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User: Workaphobia

Workaphobia's activity in the archive.

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Comments · 1,017

  1. That's funny on The Upcoming Windows 8.1 Apocalypse · · Score: 1

    Quite interesting that Windows Vista and 7 are going the way of XP so soon.

  2. Re:Somebody thought it was atmospheric pressure? on Siphons Work Due To Gravity, Not Atmospheric Pressure: Now With Peer Review · · Score: 1

    I'll bet you're one of the guys that likes to "correct" us all when we refer to experiencing centrifugal force while riding a roller coaster.

  3. Time traveler's dilemma on Some Sites That Blue Coat Blocks Under "Pornography" · · Score: 1

    Quick, the cyborgs are hot on my tail -- when am I? Did I make it back to 2023? Or is it 2003? Let's see... Bennet Haselton is criticizing internet filtering... Dammit, that doesn't narrow the range in the slightest!

  4. Re:Illegal to on Massachusetts Court Says 'Upskirt' Photos Are Legal · · Score: 1

    Indeed, and to avoid this illegality, women should be required by law to emit a Peace-Cry as they walk, lest any man be accidentally caught in their wake.

  5. Re:Illegal to on Massachusetts Court Says 'Upskirt' Photos Are Legal · · Score: 1

    The other bizarre thing is that a distinction between nude and not nude exists in the first place. Why does the law care whether genitalia are showing, unless that is specifically written into the statute?

  6. Re:Illegal to on Massachusetts Court Says 'Upskirt' Photos Are Legal · · Score: 2

    What surprises me is that it is presumably illegal to stick your head underneath a woman's skirt without her permission, and yet the same does not apply if you're using a camera. If there's no right to privacy, is there at least a right to personal space?

  7. Re:I find myself wondering... on Scientists Calculate Most Precise Measurement of Electron's Mass · · Score: 1

    Precision without accuracy is meaningless, hence the "significant digits" we were all taught in science class. Mentioning accuracy when bragging about precision would be redundant. Why split hairs?

  8. Page is unreadable due to obstrusive ads, including sound ads. -1 would not click again.

  9. Astrology or astronomy? on Majority of Young American Adults Think Astrology Is a Science · · Score: 2

    Without RTFA, was there any attempt to remind survey participants that astrology is the one with animal symbols, and astronomy is the one with black holes? If not, this isn't measuring acceptance of astrology, so much as measuring name recognition.

  10. Re:Works for Slashdot as well... on EA's Dungeon Keeper Ratings Below a 5 Go To Email Black Hole · · Score: 1

    I seem to recall the exact same thing happening to Digg. Does that mean I'll see you on reddit in a few months?

  11. Re:Works for Slashdot as well... on EA's Dungeon Keeper Ratings Below a 5 Go To Email Black Hole · · Score: 1

    Meh. I've taken a long enough break from slashdot that an entire decimal place of userids has come and gone without my noticing. Another, more eternal break won't be so bad. If they want to destroy comments, and hence destroy the site, I'll be happy to vacate.

  12. Re:Not with a bang, but with a Beta. on Ask Slashdot: Distributed Online Storage For Families? · · Score: 0

    What the hell? I don't know what that social media B2B page you linked to is, but how can anyone read something with font so small and a giant, conspicuous, two-second-scrolling hype banner?

  13. Re:The title says it all. on Slashdot Tries Something New; Audience Responds! · · Score: 1

    Meh, slashdot comments aren't bad, but they're not great either. Specialized subcommunities on reddit -- the ones with strict moderators -- do fairly well.

  14. Re:The title says it all. on Slashdot Tries Something New; Audience Responds! · · Score: 1

    I didn't expect to be enlightened by reading anything in the comments, but you proved me wrong. This is a point I always knew but didn't consciously appreciate until you said it. I don't come to slashdot for the crappily written summaries, I come for the sometimes-accurate comments that enhance the discussion.

  15. Re:Come on on Layoffs At Now-Private Dell May Hit Over 15,000 Staffers · · Score: 1

    I read the summaries. I come here to argue about how bad the summaries are.

    Bring it on!

  16. Come on on Layoffs At Now-Private Dell May Hit Over 15,000 Staffers · · Score: 2

    Jesus, the summary's written like an indictment of capitalism. "The only thing that matters now is money", as if that weren't the stated purpose of every company. Dell's not a charity created for its employees. And even if it were, can you argue that this wouldn't be in the best interest of the remaining ones, so that the company still exists a few years from now?

