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Comment Re:But what created the law of gravity? (Score 1) 1328

Why do so many atheists feel the need to be smug assholes? What the fuck does it matter to you if he believes in 'an invisible sky wizard'? Why can't you just let people believe what they will, why must you impose your beliefs on other people?

Why do so many theists feel the need to be smug assholes? What the fuck does it matter to you if someone doesn't believe in an invisible sky wizard? Why can't you just let people believe what they will, why must you impose your beliefs on other people?

Comment Re:TFA contains a horrible pic (Score 1) 481

Does this look like a blaster from Star Wars? Or this? They have heatsink-looking elements and rings, but they would never be confused for a blaster from the Star Wars movies.

There's a difference between adding heatsink-looking elements and rings to a laser's case, and making the style of the case match that of a lightsaber.
Science

First Acoustic Black Hole Created 165

KentuckyFC writes "One of the many curious properties of Bose Einstein Condensates (BECs) is that the flow of sound through them is governed by the same equations that describe how light is bent by a gravitational field. Now, a group of Israeli physicists have exploited this idea to create an acoustic black hole in a BEC. The team created a supersonic flow of atoms within the BEC, a flow that prevents any phonon caught in it from making headway. The region where the flow changes from subsonic to supersonic is an event horizon, because any phonon unlucky enough to stray into the supersonic region can never escape. The real prize is not the acoustic black hole itself but what it makes possible: the first observation of Hawking radiation. Quantum mechanics predicts that pairs of phonons with opposite momentum ought to be constantly springing in and out of existence in a BEC. Were one of the pair to stray across the event horizon into the supersonic region, it could never escape. However, the other would be free to go on its way. This stream of phononic radiation away from an acoustic black hole would be the first observation of Hawking radiation. The team hasn't gotten that far yet, but it can't be long now before either they or their numerous competitors make this leap."

Comment Re:You underestimate stupidity. (Score 1) 900

If your mental function is that of a 10-year old, which is the case for many adults, such that you cannot figure out a slightly complicated ballot, then you get no vote.

Ok, show me a test that will prove indisputably that a person's mental function is or is not above that of a 10-year old.

And keep in mind, do you mean the 10-year old that has gone to the best school money can buy, or do you mean the 10-year old who has gone to the worst of schools? Do you mean the 10-year old who has been home-schooled by his parents that have no business teaching, or the 10-year old who stays after school for the math club and chess team? You better come up with a test that gives the same answer for all these people.

Once you've got that one solved, can come up with a test to show if someone is un-american? I heard someone wanted to test the members of congress.

It's funny.  Laugh.

Submission + - John McCain's MySpace Page "Pranked"

(EB)nickm writes: "Looks as though a staffer didn't read the fine print of the "credit" clause when selecting a template for presidential hopeful John McCain's MySpace page. In retaliation, the template author and CEO of Newsvine, Mike Davidson, changed the template's main image to contain the following message:

Today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage...particularly marriage between two passionate females.
Original story and screen capture at TechCrunch."
Music

Submission + - RIAA Backs Down After Receiving Stern Letter

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "In SONY BMG v. Merchant, in California, the defendant's lawyer wrote the RIAA a rather stern letter recounting how weak the RIAA's evidence is, referring to the deposition of the RIAA's expert witness (see Slashdot commentary), and threatening a malicious prosecution lawsuit. The very same day the RIAA put its tail between its legs and dropped the case, filing a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal. About an hour earlier NYCL had termed the letter a "model letter"; maybe he was right."

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