Comment Re:Question (Score 1) 219
Why don't you cite data like GP did? It's like you're going out of your way for people to disbelieve you.
Comment Re:Now do that with an AA-12 (Score 2) 219
"(See 'Fireball in 10x10 room')"
Edition dependent: Yes in 1-2E. No in 0E, BX, 3-4-5E.
http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2011/07/spells-through-ages-fireball.html
Comment Re:why? (Score 1) 541
Thank you for taking the time to post this.
Comment Re:This is why I'm leaving academia. (Score 1) 541
"Science should be determined by the evidence available and the best interpretation of it at the time, not by people's feelings or politics."
I'm not sure that you're not the troll -- I seriously don't understand the level of bellyaching on your part. Who am I going to trust more on the issue, some writer trying to peddle a pop-culture book, or 100+ scientists engaged in the actual research? It's seems like a no-brainer as to who likely has a better grasp of the evidence and interpretation. If you're so intensely bothered by people engaging in argument, then I agree you need to grow a thicker skin or GTFO of academia, if you're actually going in that direction.
Side question: What's your stance on global warming?
Floridian (and Southern) Governmental Regulations Are Unfriendly To Solar Power 306
An anonymous reader writes with a link to a story in the LA Times: "Few places in the country are so warm and bright as Mary Wilkerson's property on the beach near St. Petersburg, Fla., a city once noted in the Guinness Book of World Records for a 768-day stretch of sunny days. But while Florida advertises itself as the Sunshine State, power company executives and regulators have worked successfully to keep most Floridians from using that sunshine to generate their own power. Wilkerson discovered the paradox when she set out to harness sunlight into electricity for the vintage cottages she rents out at Indian Rocks Beach. She would have had an easier time installing solar panels, she found, if she had put the homes on a flatbed and transported them to chilly Massachusetts. While the precise rules vary from state to state, one explanation is the same: opposition from utilities grown nervous by the rapid encroachment of solar firms on their business."
Add a TV Tuner To Your Xbox (In Europe) 81
jfruh (300774) writes "The Xbox one isn't just a game console: it's also a nifty media set-top box, and it interacts very well with your TV service — as long as you have cable. Cord-cutters will soon be able to attach their Xbox to an antenna — but only in Europe." The peripheral that Microsoft will soon release allows you to integrate over-the-air content into the Xbox One system. From the images Microsoft released it looks like the tuner is a small box with a port for an antenna cable on one end, and the USB cable on the other. Unfortunately for my readers in North America, as of now, the Xbox One Digital TV Tuner is only scheduled to release in Europe. Microsoft says it supports DVB-T, DVB-T2 and DVB-C television channels, which I hope means something to my European readers; Wikipedia tells me these are European over-the-air cable standards. The TV Tuner will be available in late October for 24.99 in the UK, and for €29.99 in France, Italy, Germany and Spain.
The Doctor Will Skype You Now 97
amkkhan writes Next time you need to go to the doctor, instead of making an appointment, why not just fire up your smartphone? New programs by companies such as Doctor on Demand and the University of Pittsburgh's AnywhereCare offer one-on-one conferencing with doctors, either over the phone or through video on your phone or computer – giving you all the medical advice you need without having to set foot in a doctor's office. This new breed of checkup, known as telemedicine, has the opportunity to revolutionize personal health, says Pat Basu, chief medical officer of Doctor on Demand and a former Stanford University physician. "Two of the most important skills we use as physicians are looking and listening," he says. "Video conferencing lets me use those skills and diagnose things like colds, coughs and even sprains in a manner more convenient for you."
Algorithm Predicts US Supreme Court Decisions 70% of Time 177
stephendavion writes A legal scholar says he and colleagues have developed an algorithm that can predict, with 70 percent accuracy, whether the US Supreme Court will uphold or reverse the lower-court decision before it. "Using only data available prior to the date of decision, our model correctly identifies 69.7 percent of the Court's overall affirm and reverse decisions and correctly forecasts 70.9% of the votes of individual justices across 7,700 cases and more than 68,000 justice votes," Josh Blackman, a South Texas College of Law scholar, wrote on his blog Tuesday.
Comment More Like -- (Score 3, Insightful) 316
Getting in the car and finding that Chris Christie shut down most of the lanes to gain political leverage.
Comment Re:so, I'm in the more than 8 yrs ago camp (Score 1) 391
I generally will upgrade some component(s) over that time frame. I built my first desktop back about 2000, using a Lian-Li case, which I still use (modular aluminum) the PSU has been upgraded 3 times, mobo 3 times, CPU 4 times, memory several times, video several times, storage several times and the OS twice.
Originally a 32 bit system with 256MB RAM and 1 80 GB HDD, it's now 64 bit, 6 cores, 32GB RAM, 256 GB SSD boot drive and 6TB RAID 5. Still screwing around with cheap video cards as I can do everything I need with a $49 card.
Comment Ahem (Score 0) 101
World's largest *unclassified* tunnel boring machine.
Comment Re:No matter how common you think it is... (Score 1) 209
MS Ribbon encourages that kind of mindless position-process because you can't even talk about it without words attached. All you can do is grunt and point at the cave paintings.
Comment Re:Very original (Score 1) 182
Yes, I'm sure nobody in all of China already has an inexpensive HEPA air purifier.
PHP Finally Getting a Formal Specification 180
itwbennett (1594911) writes "Despite becoming one of the most widely used programming languages on the Web, PHP didn't have a formal specification — until now. Facebook engineer and PHP core contributor Sara Golemon announced the initiative at OSCON earlier this month, and an initial draft of the specification was posted Wednesday on GitHub."
Raspberry Pi-Compatible Development Board Released 47
kodiaktau writes: Hardkernel has released a new Raspberry Pi-compatible development board based on the Samsung Exynos SoC. The board is smaller than a typical Pi, keeping basic HDMI, USB and CSI interfaces. It also has a 26-pin expansion board with more GPIO available, though it lacks an Ethernet jack. Initial prices as estimated around $30. The article makes the interesting point that this and other devices are marketed as "Raspberry Pi-compatible." The Raspberry Pi Foundation may run into name retention issues (similar to the ones Arduino had) as related hardware piggybacks on its success.
