When Pandora Plus was launched, the player stopped working on my primary device. My own library is large enough that I just don't care enough to figure out how to get it working again, so I dropped it entirely. It had previously introduced me to a few artists and songs I had never heard before, which is cool, but I have little patience for updates that break stuff.
Yes, glucose monitoring, that's something that still needs a lot of work considering the current options available. The tattoo idea seemed interesting when I first heard about it (changes color in response to glucose levels), but I reckon it would have much the same trouble as CGMs: too much lag. At least it's a clearly defined problem, and I think that's the greater half of the battle right there. There's a ton of issues/avenues to explore in T1D treatment that I think of a bit like space exploration: so many problems to solve that it's bound to lend solutions to other problems affecting people well outside the small population of T1s.
That includes efforts to find a cure. It's always been "5 years away", but the basic idea behind it is a bit more concrete than with many other diseases. Replace the islet cells and protect them from the immune response. Even if you can regrow your own, obviously that's an issue when it's an autoimmune condition. Solving this problem can point to solutions for many other problems, as well as prevention. I don't believe a cure will ever be available for me, but preventing others from ever having to experience this would be great.
I moved to my own cobbled together Compiz standalone shortly after Gentoo devs forced the issue with KDE4 (the second or third time). I was really ticked at the KDE devs -- and separately, the Gentoo devs -- at that point. Basically, I was used to the way I had things set up and I didn't want anyone compelling me to make changes I didn't want to make for reasons that ultimately had nothing to do with me. I didn't care what these people's vision of the future was, and didn't understand why they were "screw"ing the users who had supported KDE for so long.
I knew if I switched to Gnome, the same thing was going to happen, and soon. Of course, now the compiz packages I use are getting removed from portage, so I made them local packages. When the deps change again and break compatibility, I can look forward to a new round of hell. But either way, it's my responsibility--I can complain to myself about all the bugs that I've failed to address. Puts things in perspective. I understood, but didn't fully appreciate just how complicated this crap is, but now I just couldn't imagine any screwing involved. Screwing implies some satisfaction on at least one end!
Regular (and NPH) insulins have the advantage of being out of patent for over 10 years and not requiring prescription in most (all?) states. That's not the case with analogs, although I believe the patent on Humalog runs out next year.
And actually, yeast is used in the production of insulin, Novo Nordisk's Novolin insulin, for instance. Extraction is easier, but production is lower.
However, research published in 2010 (open access) describes techniques for significantly boosting the production using a modified yeast Pichia pastoris.
This is great news. The cost-reduction ship has sailed, perhaps, at least in the US, but I still look forward to having more choices available.
IKEA is more comparable to desklets or plasmoids (or whatever the KDE applets are called these days), though. The basics are done already, so its appeal is accessibility and ease. The real DIY "open source" furniture is more like this stuff. Anyone can do it with simple tools and the right materials, but it still takes some effort. When it's easier to start a project, a steady increase in required effort builds a reluctance to let the initial investment go to waste. The trouble is biting off more than one can chew from the start. I think that is often the case with FOSS.
I kept a common starling many years ago that had an impressive vocabulary. If only he'd known he was supposed to have a "'bad recording' style", perhaps his cursing wouldn't have been so distinct. He even had a drawl: "Woll shee-ut!"
You claimed that most people can't be trusted, their judgment sucks, they suck. Fine. Any given "Nanny State" is composed of people--what sets them apart from the mass of suck that is the rest of us?
If people could be trusted to take recreational drugs responsibly (infrequent low doses, over 18 etc) then it'd be fine - problem is, most people suck at judging these things (hell, most people shouldn't be trusted with a cheque book or credit card) so the Nanny State has to make a blanket ruling to compensate for the suckage of the General Populace.
You seem to have a problem trusting people to make good decisions for themselves, but no problem trusting them to make decisions for others. This seems... odd.
