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emptybits
6,420karma·1,004submissions·November 20, 2012
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Darren Stone, Vancouver, BC, Canada
"Once men turned their thinking over to
machines in the hope that this would
set them free. But that only permitted
other men with machines to enslave
them." - Frank P. Herbert, Jr., 1965
"The programmer, like the poet, works
only slightly removed from pure
thought-stuff. He builds his castles
in the air, from air, creating by
exertion of the imagination."
- Fred P. Brooks, Jr., 1975recent activity (1,004 total)
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At least one tardigrade has been frozen in "a block of ice for three decades", then thawed, and gone on to reproduce. A tardigrade egg in the frozen sample also thawed, hatched, and reproduc…
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I think this is an excellent way to look at the situation. From a psychological POV (e.g. ego & identity), this aspect was particularly significant to me as I moved from developer to manager to CT…
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I'm surprised (horrified?) that a control group's DNA deteriorates significantly enough in such a short trial to use as a comparison. #entropy
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I don't disagree with the important question of "Where does the money come from?" (Perhaps, it's also, "What didn't we fund because of this?") But FWIW, America is…
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> Apple did not place themselves about the law Exactly. I didn't say they did. The comment was about being above law enforcement . See my other peer response here.
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I did not say they held themselves above the law. Law enforcement is what OP commented on and that's what I responded to. I think it's an important distinction. When law enforcement takes …
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> We don't place ourselves above law enforcement. Of course this is reasonable, but I'm curious what you think of companies who do put themselves above law enforcement when it's th…
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Perhaps, but we were reminded just this week that some Stasi memories are well preserved. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/11/valdimir-putin... …
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That's awesome. It makes me happy that you enjoyed and remember the game. Robert Champagne, the real genius, coded the Game Boy and I rode his coattails. I was responsible for the Game Gear versi…
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Hi, Xanth programmer from the 8/16-bit era here. Can confirm the MIDI Maze FPS ancestry and MIDI-based deathmatch "LAN parties" (that predated LANs). Can also confirm that we were (and …
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I reckon Igor Stravinsky would agree: "The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution.&…
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It's a very important question. IMO we should be most mindful of our work and moneymaking since we spend most of our waking life doing these things. When we are dishonest in our moneymaking, we a…
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I'll share a similar experience with Asics (the running shoe company) a couple of weeks ago. Out of nowhere, I received an email from Asics that contained another customer's name, their emai…
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I hear you. My $0.25 ... I bet the expert authors of many music theory books would be capable of thinking in mathematical terms but (now I'm guessing) there is likely some undeserved "ew, yu…
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IMO, the books are great but they don't go very deeply into the math of chords or relationships between chords, no. Certainly there is math coverage of intonation (JI, 12TET, etc.), which leads t…
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Also recommended: two-volume set "Musimathics" by Gareth Loy.[1] The work's topics are, mostly, independent so I find it enjoyable to pick up and read a chapter from time to time. He tr…
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Interesting stuff. The talk of a new kingdom or supra-kingdom (domain? empire?) prompted me to see how we currently model the tree of life. (Something I probably haven't known since elementary sc…
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The article tells us a quote from Romeo & Juliet was etched on Shoemaker's lunar burial capsule. Here's the quote and more from NASA.[1] And, when he shall die, Take him and cut him o…
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Indeed! Reading those issues, for me, is a stream of shock and awe but always learning because the contributors generally give sufficient instructions to perform/confirm their achievements yourse…
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Fascinating and creepy: The surveillance tech on the bridge attempts to detect sleepy drivers so "yawn three times and the authorities will be alerted". [OP]
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This cyclist bought one. Then he found out his Canadian carrier (Fido) doesn't support Apple Watch.
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Nothing but respect for Sesame Street and everyone involved. Thank you to Caroll Spinney for being part of an enriching but entertaining cultural institution. Similar to Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street is&#…
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Interestingly, until now, "light pollution" meant artificial sources. (i.e. with different colour and spectrum signatures such as CFLs, LEDs, etc.) Florida Atlantic University studies the im…
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> we can still cooperate on things to the benefit of everyone Yes. What is the benefit of hobbling a world-class search engine so that it intentionally prevents "everyone" (I include Chin…
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I had no idea what Helicobacter pylori was. It's a bacteria that, apparently, lives in the digestive tract of half the world's population.[1] [1] http://www.cancer.ca/en/…
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> Now, DDG just needs to rebrand with a “verbable” name so it’s easier to talk about... As has been suggested here before, "just Duck it".
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> This is a rare case where a potential forensic tool is probably biased toward identifying wealthy white individuals.