Comment Great for kids. (Score 1) 430
I've used placebos so frequently with my children that they have asked the babysitter for a placebo because they had a headache – usually we give them Ludens drops.
Comment Re:Said it once... (Score 1) 810
Journalists report to editors, and journalists report the news – rarely becoming part the news.
Ethics aside on how he obtained the material, Assange is more of a librarian or archivist then a journalist.
Comment Assange has nowhere to go (Score 1) 810
When the Swiss [banks] turn their backs on you, you're pretty much hosed.
Comment Won't help: An insider's opinion (Score 1) 408
I work in the cable industry and administer a local ad insertion system. Periodically, I field calls from viewers complaining about the volume on ads.
Viewers don't realize their ears are tricking them. While there are offenders out there, most ads volume levels don't peak any higher then the surrounding program. Advertisers just tend to compress their audio range near the peak.
When you watch a TV program, you see 5-7 minutes with an audio ranging from crickets to explosions. When you watch a 30 second ad, there isn't time for that kind of range. Pay attention to a conversation around you today. You'll hear loud parts and quiet – even silent – parts. Now imagine that conversation if one of the participants is talking over everyone else and speaking very quickly. They're not any louder then the other participants, but they seem loaned (and annoying).
And a final point to make: Quality programs aren't a God-given right. Good shows are paid for by advertisers, and your attention is the product being sold by the TV station to the advertiser.
Comment Re:Screw "SyFi" or whatever they call themselves. (Score 1) 602
Canceling Caprica frees up more time for WWE wrestling – Because we all know that's what I tune into a channel named SciFi to watch. Cable is about developing a genre and packaging thematically similar programing onto one network. SciFi died when they rebranded.
Comment Re:They're still around? (Score 2, Informative) 277
Do you know the IP address to any good Hotline servers?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotline_Communications
Comment Double Meanings (Score 5, Funny) 490
Almost as good as when my local paper reported on the football matchup between Virgin Valley HS and Beaver High: "Virgin Pounds Beaver".
Comment Re:AppleTV? (Score 1) 579
I think the MSRP on the Boxee Box just got pushed down a bit.
Comment Re:Who pays taxes? (Score 1) 426
Full Disclosure: I work for a local telco.
Municipal broadband projects have an overwhelming track record of failure because the same principles of other required municipal services are applied to an optional service. When a city establishes sewer service, they require everyone to purchase the service – the same for water and refuse pickup. The expenses are shared and necessary for everyone. Internet is still really an optional luxury – albeit a very useful luxury. The same business model applied to a sewer system doesn't work with broadband services.
Consider the largest quasi-municipal broadband project I know of – Utah's UTOPIA group ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_Infrastructure_Agency ). When proposed around 2003, the system promised service to nearly 300,000 homes and businesses. That estimate dropped significantly over time. Quoting from a mid 2009 article about the project:
To date, the network has spent $112 million but only passed fiber to the curbs of 51,000 residences and businesses in the 11 cities, with 8,000 paying customers including 430 businesses, or a subscription rate of between 25 and 30 percent. UTOPIA had previously projected bringing connections to 70,000 households and businesses, with a 40 percent subscription rate.
This is just one example of a municipal group throwing money down the drain. While I agree there are some areas where the incumbent providers are failing, the best service for the consumer is found in the free market with limited government regulation. Alternative services from Clear, Sprint and other mobile providers are spurring development and technology growth while keeping pressure on low prices for internet service.
Comment Re:Posting not convicted - very dodgy - an example (Score 1) 321
How is posting photos any different then the very public police blotter in the local news, or the booking log at my local county jail. I'm aware of at least one situation where a newspaper began publishing home addresses in the arrest report because a repeat criminal had an identical name as a prestigious businessman and politician. Mug shots certainly would be helpful in those instances.
Dog Eats Man's Toe and Saves His Life 207
Have you ever been so drunk that you passed out and your dog ate your toe? I haven't either, but luckily for Michigander Jerry Douthett, he has. It turns out Jerry has type 2 diabetes and a wound on his toe had becoming dangerously infected. After a night of drinking Jerry passed out in his chair and the family dog Kiko decided to do a little doggy doctoring. From the article: "'The toe was gone,' said Douthett. 'He ate it. I mean, he must have eaten it, because we couldn't find it anywhere else in the house. I look down, there's blood all over, and my toe is gone.' [Douthett's wife] Rosee, 40, rushed her husband to the hospital where she's a gerontology nurse — Spectrum Health's Blodgett Campus. Kiko had gnawed to a point below the nail-line. When tests revealed an infection to the bone, doctors amputated what was left of the toe."
Comment Jailbreak WARNING!!! (Score 3, Informative) 289
Everyone's so excited about how easy this jailbreak is, the tech blogs are neglecting to report the problems with the current jailbreaks. Homescreen bookmarks no longer work on any iOS 4 devices after applying this patch. This is a known bug that's been in public knowledge for weeks, yet I've seen no tech blogs reporting the problems. Frankly, this jailbreak created more problems then solutions.
Comment Think of all the hints River had dropped (Score 1) 423
In nearly every episode River Song has appeared in, she comments on how young The Doctor appears. It doesn't surprise me that this rumor is making the rounds, and I'd bet Matt was told from the beginning he wouldn't be around too long.
Too bad though 'cause bow ties are cool!
Comment Re:What you say? (Score 1) 380
I was going to guess "The cake is a lie."
MA High School Forces All Students To Buy MacBooks 1217
An anonymous reader sends in this excerpt from the Salem News:
"A new program at Beverly High will equip every student with a new laptop computer to prepare kids for a high-tech future. But there's a catch. The money for the $900 Apple MacBooks will come out of parents' pockets. 'You're kidding me,' parent Jenn Parisella said when she found out she'd have to buy her sophomore daughter, Sky, a new computer. 'She has a laptop. Why would I buy her another laptop?' Sky has a Dell. Come September 2011, every student will need an Apple. They'll bring it to class and use it for homework. Superintendent James Hayes sees the technology as an essential move to prepare kids for the future. The School Committee approved the move last year, and Hayes said he's getting the news out now so families can prepare. 'We have one platform,' Hayes said. 'And that's going to be the Mac.'"