Discontented with your present state, for reasons which threaten your unfortunate descendants with still greater discontent, you will perhaps wish it were in your power to go back; and this feeling should be a panegyric on your first ancestors, a criticism of your contemporaries, and a terror to the unfortunates who will come after you.
I recall the day evolution was covered in my Texas public school, years ago. The regular science teacher left and a substitute came in to give a 30-45 minute lecture on Lamarck. His conclusion was that scientists were often wrong and that eventually the idea that "we are descended from monkeys" would also be rejected. I had wanted to laugh, but after looking around at my classmates I decided it was just too sad.
I don't see that this decision would help that sort of thing in the small, rural districts in Texas where this (along with bible study as "literature" these days) is much too common. I'd figured at the very least that discussing strengths and weakness would have more value.
As a type 1 diabetic I've long known that mental exercise is just as effective as moderate physical exercise in reducing my daily insulin requirements and driving down glucose levels, but I've never noticed any later spikes that would be expected with increased cortisol.
lots of techniques are employed to stunt growth and delay puberty in these girls. it's actually really draconian.
Yeah, these techniques include anorexia and bulimia; gymnasts with eating disorders became a big issue after the death of Christy Henrich. The age limits were supposed to ease some of that pressure.
The most wildly blatant contradiction, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and he doesn't know how to use a computer.
The current chairman of that committee is Senator Inouye (D-HI), and the ranking member is Hutchinson (R-TX).
but taking a blank page and putting something tasteful (key word) on it is just something I can't do.
Artists can have that problem, too: "freedom inhibits creativity". When I'm working on a project and don't know where to start, I make a short list of rules, either tailored to the requirements of the project or completely arbitrary, and before long I end up with a set of specific problems that need creative solutions. I find that it is much easier to tackle the specific problems than the general problem of creating something from scratch.
So, from a vehicle of personal expression, what you are saying is that all of the written and visual arts will be completely destroyed
How do you figure? Great art and popular art do not entirely fill the same spheres. I find it curious that you used Van Gogh as an example, though--I assume you mean Vincent Van Gogh? Despite producing around 1500 works in his short career, he sold only one in his lifetime. As an artist myself, as the child of an artist, and as the spouse of a musician, I'm quite happy to see more opportunities for creators and the diminished importance of smug gatekeepers who make their choices based on what they assume would give them the biggest returns on their investments. I will not weep for them.
The writers, artists, and musicians are the creators, not the gatekeepers who are "screwed" when the gate is opened (unless they've made themselves dependent on it). Liberalism is based on the idea that complex problems can be proactively solved, which may lend itself to the notion of central-planning/administration--the gate--but it isn't necessary. The transition will be bumpy, perhaps painful, but that's life: what's convenient for some will be an impediment for others.
In addition to what the OP said, while the patent on Humulin expired in 2001 (the Novolin patent expired in 2002, I think), the regulatory hurdles for biogenerics have been conveniently increased to keep others out of the market, at least in the US. The ANDA process for FDA approval of generics doesn't apply to biogenerics, and the biotechs have been lobbying to make sure that they will have to go through lengthy, costly testing to get that approval. Last I checked, Congress hadn't yet even introduced the legislation for biogenerics, so it'll be in limbo until then anyway.
Thus insulin, and not just the newer patent-covered analogs, continues to be a tremendous cash-cow, as it has been since the synthetics were introduced. Drs. Banting and Best sold the original patent to Lilly for $1, btw. Improvements continued to be made, new patents granted, but insulin continued to be relatively cheap. When the human rDNA insulins were first marketed, they said that it would be much cheaper because it's cheaper to produce. The price quickly began to soar, though, as animal-source insulin was removed from the market.
Why should standing upright or having opposable thumbs be considered more "advanced" or, as the implication here seems to be, a goal of evolution? Why would four-legged (or limbless) animals *need* to be able to walk upright? What survival advantage would opposable thumbs confer on, say, a rabbit? Are they having a hard time without them?
