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User: solanum

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  1. *hide* not *remove* on Procter and Gamble Unveils New Device That Aims To Remove Signs of Aging (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    "Procter and Gamble Unveils New Device That Aims To Hide Signs of Ageing"

    There, fixed that for yer.

  2. ...spruiking Bitcoin...

    Aha! Australia must be getting farmers driven out of South Africa. I love coming across little signs like this.

    We are, but spruiking is a word that has been in common use for many decades and, according to the Oxford English Dictionary at least, is Australian, not South African.

  3. Brave.... on Judge Jails Defendent For Failing To Unlock Phones (fox13news.com) · · Score: 2

    Good on him for standing up for his rights, but from a practical point of view, I wouldn't want that record hanging over me for the rest of my life (or until it expired). So I don't think I would have the guts.

    Of course, he could have had something worse to hide....

  4. Re:Cool on TV Coverage of Cycling Races Can Help Document the Effects of Climate Change (phys.org) · · Score: 4, Informative

    Except, of course, it is accounted for in the models. If only those climate modellers didn't have a better idea of climate modelling than the general public. Then you might have been right.

    More interestingly, in the late 80's and early 90's there was a 'missing sink' in that atmospheric CO2 wasn't increasing as much as the emissions models suggested it would. It turned out that the estimates of increased plant C sequestration were higher than originally thought and the oceans were absorbing more than originally thought (thereby acidifying and damaging corals and molluscs etc.). Of course that was more than 20 years ago now.

  5. It'll be an old car then. I always have manual transmission cars, but these days every mass produced car has electric steering, braking and throttle, manual or not, have done for years now.

  6. Absolutely. I remember the first time I saw Linux running and the whole culture around it was amazing (I'm not an IT bod). My first install was from Walnut Creek disks that I ordered through the mail and all this quirky irreverence was a big part of my interest.

    That is a time gone by now, but I totally agree, without those folks writing open code we wouldn't have the software infrastructure we rely on and I think we can afford enough respect to the culture that produced it to leave this sort of stuff alone.

    In this case it is not bigoted, but a controversial subject where people's opinions differ, leave it be. The world is homogeneous enough already.

  7. Re:Given the choice on Tesla Stock Plunged After Elon Musk's 'Bizarre' Conference Call (wired.com) · · Score: 2

    Well, Musk and his pals own the largest part of the shares, so I guess he can be a bit more blasé than many in his position. Assuming Tesla don't need extra money from outside his circle that is.

    I think he is being genuine, he is trying to do something new and change things, he is not interested in maximising the share price day to day and finds that attitude an annoyance. Whether that will bite him in the end and whether he will succeed I don't know, but good luck to him.

  8. A good thing I think on Idaho Wants To Establish America's First 'Dark Sky Preserve' (idahostatesman.com) · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here in South Australia, the Astronomy Society of South Australia is also involved in this process, applying to the International Darksky Association for formal accreditation of the Mid-Murray region ( http://www.rivermurraydarkskyr... ), a very sparsely populated region with significant areas of national park. I'd be interested to know know the differences in local legislation/recognition required between the US and South Australia. I'm not involved myself, but from what I've heard the local council here are very supportive.

  9. Re:Ads on the Internet != Other mediums on P&G Cuts More Than $100 Million In 'Largely Ineffective' Digital Ads (wsj.com) · · Score: 1

    I've always tried to avoid ads as much as possible, throughout my life as far back as I can remember. If I Google for a Product I even scroll down below the 'ad' for the manufacturer and click on the straight google link lower down. Before the internet, I'd turn off the TV, go do something else etc. when the ads came on and avoid channels with excessive ad breaks (I live in Australia now and simply avoid the commercial channels altogether).

    As others have also said, I do my own research for most of what I buy. I'm sure that over the years advertising has had a sublte effect on my brand perception, but I think it is limited and I will put personal experience way above any received info, especially from advertising.

    So far as I am concerned the quicker that internet advertising dies the better. I remember back in the early-mid nineties (I guess I had internet access from around '94 through the university I worked at) how much nicer it was when everything wasn't filled with ads and most of the content was just from people with an interest in something. Sort of of like a giant Wikipedia with everyone formatting stuff however they liked and without the hideous tortuous English Wikipedia forces on writers. Ah, nostalgia.

  10. Re:They were dead 10 years ago. on After 19 Years, DMOZ Will Close, Announces AOL · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was an editor for a couple of sub-categories for quite a few years, starting soon after the ODP was set up. In the end I gave up though, as you say, it was massively out of date. It was a nice idea, and remains a nice idea, but is simply impractical these days. When the web was largely static it was useful. Now, not so much, sadly.

  11. Re:OMG that's awesome... on Random Generator Parodies Vapid Startup Websites · · Score: 1

    Agreed whole-heartedly, though maybe the advent of liquid metal 3D printing will be a new innovation that will change the world? I didn't think much of the plastic layering jobs (I have no need for prototyping, but appreciate they are very useful for others), but printing in metal without the layers? When that is at the pro-sumer level, I think we'll have another revolution on our hands, comparable with the internet or smart-phones.

    So maybe the good stuff is still happening, just buried in all the cr@p? Or maybe I'm just another old guy who's out of touch!

  12. Little blue flowers on Is D an Underrated Programming Language? · · Score: 1

    I haven't heard of D (I'm not a programmer), but it would be great if the trademark/symbol was little blue flowers, for the love of PKD.

