Slightly off topic but bear with me. I recently started a new job which gives me about an hour (half hour each way) of reading time on public transport each day. I had gotten out of the habit of reading over the last few years (mostly the fault of my job) and am now hoping to re-educate myself.
The sort of books that I am looking for are readable texts rather than college type text books (pretty much the way this book is described). I have already stuck this one on my public library order list and would like suggestions from slashdotters on other books in the science realm that would be suitable for reading in half hour chunks on a New York subway.
I have already read "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson and although it was a pretty good broad ranging read, I spotted at least one thing I knew was incorrect and reviews I read on Amazon afterwards commented that there were mistakes in the book.
So I am hoping that you can come up with a few suggestions that I can be confident are factually correct as well as readable.
Pointers to lists already on the web are also welcome.
I was able to find the ACT information on a state by state basis but couldn't find a similar table for the SATs. I am sure it is out there but I came across the ACT results first.
I created a table mapping the 2004 state by state ACT composite scores with presidential voting. (The ACT is a test used for high school students as part of the college admission process in the US). The states are listed from highest ACT scores to the lowest. I think it makes interesting reading.
As you can see the top 10 states as ranked by ACT composite score all voted for Kerry and of the bottom 10 states 9 voted for Bush. I don't know what to make of this but I need to keep typing to get around the lameness filter. So this line goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever.
RTE (Irish State Broadcaster) version Aertel
on
Ceefax Turns 30
·
· Score: 1
RTE have their version Aertel on the web. http://www.rte.ie/aertel/
Looks fairly similar to Ceefax and other teletext services.
Teletext is one of the reasons why internet usage is not as high in the UK or Ireland as it is in USA/Canada. News headlines and sports results or updates are very easy to get on teletext and would be one of the main things that I would use the web for.
You seem to be an expert on what I think and do based on a couple of posts and you are wrong on both counts.
they are opposed to hit'n'run commentators like Franken that are highly partisan, highly motivated by ideology, and willing to play fast and loose with facts to convert people to their way of thinking
FNC is not opposed to having commentators that are highly partisan
So do you personally believe the kind of invective and innuendo that people like Franken bring to the table actually enhances the public debate? Not really. But it is not any more harmful to public debate than Limbaugh/Hannity etc.
The fact is, he likes to make fun of people. If he went around billing himself as a comedian, I wouldn't have a problem with that He does. From his book website http://www.ohthethingsiknow.com/aboutal.html/ "Al Franken is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, Grammy-winning comedian, radio host, and bestselling author of..."
...that's what comedians are supposed to do. But he styles himself as a political commentator/activist, meaning that he's opened the door on scrutinizing his facts, figures, and general stance on things, just like other "serious" people (Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Peter Jennings, to name a few). The Fox News/Franken case was not about any facts,figures etc. but about his use of "Fair and Balanced"
Generally, I find Franken to be humorous. When it comes to his effect on political discussions, though, I have to say that he works backwards to the facts from his ideological position--what he wants to be true rather than what is true. The facts that conform make it into his argument. Those that don't are ignored or worse, discredited, but not in a way that is in keeping with the spirit of informed debate. This description could also be applied to Limbaugh/Hannity/Coulter etc....
This, by the way, is an informed, even-handed response to your post, which, as if sent as an example from above, is a very Franken-style hit'n'run...for those of you paying attention. Indeed it was, you could also describe it as a Fox News-style hit'n'run. Your original post said "they are opposed to hit'n'run commentators like Franken that are highly partisan, highly motivated by ideology, and willing to play fast and loose with facts to convert people to their way of thinking" If they were opposed to commentators that are highly partisan then they would not employ O'Reilly and Hannity and have Coulter as a regular guest.
The idea that the Fox/Franken case was motivated by a desire to raise the tone of political debate is quite humorous. The reason they brought the case was that O'Reilly insisted on it.
