Posts by frank ly
2120 posts • joined Wednesday 10th June 2009 09:17 GMT
Page:
Old women are useful
A theory I read, many years ago, is that the purpose of the menopause is to protect older women becoming pregnant because it is dangerous for them. Leading on from this, from the point of view of success of an organised society, it is vital to have a store of community knowledge - when to plant crops, what herbs are poisonous and which ones have antiseptic properties, etc.
Older, non child bearing women were the ideal repository for this knowledge and the mechanism for sharing it and passing it on; since they don't have the tendency (as old men did) to get killed while out hunting and fighting. The other advantage of older non child bearing women is that they do not represent a threat to younger women since the menfolk can't get them pregnant, hence they can move around a community freely, dispensing advice and useful gossip (or discussion if you prefer). Old men who try to wander round visiting young women for a chat are viewed with suspicion by everybody of course.
This is all old and ancient history and we modern humans are far more advanced and rational nowadays.
Posted in How to get your bust in good shape
Re: I have to ask
I'm sure there's a joke about a Trojan in there.
Have you thought about patenting that novel and inventive process? (Drop the pneumatic tubes and say 'information pathway'). Give it a few years and you could clean up by patent trolling the social networks.
What happened here?
How can Facebook 'seize' money and then decide to 'donate' it to someone? If I know my neighbour is a drug dealer, can I break into his house, 'seize' any cash I find and then donate it to a drug abuse charity?
I thought that legal authorities have to become involved.
Re: I followed that link to the past excuses.
The roof of the car is a convenient place to put small things when you're sorting out your possessions in preparation for a journey. I once lost a packet of cigarettes and a lighter that way.
@Michael re. 1.
The cow sat down and some idiot had dropped their mobile phone at that exact place in the field.
Shouldn't be difficult to block
About a year ago, my router logs showed a spate of 'sniffing' on the ports of my domestic FTP server; coming from IP addresses listed as being in China. The FTP server username and password are _not_ the equipment default values.
After a couple of days, the sniffing stopped - nothing to see here, move along; I suppose.
@Phil Re: This should never have been a problem
The patent is part of the evidence of the case brought against the defendant. The defendant surely has the right to question and attempt to disprove the truth or validity of any evidence against them? No?
In a criminal case (notionally far more serious than commercial actions) the defendant can have evidence rejected if it was obtained using faulty procedures (e.g statements made to police officers in the back of a police car with no legal representative present).
So in a commercial case, why shouldn't the defendant be able to question the validity of a patent?
Just wondering .....
"The doc and colleagues from California uni and the US Navy's marine-mammal units (which are mainly staffed by dolphins) have published a paper ..."
Was it the humans or the dolphins who were the main contributors?
Posted in LG Vu 5in Android phone-tablet review
"The Vu doesn’t have a MicroSD card slot ..."
I used to feel that this was a deal-breaker for me. However, for the past year I haven't removed the microSD card from my phone because WiFi transfer is fast enough for pictures and music files. With my Asus Transformer, I only remove the SD card if I want to quickly load up an 800MB video file.
Translation
Top image: Learned scholars devise means of reading ancient Ubaid tablets by light from 76 candles placed in different positions.
Bottom image: Bag of flour, packet of nuts, small jar of milk.
How 'bad' is 4?
If I have a phone number with lots of '4' in it, will people be wary of calling me and not invite me to events? Does it turn into a social disgrace or is it just regarded as unlucky but amusing?
I'd be tempted to get a number with as many 4s as possible, because of my macabre sense of humour, to give to 'special' people when asked for my number.
"the originals have been expunged"
We have always been in favour of computer games. From tomorrow, the daily ration of Telegraph articles will be increased to four.
Re: What, in the age of cloudiness, is
But, the cloud was transparent; the researchers saw through it to the CPU.
Re: The other first
Some of us have compacted straw and horsehair. I can recommend it, especially in winter.
@Phil Re: Ha ha ha
I'd have thought 'Temporary Staff', for various reasons :)
Re: differentiators
Using an amazing device called a 'USB hub' (as found at the bottom of my 'cables and stuff' crate), I can have a mouse, a 'proper' keyboard and a USB memory stick connected to my Android tablet. Since it already has a micro-SDcard slot and an SD card slot, being able to connect a USB memory stick isn't all that useful to me, but it's nice to have.
