Sam 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (161) comment rss

  • On the post: Free Energy Savings Available Right Now

    Sam ( profile ), 12 Jul, 2007 @ 12:51pm

    Re: Re: Re: REDNECK

    You forgot to mention that sometimes you pull your house behind your F-350!!

  • On the post: Free Energy Savings Available Right Now

    Sam ( profile ), 12 Jul, 2007 @ 09:28am

    "It's better to let consumers learn about these options and have the best solutions emerge through the market."

    Market demand cannot select nuclear power. That requires governmental action to streamline the approval process for requests to construct these plants, and easing of environmental restrictions. We have to do this to reduce our usage of carbon based fuels. Environmentalists can't have it both ways. They cannot reduce carbon based fuels and block nuclear power.

  • On the post: Inside Job Blamed For Leak Of 2.3 Million People's Personal Info

    Sam ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2007 @ 12:36pm

    The whole point is that too many people have too much access to too much information. However "fettered" this access may have or may not have been, it's a problem for everyone whose data was "misappropriated". We need a system that makes having this info worthless and meaningless.

  • On the post: Can The Ethanol Market Stand On Its Own Two Feet?

    Sam ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2007 @ 03:26pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Ethanol

    What you say is all true, Mike, and that just means that there is even more upward pressure on our food costs when you add in the factor of increased demand for feed corn and whatever else is used to produce ethanol. All I am saying is that ethanol is not a good alternative to carbon based fuels. We need other alternatives.

  • On the post: Can The Ethanol Market Stand On Its Own Two Feet?

    Sam ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2007 @ 02:47pm

    Alternate fuels and alternative vehicles

    I have a Prius and am very pleased with averaging 46 mpg, even though I don't have a light foot. The max of 60 they advertise is based on driving more gently, and not running the AC (This is not a complaint, just a comment). I think it is time we realize that our backs are against the wall (and have been for more time than we care to admit) and make some tough decisions that are guranteed to displease someone, no matter what we do. 1. Many more nuclear power plants using more modern technologies than existed in the 70's and 80's. 2. Legislatively mandate that all vehicle manufacturers must produce vehicles that yield a minimum of 75 mpg. 3. Open the Alaskan oil fields for drilling and extraction (I've seen the pictures and stories that provide evidence that the ALaskan pipeline is actually helping the wildlife, and I believe this to be true.) 4. Uncap the federally sealed oil wells in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.

  • On the post: Can The Ethanol Market Stand On Its Own Two Feet?

    Sam ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2007 @ 02:31pm

    Re: Substitutions creating substitutions

    I'm not sure about the Hydrogen fuel option. How do they produce the Hydrogen? Do they extract it from water, you know, H2O? If that is the case, then we are adding water shortages to the problem. Not much of a solution.

  • On the post: Can The Ethanol Market Stand On Its Own Two Feet?

    Sam ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2007 @ 01:12pm

    Ethanol

    I oppose our migrating to ethanol for two reasons. Ethanol is not efficiently burned in internal compustion engines. A car tht gets 20 mpg on gas will get 15 mpg on ethanol. Using ethanol is puting our fuel needs in direct competition with our food needs. I have seen estimates that our food costs will increase by as much as 70% by fall. We need to build more refineries, drill for our oil in Alaska, in the Gulf of Mexico and off of the West coast (these are short term fixes), and build more (many more) nuclear power plants. We need to find a renewable energy source that does not compete with our other needs (a long term solution). No one can possibly believe this will be easy or painless, but we MUST do these things.

  • On the post: E-Voting Company Agrees To Let California See Its Source Code… But Includes Angry Threats

    Sam ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2007 @ 01:16pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Voting Machines

    "The amount of market data gathered by these machines would be exceptionally valuable. They could easily determine voting tendancies of specific districts. They could determine how long a person took to vote on a topic or candidate. They could use data to determine effectiveness of campaign efforts."

    You are over-complicating this. We DO NOT want the voting machines to do a "market analysis", just count the votes.

    As far as "updates", how many updates could there possibly be when counting ones and zeros? New math, perhaps!!

    Burning the program to a ROM and having it verified for accuracy and validity before insertion into the machine, lock down the machine with a good locking mechanism, an alarm system and a battery backup that allows legitimate voting, even without power.

  • On the post: E-Voting Company Agrees To Let California See Its Source Code… But Includes Angry Threats

    Sam ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2007 @ 11:48am

    Re: trade secrets?

    I agree with you. It is counting ones and zeros. It is not rocket science. They are hiding something.

