[QUOTE]As shown here and here and here, the arctic ice extent is actually greater than last year, although lower than historical averages. We seem to have conflicting data.[/QUOTE]
That's an argument I'd expect from a "climate politician". Short-term data will always be more erratic than long term data, so saying "greater than last year but less than historically" is no conflict at all. The important part is "less than historically" - of course it depends what period of history you're talking about.
If you want consistency, just pick a part of history when the ice cover was minimal as well. But since spreading confusion is far easier than spreading scepticism, your statement does have it's basis in logic.
I know little of genetics, but isn't DNA "fraying" over time a big cause of degeneration? If we could slow or prevent that, would it not have a big effect on health?
When you're 18 years old, everything is fun, especially naughty stuff. He didn't cause death and mayhem, what he did was the equivalent of cooking the books. He's being a good capitalist, he just got caught.
Now, if you're running for President, the sentence for fiddling the results should be harsh indeed.
When you're 18, you're expected to follow the example of your elders, no?
Most people speak most passionately about what they know and are comfortable with.
If you have been rewarded with success for your efforts, you will speak passionately about the rewards that come with hard work. If you have fallen on hard times throughout your life, always met with resistance, your efforts gone unrewarded, then you will speak passionately about the difficulties of life and how hard it is to get ahead.
There is no one truth of how to succeed. There is effort, there is the environment, there are the efforts of other people either for or against you, and there is "luck".
So, good on you for having a positive outlook, but remember there are many other experiences of life in the world, and many other truths of living besides the one you have experienced.
"Good Guys", noun: The group of people who believe the same things I believe. Let me correct that for you: "The group of people who I believe believe the same things I believe."
If that's the only reason you have to dislike Rudd, it's not a very good one.
Most people supported it because of the bad/cooked intelligence received from the US. Do you think Howard knew it was cooked, being PM at the time, and regardless do you think Rudd (as the rest of us) would have been told it was cooked if Howard knew anyway?
That's very true, and one of the reasons I enjoy freelancing, getting out into different companies.
One example was a hospital here, using an old Access 97 database system (public hospital of course) to record detections of Staf, MRSA, etc. I cut their data entry time in half by simply suggesting that the people doing the detection actually enter the info into the system each time, rather than giving written notes to one person who did the entire thing for hours on end. This freed that one person to do more actual detection work and everyone was happy with the result.
But that's only because everyone had an interest in their work. If it had been a private hospital, my suggestion would have been met with "what, do detection AND data entry? Sod that!" Culture is often a big factor in finding the right solution too.
Those stories remain in force because people are gullible, fearful, and uninformed in critical areas, and because there are legions of people around who prey on those who exhibit said vulnerabilities. You forgot the fact that faith is also a valid psychological phenomena and part of human nature. Nothing wrong with it per se, it's just all too often used as an excuse for bad behaviour. You may have faith in continued existence after death, or not, that the sun will come up tomorrow, that love will find a way, that intelligent life exists on other worlds. We all have faith in something larger than ourselves, it's part of what makes humans tick, and it will never go away. Far better to understand it for what it is, and teach kids to use it responsibly.
> At the moment, I'm trying to get over to a female acquaintance why it's a bad idea to get back together with exes
Hi. Only commenting here because of experience and an urge to offer some hopefully useful advice. You're right insofar as people find it hard to change by themselves. So the ONLY way to go with "trying again" is to seek couples' counselling from a professional. Without counselling it's pointless. With counselling there's a change that understanding will emerge. Also, counselling often reveals things about each individual which can make a person to realise why they are "chasing the unattainable" if that is indeed what is happening.
It's the only way to do and very useful all round. If two people are committed to trying again, they will make the effort to seek counselling together - it's probably the hardest thing they'll ever do together and the most worthwhile for both of them.
Has anyone tried writing words on a steamy window for more than 10 minutes? Your shoulders start to hurt. Why will lifting your entire arm, from a sitting position, to fiddle on a screen with the tips of your fingers be any different? Apart from that, isn't the idea of good UI design to help you move less, not more, to achieve things? Ok, so it might be fun for a while using a photo-book program like in the demo, or playing a game like solitaire, but the novelty will wear off pretty quick.
