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Comment Fallacy (Score 3, Interesting) 184

Privilege white people committing suicide? I'm playing my smallest violin in sympathy

1. Not all startup founders are 'white people' and not all of them are 'privileged' either

2. Most of the startup founders do not commit suicide

3. Stress level for startup founders - no matter what kind of startup - is high, but this is natural, as the journey of starting up a new company (in any industry) is a rocky road filled with a mix of excitement / trepidation / frustration

As for the percentage of the excitement versus that of trepidation versus that of frustration largely depends on

A. The regional / global industrial environment in which the startup is involved with

B. The structure of the startup

C. The corporate culture of the startup, ie, the attitude of the close-knit of people working in the startup

D. The personality type of the founder himself or herself

I personally have involved in quite a number of startups and every single one has their own perculiar 'pain of labor' - and for each of the 'pain of labor', if the founder sees it as a 'challenge' it would be tackled with zeal. However, if the same 'pain of labor' is seen as 'trouble' then the thing could become a protracted problem for the company

The above is based on my own experience

YMMV

Submission + - ITER won't be ready until 2027 (neimagazine.com)

Taco Cowboy writes: Started back in 1985, the ITER, (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project has suffered repeated delays and cost overruns, so much so that the first plasma originally scheduled for 2019 is "clearly not feasible", according to Dr. Bernard Bigot, the newly appointed director general

Part of the reason for the slow progress is down to the way the project is structured. The European Union, as host party, will contribute up to about 50% of the costs and the other parties 10% each. However, technical decisions require consensus and because those relating to the design of components will inevitably impact some parties more than others, it is difficult to reach. In one case discussions dragged on for six years without a definitive answer. Without that decision work did not progress

Dr. Bigot decides that ITER must gear up to take a more decisive role in the project. “What was plaguing the project before is that there was confusion between the best technical solution and sharing of the cost," said Bigot. “Now I want just the best technical decision. The cost will be covered according to the share of the parties, reflecting the spirit of the ITER agreement"

Dr. Bigot's current aim is to accomplish the deuterium-tritium plasma (previously planned for March 2027), to a more realistic date. “We are now considering the best way to move on from the first plasma and rush as much as possible to the DT plasma, which will please the scientific community," Bigot said

ITER intends to step up to the plate whenever some parties face difficulties complying with the schedule for delivery of equipment by putting the interests of the project first, and redistribute tasks. For example, the organization has already taken charge of procurement of some components on behalf of domestic agencies, although they still remain responsible for the costs

Dr. Bigot stresses that the project is too far advanced for design changes, with more than €7 billion of procurement contracts in place and over 1000 companies at work

“You could not just change [the scope] in the middle...you have to go, or stop." He concluded: "The time has come for the ITER Organization to demonstrate it is serious. The biggest risk is that we lose trust of the political leaders and public opinion, then the project would be dead"

Comment German/Asian education systems are flawed?? (Score 1) 256

They're not prizing education, but the ability to make certain tiers of education

If the German / Asian education systems are flawed, please tell me why they keep on producing innovative young people while America has to rely on immigrants from Germany and Asia to replenish its supply of innovative ideas?

As a Chinese I can tell you that we do prize not only education - but also knowledge and the use of knowledge to bettering the world at large

My primary education was in China. Secondary school and up, I got it in the USA - and the contrast is that in China we actually honor our teacher but in America it's the football stars and/or gangsters who got most admirations

In the secondary school that I went to in the States (near the Boston area) more than 80% were blacks. Decades have passed since I got out of that hellhole and I can tell you that it's the 20%, the non-blacks, who are contributing to the wellbeing of the American society via our taxes, our inventions and our companies that we started which are employing thousands of other Americans

Why can't the blacks do what we the 20%-ers are doing?

It's not that they can't, they do *NOT* want to, because for them, excellence in education isn't their priority --- they do not have to because they got their Jesse Jackson to speak out for them whenever there is/are troubles

As for the 20%-ers, we do not have our 'Jesse Jackson' to speak for us, we have to do it all by ourselves. That is why it is us, the 20%-ers, who are pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps

Comment Ignorance? Who is ignorant? (Score 1) 96

Ever heard of Umm Qirfa?

Never heard of the name?

Read this link --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Read how that old noble woman was killed

Read who was the one ordering the murder of that old lady

Extremism?

Comparing to the extreme cruel way that old noble lady was murdered, the beheadings carried by the ISIL assholes become lame and mild mannered

You don't even know what islam is!

Comment There is a saying ... (Score 2) 91

... that 99.999% of the humans are idiots

At first I did not think much of that saying, but, reading TFA, especially the part about "... people realize that information is more likely to be accidentally emailed out to the wrong address then hacked ..." makes me wonder if there is a need for something far worse than the word "idiot"

Submission + - Are you a Toxoplasma Gondii carrier?

