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Comment Not sure why this is a question (Score 5, Insightful) 246

by GeekFreak (#47589897) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: IT Personnel As Ostriches?

I treat everyone's email the same: I don't read it. I may see subject lines but I don't see the technical reason requiring you to read them. If it's a temptation, might want to re-evaluate your own professionalism.

The same with politics and gossip: keep it to yourself; do not participate. If asked a question, smile and decline to comment. Be polite and cordial but trust no one.

Basically: do your job and stfu.

Submission + - beta still sucks, still getting pushed (slashdot.org) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Guys.

Beta has become toxic. It is not better than what you had, the fads aren't that interesting, the changes are if anything shinily counterproductive, you've pushed it so incessantly that you've made it hated, and it's reflecting back to you. You're *still* doggedly flogging this dead horse. Whadayawant, keep on it until your readership will lap it up while mumbling "braaaains"?

There are things you could be doing to improve slashdot, like making it less dependent on javascript to function, like making it function well also when javascript is unavailable and without requiring logging in for punishment, and things like that. Oh, and people with basic grasp of English for editors would be nice too. But beta, beta is not those things.

Let. It. Go.

Comment Why I have come to Slashdot since 1998 (Score 1) 1191

by GeekFreak (#45009869) Attached to: Come Try Out Slashdot's New Design (In Beta)

To scroll down a list of "News for nerds; stuff that matters". That has been the beauty of /.: its simplicity in presenting many stories I can scroll quickly through when I have the odd moment to check while at work. It is always open in a tab when I'm online.

I used to visit Ars and /. about equally. I still read Ars, but I no longer keep it open in a tab as their new design makes the 'quick scan' impossible. I've relied on /. as an aggregator of headlines from all my favorite tech/science sites (including Ars). The new design takes away the clean, concise way of presenting so much information so well.

Why fix what ain't broken? The new design is horrible. Please don't. Please.

Submission + - Serbian president unveils Nikola Tesla monument in New York (theguardian.com)

Submitted by GeekFreak
GeekFreak writes: On Monday, a monument to Nikola Tesla was unveiled at the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe by Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic. The Tesla Science Center was purchased after a crowd-sourcing campaign, spearheaded by Matthew Inman of theoatmeal.com, raised $1.7 million to purchase Tesla's laboratory at Wardenclyffe and restore it. The museum's website can be found here: http://www.teslasciencecenter.org/
Technology

Submission + - Video: New 3-D nanostructures assemble themselves (patexia.com)

Submitted by
techgeek0279
techgeek0279 writes: "Building a box seems seems easy, but it is very challenging when the box is only supposed to be a nanometer wide. At that size, 3D structures are too small to be assembled by any machine and they must be guided to assemble on their own. And now, interdisciplinary research from Johns Hopkins University and Brown University has led to a breakthrough showing that higher order polyhedra can indeed fold up and assemble themselves, creating nanostructures that may be used in drug delivery and other applications."
Linux

Submission + - Linus wins the Millennium Technology Prize (zdnet.com)

Submitted by
udas
udas writes: "Also on Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/101722761973350504830/posts/iDp7MpWdRJN
This is the world’s largest technology prize. It is rewarded ever two years for a technological innovation that significantly improves the quality of human life, today and in the future. This year, Linus Torvalds, Linux’s creator, and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, maker of a new way to create stem cells without the use of embryonic stem cells, are both laureates for the 2012 Millennium Technology Prize.

This prize, which is determined by the Technology Academy of Finland, is one of the world’s largest such prizes with candidates sought from across the world and from all fields of technology. The two innovators will share over a million Euros. The final winner will be announced by the President of the Republic of Finland in a special ceremony on June 13, 2012."
Role Playing (Games)

Co-op Neverwinter RPG Announced For 2011 169

Posted by Soulskill from the taking-the-first-m-out-of-mmorpg dept.
Atari and Cryptic Studios are teaming up to make a new Dungeons & Dragons-based RPG called Neverwinter, planned for Q4 2011. Gameplay will center on five-person groups that can include other players and/or AI allies, and there will be an extensive content generation system. Gamespot spoke with Cryptic CEO Jack Emmert, who explained parts of the game in more depth: "I think there are two very unique gameplay elements in 4th Edition that we've done something interesting with: action points and healing surges. In the tabletop game, an action point lets a player perform a reroll or add an additional die to a roll. In our game, action points are earned through combat and spent to power special abilities called 'boons.' These boons give players special boosts, but only in certain circumstances. Healing surges represent the amount of times a player can heal himself before resting. In D&D and Neverwinter, various abilities let players use a surge immediately or perhaps replenish the number of surges available. It's a precious resource that players will need to husband as they adventure in the brave new world. Positioning, flanking, tactics, and using powers with your teammates are also all things that come from the 4th Edition that are interesting. Of course, we're using power names and trying to keep power behavior consistent with the pen-and-paper counterparts. Neverwinter will definitely feel familiar to anyone who has played the 4th Edition."
Data Storage

