Comment Re:Yes Amtrak's better (Score 1) 525
Ahh, cool! I'd just checked the Coast Starlight. Thanks!
Comment Re:Yes Amtrak's better (Score 2) 525
I've done Seattle -> San Francisco Bay Area on Amtrak, and it was (by comparison with plane travel) nice. I'd thought that that route might extend to Vancouver, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Comment Re:My answer (Score 3) 525
...But I wonder how much of the mess that happens at borders is caused by cultural misunderstanding....I have great sympathy for the traveler described in the article, but I've never had a single problem traveling in the US and my only frustration with TSA is that they slow things down.
I'm sure some problems do happen because of cultural misunderstandings, but speaking as someone who grew up in the USA: the problems with the TSA are far more than cultural misunderstandings. I've had good experiences, to be sure, but some pretty horrible ones as well. I'll now drive half way across the country to avoid flying when it's possible, sadly that won't get me to many of the other places I need to get to.
Comment Re:Information wants to be free (Score 3, Interesting) 128
Printing, even if it's rarely used, can have significant up-front costs. I'd still like to see an accounting, though.
Comment Re:Food and Drug (Score 1) 42
Meh. Wrong link, to the WP article history rather than the article. Sorry about that.
Comment Re:Food and Drug (Score 1) 42
No, the inclusion of "articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals" in the original act creating the FDA (the FFDCA, the C is "Cosmetics", btw) has been more or less uncontroversial for longer than you or I have likely been alive.
Moreover, I have really have no desire to return to the era of Mrs. Moffat's Shoo-Fly Powders for Drunkenness , or the bionic equivalent thereof.
Submission + - The popularity of Wikipedia articles: catalysts, trends, and applications (wikipedia.org) 2
The ed17 writes: "A fascinating report on Wikipedia's traffic patterns highlights some of the view peaks in the encyclopedia's history. The winner? Whitney Houston's article received some 425 views per second upon news of her death, and Amy Winehouse came in second. Celebrity deaths dominate the top events, challenged only by American football's Super Bowl halftime show.
Equally as interesting are the catalysts that drive these viewers. In addition to cultural events, the Google Doodle, DDOS attacks, and even Slashdot play significant roles. With traffic following a power-law distribution, should Wikipedia editors be concentrating on these few popular topics (regardless their academic merit) in order to better shape public perception?"
Equally as interesting are the catalysts that drive these viewers. In addition to cultural events, the Google Doodle, DDOS attacks, and even Slashdot play significant roles. With traffic following a power-law distribution, should Wikipedia editors be concentrating on these few popular topics (regardless their academic merit) in order to better shape public perception?"
Submission + - German science minister stripped of her PhD (nature.com)
An anonymous reader writes: In a move likely to have major political implications, the University of Düsseldorf has revoked the doctoral degree of Germany’s science and education minister, Annette Schavan. The commitee investigating allegations of plagiarism came to the conclusion that she "systematically and deliberately claimed as her own intellectual achievements which she had in fact not produced herself". Schavan wants to appeal the decision in court and has not resigned from her post so far.
Submission + - Valve and JJ Abrams Collaborating on HalfLife, Portal Movies (wired.com)
LordStormes writes: THIS WAS A TRIUMPH. JJ Abrams, who apparently plans to direct every movie for the rest of time, is teaming with Gabe Newell and Valve to explore films for both the HalfLife and Portal franchises. No word on HalfLife 3, sadly...
Why Microsoft Office For iOS Will Likely Never See the Light of Day 270
MojoKid writes "It has been over six years since Apple introduced the iPhone. Millions of apps have been written for the platform in that time, with collective downloads into the billions. Apple's App Store is a thriving marketplace with a huge amount of software available, except Microsoft Office. There's a version of Office for iOS supposedly in the works, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer threw cold water on the idea when asked about upcoming events for the Office suite after launching the new Office 2013 / Office 365 products earlier this week. Revenue sharing is reportedly a major sticking point. Microsoft is trying to push people towards yearly subscriptions with Office 2013 and Office 365, but Apple requires a 30 percent profit share on sales of any app in their store. Microsoft reportedly isn't thrilled at the idea of sharing that much revenue. It's ironic — when Bill Gates agreed to port Office to the Mac nearly 20 years ago, it was seen as a lifeline for the beleaguered manufacturer. Now, Microsoft is knocking on the door of Apple's business and Cupertino seems disinclined to answer."
Comment Re:The First Rule (Score 1) 234
The reason they do this is so
I look forward to your justification for why Facebook feels it necessary to strip embedded copyright information from uploaded images.
(Arguably in violation of the DMCA.)
I'll wait.
--Joe
Comment Re:stripping metadata? (Score 1) 129
Funny, I had just been talking about this the day before yesterday.
In any case, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1202
(b) Removal or Alteration of Copyright Management Information.— No person shall, without the authority of the copyright owner or the law—
(1) intentionally remove or alter any copyright management information,
(2) distribute or import for distribution copyright management information knowing that the copyright management information has been removed or altered without authority of the copyright owner or the law, or
(3) distribute, import for distribution, or publicly perform works, copies of works, or phonorecords, knowing that copyright management information has been removed or altered without authority of the copyright owner or the law,
Comment Re:stripping metadata? (Score 1) 129
Actually, the DMCA does have an anti-copyright notice stripping provision.
I'm not 100% convinced that Facebook's Terms of Service legally allow them around this, but I'll be damned if I'll be the one footing the bill for that case.
Comment Four words (Score 1) 547
High speed popcorn delivery.
Comment Re:All that and he still only squeaked by (Score 1) 208
When I look to assess whether it's a few fringe conservative religious whackjobs running the GOP, or a large part of the base, I look to the results of individual ballot measures that touch on the questions that matter most to those folks--generally social conservative touchstones such as same-sex marriage, gay/lesbian employment discrimination measures, abortion, and so forth.
Those measures, even when they fail, pull 40%+ support.
I really see no way of explaining this as being a function of a tiny minority of the GOP.
In this election, I was able to find six high-profile races that touched on "Christian value" issues. The percentage of voters taking the "pro-theocrat" position on these individual issues is indicated below.
- Florida abortion funds: 44.9%
- Florida religious school funding: 44.5%
- Maine same-sex marriage: 47.1%
- Maryland same-sex marriage: 47.9%
- Minnesota same-sex marriage ban: 47.6%
- Washington same-sex marriage: 48.3%
These numbers are more or less consistent with each other and history, and in every case above, the individual voting patterns are highly party-aligned.
What they are not consistent with is the idea that the theocrats are a tiny minority of the GOP.
