Teliver - Slashdot User

State Senator Caught Looking At Porn On Senate Floor 574

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday May 04, 2010 @11:02AM from the let's-vote-on-this-instead dept.

Everyone knows how boring a debate on a controversial abortion bill can get on the Senate floor. So it's no wonder that Florida State Sen. Mike Bennett took the time to look at a little porn and a video of a dog running out of the water and shaking itself off. From the article: "Ironically, as Bennett is viewing the material, you can hear a Senator Dan Gelber's voice in the background debating a controversial abortion bill. 'I'm against this bill,' said Gelber, 'because it disrespects too many women in the state of Florida.' Bennett defended his actions, telling Sunshine State News it was an email sent to him by a woman 'who happens to be a former court administrator.'"

Submission + - The Chemistry of Firework Displays

Submitted by

Ponca City, We love you

on Friday July 03, 2009 @08:29PM

Ponca City, We love you writes: "David Ropeik writes at MSNBC that there's a lot more to making a basic firework display than putting a fuel source and an oxidizer together. Pyrotechnic chemists, who are trying to create bedazzle instead of bang, don't want their work to explode but to burn for a bit so it gives a good visual show. To achieve the desired effect, the size of the particles of each ingredient have to be just right, and the ingredients have to be blended together just right. To slow down the burning, chemists use big grains of chemicals, in the range of 250 to 300 microns and they don't blend the ingredients together very well making it harder for the fuel and oxidizer to combine and burn, and producing a longer and brighter effect. Surprisingly few emitters are used in pyrotechnics and there are no commercially useful emitters in blue-green to emerald green in the 490-520 nm region. Energy from the fire in the basic fuel is transferred to the atoms of the colorant chemicals exciting the electrons in those chemicals into a higher energy state. As they cool down, they move back to a lower state of energy emitting light so you actually see the colors in fireworks as they're cooling down. To get the really tricky shapes, like stars or hearts, the colorant pellets are pasted on a piece of paper in the desired pattern. That paper is put in the middle of the shell with explosive charges above it, and below. When those charges go off, they burn up the paper, and send the ignited colorant pellets out in the same pattern they were in on the sheet of paper, spreading wider apart as they fly. Finally remember that in 2003, six deaths were linked to fireworks and hospital emergency departments treated 9,300 fireworks injuries so read these safety tips and enjoy the 4th."

Spurned Chinese Publisher May Create WoW Knockoff 111

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday May 05, 2009 @11:43PM from the poor-losers dept.

Earlier this year, Chinese game publisher The9 lost the rights to operate World of Warcraft in China. Now, it appears they are trying to solve their financial troubles by making World of Fight, which bears a suspicious resemblance to World of Warcraft. Others have noted similarities between World of Fight and Warhammer Online. Quoting Eurogamer: "According to the China Journal report, Chinese industry observers 'wonder whether The9 is launching a "shanzhai," or knock-off, World of Warcraft in hopes of keeping WOW players,' with iResearch analyst Zhao Xufeng noting that 'with the topic staying in the centre of attention, The9 can easily attract attention by doing this.'"

Comment First rule (Score 5) 250

by Teliver on Tuesday February 01, 2000 @02:14AM (#1316336) Attached to: Open Source and Legal Protection

Document, Document, Document. The key to a good defense is to be able to prove HOW you did something. Keep a daily diary with the steps you've taken and plan to take. Document all results, and all versions of the code you are using. If you can prove that this was reverse engineered 'cleanly', then your legal problems will be much less than they would be. I'd also hire a good lawyer NOW. And not one that handles wills and property transactions. I mean one that understands copyright law. Good luck to you.

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