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Comment Re:Since when... (Score 1) 226

How is this not 'voting twice'?
  1. 1) Individual votes their personal choice. Turnout is poor due to systemic disenfranchisement.
  2. 2) Individual votes again, but this time their boss chooses. Turnout is effectively mandatory and close to 100%.

That's just madness.

Comment I Do! (Score 1) 216

I ended up voting 'Open Access For Everyone', but that's a bit misleading as 'Everyone' is exclusively 'Me'. Or sometimes my wife if she is home sick or on an odd schedule.

After reading all of these HVAC related horror stories, I'm glad for it too! I'll take arguing with a sick wife once in a while over any of that.

Comment Re:Pipe Dream I suspect (Score 1) 193

Unfortunately there are a not-insignificant number of idiots here in the Seattle area (and, I'm sure, in other places) that *do* run studded tires for no good reason at all, so that is still a very real concern.

Same here, a bit further south in Oregon. For what amounts to maybe 1/2" of snow a year, if it even snows at all, we have people running studded tires the entire legally allowed season 'just in case'.

These same people complain about the terrible shape the roads are in, and also complain about any taxes they may have to pay to fix the roads. All because it might snow, and it might stick around for more than an hour. Maybe. Or they might drive over the mountains to Central Oregon once. Or maybe go skiiing a couple of times.

I wish more people were sane about their winter driving tire choices.

Comment Re:Here's his problem (Score 2) 278

I've experienced this first hand. I gave my estimate for a new feature. Over the course of the remaining meeting, I literally watched my estimate get cut in half by the client and management as they shuffled dates around.

I then chimed back in with my original estimate of how long it would actually take in the real world, and somehow everyone was upset that I had moved the deadline. Unreal.

Comment Re:i've worked on that bridge (Score 1) 278

Most software requests seem to be more like "I want to drive across the Aleutian islands, make it happen".

Shortly followed by "We now need to support walking as well, but they need to get there as quickly as the people who drive. This should still fit in the 'get to Russia' spec, so we won't be adjusting your budget."

Comment Re:Softball (Score 1) 405

What might make golf more accessible is building smaller 9-hole courses heavy on par-threes with more forgiving hazards and flatter greens. Less of a time commitment, cheaper due to faster turnover... Change the name somewhat (Golf-lite? Softgolf?) so as to defuse objections from people who want to maintain âoepure golfâ(TM)sâ identity as is.

They have those already, generally called executive courses. The one in my neighborhood has 18 holes for $15 (or 9 for $9), will rent you clubs for $3 and a cart for $3.50. It's dead flat and has minimal hazards - just enough so you know what a hazard is.

Comment Re:...news for nerds.. (Score 1) 405

If you are going to play with other people you know, you can share clubs while trying things out.

Most courses - even municipal public courses - won't allow you to do that as it slows your group down considerably. If you've got a rookie in your group, you're already going to be a bottleneck. Don't make it worse by having to chase back and forth sharing clubs.

Most places are more than happy to rent you clubs for the round at pretty reasonable rates. The nearby executive course is $3 for clubs and $9 for 9 holes.

I take all interested newbies there for an introduction to the sport. It's dead flat, nothing but par 3, no reservations, and chock full of duffers so nobody feels bad. For $20, you get a round in the sun plus a couple of beers.

I'm sure there's someplace similar to this in every city. Not everything is Bushwood Country Club.

Submission + - Fracking is Draining Water from Areas in US Suffering Major Shortages 1

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: RT reports that some of the most drought-ravaged areas of the US are also heavily targeted for oil and gas development using hydraulic fracturing — a practice that exacerbates water shortages with half of the oil and gas wells fracked across America since 2011 located in places suffering through drought. Taken together, all the wells surveyed from January 2011 to May 2013 consumed 97 billion gallons of water, pumped under high pressure to crack rocks containing oil or natural gas. Up to 10 million gallons can go into a single well. "Hydraulic fracturing is increasing competitive pressures for water in some of the country's most water-stressed and drought-ridden regions," says Mindy Lubber. "Barring stiffer water-use regulations and improved on-the-ground practices, the industry's water needs in many regions are on a collision course with other water users, especially agriculture and municipal water use." Nearly half (47%) of oil and gas wells recently hydraulically fractured in the U.S. and Canada are in regions with high or extremely high water stress. Amanda Brock, head of a water-treatment firm in Houston, says oil companies in California are already exploring ways to frack using the briny, undrinkable water found in the state's oil fields. While fracking consumes far less water than agriculture or residential uses, the impact can be huge on particular communities and is "exacerbating already existing water problems," says Monika Freyman. Hydraulic fracking is the "latest party to come to the table," says Freyman. The demands for the water are "taking regions by surprise," she says. More work needs to be done to better manage water use, given competing demand.

Submission + - Once Slashdot beta has been foisted upon me, what site should I use instead? 2

somenickname writes: As a long time Slashdot reader, I'm wondering what website to transition to once the beta goes live. The new beta interface seems very well suited to tablets/phones but, it ignores the fact that the user base is, as one would expect, nerds sitting in front of very large LCD monitors and wasting their employers time. It's entirely possible that the browser ID information gathered by the site has indicated that they get far more hits on mobile devices where the new interface is reasonable but, I feel that no one has analyzed the browser ID (and screen resolution) against comments modded +5. I think you will find that most +5 comments are coming from devices (real fucking computers) that the new interface does not support well. Without an interface that invites the kind of users that post +5 comments, Slashdot is just a ho-hum news aggregation site that allows comments. So, my question is, once the beta is the default, where should Slashdot users go to?

Submission + - Slashdot beta sucks 9

An anonymous reader writes: Maybe some of the slashdot team should start listening to its users, most of which hate the new user interface. Thanks for ruining something that wasn't broken.

Comment Re:Strategy? (Score 1) 463

Thanks, this is what I was looking for when I clicked into this discussion.

EVE wasn't the game for me, but I am truly fascinated by it abstractly. One of the first thoughts through my mind after reading the headline was to wonder how it felt to manage logistics and strategy at that scale. I appreciate that you shared a glimpse into that aspect.

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