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User: slagell

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  1. Re: The "Bro" network security monitor is sexist on Software Freedom Conservancy Asks For Supporters · · Score: 2

    For those who actually want to know, its name came from 1984 and Big Brother. It serves as a reminder that with great power comes great responsibility. 20 years ago when created, Vern Paxson was not thinking about or anticipating fraternity culture connotations.

  2. Question is, were they spending NSF money? on NSF Accused of Misuse of Funds In Giant Ecological Project · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Every University, business and organization that receives grants has overhead rates. These vary from reasonable to ridiculous based on the organization.

    These overhead funds then typically go into a larger, not grant specific, fund that is fungible. The spending out of that fund is then restricted not by grant guidelines, but by the general rules of the institution. Usually that is still somewhat restricted at a University, for example, that usually won't allow alcohol. However, businesses receiving grants generally have fewer restrictions.

    If you want to look at how overhead is used out of those general funds, I'm certain you will find this at any recipient organization. I am in fact surprised this is all they found. The fact that they are only looking at NSF and focusing on politically controversial topics for their specific party is very suspect. Should we start looking at how defense contractors spend all of their overhead for DARPA awards? Would they even share that information like NEON did?

  3. And Jobs says, "I believe I'm the real hero" on Snowden A Hero? Gates Says No, Woz Says Yes · · Score: 1

    And where's my limelight?!?

  4. Re:Old news on Aging Reversed In Mice · · Score: 1

    It doesn't give you cancer, it makes it more virulent and harder to stop.

  5. They are near perfect efficiency in cold climates on Selling Incandescent Light Bulbs As Heating Devices · · Score: 1

    People forget that heat loss isn't an energy loss if you are heating your home already.

  6. Aspergers? on Grigory Perelman Turns Down $1M Millennium Prize · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Maybe he just has Aspergers like half the great mathematicians and doesn't want to go to an ceremony or talk to any people.

  7. Damn those Mayans on NASA Warns of Potential "Huge Space Storm" In 2013 · · Score: 1

    Aren't we going to die from solar activity in the 2012 apocalypse anyway.

  8. A likely placebo effect on Iraq Swears By Dowsing Rod Bomb Detector · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is likely to be something similar to a placebo effect (in addition to confirmation bias and other psychological pitfalls) that will reinforce the idea that this works for officials there. If they believe it works, it is likely at least some bombers will, too. So it has a deterrent effect that is likely measurable. Therefore if they do some correlation studies later, they are likely to find places that do use these will have lower rates of incident (as long as you don't compare to places with actual bomb detection).

  9. Who uses their Comcast email? on Comcast's War On Infected PCs (Or All Customers) · · Score: 1

    I have lots of email addresses, but I have never used a Comcast email address even though they are my ISP. I wonder how many customers would even get these messages.

  10. And the cost of the investigation was.... on Porn Surfing Rampant At US Science Foundation · · Score: 1

    probably a lot more than $58,000.

  11. A bit alarmist on Why Anonymized Data Isn't · · Score: 1

    I do research in the field of anonymization and can say that I agree with a lot of his points, but he takes each of them too far and sounds very alarmist. He seems to see things in a very binary way. One can have anonymization that is effective at preventing reversal for 99% of indviduals or certain types of attacks. For example, I may be able to release a data set that has almost a 0% chance of revealing any particular user but a 100% chance that someone could be revealed.

    Anyway, one of the good points he brings out is how stupid the requirements in HIPAA are. One can anonymize with the safe harbor rules (from EU I think) which basically destroy information needed for most kinds of analysis, or they can get a statistician to certify that it has been statistically de-identified without any specific standard for what that means. So in practice you can get anything released if you hire the right statistician.

  12. OCZ already released the GC tool, but for Win only on Garbage Collection Algorithms Coming For SSDs · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I see OCZ already released some sort of garbage collection tool, but it only works on Windows. Kind of annoying since I bought their "Mac Edition" drive for my MacBook. Hopefully they'll put this in a firmware update, too, and hopefully I won't have to boot DOS on my Mac to update the firmware with a utility that blows over my partition table this time. That was a lot of fun going from version 1.10 to 1.30 firmware.

  13. The miracle is how credulous people are. on "Miraculous" Stem Cell Progress Reported In China · · Score: 1

    This is likely quite a load of bullshit.

    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=73

    That being said, we are still behind much of Asia and the EU in this area because of the restrictions for the past 8 years.

  14. Ego on A Look At the Wolfram Alpha "Search Engine" · · Score: 1

    If it is as big as Stephen's ego, then it might beat Google.

  15. Two unstoppable idiot hacks on New Law Will Require Camera Phones To "Click" · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1. Cut the wire where it is soldered to the speaker. You just need a second phone for your child porn.

    2. Use a small digital camera and not a cell phone. Just remember to turn off the flash.

    This is kind of like putting up a 10 mile long wall along the Mexican border to stop illegals. You can pretty much guarantee they won't go over the wall, but that is a pretty useless guarantee.

  16. Nova: Origins on Science Documentaries for Youngsters? · · Score: 1

    THe 2 disc set called Origins, a Nova special hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson

  17. Insight to Comcast switch sucks on Comcast Proposes Self Regulation and P2P Bill of Rights · · Score: 1

    Man, I have been very disappointed with the switch from INsight to COmcast in Illinois. Even though they are using the same hardware locally, upload speeds (and download to some extent) have been severely reduced---over an order of magnitude. I don't run a server, but I sync my home and work computer with rsync scripts nightly, and it takes forever now. I am guessing they are doing a LOT more filtering and traffic carving which has screwed with throughput.

  18. LED's are that efficient on A Super-Efficient Light Bulb · · Score: 1

    Look at the Cree XR-E (R2 flux bin) or the SSC P4 (V flux bin). They are pretty much there at around 120 lumens per watt, and these are in regular production. Hell, I have flashlights with these in them. And prototype LED's are getting up to 300 lumens/watt of visible light.

    I forget the reference, but there is a paper from a few years ago that essentially proved nothing can ever beat a P-N junction in efficiency. LED's are the future.

  19. Re:That's a Shame on Toshiba Making Funeral Plans for HD DVD · · Score: 1

    And I won't buy one until my TV dies and I get an HD one. The majority of Americans still do not have HD TVs, and until they do, BR will still be small compared to DVD.

  20. In the news... Orcs banned from UIUC on China Says Tibetans Need Permission To Reincarnate · · Score: 1

    How ironic, because, the University of Illinois where I work just banned Orcs after an long and tenuous debate.

  21. Very plausibly errors in mass or size estimates on Largest-Known Planet Befuddles Scientists · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It seems the simplest explanation is one of the estimates or both have a large error. Measuring the mass and volume of things like this isn't easy, especially when it is so far away. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them is off by 50%. For example, they measure the mass by the effect of its gravity. This could be perturbed by another object(s) in the vicinity yet undiscovered. That seems more probably than a planet made of a compression resistant spongy material IMHO.

  22. Re:Is this OS independent? on Password Vulnerability In Firefox 2.0.0.5 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or unless you use the same password for myspace and a bunch of other places

  23. Byron, IL nuclear plant is clear on Google Blurring Sensitive Map Information · · Score: 1

    The plant just south of Byron, IL is clear as day. The only obstruction is the steam cloud from the colling towers.

  24. What't new about this? on Universal Wants a Slice of Apple's iPod Pie · · Score: 2, Informative

    THey did this with DAT years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Home_Recording_ Act

    It worked great for that technology. :-)

  25. You forgot pr0n on iPod To Eventually Hold All the Video In the World? · · Score: 2, Funny

    Add porn, and it will take another order of magnitude more storage!