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Comment: Re:China (Score 1) 622

by BeanThere (#43724159) Attached to: UN Says: Why Not Eat More Insects?

Sorry, adding to side comment, but here's the Idiot Abroad clip of the sort of thing we're talking about. We're well beyond a bit of offal here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTIs9fvkUA

Grasshoppers, rats, scorpions, centipedes, lizards, cockroaches etc.

This is not just some weird cuisine, it's living history, a hand-down of living memories of mass starvation ... it's estimated that 60 to 80 million people may have died from starvation due to the Cultural Revolution. That's more than the entire UK population today.

Comment: Re:China (Score 1) 622

by BeanThere (#43724061) Attached to: UN Says: Why Not Eat More Insects?

If offal is the most poverty-imposed food you can think of, then sorry, but you know nothing about the Chinese eating habits we're talking about here, or poverty of the Cultural Revolution induced kind ... if you want a clue of the kind of eating habits we're talking about, I honestly suggest (for a start) that you watch the episode of "Idiot Abroad" where Karl Pilkington goes to China (season 1 episode 1), it might open your eyes a bit - that type of "cuisine" results when large numbers of people, for sustained periods of time, are truly looking to find absolutely any edible thing they can. Also, you seem to be forgetting that richer people even in the West often do tend to prefer to avoid offal if they can.

Comment: China (Score 1) 622

by BeanThere (#43715141) Attached to: UN Says: Why Not Eat More Insects?

China had the cultural revolution, which drove hundreds of millions to absolute dire poverty .. that's why the previous generation got used to eating instincts, not because it would be preferred in a prosperous society. I suspect you'll find the next (more prosperous) generation starts losing its taste for some of the more disgusting foods.

What's happening in Western society now is a sclerotic degradation, caused by fascism and corporatism, that is driving the average person closer to poverty ... now the rich folk are telling the plebs like you and me to get used to eating insects.

Comment: Re:Your mileage may vary... (Score 1) 374

by danbert8 (#43681241) Attached to: Why US Mileage Ratings Are So Inaccurate

No, speed studies show that most people (85th percentile) drive 70-75 mph on interstates. No studies show that more than 1/2% of people drive 120. I personally think the government should get out of it and private firms like Good Housekeeping or Underwriters Laboratories could create their own fuel efficiency test and market those numbers. Then companies could compete to have the most accurate number for what most people will experience.

Comment: Re:No contest, surely. (Score 1, Insightful) 405

by danbert8 (#43663707) Attached to: The public sector in direst need of reform is ...

I'm sorry, can you please give an example where the government is more cost effective than the private sector? I sure can't think of one. If the government is so much more cost effective than the private sector then their profit margins must be ridiculously high! Oh wait, they're in debt up to our eyeballs...

Private education is cheaper and more effective than public education.
Private charity is more effective with less funds than public handouts.
UPS and FedEx are cheaper and faster (for comparable services) than the USPS.
Need I go on?

Comment: Re: Yes (Score 0) 614

by udachny (#43662759) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Why Won't Companies Upgrade Old Software?

Let me add by making a car analogy:

You bought a Honda 10 years ago, it still runs, would you be switching parts in it that are still working fine because somebody may ask you this question like in TFS:

Aren't they also losing money by working with inefficient, outdated systems?

Aren't you losing money or performance due to pedals, floor mats, window washers, blinkers, axle, tail pipe, trunk cover, hood, glass, engine parts, cup holder not being the latest?

Let's put it another way: why aren't you all constantly upgrading your table covers? Floor boards?

Comment: Re:Drive conservatively! (Score 1) 374

by danbert8 (#43654623) Attached to: Why US Mileage Ratings Are So Inaccurate

I am a male and over 25. I happen to a be a civil engineer who has studied traffic design and optimal flow patterns. I also happen to have taken several defensive driving courses offered by very different organizations. I also have taken several advanced driving courses through the National Auto Sport Association. In addition to all of that, I spend more than 10 hours per week driving controlled access highways.

As far as my driving habits, I drive less than 10mph over the speed limit, and leave a generous amount of following distance. I don't even own an automatic transmission vehicle and I do all my own maintenance. I know cars, how they work, how they behave. I know roads, how they are designed, and how to optimize their use. I know people, their behaviors, and their attitudes.

Yes, lane discipline requires more lane switching. If you properly adjust your mirrors and you have the foresight to buy a car with good visibility, you have no blind spots. If you follow the good practice of checking your mirrors often you are aware of the vehicles around you and always aware of when you can make a safe lane change without taking your eyes off the road (doing a head turn). Drivers on the autobahn manage to safely have high speeds and large speed differentials without statistically higher rates of accidents because they are well trained drivers and keep to the right except to pass.

In my knowledge and experience, far too many people think they are justified in sitting in the middle lane because they are going the speed limit or better when there is no justifiable reason to be there. All it does is force more lane changes or right passes from people following the rules and form the worst case scenario for safety which is essentially a rapid in the middle of the road. Merging traffic is only an excuse in old urban highways where there are not adequate acceleration lanes. In the rest of cases, those defensive driving instructors should be teaching people the accelerator pedal is the only pedal you need to merge into traffic. You need to be going the speed of traffic on the highway or greater before you attempt to merge. People in the right lane have the right of way and have no obligation to move over or give you space, it is simply courtesy to do so.

Comment: Re:Drive conservatively! (Score 1) 374

by danbert8 (#43645315) Attached to: Why US Mileage Ratings Are So Inaccurate

Defensive driving instructors are morons... They teach you to minimize your own risk and hassle at the expense of everyone else. There is a reason that the shoulder is car width on the right so you can dodge either way in the rightmost lane. And if they properly taught people how to merge, there would be no problem with being in the right lane. You don't have to move over if you look far enough ahead and plan. Heaven forbid you have to turn off your cruise control and pay attention...

Uniform Vehicle Code in the US says: "a car driving below the "normal speed of traffic" should be driven in the right-hand lane." though laws vary by state. See attached link for more details on a state by state basis.

http://jalopnik.com/5501615/left+lane-passing-laws-a-state+by+state-map

Comment: Re:Drive conservatively! (Score 1) 374

by danbert8 (#43645275) Attached to: Why US Mileage Ratings Are So Inaccurate

Yes that works fine until I am cruising in the right lane (where I am supposed to be) when I come up to you schlopping along in the middle lane. Do I go two lanes over to pass you or do I just stay in my lane? Also, what a car that is overtaking you wants to be overtaken again? Maybe you should learn how to merge properly...

"Jesus saves...but Gretzky gets the rebound!" -- Daniel Hinojosa (hinojosa@hp-sdd)

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