The theory of evolution is a result of the scientific process. To engage in the scientific process, in a nut shell, is to show that the world is not magic. This is done y guessing about a non-magic cause for some effect and then experimenting and observing the natural world to show that the guess is correct. Scientist have been xtraordinarily good at figuring out non-magical causes for even the most magical-appearing phenomena.
Creationist hold that the creation of the world was supernatural, magic if you will. They reject the notion that only natural phenomena were involved in the creation of the world.
Now it is reasonably safe to believe that there are so many natural phenomena going on in the universe that scientist will never develop a consistent and comprehensive set of causes for every effect that has ever occurred. Assuming that this is true, scientist will never eliminate the possibility that magic occurred at some point and some time in the universe. There will always be effects for which a cause is not known. Thus scientist will never be able to completely exclude magic.
On the other hand creationist cannot prove that magic ever has occurred in the universe. If a creationist points out a seemingly magical phenomena, the scientist will study it until a non-magical cause is discovered. If a non-magical cause is not readily discovered the scientist will just keep trying forever. There is no deadline.
So what should one believe?
One should believe that evolution is the best non-magical explanation for the beginning of the universe. However, this is not to say that creationism is false. Rather it is a fundamental assumption of science that the world is not magic. Thus science cannot speak to creationism.
Likewise, creationism is based on the belief in the supernatural. That is not to say that evolution is false. Rather that creationist deal with elements outside the bounds of science.
So arguments about the origins of the universe should begin with the question: "Do you believe in supernatural causes in the natural world?" Unless the participants agree on the answer to this questions then any further argument is pointless.
It is fine to hold to the fundamental assumption that the universe is not magic. It is not fine to discount the belief of others that do not hold to that assumption. And visa versa.
So evolution proponents, please stop acting like creationism is the result of ignorance. Often this might be the case. But you have no basis to tell someone that their assessment about the existence of the supernatural is wrong. You have not proven that there is no supernatural causes...you have assumed it.
And creationist, please stop acting like scientist are grossly incompetent and that you are qualified to point out flaws in their theories. Usually you are grossly ignorant of the theories you are trying to dispute. Accept the fact that your belief in the supernatural is outside the scope of science and thatt your worldview cannot be support by science.
From the article: "The skills you learn here won't last more than three or four years. The best you can do is retain some meta-skills about how to continue your education."
The (mechanical) engineering education that I recieved in the last 10 years is the same fundamental education that MEs recieved a decade or two ago. I expect that the education I recieved will be good for another 30+ years. The fundamental science taught to MEs -fluid thermal systems, machine design, and HVACR- are not likely to undergo major changes in less than a 40 year time span.
If an engineering education is said to last only 3-4 years, then the education is probably not an engineering education but a technical one.
Part of the reason for sticking with the imperial system is that it would be too costly to convert industrial machinery to metric. I would guess that the effort hours that were spent preparing for Y2K would be dwarfed by the effort to reprogram industrial controls and modify tooling. The useful life for industrial machinery is often 10-20 years. And the software is usually static, not meant to be upgraded or modified.
...by John Taylor Gatto. Just by coincience I started reading one of his books yesterday.
Gatto "climaxed his teaching career as New York State Teacher of the Year after being named New York City Teacher of the Year on three occasions. He quit teaching on the OP ED page of the Wall Street Journal in 1991 while still New York State Teacher of the Year, claiming that he was no longer willing to hurt children. " -http://www.johntaylorgatto.com
His books explain how there is a hidden cirriculum within the US compulsory schooling system. One example is that children are taught that things are disorderly. The current school system teaches math then switches to grammer then music etc. There is no connection or continuity between the dozens of topics that kids are taught during the day.
If you want to perform temperature measurements in a cold storage warehouse don't use PC's at all. Instead use an Adam 6018 in a Nema 4 or Nema 12 electrical enclosure with a thermostatically controlled heater. The cost of this implementation versus PC data acquisition will likely be an order of magnitude less. Wire the devices together with Cat5 made for low temperature environments. The insulation on regular Cat5 will become very brittle in the freezer.