Slashdot Mirror
When Pandora Plus was launched, the player stopped working on my primary device. My own library is large enough that I just don't care enough to figure out how to get it working again, so I dropped it entirely. It had previously introduced me to a few artists and songs I had never heard before, which is cool, but I have little patience for updates that break stuff.
Yes, glucose monitoring, that's something that still needs a lot of work considering the current options available. The tattoo idea seemed interesting when I first heard about it (changes color in response to glucose levels), but I reckon it would have much the same trouble as CGMs: too much lag. At least it's a clearly defined problem, and I think that's the greater half of the battle right there. There's a ton of issues/avenues to explore in T1D treatment that I think of a bit like space exploration: so many problems to solve that it's bound to lend solutions to other problems affecting people well outside the small population of T1s.
That includes efforts to find a cure. It's always been "5 years away", but the basic idea behind it is a bit more concrete than with many other diseases. Replace the islet cells and protect them from the immune response. Even if you can regrow your own, obviously that's an issue when it's an autoimmune condition. Solving this problem can point to solutions for many other problems, as well as prevention. I don't believe a cure will ever be available for me, but preventing others from ever having to experience this would be great.
This is, without doubt, the most intelligent and informative Slashdot conversation I have ever read. HAND.
I disliked this so much that I logged in, something I rarely do, just to say that slashface sucks.
Why hate what you don't pay? If you're a successful tax-dodger, why would you want reform?
I moved to my own cobbled together Compiz standalone shortly after Gentoo devs forced the issue with KDE4 (the second or third time). I was really ticked at the KDE devs -- and separately, the Gentoo devs -- at that point. Basically, I was used to the way I had things set up and I didn't want anyone compelling me to make changes I didn't want to make for reasons that ultimately had nothing to do with me. I didn't care what these people's vision of the future was, and didn't understand why they were "screw"ing the users who had supported KDE for so long.
I knew if I switched to Gnome, the same thing was going to happen, and soon. Of course, now the compiz packages I use are getting removed from portage, so I made them local packages. When the deps change again and break compatibility, I can look forward to a new round of hell. But either way, it's my responsibility--I can complain to myself about all the bugs that I've failed to address. Puts things in perspective. I understood, but didn't fully appreciate just how complicated this crap is, but now I just couldn't imagine any screwing involved. Screwing implies some satisfaction on at least one end!
Why have it go with the furniture when it can be the furniture?
Regular (and NPH) insulins have the advantage of being out of patent for over 10 years and not requiring prescription in most (all?) states. That's not the case with analogs, although I believe the patent on Humalog runs out next year.
And actually, yeast is used in the production of insulin, Novo Nordisk's Novolin insulin, for instance. Extraction is easier, but production is lower. However, research published in 2010 (open access) describes techniques for significantly boosting the production using a modified yeast Pichia pastoris.
This is great news. The cost-reduction ship has sailed, perhaps, at least in the US, but I still look forward to having more choices available.
IKEA is more comparable to desklets or plasmoids (or whatever the KDE applets are called these days), though. The basics are done already, so its appeal is accessibility and ease. The real DIY "open source" furniture is more like this stuff. Anyone can do it with simple tools and the right materials, but it still takes some effort. When it's easier to start a project, a steady increase in required effort builds a reluctance to let the initial investment go to waste. The trouble is biting off more than one can chew from the start. I think that is often the case with FOSS.
I kept a common starling many years ago that had an impressive vocabulary. If only he'd known he was supposed to have a "'bad recording' style", perhaps his cursing wouldn't have been so distinct. He even had a drawl: "Woll shee-ut!"
You claimed that most people can't be trusted, their judgment sucks, they suck. Fine. Any given "Nanny State" is composed of people--what sets them apart from the mass of suck that is the rest of us?
You seem to have a problem trusting people to make good decisions for themselves, but no problem trusting them to make decisions for others. This seems ... odd.
