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Comment Re:No (Score 1) 735

by hitnrunrambler (#30956056) Attached to: Seinfeld's Good Samaritan Law Now Reality?

"NUMBERED steps ARE meant to be done sequentially. Otherwise they wouldn't be numbered. People who don't get that are part of the problem, not part of the solution."

~~~~~~

I don't think that's at all true. Almost every tests I've ever seen has had numbered questions. If the above were true, then if I had ever skipped over a question, I'd have violated the rule, and gotten no credit for answering later questions. This has never happened during my many years of schooling. So I'd conclude that numbering the questions never implies that they must be done sequentially. It's just a convenient label, so that you can refer to a specific question during discussions.

Numbered DIRECTIONS are different than numbered QUESTIONS.

So in conclusion, numbering (like slashdot comments) is either considered in context OR you're doing it wrong.
Space

A Hyper-Velocity Impact In the Asteroid Belt? 114

Posted by Soulskill from the i-played-that-game dept.
astroengine writes "Astronomers have spotted something rather odd in the asteroid belt. It looks like a comet, but it's got a circular orbit, similar to an asteroid. Whether it's an asteroid or a comet, it has a long, comet-like tail, suggesting something is being vented into space. Some experts think it could be a very rare comet/asteroid hybrid being heated by the sun, but there's an even more exciting possibility: It could be the first ever observation of two asteroids colliding in the asteroid belt."
Games

Revisiting the "Holy Trinity" of MMORPG Classes 362

Posted by Soulskill from the or-druid-as-the-case-may-be dept.
A feature at Gamasutra examines one of the foundations of many MMORPGs — the idea that class roles within such a game fall into three basic categories: tank, healer, and damage dealer. The article evaluates the pros and cons of such an arrangement and takes a look at some alternatives. "Eliminating specialized roles means that we do away with boxing a class into a single role. Without Tanks, each class would have features that would help them participate in and survive many different encounters like heavy armor, strong avoidance, or some class or magical abilities that allow them to disengage from direct combat. Without specialized DPS, all classes should be able to do damage in order to defeat enemies. Some classes might specialize in damage type, like area of effect (AoE) damage; others might be able to exploit enemy weaknesses, and some might just be good at swinging a sharpened bit of metal in the right direction at a rapid rate. This design isn't just about having each class able to fill any trinity role. MMO combat would feel more dynamic in this system. Every player would have to react to combat events and defend against attacks."
Censorship

Australian AvP Ban Reversed 71

Posted by Soulskill from the people-have-spoken dept.
Earlier this month, we discussed news that Sega's new Aliens vs. Predator video game had been refused classification in Australia, effectively banning it. After a scathing response from the developer saying they wouldn't censor the game, and later news that the classification scheme may be updated to include an R18+ rating, it now seems that the Classification Board has seen fit to give the game a green light after all. Sega's Darren Macbeth told Kotaku, "We are particularly proud that the game will be released in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed whatsoever. This is a big win for Australian gamers. We applaud the Classification Review Board on making a decision that clearly considers the context of the game, and is in line with the modern expectations of reasonable Australians."
Republicans

Journal Journal: Unsung

Journal by SixFactor
http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/bush_quietly_saved_a_million_african_lives

Comment Re:weird (Score 0) 716

by SixFactor (#28254215) Attached to: Kids Score 40 Percent Higher When They Get Paid For Grades
Amen to that. I've told my kids that their parents have jobs: I am the breadwinner, while mom manages the household. It is therefore their job to attend school. I get performance reviews at work (while mom is of course, exempt from such :D). It is therefore important for them to do well at school, and grades, like it or not, reflect that progress.

Seems to me that the financial incentive has two functions: while it can clearly be a motivator (that likely promotes only short-term and shallow learning; but that's another discussion), it is also an indicator of how parents value (or de-value) education.