Some tips for dealing with the Adam 6018...
The sample applet included with the device only works under Java 1.3.0_04. The Adam technical help will not be able to tell you this. Your best bet is to use the MODBUS/TCP protocol to query the device. You don't have to know much about MODBUS/TCP nor industrial network protocols. Just use Ethereal while the sample Java applet is working and you will sniff the correct addresses, commands, etc. I'm not a programmer and I got a PHP Modbus/TCP class (with all documentation in French...which I don't speak) to call the device and display the correct temperature in about 5 minutes.
Also, the temperature is reported back in as a 16 bit integer (0-65535). 0 corresponds to whatever you set as the lowest limit for the thermocouple and 65535 corresponds to the highest. Everything in between is linear. Again, its like pulling teeth to get this information from the manufacturer.
The Theory of Evolution has been around for about 160 years now. So I'll bet that if I google images of "Fossil Evolution Evidence" there will be scores of photos of actual fossils that undeniably support this theory. Let's see... . . . lots of drawings...a few bone fragments...lots of tree-type diagrams...hmmm isn't that interesting?
This week's US News & World Report reports that US companies spend more on tort legislation than on R&D. Yeah I think we have our priorities screwed up.
Most people just want a computer that works. So I would explain how to avoid the pitfalls that cause computers to stop working.
Free software downloads will break your computer no matter how cute the screen saver is or how bad you need to know what temperature it is outside.
Keep documents, music, videos, and pictures separate from everything else so that you can reinstall applications and the OS without losing all of your work
It is usually easier to reinstall stuff than to fix it
Spyware, malware, and virii and how they propogate
Many programs want to run applets in the task bar but that these break the computer or at least slow it down.
File associations and that competing software applications will continuously fight over who gets to open the files.
How to tell if the web page they are viewing is secure
Setup a free spam collection email account for use when submitting an email address to anyone other than trusted friends.
What is the culture like? Why is the position open? Describe your (i.e. the interviewer's) career with the company. Who are the top competitors? What's the best thing about working here? What's the worst thing about working here?
Translated in human language: In the typical house that's 100 W.
By definition, watts are independant of time. Joules are a quantity of energy, and 1 watt = 1 Joule per second.
What is your point? In the USA, residential power is purchased by the kilowatt hour, which is a unit of work. It is meaningless to say that some device's power consumption over a period of time is equivalent to 100W. Thats like saying that you can go 60 miles per hour on a gallon of gas. It doesn't make sense.
No...there was a sharp bend in the rail road bed just after it intersected the access road. I inspected the area in the daylight several times to see if there was a street light or drive that could have caused headlights to shine down the trail. But there was nothing remotely line of sight WRT the observation point.
I grew up near a small southern town of Mercer, TN. There was an old rail road bed that ran through a swampy bottom that looked like something straight out of a horror movie. The story goes that there once was a kid named Toby that was walking down the railroad one night with a lantern and got stuck on a bridge with a train coming. He was killed by the train. Until a few years ago you could drive into the swamp a couple of miles, turn around to face the way you came in, wait, and a bright point of light would appear down the road in the distance.
This strange light was only know about by a few hunters in the area until around my high-school years. Then a small group of my friends and I found out and would visit the place a few times each year. The word spread and it became a bit of an attraction and even became part of an initiation ceremony for a fraternity at a nearby college. Several of our parents even saw it. This was all in the 90's. Since then the area has been logged and the road has been blocked off.
