The spot price for unleaded gasoline (wholesale) on NYMEX is $1.45/gal - read this as there's is no way in hell that your $2/gal gas has a wholesale of $1/gal.
The cheapest price for gas in the US was Ohio or Minnesota at $2.15/gal.
The spot price doesn't include delivery, taxes, or retail markup.
Worst case, would be about $0.50 worth of taxes... Though in some states and localities it could get close to $1.00 of taxes - but the price would be much higher than $2/gal.
In regards to Europe. They have lots of rural areas that don't have public transportation - (Switzerland is an exception). These areas are essentially screwed by the expensive fuel and lack of transportation options. Its a fact of life they don't like, but the Europeans put up with. You want to live away from everyone else and have huge wide open vistas? Then your on your own.
American rural and suburban folks are very spoiled by the cheap transportation. Its a matter of policy and politics. The so called red states have become huge per capita energy users. And they vote with their minds on their wallets. They know that their lifestyle is based around cheap energy - that's why they've become so fat.
This won't change until there's voting reform (hahh!) or we finally bankrupt ourselves trying to secure foreign oil. Until then, enjoy the ride.
Do I really need another Metalica, Britney, Europop piece of crap? Do I really need the 35th release of Houses of the Holy?
The consumer is not King. The consumer is a slave to the interests of the corporation. If you really want to beat these folks, just don't buy it. Don't steal it. Its not like its food and you need it.
There are plenty of creative wonderful musicians who love to play music and give away their music for *free* on the internet. Go check them out. Go to independent music shows and meet the people who actually write and sing these songs.
Commercial music has its good qualities, but the way these people do business is enough to make me vomit. I'd rather listen to something with some integrity behind it.
It does matter. If a crazy inventor/entrepeneur/sheister wants money to do something which is nothing more than magic, then we should just ignore the person.
If I told you I could heal all people with cancer, but I just needed a really big church, you'd all laugh at me. This guy's trying to sell snake oil and we should be very suspicious. The extra energy measured is usually just a bad measurement. I had my own nasty run in with this sort of experimental science in my grad student days. Our group was trying to develop super efficient propulsion systems in water and our sponsor was very interested, but it turned out to be a simple experimental error:
power=vel x force.
We were comparing a static power with a time varying power. The above equation is non-linear if both components are changing. So a little unrealized filtering on our data made it look like the power in was way different than the power out. Our sponsor loved it and we ended up spending many more years chasing a ghost and spending lots of money. It was great for me, since I learned a lot about other things. But it was a wash for the whole idea of improved propulsion.
Unfortunately nobody's managed to solved the differential equations for turbulent boundary layers and hydrodynamics is still a black art because of that. There are tons of snake oil sellers in that market.
Regardless of what law might or might not have been broken. This should not be so easy. I was appalled that there was no check of even a name match or similarity. Some banks do EFT validation like the way Paypal does with those little deposits amounts that you have to go check and report back to Paypal. But so many online services just initiate EFTs without any checking whatsoever. Its a system ripe for abuse. And the fact that I wasn't even aware that what I did was against the law is even worse. There's no warning or text that tells you on those websites what your supposed to be typing in. I know that ignorance of the law isn't a defense in court, but by the time it gets to court its really too late anyways. Don't law and punishment really only work if people are aware of them?
I think someone should really scream loud about this before its too late.
Related to this is the completely insecure EFT system in the US. One time, just to see if I could, I typed my friends routing number and checking account number into my online credit card website. She had given me a check, and so I wasn't stealing from her. I was just debiting the funds from her checking account in a slightly different way. The credit card online website had no trouble taking the money out of her account and crediting it to my account.
But this story gets better. I went on a trip and didn't see my friend for a few weeks. She noticed the debit in her checking account and at first thought it was something fishy. She called her bank and they told her the name of the credit card company and said that she'd have to call the credit card company to find out more. She called the CC company and they couldn't help her even though they had taken her money. After a couple weeks, she made the connection that it was probably me, sent me an email and I confirmed it. She had a father who went to jail for banking fraud and wasn't freaked out by things like this.
But the point is, that there's no security on EFT transfers, or for that matter checks. I could print up a check if I know the routing and account numbers and just cash it at one of those check cashing places... I can't believe that our system hasn't collapsed yet.
