I have been having the same thoughts. I don't agree with their position entirely. I think the lower/broader tax plan is a great idea, and the balanced budget amendment is totally unworkable. Still, they are doing exactly what they said they'd do when elected.
More significantly, it appears that they can't be strong-armed by party leadership on the issue. They want significant cuts and won't agree to a plan that doesn't provide that.
People complain about spineless politicians. People complain about the two party system. The alternative is right unfolding right now. This block of representatives is, for practical purposes, a third party. They aren't voting with the Democrats or the national Republican leadership, they're voting their own way.
I agree, the "Lucas is greedy" bit is far overblown. Yes, he makes a ton of money. But he doesn't live like Donald Trump, even though he easily could. From all accounts, he has a rather modest lifestyle for someone of his wealth. He pours the money into what he likes: making films. He seems to enjoy it from the macro level, and isn't so good at the details.
Plus, a lot of people overlook the influence of his former wife, Marcia. She edited Graffiti, Scorsese's Taxi Driver, and all three in the original Star Wars trilogy. For the prequel trilogy there was no studio or editor who could force hard decisions on Lucas.
Working in the field of transportation safety research (including distraction) my observation is that people over-estimate the control of the device as a problem (punching in the phone number), and under-estimate the mental resources dedicated to the task (the conversation). This is why radios, fast food, and other "distractions" don't generally produce the same level of effect as cell phones.
It doesn't make a lot of resources to push the button (assuming you already know how to operate the device) or shove a cheeseburger in your mouth. This is why hands-free shows the same level of distraction as hand-held phones, and both are worse than other tasks.
As to why in-car conversations are less of a problem than cell conversations... no one has any convincing proof. One is the difference between self-paced and forced-pace tasks. Others theorize a "day dreaming" state in which the person dedicates a lot of mental resources to put themselves into the remote conversation. Adults are the best at safely maintaining in-car conversations. Teenagers are significantly more dangerous with other teens in the vehicle.
Your comment about your father-in-law is interesting, and (in my opinion) a great example of distraction. He isn't operating a gadget, he is getting lost mentally. This is the issue with phones.
Where I live the local politicians get paid very little for the amount of hours they put in. I think this is rather unfortunate because it limits political office to people who don't need to work full time. Usually retirees or the spouse of someone who makes a lot of money.
Those who serve on advisory committees get paid nothing at all (although it is only about 5 to 15 hours a month). The city is usually begging for volunteers to fill positions on the committees. And the committees are where a lot of decisions actually get made (the politicians can always go against the committee's recommendation, but seldom do).
Of course, there is the perception that everyone must be corrupt or have some nefarious agenda. Otherwise, why would someone volunteer their time to make their community a better place?
If it is near your house, then you are a citizen of the jurisdiction that controls the road. Likely city or county, possibly state. Go to your city/county council and politely ask the engineer for the data that supports the speed limits. They usually have information on traffic count, visibility distance, or road design speed to justify the speed limit. Sometimes not.
My city has a few areas that were set in the 1960s because somebody wanted people to slow down near their house, or whatever. People just accepted it for decades. Looking into it, we have no current justification, and we are changing them.
A word of caution: doing the work of actively participating, sitting through meetings, writing letters, etc. may make you cynical towards people who simply bitch in online forums.
In my opinion, there are serious privacy concerns with the system. In order to provide road condition/safety information and perform congestion pricing it tracks location constantly. The study isn't concerned with privacy as an implementation issue, although previous surveys have noted there could be a problem with public acceptance.
No, it is not. Have you ever driven a semi truck? They are not tax exempt.
Off-road equipment can use tax exempt fuel. Farm tractors and bulldozers. The fuel contains a dye and law enforcement will check fuel tanks for the presence of the dye. In my state the fines start at $2,000 for using off-road fuel in an on-road vehicle.
I understand perfectly well how income tax works in the US. I did not say that progressive income tax brackets were the reason any state was out of money. I also never suggested that a business owner would be taxed on gross income.
My point was that tax brackets stop rather abruptly. That small business owner who nets $80k per year isn't necessarily a whole lot better off than his employees, particularly when you factor in the employer share of social security, medicare, and unemployment that he must pay personally. Yet he is lumped in with multimillionaires because there are no higher tax brackets. Even at the federal level things max out at $373k. There isn't a $500k or $1M bracket. And then some people are shocked when there is not overwhelming support to "tax the rich".
I think to future historians, the most baffling thing of all will be how so many of the middle and lower class cheered on deregulation, defended the rich
Perhaps this is because the middle class gets tied in to the "rich" when it comes to taxes and regulation. In my state the governor wants to create the highest tax bracket in the nation on the "rich". Which he defines as $80k salary per year.
