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Comment: Re:Overreacting (Score 1) 384

They could have changed it for different countries, yes. Yet the thing people seem to kind of forget here is that it's more of a cutesy little game, not anywhere as fundamental as say one's gender designation on a social networking site. To me it seems like a massively overblown issue which might have warranted possibly an email to Nintendo asking them politely to maybe change this, or even humorously file it as a bug report. Shaming Nintendo into changing this isn't very mature or helpful in my eyes. Humour tends to be more effective in cases like this, leaving a more pleasant aftertaste, if you catch my drift :)

As for my electronics projects, I sadly don't have much/anything online about it as I only recently have begun to get some time to do anything with it again, especially after moving to Germany :) I got some FPGA dev kits and other assorted equipment trickling in over the coming weeks to do fun stuff with and hopefully not releasing any magical smoke. Stay tuned, basically.

Thanks for the interest at any rate :) I guess this kind of goes to show how my approach to making an important but unknown topic known works.

Comment: Re:Overreacting (Score 1) 384

Well, the sticking point here is that I don't think it's entirely fair to blame a Japanese company for publishing a game in which homosexual marriage is not possible when the very country they're operating from has made this thing illegal.

To me this seems more like a case of shooting the messenger when it's the Japanese government which should be seen as discriminatory and outdated with this position on marriage. To be honest I'm not sure whether it would be legal for Nintendo to publish this game in Japan if they had made homosexual marriage possible.

As for the further point of making more people aware of intersex, I'm definitely trying. Through media appearances (see my site for examples) and possibly in the future through some games I wish to develop and publish via my own software company or in cooperation with other studios/publishers. The last thing I want to do, however, is to antagonize or be seen as a complainer. Issues like this should be approached in a level-headed, rational manner to have the proper impact.

Just my opinion on the matter, of course :)

Comment: Re:Overreacting (Score 1) 384

Well, there are people in the game. Male and female. Yet there are also people who are neither male or female such as yours truly. Are we intersex people represented in this game or games in general? Movies? Media? No way.

Yet we're not complaining about most of society not even being aware or caring about our existence. Not too much at least. I'd definitely call the complaints about this Nintendo game asinine as there are countless other games where one could complain about in the same manner, but what it comes down to it in the end is that it is a choice by the creator of the game which one has to respect as an artistic choice unless it's obviously discriminatory (e.g. having anti-homosexual marriage messages in the game).

Comment: Imagine... (Score 1) 230

by Elledan (#46843659) Attached to: How Japan Plans To Build Orbital Solar Power Stations
Just imagine the massive nuclear power (fission and fusion) infrastructure (including reprocessing) one could construct for the cost of this project. No matter how one looks at it, this kind of space-based PV only gets attention because it seems so cool. In the end we can get a more reliable power infrastructure for less money simply by investing in what is a proven and known to be safe (though not idiot-proof, sadly) technology.

But hey, space. I'm sure it's far more cool and less controversial :)

Comment: Re:What's the difference? (Score 1) 462

by Elledan (#46247571) Attached to: Facebook Debuts New Gender Options, Pronoun Choices
When it comes to intersex case incidence there are no proper statistics, because nobody is keeping them. Normalization surgeries aren't kept track of as such either, and there are many types of intersex which are practically invisible until a much later age (such as CAIS and XXY).

At this point I think it'd be safe to use a number between 1:1,000 and 1:150, though. 1:25 is also used by some researchers, but it really depends on which conditions you include and which statistics for it you rely on.

Comment: Re:What's the difference? (Score 5, Interesting) 462

by Elledan (#46245915) Attached to: Facebook Debuts New Gender Options, Pronoun Choices
Ambiguous genitals can mean a lot of things. They can be just variations on what we often refer to as 'regular' genitals, as in female or male, with a gradual transition between these two extremes.

There's also hermaphroditism - a sub-set of intersex - whereby both types of genitals are partially or fully present. Basically put this means having both a penis and vagina as well as a certain selection of internal reproductive organs.

