Most doctors believe men go through a similar change, andropause, in which testosterone levels rapidly decline. Again, it seems part of evolution's balancing act. Testosterone and Estrogen boost the immune system and prevent certain cancers, but they also seem to accelerate the rate of growth of other cancers.
We also know now that the rate of birth defects among children born to older men (not just women) are significantly higher, so there is another valid evolutionary reason for sex drive in older men to diminish.
A teaching assistant (grad student) at my University was hired by the National Institute of Standards after graduation to work on quantum computing methods. According to him, they have a pretty complete theory, and have obtained some fairly large grants to actually put that theory to work. Some of the things he talked about sounded really incredible.
I found a Scientific American article from 1996 which details some of the their work, as well as the work of others, plus a lot of useful links.
Sure, Hemos, I'll get you a test unit. Just mail me a check for $225, and I'll run right out and get one for you. Heck, for an extra $50, I'll even keep it for a few weeks and do all of the testing for you.
let's be realistic. how many buildings are there in the US that house as much of the population as the WTC or pentagon? none. they already got our two largest, most crowded buildings. I'm sure that WTC was their number one target for a reason: there just isn't any other building that compares in terms of size and number of people, except the pentagon.
Protecting these buildings should have been a priority already, since we had so much evidence that they were still being targeted. now that they're gone, i think it's fearmongering to act as if thereare hundreds of targets which could be this bad. There just aren't that many.
but i'd just like to say - in this week of praying, candle burning, and flag waving - if you'd really like to "do something", here are a few suggestions:
1. buy or check out a book on the middle east, american foreign policy, islam, terrorism, the history of afghanistan/arabic nations, or other relevant topics. intelligence and rational thinking will be our greatest weapons in this new "war".
2. turn off the major networks, and listen to npr or the bbc, use the internet, and read diverse newspapers. stop getting all of your information from the "gatekeepers". realize that all media could have potential biases and hidden agendas, so get information from as many different sources as possible.
3. think for yourself; really think, don't just react. use logic, but never forget how you felt on 9/11.
4. pay attention to what your government is doing. this is more important than ever. it's shocking, but true: at this moment our government is attempting use these attacks to push through highly questionable legislation. capital gains taxes and carnivore should not be discussed on the heels of this crises, while emotions are running high. no matter your opinion, force your congressmen to cool their jets before making any more major decisions.
5. have dinner table discussions with your friends and family. talk with arab-americans about their experiences. talk about real issues, not just lurid details and rumours. keep an open mind. encourage those around you to think rationally.
america must become the nation we are supposed to be: a just nation founded on independent spirit and free thought, not fear, hatred and ignorance. i refuse to say that ignorance on the part of americans is responsible for this attack, but it is to blame for the hostile attitude of foreign citizens (still, notice how the news has connsistently shown the same scant footage of celebration, with just a few people participating in each case). arrogance and ignorance are to blame for our failure to prevent this attack, and we can no longer think of ourselves as isolated or invincible.
Here is a nice non-technical FAQ, that says it better than I did:
http://cfpa.berkeley.edu/BHfaq.html
"What if the Sun *did* become a black hole for some reason? The main effect is that it would get very dark and very cold around here. The Earth and the other planets would not get sucked into the black hole; they would keep on orbiting in exactly the same paths they follow right now. Why? Because the horizon of this black hole would be very small -- only about 3 kilometers -- and...as long as you stay well outside the horizon, a black hole's gravity is no stronger than that of any other object of the same mass."
I still say it would be safer on Mars, but unfeasible for the near future. I wonder just how big of a black hole you could create on Earth, and still manage to live comfortably with. I'm too tired to do the math myself right now.
A black hole wouldn't necessarily be all that dangerous. Most people think of black holes as big, efficient vacuums, quickly sucking in everything around them. The truth is, they have a very weak gravitational effect, and most matter swirls around for hundreds of millions of years before being swallowed up. A black hole in our solar system might not swallow us up until long after our sun had died. What would happen if one was right on top of us, though, I'm not so sure about. So, I guess this is the kind of experiment ideally suited to be carried out on Mars.
