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Not just Florida.

Climate Change and Ocean Levels Ironic that North Carolina has a lot to look forward to.

One of the things that I do to help stave off the occasional hunger is to drink more fluids. I've found that the low-calorie Crystal Light...

On that note, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I prefer, well, tea. Specifically, hot brewed tea. Most teas are unprocessed and certain varieties are allegedly beneficial, (green teas). Of course, it's not so healthy if you load it down with sugar and cream, so you're better off finding a variety you like straight-up.

As far as exercise goes, running can be a very solitary exercise if you live or work in a sparsely populated area. It can also be a very geeky venture, especially if you train for a race. There's tons of research on the physiology of performance and lots of race training regimens based on the acquired knowledge (caveat emptor, though, some are more well grounded than others). I've been partial to the Furman Institute's programs for foot race training.

Ummm... firstly, a true pedant wouldn't use the ill-defined term "average."

Secondly. If you have a physicist's training then you should certainly know that the mean value theorem (aka the fundamental theorem of Calculus) says that the speeder must have at equalled their median velocity at some point in the interval, even if we don't know what that point is.

So yes, they measure it - they take measurements and then deduce a minimum value for the car's maximum velocity. That's no different from any other measurement that physicists do in the lab using basic deductive tools.

First-Year Calculus Notes
Difference Equations to Differential Equations: An Introduction to Calculus
Lectures on Calculus
Elementary Calculus: An Approach Using Infinitesimals
The Calculus Bible

Arguably, some writers would have learned to spell in school (if they were so lucky to attend). But what constituted "Standard English" would vary from town to town. Many people never travelled to other towns, so much of English spelling developed in pockets.

Until the rise of mercantilism in the 1500s and 1700s, variations in spelling and grammar were of minor importance. In time, the move from guilds to mercantalism required precision in business dealings, and the language had to be standardized. For example, English speakers dropped "they" as a singular, finding agreement in number more important than gender neutrality.

Much of "standard English" grammar is based on Latin rules of grammar. The reason we avoid splitting infinitives is that you can't split a Latin infinitive -- it's one word!

Well, that about sums up my English degree. :) I knew I'd use it again one day.

Have they found Chaucer's matching EULA yet?

Have they found Chaucer's matching EULA yet?

Sorry for the double post, but I just found this document, the debate in the South Carolina Convention, which voted for secession (the first state to do so). They discuss whether slavery or tariffs are the issue. In the end, the declaration they adopted named issues surrounding slavery as the cause for secession.

Cute, but a more informative rejoinder would have included a link to the great vowel shift.

Now, he argues that it is important to have the rich because without the rich, there would be no Maecenas, alluding to the famous Greek patron of the arts. If we reduce people to equality, society as a whole suffers and flounders -- sure, there are people who are rich, but they aren't the people next door anymore.

On the other hand, he argues, the rich should give back to those who helped him or her get there. If he or she does not contribute to charity, he or she must be forced to return the majority of the money back into society at death.

The estate tax in America comes into effect with an estate valued at $1M+. Owning a home and some retirement, it's relatively easy (assuming you're 40+ and have been saving) to have an estate worth more than that.

By the way, every time a politician talks about taxing "rich" people, realize that "rich" under the IRS definition is making about $50K jointly or around $25K as a single. Everyone reading this has the opportunity to become affluent if he or she simply saves their money and waits 15 - 20 years... doesn't matter which mutual fund, take any large cap mutual fund. See how you feel about politicians beating down on the "rich".

The very rich are able to get around the estate taxes, but they give up absolute control of their estate to a large extent through either an irrevocable trust or a charitable foundation.

That's why there are organizations like the Carnegie Foundation still around today. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be around long after Bill & Melinda (and their wealth) are footnotes in history. If Gates can't take his money with him, he has to do something with it.

I graduated from Furman a year ago and can tell you from experience that they are using the packetshaper at that school. The reason I know is that I worked for the IT department as a support technician while I was a student. The problem at Furman is that the device is not set up correctly. For some reason, it slows down all traffic at Furman. The problem at furman illustrates the problems that a poor admin can cause.

Nothing works except HTTP.

I think they even screwed up the prioritzation of DNS packets - websites time out like crazy.

Eh? The Civil War wasn't about slavery. Slavery was abolished more as a punitive measure against the Southern states than as a goal of the war. Lincoln stated flatly that his goal was to preserve the Union -- whether with such preservation every slave was freed, some slaves were freed, or no slaves were freed.

http://www.furman.edu/~msvec/ED11/jeffknow.html for the full text. Jefferson had alot to say about trusting the government. Specifically, don't do it. In fact IIRC most if not all of the US founding fathers were supicious of government. That is why they took such great care in the writing the Constitution.