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User: Pollux

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  1. Three thoughts... on Simple Geometry = More Seats In an Airline · · Score: 3, Insightful

    #1) This will make it that much more inconvenient for passengers closest to the window to get out when they need to use the bathroom.

    #2) Forward-facing seats make more sense during takeoff, as the acceleration from the plane pushes passengers into their seats, but the seats keep them secure. Passengers facing the rear will find it a bit more uncomfortable holding themselves in the seat when basic physics is pushing them out of it. (Yes, I know airline attendants have rear-facing seats. A cousin of mine served as steward on an airline for some years and always complained about them.)

    #3) Are airplanes engineered to handle the additional weight of 80 more passengers and their luggage?

  2. While I'd like to agree with you... on Supreme Court Ruling Supports Same-Sex Marriage · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While it had its place in the 18th and 19th century, the Electoral college has long outlived its usefulness. The entire concept of winner-take-all in most states means that only a few key states actually decide our election every time it comes around....until the rules change, that's how the system works whether you like it or not.

    I'd like to agree with you, but it depends on the proposed method of election. Given the population distribution and unique division of powers between state and national governments within our nation, I'm not a fan of a direct popular vote for the presidency. I just don't believe it best encapsulates the spirit of our nation. While I would generally support a change over to the Congressional District Method, I am greatly concerned about gerrymandering and its affect on such a proposed alternative solution.

    In fact, check out the statistics at the Daily Kos, then do the math. If every state followed the Congressional District Method, Romney would have won the 2012 election...by one electoral vote! Interestingly, Obama would have still won the 2008 election. I wonder what happened between 2008 and 2012 that would have made such a difference...

  3. You are correct. HVAC is ridiculously expensive. Unlike the computer marketplace, there are a very limited supply of HVAC solutions, and many (not all) of the vendors like to keep their circuit and programming technology proprietary.

    We just bid out the controller circuits for our school's HVAC system this year in our school district. We have two buildings joined by a hallway on a common campus; 38 blowers and over a hundred dampers control air flow into each room in the building, and each needs a control circuit. Estimated cost was $150,000. Mind you, this cost is -strictly- for control circuits and software to manage them. (Our elementary building had HVAC equipment that was only 10 years old, and 23 years old in the high school. The equipment works fine, but when the circuits were upgraded with the construction of the elementary school in 2005, the contractor used an HVAC control solution that was already outdated. We could only find one vendor in the whole state that was able to service the system.)

    For 19 buildings, $2 million is certainly reasonable.

  4. But this is a new low... on Emails Show How Industry Lobbyists Basically Wrote The Trans-Pacific Partnership · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think it's common knowledge by now that industry can buy legislation. The new low is that the actual text of the bill is being kept under lock and key.

    I simply cannot see how it is constitutional to permit this to happen. While I understand that rules are being leveraged to limit its exposure (including the fast-track vote process), the spirit of the Constitution has always advocated for transparency and public ownership of government operations.

    I suppose what upsets me the most is that I cannot determine which I am more upset with: what's being done with the TPP or the fact that we don't have enough congressmen speaking out against it. As a representative of the people, any legislative process that seeks to erode the spirit of the Constitution is a threat to their constituents and should not be passed. I don't care if the text of the bill would buy every American a new house; the fact that it's being kept secret should be plenty of reason alone to vote it down.

  5. Enough is enough on SourceForge and GIMP [Updated] · · Score: 4, Insightful

    OzPeter,

    Soulskill has apologized. Repeatedly, and professionally. Accept it and move on.

  6. Speaking as a former yearbook adviser on Student Photographer Threatened With Suspension For Sports Photos · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This guy would be -any- yearbook adviser's dream to have. Look at his photos...they're incredible. He gets in close to his subject, captures the action vividly, and makes very good use of lighting. And for a sophomore? Simply amazing.

    This district is handling the situation all wrong. Regardless of whether or not they can or cannot make a claim to the ownership of the photos, they should be lifting this young man up for the talent he has and putting him on a pedestal. Enter him into national photography competitions. Get national recognition for his work, and put the trophies in your trophy case. And make him proud of his talent. He deserves it.

    Suing him? Simply ridiculous.

  7. Dear Microsoft on Microsoft To Teachers: Using Pens and Paper Not Fair To Students · · Score: 2

    I've been a mathematics teacher for nine years. And with the utmost sincerity, let me say this: Shut the fuck up.

