Johannes Kepler successfully predicted that both planets would transit the Sun in 1631, part of which was verified with Mercury's transit of that year. But the first transit of Venus to actually be viewed was in 1639 -- an event that had been predicted by the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks. He observed the transit in the village of Much Hoole in Lancashire -- the only other person to see it being his correspondent, William Crabtree, in Manchester.
Later, in 1716, Edmond Halley proposed using a transit of Venus to predict the precise distance between Earth and the Sun, known as the astronomical unit. As a result, hundreds of expeditions were sent all over the world to observe the 1761 and 1769 transits. A young James Cook took the Endeavour to the island of Tahiti, where he successfully observed the transit at a site that is still called Point Venus.
Someone who posts a comment that is merely incorrect doesn't warrant the post being moderated as Troll. The correct moderation is no moderation at all.
No, the correct moderation for a factually incorrect comment is "overrated". The correct moderation for this (my) comment is "redundant" because someone else said the exact same thing you did that I quoted above, and I told him the same thing I'm telling you.
You shouldn't have to worry about your karma unless you're a troll, a shill, unpleasant, or an idiot, because an occasional downmod won't hurt otherwise. If your karma is bad, you probably don't belong here.
I don't believe that they really believe their bullshit. The deniers are fueled by the oil industry, who I'm sure know that they're responsible for global warming, just as the cigarette companies knew smoking caused cancer even while they were denying it.
It's all about the money. They don't care about their unborn great grandchildren, let alone yours. They worship money and power, and that's all that's important to them.
Speaking well of MS doesn't make one a shill, but it's HOW you speak of MS. If it sounds like it came from a marketdroid it's almost certainly a shill. If it's "Windows bla bla" in an Apple story it's probably a shill. If it's praising Microsoft and lying about Linux and Apple, it's either a shill or a troll.
There are a few things wrong with that statement. One, it doesn't matter to me how popular Linux is, as long as they keep developing it. Why is lack of popularity a problem? It's not like Linux is a money-making enterprise. As long as my computer works I don't care how many others are using the same OS. Two, Linux isn't popular for quite a few reasons, foremost that every non-Apple PC comes with Windows preinstalled. Few have ever even heard of Linux, let alone know how superior to Windows it is. Hell, slashdot comments show you that a whole lot of folks here haven't ever tried it or they'd realize how crappy Windows really is (Windows is improving, but is still nowhere near Linux in useability, customability, and features).
And its diversity of distros is one of many reasons it's hard to write Linux malware (that, and repositories of course... not to mention MS's inherent flaws that make virus writing easy for that platform).
Personally, the more distros there are, the more I like Linux. If all there were was Gnome-Ubuntu and Red Hat, I'd probably be using Windows.
are you referring to the "GOD'S WORD(R) Translation"?
Yes, after reading that one I decided to stick to good ol' King James. I can't trust a bible that's under copyright protection. No man should have a monopoly on God's word.
Take for example 22 week premature babies born with all kinds of disabilities and kept alive because ITS ALIVE IM PRO LIFE DATS WHAT JESUS WOULD DO YO.
Son, when you grow up and get married and your wife gets pregnant and your child is born premature at 22 weeks, you'll change your tune. You'll do anything and pay any price to keep that kid alive.
Unless you're a psychopath completely without any human feelings whatever, like the assholes who beat their own six month children to death..
The scenario, as put forth by the GP, is an issue for ASCAP and/or its international equivalents, not RIAA here.
And ASCAP is every bit as evil as the RIAA, if not more so. Got a jukebox in your bar? You have to pay ASCAP. Live band? Pay ASCAP. Your band only plays original or public domain works? Pay ASCAP anyway.
A bar owner here in Springfield, who hired bands that played only bluegrass and folk music (public domain) was taken to court by ASCAP for the fees they said he owed for the public domain music that was performed in his bar. He went bankrupt fighting the suit and his bar is now closed.
If you let those people live, you're working against natural selection.
And that is bad... why, exactly? Dogs didn't evolve naturally, we bred the varied dog species from wolves. In fact, we've controlled most aspects of life on this planet for quite some time, why not evolution as well? Blasphemy, or something?
That's true, but who are you or I to say that autism is a flaw or disability at all? I'd be willing to bet that Thor (inventor of the hammer) and prometheus (tamer of fire) were high functioning autistics.
And I don't know what version of the bible you're reading, but "without disability" isn't in the King James version. Are you reading that (very bad) edition that says "do not lie" rather than "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" (do not SLANDER)?
