This line of thought goes along with Jon's thoery of child rearing, which is apparently "don't ever scold your children, because they can figure out right and wrong for themselves." Jon, the one who helped kids get into movies they weren't old enough to see, who wouldn't think of passing along values or morals apparently.
Just because kids do it doesn't mean they don't know better. And if they don't, you ought to TEACH THEM! Maybe some of you baby boomer parents chaffed against authority and chose to raise your kids as hellians, but those of us who grew up with those hellians will impart some discipline and respect in our children.
I called my reps this morning, and found out that each county has a receptionist for the entire county's delegation (Montgomery County in my case), and this person will take your comments to EACH delegate with just one phone call.
Delegate Cryor and Senator Roesser in particular have backgrounds in publishing/journalism and should be particularly receptive.
The driving force behind the "new" economy is diversification. How do you classify a tech news site? News site that has some tech coverage? This doesn't work, even conceptually. And the X-rated folks won't ever let you put them on a separate TLD -- too easy to block.
Nowadays many/most people in Meto are actually CS people. You can't do meto if you can't do CS.
Re:Sprinkler system killed old supercomputer
on
New Weather Computer
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· Score: 2
In fact, for a long time, it had none. Last year it was shut down/reduced to low availablility for quite some time when the crew installing sprinklers in the room found asbestos and it had to be quaratined while they cleaned up.
I don't think the code is available (falls under the category who would really care I think), but the models are all published. If I can find a link I'll post it.
The computer is a great step forward for NOAA. I used to work for them, my wife still does -- both trained meteorologists.
The whole "Sloppy physics" argument gives short shrift to the endeavor. The physics are very complex, and still not completely understood. They are also incredibly complex -- meteorology encompasses advanced physics and chemistry, along with the ungodly math that goes along with it. Only Theoretical physics will have more computers dedicated to it on the top 100 list of supercomputers.
Still, forecasting is as much art as science -- Truly good forecasters rely on intuition and experience to interpret output from several different models (both graphic and numeric) and put together a forecast. Statistical methods are also used to compare with similar events from the past. It is very easy to forecast -- it is extremely time consuming and difficult to forecast WELL.
Many TV stations' on-air people are not meteorlogists (in training or temperment)-- in fact many of the people on the weather channel are communications majors (at least they have a room full of metos telling them what's going on.)
The theoretical limits on forecast ability come from a number of factors. The reliability and the density of data points. There are relatively few datapoints for upper-air data (release a balloon, etc...)- on the order of a few per state - and those soundings happen only twice per day (except perhaps in extremely active severe weather environments). Even automated senesing stations are few and far between. Data then has to be interpolated for intermediate points and then stuffed into the model. Most models are then run on a 64-km grid and interpolated down. Finer mesh models (32 km ETA, et. al.) are being developed, but when all the models get run on the same machine, sacrifices in the name of efficiency must be made. Additionally, we still just don't know how it all works exactly. The effects of small scale things like the "heat-island" effect of large paved areas, pollution, solar activity, etc. are still being teased out.
Anyway, it's good to see them get the new machine (actually it wasn't so much the fire as the SPRINKLER SYSTEM that killed the old one). Give them a break. Their mission isn't to tell you what sort of coat to plan on for the morning, it's to save lives and property, and on that count, they do a hell of a job.
Monopoly a four-letter word?
on
AOL Nation
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· Score: 1
Since Standard Oil, monopoly has been this big evil concept in the American psyche. Please remember that monopolies are not illegal, or necessarily even bad. Monopolies have certain rules placed upon them (such as the rules MS is alleged to have broken) which don't apply to other businesses, but the are not in themselves illegal.
No, I don't like the idea of homogeneous media empires, nor do I want AOL as my ISP, but lots of people do, or AOL wouldn't have the net worth to pull this off.
1969 CUDA 318 cpe. Daily driver. No rust, and she's pretty fast. I can't drag the REAL musclecars (like the HEMI-CUDAS), but she'll toast all those little mustangs and every japanese import.
Auto models from a particular make (my little mopar.net has cuda, dart, ram, powerwagon, neon, etc.)
Seems to me that while clever and unique ones (like babylonian and other mythos) are clever and more fun, you're going to end up spelling things (and often explaining things) for users, thus eliminating any advantage over peints001.
