absorbing UHF/VHF for 60+ years now) microwave radiation? Sure, sure, inverse-square law, skin effect, yadda yadda. I can't help but think we biological beings are much more sensitive to EMFs than the biologists assume.
Could there possibly be a correlation between increased EMFs and the increase in autism, cancer, etc.?
I haven't seen the actual research/figures, but I'm told that, when flourescent lights (with the older, dirtier ballasts) were introduced in the 50's, that learning disabilities skyrocketed (yeah, perhaps diagnostics just got better).
Slashdot Mirror
Well, if we're giving John Williams credit, we might as well credit Antonin Dvorak as well. Folks say Williams borrowed a lot from "The New World".
Of course, as an amateur musician, *I* have no problem with musical "borrowing" or referencing. All culture/science/etc. is built on what preceded it.
So, in this production, does Han shoot first?
Also, will they be re-staging the production every few years as stage effects technology improves?
I guess they beat Lucas to the 3-D version of Star Wars!!!
Yeah, Biodiesel sure looks good on paper (I live in Santa Cruz, CA, a hot-bed of biodiesel activism)--you can burn recycled fast-food deep-fryer oil, the exhaust smells like french fries (less sulfur).
One problem: I got behind a biodiesel-burning Benz the other day. Thought to myself: Hmmm...smells like french fries. Then my eyes and nose started burning.
Less sulfur is good, but it's still diesel--still lots of carbon, CO2, etc. Some folks attribute increases in childhood asthma to all the diesel we burn.
So, biodiesel=good--a step in the right direction--but, we still need to structure our lives and society so that we drive less (way less) and rely less on burning feul (however sexy).
I just checked, it's true!! 44.1 KHz stereo recording. See this page and search for "Voice recording settings".
Who modded the parent down on this?!?! This is actually big news (if true). The last bit was funny (if a bit cruel).
I submitted a story yesterday (rejected :( ) about this article by Gary Krakow which tempers some of the iPod hysteria. I've met a number of folks (some of whom were musicians) that have bought iPods for their "cool" factor without examining all the features, limitations (no 16-bit 44KHz audio recording unless you install Linux), or the competition's offerings.
Archos has had a portable media device that records video/audio from analog inputs for a number of years now.
Estonia is the country that gave us KaZaa (or at least the programmers who wrote the code).
As for security of on-line elections vs. paper elections--bah!! I've never had to show any form of identification when I've voted (here in the U.S.). Identity verification is done via signature (and how closely do you think each signature is examined?). Besides there's all sorts of monkey business that could go on behind the scenes (just how many elections monitors are there?). What *really* scares me is proprietary electronic voting machines from companies owned by high-profile Republicans.
Tell me about it!! Between my own dental mess and my kids' health, I've been a bit humor-impaired recently. Anyways, to be fair, there comes a time when a running gag gets stale. I think the "overlords" gag has almost reached (or recently passed) that point. Here's to maintaining (sensible) humor! Er, and thanks for cutting me a bit of slack :)
Sorry to annoy you, but this is what's known in the world of comedy as a "running gag" (however, it's the first time *I've* participated in the perpetuation of this particular example). Perhaps I betray the level of sophistication of my sense of humor, but *I* find this particular "running gag" to be amusing. I thought my incantation was just a little bit clever given that the post to which I reply actually *does* refer to a change in leadership. Apologies again if your funny bone was rubbed the wrong way.
I, for one, welcome our new PERL overlords!
All your favorite Linux distros so you can "secure" all the Windows machines you find.
Either should be fine. I doubt the Feds have anybody who can speak Elvish (wheras *everybody* on /. does, right (or is that Klingon)?).
Who needs encryption? Just speak in Elvish.
If there's not already such a beast, I'm thinking I ought to market a complete line of clothing (hats too of course) with embedded conductive metal fibers to act as a personal Faraday Cage and block out EMF's.
Of course, they are marketing a conductive paint that you can use to paint your walls. I think the marketing angle on that is to keep people from snooping *your* wireless signal.
I must remember to keep my sense of humor about all this...
Ah, if only "science" was more scientific and less religious/political. Forgive my laziness for not citing references (my dad has a good textbook in German), but you do realize that research requires funding, and funding requires (political) will-power, don't you? There's a lot more research in the field in Europe, I understand, and I suspect many of the US studies that find EMF's to be harmless are funded by cell-phone manuracturers.
/. rather than programming), but I was surprised to find that one of my MS-candidate TA's didn't realize you could use an audio speaker as a microphone as well...
Can you cite the research into the efficacy of quartz crystals in healing? I've never seen that. If you can't prove it doesn't work, don't knock it. I'm not making any sweeping statements here, just asking some questions.
I'll be the first to admit that I spent a lot more time as an undergrad working on music than doing my homework (and too much time as a professional reading
You *did* see the recent article stating that nearly a third of medical studies are contradicted by subsequent studies?
Thanks for the qualified clarification (Wow!! I think I'm only *now* getting a sense of what a powerful resource Slashdot can be--all those theories I've had bouncing around my head (but have been too lazy to research), and a large, attentive audience of skilled professionals).
Your comments about nuclear testing plus an earlier one about diet, pesticides, etc. bring to mind another recurring thought: despite our sensitivity, humans (and other living things) *are* incredibly resilient. Our bodies can adapt to a host of hostile environmental factors. Of course, our adaptability has its limits, and, when a preponderance of factors overwhelms our resilience, I imagine things tend to break down fairly catastrophically.
BTW, I *am* a Wi-Fi user at home. After (guilty) months, I finally ran copper to my room and removed the WiFi-Ethernet bridge from near my bed (which I share with my two young children (no Michael Jackson jokes, please)). I *am* counting on the inverse-square law to save me.
Thanks!! I needed a sense of humor recharge. Good point about the mutations.
Sometimes I wonder if worrying about pathogens isn't worse for the health than the actual pathogens?
Very funny, AC. Let me know where to send the card when you get brain cancer from yakking on your cell-phone all day. Or will it be testicular cancer from surfing Wi-Fi on your laptop all day? Of course, DDT and Thalidimide are perfectly harmless say our researchers. So are silicone implants.
Am I the only EE (by training if not practice--I do software for a living) around that's a little concerned about the long-term effects of all this (additional--we've been absorbing UHF/VHF for 60+ years now) microwave radiation? Sure, sure, inverse-square law, skin effect, yadda yadda. I can't help but think we biological beings are much more sensitive to EMFs than the biologists assume. Could there possibly be a correlation between increased EMFs and the increase in autism, cancer, etc.? I haven't seen the actual research/figures, but I'm told that, when flourescent lights (with the older, dirtier ballasts) were introduced in the 50's, that learning disabilities skyrocketed (yeah, perhaps diagnostics just got better).