Yes, luckily H2S numbs your sense of smell first... (note this is sarcasm, while H2S is the "rotten egg" smelling chemical, it can kill you pretty quick)
Data is plural. It represents multiple points each of which could be referred to as a "datum". Some one would say "the datum suggests" if a single point could suggest something. But when you have multiple points, you have data, which can possibly suggest something. (I know, I know correlation is not causation, this is grammar nazi, not statistics nazi) I always use "the data suggests". Of course, it could be argued that "data" is a collective noun that is singular but refers to a group. However, based on the origin of the word, it is the plural form of datum from Latin.
Oh my god... You are my hero. This is the best comment I have ever read on the internet PERIOD. I have mod points, but no mod on Slashdot can give you enough karma for what you just wrote.
Ok, I won't argue with you about the Indiana Toll Road. I am not that familiar with it. Secondly, you'll note that your dozen letters (and a check) are a government provided monopoly. I said packages are better from UPS, you can send letters via UPS, but it has to be overnight, not 1st class.
And to my last point, every state in the US is facing service cuts, not FUNDING cuts. Roads, bridges, and infrastructure are getting spent the hell out of (seen those stupid signs for the reinvestment act or whatever). Local schools are spending more than ever despite falling grades http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2010/08/05/grigori-rasputin-bailout/. Public safety funding is at all time highs as well. Service is being cut because of unions demanding more benefits and pay despite lower revenues due to lower tax income with the economic downturn. The only rollercoaster is on revenue, funding remains a positive slope. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Annual_federal_outlay.png The last negative slope was after WWII. There has been no downturn since.
Standards creation does not have to be a government mandate, but it DOES regulate interstate commerce in that way, and is thus a power it has as allowed by the constitution. In fact, most government mandates are that industries follow their own standards, such as API (for petroleum companies), they produce standards and the government requires compliance.
Roads are a good example, look at the Indiana Turnpike. Since being leased to a private company (for profit), the road conditions and toll speeds have improved. It's not practical for all roads to be toll roads, but it would certainly create better roads for less cost.
Oh, public parks are a good one, but what about private parks? I'd rather go to Cedar Point than any national park. Not to mention the government does a horrible job of managing them (look at how they try to control wildlife populations in what is supposed to be natural).
The defense department is nice, but if you needed protection and cost was an issue, you'd use a private security firm.
And as for the other reply, go to the post office, and then go to a UPS store and tell me which one has better service for sending a package (to send a letter is once again a government granted monopoly).
Finally, I completely agree, if you cut off funding government services will wither. Unfortunately, with the exception of NASA, I can't really think of any government service that ever has a funding cut. Generally government funding always has a positive slope, regardless of performance.
No, may smart people think greed is a good thing, but it's short term thinkers that screw up the system. Bernie Madoff was greedy, but it didn't work out in the long term now did it?
Big Government is probably better since there's no profit involved
REALLY? REALLY? Name one service the government does better than private industry. Just one! Trying to make a profit creates what customers want in an open market. Broadband is not an open market because of the government in the first place. More monopolies (especially government ones) will not make things better. And yes, you're right, there is no way to cancel government services. Why can I not "opt out" of social security, medicare, and all the other crap I pay for out of my paycheck?
Actually diesel is a much better container because it has an even higher energy density, and it is much more stable than gasoline to the point where it's volatility is so low, it is hard to ignite except under high temperature or compression.
What are you talking about, this technology has been around for millions of years. It works like this:
1) Plants take CO2 out of the air 2) Plants use water and the sun to convert the CO2 into glucose 3) Plants die 4) Plants get buried 5) Plants decay 6) High pressure and temperature cooks buried plant matter and converts to crude oil 7) Crude oil is distilled to separate out gasoline (This is the profit stage for those who were wondering)
Voila, gasoline from thin air! Only takes a few million years... Hope you weren't planning on driving too fast.
The costs of mining lithium are also externalized, as is the cost of burning coal at a power plant to charge the batteries... Oh wait, I'm sorry. Did you have a point?
I assure you, at the end of the day in the oil company/government financial relationship, the net flow is to the government. Yes oil companies receive subsidies, but they should more appropriately be called rebates, and they just reduce the amount of taxes the company pays at the end of the year. It's the same thing here, yes an electric car subsidy reduces the cost of the car, but assuming the buyers are the upper class, they are giving the government more than 7500 that year anyway, so it's not exactly the government giving people money, but rather letting them keep more of their money. The problem with our government is the people who take the subsidies and don't pay out in taxes (which would be the lower class).
