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Comment Re:Write your congressman and demand transparency! (Score 1) 221

by Takichi (#35042000) Attached to: FBI Executes 40 Search Warrants For 'Anonymous'
Imagine if all the people that participate in these attacks instead write letters to their legislature as you suggest. It probably would have a lot more sway than their current methods. Although it wouldn't have the adrenaline/endorphin rush tied to engaging in an illegal behaviour while imagining civilisation laid waste before you.

If this is the only way they feel they can express their political views, fair enough. They better be prepared for the consequences. But to suggest all legal avenues are closed isn't a good description of the situation.

Comment Re:Voting? (Score 2) 225

by Takichi (#35036408) Attached to: What Exactly Is a Galaxy?
Maybe so, but it's a pretty good way to get people to read your paper. First question from the survey:

1. Have you read the paper by Forbes and Kroupa accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia entitled "What is a galaxy? Cast your vote here..." (its available at http://arxiv.org/abs/1101.3309)

Comment Re:Specimen handling protocols (Score 4, Informative) 150

by Takichi (#34881322) Attached to: 34,000-Year-Old Organisms Found Buried Alive
FTA:

Schubert and Lowenstein are not the first to uncover organisms that are astonishingly long-lived. About a decade ago, there were claims of discoveries of 250-million-year-old bacteria. The results weren't reproduced, and remain controversial. Schubert, however, was able to reproduce his results. Not only did he grow the same organisms again in his own lab, he sent crystals to another lab, which then got the same results. "So this wasn't something that was just a contaminant from our lab," Schubert said.

The article also mentions that his original finding was about a year ago, but his work is actually being published now.

Comment Re:Two eyes are better than one (Score 1) 106

by Takichi (#34387004) Attached to: Combining Two Kinects To Make Better 3D Video
You are essentially just comparing the brain to the computer. We would likely have better spatial resolution if we had more ears and eyes as well. And most of the capabilities of the ear, especially in regards to space, is learned based on the combination with other responses like vision and touch. If you lived your life from the beginning with your only sense being a single ear, you'd probably do worse than a Kinect unless someone explicitly taught you what the things you were hearing meant, if you could ever learn to understand them at all.

Comment Re:What are they going to do about it? (Score 1) 595

by Takichi (#34324454) Attached to: One Giant Cargo Ship Pollutes As Much As 50M Cars
I wonder how well this would work. If the tariffs are too low, the companies won't change their behaviour and probably just raise their fees. If they are too high, it might end up being more economical to ship to a neighbouring country with looser regulations and ship the last leg over land, creating a net increase of pollution.

There would need to be large scale cooperation to pull this off.

Comment Re:Cat are intelligent (Score 1) 716

by Takichi (#34321478) Attached to: Oxford Scientists Say Dogs Are Smarter Than Cats
It isn't absolute brain size they're talking about, it's brain size in relation to the body. Crows are highly intelligent, and their brains are larger in ratio to their body than most (if not all) birds. This would support the argument that dogs are more intelligent since they have a higher brain-body ratio compared to cats.

Comment Re:US Employment Rights (Score 3, Interesting) 340

by Takichi (#34186298) Attached to: Worker Rights Extend To Facebook, Says NLRB
The US isn't a dumptruck you can throw blanket assessments on; it's a series of states with their own laws that extend those set federally. Besides, I think the main issue isn't that there aren't laws setup to protect workers, it's that they are often poorly enforced. Enforcement is carried out by state and federal attourneys general, and by individual lawsuits initiated by the public. Perhaps other countries are better at enforcement, or maybe the public is less inclined to put up with unfair practices. But keep in mind, there is an active slave trade in all developed countries, so presuming the infallibility of a certain type of government or framework of law isn't realistic.

Comment Re:Open Notes & Well-Designed Exams (Score 1) 870

by Takichi (#33571100) Attached to: Preventing Networked Gizmo Use During Exams?
Except that doctors benefit greatly from "open-note" exams as well.

A collection of hospitals in eight cities around the globe has successfully demonstrated that the use of a simple surgical checklist during major operations can lower the incidence of deaths and complications by more than one third.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090114172304.htm

Comment Re:Umm, are you kidding? (Score 1) 398

by Takichi (#32345940) Attached to: The Fashion Industry As a Model For IP Reform
I agree. It's a whole other ball game for people just starting out. It's easy to make money solely off of your brand if you're already established. But is it really all that easy for the small guy to make it in a highly copyrighted industry? Then it's up to whoever has the most lawyers, and the resources that need to be put into that holds the entire industry back.

Comment community colleges (Score 2, Insightful) 398

by Takichi (#32315394) Attached to: Scientific R&D At Home?
I suggest signing up for a course or two at a local community college. Even if you already know most of the stuff they'll teach, you'll get access to all their equipment and labs. You'll also meet some people that are interested in similar things as you. I've known people that take the same course for years for this exact reason.

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