Comment Re:+1 (Score 1) 578
Thanks for not taking offense.
Comment Re:Quit complaining (Score 1) 578
fewer
the word you were needing to use is 'fewer'.
".., the less programmers you have who are
should read
".., the fewer programmers you have who are
The general rule is, if you can count it/them, the correct word is 'fewer', not 'less'.
Sorry. It's just a fetish and pet peeve with me.
Comment 6C Increase By End of Century (Score 1) 746
Interesting. Good to know we have so many climate experts here in Slashdot. Not that it means anything. WAKE UP people!
Comment Re:Why reject just one component? (Score 1) 339
"IF APPLICABLE" is the gotcha there.
Comment Re:Or (Score 1) 237
Your anecdote gives a good idea of what it's like to quit 'cold turkey'. I congratulate you that you had the fortitude to accomplish that. Many smokers have tried multiple times to quit 'cold turkey' as well as programs involving both physical and emotional aids, with little or no success. The federal and state governments see this as a source of revenue, and refuse to recognize their failure to help a large part of their citizenry. Words are cheap, and actions speak much more loudly. Shame on them!
Comment Editing (Score 1) 857
It amazes me that nobody has mentioned how editing impacts this topic. A nicely hand written document may be impressive, but how many of us can actually finish a lengthy document in cursive without wishing we had said something a little differently? A hand-written letter to a friend is infinitely more personal than one from a printer, but here again we may have mis-spelled words and/or grammatical constructs that we may wish we had caught before laying our pen to the paper. The point I'm making is that even for those times when, for whatever reason, we want to produce a hand-written document, it would behoove us to use a word processor or text editor initially for the sake of checking our spelling and editing for proper grammar and context. Print it out or read it directly from the screen, transcribing in long hand to the paper.
Comment Butanol (Score 1) 725
Swift Fuel, eh? The only fuel I know of that replaces gasoline directly and without requiring modification to the automobile is Butanol. Is that what "Swift Fuel" really is?
Submission + - Video: Physics "To The Rescue" In Darfur? (functionalisminaction.com)
IConrad01 writes: "One of the primary arguments against the development of technologies that improve the human mind is a very odd one: that they will further the disparity between the "haves" and the "have-nots". The following video is a very visceral argument against this belief: imagine if instead of .01% of the population being geniuses, we had a mere 10%. With that thought in mind, watch this following video, located at Functionalism In Action — Video: Physics "To The Rescue" in Darfur?"
Submission + - Digging Deeper Beyond Evolution
Herman Cummings writes: "I read an article in The Daily Star, published on September 15th,
titled "Evolution is the best theory we've got". I must disagree.
It's only the "best theory" if you choose to stop looking for
other explanations. It would also help if only those qualified
to comment on certain subjects would be granted an audience,
and the those not qualified would learn the facts first.
Humanist supporters often claim that there is "overwhelming evidence"
for the theory of evolution. That is non-sense. There is solid geologic
evidence for escalating death of life forms on Earth since 700 Million
BC, but that is no "evidence" for evolution. The question is "why were
there periods of extinctions and restorations of life forms on Earth in
the ancient past, at least six times?". If you have already made up your
mind before examining the fossil record (of death), then of course you
will come to such a biased conclusion.
Creationism is not the opposing view of evolution. Everyone saying such
is "uninformed" and do not know what the facts are. Creationism is the
doctrine or the conviction that God created the Earth, the whole universe,
and all life that has ever existed within them both. Once you venture past
Creation Week (in 4.57 Billion BC), then you are no longer are talking
about Creationism. You're speaking of restoration.
There are no "creation accounts" in Genesis, as declared by the "foremost
terrestrial authority" on the book. If you are listening to others that refer
to "creation accounts" in Genesis, then you are getting misinformation.
The first chapter of Genesis relates the "Observations of Moses", which
are six 12 hour days that God showed Moses in 1598 BC on Mt. Sinai.
Even though Moses did not understand what he was seeing, God was
conveying to mankind that there has been previous dispensations of
life on Earth that were restored, and later suffered extinction, multiple times.
The second chapter of Genesis is only documenting the origins of modern
mankind, starting in 7200 BC. Therefore the flood of Noah (2611 BC)
had nothing to do with the deaths of the dimetrodons, dinosaurs,
indricotheriums, and mastodons. So there are many "Bible believers"
that are misrepresenting the Word of God.