It's a shame that the group of people responsible for truly ground breaking work, gets the ax first. JPL is a household name for the amazing robots they built. And they're the ones who get canned when there's a shift in priorities. No wonder the space shuttle keeps blowing up with management like this.
failure -> rewarded with more funding success -> punished with being shut down
Tax credit means that you'll get to take that much off your taxes next time you file. Its nearly as good as a check from the government. You could even change your withholding allowance to accommodate such a credit if you didn't want to wait to get your hands on the money.
I read the WSJ article and the author was comparing buying a new Prius with keeping his old car (can you say Apples to Oranges). When you compare buying a new car (say a 2006 Honda Civic) with a Prius the comparison comes out more favorable for the Prius.
I ran my own numbers and found the Prius to be about $4100 more expensive, but with the $2000 tax credit and driving about 10,000miles/year you would break even in about 7.5 years assuming $3/gallon gas. Of course a bicycle is about $16400 less than the Honda and gas isn't an issue.
The Prius has a nice 8 year/100,000 mile warranty on the power train (batteries included) so you'd be OK with the Prius instead of the Honda. But you'd be rich with the bike.
This is one of the reasons we should be working towards building a truly massive space ship. Grab and asteroid or comet, put it into earth orbit, then spend the next 50 years turning it into a space ship and then go somewhere with it.
Space travel is a long term thing. Let's take our time and do it right.
I was in a PhD program (had been for 3 years) and looked at my life. I was fast approaching 30, still had a full load of undergraduate education debt($24k) and was single. Trust me; the girls you want to date aren't impressed by the words "PhD candidate". And the stipend you get doesn't allow you to go to a bar to actually meet a girl. And I was a "lucky" grad student that had the tuition and stipend payed for by a research grant.
I went to the school bank and cashed out all my credits and received 2 master's degrees. I went to work in industry and within 3 years met an amazing women and got married. I'd like to go back to school in a couple years, but the fiscal pain my wife and I will have to go through will be surprising to her I'm afraid.
When I do go back to school, I don't think it'll be in the US. Only because most schools will want me to start at the beginning of a PhD program - and 6 years is a long time. Over in Europe, I should be able to go straight to research and get a PhD in about 2 years.
> Ethanol = 8.65GJ/km^2/year = 274J/s/km^2 = 274 Watts/km^2. > Solar power into hydrogen at 20% efficiency = solar flux of 1358W/m^2 * 20% solar conversion * 40% fuel cell conversion efficiency in a vehicle * 1e6m^2/km^2 = 10.8MW/km^2!!!
Well there's a bit more to it, but basically your correct. Solar flux at sea level is closer to 800W/m^2 and the sun doesn't shine like that for 24 hours every day. 20% efficiency is really high for the solar cell. I'd use a number closer to 15%. So divide by 10 and your getting closer to real yields of power. The next difference is in the energy required to produce a new generation of vehicle engines that can use the fuel cells (think Platinum catalysts). Currently fuel cells are on the order of $1000/KW. A 100HP(75KW) fuel cell would cost about $75,000 - the comparable internal cumbustion engine (new) is about $1000.
Granted even with all the hurdles to be overcome, electic fuel cell vehicles are probably the way of the future (and probably won't weight 6000lbs either).
The easiest way to save ourselves and the planet is simply to use less of course. This is not so much a technological problem as it is a social one. Ford's latest hybrid SUV gets 20/25mpg. The technology is great, but the problem is social.
I've always found the idea of absolute ownership of land to be somewhat weird. I'm glad that the courts sided with the state in saying that eminent domain is a matter best decided by the local government. Owning land is not a basic human right, like say free speech, or due process.
Though from what I've read about the development plans the city has for this area seem somewhat shallow, if the people of the city deem it good to raze a few suburban homes to revitalize their city, who are we to stop them?
Ever been a renter? Your home can be uprooted any time. Some tenant laws try to help you out, but basically you're screwed if your landlord decides to turn your apartment into a dog kennel. I don't see why a municipality can't do the same. I don't see why someone who has a deed to the land has absolute power over it.