That teachers and administrators must be more sensitive (and less judgemental) to students' issues is a great start. Paying them more might help (it's certainly one of the reasons I quit teaching and won't go back), and disallowing preferential treatment of any class of students is important. But singling out a class of students doesn't help, and while dress codes are annoying (I think they're stupid myself) unless they are specifically tailored to discriminate against a particular student population they are harmless. When I went to high school, it was a huge deal when they changed the dress code to allow boys to wear shorts!
A school where learning was the only focus is probably impossible. School is supposed to nurture social skills, too. Those who chafe against the notion that you shouldn't be forced to socialize in school only serve to identify themselves as less than socially skilled. That's OK, but those people need to find a way to live in society, and that's part of what one goes to school for. (Please, no home schooling flames, it's a different thing entirely.)
As for having teachers be more involved with students, and for dealing with all students case-by-case, there are practical considerations. Liability issues raise their head. Teachers get a little TOO involved with their students (rare, but less so than school shootings), and when making judgement calls on discipline problems and such, administrators get harassed for treating students unequally, hence the tendency to have strict codes of conduct and following them to the letter. Blame the lawyers.
The trend is toward hiring more people who are MORE specialized, not less, so they can provide better instruction. This seems to be another socialization issue, but fo those who think being a teacher is easy, please keep in mind that any decent teacher has to be much more than just smarter than her students. Teaching is a craft whose subtleties should not be underestimated. I would place with them (not administrators, not astronauts, not anyone else)my highest respect and esteem because they are craftsmen of the highest calibre. No, they aren't all perfect, some aren't even that good. But those who are good, are a kind of good we need more of in this country.
I know in asking for positive suggestions I open a big can of worms, and Kaatz won't answer because he has even fewer constructive things to add to the debate than most. The problem lies with each of us. Parents need to pay more attention to their kids than their careers, and instill in them values and respect for others, even others undeserving of it. Administrators need to take less programmatical approaches to students. The educational community (places that teach people to be teachers) need to do a MUCH better job. Administrators and teachers are filled with theories of learning, theories of development, and a vast array of really useless information, but seldom deal with simple things like classroom management, or, How to keep most of the people in your class in the room at the same time. And the media just need to get its collective head out of its collective ass.
OK, M-2K sounds like a bad idea for use outside of threat evaluation by law enforcement in very specific situations.
While geeks are no doubt affected by this nonsense, everyone affected by this is not a geek, and not all geeks are. The old-fashioned, stereotypical pocket protector-wearing geeks are probably still safe. There are lots of Goth-type people and other groups who wouldn't know a mouse from a hole in the ground who ARE affected. You play this up to make it seem more topical for/. and I think that's wrong.
Even more to the point, by calling for "geek unity" (for lack of a better term). By uniting together to form a group to protect themselves, you form nothing but a NEW clique, and you water down the driving force of geekdom (and for many of these other groups) -- individuality. Once this new clique forms, groupthink begins to emerge, and geekdom flounders. You're basically advocating a group to protect itself by divesting itself of it's quintessence. Geeks won't get picked on if they just stop doing what it is that gets them picked on. Great solution.
Further, you nitpick every attempt made by the world at large to prevent violence. I understand that you have legitimate issues with curtailing free speech and freedom of expression for youth (or anyone), and these are always issues for society to deal with. At what price freedom? But in your polemics about "the man" you rail against the injustice heaped upon youth by well-meaning, if misguided adults. So I ask -- what positive do you have to contribute to the debate? Put yourself in the position of an educator or parent. List 10 practical steps that a school could take to guard against this violence. That's all. Be constructive, contribute.
OK, M-2K sounds like a bad idea for use outside of threat evaluation by law enforcement in very specific situations.
While geeks are no doubt affected by this nonsense, everyone affected by this is not a geek, and not all geeks are. The old-fashioned, stereotypical pocket protector-wearing geeks are probably still safe. There are lots of Goth-type people and other groups who wouldn't know a mouse from a hole in the ground who ARE affected. You play this up to make it seem more topical for/. and I think that's wrong.
