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User: Chowderbags

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  1. Re:Friend "wrote something stupid" on College Student Finds GPS On Car, FBI Retrieves It · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh crap, I've said pretty much that same thing. Maybe I should check my car... oh wait, I'm not brown, the FBI won't care.

  2. Re:Dont' call your lawyer? on College Student Finds GPS On Car, FBI Retrieves It · · Score: 1

    First and most important thing to remember. Never, under any circumstances, talk to the police before talking to your lawyer. It cannot help you. Ever. Not only that, but you can be as innocent and speak nothing but truth, and they can still hang you on it. If you deny that you committed the crime, you can be charged with lying to federal prosecutors and convicted, even if they don't have the evidence to actually convict you on the original crime (See Martha Stewart). If you want to say something, wait for court (or after the trial is over).

  3. Re:Could this technique be adapted for software? on Software Evolution Storylines, Inspired By XKCD · · Score: 1

    I remember when the acid wash jeans and leopard print fad hit software. I still have nightmares.

    Also does anyone know what this whole BiebeRPC craze is about? Ever since it started up I've noticed my servers running at a much higher pitch...

  4. Re:10,000 users a day... on French ISP Refuses To Send Out Infringement Notices · · Score: 1

    So their next step is to mandate internet only voting. Thus creating a perfect cycle. For the hat trick, the only way to file legal briefs will be through email.

  5. Re:Flat pay isn't my concern. on Flat Pay Prompts 1 In 3 In IT To Consider Jump · · Score: 1

    Executives see senior level engineers getting several times the base pay of a fresh US graduate (and dozens of times what it costs to farm out work to Singapore) and assume that since they don't understand what engineers do they're completely replaceable like cogs. Never mind things like experience and a broad skill base.

  6. Re:Yeah. Or just legalize marijuana. on Tech CEOs Tell US Gov't How To Cut Deficit By $1 Trillion · · Score: 1

    They got rid of generous government employee pensions in 1986. Anyone hired since then gets benefits that aren't much better than what they'd get in the private sector (probably less overall, if you take into account investing difference of the higher salary most private sector employees get).

  7. Re:and when china workers stand up for rights then on China Becoming Intellectual Property Powerhouse · · Score: 1

    Ironically, since China upped their minimum wage to $180/month, some manufacturing has moved to Vietnam. You have to wonder if there's a point to which even multinational companies won't stoop or governments that they wouldn't get in bed with to make a quick buck. Hell, if they thought they could make money off it they'd probably cozy up to the North Koreans.

  8. Re:Tough to find a 16x10 monitor anymore! on Why Are We Losing Vertical Pixels? · · Score: 1

    All the monitors are 16x9 now (1920x1080). I have the same problem - I don't want to go "up" to 1920 from 1600x1200 (20" 4:3 flat panel I have from 2002 - cost 1000$) and lose 180 vertical pixels!

    Good news then!

  9. Re:You're dumb, and accidentally correct on US Military Orders Less Dependence On Fossil Fuel · · Score: 1

    Before oil became an important resource to the Western World, we didn't give two shits about anyone in the Middle East.

    What about the Crusades? Or the Byzantine Empire? Or the Roman Empire? Or Alexander the Great?

  10. Re:Just give them something? on British Teen Jailed Over Encryption Password · · Score: 1

    If you booby trap your disk like that they'll probably just arrest you for destruction of evidence. Plausible deniability (i.e. a password that decrypts the drive to be a mostly boring Windows partition with maybe a bit of vanilla porn or some old financial documents) is a much better solution.

  11. Re:Only 16 weeks? on British Teen Jailed Over Encryption Password · · Score: 1

    And the most important part: even if you get your computer back, you're better off tossing it in the trash (possibly wiping the hard drive first). A computer that has fallen into the hands of someone who's trying to get dirt on you is not trustworthy at all. Might it be overkill? Probably. But if you're in a situation where you've got something you want to hide that badly, do you want to take that risk?

