Comment Re:Discoverer or Lisp? (Score 1) 354
"Discover" doesn't have to mean "first to discover". If you discover that your wife is having an affair, does that mean that she didn't know about it already?
Comment Re:BSD would make more sense ... (Score 1) 49
I hadn't heard that interpretation before. I'll ask about it. Thanks.
-- Steve
Comment Re:BSD would make more sense ... (Score 1) 49
You must be reading that differently than I am, or talking about a different situation. My program is a large app that might benefit from including some GPL code from elsewhere. It's not an "improvement to a GPL program".
-- Steve
Comment Re:BSD would make more sense ... (Score 1) 49
I think you have it backwards. It's ok for my code to be used anywhere. The problem is that I can't use other people's GPL'd code in mine, even though mine is being made available even more freely than GPL'd code.
-- Steve
Comment Re:BSD would make more sense ... (Score 2) 49
I work for a US government lab (NIST) and the software I write is freely available and not subject to copyright, by law. I would expect the same rule to apply to NASA. The lack of copyright actually causes a problem for us, because the GPL requires that authors copyright their code so that they can apply the GPL to it. That means that we can't apply the GPL and therefore can't use GPL code. I hope this is the sort of issue that this conference is going to iron out.
-- Steve
Comment python strategy (Score 1) 292
I used this strategy
>>> import random
>>> random.choice(["rock", "paper", "scissors"])
>>> etc.
and it still beat me 20-10. I didn't have the patience for a statistically significant number of tries, though.
Thousands of Blackbirds Fall From Sky Dead 577
Dan East writes "In a fashion worthy of a King or Hitchcock novel, blackbirds began to fall from the sky dead in Arkansas yesterday. Somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 birds rained down on the small town of Beeb, Arkansas, with no visible trauma. Officials are making wild guesses as to what happened — lightning strike, high-altitude hail, or perhaps trauma from the sound of New Year's fireworks killed them."
Comment Re:what about non-digital SLRs? (Score 1) 446
Of course, most digitals that I've seen have a reasonably functional autofocus
Every one that I've used has been a real pain if you want to focus on something other than what the camera wants you to focus on. I've got lots of nice clear pictures of rocks when I wanted a picture of the person standing behind them.
Though I imagine it would be really incredibly difficult to make a DSL camera take a shot that was deliberately just slightly out of focus.
My DSLR lens has a very easy manual focus override. It even works when the autofocus is turned on. I've never seen a non SLR digitial with a manual focus that was at all convenient.
Comment Re:what about non-digital SLRs? (Score 1) 446
I'm not entirely sure I understand what the advantage of the reflex mechanism is for a digital camera. (for a film camera, yeah, I completely understand. But those reasons mostly don't translate to digial *at all*.)
It's much easier to focus on exactly what you want with an SLR, even a digital one.
-- Steve
Underwear Invention Protects Privacy At Airport 325
Thanks to Jeff Buske you don't have to be embarrassed while going through the full body scanners at the airport. Buske has invented radiation shielding underwear for the shy traveler. From the article: "Jeff Buske says his invention uses a powdered metal that protects people's privacy when undergoing medical or security screenings. Buske of Las Vegas, Nev.-Rocky Flats Gear says the underwear's inserts are thin and conform to the body's contours, making it difficult to hide anything beneath them. The mix of tungsten and other metals do not set off metal detectors."
Toyota Introduces Electric RAV4, Powered By Tesla Motor 243
thecarchik writes "As they say, everything old is new again. Fourteen years after it launched its very first RAV4 crossover at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota returned to LA to launch an all-electric version of its latest RAV4. And this one is, as the logos in a teaser photo released earlier said, 'powered by Tesla.' The launch of the second version of the RAV4 EV is on a fast timeline, led by a working group made up of Toyota's Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a team from Tesla Motors. The partnership will build 35 'Phase Zero' test versions of the latest RAV4 EV next year, with production launch expected in 2012."
Sophos Free A-V For Mac May Kill Time Machine Backups 133
kdawson writes "Herewith the tale of the instantaneous loss of 19 months of Time Machine backup data, with the possible involvement of a fresh install of Sophos's new
free Mac A-V package. Sophos support has been contacted but has not responded as of this writing."
Chip Allows Blind People To See 231
crabel writes "3 blind people have been implanted with a retinal chip that allowed them to see shapes and objects within days of the procedure. From the article: 'One of the patients surprised researchers by identifying and locating objects on a table; he was also able to walk around a room unaided, approach specific people, tell the time from a clock face, and describe seven different shades of gray in front of him.'"
Comment Re:Shortcuts (Score 2, Informative) 394
A "bee-odesic"?
Comment Bozons? (Score 3, Funny) 172
The field next to St Remigius Church is said to contain remains of the main residence of the Bozon family, Lords of the manor from 1304 to 1539.
The badgers are just trying to enforce quantum mechanics. The remains are Bozons, and belong all in one grave. If they were Fermions, they'd belong in separate ground states.