Even more to the point, by calling for "geek unity" (for lack of a better term). By uniting together to form a group to protect themselves, you form nothing but a NEW clique, and you water down the driving force of geekdom (and for many of these other groups) -- individuality. Once this new clique forms, groupthink begins to emerge, and geekdom flounders. You're basically advocating a group to protect itself by divesting itself of it's quintessence. Geeks won't get picked on if they just stop doing what it is that gets them picked on. Great solution.
Further, you nitpick every attempt made by the world at large to prevent violence. I understand that you have legitimate issues with curtailing free speech and freedom of expression for youth (or anyone), and these are always issues for society to deal with. At what price freedom? But in your polemics about "the man" you rail against the injustice heaped upon youth by well-meaning, if misguided adults. So I ask -- what positive do you have to contribute to the debate? Put yourself in the position of an educator or parent. List 10 practical steps that a school could take to guard against this violence. That's all. Be constructive, contribute.
Please note that the pilgrims left England (and the Netherlands, where half of them lived) for the freedom to persecute one another -- they were tolerated by English society, but were appalled that English society tolerated anyone else.
Also, of the studies on violence in media, these are all about PASSIVE media. Precious few studies have been done with interactive media (i.e. videogames) and those that have been done find either no connection (about half) or a negative correlation (more videogames=more violence -- the other half). The difference is being fed violence where YOU are the outlet versus having an outlet for your OWN violence.
You just can't be happy. Here some people have taken a successful medium, and put their beliefs into it. Why does this bother anyone? Without casting aspersions, you seem to be out to bash organized religion no matter what they try to do. Your first mistake is to lump all organized religion practicioners together as like-minded, then dismiss them as fascists.
I'm a practicing christian, and a geek. They don't necessarily conflict, especially for the open-minded and thoughtful (I try on both counts, with mixed success).
is that now it's in ink (or pixels). Even if retracted, someone somewhere will quote it as another "documented" case of the system not working, so let's make another (presumably even worse) system. Way too often being in print = being the truth for too many.
Abortion seldom purports to be about quality control, though. There are SOME abortions that come as a result of prenatal tests indicating some horible problem with a fetus, but the vast majority are about convenience and irresponsibility.
Having spent some time studying meteorology, I'm interested in finding some of these peoples' older predictions and seeing which of them came true. I suppose Clarke is the only one around long enough to have made any that might have come true. Anyone know of any?
It could be that the "accidental" detonation of a nuke in a third world county is aimed at alleviating this pressure. Or maybe India and Pakistan will do in each other, on purpose.
Pedophiles are loathesome, detestable creatures. They're not new, nor are they rare. But in the past, how many men in such a position could have been propositioned by a 13-year-old? Does the FBI really need to go around drumming up business? Aren't there enough ACTUAL criminals without the FBI turning some POTENTIAL criminals into new ones. Besides, what of people who think they might commit a crime, but stop at some point (a point after which a zealous agent might already have arrested them) before actually committing a crime? Obviously one doesn't want to wait until the suspect is actually committing the act, but showing up can hardly be a crime, maybe he was just going to yell at this kid and find her parents and yell at them for being such morons. (I'm not gullible, he's probably a schmuck, but don't these people have bombers and such to find? They've proven they can catch one sicko who, left to his own devices, would likely have never hurt anyone, but they can't catch Erik Rudolph!)
People who don't evacuate (i.e. "ride it out") are VERY STUPID. The geeks left and set the cam up to stay behind. They were smart.
BTW Meteorologist like to see things like this because they might produce some interesting data to let them better understand and predict these things.
Everyone who is in the path of this storm has my sympathy, until you refuse to evacuate. Please be safe down there. Just remember that my tax dollars will help you rebuild that beach-side condo afterwards anyway, dumbass.
but here in the USA, no one under 21 reall has any rights, except to vote at 18. The Constitution says so. Period. Child labor and similar vices are outlawed, but that's it. No one ever said (correctly) that a child has a right to free speech, or to watch TV, or to be free from oppression.
Sorry, kids.
[Actually giving 18 year-olds the vote was a brilliant political move. People got mad because you could be drafted and killed for your country 3 years before you could vote about the issue, so it was decided to give these people a vote in the matter. And 18-21 year-olds vote in such abyssmally small numbers to have had almost no effect whatsoever on politics in this country at all.]
Slashdot Mirror
Are they giving away brown shirts? I find they really compliment my blonde hair and blue eyes.