    Take your baseless opinions regarding educational matters and keep them to yourself. Microsoft has had as much success running schools as they had selling MP3 players. Note taking has been proven time-and-time again to be a very effective and powerful mnemonic device for learning. Studies have also shown that note taking with a pen/pencil and paper is more effective than note taking with a laptop. Furthermore, I can ask my students to have a notebook and pencil the first day of class, and for those who forgot or cannot afford it, I have plenty of spares to give them. I cannot expect the same out of a laptop or other digital device. Until you have research clearly demonstrating that any digital device is superior for learning development and comprehension, stay out of my classroom.

  8. Obviously on Verizon, Sprint Agree To Pay Combined $158 Million Over Cramming Charges · · Score: 3, Informative

    Of course it will deter them! Obviously, when you admit that you did wrong and accept responsibility for your misdeeds, the guilt and shame must be overwhelmingly embarrassing! Let's see how hard the hammer of the FCC came down this time...

    This Consent Decree resolves allegations that Verizon charged consumers for third-party products...The Bureau...contends that Verizon violated the law...To resolve the Bureau’s investigation...Verizon will provide a total of $90,000,000 in payments and funds for consumer redress...the public interest would be served by adopting the Consent Decree and terminating the referenced investigation.

    Hmm...I'm confused...[CTRL]-[F]..."Guilty"...No Results Found? ...

    Serving the public interest my ass. Ninety million bucks says Tom Wheeler goes to work for one of these companies the moment he leaves office.

  9. It's not recycled sewage on California Gets Past the Yuck Factor With "Toilet To Tap" Water Recycling · · Score: 2

    Stop calling it recycled sewage. It's recycled water. And everyone drinks it.

    As this page eloquently explains (or you can go to the Wikipedia page to get a lot more details), the wastewater that flows out of your house goes to a water treatment plant where it goes through four stages:

    1) Pre-Treatment - large objects (tampons, leaves, wet wipes, etc.) are removed
    2) Primary Treatment - fat & grease is removed; organic solids are removed
    3) Secondary Treatment - remaining organic matter is broken down and removed; soaps & detergents and other contaminants are removed
    4) Tertiary Treatment - nitrogen & phosphorous compounds are removed & oxygen levels are balanced; further processing & cleaning (depending on state laws)

    What remains is dumped back into a river, which, surprise, gets pumped out to supply water to the next urban community downstream!

    Again, it's recycled water. Whether it's pumped out of the river for tap, or whether it's pumped, filtered, bottled, and sold at your supermarket, it's recycled water.

  10. I'm confused... on Led By Zuckerberg, Billionaires Give $100M To Fund Private Elementary Schools · · Score: 1

    "We believe that every child should have access to an exceptional, personalized education that enables them to be happy and successful in an ever-changing world," reads AltSchool's mission statement.

    Then why have you set yourself up as a private school? If you want to reach every child, why not set yourself up as a public charter school and allow every student equal opportunity to apply? Currently, only children whose parents have $28,750 to spare have access to this "exceptional" education. That's not every child.

    Eventually, the plan is for the billionaire-bankrolled education magic to trickle down. AltSchool's pitch to investors, according to NPR, is that one day, charter schools or even regular public schools could outsource many basic functions to its software platform.

    Good luck with that. At $28,750, you cost way more money than what every state in the nation pays to educate a child. And all those lucky kids still get a teacher in the room! You better have a really, -really- good return on investment for that kind of money!

  11. Paying for channels we don't watch on ESPN Sues Verizon To Stop New Sports-Free TV Bundles · · Score: 4, Informative

    You pay for channels you don't want so you can watch the few channels you do want.

    The communications director at a local cable service provider once told me the problem with ESPN: it's the most expensive channel in their entire cable lineup. They would love to separate it out and treat it a-la-carte like HBO, but their agreements don't allow for it. Either everyone gets it, or no one does. And he said everyone gets it, because whenever the feed goes out for that channel, their switchboards light up like a Christmas tree. (He also mentioned that the other channel that customers most hate to lose is Lifetime, though that's not nearly as expensive.)

    It's extortion, plain and simple. Though ESPN is only partly to blame...the NFL, NBA, and NCAA are also guilty for making game broadcasting rights so pricy.