The bigwigs at FNC knew from the get-go they were going to lose the case (multi-billion dollar companies usually have access to a lawyer or two before they bring a highly public case like this). They did it as a symbolic gesture in the hopes of making the point that they are opposed to hit'n'run commentators like Franken that are highly partisan, highly motivated by ideology, and willing to play fast and loose with facts to convert people to their way of thinking.
I would like to ask if it would be possible to have a preference option that says "No stories with a New York Times link" in them - I refuse to register, I refuse to play games to work around registering,
Why just pick on NYT, there are other websites that require registering before viewing their content which Slashdot has linked to.
You are a registered Slashdot user so you obviously don't mind registering for some sites.
In recent nightly builds going back a few weeks now I have noticed a problem with displaying some images.
eg. on mozilla main page I do not see the main logo only the alt text. When I right click and choose "View Image" I get the message The image "http://www.mozilla.org/images/mozilla-banner.gif" cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.
This was probably quite deliberate on Tolkiens part. He was religous, Catholic, and because of his language knowledge was involved in the translation of The Jerusalem Bible a modern Catholic translation of the Bible
He was a friend of C.S. Lewis who included a lot of religous themes in his fantasy literature.
There is an article on Tolkien, religion and Lewis here
In the New York Times today there is an article about a guy who built a robot out of Lego which can solve the Rubik's Cube.
It uses a lego-cam linked to a computer with color recognition software and a rubiks solving program, but all the mechanical bits to physically manipulate the cube are Lego.
She performed the same experiment on two groups of students. Results: Adults tended to choose the Barbie wearing the lavender dress, regardless of skin color. But only six of 30 children picked the black Barbie, regardless of dress.
Prehaps the adults were being politically correct by picking the doll based only on the dress whereas the kids were not smart/devious enough to recognize what the girl was trying to test for
Because this story was presented as being an email from Bill Gates, more than half the posters have spent their time saying "It looks like a hoax to me" (No kidding !)
The author raises a few excellent points which could have generated some interesting discussions. Unfortunatly this will not happen as any discussion of the authors points will be drowned in a sea of "I don't this Bill Gates would say that/I don't think he would send it to all@MS"
Slashdot Mirror
I notice for his at home machine he is an overclocker.
"Dell XPS 710 H2C
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor overclocked to 3.2GHz"
Slightly off topic but bear with me. I recently started a new job which gives me about an hour (half hour each way) of reading time on public transport each day. I had gotten out of the habit of reading over the last few years (mostly the fault of my job) and am now hoping to re-educate myself.
The sort of books that I am looking for are readable texts rather than college type text books (pretty much the way this book is described). I have already stuck this one on my public library order list and would like suggestions from slashdotters on other books in the science realm that would be suitable for reading in half hour chunks on a New York subway.
I have already read "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson and although it was a pretty good broad ranging read, I spotted at least one thing I knew was incorrect and reviews I read on Amazon afterwards commented that there were mistakes in the book.
So I am hoping that you can come up with a few suggestions that I can be confident are factually correct as well as readable.
Pointers to lists already on the web are also welcome.
"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win." -- Gary Lineker (English soccer/football player)
Mathematics and Sex ?
I was able to find the ACT information on a state by state basis but couldn't find a similar table for the SATs. I am sure it is out there but I came across the ACT results first.
I created a table mapping the 2004 state by state ACT composite scores with presidential voting. (The ACT is a test used for high school students as part of the college admission process in the US). The states are listed from highest ACT scores to the lowest. I think it makes interesting reading.