Preserving Memories of a Loved One? 527

Posted by timothy from the making-the-best-of-things dept.
An anonymous reader writes "My wife is dying of metastatic (stage 4) cancer. Statistically she has between one and two years left. I have pre-teen daughters. I'm looking for innovative ideas on how to preserve memories of their mother and my wife so that years down the road we don't forget the things we all tend to forget about a person as time passes. I have copious photos and am taking as much HD video as I can without being a jerk, so images and sounds are taken care of (and backed up securely). I'm keeping a private blog of simple daily events that help me remember the things in between the hospitalizations and treatments. In this digital age what other avenues are there for preserving memories? Non-digital suggestions would be welcome, too."
News

Submission + - Deepwater Horizon had BSOD issues (nytimes.com)

Submitted by Ecks
Ecks writes: The testimony has started in the Deepwater Horizon case and in addition to other problems it looks like they had major BSOD issues with their computer system. The whole thing article is an interesting read. It's on the NY Times site so registration is required.

"Problems existed from the beginning of drilling the well, Mr. Williams said. For months, the computer system had been locking up, producing what the crew deemed the “blue screen of death.”

“It would just turn blue,” he said. “You’d have no data coming through.”
Image

Recession Cuts Operation That Uses Hair To Clean Up Oil 119

Posted by samzenpus from the hair-today-gone-tomorrow dept.
Matter of Trust, a nonprofit that uses human hair scraps to make mats to clean up oil spills, finds itself with 18,000 pounds of hair and nobody to process it. Lisa Gautier, who runs the organization, says that the recession has closed many of the textile makers that produced the mats and the warehouse that stored them. Unfortunately for Lisa the hair keeps piling up. From the article: "Hair is good at soaking up oil because, up close, the strands are shaped like a palm tree with scalelike cuticles. Drops of oil naturally cling inside those cuticles, says Blair Blacker, chief executive of the World Response Group. A pound of hair can pick up one quart of oil in a minute, and it can be wrung out and reused up to 100 times, Mrs. Gautier says."
Image

Wisconsin Designates State Microbe 102

Posted by samzenpus from the the-fighting-parameciums dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that state legislators in Wisconsin raced against the clock to pass a bill designating Lactococcus lactis as Wisconsin's official state microbe. 'The first time I heard the idea, I thought, I've got more important things to do than spending my time honoring a microbe,' says Gary Hebl, a Democratic state representative who proposed the bill which, he says, would make Wisconsin the first state in the nation to grant such a designation, 'but this microbe is really a very hard worker,' added Hebl, referring to the bacterium supported by the Department of Bacteriology at UW — Madison used to make cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack cheese. The proposal faced only one detractor in committee ('the opponent was clearly lactose-intolerant,' says Hebl), and there was no sign of a last-minute campaign from other bacteria, so by evening, the Assembly had approved the measure, 56 to 41. In case there were any doubts about Wisconsin's priorities, a separate bill also awaits consideration in Madison, declaring cheese Wisconsin's state snack."
Image

Woman Claims Wii Fit Caused Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome 380

Posted by samzenpus from the can't-stop-playing dept.
Amanda Flowers always liked her Wii Fit but now she can't get enough of it. Amanda claims a fall from her balance board damaged a nerve and has left her suffering from persistent sexual arousal syndrome. From the article: "The catering worker said: 'It began as a twinge down below before surging through my body. Sometimes it built up into a trembling orgasm.' A doctor diagnosed her with persistent sexual arousal syndrome due to a damaged nerve."
Idle

Drunk History Presents Nikola Tesla *NSFW* 91

Posted by samzenpus from the putting-on-your-history-goggles dept.
Amazingly accurate for someone so plastered. I think all history should be taught at this level of intoxication.

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