Coincidentally I'm also a hermaphrodite, and although I used to have both testicles and ovaries at the same time, I was born fully infertile without a womb. You can find more details about my situation on my (easy to find) site :)

As for how often it actually occurs, intersex as an umbrella term is something in the order of 1:1,000 to 1:150 individuals who are born with an intersex condition.

Comment: Over ten times a year here. (Score 1) 415

by Elledan (#45173257) Attached to: I typically visit a doctor (for medical reasons) ...
For the past nine years I have seen a medical professional for at least ten times a year. The reason is the condition I was born with (hermaphroditism, an intersex condition). That I had to see so many doctors was due to the Dutch physicians refusing to acknowledge this condition, whereas in Germany this was no problem and I will (hopefully) soon have a final reconstructive surgery.

After that last surgery I hopefully won't have to see a physician for the next decade...

Comment: Just another sign of TEPCO's incompetence... (Score 4, Interesting) 190

by Elledan (#45061589) Attached to: Fukushima Nuclear Worker Accidentally Toggles Off Cooling Pumps
This isn't another example of how precarious the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is, but one of how massive the incompetence of TEPCO is that they keep having 'incident' after 'incident'. Even long before Fukushima Daiichi TEPCO's safety record was beyond frightening.

That the Japanese government a) allows TEPCO to 'clean up' Fukushima and b) refuses any foreign help shows that the problem with Fukushima is and always has been a political one.

Comment: Re:"Full" Name (Score 1) 213

by Elledan (#44315837) Attached to: If I search online for my full name...
Depends on what you are going for. I am glad that I have a unique first/last name combination because a) it allowed me to register the .com domain for it and b) it makes it easy for people to find out more about my story and legal efforts against the Dutch medical system.

If you want to be anonymous, don't go on the internet or never use your real name there :)

Comment: Re:Nice troll... (Score 1) 532

by Elledan (#44068355) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Does LED Backlight PWM Drive You Crazy?
Yeah, timothy is the real troll here ;) Glad we can agree on CRTs being alright then.

I agree that CRT TVs most often have the whine. The occasional CRT monitor has it as well, but they're generally the cheap type of CRT you don't want to be using for any extended period of time as well. I happen to be very sensitive to HF noises. Generally I was the only one in the room who could hear the HF whine from said CRT monitor as well. Try explaining that one :P

Comment: Re:Nice troll... (Score 1) 532

by Elledan (#44068331) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Does LED Backlight PWM Drive You Crazy?
I'm not complaining too much about the IPS displays I have (Dell U2412M), just that I have to ignore the IPS glow I can just see in the corners when they're displaying a darker image. Beyond that they are almost perfect :)

As for electron calibration, I haven't done this myself, no, but I have disassembled enough CRTs to do it with a bit of guidance.

Comment: Re:Nice troll... (Score 1) 532

by Elledan (#44063569) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Does LED Backlight PWM Drive You Crazy?
My experience is with the quality CRTs I mentioned. Philips, Sun, SGI, IBM and Iiyama CRTs, at various dimensions and specifications. I'll give you bulky and heavy. The 21" Sun CRT nearly broke my back a few times while trying to move it.

Blurry image? Your electron guns are probably out of alignment or other alignment issues fixable through proper calibration. Power usage? Sorry, but the massive Sun CRT I mentioned did around 100 Watt, which is just as much as a professional level (like the Sun) LCD uses, like those from Eizo.

On the geometry issues... again, use the OSD controls or use calibration. Flicker is utter nonsense. It's true that below their recommended refresh rate the phosphor pixels will fade faster than they are refreshed, leading to an uncomfortable experience. Even at 75 Hz I never had any issues, nor 60 Hz for older (15") CRTs.

I'm using only LCDs now (IPS where possible), but I miss the perfect viewing angles (damn gamma shift/IPS glow...) and the insane refresh rates (true 120 Hz). Waiting for OLED displays to eradicate LCDs now :)
