blots | 11 years ago | on: MIT indefinitely removes online physics lectures and courses by Walter Lewin
My husband uses ladies restrooms regularly, because that's where the baby change tables are.
blots's comments
blots | 12 years ago | on: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft
It's definitely better then not open source, but still I'd love to know more about those "world's best" developers and who pays them.
Open source is the necessary but not the sufficient condition. It needs to be reviewed by independent people, otherwise the open source part is useless.
blots | 12 years ago | on: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft
It's not exactly him. In my experience most Russians are homophobic to the core, unless they know some LBGT personally.
blots | 12 years ago | on: Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft
But who does inspect it, not me for sure.
So, how safe actually is Linux? And how safe is any distribution?
blots | 12 years ago | on: Response to NSA scandal: German Government moves away from data retention
Why, even the Spiegel article says right at the beginning that it's just playing with words for the sake of elections:
"But for this change of course to be more than just an election ploy, the government should however advocate a change in the EU Directive in Brussels. Which prescribes a six-month storage of traffic data - and the Union confirms in other parts of its election manifesto that it holds onto the fundamental goal to implement the Directive. "Minimum retention period" is spoken in the Union for two years already - and means nothing but data retention."
blots | 12 years ago | on: Bruce Schneier: Has U.S. started an Internet war?
blots | 12 years ago | on: Main Core – database of US citizens believed to be threats to national security
Reminds me very much of this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge
Well, as a possible consequence.
blots | 12 years ago | on: Main Core – database of US citizens believed to be threats to national security
Oh no, the people with ideas are the more dangerous. People with guns might kill a few people, but people with ideas can influence a lot more people.
blots | 13 years ago | on: Open Source Game Clones
So, where can you sign up as an open source / creative commons artist? There are a lot of great hobby artists, but who will introduce the artists to the projects?
blots | 13 years ago | on: Unbelievable
Whenever I see photos of suffering children in a political context for me it is the "look at those poor children, clearly the [opposing group] are poor evil" argument. Which is not about the children anymore, it's about diverting your attention from the cause of the problem. And this argument is used over and over on any occasion. How can you not become numb to that?
blots | 13 years ago | on: Unbelievable
What's more despicable about killing children than about killing people of other ages?
Yet it's the children that are frequently used for political arguments. And that is disgusting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_interests_%28rheto...
blots | 13 years ago | on: 10 years later, ‘Star Wars Kid’ speaks out
Here in Germany I saw people up to 26 years old being referred to as adolescents. That's the typical age when you're done with the university.
blots | 13 years ago | on: Lenticular Photo Used To Secretly Convey Hot Line Number To Abused Kids
I doubt that parents abusing their kids or the kids being abused are even aware that some people would think of the relationship as abusive. What if it's just verbal bullying? And I suppose it's mostly psychological abuse. Maybe when the child grows up it will realize that the parent was wrong, but not at 10 years or younger.
blots | 13 years ago | on: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier
Oh yes.
Even with documentaries which should usually be better researched there is so many inaccuracies on the subjects I do know something about that I'm careful to remind myself that the stories on subjects I don't know about are probably equally inaccurate.
blots | 13 years ago | on: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier
I don't have TV at home and don't read any news online, except maybe once a month while procrastinating. I rarely find anything that really concerns me there and if I do I usually skip right to the comments for the broader range of opinions or search the internet for more information.
blots | 13 years ago | on: Diamonds Are Bullshit
> It doesn't have anything to do with financial security. Look, if your man is spending three months worth of salary on a piece of shiny rock, he is exercising poor financial judgment and that is a signal against future financial security.
I don't get it. Why would you even want to be engaged with women so stupid to want a shiny rock no matter what. If anything I'd want a man-made diamond, because it's cooler. I never even heard of the rule that you have to get a diamond ring for engagement, guess that's a USA thing. Well, my BF still bought me a good monitor, which is much more useful.
blots | 13 years ago | on: We Need to Have Sympathy for Those With Depression. It is an Illness
What if depression is the evolutionary solution to overpopulation?
blots | 13 years ago | on: The Hobbit: Why 48FPS Makes Film Less Magical
I suppose you could use that for stylistic effect. Like a change of mood in the story, or a changed attitude of the character.
blots | 13 years ago | on: Entire field of particle physics is to switch to open-access publishing
> By the way, being able to publish is especially necessary to receive public funding in the first place.
Being published in Nature gives you bonus points when it comes to funding. Which I don't quite understand, cause Nature is like the last journal where I'd look for newest information on my subject.
blots | 13 years ago | on: Entire field of particle physics is to switch to open-access publishing
My professor argued that keeping even publicly funded research and data behind paywalls will keep at least some of the people who have no idea about the scientific method from doing dangerous nonsense with it. I don't share this opinion.
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