cmpalmer

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• Commented on Thoughts for Polanski apologists, by another woman raped at 13.
  @FALIX #112 So NFL football fans were treated unfairly because Michael Vick had to take a break from playing football to serve time for dog fighting? The mind boggles....
• Commented on Thoughts for Polanski apologists, by another woman raped at 13.
  The Spectator article has a *great* comment that is very appropriate for this crowd if I may requote it (it is from Stephen Fox): "If you sympathise with Polanski, try imagining that the admitted rapist and paedophile is an American...
• Commented on Thoughts for Polanski apologists, by another woman raped at 13.
  @Cognitive Dissonance Excellent summary @Ugly Canuck Great, once again we have the Bush equivalent of Godwin's Law. "Why are we talking about a child-rapist when Bush was so evil?"...
• Commented on Trotsky: the graphic biography
  @Antinous #16 No matter what political beliefs spawned it or how flippantly the comment was made, are you seriously comparing Bush's (1st and 2nd) abuses of power as president with Stalin? Even if something thinks it's just a matter of...
• Commented on Money for Nothing: One Man's Journey through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions
  Regarding the "Bud" Post story of the guy who won $16.7 million and died in debt. An adult with that kind of financial history with $3 to his name who pawns a ring to buy lottery tickets *probably* isn't going...
• Commented on Boneshaker: Cherie Priest's swashbuckling steampunk Seattle story
  Oh, I'm sure I'll buy the physical book (after all I have thousands of them), but I'm sitting here at work and an ebook version is a couple of clicks away rather than a drive to the bookstore. Great for...
• Commented on Jokes Cracked by Lord Aberdeen
  Reminds me of a story I read somewhere. An American was talking to a French person. The French person asked if the Americans told insulting jokes about how stupid some other nationality's people where, "Like we tell jokes about how...
• Commented on Boneshaker: Cherie Priest's swashbuckling steampunk Seattle story
  Most Amazon books that aren't available for Kindle have a "Click here to tell the publisher you'd like to read this book on your Kindle", but I guess that's an opt-out/in kinda thing, because the Amazon page doesn't have it...
• Commented on Indiana prosecutor says she's duty bound to prosecute grandma who bought cold medicine
  Hardly a week goes by where I live that I don't hear about a meth manufacturing bust or an exploding house trailer somewhere. Does the stupid law affect this? Not that I can tell. When I buy pseudoephedrine containing products...
• Commented on Teacher asks YA author if virtual visit can take place "with us being able to see you, but you not being able to see us"
  I also should have mentioned that it would have been a moot point at the school my wife teaches at and the ones my kids attended - there is no way Skype would have been allowed on any of their...
• Commented on Teacher asks YA author if virtual visit can take place "with us being able to see you, but you not being able to see us"
  The point isn't that the teacher was wrong, or even that the rule is wrong in certain contexts (reporters taping on campus, etc.). The problem is that all encompassing, zero-tolerance rules make people's brains turn off. No knives at school?...
• Commented on Student kills burglary suspect with Samurai sword
  Since we're talking hypotheticals, here is my personal take. If I caught a thief climbing out of my window with my laptop or other valuable, I certainly wouldn't shoot him or attack him with a sword. Depending on how big/crazy...
• Commented on New book on conspiracies and Shermer's skeptical take on the topic
  The easiest way to prove that government conspiracies (on the order of Roswell or Kennedy or fake moon landings or 9/11) are untenable is to work for, or closely with, a government agency. After working for several years on various...
• Commented on Scott Westerfeld's ass-kicking, bestselling YA novel UGLIES as a free, DRM-free download
  This is a great series and it wasn't at all what I would have expected from reading the cover blurb. In fact, I wouldn't even have picked it up if I hadn't read so many good reviews of it -...
• Commented on Amsterdam: O'Reilly Factor vs. reality
  #13, I always wondered about the cultivation laws and why there was such an obvious loophole. I didn't know about it until I read Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan....
• Commented on Amsterdam: O'Reilly Factor vs. reality
  I was in the Netherlands many years ago (over 10) and not in Amsterdam, but in Nijmegan. A local was showing us around the city one night and he turned to take a shortcut down a very dark winding alley....
• Commented on Great Ad, seen in Popular Science October 1976
  I bought the laser plans and the robot plans (and the catalog). I was an 8-10 year old with a bit of disposable income... The "laser" plan was, IIRC, how to construct gun body with a flashlight, red filter, and...
• Commented on God Hates the World, by Westboro Baptist Church
  @MIKEYHAMMOND, I'll have to admit there is a noticeable lack of lightning bolts and other forms of divine smiting of these folks. I think even Christian folks wouldn't mind seeing some Old Testament wrath brought down on them....
• Commented on Why No Famous Scientists or Engineers?
  Several years ago, Discover Magazine had a cover story about Mike Brown (you know, they guy responsible for Pluto not being a planet anymore because he kept discovering new almost-planets). I don't think his picture was the cover, but it...
• Commented on CARDIAC paper computer emulator
  Check out the PDF of the original manual for a amazingly sexist flowchart on fixing a flat tire... | Yes |...
• Commented on A Map the Size of the World
  I loved the video and found a related Borges video on YouTube that I liked as well. I've read most all of his work in translation, but this was the first time I've heard his voice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo2Eo-G-1sE&NR=1...
• Commented on Dale Dougherty: Sharks and Daemons
  I thought Daemon was great and relatively unputdownable. There were some rough spots in the prose and a maybe a few other problems, but being boring wasn't one of them (to me at least). As other reviews of the book...
• Commented on Joel Stein: "Nut allergies -- a Yuppie invention"
  FWIW, I awoke in the middle of the night once with my face swollen and my throat closed up so that I could just barely breathe. By the time I got to the hospital it had subsided. The doctor thought...
• Commented on Obama Selects Nobel Prize Winning Nerd for Energy Chief
  Great choice in my opinion and I definitely second nominating Michael Pollan for Secretary of Agriculture....
• Commented on Directly downwind faster than the wind - part 3
  Personally I'm beginning to think it has something to do with the enigma about being able to suck a strand of spaghetti into your mouth, but not being able to blow it out....
• Commented on Directly downwind faster than the wind - part 3
  @SHMERKER (#60) That is the only explanation that makes any sense. I'm still not sure if it works or is real, but you've had the most succinct description of it so far....
• Commented on Directly downwind faster than the wind - part 3
  Can Spork33 or whoever from the other discussion at least chime in and confirm that this drawing is completely backwards? If the drawing is correct and that is the kind of machine they're claiming, it's obviously BS. However, I don't...
• Commented on Downwind faster than the wind, part 2
  @ThinAirDesigns (#268): Regarding my notes on the RC/anemometer equipped cart. As long as the wind is blowing faster that the cart, you could use a wind vane on the vehicle to automate the steering. When the wind speed drops below...
• Commented on Downwind faster than the wind, part 2
  I'm pretty sure no one will read this comment unless they start from the bottom, but... I'm not sure if I believe the entire theory behind what is happening in the video or not, but here is my proposal for...
• Commented on XKCD strip explains how DRM creates piracy
  I like the convenience of iTunes and I do look from the non-DRM'ed tracks whenever possible. In fact, about a year ago, I said that I wouldn't ever buy another physical CD unless I was really desperate. After all, even...