This line of thought goes along with Jon's thoery of child rearing, which is apparently "don't ever scold your children, because they can figure out right and wrong for themselves." Jon, the one who helped kids get into movies they weren't old enough to see, who wouldn't think of passing along values or morals apparently.
Just because kids do it doesn't mean they don't know better. And if they don't, you ought to TEACH THEM! Maybe some of you baby boomer parents chaffed against authority and chose to raise your kids as hellians, but those of us who grew up with those hellians will impart some discipline and respect in our children.
I called my reps this morning, and found out that each county has a receptionist for the entire county's delegation (Montgomery County in my case), and this person will take your comments to EACH delegate with just one phone call.
Delegate Cryor and Senator Roesser in particular have backgrounds in publishing/journalism and should be particularly receptive.
The driving force behind the "new" economy is diversification. How do you classify a tech news site? News site that has some tech coverage? This doesn't work, even conceptually. And the X-rated folks won't ever let you put them on a separate TLD -- too easy to block.
Nowadays many/most people in Meto are actually CS people. You can't do meto if you can't do CS.
In fact, for a long time, it had none. Last year it was shut down/reduced to low availablility for quite some time when the crew installing sprinklers in the room found asbestos and it had to be quaratined while they cleaned up.
I don't think the code is available (falls under the category who would really care I think), but the models are all published. If I can find a link I'll post it.
The computer is a great step forward for NOAA. I used to work for them, my wife still does -- both trained meteorologists.
The whole "Sloppy physics" argument gives short shrift to the endeavor. The physics are very complex, and still not completely understood. They are also incredibly complex -- meteorology encompasses advanced physics and chemistry, along with the ungodly math that goes along with it. Only Theoretical physics will have more computers dedicated to it on the top 100 list of supercomputers.
Still, forecasting is as much art as science -- Truly good forecasters rely on intuition and experience to interpret output from several different models (both graphic and numeric) and put together a forecast. Statistical methods are also used to compare with similar events from the past. It is very easy to forecast -- it is extremely time consuming and difficult to forecast WELL.
Many TV stations' on-air people are not meteorlogists (in training or temperment)-- in fact many of the people on the weather channel are communications majors (at least they have a room full of metos telling them what's going on.)
The theoretical limits on forecast ability come from a number of factors. The reliability and the density of data points. There are relatively few datapoints for upper-air data (release a balloon, etc...)- on the order of a few per state - and those soundings happen only twice per day (except perhaps in extremely active severe weather environments). Even automated senesing stations are few and far between. Data then has to be interpolated for intermediate points and then stuffed into the model. Most models are then run on a 64-km grid and interpolated down. Finer mesh models (32 km ETA, et. al.) are being developed, but when all the models get run on the same machine, sacrifices in the name of efficiency must be made. Additionally, we still just don't know how it all works exactly. The effects of small scale things like the "heat-island" effect of large paved areas, pollution, solar activity, etc. are still being teased out.
Anyway, it's good to see them get the new machine (actually it wasn't so much the fire as the SPRINKLER SYSTEM that killed the old one). Give them a break. Their mission isn't to tell you what sort of coat to plan on for the morning, it's to save lives and property, and on that count, they do a hell of a job.
Since Standard Oil, monopoly has been this big evil concept in the American psyche. Please remember that monopolies are not illegal, or necessarily even bad. Monopolies have certain rules placed upon them (such as the rules MS is alleged to have broken) which don't apply to other businesses, but the are not in themselves illegal.
No, I don't like the idea of homogeneous media empires, nor do I want AOL as my ISP, but lots of people do, or AOL wouldn't have the net worth to pull this off.
1969 CUDA 318 cpe. Daily driver. No rust, and she's pretty fast. I can't drag the REAL musclecars (like the HEMI-CUDAS), but she'll toast all those little mustangs and every japanese import.
Wouldn't this be a great store of data for the RIAA to mine in their anti-piracy campaigns?
Auto models from a particular make (my little mopar.net has cuda, dart, ram, powerwagon, neon, etc.)
Seems to me that while clever and unique ones (like babylonian and other mythos) are clever and more fun, you're going to end up spelling things (and often explaining things) for users, thus eliminating any advantage over peints001.
