bobobobo - Slashdot User

Global Deforestation Demoed In Google Earth 207

Posted by kdawson on Friday December 11, 2009 @02:06PM from the woodman-spare-that-tree dept.

eldavojohn writes "On Google's official blog, they claim a 'new technology prototype that enables online, global-scale observation and measurement of changes in the earth's forests.' Ars has more details on what Google unveiled at Copenhagen. If you have Google Earth installed, you can find a demonstration here. Many organizations and government agencies are on board with this initiative to put deforestation before the eyes of the public. If only satellite data of North America existed before the logging industry swept in!" It's interesting to contemplate the implications for intelligence gathering of Google's automated tools to compare satellite photos.

Where the Global Warming Data Is 1011

Posted by kdawson on Sunday November 29, 2009 @10:04PM from the premiere-cru dept.

Several readers noted the latest fallout from the Climate Research Unit's Climategate: the admission by the University of East Anglia that the raw data behind important climate research was discarded in the 1980s, "a time when climate change was seen as a less pressing issue" according to the Times (UK) article. The Telegraph quotes Phil Jones, beleagured head of the CRU: "Our global temperature series tallies with those of other, completely independent, groups of scientists working for NASA and the National Climate Data Centre in the United States, among others. Even if you were to ignore our findings, theirs show the same results. The facts speak for themselves; there is no need for anyone to manipulate them." Some of the data behind these other results can likely be found in a new resource that jamie located up at the Real Climate site: a compilation of links to a wide variety of raw data about climate. From the former link: "In the aftermath of the CRU email hack, many people have come to believe that scientists are unfairly restricting access to the raw data relating to the global rise in temperature. ... We have set up a page of data links to sources of temperature and other climate data, codes to process it, model outputs, model codes, reconstructions, paleo-records, the codes involved in reconstructions etc."

Comment Hear hear! (Score 2, Informative) 762

by bobobobo on Tuesday November 17, 2009 @06:14PM (#30135996) Attached to: Calling B.S. On Amazon's Taxation Arguments

I'm right there with you. Ever since the sales tax has gone above 9%(for us) in this idiotic state, I've switched over to making as many purchases as I can online. That amazon prime fee, has more than paid for itself in the amount I've saved in not having to pay the state tax man.

Calling B.S. On Amazon's Taxation Arguments 762

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 17, 2009 @03:57PM from the didn't-do-it-nobody-saw-me dept.

theodp writes "Over at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Michael Mazerov carefully picks apart Amazon's arguments against collecting sales taxes, arguing that they simply do not withstand scrutiny. While Amazon officials say collecting sales tax in every state would be excessively burdensome, Mazerov notes the e-tailer already collects sales tax in virtually every state for numerous other companies that sell on its website. Mazerov also finds it disingenuous for Amazon to argue that it should not have to help support public services in states in which it has no physical presence when the company fails to support public services in most of the states in which it does have a physical presence. Finally, Mazerov isn't buying Amazon's argument that its opposition to collecting sales tax is not driven by a desire to gain a price advantage over competitors, which he finds at odds with the company's own actions and SEC filings. By claiming sales-tax immunity, says Mazerov, Amazon has enjoyed an unfair 5%-10% price advantage over local retailers, while also depriving states and localities of hundreds of millions of dollars of legally due revenue each year."

Are You a Blue-Collar Or White-Collar Developer? 836

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday November 15, 2009 @02:24PM from the what-about-three-moon-wolf-collar dept.

jammag writes "Some developers have gone to four-year universities, where they've also studied subjects like history and sociology, while other coders go to vocational schools and focus purely on writing great software. So why, asks a longtime developer, is there a stigma attached to not having a four-year degree, when 'blue collar' coders might be better trained? Why does the software industry keep emphasizing this difference — and generally giving better pay to four-year grads? Isn't being a developer about real skill level, not the piece of paper on the wall?"

