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Comment Re:Perfect place to finish my dissertation. (Score 1) 231

If you spot reading slashdot, you might find the time and focus to finish your dissertation. Seriously, reading Slashdot too much serves to create an Attention Defecit Disorder. Now if....whoo what's that! I found another open wifi network!...now where was I? Yea...Slashdot is like a bazaar of ideas, but you just went out for milk and bread.

Isn't that what MODERATION is for?

Comment Re:Increasing mortality is bad for business (Score 2, Informative) 300

The most-successful virus struck Europe in the mid-1200s, killed 40% of the people, and created a shortage of labor that allowed the serfs to free themselves and demand pay. Thus the middle class was born.

What did these viruses have in common? They were very virulent, killing the host quickly, but it didn't matter because their RNA code was spread via fleas.

A number of people doubt the bacterial bubonic plague/rats/fleas explanation due to the rapid manner of spread of the disease. A viral haemorrhagic fever, possibly airborne, is given as a more likely alternative.

Comment Re:Interesting! (Score 1) 139

I think you may be missing a little here.

What is amazing isn't that the flute doesn't make an annoying shrill, but that it's scale is similar to ours.

Beyond us having 12 tones in a scale, the temperament. Simply, the spacing in pitch between the tones.

Even in modern tones we have many examples of different tuning and different scales.

The most common scale and temperament people today recognize is the 12 tones in equal temperament (12-TET). That is the notes are divided equally into 12 steps between the fundamental frequency and its second harmonic. This isn't true for other temperaments. In Equal Temperament it A# and Bb are the same note. That isn't always true for other temperaments. There are pianos made with a split key there, because if you play the wrong one in the wrong musical key it sounds awful or even makes a wolf-tone (what you may call a shrill).

Add to that little bit in western music, modern eastern musical scales and tuning can be vastly different than what we use commonly.

Similar musical tuning and scales implies (doesn't prove) similar harmony and musical constructs.

The music played on that flute may have been more similar to modern western music than Japanese, Arab, Chinese, Aboriginal or Indian music based on its design.

Comment Timers make all the difference (Score 1) 541

Timers make all the difference.

Last year my home used 622 kWh for the June bill.

This year June was down to 392 kWh!

I haven't noticed a thing.

My computers are on timers... The OS shuts them off before the timer does... then I have to use a timer since the bios doesn't have a wake at time feature... But I set them to power on after power failure.

I put a lot of things on timers now. I just wonder if I am actually wasting electricity putting a CFLs and particularly LED lights on a timer, suspect on the lower wattage ones the timer and the light may be about the same. But with lighting I just want it on without thinking about it.

But basically it's a 37% difference in kWh.

I did this after switching to the 3 tier time-of-use plan and last year's bill was $80.69 and this years was $36.20 for a 45% savings.

And no I'm not an environmentalist, I'm just so cheap I squeeze a quarter 'til the eagle screams

House is 7200 cuft (200 M^3) main floor. Full basement, located between Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI USA (42.7` north lat)

Comment Re:sure it is (Score 1) 1079

In some parts of the United States, actual police officers can be hired privately in their off time to work as security guards. In many cases they are allowed to wear their official uniform. -Police officers in such places may never truly be considered "off-duty". In some municipalities, police officers may be required to carry their weapons in circumstances even when they aren't on the tax payers' clock.
Security

Submission + - SPAM: 11-year-old takes school network by the horns

alphadogg writes: When Victory Baptist School, a small private school in Millbrook, Ala., was struggling to keep its computer network together last year, an 11-year-old student named Jon Penn stepped in as network manager. For Jon — who says his favorite reading material is computer trade magazines — it's been the experience of a lifetime, even getting to select and install a gateway security appliance largely by himself. "This is kind of a small school, and I'm known as the computer whiz," the sixth grader says
Link to Original Source
Sony

Sony Offers Bloatware Removal Service — For a Fee [Updated] 231

linuxwrangler writes "First Sony packed its laptops with Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office trial version, Corel Paint Shop Pro trial version, WinDVD and more. Now it is offering to remove the bloatware. Of course marketing changed the name from 'removing the crap we stuck you with' to 'Fresh Start' software optimization. And they want you to pay $149.99 to clean up their mess — $49.99 for 'Fresh Start' on top of the required $100.00 Vista Business upgrade. You can get about $25.00 of that cost back if you select all available 'no-software' options which are only available after selecting the $149.99 'upgrade'. Wonder what they would charge to remove Windows completely." Update 11:57 GMT by SM: It seems that massive outrage at Sony's "Fresh Start" program has encouraged them to drop the fee for scrubbing your laptop of bloatware before shipping it your way.

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