"I'm really not sure why you are so quick to accept that a random gas is more likely to be the cause of the warming than, say, the sun, considering that solar activity and sunspot activity have a stronger correlation to temperature trends."
Because one of the easiest things to model in a climate model is the output of the sun.
Greenhouse gases have the habit of allowing in heat and trapping it. If you put more of them in the atmosphere the planet will get warmer unless something counteracts the effect.
"That would make Lego lower their prices which might lead to a diminish in the quality of the work."
It may but it doesn't have to. After all, the basic blocks haven't changed for probably 50 years. It can't cost much to make plastic blocks from standard dies.
The new stuff, sure. And if Walmart carries legos, they will squeeze them anyway, competition or no.
"...the point where 50% of the county no longer pays income taxes will be a tipping point."
I hate to break this to you, but income taxes already are insignificant to many people. My payroll taxes are greater than my income tax. As payroll taxes are used to fund programs, there is little difference between them and income taxes.
"You are confusing policies with guidelines. Guidelines are often optional and serve as a "rule of thumb" or "best practices" for employees; policies are not. Policies (especially security policies) are, or should be established with the advice of legal counsel, and should be issued and enforced from an executive level."
Thank you. Thank you. And thank you again. Policies that are not enforced are worthless and as you stated, are detrimental.
If you don't want to have to discipline or fire someone for violating a policy, then don't have it.
"I was glad to see that they had such strict policies. Anyone who uses their access privileges to stalk or attempt to dig up info on someone should be prosecuted."
Policies are only useful if they are enforced. Which I highly doubt....
"Much of the time, the border check is circumvented - drug mules or human smugglers "walk" their cargo across the border a few miles and then meet up with a car or truck further into the country, past the on-the-border checkpoint. How would YOU respond to that? The second simplest way is a secondary, redundant checkpoint."
Easy. Secure the fucking border. If that requires a fence and a minefield so be it. A secure border means it is difficult to smuggle things across it.
People don't like it because it doesn't follow the border. In many cases there would be US citizens living SOUTH of the fence. Homeland security intelligence at its best....
"No, its not. A human right is not something given to you its something all people have by right of their existence. The freedom to voice your own mind (freedom of speech) is not something that is provided to you as all people have that ability (in one form or another)."
Freedom of expression is no more a right than health care. Hell, there is no inherent right to live. Humans define what is classified as a right. As such, rights change over time.
Realistically, the only rights you have are the ones you can defend.
Why? No large agency seriously cares about efficiency (government or private). Greater headcount, greater perceived value.
"How about re-deploying military personnel, whose salaries are already budgeted?"
Because they have other things to do? And because they won't be any more honest?
TSA screeners are well paid for the job they do: rent-a-cop work. Any reasonably intelligent person would go stark raving mad doing the mindless work. Imagine working in a call center without the ability to hang up on callers....
"Negative results get even more pointless in other fields."
Actually, negative results are very useful. And there is an overall dearth of them in many fields. After all, why waste time doing research that will likely fail? And how do you know if it isn't published? If it is published then you can evaluate what not to do...
"Nowadays an assistant professor is expected to publish four or more journal papers per year."
To be fair, they don't have to do most of the work. There's a reason for all the grad students.... Although I know of one professor who could probably do it alone (definition of a workaholic).
But you are quite correct about all the crap (gee, this paper seems awfully similar to his last one...)
"Remember that it doesn't cost anything to apply."
Only if your time is not valuable. Sure, it doesn't take much time to send a stock resume and a standard cover letter, but if you need to customize any of it (or fill out yet another application or create an account, etc)....
"So doubling in gas costs isnt entirely out of the realm of possibility over the next 10 years or even in the realm of 5 years."
Unfortunately, it won't matter. I can buy a sedan (diesel) that gets about 50mpg. Driving 15k miles a year results in using about 300 to 350 gallons of fuel. At a current (high) price in the US it costs about $1500 to 1750. If it doubles (unlikely) that cost goes to $3000 to 3500. You are trading $20k upfront (not including financing) for a cost savings you may never realize.
