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Comment: Re:But ... (Score 2) 846

by AnObfuscator (#40781171) Attached to: The World's First 3D-Printed Gun

Ultimately, of course, this is all just a bunch of people being brave in hindsight. We know that guns are effective at deterring normal crimes, however an insane shooter obviously offers a different problem. At some point a shooter is going to run up against an armed citizen, and then we'll find out for sure just how effective they will be. Hopefully that armed citizen is responsible and capable of using their weapon effectively and are not just carrying around a gun to feel safe.

There are many incidents where an armed victim defeats unarmed or armed criminals. Here is one school shooting that was stopped by armed students:

Unfortunately, the only incidents of pistols vs body armor + rifles ended poorly for the pistol users.

FWIW, I do believe guns can be, and are, legitimately useful in self defense; however, in the scenario of pistol vs body armor + rifle, the pistol user is at a very, very serious disadvantage that can only be overcome by a very high level of still and a good dash of luck.

Comment: Re:Non-metallic firearms have been around a while. (Score 1) 846

by AnObfuscator (#40780945) Attached to: The World's First 3D-Printed Gun

I don't know where you've got your info on firearms, but you are wildly inaccurate.

1. There are no ceramic parts in a Glock 17.

2. The Glock 17 is not called a "parabellum". The 9mmx19 round is often called "9mm parabellum" or "9mm luger", and the Glock 17 is chambered in "9mm parabellum". However, "parabellum" is not a common nickname for the Glock 17 itself.

3. Tenifer is a surface treatment to protect the steel from wear and corrosion. It has no effect of the compressibility of the steel as a whole. Please read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenifer

Comment: Re:Bomb strapped to a bomb? (Score 1) 160

by AnObfuscator (#40218577) Attached to: Boeing Hydrogen Powered Drone First Flight

While I don't know the exact composition of regular jet fuel, I'm pretty sure it is just as combustible as pure hydrogen if not more so.

Actually, when I was researching the hydrogen-powered design predecessor to the U2 (the Lockeed CL 400), I came across some Air Force tests on the combustibility of liquid hydrogen in spill tests, as a safety concern. It turned out that spilled liquid hydrogen was less combustible than kerosene, as the evaporating hydrogen dissipated too quickly to ignite.

Comment: Re:Nasty stuff (Score 2) 195

by AnObfuscator (#39523193) Attached to: Army Reviews Controversial Drug After Afghan Massacre

Comment: Re:Let's hope he gets extradited, he'll be better (Score 2, Insightful) 1047

by AnObfuscator (#38805289) Attached to: US Judge Rules Defendant Can Be Forced To Decrypt Hard Drive

As naive as it may sound, why not just do less illegal stuff?

Who says they are doing illegal stuff? The government's alleging it, but in the ordinary course of events, the 5th Amendment is supposed to protect us against being required to give evidence against ourselves. We are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Call me naive, but I fail to see the problem with warranted searches. The 5th Amendment doesn't protect us from discovery. You can't physically prevent an officer with a warrant from searching your house. If you have a safe, and the police have a warrant, you *must* give them the key or face obstruction of justice. I fail to see the problem with that, or with being required to give the key to your virtual safe.

Comment: Re:OT: expansion on the thought (Score 1) 417

by AnObfuscator (#36716974) Attached to: DisplayPort-To-HDMI Cables May Be Recalled Over Licensing

As annoying as that is, at least I understand the commercial desire to maximize profit.

Actually, they are minimizing profit. These cables are already licensed. The HDMI org have decided this cable does not meet its specifications, and is revoking the license. They are losing the licensing revenue they would otherwise gain from the sale of these cables.

Comment: Re:arg (Score 4, Informative) 151

by AnObfuscator (#36639382) Attached to: Airplanes Cause Accidental Cloud Seeding

If it was about contrails, most of you guys would still be wrong. Contrails aren't caused by the turbines, they're caused by the air passing the wingtips of the aircraft. If you want to learn more, there's wikipedia for that.

Ironic, considering the tone of your post, but I actually *did* look up (and read) the contrails article on Wikipedia, and you are in fact very wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Contrail&oldid=436631379

Contrails (play /kntrelz/; short for "condensation trails") or vapour trails are artificial clouds that are the visible trails of condensed water vapour made by the exhaust of aircraft engines. As the hot exhaust gases cool in the surrounding air they may precipitate a cloud of microscopic water droplets. If the air is cold enough, this trail will be comprised of tiny ice crystals.[1]

The wingtip vortices which trail from the wingtips and wing flaps of aircraft are sometimes partly visible due to condensation in the cores of the vortices. Each vortex is a mass of spinning air and the air pressure at the centre of the vortex is very low. These wingtip vortices are not the same as contrails.

Comment: Re:Forget chocolate rain (Score 2, Insightful) 324

by AnObfuscator (#33595992) Attached to: Police Publish 'An Introduction To PEDO BEAR'

Check out the dangers of playing in sprinklers.

How uneducated can you get?

Very, but they still get to vote. Three guesses as to which way "they" lean.

Hmmm.... I'm guessing the opposite of the way you lean?

Seriously, I want to laugh (and I do) but this (TFA and the sprinkler idiot) is troubling. Not just because these cops are stupid, but because it reflects a general failure of critical thinking across our society. The intellectual capacity required for a reasonable skepticism seems to be escaping a larger and larger swath of the populace, a swath which apparently now takes in those in important public safety roles. We're doomed.

Have you read up on some history recently? Witch burnings. Inquisitions. Holy wars. Mccarthyism. Geocentrism. Racism. Slavery. Feudalism. These aren't exactly a new phenomenon. To be honest, we're probably better off now than we've ever been before, and we've made it this far. I'm not terribly worried.

Comment: Re:Its All About Power and Money (Score 1) 807

by AnObfuscator (#31247780) Attached to: Debunking a Climate-Change Skeptic

There is some very interesting research that indicates even the tens of thousands of years of farming prior to the industrial revolution may have altered global climate significantly enough to be detected.

Interesting, I have not heard of this. I'm not denying your claim, I'd genuinely like to see this research. Could you point me to some sources (or at least relevant search terms)?

Comment: Re:Design patterns (Score 1) 396

by AnObfuscator (#31202988) Attached to: What Knowledge Gaps Do Self-Taught Programmers Generally Have?


This has been my experience as well. Finally, a good friend of mine handed me the "gang of four" design patterns text, and it has been invaluable, both in coding and in interviewing. :) http://www.amazon.com/Design-Patterns-Elements-Reusable-Object-Oriented/dp/0201633612


Dying Man Shares Unseen Challenger Video 266

Posted by Soulskill