That teachers and administrators must be more sensitive (and less judgemental) to students' issues is a great start. Paying them more might help (it's certainly one of the reasons I quit teaching and won't go back), and disallowing preferential treatment of any class of students is important. But singling out a class of students doesn't help, and while dress codes are annoying (I think they're stupid myself) unless they are specifically tailored to discriminate against a particular student population they are harmless. When I went to high school, it was a huge deal when they changed the dress code to allow boys to wear shorts!
A school where learning was the only focus is probably impossible. School is supposed to nurture social skills, too. Those who chafe against the notion that you shouldn't be forced to socialize in school only serve to identify themselves as less than socially skilled. That's OK, but those people need to find a way to live in society, and that's part of what one goes to school for. (Please, no home schooling flames, it's a different thing entirely.)
As for having teachers be more involved with students, and for dealing with all students case-by-case, there are practical considerations. Liability issues raise their head. Teachers get a little TOO involved with their students (rare, but less so than school shootings), and when making judgement calls on discipline problems and such, administrators get harassed for treating students unequally, hence the tendency to have strict codes of conduct and following them to the letter. Blame the lawyers.
The trend is toward hiring more people who are MORE specialized, not less, so they can provide better instruction. This seems to be another socialization issue, but fo those who think being a teacher is easy, please keep in mind that any decent teacher has to be much more than just smarter than her students. Teaching is a craft whose subtleties should not be underestimated. I would place with them (not administrators, not astronauts, not anyone else)my highest respect and esteem because they are craftsmen of the highest calibre. No, they aren't all perfect, some aren't even that good. But those who are good, are a kind of good we need more of in this country.
I know in asking for positive suggestions I open a big can of worms, and Kaatz won't answer because he has even fewer constructive things to add to the debate than most. The problem lies with each of us. Parents need to pay more attention to their kids than their careers, and instill in them values and respect for others, even others undeserving of it. Administrators need to take less programmatical approaches to students. The educational community (places that teach people to be teachers) need to do a MUCH better job. Administrators and teachers are filled with theories of learning, theories of development, and a vast array of really useless information, but seldom deal with simple things like classroom management, or, How to keep most of the people in your class in the room at the same time. And the media just need to get its collective head out of its collective ass.
Mr. Katz:
/. and I think that's wrong.
OK, M-2K sounds like a bad idea for use outside of threat evaluation by law enforcement in very specific situations.
While geeks are no doubt affected by this nonsense, everyone affected by this is not a geek, and not all geeks are. The old-fashioned, stereotypical pocket protector-wearing geeks are probably still safe. There are lots of Goth-type people and other groups who wouldn't know a mouse from a hole in the ground who ARE affected. You play this up to make it seem more topical for
Even more to the point, by calling for "geek unity" (for lack of a better term). By uniting together to form a group to protect themselves, you form nothing but a NEW clique, and you water down the driving force of geekdom (and for many of these other groups) -- individuality. Once this new clique forms, groupthink begins to emerge, and geekdom flounders. You're basically advocating a group to protect itself by divesting itself of it's quintessence. Geeks won't get picked on if they just stop doing what it is that gets them picked on. Great solution.
Further, you nitpick every attempt made by the world at large to prevent violence. I understand that you have legitimate issues with curtailing free speech and freedom of expression for youth (or anyone), and these are always issues for society to deal with. At what price freedom? But in your polemics about "the man" you rail against the injustice heaped upon youth by well-meaning, if misguided adults. So I ask -- what positive do you have to contribute to the debate? Put yourself in the position of an educator or parent. List 10 practical steps that a school could take to guard against this violence. That's all. Be constructive, contribute.
Mr. Katz:
/. and I think that's wrong.
OK, M-2K sounds like a bad idea for use outside of threat evaluation by law enforcement in very specific situations.
While geeks are no doubt affected by this nonsense, everyone affected by this is not a geek, and not all geeks are. The old-fashioned, stereotypical pocket protector-wearing geeks are probably still safe. There are lots of Goth-type people and other groups who wouldn't know a mouse from a hole in the ground who ARE affected. You play this up to make it seem more topical for
Even more to the point, by calling for "geek unity" (for lack of a better term). By uniting together to form a group to protect themselves, you form nothing but a NEW clique, and you water down the driving force of geekdom (and for many of these other groups) -- individuality. Once this new clique forms, groupthink begins to emerge, and geekdom flounders. You're basically advocating a group to protect itself by divesting itself of it's quintessence. Geeks won't get picked on if they just stop doing what it is that gets them picked on. Great solution.
