Recent content by Elledan

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    Are human beings done evolving?

    Evolution denotes change. Mutations keep occurring in the human genome, changing the gene pool and thus causing evolution. Though the fact remains that since we have KO'ed the usual natural selection there is no telling what this evolution will result in and whether it won't negatively affect...
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    Error: your goal weight is greater than your starting weight

    Snacks contribute primarily to the daily calories, despite what people seem to think. Skipping one of the two/three proper meals a day therefore is a really bad idea. 2-3 meals a day with an absolute minimum of snacks (apple > *) is the way to go. Fortunately I have to neither gain or lose...
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    How long do metal and carbon film resistors last?

    Seems like it's mostly a function of environmental factors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistor#Failure_modes I very much doubt that the average resistor won't make at least 15 years in the right conditions.
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    What's your post-density compared to other forum members?

    Haven't posted on this forum in ages, I think I had to re-register my account a while ago as well. Kind of back now again, though :)
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    Lingusitics Why I hate the english language.

    I still think that English is a heck of a lot easier to learn and use than my native language, Dutch. No weird accents, easy grammar (relatively) and expansive enough to ensure one won't ever get bored of learning new words :biggrin: Of course, nothing can beat Japanese. Now there's a fun...
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    Listening to a radio and hearing pop sound

    The plastic grapes one sounds dangerous :eek: I'm quite familiar with the expanding air in a container one; after washing the dishes some glasses would be placed upside-down on the counter to allow the liquid inside to trickle down to the bottom prior to getting dried. Due to the seal formed...
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    Acer AL1706 Monitor Problem: Troubleshooting Tips

    Are you sure the computer is working properly? Could you try this monitor on another computer?
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    Phone Line No Dial Tone, But Works with incoming calls

    I doubt it's the phones themselves, but you could try with a known working phone. Also get someone to check out the home wiring.
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    Can Overheating Fix an Xbox360 Hardware Malfunction?

    The problem with all except perhaps the newest revision of X360s is warping of the mainboard. Due to poor design the mainboard will warp, disrupting the connections between the mainboard and the CPU and GPU. One cause for this is poor heatsink (X clamps) design. What the towel thing does is...
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    What is the Purpose of Life? The Universe's Audience

    Why does a plant grow? Only to die? To reproduce? After which its offspring eventually dies as well? Pointless, eh? The point of existing does not lie in existence itself, but in turning chaos (ignorance) into order (understanding). So what when complete understanding has been reached...
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    Unraveling Life's Minimal Conditions: Beyond Schrödinger's "What is Life?"

    I think it's safe to say that what defines 'life' is the ability to learn. Not just change its parameters (due to feedback loops), but to comprehend even entirely new situations, offered to the subject via its senses, from which it's then able to distill formerly unknown elements and remember...
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    Boost PC Performance with Intel's PCI Express Technology

    ? PCI-E doesn't provide 'specialized versions for different kinds of cards', only slots providing different amounts of bandwidth (1X -16X) by differing the number of 'lanes' (serial connections). Did I miss a memo or something?
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    Role of axon hillock in generating action potentials

    From what I understand, the release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft and the consequent binding of these to their respective receptors on the post-synaptic membrane can have one of the following effects: - excitatory: K+/Na+ ligand-gated ion channels are opened and the local...
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    Finding the Best Value in a New PC

    That wasn't true before (both Athlon XP and P4 up till Northwood dissipate about the same of heat) and certainly isn't true now with Prescott: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/prescott_12.html And as a rule of thumb: a hotter CPU is harder to cool, making it less reliable. AMD...
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    Finding the Best Value in a New PC

    If you do a lot of media encoding (video, etc.), then a P4 is the best choice (but stay away from the new Prescott P4, go with Northwood). If you play a lot of games and similar applications which like the low latency of the on-die memory controller, go with the AMD Athlon64 or Athlon FX-51...
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