In closing, the news media is quick to report on the statements of
evolution supporters, and seems to refrain from reporting on the
statements from those that have an opposing view, or those that
have a more "informed understanding" of the controversy. There
is no "creation/evolution" contest. It doesn't exist. The "brand"
of creationism that is closest to the truth is "Biblical Reality",
which states that God showed Moses six different days which
occurred in the past, with each day being taken from a different
week, and each week being the first week in seven different geologic
eras of mankind. Each day was a different day of the week, with
the days of revelation being shown to Moses starting with Sunday,
(on a Sunday) in "biblical order". But chronologically, the earliest
vision starts with Wednesday (the Fourth Day), the only day of
Creation Week which Moses was shown.
Herman Cummings
PO Box 1745
Fortson GA, 31808
ephraim7@aol.com
(706) 662-2893"
Submission + - Global Warming Criticism Ignored by Media
krygny writes: EARTHtimes.org reports: "A new analysis of peer-reviewed literature reveals that more than 500 scientists have published evidence refuting at least one element of current man-made global warming scares. (...) Despite being published in such journals such as Science, Nature and Geophysical Review Letters, these scientists have gotten little media attention.
Submission + - NASA finds bizarre planet/mass (nasa.gov)
no_space_in_time writes: "..........astronomers have discovered one of the most bizarre planet-mass objects ever found."
Submission + - Cassini's Spectacular Iapetus Flyby
cupofjoe writes: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is reporting on the Cassini spacecraft's recent close flyby of the Saturnian moon Iapetus, highlighting images taken from distances 100 times closer than the Voyager 2 flyby in 1981. Near real-time images were shown to Cassini mission team members in a presentation at JPL yesterday, during which a pre-recorded message from Arthur C. Clarke was played to the audience. Clarke wished them luck on the flyby, reminding all present that he had included a pretty accurate description of Iapetus in the original 1968 text of "2001: A Space Odyssey", years before Voyager made its flyby. The images are pretty spectacular, trumping the mosaic shot during Cassini's New Years' 2004 flyby — no sign of the Star Gate, though.
Opportunity Takes a Dip Into Victoria Crater 79
Muad'Dave writes "From the NASA News Release 'Today, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time. It radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day. Opportunity drove far enough in — about four meters (13 feet) — to get all six wheels past the crater rim. Then it backed uphill for about three meters (10 feet). The driving commands for the day included a precaution for the rover to stop driving if its wheels were slipping more than 40 percent. Slippage exceeded that amount on the last step of the drive, so Opportunity stopped with its front pair of wheels still inside the crater.' This marks the beginning of perhaps the greatest 'Opportunity' for new discoveries on Mars."
Submission + - String theory incompatible with expansion?
mcgrew (sm62704) writes: "New Scientist is reporting that
"a new study suggests it may be difficult to reconcile string theory with the widely accepted theory of inflation, which explains several key cosmological observations — such as why the universe appears to have the same properties in whichever direction astronomers look.
The study was carried out by a team of researchers led by Mark Hertzberg of MIT in Cambridge, US. The team tried to produce inflation in three versions of string theory in which the extra dimensions are shaped like a doughnut — the simplest possibility. But they found that the conditions needed for inflation appear to be impossible to achieve in these simple versions.
Submission + - Inject mechanism to replace hypodermic needles
140Mandak262Jamuna writes: Cnet is reporting a new drug delivery mechanism adapted from ink jet printers by HP.
The article says, "The company is licensing a medical patch it has developed to Ireland's Crospon that potentially can replace hypodermic needles or pills for delivering vaccines or other types of medication to patients. The patch contains up to 90,000 microneedles per square inch, microprocessors and a thermal unit."
I remember inkjet printer works by heating the ink, so much so that it is ejected in an micro explosion from the nozzle. I wonder how many drugs can still be potent after being subjected to that kind of heat and pressure. Still it could turn out to be useful mechanism for some drugs. But wait till the refurbished medicine cartridge makers to enter the market if you want it at a cheaper price. ;-)
The article says, "The company is licensing a medical patch it has developed to Ireland's Crospon that potentially can replace hypodermic needles or pills for delivering vaccines or other types of medication to patients. The patch contains up to 90,000 microneedles per square inch, microprocessors and a thermal unit."
I remember inkjet printer works by heating the ink, so much so that it is ejected in an micro explosion from the nozzle. I wonder how many drugs can still be potent after being subjected to that kind of heat and pressure. Still it could turn out to be useful mechanism for some drugs. But wait till the refurbished medicine cartridge makers to enter the market if you want it at a cheaper price.
