Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Not good for vehicles! (Score 1) 419

That's been pretty much my experience too!

Back when E10 was used in the winter and summer was still 100% pure gasoline, I was getting 24 mpg in the summer and 21.5 in the winter. Now, I always get 21.5 mpg because E10 is used all the time.

To travel 200 miles, I would burn through 8.33 gals of regular gasoline at 24 mpg. With E10 I would burn 9.30 gals of fuel, of which 8.37 gal was gasoline and 0.93 gals was ethanol.

I know the it doesn't make sense, but the numbers don't lie. My car literally burns more gasoline by volume when using E10.

I also found the same 10% mileage drop with E10 when used in my motorcycle too. It goes from 50 mpg on the highway to about 45 mpg.
Science

Submission + - The mathematics of the lifespan of species (npr.org)

skade88 writes: NPR is reporting on a study in which the author claims to have found the formula to predict the average life span of members of a species. It does not apply to specific individuals of that species, only to the average life span of members of the species as a whole.

Submission + - Convention organizers ban sale/display of anything looking like assault weapons (pennlive.com)

RJarett writes: Popular convention company, Reed Exhibitions, of the NY Comic Con, and Pax East fame, recently set a contract-breaking rule in place. This rule began affecting the Eastern Sports and Outdoor show, the largest show for sportsman, hunters, fishers, campers. They banned the sale and display of any gun or accessory which is used on a "modern rifle". By modern rifle, of course, they mean AR-15 and the like. You hear that correctly, even the DISPLAY of posters or magazines which may have a picture in it.

In the last 2 days, over 15000 people have vowed to boycott the Outdoor show via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BoycottTheEasternSportsAndOutdoorShow , all celebrities have backed out, and over 200 vendors have pulled their support.

Considering almost all comic books, video games, and RPGs have weapons of similar nature in them, it is just a matter of time before the rule is put forth into the geek arena.

Comment Bargin (Score 4, Interesting) 171

For only $2.6 billion, sounds like a bargain to me. For some perspective, here's what else $2.6 billion can buy or is equivalent to:

- F22 Raptor
- About one day of War on Terror
- 60% of the money spent during the 2013 Presidential campaign.
- The Mars Science Laboratory
- Total worldwide box office revenue for Avatar

Comment Real reactionary (Score 4, Interesting) 222

This particular excerpt just helps to show how out of control things have gotten:

The case began in February 2011, when Stuart says he and his wife got the Kim Dotcom treatment after about 30 local Arizona law enforcement agents wearing SWAT gear and camouflage dress — some of them with bushes attached to their shoulders to blend into the woods around his house — descended on his home and threatened to send him and his wife to prison for 35 years if he didn’t cooperate.

The search warrant used in the raid said Stuart and his wife were engaged in money laundering, operating an illegal enterprise and engaging in the promotion of gambling. Stuart has tried to obtain a copy of the affidavit used to get the search warrant, but it’s currently sealed.


Why yes of course, 30 Arizona SWAT agents to take down a husband and wife accused of online crimes in New York. Sounds about right. At the very least, SWAT got the right address and didn't shoot anybody's dog.

Comment U.S. too? (Score 1) 362

According to this link, the U.S. is going to stop producing pennies and nickels in 2013.

Though I'm not sure how much faith one can put into this article. I've tried looking for more concrete news about this, but I have yet to turn up anything. Anybody else hear about this?

Comment No thanks! (Score 1) 315

So people were actually stranded because they couldn't get into their cars because their keyless fobs wouldn't work? The driver's door should at least have a keyed lock.

The article said people actually had their cars towed to the dealership because they couldn't unlock them, so I'm disinclined to this this is operator error, but a really bad design by asshat engineers. At least the article gives us a clue as to which car companies to avoid in the future: "Cars made by Ford, Lexus, Toyota, BMW and Mercedes were reportedly affected."

Comment Re:Eheh and his mother was sane? (Score 1) 1719

My person opinion, no. Automatic fire isn't really that much more dangerous. It's just scarier.

Automatic fire really only has one useful function, and that's for fire suppression. Other than that, it's a big waste of ammo. In fact, while the first version of the M16 could fire fully automatic, I believe the military found this to be a waste of ammo and today's version of the M16s (now called the M4) have a "burst" mode (3 rounds per trigger pull).

I don't think banning semi-automatics would solve much. With just a little bit of practice, one can fire a pump/level/bolt action firearm very quickly. Limiting the the magazine capacity is also another way to "slow down" a shooter, but in reality re-loading doesn't take that long with practice.

Comment Re:Eheh and his mother was sane? (Score 1) 1719

An ArmaLite 15 (AR-15) is not an assault rifle. It's a semi-automatic (which means, one trigger pull = one bullet, and the rifle automatically loads another round for you without you having to manual use a pump, lever, or bolt mechanism to load it yourself) rifle than shoots a relatively, albeit incredible fast, small rifle round. Commonly, it can be describe as a varmint rifle.

An assault rifle is normally a rifle that has full auto capabilities (one trigger pull = more than one bullet), firing a small intermediate-sized rifle round. This would include the military version of the AR-15, the M16, as well as the AK47.

Yes, both the M16 and AR-15 look similar, which is why people like yourself can't tell the difference. But, they are not the same gun (despite what the media wants you to think). The AR-15 might look black and scary, but they do come in pink with hello kitty stickers if that's more your style.

Submission + - Illinois' Ban on Conceal Carry Found Unconstitutional (shotgunnews.com)

DarthBling writes: The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals may finally force the unthinkable. Within 180 days, Illinois will be forced to allow its citizens the right to carry a conceal weapon. For advocates of conceal carry, this is a momentous day. The court asked Illinois to prove "more than merely a rational basis for believing that its uniquely sweeping ban is justified by an increase in public safety." Ultimately, the court found that Illinois "has failed to meet this burden." Opponents to conceal carry are still going to put up a fight where they can. Illinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie says, "If we need to change the law, let us at least craft a law that is very severely constrained and narrowly tailored so that we don’t invite guns out of control on each of our city’s streets. I don’t want people out of control wandering the streets with guns that are out of control.”

Slashdot Top Deals

Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. -- R. Drabek

Working...