Slashdot Mirror


User: hedwards

hedwards's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
12,373
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 12,373

  1. Re:Do they account for hypothesis-mining? on Fermi Lab May Have Discovered New Particle or Force · · Score: 1

    The may is really the operative word there, it may be a new force or a new particle or it could just be something that happened. The problem though is that there's very few facilities which are capable of running those sorts of experiments. If they don't get funding it's going to be really tough to test these sorts of things to actually verify them.

    The article unfortunately confounds hypothesis with theory and what the title refers to is a theory that somebody posted to a sight, not one which has been subjected to any level of examination, just a post hoc explanation.

  2. Re:The marketing guys are good on NASA Green-lights $16.5M To Advance Future Jets · · Score: 2

    It depends what they mean, I assume they mean the most recently approve engines. But with a date like 2030, it sounds like it will take them several generations worth of engines to actually use them. Meaning that they'd be basically on time.

    That doesn't mean the effort isn't worth it, but it does make one wonder about whether or not the hyperbole is warranted.

  3. Re:Hmm - never gonna happen on Interpol Wants a Global Identity Card System · · Score: 1

    That market already exists, I think that this will likely make little to no difference one way or the other. You'd still have to trust the documents that are issued by the officials in whatever part of the world the individual comes from. And I assume you remember how those bigots reacted to the documents provided to substantiate President Obama's citizenship.

  4. Re:it's not the card, stupid... on Interpol Wants a Global Identity Card System · · Score: 1

    I think the issue is that while in places like the US, and the EU, the reliability of the documents as proof of identity is pretty good, there are other parts of the world where it's basically just proof that they paid their fee or bribed an official. Some places for a nominal bribe they'll put whatever name you like on the documents.

    That being said, I'm not sure this is the correct solution. And I'm positive that this solution scares me.

  5. Re:Criminal Activity is IMPORTANT!!! on Interpol Wants a Global Identity Card System · · Score: 1

    Other countries do that, I think the reason we don't is simply that we consider ourselves better than that. We have a constitution which doesn't allow for individuals to be judge, jury and executioner. The closest thing to an exceptions are forcable felonies and certain cases where law enforcement is authorized to use lethal force. But in both cases it's a matter of practicality and the individuals have a clear ability to avoid it.

  6. Re:Obligatory xkcd radiation chart on Fukushima Radiation Levels High, But Leak Plugged · · Score: 2

    What he means is that inhaled or swallowed radiation is more dangerous than the stuff you're just exposed to. Depending upon the type of particles, some of them can't penetrate paper, whereas others require meters of thick concrete to block. While the latter isn't going to make much of a difference in the short term, you're not going to get much damage out of the former. But, even with the latter, if you've inhaled it, those particles, at least some, are likely to stick around for a while.

    One of the main reasons for those iodine pills is to protect the thyroid in cases like this by making it less likely that radioactive iodine will end up hanging out there.

    Simplification I know, but that's basically that.

  7. Re:Japan's ocean radiation is 7.5 million times li on Fukushima Radiation Levels High, But Leak Plugged · · Score: 3, Funny

    Not a problem, we'll just throw the fish in jail and we'll be good to go.

  8. Re:Eh... on The Vatican Lauds Hackers · · Score: 1

    The number is low, that would be roughly 20 minutes of TV per man woman and child that has American citizenship. Even when you account for the people who haven't got a TV or are unable to watch, the figure still seems low.

  9. Re:Optimism on The Vatican Lauds Hackers · · Score: 1

    Except they weren't wrong about that. Granted the practice of confession is bullshit without any theological basis, but the app itself was even more so as it hasn't even the typical legitimacy of a traditional rite.

  10. Re:Makes me think of a hovercraft on Electromagnetic Automobile Suspension Demonstrated · · Score: 1

    I'm going to call bullshit on that. It's might not be realistic at present, but we will run out of oil eventually, and we've already run out of most of the easily tapped sources. You're suggestion that we couldn't do any of those things is laughable. Ford for instance has had an alternative to oil for the seat foam for decades, and has recently started using it again.

  11. Re:old reliable on Inducement To Piracy, Adobe Style · · Score: 1

    Capitalism is fine, but abusing a monopoly position isn't. Good luck working professionally if you haven't got the latest version of Photoshop. Whether Gimp does everything you need or not, anybody that you're working with is probably going to be requiring a Photoshop compatible file.

  12. Re:This is why I have given up on Adobe on Inducement To Piracy, Adobe Style · · Score: 1

    It's been a while since I loaded up Gimp, but they were making strides on making the interface sane. The bigger issues at that time were the tablet support and format compatibility. I definitely remember when Gimp had a terrible interface, it was being worked on last time I used it, not sure how much progress they've made since then.

  13. Re:Are these efforts worthwhile? on Solar Storm Nearly Wipes Out NASA's Messenger · · Score: 1

    The bigger issue is that as soon as you start putting that kind of money into the DoD people want to see the military do something. Libya is a much better user of resources than Iraq was, albeit, a much cheaper conflict to get involved in. Even if they don't give us access to their resources, having an unstable regime headed by a dictator isn't in our best interest.

    There's also the issue of the things which are going unfunded so that we can devote that much money to the defense department. Things like proper universal health care and education to name a couple.