One of the most enduring images of this attack should be our White House, still standing. It looks now that it was spared only because of the brave actions of individuals on two of the planes. Terrorists sacrificed their lives in the name of hatred, but more Americans were willing to sacrifice their lives yesterday in the name of freedom, both passengers/crew on airlines and rescue workers on the ground. Every time I look at the White House, I'll remember just how much worse it could have been, if not for these brave people. Thank you, whoever you were.
My guess is that it was some kind of a military escort plane. By this time, they had to know it was a hijacked airplane. If I recall correctly, thhereis a no fly zone over the white house, since that Russian pilot crashed in on Reagan. I'm sure they wouldn't have enforced it on a 757, but they may have sent a plane up to try and get information.
I don't mind that Slashdot is getting back to business so soon, but "160-scoops-of-yum dept" seems somehow wierd/inappropriate given what's been going on for the last 20 hours.
Or maybe it would just seem like a stupid subtitle on any day.
Yes. This happened in the city I live in, Richardson, TX. The FBI raided an Internet company that was apparantly a front for Osama fundraising. There were also allegations that a temple accross the street was involved. My local news reported that millions of dollars had been funneled to Osama through this operation. It's really screwed up that almost all of the money used to fund the Taliban comes from the US.
I don't think the raid had any thing to do with these attacks. It came after weeks of investigation, and there was no mention of planned activities. However, I have read that there were interviews in recent weeks where a major attack was referered to by the Taliban and tacitly confirmed by Bin Ladin.
The problem with isolating the cockpit is that then you would be completely helpless in the event of a suicidal pilot, or heart attack. Or what about fire in the cockpit?
I've played thousands of games of chess on FICS against humans ancd computers, and it's my opinion that only a computer could win against a Master in this situation. In fact, this is just the type of situation where a good computer program would excel.
Also, on FICS, computers are typically rated 200-300 points higher for blitz games than standard. That means the same computer program is much tougher to beat in a fast game than in a slow one.
I agree with you, and I think that's exactly what's going on here. In fact, I bet you could even figure out what program is being used. Set up Fritz/Gnuchess/Crafty to start in a position exactly like the eighth or ninth move in these games, and see what it happens. Play Short's moves or play it against another computer and vary the time to make up for possible differences in computing power.
In a fast game, computers can easily find and exploit human weaknesses. Positional play is less important. Even the best players can lose to mediocre computers at blitz, because a computer is capable of thinking so much faster, and seeing more possible outcomes much further ahead than a human could.
In his heyday, Fischer was a player who relied on strong openings and played to his opponents weaknesses. It was his middle or endgames that were often surprising.
One other big clue to me that this is not Fischer is that the opponent gave more time. That would be very uncharacteristic of Fischer. At this point, Fischer should have known what the outcome was going to be.. why prolong it? It sounds more like someone who either a)felt guilty or b)wanted to see how it would turn out. Fischer was never one to be generous to an opponent, he was very competitive.
My question is what program and what kind of computer are they using? My guess is Fritz on an Athlon.
There's an easy way to solve this mystery
on
Bobby Fischer Online?
·
· Score: 0, Redundant
Was he ranitng on about how the Jews are out to get him? From recent interviews, it doesn't seem as if Fischer can go for more than a few minutes before reverting to paranoid delusions.
Bobby's got some real issues, and he needs the people in his life to get him help. It seems everyone would rather just take advantage of him, like that guy the movie Shine was about.
I think it's silly to still lionize someone who's so clearly insane. He had the gift for chess.. what happened to him? I'd sooner believe this was a computer than Fischer. He was one of the greatest players who ever lived, but it's doubtful that he could still be so great, given his current mental state. He's much more obsessed with the Jewish conspiracy thing than he is with chess.
