Slashdot Mirror


User: YttriumOxide

YttriumOxide's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
1,719
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 1,719

  1. Re:This happens everywhere on Bill Allows Teachers to Contradict Evolution · · Score: 1

    Well, to be fair, most Nazis were German, most Terrorists are Muslim, most Sissies are French, and most Americans are FAT!

    Who the hell modded this informative?
    Granted, most (as in, the largest percentage) of Nazis were German, but that doesn't mean that most German's are (or even were) Nazis. It's also worth noting that the percentage of Nazis that were NOT German is much larger than many people think!
    Most terrorists are not Muslim, and most Muslims are not terrorists.
    The rational side of me wants to say something about French not all being sissies and Americans not all being fat, but I really can't bring myself to. I'll give you those two!

  2. Re:This happens everywhere on Bill Allows Teachers to Contradict Evolution · · Score: 1

    Anyone who's ever taken an introductory Anthropology course in college should know that religion is a tool to control a population

    Change that to "Anyone that CAN THINK should know..."
    It's not like it's a big secret, or even particularly disguised!

  3. Re:Math Forfront on Mathematician Solves a Big One After 140 Years · · Score: 1
    From my post...

    I can't get the hang of more than 5 though.
  4. Re:Public Transportation for Everyone (but me) on Experiment Shows Traffic 'Shock Waves' Cause Jams · · Score: 1

    I'd love to take public transportation to work, but the cost is prohibitive! Even though I live in Europe, with vastly higher petrol prices than the US (or my native New Zealand), I did the maths and due to where I live compared to where I work, and the way the public transport is set up, it'd cost me around twice as much to use public transport compared to driving.

    I think this situation is not actually all that uncommon - it's simply a situation where the distance between my home and work is not so great, but to travel by public transport requires more than one type of transportation (in my case, first a train for a short distance, then a bus for an even shorter distance). I could actually avoid the bus part and simply walk it, but in cold wet weather, two 20 minute walks each day is a less than appealing prospect.

  5. Re:Math Forfront on Mathematician Solves a Big One After 140 Years · · Score: 1

    I should have mentioned this in my last post (just above)... I forgot to mention that you are still actually completely correct though that we can't accurately model it with physical geometry, nor are we able to explain it sensibly and accurately without the language of mathematics, regardless of whether it's possible to mentally imagine it. So your point is still 100% valid.

  6. Re:Math Forfront on Mathematician Solves a Big One After 140 Years · · Score: 1

    Once you get past 3-dimensions, you can have mathematical concepts that you can't associate with any shape our minds are capable of accurately imagining

    I hear this a lot and am not sure that I agree... I can, quite clearly, picture a hypercube in my mind. I can't describe it verbally (or at least, not without starting well but finishing lamely with a "sort of, the other direction to those three"), draw it on paper or model it in clay, but I can definitely picture it clearly.
    The first time, as a young child, that I was introduced to the idea, I really couldn't picture it at all, but then I just became more and more accustomed to the idea and could eventually picture it with my eyes closed, and now, with barely a second thought. Other 4 dimensional objects also (although I must admit that hyperspheres and other more "rounded" objects require a little concentration due to the lack of corners to use as starting points). I can, with a great deal of effort, also picture 5 dimensional objects, but only VERY simple ones. I can't get the hang of more than 5 though.

  7. Re:Give me more light in the evening on Daylight Saving Time Wastes Energy · · Score: 1

    Even though this is probably intended as somewhat of a joke, it does initially appear to be quite an appealing idea. However, while on the face of it, it seems quite nice, there are a lot of problems with that idea. Serious objections aside, I have a fairly compelling petty objection - For me personally, I'd hate to have an "evening out" at a pub/friends house/whatever and after having a good time, drinking a few drinks etc, walk out to find it's still broad daylight. That would just be WRONG!

  8. Re:Interesting on The Law and Politics of Battlestar Galactica · · Score: 1

    I also made the assumption they're all in the same system, but I think you're right that it is never explicitly said so.

    My reasoning behind my assumption is that travelling with the FTL drives is a "new experience" for many people right at the start of Season 1, yet travelling to other colonies was fairly normal. So, that'd pretty much imply they're all in the same system.