Oh, and imperfection isn't what the bible says Adam and Eve brought about, it was SIN.
What does that link go to, goatse? I can think of no other reason to use bit.ly at slashdot. This ain't twitter. I'm not clicking any damned links that I don't know where they lead to.
Be glad I'm not moderating today, shortened URLs in comments get an automatic "troll" from me, simply because there's no rational reason except trolling to use one.
I'll take my "paid for with taxes roads" over a toll road any day. Do you think private industry or the free market you worship would have ever constructed the interstate highway system? If they did, it would cost a thousand dolars to drive from Miami to LA, stopping every mile or two to throw another dollar in the basket.
And guess what? The last toll road I was on (actually it was a toll bridge) was full of potholes and congested during rush hour, just like the free roads.
The infertile are giving birth at an amazing rate, along with the mentally ill or handicapped. 500 years ago, they'd be killed when their situation was discovered if they were going to be a burden.
Not in all societies. I've read that the Irish always considered handicapped children to be "special gifts" which were protected and cared for.
I'm going to need at least a citation before I'll believe your claims of primitive eugenics. What society ever deliberately killed their children? The instinct for protecting one's offspring is far stronger than you will ever be able to imagine until you, yourself, procreate. If you had kids you wouldn't make such an absurd assertation.
But when society identifies what they think natural selection would do and do the opposite, that's a reversal. "aww, he's so [insert flaw here] we should protect him" That doesn't select on the nurturing of the caregivers, but selects on the impairment of the saved.
It selects for both. Our nurturing of offspring is an evolved instinct; those who didn't care for their offspring died out. It's in our very DNA and again, your refusal to realize that shows your misunderstanding of evolution or even human attributes.
Unless you believe in creationism, there are no "bugs" in an organism (just real bugs like fleas and bacteria). A bug is when you write a program and it doesn't behave like the programmer wanted it to behave.
If you are a creationist, how do you know that God didn't deliberately design some infants with autism?
Slashdot Mirror
RTFA.
No, a factually incorrect comment should be modded down so I don't have to waste my time reading it. Mod it "overrated" rather than "troll".
There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday - The Police
These Venus transits only happen ecery 105-121 years, so you've never seen it and will never see it again. BTW, interesting FA.
Someone who posts a comment that is merely incorrect doesn't warrant the post being moderated as Troll. The correct moderation is no moderation at all.
No, the correct moderation for a factually incorrect comment is "overrated". The correct moderation for this (my) comment is "redundant" because someone else said the exact same thing you did that I quoted above, and I told him the same thing I'm telling you.
You shouldn't have to worry about your karma unless you're a troll, a shill, unpleasant, or an idiot, because an occasional downmod won't hurt otherwise. If your karma is bad, you probably don't belong here.
Fanboys get mod points sometimes. As do employees. Hell, I've been modded down for mentioning Sony's evils in a story about Sony.
For illiterates like you
Don't you mean "innumerates?"
This is an issue of belief (at least for them)
I don't believe that they really believe their bullshit. The deniers are fueled by the oil industry, who I'm sure know that they're responsible for global warming, just as the cigarette companies knew smoking caused cancer even while they were denying it.
It's all about the money. They don't care about their unborn great grandchildren, let alone yours. They worship money and power, and that's all that's important to them.
There is supposed to be a less-than sign before the 10 in #1 up there, but Slashdot eated it.
< is part of HTML tags like <i> and <b>, so it interprets it rather than displaying it. To make one, type <
Oh, and the preview button is handy in cases where the comment might not come out like you wanted it <hits"preview">
It's been done.
Speaking well of MS doesn't make one a shill, but it's HOW you speak of MS. If it sounds like it came from a marketdroid it's almost certainly a shill. If it's "Windows bla bla" in an Apple story it's probably a shill. If it's praising Microsoft and lying about Linux and Apple, it's either a shill or a troll.
Not only that, but Mandrake/Mandriva was always my favorite distro. I switched to kubuntu when I heard Mandriva was dying.
Guess I'll switch back.
Move along, nothing to see here.
Well, if they shut off the power it'll be too dark to see anyway.
There are a few things wrong with that statement. One, it doesn't matter to me how popular Linux is, as long as they keep developing it. Why is lack of popularity a problem? It's not like Linux is a money-making enterprise. As long as my computer works I don't care how many others are using the same OS. Two, Linux isn't popular for quite a few reasons, foremost that every non-Apple PC comes with Windows preinstalled. Few have ever even heard of Linux, let alone know how superior to Windows it is. Hell, slashdot comments show you that a whole lot of folks here haven't ever tried it or they'd realize how crappy Windows really is (Windows is improving, but is still nowhere near Linux in useability, customability, and features).
