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Neat Trick!

Former Atheist Mark Zuckerberg Gets Religion

I guess having an enslaved robotic Morgan Freeman softly whispering into your ear can cause you to question things.

Uncertain Propulsion Breakthroughs?

Further into the article, they really trash the recent peer-reviewed paper for having several flaws.

Overview

Technical

(1) The experimental methods and resulting data indicate a possible new force-producing effect, but not yet satisfying the threshold of “extraordinary evidence for extraordinary claims” – especially since this is a measurement of small effects.

(2) The propulsion physics explanations offered, which already assume that the measured force is real, are not sound.

(3) Experiments have been conducted on other anomalous forces, whose fidelity and implications merit comparable scrutiny, specifically Jim Woodward’s “Mach Effect Thruster.”

Implications

(1) If either the EmDrive or Mach Effect Thrusters are indeed genuine, then new physics is being discovered – the ramifications of which cannot be assessed until after those effects are sufficiently modeled. Even if it turns out that the effects are of minor utility, having new experimental approaches to explore unfinished physics would be valuable.

(2) Even if genuine, it is premature to assess the potential utility of these devices. Existing data only addresses some of the characteristics necessary to compare with other technologies. At this point, it is best to withhold judgment, either pro or con.

Pitfalls to Avoid

(1) The earlier repeated tactic, to attempt fast and cheap experimental tests, has turned out to be neither fast nor cheap. It’s been at least 14 years since the EmDrive first emerged (2002) and despite numerous tests, we still lack a definitive conclusion.

(2) In much the same way that thermal and chamber effects are obscuring the force measurements, our ability to reach accurate conclusions is impeded by our natural human behavior of jumping to conclusions, confirmation biases, sensationalism, and pedantic reflexes. This is part of the reality that also needs understanding so that we can separate those influences from the underlying physics.

Edit this journal.

Samsung's New Beauty Products Are Very Judgmental
Samsung Alexa/Echo vacuum
Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous vehicle
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835
Samsung Unveils Quantum Dot Curved Monitors
Cars, robots expected to star at CES 2017
The Best of CES 2016: Where Are They Now?
CES 2017: Tech preview of Las Vegas's biggest launches
Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Outed By Manufacturing Partners For March Launch With 4K Display And Kaby Lake

A fun piece over at the Mirror that managed to reach near the top of Google's World news section.

It's Boxing Day!

Update: Malls Across U.S. Beef Up Security After Brawls

The same month that DICE Holdings announced they were selling slashdot, they also had a post asking for questions to ask Briana Wu in a subsequent slashdot interview. I wasn't the only person to ask why Wu was refusing to confirm or deny that she was a transsexual. Actually, I was more direct - Why do you refuse to admit you are a transsexual? Are you ashamed? And a few more questions, including how she can think it's not hypocritical to decry games depictions of women while her own game site has the characters hyper-sexualized, right down to camel-toe.

All gone.

Wouldn't have noticed except that today they posted some more click bait - Brina Wu To Run For Congress.

One poster asked why she hadn't answered the trans question, someone else claimed it hadn't been asked. Au contraire, and I was far from the only one to ask.

Slashdot can no longer benefit from the DMCA's safe harbor provisions for not censoring comments, since they can no longer claim they never censor comments.

I wonder if it happens here ... inquiring minds want to know.

The 2016 U.S. presidential election took place on Monday. The result:

[...] 304 votes for Donald Trump, 227 for Hillary Clinton, three for Colin Powell, one for Ron Paul, one for Bernie Sanders, one for John Kasich, and one for anti-DAPL activist Faith Spotted Eagle.

Gingrich Says Trump Must Address Business Conflicts Soon, Urges Monitoring

Gingrich: Trump dropping 'drain the swamp'

Trump Adviser Says He Is Ditching 'Drain the Swamp'

Newt Gingrich says Trump is done with ‘drain the swamp’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_MJbgO7SF0

The God Kek demands many more human sacrifices, otherwise Trump will continue to discard all of his campaign promises. Sacrifice children for the glory of Kek and the success of Trump.

Update: The child sacrifices have satisfied Kek, and Trump will continue his policy of draining the swamp.

I noticed that www.loc.gov, the Web site of the Library of Congress is now behind CloudFlare. Netcraft does not show when the site was put behind CloudFlare; however I speculate that it may have been done in response to a DDOS attack that happened in July (additional article about the DDOS—Javascript may have to be disabled to read this one without subscribing).

The FBI Is Investigating Me Because I Tweeted A Joke About Fake News