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User: symes

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  1. Re:Ignored Posted Signs on Man Arrested After Charging iPhone On London Overground Train · · Score: 2

    Exactly - he was arrested for being aggressive and mouthing off. He was originally, and politely asked, to respect the fact that this power outlet was not for customers. He didn't, he was a dick, and it serves him right. End of story.

  2. Symptom on FB Reveals Woeful Diversity Numbers · · Score: 1

    So under-representation of BMEs and women in large tech company is the symptom. What we need to understand is the cause. Encouraging companies like FaceBook to address the issue is one approach and given their resources one that might bring about change. Perhaps Facebook could target bright kids in certain communities with fellowships and the like - try and encourage more to engage in a tech career?

  3. Get off my lawn! on EU Drops Plans For Safer Pesticides After Pressure From US · · Score: 1

    ... It's toxic

  4. Reasonable on Secret Files Reveal UK Police Feared That Trekkies Could Turn On Society · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The dossier – called UFO New Religious Movements and the Millennium – was drawn up in response to the 1997 mass suicide by 39 cultists in San Diego known as Heaven's Gate.

    Given that cults with a somewhat "sci-fi" approach to their idiocy exist it seems fair game to, at the very least, think through possible scenarios and plan accordingly. This is surely good disaster planning, certainly logical. What has happened here, it seems, is that someone has suggested regular "trekkies" are the real risk to garner attention and to sell someone's book.

  5. Re:Educational software on Led By Zuckerberg, Billionaires Give $100M To Fund Private Elementary Schools · · Score: 1

    Replacing teachers and traditional schooling will remove one of life's most important lessons, that is how to socialize. The kids that stare at a computer from age 5 onwards will suffer immeasurably and be very lonely later in life.

  6. Re:Royal Mail - Doing it in London years ago on UK Company Wants To Deliver Parcels Through Underground Tunnels · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Here you go. My understanding is that London is full of all sorts of tunnels built for various purposes. From the huge Victorian era sewage system to the London Underground and various utility tunnels. Chatting to engineers, one of the issues they have building anything in London is that often you'll encounter some uncharted tunnel. Odd though this may sound, I have exploring London's underground tunnels on my bucket list.

  7. Great on Nearly Half of Game of Thrones Season 5 Leaks Online · · Score: 0

    Wasn't this the first fictional program to premier worldwide simultaneously? I think it is kind of a shame that this globally shared event has been spoiled. When Armstrong first put his foot on the lunar surface it was watched across the world. Recently people write and complain if a shuttle launch interrupted their TV schedule. We are a miserable species - can't even hold back and wait for a fictional show about flying reptiles and chilly landscapes.

  8. For only a few GBs? I have one of those tough memory sticks as a keyring for my car keys. On there I have a few encrypted containers that hold the stuff I would like immediate access to should disaster strike. Plus most valuable photos, etc.. This does not mitigate the daily backups to various locations, obviously. But I figure that if there is a disaster then I will mostly likely want to drive away from it and will have with me that really important stuff.

  9. Poor memory anyone? on Amazon Moves "Buy Now" Into the Physical World, With the Dash Button · · Score: 1

    I know exactly what would happen in my case. I'd forget I'd pushed the button and end up deluged with toilet paper.

  10. Personally, I like Tag Heur watches. But I would not buy a Tag smart watch. The reason is that in spending a decent sum of money on a watch you are hoping to get a time piece that will last. Tags just about fall into that category, certainly going by resale prices. Why would you spend money on a watch whose insides will become defunct in a few years? It makes zero sense. I would much rather buy a cheap watch that I am comfortable throwing out in a few years, if at all.

  11. What? on UK Police and PRS Shut Down Karaoke Torrent Site · · Score: 2

    $10B?! I find this utterly staggering. Mostly because I cannot imagine karaoke being that popular. Second, because most of this, as far as I know, happens in bars. Who would buy/download karaoke for personal use? What is more, why is this a target for the police when there are plenty of other, and larger, trackers out there? Nothing in this story makes any sense.

  12. Re:Still marveling at on Strange Stars Pulse To the Golden Mean · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Being a tenured prof facilitates blue sky thinking, but you are still expected to do all that other stuff such as sit on endless committees, do proper research, teach people, write papers and bring in research money. It is not all fairy lights and golden means!

