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Comment Um. No. (Score 1) 1

First off, that's not even an article about Internet infrastructure, it's an article about open source software.

Second off, when you use open source software, you own the copies you're using. That's the whole point. If it breaks and the original author isn't around, you hire someone to fix it or replace it with different software. That's how it works. And all of the software licenses deemed open source are structured to make it continue to work that way, with or without the original authors.

Comment Re:I have 10 implants and I never had that problem (Score 1) 42

But, you eventually will. Trust me, you will. Time catches up to all.

Best option is to write them down and put them in a bank vault, or similarly secure location. And include the bank identity in your will, which you entrust to a respected legal firm. Make sure that the bank knows what to do with the contents of the safe deposit box if they go belly-up.

Comment Useless without knowing what the passwords protect (Score 1) 97

This information is useless without knowing what the passwords were chosen to protect.

Let's face it: the password to my netflix account is not very important to me. If it's hacked I suffer a minor inconvenience at worst. What would be inconvenient for me would be if netflix forced me to do 2FA or some other complicated thing in order to use their service. That inconvenience would drive me toward cancellation.

The password to my bank account IS very important to me. I picked a much better one there. And of course the password to my primary email box is critical, so I chose a careful password there.

Comment Re:Is arithmetic that hard? (Score 1) 186

I see all the comments of people putting coins in jars and this is on a tech board where I expect most people to be reasonably good at arithmetic. Or is the problem that you don't have a reliable place to keep the coins?

I seldom have more than five pennies or three quarters on me at any given time because I deliberately pay out whatever it takes to get the next denomination. If price is $1.24 and I don't have exact change, I could pay $1.25 that means another penny in my wallet but if I pay $1.29, those four pennies in my wallet become one nickel. Later, I might toss that nickel at a transaction to get a single quarter back instead of two dimes. And I never pull out a $1 bill if I have four quarters.

The math is not that difficult though I do understand that it depends on me being able to keep my coins together and too many wallets have no useful coin purse.

And there are countries in Europe where if you do NOT do that sort of minimalist transaction arithmetic, you are given such a serious stink eye by the cashier that you think twice about going back again.

I jest ... but only a little.

Comment Re:Interesting (Score 1) 48

There are plenty of places that will take your exposed film, develop, and scan and/or print for you, by mail, or in-person, at least around here. If there's a Hunt's Photo near you, they do a great job.

If you only want digital photos printed, then there are many, many places that will print pro-grade photos for cheap, and the results will be a damn sight better than what you get at the local drug store.

Comment Re:Average track position (Score 1) 43

Instead of just the average track error (the dotted black line), I'd be interested in the error of the average track position. In other words, get the track position at each timestamp for all models, average that, then determine the error.

You're describing the consensus models, and they are better than any individual model, at least thus far.

Comment Re:Let kids play in the dirt (Score 1) 89

There have been many studies at this point showing that exposure to dirt, dust, and dander early in childhood results in low rates of asthma. I'm personally fondest of the one a friend of mine (Hi Dubes!) worked on in Papua New Guinea where they found the westernization of formerly isolated cultures where dirt floors are replaced by cement results in an increase in asthma.

I recall recently hearing of a study where it was determined that when an infant's pacifier falls on the ground, and the parent cleans it by putting it in their own mouth first before returning it to the child, the children end up with substantially stronger immune systems than if the pacifier is cleaned more vigorously.

As with many aspects of developmental biology, we are born with scaffolding that needs to be trained in order to function properly. A lack of that training leads to disease. So, yes, let your kids play in the dirt.

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