  12. I got this far into the article... on The Future Deconstruction of the K-12 Teacher · · Score: 2

    I describe what I think the public-school classroom will look like in 20 years, with a large, fantastic computer screen at the front, streaming one of the nation’s most engaging, informative lessons available on a particular topic. ...And I stopped. This guy doesn't get it.

    You could have the most engaging, informative lesson on the face of the planet, and kids may still not listen to it. Maybe they didn't get much sleep last night. Perhaps they ate at McDonalds for breakfast and have a sugar rush. Sometimes they feel depressed, because they just broke up with their significant other. Maybe the topic is about mathematics, a subject that's just difficult to understand. There's a possibility the student is dyslexic. And this is not even the tip of the iceberg.

    Generally, humans need inspiration, and they are best inspired by other humans, education no exception. There is a small subset of students who possess enough initiative and tenacity that, even at a young age, they find success by their own merits. But the majority of students face challenges that interfere with their motivation to learn. They need to be coached through these challenges, actions requiring insight into the human psyche, something computers have yet to achieve.

    To draw a parallel, do we yet see any high school sports teams being coached by a computer? Shouldn't a computer be better equipped to analyze plays, to determine strengths and weaknesses of players, and to determine strategies that have the greatest probability of success? What does the coach have that the computer doesn't?

  13. I would love to see... on Intel 'Compute Stick' PC-Over-HDMI Dongle Launched, Tested · · Score: 1

    I would love to see touch-screen TV's become more prevalent and cheaper. As soon as they do, I pair a touch-screen TV with one of these dongles, and I have a perfect display & presentation tool for business conference rooms and classrooms.

  14. That's correct. on LA Schools Seeking Refund Over Botched iPad Plan · · Score: 3, Informative

    So... They didn't test the iPad / content combo to establish usability / feasibility / usefulness prior to dropping all this cash?

    Correct. As it says in the LA Times article, "The district selected Pearson based only on samples of curriculum — nothing more was available."

  15. If Microsoft truly cared... on US Dept. of Education Teams With Microsoft-Led Teach.org On Teacher Diversity · · Score: 0

    If Microsoft truly cared about education, why don't they just move their licensing division back from Nevada to Washington state and start paying their fair share of taxes to fund public schools there?

  16. Here here on Hillary Clinton Declares 2016 Democratic Presidential Bid · · Score: 1

    Don't blame Washington. Blame yourself.

    I firmly believe that if Americans want their government to change, they first need to change themselves.

  17. Past NSF involvement on The Cyberlearning Technologies Transforming Education · · Score: 4, Informative

    For those who can't remember this far back, we have the National Science Foundation to thank for CORE-Plus, SIMMS, The Interactive Mathematics Program, and the Connected Mathematics Project, along with other curricula otherwise known as "Leftist Math" that really caught on in the late 90's. While their intentions were good, and their involvement in creating new math programs helped reshape much needed reforms in how mathematics was taught, the programs pushed the pendulum too far in the opposite direction. (I'm speaking as a mathematics teacher who instructed students in CORE-Plus and CMP.)

    As much as I am frustrated with the current methods of "integrating" technology into classrooms, given their past track record, I'm skeptical as to how the NSF can improve it.

  18. Don't Blame the DoE on Prosecutors Get an 'A' On Convictions of Atlanta Ed-Reform-Gone-Bad Test Cheats · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Corruption is "massive in the DoE"? Really? I don't think your premise is common knowledge, so please cite a few sources.

    The DoE doesn't pass any laws; it enforces the ones passed by Congress. And as it's a cabinet-level department, Congress approves all cabinet appointees, so blame them on both fronts. And while the DoE does a lot of things, its central mission, and its reason for its establishment, is to assure access to equal educational opportunity for every individual. Take the DoE away, and we've lost the primary means of enforcement against educational discrimination of children in our nation. Even if you do happen to somehow prove that the DoE is full of corruption, I don't think you want to throw that baby out with the bathwater.

    Speaking with 10 years of experience in public K-12 schools, blame lies with the superintendent. Superintendents are the leaders of a district, and they can and often do set a strong tone of expectations that are carried out by administrators, including principals, which then trickle down to teachers and support staff. There's no doubt in my mind that the superintendent, tacitly if not directly, created this cheating culture in Atlanta. We can blame the law all we want for encouraging the genesis of such an environment, but that's like blaming cheese for mold growth. Yes, an optimal environment was created for this cheating scandal to take root and grow, but it was disgusting school leaders like Dr. Hall that caused it to happen.

