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User: belg4mit

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  1. Re:Equilibrium mechanisms on Global Warming Past The Point of No Return · · Score: 1

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=unstable+ equilibrium&btnG=Search

    Increased concentrations of promotes growth in some plants CO2, higher temperatures have been shown to offset this and in some cases the combination is highly detrimental.

    Another common hype is that the ocean will consume it all and save us, however recent evidence indicates that surface waters (there's relatively little mixing in the oceans, and CO2 solubility is diminished in the deeper colder waters anyhow) are approaching saturation i.e; the pH is changing.

  2. Re:What's Perl being used for today? on Perl Best Practices · · Score: 1

    Pugs is a proof of concept for the "white papers",
    but more so it's an excuse for the author to *learn* Haskell.

  3. Re:What's Perl being used for today? on Perl Best Practices · · Score: 1

    Except that it's not see. Maypole is Perl, and Cataylst's daddy.

  4. Re:Best Practices on Perl Best Practices · · Score: 2, Informative
    >Again, you can do that in Perl, but it was never anywhere near that easy.
    Bull.
    $a = {first=>[1,2,3], second=>[4,5,6]};
        print $a->{first}->[2];
    Looks easy enough to me. Damn near identical even.
    sub foo(){ return {first=>[1,2,3], second=>[4,5,6]} }
     
        print foo()->{first}->[2];
    Ditto. In modern perls the arrows tracing the path in the data structure are even optional (however code without them is as ugly as Python IMHO :-P)
    print foo()->{first}[2];
    Also note the omission of key quotes.
  5. Re:Perl Tip of the Day on Perl Best Practices · · Score: 3, Informative

    Gah! Not only was your choice of test output delimiter unfortunate (used for sigs) but it's
    wrong. ? makes the sub-expression lazy/non-greedy.
    Read Jeff Friedl's Mastering Regular Expressions.

  6. Re:Actually not that hard to understand on Bad Science in the Press · · Score: 1

    >You can't draw a curve through a single point.
    Actually you can, and *that's* the point. you can draw an inifinite number of resonably sane curves through any given point.

  7. Re:Trend? on Windows Vista To Come In 7 Flavors · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think it's a general business trend, and I hate it. 4 or 5 flavors of Sprite, another half dozen Pepsis and Cokes (some multiplicity has always been tolerable here, but now it's just ridiculous. w/ lemon? w/lime? Those are already in there under natural flavors!) The Mars bar is now a Snickers with Almonds. Consolidation of brand names, as if it helps increase awareness instead of indifference, frustration, or confusion.

  8. Re:Keytronic KB101Plus where are you? on Das Keyboard: Hit Any Key · · Score: 1

    You can't have been using a shell or scripting much then. You only ever need escape if your terminal is screwed up to work emacs, or if you use that other editor. On the other hand bacticks are for executing expressions, and tildes are for HOME expansions.

  9. Re:Similarities? on FEMA Demands Use of IE To File Online Katrina Claims · · Score: 1

    No. No, it's not.

    Historic, de facto, quasi-official language of the land vs. one browser which briefly supplanted another through questionable means.

    Furthermore once you have site A in language B
    it is much easier to test it in browsers C, D and F (i.e; the same person with the same skill set ought to be able to do it) than it is to translate the whole damn thing (which also presupposes a decent planned structure in the first place). Otherwise you'd end up with things like "Ich ben ein Berliner".

  10. Re:Noone noticed this? on The Massachusetts Office Party · · Score: 1

    Bostonians don't pronounce Rs.

    I pahked the cah in Havahd yahd.

  11. Re:Hmmm... on Earth's Core Spins Faster than Earth · · Score: 1

    Doesn't matter if that's where the majority of the mass is, haven't you ever seen a mobile?
    In torque the radius matters. Significant effects have already been associated with large hydro-power reservoirs on land, this idea is not so undifferent.

  12. Re:How are buses inefficient? on How Can Tech Help Fight Education Costs? · · Score: 1

    Sadly, your numbers are probably not too far off. I'dve expected diesel efficiency to be better but a recent paper rated a shuttle (so more stop & go,
    the worst case for efficiency) at 2km /l... or about 5 mpg. OTOH you do assume that the routes are the same; buses have to do circuits of some sort typically. I still suspect they come out on top but agree with others that children should become reaccquainted with a piece of technology known as the bicycle; seasonal weather permitting.