In terms of simple practicality, this tech is suited only to hand-held devices, table-top screens and perhaps large presentation screens (but not too large of course unless you're doing an Al Gore). But for day-to-day work on a PC screen? Not to mention laptops which tend to wobble and fold when you push on them. Sounds crazy to me.
Seriously, how long until you say, "man this is too hard, where's my mouse?" An hour?
Even in a futuristic, holographic "Minority Report" environment, I can see compo claims for shoulder-related RSI. On a PC, it will be fiddly and will hurt you.
As a programmer,.NET was certainly a high point for me, not only introducing a vast array of coding and web standards to the development environment - as well as actually providing an environment in the first place - but pretty much introduced a whole new paradigm to online development.
That's my take anyway; but exaggeration or not, no mention of.NET at all? As a milestone, I'd put it up there with the first introduction of Visual Basic for Windows.
Perhaps the audience wasn't into that back-room stuff so it didn't get a mention. hmph.. story of every programmer's life.:)
(1) a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
(2) a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
(3) a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken. Strange. I mean, how exactly was the connection made, between performing disgusting acts and being good with computers?
I agree about the "living in the Dark Ages thing".
Only that we're still in the Dark Ages, essentially. Science and reason still has a serious uphill battle in front of it.
I don't know why people think that just because we have mobile phones and a mission to mars that we're any more mature as a species than we were thousands of years ago. I would strongly debate the need to keep trying as hard as we can to bring not just science, but the paradigm of free thought and scientific enquiry to everyone in this world.
It's an ongoing effort and the only way we'll see civilisation finally emerge from humanity.
I'm in the same position, have about 15 years' experience in IT & programming, been freelancing for the last 8 years. I'm self-taught, which was at the time previously referred to when script kiddies were given great jobs. But I had the passion, computers and coding was a hobby, like electronics or astronomy for other kids, from age 9. And yes, I can outperform fresh grads hands down. Don't get caught up in the "little piece of paper" thing - they don't teach HALF as much useful stuff as they should in university.
Freelancing has been good, in terms of availability of work, but I find having to justify my quotes a chore. And I don't quote highly at all - I have to be competitive against established software houses with great PR, and show I can do just as good a job. But the feeling is always "why is this costing so much, all I want is xyz." Like the cost of a job should be proportional to the length of the sentence describing it.
But that's the mindset now - we're so surrounded by web this, mobile that; it's the ubiquity which makes the work itself seem commonplace and commoditised(sp?). New tech springs eternal and cheap, so this profession, which used to be "hard science" in the old days, is now seen as a step up from Tech Writing, like it or not.
The other problem with this profession is job security. If you stay too long in a single job you stagnate or become terminally bored (pardon the pun). Unless your company is big enough to itself provide a career path, you are doomed to either freelance or shift jobs every few years just to stay current.
Lastly, that's the other problem - the goalposts are constantly moving. It's not like dentistry (my brother is a dentist) where the technology evolves slowly, at a manageable pace, and the skillset remains largely the same. Oh no! Every few years there's a new language or methodology, which keeps things interesting, but if there's a single profession which demands constant learning, thinking, obsolescence and re-creation of skillsets, this is it.
Does the pay make up for all these "career issues"? It used to, but not any more.
So even if we're not currently seeing a real shortage of IT & Engineering students, we certainly will soon enough.
> Why is it alright for the government to force everyone to know about it?
So you don't have a Foundation Day, Queen's Birthday, Independence Day etc in your country? Events that are plastered all other the national consciousness at various times each the year? How many people in the US, or indeed the world, *don't* know about 911?
Or Coke for that matter? If you want to complain about being forced to absorb a message en masse, go complain to Bill Gates or your local advertising executives.
Why is this any different to the US or any other government using a national disaster to send a political message? Have you forgotten how 7k dead were just thrown onto the war furnace?
Controversially perhaps, I consider the picture sexual, but not pornographic. But then I don't think sexuality is a big problem. We are social, sexual beings.
