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Recent Comments by dgandhi
 | comment listing type: Top Sift for Nov 30th, 2009Friends O' the Sift Top New Wtf Videos by Vote             Subscribe Top 15 Wtf Sifters of All Time Top 15 Wtf Sifters of the Past Week Newest Appreciated Comments         |
Swiss Voters Vote To Ban Minarets (Mosque Towers)
We have fallen too far into the belief that democracy = right, which is plainly false. Sometimes, even often, democracy is wrong, that's why we have constitutional democracies, to protect minorities, and limit the destructive force of mob rule. It clearly didn't work here.
Climategate: Dr. Tim Ball on the hacked CRU emails
But the thing about science is that you are supposed to give out information willy-nilly.
While I agree with that in theory, I challenge you to name one scientific institution which makes all its employees e-mails, code and raw data sets public.
The fact of the matter is that we live in an IP crazed world, and universities and research institutions hold on to intellectual property because their presidents/boards of directors/funders require them to.
Every idea is guarded, and yes, this does significant harm to the scientific process, but that has nothing to do with whether or not the CRU is committing scientific fraud.
THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS HERE IS IF CRU IS COMMITTING FRAUD, no amount of ad-hominem will make their findings fraudulent, only pre-existing suppressed scientific evidence can do that.
These folks need to stop their media blitz and go find the data that they are so sure exists, anything else is psudo-scientific nonsense, and is undeserving of attention.
Twilight: New Moon in 60 Seconds
Albinos Hunted For Fun And Profit In Tanzania
Use your head to increase the range of your car remote
Most people assume one step:
remote: hey open the doors
-- car unlocks doors
This would allow anybody with a digital recorder and a properly tuned radio transceiver to unlock your car, so instead we do this:
remote: hey car #29837485, I want the doors open
car: okay, just send me the password scrambled with this code: 3943847283
remote: the scrambled password is 2938277437
-- car unlocks doors
For this to work, the remote must be able to hear the car, that is your limiting factor. The car has a big antenna relative to the remote, it can easily hear the remote. If the remote does not get the scramble code ( called a nonce) then it can't send the right response, and the car will not get the right code, and will refuse to unlock the doors.
The human body is a pretty good antenna, especially for receiving purposes, and so we give the little remote the RF antenna it needs to hear the car, and complete the conversation.
Climategate: Dr. Tim Ball on the hacked CRU emails
Yes, lots of document, which should make it easy to find a SCIENTIFIC basis on which to object to the CRUs papers, if these documents show how/what was "fudged". I'm not a opponent of AGW, I know many people are, and will happily wade through the files. I will listen to them as soon as they present some SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE in there which contradicts the published findings of the CRU, until then, it amounts to little more than ad-hominem.
I think its simple. If you want to hid your activities when it comes to things important as this then you are suspect.
That is terribly naive, people who make their living studying and publishing information are not allowed to give out information willy-nilly. Perhaps this should not be the case, but every company, university, and research institution does this, to act like it's strange or inherently suspect is dishonest.
Climategate: Dr. Tim Ball on the hacked CRU emails
2) Ball is a strong opponent of AGW theory.
3) Their list of "objective" sources are all websites of AGW opponents.
These facts alone make this highly suspect.
I find the whole thing ridiculous. If I cherry picked through the last ten years of your business e-mails I could find a subset with make you look like a scoundrel.
If these e-mails are so damning, then it should be trivial to show, with science, based on the information the e-mails contain, what is wrong with the papers that the CRU has published. But nobody appears to be able to do this.
So far all I have heard is that they "colluded" to withdraw support from journals publishing things they think are shite, and that they kept some information confidential. These are not suspicious behaviors, these are standard practice, and they should be. Scientists need to police journals by not publishing in those with poor practices. Scientists need to protect their data, and the data of others, so that they don't get scooped on publication.
Much broad climate data is public information, reported in many ways, backed up on paper and harddrives all over the world. If CRU is just fudging the "master data" it should be trivial to show that their dataset does not match the dataset as originally measured. Not claiming or talking about evidence for this suggests strongly that they have no such evidence, and wish to influence science, not through scientific evidence, but through public opinion, and just like creationists, that tactic alone makes their position suspect.
Sarah Palin Book Signing - Meet The Fans
Are you honestly claiming someone who is a fan of Sara Palin is likely to have reasonable thought out beliefs to back up their support of her? Sure you CAN cherry pick interviews but are you really saying that's what's happening here?
