* Posts by DrD'eath

30 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Aug 2015

One click and you're out: UK makes it an offence to view terrorist propaganda even once

DrD'eath

Chemistry

Many of the older chemistry textbooks contain a lot of useful information. The problem is it is useful to good guys and bad guys, for example nitroglycerin is both a medicine and explosive.

The bill does contain a clause exempting journalists and academic research.

Which scientist should be on the new £50 note? El Reg weighs in – and you should vote, too

DrD'eath

I nominate Peter Mitchell

Genius and maverick, Peter Mitchell. His work was remarkable and revolutionary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_D._Mitchell

No, eight characters, some capital letters and numbers is not a good password policy

DrD'eath

Re: Password security check

Alister, (or should I say John T.) Of course it is Sw0rdf15h!m it's always Sw0rdf15h!.

DrD'eath

Password security check

If anyone has concerns that their password may not be complex enough to be secure, send it to me for a full in depth analysis.

Brit healthcare system inks Windows 10 install pact with Microsoft

DrD'eath

Re: More complicated than that

It does indeed involve a process of planning and testing, I think we are all aware of that. The question do you think that has been done over the last twenty years in the NHS. Do you think when they purchased equipment they have been ensuring future OS compatability, and taking on contracts for ongoing support. I have my doubts.

DrD'eath
Mushroom

More complicated than that

Upgrading the OS on all the office machines is one thing, but the NHS has a lot of specialist equipment, some old some new. Will the software for the MRI run on win10, if yes, is that true for every MRI machine. Putting those out of action for a few days is serious. Now multiply that by hundreds of different bits of kit, all critical. What could possibly go wrong.

Planned European death ray may not need Brit boffinry brain-picking

DrD'eath

Aircraft carrier

One of you clever types will know. How long would the new EU laser take to put a hole in the side of, for example, an aircraft carrier.

There is no perceived IT generation gap: Young people really are thick

DrD'eath

Forget until next time

It is my perception that younger people, who have grown up with the ubiquitous use of computers and smartphones, and particularly the advent of Google and Wikipedia, make no effort to retain such things, as they can just go and look them up when needed, and then forget them again until next time.

To an extent that is what I have learned to do over 30 years of being a scientist. Schools used to over emphasize rote learning, over understanding basic principals. I don't remember the pharmacology over every drug, I know where to look up the information.

Unlearning the idea that memorization equaled thinking took quite a while.

Machines learned to assemble IKEA’s semi-disposable furniture

DrD'eath

Re: Real men?

I would give you an up vote, but naturally, a real man would not give a toss about up votes.

UK.gov expected to quit controversial harvesting of schoolchildren's nationality data

DrD'eath

1 out of 4 ain't bad

One of your statements was correct, have a down vote.

Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte creating app to register 3m EU nationals living in Brexit Britain

DrD'eath

65 million EU national in the uk

While in the EU we are all EU nationals (I wish to stay that way). If the app is launched before brexit, all EU nationals should download it.

My Tibetan digital detox lasted one morning, how about yours?

DrD'eath

Re: Facetimers

^This! More so when they hold it horizontally like the vapid, fame-seeking, bollocks-spouting idots on The Apprentice.

This deserves so many more up votes.

But I need to know, why do they hold it horizontally? It makes no sense.

RIP Ursula K Le Guin: The wizard of Earthsea

DrD'eath

Omelas

I think omelas is one of the best short stories ever written. It is not subtle in its message; I read it as a callow youth and it forever changed how I look at the world. If ever a writer forced the reader to look at themself, this was it for me.

Blighty flogs Qatar a bunch of missiles and Typhoon fighter jets

DrD'eath

Summary

In summation. Apart from the catapult launch, which we don't have, would make the airframe bendy. The rope grabbing stopping system would pull the back end off, and the salt water would make it go rusty, the typhoon is a fine choice.