  • On the post: E-Voting Company Agrees To Let California See Its Source Code… But Includes Angry Threats

    Sam ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2007 @ 11:13am

    Re: Check the Mgt Plitical affiliations

    The Republicans do what they can to steal elections, but they are mere amateurs that are competing with pros that have been registering and voting cemeteries for years.

  • On the post: E-Voting Company Agrees To Let California See Its Source Code… But Includes Angry Threats

    Sam ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2007 @ 09:59am

    Re: Re: Re: There's NO Confidence Left

    That is my point exactly. Burn the source code to firmware WITHOUT an incoming port or portal. Any tampering would have to be done before hand and would be easily detectible and traceable.

  • On the post: E-Voting Company Agrees To Let California See Its Source Code… But Includes Angry Threats

    Sam ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2007 @ 09:56am

    Re: Source Code

    Good God, give it a rest!! This is about source code, not your political fasist views!!!

  • On the post: E-Voting Company Agrees To Let California See Its Source Code… But Includes Angry Threats

    Sam ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2007 @ 09:26am

    Re: Re: Voting Machines

    How is having the source code going to change the fact that you are counting yes/no votes and going to help a competitor? What can possibly be so difficult with that? That is probably a big part of the problem. These companies have gotten away from the basic objective of "counting votes" and have complicated the issue way beyond what is reasonable. I still say, it's very simple. Count ones and zeros, or yes and no votes, total them and provide a means to get the totals for that machine to a central location for tallying. The source code should be burnt into firmware without the possibility of introducing a software patch.

  • On the post: E-Voting Company Agrees To Let California See Its Source Code… But Includes Angry Threats

    Sam ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2007 @ 09:05am

    Voting Machines

    Why would any government agency buy any voting machines without having prior approval on the source code? Why would the source code be in the form of software and not burned into firmware thus removing the possibility of someone introducing a software patch to steal an election? Why would a company be so concerned about their source code unless they have something to hide? After all, the source code is worthless to a possible competitor without a voting machine to run it on, and any company able to construct a competing voting machine can certainly develop their own software. Sounds very suspicious on the part of the company (ES&S) to me.

  • On the post: Best Way To Catch An Indentity Thief: Do It Yourself

    Sam ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2007 @ 06:40pm

    Identity theft

    Perhaps the judge should spend 5 years in prison in the thief's place.

  • On the post: NBC Exec: Think Of The Poor Corn Farmers Hurt By Movie Piracy

    Sam ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2007 @ 10:41am

    Who gives a rats ass about the movie industry anyway??!

  • On the post: Feds Need A Warrant To Search Email

    Sam ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2007 @ 06:27am

    Re: Gonzales is ass covering

    "It's all about staying out of jail for these guys now.
    "
    Who are you kiding, they won't go to jail for that, they just won't be able to use it as evidence.

  • On the post: Why Real Estate Agents Have Good Reason To Fear The Web

    Sam ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2007 @ 12:55pm

    Real Estate Agents

    Price-fixing scum bags. If you can find one to list your house for less than their standard 6%, none of the others will show it. Just exactly what do they do in selling a $200,000 house that makes them worth $12,000?

    Answer: NADA!! They take the listing, enter it into the MLS web app, and sit back and wait.

  • On the post: Key Senator's Letter Opposing Satellite Radio Merger Leaves Out The Part About How It Affects Him

    Sam ( profile ), 27 May, 2007 @ 02:30pm

    Re: Re: All Eggs In One Basket Will Crack

    Come on YogiFish, fess up which NAB member station do you work for, or do you work directly for the NAB? The FCC is owned and operated by the NAB specifically for the purpose of eliminating their competition, and that is what they are trying to do now. With thousands of AM, FM and upcoming HD radio stations how can you say that the merger of Sirius and XM would mean no competition for the satellite companies?

    By the way, have you ever noticed how one stations signal will interfere with and sometimes override another stations signal. Well guess what, the station that is being drowned out is NOT an NAB station and the FCC allows NAB stations to drive their competitors out.

  • On the post: Yet Another Misguided Idea For Saving Newspapers

    Sam ( profile ), 25 May, 2007 @ 11:40am

    "There's no shortage of "good journalism" in the New York Times"

    What rock have you been living under?!!? The NYT is the most biased and seditious rag to reach print!! It ranks with the "Star" and the Globe" in content and quality. It comes as no surprise that their subscriptions are falling like a meteor headed for burn-out.

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