Slashdot Mirror


User: SpeZek

SpeZek's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
362
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 362

  1. Re:Slow graphics on Macs? on Steam Prompts OS X Graphics Update · · Score: 1

    You can still scream for help though.

  2. Re:Slow graphics on Macs? on Steam Prompts OS X Graphics Update · · Score: 1

    Why is a bullet to the head such a bitch, but a bullet to the thigh, gut, arm your holding the rifle with, foot, etc are all merely flesh wounds?

    Because if it's not a headshot it doesn't put the enemy down in one shot, so he can alert his friends, and they can rush your position.

    Far Cry and Crysis are all about guerrilla tactics (since you're one person against a literal army), and a big part of that aspect is sniping.

  3. Re:Slow graphics on Macs? on Steam Prompts OS X Graphics Update · · Score: 1

    I liked Crysis. It feels like it was made for me.

    I think people treat it too much like another Halo or Call of Duty. It's not a run-gun-grenade game. It's much like (surprise surprise) Far Cry. Difficulty is high, taking cover is required, head shots are almost mandatory, using the terrain to your advantage is a must, the right weapon makes all the difference, knowing when not to fight is as important as knowing when to, and it looks pretty as hell.

    If there's another game I'd compare it to (other than Far Cry) it would be Delta Force. It's a niche game.

  4. Re:I was hoping for a rickroll on Lost Star Wars Scene In the Wild · · Score: 1

    Not like a switch - for years Palpatine carefully maneuvered Anakin to the balance point, and at the end it took just a tiny shove to flip him to the dark side.

    Except we didn't see that. We just saw Palpatine say "Go kill some Jedi and I'll save your wife from a dream you had."

    Face it. Lucas failed Film Making 101. Show, don't tell. Hell, he didn't even tell, he implied.

  5. Re:Whats wrong with the children? on 'Wi-Fi Illness' Spreads To Ontario Public Schools · · Score: 1

    But we still have stupid people.

  6. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 1

    Mod parent up, he nailed it.

  7. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 1

    ( 4 + 3 + 2 = x ) + 2, in which case the answer would be 11

    If that looks correct to you, then you just don't understand how to use "=", which is the whole point of TFA. The rules for "=" are pretty simple - what ever is on the left side of it is equal to the right side. It doesn't go inside the operations. 4 + 3 + 2 is equal to ( ) + 2 -- therefore, ( ) must have a value of 7. It's painfully simple logic. This is very, very basic math.

  8. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Equals always equals equals.

    In English - four plus three plus two equals something plus two. That's exactly how I read it, and how everybody I know would read it. Educated in Canada, for clarification.

    If anything, the comments on this article really drive home its point. Why are people throwing out the rules when they come upon an unknown? If they understood clearly, concretely, what "equals" meant, there wouldn't be the sort of confusion that's been going on. I think another poster had a good theory, that nowadays "=" is seen as "solve it" due to its use on calculators.

  9. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 1

    After 2 - 4 years of algebra you'd expect kids to be confused!? Jesus, this type of question was learnt in the first month in my school -- it's bloody addition/subtraction with one variable! No wonder American students don't understand math when it takes 2-4 years to solidify the concept of simple problem solving.

  10. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Weird, because I did spend the last 13 years learning math. I'm only on my second year of university (and hell, I haven't taken any college-level math beyond my AP exam in highschool). An equals sign means something is equal to something else. This is so basic it's almost embarrassing to be arguing about it, which is the point of TFA. Maybe the students didn't understand that ( ) was an unassigned value because they hadn't seen it before, but, why didn't they understand what = meant? That's the problem.

  11. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 1

    Therein lies the problem. You're treating an unassigned value as zero. Zero is a value. ( ) has no value, but can contain one. Logic would denote that to balance the equation, one would add some value somewhere. That somewhere is obviously within the brackets that currently have no value.

  12. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 2, Insightful

    In general, brackets serve to contain elements of the equation and signify the order in they are treated - empty brackets should therefore logically denote zero

    Logically denote zero? Nope. 0 = 0. Empty brackets clearly are just empty - that is, they contain no value. There's a difference between zero and a lack of value - namely, zero is a value of zero, and no value isn't. The empty brackets are a space where value can logically be inserted -- a zero is a zero.

    This stuff isn't rocket science. Nearly 100% of foreign students figured it out easily, compared to only about 30% of American students. The excuses don't work; there is something fundamentally flawed at play.

  13. Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) on US Students Struggle With Understanding of the 'Equal' Sign · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is it really that confusing? The problem is the lack of logic and understanding of equality. It shouldn't matter what the equation looks like, if one side equals the other, one side equals the other.

  14. Re:Martini on The Vending Machines of the Future · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I didn't say that at all. I was just pointing out the scare tactics of the anti-aspartame rhetoric don't stand up to scrutiny.

