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User: Wench

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Comments · 98

  1. Re:To hell the luddites. Hack the genome. on Convergence of Biology and Computers? · · Score: 1

    Hmm. Maybe. Sounds cool, but you are not in an isolation facility, are you?

    First, consider hacking your own genome before hacking another human being's. They may not like what you do.

    Second, mind out any non-human ones you hack don't turn into a plague.

    Bio-hacking on the environmental scale is old and only sporadically successful - think "We'll just add this species to kill that other one, that got introduced because someone thought it would be aesthetically pleasing". It has brought us plagues of rabbits and cane toads. And much more.

  2. Re:Just as excited (but I'm hopeless) on Extra Scenes in TTT Extended Edition DVD · · Score: 1

    I don't see why at all.

    We tragic fan-girls already know that Denethor loved Boromir best, and thought Faramir was a bit of a wussy boy in comparison; and that's why Boromir got the exciting and politically relevant trip to Rivendell and Faramir got the semi-exile of the orc patrol in Ithilien. And also that this will have further ramifications in RotK...

    I think this could well improve things a lot. Extending Faramir's temptation from the few minutes to the few days is OK by me; but I was annoyed at the character shown. If that is improved then hurrah, that fixes one major gripe.
    And a sight of Huorns at Helms Deep will fix another major one.

    Now if only Gimli could be less comical.

  3. Re:Can't have it both ways... on How to Fake A Hard Day at the Office · · Score: 1

    Yeah, you have some good points, but it is amusing.

    And you're wrong on one point: "real jobs" can be faked. I have been until recently the lone programmer support for a bunch of academics. They have NO idea how long things take. A week to write a 50 line script? Quite plausible...

    Programmer productivity is hugely variable, so this is easy. Simply pretend to be someone who needs more thinking/debugging time than you really do, and who would know?

    I don't fake it here because I like the work, the people and the conditions. But I could. And if I had a job that had stupid management with no respect for me, I probably would.

  4. Is _anyone_ here talking about the article? on Interview with Jordan Hubbard About DarwinPorts · · Score: 1

    I am so very very bored of reading /. replies to Apple-icon articles. They just go on and on about whether OSX sucks/rules or Apple hardware sucks/rules or Apple the company sucks/rules.

    Come on, post something relevant. Tell me why you love fink or darwin ports.

    Me: G4 powerbook; OSX 10.2.5; love it. Use both as terminal and for development, before committing over to Linux cluster or webserver. And I do use fink a little bit, but mostly I get stuff from the developers' CVS or websites because it's not _in_ fink. BioPython; ncbi toolbox/blast; assorted other bio-this'n'that.

  5. Great idea!!! on 3G phones: Send Anywhere, But Not Anything · · Score: 3, Funny

    Cuts out all the chain letters and those lame jokes you get 17 times over; the ones with the >>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>> markings...

    (Yah, so there might be some teeny weeny unwanted side effects. Whatever.)

  6. I'm using it now on Safari Beta 2 Available · · Score: 1

    Fantastic rendering speed compared to Mozilla. I may have a new favourite.

  7. Oh, Bah Humbug. on New Whitespace-Only Programming Language · · Score: 1

    Relax, it's harmless.

  8. And what about computer languages? on Dying Languages, Fading Formats · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Some people here say that disused human langauges are better off forgotten. And yet I bet the same people would prize every new computer languages ever invented. Even Intercal. And Parrot.

  9. Re:His heart was in the right place on 12" Powerbook: Slick and Sexy, But Not Without Issues · · Score: 1

    You think someone called Eugenia is a guy? You seem not to have read the rest of the article very carefully, either.

    Your review of this review isn't.
    (Yes, that is subtle pot-kettle sarcasm.)

  10. Re:Mt Stromlo Research - oops on Slashback: Tableturkey, Stromlo, Mandrake · · Score: 1

    Sorry, did that post change while I was writing my reply? URL is now in story. Sorry for duplication. D'oh!

  11. Mt Stromlo Research on Slashback: Tableturkey, Stromlo, Mandrake · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you want the official site, the university has set one up here

    It is possible that they won't rebuild many telescopes. While it is very sad that so much classic equipment was lost, and a huge blow for the local amateur community, Canberra's light haze has been getting in the way of astronomy at Stromlo for years. Most of Stromlo's research is done up at Siding Springs observatory, way north near Coonabarabran.

  12. Yup, indeed on Preview: Diablo II - Lord of Destruction · · Score: 2

    I know an actual real live female blacksmith.
    She doesn't look like she has huge muscles because women don't gain bulk with strength the way men do. But she sure can hammer out horseshoes all day, and wrestle horses at need!

  13. Re:government curiosity on Slashback: Things, Stuff, Items · · Score: 1

    Well, if you are Australian, you don't have to answer this question. All the others are required, this one is optional. Depends if you want to proclaim it.

    Personally I have no intention to claim to be a Jedi, since I'm not. And I have no problem ticking the "no religion" box.

