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Comment Re:Fewer Remotes! (Score 1) 507

I mean, I have a remote for Roku, one for the TV, one for the cable box, one for the dedicated skype device, one for Bluray, one for the speakers and two not-as-universal-as-I-thought remotes. Sure, 4K on 60 inches with some apps was what I thought I wanted but being able to sit down and turn on Netflix with a single remote? Priceless.

Seriously, why all this conversation about remotes, smart apps, connectivity... all you need to a Logitech universal, the Harmony model comes is various 'flavors'. All my content runs via my Pioneer receiver for video and audio with a single HDMI out to my plasma (Samsung, not so smart). I can control, via quite a bit of laptop setup frankly, my iPod, Wii, XBOX, satellite TV box, DVD multi-disk, BD player (which is smart but oh so slow), CD changer, tuner, Laser Disc (I know, old school) and if I cared to go get it out of the upstairs closet, an honest to god direct drive turntable. I also have a Chrome cast dongle plugged in but my only complaint is I have not (yet) added an audio out from the TV back to the receiver so I can hear decent cast content on my much better than the TV speakers. So as much as I may like raspberries, I prefer to video switch via my high end receiver and use a universal remote that has really worked pretty well for several years. And yeah, been looking at Costco for a newer, less power hungry TV. And now I know to avoid Samsung, thanks to /.

Submission + - Laser destroys truck, 1 mile away (pcmag.com)

MutualFun writes: Don't piss off Lockheed Martin: The aerospace company this week used a laser to obliterate the engine of a small truck from more than a mile away. (Finally, 'Star Wars' is making a comeback!)

Comment Re:America! (Score 1) 230

Good luck eating butterscotch pudding after viewing that movie.

Oh man, as they say in 'net parlance, I really did LOL at that comment! Never liked butterscotch pudding but now I can't stop thinking about it. Hosting my own "America, fuck yeah" party this weekend with a screening of the uncut Team America... all the raunch and none of the edits. Woohoo!

Submission + - The benefits of inequality

MutualFun writes: Which would you prefer: egalitarianism or totalitarianism? When it comes down to it, the choice you make may not be as obvious as you think. New research suggests that in the distant past, groups of hunter-gatherers may have recognized and accepted the benefits of living in hierarchical societies, even if they themselves weren't counted among the well-off. This model could help explain why bands of humans moved from largely egalitarian groups to hierarchical cultures in which social inequality was rife.

Submission + - NASA's Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gas Observatory Captures 'First Light' (universetoday.com)

mdsolar writes: NASA’s first spacecraft dedicated to studying Earth’s atmospheric climate changing carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and its carbon cycle has reached its final observing orbit and taken its first science measurements as the leader of the world’s first constellation of Earth science satellites known as the International “A-Train.”

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) is a research satellite tasked with collecting the first global measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) – the leading human-produced greenhouse gas and the principal human-produced driver of climate change.

The ‘first light’ measurements were conducted on Aug. 6 as the observatory flew over central Papua New Guinea and confirmed the health of the science instrument.

Submission + - Barack Obama's Secret Terrorist-Tracking System, by the Numbers (firstlook.org)

Advocatus Diaboli writes: Nearly half of the people on the U.S. government’s widely shared database of terrorist suspects are not connected to any known terrorist group, according to classified government documents obtained by The Intercept. Of the 680,000 people caught up in the government’s Terrorist Screening Database—a watchlist of “known or suspected terrorists” that is shared with local law enforcement agencies, private contractors, and foreign governments—more than 40 percent are described by the government as having “no recognized terrorist group affiliation.” That category—280,000 people—dwarfs the number of watchlisted people suspected of ties to al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah combined.

Comment Re:Deniers can't make up their minds (Score 1) 547

Why is it that the global warming deniers can't decide whether warming isn't happening, it is happening but it isn't human-caused, or it is happening, it is human-caused, but it isn't economical to do anything about it? It can't be all 3, yet the deniers can't seem to get their story straight.

The truth is that it's the 3rd option. Deniers first argue that it isn't happening. When science proves them wrong, they then argue that it is happening but isn't human caused. When science proves them wrong again, they fall back to their real position that despite it existing and being human caused, it isn't worth doing anything about because that would take work and cost money. It's very dishonest.

Well said. The question is this, IMO:

a) If warming/climate change is a myth *and* we do something about it, what is the cost? As stated above, economic impact. We pay more for solar, alternate fuels or vehicles, etc.

b) If warming/climate change is NOT a myth and we do *nothing* about it, what is the cost? Well, we all get permanent sunburns and move inland.

Comment Re:An interesting caveat (Score 1) 216

The police will more than likely create a training scenario for their officers that goes something like this:

"...then, inform the person with the recording device that he or she resembles a robbery suspect..."

Unrelated Carnac Moment: Someone will post that Don't Talk to the Police link on this thread.

You got it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Comment Re:Media has made it impossible to discuss this. (Score 1) 568

...Some of us BELIEVE that there is scientific consensus on the matter and that there is something happening to the climate which can be directly attributed to human activities, BUT that nothing should be done because it would jeopardize the economy, national security, etc...

Well said.

I believe these are the questions we need to ask:

If "global warming" is a myth and we do something about it, what do we have to lose? Cash. Economic hardship via higher prices at the pump, when buying a house, etc. If "climate change" is not a myth and we do nothing, what do we have to lose? The planet, our ability to survive here in far more inhospitable conditions. Let me think... which one would I choose?

Comment Re:I gotta better name (Score 1) 568

...

Now, these mirrors in space I mentioned could be used to cool the Earth too -- don't shine the reflected light on the Earth, but instead use them to shade part of the Earth. I think there are some international laws against such things right now, but such things could be a possible stop-gap solution to the problem of global warming. I don't know how practical the idea is -- it's probably more science fiction for now and has plenty of problems, but it's not totally unfeasable.

There are plenty of SciFi ideas that might help but even some relatively mundane ones as well. Change the Earth's albedo and we can lower temps, however there are some drawbacks like potentially less rain.

Comment Re:What's the problem? (Score 1) 1198

"Oklahoma killed a monster today. No moral issues apply."

Strangely enough I both agree and disagree, on different grounds. First, if someone murdered one of my family members, I would personally want revenge. It might get *me* the death penalty, but I would want the criminal to pay. But my own feelings are not the same as what society may want or need. All I can think of, and feel free to ridicule, is that if we *ever* hope to have world peace (or whirled peas) then we need to stop killing our fellow citizens. We will never advance as a culture if we keep up the cycle of killing. The continuation of the death penalty makes us so much like the countries listed above that still have the death penalty, whom all share a couple of things in common: they are most all considered repressive regimes AND they kill each other in the name of justice.

And for those who are more pragmatic about the costs, putting aside the moral issues altogether, if you truly want to save some cash, stop killing prisoners.
"Each death penalty case in Texas costs taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years. ("Executions Cost Texas Millions," Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992)."

Yes, I do feel somewhat out of place here in Texas, even though a native. Will we still have heinous crimes committed by murderous crazies? Probably for awhile, until we get that darn universal health care implemented, including mental health coverage. But until then, I just don't see how we can ever hope to have the kind of cooperative, collaborative civilization I read about as a teenager (and still once in awhile as an adult) in Science Fiction.

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