  13. Re:The spread on NASA Ames Reproduces the Building Blocks of Life In Laboratory · · Score: 2

    Indeed. But isn't panspermia more about extremophiles surviving space rather than just the building blocks of life? Whatever the theory, it makes exploring comets and similar bodies even more interesting. I think this is first interesting space story for some time.

  14. Sick on Teamsters Seek To Unionize More Tech Shuttle Bus Drivers In Silicon Valley · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I do not like unpaid sick leave in some industries - particularly nurses, healthcare workers and the like. It means people are more likely to work when they are ill, forced to by financial concerns. Not good when they are dealing with people who are vulnerable. Same is true, to some extent, for bus drivers. Driving a bunch of people around while suffering from fever, etc., is going to effect their ability to drive. There's probably a compromise, such that drivers get 50% pay when ill. But would still prefer to see someone not drive me around while suffering from poor health. So what is good for workers and unions can also be good for customers as well.

  15. Re:Major Version == Major Changes on Torvalds Polls Desire for Linux's Next Major Version Bump · · Score: 1

    If you assume the regular versioning systems work with the linux kernal, then no, it is not major bump time. This whole thing is a storm in tea cup - if Linus can count much above 20 then why not bump to 4? Although I agree the bump should mark some event.

  16. Re:About time. on The IPCC's Shifting Position On Nuclear Energy · · Score: 2

    This is not my area - but surely some of the issues could be resolved with better storage solutions together with greater take up? It strikes me that an advantage solar has is that people can pop a solar panel anywhere, from watches to houses, meaning they can be integrated more fully into where energy is needed. Storing excess well means peaks are covered.

  17. Question on Alan Turing's Notes Found After Being Used As Insulation At Bletchley Park · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Other than the obvious impact Turing's work had in the war effort, did people at Bletchley have any idea how valuable his work would be more generally? My computer science peers are quite good at explaining how their work might have value and impact. Indeed, a lot of scientists these days start publications by providing this context. But is the same true in the first half of the twentieth century and in the middle of a world war? It might well have been the case that his notes were genuinely believed to have more value as insulation.

  18. Another option on How One Small Company Blocked 15.1 Million Robocalls Last Year · · Score: 2

    In the UK we can set preferences with the telephone preference service . But another is to set up a premium rate line and rake in the money - although it might be polite to set up another regular number for family and friends.

  19. Re:I'll just leave this here on Finnish Bank OP Under Persistent DDoS Attack · · Score: 2

    Illarionov is a bit crazy and paid (by American think tank iirc) to spout this sort of stuff. I think the chance that Putin would seriously threaten Finland is about the same that Putin would threaten Sweden. Also, Finland is very different to Ukraine in that pretty much everyone in Finland thinks Putin is crazy. In Ukraine there was and still is very strong support for Putin in some areas.

  20. Re:4th Doctor is BEST Doctor. Scientific fact. on The 2014 Hugo Awards · · Score: 1

    Game of Thrones is science fiction?

  21. Re:So ... on How to Maintain Lab Safety While Making Viruses Deadlier · · Score: 1

    There has to be a balance between the risks associated with this research and possible gains. Given the potential cost to human life it is hard to understand why this research should continue. Particularly as it is the community in which the lab is based that will inevitably suffer most should there be an incident.

  22. Re:Boards or ROM's on Grandmother Buys Old Building In Japan And Finds 55 Classic Arcade Cabinets · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I hope you never need neurosurgery.

  23. That's it on They're Spying On You: Hacking Team Mobile Malware, Infrastructure Uncovered · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm dusting off my old Motorola 8000 DynaTAC.

  24. Re:I dislike Beats... on Apple Confirms Purchase of Beats For $3 Billion · · Score: 1

    In particular, they have made over ear headphones popular. Which is great as those in ear things make my ears hurt. I wouldn't buy Beats but do have some nice earphones and don't mind wearing them in public.

  25. Who? on Twitter Capitulates To Governments, Censors Users · · Score: 2

    Trying to find out whose twitter feed is causing all the commotion, but no joy. It would seem entirely appropriate to simply retweet the tweets.