jonathan_v

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• Commented on Reviews: Novation Launchpad, HTC Imagio, Dymo Cardscan, Moshi Voice Control Clock
  neat... a circus colored monome. sadly, the pricepoint is pretty sweet. i paid 550? for the v1 40h when it came out; i think they're either 500 or 600 now....
• Commented on Hope is fading
  McCain was always a weak centrist... and he pretty much proved himself decidedly not a centrist with the choice of Palin as a running mate....
• Commented on Advisor: What will happen if I clone my dog?
  what about the surrogates ? this sounds like it could be a sci-fi twist on an evil puppy mill...
• Commented on Demi claims missing hipflesh is for real. But $5,000 says it's Moore photoshopping.
  i think its just a weird posture , and there's an illusion caused by the angle / positioning. this is a 2d picture of a 3d environment, after all. BUT i don't think the twitpic is the original , it...
• Commented on The Lung Flute: A Sort of Gross (But Important) Medical Innovation
  re #18 here are the patents... http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6702769.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6984214.html my guess is that the prescription only thing probably has more to do with marketing than anything else. they can't market it as a medical device without FDA approval, and they probably...
• Commented on The Lung Flute: A Sort of Gross (But Important) Medical Innovation
  Maybe it'll be OTC in Canada ? I need one of these. I get awful bronchitis, this could save me....
• Commented on The decline of civilization symbolized in a modern light socket
  Those are there on purpose, and its not about being cheap - its about the manufacturer actually trying to help you and be responsible. People are generally sloppy and idiots, especially lackluster DIY folk and cheap contractors -- they end...
• Commented on Koalas may go extinct in 30 years
  At no time did I say that I hated Koalas. I like them a lot. The issue isn't about a species failing to adapt to a particular food source -- such as humans and grass. The issue that Koalas have...
• Commented on 117 SPM (Sneezes Per Minute)
  I don't find this funny at all. Actually I think its patronizing and pretty damn mean....
• Commented on Koalas may go extinct in 30 years
  i suppose the fact that their diet is only eucalyptus leaves, and their species has failed to adapt to eating anything else is to blame too....
• Commented on Richard Metzger on Ayn Rand
  " It’s fine to read stuff like that as a teenager, but when I crack open one of her books today, I shake my head in disbelief at how bombastic and horrible her writing is." I gotta say, that's pretty...
• Commented on An evening of confusion with Dell customer service
  I can't believe people are slamming the author on this. So what if she ordered the wrong part ? The Dell representatives were trying to upsell a $129 battery... and on commission. The right thing to do would have been...
• Commented on Is Sony legally required to make its games accessible to disabled people?
  I'm deeply troubled by the writer as well. The Sony issue is about trying to force a company to create new goods that appeal to a specific audience -- which would amount to The State or Citizenry forcing entities to...
• Commented on What MP3 player should I buy?
  As many folks have pointed out above, the iPod does have a crippling DRM anti-feature : you can only sync TO it ; you can't pull data back off it without using 3rd party applications. The other DRM features are...
• Commented on Electric chair haunted house prop
  What's really scary is the plaque you read before the electrocution -- about how the DA and Sheriff were pushed to convict /someone/ in a high profile case, and there wasn't much evidence but the guy confessed after a mixture...
• Commented on La-Z-Boy in drunk driving debacle headed for eBay, "Hell Yeah It's Fast" sticker included
  I thought the Police can only seize for auction vehicles used in a felony or drug related....
• Commented on 86-year-old WWII vet on gay marriage: "What do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?"
  This should be the new Unicorn Chaser....
• Commented on Saturday Morning Science Experiment: Meat Stick Blowtorch
  Just to reiterate the constant criticism of these things: Thermal lances burn ____ at a really high temperature to cut things. The ___ is usually iron. The only thing these experiments do is swap out the Iron nozzle , which...
• Commented on NYC's Data Mine: More like a data dump?
  Having looked through the program and data sets myself, I'm glad to agree its half assed and half brained. What pisses me off most, is that the NYC Campaign Finance Board data is not in there. You can get it...
• Commented on What's wrong with Search Engine Optimization
  I'll reiterate that paying for SEO is indeed stupid. To address points brought up above -- any company that builds a web project for you , should build one according to the basic SEO principles. If they request a separate...
• Commented on San Francisco police officer arresting skateboarder: "I'll break your arm like a fckng twig."
  It seems weird to me that it's "Illegal" to skateboard in San Francisco So I went online, and found a few things: San Francisco Skateboading Laws- 2003 http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_page.asp?id=18376 As crazy and abhorrent as this cop is, isn't it a bit...
• Commented on Navigation system uses crowdsourcing for route guidance
  check out the Bike version -- http://www.ridethecity.com/...
• Commented on Coffee-and-mad-science party video
  I think it needs a day or two to rest as well....
• Commented on Lawyers for TV überdouche Glenn Beck go after satirical website, saying the url itself is defamatory
  The site satirizes how Glenn Beck uses the "No Denial Means Guilt" argument, I think that puts "Unclean Hands" into play as a legal strategy....
• Commented on Kenyan blacksmiths make bellows from cement sacks
  i've spent about two months on lamu island. its amazing what the locals are able to build out of near nothing. what's also funny is that a lot of folks there cook on wood, coal, gas tanks.. and they build...
• Commented on Ashcroft may be held liable for those wrongfully detained after 9/11
  @MANOOSHI exactly! its a start, and its awesome that they're bringing this to light and getting some amount of legitimacy to it. it likely won't stick, but its great a first stop....
• Commented on Ashcroft may be held liable for those wrongfully detained after 9/11
  the 9th circuit is kind of a joke. i wouldn't say that the judges are "liberal activists", but they are... well, in the words of beyonce... "to the left , to the left" as such, they make a lot of...
• Commented on Consumerist sued by Cash4Gold after critical blog posts
  @DCULBERSON yeah, consumer reports bought consumerist last year...
• Commented on Parts Nebula: a parts-tracking inventory system for makers
  no flux capacitors. boo....
• Commented on Music downloading penalties are harsher than arson, theft, or starting a dogfighting ring
  I'd agree that the penalty is harsh, *but* the comparison is wrong. 1700 songs were downloaded, 24 were litigated on from 17 artists. This isn't like stealing *a* lawnmower, its like stealing 24 lawnmowers from 17 neighbors. Do I think...