@Everybody (so far)
Personally, I prefer a well written report with good diagrams, but, but ....
If you reject and belittle this, then you reject a novel form of communication and expression. The history of communication/computing technology is a history of experimentation by people who decided not to do things in the standard way. You should admire their experimentation and imagination and consider that this is probably why they are PhD candidates, whereas most of you (as well as me) are not.
Re: Cheap
They didn't cut the corners. They filed them to a rounded shape, which may cause problems.
Re: How wireless are we talking?
According to Karen Sandler's talk (see above), a medical technician can read your heart rate as soon as you walk into the room. That's how wireless.
Re: See Karen Sandler's talk
Fascinating and frightening. Thanks for the link.
A planet by any other name ....
If you state that it's in orbit around Alpha Centauri B, then why do you need to call it an 'exoplanet'? It's a planet and it's in orbit around Alpha Centauri B.
And the officer concerned?
According to a newspaper report I read this morning, the officer concerned has been subjected to 'internal discipline'. I'm sure this does not involve a lot of USB sticks and a jar of lubricant, sadly.
Re: Quite Exciting
Try an Asus Transformer (among others). There's a shed load of free and cheap apps for it.
Then again, if you want a proper Windows experience........
Re: Unless there is a large segment with phones and no internet?
If they have phones that can scan QR codes and order items, then surely they have a mobile internet data connection?
The article doesn't give technical details so I suppose it's possible that the phone uses bluetooth to finally communicate with some kind of payment kiosk at the exit of the shop..........who knows?
Posted in Engineer designs glass slipper on Quora
50kg?
Given that Cinderella spent most of her life cleaning, cooking and hauling coal/wood; she may have weighed more than 50kg.
Hmmmm ....
"As a general rule, the Commissioner considers that information contained on a backup is not held," the ICO said. "This is because, generally, the public authority will have no intention of accessing the information on the backup. Again the Commissioner’s focus is on the intention of the public authority rather than whether the records can actually be recovered."
"There are, as always, exceptions. Where data has been lost from the main computer and the public authority intends to use the backup to restore that data, the Commissioner considers that the information is held. ..."
How about: 'The e-mails have been lost from the main computer, but we don't intend to use the backups; so we don't hold any data.'
This is what happens when lawyers get their hands on the real world.
Posted in Asus N56VM 15.6in notebook review
A matte finish screen!
I'd buy it if it wasn't for the price. I'm fed up with gloss finish screens, which seems to be all there is nowadays.
It keeps happening
Given the number of incidents of this type over the years, there seem to be many skilled amateur penetration and security testers out there. (Also, many clueless software developers). Why don't they just hire them on a short term contract with low basic salary and big bonuses for every flaw they find? If it's important enough to spend money on, then spend a bit more to find the faults.
@jake Re: Oh how perfectly dreadful
Two math degrees? That must be maths then.
"... a patent that deals with a computer system for identifying local resources, ..."
I wonder if anyone 'skilled in the art' would be capable of doing this independently.
re. Assange bail-posters.
"However, they failed in their basic duty, to ensure his surrender."
Should they have stormed the Ecuadorian embassy and recaptured him?
Camera Lens
If I can't see it, I don't know where to _not_ put my greasy finger.
Re: Let's try again
Ah, the subjunctive; a rare and elusive tense. (Or is it a mood? I always get confused about that.)
Can we hear some recordings?
Suitably downshifted in frequency of course.
Posted in NSW contemplates smart licenses
Re: Bigger issues first
The system in the UK is not as you seem to believe.
The 'disc', which every vehicle must display, is the 'tax disc' which indicates that the owner of the vehicle has paid the Vehicle Excise Duty to the government. That disc is valid for 6 or 12 months and is regarded as 'belonging to' the vehicle. It stays with the vehicle and remains valid if the vehicle is sold. (An owner can surrender the tax disc to the authorities in exchange for a pro rata refund.) Without this tax disc, a vehicle cannot be used on the public road.
Insurance to drive a vehicle is a separate matter, bought from commercial companies, and is personal to the driver. Most personal insurance specifies the registration number of the vehicle that can be driven (the registration number is unique to the vehicle and stays with the vehicle and is displayed on the vehicle). A driver must have insurance to drive on the public road and is issued with a certificate which may need to be presented to a police officer if asked for. A driver must also have passed a driving test and hold a driving license (valid until the age of 70) for the class of vehicle being driven.