Further, you nitpick every attempt made by the world at large to prevent violence. I understand that you have legitimate issues with curtailing free speech and freedom of expression for youth (or anyone), and these are always issues for society to deal with. At what price freedom? But in your polemics about "the man" you rail against the injustice heaped upon youth by well-meaning, if misguided adults. So I ask -- what positive do you have to contribute to the debate? Put yourself in the position of an educator or parent. List 10 practical steps that a school could take to guard against this violence. That's all. Be constructive, contribute.
Please note that the pilgrims left England (and the Netherlands, where half of them lived) for the freedom to persecute one another -- they were tolerated by English society, but were appalled that English society tolerated anyone else.
Also, of the studies on violence in media, these are all about PASSIVE media. Precious few studies have been done with interactive media (i.e. videogames) and those that have been done find either no connection (about half) or a negative correlation (more videogames=more violence -- the other half). The difference is being fed violence where YOU are the outlet versus having an outlet for your OWN violence.
You just can't be happy. Here some people have taken a successful medium, and put their beliefs into it. Why does this bother anyone? Without casting aspersions, you seem to be out to bash organized religion no matter what they try to do. Your first mistake is to lump all organized religion practicioners together as like-minded, then dismiss them as fascists.
I'm a practicing christian, and a geek. They don't necessarily conflict, especially for the open-minded and thoughtful (I try on both counts, with mixed success).
is that now it's in ink (or pixels). Even if retracted, someone somewhere will quote it as another "documented" case of the system not working, so let's make another (presumably even worse) system. Way too often being in print = being the truth for too many.
Abortion seldom purports to be about quality control, though. There are SOME abortions that come as a result of prenatal tests indicating some horible problem with a fetus, but the vast majority are about convenience and irresponsibility.
Having spent some time studying meteorology, I'm interested in finding some of these peoples' older predictions and seeing which of them came true. I suppose Clarke is the only one around long enough to have made any that might have come true. Anyone know of any?
It could be that the "accidental" detonation of a nuke in a third world county is aimed at alleviating this pressure. Or maybe India and Pakistan will do in each other, on purpose.
or write on it, or stick it in my bag to take home. If Xerox can get me the paper from "The Diamond Age," I'll quit printing.
Your tax dollars at work...
Pedophiles are loathesome, detestable creatures. They're not new, nor are they rare. But in the past, how many men in such a position could have been propositioned by a 13-year-old? Does the FBI really need to go around drumming up business? Aren't there enough ACTUAL criminals without the FBI turning some POTENTIAL criminals into new ones. Besides, what of people who think they might commit a crime, but stop at some point (a point after which a zealous agent might already have arrested them) before actually committing a crime? Obviously one doesn't want to wait until the suspect is actually committing the act, but showing up can hardly be a crime, maybe he was just going to yell at this kid and find her parents and yell at them for being such morons. (I'm not gullible, he's probably a schmuck, but don't these people have bombers and such to find? They've proven they can catch one sicko who, left to his own devices, would likely have never hurt anyone, but they can't catch Erik Rudolph!)
Hurricanes are terrible. Scary. Very Dangerous.
People who don't evacuate (i.e. "ride it out") are VERY STUPID. The geeks left and set the cam up to stay behind. They were smart.
BTW Meteorologist like to see things like this because they might produce some interesting data to let them better understand and predict these things.
Everyone who is in the path of this storm has my sympathy, until you refuse to evacuate. Please be safe down there. Just remember that my tax dollars will help you rebuild that beach-side condo afterwards anyway, dumbass.
but here in the USA, no one under 21 reall has any rights, except to vote at 18. The Constitution says so. Period. Child labor and similar vices are outlawed, but that's it. No one ever said (correctly) that a child has a right to free speech, or to watch TV, or to be free from oppression.
Sorry, kids.
[Actually giving 18 year-olds the vote was a brilliant political move. People got mad because you could be drafted and killed for your country 3 years before you could vote about the issue, so it was decided to give these people a vote in the matter. And 18-21 year-olds vote in such abyssmally small numbers to have had almost no effect whatsoever on politics in this country at all.]