Taco Cowboy writes: Toxoplasma Gondii is a brain parasite with feline as its primary host

While most mammals and some birds are susceptable to infection by Toxoplasma gondii, only the feline serve as the definitive host, in which sexual reproduction and the production of oocysts occurs

When Toxoplasma Gondii infects the rat it alters the behavior of the host so much so that the rodent loses its innate fear of cats
http://www.bbc.com/news/scienc...

It has been estimated that in between 30% to 50% of the human beings have been infected by the parasite

A study carried out in China revealed that an estimated 12% — 25% of the population are carriers of the Toxoplasma Gondii parasite
http://www.parasitesandvectors...

Seropositive estimations for other countries ranging from 20% for England and as high as 75% for France

Toxoplasma Gondii not only alters the behavior of rodents as there have been signs of the parasite altering behavior of human beings that it has infected. For notable cases please use the following link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

In human hosts the Toxoplasma Gondii inhibits the function of the Amygdala region located deep inside the brain. The Amygdala region relegates the feeling of FEAR. Fire up the amygdala, and you can be more inhibited and fearful. Repress it, and you might find yourself on one of those Girls Gone Wild videos. If you remove the amygdala, animals will get hypersexual, fearless, and hyperoral "in which inappropriate objects are placed in the mouth"
http://evolutionarypsychiatry....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

In other words, people who are toxoplasma seropositive takes much more unnecessarily risks and have more car accidents than those who are not
http://pusware.com/testpus/bug...

So,,,
Are you a cat lover?
Are you a bad driver?
Do you have an outlandish behavior?

If you do, go get a test, especially if you (or your girlfriend) are pregant and/or planning to be pregnant

The Toxoplasma Gondii can cause tragic consequences to the unborn babies, including but not limited to visual and hearing loss, mental and psychomotor retardation, seizures, hematological abnormalities, hepatosplenomegaly, still birth, or death to both mother and unborn child
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/...
http://www.babycenter.com/0_to...
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.ph...

For more information, please refer to CDC's advice page below
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/t...

More links to Toxoplasma Gondii
http://www.reddit.com/r/todayi...
http://www.bio.net/mm/parasite...
http://www.sciencefocus.com//b...
http://news.nationalgeographic...

Become a full human being, and not a pseudo-zombie controlled by the Toxoplasma Gondii parasite !

Submission + - Fuck you DICE for trashing Slashdot!

An anonymous reader writes: DICE, you sure have done a goddamned superb job on Slashdot, so much so that the Journal feature which was used to be available for all registered users is no more

Go fuck youself, DICE !

Comment Those who shed their blood for freedom (Score 5, Insightful) 80

I have nothing but utmost respect for those who shed their blood for freedom, unfortunately human history is such that those who died for the cause almost always died in vain

Not because they didn't win the battle - they did

But because whatever victory they have achieved would, one way or another, be completely eroded by politicians

No matter which culture - no matter which era

No matter if the battle took place 2000 years ago or 2000 years in the future, politicians will always be the ultimate victor

Submission + - China challenging US military superiority in air, space-senior Pentagon offficer (scmp.com)

Taco Cowboy writes: China is mounting a serious effort to challenge US military superiority in air and space, forcing the Pentagon to seek new technologies and systems to stay ahead of its rapidly developing rival, Deputy Defence Secretary Robert Work said

The Pentagon’s chief operating officer, speaking to a group of military and civilian aerospace experts, said China was quickly closing the technological gaps, developing radar-evading aircraft, advanced reconnaissance planes, sophisticated missiles and top-notch electronic warfare equipment

Work, citing a Harvard study on rising powers confronting established powers, told the conference that interactions between the two often result in war. As a result, the Defence Department must “hedge against this international competition turning more heated”

Work said the United States has relied on technological superiority for the past 25 years, but now “the margin of technological superiority upon which we have become so accustomed is steadily eroding”

Directed energy weapons, for example, might be able to shoot down missiles that cost a hundred times the price of a jolt of energy

Comment Nothing that money can't buy (Score 5, Interesting) 65

Those main reason 'natives' objected to the construction of the telescope not because of the sacredness of the mount Kea but the lack of a certain incentive --- namely, $$$

Money can move mountains if needed be ... and in this case, as long as someone can pay those 'concerned natives' there will no longer be any objection, nor any protests over 'trampling of sacred ground'

Comment Rhino horn's function = Tylenol (Score 2) 163

Instead of Viagra, rhino horn's main function in traditional Chinese medicine is much more closer to Tylenol

Rhino horn has never been used as aphrodisiacs in Chinese medicine

As there are hundreds of other ingredients, vast majority of them plant based, such as barley or chrysanthemum, which work much better as fever reducer in traditional Chinese medicine, rhino horns are actually not needed at all

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