  15. Re:Martini on The Vending Machines of the Future · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Oh please.

    Plenty of things break down to formaldehyde (methanal) as part of digestion. Oranges, tomatoes, grapefruit, and especially alcohol, which creates far more than aspartame does. You get a larger dose from a glass of orange juice or your canned fruit than from a glass of diet coke. The human body is quite capable of metabolizing the small amounts of it found daily.

  16. Re:White collar criminal on Ex-SF Admin Terry Childs Gets 4-Year Sentence · · Score: 1

    Non violent criminals should not be put in prison at all. There has to be some other more effective, less expensive, and safer way to punish people.

    There is. House arrest and extensive community service. The criminal actually pays back his debt to society while still being limited his freedoms.

    The problem is that most people seem to think prison is about sticking criminals in with each other like animals, and having the toughest survive.

  17. Re:They collected $75,000... on Officials Use Google Earth To Find Unlicensed Pools · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What gives me the right to tell you what you can do over there, presuming you're not poisoning my grass or shining a 10 kw laser though my living room?

    Because we all live in a club, called "society", where we make certain sacrifices to personal freedom to help everybody. As a society, we've decided that you can't be a jerkass by building unsightly properties next to others, because it takes too much away from property values and deprives others' of their own enjoyment of their property. As a society, we've decided that you should need a permit to build a pool, because it needs to meet certain standards that aim to keep others safe. You enjoy the services that society gives you, like the right to own your own property, so society expects you to play by the rules.

  18. Re:And yet- on What's Wrong With the American University System · · Score: 1

    While I agree with a lot of what you're saying, some of your pros have their own cons.

    - Flexibility: I LOVE the idea of choosing classes! Great concept, too bad not every system has this

    Great concept, until you find out after 4 years that what you took doesn't help you find a job (or graduate).

    - Focused towards the masses: the US system is less elitist than other systems around the world. Everybody is expected to graduate!

    Which is why university is now the new highschool. Not everything should require a 4 year degree, but unless you enjoy the fast food industry, you pretty much need one.

    - Options: in large US universities you can study just about anything.. that's cool!

    Again, until you find out that majoring in Hungarian/American Studies offers little in the actual job market.

    As far as costs, I'm Canadian, so I have a bit of a different experience; a 4 year degree here costs a fraction of what it costs across the border (Mine is about 4K a year, not taking aid into account).

  19. Re:There are always more axes of improvement... on Why SSDs Won't Replace Hard Drives · · Score: 1

    There are plenty of 5.25" bays out there. Most, if not all, desktops have only one occupied by a DVD/CD/BR drive.

  20. Re:Trying to destroy one of their best traits... on Adapting the Post Office To the Digital Age · · Score: 1

    Canada is a bit looser than the US. Each province is basically responsible for its own affairs; medical, educational, infrastructure, etc. The federal gov't handles what a federal gov't is supposed to handle; foreign affairs, currency, debt, federal law, and the like. Where the US elects one leader to make big decisions, we elect leaders of our districts who then determine the federal leader. Everything is very piecemeal.
    It's rather ironic, considering that Canada was founded on the principal of having a very centralized government, whereas the US was founded on having a very decentralized government, yet here we are in 2010 -- the US becoming more and more centralized, and Canada one of the most decentralized federations in the world.

  21. Re:Where USPS falls short on Adapting the Post Office To the Digital Age · · Score: 1

    I'd trust CP more than UPS any day of the week.

    I've had a gift sent to me through UPS 3 times. 3 times it ended up at the wrong address. 3 times UPS would not claim responsibility, since it was signed for (by someone other than me, obviously).

    Every time I've sent or received through CP, the package or letter has arrived in perfect condition, on time (or early), and the delivery people don't sign for it and leave it on the doorstep to be stolen or just don't care that John Doe signs for my stuff.

  22. Re:Trying to destroy one of their best traits... on Adapting the Post Office To the Digital Age · · Score: 1

    The roads are bad because highways are paid by the provinces, not the federal government. If you go for a drive in Alberta or Quebec, you'll see that their roads are a lot nicer, because the provinces have more money.

  23. Re:I think you are talking a different subject on Pentagon Workers Tied To Child Porn · · Score: 1

    Really? I missed my own comment?

    Thanks for pointing that out!

  24. Re:I think you are talking a different subject on Pentagon Workers Tied To Child Porn · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Actually, it's due to over-zealous child protection laws. All the girl had to do was cry to the judge; intent, misrepresentation, none of that ever entered the court. The fact that she lied about her age (obviously, since she was in a bar drinking) meant nothing. It had nothing to do with private prisons, but everything to do with "Think of the children!" types.

  25. Re:What surprises me on Pentagon Workers Tied To Child Porn · · Score: 2, Informative

    I know someone who is currently serving 15 years in Arizona State for picking up a 17 year old girl at a bar and doing some heavy petting.