    The statistics are not frivolous curiosity. They are used seriously - to develop policy on funding schools & hospitals & all sorts of other stuff. Low level policy analysts usually try their best to work out where the population is that needs the schools etc. Then the politicians usually sneak in and screw it up :)

  14. Female characters on The Business · · Score: 1

    Stephend says: the female characters are just not very well formed (they're just men with breasts). Unfortunately, a female character is the hero.

    Crap! I can only assume that YOU want women to be boring bigbreasted fluffbrained stereotypes. I love Banks' female characters. I love that they have guts and brains and their own agendas. Oh, is that somehow "being male" to you? Get over it.

    BTW, I liked this one but agree that it's not his best.

  15. Actually, all your BASE are belong to us on Open Source Biology And Knowledge Distribution · · Score: 1

    Better than you think. DNA is a string of pairs of _bases_ (ACGT) arranged in a double helix. Its length is measured in base pairs.

  16. Beware of fads, including Low Carb on Foods for Geeks Over 30? · · Score: 1

    Watch out! The diet industry abounds in fakery and fraud. And the low-carb diet is one of them.

    Here's some sites to help get started - Google will turn up heaps more but you'll need to sift fact from fake.

    Rosemary Stanton is a highly respected Australian nutritionist:
    http://www.skeptics.com.au/journal/stanton.pdf

    The American Heart Foundation:
    http://www.americanheart.org/Health/Risk_Factors /O verweight/Fad_Diets/recognize.html

    A few others:
    http://www.dietfraud.com/
    http://www.faddiet.com/ (funny)
    http://nutrition.miningco.com/health/nutrition/c s/ faddiets/

  17. Soapbox with logic problems on Datamining Medline for Gene Interactions - Pubgene · · Score: 2

    Sure, a drug interactions database would be useful. No question. Relevance to the topic? Hmmm, a tangent at best. OK. Whatever.

    But what got my goat was the claim that "more than 100,000 deaths per year are caused by adverse drug reactions" and yet "By contrast, deaths due to traditional herbal remedies are so rare they're hard to find."

    This is such blindingly bad use of statistics that I have to howl. It isn't so much like comparing apples with oranges, as like comparing apples with trilobites. Consider the populations: why are people taking traditional herbal medicines? For colds, indigestion, general malaise. Not for heart disease, strokes, cancer or anything life threatening. People at risk of death are a lot more likely to risk dangerous combinations of drugs. Well, derrr.

  18. It's been done on Threatening Online Tablature · · Score: 1

    A couple of hundred years ago the Vatican wouldn't let anyone have the sheet music to a famous piece, the Miserere by Allegri. Until Mozart came to listen, heard it once, and wrote it down from memory.

    The story: http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/alle gri/miserere.html

  19. This is hysterical! (And not sexist, you twits) on "The Sims" To Have Its Own TV Series? · · Score: 2

    Commander Taco, forget the abuse from these silly wannabe feminist-cause-chix-dig-that men and hyper sensitive Americans who think that any mention of sexuality is automatically harrassment.

    This is very very funny. If I had sims this is what I'd do. Though probably with more cute TV boys than you have in your house.

    xxxxxx

  20. What will I play when I'm 64? on Turn-Based Games: What Happened? · · Score: 1

    And have minor arthritis and can't keep up with the real time rpg...

    Damnit, I want turn based games so I can set up a HUGE TV/playstation etc in my retirement home one day. No, really. Future proof the games industry.

  21. No, it's just not quite what you want on Narrative, Plot And Aimlessness In Game Design · · Score: 1

    Not necessarily. It could just be too boring in certain aspects. I use cheat sheets to structure my game the way I like it.

    Recently I've been playing Vagrant Story, which I love. Great RPG, nice plot/action balance.

    I NEVER use the cheat sheet to figure out monsters and block puzzles. I SOMETIMES use it to figure out maps, because I hate getting lost. I ALWAYS use it to figure out weapon and armour classes because otherwise I'd be making my own lists. (Now let's see, was a Sallet better than an Armet again??)

    With a complex enough game, it's fair to choose how you want to play.

  22. Re:Warning: Odd Javascript is R-rated on Don't Believe The Quickies · · Score: 1

    Hey, that changed quick! Thanks dudes!

  23. Warning: Odd Javascript is R-rated on Don't Believe The Quickies · · Score: 3

    A small warning in the text would have helped.

    I didn't really want a bunch of naked chicks bouncing around on my screen here at work. Or in fact even at home, though I do appreciate the javascript artistry. Now if they were naked Ian Thorpes, you would have another story for the home choice...

  24. Not a problem - try it! on Google, History, Profitability · · Score: 1

    The thing is, google's ranking method nearly always eliminates this sort of rubbish anyway. I'm very impressed by it.

    If you find it doesn't work exactly, check out the advanced search form.
    http://www.google.com/advanced_search.html

  25. Re:*yawn* on Slashback: life-support, petrol, gender, tunes · · Score: 1

    So what, exactly, don't you buy?

    Are you saying this guy is lying about the shit his wife went through?

    Some people wouldn't see hard factual evidence if it bit them on the arse. Who's the blinkered one here?