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Comment Re:Fisher Technik (Score 1) 153

I have a soft spot in my heart for FT, because when I was growing up, FT was vastly superior to anything Lego made. I had a lot of fun using FT robotics on my Apple //e. They also had the pneumatics kit, electromechanics, and a whole bunch of things that were far beyond what Lego offered then.

But...

It's not so much that FT has faded as that Lego has caught up in the areas where it was weak and remained strong in the areas where it had FT beat. Modern Lego models are a lot better at showing you how to put pieces together, and not just how to build the thing, than they used to be. The piece selection is more diverse, and the piece -quality- has improved greatly; they hold together better and come apart more easily. The new robotics kits, power functions kits and other stuff in the Technics line give Lego a lot of the things that came with FT (although not all).

The old FT that I kept for my son, and the new FT I bought for him, largely sits in a bin collecting dust while he discovers and builds entire new worlds with Lego. Even when I was a kid, Lego somehow was an every-day kind of toy, while FT was more a once-in-a-while kind of thing.

So... while I have admiration for FT and an emotional attachment to it, Lego is what dominates my 7-year-old's playtime. Maybe when he's older, FT will be a new challenge...

Comment Re:Jesus H. Christ, (Score 1) 277

Right now, on over half of the plays, this is what you see: Quarterback drops back to pass. He's looking downfield, which is off-screen. He sees something, and makes the decision to throw/hold on to the ball/dump the ball off/run for it.

We, the viewers, have no idea what just happened. Now that passing dominates the game, without All-22, you can't even tell what's happening in the game any more.

The objections of current NFL folks, and your objections, are heedless of this simple fact, and this overrules all objections. Without seeing what's happening downfield, we might as well not be watching the game at all.

Fortunately, these objections don't translate to the college game (which passes just as much as the NFL does; the Big XII throws the ball even more). You can get All-22 footage in college. And I'd bet good money that a big reason for college football's growing popularity has everything to do with that.

In summary: I haven't posted on Slashdot in a while, and I just came here to say you shut your damn whore mouth. It's about time someone shone a spotlight on this problem, because as a fan of the game, this issue is ruining it for me. I hardly even bother watching the NFL any more because of it. Is that what the league wants? Confusion leading to disinterest?

Comment For me: TimeOut and Model M (Score 1) 235

TimeOut by Dejal is an app that I use that simply grays out the screen for 15 seconds every ten minutes, and for ten minutes every hour. It reminds you to look away from the screen, stretch, get up and walk, etc. I've found that while the timing of the screen-blanks is annoying (it does give you a way to "snooze" the breaks), the overall effect is that I'm happier and healthier at work.

As for a keyboard, I use one of the new black USB Model M designs now made by Unicomp. The extra muscular effort and tactile response somehow has been the best for keeping from having repetitive motion injuries.

I'd also recommend making sure your fonts are large enough to read easily. Small fonts are bad.

Comment Re:People still believe that? (Score 1) 1014

I was raised the same way. What I recall, however, was that there was a strong regression back into Fundamentalism during the 1990s, even in mainline and "left-wing" denominations. Fortunately, the pendulum seems to be swinging back the other way, with e.g. Rob Bell's "Love Wins" popularizing some of the more progressive theologies.

The argument within the church is ancient, predating Darwin; in the 4th century, St. Augustine of Hippo wrote an entire treatise, De Genesi ad Litteram, arguing that Genesis should not be interpreted literally, and his commentary on the matter sounds like something from the 20th century, not 1600 years prior:

If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods and on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason?

So... it's gone back and forth over time, even as the science behind it has changed.

Comment Re:Lutz is dead wrong (Score 1) 487

The "average" engineer, yes.

But the GOOD and experienced engineers I know recognize and understand the value of sales, management, QA, Tech Support, IT, accounting and PR, and understand how all of these together make a healthy, functioning organization.

The same can be said for the "average" salesman vs. the GOOD salesman, the "average" accountant vs. the GOOD accountant, the "average" IT guy vs. the GOOD IT guy, the "average" PR person vs. the GOOD PR person, etc.

Lutz isn't suggesting you put any old engineer into these roles. He's saying to put the ones who understand the basics of business –which one needs no degree or formal training to learn – in charge. And Lutz would know, more than most.

Comment Re:Palin was right (Score 1) 767

That article is about conservative apologists trying to backfit what she said into history. Paul Revere didn't fire gunshots and ring bells on his horse ride - that happened AFTER he was captured and gave inflated numbers to the British. His ride wasn't about warning the British - that was an unintentional side effect of getting capture. He rode to warn the militia and ultimately get to John Hancock and Sam Adams.

Even the experts in that article don't really back her up - they says she basically lucky that some part of the store could be backfitted to match what she said.

To be fair, I don't believe she is as dumb as she appears. I think she intentionally puts on that stupid accent and plays dumb to win over the fly-over states.

When you use the phrase "fly-over states" without irony, that makes you as much as a dumbass as Palin.

Jerk.

Comment Re:It's complete bullshit (Score 1) 1017

Thats what I took from the article; the only thing Lustig is being accused of is excessive showmanship and overstating how firm certain conclusions are.

Yeah, and even I picked up on that while watching the 90 minute video. But I also saw that the meat of what he was saying was true. Then I replaced soda with water and milk in my own diet, and lost 10 pounds within a few weeks. Added soda back in, and the 10 pounds came back.

Neat trick, eh?

One thing I did notice was that the consensus about what causes heart disease and diabetes was different in the 1970s in Europe than in the US. Compare the obesity rates of these two areas; is this some kind of grim, accidental, controlled experiment?

I wouldn't call it "controlled." There are far, far too many variables involved.

Comment Re:It's complete bullshit (Score 1) 1017

Well, let's be fair. It's quite possible that I am wrong, and that the individuals above -have- debunked it, and that the poster could have linked to better sources which demonstrate that it has been debunked. It's also possible that I misunderstood the posts in question. I remain open-minded, as I'm having to trust the explanations I've been given, and don't really have the knowledge of biochemistry (or chemistry in general) yet to properly dissect the conclusions.

That said, given my limited understanding of what the guy linked to, Lustig's main claims remain un-debunked: Fructose is broken down only by the liver, and produces chemicals that, in the absence of fiber and in the quantities Americans eat them, lead to health problems; moreover, simply reducing one's sugar intake by, say, replacing soda and fruit juice with milk, can single-handedly cure MOST* obesity; lastly, that Americans have greatly increased their sugar intake since the early 1980s, as most products now have added sugar to make them taste better and yet remain "low-fat."

(*Obviously some people have hormonal issues, e.g. PCOS sufferers, which make this more complicated, but most obese folks are not suffering from PCOS or other hormonal issues.)

Comment Re:It's complete bullshit (Score 2) 1017

After reading the link (such as it is) and some of the other similar links, I don't see where Aragon has disproven much of what Lustig has claimed. He has certainly shaded some doubt on his claims, called him out for overstating his case and addressed some of the outside claims, but he has nothing to counter the main claim Lustig makes (i.e., this is how fructose is processed by the body, these are the chemicals produced, and this is how the body deals with it).

The James Krieger article linked above is even worse; other than hand-waving about "alarmism" it is remarkably poor on facts.

Stating that Lustig has been "extensively debunked" appears, upon actually reading your links, to be at best a ludicrous exaggeration.

Comment Re:Curious... (Score 2) 1017

There are two problems here.

The first is that what Lustig is saying is complicated enough that it requires an hour-and-a-half long presentation to cover all of the bases.

The second is that it's long enough that casual readers aren't going to spend the time going through it. "tl;dr" and all that.

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