I personally saw the light several times. And I know about 2-dozen more that have seen it...kids, youths, adults, professionals, a youth pastor, etc. I am a mechanical engineer so I have studied physics and thermodynamics and have a pretty good grasp on the physical phenomena that might have caused this. I have also studies various "swamp light" phenomena. But I cannot find a plausible explanation for what I saw. I'm not saying that the light was supernatural but I am saying that it is very difficult to explain. For example, I have seen:
the light move further away when being chased at 40 mph
the light appear between observers deep in the swamp and nearer to the edge with the only access being to pass one of the observers
the light sway side to side
the light illuminate the inside of a vehicle
all observers (4-15 people) in a group see the light and scream simultaneously
Seeing the light was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I hate that the area was destroyed by logging. Even on nights when we didn't see the light we could still scare the crap out of each other just because of the surroundings.
Pick up an industrial electrical enclosure cooling unit. Check out Pfannenberg or Hoffman. You will have to go through an industrial supply distributer who will try to screw you on cost if you explain that you are not an industrial customer.
You are way off on your heat load calculations. You should look at the electrical service in the closet. For electronic equipment, very near 100% of the electrical power ends up as heat. If you have one outlet rated at 15 amps then figure your max heat load to be:
15AMP x 120V x 3.41 BTU/hr/W = 6,138 BTU or roughly 0.5 TR (tons of refrigeration)
If you are using much less that 15AMP (and you almost certainly are) then use a clamp-on amp meter to measure the actual current (add in a safety factor...say 30%).
More realistically you should probably just ventilate the closet to an air conditioned area of your home.
I am a mechanical engineer with a 2nd major in mathematics. I took Choas/Dynamical Systems, Linear Algrebra, and Complex Analysis to get the double major. I think this actually hurt me while interviewing to work in industry as a M.E. The stereotypical math nerd doesn't possess the hands-on, get-it-done attitude that a sucessful engineer has. I'm glad that I got the 2nd major but I would have played it off as trivial when job hunting if I had it to do over.
Ditch the driver and get yourself some Laser Guided Vehicles or Automated Guided Vehicles. These are in widespread use in industry and distribution in the US and Europe. If you go to the expense of tracking a forlift I can't help but believe that you could get a nice ROI by adding the hardware/software to replace the driver.
I see this type of complaint on various message boards quite often. The truth is that if you really want to go to school you can. Decide that you are going to go to school then make it happen. Be creative and resourceful.
I literally dug trenches for a couple of years to support my wife and kid while I went to community college. The good grades and recommendations that I earned in community college got me a decent internship when I transfered to a 4-year school. I worked 40 hours a week while taking 16 to 21 hour semesters and slept very little for most of 6 years. I graduated magna cum laude with a double major and now I have a job that I love and make lots of money. Looking back it wasn't that hard. We always had decent housing, food, clothes and two vehicles. If I hadn't been married to a stay-at-home mom and had kids it would have been even less dificult.
If you want an education in the U.S. you can get one. The only people without educations in this country are the people that choose not to have educations.
Don't measure success by whatever convienent rule exisit in you life.
In high-school I esteemed to be like the people in my day to day life. Most of them did not value education highly, worked in a job they disliked just to pay the bills, had no dreams or ambitions, they lived for hunting and sports, etc. They were lower middle class and they were happy with that. After high school I worked for a landscaping company that did a lot of work for wealthy clients. Just being exposed to the type of people that had made a better life for themselves opened my eyes. So I busted my butt in college for 6 years while supporting a family. Now I make good money doing a job I love. I have goals and I'm moving towards them. The people I went to high school with are working at Circuit City or trying to get a job using thier Sports Medicine and Business Administration degrees.
Getting Things Done works for me
on
Getting Things Done
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Some things that I feel the reviewer left out:
Experience the most fundamental princilple of the GTD method. Try these three steps, finishing one before reading the next step. First consider the most stressfull, worrisome task or project that you curently deal with. Got it? Second picture the ideal outcome of the task or project. Got it? Lastly think of the very next physical action that you must perform to advance the project. This must not be something like 'organize a team meeting' or 'talk to bob'. It should be a physical action like 'email my secretary to setup a team meeting at 2pm next Tuesday' or 'phone bob at home'. Now how do you feel about the project? Better?
