Comment Read the history of polar exploration. (Score 2) 201
They sent out advance parties to place depots along the route, over 100 years ago. Totally obvious thing to do. I can't believe it has taken this long for Nasa to clue in.
Submission + - Republicans Want To Keep Students Out Of Voting (washingtonpost.com) 2
siliconbits writes: New Hampshire's new Republican state House speaker is pretty clear about what he thinks of college kids and how they vote. They're "foolish," Speaker William O'Brien said in a recent speech to a tea party group.
"Voting as a liberal. That's what kids do," he added, his comments taped by a state Democratic Party staffer and posted on YouTube. Students lack "life experience," and "they just vote their feelings."
"Voting as a liberal. That's what kids do," he added, his comments taped by a state Democratic Party staffer and posted on YouTube. Students lack "life experience," and "they just vote their feelings."
Comment Given that Richard Bartle is still alive... (Score 3, Interesting) 240
Comment Then you're not paying attention. (Score 1) 239
Lowest bidder only maximizing profit for shareholder.
Incumbent official only maximizing donations to reelection campaigns.
I do not see much difference.
The head of the TSA is not elected and not of much use to anyone else who wants to get elected, since everybody hates him. He is also -- in principle, at least -- responsible to the public as a whole, not just his shareholders.
Comment Re:Uh, no. (Score 1) 239
Shopping mall security guards have ZERO training. TSA employees have a little bit of training. Not enough to teach them that 100 ml is OK even though it's 3.2 oz, but some.
Rent-a-cops are really only watchers; they have another line of defense, real cops. TSA employees are the last line of defense.
Comment Uh, no. (Score 1) 239
The last thing I want is airport security handed over to the lowest bidder whose only obligation is to maximize profits for his shareholders. Some things are WAY too important to be left to the free market, and looking out for public safety is at the top of the list. TSA employees may be one step above rent-a-cops, but at least they ARE one step above rent-a-cops.
Comment Two words: sniffer dogs. (Score 1) 239
They work better than any other system, period. They don't have to irradiate you and they don't have to grope you. Admittedly Muslims and some other people consider them unclean, but they don't even have to touch what they're sniffing. The training takes time and money, it's true, but I have to wonder how many sniffer dogs could be trained for $14 billion...
Comment Simple test for when a company is too big. (Score 5, Insightful) 182
Put a $10 bill, or the local equivalent, in an envelope on the company bulletin board. On the outside, write, "I need change for $10 please" without any indication of who you are. Do this every six months or so. If you ever come back and find that the envelope is empty, your company is too big. You have hired a thief who does not care about his or her fellow employees.
Comment Not a safe move. (Score 4, Insightful) 255
People don't sue because they have legal grounds. They sue because they think they can force the other side to spend so much money that they'll cave. Most lawsuits are settled in favor of whoever has deeper pockets. Being in the right isn't enough; you have to be in the right and rich. Otherwise it's better to keep your head down... sadly. If the US ever gets around to tort reform (yeah, right), this situation may change.
Examining Indie Game Pricing 188
As the second Humble Indie Bundle flourishes, having taken in over $1.5 million in pay-what-you-want sales, the Opposable Thumbs blog has taken a look at indie game pricing in general, trying to determine how low price points and frequent sales affect their popularity in an ocean of $60 blockbusters. Quoting:
"... in the short term these sales are a good thing. They bring in more sales, more revenue, and expand the reach of games that frequently have very little marketing support behind them, if any. For those games, getting on the front page of Steam is a huge boost, putting it in front of a huge audience of gamers. But what are the long-term effects? If most players are buying these games at a severely reduced price, how does that influence the perception of indie games at large? It's not an easy question to answer, especially considering how relatively new these sales are, making it difficult to judge their long-term effects. But it's clear they're somewhat of a double-edged sword. Exposure is good, but price erosion isn't. 'When it comes to perception, a deep discount gets people playing the game that [they] wouldn't play otherwise, and I think that has both positive and negative effects,' [2D Boy co-founder Ron Carmel] told Ars. 'The negative is that if I'm willing to pay $5 but not $20, I probably don't want to play that game very much, so maybe I'm not as excited about it after I play it and maybe I drive down the average appreciation of the game.'"
Comment Re:News For Nerds (Score 1) 194
Some of us even like to give our adult political opinions.
If it's about computers, high technology, science, engineering or about the people who work with any of the foregoing, it's news for nerds. Get used to it.
Comment Of course it's related! (Score 1) 840
He's intelligently using his strengths where they will most benefit his purpose. Compare with other celebrities who have huge egos and are media whores, e.g. Paris Hilton. How many of them use those qualities as a way of drawing attention to lies and duplicity at the highest levels of the US government? No, instead they use them to make money.
If you're not a media whore, you're a pretty stupid and useless kind of activist. Assange is doing something interesting and worthwhile with his whoredom.
If you're not a media whore, you're a pretty stupid and useless kind of activist. Assange is doing something interesting and worthwhile with his whoredom.
Comment Assange himself is irrelevant, however. (Score 5, Insightful) 840
It's actually rather clever of him to serve as a lightning rod for Wikileaks, while the actual work continues to go on. Right-wing congressmen can call for his assassination all they like; even if it were to happen it would not affect the publication of the leaks. In fact, it would almost certainly trigger the mass publication of the unredacted material.
"The personal strengths and weaknesses of a leader are no true indicator of the merits of his cause."
Comment Re:Why is OSS A Criteria? (Score 1) 292
I'm an atheist (= "without religion," not "anti-religion") and you're more than welcome to baptize me when I'm dead. In fact, I'd prefer that to having your missionaries knocking on my door.
I'm also quite happy for the Navajos to make sand paintings for me when I'm dead, and for fire departments to erect crossed ladders.
Survey Shows That Fox News Makes You Less Informed 1352
A survey of American voters by World Public Opinion shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. One of the most interesting questions was about President Obama's birthplace. 63 percent of Fox viewers believe Obama was not born in the US (or that it is unclear). In 2003 a similar study about the Iraq war showed that Fox viewers were once again less knowledgeable on the subject than average. Let the flame war begin!
