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Comment: Re:Bitcoin is hard to explain... (Score 1) 111

by Valdrax (#46493227) Attached to: Recent news events re: Bitcoin ...

It's hard to explain Bitcoin to Kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.

It's hard to explain Bitcoin to Kleptomaniacs because they always take things. Literally.

Isn't it always grand on the internet when someone posts a joke, and then someone responds with the same joke, only phrased more obviously for his fellow, less subtle readers to laugh at and congratulate themselves for being smarter than the original poster who obviously wasn't witty enough to make the same goddamned joke first.

Yeah, that's always awesome.

Comment: Re:AKA the I HATE AMERICA ACT (Score 2) 329

by Valdrax (#46487467) Attached to: EU Votes For Universal Phone Charger

Most phones except for the American Company Apple uses a Micro USB.

Oh, please -- put down the flag.

As an American Apple user, I hate the fact that Apple doesn't use the same charger / data cable as everyone else and that, worse, my iPhone 5 isn't even compatible with my iPhone 3 charger. It's an overpriced, short POS that has a pointless chip in it to prevent third party cables from working properly. It's also not water-resistant (which is great in case you accidentally drop the end of it into a glass of water on your desk). All in all, Apple's new charger has significantly worsened my enjoyment of the phone.

So, I'm all for standardization on something nearly everyone else has agreed is sane. Apple gets no free pass for being American with me.

Comment: Why standards? (Score 4, Insightful) 329

by Valdrax (#46487285) Attached to: EU Votes For Universal Phone Charger

Why do they think this is a matter for governments to decide?

Same reason each country has a standard railroad track, a standard power outlet, etc. Letting industries decide on mutually incompatible standards largely serves to lock in consumers and also creates great inefficiencies in the economy due to incompatbility. Standardization would allow business like cafes & airports to offer charging solutions that fit all their customers, and it would produce less physical waste.

Comment: Re:Chickens and bees (Score 1) 173

by Valdrax (#46475745) Attached to: Power Cables' UV Flashes Apparently Frighten Animals

Not really. UV vision is pretty common among insects & birds. Additionally, it's pretty common in lizards and fish that live close to the surface. And don't get us started on the ridiculously overengineered eyes of the mantis shrimp.

Among mammals, it's common in nocturnal species like mice & bats, and we've started to notice it in reindeer and have theorized that it might be common in snow-adapted species.

Comment: Re:Protection from Deer Car accidents (Score 2) 173

by Valdrax (#46475701) Attached to: Power Cables' UV Flashes Apparently Frighten Animals

Funny how 30-40 sec into the video they've identified UV discharges from a tower that appears to have a flock of sheep browsing under it. Perhaps not so scary after all?

What makes you think sheep can see UV light?

Most mammals that can see UV light are nocturnal or live in arctic conditions where it helps deal with snow-blindness (according to current theories). It's also worth noting that mammals whose eyes filter out UV (like humans) tend to have better visual resolution.

Sheep are diurnal animals that rely heavily on vision for defense from predators. They also, like most dichromatic animals, have roughly red & green cones with no blue cones. It's pretty unlikely they can see the flashes.


Power Cables' UV Flashes Apparently Frighten Animals 173

Posted by timothy
from the what-can-you-see? dept.
Rambo Tribble writes "Ultraviolet light flashes, or "corona", may be scaring animals and altering behavior. An international scientific team, first studying behavioral anomalies in reindeer near power lines, have found that sporadic flashes of UV from the lines are probably responsible. As most mammals can see into the UV spectrum, this has broad implications for the disruption of animal behavior. From the BBC article: "Since, as the researchers added, coronas 'happen on all power lines everywhere,' the avoidance of the flashes could be having a global impact on wildlife.""
