...is an interesting article in The Atlantic Monthly magazine by James Fallows, who knows his politics and his airplanes (I think he's a pilot).
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/06/fallow s. htm
In case you don't want to read the whole article: The JSF is the Pentagon's attempt to control the cost of developing reducing that spending is a good goal. We can (and should) try to do that by making peace via diplomacy and global co-operation (e.g. the U.N. & world criminal court), but we're still going to need armed forces to enforce the peace, no matter how good our diplomats are.
2. I think drones will first be used to knock out anti-aircraft guns and similar targets to make everything safe for the piloted planes.
3. I'd like to see how well an unmanned fighter can do in a "John Henry-style" contest against a plane with a pilot. I'd guess the piloted plane will still be better in most real-world scenarios, so it must come down to cost. In no particular order, there are two costs when a plane is shot down: building a new plane, and training a new pilot. (Yes, of course, there's also the "priceless" human life involved, but in a war some soldiers are going to die, no matter how careful we are.)
4. All of the discussion about whether drones are more or less moral than piloted planes strikes me as pointless. Just like computers, weapons are tools. They can be used to do bad things or good things, depending on the people operating them. I'm not a believer in artificial intelligence, but I definitely believe in human stupidity.
Yes, one could say that, but here's how it would play out:
them: "you've nothing to fear - if you are not breaking the law"
me: "If I'm not breaking the law, then you're wasting your time...[and]... tax money by watching me.... Go after actual suspects."
them: "you're under arrest. you have the right to remain silent as long as you want to be stuck in this jail cell. and your family? we'll harrass them too."
I hope 2004 is not going to be like 1984
Support your local ACLU chapter, now.
I believe you are the closest to the truth about Tolkiens works. But is wasn't an alternate mythology for Earth. It is a mythology for the English.
Random thoughts:
There ought to be many different English mythologies, given the waves of invasions over the centuries.
I know it's not an allegory, but I've always seen the Shire as England. I mean, c'mon... shire.
My favorite Arthurian re-telling is The Mists of Avalon. Anybody else agree?
I've never really liked seeing artists' mental pictures of Middle Earth, although I know I couldn't draw my own. I think (hope) I'll be able to enjoy the movies because my impression of the characters is more of their personalities than their looks, so as long as the accents don't rub me wrong (like Keanu Reeves in Dracula) I'll be OK.
I just re-read LOTR at age 33. I first read them at about 11. They seemed like totally different books; chalk it up to education or the wisdom of age (ha!). I actually read and somewhat enjoyed the poetry this time around. Convinced my wife to read them for the 1st time, and she loved them. Now only the kids remain...
I have used this Nick [Tulkas] on IRC for as long as I can remember and I use it here on Slashdot. Kudos to whoever knows who it is.
OK. I give up. Do you have a winner yet? What's it mean? Google search turned up this, but I still don't get it, and it's late:
After the events of September 11, however, one realizes that one must choose a side with all its faults or be justly labeled a traitor and a coward. Like it or not, one is part of something larger than oneself.
Absolutely. I think there are only two sides here: the one that abhors the taking of noncombatant lives, and the one that doesn't.
Not to mention the fact that JDSU et al were using stock as wampum when they bought other companies in stock-only transactions. So, by bidding up the stock price of A, you helped A eat B, which may or may not have benefited the new company, AB.
I'm sure there's an interesting parallel with HP-Compaq, but it's probably just OT.
It's a silly system. The unions protect the least able teachers at the expense of the productive ones. They should stop doing this, or the school districts should break the unions and become much more professional in their management of schools, with regular performance reviews and competitive hiring.
Break the unions. Yeah, that's the ticket. (sarcasm)
Did it ever enter your mind that teachers are unionized, whereas programmers/engineers are mostly not union members, for a reason? It's because their pay is so low and the demands on their time are potentially infinite. We techies can negotiate better working conditions by job-hopping or other means, or we can start our own companies in some cases. Teachers can't. Oh, sure, teachers could band together and start their own schools, but currently they can't compete against existing public schools for tax money. BTW, I don't advocate vouchers or "charter schools" like we have here in Texas; they're mostly a waste of tax dollars IMHO.
The way to increase the quality of teachers is simple: PAY THEM MORE. After you do that, then you can worry about extra incentives for excellence and penalties for ineptitude.
Presumably if teachers are paid more, there will be plenty of teachers waiting in the wings to replace the incompetents who get fired.
To do this, you might have to fight the unions head on, but then again you might actually weaken the unions from within by convincing the best teachers they're better off negotiating their own salaries.
