Jagd - Slashdot User

Noisebridge Attempts to Teach Science To Juggalos 198

Posted by samzenpus on Monday June 21, 2010 @02:44PM from the so-that's-how-a-magnet-works dept.

Working on the assumption that the Insane Clown Posse's song Miracles was indeed a tribute to the wonder of nature and not the cleverest troll ever, some folks from the hackerspace Noisebridge decided to try and educate ICP fans. Surprisingly, most of the fans seemed to enjoy the science lesson, but representatives of the band didn't seem to think it was funny.

Brain Training Games Don't Train Your Brain 151

Posted by timothy on Wednesday April 21, 2010 @03:03PM from the maybe-it-just-takes-more-than-6-weeks dept.

Stoobalou writes with this excerpt from Thinq.co.uk: "A new study has shown that brain training games do little to exercise the grey matter. Millions of people who have been prodding away at their Nintendo DS portable consoles, smug in the knowledge that they are giving their brains a proper work-out, might have to rethink how they are going to stop the contents of their skulls turning into mush."

The Fruit Fly Drosophila Gets a New Name 136

Posted by timothy on Saturday April 10, 2010 @06:50AM from the hope-you-used-pencil dept.

G3ckoG33k writes "The name of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster will change to Sophophora melangaster. The reason is that scientists have by now discovered some 2,000 species of the genus and it is becoming unmanageably large. Unfortunately, the 'type species' (the reference point of the genus), Drosophila funebris, is rather unrelated to the D. melanogaster, and ends up in a distant part of the relationship tree. However, geneticists have, according to Google Scholar, more than 300,000 scientific articles describing innumerable aspects of the species, and will have to learn the new name as well as remember the old. As expected, the name change has created an emotional (and practical) stir all over media. While name changes are frequent in science, as they describe new knowledge about relationships between species, these changes rarely hit economically relevant species, and when they do, people get upset."

Seinfeld's Good Samaritan Law Now Reality? 735

Posted by samzenpus on Friday January 29, 2010 @12:48AM from the not-that-there-is-anything-wrong-with-that dept.

e3m4n writes "The fictitious 'good samaritan' law from the final episode of Seinfeld (the one that landed them in jail for a year) appears to be headed toward reality for California residents after the house passed this bill. There are some differences, such as direct action is not required, but the concept of guilt by association for not doing the right thing is still on the face of the bill."

World of Warcraft, the Restaurant 73

Posted by samzenpus on Friday December 12, 2008 @05:31PM from the who's-gonna-tank-the-appetizers dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes "China's online gaming themed service industry appears to be booming, riding China's fascination with online gaming all the way to the top is a Chinese restaurateur with his World of Warcraft inspired eatery." I would recommend the Critter Bites and the Haunted Herring, but would warn against the Carrion Surprise.

Second World of Warcraft Expansion Launched, Conquered 386

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday November 16, 2008 @01:46PM from the worldwide-caffeine-shortage dept.

The much-anticipated second expansion to World of Warcraft, entitled Wrath of the Lich King, launched on Thursday, introducing a new continent, raising the level cap to 80, and bringing a wealth of new items, spells, dungeons, and monsters to the popular MMO. Crowds gathered and lines formed outside stores around the world leading up to the release. Massively has put together a series of articles for players wishing to familiarize themselves with the expansion, and CVG has a piece discussing the basics as well. It didn't take long for the first person to reach level 80; a French player called "Nymh" reached the level cap on his Warlock only 27 hours after the expansion went live. Not to be outdone, a guild named "TwentyFifthNovember" managed to get at least 25 raiders to 80 and then cleared all of the current expansion raid content less than three days after the launch. Fortunately for them, the next three content patches are each expected to contain new, more difficult raids.

Comment Airline advice (Score 2, Informative) 642

by Jagd on Tuesday October 12, 2004 @10:22PM (#10510146) Attached to: Advice On Notebook Backpacks?

As a ... hmmm.... how does the populace brand me.... a "savage baggage handler" for an air carrier I handle those wimpy cordura backpacks/computer cases daily. TRUST ME ... If it ain't HARDSIDE it ain't guaranteed to make it. Sure, 99.9% do but.....

Granted, you plan to carry the said case/bag on board as you have been totally assured that is your right. /cough..hack..gag/ sorry... 'All overhead space is filled and that bag is too big for under the seat on this (previously unknown) express aircraft.' At that point you surrender your computer in whatever wimpy covering to ME... mwuhahahahahaa!.

Look, I'm just a guy doing the same ole job every day. I handle several hundred bags a shift. Yours is one of .. say twenty "carry-ons" to be loaded in the cargo bin. I may handle bags carefully but another ramprat may not. Also, your single precious bag has now become the cohabitant of an area that contains at least 50 other bags (average on an express jet). /friendly stewardess voice/ "Cargo can shift slightly during takeoff and landing"

Now... /me whipping out his handy sliderule.. let's figure the force of the corner of one HARDSIDE bag (could be a metal case actually) weighing in the range of 70 pounds falling from a height of 2 feet (conservative) on your SOFTSIDE computer case. Kiddies, try this experiment at home!

Sooo... I would recommend a hard side case. An old-fashioned briefcase (reinforced with foam padding) or better yet a Pelican case http://www.pelican.com/cases/cases.html . Ohhh yeah!! /Tim Allen: grunt grunt grunt!!/ The 1490 looks good. Yes, they're expensive but compare them to the replacement cost of your notebook.

Personally I can find very little justification for a notebook computer unless you are on-the-job/in-the-field with need to connect daily for work. Otherwise it's a toy. True, I loved my Compaq 386/25 but it passed away and I have learned that my notepad/pen/brain combo is eminently more reliable and hardy. But then again I have yet to submit to a cellphone. Does that make me a Luddite?

Jagd
:: Better to be slain by a dragon than never to have seen one at all.

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