While someone at level is living comfortably, they are not flying around in private jets and relaxing on their yacht. Many are self-employed and have no guarantee that next year won't see their business collapse.
But that is the cut off. The local hardware store owner is put in the same group with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. And then people act surprised when a large number of voters aren't in favor of "taxing the rich".
Yes, you are quite right. Singling out only the men (and often only the white men) does us all a great disservice.
Yes, it does. But wouldn't the proper response be to ensure a history lesson is inclusive of the society, rather than further divide the topic? Otherwise it implies that History is "mens history" and shall remain that way.
Personally, I find that many of the people in such fields are at least a generation behind. Was there a need in the 1960s to explicitly break with convention to look at underrepresented groups? Probably. I don't know. I wasn't born yet. By the time I was in grade school we were certainly being taught about the colonization and exploitation of the American continents by European powers (and, later the US). Slavery. Voting rights. The Civil Rights movement. Etc.
And then some aging hippie professor would come along and act like we didn't know there were people here when Columbus landed. Just because you were taught that shit during the Eisenhower administration doesn't mean that's how I learned it.
Correct. Melting can be more efficient than hauling the snow somewhere in a truck. Also, snow removed from parking lots and roads isn't exactly clean. It is full of trash and pollutants. The snow-melting rigs will filter the water before discharging it.
As long as the browser works, I don't see how the app store model has any impact on "internet freedom".
Don't discount the impact of the masses. If all the kids and Grandma switch primarily to using apps on their phone, then it is not unreasonable to think the web would begin to stagnate and languish. Certainly people could continue to operate web sites, but the significance might be greatly diminished. Gopher is still around.
Back in the 1990s I remember that people used to cry that corporations wanted the internet to be "tv with a 'buy now' button". The app model seems to be much more in that direction.
I agree that there are universities which do a poor job with computer science, or abuse the term. But I would be interested to know how many of them actually do it, and whether they are using a different name for their curriculum. My degree was most definitely in computer science.
Although I'll readily admit I often did not appreciate it as a student. It has been after a decade of working that I now am grateful to have been compelled to learn software and hardware theory, not merely programming.
My guess is that most schools with solid science and engineering programs still know the difference between comp. sci. and programming.
Because the media networks don't want you to. Not only do they sell a bunch of channels packaged together, but they insist that their channels be included on a sales tier with everything else. They don't want to have a "NBC package" as an option... you might not buy it. They want their entire lineup to be included in the base cable package.
To make this happen they typically blackmail the cable company and (more importantly) the customers by withholding the one channel everyone wants. Usually a channel that carries major sporting events in the market they are negotiating.
If you are simply going to ignore all the research that shows hands-free to be as dangerous as hand-held, and more dangerous than in-car conversations (except for teens) why are you asking for a citation?
This is the equivalent of declaring that the Earth is flat and no amount of research will convince you otherwise.
It's the University's network. They can basically do whatever they want.
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/rule.html
Section IV of UCF policy clearly states they can monitor the content of individual communications without advance notice to protect "the integrity of the University".
As for students being dumb enough to use their school's email system to pass around evidence of cheating, I'll bet plenty of them do.
Most people seemed convinced a statistical analysis of the test and make-up exam are the only route he's using. What about the campus network logs? I presume this document was traded electronically. Students may have discussed it in email, Facebook, etc.
I was using Google image search (looking at farm machinery). Clicking on an image (from Google) my machine (Win 7, MSE running, firewalled) paused and then Firefox disappeared. I was left with what appeared to be the Microsoft Security Essentials screen, stating the site had a trojan and it needed to look up the solution.
A second later the MSE screen says it found the solution and click next to clean the system. At that point I became skeptical. Using Task Manager I found it wasn't MSE and killed the processing generating the fake (but realistic) screen. Found the.exe files that were already downloaded and set to run on the next boot. Deleted new registry entries. Shortcuts in the start menu and taskbar.
So, having done nothing but navigate to a page through Google - using Firefox - I already had.exe downloaded and registry changes. Neither Firefox nor Google had it flagged as an attack site. Where did that vulnerability come from... Flash, Media Player ? I don't know. The point being that it isn't always that simple anymore. And I would not expect the average user to drop to the Task Manager and find it in progress.
If you're going to reply about using Linux, save it. I've run plenty of *nix systems where I can. But in the real world a lot of business simply must be done using Windows.
Slashdot Mirror
DARPA has money. NASA does not.
Amateur filmmakers can afford a $35,000 compact car, but not a $5,000 generator? (Honda's 6500 watt, 52 db model)
I have been having the same thoughts. I don't agree with their position entirely. I think the lower/broader tax plan is a great idea, and the balanced budget amendment is totally unworkable. Still, they are doing exactly what they said they'd do when elected.
