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Comment Re:Fucking idiots (Score 1) 1532

Compromise is the basis of any proper democracy.

Unfortunately, the USA has a broken electoral system that forces politics to a two-party system. In a two-party system the need for compromise is gone. In a 3+ party system a party can negotiate with several other parties, and form a coalition with the best match. That means parties have to compromise, or they end up outside of the coalition and thus with no power. In a two-party system you either have a majority or you don't. You either win or lose. There are no coalition negotiations, there is no compromising. If you lose you shift a bit more in the direction of the other party to win some of the votes back and try to win next time.

The fundamental problem is the broken electoral system.

Comment Re:junk dna (Score 1) 116

In this specific case, my guess as a biotechnologist would be Nitrogen starvation. Carnivorous plants live in nitrogen poor areas, they only get nitrogen from the insects they catch. DNA replication requires quite a bit of nitrogen, so less DNA means the plant needs less nitrogen to copy a cell.

Comment Re:Moot point (Score 1) 461

Oh, bullshit. Look, I'm not anti-GMO. I'm sure I eat GMO foods every day and it doesn't really bother me. That said, GMO is exceedingly unlikely to make anything less dangerous.

Actually, if the GMO is less attacked by insects or other non-viral diseases because the modification allows for the use of a more effective pesticides then the GMO needs to make less toxins to ward of those pests compared to a non-GMO. This means yes, a GMO is potentially safer than a non-GMO, depending on the other breeding conditions.

Comment Re: How about Python or something? (Score 1) 245

I think Java is fun to program in for exactly those reasons. For me the fun in programming is getting cool results and Java allows one to create complex stuff without having to constantly worry about shooting oneself in the foot. It allows me to use my full brain capacity for the actual algorithms I want to create and doesn't add lots of cognitive load. Especially when using a powerful IDE, like Netbeans.

Comment Re:I get up .. (Score 1) 635

Exactly!
I used to live 10 minuted by bike from work. I found that time too short, so I walked instead, which made it 30 minutes.
Instead of sitting in the canteen for lunch, I (and several others) brought a packed lunch, and we walked around outside, in the park, for 30 to 45 minutes.

I can especially recommend walking or biking to work, it's great for clearing your mind, but I guess it depends on your local traffic situation and the availability of parks or green areas.

Comment Re:False Takedown Notice? (Score 1) 359

Yes, but due to comma weaselling, the perjury but only refers to whether they are allowed to speak on behalf of the copyright holder they claim to represent, NOT on whether the material infringes that holders rights.

So they could file a takedown notice claiming that the constitution of the USA infringes NASCAR's rights, as long as they are allowed to speak on behalf of NASCAR.
They could not file a takedown notice claiming an actual NASCAR race recording infringes NASCAR rights, if they did not have the right to speak on behalf of NASCAR, even though that recording actually does infrige.

But IANAL, so I might be wrong.

Comment Re:Key problem: "And import them back to france" (Score 2) 1313

It actually makes a lot of sense. A lot of people in the Netherlands work part-time, often 3 or 4 days a week. Working less hours generally means that the hours you do work are more productive. So a workforce that works less hours per person will usually have a higher per-hour productivity.

Comment Re:Small print (Score 1) 204

Lets continue with your numbers:

A Nissan Leaf goes 73 miles on its 24KWh battery pack

Lets say it does that distance in two hours AND uses power perfectly distributed over that time (both best-case assumptions).
That would give it a power consumption of 12KW.
The fuel cell can have a 2.5W maximum draw.
12000/2.5 = 4800

So you don't just need 150 of those to generate enough power, you need 5 thousand!

Comment Re:Reminds me of a cartoon (Score 1) 251

It's not the same. When you drive up the costs of using fossil fuels, commodity agriculture products get more expensive, and people in the third world starve and riot, creating misery.

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the opposite where true.
Small-scale farming as happens in the third world is not nearly as dependant on fossil fuels as our first-world large-scale farming. That means a higher oil price will make local farming more competitive, and local farmers can actually compete with the imported western produce. This in turn means more locally produced food, and less dependence on imported stuff, which is good for the local economy.

Comment Re:why are people driven to eat too much? (Score 1) 483

Losing weight is math. You have to eat less than you burn. That's the bottom line. There's no way around it. The math is simple, but acting on it takes willpower.

If your gut microbes compensate for you eating less then you will have to compensate for your gut microbes by eating less again.

There are countless tricks to try to make it easier, but in the end it really comes down to counting calories. For the rest of your life.

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