Given the huge increase in home ownership in the last 10 years, and the sacrifices ordinary people make to get it, I can see how those who have bought into the American dream feel gypped. But noone is safe from government. The mob is dangerous but they are also our only security. Without goverment, we'd all be sitting around teaching ourselves the times tables and ruining the water table with bad septic systems and drinking untreated water that gave us disentery. There would be no national highway system to let us drive home for Thanksgiving.
Of course corruption in local government is always a problem, but that's not what the justices were ruling on.
The reason that I'd want to buy a Linux Boxen instead of a Windows XP Home machine is that I could be reasonably sure that the hardware would work with Linux. Downloading third party drivers only to find out that the driver causes the machine to crash isn't my idea of fun.
XP Home isn't my idea of a real OS and so I'd have to wipe it anyways. I would add the cost of XP Professional to the cost of the windows box for a true price comparison. And for the Linux box, I'd add a set of Suse CD's (or other distribution).
Regardless - I can't believe how cheap computers are now. The last machine I bought for home was an HP Pavillion 500Mhz 128MB/20GB with a CD and DVD for $900 in 1999. Maybe its time to upgrade?
Balmer's a smart guy, but not a nice guy. This clearly financially benefits them. Tech workers tend to have a more pro-gay sexuality than the average Joe. They're college educated and fairly liberal minded, even if they're fiscally conservative. Steve's just bowing to the people that drive the engine of Microsoft. Without them, Microsoft is nothing. I'd say its a smart move. I was very confused that a crazy baptist preacher was meeting with people in Microsoft, let alone being listened to seriously. This is business folks, not a church. Let the moralists live their life, but to interfere in a multi-billion dollar industry just seemed insane.
I think the newspapers are forgetting that they own a huge valuable chunk of information (all the past articles). If they made access to that part of a subscription, I'd pay for it. But paying for today's news doesn't do much for me - I have to watch the adds and that's enough payment for me.
Right now, some newspapers sell historical articles, but they charge too much. I may as well go down to the library for $$$/article.
What a good thread! I've been astounded at the lack of creative thinking about saving energy here in the United States. Everyone always sounds the hyperbolic argument that environmentalists just want to bring us back to the stone age and then go one wasting all of our resources.
What's needed is a compromise. I know that not everyone is willing to move to within 5 miles of their work and bicycle to their job. I know not everyone will pack their own lunch and reuse the tupperware. I know that not everyone will turn the thermostat down to 60 deg F in the winter. But if just 10% of us did, imagine! And for those of us that do - we save literally $1000's/year. I estimate that I'm saving about $4000/year by not owning a car. I've got a bike trailer and haul around groceries and even lumber for house projects. I'm stronger and more fit and I can park just about anywhere.
Other brain dead things, are to check your driving directions and leave more time for yourself to get to your destination. I've wasted so much time, gas and nerves trying to get somewhere in a hurry. And when you don't know how to get there, what a huge waste. That's what map.yahoo.com can do for you.
Or plan, so that you only have to make one trip to the store/downtown/mall instead of two or three. I can't believe the amount of time people in the burbs spend driving to the 'convenience' store only to go back 2 hours later.
A lot of times conservation is simply common sense. Its about being efficient and smart not just altruistic.
Your confusing causality with correlation. Many studies have shown a correlation with having a Y chromosome and being good at math. However, none have shown a causality. Many experiments have tried to show this causality. But to isolate a human being from society and perform an experiment is unethical and so the experiment can't be done.
What is true is that historically women have been supressed from participating in math, art, science, literature and the list goes on. I'm not saying that it was a co-ordinated conspiracy to disenfranchise women - though some feminists have argued that it was. I would say that at the very least a series of economic forces made it so that in the past women were kept at home.
This is changing - slowly - mostly due to technology and the desires of women.
What's controversial is the nature vs. nurture debate. A debate that can be argued forever. On one hand is the argument that certain people aren't good at things because of some mechanism inside that can't be changed (the so called nature side). Because our society wants to be somewhat economical about resources, the logical conclusion of this argument is to not teach these persons the things they're not good at. To do so would be a waste of resources.
The nurture argument says simply that societal forces are what governs a person and one shouldn't restrict resources (especially education) from a group of people because you're loosing out on some amzing skills in the questioned group of people.
Looking at the argument, I would say that its obvious why an economist at Harvard was the one to bring up the issue. Its not really a scientific issue, but rather an economic one that relies on the answer to an unsolvable scientific question:
Are people innately prediposed to be good at certain things based on sex, race or otherwise?