  12. Re:Analytical Engine: No Definitive Design Exists on It's Time To Build the Analytical Engine · · Score: 1

    Depends, are they going to add nipples to the suit?

  13. Re:It doesn't make sense on Nobel Prize in Physics For Discovery of Graphene · · Score: 3, Funny

    Bismuth be my lucky day. I no longer have to sulfur a life without puns!

  14. Re:I'm so sorry on The Bomb Squad Olympiad Starts Today · · Score: 1

    "Someone left a dirty bomb in the toilet!"

  15. Re:There are no collective rights! on Does A Company Deserve the Same Privacy Rights As You? · · Score: 1

    Are you kidding? The revolution was fueled in part by protests against the grandfather of transnational corporations: The East India Company, and it's entanglement with the British government. The Tea Act was passed because of problems within the East India Company, bailing them out of tough economic times (by granting them a monopoly on tea trade in all British colonies). Except that this pissed off colonists as the tea was taxed (albeit extremely cheaply), and taxation without representation was a major issue, leading to the Boston Tea Party.

  16. Re:This sounds like a job for... on The Binary Code In Canada's Gov-Gen Coat of Arms · · Score: 1

    Finally we'll know why Canadians are so polite! It's totally because of a deep dark secret, isn't it? Canada was rude to someone once and felt really bad so they never did it again?

  17. Re:Not news on 'The Laws Are Written By Lobbyists,' Says Google's Schmidt · · Score: 1

    When one-half of the Legislatures of the Member States declare a Law unconstitutional, it shall be null and void from the moment of its enactment.

    chusen (sic) by the Governors of the States by simple majority ballot

    Both of these would essentially mean that Republicans can do whatever the fuck they want forever. You might see them as champions of the constitution, but a lot of people view Republicans as having gone absolutely insane. This might be somewhat more reasonable if state governors were given a vote proportional to their state population, but even then it's a huge mess with way too much chance of a few small shifts in percentage points in a handful of states resulting in wildly different outcomes of the makeup of the balance of power. I don't know that there's a good solution, but I do know that the ones you suggested aren't it.

    "Strike the clause 'and general Welfare'."

    Even the founding fathers disagreed about that clause, so don't try to take a "originalist" stance on this.

  18. Dynamic Range Compression on Senate Votes To Turn Down Volume On TV Commercials · · Score: 1

    Do they account for dynamic range compression (making everything the loudest possible volume)? Simply saying the volume can't be above X dB means that commercials will be at exactly X dB for the entire time. Or they'll start using odd/distorted/alarming sounds (sirens, glass breaking, babies crying, etc). Of course, I haven't watched anything on my TV in ages, though watching things online seems to be getting worse about this than it used to be.

  19. Re:Microtransactions done right? Figures it's Valv on Micro-Transactions Coming To Team Fortress 2 Via Steam Wallet · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Easily crafted by anyone who plays much at all.

    They've increased the number of items it takes to do your crafting. Also, item sets require hats, which you'll be lucky to get one for every couple hundred hours of playing (so for someone who doesn't spend all day in their basement, a couple months, and good luck getting the hat you actually want). So yes, while it's theoretically possible to get all the various sets through sheer grinding, you would probably never keep up with it if they start releasing new items/sets every couple months, and to me that's a problem. You used to be able to get all the new class weapons fairly easily, since the pool of total weapons was small and you could grind achievements if the random number gods hated you. Now that there's a huge pool of weapons it's like playing roulette to get the one you actually want (oh gee, another Jarate, just what I didn't want), but it's ok because everyone is under the same system.

    But now we're basically dividing the community into those willing to drop $50 to get a couple hats so that their outfit will come together (meaning that the hats provide a bonus with no ill effects), and those who don't. If we're going to do that, why not just directly sell bonuses? $5 for an extra 50 health on the heavy! $3 so your spy doesn't catch on fire anymore. $10 so your sniper automatically does head shots. And it'd be a'ok if these bonuses "randomly dropped" every couple months for a person, right?

