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Comment Re:10 Gs isn't lethal (Score 1) 409

That is either for short amounts of time or with proper equipment (G-Suit). When I flew glider planes, we used to go up to 6.5 -7G and it is really hard work to stay conscience. I have doubts about the elegance and euphoria described though, above 7G things really start to hurt, your nose will be dripping, ear wax will pop out of your ears, ... If you're physically weak, you'll probably have small arteries in your legs burst too due to the increases blood pressure.

Comment Re:Performance boost? (Score 2, Interesting) 405

Why would code compiled on your system run any faster than the same code on someone else's system?

Because many pre-compiled packages use conservative optimization flags and may lack specific code paths for certain processors and instruction sets. They might also have chosen a compiler which doesn't produce the fastest code around. I'm not sure how it stands today, but a few years back, ICC produced code up to 30% faster than GCC or MSVC.

The difference all depends on the type of application of course. Overall, you might only see a performance difference of 1-5%, but for specific parts of the application, performance increase may be anywhere between 10 to 200%.

Last, compiling yourself also means you can choose what gets compiled and what not. Which in turns reduces diskspace and memory usage of the executable and may increase security and performance a bit. For things like Kernels and such, you need to compile it yourself if you want support for specific things (ALTQ for PF under FreeBSD for instance).

Comment Re:Carmakers lie (Score 1) 1146

No police officer is going to give you a ticket for going 5 over the speedlimit so don't even think of using it as an excuse.

Where I live (the Netherlands), below 100km/h there is a 3 km/h correction (3% correction above 100km/h), so driving 54km/h in a 50km/h zone can get you a fine. Granted, a police officer isn't likely to stop you, but driving past a speed trap (which we have a LOT of) is going to land you a ticket.

Comment Re:But is it working? (Score 1) 187

I'm using the Scarangel mod by Stulle, which has Maella bandwidth control + NAFC (network adapter feedback control). Plus, cFosSpeed trafficshaping which puts all packets of eMule.exe in the lowest class. Works like a charm, uses 99% of available bandwidth and I can still play EVE Online, login to servers with SSH or browse the web without lag.

Comment Re:But is it working? (Score 1) 187

Major problems HAVE been reported, especially with people already using their own Traffic Shaping solutions. I've never gotten v2 to work properly. Uploading fluctuates and uses only half of my upstream on average. Even though 100% of the upstream is available without congestion issues. eMule otoh has absolutely no issues using 99% of my upstream bandwidth.

Comment Re:Perhaps can start with Crawford, TX (Score 2, Interesting) 806

Not only that, it also means we will need to trade in some of our opinions, morals and values.

A nice example; Recently, the Dalai Lama made an unofficial visit to the Netherlands, without meeting important people like the Prime Minister and such. The reason: China would impose trade restrictions if the meeting was official or he would meet the Queen or Prime Minister. Now they only impose mild sanctions on us, such as restricting Visa for politicians.

A better example even: If you'd go to a local department store here in the Netherlands and purchase a Globe (not sure what the proper English name is; a soccerball sized globe with the world map and a lamp inside), produced in China of course (what isn't), you'll notice that some borders around China have been moved. Taiwan is no longer an independent country either, but it is part of China.

Earth

Ocean Currents Proposed As Cause of Magnetic Field 333

pjt33 notes a recently published paper proposing that ocean currents could account for Earth's magnetic field. The wrteup appears on the Institute of Physics site; the IOP is co-owner, with the German Physical Society, of the open-access journal in which the paper appears. This reader adds, "The currently predominant theory is that the cause of Earth's magnetic field is molten iron flowing in the outer core. There is at present no direct evidence for either theory." "Professor Gregory Ryskin from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University in Illinois, US, has defied the long-standing convention by applying equations from magnetohydrodynamics to our oceans' salt water (which conducts electricity) and found that the long-term changes (the secular variation) in the Earth's main magnetic field are possibly induced by our oceans' circulation."

Comment Legal Prostitution (Score 1) 19

Most of the problems associated with prostitution are caused by the illegality itself. If it were legal, you wouldn't have hookers walking down the street soliciting you. They would be in "cathouses" in areas zoned for such businesses. Rather than offering STD testing, it could be mandated as a requirement for their license. You would no longer have pimps beating them. And they would be paying income tax and their employers would be paying business taxes.

Where I live, the Netherlands (small country in Europe, you probably know Amsterdam), prostitution is legal. But legalizing prostitution alone hasn't been enough to solve all the problems and criminal connections. Prostitution remains easy money for criminals, especially when prostitutes are forced and get little pay. And the real-estate needed for window-prostitution and brothels is a good way to launder money. There remains a substantial part in illegality, though overall, the situation seems better in comparison to places where prostitution is illegal.

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