DrD'eath

Good answers

As they make a navalised typhoon I assumed it was suitable for aircraft carriers. http://defense-update.com/20110210_naval_typhoon.html

I'm not being sarky, I actually learn something from the comments.

DrD'eath

We build and sell the typhoon, but have built an aircraft carrier unsuitable for them and have to buy USA aircaft for it. There complexities and subtleties here that are beyond my comprehension.

UK.gov not quite done with e-cigs, announces launch of new inquiry

DrD'eath

What if vapining is good for you

It may be that vaping prevents Parkinson's without the death side effect of smoking

https://translationalneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40035-017-0090-8

Programming in the Middle Ages: Docker makes a lovely pair of trousers

DrD'eath

Comma, please

"Siri, Alexa, and Cortana." Not "Siri, Alexa and Cortana." Alexa and Cortana are rivals, not a couple.

Jodie Who-ttaker? The Doctor is in

DrD'eath

Was the Dr ever male or female?

Given that the Doctor is not human, and as far as I know Dr Who has never explored sex determination in the series, or its phenotypic expression. Was the Doctor ever male or female as we would define it, maybe on Gallifrey they have multiple sexes, or none.

US cops seek Amazon Echo data for murder inquiry

DrD'eath

Next Tory Christmas present

If they had the investigatory powers act

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigatory_Powers_Act_2016

They would not have to go through the tedious legal system.

I predict that next year Thersa May will give everyone an Amazon echo for Christmas.

The developer died 14 years ago, here's a print out of his source code

DrD'eath

Re: Huh?

I have. When I was in Denver I bailed on a conference and caught a train up through the mountains to a small town called Grimsby. A brilliant day out. Generally i have found Trains in the US to be really good, but maybe my expectations were based on the old 1980's BR

VC vampire: Peter Thiel wants to live forever

DrD'eath

Re: Damned with faint praise

"Not demonstrably wrong" is a cornerstone of science, theories are only ever tentative, and can be accepted until proven wrong. This is Popper's concept of falsifiability.

Transfusion of blood from young mice to old mice seems to have a positive effect, http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/05/young-blood-renews-old-mice

So the old and rich wanting blood from the young is icky but not unreasonable. Though the idea of the old, rich and powerful living forever, sustained by the blood of the young and poor......time for the villagers to grab pitchforks and torches

Are EU having a laugh? Europe passes hopeless cyber-commerce rules

DrD'eath

Re: creating a website that will attempt to list all those rates

Quite right, don't want any of that US gang culture, stick to good old British gang culture, football hooligans and skinheads.

I am British and a naturalized American citizen, and yes there is a lot a bad US TV, but also a lot a good quality stuff, same as the UK. But I think the main reason we get more TV in the UK from the USA compared to what we get from Europe is that it is in English. If we actually taught children foreign languages at an age when then can more easily learn them then there would be more of a market for European TV.

Boffins urged to publish in free journals by science sugardaddy

DrD'eath

Sci-hub

I thought all journal were open access

Met Police wants to keep billions of number plate scans after cutoff date

DrD'eath

Re: Prediction

Just as important to remove evidence

http://biogenfutur.es

As it is to make sure the 'right' DNA is found.

http://www.worldcat.org/title/detection-and-characterisation-of-forensic-dna-profiles-manipulated-by-the-addition-of-pcr-amplicons/oclc/816391905

Cisco's purple princesses gush workplace joy

DrD'eath

Re: They're being duped

I am not the only be to think of Gabrielle Drake then.

FBI, US g-men tried to snatch DNA results from blood-testing biz. What a time to be alive

DrD'eath

Some interesting reading

http://biogenfutur.es

DNA fingerprinting is not so reliable

Beard transplants up 600% for men 'lacking length elsewhere'

DrD'eath

So where do they transplant hair from?

Enjoy vaping while you still can, warns Public Health England

DrD'eath

Re: nonsense..

http://www.fraserinstitute.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=15763

Passive smoke. The EPA's betrayal of science and policy

DrD'eath

Re: nonsense..

Citation please