David offers very practical advice and stays away from pie-in-the-sky-warm-fuzzy crap. You can read the whole book without getting that nausiating feeling that usually accompanies such self-help books. For example he tells you how to setup a very functional filing system right down to which types of folders work best and why you should use a stand-alone labler.
The GTD method has a routing for every single responsibility that you might need to track in business or personal life. Whether its a customer file or your kids school play or spare batteries for you CD player, the GTD method can handle it. There is something magical about taking every task that you have to do and dropping it into an extremely simple and manageable system that you know will result in the best possible outcome with the least amount of stress.
At the time of the Bopal incident there was no significant regulations that would have prevented the same accident from happening in the US. In fact because of Bopal, the US Congress mandated that OSHA create a program to ensure such an incident never happens here. The result was OSHA's Process Safety Management standard. The standard was published in the federal register as 29 CFR 1910.119 on 24 February 1992.
Slashdot Mirror
The theory of evolution is a result of the scientific process. To engage in the scientific process, in a nut shell, is to show that the world is not magic. This is done y guessing about a non-magic cause for some effect and then experimenting and observing the natural world to show that the guess is correct. Scientist have been xtraordinarily good at figuring out non-magical causes for even the most magical-appearing phenomena.
Creationist hold that the creation of the world was supernatural, magic if you will. They reject the notion that only natural phenomena were involved in the creation of the world.
Now it is reasonably safe to believe that there are so many natural phenomena going on in the universe that scientist will never develop a consistent and comprehensive set of causes for every effect that has ever occurred. Assuming that this is true, scientist will never eliminate the possibility that magic occurred at some point and some time in the universe. There will always be effects for which a cause is not known. Thus scientist will never be able to completely exclude magic.
On the other hand creationist cannot prove that magic ever has
occurred in the universe. If a creationist points out a seemingly
magical phenomena, the scientist will study it until a non-magical
cause is discovered. If a non-magical cause is not readily discovered
the scientist will just keep trying forever. There is no deadline.
So what should one believe?
One should believe that evolution is the best non-magical explanation
for the beginning of the universe. However, this is not to say that
creationism is false. Rather it is a fundamental assumption of science
that the world is not magic. Thus science cannot speak to creationism.
Likewise, creationism is based on the belief in the supernatural. That
is not to say that evolution is false. Rather that creationist deal
with elements outside the bounds of science.
So arguments about the origins of the universe should begin with the
question: "Do you believe in supernatural causes in the natural
world?" Unless the participants agree on the answer to this questions
then any further argument is pointless.
It is fine to hold to the fundamental assumption that the universe is
not magic. It is not fine to discount the belief of others that do not
hold to that assumption. And visa versa.
So evolution proponents, please stop acting like creationism is the
result of ignorance. Often this might be the case. But you have no
basis to tell someone that their assessment about the existence of the
supernatural is wrong. You have not proven that there is no
supernatural causes...you have assumed it.
And creationist, please stop acting like scientist are grossly
incompetent and that you are qualified to point out flaws in their
theories. Usually you are grossly ignorant of the theories you are
trying to dispute. Accept the fact that your belief in the
supernatural is outside the scope of science and thatt your worldview
cannot be support by science.
Get the Radio Shack Electronic Learning Lab (#28-280). The manual was written (and kit designed?) by Forrest Mims. It doesn't get any better than that. I got my son one.
From the article: "The skills you learn here won't last more than three or four years. The best you can do is retain some meta-skills about how to continue your education."
The (mechanical) engineering education that I recieved in the last 10 years is the same fundamental education that MEs recieved a decade or two ago. I expect that the education I recieved will be good for another 30+ years. The fundamental science taught to MEs -fluid thermal systems, machine design, and HVACR- are not likely to undergo major changes in less than a 40 year time span.
If an engineering education is said to last only 3-4 years, then the education is probably not an engineering education but a technical one.