    However, to counter the GP - who says that they ONLY ever needed to travel around the 12 colonies? One could easily imagine that they'd have interstellar travel for research and possible future colonisation - it just happened that the first Cylon war kind of "interrupted" their technological progress a bit, and they never got around to colonisation of anywhere else.

  9. Re:yes! exactly! on The Law and Politics of Battlestar Galactica · · Score: 1

    I suggest time travelling to the past BEFORE killing your grandfather - unless you just don't like him.

  10. Re:As with so many things... on Large Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes Produced · · Score: 1

    As a native English speaker that is neither British nor American, I should point out that no-one speaks English "correctly" since we don't have a formal definition for our language (unlike many other languages, especially in Europe).

    The history of English is also so incredibly strange that only a madman would consider it a sensible language to use at all, given the choice between it and almost anything else. It's a Germanic language (possibly even fair to say "Old Germanic DIALECT") that was heavily perverted by the old/middle French language immediately following the Norman invasion of England and then to resolve the many discrepancies that arose from that got twisted even more.
    I don't think it's fair to say that the British "invented" the language - it's more that they just happened to be the ones that were there and speaking it without very much thought in to what was going on (which really, is how most languages develop). Certainly no-one deliberately took the local Germanic language and the ruling Francophonic language and then cleverly merged the two - it just sort of globbed together in to the hideous thing that we have now.

    Ever noticed that we have two or more words for almost every noun and verb in our language? And in some cases we have words for a product of something being totally unrelated to the something itself (such as animal/meat, where generally speaking the animal is Germanic origin (e.g. "Cow") and the meat is French origin (e.g. "Beef")). This whole mess comes from an upper class speaking a sort of French dialect with the lower class speaking a sort of Germanic dialect and then a slow and painful fusing of the two.
    And on top of that, we have so many defective verbs ("shall" anyone?), broken plurals ("data", "agenda" etc) and confusing cases ("I saw a man eating shark" - is the shark a man-eater, or is it a man that is consuming shark meat?) that it's a strange wonder anyone that didn't grow up with it can handle it at all.
    And don't even get me started on the many regional dialects that we have and many refuse to admit. Even aside from the accent, I think many Americans would have a lot of trouble with Scottish English, and I know that Australians have a hard time with some New Zealand phrases, despite being close neighbours.

    And then our spelling! Oh woe for the poor people that are forced to learn it. English spelling began to become somewhat standardised at a time that we had a different pronunciation for many of our words (early Middle English), and thus the spelling we use now barely matches how we actually say the words (The thought of a bough through a cough is rough, although I have had enough!)

    Ah yes, I am a native English speaker, and I am quite happy to say that it is the least sensible language I know! (I also speak Dutch, German, French and a smattering of several other languages (Japanese, Maori, Tongan), all of which have their deficiencies, but are all FAR "cleaner" than English)

    Right, there's my TOTALLY off-topic rant. Mods: please don't be too harsh on me!

  11. Re:Wow... on If IP Is Property, Where Is the Property Tax? · · Score: 1

    Real estate is valued according to size (well, actually number of bedrooms<snip> Really? Wow... having never owned property, I've never looked at property tax in any country, but to me this just sounds crazy. In a few years (read: 10 to 20) when I've got the money, I'll probably get a house built, with a nice home cinema room, a large living room, spacious kitchen, good separate office/computer room, dedicated server room, etc etc... but only ONE bedroom, because that's all I need and all I want. So, this will as a "one bedroom house" by tax standards? It'll likely be bigger and nicer than many 3 bedroom homes. Not suitable for a family, but since I'm just me, that's no problem from my perspective.
  12. Re:Wow... on If IP Is Property, Where Is the Property Tax? · · Score: 1

    That's copyright, not patents, which I believe was the point being discussed. And FWIW, software should NOT be patentable! (as if anyone on /. would disagree with me on that one ;) )

    Copyright also needs to be made a lot more sane, but it's nowhere NEAR as bad as patents, which I think would benefit a great deal from this clever little taxation idea. (And, to throw another acronym in, IANAL and I know very little about the mysterious inner workings of the whole system, so my point of view should be taken with a very large grain of salt - but it wouldn't hurt someone much more knowledgeable to at least consider the idea!)