Comment Re:"for civilian use" (Score 1) 167

by SixFactor (#28201045) Attached to: Secret US List of Civil Nuclear Sites Released
SDM,

I admire your effort and appreciate the apparent pro-nuclear stance. But please check out the NRC Fact Sheet on TMI Unit 2 (Unit 1 is doing just fine, thanks) for more precise details on the cause and sequence of events for the accident. You'll find some useful facts that will correct some of your misconceptions about the contributing factors and root causes of the event.

In my opinion, the most dominant root cause was inadequate operator training. The stuck-open primary valve (PORV) was misdiagnosed, with a faulty valve position indicator contributing to the misdiagnosis. Every operator action taken downstream of that led to the circus surrounding the event. It did not do to create emergency operating guidance on the fly. I contend that if there was no operator interference with the Emergency Core Cooling System(s) (yes, there are several), the core would have remained intact for some time (days).

BTW, SDM stands for Shutdown Margin - at least in the civilian side of the nuke industry. :D
Biotech

Submission + - Life from Artificial DNA?

Submitted by SixFactor
SixFactor writes: Bioengineering proves itself again a field of significant breakthroughs. From a Washington Post article, researchers in Maryland are about to conjure life from completely artificial DNA. This is a rich article that covers profound angles like, life as an operating system, energy, genetically manipulated food, patent law, and most interestingly, raises shades of Jurassic Park:

Many scientists say the threat [referring to "bio-error"] has been overblown. Venter notes that his synthetic genomes are spiked with special genes that make the microbes dependent on a rare nutrient not available in nature.

And we all know what happened to those critters with amphibio-dino genes, don't we? So, just because we can, should we?
Microsoft

Submission + - Vista Service Pack 1: Light Dawns on Marblehead

Submitted by SixFactor
SixFactor writes: From InformationWeek, some hopeful news for troubled Vista users. On the one hand, it could be argued that Microsoft is being responsive to its users' needs. On the other hand, "responsive" in Redmond appears to involve significant (v — >c) time dilation.

The money quote from the article:

Microsoft marketing VP Michael Sievert told InformationWeek in March that Vista was "high quality right out of the gate" and that the company would likely dribble out small updates as required via its Windows Update service.

I do not know if 300 or more changes constitute a dribble, but Service Pack 1 is at least a step in the right direction. But I think I'll wait for SP2 before replacing XP on my Windows machines.
Biotech

Submission + - Plankton and Global Warming

Submitted by SixFactor
SixFactor writes: An idea to use plankton to fight climate change, is getting serious consideration. Plankton blooms, induced by fertilizing desolate patches of ocean with iron, are being tested for their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and transport the greenhouse gas to ocean depths. If the tests yield immediate and measurable results, the effort could be a viable implementation of carbon offsets. However, if overdone, imagine getting to a "tipping point," where the concern is no longer global warming, but the opposite. One thing is notably absent from the article: there is no requirement for an Environmental Impact Statement. But I do foresee happier balleen whales.
Toys

Submission + - U.S. Army Developing Plasma-Based Weapons

Submitted by SixFactor
SixFactor writes: First on tap is plasma shield designed to dazzle and stun using a combination of laser-generated plasma and sonic shock waves — a concept called Dynamic Pulse Detonation. A range of 100 meters is anticipated, with laser testing in 2008, and full vehicle-borne platform testing in 2009. A related project mentioned in the article is a laser rifle, with variable lethality settings. Sharks optional.
Security

Submission + - How Much Are Typos Costing You?

Submitted by tieTYT
tieTYT writes: Domain Name Wire reports on a startup that, on behalf of large trademark owners, is shutting down typosquatting websites using an unprecedented degree of automation. DNW editor Andrew Allemann writes, "CitizenHawk's TypoSquasher tool crawls the web in search of typos of a company's brand name. Whenever it finds an infringing domain name TypoSquasher captures evidence including screenshots, whois information, and how the domain is being monetized. It then automates legal processes to get control of the domain, including sending cease & desist letters and contacting the company that helps monetize the domain (such as a domain parking company)." There is also a tool on the CitizenHawk home page that lets you explore typosquatting domains around your trademark. For instance, there are at least 6795 domain names that contain the word Microsoft or some clear mispelling of it.

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