"No, you are wrong. Clinton pushed the Community Reinvestment Act directing Fannie and Freddie to lower standards and make more loans to put poor people into homes (30% more loans than would have qualified prior)."
Actually, you are wrong. To quote from the Federal Reserve Board web site:
"Neither the CRA nor its implementing regulation gives specific criteria for rating the performance of depository institutions. Rather, the law indicates that the evaluation process should accommodate an institution's individual circumstances. Nor does the law require institutions to make high-risk loans that jeopardize their safety. To the contrary, the law makes it clear that an institution's CRA activities should be undertaken in a safe and sound manner."
But, hey, don't let the facts get in the way of your beliefs.....
"Exactly. Few people realize that the basic problem with government is that you can't fire the coasters. OK, it's not impossible, but it's such an uphill challenge that pretty soon you get tired and decide to move on to a job where what you do actually accomplishes something."
Funny, you just seemed to describe my employer. A Fortune 1000 company...trying their best not to be:)
"yet we have a looming shortage of family physicians since the insurance companies (i.e. their employers) don't want to be bothered actually paying them."
You are kidding, right? Family practice doctors make good money (at least according to average salary ranges). They just don't make as much money as specialists with more skills.
Slashdot Mirror
"I'm really not sure why you are so quick to accept that a random gas is more likely to be the cause of the warming than, say, the sun, considering that solar activity and sunspot activity have a stronger correlation to temperature trends."
Because one of the easiest things to model in a climate model is the output of the sun.
Greenhouse gases have the habit of allowing in heat and trapping it. If you put more of them in the atmosphere the planet will get warmer unless something counteracts the effect.
Simple common sense.
"...and I hardly even cringe when someone says 'generalized least squares'."
So, what's the reaction when you read "generalized least squares".
Hmmm, interesting. :)
"As a matter of fact, fingerprints are different between identical twins."
Then they aren't identical, now are they? :)
"That would make Lego lower their prices which might lead to a diminish in the quality of the work."
It may but it doesn't have to. After all, the basic blocks haven't changed for probably 50 years. It can't cost much to make plastic blocks from standard dies.
The new stuff, sure. And if Walmart carries legos, they will squeeze them anyway, competition or no.
"...the point where 50% of the county no longer pays income taxes will be a tipping point."
I hate to break this to you, but income taxes already are insignificant to many people. My payroll taxes are greater than my income tax. As payroll taxes are used to fund programs, there is little difference between them and income taxes.
"Ok, I'll play your moral dilemma game.
Stranger VS person known to me: Sorry stranger"
Unless I know you and don't like you. :)
Lucky you stranger
"You are confusing policies with guidelines. Guidelines are often optional and serve as a "rule of thumb" or "best practices" for employees; policies are not. Policies (especially security policies) are, or should be established with the advice of legal counsel, and should be issued and enforced from an executive level."
Thank you. Thank you. And thank you again. Policies that are not enforced are worthless and as you stated, are detrimental.
If you don't want to have to discipline or fire someone for violating a policy, then don't have it.
You must not be in management :)
I can already log on to many different web sites with a single sign on and password. Without OpenID.
Seems like a solution in search of a problem.
"That doesn't mean it has something special that the other consoles are lacking. It simply went after the right people at the right time."
Which means it does have something special that the other consoles lack. An appeal to casual gamers.
"I was glad to see that they had such strict policies. Anyone who uses their access privileges to stalk or attempt to dig up info on someone should be prosecuted."
Policies are only useful if they are enforced. Which I highly doubt....
"Much of the time, the border check is circumvented - drug mules or human smugglers "walk" their cargo across the border a few miles and then meet up with a car or truck further into the country, past the on-the-border checkpoint. How would YOU respond to that? The second simplest way is a secondary, redundant checkpoint."