From Rousseau's Origin of Inequality :
I recall the day evolution was covered in my Texas public school, years ago. The regular science teacher left and a substitute came in to give a 30-45 minute lecture on Lamarck. His conclusion was that scientists were often wrong and that eventually the idea that "we are descended from monkeys" would also be rejected. I had wanted to laugh, but after looking around at my classmates I decided it was just too sad.
I don't see that this decision would help that sort of thing in the small, rural districts in Texas where this (along with bible study as "literature" these days) is much too common. I'd figured at the very least that discussing strengths and weakness would have more value.
As a type 1 diabetic I've long known that mental exercise is just as effective as moderate physical exercise in reducing my daily insulin requirements and driving down glucose levels, but I've never noticed any later spikes that would be expected with increased cortisol.
There's at least one more. To be fair, polyandry is rather rare, though it does have its practical appeal (e.g., Paint Your Wagon!).
Yeah, these techniques include anorexia and bulimia; gymnasts with eating disorders became a big issue after the death of Christy Henrich. The age limits were supposed to ease some of that pressure.
Do people need this constant reminder or is it more like slapping a bunch of bobbleheads to watch them bounce?
The most wildly blatant contradiction, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and he doesn't know how to use a computer.
The current chairman of that committee is Senator Inouye (D-HI), and the ranking member is Hutchinson (R-TX).
but taking a blank page and putting something tasteful (key word) on it is just something I can't do.
Artists can have that problem, too: "freedom inhibits creativity". When I'm working on a project and don't know where to start, I make a short list of rules, either tailored to the requirements of the project or completely arbitrary, and before long I end up with a set of specific problems that need creative solutions. I find that it is much easier to tackle the specific problems than the general problem of creating something from scratch.
The rapists just use another object first.
So, from a vehicle of personal expression, what you are saying is that all of the written and visual arts will be completely destroyed
How do you figure? Great art and popular art do not entirely fill the same spheres. I find it curious that you used Van Gogh as an example, though--I assume you mean Vincent Van Gogh? Despite producing around 1500 works in his short career, he sold only one in his lifetime. As an artist myself, as the child of an artist, and as the spouse of a musician, I'm quite happy to see more opportunities for creators and the diminished importance of smug gatekeepers who make their choices based on what they assume would give them the biggest returns on their investments. I will not weep for them.
The writers, artists, and musicians are the creators, not the gatekeepers who are "screwed" when the gate is opened (unless they've made themselves dependent on it). Liberalism is based on the idea that complex problems can be proactively solved, which may lend itself to the notion of central-planning/administration--the gate--but it isn't necessary. The transition will be bumpy, perhaps painful, but that's life: what's convenient for some will be an impediment for others.
In addition to what the OP said, while the patent on Humulin expired in 2001 (the Novolin patent expired in 2002, I think), the regulatory hurdles for biogenerics have been conveniently increased to keep others out of the market, at least in the US. The ANDA process for FDA approval of generics doesn't apply to biogenerics, and the biotechs have been lobbying to make sure that they will have to go through lengthy, costly testing to get that approval. Last I checked, Congress hadn't yet even introduced the legislation for biogenerics, so it'll be in limbo until then anyway.
Thus insulin, and not just the newer patent-covered analogs, continues to be a tremendous cash-cow, as it has been since the synthetics were introduced. Drs. Banting and Best sold the original patent to Lilly for $1, btw. Improvements continued to be made, new patents granted, but insulin continued to be relatively cheap. When the human rDNA insulins were first marketed, they said that it would be much cheaper because it's cheaper to produce. The price quickly began to soar, though, as animal-source insulin was removed from the market.
Why should standing upright or having opposable thumbs be considered more "advanced" or, as the implication here seems to be, a goal of evolution? Why would four-legged (or limbless) animals *need* to be able to walk upright? What survival advantage would opposable thumbs confer on, say, a rabbit? Are they having a hard time without them?