More significantly, it appears that they can't be strong-armed by party leadership on the issue. They want significant cuts and won't agree to a plan that doesn't provide that.
People complain about spineless politicians. People complain about the two party system. The alternative is right unfolding right now. This block of representatives is, for practical purposes, a third party. They aren't voting with the Democrats or the national Republican leadership, they're voting their own way.
I agree, the "Lucas is greedy" bit is far overblown. Yes, he makes a ton of money. But he doesn't live like Donald Trump, even though he easily could. From all accounts, he has a rather modest lifestyle for someone of his wealth. He pours the money into what he likes: making films. He seems to enjoy it from the macro level, and isn't so good at the details.
Plus, a lot of people overlook the influence of his former wife, Marcia. She edited Graffiti, Scorsese's Taxi Driver, and all three in the original Star Wars trilogy. For the prequel trilogy there was no studio or editor who could force hard decisions on Lucas.
Working in the field of transportation safety research (including distraction) my observation is that people over-estimate the control of the device as a problem (punching in the phone number), and under-estimate the mental resources dedicated to the task (the conversation). This is why radios, fast food, and other "distractions" don't generally produce the same level of effect as cell phones.
It doesn't make a lot of resources to push the button (assuming you already know how to operate the device) or shove a cheeseburger in your mouth. This is why hands-free shows the same level of distraction as hand-held phones, and both are worse than other tasks.
As to why in-car conversations are less of a problem than cell conversations... no one has any convincing proof. One is the difference between self-paced and forced-pace tasks. Others theorize a "day dreaming" state in which the person dedicates a lot of mental resources to put themselves into the remote conversation. Adults are the best at safely maintaining in-car conversations. Teenagers are significantly more dangerous with other teens in the vehicle.
Your comment about your father-in-law is interesting, and (in my opinion) a great example of distraction. He isn't operating a gadget, he is getting lost mentally. This is the issue with phones.
Where I live the local politicians get paid very little for the amount of hours they put in. I think this is rather unfortunate because it limits political office to people who don't need to work full time. Usually retirees or the spouse of someone who makes a lot of money.
Those who serve on advisory committees get paid nothing at all (although it is only about 5 to 15 hours a month). The city is usually begging for volunteers to fill positions on the committees. And the committees are where a lot of decisions actually get made (the politicians can always go against the committee's recommendation, but seldom do).
Of course, there is the perception that everyone must be corrupt or have some nefarious agenda. Otherwise, why would someone volunteer their time to make their community a better place?
If it is near your house, then you are a citizen of the jurisdiction that controls the road. Likely city or county, possibly state. Go to your city/county council and politely ask the engineer for the data that supports the speed limits. They usually have information on traffic count, visibility distance, or road design speed to justify the speed limit. Sometimes not.
My city has a few areas that were set in the 1960s because somebody wanted people to slow down near their house, or whatever. People just accepted it for decades. Looking into it, we have no current justification, and we are changing them.
A word of caution: doing the work of actively participating, sitting through meetings, writing letters, etc. may make you cynical towards people who simply bitch in online forums.
This is correct. The State of Minnesota has already starting studying this issue. It has been a topic for transportation planners for several years
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/newsrels/11/04/18mbuf.html
In my opinion, there are serious privacy concerns with the system. In order to provide road condition/safety information and perform congestion pricing it tracks location constantly. The study isn't concerned with privacy as an implementation issue, although previous surveys have noted there could be a problem with public acceptance.
No, it is not. Have you ever driven a semi truck? They are not tax exempt. Off-road equipment can use tax exempt fuel. Farm tractors and bulldozers. The fuel contains a dye and law enforcement will check fuel tanks for the presence of the dye. In my state the fines start at $2,000 for using off-road fuel in an on-road vehicle.
There is a remedy, it's a lawsuit. See eBay v. Craigslist
Put whatever you like in a contract, it's still going to take a court to enforce it.
Feel better now that you had your little tantrum?
I understand perfectly well how income tax works in the US. I did not say that progressive income tax brackets were the reason any state was out of money. I also never suggested that a business owner would be taxed on gross income.
My point was that tax brackets stop rather abruptly. That small business owner who nets $80k per year isn't necessarily a whole lot better off than his employees, particularly when you factor in the employer share of social security, medicare, and unemployment that he must pay personally. Yet he is lumped in with multimillionaires because there are no higher tax brackets. Even at the federal level things max out at $373k. There isn't a $500k or $1M bracket. And then some people are shocked when there is not overwhelming support to "tax the rich".
Perhaps this is because the middle class gets tied in to the "rich" when it comes to taxes and regulation. In my state the governor wants to create the highest tax bracket in the nation on the "rich". Which he defines as $80k salary per year.
