Re:One question...
on
Flying By Brain
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
How did the clump of neurons know what they were trying to accomplish? More precicely, why didn't they try to crash the plane?
...and how did they differentiate between actual, appropriate thoughts regarding flying the plane and fleeting, "I wonder what would happen if I pointed this 747 full of people straight down" thoughts? (I realize the "brain" in this experiment probably didn't have this level of cognition, but my question applies to any thought-controlled apparatus.)
Sure, I've stood on an observation deck at the top of a tall building and wondered "I wonder what it would be like to jump off", but I have no intention of ever doing so. How does this contraption identify my true intentions vs. nonsense from my inner lunatic?
Re:Saw this one coming
on
Indecision 2002
·
· Score: 2, Informative
What is up with all this, anyway? I mean, is this really a lot more complicated than a simple database?
Yes, it's a lot more complicated. (I worked for VNS in the '96 election.) Under the 'old' system, ~2,000 people are sent to selected precincts around the country and hand out questionnaires. ("Are you a Democrat/Republican?" "How old are you?" "Who did you vote for in the Senate race?") Each exit poller is told to hand the questionnaire to specific individuals (e.g. every fourth person who comes out of the precint). Throughout the day, the exit poller phones in their reponses, which are tallied and compared.
This is where the big software problem comes in.
You've got a sample size of about 2,000 precints that are combined with past voting behavior and used to make projections on today's voting behavior in many thousands of precints (providing real-time results). Results phoned in by exit pollers are compared to voting behavior over previous decades. Polls may show a Democratic candidate winning by a landslide in District A that has elected Republicans for the last 30 years. Polls may show low voter turnout in Precint B, which has had 65% turn out in the past 7 elections. Etc., etc. Results that don't match predicted voter behavior is investigated, and since the consortium members (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and AP) want the data NOW, your software has to do a lot of that work for you.
So the big software problem is not so much storing exit poll data, but making that information useful based on past voter behavior and providing it in real-time.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, how do the child labor laws which were created to protect kids from being chained to looms for hours making rugs or soccer balls apply today in the real world.
I ran into this exact problem several years ago; I was 15 and had a summer gig with a video production company (I'd practically grown up in a TV studio). After a run in with the HR people, they said they had to let me go because I was under 16 and in violation of child labor laws. So I went straight to the local public library, pulled out a copy of the Ohio Revised Code (the consolidated laws of the state; if you're in the U.S., check to see if your state has something like this), and actually read the child labor laws of the state.
Well, it turns out I *was* permitted to work. In Ohio at least, there were explicit prohibitions on certain types of work, e.g. I couldn't operate heavy machinery, and there were certain conditions applied to work, e.g. a mandatory 15 minute break every 4 hours, a maximum 8-hour work day, etc. But other than that, I was free to sit in an editing booth or at a mixing console and work away precisely because I wasn't slaving away in some factory.
While this doesn't help Mr. Dobbie's situation, as it appears to be an issue regarding contracts, to all you young coders out there: don't assume that child labor laws lock you out of the industry until you're 16/18! Take a look, or ask for assistance from someone well-versed in these matters.
What should we expect for power and cooling needs?
Using my Jedi mind powers, I see that you require 240V/20A twist lock outlets, and that your machines each put out 1200 BTU/hour. Therefore, your power and cooling solution is...
Ummm... hate to break it to you, but/. isn't going to do your homework for you on this one.
Dear sirs, it is my sad duty to inform you that journalistic integrity is dead.
You think the editorial folks at Yahoo are thrilled about this? A couple of years ago I managed advertising operations for a national media outlet, and believe me, the journalists get *much* more ticked off about online advertising than you who run JunkBuster/whatever.
In any news operation, there are two diametric forces at work: journalists who want to present unbiased information (and, yes, contrary to popular conspiracy theory, journalists most often believe that they are, indeed, presenting unbiased coverage), and business folks who need to cover payroll, pay the lights, and make shareholders happy. Most editorial staff demand a clear distinction between content and advertising, but it today's advertising market, people are struggling for dollars, and may accept "controversial" (at least in the content vs. advertising context) ads they wouldn't have accepted 2 years ago.
So it's not the reporters trying to make a buck off this ad, it's the suits. And the reporters hate it.
BTW, TechnoScout has been running ads like this for over a year now all over the 'Net. This example is nothing new.
The GSM system in Iceland is one of the most advanced networks in the world. Everybody has a mobile. 9 year olds and up!:) Interesting fact!:)
Interestingly, I was just in Iceland last week, and my GSM phone had 1) the best reception I'd had anywhere (I'm from the States), 2) faster signal location than anywhere else (here in D.C. it takes a minute or so to find the nearest Voicestream tower), and 3) encrypted transmission between my phone and the tower (which I've never seen work anywhere else I've been).
but in real life most of the US has just as good of coverage as Europe.