As I stated in the beginning - the experiment cannot be done. There are studies with infants that have tried - but infants are indoctrinated very early on with our own desires and are equally hard to interpret. Also, as stated, its immoral to isolate a person from society to perform the needed experiment. The science cannot be done. All we have are studies which cannot discern causality with correlation.
In my view you need a very strong argument to disenfranchise a group of people - especially a group that has been historically suppressed. No such argument exists and the science cannot be done.
The burden of proof lies in the proposal of the theorem - in this case - Summers. His proposal is a radical one, and he does not have proof to back it up.
But conversely, people who are younger should be more likely to use computers and also less likely to develop diseases like glaucoma.
Good studies are supposed to correct for the factors you're worried about. Idealy, you would have a study based on identical people. One who uses computers, and one who doesn't.
Because the battle ground states (Ohio and Florida) both used unverifiable computer based voting machines the entire results of the election are suspect. One saying that's important is: "to never underestimate the intelligence of your enemy". I think the people who are engineering the politics of our country are incredibly clever.
It is not my responsibility to show that there was election fraud, rather it is the responsibility of the election officers and system to demonstrate that this is a fair election. The way to do that is with a verifiable and transparent election process.
If Kerry had won, Republican's would demand verification.
I'm of the most cynical mind and I am one to believe that Kerry would rather throw the fight than start something that could create civil unrest. The problem with the thinking that its better to lay down the fight and cut your losses is that while Kerry will do well, all of us suffer. These guys were both in the exact same fraternity and this election is suspect.
The fact that easily compromised machines were central to the victory of President Bush is very very suspect and should be clearly checked. Some people would rather that we put our head in the sand and go back to work, but this stuff is what keeps America actually a democracy instead of a side show.
Unfortunately Americans let this war happen. Remember the polls before the invasion - saying that 60% of the people supported the president in his decision. We Americans are responsible for this royal mess. I went on protests, I tried to stop the machine, but I didn't and so its my responsibility too.
And any American who tries to shirk their responsibility will be unsuccessful. The rest of the world sees us as a unified democracy. Our government represents us. And so we are ultimately responsible. And that is why its more or less inevitable that someone will eventually plant a nuclear bomb and incinerate one of America's cities. I wish it weren't true, but its just a matter of time.
Hopefully the response of America will be better when some city goes poof, but probably the US will just invade some other country that has nothing to do with the problem. The problem is greed and excess. Do you really need that H2?
In the mean time - try and have a good day!
And don't confuse excess and waste with patriotism.
I've been involved in hopeful scientific experiments that later turned out to be bogus science. Its far to easy for a researcher to see what they want and deceive themselves. That's the whole purpose of the peer review process.
"Excess" energy does not mean nuclear. Trace amounts of helium exist everywhere. And atoms routinely generate reactions (chemical in nature) on palladium - a known catalyst.
On the other hand - all the reseachers have to do to prove that there's something interesting going on is make a megawatt-hour of energy from a closed system weighing about 5-10 kilograms. If its a chemical reaction there will be a noticeable change in the closed system. If its nuclear - it won't be much of a change.
Generating a few watt seconds of energy from some big instrument doesn't tell you a damn thing. There's too many sources of energy and too many states to keep track of.
At this point I'm still more likely to believe that Pons and Fleischman discovered a weird battery.
If you see a bright light in the sky, do you think, "Hey there's an alien.", or do you think, "Hmmm I wonder what that could be?".
> But when a driver sees a biker on the road they get pissed. (It's their road, after all right?)
Is this a troll?
Wow! You actually think that the road is only for cars? The proper place for a bike is on the road, or in a bike lane if it exists. In nearly every state in the US, bikes have the same privileges to the road as a car. There are some subtle rules. A bike is supposed to stay to the right as all slow traffic does. And it cannot go on most interstates. Though you can go on interestates in some places outside cities.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm curious where in the world you are!
The spot price for unleaded gasoline (wholesale) on NYMEX is $1.45/gal - read this as there's is no way in hell that your $2/gal gas has a wholesale of $1/gal.
The cheapest price for gas in the US was Ohio or Minnesota at $2.15/gal.
