Disqus - Latest Comments for nathanroberts

Re: Help the EFF save podcasting from a patent troll

nathanroberts — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:52:51 -0000

So they're claiming a patent on the combination of RSS and MP3?

Re: HOWTO build a working digital computer out of paperclips (and stuff)

nathanroberts — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:09:24 -0000

[Obligatory comment about building a computer out of stone knives and bearskins]

Re: French spies demand removal of a Wikipedia entry, threaten random Wikipedia admin in France when they don't get their way

nathanroberts — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:15:50 -0000

So now that the article has been reposted, has the volunteer been called back into the DCRI offices to delete it again? Will they keep dragging him back every time it inevitably gets reposted?

Re: Consensual kidnapping service, inspired by The Game

nathanroberts — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 18:35:42 -0000

I'm just going to point out the truly alarming thing in the article:

some clients forgo a safe word

Re: DRM Chair

nathanroberts — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:39:04 -0000

Pretty redundant, innit? Consumer products these days are so shoddily made they fall apart after about 5 uses anyway.

Re: Cops raid free poker tournament

nathanroberts — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:58:30 -0000

In fact, the offense of keeping a gambling house is defined as, among other things, letting people use a place "to play for money or other valuable thing at any game whatever, whether heretofore prohibited or not."

If they ever film an episode of Jeopardy in the state of Florida, Alex Trebek will end up in jail.

Re: XKCD's 14-foot-wide CLICK AND DRAG map

nathanroberts — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:57:05 -0000

I searched and searched through the world looking for the Minecraft gag that I knew had to be there. And sure enough, it was. Exactly how I imagined it, even.

I must say that the zoomable version is far superior, even if you don't use the zoom, if for no other reason than being able to navigate with the keyboard.

Re: Leaked video from Romney fundraiser: Half of US voters expect free “health care, food, housing, you name it” (updated)

nathanroberts — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:37:16 -0000

Not to mention, many of those people who "don't pay *federal* *income* tax", make up for it in payroll, state and local taxes.

Re: Berners-Lee says no off switch for Internet, photo proves he's wrong

nathanroberts — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:56:11 -0000

For some reason, this reminds me of the Magic Switch Story

Re: From XKCD, a swell turn of phrase

nathanroberts — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:31:14 -0000

Sometimes I want to microwave something for 10 minutes.

I key it in as 9:60.

Re: Steven Moffat says the 12th Doctor on Doctor Who really could totally be a woman (maybe)

nathanroberts — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:27:01 -0000

Or, as one person put it, "This Blake's 7 episode has more Doctor Who actors than a Doctor Who episode"

Re: School demands that boy must change his name from Hunter because it violates its weapons policy

nathanroberts — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:16:44 -0000

I see what you did there.

Re: Father performs "Let it Be" to raise funds for his 11-month-old's cancer bills

nathanroberts — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:17:41 -0000

In this instance, it's very much fear-based decisions. Listen to any debate about the ACA lately. The most common arguments against are that it will raise the cost of their insurance, or lower the quality of care, or even prevent then from getting healthcare entirely.

Nevermind the effect on their taxes -- people are being told that universal health care will cost them the level of care they've come to expect, meager as it is. And since their access to healthcare is so precarious to begin with, they tend to believe it.

Re: Inspiration sucks

nathanroberts — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 02:58:26 -0000

But without inspiration, what do you write? How do you write when you have nothing to say?

Re: Video: San Diego fireworks accidentally went off all at once

nathanroberts — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 16:48:05 -0000

I thought that was just a stray car alarm. (Set off by the vibrations of an entire barge of fireworks going off all at once no doubt)

Re: Video: San Diego fireworks accidentally went off all at once

nathanroberts — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 16:42:03 -0000

That actually sounds fairly similar to the (supposed) origin of Murphy's Law. An experiment involving a series of force sensors returned no data; as it turns out, every single sensor had been systematically wired backwards.

Re: New Kansas abortion bill lets doctors lie to patients, withhold cancer treatment

nathanroberts — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:32:02 -0000

I'm more concerned about the provisions allowing (or even forcing) doctors to lie to their patients. That sounds like a fairly clear violation of medical ethics, in whatever form they come in.

Re: New Kansas abortion bill lets doctors lie to patients, withhold cancer treatment

nathanroberts — Sun, 06 May 2012 13:33:39 -0000

Hippocratic Oath? What Hippocratic Oath?

Re: Meat Glue

nathanroberts — Wed, 02 May 2012 05:13:19 -0000

Bah. I'm so amateur I'm downright professional at it. I prefer ground beef to steak.

Re: Teen survivors of American religious brainwashing camps speak

nathanroberts — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:27:15 -0000

Paging the Occupy Movement. Your presence is needed at Horizon Academy.

Re: Sorry, you can't buy our time from shifty startup Allthis

nathanroberts — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:29:09 -0000

Where I come from there's a word for this.

That word is "fraud".

Re: Kidnapper sues victims who escaped for breach of contract

nathanroberts — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:50:26 -0000

Further proof that you can sue absolutely anyone over absolutely anything. (Even if it gets laughed out of court in the first five minutes)

Re: Comics legend and crusading lawyer Bill Mantlo now brain-injured and warehoused in Queens

nathanroberts — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:36:46 -0000

Mantlo's insurer, Cigna, rode his family hard, pushing to get him moved out of top-flight rehab institutes (where he'd been making progress, even writing) and into a cheap warehousing facility for seniors and head-injury cases.

This is what Sarah Palin was referring to when she was talking about "death panels", although she herself didn't realize it.

Re: Jennifer Daniel's art based on Playboy centerfolds who have died

nathanroberts — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 02:28:17 -0000

To me, the most striking feature of this work, is that no names are given; just statistics. As if there weren't actual people behind the smiles.

Re: The Wage Slave's Glossary: exclusive preview

nathanroberts — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:32:06 -0000

The entry for "downtime" paints an unrealistically rosy picture of how our employers see their employees. It contends that they work us like machines. We should be so lucky.

In fact, we're treated worse than machines. If a machine fails to perform due to being pushed beyond its capability, few will blame the machine. Whereas humans are expected to be able to perform, no matter how much work you dump on them.