But that doesn't mean I'm a paedophile, because paedophiles actually *want* to have sex with children. I don't, but I think it's a sexually attractive picture. Appreciation and intent are different things. A puppy is cute and tactile but I don't want to have sex with it. I believe what people are mostly afraid of is the "uncontrollable" nature of male sexuality. Perhaps that just means boys should be made to feel more relaxed and ok about themselves, but I'm not a psychologist.
I do think most people have a rather fearful view of the negatives of sexuality. I believe there are positives too, which aren't explored at all in our culture. Sexual attraction, in men, also inspires feelings of protectiveness. In some I assume it manifests as extreme possessiveness in a bad way.
The matter of a person wanting to do another person harm is, in my mind, a separate issue to sexuality. I hate the term "sex crime" because a rape is not about sexuality, it's about dominance and violence. Sexual and violent images are often mixed together in films. We paint sex in such a negative way. 15+ kids can see blood and gore on a screen but not graphic sex. That's always seemed weird to me. I mean they shouldn't be able to see extreme violence either.
In the end, I don't believe sexuality is ever a negative issue. It's one person wanting to advantage of, or harm, another which is the issue.
I do think there are concepts that adults can handle which children can have difficulty with, when they are too young to have formed a solid sense of self in relation to their peers and society. While a peaceful, relaxed adult may have no problem with that image, a child seeing it will form an opinion of it in relation to themselves and their peers.
We've seen how popular images of skinny models have affected self-image in young people and even adults. The media does need to take responsibility for all these things. So it's important to have public discussion about this stuff.
Personally, I think it's an attractive image. Looked at in another way, it is poignant and artistic. As a public image, however, where kids can see it - I don't think it's appropriate, just as I think our fascination with the perfect female figure is problematic.
The point is there should be more attention given to current issues instead of leaving things in a semi-working state before moving on to greener pastures. There's a great deal to fix with current HTML, and it's worth it as it will be around for a long time yet.
Slashdot Mirror
My 2c goes to Avast Home free version. Been using it for years, no problems at all.
From TFA, looks like 5318008 is the universal constant.
[QUOTE]As shown here and here and here, the arctic ice extent is actually greater than last year, although lower than historical averages. We seem to have conflicting data.[/QUOTE]
That's an argument I'd expect from a "climate politician". Short-term data will always be more erratic than long term data, so saying "greater than last year but less than historically" is no conflict at all. The important part is "less than historically" - of course it depends what period of history you're talking about.
If you want consistency, just pick a part of history when the ice cover was minimal as well. But since spreading confusion is far easier than spreading scepticism, your statement does have it's basis in logic.
Maybe what we really need are aglets for DNA?
I know little of genetics, but isn't DNA "fraying" over time a big cause of degeneration?
If we could slow or prevent that, would it not have a big effect on health?
When you're 18 years old, everything is fun, especially naughty stuff. He didn't cause death and mayhem, what he did was the equivalent of cooking the books. He's being a good capitalist, he just got caught.
Now, if you're running for President, the sentence for fiddling the results should be harsh indeed.
When you're 18, you're expected to follow the example of your elders, no?
Funny how this "call to reason" never gets applied to MS products around here.
Most people speak most passionately about what they know and are comfortable with.
If you have been rewarded with success for your efforts, you will speak passionately about the rewards that come with hard work. If you have fallen on hard times throughout your life, always met with resistance, your efforts gone unrewarded, then you will speak passionately about the difficulties of life and how hard it is to get ahead.
There is no one truth of how to succeed. There is effort, there is the environment, there are the efforts of other people either for or against you, and there is "luck".
So, good on you for having a positive outlook, but remember there are many other experiences of life in the world, and many other truths of living besides the one you have experienced.
If that's the only reason you have to dislike Rudd, it's not a very good one.
Most people supported it because of the bad/cooked intelligence received from the US. Do you think Howard knew it was cooked, being PM at the time, and regardless do you think Rudd (as the rest of us) would have been told it was cooked if Howard knew anyway?
Try again.
That's very true, and one of the reasons I enjoy freelancing, getting out into different companies.