Go, Google's New Open Source Programming Language 831

Posted by kdawson on Wednesday November 11, 2009 @01:21AM from the blatently-bracist dept.

Many readers are sending in the news about Go, the new programming language Google has released as open source under a BSD license. The official Go site characterizes the language as simple, fast, safe, concurrent, and fun. A video illustrates just how fast compilation is: the entire language, 120K lines, compiles in under 10 sec. on a laptop. Ars Technica's writeup lays the stress on how C-like Go is in its roots, though it has plenty of modern ideas mixed in: "For example, there is a shorthand syntax for variable assignment that supports simple type inference. It also has anonymous function syntax that lets you use real closures. There are some Python-like features too, including array slices and a map type with constructor syntax that looks like Python's dictionary concept. ... One of the distinguishing characteristics of Go is its unusual type system. It eschews some typical object-oriented programming concepts such as inheritance. You can define struct types and then create methods for operating on them. You can also define interfaces, much like you can in Java. In Go, however, you don't manually specify which interface a class implements. ... Parallelism is emphasized in Go's design. The language introduces the concept of 'goroutines' which are executed concurrently. ... The language provides a 'channel' mechanism that can be used to safely pass data in and out of goroutines."

Comment Costco Already Did It (Score 1) 11

by bobobobo on Tuesday November 03, 2009 @01:19AM (#29960132) Attached to: Coffins On Sale At Wal-Mart

Not sure why this is big news. Costco has been doing this for some time already. Guess it's funny now that WalMart is doing it?

Vegetarian Spider Described 162

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday October 13, 2009 @06:34PM from the lacto-ovo dept.

Smivs writes with word on a spider, Bagheera kiplingi, that dines almost exclusively on plants. "The recently described species of jumping spider, discovered by researchers from Villanova and Brandeis Universities, dines on the protein rich tips of acacias, the thorny shrubs found in much of Central America. ... The species of acacia... favored by the Bagheera kiplingi has protein-rich leaf tips and nutritious sap to reward its [symbiotic ant] protectors. ... The Bagheera kiplingi has essentially evolved to steal from the mouths of the ants. These agile, inquisitive jumping spiders can leap up to 50 times their own body lengths... Competition for prey in the spider world is fierce. The Bagheera kiplingi's ancestors took the reflexes evolved for hunting and adapted into a creature that uses them for ant evasion."

Happy Birthday, Internet! 213

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday September 02, 2009 @07:59PM from the not-a-kid-anymore dept.

NobodyExpects writes "I'd like to wish a happy birthday to the Internet! Today marks its 40th birthday! In fall 1969, computers sending data between two California universities set the stage for the Internet, which became a household word in the 1990s. On September 2nd 1969, in a lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, two computers passed test data through a 15-foot gray cable. Stanford Research Institute joined the fledgling ARPANET network a month later; UC Santa Barbara and the University of Utah joined by years end, and the internet was born."

Up To 90 Percent of US Money Has Traces of Cocaine 441

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday August 17, 2009 @11:48AM from the having-more-fun-than-me dept.

mmmscience writes "Scientists have found that up to 90% of US paper money has some cocaine contamination, up from the 67% mark measured two years ago. Looking at bills from 17 cities, it's no surprise that the city with the highest level was Washington DC, where up to 95% of bills gathered there tested positive. From a global standpoint, both Canada and Brazil tested rather high (85% and 80%, respectively), but China and Japan were well behind the curve at 20% and 12%. The researchers hope that studies such as these will be of help to law enforcement agencies that are attempting to understand the growth and flow of drug use in communities."

Comment Re:We can't help it the world is retarded.. (Score 2, Informative) 829

by bobobobo on Wednesday July 22, 2009 @04:17PM (#28786881) Attached to: F-22 Raptor Cancelled

Invalid. A great deal of the problems in the rest of the world are due to them being systematically held back by the first world to achieve a political and economic goal. Using this as evidence of our superiority is not just incorrect, it's deplorable.

