If you read one of the papers, from Florida Atlantic University, referenced on the site, the author claims that the advantage comes from an 'intrinsic favorable flexure mode." Basically, he is saying that the flex at the joint of the Z shape creates a smoother ride and higher torque at specific angles (not peak torque however).
While I find it unlikely that the effect is as positive as stated in the article, it is plausible that there is a small second-order effect due to non-rigid behavior of the crank. It is claimed in the article that this effect was tested independently, however I can't see how a flex in the pedal would produce any other effect than to steal energy away from the peddler.
Besides, if you want more torque while biking, just use clip-ins.
Besides, what sway should the behaviour of a rich "elite type" have on your choices? Why do you care what they do?
And actually, if families, communities, nations used less energy and were able to generate some of their own energy (roof mounted solar panels, personal wind generators) they would be more financially independent. Same goes for growing your own food in a garden, composting much of your own waste, etc.
Sure McDonalds is cheap but home grown food is cheaper. Sure, your old beater car is cheap, but the bus is cheaper. Sure, coal is cheap, but when global warming ends up turning all our crop lands into deserts, there are going to be a lot more hungry lower class people around.
Trust me, "scientists" don't spend 8-10 years as a student (plus more as a post-doc usually), making no money to get rich. They are mostly just intelligent, curious people with a desire to know how the world works. Your typical "scientist" isn't hauling in the cash and most of them work at tenured jobs where they'd get paid regardless of what they publish. Besides, at this point you're not grabbing anyone's attention when you say that climate change is real and that humans are at least part of the cause. This is agreed upon. No one is "debating the issue". You are correct on one point. We do need to get real about this. We need to convince the masses that science isn't out to get them. Science just measures the world and shares its results. (And not by looking out the window.)
10 million dollars is peanuts. Besides, why hold back progress, especially when that progress is actually innovative and tries to make things better for everyone? North America was built on invention, innovation and beating everyone else to the punch. Without that drive, the economy sags and other parts of the world start to dominate (i.e. like right now).
...Then they didn't go to Waterloo, or they did but didn't pass. I have to wonder how low the bar is for your typical college CS degree is, if that statement can hold ANY water at all.
Data structures, algorithm theory and design fundamentals, run time analysis, software engineering paradigms, formal languages and parsing theory, complexity and computability, formal logic, operating system fundamentals, compiler fundamentals, matrix algebra and vector calculus are just some of the REQUIRED courses for a CS degree at Waterloo. Then you have to pass a bunch more courses of your choosing.
Don't other degrees require graduates to have studied similar topics? While you could learn these things on your own, its easier with a prof, TAs, peers, structured schedules, etc... (IMO expensive but worth it)
I taught myself to program in the summers. That is now my profession. I have to believe that many children/teens also take advantage of summer as a time to look into and pursue interests/hobbies that end up becoming careers.
Really? You think there are 3.5 billion people in the world who are in a position not to be able to transition away from meat if they wanted to? How do you come to that conclusion?
In most places, meat is the most expensive and least abundant food commodity. Grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits, (some of the cheapest food commodities, except in frigid regions) in the right combination can very easily replace nutritional value of meat. With dairy, that replacement becomes nearly trivial. Pretty much anywhere you can have meat, you can have dairy and its more sustainable because you keep the animals alive.
There are select communities of people (i.e those living in polar or mountainous regions) who genuinely rely on meat nutritionally. I would be shocked if this is most of the planet.
The term pop music is a loaded term now-days. The whole structure of the industry has changed.
Pop music that makes the charts is often music largely constructed by the big record companies. They produce music to maximize profit, so its no surprise that it is unexciting musically. They are catering to the lowest common denominator. By design they want music that offends no one and that nearly anyone could listen to. Thus you get the most bland, re-hashed music possible. Is this what is found in the 'Million Song Dataset'?
However, there is a whole other world of pop music on the internet and playing in the local venues. It is popular in that millions of people world wide are listening to some of these musicians, but they aren't being backed by the big music stations, promoters, etc. This type of pop is much broader musically because it is made for the love of music (or at least it can be) and can be adopted by audiences with a more specific taste in music. It has the capacity to be more experimental both intra and inter genrely. I would argue that it is a time of explosive creativity in this realm because of how easy it is for musicians to enter the game and then to share ideas world wide. There are SO many bands right now doing interesting things, everywhere.
In short, the 'Million Song Dataset' does not contain the million reasonably popular songs that were produced last year. (Or if it does, it has a poor name).
Instead, I would argue that female gamers and women who look at porn are also destroying our generation... If I were to make a parallel/gender-neutral argument that is.
My room-mate got the call once, lead them on for a while and then hung up.
The woman (with a strong Indian accent) called back and yelled at him "fuck your mother!"
