Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Can it prevent PEBTAF errors? (Score 1) 192

Problem Exists Between Thermostat and Floor?

Like my darling bf who turn the heating on full and then keeps the door to the balcony open because "He needs fresh air" but "He does not want to sleep in the cold"?

Who got to use our old fridge with the broken door to keep his beer in, turned down to minimum because the door was nowhere near tight. Instead of keeping the stock there and moving what he needs to our new low-energy fridge he turned it on full tilt and I did not notice because I do not use the beer fridge.

Right now he has poured the old marmalade from the fridge through the kitchen drain and is whining because it's clogged again..."I did not do anything". I hope the mix of drain cleaner, hot water and vinegar he poured in afterwards doesn't eat through the drain. I'm not allowed to touch the mess and you should hear him if I drop so much as a small bread crumb in the drain.

In short - it's not always the women who refuse to learn how things work.

Comment Re:Lucid Dreaming (Score 1) 114

Takes ages to master and what works with one person does not work with the next. So far there is no reason to believe that every person at every stage of life can even learn to dream like that. Plus you need to be able to embrace your dreams, so if you start up with bad nightmares your brain has even less incentive to dwell on those.

Once you do master it, it's a swell way to spend a night. It's not like you have complete control like a movie director but you can nudge it and even avoid themes that you do not want to dream. It's somewhat odd when you notice you are dreaming because you are speaking with dead people and can actively choose to continue the dream.

I learned lucid dreaming by the time I was 18 when it was still: "Don't be ridiculous. You cannot control dreams." and haven't had what felt like a nightmare since. Got burned at the stake for not knowing when to keep my mouth shut the other night and noticed it was totally unreal since my brain could not find a memory of pain strong enough. I can feel pain in dreams so I suppose my memory just links to past experiences. It's like watching a really well done movie - you are experiencing the scene and still deep down you know it is not real without having to vocalize the thought. More intense, of course, but that is the general idea.

What worked for me was trying to remember my dreams as often as possible but even so it took years.

Comment Re:Well? What do you expect? (Score 1) 411

That's a gross generalization. Not entirely untrue, but far from a given. My wife had surgery a few years ago. The surgeon tried to dissuade us from it since he gave it at best a 50% chance of working since some of the diagnostics they look for weren't there. He left the option up to us, and since we had been through everything else without any luck, we told him to go through with it. After removing her gall bladder he finally found the signs he expected to find originally and she's been doing much better.

Funny you should mention this. My aunt was operated by a gynecologist for a growth on her ovaries. Since they had to go in anyway they removed her gall bladder because of a stone. Unfortunately they bungled that part so badly that the gall couldn't leave by the external conduit they had installed so it poisoned her almost fatally. When the internal specialists operated on her they found the remnants of her natural gall conduits mangled to badly they could not use them and almost gave up before using an artificial internal conduit to get the gall to flow straight from the liver into the intestines.

She is now in intensive care under heavy pain medication and has not been conscious since the op. The point is since the pain from the large cut would be near unbearable the doctors have decided to switch her consciousness off until healing is well underway.

If the idiots doing the first op had just said: let's call in a specialist instead of trying to do the (in theory, relatively simple for a trained surgeon) removal of a gall bladder themselves she and her family would have been spared a lot of pain and permanent maiming. My guess is they didn't know that conduits, like sinews, shrivel when unconnected and cut too short.

Comment Engineering Solution (Score 1) 699

Have the local sheriff designate a special area for this picket - somewhere highly visible. At that place, hide a conductive mat. In a nearby tree or something, hide the corresponding electrode. Apply sufficient voltage between electrodes. Bam - divine bolt of lightning perfectly delivered. For extra points, let a note drop down from the tree reading: "I don't need you to tell me how to do my job, thank you."

Comment Re:Municipalities already do (Score 1) 111

That aside, I was in a city in Germany (Trier or Cologne, not sure which it was) that had a system where they had displays around time that indicated how many spaces were available in a number of downtown parkades.

Cologne has had these for at least 25 years. By now every city has them. They simple count vehicles going in and out at the bar and compute the number of free spaces.

Comment Re:How do... (Score 1) 237

Nope - that law applies only to commercial websites. Private websites and blogs are not affected unless they have ads on them.

The point of the law is to protect consumers' rights which are very strong here. Basically - if a company wants to make business with you, they have to state who they are and who is responsible and if they have the right to do business at all (some professions). There are some practical issues since the law is somewhat ambiguously worded and needed to be clarified by courts. The process is still ongoing, unfortunately.

Comment Meow (Score 1) 180

Only if the alarm clock on my smart phone counts. I need to have it near me 24/7 (for that one time in 2 years there's a server emergency), so I may as well use it instead of the cheap old alarm clock. Never mind the amusing apologies from my boss when he behind-dials my number again.

I don't usually check the weather forecast until I'm out of the bathroom.

Comment Re:Alternatives to the mass-murdering hero (Score 1) 366

I've never tried this, but in the loading hints it says: If you have started a fight you can't finish, try putting away your gun. Your opponent just might forgive you.

Seems to be the old "Yield" functionality. I thought that was just to stop fighting your stupid companion who ran right in front you you just as you were attacking a mob....for the umpteeth time...I avoid any and all companions in Bethesda Sandbox RPGs for that reason. There is also the fact than whenever you sneak they seem to shout "I rolled a 4!" and draw every mob in the cell.

Comment Re:Really stupid (Score 1) 63

When a former school-mate that is now a police detective told me that they do not catch the really smart perpetrators, but that there were plenty of dumb ones around of any level of intelligence, I first did not believe him. By now I do. This is just one more data point.

To put it in a way that is easier to understand: Int: 18, Wis: dump stat.

Comment Re:As a US citizen (Score 1) 212

Germany - you have to own one, but not carry it on you. Technically you need to report a change of address within 2 weeks and get the address on the card changed. (just a sticker - no charge). I managed to live for almost 20 years without bothering to report my changes of address though the official one was still fine if anybody wanted to contact me. Mainly I did this so I could vote in the community I grew up in, instead of where I currently lived. The state didn't bother smoking me out until a disgruntled in-law reported me. Got off with a small administrative fine due to a) being broke b) official on the case didn't like the squealer either c) having always had at least a valid contact address.

You have to carry the licence when driving but forgetting it is just a small fine and you need to present it at the station within the next few days. Driving without one is very costly.

The ID cards are issued by the municipality, so the country government has no direct access to the data so far. They have tried to make a central DB of all registration data two years or so ago and have met with loud resistance from concerned terrorists^w citizens.

The cards are well accepted by citizens as a form of photo id but are very rarely demanded for anything. The last time I absolutely had to present mine was to change my car registration. The last time I voluntarily showed it was when donating blood as my donors card still has no photo.

Actually - we have no 'papers, please' as every official who has the right to demand such things needs to specify exactly what he wants. Usually: licence and vehicle registration, please. Happens about once every 5 years and I do drive a lot.

Slashdot Top Deals

"Ninety percent of baseball is half mental." -- Yogi Berra

Working...