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Comment: After many, many years at /. ...this might be the (Score 1) 576

by rootrot (#41926603) Attached to: All of Nate Silver's State-Level Polling Predictions Proved True

This is the price of allowing 10,000 independent journalistic voices to be consolidated into 2 or 4 mega-media-conglomerates who's infotainment is supposed to pass for a free and responsible forth column.

You are badly mixing the "fourth estate" and "fifth column" metaphors, neither of which actually fit your claim. Your post is like watching David and Goliath paint the Sistine Chapel.

The funniest thing I've seen here. Bravo, AC. Bravo.

Comment: Love Uber (a lot)...pity, it would have been... (Score 1) 180

by rootrot (#41676247) Attached to: Uber Gives Up On New York Taxi Service

Nice in NYC. I have used Uber the last 3-4 times I've been in NYC to call a driver when I couldn't get a cab in short order (and/or it was raining). I was curious to see if this 'taxi' service worked...not surprised about the pushback. It is *far and away* the best thing out there if you travel a good deal. You get a nice car, a pleasant (typically charming) driver, and no money changes hands. Absolutely essential in SanFran.

Comment: This actually makes *perfect* sense... (Score 1) 294

by rootrot (#34889654) Attached to: Amazon, Not Developers, Will Set New App Store's Prices

Amazon sees themselves (rightly) as a retailer in creating this venue...that is *not* a provider of a marketplace. This is a very traditional and standard approach in how a retailer interacts with vendors. It has relatively good tax implications for vendors (simplifying their issues) and is efficient for the market. It does, however, present the interesting issue of creating two potentially radically different prices where apps are available in both Amazon's retail shop and other's vendor spaces. N.B. This, too, happens all the time in tradition retailing environments...but has been largely limited in the ether until now...

Comment: While interesting, this misses a major issue: (Score 1) 99

by rootrot (#33771738) Attached to: Masterpieces Online — High Culture At High Resolution

Looking at a digital image, *regardless* of how deep the image density might be, is experientially different from and inferior to seeing the work in person. There are elements to a painting, print, or book which simply can not be captured as a 2 dimensional image.

These digital archives are a wonderful resource and offer access to a much broader audience. They are generally, however, a pale shadow of the work in the real world.

I'm reminded of my late friend, Herb Belkin, "Digital is like pornography; analog is like actual sex" [re recorded music, though applies here as well...].

Comment: "Corn Sugar" & "Sea Kittens" -- stupid rebran (Score 3, Interesting) 646

by rootrot (#33594688) Attached to: High Fructose Corn Syrup To Get a Makeover

In response to [successful] bad press, the HFCS crowd is pushing for the rebranding the horrid syrup as "corn sugar". A waste of time and money, I wager, in the end. Ignoring the fact that it is reasonably well established that HFCS is not good for you, it tastes like crap. Compare yellow-capped Coke (yellow=kosher) with the "regular" sold in the US...there is no comparison (inexplicably, Coke only inflicts HFCS on the US market).

PETA recently attempted the same campaign to rebrand FISH as SEA KITTENS...apparently they felt that people wouldn't be so willing to eat something with a cuddly persona. Completely backfired with me...I had never thought of it before, but have you tried Kitten & Chips??? A new personal favorite. Kitten, the other, other white meat.

Who knows, maybe kitten tastes better in a nice HFCS glaze...

Comment: Not only are they original work, but there is a... (Score 2, Insightful) 931

by rootrot (#26589307) Attached to: A Teacher Asking Students To Destroy Notes?

True that the notes are yours as work product and all that...the bigger issue is how "negative" this is to the whole concept of education, research and learning.

I know in my econ (and stats, etc) courses, I *often* referred to earlier class notes in subsequent classes. I think it is really appalling that a teacher would actively seek to strip students of their academic output.

"Facts are stupid things." -- President Ronald Reagan (a blooper from his speeach at the '88 GOP convention)

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