The spot price doesn't include delivery, taxes, or retail markup.
Worst case, would be about $0.50 worth of taxes... Though in some states and localities it could get close to $1.00 of taxes - but the price would be much higher than $2/gal.
In regards to Europe. They have lots of rural areas that don't have public transportation - (Switzerland is an exception). These areas are essentially screwed by the expensive fuel and lack of transportation options. Its a fact of life they don't like, but the Europeans put up with. You want to live away from everyone else and have huge wide open vistas? Then your on your own.
American rural and suburban folks are very spoiled by the cheap transportation. Its a matter of policy and politics. The so called red states have become huge per capita energy users. And they vote with their minds on their wallets. They know that their lifestyle is based around cheap energy - that's why they've become so fat.
This won't change until there's voting reform (hahh!) or we finally bankrupt ourselves trying to secure foreign oil. Until then, enjoy the ride.
How about just not being a consumer?
Do I really need another Metalica, Britney, Europop piece of crap? Do I really need the 35th release of Houses of the Holy?
The consumer is not King. The consumer is a slave to the interests of the corporation. If you really want to beat these folks, just don't buy it. Don't steal it. Its not like its food and you need it.
There are plenty of creative wonderful musicians who love to play music and give away their music for *free* on the internet. Go check them out. Go to independent music shows and meet the people who actually write and sing these songs.
Commercial music has its good qualities, but the way these people do business is enough to make me vomit. I'd rather listen to something with some integrity behind it.
It does matter. If a crazy inventor/entrepeneur/sheister wants money to do something which is nothing more than magic, then we should just ignore the person.
If I told you I could heal all people with cancer, but I just needed a really big church, you'd all laugh at me. This guy's trying to sell snake oil and we should be very suspicious. The extra energy measured is usually just a bad measurement. I had my own nasty run in with this sort of experimental science in my grad student days. Our group was trying to develop super efficient propulsion systems in water and our sponsor was very interested, but it turned out to be a simple experimental error:
power=vel x force.
We were comparing a static power with a time varying power. The above equation is non-linear if both components are changing. So a little unrealized filtering on our data made it look like the power in was way different than the power out. Our sponsor loved it and we ended up spending many more years chasing a ghost and spending lots of money. It was great for me, since I learned a lot about other things. But it was a wash for the whole idea of improved propulsion.
Unfortunately nobody's managed to solved the differential equations for turbulent boundary layers and hydrodynamics is still a black art because of that. There are tons of snake oil sellers in that market.
Regardless of what law might or might not have been broken. This should not be so easy. I was appalled that there was no check of even a name match or similarity. Some banks do EFT validation like the way Paypal does with those little deposits amounts that you have to go check and report back to Paypal. But so many online services just initiate EFTs without any checking whatsoever. Its a system ripe for abuse. And the fact that I wasn't even aware that what I did was against the law is even worse. There's no warning or text that tells you on those websites what your supposed to be typing in. I know that ignorance of the law isn't a defense in court, but by the time it gets to court its really too late anyways. Don't law and punishment really only work if people are aware of them?
I think someone should really scream loud about this before its too late.
Related to this is the completely insecure EFT system in the US. One time, just to see if I could, I typed my friends routing number and checking account number into my online credit card website. She had given me a check, and so I wasn't stealing from her. I was just debiting the funds from her checking account in a slightly different way. The credit card online website had no trouble taking the money out of her account and crediting it to my account.
But this story gets better. I went on a trip and didn't see my friend for a few weeks. She noticed the debit in her checking account and at first thought it was something fishy. She called her bank and they told her the name of the credit card company and said that she'd have to call the credit card company to find out more. She called the CC company and they couldn't help her even though they had taken her money. After a couple weeks, she made the connection that it was probably me, sent me an email and I confirmed it. She had a father who went to jail for banking fraud and wasn't freaked out by things like this.
But the point is, that there's no security on EFT transfers, or for that matter checks. I could print up a check if I know the routing and account numbers and just cash it at one of those check cashing places... I can't believe that our system hasn't collapsed yet.
