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Journal pudge's Journal: Ask Pudge 55

Journal by pudge

Ask me any question. Same rules apply as to the rest of my journal: no personal attacks, stay on topic, and so on. Of course, here, the only "topic" is that you have to ask me a question.

This discussion was created by pudge (3605) for no Foes, but now has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

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  • considering our past discussion I wonder:

    What is your position of RU-486 and any variants?
  • Do you think that the Bush administration's new emphasis on reprocessing spent uranium is a real bid to improve the prospects for nuclear power in the US (by reducing the waste load, improving efficiency of fuel use, etc.), or, since this is the same service that Russia is currently offering to Iran, is it just a bid to try to reduce Russia's influence with Iran in particular and on the world stage in general?
    • I have no idea. But I *hope* the goal is to, eventually, develop new superweapons.

      I can't see us caring much about Iran in this regard. We don't really think Iran is going to use a nuke if it gets one, but if it does get one, we'll blow it up. Point is, whatever we do won't have any serious influence on whether it gets one, unless we can convince them to not make one in the first place, which won't happen simply by undermining Russia's influence. And in those other countries where Russia is exerting inf
      • But I *hope* the goal is to, eventually, develop new superweapons.

        Not to press a point, but what kind of nuclear weapons do we currently lack? We already have big devices (~100MT) for area effects, deliverable on ICBMs, which we aren't willing to use. Ditto for higher precision smaller devices (0.1 to 10MT), delivered singly on Tomahawks or in clusters from a Peacekeeper-style MIRV.

        Do you mean low-yield tacticals (0.2MT), like penetrating bunker busters? Much like conventional cruise missles, these are only
        • what kind of nuclear weapons do we currently lack?

          NEW, SUPER ones. Duh.

          • Aren't we also lacking in the super-DUPER weapon department?

          • I seemed to recall an old mi litary news clipping about the cob alt-laced [delete]-ium pay laod in the 60s and 70s that have high 2 or maybe 3-digit mega ton-n-age. It was a difficult to construct, contain and carry.

            IANANS (Nuck-Nuck Scientist), but Scientific American ran an article that briefly covered this. They basically inferred that 5 or 6 digits range is needed to have demonstratable leverages over our comparable neighbors.

            Maybe we should take our cue from Star Trek and look for a unstable quantity
  • Pudge,

    How do we best fix, in the long term, or stem the exports of growing but frustrated or "misguided" young radical Islamics from the overzealotry of joining the 72 virgins in heaven? This isn't compatible with the rest of world religions' "let be and let alone" philosophy.

    Is long-ingrained patriarchy the root of these evil exports, thru suppression, hopelessness, frustrations coupled with high poverty rate and low education? Isthe uneducated Imans mostly to blame?

    I'd be just happy to settle for a poe
    • If by "best" you mean "most effective," big bombs are probably "best."

      But as that offends our collective sensibilities (killing lots of innocent people; being in a constant state of war due to backlash; and so on), the next best option is to diminish their relative desire to kill us. You do this by decreasing the reasons for doing it, and increasing the reasons not to.

      Or, more directly: you give them economic and social/political liberty such that they are less frustrated and have more to lose. Which is w
      • You do this by decreasing the reasons for doing it, and increasing the reasons not to.

        The major reason (I could be wrong on this, just what I've read) would be our support of Israel. Do you think we should diminish our support of Israel at all?
        • Israel is primarily a scapegoat for the other problems the Arab Muslims have. That's not to diminish the serious problems they have, but most of their animosity toward Israel is the direct result of blaming Israel for their own problems. You solve those problems, chiefly by helping them gain liberty, and you get rid of most of the REASON for them to hate Israel.
          • That'd be like saying....

            "Let's target our neighbor above the 49th parallel for all our problems!!!"

            Somehow, I don't perceive We, the People, doing just that.

            Half way around the world but on the same topic... I don't see S. Korea doing just that... But N. Korea has blamed their southernly neighbor for practically everything.

            Two wrong doesn't make a right, nor does revenge served hot.
  • Not a troll, but an honest question.

    Tomorrow is Wednesday. Normally this means that some form of code rollout will be made for Slashdot which will result in either the site breaking or a few hours of HTTP 500 messages come Thursday morning. We've come to (Mostly) accept this.

    So here's my question:

    Is new code actually tested before being put live? If so, how can so many bugs slip through every single update?
    • Your assumption is not based in reality. We rarely add significant new bugs during refresh. Yes, that does happen occasionally, especially when we are adding big new features. But it's been a long time (several months, IIRC) since we had significant site breakage following a refresh.

      And the last few times we did have significant site breakage, it was DB-related, not (directly) code-related.

      To answer the only real question: yes, it is tested before being put live: we have dev boxes, and we also test (most
    • Good question, though worded kinda meanly thus may not get a reply. I'd be more interested in the full process, like what testing takes place? Developer testing? Integration testing? Regression Testing? Unit testing? Any testing tools/suites used?
      • Good question, though worded kinda meanly thus may not get a reply.

        I will reply to each question asked. One per customer though. And since I answered your Israel question, I won't answer this one. Maybe next time!
      • I was gonna wait 'til Thursday morning and try to post a followup :-)
  • Pudge, you seem so cool. What's your secret?

    If that doesn't float your boat, what is your position on the supposed world-wide flood in the time of the Patriarchs? Did it really happen? Was it localized and not global?
    • One question at a time. So, I'll take only the first.

