jwilloug - Slashdot User

Comment Re:This is proof? Really? (Score 1) 282

by jwilloug on Friday October 18, 2013 @09:14AM (#45163621) Attached to: Why Bitcoin Boomed During the Government Shutdown

Exceeding the debt limit does not mean default. It means that all further spending immediately gets reduced to the level of tax revenue; implying a 30% drop in spending.

It is up to the treasury to prioritize where the cash on hand goes.

They say they have neither the technical ability (the software can't handle the use case) nor the legal authority to prioritize payments (a de facto line item veto). They might just be lying to us, but if you believe they are capable of that, you also believe they totally would default just to prove a point.

Besides, if the government is going to pay you in a couple weeks, we swear, that would be a debt. It has just been shifted away from the people who want to lend us money voluntarily.

Comment Re:This is proof? Really? (Score 3, Interesting) 282

by jwilloug on Thursday October 17, 2013 @11:51PM (#45160857) Attached to: Why Bitcoin Boomed During the Government Shutdown

But printing money was one of the possible outcomes of hitting the debt ceiling. Both the Fed and the Secretary of the Treasury have the legal authority to declare that they are covering the deficit by creating money rather than borrowing it, and they may well have done so. It wouldn't have been great monetary policy, but there is a reasonable argument that it's better than default.

1st International Longest Tweet Results 44

Posted by timothy on Friday April 30, 2010 @06:20AM from the sewn-up-by-mockingbirds dept.

Dr_Evil6_6_6 writes "Slashdot had a story about the 1st International Longest Tweet Contest last month, and the winners have just been announced." The winner is impressive.

Man Put On "No-Fly List" While In Air To NYC 300

Posted by samzenpus on Friday April 23, 2010 @03:24PM from the beware-the-list-refresh dept.

An unnamed man flying from Nigeria to New York City found out he was added to a no-fly list somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean, when the plane stopped to refuel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Officials won't say what he did or why he was added to the list after he had already boarded a flight. He was not immediately charged with a crime and Customs and Border Protection will only say that he is a "potential person of interest." From the article: "The man, a citizen of Gambia, was not on the no-fly list when he boarded the aircraft in Dakar, Senegal, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly."

Police Called Over 11-Year-Old's Science Project 687

Posted by samzenpus on Saturday January 16, 2010 @05:37PM from the duck-and-cover dept.

garg0yle writes "Police in San Diego were called to investigate an 11-year-old's science project, consisting of 'a motion detector made out of an empty Gatorade bottle and some electronics,' after the vice-principal came to the conclusion that it was a bomb. Charges aren't being laid against the youth, but it's being recommended that he and his family 'get counseling.' Apparently, the student violated school policies — I'm assuming these are policies against having any kind of independent thought?"

Forensics Tool Finds Headerless Encrypted Files 374

Posted by timothy on Thursday April 30, 2009 @04:17PM from the sir-there's-an-anomaly-here dept.

gurps_npc writes "Forensics Innovations claims to have for sale a product that detects headerless encrypted files, such as TrueCrypt Dynamic files. It does not decrypt the file, just tells you that it is in fact an encrypted file. It works by detecting hidden patterns that don't exist in a random file. It does not mention steganography, but if their claim is true, it seems that it should be capable of detecting stenographic information as well."

Comment Re:Many of these are not fair (Score 1) 1582

by jwilloug on Wednesday April 01, 2009 @12:59PM (#27420009) Attached to: Slashdot Launches User Achievements

*shakes his cane the newbs*

Comment Re:I have an old PC, you insensitive clod (Score 1) 120

by jwilloug on Wednesday March 18, 2009 @03:21PM (#27245861) Attached to: The Realities of Selling Independently Developed PC Games

If it's the latter then that's a good example of what I was suggesting, but I think it's more likely the former. Effectively, had these people been given the choice of say, NWN or this they'd almost certainly have gone with NWN. His sales are likely based on people who are not much in to gaming accidently stumbling across his site, not realising there is anything better out there or previous customers who found his products in this manner etc.

I think you're entirely wrong in this characterization of Spidweb's audience. They've been around a long time and has cultivated a devoted following that actually wants tile- and turn-based RPGs. I'd be very surprised if they didn't make up the majority of Geneforge 4's paying customers. I doubt he gets very many first-time buyers on any particular title. Perhaps he'll provide these numbers in the followup he mentioned in the blog.

That audience includes me, by the way. I lost interest in Baldur's Gate 2 very early, and have never played Neverwinter Nights, but I have bought half a dozen Spiderweb games going back many years.

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