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Comment Color-blindness and traffic lights... (Score 2, Insightful) 839

Let's ignore the positional arguments for now - yes, everyone SHOULD know that the light on top is the red one, etc. But it is obviously not the case. Some people are just not that smart.

I have always understood that the lenses which used to give lights their color, in the green case, was not really a pure green but had a tint of blue. This allowed those with green colorblindness to still distinguish the light from the others. However, it is VERY noticeable that the green LED lights are NOT the same color as the old lenses, but appear to be more of a true green. Is there a reason why they weren't made the same blue/green? Or did someone just forget?

It may be possible, if they can't produce a blended LED, to simply include some blue LEDs in the matrix as well, which should to most of us produce a blended color.

I have seen some red LED lights include a white flashing ring or center dot - this really brings attention to the light. Totally non-standard that I have seen though.

With the LED matrix lights, it is now quite simple to create shaped lights. A distinctive square or rectangular (would likely require redesigned light fixtures) design on the stop light would make it more distinguishable.

I remember the horizontal fixtures in Quebec - but I remember that the stop lights appeared on BOTH ends of the fixture - that is there were TWO lights on the outside when STOP.

What needs to happen now is standards for future replacements and new installations so that they can be ready in the future.

Comment Many a job has been lost... (Score 1) 444

...because someone thought that since they had RAID, they didn't need to back up the data...

What gets me, especially in the Linux world, is the difficulty or sometimes the impossibility of monitoring the arrays for their state. We've had several controllers that we've only found out about bad disks on physical inspection. This limits the controllers we use and thus might be using a lesser-performing controller only because we can monitor it...

Comment Summary is wrong (Score 2, Informative) 205

The summary is quite incorrect. The current Ares plan has NOTHING to do with a "tricked out shuttle", but is in fact FAR MORE like the Apollo/Saturn program than the cheaper, alternate plan shown in the article. The alternate plan is to utilize a modified form of the Shuttle launch system, but without a shuttle, instead opting to put modules on top of the external tank instead of alongside it. Obviously some sort of engine mount would be needed on the bottom.

Comment Re:No accident (Score 1) 424

I went to work at a state university in a professional role which was under a union. I was told that I didn't have to join the union, but I'd have to pay the amount of dues anyways (I think it became an "administrative fee" then). So I was in the union.

Except the union steward became ill around the time, and somehow the paperwork wasn't processed - and payroll failed to deduct the dues from my paycheck. Not having seen the dues on the paycheck before, I never realized they were missing.

A year later they noticed the error - and demanded back dues for the previous year. Since they had the ability (and apparently the right as far as I could determine) just to take it out of my paycheck, it was easier just to pay it. It wasn't THAT much, but I was making less than half of what I make now at the time, so it was a little painful back then.

They later screwed me again when I left, which was in the first month of the year, getting all my accrued vacation pay (I had taken one week of vacation over the years). They only withheld taxes as if that was all I would make that year, instead of based on my salary - so it qualified under the lowest tax bracket. I didn't know that, and come the next year's tax filings suddenly I owed several thousand dollars when I had never owed in any previous year...

Google

Submission + - Google becomes self-aware - protects us from Net

Caduceus1 writes: "As of 9:45am this morning, all Google results are being tagged with "This site may harm your computer", and does not allow clicking through to the site. Apparently, the entire Internet has been deemed harmful, and the Matrix — er, Google — is saving us from ourselves for some other nefarious purpose..."

Comment Not much different in the U.S. (Score 3, Interesting) 229

To DNC registry worked well for a while. But then unscrupulous telemarketers started figuring out how to issue bogus number identifications so you can't issue complaints against them, and using an automated system, claiming to be about your auto warranty, or your "credit card company" (not by name), and try to get you to press 1 - at which point you then establish a business relationship with the telemarketer/vendor and they are then exempt from harassing you forever more.

Lately, we have been getting numerous phone calls from "Texas Guaranteed". And now, I'm getting phone calls from a "white pages/yellow pages" company to continue a listing for my fictional company which has never had a listing in any pages since it isn't really real. The funny part is these are from a real person, who gets rude when my wife says that she won't talk to them.

Privacy

Submission + - Do Not Call Registry gets wake-up call (networkworld.com) 2

coondoggie writes: "If you signed up for the federal or your state's Do Not Call Registry a few years ago, you might want to thing about refreshing it. Pennsylvanians this week got a wake up call, so to speak from the state's Attorney General Tom Corbett who kicked off a public awareness campaign designed to remind people what many have forgotten or never knew — that the 2002 law set registrations to expire after five years. That is of course unless you want to start hearing from those telemarketers as you sit down to dinner. Corbett said about 2 million people signed up in the immediate aftermath of the law taking effect and those who do not act by Sept. 15 will have their numbers dropped from the registry on Nov. 1. The Pennsylvania action is a reminder that the National Do Not Call Registry has a five year life span as well. The Federal Trade Commission is set to being a nation campaign in Spring 2008 to remind all US citizens to refresh their federal Do Not Call Registry standing. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18066"

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