One example was a hospital here, using an old Access 97 database system (public hospital of course) to record detections of Staf, MRSA, etc. I cut their data entry time in half by simply suggesting that the people doing the detection actually enter the info into the system each time, rather than giving written notes to one person who did the entire thing for hours on end. This freed that one person to do more actual detection work and everyone was happy with the result.
But that's only because everyone had an interest in their work. If it had been a private hospital, my suggestion would have been met with "what, do detection AND data entry? Sod that!" Culture is often a big factor in finding the right solution too.
> At the moment, I'm trying to get over to a female acquaintance why it's a bad idea to get back together with exes
Hi. Only commenting here because of experience and an urge to offer some hopefully useful advice. You're right insofar as people find it hard to change by themselves. So the ONLY way to go with "trying again" is to seek couples' counselling from a professional. Without counselling it's pointless. With counselling there's a change that understanding will emerge. Also, counselling often reveals things about each individual which can make a person to realise why they are "chasing the unattainable" if that is indeed what is happening.
It's the only way to do and very useful all round. If two people are committed to trying again, they will make the effort to seek counselling together - it's probably the hardest thing they'll ever do together and the most worthwhile for both of them.
Has anyone tried writing words on a steamy window for more than 10 minutes? Your shoulders start to hurt. Why will lifting your entire arm, from a sitting position, to fiddle on a screen with the tips of your fingers be any different? Apart from that, isn't the idea of good UI design to help you move less, not more, to achieve things? Ok, so it might be fun for a while using a photo-book program like in the demo, or playing a game like solitaire, but the novelty will wear off pretty quick.
In terms of simple practicality, this tech is suited only to hand-held devices, table-top screens and perhaps large presentation screens (but not too large of course unless you're doing an Al Gore). But for day-to-day work on a PC screen? Not to mention laptops which tend to wobble and fold when you push on them. Sounds crazy to me.
Seriously, how long until you say, "man this is too hard, where's my mouse?" An hour?
Even in a futuristic, holographic "Minority Report" environment, I can see compo claims for shoulder-related RSI. On a PC, it will be fiddly and will hurt you.
As a programmer, .NET was certainly a high point for me, not only introducing a vast array of coding and web standards to the development environment - as well as actually providing an environment in the first place - but pretty much introduced a whole new paradigm to online development.
.NET at all? As a milestone, I'd put it up there with the first introduction of Visual Basic for Windows.
:)
That's my take anyway; but exaggeration or not, no mention of
Perhaps the audience wasn't into that back-room stuff so it didn't get a mention. hmph.. story of every programmer's life.
(1) a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
(2) a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
(3) a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken. Strange. I mean, how exactly was the connection made, between performing disgusting acts and being good with computers?
oh wait..
You're talking about Blizzard here, right? :)
I agree about the "living in the Dark Ages thing".
Only that we're still in the Dark Ages, essentially.
Science and reason still has a serious uphill battle in front of it.
I don't know why people think that just because we have mobile phones and a mission to mars that we're any more mature as a species than we were thousands of years ago. I would strongly debate the need to keep trying as hard as we can to bring not just science, but the paradigm of free thought and scientific enquiry to everyone in this world.
It's an ongoing effort and the only way we'll see civilisation finally emerge from humanity.
I'm in the same position, have about 15 years' experience in IT & programming, been freelancing for the last 8 years. I'm self-taught, which was at the time previously referred to when script kiddies were given great jobs. But I had the passion, computers and coding was a hobby, like electronics or astronomy for other kids, from age 9. And yes, I can outperform fresh grads hands down. Don't get caught up in the "little piece of paper" thing - they don't teach HALF as much useful stuff as they should in university.
Freelancing has been good, in terms of availability of work, but I find having to justify my quotes a chore. And I don't quote highly at all - I have to be competitive against established software houses with great PR, and show I can do just as good a job. But the feeling is always "why is this costing so much, all I want is xyz." Like the cost of a job should be proportional to the length of the sentence describing it.