      The secret to seeming cool is being cool. The secret to being cool is being yourself, and not getting too anxious or upset, which includes not significantly caring what other people think.
  • what percentage of slashdot users write and comment in journals?
    • Answer: I don't know.

      Note that this is Ask Pudge, not Ask Slashdot: not that you can't ask me things about Slashdot (including this), but some things I don't know, of course, and even if I did know or could find out, I am not sure I would be allowed to tell you, and I don't want to spend a lot of time bothering CmdrTaco each time to ask.
      • i thought you might not. but you were being so literal with some questions, i didn't want to ask in the form of 'do you know how many...' and get the answer 'yes' without any more.
         
        i read the front page and various articles but my primary investment in the dot is the journals and my 'friends'. so i'm pretty curious about it and saw this as a chance to maybe find out something. i appreciate the direct response.
  • What is the most effective way to make sweet onion marmalade?

    Do you agree or disagree that that a fine, aged balsamic vinegar is intrinsic to the final product? Then there's the controversial "Red Wine" vs. "Sherry" debate... but we can save that argument for another time.
    • There is no good way. Onion marmalade is nasty. Seriously. I have no idea what people think the point is.

      But, yes, you need good vinegar, which may be why I dislike onion marmalade: I am not a fan of vinegar.

      Eh, who am I kidding? I dislike most foods.
  • Pudge stole my idea and ran with it. All acclaim and complements should go to me.

    All non-complements, raspberries, criticisms, etc -- those can go to Pudge. He needs them! :)
  • Of all the video games you've had the opportunity to play (computer/console/arcade), which was your favorite?
    • I think it would have to be GTA: San Andreas.

      Right now I am playing Lux for Mac OS X and MX vs. ATV Unleashed for PS2. I am also sorta playing occasionally iPoker for Mac OS X, NHL2K6 for PS2, and Spider-man 2 for PS2.

      Lux, MX/ATV, and NHL2K6 are all networkable, so if anyone wants to play me, lemme know ...

  • Would you please read and give me your opinion on this speech by Ron Paul [lewrockwell.com] asserting a link between the value of the dollar and the war in Iraq?

    Lest you should be tempted to play literal geek with me :) and simply answer "yes" or "no," I'll ask this second question: "What is your opinion on this perspective?"

    Just so happens I was thinking of emailing that to you yesterday to ask that very thing. But this is more fun, and you look like you've basically promised to answer any question...

  • You had mentioned in another JE that you planned to homeschool. My questions are related to that.

    You mentioned your displeasure of the numerous legal requirements including weekly checks. What sort of requirements do you think should exist related to homeschooling and for what reason?

    What subjects do you feel are most important to cover in homeschooling? Which ones would you give more weight? How would this change over the years (e.g. reading at an early age, civics in their teens)? Are there any subje
    • There should be no compulsory education, period. Government should not force parents to force their children to go to school (although, of course, parents should be free to force their children).

      Naturally, that means necessarily that there should be no government requirements for homeschooling.

      Only one question at a time! But I'll post about homeschooling again, probably soon, we can discuss it then. :-)

  • Time? (Score:2)

    by tf23 ( 27474 )
    M-F, how much time do you spend in front of the computer on the average week day?

    What about weekends - how much time in front of the machine do you spend?
    • Ow. You know how to hurt a guy.

      Probably an average of, oh, 13 hours a day during the week. Far less on weekends in the general case: more like 3 (usually in the morning and at night), unless I am working or somesuch, which happens a lot less as I get older.
      • Well I was curious, because you're always coming out w/ neat stuff that I look at and add to my to-do list of "check it out and use it for my own neat stuff" (Mac::Glue, slashcode-stuff, etc etc).

        But I'm finding as I get older, I'm willing to spend less and less time in front of the screen coding into the wee hours. Especially for stuff that I know will never have any monetary benefits to me or my family. But if it's not that, then it's the kids, or misc crap, or just the fact that I've spent the last 20 ye
        • Well, I am on vacation, and it's only 10 p.m. here. :-) That said, I spend very little of my time making free software in my spare time these days.

  • Digg (Score:1)

    by wdr1 ( 31310 ) *
    What's your take on Digg.com? Do you think any features over there would make sense on Slashdot?

    • Re:Digg (Score:2)

      by pudge ( 3605 ) *
      I don't know, I've only seen Digg.com a couple of times. Never really spent much time on it. But I guess I should say something so ... it has, um, nice colors.
  • which would you do if you had to choose one?
    • Oo, tough. Snowboard cross is the only snowboard event I enjoy watching, but to do it ... I think I am just way too old. Biathlon I would love to do, but it's just too much work. If I could leave out the skiing, maybe. :-) So I guess curling is the winner. There's a curling place down in Seattle somewhere, I've been meaning to check it out.
      • Curling seems like a lot of fun, not least because (like bowling and billiards) it seems not to require a huge amount of physical fitness, just precision. I would definitely try it out if they had it here in SF.
  • What is your opinion on third party votes? If you want to narrow the focus a bit, substitute this question: do you think that a vote for a third party candidate motivates the losing (large) party to morph itself to be more attractive to the voters in the (growing) third party?

    • do you think that a vote for a third party candidate motivates the losing (large) party to morph itself to be more attractive to the voters in the (growing) third party?

      Of course it does, if there are enough of them. A few days of bad press motivates parties to change, certainly losing votes does so.

      I voted for Harry Browne in 1996. I don't know if there were enough libertarian votes to cause the GOP to make any changes. But certainly Ross Perot caused both parties to cater to the Reform voters in '92 an

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