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User: CannonballHead

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  1. Re:Choice but with consequences on New Jersey Gov. Christie: Parents Should Have Choice In Vaccinations · · Score: 1

    Because we thought it was a good idea to protect vaccine makers from lawsuits and replace those lawsuits with a government program.

    I'm not sure that was really a good idea. I'm not saying it doesn't help, but protecting for-profit (and very profitable) companies from lawsuits seems ... well, a bit odd, shall we say.

  2. Ok... so if it's an STD and I am one of those monogamous types, could you explain the benefit to me or others for me getting it?

    I'm not anti-vaccine, though I am anti-vaccine-if-the-risk-of-the-vaccine-is-greater-than-the-benefit. And no, I don't think autism comes from vaccines, etc.

  3. Re:No Kidding on Anonymous No More: Your Coding Style Can Give You Away · · Score: 1

    So, you don't indent code? Or if you do, at what point is the indent meaningless (how many spaces/tabs) ... ? No spaces after semicolons? Or before/after braces? Or ...

    Readability should count as meaningful. It helps. And the compiler strips it out anyways, right, so ultimately it doesn't matter, just like comments, except in helping understand the code.

    I may be misunderstanding something completely in what you said... but I don't get why you would say it should be removed. Maybe in javascript for network performance reasons or something, but you should just minify or something in that case, because of variable and function name length and all that...

  4. Re:"vivaldi" on Opera Founder Is Back, WIth a Feature-Heavy, Chromium-Based Browser · · Score: 3, Funny

    Man. I'm going to have to write out a Liszt so when I actually do go browser Chopin, I can remember all these.

  5. Re:Dear Obama.... on Obama Unveils Plan To Bring About Faster Internet In the US · · Score: 1

    Ok, so I have a question. I personally take this view as well: the government should own the infrastructure and allow free competition. Basically, it's like a road, and we can all compete with each other's shipping business.

    The technical side, that I don't get ... is - is that actually possible? For example, say my neighbor wants to use FiberInternet2U and I want to use SpeedMAX as our ISPs. Is that relatively easily technically feasible?

    My question comes mostly simply out of what I think is my understanding about phone lines. If we were talking about DSL, the phone lines all go to some central office somewhere (that pesky CO that you have to be within X thousand feet of ... with no load coils inbetween ...). In order to have two separate phone companies provide my neighbor and me service, wouldn't they have to be routed two different ways once they get to the CO ... or something?

    You pretty much outlined exactly what I think *should* be the way it works, so I'm curious if you know how it technically could.

    Oh, and also, force honest advertising, no more "up to" speeds :P and put any relevant data caps in the not-small-print.

  6. Re:Sympton of a bigger problem on Waze Causing Anger Among LA Residents · · Score: 1

    There's still some orchards I think, but small. And there is a fair amount of ag south of SV... but nothing compared to what it used to be. That said, the water issues first started back in the early 20th century when the crops and orchards changed to high-water-use crops like prunes. The area must have sure looked beautiful before sprawl + oak trees cut + orchards removed :)

  7. Re:Trust on Cops 101: NYC High School Teaches How To Behave During Stop-and-Frisk · · Score: 1

    Stupid, inane post simply to say ... thanks, that is an excellent comic that you linked to with an excellent point.

  8. Re:Of course there will be... on Windows Kernel Version Bumped To 10.0 · · Score: 1

    I'm not so sure about that. OSX is already on what, 10.7 or something like that? I doubt most people would fall for Windows 10 vs. OSX 10.7 [insert cat name here]. That STILL looks like Windows is behind, so it'd be failed marketing if it was a marketing gimmick.

    I'm pretty cynical when it comes to tech companies, but I don't think Microsoft's marketing is quite that stupid nor their dev teams quite that stupid.

    IMO, they probably wanted to bump the kernel number ... and decided to bump it to match the version. Maybe they actually want Windows 10 to use the Windows 10 kernel. Maybe they want OS version and kernel version to actually match/make sense/be in sync, and are using this as a good time to do it (versus the OS patch that was 8.1).

  9. Re:really? on Windows Kernel Version Bumped To 10.0 · · Score: 1

    I have worked on software (as both tester and developer) that went from 1.9 to 1.10.

  10. Re:Guffaw! So much overhaul it's FOUR better! on Windows Kernel Version Bumped To 10.0 · · Score: 2

    There's no way it's marketing. Marketing does not care about the kernel version. Seriously, most people who use Windows have absolutely no idea what a kernel even is, let alone what version their Windows kernel is. And the people who do know what the kernel is and what the kernel version is are not going to be interested in marketing anyways.

  11. Re:A CS degree is a pretty good base on Number of Coders In Congress To Triple (From One To Three) · · Score: 1

    You really have to watch out for those sheep and their computational needs. They've been demanding more processing power for years now. :)

  12. Re:Fiduciary can get it done on Apple Refuses To Unlock Bequeathed iPad · · Score: 1

    They *sent* the password? Which means they actually store it in a way that they have access to the password itself (and not just a hash or whatever of it)?