Please provide proof. How are we holding them back? Who is we? Why have India and China succeeded the more they embrace evil capitalist ideals?

FDA Considers Banning Acetaminophen-Based Pain Killers 631

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Thursday July 02, 2009 @12:57PM from the welcome-to-the-nanny-state dept.

Greg George writes "The FDA has determined that Tylenol enhancing pain killers are dangerous enough to potentially be pulled from the market. Drugs including Vicodin, Hydrocodone, Lortab, Maxidone, Norco, Zydone, Tylenol with codeine, Percocet, Endocet, and Darvocet may be permanently banned from the US market, even if the patient has a prescription from a doctor. The problem is the key ingredient — acetaminophen — can easily damage or destroy a patient's liver if more than 2000 mg are used per day. In many cases that means if you take a pain killer and then take two extra strength Tylenol, you may have gone over the maximum dosage per day."

US House May Pass "Cap & Trade" Bill 874

Posted by kdawson on Friday June 26, 2009 @09:45AM from the make-everybody-mad-and-you-must-be-doing-something-right dept.

jamie found this roundup on the status of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, which is about to be voted on by the US House of Representatives. (The article notes that if the majority Democrats can't see the 218 votes needed for passage, they will probably put off the vote.) The AP has put together a FAQ that says, "[The bill, if passed,] fundamentally will change how we use, produce and consume energy, ending the country's love affair with big gas-guzzling cars and its insatiable appetite for cheap electricity. This bill will put smaller, more efficient cars on the road, swap smokestacks for windmills and solar panels, and transform the appliances you can buy for your home." The odds-makers are giving the bill a marginal chance of passing in the House, with tougher going expected in the Senate.

DoE Considers Artificial Trees To Remove CO2 418

Posted by timothy on Tuesday June 23, 2009 @10:49AM from the putting-the-artifice-in-artificial dept.

eldavojohn writes "CNN is running an article on a new angle of attack to reducing greenhouse gases. After meeting with the US Department of Energy on the concept, the researchers revealed the details that each 'tree' (really a small building structure in the concept design) would cost about as much as a Toyota and remove 1 ton of CO2 from the air per day. Don't worry, they're accounting for the energy the 'tree' uses to operate: 'By the time we make liquid C02 we have spent approximately 50 kilojoules [of electricity] per mole of C02. Compare that to the average power plant in the US, which produces one mole of C02 with every 230 kilojoules of electricity. In other words, if we simply plugged our device in to the power grid to satisfy its energy needs, for every roughly 1,000 kilograms [of carbon dioxide] we collected we would re-emit 200, so 800 we can chalk up as having been successful.' Each unit would remove 20 automobiles' worth of CO2 from the air and cost about as much as a Toyota... so the plan might be a five percent surcharge on automobiles to fund these synthetic tree farms."

Comment Otherwise you'll end up like this guy: (Score 2, Funny) 1354

by bobobobo on Monday June 22, 2009 @06:55PM (#28430701) Attached to: Where Does a Geek Find a Social Life?

Courtesy of craigslist <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/van/1141856743.html">best-ofs</a>:

It was last Friday. I had just gotten up from a SWEET game of Warcraft on my PC.

Anyway, I realized I was dangerously low on Mountain Dew, so I threw on my lucky green sweat pants and my trenchcoat to walk 3 blocks to the convenience store. I figured if I had enough change, I might even pick up some Slim Jims, but I digress...

On my way back to my apartment, Dew and Slim Jims in hand, I saw you and your friends walking into the Jazz club across the street. You seemed so comfortable and cool dressed to the nines for an evening of drinks and dancing with those closest to you.

