brian.glanz - Slashdot User

The Neuroscience of Screwing Up 190

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday December 30, 2009 @08:45PM from the nobody-is-right-all-the-time dept.

resistant writes "As the evocative title from Wired magazine implies, Kevin Dunbar of the University of Toronto has taken an in-depth and fascinating look at scientific error, the scientists who cope with it, and sometimes transcend it to find new lines of inquiry. From the article: 'Dunbar came away from his in vivo studies with an unsettling insight: Science is a deeply frustrating pursuit. Although the researchers were mostly using established techniques, more than 50 percent of their data was unexpected. (In some labs, the figure exceeded 75 percent.) "The scientists had these elaborate theories about what was supposed to happen," Dunbar says. "But the results kept contradicting their theories. It wasn't uncommon for someone to spend a month on a project and then just discard all their data because the data didn't make sense."'"

Porn Found On L.A. Obscenity Case Judge's Website 393

Posted by timothy on Wednesday June 11, 2008 @05:54PM from the so-this-judge-walks-into-a-bar dept.

Stanislav_J writes "In a bizarre revelation, the judge who is presiding over the Isaacs obscenity trial in Los Angeles was found to have sexually explicit material on a publicly-accessible website. Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, acknowledged that he had posted the materials, but says he believed the site to be for personal storage only, and not accessible to the public (though he does acknowledge sharing some of the material with friends). The files included images of masturbation, public sex, contortionist sex, a transsexual striptease, a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows, and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. The latter two are especially ironic in that the trial involves the distribution of allegedly obscene sexual fetish videos depicting bestiality, among other things, by Ira Isaacs, an L.A. filmmaker."

Joomla! A User's Guide 117

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday June 11, 2008 @02:36PM from the read-all-about-it dept.

Michael J. Ross writes "Of all the content management systems (CMSs) from which a Web developer can choose for creating a new Web site, Joomla is generally considered to be one of the top choices -- partly because an experienced developer can create an attractive site faster with Joomla than with the majority of other CMSs. However, Joomla's online documentation leaves much to be desired, as is true for most if not all CMSs. Intermediate and especially new developers need a clear and comprehensive resource that can explain the terminology, customization, administrative panel, and other aspects of Joomla. A promising candidate is a book written by Barrie M. North, titled Joomla! A User's Guide: Building a Successful Joomla! Powered Website." Keep reading for the rest of Michael's review.

Google's Brin Books a Space Flight 170

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday June 11, 2008 @01:04PM from the i-can-see-my-house-from-here dept.

coondoggie writes "Google largely conquered the Earth — now it is taking aim at space. At least co-founder Sergei Brin is. Brin today said he put down $5 million toward a flight to the International Space Station in 2011. Brin's space travel will be brokered by Space Adventures, the space outfit that sent billionaire software developer Charles Simonyi to the station in 2007. Computer game developer (and son of a former NASA astronaut) Richard Garriott is currently planning a mission to the ISS in October 2008. Garriott is paying at least $30 million to launch toward the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz spaceship according to Space Adventures." Make sure to wave when you are over Michigan, man. I'll be the one on my lawn, green with envy.

Comment Re:because... (Score 1) 473

by brian.glanz on Wednesday February 20, 2008 @02:12PM (#22491018) Attached to: Space Shuttle Secrets Stolen For China

You use words like 'stealing' and 'spying', which may be justified from an American viewpoint, but not necessarily from a Chinese one. Perhaps from their viewpoint it is morally wrong to keep knowledge secret when it could benefit society; perhaps they are not 'spying', but 'exercising the right of the people'?

Yes, and that was my point. I'm sorry if I wrote too much and perhaps hid that I think exactly as much.

We almost completely agree, except that it seems to me you overstate (or over-imply) the current state of Chinese culture and society with respect to IP. IP and kin are growing stronger in the Chinese world alongside individualism and the increasing appetite for personal wealth. I call it the new Opium War, only this time, the dealers are hooked, too.

I'll fight to move "The American Dream" away from individualism, as the world loses sleep and its mind trying to achieve it.

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