Why are evolutionsts so defensive about their theory? Is there some dark secret that they don't want us to know?
The dark secret is that evolution has become the theory upon which many many other theories and hypotheses have been built. If evolution were to be proved significantly untenable, then a gigantic chunk of biology would have to be rethought and reworked.
It's an interesting question. Personally there are features about evolution that I have a hard time accepting prima fasciae, although there are elements that do make sense (such as natural selection, microevolution, etc.) However, there is no outlet for me as a scientist to question at all, because to call into question the theory of evolution is essentially a career killer. I tolerate such a thing, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't smirk just a little if I found out there needed to be a drastic rethinking of life's origins.
Well, perhaps I was an anomaly, but I managed to use pay-as-you-go for nearly a year and a half and paid less than I could ever have with a real monthly plan. I used Verizon Wireless's FreeUP service, had a relatively featureless phone, but only paid $15/mo.
The biggest problem, I found, with an infrequently used pay-as-you-go phone, is that it's too easy to forget to recharge the phone monthly -- and if you forget to recharge, not only do you not get any incoming calls, but you lose any balance that was carried over from your previous months! I lost a bit of money that way (well, I had a $50 'rebate' that was posted to my account that I lost).
It's true that pay-as-you-go costs more per minute than a monthly plan. However, it is possible to save money in the long run, if you don't use the phone all that much or all that often. And if you find yourself spending $50/mo in pay-as-you-go, why not switch to a monthly plan? Well, unless you have poor credit, but that's a different situation... I dropped my old phone when I moved and had to use my cell phone as my primary phone - there was no way that I could afford to talk with my girlfriend like I do on a pay-as-you-go plan. Now I pay more per month, but it's worth it.
I've written up a little perl script which fetches a slashdot story and converts it into a SABLE document - XML specific to text-to-speech synthesis applications. I use Festival for speech synthesis - with a British accent, I can have my computer read slashdot to me in the morning...
The script basically converts slash's Light mode into something more conducive to tts purposes. It also has a substitution list to help the tts engine pronounce words correctly (how do you think the computer would pronounce CmdrTaco?) Other than that, I've been constantly amazed at how well the process works.
If anyone's interested in the script, feel free to email me.
The trick is that you have to remember that when dealing with living organisms, there is a certain amount of energy required to support life and growth (if nothing else but to replace those organisms which die.) You would have to overcome that hurdle to efficiency.
Another thing that many people don't realize is that the photosynthesis process begins with the movement of electrons. An incoming photon essentially excites an electron above the ground state, and the rest of the system acts to capture that energy. In photosynthetic systems, that energy is used to synthesize glucose. Using chlorophyll directly in photovoltaics may be possible, but would likely be more complex and perhaps even less efficient than traditional silicon PVs.
And of course, you conveniently neglect the more "traditional" approach - why don't you raise algae, collect it, burn it, and use the heat to generate electricity? It's possible, although it may not offset the cost of the fertilizers needed to grow algae in those quantities.
The real draw to a biophotovoltaic system would be cost-effectiveness, since it's likely that such a system would be much less efficient than a silicon-based system. However, it's hard to expect that you could somehow stick electrodes into a vat of algae and get electricity... although not impossible. To achieve this, however, would take some leaps in the current state-of-the-art in bioengineering and is not likely to happen for another 10 or so years.
Here's a hint, though - often if the microwave has a turntable, it won't have a stirrer. Particularly towards the older and cheaper models. Another seemingly obvious hint is to look at the ceiling of the microwave - if it's pretty thin, then it probably doesn't have a stirrer. If there's a circular depression coming from the top of the microwave, the stirrer's in there.
Well, then you're probably not too familiar with solar ovens, the small ones which can heat to several hundred degrees and the large ones which can reach several thousand degrees... it's a simple process of using reflectors to collect and focus the light.
Dear me, you seem to have taken great offense at a non-existant problem...
I just recently got Blue for Students - I'm a college student, and definitely not making > $50/hr. with my on-campus job:) I got the reader along with it, and have been toying with it.
The Blue reader is supported by MUSCLE (smart card initiative for Linux.) I got a couple of BasicCards cheap - they're EEPROM programmable in Basic (yuck! oh well, it works.) It's neat... I don't have a real need for high security but one of these days I'll get it to work.
