The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXVII

[Borachio]

OK. Thanks. That's sort of clearer. I'll remember that until I forget again.

But if I look at a computer program, figure out what it's doing and then write my own, am I infringing copyright or not?

I guess not, as long as I don't wholesale copy the code, script or images used.

 

[The_J]

and you normally refer to this process (okay, to deal with the program/implementation, whatever) as black box http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box .
It's basically what some big open source projects did.
LibreOffice/OpenOffice try the same as Microsoft Office. The programmers didn't know how Microsoft Office works, but tried to mimic very hard what it does. At the end you get the same result (sort of), with a different technical basis.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Graffiti in Alcuin's classroom: Karl loves Eirene?

So I guess the real reason Karl created the HRE was to impress Eirene with his bling? Except that poor mofo got rejected hard.

 

[bhsup]

Clorox kills 99.9% of common household germs. That used to make me feel good, but it occurs to me that it's actually disturbing as hell. There are 0.1% of household germs that chlorine bleach is completely ineffective against. So basically all we've done is its dirty work by eliminating all the competition, leaving this 0.1% uber-germ with a nice pristine environment in which to flourish. How do we kill it?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Clorox kills 99.9% of common household germs. That used to make me feel good, but it occurs to me that it's actually disturbing as hell. There are 0.1% of household germs that chlorine bleach is completely ineffective against. So basically all we've done is its dirty work by eliminating all the competition, leaving this 0.1% uber-germ with a nice pristine environment in which to flourish. How do we kill it?

We don't. We are it.

 

[Arakhor]

There are also very good reasons why we shouldn't sterilise our homes. I never wash with antibacterial soap, for instance.

 

[Borachio]

Isn't all soap antibacterial? Isn't that the purpose of washing with soap? Or is it just to cut through the grease and allow us to wash the bacteria off mechanically?

 

[Zack]

Clorox kills 99.9% of common household germs. That used to make me feel good, but it occurs to me that it's actually disturbing as hell. There are 0.1% of household germs that chlorine bleach is completely ineffective against. So basically all we've done is its dirty work by eliminating all the competition, leaving this 0.1% uber-germ with a nice pristine environment in which to flourish. How do we kill it?

I always took this as meaning that it effectively kills all germs, but it's possible that a tiny fraction survived the onslaught.

 

[Arakhor]

I was under the impression that it's the latter, Borachio.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

I always took this as meaning that it effectively kills all germs, but it's possible that a tiny fraction survived the onslaught.

Yes, you'd probably be able to kill more if you used a higher concentration and more stringent procedures in general. It doesn't have to be a natural selection thing.

Anyway, question. Why does the JMSDF get to keep the WWII-era flag while the Deutsche Marine have to make do with a new one?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Yes, you'd probably be able to kill more if you used a higher concentration and more stringent procedures in general. It doesn't have to be a natural selection thing.

Get liquid chlorine for swimming pools. Concentration of chlorine is as much as five times what it is in household bleach.

 

[The_J]

Clorox kills 99.9% of common household germs. That used to make me feel good, but it occurs to me that it's actually disturbing as hell. There are 0.1% of household germs that chlorine bleach is completely ineffective against. So basically all we've done is its dirty work by eliminating all the competition, leaving this 0.1% uber-germ with a nice pristine environment in which to flourish. How do we kill it?

That's btw the reason why you shouldn't unnecessarily take antibiotics. Same thing.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Clorox kills 99.9% of common household germs. That used to make me feel good, but it occurs to me that it's actually disturbing as hell. There are 0.1% of household germs that chlorine bleach is completely ineffective against. So basically all we've done is its dirty work by eliminating all the competition, leaving this 0.1% uber-germ with a nice pristine environment in which to flourish. How do we kill it?

Keep in mind that 99.9% of germs is not the same as 99.9% of bacteria. Clear out the bacteria and you'll do just as you say: that's why they say you should just use regular hand soap instead of the anti-bacterial stuff [perhaps your solution is the same?]. But 99.9% of germs would include viruses, parasites, and other junk too, and they aren't going to replicate to "fill the void" like bacteria will. It's probably just a technical disclaimer in case someone somewhere gets sick and traces it back to a Clorox cleaning, so they can say "hey, we didn't say ALL germs now did we?"

 

[Farm Boy]

So basically all we've done is its dirty work by eliminating all the competition, leaving this 0.1% uber-germ with a nice pristine environment in which to flourish. How do we kill it?

That's a concern with low concentration usage of "anti-bacterials." Arakhor is right, you should never actually buy those. Get soap soap.

 

[bhsup]

I am not talking about soap, though, and never was. Others went off on that tangent, and while I acknowledge some parallels, it really isn't the same. Chlorine isn't an antibiotic.

 

[The_J]

If you want an actual answer: With something else, but we don't know with what.
Whatever survives the chlorine attack will be susceptible to something. You can't find out, unless you find that 0.1% of surviving organisms, and test everything on it.
Might be something simple as UV light, or more complicated like a nuclear bomb (or something sort of more realistic: 130°C wet heat; "sort of", because you don't want to steam your house like that, but that's what's done in the lab [okay, there's 120°C, but there's some obscure thermophilic archaea, which might survive that; not a realistic scenario]).

The open spots will also be colonized by other microorganisms. From the air, from your skin, from the dirt on your shoes, from your dog, from your children, whatever. It'll not stay nearly sterile, unless you really create a "cleanroom" (wiki).

 

[Gori the Grey]

Clorox kills 99.9% of common household germs. That used to make me feel good, but it occurs to me that it's actually disturbing as hell. There are 0.1% of household germs that chlorine bleach is completely ineffective against. So basically all we've done is its dirty work by eliminating all the competition, leaving this 0.1% uber-germ with a nice pristine environment in which to flourish. How do we kill it?

You don't know that. Maybe we killed a germ that it eats.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Question: Is there any page (NASA or others) that shows you the stars visible in your country at the moment?

 

[bhsup]

Why don't garden spiders freak me out? ALL other spiders do. Little tiny things that I know can't hurt me still spaz me the hell out. It all goes back to an incident when I was a little kid and woke up with a spider crawling up my chest (and it was of all things the completely harmless granddaddy long legs spider.) Ever since, I've been petrified of the damned things.

But NOT the garden spider, and I've no idea why. It's big, it's brutally efficient with its prey, and yet they don't bug me at all. Well, I mean I wouldn't react well to one crawling on me, but otherwise, they don't bother me. What gives?


Link to video.

 

[timtofly]

They have not started making large webs inside your house?