  14. Re:Are these efforts worthwhile? on Solar Storm Nearly Wipes Out NASA's Messenger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's the way it's been, however that's not because of any particular rule. It's more because it's easier to get funding to blow something up than to do something productive. People tend to be more willing to open their purses for something that they feel is in their interest, particularly if it helps them avoid something that scares them.

    Societies that have other values tend to have other routes to developing technology. Ones which value agriculture tend to poor their resources there and into things which are related.

  15. Re:Its a PORK BARREL on Arizona Governor Proposes Flab Tax · · Score: 1

    Smoking and being obese are choices, being disabled isn't a choice. Which is why I'm so appalled that they're wanting to tax diabetics. Which is why your post fails so miserably it's one thing to tax a group for things they choose to do and quite another to tax them for something they are through no fault of their own.

  16. Re:Right, smokers should pay extra on Arizona Governor Proposes Flab Tax · · Score: 1

    I disagree, people who smoke and people who are obese made a choice, or really a series of them, the pro-obese lobby has gotten really ridiculous at this point. While being obese doesn't make one a bad person, it's definitely not something that ought to be encouraged. It does have some really nasty drawbacks, letting people off the hook with misinformation designed to allow for rationalizing the choice not to lose the weight is just plain wrong.

    There might be a small number of people who genuinely can't lose the weight, but it's definitely a small minority of the people assuming there are any at all. Most of them just aren't willing to do what they need to do to lose the weight. Weight loss isn't a complicated thing, you exercise, eat a balanced diet containing somewhat less than your caloric needs and you will lost weight. Suggesting otherwise is calling the laws of thermodynamics into question.

  17. Re:Right, smokers should pay extra on Arizona Governor Proposes Flab Tax · · Score: 1

    You're being obtuse, I'm not personally particularly militant about it, but anybody that's smoking around me is causing me harm. Granted, I think the FUD is largely that, but being around other people that smoke does have a negative impact on me. To suggest that it's just about tax dollars or cost of health care is just silly. Around here smokers pay more for their healthcare than non-smokers do typically.

    Now, if it were chewing tobacco, snuff or whatever they invent as a smokeless alternative to cigarettes, you'd have a point.

  18. Re:A comment on Fark sums this up perfectly on Do Violent Games Hinder Development of Empathy? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's a valid point, you don't see people getting up in arms when it's a female protagonist beating or generally abusing male antagonists. I gave up watching most prime time TV because it was typical for the wives to behave like abusive bitches and for the husbands to more or less cower.

    One has to wonder whether it's not as big a problem as is advertised or whether men just have that little value in modern society.

  19. Re:Or Maybe, on Do Violent Games Hinder Development of Empathy? · · Score: 1

    That thought has crossed my mind as well. I'm not sure how one would develop empathy if the limit to ones social life were even the old school Atari and NES games. They aren't particularly violent, but they don't provide any sort of basis for developing empathy either.

  20. Re:Uh, don't we maybe NEED that hormone? on Accidental Find May Lead To a Cure For Baldness · · Score: 4, Informative

    Unfortunately, it's might not be your imagination. Hair loss drug linked to less libido, ED To be honest, that possibility wasn't even on my list of things to consider when I opted not to treat my baldness.

  21. Re:Gaming Piracy on Piracy Is a Market Failure — Not a Legal One · · Score: 0

    Steam is a God awful solution to piracy. xkcd The prices are not generally low enough to make it worthwhile and Valve has a history of dicking people over for banking errors and charge backs.

    I refuse to spend more than $5 per game there, and even then I prefer to keep the number under $2 just because of the lack of trust I have for them. I personally haven't been screwed over, but one can never be sure that they won't be so lucky in the future.

  22. Re:No user-serviceable parts inside on AMD Bulldozer Will Bring Socket Shift To PCs · · Score: 1

    Indeed, I rarely if ever have bought a processor to replace one I've already got, I usually build my own computer which necessitates buying a processor to go with it. It's just not typically cost effective to upgrade the processor in most cases as I usually buy something that's close to the max the board can handle. Under normal circumstances I ever need a much more substantial upgrade or a boost to the GPU or HDD.

  23. Re:Brevity, Brevity, Brevity!! on Book Review: 15 Minutes Including Q&A · · Score: 1

    I used to think that way, but these days I like slides as a way of keeping myself accountable and making it easier for my audience to follow. Some people have a really hard time following long blocks of speech. Plus, previously I was making short lists of points to hit anyways, so putting them down on slides isn't really that much trouble.

  24. Re:Correlation is not Causation on Requiring Algebra II In High School Gains Momentum · · Score: 1

    Around here it's been semesters for some time, and getting even that is tough. The article doesn't really say what they're talking about. Around here most schools are on the semester or trimester system and so one of those terms would be used for Algerbra I, andother for Algebra II and so forth.

  25. Re:Unless you are in a working session on Book Review: 15 Minutes Including Q&A · · Score: 1

    As a part of my current coursework I've been doing a fair number of presentations. And brevity isn't really the goal. A better focus is making sure every slide gets you closer to the goal of communicating the whole topic you're covering. Limiting yourself really to no more than about 3 slides or so without involving the audience and cutting down on extraneous information that interferes with the flow of information. And really every slide should have a reasonable and identifiable connection to the talk.

    Powerpoint can be quite useful, but most of the problems are with it being used for things other than illustration and keeping on point. I'm sure there's other uses, but use it for other things at your own peril.