Wow someone else who realizes that dollars one way or another find their way back to energy. Generally something that costs more will have taken more energy to create. Which is why electric cars are NOT more efficient, because the reason they are so expensive is because it takes so much energy to build the cars in the first place.
From what I have read, very few schools make money on sports. They may make money on a football or basketball program, but they sure don't on soccer, volleyball, hockey, crew, etc.
If Kevin Costner can grow gills, I'm fairly certain a few human beings can survive CO2 levels of even up to 1% (about 800x more concentrated than it is now). Actually, 1% CO2 will only make people feel drowsy. Oh wait, you mean temperature. in a few hundred years, let's assume the average temperature goes up a whole degree centigrade. So we move to Canada, and life goes on.
Might I suggest a crowbar. That's what I used for all my scientific research in Half Life. You could probably use one to lift the thing up a few millimeters.
Next, I would trust traffic engineers too, unfortunately, there IS probably some anonymous guy in Texas setting the speed limit.. A politician. Engineers don't set speed limits.
Well fair labor rate is relative since the cost of living isn't the same everywhere. Not to mention the standard of living. Unless you want Chinese workers to live in mansions just because everyone in southern California does.
You must work for the same company I do... They fail to realize Firefox with no security updates is STILL more secure than fully patched IE6. The irony is that recently we had a cyber attack due to a vulnerability in IE that wouldn't have affected us if people were using Firefox for external sites. I personally use Firefox with IE tab to browse internal sites.
Well considering millions of barrels of oil naturally leak into the oceans all over the world and have for millenia, and not many nukes have been detonated under the sea, I'm not sure you're right. But of course, you have a geology, engineering, and nuclear physics degree don't you?
Slashdot Mirror
Why should we be looking for someone named Albert and his robots when there are aliens out there begging to be found?
Yes, luckily H2S numbs your sense of smell first... (note this is sarcasm, while H2S is the "rotten egg" smelling chemical, it can kill you pretty quick)
Data is plural. It represents multiple points each of which could be referred to as a "datum". Some one would say "the datum suggests" if a single point could suggest something. But when you have multiple points, you have data, which can possibly suggest something. (I know, I know correlation is not causation, this is grammar nazi, not statistics nazi) I always use "the data suggests". Of course, it could be argued that "data" is a collective noun that is singular but refers to a group. However, based on the origin of the word, it is the plural form of datum from Latin.
Oh my god... You are my hero. This is the best comment I have ever read on the internet PERIOD. I have mod points, but no mod on Slashdot can give you enough karma for what you just wrote.
Ok, I won't argue with you about the Indiana Toll Road. I am not that familiar with it. Secondly, you'll note that your dozen letters (and a check) are a government provided monopoly. I said packages are better from UPS, you can send letters via UPS, but it has to be overnight, not 1st class.
And to my last point, every state in the US is facing service cuts, not FUNDING cuts. Roads, bridges, and infrastructure are getting spent the hell out of (seen those stupid signs for the reinvestment act or whatever). Local schools are spending more than ever despite falling grades http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2010/08/05/grigori-rasputin-bailout/. Public safety funding is at all time highs as well. Service is being cut because of unions demanding more benefits and pay despite lower revenues due to lower tax income with the economic downturn. The only rollercoaster is on revenue, funding remains a positive slope. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Annual_federal_outlay.png The last negative slope was after WWII. There has been no downturn since.
Standards creation does not have to be a government mandate, but it DOES regulate interstate commerce in that way, and is thus a power it has as allowed by the constitution. In fact, most government mandates are that industries follow their own standards, such as API (for petroleum companies), they produce standards and the government requires compliance.
Roads are a good example, look at the Indiana Turnpike. Since being leased to a private company (for profit), the road conditions and toll speeds have improved. It's not practical for all roads to be toll roads, but it would certainly create better roads for less cost.
Oh, public parks are a good one, but what about private parks? I'd rather go to Cedar Point than any national park. Not to mention the government does a horrible job of managing them (look at how they try to control wildlife populations in what is supposed to be natural).
The defense department is nice, but if you needed protection and cost was an issue, you'd use a private security firm.
And as for the other reply, go to the post office, and then go to a UPS store and tell me which one has better service for sending a package (to send a letter is once again a government granted monopoly).