Besides, I won't be able to afford a $2000 wearable, but it is certainly 'affordable' in the sense that previous wearables were much more expensive (or homebuilt.) I like to read about that kind of stuff, even though I know I can't afford it. It gives me hope that one day, I will be able to:)
Oh, and besides, I don't think that the smart cards are 'useful to people of all income brackets'. In fact, AmEx has been quietly phasing out the applications which support their smart chip... It doesn't have a whole lot of use right now. The cards are more expensive than their dumb counterparts, the readers are cheap but not zero-cost, and it's still an effort to get it installed and running. (Easy, but not plug and go.) It's a gimmick thing, and will be until someone dreams up an application which is not feasable by any other method.
I wonder what China's plan will be when the Olympics roll into town in '08...
I wonder what the Internet will be like in 7 years! Just think, seven years ago many of us were just getting started with the Internet. Plus, who knows about the political situation - maybe China will really have an about-face like the Games organizers hope...
In the end, Dr. Schmidt's home computer crunched numbers for the better part of two weeks...
First of all, for all you detractors, he probably wasn't exactly wasting a whole lot of resources - the article even states that he developed the $20,000 piece of software.
Second, I think it's pretty obvious - this guy is definitely geek material. I mean, come on - crunching a 1.5 trillion calculation program over the span of two weeks on your free time? How many of us would love to have an excuse to do something like that?
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he reads Slashdot:)
When is a computer no longer the same computer, after swapping out parts?
Apparently Microsoft has defined a 'new computer' as three new components. For most of the general public, this is probably the case: think about it, most of the computing populace probably doesn't even know how to open their cases, let alone change out harddisks, memory, etc. However, for the rest of us, this could be an issue. I have a computer that, ever since I set it up about 6 months ago, I have changed out every component except the hard drive. And that hard drive (a puny 1 gb) will be replaced shortly... yet I still think of it as the same computer I originally put together.
Is Microsoft's definition of a 'new computer' sufficient? Will 'power users' who change components often get hassled by Microsoft? I hope not.
Personally, I hope to never have to deal with Microsoft products again:)
Not necessarily. Bad software gets ignored and dies out. Obsolete software gets replaced with newer, fresher software.
I believe Linux has the potential, mostly due to the GPL, to adapt with the trends of the computing industry -- but if it doesn't, some other Free software package will rise to fill its space.
The 'immortality' of free software is one of its biggest advantages, I feel. No matter what happens in the future -- if Linus is blown off the face of the earth (conspiricy theorists have your field day) Linux will continue on. Even if every other Linux developer was similarly wiped out (MS Armageddon v1.1b?) I know that I could maintain the software myself. Also, if I write a good piece of software but later have no use for it, it would be trivial for someone else to pick up my code and reuse it in perhaps an even better way.
It's all the same damn thing. As far as I'm concerned, I have a right to do what I want with anything that invades my body, whether that be radio signals, beef burgers or anything else.
So... quick question... would you take the same attitude towards someone who was sniffing your home 802.11b network and stealing your passwords?
Oh, and don't go off about not having a wireless network or keeping your network secure, etc. The same argument applies to someone sniffing the EMF from your monitor, which most people don't do unless they're paranoid. The point is that yes, the signals are publicly available, but it isn't necessarily legal/A Good Idea(tm) to do...
How about someone staring through your window, watching your every move? They're intercepting, legally, 'EM radiations' - but that doesn't prevent the government from enacting Peeping Tom laws...
Don't get too down on yourself... they most likely rejected your story because it's been posted before... it's not exactly new news.
Hmmm... I read all the time how Slashdot editors "repeat articles"... perhaps what we don't realize is that for every duplicate article posted, there's a hundred which weren't.
Actually, from what I understand, IBM was going to fab Transmeta's chips. Transmeta ended up backing out of the deal, reputedly because IBM's services got to be too pricey.
IBM does great work in the semiconductor business, it just takes a lot more than what Transmeta was willing to invest.
Slashdot Mirror
Why are evolutionsts so defensive about their theory? Is there some dark secret that they don't want us to know?