Vote. State........ ACT Score
Kerry Vermont........... 22.7
Kerry Maine............. 22.6
Kerry Connecticut....... 22.5
Kerry New Hampshire..... 22.5
Kerry Oregon............ 22.5
Kerry Washington........ 22.5
Kerry Massachusetts..... 22.4
Kerry New York.......... 22.3
Kerry Minnesota......... 22.2
Kerry Wisconsin......... 22.2
Bush. Iowa.............. 22.0
Kerry Rhode Island...... 21.9
Kerry Pennsylvania...... 21.8
Kerry Hawaii............ 21.7
Bush. Montana........... 21.7
Bush. Nebraska.......... 21.7
Kerry California........ 21.6
Bush. Indiana........... 21.6
Bush. Kansas............ 21.6
Bush. Arizona........... 21.5
Kerry Delaware.......... 21.5
Bush. Missouri.......... 21.5
Bush. South Dakota...... 21.5
Bush. Utah.............. 21.5
Kerry Michigan.......... 21.4
Bush. Ohio.............. 21.4
Bush. Wyoming........... 21.4
Bush. Alaska............ 21.3
Bush. Idaho............. 21.3
Bush. Nevada............ 21.2
Kerry New Jersey........ 21.2
Bush. North Dakota...... 21.2
Bush. Virginia.......... 20.9
Kerry Maryland.......... 20.8
Bush. Oklahoma.......... 20.6
Bush. Florida........... 20.5
Bush. Tennessee......... 20.5
Bush. West Virginia..... 20.5
Bush. Arkansas.......... 20.4
Bush. Colorado.......... 20.3
Kerry Illinois.......... 20.3
Bush. Kentucky.......... 20.3
Bush. North Carolina.... 20.3
Bush. Alabama........... 20.2
Bush. Texas............. 20.2
Bush. New Mexico........ 20.1
Bush. Georgia........... 20.0
Bush. Louisiana......... 19.8
Bush. South Carolina.... 19.3
Bush. Mississippi....... 18.8
As you can see the top 10 states as ranked by ACT composite score all voted for Kerry and of the bottom 10 states 9 voted for Bush. I don't know what to make of this but I need to keep typing to get around the lameness filter. So this line goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever.
RTE have their version Aertel on the web.
http://www.rte.ie/aertel/
Looks fairly similar to Ceefax and other teletext services.
Teletext is one of the reasons why internet usage is not as high in the UK or Ireland as it is in USA/Canada. News headlines and sports results or updates are very easy to get on teletext and would be one of the main things that I would use the web for.
Your other statement that led me to believe you do not watch O'Reilly's show is the one about Ann Coulter being a regular guest.
I never said she was a regular on O'Reilly. She is a regular guest on Fox as this link shows.
Ann Coulter on Fox
but if you watch (and I know you don't)
people who hate him as much as you obviously do
You seem to be an expert on what I think and do based on a couple of posts and you are wrong on both counts.
they are opposed to hit'n'run commentators like Franken that are highly partisan, highly motivated by ideology, and willing to play fast and loose with facts to convert people to their way of thinking
FNC is not opposed to having commentators that are highly partisan
You should try to avoid contradicting yourself.
So do you personally believe the kind of invective and innuendo that people like Franken bring to the table actually enhances the public debate?
...that's what comedians are supposed to do. But he styles himself as a political commentator/activist, meaning that he's opened the door on scrutinizing his facts, figures, and general stance on things, just like other "serious" people (Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Peter Jennings, to name a few).
...
Not really. But it is not any more harmful to public debate than Limbaugh/Hannity etc.
The fact is, he likes to make fun of people. If he went around billing himself as a comedian, I wouldn't have a problem with that
He does. From his book website http://www.ohthethingsiknow.com/aboutal.html/
"Al Franken is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, Grammy-winning comedian, radio host, and bestselling author of..."
The Fox News/Franken case was not about any facts,figures etc. but about his use of "Fair and Balanced"
Generally, I find Franken to be humorous. When it comes to his effect on political discussions, though, I have to say that he works backwards to the facts from his ideological position--what he wants to be true rather than what is true. The facts that conform make it into his argument. Those that don't are ignored or worse, discredited, but not in a way that is in keeping with the spirit of informed debate.
This description could also be applied to Limbaugh/Hannity/Coulter etc.
