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Canada

Feeling Upset? Look At Some Meat 155

Posted by samzenpus from the the-calming-power-of-beef dept.
Meshach writes "A study out of Canada claims that seeing meat actually calms a person down. From the article: 'Contrary to expectations, a McGill University researcher has discovered that seeing meat makes people significantly less aggressive. Frank Kachanoff, who studies evolution at the university’s department of psychology, had initially thought the presence of meat would provoke bloodlust, believing the response would have helped our primate ancestors hunt. But in fact, his research showed the reverse is true.'" I can see all the "Make Steak, Not War!" protest signs already.
Education

Quantum Physics For Everybody 145

Posted by kdawson from the this-time-without-the-math dept.
fiziko writes in with a self-described "blatant self-promotion" of a worthwhile service for those wishing to go beyond Khan Academy physics: namely Bureau 42's Summer School. "As those who subscribe to the 'Sci-Fi News' slashbox may know, Bureau 42 has launched its first Summer School. This year we're doing a nine-part series (every Monday in July and August) taking readers from high school physics to graduate level physics, with no particular mathematical background required. Follow the link for part 1."

Comment Re:Nothing to see here, move along (Score 5, Informative) 145

by Incongruity (#31357676) Attached to: Why PyCon 2010's Conference Wi-Fi Didn't Melt Down

Of course, the top answer to the question you link to comes from Sean (Jafo), the same person who authored the story submitted here. Sean's been nothing short of a hero @ PyCon for a number of years now – the one or two times we tried to replace him with a sub-contracted internet solution, it always ended painfully... or, well, more rightly, with Sean coming in and saving the day.

So, as someone who has worked with Sean on making PyCon happen, I can say, without a doubt, that he really knows how to get it done. My hat's off to him and Tummy.com

Comment Re:Wash your hands! (Score 1) 374

by CleverNickName (#29392669) Attached to: Swine Flu Outbreak At PAX

This is good advice, and gives me an opportunity to speak to the community at large: some of us who go to cons and are in a position to shake tons of hands politely decline. It's not because we're being dicks, it's because we know it's a good way to substantially decrease our chances of catching and spreading any germs.

Comment Oh, cruel irony (Score 2, Interesting) 374

by CleverNickName (#29392641) Attached to: Swine Flu Outbreak At PAX

I played the PAX Pandemic game, where the Enforcers handed out stickers to attendees that read [Carrier] [Infected] or [Immune] (There was also a [Patient Zero].

I got the [Immune] sticker, and by the time I got home on Monday, it was clear that I had the flu. I've had a fever between 100 and 104 all week that finally broke last night, but I'm going to the doctor today because I think whatever I had settled into my lungs. I'll tell him about the H1N1 outbreak and get tested if he wants to run the test, but at this point I think it's safe to assume that I was [Immune] to the Pig Plague, but definitely [Infected] with the damn PAX pox.

Even though it's been a week of misery, it was entirely worth it, and I don't regret going to PAX for a single second.
Software

Submission + - DMCA take down advice

Submitted by CBung
CBung writes: Hello Slashdot readers, I am involved in an open source Java strategy game engine hosted on SourceForge. We have existed for many years and our development is volunteer based. We use the engine to play clones of a popular WWII board game as well as many community created mods and maps. The popularity of the board game is the driving force behind the successfulness of our application. Most users have "been playing that board game for 20yrs", and most of us own at least one of the board games. We love being able to play on line and develop our skills on the board game maps at an international level. Unfortunately, we've recently been hit by a DMCA take down notice from the rights holder the board game that we clone. The IP holder did create a PC version of the board game in 1998 which was poorly maintained and another reason our application was created. At this point, our initial reaction is to simply remove the specifically cloned maps, and maintain our application with many of our user mods. However, many of our mods use the same units and game mechanics/rules as the board game. Is there any way we can keep our application, including the clones of the board game maps, alive?

I will also note that the rights holder recently released an on line version of their board game thats playable on line. However it is very specific and limited in options. It seems more then coincidental that we've received this notice now that their own game lobby is on line. Can our application take refuge in another country? Is there a way to keep our application alive since it is significantly more feature full?
Handhelds

Amazon Wins First Kindle Patent; Bigger Screen Expected Soon 50

Posted by timothy from the would-you-like-some-e-coffee-with-that? dept.
An anonymous reader writes "One day before Amazon is scheduled to unveil its widescreen Kindle aimed at newspaper readers, the e-commerce giant has been awarded its first US patent for an e-book reader. The new patent, D591,741, is a design patent which protects the look and feel of the Kindle shell, not for fundamental technologies. Those patents are mostly held by E Ink Corp., which makes the 'liquidless paper' display. Sony, IBM, and the Discovery cable TV network also have e-book patents. Amazon, though the leading e-book seller, has none, but the patent award indicates they've applied for at least four recently." Also in Kindle news, PC World has a brief article up on the larger-screen Kindle DX (expected to launch Wednesday), including pictures first spotted on Engadget.
Government

Obama Admin Fights Missing White House Email Lawsuit 345

Posted by Soulskill from the what-happens-in-dc-stays-in-dc dept.
DesScorp writes "The AP reports that the Obama administration has picked up where the Bush administration left off on the missing White House email issue by trying to have a lawsuit dismissed that would have kept investigating whether or not email was still missing. Two advocacy groups suing the Executive Office of the President expressed disappointment with the Obama administration's actions. Tom Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, noted that President Barack Obama on his first full day in office called for greater transparency in government. The Justice Department 'apparently never got the message' from Obama, Blanton said."

Comment Re:Non-Free license (Score 1) 54

by Incongruity (#26647923) Attached to: U.C. System and Springer Agree To CC-Licensed Journal Articles

See that "Publicly Perform" bit? You may not do that for commercial advantage.

Right -- that means you can't get up on stage and read the article and charge a fee at the door for people to hear you doing so. Similarly, you can't record such a spoken-word performance, etc. etc.

It in no way prevents you from using the ideas therein towards your own research by my reading and standard usages of licenses.
Games

Survival-Horror Genre Going Extinct? 166

Posted by Soulskill from the scary-proposition dept.
Destructoid is running an opinion piece looking at the state of the survival-horror genre in games, suggesting that the way it has developed over the past several years has been detrimental to its own future. "During the nineties, horror games were all the rage, with Resident Evil and Silent Hill using the negative aspects of other games to an advantage. While fixed camera angles, dodgy controls and clunky combat were seen as problematic in most games, the traditional survival horror took them as a positive boon. A seemingly less demanding public ate up these games with a big spoon, overlooking glaring faults in favor of videogames that could be genuinely terrifying." The Guardian's Games Blog has posted a response downplaying the decline of the genre, looking forward to Ubisoft's upcoming I Am Alive and wondering if independent game developers will pick up where major publishers have left off.

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