But that's the mindset now - we're so surrounded by web this, mobile that; it's the ubiquity which makes the work itself seem commonplace and commoditised(sp?). New tech springs eternal and cheap, so this profession, which used to be "hard science" in the old days, is now seen as a step up from Tech Writing, like it or not.
The other problem with this profession is job security. If you stay too long in a single job you stagnate or become terminally bored (pardon the pun). Unless your company is big enough to itself provide a career path, you are doomed to either freelance or shift jobs every few years just to stay current.
Lastly, that's the other problem - the goalposts are constantly moving. It's not like dentistry (my brother is a dentist) where the technology evolves slowly, at a manageable pace, and the skillset remains largely the same. Oh no! Every few years there's a new language or methodology, which keeps things interesting, but if there's a single profession which demands constant learning, thinking, obsolescence and re-creation of skillsets, this is it.
Does the pay make up for all these "career issues"? It used to, but not any more.
So even if we're not currently seeing a real shortage of IT & Engineering students, we certainly will soon enough.
From what I've read in comments here from people actually living in China,
the whole blocking access thing is a bit of a china-bashing myth.
The reality seems to be limited access to different things in different places,
which isn't that different to normal Chinese net access.
So...
> Why is it alright for the government to force everyone to know about it?
So you don't have a Foundation Day, Queen's Birthday, Independence Day etc in your country?
Events that are plastered all other the national consciousness at various times each the year?
How many people in the US, or indeed the world, *don't* know about 911?
Or Coke for that matter? If you want to complain about being forced
to absorb a message en masse, go complain to Bill Gates or your local
advertising executives.
Why is this any different to the US or any other government
using a national disaster to send a political message?
Have you forgotten how 7k dead were just thrown onto the war furnace?
At least China is staying on topic!
Astrologers will take this in their stride.
Why is this story featured in the Times Colonist?
That's a completely different area of medicine.
Controversially perhaps, I consider the picture sexual, but not pornographic.
But then I don't think sexuality is a big problem. We are social, sexual beings.
But that doesn't mean I'm a paedophile, because paedophiles actually *want* to have sex with children. I don't, but I think it's a sexually attractive picture. Appreciation and intent are different things. A puppy is cute and tactile but I don't want to have sex with it. I believe what people are mostly afraid of is the "uncontrollable" nature of male sexuality. Perhaps that just means boys should be made to feel more relaxed and ok about themselves, but I'm not a psychologist.
I do think most people have a rather fearful view of the negatives of sexuality. I believe there are positives too, which aren't explored at all in our culture. Sexual attraction, in men, also inspires feelings of protectiveness. In some I assume it manifests as extreme possessiveness in a bad way.
The matter of a person wanting to do another person harm is, in my mind, a separate issue to sexuality. I hate the term "sex crime" because a rape is not about sexuality, it's about dominance and violence. Sexual and violent images are often mixed together in films. We paint sex in such a negative way. 15+ kids can see blood and gore on a screen but not graphic sex. That's always seemed weird to me. I mean they shouldn't be able to see extreme violence either.
In the end, I don't believe sexuality is ever a negative issue.
It's one person wanting to advantage of, or harm, another which is the issue.
I do think there are concepts that adults can handle which children can have difficulty with, when they are too young to have formed a solid sense of self in relation to their peers and society. While a peaceful, relaxed adult may have no problem with that image, a child seeing it will form an opinion of it in relation to themselves and their peers.
We've seen how popular images of skinny models have affected self-image in young people and even adults. The media does need to take responsibility for all these things. So it's important to have public discussion about this stuff.
Personally, I think it's an attractive image. Looked at in another way, it is poignant and artistic. As a public image, however, where kids can see it - I don't think it's appropriate, just as I think our fascination with the perfect female figure is problematic.
> I for one am not happy about being a puppet to evolution, but I'll get over it.
:)
Only because you're conditioned to.
Strange ride we're on, to be sure.
My comment wasn't meant quite that literally.
The point is there should be more attention given to current issues instead of leaving things in a semi-working state before moving on to greener pastures. There's a great deal to fix with current HTML, and it's worth it as it will be around for a long time yet.