Easy. Secure the fucking border. If that requires a fence and a minefield so be it. A secure border means it is difficult to smuggle things across it.
People don't like it because it doesn't follow the border. In many cases there would be US citizens living SOUTH of the fence. Homeland security intelligence at its best....
"No, its not. A human right is not something given to you its something all people have by right of their existence. The freedom to voice your own mind (freedom of speech) is not something that is provided to you as all people have that ability (in one form or another)."
Freedom of expression is no more a right than health care. Hell, there is no inherent right to live. Humans define what is classified as a right. As such, rights change over time.
Realistically, the only rights you have are the ones you can defend.
Which is impressive considering they are federal civil service....
"They could become more efficient."
Why? No large agency seriously cares about efficiency (government or private). Greater headcount, greater perceived value.
"How about re-deploying military personnel, whose salaries are already budgeted?"
Because they have other things to do? And because they won't be any more honest?
TSA screeners are well paid for the job they do: rent-a-cop work. Any reasonably intelligent person would go stark raving mad doing the mindless work. Imagine working in a call center without the ability to hang up on callers....
The real question is can I mail myself? It might be more pleasant than flying...
"Negative results get even more pointless in other fields."
Actually, negative results are very useful. And there is an overall dearth of them in many fields. After all, why waste time doing research that will likely fail? And how do you know if it isn't published? If it is published then you can evaluate what not to do...
"Nowadays an assistant professor is expected to publish four or more journal papers per year."
To be fair, they don't have to do most of the work. There's a reason for all the grad students.... Although I know of one professor who could probably do it alone (definition of a workaholic).
But you are quite correct about all the crap (gee, this paper seems awfully similar to his last one...)
"She can't stand the constant pressure of publishing nor the need constantly justify grant writing."
Well, if she were to get a PhD and a faculty position then she could push the pressure downward. :)
After all, people who publish many articles have many grad students. Most work in most papers are not done by the prof....
"Remember that it doesn't cost anything to apply."
Only if your time is not valuable. Sure, it doesn't take much time to send a stock resume and a standard cover letter, but if you need to customize any of it (or fill out yet another application or create an account, etc)....
"So doubling in gas costs isnt entirely out of the realm of possibility over the next 10 years or even in the realm of 5 years."
Unfortunately, it won't matter. I can buy a sedan (diesel) that gets about 50mpg. Driving 15k miles a year results in using about 300 to 350 gallons of fuel. At a current (high) price in the US it costs about $1500 to 1750. If it doubles (unlikely) that cost goes to $3000 to 3500. You are trading $20k upfront (not including financing) for a cost savings you may never realize.
"No, you are wrong. Clinton pushed the Community Reinvestment Act directing Fannie and Freddie to lower standards and make more loans to put poor people into homes (30% more loans than would have qualified prior)."
Actually, you are wrong. To quote from the Federal Reserve Board web site:
"Neither the CRA nor its implementing regulation gives specific criteria for rating the performance of depository institutions. Rather, the law indicates that the evaluation process should accommodate an institution's individual circumstances. Nor does the law require institutions to make high-risk loans that jeopardize their safety. To the contrary, the law makes it clear that an institution's CRA activities should be undertaken in a safe and sound manner."
But, hey, don't let the facts get in the way of your beliefs.....
"Exactly. Few people realize that the basic problem with government is that you can't fire the coasters. OK, it's not impossible, but it's such an uphill challenge that pretty soon you get tired and decide to move on to a job where what you do actually accomplishes something."
Funny, you just seemed to describe my employer. A Fortune 1000 company...trying their best not to be :)
Or someone who designs airplanes for Boeing. :)
"yet we have a looming shortage of family physicians since the insurance companies (i.e. their employers) don't want to be bothered actually paying them."
You are kidding, right? Family practice doctors make good money (at least according to average salary ranges). They just don't make as much money as specialists with more skills.
"You guessed it.... the money-sucking lawyers. Coincidence?"
Because lawyers don't have much to do with it? Of course, neither do the drug companies....