While someone at level is living comfortably, they are not flying around in private jets and relaxing on their yacht. Many are self-employed and have no guarantee that next year won't see their business collapse.
But that is the cut off. The local hardware store owner is put in the same group with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. And then people act surprised when a large number of voters aren't in favor of "taxing the rich".
As opposed to when? Industrial-era robber barons? Monarchies and imperial charters? The medieval Catholic Church?
"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." - Winston Churchill
I believe Penny Arcade said it correctly. Anonymity + Audience.
In this case, people are getting hit with the reality that they aren't really that anonymous (or private) on the internet.
Yes, it does. But wouldn't the proper response be to ensure a history lesson is inclusive of the society, rather than further divide the topic? Otherwise it implies that History is "mens history" and shall remain that way.
Personally, I find that many of the people in such fields are at least a generation behind. Was there a need in the 1960s to explicitly break with convention to look at underrepresented groups? Probably. I don't know. I wasn't born yet. By the time I was in grade school we were certainly being taught about the colonization and exploitation of the American continents by European powers (and, later the US). Slavery. Voting rights. The Civil Rights movement. Etc.
And then some aging hippie professor would come along and act like we didn't know there were people here when Columbus landed. Just because you were taught that shit during the Eisenhower administration doesn't mean that's how I learned it.
Correct. Melting can be more efficient than hauling the snow somewhere in a truck. Also, snow removed from parking lots and roads isn't exactly clean. It is full of trash and pollutants. The snow-melting rigs will filter the water before discharging it.
Don't discount the impact of the masses. If all the kids and Grandma switch primarily to using apps on their phone, then it is not unreasonable to think the web would begin to stagnate and languish. Certainly people could continue to operate web sites, but the significance might be greatly diminished. Gopher is still around.
Back in the 1990s I remember that people used to cry that corporations wanted the internet to be "tv with a 'buy now' button". The app model seems to be much more in that direction.
How many universities did you attend?
I agree that there are universities which do a poor job with computer science, or abuse the term. But I would be interested to know how many of them actually do it, and whether they are using a different name for their curriculum. My degree was most definitely in computer science.
Although I'll readily admit I often did not appreciate it as a student. It has been after a decade of working that I now am grateful to have been compelled to learn software and hardware theory, not merely programming.
My guess is that most schools with solid science and engineering programs still know the difference between comp. sci. and programming.
That's because most of the /. readers would have absolutely no idea whether it was an accurate representation of the female body.
Because the media networks don't want you to. Not only do they sell a bunch of channels packaged together, but they insist that their channels be included on a sales tier with everything else. They don't want to have a "NBC package" as an option... you might not buy it. They want their entire lineup to be included in the base cable package.
To make this happen they typically blackmail the cable company and (more importantly) the customers by withholding the one channel everyone wants. Usually a channel that carries major sporting events in the market they are negotiating.
If you are simply going to ignore all the research that shows hands-free to be as dangerous as hand-held, and more dangerous than in-car conversations (except for teens) why are you asking for a citation?
This is the equivalent of declaring that the Earth is flat and no amount of research will convince you otherwise.
It's the University's network. They can basically do whatever they want.
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/rule.html
Section IV of UCF policy clearly states they can monitor the content of individual communications without advance notice to protect "the integrity of the University".
As for students being dumb enough to use their school's email system to pass around evidence of cheating, I'll bet plenty of them do.
Most people seemed convinced a statistical analysis of the test and make-up exam are the only route he's using. What about the campus network logs? I presume this document was traded electronically. Students may have discussed it in email, Facebook, etc.
It isn't always that easy. Look up "Think Point".
I was using Google image search (looking at farm machinery). Clicking on an image (from Google) my machine (Win 7, MSE running, firewalled) paused and then Firefox disappeared. I was left with what appeared to be the Microsoft Security Essentials screen, stating the site had a trojan and it needed to look up the solution.
A second later the MSE screen says it found the solution and click next to clean the system. At that point I became skeptical. Using Task Manager I found it wasn't MSE and killed the processing generating the fake (but realistic) screen. Found the .exe files that were already downloaded and set to run on the next boot. Deleted new registry entries. Shortcuts in the start menu and taskbar.
So, having done nothing but navigate to a page through Google - using Firefox - I already had .exe downloaded and registry changes. Neither Firefox nor Google had it flagged as an attack site. Where did that vulnerability come from... Flash, Media Player ? I don't know. The point being that it isn't always that simple anymore. And I would not expect the average user to drop to the Task Manager and find it in progress.
If you're going to reply about using Linux, save it. I've run plenty of *nix systems where I can. But in the real world a lot of business simply must be done using Windows.
Ummm... no.
World series origin