And its diversity of distros is one of many reasons it's hard to write Linux malware (that, and repositories of course... not to mention MS's inherent flaws that make virus writing easy for that platform).
Personally, the more distros there are, the more I like Linux. If all there were was Gnome-Ubuntu and Red Hat, I'd probably be using Windows.
They're going to need some powerful microscopes to examine a nobot's chip.
are you referring to the "GOD'S WORD(R) Translation"?
Yes, after reading that one I decided to stick to good ol' King James. I can't trust a bible that's under copyright protection. No man should have a monopoly on God's word.
Well, the PC that's plugged into the TV runs Linux, so no NetFlix for me.
Take for example 22 week premature babies born with all kinds of disabilities and kept alive because ITS ALIVE IM PRO LIFE DATS WHAT JESUS WOULD DO YO.
Son, when you grow up and get married and your wife gets pregnant and your child is born premature at 22 weeks, you'll change your tune. You'll do anything and pay any price to keep that kid alive.
Unless you're a psychopath completely without any human feelings whatever, like the assholes who beat their own six month children to death..
The scenario, as put forth by the GP, is an issue for ASCAP and/or its international equivalents, not RIAA here.
And ASCAP is every bit as evil as the RIAA, if not more so. Got a jukebox in your bar? You have to pay ASCAP. Live band? Pay ASCAP. Your band only plays original or public domain works? Pay ASCAP anyway.
A bar owner here in Springfield, who hired bands that played only bluegrass and folk music (public domain) was taken to court by ASCAP for the fees they said he owed for the public domain music that was performed in his bar. He went bankrupt fighting the suit and his bar is now closed.
ASCAP is pure evil.
If you let those people live, you're working against natural selection.
And that is bad... why, exactly? Dogs didn't evolve naturally, we bred the varied dog species from wolves. In fact, we've controlled most aspects of life on this planet for quite some time, why not evolution as well? Blasphemy, or something?
That's true, but who are you or I to say that autism is a flaw or disability at all? I'd be willing to bet that Thor (inventor of the hammer) and prometheus (tamer of fire) were high functioning autistics.
And I don't know what version of the bible you're reading, but "without disability" isn't in the King James version. Are you reading that (very bad) edition that says "do not lie" rather than "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" (do not SLANDER)?
Oh, and imperfection isn't what the bible says Adam and Eve brought about, it was SIN.
What does that link go to, goatse? I can think of no other reason to use bit.ly at slashdot. This ain't twitter. I'm not clicking any damned links that I don't know where they lead to.
Be glad I'm not moderating today, shortened URLs in comments get an automatic "troll" from me, simply because there's no rational reason except trolling to use one.
Have your child...
My children are grown and gone and I live alone. What would you have me do, go to the bar and drink?
Oh wait, I do...
Ah, yes. The glory of paid-for-with-taxes roads.
I'll take my "paid for with taxes roads" over a toll road any day. Do you think private industry or the free market you worship would have ever constructed the interstate highway system? If they did, it would cost a thousand dolars to drive from Miami to LA, stopping every mile or two to throw another dollar in the basket.
And guess what? The last toll road I was on (actually it was a toll bridge) was full of potholes and congested during rush hour, just like the free roads.
The infertile are giving birth at an amazing rate, along with the mentally ill or handicapped. 500 years ago, they'd be killed when their situation was discovered if they were going to be a burden.
Not in all societies. I've read that the Irish always considered handicapped children to be "special gifts" which were protected and cared for.
I'm going to need at least a citation before I'll believe your claims of primitive eugenics. What society ever deliberately killed their children? The instinct for protecting one's offspring is far stronger than you will ever be able to imagine until you, yourself, procreate. If you had kids you wouldn't make such an absurd assertation.
But when society identifies what they think natural selection would do and do the opposite, that's a reversal. "aww, he's so [insert flaw here] we should protect him" That doesn't select on the nurturing of the caregivers, but selects on the impairment of the saved.
It selects for both. Our nurturing of offspring is an evolved instinct; those who didn't care for their offspring died out. It's in our very DNA and again, your refusal to realize that shows your misunderstanding of evolution or even human attributes.
Unless you believe in creationism, there are no "bugs" in an organism (just real bugs like fleas and bacteria). A bug is when you write a program and it doesn't behave like the programmer wanted it to behave.
If you are a creationist, how do you know that God didn't deliberately design some infants with autism?