  13. Re:French Fry Bus on How Can Tech Help Fight Education Costs? · · Score: 1

    Biodiesel, you have to "cook" the fat first, but yes. Though typical mixes are only 30% bio.

  14. Re:The cost of making the films killing the indust on Piracy Not To Blame In Decline of Moviegoers · · Score: 1

    Some of your ideas are interesting but the basic premise is flawed, movie theaters are like pizza places. You have a high fixed cost and low variable cost, it's easy to make a profit in volume.

  15. Re:inane classes? on The Future of Technology in Schools · · Score: 1

    Sligh correction

    6th State History
    7th World History
    8th US History
    9th World History
    10th Government / Civics
    11th ? (Was in Belgium)
    12th Economics

  16. Re:Beware the Wrath of the Tilde! on 10 Computer Mishaps · · Score: 1

    This is a shell feature, not a program problem.

  17. Re:Selling an Olivetti M24 on 10 Computer Mishaps · · Score: 1

    Do you? That we setup the first electricity distribution systems? That Canada and Mexico also use 120V and the same plugs? As well as Venezuela, Taiwan and misc. Latin American and island nations?

    http://www.batterybank.net/digital/chargers/powera dapters.html

  18. Re:inane classes? on The Future of Technology in Schools · · Score: 1

    Yeah, the problem there though is tied to the 2nd article. Technology is often purchased with purpose-specific grants. Or a business wishes to donate specific things, because that's what they make or might have surplus of (we got a bunch of lab equipment form Genentech). So places take what they can get. On the other hand with a litle thought, you could take the laptops, use Project Gutenburg for English class and save a bit on all the lost and damaged books. Likewise, use modelling software and some websites for Chemistry. It's possible, it just takes someone that's plugged into more than your average teacher or prinicpal appears to be.

  19. Re:Ehh? on Vietnam Medic Makes Homemade Endoscope · · Score: 0

    Can you say "bootleg" boys and girls?
    There. Good, I knew you could do it!

  20. Re:It's a fad.. on The Future of Technology in Schools · · Score: 1

    Never gone to school have you?

  21. Re:Call me old school on The Future of Technology in Schools · · Score: 1

    They likely won't be getting to that sophmore yeat in college without the core curriculum, and if they do they'll be screwed when they get to that class where everyone else has already gone over the basics a few times before they got there.

    Elementary school is for teaching a love of reading and learning. High school is for the basic core so everyone is a few steps beyond "functional". College is the "I'll study whatever the fvck I want" reward (within the bounds of offerings and core requirements of the school fof course).

  22. Re:inane classes? on The Future of Technology in Schools · · Score: 1

    These are some misperceptions, but it's based largely on the student. i/e; average Joe Football
    or a student who applies themselves. It's possible to go through high school without much experience beyond algebra, but it's possible to see a lot more... so no, you can't make a blanket statement that there's more depth in BE. FYI I was an exchange student my Jr. year in La Louviere and studied sciences-maths-langues. And that would be another facet of it, in the French system one has to pick some sort of track very early on. In some cases you may have more depth (I did not see it) but in general we have more breadth, this is the reason for shop and home-ec (that and they can be foisted on remedial students as some sort of vocational training... we don't have the three high school system like you do: Provencale, Royale and wherever the vocational schools apply). Besides, shop could be viewed as just another art class but you can't graduate with shop alone.

    As for history/social studies, in my home-town:

    6th State History
    7th US History
    8th World History
    10th World History
    11th Government / Civics
    12th Economics

  23. Re:Six? on Star Wreck 6 Finally Complete · · Score: 1

    Babylon 5 + 1

  24. Re:Boom or not to Boom on Reintroduce Megafauna to North America? · · Score: 1

    Except that overall evolutionary drive is to specialization. There are generalists of course,
    because they can scratch out a living, so they will.
    Squirrels are definitely generalists in an urban context. Granted rabbits are not, but then you have to consider that they are governed by a predator-prey relationship.

    The point was most of your examples were of the same type.

  25. Re:Boom or not to Boom on Reintroduce Megafauna to North America? · · Score: 1

    Most of the species you refer to are generalists
    http://www.bostonreview.net/BR29.2/meyer.html