Finally, I completely agree, if you cut off funding government services will wither. Unfortunately, with the exception of NASA, I can't really think of any government service that ever has a funding cut. Generally government funding always has a positive slope, regardless of performance.
No, may smart people think greed is a good thing, but it's short term thinkers that screw up the system. Bernie Madoff was greedy, but it didn't work out in the long term now did it?
Big Government is probably better since there's no profit involved
REALLY? REALLY? Name one service the government does better than private industry. Just one! Trying to make a profit creates what customers want in an open market. Broadband is not an open market because of the government in the first place. More monopolies (especially government ones) will not make things better. And yes, you're right, there is no way to cancel government services. Why can I not "opt out" of social security, medicare, and all the other crap I pay for out of my paycheck?
Actually diesel is a much better container because it has an even higher energy density, and it is much more stable than gasoline to the point where it's volatility is so low, it is hard to ignite except under high temperature or compression.
It's because then you'd constantly require more vespene gas, and imagine how annoying that would be!
What are you talking about, this technology has been around for millions of years. It works like this:
1) Plants take CO2 out of the air
2) Plants use water and the sun to convert the CO2 into glucose
3) Plants die
4) Plants get buried
5) Plants decay
6) High pressure and temperature cooks buried plant matter and converts to crude oil
7) Crude oil is distilled to separate out gasoline (This is the profit stage for those who were wondering)
Voila, gasoline from thin air! Only takes a few million years... Hope you weren't planning on driving too fast.
The costs of mining lithium are also externalized, as is the cost of burning coal at a power plant to charge the batteries... Oh wait, I'm sorry. Did you have a point?
I assure you, at the end of the day in the oil company/government financial relationship, the net flow is to the government. Yes oil companies receive subsidies, but they should more appropriately be called rebates, and they just reduce the amount of taxes the company pays at the end of the year. It's the same thing here, yes an electric car subsidy reduces the cost of the car, but assuming the buyers are the upper class, they are giving the government more than 7500 that year anyway, so it's not exactly the government giving people money, but rather letting them keep more of their money. The problem with our government is the people who take the subsidies and don't pay out in taxes (which would be the lower class).
Wow someone else who realizes that dollars one way or another find their way back to energy. Generally something that costs more will have taken more energy to create. Which is why electric cars are NOT more efficient, because the reason they are so expensive is because it takes so much energy to build the cars in the first place.
From what I have read, very few schools make money on sports. They may make money on a football or basketball program, but they sure don't on soccer, volleyball, hockey, crew, etc.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2008-05-16-financial-study_N.htm
If Kevin Costner can grow gills, I'm fairly certain a few human beings can survive CO2 levels of even up to 1% (about 800x more concentrated than it is now). Actually, 1% CO2 will only make people feel drowsy. Oh wait, you mean temperature. in a few hundred years, let's assume the average temperature goes up a whole degree centigrade. So we move to Canada, and life goes on.
Might I suggest a crowbar. That's what I used for all my scientific research in Half Life. You could probably use one to lift the thing up a few millimeters.
Yes it's slashdotted before the first post... Don't you know on Slashdot, those who RTFA don't post, and those who post don't RTFA?
Wow, chalk up another one for Rule 34...
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Rule_34
And take off your shoes dammit! Geez, you'll get crap on the bedsheets...
Let's do a check of your facts...
Find me a report that says increases in speed limits increase actual speeds. According to the US DOT, they did a study that found increasing the speed limit did NOT affect the average speed of traffic. http://www.motorists.org/speedlimits/home/effects-raising-and-lowering-the-speed-limit/
Next, I would trust traffic engineers too, unfortunately, there IS probably some anonymous guy in Texas setting the speed limit.. A politician. Engineers don't set speed limits.
Well fair labor rate is relative since the cost of living isn't the same everywhere. Not to mention the standard of living. Unless you want Chinese workers to live in mansions just because everyone in southern California does.
You must work for the same company I do... They fail to realize Firefox with no security updates is STILL more secure than fully patched IE6. The irony is that recently we had a cyber attack due to a vulnerability in IE that wouldn't have affected us if people were using Firefox for external sites. I personally use Firefox with IE tab to browse internal sites.
But what will Michael do in his crazy antics in Miami? He usually needs like 3 prepaid phones for every job. It will kill off one my favorite shows!
Well considering millions of barrels of oil naturally leak into the oceans all over the world and have for millenia, and not many nukes have been detonated under the sea, I'm not sure you're right. But of course, you have a geology, engineering, and nuclear physics degree don't you?