This, by the way, is an informed, even-handed response to your post, which, as if sent as an example from above, is a very Franken-style hit'n'run...for those of you paying attention.
Indeed it was, you could also describe it as a Fox News-style hit'n'run. Your original post said "they are opposed to hit'n'run commentators like Franken that are highly partisan, highly motivated by ideology, and willing to play fast and loose with facts to convert people to their way of thinking"
If they were opposed to commentators that are highly partisan then they would not employ O'Reilly and Hannity and have Coulter as a regular guest.
The idea that the Fox/Franken case was motivated by a desire to raise the tone of political debate is quite humorous.
The reason they brought the case was that O'Reilly insisted on it.
The bigwigs at FNC knew from the get-go they were going to lose the case (multi-billion dollar companies usually have access to a lawyer or two before they bring a highly public case like this). They did it as a symbolic gesture in the hopes of making the point that they are opposed to hit'n'run commentators like Franken that are highly partisan, highly motivated by ideology, and willing to play fast and loose with facts to convert people to their way of thinking.
That sounds exactly like Fox News themselves.
Copyright 2004 Exxon Mobile.
:)
Are they some sort of cellphone company ?
If you are going to alter the article you could at least spell it correctly
Java/Oracle developer's 10
You're an Oracle developer and you are not going to install TOAD ?
You are rare.
When we were in junior high school, my friend Rich and I made a map of the school lunch tables according to popularity.
:)
And I'll bet he wondered why people thought him strange
On the archive.org Gutenberg page they list the most popular downloads.
Number 2 is something called "New Hacker's Dictionary, The"
Every time I refresh the page the download count has increased.
A variation on the slashdot effect ?
Gutenberg page at archive.org
Project Gutenberg only publishes books that are out of copyright. That means Dickens is okay but you wont find the latest Stephen King
Does anyone out there still use their floppy?"
Yes. Whenever a network goes down it is still a great way to transfer a file between two PCs
I would like to ask if it would be possible to have a preference option that says "No stories with a New York Times link" in them - I refuse to register, I refuse to play games to work around registering,
Why just pick on NYT, there are other websites that require registering before viewing their content which Slashdot has linked to.
You are a registered Slashdot user so you obviously don't mind registering for some sites.
Would there not already be a lot of /.ers at these meetings 2600
Thanks
I deleted all the files in the Cache folder and that cleared the problem.
In recent nightly builds going back a few weeks now I have noticed a problem with displaying some images.
" cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.
eg. on mozilla main page I do not see the main logo only the alt text. When I right click and choose "View Image" I get the message
The image "http://www.mozilla.org/images/mozilla-banner.gif
This has continued with RC3
This was probably quite deliberate on Tolkiens part. He was religous, Catholic, and because of his language knowledge was involved in the translation of The Jerusalem Bible a modern Catholic translation of the Bible
He was a friend of C.S. Lewis who included a lot of religous themes in his fantasy literature.
There is an article on Tolkien, religion and Lewis here
In the New York Times today there is an article about a guy who built a robot out of Lego which can solve the Rubik's Cube.
It uses a lego-cam linked to a computer with color recognition software and a rubiks solving program, but all the mechanical bits to physically manipulate the cube are Lego.
Stumped by Rubik's Cube? Let the Lego Robot Solve It
She performed the same experiment on two groups of students. Results: Adults tended to choose the Barbie wearing the lavender dress, regardless of skin color. But only six of 30 children picked the black Barbie, regardless of dress.
Prehaps the adults were being politically correct by picking the doll based only on the dress whereas the kids were not smart/devious enough to recognize what the girl was trying to test for
Because this story was presented as being an email from Bill Gates, more than half the posters have spent their time saying "It looks like a hoax to me" (No kidding !)
The author raises a few excellent points which could have generated some interesting discussions. Unfortunatly this will not happen as any discussion of the authors points will be drowned in a sea of "I don't this Bill Gates would say that/I don't think he would send it to all@MS"