The dark secret is that evolution has become the theory upon which many many other theories and hypotheses have been built. If evolution were to be proved significantly untenable, then a gigantic chunk of biology would have to be rethought and reworked.
It's an interesting question. Personally there are features about evolution that I have a hard time accepting prima fasciae, although there are elements that do make sense (such as natural selection, microevolution, etc.) However, there is no outlet for me as a scientist to question at all, because to call into question the theory of evolution is essentially a career killer. I tolerate such a thing, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't smirk just a little if I found out there needed to be a drastic rethinking of life's origins.
Well, perhaps I was an anomaly, but I managed to use pay-as-you-go for nearly a year and a half and paid less than I could ever have with a real monthly plan. I used Verizon Wireless's FreeUP service, had a relatively featureless phone, but only paid $15/mo.
The biggest problem, I found, with an infrequently used pay-as-you-go phone, is that it's too easy to forget to recharge the phone monthly -- and if you forget to recharge, not only do you not get any incoming calls, but you lose any balance that was carried over from your previous months! I lost a bit of money that way (well, I had a $50 'rebate' that was posted to my account that I lost).
It's true that pay-as-you-go costs more per minute than a monthly plan. However, it is possible to save money in the long run, if you don't use the phone all that much or all that often. And if you find yourself spending $50/mo in pay-as-you-go, why not switch to a monthly plan? Well, unless you have poor credit, but that's a different situation... I dropped my old phone when I moved and had to use my cell phone as my primary phone - there was no way that I could afford to talk with my girlfriend like I do on a pay-as-you-go plan. Now I pay more per month, but it's worth it.
dude, are you even a dude? Do you know the difference between circumcision and castration? Check it out - his sig does make sense...
ahem. we use OOP.
Pot.insult.Kettle("Black")
Clearly a limited understanding of OOP.
Pot.insults.callBlack(Kettle)
Where callBlack() looks like this:
def callBlack(self, target):
return callName(self, target, "Black")
Much better.
I've written up a little perl script which fetches a slashdot story and converts it into a SABLE document - XML specific to text-to-speech synthesis applications. I use Festival for speech synthesis - with a British accent, I can have my computer read slashdot to me in the morning...
The script basically converts slash's Light mode into something more conducive to tts purposes. It also has a substitution list to help the tts engine pronounce words correctly (how do you think the computer would pronounce CmdrTaco?) Other than that, I've been constantly amazed at how well the process works.
If anyone's interested in the script, feel free to email me.
-Karl
-----------
The trick is that you have to remember that when dealing with living organisms, there is a certain amount of energy required to support life and growth (if nothing else but to replace those organisms which die.) You would have to overcome that hurdle to efficiency.
Another thing that many people don't realize is that the photosynthesis process begins with the movement of electrons. An incoming photon essentially excites an electron above the ground state, and the rest of the system acts to capture that energy. In photosynthetic systems, that energy is used to synthesize glucose. Using chlorophyll directly in photovoltaics may be possible, but would likely be more complex and perhaps even less efficient than traditional silicon PVs.
And of course, you conveniently neglect the more "traditional" approach - why don't you raise algae, collect it, burn it, and use the heat to generate electricity? It's possible, although it may not offset the cost of the fertilizers needed to grow algae in those quantities.
The real draw to a biophotovoltaic system would be cost-effectiveness, since it's likely that such a system would be much less efficient than a silicon-based system. However, it's hard to expect that you could somehow stick electrodes into a vat of algae and get electricity... although not impossible. To achieve this, however, would take some leaps in the current state-of-the-art in bioengineering and is not likely to happen for another 10 or so years.
You do remember the college admissions process, don't you? :)
-Karl
----------------
Here's a hint, though - often if the microwave has a turntable, it won't have a stirrer. Particularly towards the older and cheaper models. Another seemingly obvious hint is to look at the ceiling of the microwave - if it's pretty thin, then it probably doesn't have a stirrer. If there's a circular depression coming from the top of the microwave, the stirrer's in there.
-Karl
-------------
-Karl
----------
The Penguin
-Karl
---------------
I just recently got Blue for Students - I'm a college student, and definitely not making > $50/hr. with my on-campus job :) I got the reader along with it, and have been toying with it.