  19. 4/1 Story Recommendations on Mutinous Humans Murder Peaceful Space-going AI · · Score: 3, Funny

    Let's help out our editors! Let's propose 4/1 stories that we'd like to see, and we just mod up/down good ideas & bad ideas. Maybe they'll take notice.

    Good 4/1 stories:

    Slashdot Beta code adopted for official North Korea website.
    Bill Gates first in line at Apple Store to buy Gold iWatch.
    World returns to normal as Hell, Michigan, begins to thaw.

  20. Most important seven words: on Ask Slashdot: Terminally Ill - What Wisdom Should I Pass On To My Geek Daughter? · · Score: 2

    "I love you"

    and

    "I'm proud of you."

    Let her hear those seven words, and I guarantee it will always bring a smile to her face.

  21. There's no better comment that succinctly states why fully autonomous killer robots are a bad idea.

    Another great example is the first eight minutes of the 2014 version of Robocop. Satire at its best, and Samuel L. Jackson doesn't disappoint. (Ignore the rest of the movie...it was terrible. But the first eight minutes were absolutely brilliant. Honestly. Rent the movie, watch the first eight minutes, and then just skip the rest.) He begins the movie with the following: "What if I told you that even the worst neighborhood in America could be made completely safe. And what if I told you that this could be accomplished without risking the life of one single law enforcement officer. How do I know this? Because it's happening right now in every country in the world but this one." And then we're taken to the streets of Iran, where fully autonomous robots patrol the streets. Honestly, it's absolutely brilliant.

  22. And you think that's credible? on No Tech Bubble Here, Says CNN: "This Time It's Different." · · Score: 0

    Having CNN say there's no tech bubble is as credible as Fox News calling themselves "fair and balanced". CNN is owned by Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner. Is having their front-line "news" network run a headline of "Tech Bubble - Another Crash Coming Soon?" in the best interest of the corporation? Especially when they're on the verge of one of the largest telecommunication mergers in the history of our nation? They need to instill -confidence- in the market for their deal to go through. What better way to accomplish that then with their "news" network?

    But of course there's another bubble. Except, this time, it's not only in technology. That may be the one we best recognize, but there's also the student loan bubble, the health care industry bubble, and a second real estate bubble is already in the works. The 2008 recession didn't wipe out wealth, nor the heavy concentration of it in the hands of a small group of people; it only slowed the flow of it through main street. Now the economic metrics (unemployment rate, GDP, job creation numbers, fed interest rate, etc.) are looking good for investments to be made again. Now that Wall Street is ready to open up the floodgates, don't be surprised to see how much money flows.

    And yes, I'm expecting that the next bubble burst to be the worst of the three, the first being the dot com bust, and the second being the "great recession". Because when we had our first two bubbles pop, nothing was really done to keep those responsible for causing it from doing the same thing all over again.

  23. Going out of business? on RadioShack Near Deal To Sell Half of Its Stores, Close the Rest · · Score: 2

    Maybe putting out another Super Bowl commercial this year would have helped.

  24. Better battery life, assuming... on Intel Unveils 5th Gen Core Series Broadwell-U CPUs and Cherry Trail Atom · · Score: 1

    Similarly, the company is arguing that it can boost battery life by 1.5 hours.

    Assuming you are using the same battery.

    I bought a lot of 30 laptops for my school w/ 3rd gen Core i3's. Laptops contained a 56Wh battery. Following year, I bought another lot of 30 hours with 4th gen Core i3's. Laptops contained a 47Wh battery. Give the Big 3 a CPU that extends battery life, they package it with a shorter-life battery and pocket the savings.

  25. I agree with you completely, but... on Better Learning Through Expensive Software? One Principal Thinks Not · · Score: 1

    If every parent was as responsible as you are at teaching kids how to love learning, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

    Speaking parent-to-parent, yes, we parents need to give our kids the best. But speaking as a teacher and a tech director for a public school, parents are not giving kids their best. That's the problem.

    In one classroom you can every range of student imaginable, from the one that built their own Siemens S7 PLC lab project to the one who slept in a car in freezing temperatures the night before to avoid dad's alcoholic abuse. And you cannot expect even high quality veteran teachers to know how to successfully instruct both, let alone when they're in the same classroom together.