Anne, Celestia and Bobby should all get together and have a nice chat.
Are computers that good that they can beat grandmasters after throwing away five moves?
At Blitz chess, where you have a limited amount of time to move, the answer is yes. Good computers dominate and have a strong advantage (especially with good opening and endgame books). There are a few Masters who play on FICS (the Free Internet Chess Server), and regularly lose to computers there.
Maybe it's forgivable, since she does have some geek signifigance. She had a major role in the upcoming Matrix movies. Production will probably be further delayed.
I don't think the search for Nessie will ever end. For one thing, it's too big of a local cash cow, like Roswell. Each have become tourist attractions and spawned several books and t.v. shows. For another thing, it's just a lot more fun to imagine that a leftover relic from the Mesozoic era managed to survive millions of years undetected. Earthquake and weather balloon explanations aren't quite as ripe for mass consumption.
They should have listened to the users and developers, who told them they weren't happy with WAP. But the problem is, they wanted a standard that they could control, so they could extort providers and charge businesses $30,000 (or however much it is now) to be a member of the WAP forum.
It's the small businesses that invested so much money in the technology that will ultimately pay for the industries mistakes. The large companies which control the standards got a lot more out of it than they ever put in, just not as much as they were hoping for.
I don't know.. the last time I was in France I saw a game show involving a blindfolded man attempting to identify his wife by means of fondling her and several other women's breats.
It seems vapid and degrading enough to be Japanese TV. I certainly wouldn't say European TV is immune to stupidity.
"Analysts are applauding the move as a needed step toward providing the security Hollywood desires, but they're skeptical that consumers will embrace devices that require use of smart cards"
Industry analysts are so often quoted in the press, but just where do they find these people? It seems like a great job if you can get it.. getting paid to give painfully obvious, yet wholly ambiguos answers.
Slashdot Mirror
Most doctors believe men go through a similar change, andropause, in which testosterone levels rapidly decline. Again, it seems part of evolution's balancing act. Testosterone and Estrogen boost the immune system and prevent certain cancers, but they also seem to accelerate the rate of growth of other cancers.
We also know now that the rate of birth defects among children born to older men (not just women) are significantly higher, so there is another valid evolutionary reason for sex drive in older men to diminish.
I should have used the preview button.
t io ns.html
http://www.sciam.com/explorations/091696explora
A teaching assistant (grad student) at my University was hired by the National Institute of Standards after graduation to work on quantum computing methods. According to him, they have a pretty complete theory, and have obtained some fairly large grants to actually put that theory to work. Some of the things he talked about sounded really incredible.
t io ns.html
I found a Scientific American article from 1996 which details some of the their work, as well as the work of others, plus a lot of useful links.
http://www.sciam.com/explorations/091696explora
I remember first reading about using electron spin in quantum computing way back in 1994, in a NY times science edition.
Sure, Hemos, I'll get you a test unit. Just mail me a check for $225, and I'll run right out and get one for you. Heck, for an extra $50, I'll even keep it for a few weeks and do all of the testing for you.
let's be realistic. how many buildings are there in the US that house as much of the population as the WTC or pentagon? none. they already got our two largest, most crowded buildings. I'm sure that WTC was their number one target for a reason: there just isn't any other building that compares in terms of size and number of people, except the pentagon.
Protecting these buildings should have been a priority already, since we had so much evidence that they were still being targeted. now that they're gone, i think it's fearmongering to act as if thereare hundreds of targets which could be this bad. There just aren't that many.
but i'd just like to say - in this week of praying, candle burning, and flag waving - if you'd really like to "do something", here are a few suggestions:
1. buy or check out a book on the middle east, american foreign policy, islam, terrorism, the history of afghanistan/arabic nations, or other relevant topics. intelligence and rational thinking will be our greatest weapons in this new "war".
2. turn off the major networks, and listen to npr or the bbc, use the internet, and read diverse newspapers. stop getting all of your information from the "gatekeepers". realize that all media could have potential biases and hidden agendas, so get information from as many different sources as possible.