You obviously haven't tried using the same phone in both the U.S. and Europe. Get a tri-band GSM phone, take it to any large city in Europe, and you'll see you get much better coverage than in NYC/someother U.S. city.
Yes, it does exist today, but how long have GSM networks been in the US? Maybe a few years at best. How about widespread deployment?
Seriously. I have Voicestream GSM service & a tri-band phone, and have mediocre coverage in Washington, D.C., but last week had awesome coverage throughout Scotland and northern England (I'm talking small towns, not just cities like Edinburgh, etc.). Even got encrypted transmission service in Iceland. But in the U.S.? Nuthin' but crap.
Maybe cell phones are more like fashion than technology: we American's like it 2 years after it's popular in London.
They are all at Threatcon Delta. Their website currently only lists their status as of the beginning of the attacks, which was Threatcon Charlie.
Many (most?) military facilities have been at Force Protection Condition Alpha since the bombings at the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998 ('FPCON' replaced 'THREATCON' in June as the official term so as to avoid confusion with the Department of State's 'Threat Levels' for countries or regions).
It's actually 7 'chunks'. So following that rule, yes, "five-five-five-one-two-one-two" for many would reach the capacity of their short-term memory, but "five-five-five-twelve-twelve" would not. Obviously, this varies from person to person.
I've been living in D.C. for a few years where we have 10-digit dialing. It's easy because it's based on geography (202 is D.C., 703 is Virginia, etc.), but I can see it being problematic when you have more than one area code in a given geographic region. I couldn't think in terms of "Virginia 555-1212", so it becomes more items to remember, and therefore more difficult.
[I find it quite dry, but for anyone who's in to this sort of thing, you can find the article that established this '7 chunk' limit at here.]
I've had service with Concentric for about 6 months now, and have been very pleased. They have a 'Home Office' package: 4 static IPs, 784K/416K, $69/mo. Running servers is permitted. --
Looks like DoubleClick started all of this silliness... they sued Sabela Media, recently aquired by 24/7, for infringment of DoubleClick's patent for 'banner advertising display system and method with frequency of advertisement control.' -- --
Slashdot Mirror
How did the clump of neurons know what they were trying to accomplish? More precicely, why didn't they try to crash the plane?
...and how did they differentiate between actual, appropriate thoughts regarding flying the plane and fleeting, "I wonder what would happen if I pointed this 747 full of people straight down" thoughts? (I realize the "brain" in this experiment probably didn't have this level of cognition, but my question applies to any thought-controlled apparatus.)
Sure, I've stood on an observation deck at the top of a tall building and wondered "I wonder what it would be like to jump off", but I have no intention of ever doing so. How does this contraption identify my true intentions vs. nonsense from my inner lunatic?
What is up with all this, anyway? I mean, is this really a lot more complicated than a simple database?
Yes, it's a lot more complicated. (I worked for VNS in the '96 election.) Under the 'old' system, ~2,000 people are sent to selected precincts around the country and hand out questionnaires. ("Are you a Democrat/Republican?" "How old are you?" "Who did you vote for in the Senate race?") Each exit poller is told to hand the questionnaire to specific individuals (e.g. every fourth person who comes out of the precint). Throughout the day, the exit poller phones in their reponses, which are tallied and compared.
This is where the big software problem comes in. You've got a sample size of about 2,000 precints that are combined with past voting behavior and used to make projections on today's voting behavior in many thousands of precints (providing real-time results). Results phoned in by exit pollers are compared to voting behavior over previous decades. Polls may show a Democratic candidate winning by a landslide in District A that has elected Republicans for the last 30 years. Polls may show low voter turnout in Precint B, which has had 65% turn out in the past 7 elections. Etc., etc. Results that don't match predicted voter behavior is investigated, and since the consortium members (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and AP) want the data NOW, your software has to do a lot of that work for you.
So the big software problem is not so much storing exit poll data, but making that information useful based on past voter behavior and providing it in real-time.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, how do the child labor laws which were created to protect kids from being chained to looms for hours making rugs or soccer balls apply today in the real world.
I ran into this exact problem several years ago; I was 15 and had a summer gig with a video production company (I'd practically grown up in a TV studio). After a run in with the HR people, they said they had to let me go because I was under 16 and in violation of child labor laws. So I went straight to the local public library, pulled out a copy of the Ohio Revised Code (the consolidated laws of the state; if you're in the U.S., check to see if your state has something like this), and actually read the child labor laws of the state.
