Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:18 pm

I've seen themed names before, but for some reason, seeing a headline that reads, "Hacker gets ice cream sandwich onto Kindle Fire" just seemed funnier somehow.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:20 pm

So tech question.

My dad has a hp pavilion g7-1080us laptop that's runnin win 7 32 bit.

Every once in a while, it decides that the keys on the keyboard will not type but it will scroll through the tabs in browser windows or other similar things where the keys don't do what they are supposed to do.

The easy short-term cure that I've found for this problem is that if I log off/switch user names, sleep, hibernate, shutdown or restart, then the problem goes away. So I just switch user names and sign back on.

Anyone know more about this. I called hp and the three times I called them, the wait time was about 30 mins. I usually don't have control of the laptop for that long. it's one of my father's machines he is using to get a freelance startup going.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:23 pm

The computer is turning on Sticky Keys, Toggle Keys, or Mouse Keys.

These are fucking awful systems that cause your computer to "go crazy". I have no idea why there is a keyboard shortcut to make your computer act like you are holding down CTRL, but there you go.

-Username17

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:14 pm

FrankTrollman wrote:These are fucking awful systems that cause your computer to "go crazy". I have no idea why there is a keyboard shortcut to make your computer act like you are holding down CTRL, but there you go.

Try typing with one finger.

There you go.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:16 pm

Speaking of keys, I really need to do a check on my work laptop. On some of the text boxes in IE the keys seem not to work most of the time. I've actually had to type text in notepad and copy/paste it into the Box. Facebook boxes are the worst, although I think those boxes have so much logic in them that they slow down the whole text box.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:57 am

FrankTrollman wrote:The computer is turning on Sticky Keys, Toggle Keys, or Mouse Keys.

These are fucking awful systems that cause your computer to "go crazy". I have no idea why there is a keyboard shortcut to make your computer act like you are holding down CTRL, but there you go.

-Username17

People who are missing hands and use pencils taped to their arms can't hold down keys.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:55 am

How much does an adult human leg weigh, on average? Say, if cut off just above the knee?

Blasted · Post by **Blasted** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:05 am

too many people seem to be interested in this question:
http://aaatoday.org/content/what-percen ... le-foot-i-

td;dr
5.79% of total body weight

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:12 am

Koumei wrote:How much does an adult human leg weigh, on average? Say, if cut off just above the knee?

It's really funny that you asked that. Just tonight, I was telling my three-year-old to be careful around my wife while she was working out. Part of the workout involved kicks and I told her that her mother's leg was bigger than she was.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:53 am

Awesome, so you could definitely stow a leg in carry-on luggage without any problems*. Thanks.

*Except the obvious ones of my god it's a human leg WHY DO YOU HAVE A SEVERED LEG WITH YOU?

violence in the media · Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:55 pm

Koumei wrote:Awesome, so you could definitely stow a leg in carry-on luggage without any problems*. Thanks.

*Except the obvious ones of my god it's a human leg WHY DO YOU HAVE A SEVERED LEG WITH YOU?

Are you kidding?! That's more than a 10 lb laptop! How will you ever accomplish such a herculean feat?

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:23 am

When I worked with cadaver feet, that pretty accurately describes the things we received.
I don't know for sure, but it could be that that's a standard cadaver piece, and people want to be able to estimate their subjects' weights based on that. It could be important if you were e.g. looking at plantar faciitis and needed to control for weight.

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:13 pm

Medical question:

How much does distant relatives having cancer increase the likelihood of you having cancer? I've just found out that my great-uncle (maternal grandfather's brother) has been diagnosed with prostate cancer [EDIT: in the last month or so] and that my grandfather is now known to have higher risk of prostate cancer.

Does that make me a noticeably higher risk of prostate cancer, can the genetic predisposition pass through females and should I start getting prostate checks?

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:51 pm

First and foremost, don't worry. A lot has changed since your great-uncle's time. I'm going to repeat this again, do not worry and do not panic.

Now, let's talk about prostrate checks. I'm not sure if you technically should or not but remember that this isn't an exact science ... in fact it's two steps lower than crap. The PSA test is now generally understood to have almost no meaning whatsoever, but when it starts to rise it may indicate problems (note the word may, likewise you can have problems and not have the PSA go up). The classica finger up the ass examination also has a significant number of false positives and false negatives.

The best test is the worst, and that is the biopsy, but that should only be done when necessary.

Oh, and something they don't tell you ... (unless you are told by a urolgist) coffee tea and booze can adjust the PSA numbers in a bad way, so one should avoid them if one wants to avoid to get a false positive on the PSA.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:19 pm

tzor wrote:First and foremost, don't worry. A lot has changed since your great-uncle's time. I'm going to repeat this again, do not worry and do not panic.