  13. Waxy cuticle and trichomes on Microscopic View of How Leaves Repel Water · · Score: 3, Informative

    A bit of fun for those involved, but funnily enough plant science has actually investigated this over many decades. Go to a search engine of your choice and look up "waxy cuticle" and "trichomes". Sorry if I appear snide, but this is rather like someone posting an article about how they were amazed at what is inside their desktop PC, with photos and everything, as if no one had looked inside one previously. Neither the word cuticle nor the word trichome appear in that article, which shows they made no attempt to find out anything about their subject. Nice videos though, would be good for teaching!

  14. Re:FB is dying - Film at 11 on Facebook Gives Up On Desktop Apps: Kills Messenger For Windows and Firefox · · Score: 1

    Interesting that you should mention that as I removed it last week. I haven't cancelled my account, just taken it off my phone. I'll check it weekly or so via my desktop browser I guess. It was annoying me on the phone though. Now I keep getting emails from Facebook telling me I'm "missing" stuff.... I'm over 30 by the way.

  15. Re:Small problem on Darker Arctic Boosting Global Warming · · Score: 3, Informative

    Since they were stated out of context to suggest a meaning that wasn't in line with the actual fact stated.

  16. Different to any other science? on Particle Physicists Facing Insane Competition For Work · · Score: 1

    I'd be interested to see how these figures compare to other sciences. I am a mid-career biologist (did eight years as a post-doc and have had a permanent research position for the last seven years). I've always felt that we lose about half of PhD graduates to other areas, partly because they don't want and to partly because there aren't enough jobs, and then about half of post-docs don't continue in science for the same reasons. Doesn't seem that different. I do remember that, when I was a post-doc, an eminent prof (multiple Nature papers) in my field once said to me that he didn't know anyone who was 'really' determined to continue in science who didn't make it as a career. I'd say that is still true. It is a tough career that doesn't pay that well (compared to other professions with equivalent training), but a rewarding one.

  17. Re:Great country you have over there on Encrypted Email Provider Lavabit Shuts Down, Blames US Gov't · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't want to appear to be joining any anti-US bandwagon or proffering an opinion on any perceived rights and wrongs, but the irony of your post is quite amazing. The origin of much anti-US feeling is that people see the US as interfering in their region, whereas you are complaining that those who have anti-US feeling should do without US involvement in their region...

  18. Re:UB 40 on Sunken WWI U-Boats a Bonanza For Historians · · Score: 4, Informative

    Just to be clear, for people not alive in the UK in the 80s the name of the band UB40 came from the code on the unemployment benefit form.

  19. Re:First clue on Creationist Bets $10k In Proposed Literal Interpretation of Genesis Debate · · Score: 1

    Great link! Indeed, if his beliefs weren't enough to discredit him in the first place, having what is basically a PhD in bullsh*t should. Also, what kind of institution provides a PhD in kinesiology? Not a very reputable one I suspect....

  20. Re:Thermodynamics on Water Bottle Fills Itself From the Air · · Score: 1

    Yes, but the airflow is required for it to work. Evaporative fridges have been used for a very very long time, but require energy input in the form of wind. The bottle is inverted in comparison to the evaporative fridge, thus it requires a fan or it would only accumulate a very very small amount of water...

  21. Re:Thermodynamics on Water Bottle Fills Itself From the Air · · Score: 2

    The bottle requires an energy input, they are using solar. The submitted article is based on a slightly fuller one: http://www.pri.org/stories/science/technology/scientist-takes-inspiration-from-natural-world-to-create-self-filling-water-bottle-12154.html

  22. Re:To the anonymous submitter: on Research Suggests Apes and Humans Separated By a Single Gene · · Score: 3, Informative

    Why isn't this modded up? It's the single most useful post to this story. I've just read the actual Nature article as the submitted link was indeed horrible (with flash video auto-starting to boot), and it makes none of the claims that that the submitted article or the summary make. It is still rather interesting though.

  23. Re:What about websites? on Nokia Keeps Quietly Mapping The World · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Offline maps. When I got rid of my Nokia N8 and bought a Samsung SIII, there were two things I missed, one is the camera (the N8's was far better in several ways), the other is the maps. With the Nokia you got offline maps for the entire world and the app itself was excellent (though it had teething problems to start with). Turn by turn directions that don't sound like a robot (I'm looking at you Google), were as good as or better than most commercial Sat Nav devices, accurate (looking at you Apple), regularly updated and, I'll say it again, offline maps! In Australia at least you can be quite often out of range of a decent data connection.

    The commercial Navigon app that I got bundled with my SIII is definitely inferior and you only get maps for Oceania, I have to buy the European/US ones if I need them.

  24. A week? on Who's Pirating Game of Thrones, and Why? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Oh my goodness, because I live in Australia I have to wait a week before seeing a TV show? How do I manage?

    Sometimes I can't quite believe the world we live in.

  25. Re:Friend-face on Dealing With the Eventual Collapse of Social Networks · · Score: 3, Informative

    Indeed, and I have to say, I can't really see that the economic effect would be that great either (impact on any dot.com 2.0 bubble aside). If Facebook disappeared tomorrow, just how would that have any large effect on the economy? Even Zynga isn't totally relying on Facebook and nobody has shops that only operate through Facebook either to the best of my knowledge.