  13. Re:Why not the US? on Open US GPS Data? · · Score: 1

    We have a New Zealand. We call it Hawaii.

    Hawaii land area = 16635 sq km (6423 sq miles)
    NZ land area = 268021 sq km (103483 sq miles)

    Ummm... I wouldn't really call that a good comparison. Comparing to US states, it seems the closest is Colorado or Nevada.

    (yes, I'm originally from NZ, but after 3 other countries (including the excessively huge and empty Australia), I'm now living in Germany, which is a little larger than NZ but not excessively so, just shaped very differently and with a very different population density.)

  14. Re:Why would I even want to be in the Boardroom on Gaffes That Keep IT Geeks From the Boardroom · · Score: 1

    Personally I like thinking and coming up with ideas, programing is amusing to me but gets really boring after a while. And that's why I do both... I get requests for the general outline of a project, but the main design decisions are up to me, and I write all the code. I honestly can't imagine a MORE creative job than mine, and I love it. (and I haven't worn a tie since I started this job, and couldn't care less whether my shoes and belt match). Plus it's higher paying than the management position that I turned down before I was offered this job!
  15. Re:First virus on Multifunction Printers — The Forgotten Security Risk? · · Score: 1

    It'll actually work on most devices that accept that PJL command... including Fiery RIPs.

    It does actually have a real world use by the way - it's nice to customise the display during specialised operations, but in most environments these days, it is a little bit antiquated to do so.

  16. Re:Not simply PSC then on Multifunction Printers — The Forgotten Security Risk? · · Score: 1

    Just as a note, it's EFI that charge for the extra to add the keyboard and monitor... just on the Canon, you paid for it when you bought the MFP, as opposed to separately with the Konica Minolta.

    Regardless - get the bizhub PRO C6500 AWAY from any network that should be secure. It's a print room machine and should be in your print room (on an isolated print room network). If you want a secure product for your corporate network, you should consider a bizhub branded product rather than a bizhub PRO branded product.

  17. Re:Not simply PSC then on Multifunction Printers — The Forgotten Security Risk? · · Score: 1

    Business Colour from Konica Minolta generally doesn't use a Fiery or Creo. Fiery is an option on business colour, but is rapidly being phased out since Konica Minolta's own technology is MORE than capable in this area these days.

    Both Fiery and Creo are still used on Production colour though.

    See another of my posts in another thread discussing the security of Konica Minolta own systems. Fiery and Creo are for the print room and that's where they should stay. Don't put either of them anywhere near a corporate or public network or you're just asking for trouble.

    Disclosure: Yes, I do work for Konica Minolta.

  18. Re:Sensitive data issues on Multifunction Printers — The Forgotten Security Risk? · · Score: 2, Informative

    Last I checked (which was a few minutes ago), every current Konica Minolta office product has every feature you're talking about ("office products" excludes the printers, SOHO toys and production equipment (like the C6500 mentioned in another thread - which being a production machine shouldn't be anywhere near a corporate or public network - it's a print room machine!)). Data erasure policies for RAM and HDD, Active Directory login, security logging, internal firewall... plus many you didn't mention such as encryption of all data on the HDD, lockouts to prevent password guessing and the ability to completely disable ANY port it opens.

    Yes I do work for Konica Minolta (as a programmer)

    Of course, the vast majority of our customers don't even change the default admin password let alone set up anything else. And honestly at least SOME of the blame for this probably rests on our pre-sales consultants for not even mentioning these features before the equipment is installed, but we do have them.

  19. Re:Tesla on Is the Future of the Electric Car Industry in Silicon Valley? · · Score: 1

    You're completely right. My Renault has a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder. I initially wrote the post based on a Mercedes Cabrio with a much larger engine, but then figured the Elise would be a better comparison, and forgot to remove that part.

  20. Re:Here ya go on Is the Future of the Electric Car Industry in Silicon Valley? · · Score: 1

    Retrofits just aren't the same - they tend to have much worse performance compared to cars "designed" electric from the start, and the range issue is pretty woeful. I don't need much range in general (see my other post a little below this one), but something around the Tesla's 245 miles (394km) would be preferred to anything in the sub 200km category which I believe most retrofits turn out to be.