Ballmer's problem was that he was too focused on developers...
While I kid, as a developer for X360 (and *shudder* Ps3) and also Windows, I can vouch for the strides Microsoft has made in their development platforms/environments in the last 10 years.
Hell, for C# and the FREE Visual C# IDE alone, I'd like to hug the man.
Consoles are still cheaper. Especially when they come out, they typically have more power than a computer for the same money would have. (E.g. academic institutions noticed this and started buying PS3s for their servers).
Also, because consoles have consistent specs, developers can maximize the performance of their game for that specific hardware (without worrying about who might not be able to play their game). This also means that companies can (or should) guarantee a certain frame-rate playing their game. You can't guarantee this on PC for anyone.
hipsters congregate in dense urban areas where any car is a luxury, and many just can't imagine that some of us actually live a long way away from anything
Actually, much of the world's population lives in dense urban areas. They are called cities.
I didn't say there could be nothing to this argument. I just said there was nothing in his specific claim because he provided no substantiation.
Furthermore, the statement "Disney does wield an enormous amount of power over our culture" is very different from the statement "they are fucking children's minds".
The point is that unless one delves into the details of what one is trying to convey, at least a little bit, then one isn't saying much at all, and no one else should listen. Especially when it comes to bold, sweeping claims.
Next time you make a bold claim you might try substantiating it with evidence or even just the specific bullet points that form your argument. Otherwise you sound like that dude who roams the streets yelling out 'THE GOVERNMENT!'.
I can no longer stand Slashdot because of this. I have a very big penis and compared to it the text is simply unreadable because of this.
It is a total disaster in that it is slightly worse for my specific situation than the free service I used to enjoy slightly more.
If this is not reversed pronto, I will continue coming here when it suites me or not and clear up bandwidth for users who still enjoy this excellent free website, one that wants to move forward with the rest of the web from time to time.
Slashdot Mirror
If you read one of the papers, from Florida Atlantic University, referenced on the site, the author claims that the advantage comes from an 'intrinsic favorable flexure mode." Basically, he is saying that the flex at the joint of the Z shape creates a smoother ride and higher torque at specific angles (not peak torque however).
While I find it unlikely that the effect is as positive as stated in the article, it is plausible that there is a small second-order effect due to non-rigid behavior of the crank. It is claimed in the article that this effect was tested independently, however I can't see how a flex in the pedal would produce any other effect than to steal energy away from the peddler.
Besides, if you want more torque while biking, just use clip-ins.
I would just like to point out that the headline of this post is posed as a question.
yet at the same time they're also flying around in private jets
Hah! What environmentalist flys around in a private jet? Environmentalists I know prefer not to fly, and when they do, many pay the carbon tax (by buying an offset):
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/resources/2009/purchasing-carbon-offsets/?gclid=CLuRyLjgi7QCFcN_Qgodi1QA_w
Besides, what sway should the behaviour of a rich "elite type" have on your choices? Why do you care what they do?
And actually, if families, communities, nations used less energy and were able to generate some of their own energy (roof mounted solar panels, personal wind generators) they would be more financially independent. Same goes for growing your own food in a garden, composting much of your own waste, etc.
Sure McDonalds is cheap but home grown food is cheaper. Sure, your old beater car is cheap, but the bus is cheaper. Sure, coal is cheap, but when global warming ends up turning all our crop lands into deserts, there are going to be a lot more hungry lower class people around.
btw, here's how true environmentalists live: http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/
Trust me, "scientists" don't spend 8-10 years as a student (plus more as a post-doc usually), making no money to get rich. They are mostly just intelligent, curious people with a desire to know how the world works. Your typical "scientist" isn't hauling in the cash and most of them work at tenured jobs where they'd get paid regardless of what they publish. Besides, at this point you're not grabbing anyone's attention when you say that climate change is real and that humans are at least part of the cause. This is agreed upon. No one is "debating the issue".
You are correct on one point. We do need to get real about this. We need to convince the masses that science isn't out to get them. Science just measures the world and shares its results. (And not by looking out the window.)
10 million dollars is peanuts. Besides, why hold back progress, especially when that progress is actually innovative and tries to make things better for everyone?
North America was built on invention, innovation and beating everyone else to the punch. Without that drive, the economy sags and other parts of the world start to dominate (i.e. like right now).
...Then they didn't go to Waterloo, or they did but didn't pass. I have to wonder how low the bar is for your typical college CS degree is, if that statement can hold ANY water at all.
Data structures, algorithm theory and design fundamentals, run time analysis, software engineering paradigms, formal languages and parsing theory, complexity and computability, formal logic, operating system fundamentals, compiler fundamentals, matrix algebra and vector calculus are just some of the REQUIRED courses for a CS degree at Waterloo. Then you have to pass a bunch more courses of your choosing.
