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Submission + - Sequel to Planescape: Torment Planned

Aglassis writes: Eurogamer has reported that famed D&D and computer game designer Colin McComb is working on a spiritual sequel to Planescape: Torment. The game will be set outside of the Planescape campaign setting due to an inability to come to an agreement with Wizards of the Coast. The lead designer on the original game, Chris Avellone, has apparently given his blessing.

Comment Re:Duh, it's evidence (Score 2) 218

It should only be acceptable if it is directly relevant to the case. Judges shouldn't allow the defense to go on a fishing expedition. Judges generally don't handle this well. In this case the judge used an intermediary to check the accounts and then hand over the applicable information to the defense. I'm sure the judge felt that this was an acceptable way to protect privacy. But that still classifies as a fishing expedition since the courts decide that all 'relevant' information is turned over and not just the information that the defense knew about. Thus it becomes like a search of a house for illegal guns, but since nothing was found but dope, and that is now 'relevant', it can be used against you. It pits privacy rights (which are basically nonexistent) against the individual's right to discovery ("reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence") or the government's right so search based on a warrant ("probable cause").

Crime

Submission + - John McAfee accused of murder, wanted by Belize police (thehackernews.com) 1

thn writes: "John McAfee, who started the antivirus software giant named after him, has been accused of murder in Belize and wanted. McAfee had taken to "posting on a drug-focused Russian message board...about his attempts to purify the psychoactive compounds colloquially known as 'bath salts,'" Gizmodo wrote. The scariest aspect of this story may be the fact that an entire lab was constructed for John McAfee’s research purposes. Because of his efforts to extract chemicals from natural chemical plans McAfee was able to justify his experiments in a country that is largely unregulated."

Submission + - Gerrymandering Ensures Republican Control of the House

Aglassis writes: With the recent thumping of the Republican Party in the US general elections, one begins to wonder why the Republicans still had such a decisive victory in maintaining control of the US House of Representatives when the Democrats gained a significant margin in the US Senate. Prof. Sam Wang of the Princeton Election Consortium explains that the redistricting following the Tea Party victory in 2010 ensured that Democrats may have needed to win the popular vote by nearly 5% in order to gain control.

Comment Americans with Disabilities Act (Score 2) 292

Your diagnosis fits under the requirements of the ADA (if you are looking for a job in the US). Any employer (of sufficient size) must make reasonable accommodations and cannot discriminate against you in the hiring process or during employment if they are aware of your disability. That is not to say that discrimination does not occur. In order for you to be protected by the ADA, the employer must be aware of the disability which will then allow them to discriminate if they are assholes. Considering the level of discrimination against people with mental illnesses, I would keep a record. You are also not required (ethically or legally) to disclose your diagnosis at any time unless you want ADA protections.

Comment Re:It also means... (Score 5, Insightful) 188

No kidding. How many space platforms have been researched, started, and then killed (NERVA, Apollo Applications, Space Station Freedom, Constellation, Prometheus, etc.)? NASA could probably do more with less if they were allowed to plan things to a reasonable extent. And if all of that wasted money was used productively, we would have had an astronaut on Mars by now.

The abuse of NASA by Congress and the President is disgraceful. Every President wants to look like Kennedy and every successive Administration or Congress wants to shit of his legacy. NASA simply gets caught in the crossfire.

Comment Re:It's a big planet (Score 4, Informative) 51

Actually it should have lots of water because it is a gas giant. Jupiter is past the Frost Line. This means that water can form ice crystals past this point. Inside the Frost Line, the solar wind and radiation pressure force gaseous water out. This is one of the reasons that the inner planets have so little water. Outside, ice crystals can accumulate. This is probably what allowed the gas giants to rapidly accumulate mass before the Sun blew its nebula out of the Solar System. In fact, the planets Uranus and Neptune are commonly referred to as "ice giants" due to the significant amount of water they contain.

To summarize, Jupiter should have a lot of water.

Comment Re:No wrongful death? (Score 5, Insightful) 683

But they are still human beings and worthy of being cared for and protected.

.....and the government is going to be the one to do that, huh?