Now, let's talk about prostrate checks. I'm not sure if you technically should or not but remember that this isn't an exact science ... in fact it's two steps lower than crap. The PSA test is now generally understood to have almost no meaning whatsoever, but when it starts to rise it may indicate problems (note the word may, likewise you can have problems and not have the PSA go up). The classica finger up the ass examination also has a significant number of false positives and false negatives.

The best test is the worst, and that is the biopsy, but that should only be done when necessary.

Oh, and something they don't tell you ... (unless you are told by a urolgist) coffee tea and booze can adjust the PSA numbers in a bad way, so one should avoid them if one wants to avoid to get a false positive on the PSA.

I was listening to NPR a while ago and they covered some of this. I seem to remember the doctor saying that you really don't need to worry about screenings until you're 50, because checking early at 40 and even 30 can end up causing more false positives than what it's worth.

That being said, I don't know if any of this applies to people with family history.

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:01 pm

My question was more about whether this even counts as a family history of prostate cancer. Is the prostate cancer tendency something that only passes down through males so since its through my mother I wouldn't have to worry? Is three links away too far to bother caring about?

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:23 pm

It is a family history, but it's small enough not to care about. You're much better off improving your chances through diet and exercise than by hoping you aren't genetically predisposed (note: not all diseases work this way, there are several where family history dominates anything you can do after being born)

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:17 am

Thanks, that's reassuring. I can go blissfully on ignoring my health as usual then.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:45 am

So, I'm hopefully getting a tooth removed soon.

A) What is the name of the thing dentists usually inject into your face as a so-called painkiller?

B) Because I'm getting this done at a hospital or doctor's surgery, what could I instead reasonably ask for? As I'd like an anaesthetic that actually works.

Oh, and C) How can anyone believe in intelligent design when people have nerve-clusters in the middle of their teeth.

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:35 pm

A) Novacaine(spelling uncertain)
B) It's actually a fine painkiller; it just takes a while to kick in. Generally, it kicks in AFTER the dental surgery
C) He hurts us because he hates us, I guess.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:37 pm

name_here wrote: C) He hurts us because he hates us, I guess.

...so basically the WBC are right?

In their core belief, not their actions. If some creature, divine or otherwise, creates humanity then elects to put all these flaws in just to watch us suffer, you don't worship them, you take the D&D/Buddhist approach and kill them.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 2:01 pm

Koumei wrote: Oh, and C) How can anyone believe in intelligent design when people have nerve-clusters in the middle of their teeth.

Lol. Back when I was still desperately trying to cling to my old beliefs, I remember thinking that exact same thing. I thought about how stupid our teeth are and wondered why the hell God would make them like this. I realized there were only two answers:

1) He didn't because he's not real, or

2) Because of some non-falsifiable reason involving master plans and ways we don't understand or some shit.

And at that point in my crisis of faith, all of the non-falsifiable "well, I can't prove it's not true" approaches were getting less and less satisfying.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 4:12 pm

First and foremost, I don’t think anyone would ever argue that “Intelligent Design” would demand that everything in the human body is brilliant, but then again I do like teeth. I mean, where would you want the nerve to be? On the outside? Considering that teeth form a part of your skeletal structure it is pretty amazing how easy they are to detach compared to say other bones in your body. And they can be “rearranged” somewhat easily as well.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:52 pm

tzor wrote:First and foremost, I don’t think anyone would ever argue that “Intelligent Design” would demand that everything in the human body is brilliant, but then again I do like teeth. I mean, where would you want the nerve to be? On the outside? Considering that teeth form a part of your skeletal structure it is pretty amazing how easy they are to detach compared to say other bones in your body. And they can be “rearranged” somewhat easily as well.

When you say easily, you mean by today's medical standards, and not by, say, what people have been living with for tens of thousands of years? Granted, they didn't have processed sugar back then, but tooth decay could still happen.

And teeth are only part of the issue. Looking at things like nictitating membranes, appendices, diseases, and cancer, it gets pretty weird to look at them as intelligently designed. The first two tend to be evidence of evolution, which makes it look like the intelligent entity is deliberately trying to mislead people and obfuscate its existence. The latter two get really macabre when you try to justify them as mysterious ways or master plans, or whatever.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 6:17 pm

RobbyPants wrote:When you say easily, you mean by today's medical standards, and not by, say, what people have been living with for tens of thousands of years? Granted, they didn't have processed sugar back then, but tooth decay could still happen.

They pulled teeth in the medieval period as that was the only treatment possible and it hurt like hell.

Even into the 18th century the remedy for a chipped tooth was pulling. The remedy for a compound arm/leg fracture required a saw.

I'm not going to go into detail about your examples becuse the notion that something was intelligently designed does not mean that it neither has flaws nor that the result is brilliant. Most of my time is spent working on bugs in systems that were designed by fairly intelligent people. I would not suggest that there is no "intelligent design" in any of my company's products even if some things just don't make a damn bit of sense to me.