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Comment Re:This award is a big fail (Score 1) 83

I'm sure the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Nobel Committee appreciate your input. The intent and letter of Nobel's will might still be a bit more important to them, so don't be disappointed if they won't implement your updates immediately.
This is an award, not a paycheck or a sports trophy. If someone who is awarded a prize doesn't want it, they're free to refuse. If someone who thinks they deserve one doesn't get it... tough luck.

Comment "Good enough" (Score 1) 598

A variant on the KISS theme:
If you deliver something that is better than "good enough" you're wasting your time and your clients' money.
You are not an artist. Every piece of code you write does not have to be a masterpiece.
Just because you think you can write a better version of someone else's code, don't bother if the code works.

Comment Re:Nine metric tons? (Score 1) 366

Even though I've been using SI all my life and studied physics, I don't think I've ever seen Tg used, even though it would be the logical unit. Unfortunately, the base unit for mass in SI is kilogram. In this case, you'd probably write 9.9 * 10^9kg, to avoid double prefixes. To make things even more confusing, the "tonne" is an accepted non-standard unit within SI, and in many countries it's usually spelled "ton".

Submission + - NSA Still Funded to Spy On US Phone Records,Vote Fails 3

turp182 writes: The Amash Amendment (#100) to HR 2397 (DOD appropriations bill) failed to pass the House of Representatives (this link will change tomorrow, it is the current day activity of the House) at 6:54PM EST today, meaning it will not be added to the appropriations bill. The amendment would have specifically defunded the bulk collection of American phone records.

Roll call may not be available until tomorrow.

Subjective: Let freedom be reigned.

Comment Re:what makes you think it's different anywhere el (Score 1) 327

I think we agree on most points, and I definitely agree that "neither politicians nor the public seem to care enough to make this a high profile issue." In the scope of the article, though, don't you think that some of the "holier-than-thou fuss about the NSA" might be a reaction to holier-than-thou statements like "the US government ... in its role as the 'caretaker' of the internet?"

Comment Re:what makes you think it's different anywhere el (Score 2) 327

I agree that other countries are doing the same thing. I don't think the main differences are the ones you listed, though.(1)NSA certainly have more resources than their counterparts in other countries, but I wouldn't automatically equal that to being "better at it". (2) People outside the US are making a fuss. The main difference from my POV is that most other democracies don't tout their spying as being "caretekers of the Internet" or "a bulwark against international terrorism". The spy and cheat and keep very quiet about it. When they get caught with their hands in someone else's cookie jar they do some low profile damage control and get back to business as usual.

Submission + - State Department Demands Takedown of Printable Gun Schematics. (forbes.com)

moeinvt writes: In the latest episode of the 3D-printed gun saga, Forbes reports that the U.S. Department of State has demanded that the plans and blueprints for the 3D-printed gun components be immediately "removed from public access". In a letter sent to Cody Wilson, the feds claim that the plans must be reviewed and approved by the "Directorate of Defense Trade Controls" (DDTC) to ensure that making them publicly available does not violate the "International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)" rules. Full text of the letter published in the Forbes article.

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