Part of the reason for sticking with the imperial system is that it would be too costly to convert industrial machinery to metric. I would guess that the effort hours that were spent preparing for Y2K would be dwarfed by the effort to reprogram industrial controls and modify tooling. The useful life for industrial machinery is often 10-20 years. And the software is usually static, not meant to be upgraded or modified.
...by John Taylor Gatto. Just by coincience I started reading one of his books yesterday.
Gatto "climaxed his teaching career as New York State Teacher of the Year after being named New York City Teacher of the Year on three occasions. He quit teaching on the OP ED page of the Wall Street Journal in 1991 while still New York State Teacher of the Year, claiming that he was no longer willing to hurt children. " -http://www.johntaylorgatto.com
His books explain how there is a hidden cirriculum within the US compulsory schooling system. One example is that children are taught that things are disorderly. The current school system teaches math then switches to grammer then music etc. There is no connection or continuity between the dozens of topics that kids are taught during the day.
Take a tour for yourself.
If you want to perform temperature measurements in a cold storage warehouse don't use PC's at all. Instead use an Adam 6018 in a Nema 4 or Nema 12 electrical enclosure with a thermostatically controlled heater. The cost of this implementation versus PC data acquisition will likely be an order of magnitude less. Wire the devices together with Cat5 made for low temperature environments. The insulation on regular Cat5 will become very brittle in the freezer.
Some tips for dealing with the Adam 6018... The sample applet included with the device only works under Java 1.3.0_04. The Adam technical help will not be able to tell you this. Your best bet is to use the MODBUS/TCP protocol to query the device. You don't have to know much about MODBUS/TCP nor industrial network protocols. Just use Ethereal while the sample Java applet is working and you will sniff the correct addresses, commands, etc. I'm not a programmer and I got a PHP Modbus/TCP class (with all documentation in French...which I don't speak) to call the device and display the correct temperature in about 5 minutes.
Also, the temperature is reported back in as a 16 bit integer (0-65535). 0 corresponds to whatever you set as the lowest limit for the thermocouple and 65535 corresponds to the highest. Everything in between is linear. Again, its like pulling teeth to get this information from the manufacturer.
The Theory of Evolution has been around for about 160 years now. So I'll bet that if I google images of "Fossil Evolution Evidence" there will be scores of photos of actual fossils that undeniably support this theory. Let's see...
.
.
.
lots of drawings...a few bone fragments...lots of tree-type diagrams...hmmm isn't that interesting?
This week's US News & World Report reports that US companies spend more on tort legislation than on R&D. Yeah I think we have our priorities screwed up.
What is the culture like?
Why is the position open?
Describe your (i.e. the interviewer's) career with the company.
Who are the top competitors?
What's the best thing about working here?
What's the worst thing about working here?
Translated in human language: In the typical house that's 100 W.
By definition, watts are independant of time. Joules are a quantity of energy, and 1 watt = 1 Joule per second.
What is your point? In the USA, residential power is purchased by the kilowatt hour, which is a unit of work. It is meaningless to say that some device's power consumption over a period of time is equivalent to 100W. Thats like saying that you can go 60 miles per hour on a gallon of gas. It doesn't make sense.
No...there was a sharp bend in the rail road bed just after it intersected the access road. I inspected the area in the daylight several times to see if there was a street light or drive that could have caused headlights to shine down the trail. But there was nothing remotely line of sight WRT the observation point.
This strange light was only know about by a few hunters in the area until around my high-school years. Then a small group of my friends and I found out and would visit the place a few times each year. The word spread and it became a bit of an attraction and even became part of an initiation ceremony for a fraternity at a nearby college. Several of our parents even saw it. This was all in the 90's. Since then the area has been logged and the road has been blocked off.