  13. Re:Why bother? on IBM Begins Layoffs, Questions Arise About Pact With New York · · Score: 1

    Telecommute options. :)

  14. Re:It's only Apple. on Apple Drops Snow Leopard Security Updates, Doesn't Tell Anyone · · Score: 1

    I think the summary was actually saying that Apple did NOT clearly spell out its support schedules like many other software companies DO. Rough quote - "this would not be noteworthy if Apple, like other software vendors, DID...."

    So it's saying other software vendors DO do that, but Apple does not. Which is what you're saying. Can't we all just get along... ;)

    For all of Microsoft's failures, bad business practices (particularly in the past), etc., they seem to be doing some things right these days. I'm not too big of a fan of the new start screen (easily fixed) ... although my wife, while finding parts of it annoying, also finds it somewhat intuitive ... but Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 seem to be pretty solid OSes.

  15. Re:Meh. on Slashdot Tries Something New; Audience Responds! · · Score: 1

    I see critiques about the current system all the time. There are things broken, things that could be made better, etc.

  16. Re:Go to 8 on 95% of ATMs Worldwide Are Still Using Windows XP · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Actually, how would Metro be a bad thing? This is pretty much exactly what Metro is meant for - one application, completely full screen, used with a touch screen ...

  17. Re:yes, but... on 95% of ATMs Worldwide Are Still Using Windows XP · · Score: 1

    I'm actually more concerned with the those ATM teller machines outside of my bank.

  18. Nerds like guns? on Federal Judge Rules Chicago's Ban On Licensed Gun Dealers Unconstitutional · · Score: 5, Informative

    Some nerds like guns. Some nerds REALLY like guns. In fact, some nerds are defined by the fact that they play a ton of games that revolve around, pretty much, guns... So, guns themselves aren't "anti-nerd."

  19. Re:Cafestol? on Interview: Ask Alan Adler About Flying Toys and the Perfect Cup of Coffee · · Score: 1

    Also, I totally forgot that this was a Q&A and you were asking Adler. Ha. :)

  20. Re:Cafestol? on Interview: Ask Alan Adler About Flying Toys and the Perfect Cup of Coffee · · Score: 1

    I'm not quite as up on the oils part, but there does exist a reusable steel mesh filter for the Aeropress as well, from Kaffeologie. I just got one and it seems to work pretty well.

  21. Re:Duh on U.S. Measles Cases Triple In 2013 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Other than the simple examples (polio, smallpox, etc.) ... could you elaborate? Say, for example, the Hep. B vaccine given to infants (as in, at birth)?

    Are you arguing for vaccination in general or arguing, specifically, for every single vaccination that is recommended?

    It's simply not as clear as you want to believe, with reference specific vaccines. And no, I don't actually subscribe to the debunked/fraudulent vaccine-gut-autism link by Wakefield. But I have actually looked for specific data regarding specific vaccines and found them to be incredibly lacking. Or non-existent.

    In the case of the Hep B vaccine, it is given to infants, and yet, according to the CDC, the way infants get Hep B:
    How does a baby get Hepatitis B?
    A baby can get Hepatitis B from an infected mother during childbirth.

    But the infant is given the vaccine regardless of whether the mother has it. Huh. Yes, there are risks related to Hep B, but what are those risks to the infant if the mother is actually tested? Suddenly, we are narrowing it down to the risk of getting Hep B and the risks of the illness itself ... narrowing those risks down to the amount of women who are tested for Hep B and are given a false negative...

    tl;dr: don't assume that people who refuse individual vaccines (1) think all vaccines are bad and (2) only research quack sites.

  22. Re:Magnatune on Get Ready For a Streaming Music Die-Off · · Score: 1

    I agree, it's limited and niche... but I like the model. :)

  23. Magnatune on Get Ready For a Streaming Music Die-Off · · Score: 1

    I don't know if Magnatune is financially viable, but I appreciate their business model. They used to actually sell albums, now they just do a monthly service thing but you can download/listen to as much as you want, as I recall? And they don't try to own your files once you download them, etc. And, from what I recall, artists get 50%, Magnatune gets 50%.

    It seems fair, and there are a lot of decent artists, especially if you are into world or folk music. Lots of good classical stuff, too (smaller ensembles, not really big orchestra types).

  24. Re:Where are they now? on Winamp Shutting Down On December 20 · · Score: 1

    I had no idea Reaper was made by the original WinAmp people. I love Reaper and own a paid license for it.

  25. I see what you did there on BP Hired Company To Troll Users Who Left Critical Comments · · Score: 1

    Summary: BP accused of hiring
    Headline: BP hired