Daniel Brenton 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: DailyDirt: Going To Mars

    Daniel Brenton ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2013 @ 12:19pm

    Re: Re: DailyDirt - Going To Mars

    Everyone, thanks for the "last word" props. Appreciate it.

  • On the post: DailyDirt: Going To Mars

    Daniel Brenton ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2013 @ 05:52pm

    Re: DailyDirt - Going To Mars

    I've been seeing these big, over-the-top ideas of sending people to Mars "one way" to settle there, and now the Inspiration Mars venture, and I'm actually sort of glad we didn't lunge straight into a Mars effort after Project Apollo.

    Having our astronauts and cosmonauts spend these endurance flights in space over the last 25 years has taught us a tremendous amount about how the human body reacts to weightlessness. One of the latest findings in space medicine is that the eyes are effected by long-term weightlessness, which naturally would be a deal-breaker for long-term exploration.

    We have some huge engineering challenges to face (for instance, entry and landing on Mars with vehicles large enough to return to orbit is extremely complicated, because of how thin the Martian atmosphere is, or for that matter effectively dealing with solar radiation for the duration, be it with very heavy shielding or some other strategy).

    Going straight to Mars after Apollo would have been a mistake, as much as I would have wanted to see it when I was a kid.

    -- Daniel

  • On the post: Attendee At Batman Shooting Plans To Sue Warner Bros For Making Batman Too Violent

    Daniel Brenton ( profile ), 24 Jul, 2012 @ 12:37pm

    Facepalm

    I'll take "The Personal Abdication of Responsibility" for 500, Alex.

    (Why doesn't the idiot just sue God?)

  • On the post: Is The Six Strikes Plan Being Delayed Because ISPs Are Pushing Back Against Hollywood Demands?

    Daniel Brenton ( profile ), 13 Jul, 2012 @ 09:00pm

    What are the ISPs getting out of this?

    I do wonder anyone know what the ISP's are getting out of this? If its not something great I'm not sure why they are agreeing.


    I'm wondering this myself. It's understandable with Comcast as mentioned above, but I wonder if there's some kind of leverage that isn't obvious for the others -- some kind of implied threat of significant regulatory consequences for not "playing along," or some such. The MPAA and RIAA influence a lot of folks in D.C., and obviously there's no need to editorialize about that little problem here.

  • On the post: Is The Six Strikes Plan Being Delayed Because ISPs Are Pushing Back Against Hollywood Demands?

    Daniel Brenton ( profile ), 13 Jul, 2012 @ 07:28pm

    Re: Six (Five) Strikes

    Mike, and all --

    I'm currently tied to Verizon as my wireless internet provider (I don't have a land line) and I've had several occasions recently to speak to a customer service representative or supervisor. Whenever I think about it, I'll ask what they know about the implementation of the Six Strikes policy, and not a single one of them has heard a thing.

    Late in June, I did have a supervisor tell me that it was not unusual for the company to spring policy changes on the customer service department with little warning.

    I spoke to someone on July 10, and that rep hadn't heard anything either.

    So, if nothing else, the front line at one of the committed participants of the CCI's Six Strikes effort is in the dark as much as any of us.

    -- Daniel