The Blue reader is supported by MUSCLE (smart card initiative for Linux.) I got a couple of BasicCards cheap - they're EEPROM programmable in Basic (yuck! oh well, it works.) It's neat... I don't have a real need for high security but one of these days I'll get it to work.
Besides, I won't be able to afford a $2000 wearable, but it is certainly 'affordable' in the sense that previous wearables were much more expensive (or homebuilt.) I like to read about that kind of stuff, even though I know I can't afford it. It gives me hope that one day, I will be able to :)
Oh, and besides, I don't think that the smart cards are 'useful to people of all income brackets'. In fact, AmEx has been quietly phasing out the applications which support their smart chip... It doesn't have a whole lot of use right now. The cards are more expensive than their dumb counterparts, the readers are cheap but not zero-cost, and it's still an effort to get it installed and running. (Easy, but not plug and go.) It's a gimmick thing, and will be until someone dreams up an application which is not feasable by any other method.
-Karl
------------
Or maybe not :)
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
--------------
[root@kgutwin
Sounds like a good idea, though...
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
-------------
[root@kgutwin
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
--------------
[root@kgutwin
Second, I think it's pretty obvious - this guy is definitely geek material. I mean, come on - crunching a 1.5 trillion calculation program over the span of two weeks on your free time? How many of us would love to have an excuse to do something like that?
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he reads Slashdot :)
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
-------------
[root@kgutwin
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
------------
[root@kgutwin
Oh no! I never had any idea X could be so dangerous... I guess it's back to the console for me...
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
------------
[root@kgutwin
When is a computer no longer the same computer, after swapping out parts?
Apparently Microsoft has defined a 'new computer' as three new components. For most of the general public, this is probably the case: think about it, most of the computing populace probably doesn't even know how to open their cases, let alone change out harddisks, memory, etc. However, for the rest of us, this could be an issue. I have a computer that, ever since I set it up about 6 months ago, I have changed out every component except the hard drive. And that hard drive (a puny 1 gb) will be replaced shortly... yet I still think of it as the same computer I originally put together.
Is Microsoft's definition of a 'new computer' sufficient? Will 'power users' who change components often get hassled by Microsoft? I hope not.
Personally, I hope to never have to deal with Microsoft products again :)
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
--------------
[root@kgutwin
Not necessarily. Bad software gets ignored and dies out. Obsolete software gets replaced with newer, fresher software.
I believe Linux has the potential, mostly due to the GPL, to adapt with the trends of the computing industry -- but if it doesn't, some other Free software package will rise to fill its space.
The 'immortality' of free software is one of its biggest advantages, I feel. No matter what happens in the future -- if Linus is blown off the face of the earth (conspiricy theorists have your field day) Linux will continue on. Even if every other Linux developer was similarly wiped out (MS Armageddon v1.1b?) I know that I could maintain the software myself. Also, if I write a good piece of software but later have no use for it, it would be trivial for someone else to pick up my code and reuse it in perhaps an even better way.
Collaboration, cooperation - that's the key :)
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
----------
[root@kgutwin
So... quick question... would you take the same attitude towards someone who was sniffing your home 802.11b network and stealing your passwords?
Oh, and don't go off about not having a wireless network or keeping your network secure, etc. The same argument applies to someone sniffing the EMF from your monitor, which most people don't do unless they're paranoid. The point is that yes, the signals are publicly available, but it isn't necessarily legal/A Good Idea(tm) to do...
How about someone staring through your window, watching your every move? They're intercepting, legally, 'EM radiations' - but that doesn't prevent the government from enacting Peeping Tom laws...
It's a fine line...
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
---------
[root@kgutwin
Perhaps, oh say, stories? <grin>
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
----------
[root@kgutwin
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
---------
[root@kgutwin
Hmmm... I read all the time how Slashdot editors "repeat articles"... perhaps what we don't realize is that for every duplicate article posted, there's a hundred which weren't.
-Karl /dos]# file msdos.sys
--------
[root@kgutwin
IBM does great work in the semiconductor business, it just takes a lot more than what Transmeta was willing to invest.
-Karl
/dos]# file msdos.sys
[root@kgutwin