Posts by Growly Snuffle Bunny 36 publicly visible posts • joined 24 Aug 2011
Do we start to admit something IS happening and something *sensible* MUST be done?
0.5C, 1C, 1.5C, 2C - all we're doing is pushing the "we are really in the crapper now!" date around. Will it be our problem? Our childrens? Our grandchildren?
MondoMan, it is true that in general large ecosystems are quite robust. Small ones not so much, and ultimately it's economic systems that will cause the real misery as the climate adversely affects us in a myriad of ways.
Or they could - stay with me here - cut it into smaller chunks? 3 cuts will make 4x 4.5(ish)ft chunks. That should go in any sensible chest freezer.
"Bury it, wait for it to decompose..." Tosh! Idiots! They can learn more from flesh and skeleton than skeleton alone.
"Facebook and Google were forced to remove “objectionable content” from their Indian sites last year after complaints it was offensive to Muslims, Hindus and Christians."
Considering the huge range of material these groups object to, what's left? The Indian equivalent of .gov?
Having been with them for about 18 months now, I have nothing but praise for them. Sure, they have their problems, but what operator doesn't? At least they say that they're having them, and keep users 'in the loop' wherever they can. The flexibility, the free calls to other GiffGaff numbers, truly massive internet quotas for virtually nothing - it works for me. As a business user I'm confident enought to use GiffGaff in my daily work.
"The broken lines in the Figures show portions of the portable display device which form no part of the claimed design", so it doesn't matter what manufacturers put where. If they put them on a rectangular display device with rounded corners and a rounded back edge then they're screwed.
Seriously, WTF?
So why have a design patent on it at all? If you're registering a design for a product you are building, surely the dimensions are an integral part of that product? If something is almost identical in size and shape, with only trivial differences, then you have patented the 'look' of a device. If there are no sizes shown, only a shape, then haven't you just patented a design that is rectangular with rounded corners and a rounded back?
I may be wrong, it's tea time and I'm hungry. I don't think well on an empty stomach...
You say that, but have you read the patent? There's no sizes anywhere, no definitions of contour, nothing. As far as I can see, AIANAL, they've got a design patent on the generic rectangle with rounded corners and smoothly curved back.
The patent system looks very very broken at this point...
"I said atheism does not give any basis for good and bad.. which is true.. atheism is only 'there is no god', it is nothing else."
What you actually said was:
"For a bunch of people who do not even have a basis for good or bad, right or wrong, atheist appear to love to talk alot about how bad others are. They do not appear to realise that atheism gives one no way to determine either."
The two sentences are not the same.
Atheists (in general) say we/they do not believe in god(s). What the majority mean when saying this is that atheism doesn't mean being 100% certain that God doesn't exist. It means being certain enough. It means thinking God is hypothetically possible, but unless we see some better evidence for him, we're going to assume he doesn't exist. I guess this means that the majority of us are 'strong agnostics' rather than atheists. I've talked to (and met) very few people who have the 'faith' to say 100% 'there are no gods'.
"I merely said what atheists say."
And people are merely saying that they have observed the 'religion of peace' being terrifically violent.
Do you see?
"As to good and bad, most people follow the prevailing views. Atheism did not give it to them, society did."
And if you'd have been born in a different society, your religious views would most likely be different to what they are now. The number of people who change religions are tiny. The number of people who stay in the religion of their birth group is vast. The number of people who renounce their religion because they see the problems and injustice that religions cause are growing, and growing quite rapidly.
"Good" and "Bad", "moral" and immoral" are all culturally relative, but with thought and compassion a reasonable personal code can be constructed that can change over time. Having a fixed code that is hundreds or thousands of years old can only lead to conflict with a modern society and viewpoints.
"For a bunch of people who do not even have a basis for good or bad, right or wrong, atheist appear to love to talk alot about how bad others are. They do not appear to realise that atheism gives one no way to determine either."
Atheists have morality, as do religious believers. We just don't think our moral compass is planted in us by God or supernatural forces, and we don't think fear of God's punishment is necessary to be a good person. We base our morality in this life: our empathy with others, and our observations about what causes suffering and happiness.
"Free speech finds a limit as does ones tolerance."
Limited "free speech"? Not exactly free then, is it?
'It's now very common to hear people say, "I'm rather offended by that", as if that gives them certain rights. It's no more than a whine. It has no meaning, it has no purpose, it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. "I'm offended by that." Well, so fucking what?'
- Stephen Fry
We can't afford "several hundred million" to help the vulnerable members of our society, and yet we can spend 40+ billion a year on 'defense', most of which ends up in offshore tax avoidance schemes? We have dozens of ultra hi-tech aircraft with nowhere to go, billion-pound ships with peashooters, a dozen officers for every grunt on the ground..
We could build a bloody big wall around the UK for that sort of money, and the next year start looking after those that need it.
And then we get to the government schemes that really piss our money away..
Our country is trully shagged, and will continue to be so until our priorities realign with the people not the companies who employ our retired or fired politicians.
Until a device is actually built, all the methodology in the world is only an idea, surely?
I've certainly thought about how it could be done (automatically silencing 'phones while not affecting emergency calls or SMS), many times over many years, as idiots use their mobiles in the cinema and restaurant annoying me no end. Turning off cameras etc. is just an obvious extension. It's not rocket science, and certainly IMHO not worth a patent...
Not so much obvious as so bloody simple even a monkey could have thought of this one!
Who amongst us in the years that mobiles have been available has not been in a cinema (or other location) and thought that there must be a way to turn phones off or mute them during the feature?
Well I for one won't be buying a phone with this tech in it.
Mea Culpa! I applaud your upmanship score...
I checked the spelling, copied the text to the clipboard, then took five minutes trying to remember my password for posting. I posted the comment, and forgot to change the spelling. D'oh!
And you're right. The word 'it' does not contain an 'e'.
<Pedant mode = ON>
RADAR (RAdio Direction And Rangeing) works using radio waves. The Focus uses an infrared laser for sensing distance for the 'low speed collision avoidance', so if you want to be accurate (and as a tech-site accuracy should be seen as 'a desirable attribute') then it actually uses LIDAR (LIght Direction And Rangeing).
<Pedant mode = OFF>
Such an appalling role for an actress... If she did anything at all apart from looking strangely sexy, it was an animal that got the credit.
I seem to remember an interview in which she said that she so wanted the part she'd said "who do I have to sleep with to get it?".
While playing the part, she joked "who do I have to sleep with so I can get out of this contract?"
I seem to remember reading somewhere on the GiffGaff site that although they called their data allowance 'unlimited' there was a limit beyond which they reserved the right to let you know/kick your arse/tell you to go away. For some reason the figure of 150GB/month sticks in my mind. That's an awful lot of data...
Are we going to get a dozen different versions, at a dozen different prices?
I hope (optimistically, and with a dashing of naivety) Microsoft take a leaf from Apple's book and have a sensible policy. One operating system, two versions (ARM, x86), one price for end-users - a price of $35 (£35, good old Blighty..) At that price my machines might ALL get proper licences, rather than just the ones I use for my business.
Is this the chance Microsoft has been looking for to reduce piracy of their OS?
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