Well, it turns out I *was* permitted to work. In Ohio at least, there were explicit prohibitions on certain types of work, e.g. I couldn't operate heavy machinery, and there were certain conditions applied to work, e.g. a mandatory 15 minute break every 4 hours, a maximum 8-hour work day, etc. But other than that, I was free to sit in an editing booth or at a mixing console and work away precisely because I wasn't slaving away in some factory.
While this doesn't help Mr. Dobbie's situation, as it appears to be an issue regarding contracts, to all you young coders out there: don't assume that child labor laws lock you out of the industry until you're 16/18! Take a look, or ask for assistance from someone well-versed in these matters.
What should we expect for power and cooling needs?
/. isn't going to do your homework for you on this one.
Using my Jedi mind powers, I see that you require 240V/20A twist lock outlets, and that your machines each put out 1200 BTU/hour. Therefore, your power and cooling solution is...
Ummm... hate to break it to you, but
Dear sirs, it is my sad duty to inform you that journalistic integrity is dead.
You think the editorial folks at Yahoo are thrilled about this? A couple of years ago I managed advertising operations for a national media outlet, and believe me, the journalists get *much* more ticked off about online advertising than you who run JunkBuster/whatever.
In any news operation, there are two diametric forces at work: journalists who want to present unbiased information (and, yes, contrary to popular conspiracy theory, journalists most often believe that they are, indeed, presenting unbiased coverage), and business folks who need to cover payroll, pay the lights, and make shareholders happy. Most editorial staff demand a clear distinction between content and advertising, but it today's advertising market, people are struggling for dollars, and may accept "controversial" (at least in the content vs. advertising context) ads they wouldn't have accepted 2 years ago.
So it's not the reporters trying to make a buck off this ad, it's the suits. And the reporters hate it.
BTW, TechnoScout has been running ads like this for over a year now all over the 'Net. This example is nothing new.
The GSM system in Iceland is one of the most advanced networks in the world. Everybody has a mobile. 9 year olds and up! :) Interesting fact! :)
Interestingly, I was just in Iceland last week, and my GSM phone had 1) the best reception I'd had anywhere (I'm from the States), 2) faster signal location than anywhere else (here in D.C. it takes a minute or so to find the nearest Voicestream tower), and 3) encrypted transmission between my phone and the tower (which I've never seen work anywhere else I've been).
but in real life most of the US has just as good of coverage as Europe.
You obviously haven't tried using the same phone in both the U.S. and Europe. Get a tri-band GSM phone, take it to any large city in Europe, and you'll see you get much better coverage than in NYC/someother U.S. city.
Yes, it does exist today, but how long have GSM networks been in the US? Maybe a few years at best. How about widespread deployment?
Seriously. I have Voicestream GSM service & a tri-band phone, and have mediocre coverage in Washington, D.C., but last week had awesome coverage throughout Scotland and northern England (I'm talking small towns, not just cities like Edinburgh, etc.). Even got encrypted transmission service in Iceland. But in the U.S.? Nuthin' but crap.
Maybe cell phones are more like fashion than technology: we American's like it 2 years after it's popular in London.
They are all at Threatcon Delta. Their website currently only lists their status as of the beginning of the attacks, which was Threatcon Charlie.
Many (most?) military facilities have been at Force Protection Condition Alpha since the bombings at the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998 ('FPCON' replaced 'THREATCON' in June as the official term so as to avoid confusion with the Department of State's 'Threat Levels' for countries or regions).
Until a few months ago, people in 703 could dial 7-digits to other 703 numbers, or 10-digits to District/MD numbers. Now it's all 10.
--
It's actually 7 'chunks'. So following that rule, yes, "five-five-five-one-two-one-two" for many would reach the capacity of their short-term memory, but "five-five-five-twelve-twelve" would not. Obviously, this varies from person to person.
I've been living in D.C. for a few years where we have 10-digit dialing. It's easy because it's based on geography (202 is D.C., 703 is Virginia, etc.), but I can see it being problematic when you have more than one area code in a given geographic region. I couldn't think in terms of "Virginia 555-1212", so it becomes more items to remember, and therefore more difficult.
[I find it quite dry, but for anyone who's in to this sort of thing, you can find the article that established this '7 chunk' limit at here.]
--
I've had service with Concentric for about 6 months now, and have been very pleased. They have a 'Home Office' package: 4 static IPs, 784K/416K, $69/mo. Running servers is permitted.
--
Looks like DoubleClick started all of this silliness... they sued Sabela Media, recently aquired by 24/7, for infringment of DoubleClick's patent for 'banner advertising display system and method with frequency of advertisement control.'
--
--