    Please correct me if I'm wrong though... turning my current Renault Megane Cabriolet in to an EV would actually be pretty cool if it could meet my requirements.

  21. Re:Tesla on Is the Future of the Electric Car Industry in Silicon Valley? · · Score: 1

    150000 US dollars = 103000 euro roughly.

    A brand new Lotus Elise R that I just priced online came to 52000 euro with some basic extras.
    I currently drive about 100km a week (just commuting to work and general runaround - I don't do that much driving). Due to the amount of short trips with stops, starts and sitting in the occasional traffic, a lot of petrol is wasted, and I end up spending about 50 euro a week on petrol. Assuming the Lotus (considering it's got a much bigger engine than my little Renault Megane Cabriolet) cost more in petrol and a twice as much distance just for the fun of driving a nice car, it would probably cost me three times as much in petrol. For 5 years that would be about 40000 euro in petrol, plus probably another 10000 at least in various services, insurance, taxes, and so on.

    I'd probably drive the Tesla more than my current car as well, just because of the coolness factor, so let's call it twice as much (200km a week). At Tesla's page, they say that it's the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon. Now, they're talking US equivalent, and you might think that the petrol/electricity price ratio is much different than here in Germany. A quick check with Google and a calculator reveals that petrol is about one USD per litre here, compared to 40 US cents per litre there. For electricity, US pays 10c per kw/h, and we pay 25c (USD) per kw/h. So, the petrol/electricity price ratio is actually spot on.
    So, that's 57km per litre equivalent, or roughly 1.50 euro per 60km. Let's say over 5 years, I might therefore spend about 1500 euro on power to charge this thing. And lets throw in 5000 for various services, insurance and so on (much lower than the Lotus due to the simpler operation of the vehicle)

    So, we've now got 109500 euro for the incredibly cool Tesla Roadster, or 102000 for it's petrol cousin. Plus, if I drive it a lot more (or if the taxes, insurance, service costs etc are lower as I suspect), the Tesla will come out BETTER value than the Lotus, for what I consider a much cooler car (better acceleration, deadly quiet, no exhaust pipe to ruin the look of the rear).

    And it's worth noting that this is at one and a half times the normal Tesla price. If it was to be sold here, I doubt they'd put THAT much of a mark up on it and it might work out even cheaper.

    *Disclaimer: All figures in this post are VERY approximate and will vary depending on where in the US you're talking about, where in Germany you're talking about, how much driving I will be doing in the coming years compared to now, etc. But as a ROUGH guide, it serves its purpose!

  22. Re:Coal or Oil? on Is the Future of the Electric Car Industry in Silicon Valley? · · Score: 1

    I've had this nickname many years (longer than many young slashdotters have been around (*waves stick* *mumbles about lawn*)). My first account here on Slashdot (with a much lower UID) was my more common "YttriumOx", but I don't remember the password and the email address that was registered with it was my old ISP in another country... *sigh*

    And yes, I am interested in superconductors (but only as one of my many "side interests" to my main job and hobbies), but no, my name is not Barry - it's Ben.

  23. Tesla on Is the Future of the Electric Car Industry in Silicon Valley? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    *sigh* I just wish they'd let me buy a Tesla over here in Germany. I, like MANY others, would be more than happy to pay one and a half times the price that they go for in the US, both for the savings on petrol (our prices are MUCH higher than what people in the US pay), and just for the fact that it's a damn cool car.

    Honestly, given the chance, I'd hand over the cash TOMORROW for one.

  24. Re:Coal or Oil? on Is the Future of the Electric Car Industry in Silicon Valley? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Stats - not off the top of my head, and I'm too lazy to Google (as you are too it seems!), but I have heard that's it's signifcantly less, even when you don't factor in "cleaner" power like Nuclear, Solar, Hydro-electric and so on. Mostly due to the efficiencies in a coal power plant compared to the millions of individual petrol engines.

  25. Re:What Record? on Astronomers Announce 5-Planet System · · Score: 1

    The record is 5 and you think this record is being broken every year? ...for how many years do you think this has been going on?

    Longer than 5, but it's only really in the last 5 years that lots have been discovered so the grandparent probably is fairly accurate...

    From TFA:

    The second planet discovered in 2002 around the star...