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Comment I have webcast several funerals (Score 1) 70

The first one was for my brother-in-law, who died of ALS. He was very close to one of his nieces, but she was in the Army in Germany, and they didn't consider the relationship close enough for leave. So she watched my webcast via Ustream. The interesting thing is that Ustream stores the webcast, and it has been watched more than 200 times. I suspect most of those views were my sister - and why not? Here is a recording of their family and friends talking about how much they loved the man she lost. In another case, a friend's husband died of a massive stroke. His wife and kids were in the Midwest, but his mom and the rest of his family was back east, and his mother was too old and ill to travel, so she watched the webcast.

Comment Re:Just goes to prove that is you have enough mone (Score 1) 97

You can do anything. As a builder and avid pilot of quad, hex, and octocopters I find this a little unfair. Myself, along with many others that I know have been strongly warned if not shut down for flying RC copters for commercial reasons. Yes, I too have a gyro stabilized gimbal to carry camera gear, but I am by no means an amateur or hobbyist. I have pre-flight checklists, first person video cameras to see where it is going at all times, backup batteries and flight gear, and have read and understand all of the rules and regulations. So what makes them so special? Permission from the landowner is one thing, I have done that many times, but still get C&D's. For the golf channel to be publicizing this is just a smack in the face to the rest of us who were early on the scene and tried to make a business out of it.

I think the question is this:

Can you get the FAA commissioner a tee time at Pebble Beach?

Comment Re:LOL (Score 1) 555

Kansas City should be the next Silicon Valley. Google Fiber could support it.

Why not? Kansas City is a cheap place to live, reasonably cosmopolitan. You just have to find an area where Google Fiber is going to be installed. Who says you have to be in California to code?/p?

Comment Re:Go to Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop... (Score 1) 629

Here's the type I'm talking about. They have smaller and slicker models, including some that are in-ear sized. The goal of a "hunter's aid" is to block overly loud noises and boost sounds in the range of human speech - which is exactly what 90% of age-related hearing loss needs. Here's one that fits in your ear and costs $75! You could visit a store and try half a dozen different models and very likely find one that will do the job she needs done. There is a small possibility that she really needs the customization that a licensed audiologist only can provide, and really needs a $4000 pair. But it's worth visiting the sporting goods store first and making sure.

Comment Re:Go to Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop... (Score 2) 629

...and buy a pair of "Hunter's ears". If her loss is broadband, and doesn't require special tuning, the bog standard hunter's hearing assistance device will do what she needs for less than $200 an ear. Mead Killion, the audiologist who started Etymotic Research has written about this problem and has compared off-the-shelf "hunter's ears" with leading hearing aids and, in some circumstances, the hunter's ear was better. As well as a tenth the price. Here's an article from the Wall Street Journal about it.

Forgot to log in before I posted this. May as well use my karma for something.

Comment Not the only Spaniard who helped (Score 5, Interesting) 67

Actually, a different Spaniard may have had more to do with breaking the German codes.

Joan Pujol Garcia was a Catalan double agent known to the Germans as Arabel and to the British as Garbo. He became so trusted by the Germans that they gave him their current codes (though not an Enigma machine). He would encrypt his reports, transmit them by radio to Madrid, where they would be re-encrypted and sent on to Berlin. Thus he was able to supply Bletchley with both a current code and the plaintext.

For his services to the Allies, he was awarded an MBE by King George VI.

For his services to the Third Reich, he was awarded the Iron Cross by Hitler.

He was a vital part of Operation Fortitude and convinced the Nazis that the Normandy invasion was a dirversion. He may well have been the greatest bullshit artist who ever lived.

Comment Re:Kinda pointless? (Score 1) 240

I'm in Kansas City, and I can't wait! Gigabit down is wonderful and everything, but the part that sound wonderful is gigabit UP!

I'm currently on Everest/Surewest which sucks less than Time-Warner, but it still sucks. Uploading a 3 minute HD clip to YouTube takes a fricken hour currently.

Comment Re:Potential (Score 1) 77

As the grafting process becomes more seamless, I wonder if it might be put to other uses, like tattoo removal. Or even applying tattoos.

That is exactly what I was thinking, that, in a few years time this is going to be the growth business of all time and all those tattooed kiddies hit 30 and try to get real jobs, instead of working at Starbucks or Kinkos.

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