It's a shame that the group of people responsible for truly ground breaking work, gets the ax first. JPL is a household name for the amazing robots they built. And they're the ones who get canned when there's a shift in priorities. No wonder the space shuttle keeps blowing up with management like this.
failure -> rewarded with more funding
success -> punished with being shut down
Tax credit means that you'll get to take that much off your taxes next time you file. Its nearly as good as a check from the government. You could even change your withholding allowance to accommodate such a credit if you didn't want to wait to get your hands on the money.
I read the WSJ article and the author was comparing buying a new Prius with keeping his old car (can you say Apples to Oranges). When you compare buying a new car (say a 2006 Honda Civic) with a Prius the comparison comes out more favorable for the Prius.
I ran my own numbers and found the Prius to be about $4100 more expensive, but with the $2000 tax credit and driving about 10,000miles/year you would break even in about 7.5 years assuming $3/gallon gas. Of course a bicycle is about $16400 less than the Honda and gas isn't an issue.
The Prius has a nice 8 year/100,000 mile warranty on the power train (batteries included) so you'd be OK with the Prius instead of the Honda. But you'd be rich with the bike.
Maybe it'll act as a box cutter shield too?
When will we learn that fancy weapons don't protect us from 1920's era opponents.
But then again, a lot of the hawks still think we're at war with the communists.
This is one of the reasons we should be working towards building a truly massive space ship. Grab and asteroid or comet, put it into earth orbit, then spend the next 50 years turning it into a space ship and then go somewhere with it.
Space travel is a long term thing. Let's take our time and do it right.
I was in a PhD program (had been for 3 years) and looked at my life. I was fast approaching 30, still had a full load of undergraduate education debt($24k) and was single. Trust me; the girls you want to date aren't impressed by the words "PhD candidate". And the stipend you get doesn't allow you to go to a bar to actually meet a girl. And I was a "lucky" grad student that had the tuition and stipend payed for by a research grant.
I went to the school bank and cashed out all my credits and received 2 master's degrees. I went to work in industry and within 3 years met an amazing women and got married. I'd like to go back to school in a couple years, but the fiscal pain my wife and I will have to go through will be surprising to her I'm afraid.
When I do go back to school, I don't think it'll be in the US. Only because most schools will want me to start at the beginning of a PhD program - and 6 years is a long time. Over in Europe, I should be able to go straight to research and get a PhD in about 2 years.
> Ethanol = 8.65GJ/km^2/year = 274J/s/km^2 = 274 Watts/km^2.
> Solar power into hydrogen at 20% efficiency = solar flux of 1358W/m^2 * 20% solar conversion * 40% fuel cell conversion efficiency in a vehicle * 1e6m^2/km^2 = 10.8MW/km^2!!!
Well there's a bit more to it, but basically your correct. Solar flux at sea level is closer to 800W/m^2 and the sun doesn't shine like that for 24 hours every day. 20% efficiency is really high for the solar cell. I'd use a number closer to 15%. So divide by 10 and your getting closer to real yields of power. The next difference is in the energy required to produce a new generation of vehicle engines that can use the fuel cells (think Platinum catalysts). Currently fuel cells are on the order of $1000/KW. A 100HP(75KW) fuel cell would cost about $75,000 - the comparable internal cumbustion engine (new) is about $1000.
Granted even with all the hurdles to be overcome, electic fuel cell vehicles are probably the way of the future (and probably won't weight 6000lbs either).
The easiest way to save ourselves and the planet is simply to use less of course. This is not so much a technological problem as it is a social one. Ford's latest hybrid SUV gets 20/25mpg. The technology is great, but the problem is social.
I've always found the idea of absolute ownership of land to be somewhat weird. I'm glad that the courts sided with the state in saying that eminent domain is a matter best decided by the local government. Owning land is not a basic human right, like say free speech, or due process.
Though from what I've read about the development plans the city has for this area seem somewhat shallow, if the people of the city deem it good to raze a few suburban homes to revitalize their city, who are we to stop them?
Ever been a renter? Your home can be uprooted any time. Some tenant laws try to help you out, but basically you're screwed if your landlord decides to turn your apartment into a dog kennel. I don't see why a municipality can't do the same. I don't see why someone who has a deed to the land has absolute power over it.
Given the huge increase in home ownership in the last 10 years, and the sacrifices ordinary people make to get it, I can see how those who have bought into the American dream feel gypped. But noone is safe from government. The mob is dangerous but they are also our only security. Without goverment, we'd all be sitting around teaching ourselves the times tables and ruining the water table with bad septic systems and drinking untreated water that gave us disentery.