I think a lot of people have difficulty comprehending a different world view. Generally the folks who support Palin and her ilk care much less than folks on the left about the sort of rational arguments, that the interviewer is prompting for. To folks in her camp, it's more about "character" and trusting people to act in line with your "values". Why should they conform to the lefts rules of how to make decisions?
WPs ref to Bullshit is apt, but I think WP underestimates how incoherent most people are when asked to actually explain their beliefs and preferences. This works across the political spectrum, but folks in the fundamentalist-neo-con camp don't have any cultural incentive to self reflection, and so it's harder to cherry pick the "coherent" ones, because that sort of coherence does not, in general, matter to them.
Man in Coma for 23 years CONSCIOUS the entire time! (TYT)
The video of this case which is on the net is not consistent with the thesis that this man is actually conscious.
I think TYT just got punk'd.
Sixty Symbols Explain The Large Hadron Collider
Michael Moore Helps the NYPD Distinguish Wallets from Guns
An Accidental killing is still Manslaughter. No matter what color you are wearing at the time.
Are you suggesting that intentionally discharging a firearm at somebodies torso can be reasonably claimed to be an "accidental" cause of death?
Future from the Past -- 1993 AT&T "You Will" Ads
book scans Google books
civilian gps various
fax from beach wifi + web pdf->fax services (but who would want to?)
Electronic Toll Collection fasttrack,EZ-pass etc
ticket kiosk various
vid-phone i-chat, etc (and the near extinction of public phones)
voice lock not common
med card taiwan, etc
vid-confence i-chat, etc
movie on demand Tivo,Comcast,Hulu, etc
interactive online class Many Universities, MIT Open Courseware, etc
Unless they mean "we can sell you the DSL connection you will need for all of this" then, they clearly failed to deliver.
Palin Screws Her Stupid Fans
cash for clunkers programbook signing?Couple Arrested for Not Paying Tip
Edit: Check out the utter destruction on Yelp!
My favorite is This one, not exactly non-fiction, but I was LMFAHS.
Edit: the photos are pretty sweet too.
How To Appear More Attractive (Than You Are)
Take the last bit about how your partner is more attractive to you than they "actually" are. That's not true, my GF is as attractive to me as she is (to me). Perhaps other people don't find her as attractive, but that's fine with me, I only care how much she turns me on.
Homophobic Christian Whines About Getting Fired
While I do agree that being a dick should not be legally defensible as religious expression, it's unfortunately creates all sorts of gray areas. People can be offended by anything, and allowing employers to decide what public opinions their employees may hold is in direct conflict with the rights of citizens in a society which claims to value freedom of expression. I am content to have it either way, but it should be consistently applied, unfortunately nothing ever is.
The thing that strikes me about this guy is that he is a clear copy-cat of carrie prejean. The argument " you can't hold me responsible for what I say if I invoke god" was her MO, and all her worshipers have fed this absurd notion that claiming to be religious should be a free pass. I don't think anybody in that camp will get how ridiculous this guys whining is.
Undercover At Gun Shows - Exposing The Loophole
So if 30% of illegal guns are "connected" to gun shows...that tells me nothing...how about telling me what percentage of legal guns are "connected" to gun shows, that way I have a baseline.
These are legal transactions with a legal loophole, it's apparently easy enough to find blatantly illegal gun trafficers. I remember a TV news station in Los Angeles a couple of decades ago doing a story where it only took them a couple of days to find someone who would be willing to sell them fully auto submachine guns( illegal to own in that state) cash and carry out of the back of a van.
This country is saturated with guns, if a petty thief wanted one, a simple burglary could turn up a few, so I don't really see any point in this "oh no criminals have guns" hysteria. I would be seriously surprised if closing the legal loophole solved anything.
Homophobic Christian Whines About Getting Fired
Telling your boss s/he is an ignorant fool, or immoral can/does get people fired, just like union organizing gets people fired. There are laws against it because it happens, not because it doesn't.
I will say that as a Christian I am more offended by this guys ravings than anyone.
I'd be willing to wager that the lady who complained about his workplace expression of homophobia to HR and got him fired, who is having her right to marry denied because homophobes are willing to vote away other peoples right, is probably more offended than you are.
Homophobic Christian Whines About Getting Fired
DR. BRONNER'S MAGIC SOAPBOX
I buy 4 gallons of the stuff every year or so, I go with unscented to avoid the tingle. The only thing it's not good for is the dishwasher, but I use it for everything else.