My qualifications for this post? Went to public school in the 1970s-1980s; child of a public school teacher/administrator; about to have kids in public schools; considered moderately smart by acquaintances (humble too)
Slashdot Mirror
...is an interesting article in The Atlantic Monthly magazine by James Fallows, who knows his politics and his airplanes (I think he's a pilot).
w s. htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/06/fallo
In case you don't want to read the whole article: The JSF is the Pentagon's attempt to control the cost of developing reducing that spending is a good goal. We can (and should) try to do that by making peace via diplomacy and global co-operation (e.g. the U.N. & world criminal court), but we're still going to need armed forces to enforce the peace, no matter how good our diplomats are.
2. I think drones will first be used to knock out anti-aircraft guns and similar targets to make everything safe for the piloted planes.
3. I'd like to see how well an unmanned fighter can do in a "John Henry-style" contest against a plane with a pilot. I'd guess the piloted plane will still be better in most real-world scenarios, so it must come down to cost. In no particular order, there are two costs when a plane is shot down: building a new plane, and training a new pilot. (Yes, of course, there's also the "priceless" human life involved, but in a war some soldiers are going to die, no matter how careful we are.)
4. All of the discussion about whether drones are more or less moral than piloted planes strikes me as pointless. Just like computers, weapons are tools. They can be used to do bad things or good things, depending on the people operating them. I'm not a believer in artificial intelligence, but I definitely believe in human stupidity.
them: "you've nothing to fear - if you are not breaking the law"
me: "If I'm not breaking the law, then you're wasting your time...[and]... tax money by watching me.... Go after actual suspects."
them: "you're under arrest. you have the right to remain silent as long as you want to be stuck in this jail cell. and your family? we'll harrass them too."
I hope 2004 is not going to be like 1984 Support your local ACLU chapter, now.
I believe you are the closest to the truth about Tolkiens works. But is wasn't an alternate mythology for Earth. It is a mythology for the English.
Random thoughts:
There ought to be many different English mythologies, given the waves of invasions over the centuries.
I know it's not an allegory, but I've always seen the Shire as England. I mean, c'mon... shire.
My favorite Arthurian re-telling is The Mists of Avalon. Anybody else agree?
I've never really liked seeing artists' mental pictures of Middle Earth, although I know I couldn't draw my own. I think (hope) I'll be able to enjoy the movies because my impression of the characters is more of their personalities than their looks, so as long as the accents don't rub me wrong (like Keanu Reeves in Dracula) I'll be OK.
I just re-read LOTR at age 33. I first read them at about 11. They seemed like totally different books; chalk it up to education or the wisdom of age (ha!). I actually read and somewhat enjoyed the poetry this time around. Convinced my wife to read them for the 1st time, and she loved them. Now only the kids remain...
I have used this Nick [Tulkas] on IRC for as long as I can remember and I use it here on Slashdot. Kudos to whoever knows who it is.
OK. I give up. Do you have a winner yet? What's it mean? Google search turned up this, but I still don't get it, and it's late:
http://www.tulkas.com/
After the events of September 11, however, one realizes that one must choose a side with all its faults or be justly labeled a traitor and a coward. Like it or not, one is part of something larger than oneself.
Absolutely. I think there are only two sides here: the one that abhors the taking of noncombatant lives, and the one that doesn't.
Which side are we on?
(Think before you bomb, please Mr. Bush.)
Not to mention the fact that JDSU et al were using stock as wampum when they bought other companies in stock-only transactions. So, by bidding up the stock price of A, you helped A eat B, which may or may not have benefited the new company, AB.
I'm sure there's an interesting parallel with HP-Compaq, but it's probably just OT.
Break the unions. Yeah, that's the ticket. (sarcasm)
Did it ever enter your mind that teachers are unionized, whereas programmers/engineers are mostly not union members, for a reason? It's because their pay is so low and the demands on their time are potentially infinite. We techies can negotiate better working conditions by job-hopping or other means, or we can start our own companies in some cases. Teachers can't. Oh, sure, teachers could band together and start their own schools, but currently they can't compete against existing public schools for tax money. BTW, I don't advocate vouchers or "charter schools" like we have here in Texas; they're mostly a waste of tax dollars IMHO.
The way to increase the quality of teachers is simple: PAY THEM MORE. After you do that, then you can worry about extra incentives for excellence and penalties for ineptitude.
Presumably if teachers are paid more, there will be plenty of teachers waiting in the wings to replace the incompetents who get fired. To do this, you might have to fight the unions head on, but then again you might actually weaken the unions from within by convincing the best teachers they're better off negotiating their own salaries.
My qualifications for this post? Went to public school in the 1970s-1980s; child of a public school teacher/administrator; about to have kids in public schools; considered moderately smart by acquaintances (humble too)