Don't other degrees require graduates to have studied similar topics? While you could learn these things on your own, its easier with a prof, TAs, peers, structured schedules, etc... (IMO expensive but worth it)
He shouldn't count his French what?
Did you mean to say "You don't count your French votes" or "You don't count your French fries" or something else?
Your comment certainly shouldn't count as it's not English.
I taught myself to program in the summers. That is now my profession. I have to believe that many children/teens also take advantage of summer as a time to look into and pursue interests/hobbies that end up becoming careers.
We need some hackers with a human touch.
Couldn't apply to most people on the planet
Really? You think there are 3.5 billion people in the world who are in a position not to be able to transition away from meat if they wanted to? How do you come to that conclusion?
In most places, meat is the most expensive and least abundant food commodity. Grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits, (some of the cheapest food commodities, except in frigid regions) in the right combination can very easily replace nutritional value of meat. With dairy, that replacement becomes nearly trivial. Pretty much anywhere you can have meat, you can have dairy and its more sustainable because you keep the animals alive.
There are select communities of people (i.e those living in polar or mountainous regions) who genuinely rely on meat nutritionally. I would be shocked if this is most of the planet.
http://co2isgreen.org/ ...So according to this, anyone belching lots of planet saving C02 must be a commie, tree-hugging hippy!
Stop the damn dirty hippies, use solar power!
How are those mutually exclusive and how did you get 3 points?
The term pop music is a loaded term now-days. The whole structure of the industry has changed.
Pop music that makes the charts is often music largely constructed by the big record companies. They produce music to maximize profit, so its no surprise that it is unexciting musically. They are catering to the lowest common denominator. By design they want music that offends no one and that nearly anyone could listen to. Thus you get the most bland, re-hashed music possible. Is this what is found in the 'Million Song Dataset'?
However, there is a whole other world of pop music on the internet and playing in the local venues. It is popular in that millions of people world wide are listening to some of these musicians, but they aren't being backed by the big music stations, promoters, etc. This type of pop is much broader musically because it is made for the love of music (or at least it can be) and can be adopted by audiences with a more specific taste in music. It has the capacity to be more experimental both intra and inter genrely. I would argue that it is a time of explosive creativity in this realm because of how easy it is for musicians to enter the game and then to share ideas world wide. There are SO many bands right now doing interesting things, everywhere.
In short, the 'Million Song Dataset' does not contain the million reasonably popular songs that were produced last year. (Or if it does, it has a poor name).
Instead, I would argue that female gamers and women who look at porn are also destroying our generation... If I were to make a parallel/gender-neutral argument that is.
My room-mate got the call once, lead them on for a while and then hung up. The woman (with a strong Indian accent) called back and yelled at him "fuck your mother!"
Ballmer's problem was that he was too focused on developers... While I kid, as a developer for X360 (and *shudder* Ps3) and also Windows, I can vouch for the strides Microsoft has made in their development platforms/environments in the last 10 years. Hell, for C# and the FREE Visual C# IDE alone, I'd like to hug the man.
I was browsing on my Dreamcast in 1999.
Pfft... Dawkins? He just pretends he's as smart as everyone else by being ultra smug.
Also, because consoles have consistent specs, developers can maximize the performance of their game for that specific hardware (without worrying about who might not be able to play their game). This also means that companies can (or should) guarantee a certain frame-rate playing their game. You can't guarantee this on PC for anyone.
hipsters congregate in dense urban areas where any car is a luxury, and many just can't imagine that some of us actually live a long way away from anything
Actually, much of the world's population lives in dense urban areas. They are called cities.
I sometimes wonder why politics are so polarized in the U.S. and then I read comments like this.
I didn't say there could be nothing to this argument. I just said there was nothing in his specific claim because he provided no substantiation. Furthermore, the statement "Disney does wield an enormous amount of power over our culture" is very different from the statement "they are fucking children's minds". The point is that unless one delves into the details of what one is trying to convey, at least a little bit, then one isn't saying much at all, and no one else should listen. Especially when it comes to bold, sweeping claims.
Next time you make a bold claim you might try substantiating it with evidence or even just the specific bullet points that form your argument. Otherwise you sound like that dude who roams the streets yelling out 'THE GOVERNMENT!'.
lets, please, make time base 10. (Or even better, base 2 Pi).
I can no longer stand Slashdot because of this. I have a very big penis and compared to it the text is simply unreadable because of this. It is a total disaster in that it is slightly worse for my specific situation than the free service I used to enjoy slightly more. If this is not reversed pronto, I will continue coming here when it suites me or not and clear up bandwidth for users who still enjoy this excellent free website, one that wants to move forward with the rest of the web from time to time.