3. think for yourself; really think, don't just react. use logic, but never forget how you felt on 9/11.
4. pay attention to what your government is doing. this is more important than ever. it's shocking, but true: at this moment our government is attempting use these attacks to push through highly questionable legislation. capital gains taxes and carnivore should not be discussed on the heels of this crises, while emotions are running high. no matter your opinion, force your congressmen to cool their jets before making any more major decisions.
5. have dinner table discussions with your friends and family. talk with arab-americans about their experiences. talk about real issues, not just lurid details and rumours. keep an open mind. encourage those around you to think rationally.
america must become the nation we are supposed to be: a just nation founded on independent spirit and free thought, not fear, hatred and ignorance. i refuse to say that ignorance on the part of americans is responsible for this attack, but it is to blame for the hostile attitude of foreign citizens (still, notice how the news has connsistently shown the same scant footage of celebration, with just a few people participating in each case). arrogance and ignorance are to blame for our failure to prevent this attack, and we can no longer think of ourselves as isolated or invincible.
Here is a nice non-technical FAQ, that says it better than I did:
...as long as you stay well outside the horizon, a black hole's gravity is no stronger than that of any other object of the same mass."
http://cfpa.berkeley.edu/BHfaq.html
"What if the Sun *did* become a black hole for some reason? The main effect is that it would get very dark and very cold around here. The Earth and the other planets would not get sucked into the black hole; they would keep on orbiting in exactly the same paths they follow right now. Why? Because the horizon of this black hole would be very small -- only about 3 kilometers -- and
I still say it would be safer on Mars, but unfeasible for the near future. I wonder just how big of a black hole you could create on Earth, and still manage to live comfortably with. I'm too tired to do the math myself right now.
A black hole wouldn't necessarily be all that dangerous. Most people think of black holes as big, efficient vacuums, quickly sucking in everything around them. The truth is, they have a very weak gravitational effect, and most matter swirls around for hundreds of millions of years before being swallowed up. A black hole in our solar system might not swallow us up until long after our sun had died. What would happen if one was right on top of us, though, I'm not so sure about. So, I guess this is the kind of experiment ideally suited to be carried out on Mars.
One of the most enduring images of this attack should be our White House, still standing. It looks now that it was spared only because of the brave actions of individuals on two of the planes. Terrorists sacrificed their lives in the name of hatred, but more Americans were willing to sacrifice their lives yesterday in the name of freedom, both passengers/crew on airlines and rescue workers on the ground. Every time I look at the White House, I'll remember just how much worse it could have been, if not for these brave people. Thank you, whoever you were.
My guess is that it was some kind of a military escort plane. By this time, they had to know it was a hijacked airplane. If I recall correctly, thhereis a no fly zone over the white house, since that Russian pilot crashed in on Reagan. I'm sure they wouldn't have enforced it on a 757, but they may have sent a plane up to try and get information.
I don't mind that Slashdot is getting back to business so soon, but "160-scoops-of-yum dept" seems somehow wierd/inappropriate given what's been going on for the last 20 hours.
Or maybe it would just seem like a stupid subtitle on any day.
Yes. This happened in the city I live in, Richardson, TX. The FBI raided an Internet company that was apparantly a front for Osama fundraising. There were also allegations that a temple accross the street was involved. My local news reported that millions of dollars had been funneled to Osama through this operation. It's really screwed up that almost all of the money used to fund the Taliban comes from the US.
I don't think the raid had any thing to do with these attacks. It came after weeks of investigation, and there was no mention of planned activities. However, I have read that there were interviews in recent weeks where a major attack was referered to by the Taliban and tacitly confirmed by Bin Ladin.
The problem with isolating the cockpit is that then you would be completely helpless in the event of a suicidal pilot, or heart attack. Or what about fire in the cockpit?
I just don't see how it owuld be feasible.