    I get the whole Let's-hate-on-private-capital bent. Sure, Mitt Romney was a tool. But you're really not helping your credibility with this Corporations-are-evil hippyism.

  17. Re:Just saying... on First New Generic Top Level Domains Opening · · Score: 1

    No, it's bad for businesses. It means they have to invest funds in protecting their brand. Just like how the .xxx domain people blanketed television with ads, saying how they'll extort your non-porn business by registering your name under their TLD.

  18. Re:No Sign-in on CmdrTaco Launches Trove, a Curated News Startup · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That layout looks like the stuff I skip over when I go to any news linked news site. If it had an unscrollable fixed background it would be twitter.

  19. Re:Slashdot.. on CmdrTaco Launches Trove, a Curated News Startup · · Score: 1

    Is it unfair for slashdot to be "American slanted"? I've always thought of it as an American site. Does the fact that it is available in other countries obligate it to give them a proportional share of the news?

  20. Re:Nice CSS/Javascript on your reddit clone on CmdrTaco Launches Trove, a Curated News Startup · · Score: 2

    I agree that the notion of news feeds filtered by interest is essentially the same as reddit. But I'll take this opportunity to bicker with you about /. vs reddit.

    What annoys me most about /. is the poor quality of many of the submissions that make it through, despite (or because of) the fact that it's curated. Sure, there's the almost mandatory trope of closing a summary with a rhetorical question. But often the whole summary, or even the news story, is crap -- FUD, nonsense, or obviously loaded rhetoric that wouldn't even make it over the radar on reddit.

    Of course, reddit has its own cliches, some of which make me want to tear my hair out, but that is partially mitigated by unsubscribing from the worst offending subreddits. (Initial customization to leave the default subs is required if you want to avoid becoming suicidal.) But the crap stories that make it through there are at least *interesting*. Sure, they may blatantly appeal to reader biases, especially in politically oriented subs, but at least you know what you get from looking at the headline and know not to read any further.

    The crap that gets through on reddit is successful for a reason -- there must be an underlying "quality" in the submission that appeals to at least some large collective of users. Whereas the crap that gets through on slashdot is often a complete fluke.

  21. Re:The official 15 minutes to die on Controversial Execution In Ohio Uses New Lethal Drug Combination · · Score: 1

    First comment I got on that line since I started using it since Fall 2005. FYI, it's a quote from a textbook by Koenig and Moo. I know recursion jokes are done to death (and were trite even back then), but I liked that one in particular because of the smugness of the second sentence.

    And it's also true, of course.

  22. Re:Obligatory on Ask Slashdot: What's the Most Often-Run Piece of Code -- Ever? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I disagree. This may be the superlative of something, but I don't think "dumb" is it.

    I actually think it's an interesting thought experiment. It immediately forces the reader to think about how pieces of code are used in the real world, both within and beyond their intended application. But it is also likely impossible to settle to anyone's satisfaction. I would trust a proposed answer to this question even less than I would an answer to "What was the size of the internet at the time of the Morris worm", or "How many lines of C code are there in existence".

    Just because something's hard to measure doesn't make it dumb, though.

  23. Re:The official 15 minutes to die on Controversial Execution In Ohio Uses New Lethal Drug Combination · · Score: 1

    While a Guillotine would certainly bring death quicker, it's unclear whether the victim would experience a few moments of consciousness after decapitation.

    Maybe we should just round up all the worlds' death row inmates for a biannual thermonuclear detonation. If that isn't quick, I don't know what is.

  24. Re:How long would that last... on Programmer Privilege · · Score: 1

    "'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

    What the hell does that mean? Better say something or they'll think you're stupid.

  25. Re:Transportation is evil on Google Co-Opts Whale-Watching Boat To Ferry Employees · · Score: 1

    > Should we have shuttles for a thousand different companies?

    Is there a downside to that? If you don't like them using a public resource, charge them for access to it; I'm sure they're more than happy to pay if they aren't already. Not enough bus stops? Build more, seems like you'll make your money back. Or give them free access as a trade-off to lure in a better tax base. That's a decision for the city.

    But if you're just mad that there exists a class of people who can afford fancier things (directly or through their employer), then yeah, I could see why one would want to force them to use icky icky public transportation like the plebes.