  20. Re:Budget or 'plan'? on House Passes NASA Authorization Bill · · Score: 1
    I love this line from the wikipedia article:

    Unlike the space elevator, no new materials need to be developed.

    Right before it discusses building a 4000 km long airtight sheath held 80 km in the air capable of holding a vacuum with an iron tube going 31,000 MPH, such a tube apparently being perfectly flexible enough to go around the curves. All for supposedly $10 billion. (Seriously, that's what the article says). I'm not an expert in physics, economics, drug use, but I do happen to have enough common sense to say that whoever came up with the space loop idea is batshit insane.

  21. Re:most good IT people are to old for the army to on Cyber Command Will Miss Friday's Operational Deadline · · Score: 1

    I thought most people who had college education/extensive skills were brought on higher than private(for enlisted)/cadet(for officers), at least after they got through boot camp.

  22. Re:remember we are using 20 yr old data on Earth-Like Planet That Could Sustain Life Found · · Score: 1

    The planet doesn't care, we don't matter. In ten thousand years most of what we'd done would be gone. In ten million years most every species alive now will be extinct humans or not. That's nothing in the lifetime of this planet. The natural state of things is change and right now we're little more than an amusing bump in the grand timeline of this planet.

    The planet may not care, but we might care in 50 years, and our descendants might care in 200 years. Basing our policy on what's best for us this very moment is selfish, short-sighted, and probably the biggest sign that we shouldn't (and probably couldn't) expand out to the rest of the universe.

  23. Re:No org, corporate or not, will have privacy on Does A Company Deserve the Same Privacy Rights As You? · · Score: 1

    Given all the abuse, hooker, and corruption scandals of a wide variety of religious groups, churches could do with a lot more transparency.

  24. Re:Compare Drinking while Driving on Could Anti-Texting Laws Make Roads More Dangerous? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think it would be reasonable to decide, as a society, that texting-while-=driving is so dangerous that we should impose stiff penalties. And, it shouldn't just be illegal to drive while texting. It should be illegal to have an open texting device in the car. If there is an open texting device, the driver may look at it and become impaired. Many times, I have seen a teenager say "look at this", and hold his/her phone out so that another person can read it. If that other person happens to be a driver, the drivers attention is taken away from the driving.

    The same logic could apply to books. Can't let little Johnny have his picture book open in the car, the driver might look at it! Heck, just think what would happen if the driver took his eyes off the road and looked at their speedometer. Clearly we should ban speedometers. For that matter, drivers might look at scenery around them. We should either ban scenery or put all our roads in tunnels. (WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?(except while driving))

    The better solution is to just enforce current reckless or careless driving laws. We don't need to play whack-a-mole with every new technology.

  25. Re:Oh no. Not again. on Star Wars Films In 3D Due In 2012 · · Score: 1

    I completely agree. CGI works great if you do everything in CGI and don't try to be too realistic (e.g. every Pixar film). The problem is that mixing extensive CGI and live action almost always looks fake. Maybe it's unrealistic motions, or inconsistent gravity, or every CGI artist thinking that shiny=good looking (hint, real life isn't that shiny). Yes, sometimes you'll get good uses of CGI that are narrowly tailored, or that they spend a lot of effort to get looking good (Avatar looked pretty decent), but the prequels looked like they were filmed in one blue screen studio.

    It also probably doesn't help that the actors were shit (Both Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen sucked), the dialog was poorly written, and overall the biggest problem is George Lucas insulating himself from any criticism during production. Really, sometimes you need to have someone grab you by the shoulders and say "What the fuck is C-3PO doing in Anakin's house? Why is R2-D2 on Padme's ship? Why is Chewbacca teaming up with Yoda?". I'm surprised George Lucas didn't toss Shia LeBeouf in as Han Solo (Shia was too busy helping George rape Indiana Jones I guess. Well, there's always the rereleases!).