cletus

120 ms·

961.
by cletus 6y ago
> Why is it OK for huge companies like apple, IBM, Google... to use the patent system to keep out any competitors or newcomers [citation needed] Specifically, Oracle notwithstanding, big tech companies have used patent portfolios defens
962.
by cletus 6y ago
Look, this is simple: the lab leak theory shouldn't be discounted until the WHO or some independent body does their due diligence on, at an absolute minimum, these points: 1. Account for what coronaviruses Wuhan labs actually have. The
963.
by cletus 6y ago
The visible light era of the Universe is relatively short compared to what comes after. People think of this as a long dark night. To some extent that's true. Another perspective is that this will be the Golden Age of the Universe [1].
964.
by cletus 6y ago
Materials absorb some quantity of IR radiation. This will heat them up. What you're talking about is essentially a variation of recycling heat. It's imperfect so there'll be some IR signature.
965.
by cletus 6y ago
A lot of thought has gone into this topic [1]. Enjoy! [1]: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIIOUpOge0LvHsTP5fm8o...
966.
by cletus 6y ago
I believe that spacefaring life is relatively rare in our neighbourhood to the point where it's entirely possible we're the only one. As for signs of alien civilization being everywhere, here I have to respectfully disagree. I&#x2
967.
by cletus 6y ago
We're talking about the expansion of the Universe here. This expansion has 14 billion years of evidence in the observable Universe to support it. Experimental evidence has shown this expansion is increasing not decreasing. This isn&#x2
968.
by cletus 6y ago
I moved to the US in 2010, signed up for Netflix soon thereafter (it didn’t exist in Australia at that time) and have been a customer ever since. Forget movies: the big value proposition for me has always been TV. At that time it was $8&#x2
969.
by cletus 6y ago
The sequence of events that led to the Earth being here with us on it is kind of mind-blowing in terms of physics. First, the nascent universe had to cool such that nucleons formed, which then became hydrogen. This matter wasn't evenly
970.
by cletus 6y ago
I actually like how conservative Java has been with making language changes. People go nuts with language features because they can, not necessarily because they have a good reason. this it the big problem I have with Scala, for example. Su
971.
by cletus 6y ago
I spent almost a year in Germany and one thing I learned, and really appreciated, was that they were open and honest about the Holocaust and their role in it. It’s taught in schools. It’s never brushed over. Compared to say Japan. EDIT: not
972.
by cletus 6y ago
So I also don't favour the lab leak theory but this is the first time I'd read this (emphasis added): > Nor have the labs been entirely forthcoming about what viruses they do know about. The Wuhan Institute of Virology possesse
973.
by cletus 6y ago
It's a definite advantage if a language is phonetic (eg German, Turkish) but there are also worse than English. French springs to mind. English pronunciation inconsistencies are really a product of how many loan words there are, when t
974.
by cletus 6y ago
I find the transformation and evolution of languages in general and English in particular fascinating. Old English was a Germanic language primarily. After 1066, the court language of England became French and remained so for centuries. It
975.
by cletus 6y ago
> Do you have a source? Yes, Chernobyl. Unless you can point me to a _single_ non-nuclear power plant accident that has rendered 1,000 square miles uninhabitable for 35 years (and counting) then my point stands. Pro-nuclear advocates alw
976.
by cletus 6y ago
Some solar systems have 2 or even 3 fusion reactors. :) The answer to your question depends on the characteristics of the technology. There are many proposed variations (eg the traditional H-H including heavier isotopes, He₃, pB). For fuels
977.
by cletus 6y ago
Here we go again: 1. Nuclear has much worse failure modes. The Cybernobyl Exclusion Zone is quite literally 1,000 square miles [1]; 2. Advocate like to talk about reprocessing as a solution to the waste problem. It seems to be missed that t
978.
by cletus 6y ago
My understanding is that this is pretty common for every courier including UPS and FedEx. Why? Because the driver will have a set of deliveries. Once they’re finished those they’re done for the day. In NYC at least finding a restroom and fi
979.
by cletus 6y ago
I think there are several problems here: 1. While it's important to have private investment in property because this literally creates the housing units people rent, there's simply too much speculation here. I like the Swiss model
980.
by cletus 6y ago
Apollo was a political endeavor. It was rivalry with the Soviet Union. The spending on it in modern dollars is as a percentage of GDP or the Federal budget just wouldn’t happen now. Science obviously has value but this was a huge price to p
981.
by cletus 6y ago
This one is easy: people like the idea of this but still want a 4x3 300 square meter house on a quarter acre block. Or in the US is often an acre lot within a city, which is crazy to me. And this just doesn’t scale. This is why communities
982.
by cletus 6y ago
Whatever was said at the time, I’m convinced Google Reader was collateral damage from the Bay of Pigs Google Plus effort. It had social features (which I honestly never used) and anything social had to be G+. Still, I honestly don’t underst
983.
by cletus 6y ago
Yeah I’m going to need examples of what features get locked by not providing location. I’m just not buying this is anything other than wanting to avoid geo restrictions on content. I mean I understand the desire for this but I also understa
984.
by cletus 6y ago
Yeah, your GPS example doesn’t hold up. How is denying an app location info consistent with your position that Apple wanting to enable companies to track users? So you, I suspect, don’t want to “avoid tracking” so much as you want to avoid
985.
by cletus 6y ago
This reminds me of companies who have “unlimited” vacation days. If I can’t take the next 40 years off at full pay it’s not “unlimited”. A more accurate description is probably “vacation days determined by whether your manager likes you”.
986.
by cletus 6y ago
So cue the US telling developing countries "hey you can grow coffee instead of coca/opium and make a good living", a large number of farmers growing coffee, the supply gets flooded, prices drop and the farmers switch back to
987.
by cletus 6y ago
Usually the answer is "no" to any question in a headline. My answer is "I sure hope so". AMP launched in 2015. At that time, Larry Page was CEO, Eric Schmidt was Chairman and David Drummond was the Chief Legal Officer. I
988.
by cletus 6y ago
I see three broad dimensions to any lab origin theory: 1. It was human made or found. Human made is common QAnon fodder. I don't believe anyone serious finds that idea credible. Nature is probably far better at concocting new viruses t
989.
by cletus 6y ago
I actually blame Johnny Ive for this clusterf*ck. Ive famously pursued a crusade for thinness. It's said that design is the art of compromise. Well, Ive took a no compromises approach to thinness and it showed. Look no further than the
990.
by cletus 6y ago
That’s why you assume the sun is a total loss and you spend no time chasing it. Let the debtor dodge collections agents and field those phone calls.

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