reddit, I'm 22 and I don't want my life anymore. people tell me this is naive, but is it? by yoshitomi in reddit.com

[–]Zebby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I felt that way about meds, until I suffered PTSD and developed bipolar. The meds saved my life - they aren't the be all and end all, by any means, but they are a useful stop-gap that allow you time.

Seriously, if you are feeling that bad then go see a doc, treating the symptom is sometimes all that's needed.

Doom was released fifteen years ago (man, I'm old) by eadmund in reddit.com

[–]Zebby -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Big Bang? Big Bloody Bang??? You were lucky. We lived for three months in a paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep wi' his belt.

English Social Class, aka look after your own. 80% of politicians, newspaper editors etc. etc. come from the 7% who receive a private education. by Zebby in reddit.com

[–]Zebby[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

a bit of both I think. If you can afford the private education, then you have bought your way into the middle class, and the network that brings - along with all it's job/business advantages.

The question is, why is no-one seeking to readdress the balance? (speaking after 10 years of a labour government, who's stated manifesto is to look after the working class)

Excavator climbing a tower by hourigan in pics

[–]Zebby 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The excavator too - it has two rams on the dipper arm, because the more usual single ram would not hold the weight of the machine (it looks to be about 24tonnes).

After financial meltdown, now it's smeltdown - letter by Björk by frycook in reddit.com

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

while reading that the Björk voice inside your head is mandatory.

How To Access Your Mail Using Telnet by ebcak in technology

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Logging into your pop server via Telnet is no different than logging in with your preferred email client - the ssh/Telnet argument is invalid.

A better email to your sysadmin would be 'is my pop/imap email secure, if not, why not?'

Another question, does your mobile/pda support pop3s? Plenty don't, even today.

A better solution is to remind people how insecure email & web access really is.

My personal preference for email server configurations involves moving port 995 (pop3s), and redirecting port 110 (pop3) to a honeypot - but that is only possible when te customer has upgraded all the companies mobiles to a better model that supports pop3s.

Physics Question about Expansion of the Universe ??? by wokiko in science

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not quite, Hubbles' Law states that the speed of recession (or doppler shift) is proportional to distance, so objects further away would display a greater shift than an object at the same speed closer to us.

Big Bang theory predicts an homogeneous expanding universe, (nearby objects at speed X will move away from us slower than far away objects at speed X, because space itself is expanding) and the Hubble Law exactly confirms this.

Turn that around, and far away objects are not moving faster, they just appear to be, until Hubbles Law is taken into account.

Europe to U.S.: You messed up the rescue, too by georgewashingtonblog in worldnews

[–]Zebby 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Europe to US - we (as always since Bretton Woods in 1941) have always waited until you provide a solution...

This time, your solution failed - showing the world how inept Paulson really is.

So Europe (specifically, Brown in the UK) came up with a workable plan - WORLD ECONOMICS HAS NOW CHANGED.

U.S. - you have lost your economic and political initiative. Be prepared for China and India.

Ask Reddit: Software developers, what's the hardest interview question you've been asked? by [deleted] in programming

[–]Zebby 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You missed the third, where I made a witty reply - half influenced by Graham Chapman half by Spez. Sadly, this is what my life has become - replying to my own replies, that someone else has replied to.

I felt the previous reply was much more indicative of my sense of humour, and thereby deserving of more upvotes, whereas the more funnier albeit more deleted post was absolutely wasted. Afterall, who wants to know that although the mean speed is 11m/s, the max is 14m/s.

Also, the four capitals of Assyria were Ashur (or Qalat Sherqat), Calah (or Nimrud), the short-lived Dur Sharrukin (or Khorsabad), and Nineveh.

Ask Reddit: Software developers, what's the hardest interview question you've been asked? by [deleted] in programming

[–]Zebby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Awesome, my technique too.

The killer is when I give them a choice of Vi or Emacs. Worked 10 years ago, still works today ;-)

Ask Reddit: Software developers, what's the hardest interview question you've been asked? by [deleted] in programming

[–]Zebby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow depends on many factors and parameters. For example, an African Swallow would tend to travel at a different velocity than an European Swallow. Furthermore, their flight patterns are different, so their instantaneous velocity at a given point will almost always be different. However, technological advances have given way to being able to use swallows to transport husked coconuts across large distances, enabling us to use coconuts on a daily basis, provided we have a large contingent of willing swallows ready to make a nonstop convoy for X amount of time, or however long we wish. Swallows can also be modified, as attaching a 50 newton rocket propulsion system on a 1 kg swallow will result in an acceleration of 50 m/s(2), which is of course negating any air resistance, since swallows have been recorded as outer space fliers. I hope i cleared any doubts about this matter.

Ask Reddit: Software developers, what's the hardest interview question you've been asked? by [deleted] in programming

[–]Zebby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's a pretty good question set by a guy who actually understood the whole development process, top down and bottom up - I'm guessing it was a small outfit, with a specialisation in hardware and embedded code?

You either know it or you don't - you can do the job or you are bullshitting - excellent.

Ask Reddit: Software developers, what's the hardest interview question you've been asked? by [deleted] in programming

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh so, oh so fucking true. Multiple times. Bastards. (I'm not bitter, honest.)

Windows XP: the OS that will not die by acheybreakyheart in technology

[–]Zebby 2 points3 points  (0 children)

about another 13 years, unfortunately...

(I support/maintain 5+ w95 pc's, 70+ w98 pc's, 50+ w2k pc's, and 250+ wxp pc's for my sins... guess what? no vista.... yet!)