It was then that I knew I had to meet you. Although I had never been in that particular establishment, I followed you in. You probably would have seen me, but I was slowed by an argument with the doorman over my attire. After a few minutes, I think I had him convinced I looked ok, but then he proceeded to ask me for $10 just to walk into the bar. I couldn't believe they wanted to charge me just to get in. I, of course had no money, having spent every spare cent on caffeine and sticks of processed beef. I walked back to the convenience store and failed in my effort to return the goods I had so recently purchased. Luckily, the store had an ATM, so I pleaded with the checker to hold my purchases behind the counter for a short time, and I withdrew $20 from the cash machine. Armed with my fresh $20 bill, I marched to the Jazz Club, paid the $10 cover, and went looking for the woman of my dreams.

I saw you immediately, near the bar with your friends. You were at the end of the group with some space next to you, so I settled in close. You noticed me once or twice as I cleared my throat nervously trying to think of what to say. It sounded like you may have commented on my trenchcoat to one of your friends, but I couldn't be sure.

I finally bumped you to get your attention. I may have bumped to hard as I noticed you spilled some of your drink on your shirt. Sorry about that.

ME: So... Do you come here often?

YOU: No. (you turn back to your friends)

ME: Me neither. I hate bars. I can't come to terms with why anyone would want to pay such high margins on watered down drinks they could make at home for a fraction of the cost... (I trail off noticing you aren't listening)

I regroup and lean in close to your ear...

ME: What are you drinking there?

YOU: (barely looking over your should back to me) A gin and tonic.

ME: Can I buy you one?

YOU: I already have one, see... (you hold up your drink sarcastically)

ME: Well then, can I reimburse you for the one you are drinking?

YOU: What? (looking at me now)

ME: Let me pay you back for that one.

YOU: Whatever. (looking puzzled and annoyed)

ME: How much was it?

YOU: What?

ME: How much is a gin and tonic?

YOU: Five dollars

ME: Jesus Christ! What fool pays $5 for a freakin' drink? That's robbery!!!

YOU: Get away from me.

ME: (embarrassed by my outburst) No, no, no. I said I'd pay you for it, so I will. (reaching in my pocket) Do you have change for a $10?

You: What?

ME: I only have a ten dollar bill? Do you have five dollars change?

YOU: (turning to face me completely and folding your arms as your friends quiet down to watch our interaction) Actually, this drink was $6 with tip.

ME: What?

YOU: My drink. It was $5 plus $1 for tip!

ME: Damn, this is getting expensive. Ok, do you have $4 change for my $10.

YOU: No.

ME: Well, then I'll have to get change from the bartender.

YOU: Don't bother. Leave me alone. (you turn back to your friends as they erupt in laughter)

I spend 10 mintues trying to get the bartender's attention. I can't blame him much because he was very busy serving so many other morons begging to be robbed of their hard earned dollars. When he finally gets to me, he tells me he won't give me change, but I can buy a drink and will get change from that. I tell him I wouldn't dream of paying such inflated prices for frozen water and a few drops of our country's last legal poison... He goes on to the next patron.

Frustrated, I go to the bathroom to pee and think about my next move. I'm pretty sure if I can just pay you for that drink that we will soon be making hot monkey love back at my apartment. However, I am disappointed at how much dating is already costing me, and how many obstacles one must overcome to simply buy a girl a drink. I start to plan my speech to you about how I may have jumped into this relationship too quickly, and that maybe we should just be friends.

While washing my hands in the sink, I notice there's a bathroom attendant. He is smiling and waiting with fresh paper towels for me. Next to him is his tray of tips stacked with dollar bills. I drop my ten dollar bill on the tray, as the attendants smile widens. Then, I pick up a pile of ones and begin counting them. The bathroom attendant gets very hostile and grabs the cash from my hand. I wrestle with him over the wad of cash. One of the bouncers must have been just outside the bathroom. I was sure that he would understand my story, and we could get everything sorted out. Boy was I wrong. He didn't want to hear anything. He just grabbed me by my trench coat and ripped me out the bathroom door and toward the exit. I yelled "I LOVE YOU" to you as he dragged me past your group. You replied loudly for all to hear FUCK OFF CREEP!!!

I know we're meant for each other. Give me another chance.

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