There would be no national highway system to let us drive home for Thanksgiving.
Of course corruption in local government is always a problem, but that's not what the justices were ruling on.
The reason that I'd want to buy a Linux Boxen instead of a Windows XP Home machine is that I could be reasonably sure that the hardware would work with Linux. Downloading third party drivers only to find out that the driver causes the machine to crash isn't my idea of fun.
XP Home isn't my idea of a real OS and so I'd have to wipe it anyways. I would add the cost of XP Professional to the cost of the windows box for a true price comparison. And for the Linux box, I'd add a set of Suse CD's (or other distribution).
Regardless - I can't believe how cheap computers are now. The last machine I bought for home was an HP Pavillion 500Mhz 128MB/20GB with a CD and DVD for $900 in 1999. Maybe its time to upgrade?
Balmer's a smart guy, but not a nice guy. This clearly financially benefits them. Tech workers tend to have a more pro-gay sexuality than the average Joe. They're college educated and fairly liberal minded, even if they're fiscally conservative. Steve's just bowing to the people that drive the engine of Microsoft. Without them, Microsoft is nothing. I'd say its a smart move. I was very confused that a crazy baptist preacher was meeting with people in Microsoft, let alone being listened to seriously. This is business folks, not a church. Let the moralists live their life, but to interfere in a multi-billion dollar industry just seemed insane.
I think the newspapers are forgetting that they own a huge valuable chunk of information (all the past articles). If they made access to that part of a subscription, I'd pay for it. But paying for today's news doesn't do much for me - I have to watch the adds and that's enough payment for me.
Right now, some newspapers sell historical articles, but they charge too much. I may as well go down to the library for $$$/article.
What a good thread! I've been astounded at the lack of creative thinking about saving energy here in the United States. Everyone always sounds the hyperbolic argument that environmentalists just want to bring us back to the stone age and then go one wasting all of our resources.
What's needed is a compromise. I know that not everyone is willing to move to within 5 miles of their work and bicycle to their job. I know not everyone will pack their own lunch and reuse the tupperware. I know that not everyone will turn the thermostat down to 60 deg F in the winter. But if just 10% of us did, imagine! And for those of us that do - we save literally $1000's/year. I estimate that I'm saving about $4000/year by not owning a car. I've got a bike trailer and haul around groceries and even lumber for house projects. I'm stronger and more fit and I can park just about anywhere.
Other brain dead things, are to check your driving directions and leave more time for yourself to get to your destination. I've wasted so much time, gas and nerves trying to get somewhere in a hurry. And when you don't know how to get there, what a huge waste. That's what map.yahoo.com can do for you.
Or plan, so that you only have to make one trip to the store/downtown/mall instead of two or three. I can't believe the amount of time people in the burbs spend driving to the 'convenience' store only to go back 2 hours later.
A lot of times conservation is simply common sense. Its about being efficient and smart not just altruistic.
Bottled water companies lost $112bn to public water works agencies of cities and towns last year! I knew tap water was a communist subversion.
Your confusing causality with correlation. Many studies have shown a correlation with having a Y chromosome and being good at math. However, none have shown a causality. Many experiments have tried to show this causality. But to isolate a human being from society and perform an experiment is unethical and so the experiment can't be done.
What is true is that historically women have been supressed from participating in math, art, science, literature and the list goes on. I'm not saying that it was a co-ordinated conspiracy to disenfranchise women - though some feminists have argued that it was. I would say that at the very least a series of economic forces made it so that in the past women were kept at home.
This is changing - slowly - mostly due to technology and the desires of women.
What's controversial is the nature vs. nurture debate. A debate that can be argued forever. On one hand is the argument that certain people aren't good at things because of some mechanism inside that can't be changed (the so called nature side). Because our society wants to be somewhat economical about resources, the logical conclusion of this argument is to not teach these persons the things they're not good at. To do so would be a waste of resources.
The nurture argument says simply that societal forces are what governs a person and one shouldn't restrict resources (especially education) from a group of people because you're loosing out on some amzing skills in the questioned group of people.