I personally saw the light several times. And I know about 2-dozen more that have seen it...kids, youths, adults, professionals, a youth pastor, etc. I am a mechanical engineer so I have studied physics and thermodynamics and have a pretty good grasp on the physical phenomena that might have caused this. I have also studies various "swamp light" phenomena. But I cannot find a plausible explanation for what I saw. I'm not saying that the light was supernatural but I am saying that it is very difficult to explain. For example, I have seen:
Seeing the light was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I hate that the area was destroyed by logging. Even on nights when we didn't see the light we could still scare the crap out of each other just because of the surroundings.
Pick up an industrial electrical enclosure cooling unit. Check out Pfannenberg or Hoffman. You will have to go through an industrial supply distributer who will try to screw you on cost if you explain that you are not an industrial customer.
You are way off on your heat load calculations. You should look at the electrical service in the closet. For electronic equipment, very near 100% of the electrical power ends up as heat. If you have one outlet rated at 15 amps then figure your max heat load to be:
15AMP x 120V x 3.41 BTU/hr/W = 6,138 BTU or roughly 0.5 TR (tons of refrigeration)
If you are using much less that 15AMP (and you almost certainly are) then use a clamp-on amp meter to measure the actual current (add in a safety factor...say 30%). More realistically you should probably just ventilate the closet to an air conditioned area of your home.
Go read "Getting Things Done" by David Allen and make yourself a Hipster PDA. No joke, this system is magically effective. It keeps popping up on slashdot.
1)Read the book Getting Things Done" by David Allen
2)Construct yourself a "Hipster" PDA
3)Buy a paper calendar
No PDA or software can beat GTD and a hipster.
I am a mechanical engineer with a 2nd major in mathematics. I took Choas/Dynamical Systems, Linear Algrebra, and Complex Analysis to get the double major. I think this actually hurt me while interviewing to work in industry as a M.E. The stereotypical math nerd doesn't possess the hands-on, get-it-done attitude that a sucessful engineer has. I'm glad that I got the 2nd major but I would have played it off as trivial when job hunting if I had it to do over.
epoxy putty
My appologies to the bloke I stole this idea from. Sorry I can't remember the source.
Ditch the driver and get yourself some Laser Guided Vehicles or Automated Guided Vehicles. These are in widespread use in industry and distribution in the US and Europe. If you go to the expense of tracking a forlift I can't help but believe that you could get a nice ROI by adding the hardware/software to replace the driver.
I see this type of complaint on various message boards quite often. The truth is that if you really want to go to school you can. Decide that you are going to go to school then make it happen. Be creative and resourceful.
I literally dug trenches for a couple of years to support my wife and kid while I went to community college. The good grades and recommendations that I earned in community college got me a decent internship when I transfered to a 4-year school. I worked 40 hours a week while taking 16 to 21 hour semesters and slept very little for most of 6 years. I graduated magna cum laude with a double major and now I have a job that I love and make lots of money. Looking back it wasn't that hard. We always had decent housing, food, clothes and two vehicles. If I hadn't been married to a stay-at-home mom and had kids it would have been even less dificult.
If you want an education in the U.S. you can get one. The only people without educations in this country are the people that choose not to have educations.
Don't measure success by whatever convienent rule exisit in you life.
In high-school I esteemed to be like the people in my day to day life. Most of them did not value education highly, worked in a job they disliked just to pay the bills, had no dreams or ambitions, they lived for hunting and sports, etc. They were lower middle class and they were happy with that. After high school I worked for a landscaping company that did a lot of work for wealthy clients. Just being exposed to the type of people that had made a better life for themselves opened my eyes. So I busted my butt in college for 6 years while supporting a family. Now I make good money doing a job I love. I have goals and I'm moving towards them. The people I went to high school with are working at Circuit City or trying to get a job using thier Sports Medicine and Business Administration degrees.
At the time of the Bopal incident there was no significant regulations that would have prevented the same accident from happening in the US. In fact because of Bopal, the US Congress mandated that OSHA create a program to ensure such an incident never happens here. The result was OSHA's Process Safety Management standard. The standard was published in the federal register as 29 CFR 1910.119 on 24 February 1992.
The Beakman electric motor is an awsome experiment.