Re:Clear Concise Explanation
on
Bert Is Evil
·
· Score: 1
This statement is simply incorrect: "when you type bin laden pictures into google... you end up at bert is evil." As dino insists on the index2 page of fractalcow.com, "I just wanted to say I had nothing to do with this!" That is, while fractalcow.com might have been the source of the _theme_ for the Bert poster, it was certainly NOT the source of the image itself. Next time you should try to make an effort to verify the _correctness_ of your otherwise "Clear Concise Explanation".
Re:New York Review of Books review
on
Biohazard
·
· Score: 1
Rather, the book *by* Alibek was *reviewed* by M.F. Perutz. Please excuse the careless copy/pasting.
New York Review of Books review
on
Biohazard
·
· Score: 1
This book was reviewed by Ken Alibek and Stephen Handelman for the New York Review of Books in April 2001.
One simple example is tandem repeats (sequences of just a few base pairs that could repeat tens of thousands of times, in a row), which make up a significant percentage of our DNA. It's probably impossible to ascribe a function to such segments beyong simply making the DNA molecule longer (a good thing geneetically, as this allows more of a mixup to occur during the "cross-over" in the generation of sex cells. But it really is just drivel, in the "code" sense. no way around it.
This morning's program has a perfectly relevant discussion of new 'net companies hiring older/new people in coding/management positions. Check it out @ npr.org.
I started programming in BASIC on an apple IIc at age 9 or so, and it was absolutely perfect. I don't think, however, that BASIC continues to represent an adequate soltuion. Interaction with machines has become a _lot_ more complicated in the last 10 years, and I fear that a command line interface is unlikely to spark much excitement in a group of younger kids. I can't really justify that claim (the idea still certainly appeals to me!), but I have a hunch it's valid. I think that programming is best learned with a particular motivation in mind (I wrote my first BASIC program to implement a formula that calculate the day of a week based on the date). Transferring ideas to code is just the next logical step... Perl's too convoluted for a beginner, as is C++ (or c). Pascal is a good start, but frustratingly rigid. That said, I think that programming is best learned alone; buy the kids some books and let them read if they want!
Quantum encryption does exist; the technology was invented by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard, based on an idea for quantum money by Stephen Wiesner in the 1960's (The Code Book, Doubleday press, 1999). The technology is not only theoretical, but has been demonstrated by transmitting a series of photons (of unknown polarity) both over an optic fibre (over a 23 km stretch!) and, more recently, over the air (Los Alamos National Lab, over a distance of 1km). Quantom cryptography is essentially a means of transmitting a key for a one time pad scheme; a random series of 1s and 0s that can be used to encrypy/decrypt a transmission. Such a form of key transmission relies on the fact that the polarity of a photon can not be measured with certainty; it guarantees absolute security.
Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of...
Somehow, this move does not come as a surpirse to me, but I am disappointed none the less. I remember Radio Shack fondly as a place full of *parts*, not a general-consumer targeted store of ready-made electronics. The chain, however, was apparently (and it's no surprise) unable to profit from such an operation, or at least saw greater oportunity in other areas.
The last time I walked into a Radio Shack was last year, and I was looking for some cat5 cable... I asked the man working the counter if they had any eternet cable, and he looked at me, puzzled, and asked "Internet cable? I don't think we have that."
Ugh. The microsoft deal seemed inevitable, or at least something like it was. Radio Shack is no longer the place it used to be. It's kind of sad.
This device actually has a 10GB hard drive (not 20), as mentioned in the RCA press release here:0 226-CI258,00.html
http://www.rca.com/content/viewdetail/1,2811,EI70
This statement is simply incorrect: "when you type bin laden pictures into google ... you end up at bert is evil." As dino insists on the index2 page of fractalcow.com, "I just wanted to say I had nothing to do with this!" That is, while fractalcow.com might have been the source of the _theme_ for the Bert poster, it was certainly NOT the source of the image itself. Next time you should try to make an effort to verify the _correctness_ of your otherwise "Clear Concise Explanation".
Rather, the book *by* Alibek was *reviewed* by M.F. Perutz. Please excuse the careless copy/pasting.
This book was reviewed by Ken Alibek and Stephen Handelman for the New York Review of Books in April 2001.
0 000413044R is a link to the review
http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/WWWarchdisplay.cgi?2
One simple example is tandem repeats (sequences of just a few base pairs that could repeat tens of thousands of times, in a row), which make up a significant percentage of our DNA. It's probably impossible to ascribe a function to such segments beyong simply making the DNA molecule longer (a good thing geneetically, as this allows more of a mixup to occur during the "cross-over" in the generation of sex cells. But it really is just drivel, in the "code" sense. no way around it.
Maybe there's something in sitting up straight ?
While we're at it... how about "print moves slower [than] us." Try "than we."
Well put.
This morning's program has a perfectly relevant discussion of new 'net companies hiring older/new people in coding/management positions. Check it out @ npr.org.
It's alst interesting to note that, upon death,many of the right-handed chiral molecules in our bodies convert into their left-handed complements.
"When the indicator says you're out of oil, should you continue driving anyway?" - TMBG
I started programming in BASIC on an apple IIc at age 9 or so, and it was absolutely perfect. I don't think, however, that BASIC continues to represent an adequate soltuion. Interaction with machines has become a _lot_ more complicated in the last 10 years, and I fear that a command line interface is unlikely to spark much excitement in a group of younger kids. I can't really justify that claim (the idea still certainly appeals to me!), but I have a hunch it's valid. I think that programming is best learned with a particular motivation in mind (I wrote my first BASIC program to implement a formula that calculate the day of a week based on the date). Transferring ideas to code is just the next logical step... Perl's too convoluted for a beginner, as is C++ (or c). Pascal is a good start, but frustratingly rigid. That said, I think that programming is best learned alone; buy the kids some books and let them read if they want!
Quantum encryption does exist; the technology was invented by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard, based on an idea for quantum money by Stephen Wiesner in the 1960's (The Code Book, Doubleday press, 1999). The technology is not only theoretical, but has been demonstrated by transmitting a series of photons (of unknown polarity) both over an optic fibre (over a 23 km stretch!) and, more recently, over the air (Los Alamos National Lab, over a distance of 1km). Quantom cryptography is essentially a means of transmitting a key for a one time pad scheme; a random series of 1s and 0s that can be used to encrypy/decrypt a transmission. Such a form of key transmission relies on the fact that the polarity of a photon can not be measured with certainty; it guarantees absolute security.
Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of...
Somehow, this move does not come as a surpirse to me, but I am disappointed none the less. I remember Radio Shack fondly as a place full of *parts*, not a general-consumer targeted store of ready-made electronics. The chain, however, was apparently (and it's no surprise) unable to profit from such an operation, or at least saw greater oportunity in other areas.
The last time I walked into a Radio Shack was last year, and I was looking for some cat5 cable... I asked the man working the counter if they had any eternet cable, and he looked at me, puzzled, and asked "Internet cable? I don't think we have that."
Ugh. The microsoft deal seemed inevitable, or at least something like it was. Radio Shack is no longer the place it used to be. It's kind of sad.