Looking at the argument, I would say that its obvious why an economist at Harvard was the one to bring up the issue. Its not really a scientific issue, but rather an economic one that relies on the answer to an unsolvable scientific question:
Are people innately prediposed to be good at certain things based on sex, race or otherwise?
As I stated in the beginning - the experiment cannot be done. There are studies with infants that have tried - but infants are indoctrinated very early on with our own desires and are equally hard to interpret. Also, as stated, its immoral to isolate a person from society to perform the needed experiment. The science cannot be done. All we have are studies which cannot discern causality with correlation.
In my view you need a very strong argument to disenfranchise a group of people - especially a group that has been historically suppressed. No such argument exists and the science cannot be done.
The burden of proof lies in the proposal of the theorem - in this case - Summers. His proposal is a radical one, and he does not have proof to back it up.
mkcdrec is a really neat program that packs up your whole system and makes a recovery disk. Its something any sysop should take a look at.
See the homepage here.
But conversely, people who are younger should be more likely to use computers and also less likely to develop diseases like glaucoma.
Good studies are supposed to correct for the factors you're worried about. Idealy, you would have a study based on identical people. One who uses computers, and one who doesn't.
But even then, studies can't show causality.
Because the battle ground states (Ohio and Florida) both used unverifiable computer based voting machines the entire results of the election are suspect. One saying that's important is: "to never underestimate the intelligence of your enemy". I think the people who are engineering the politics of our country are incredibly clever.
It is not my responsibility to show that there was election fraud, rather it is the responsibility of the election officers and system to demonstrate that this is a fair election. The way to do that is with a verifiable and transparent election process.
If Kerry had won, Republican's would demand verification.
I'm of the most cynical mind and I am one to believe that Kerry would rather throw the fight than start something that could create civil unrest. The problem with the thinking that its better to lay down the fight and cut your losses is that while Kerry will do well, all of us suffer. These guys were both in the exact same fraternity and this election is suspect.
The fact that easily compromised machines were central to the victory of President Bush is very very suspect and should be clearly checked. Some people would rather that we put our head in the sand and go back to work, but this stuff is what keeps America actually a democracy instead of a side show.
Unfortunately Americans let this war happen. Remember the polls before the invasion - saying that 60% of the people supported the president in his decision. We Americans are responsible for this royal mess. I went on protests, I tried to stop the machine, but I didn't and so its my responsibility too.
And any American who tries to shirk their responsibility will be unsuccessful. The rest of the world sees us as a unified democracy. Our government represents us. And so we are ultimately responsible. And that is why its more or less inevitable that someone will eventually plant a nuclear bomb and incinerate one of America's cities. I wish it weren't true, but its just a matter of time.
Hopefully the response of America will be better when some city goes poof, but probably the US will just invade some other country that has nothing to do with the problem. The problem is greed and excess. Do you really need that H2?
In the mean time - try and have a good day!
And don't confuse excess and waste with patriotism.
Hear! Hear!
I've been involved in hopeful scientific experiments that later turned out to be bogus science. Its far to easy for a researcher to see what they want and deceive themselves. That's the whole purpose of the peer review process.
"Excess" energy does not mean nuclear. Trace amounts of helium exist everywhere. And atoms routinely generate reactions (chemical in nature) on palladium - a known catalyst.
On the other hand - all the reseachers have to do to prove that there's something interesting going on is make a megawatt-hour of energy from a closed system weighing about 5-10 kilograms. If its a chemical reaction there will be a noticeable change in the closed system. If its nuclear - it won't be much of a change.
Generating a few watt seconds of energy from some big instrument doesn't tell you a damn thing. There's too many sources of energy and too many states to keep track of.
At this point I'm still more likely to believe that Pons and Fleischman discovered a weird battery.
If you see a bright light in the sky, do you think, "Hey there's an alien.", or do you think, "Hmmm I wonder what that could be?".
> But when a driver sees a biker on the road they get pissed. (It's their road, after all right?)
Is this a troll?
Wow! You actually think that the road is only for cars? The proper place for a bike is on the road, or in a bike lane if it exists. In nearly every state in the US, bikes have the same privileges to the road as a car. There are some subtle rules. A bike is supposed to stay to the right as all slow traffic does. And it cannot go on most interstates. Though you can go on interestates in some places outside cities.
Roads are public. Tax payers made them.