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Comment Absolutes are always absolutely wrong (Score 1) 287

by Mr.Intel (#37355252) Attached to: Are Games Worth Complaining About?
There's a long list of games I love and play over and over to the point of digging out emulation software or nursing along ancient hardware to play them. None of them are perfect, but they are good enough for me to love. To say that games today are amazing but no one is happy is a long stretch, IMO. Maybe I'm too distanced from mainstream gaming nowadays, but there are several games that are both modern and successful. There will always be detractors, especially when a game is widely praised. That doesn't mean "no one" is happy.
Facebook

Submission + - Injunction Granted in Teacher Facebook Case (msta.org)

Submitted by
Mr.Intel
Mr.Intel writes: "A Missouri Circuit Court granted an injunction today, blocking the state law that would ban all electronic communication between teachers and students, including their own children that was set to take effect on Sunday."
Intel

Technology and Moral Panic 262

Posted by samzenpus from the women-and-children-first dept.
pbahra writes "Why do some technologies cause moral panic and others don't? Why was the introduction of electricity seen as a terrible thing, while nobody cared much about the fountain pen? According to Genevieve Bell, the director of Intel Corporation's Interaction and Experience Research, we have had moral panic over new technology for pretty well as long as we have had technology. It is one of the constants in our culture. '... moral panic is remarkably stable and it is always played out in the bodies of children and women,' she said. There was, she says, an initial pushback about electrifying homes in the U.S.: 'If you electrify homes you will make women and children vulnerable. Predators will be able to tell if they are home because the light will be on, and you will be able to see them. So electricity is going to make women vulnerable. Oh and children will be visible too and it will be predators, who seem to be lurking everywhere, who will attack.' 'There was some wonderful stuff about [railway trains] too in the U.S., that women's bodies were not designed to go at 50 miles an hour. Our uteruses would fly out of our bodies as they were accelerated to that speed,' she says."
Science

Submission + - Study: Caffeine linked to hallucinations (baltimoresun.com)

Submitted by
Mr.Intel
Mr.Intel writes: "Australian researchers at La Trobe University have just published a study suggesting that people on a serious caffeine buzz are prone to hear things that aren’t there. The study might raise new concerns about the safety of caffeine. But for the average person who’s weary of conflicting reports about coffee and health, the new findings may not amount to much more than background noise."

Submission + - WHO: Cell Phones May Cause Cancer (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Hartree
Hartree writes: A World Health Organization group of experts doing a review of previous studies concluded that they could not rule out the the possibility that cell phones increase brain cancer risk. The judge the possibility to be great enough to warrant measures to reduce exposure. Hands free operation or testing were mentioned.

Comment Re:Hardly secret or surprising (Score 5, Informative) 484

by Mr.Intel (#36048972) Attached to: Crashed Helicopter Sparks Concern Over Stealth Secrets

I'm experiencing deja vu.

I remember this same discussion back in 1991, when a stealth fighter crashed in Iraq, and "experts" were worried that the crash parts would be stolen and help enemies build their own stealth fighter. So far I've not seen any great harm caused. Remember: These pundits are paid to talk, even if it's just "the sky is falling" nonsense and/or hand-wringing like an old maid.

You mean 1999 during the Kosovo war? The only operational (combat) loss of an F-117 (S/N 82-0806) was in Yugoslavia.

They were right to be worried since China has developed a stealth fighter from the technology stolen from that very plane.

Balkan military officials told the Associated Press that China and Russia may have adopted some stealth technology from a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, which was shot down by the Serbian military in 1999 during the Kosovo war.

source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iE3jMTTaEhm5I8l63W9OzWiji0-Q?docId=e8f4fe6f3cc042d8af123a99e96b2a96

Government

Draft Proposal Would Create Agency To Tax Cars By the Mile 932

Posted by timothy from the and-we're-here-to-help-you dept.
theodp writes "The Hill reports that the Obama administration has floated a transportation authorization bill that would require the study and implementation of a plan to tax automobile drivers based on how many miles they drive. The plan is a part of the administration's 'Transportation Opportunities Act,' and calls for spending $200 million to implement a new Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office tasked with creating a 'study framework that defines the functionality of a mileage-based user fee system and other systems.' The office would be required to consider four factors — the capability of states to enforce payment, the reliability of technology, administrative costs, and 'user acceptance' — in field trials slated to begin within four years at unspecified sites. Forbes suggests the so-called vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax should be called the Rube Goldberg Gas Tax, because while its objective is the same as the gas tax, the way it collects revenue is extremely complex, costly and cumbersome." The disclaimers are thick on the ground, though; note, this is an "early draft," not pending legislation.
Intel

Submission + - Intel Develops Revolutionary 3D Transistor (intel.com)

Submitted by
Glasswire
Glasswire writes: "Intel announced a major technical breakthrough with the world's first 3-D transistors, called Tri-Gate, in a production technology which provides performance improvement and power reduction. It was demonstrated on upcoming 22nm "Ivy Bridge" microprocessor which will be the first high-volume chip to use 3-D Tri-Gate transistors. Informative article on this at Anandtech too."
Iphone

Apple Logging Locations of All iPhone Users 591

Posted by CmdrTaco from the are-you-scared-yet dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The Guardian reports that researchers have found a hidden file on all iPhones, iPads and any computers to which they synchronize, logging timestamped latitude and longitude coordinates of the user since June 2010. A tool is available on their website to check on your own."
Education

Tennessee Bill Helps Teachers Challenge Evolution 735

Posted by Soulskill from the dueling-with-zombie-darwin dept.
sciencehabit writes "In a 70-28 vote yesterday, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed HB 368 (PDF), a bill that encourages science teachers to explore controversial topics without fear of reprisal. Critics say the measure will enable K-12 teachers to present intelligent design and creationism as acceptable alternatives to evolution in the classroom. If the bill passes, Tennessee would join Louisiana as the second state to have specific 'protection' for the teaching of evolution in the classroom."

Comment Re:No. (Score 1) 1486

by Mr.Intel (#35749720) Attached to: Is Science Just a Matter of Faith?

The problem is that whatever qualities you attribute to faith, you're doing it without any substantive reason for doing so, and I could find a hundred other religious people that would attribute somewhat different qualities to it, equally unsubstantiated.

Don't let the presence of a thousand religions dilute the reality that there is a God. Just because man does not understand God doesn't mean he isn't understandable in meaningful ways. I get that you and I disagree on that point, but I can't help but feel you have a lot of prejudices when it comes to faith.

... there's much in this life that I will never be able to understand or explain, but I can accept that.

At least we agree on something. :)

I don't need to apply an explanation or cause to everything, especially if those explanations are just superstitions or myths.

Neither do I, but I don't ascribe superstition to things which have a rational explanation in my mind (regardless of what your mind or anyone else's mind sees it as). Do I understand why the hypothetical person died in your example but the other did not, no. But I do have faith in the creator of both people and what I perceive is his plan for us. And I believe that dead or not, we are his children and he desires our happiness. I'm glad you have found happiness with your current belief (or lack thereof).

Comment Re:No. (Score 1) 1486

by Mr.Intel (#35749096) Attached to: Is Science Just a Matter of Faith?
Danse,

The problem isn't that faith can't measure up to (or be measured by) science. The problem is that faith is harder to obtain than man's knowledge. A lack of faith does not mean 'more credible' just as having faith is not the same as irrational. What you call rationalization I call understanding. Faith is useful to me and provides me with happiness in this life, regardless of the existence of an afterlife. In the end, I have not harmed you because of my faith and you have not harmed me because of your lack of it. What matters in both perspectives is how we treat each other now, in this life. Does it not?

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