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Comment: Re:The problem is chicken little (Score 2) 1181

by KevinIsOwn (#39688209) Attached to: Losing the Public Debate On Global Warming

The problem is that there are NO accurate "models" of global climate. The models that we have can't predict the present given data from the past, and the results of the models, more and more, fail to match reality. Because Hansen and the Warmists are so firmly intertwined with their models that they refuse to accept the actual experimental data, real SCIENTISTS for whom the data is paramount are refusing to accept apocalyptic prescriptions that are based entirely on the MODELS.

This article was posted by someone else earlier, but it directly responds to your point about Hansen: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/04/1981_climate_paper/. In fact, Hansen's model seems to be holding up surprisingly well.

Comment: Re:Laptops are not the problem (Score 1) 134

by KevinIsOwn (#38903173) Attached to: Estonian Tech University Bans Notebooks and Smartphones
This! I was always annoyed by people watching videos on Youtube in the rows in front of me during undergrad...

However, I don't think removing electronics from the classroom entirely is a fair solution. I would propose that anyone who wishes to use electronics be seated at the back of the classroom/lecture hall unless they need to sit closer for a legitimate reason (medical issue, etc).

Comment: Re:If libertarians had there way (Score 2) 388

by KevinIsOwn (#38817157) Attached to: Amateur UAV Pilot Exposes Texas River of Blood

Because.. yeah.. none of this stuff can be farmed out to other people.

What a brilliant idea! We could all get together and pay a small fee for a group of people to go after those polluters. It needs a good name though... How about the Environmental Protection Agency? That sounds like a good name. And we could pay for it out of our tax dollars so there are no free riders! Perfect!

Comment: Not impressed. (Score 2) 2254

by KevinIsOwn (#35017804) Attached to: Slashdot Launches Re-Design
No, this is not a good layout. The javascript is lagging the crap out of my computer, and disabling it makes the site look even worse. Seriously, go back to version 1. Do you even understand who is still reading your site? We don't need or want fancy javascript. We are terminal monkeys, we want content, not bells and whistles.

Comment: Two sides to laptops (Score 1) 804

by KevinIsOwn (#34708964) Attached to: Should Colleges Ban Classroom Laptop Use?

My experience during undergrad was that at least half of the people with laptops were just using them to watch youtube or do something unrelated to class. Another ~10% or so were doing their homework/projects (possibly from other classes) during lectures. The rest were actively taking notes.

The students who were watching youtube/facebook, etc were indeed distracting. I usually tried to avoid sitting behind laptops to avoid this problem, but banning laptops just isn't fair to the students who want to use them legitimately. There have been times where laptops have really added to classes (looking up facts mainly).

Therefore I propose a solution: All laptop users should sit in the back rows of the class, unless there is a legitimate reason for someone to not sit back there (eyesight or hearing difficulties). This makes it less likely for the people who are just screwing around to distract other students.

Comment: Re:Not like cowardly Westerners (Score 2, Insightful) 496

by KevinIsOwn (#34216006) Attached to: Facebook Postings Lead To Arrest for Heresy In the West Bank
It must be nice having an ideology that is so clear cut. Blaming Israel for everything certainly seems like an easy way of rationalizing what happens in Gaza/the West Bank. But you are the one, after all, who suggested we pretend that we "come from another planet" earlier in this thread, and yet you blame Israel even for actions that are very obviously the choices of Hamas. Israel has nothing to do with Hamas's oppression of their own people.

You can criticize Israel for its blockade, for its demolition of houses, for its wall, and for a whole host of other abuses it has indeed committed, and should be ashamed of. But when it comes to Hamas oppressing people for trying to speak out freely and practice (or not practice) Islam in the way they wish, Israel has absolutely no say in this, and their occupation is entirely tangential to the issue at hand in this article.

Smiths, you are the one who needs to step back and realize that you have become entrenched by an ideology.
The Military

Mystery 'Missile' Identified As US Airways Flight 808 335

Posted by timothy
from the just-what-they-want-you-to-think dept.
sean.peters writes "The mystery missile discussed on Slashdot Tuesday? It was US Airways 808 from Honolulu to Phoenix. An amateur sleuth checked the time against airline schedules, then the following day, checked out a webcam that was trained in the appropriate direction. He found the exact same contrail at the time AWE808 was coming over. The author deals persuasively with a number of objections to his argument."

Comment: Re:Home Security Theater (Score 1) 633

by KevinIsOwn (#34174222) Attached to: TSA Bans Toner and Ink Cartridges On Planes

That, my friends, is security.

That is also why only Jews (who are not subject to the same harassment after their religious credentials are established), those who have no other choice whatsoever and non-Jewish masochists fly to Israel.

There is also that wee problem that this procedure reeks of the worst days of the Soviet Union and the Nazi Germany, but then again those of us who remember this quaint concept of individual liberties and how wars were fought over what is now being given away on a mere remote possibility of harm, seem to be going extinct.

You just had to go and bring Godwin into this, didn't you..

In fact, establishing your religious credentials does NOT give you a free pass! I'm Jewish, and have flown to Israel. They do ask you some religion related questions, but those would be easy for anyone with an internet connection to fake. They always go further in depth. But thanks for spreading the rumor that Jews get special treatment. I'm not going to accuse you of antisemitism, but do try to take your head out of your ass.

Comment: Re:This explains the political process (Score 1) 824

by KevinIsOwn (#34174064) Attached to: The Placebo Effect Not Just On Drugs
Your numbers for Social Security, Medicare and Medicare D are way off. Do you really expect anyone to take your post seriously when you suggest that social security is currently $14.7 trillion in debt, nearly the same as the entire GDP of the US? And moreover, that Medicare is currently $77 trillion in debt, which is $16 trillion more than the world GDP!.

Perhaps your numbers are over long periods of time, and if they are, then say that! Instead you just come off as someone who has absolutely no clue. Yes, SS/Medicare are doomed if we don't fix them, but keep the FUD numbers out of the discussion.

I'm not going to bother starting some whole thread on the merits of SS/Medicare, they are simultaneously incredibly successful, but broken programs. However, I do want to respond to one point of yours, which is the idea that you'll never get your SS/Medicare back. There is one extremely important component of Social Security that even young people sometimes benefit from: Disability benefits. If you suffer an injury that will keep you out of work for 12+ months, you can get compensation. This is, of course, assuming you've been paying into SS for long enough (which varies based on your age and a whole host of seemingly random factors)

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