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Comment Caveat emptor is not good for training & educa (Score 1) 374

by BergZ (#46121391) Attached to: California Regulator Seeks To Shut Down 'Learn To Code' Bootcamps
The problem with caveat emptor, especially when it comes to education, is that the people who want to take a computer programming bootcamp are mostly the people who know the least about computer programming and are thus the least qualified to tell the difference between a scam and a legitimate computer programming syllabus.

Submission + - Source Engine 2 images potentially leaked (playerattack.com)

Submitted by UgLyPuNk
UgLyPuNk writes: A handful of images claiming to show the Source Engine 2 have surfaced on the internet. Sure, it's showing off an older game — Left 4 Dead 2 — but these snaps are far, far shinier than any four-year old game has a right to.

Comment Re:Actually he is debating Steyn in court (Score 1) 393

by BergZ (#46078291) Attached to: Michael Mann Defamation Suit Against National Review Writer to Proceed
If you think THAT's bad, you should see what happened to a journal "skeptical" of climate science last week:
The nepotism and scientific malpractice became so rampant that the publisher of Pattern Recognition in Physics actually had to shut the whole thing down (it was becoming an embarrassment)! There's your fraud.

Comment Re:Killed because of the message (Score 1) 314

by BergZ (#45998031) Attached to: Alleging 'Malpractice' With Climate Skeptic Papers, Publisher Kills Journal

Then we should be afraid [Social Darwinism]. Very afraid. [Eugenics]

Yesterday Creationists confused the science of Evolution with the political application of Evolution to public policy (Social Darwinism, & Eugenics). They were wrong. Politics never disprove science; only evidence can do that.
Today "skeptics" of climate change tell us that the science of climate change is wrong because of the possible irresponsible political applications of climate science to public policy. They too are wrong. Politics never disprove science; only evidence can do that.

Comment Re:Killed because of the message (Score 1) 314

by BergZ (#45997965) Attached to: Alleging 'Malpractice' With Climate Skeptic Papers, Publisher Kills Journal

" If Darwin's theory had come from a computer model and it turned out his computer model didn't match real world observations, nobody would believe it."

That is your opinion, but I prefer facts.

"UN climate change projections made in 1990 'coming true'
Climate change projections made over two decades ago have stood the test of time, according to a report published Monday in the journal Nature."
http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2012/12/un-climate-change-projections-made-in-1990-coming-true.html (article links to the paper in Nature)

The people who have actually compared the model projections to observed climate changes over the past two decades have found the models to be accurate.

Comment Re:Killed because of the message (Score 3, Interesting) 314

A scientific consensus forms when almost all scientists within a field of study are convinced, based on the strength of the available evidence, that a theory that is within their field of study is correct.

Global Climate Change has become the consensus position of Climatologists the same way that Evolution has become the consensus position of Biologists and the same way that General Relativity has become the consensus position of Physicists.

Submission + - Neil DeGrasse Tyson Is Bringing Back Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" in 2014 (space.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The most excellent Neil deGrasse Tyson worked with Carl Sagan's widow and producer of the original Cosmos series Ann Druyan on a new version of the show that's going to begin airing in March. (The original Cosmos production team all worked on in, along with Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane.)

Comment Re:Off topic, but why WASD? (Score 1) 110

by BergZ (#45926365) Attached to: Dell Joins Steam Machine Initiative With Alienware System
I used to use "TFGH" so that (like "ESDF") there were extra buttons in each direction, but also so that I could reach more of the # keys easily (to switch between weapons). Once I got a mouse with a scroll wheel I no longer needed to reach the # keys quickly and converted to "WASD" because it was the default.

Submission + - Dell Joins Steam Machine Initiative With Alienware System (hothardware.com) 1

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Plenty of OEMs have lifted the veil on their planned Steam Machine products but Dell really seems to want to brake free of the pack with their Alienware-designed small form factor machine that they unveiled at CES this week. It's surprisingly tiny, sleek and significantly smaller than the average game console, weighing only about 4 — 6 pounds fully configured. Dell had a prototype of the machine on hand that is mechanically exact, complete with IO ports and lighting accents. Dell also had a SteamOS driven system running, though and it was actually a modified Alienware system powering the action with Valve's innovative Steam Controller. In first person shooters like Metro Last Night, that Dell was demonstrating, the left circular pad can be setup for panning and aiming in traditional AWSD fashion, while the right pad can be used for forward and back movement with triggers setup for firing and aiming down site. You can, however, customize control bindings to your liking and share profiles and bindings with friends on the Steam network. What's notable about Dell's unveiling is that the Steam Machines initiative gained some critical mass with a major OEM like Dell behind the product offering, in addition to the handful of boutique PC builders that have announced products thus far.

Submission + - 300,000 West Virginians Told Not To Drink Or Bathe After Chemical Leak 4

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Reuters reports that up to 300,000 West Virginia residents have been told not to drink tap water after a chemical spill called its safety into question, and health officials said water in the affected area should only be used for flushing toilets and fighting fires. "We don't know that the water's not safe, but I can't say it is safe," says Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water Co, The spill of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, or Crude MCHM, a chemical used in the coal industry, occurred on Thursday on the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia's capital upriver from the plant run by West Virginia American Water. The chemical, which smells like licorice, can cause headaches, eye and skin irritation, and difficulty breathing from prolonged exposures at high concentrations, according to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Officials in West Virginia said they did not know how much of the chemical had leaked into the river or what its potential health impact might be. While there haven't been widespread sicknesses, the ordeal is already having a profound impact. Businesses — such as 15 McDonald's in the area, have shut down. Hospitals have had to take emergency measures to conserve water. And residents have been left scrambling, as evidenced by empty shelves and growing worries. The rush now is on to fully assess and address the problem, including the chemical leak that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin characterized as "unacceptable." It is unclear how long that might take. “We cannot provide a timeline at this point,” says McIntyre.

Comment Re: In related news (Score 1) 552

by BergZ (#45775123) Attached to: Sun Not a Significant Driver of Climate Change
I can't believe that Anti Cheat didn't get the joke. That is something so many Climate Change "skeptics" just lack the capacity to get. It worries me when basic critical thinking is required and just isn't there. This is why science is sacrificed over a blind religion. Fact is, climate science "skepticism" has become a religion for some. Sad.

Submission + - Newly Discovered Greenhouse Gas is 7,000 Times More Powerful Than CO2

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Suzanne Goldenberg writes at The Guardian that researchers at the University of Toronto's department of chemistry have identified a newly discovered greenhouse gas, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), in use by the electrical industry since the mid-20th century, that is 7,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth. "We claim that PFTBA has the highest radiative efficiency of any molecule detected in the atmosphere to date," says Angela Hong. Concentrations of PFTBA in the atmosphere are low – 0.18 parts per trillion in the Toronto area – compared to 400 parts per million for carbon dioxide but PFTBA is long-lived. There are no known processes that would destroy or remove PFTBA in the lower atmosphere so it has a very long lifetime, possibly hundreds of years, and is destroyed in the upper atmosphere. ""It is so much less than carbon dioxide, but the important thing is on a per molecule basis, it is very very effective in interacting with heat from the Earth." PFTBA has been in use since the mid-20th century for various applications in electrical equipment, such as transistors and capacitors. "PFTBA is just one example of an industrial chemical that is produced but there are no policies that control its production, use or emission," says Hong. "It is not being regulated by any type of climate policy."

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