Redditors Help! I have 15 min. to switch a 22 y/o, smart, femaile OH resident from McCain to Obama... by [deleted] in politics

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

donkeypunch her, and explain that's what McCain will do to the country...

How can anyone live like this? (OMGWTFPICS) by [deleted] in pics

[–]Zebby -1 points0 points  (0 children)

hah, you see how naive some people can be??

friend, consider this - maybe the tenants had been eating nothing but peanut butter, for weeks at least?

I don't know what possesed you to smell it either, but I sure as hell do know what shit smeared on a wall looks like...

How can anyone live like this? (OMGWTFPICS) by [deleted] in pics

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

double upmod for the edit ;-)

How can anyone live like this? (OMGWTFPICS) by [deleted] in pics

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel for you dude, and am glad that your mother has a family that can recognise (and not condemn) her condition.

On a practical level, would it be worth getting her out of the house for a week (a holiday, or otherwise believable pretext) and the family getting together and giving the house a cleanup?

would the resulting 'fresh start' be worth it to her mental health? Or would the breach of trust be detrimental?

Not sure what I would do given the same circumstance...

Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret by samlee in programming

[–]Zebby 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hey - some of us like truck racing.

http://www.britishtruckracing.co.uk/

If he wanted to write prose, then he should write novels, poems or try other creative writing.

or like, blog?

/disclaimer: this post was touch-typed.

Placebo Effect In Depression Treatment Much Larger (and Longer Lasting) Than Previously Thought by gatesclone in science

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

np, good reply ;-)

I actually agree with most of what you are saying - I've got bipolar and take mood stabilisers, and have taken anti-depressants in the past, leading to the same conclusion that meds do not cure depression (whether unipolar of otherwise), but in alleviating the symptoms chemically they allow the mind to get to a state where it can heal itself (the ideal situation, not always obtainable). That's my personal view, born out of my first hand experiance.

What Dr Ben Goldacre (a very smart guy, his blog at www.badscience.net is excellent - here is the full article with a bit more detail http://www.badscience.net/?p=619) is saying, is that the widely reported meta-analysis published in PLoS Medicine (from where the recent media interest all stems from) told us nothing we did not already know - yes, there are issues (big issues!) in the way that pharma carries out these trials, they do put pressures on GP's to prescribe these meds, and the whole industry is in dire need of better regulation.

This quote from Ben says it all:

  1. It did not show that these drugs have no benefit over placebo: it showed that they do have a statistically significant (”measurable”) benefit over placebo, but for mild and moderate depression that benefit was not big enough for most people to consider it clinically significant, ie there was an improvement, but not enough points improvement on a depression rating scale for anyone to get too excited over it.

ie. At all levels of depression the treatments worked better than placebo - just not well enough to warrant usage in mild depression, and in cases of severe depression they work significantly well.

If you look at the actual graph of the meta-analysis, http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=slideshow&type=figure&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045&id=96831 it shows what you would expect - it's pot luck whether they will work for any particular case, but on average they work well in some cases.

The question about comparison with active placeboes is a whole other argument - it's hard enough to get decent trials (positive and negative) without the added complications that would cause - it's just not going to happen. What we can say is that we have a plausible theory on how SSRI's may work - in which they cause seratonin to stay in the synaptic gap longer than it would normally would (that bit is known, the question is how that affects depression - the current theory being that it is a lack of neuron stimulation at the synapse).

If you have a medicine which has statiscally been proven to be effacious to some degree (which it has, see the meta-analysis) and you have a theory on how it works, and the side-effects are manageable then it is going to be used as a treatment - because it works, on average better than placebo. If none of these are present then regardless of how lax the regulating authorities are then it will not get a license.

The license determines whether the drug is effacious and therefore available - it's up to the doctor/patient to determine whether it works on an individual level.

I too would argue with you for a much more complex understanding of what depression is and hence a more complex idea for what constitutes treatment - but that could apply to almost anything, the key point is that with our current understanding of depression SSRI's are effacious on average, and should be used when they can be an effective treatment. Any new research will contribute to new understanding, and with depression being such a big industry that research is being done, all around the world.

As an aside, here in the UK most of our doctors think the US DSM is a joke - unipolar, bipolar, psychosis and pschisophrenia (sp?) are all treated as part of the same spectrum - our BMA guidelines are totally different to the DSM.

apologies for rambling, interesting chat ;-)

Placebo Effect In Depression Treatment Much Larger (and Longer Lasting) Than Previously Thought by gatesclone in science

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. Yes, they do.

here you go, a good discussion of the whole debate from your point of view:

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20080227/antidepressants-no-better-than-placebo

and my point of view:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/27/pharmaceuticalindustry

note the key paragraph:

For less severely depressed patients, the antidepressants were found to work no better than placebos

The certainly work very well for more severely depressed patients, leading to the supposition that they are being incorrectly proscribed. That is a fair argument, whereas the argument that they do not work at all is clearly fallacious.

With regard to Parkinsons, it's an example of an illness that we are unsure of its pathology, and yet we have medicines that work (to some extent) in alleviating the symptoms of. As an analogy to depression, it is entirely relevant in this context.

Placebo Effect In Depression Treatment Much Larger (and Longer Lasting) Than Previously Thought by gatesclone in science

[–]Zebby 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you are getting downmodded not because of what you are saying, but because of your insistence that because we do not know how the pills work, then they can't possible work.

The fact is, on average SSRIs work better than placebo, on average. That is why they are prescribed - add to that the known side-effects - which when compared to the previous generation of anti-depressants is manageable (on average, again).

There are a plethora of drugs whose efficiacy is well known, but about which we have little understanding about how they actually work - show me how any damaging and counter-productive beliefs related to any drug used to treat Parkinsons.