In fact, the entire set of records - tax disc, insurance, driving license, MoT certificate (vehicle roadworthiness test) and vehicle registration number and ownership records - are held in a central database that can be accessed by any police officer and various other government agencies.
If the police pull you over for any reason, all you need to do is convince them of your identity, then they put a call over the radio to check everything you're entitled to and can also check if the vehicle has the appropriate permissions to be on the road.
"...it’s rain-free about 80 percent of the year..."
If it's a dry region, could dust be a problem? What level of cleaning do solar panels in this type of situation require to prevent noticeable loss of output?
Re: Bad To The Bone
That was George Thorogood and The Destroyers.
Re: "mindful, shared consumption of resources and a clear and unwavering focus on sustainability"
It's time to draw a line under this so called 'rocket' incident and move forward. I was mislead by advice from recognised experts; so don't judge me on what I did, but on what I do from now on, for the next few days anyway.
Posted in Is lightspeed really a limit?
Re: Perhaps I have a strange head then....
Faster than a speeding comment:
A quick Google search got me an e-book version from archive.org. I'm not sure if this is legit, but I'll read it anyway. Thank you :)
Posted in Is lightspeed really a limit?
Furthermore ...
'c', the speed of light, is the speed at which light _must_ travel at. If you use Maxwell's equations to analyse a self sustaining EM wave (e.g. light) then it's velocity can only be a value determined by the permeability and permittivity of the medium in which it exists. For free space, this is 'c', so if the characteristics of free space change, then the speed of light will change.
This classical analysis yields the value of 'c' and is easy enough to understand. How we got from there to Special Relativity, etc, is something that makes my brain hurt.
Posted in Is lightspeed really a limit?
The zone labels on the graph are confusing me
What is 'U'? Is it the apparent relative velocity between observers? If it is then it was foolish to call it 'U' given that 'u' is used as the velocity of one of the observers.
They stored the data on disks?
Don't they trust their own GDrive?
A 6-digit PIN gives 'emergency' cash to anyone who types it in
What could go wrong?
Re: heh
This is not about the existing legal requirement to record business activity for HMRC/Gov/Tax purposes. It is about resolving disputes between companies.
E.g. if a previous client claimed that your business had defrauded them by misrepresenting equipment capabilities and/or falsifying system acceptance test results, and they had a few 'key' emails from five years ago, for evidence in court; then you'd look a bit silly if you couldn't find some e-mails which your chief engineer remembered sending that would prove you to be innocent.
In court, the jury would be faced with a situation where the defendant appeared to have deliberately destroyed e-mails from the relevant time, contrary to 'accepted industry practice'. It wouldn't look good for you.
Re: An important idea here.
The most fascinating, and potentially instructive, aspect of human nature would be the entire process of how and why he was appointed to the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
You also raise an interesting point of how someone who _appears_ to reject modern scientific belief (in certain areas) can practice as a physician. It is probably the case that you don't need to deeply understand medications to know which ones should be prescribed for certain ailments. I don't need to believe in evolution to believe that antibiotics cure many bacterial infections and he doesn't need to 'believe in science' to know which antibiotics are best and what the side-effects and potential interactions are. Any belief that the world is 9,000 years old has no bearing on his ability to set a broken bone and give advice about diet, .... etc.
It is possible for a person to have a high level of functionality in modern society while rejecting many modern scientific beliefs, but the problem, for other people, is when that person is in a position of great influence in those areas that depend on modern scientific beliefs.
re. 'wall of death'
I think that 'wall of death' is an attempt to use sympathetic magic to increase the kill in the next hunting season. Primitive people often attempt this type of magic, (but they hardly ever know the appropriate words of power).
Loads of room
In a modern car, there is lots of room on the passenger side of the 'dashboard', so some kind of slot (with sprung pressure restraints, or whatever) could easily be accommodated, either central or off toward the passenger side. They could even make a special receptacle inside the glove compartment with Bluetooth interface for calls when driving.
Didn't you notice?
Australia was assimilated into the Regborg back in September. The Sharwood/Chirgwin/Apostolu node will help you to become part of the expanded cultural entity.