Apparently an official statement was issued, the US is denying responsibility for the bombings.
It's sure starting to look that way.
I've played thousands of games of chess on FICS against humans ancd computers, and it's my opinion that only a computer could win against a Master in this situation. In fact, this is just the type of situation where a good computer program would excel.
Also, on FICS, computers are typically rated 200-300 points higher for blitz games than standard. That means the same computer program is much tougher to beat in a fast game than in a slow one.
I agree with you, and I think that's exactly what's going on here. In fact, I bet you could even figure out what program is being used. Set up Fritz/Gnuchess/Crafty to start in a position exactly like the eighth or ninth move in these games, and see what it happens. Play Short's moves or play it against another computer and vary the time to make up for possible differences in computing power.
In a fast game, computers can easily find and exploit human weaknesses. Positional play is less important. Even the best players can lose to mediocre computers at blitz, because a computer is capable of thinking so much faster, and seeing more possible outcomes much further ahead than a human could.
In his heyday, Fischer was a player who relied on strong openings and played to his opponents weaknesses. It was his middle or endgames that were often surprising.
One other big clue to me that this is not Fischer is that the opponent gave more time. That would be very uncharacteristic of Fischer. At this point, Fischer should have known what the outcome was going to be.. why prolong it? It sounds more like someone who either a)felt guilty or b)wanted to see how it would turn out. Fischer was never one to be generous to an opponent, he was very competitive.
My question is what program and what kind of computer are they using? My guess is Fritz on an Athlon.
Was he ranitng on about how the Jews are out to get him? From recent interviews, it doesn't seem as if Fischer can go for more than a few minutes before reverting to paranoid delusions.
Bobby's got some real issues, and he needs the people in his life to get him help. It seems everyone would rather just take advantage of him, like that guy the movie Shine was about.
I think it's silly to still lionize someone who's so clearly insane. He had the gift for chess.. what happened to him? I'd sooner believe this was a computer than Fischer. He was one of the greatest players who ever lived, but it's doubtful that he could still be so great, given his current mental state. He's much more obsessed with the Jewish conspiracy thing than he is with chess.
Anne, Celestia and Bobby should all get together and have a nice chat.
Are computers that good that they can beat grandmasters after throwing away five moves?
At Blitz chess, where you have a limited amount of time to move, the answer is yes. Good computers dominate and have a strong advantage (especially with good opening and endgame books). There are a few Masters who play on FICS (the Free Internet Chess Server), and regularly lose to computers there.
Maybe it's forgivable, since she does have some geek signifigance. She had a major role in the upcoming Matrix movies. Production will probably be further delayed.
You can buy face masks for your Gameboy Advance. I'm not sure if they come in black, but I've seen chrome, blue and grey.
I don't think the search for Nessie will ever end. For one thing, it's too big of a local cash cow, like Roswell. Each have become tourist attractions and spawned several books and t.v. shows. For another thing, it's just a lot more fun to imagine that a leftover relic from the Mesozoic era managed to survive millions of years undetected. Earthquake and weather balloon explanations aren't quite as ripe for mass consumption.
They should have listened to the users and developers, who told them they weren't happy with WAP. But the problem is, they wanted a standard that they could control, so they could extort providers and charge businesses $30,000 (or however much it is now) to be a member of the WAP forum.
It's the small businesses that invested so much money in the technology that will ultimately pay for the industries mistakes. The large companies which control the standards got a lot more out of it than they ever put in, just not as much as they were hoping for.
On a related note, my favorite non-wap wireless internet service.
I don't know.. the last time I was in France I saw a game show involving a blindfolded man attempting to identify his wife by means of fondling her and several other women's breats. It seems vapid and degrading enough to be Japanese TV. I certainly wouldn't say European TV is immune to stupidity.
Industry analysts are so often quoted in the press, but just where do they find these people? It seems like a great job if you can get it.. getting paid to give painfully obvious, yet wholly ambiguos answers.