Maybe I DON'T WANT MY FUCKING TAX DOLLARS being spent to "protect" a weakling, by punishing the strong.

If we continue to coddle weak mindedness in our society, the only possible outcome will be our eventual downfall, and enslavement to a society which chose another path.

Bullshit. Picking on gay kids makes society weak. Our society will be much stronger when that type of behavior is minimized.

Comment Re:No wrongful death? (Score 5, Insightful) 683

Secretly filming your roommate having gay sex is a little worse than just saying something random and mean on slashdot.

If I were to overreact like that, I would have been dead by now, several times over. Somehow I don't think that I would want anyone to be punished for my own instability, though.

That is a weaselly statement. Ravi isn't being punished for Tyler Clementi's instability. He is being punished for spying on him, trying to destroy evidence, and trying to coordinate statements with a witness. He is guilty as sin for all of those crimes.

But even if he were being punished for causing Clementi's suicide, he had to have known that he was selecting an extremely vulnerable victim. He knew that Clementi was a loner and semi-closeted and was afraid of being open about it--and then he exploited him. If he were to be charged with the hypothetical crime of pushing this poor gay kid to suicide, then he wouldn't be punished for Clementi's instability. He would instead be punished for exploiting it.

Comment Re:No wrongful death? (Score 5, Insightful) 683

You seem to be living in the fantasy world that everyone is strong and should be able to take punishment.

People are weak. They don't know how to cope. But they are still human beings and worthy of being cared for and protected. We should be outraged that this poor gay kid was driven to suicide.

This case is different that secretly filming your roommate having straight sex for exactly those reasons. Dharum Ravi exploited Tyler Clementi when he spied on him. He exploited his fears and insecurities.

Don't consider crimes like black boxes. The entire circumstances matter. The motives matter. Society had a role, no doubt. Tyler Clementi lamented that people on Ravi's twitter feed were disgusted by Clementi's relationship but not one of them called out Ravi and said that what he was doing was wrong. More than anything else, this is probably what drove him to suicide. He saw people unanimously disgusted by him with no defenders or anyone who opposed his privacy being violated. He had no faith that even if he changed roommates that conditions would get better. Think about that before you call him a coward again you fucking asshole.

Canada

Fake IPad 2s Made of Clay Sold At Canadian Stores 265

SpuriousLogic writes in with a link to a story about some Canadian consumers who thought they were getting an iPad 2 but instead got the makings of the world's oldest tablets. "As many as 10 fake iPad 2s, all made of slabs of modeling clay, were recently sold at electronic stores in Vancouver, British Columbia. Best Buy and Future Shop have launched investigations into how the scam was pulled off. The tablet computers, like most Apple products, are known for their sleek and simple designs. But there's no mistaking the iPad for one of the world's oldest 'tablet devices.' Still, most electronic products cannot be returned to stores. For the the stores and customers to be fooled by the clay replacements, the thieves must have successfully weighed out the clay portions and resealed the original Apple packaging. Future Shop spokesman Elliott Chun told CTV that individuals bought the iPads with cash, replaced them with the model clay, then returned the packages to the stores. The returned fakes were restocked on the shelve and sold to new, unwitting customers."
Image

Police Called Over 11-Year-Old's Science Project Screenshot-sm 687

garg0yle writes "Police in San Diego were called to investigate an 11-year-old's science project, consisting of 'a motion detector made out of an empty Gatorade bottle and some electronics,' after the vice-principal came to the conclusion that it was a bomb. Charges aren't being laid against the youth, but it's being recommended that he and his family 'get counseling.' Apparently, the student violated school policies — I'm assuming these are policies against having any kind of independent thought?"

Comment Re:Atheists Unite... as a religion (Score 1) 845

Atheism is a religion. Atheism has everything in common with other religions. Set beliefs, morality, purpose in life, etc. Agnosticism is not a religion because it has no definite beliefs, morality or purpose. Atheism does.

No, the key difference is that religions appeal to the supernatural or some true essence to explain the universe, while atheism appeals only to the natural world. Atheism does not require some Daddy figure (or figures) nor does it need some essentialist background. It rejects those. Its beliefs are based on logic, something religions can't claim (except coincidentally).

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