I rafted the Poudre this summer. It was a great time. The company we went with did a great job, not sure why the need to race photos back. Our photographer rode back with us, while we turned in our gear, changed clothes, etc. he set up in the office, and started showing the pictures to folks on an iMac. While we watched he burned a dvd. We had a big group so he set a price and sold us a dvd that we could all copy. It was pretty sweet. Mountain Whitewater Descents was the company we used and I'd recommend them to anyone headed that way.
Apparently a while back some French trappers got snowed in and hid their gun powder by the river - that's how it got its name.
There's a long discussion of this above. That said, I've got pretty extensive experience dealing with the government and the VA and I'll stick with what I said.
A person has a phone - they pay for minutes on the sim card. Those minutes have some value. That value can be transferred to another phone. People move money around and the phone company is essentially their bank. There are also endpoints where cash can be had, but in many places this isn't necessary as the money just moves around between phones.
It's been going on in Africa for quite a while. It sounds like they are just investing more in owning the full process so they can make more profit from what is already going on and will surely be growing. The cell phone companies in much of Africa have essentially become the banks for many people, and of course the vast majority of phones you will find there are Nokia phones.
I was in a meeting last friday with a guy from a communications lab at the University of Central Florida. He is working on distance learning with smart phones. I think we may be doing a test study with them in Kenya next year. We were primarily focused on the education software part of it, but much of the discussion also dealt with microloans and transferring of funds via this method. We would like what we do to be self sustaining. It's really some very exciting stuff I think, but I may be a bit biased.
Not directly related to the article - but they are using Android as their primary platform. I'm stoked about that too because I think Android is going to be huge down the road.
I did not know that. I just hopped over to the VA eligibility page and it's wider than I had believed. Nice to know I may have benefits I didn't know about. I've got insurance through my employer, but who knows what tomorrow holds.
Satisfaction surveys are not necessarily the best metric to use in determining quality of care. I think this has been shown in a few studies and many health care providers have tried to move to metrics that more accurately tell if care is actually good or not. I don't bring this up to enter into your argument about socialized medicine but just to try and look at the whole picture.
More importantly, your point about it being free couldn't be more mistaken. For the vets it either cost becoming disabled or a minimum of 20 years of full time service. The monetary costs are covered by tax payers. as RAH would say tanstaafl - there aint no such thing as a free lunch.
This is good info. but just to point out one thing- not everyone who is in the VA system necessarily has free lifetime care for everything. Many people receive care for lower levels of service connected disability. Many veterans use the VA and other health care systems - including public hospitals, private insurance, etc.
People who serve in the military are twice as likely to get ALS as people with no military service. I don't think anyone knows why but apparently the government is agreeing that they should help out vets who contract it. ALSA has a pdf with information about it - ALSA military paper.
I had a friend who was diagnosed and dead in less than a year. He went from excellent care to being unable to pick up his kids in a few months. It was one of the most horrible things I've seen a person go through. I think his wife and kids are doing pretty well now, it's been 8 years since he died, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
The way the VA medical system works they'd probably die waiting to find out they were dying. The automated letter system is probably to save costs and time - that they completely hosed it up is no surprise.
The only sports where men and women compete against one another in the Olympics (to my knowledge) are the Equestrian sports. Otherwise they need to be separate so that the women have a chance. Maybe this is just true for the summer games though, because now that I think about it I may have seen men and women competing together in curling. Not sure though.
Adams was a genius and having someone else pick up where he left off with anything makes no sense. If they are that good - they should be writing their own stuff.
I'll never forget the night I was baby-sitting some neighbor kids. They were in bed and I was watching PBS. A show came on and it was hilarious - that's how I found out about HHG - and once I got the books it was all over - I loved reading everything he wrote, even the unedited bits published after his death.
I'm a fan of the Pern books myself - I would say that Eragon was a poor film because it was based on a poor book. (Which pretty much stole every interesting facet from somewhere else.) Not that Pern couldn't be ruined, but the books are good enough that good films could be based on them. Eragon never had a chance of being really good.
I would be much more excited to see more animated episodes to continue the story. My family is pretty stoked about the live action film - but I don't really see the point. I like the animated version and am unsure how live action could do as well, let alone surpass what already has been done.
I was able to buy all the tv episodes on dvd recently and have enjoyed watching the shows again. The story and characters are strong enough that it holds up well to multiple viewings.
It looked a lot like Final Fantasy to me - which I thought was pretty cool but it came out a while ago. It will be interesting to see how the full film compares.
There was not a single thing in that summary not clearly portrayed in the trailer. The trailer is not devoid of story - it completely gives away the entire plot. They only thing they don't show is the ending but it is very unlikely it wont end with things working out for the 'good' guys. But the paralysis - the transfer to another body - the love interest - the combat against invading earth forces - it's all there. This is a very typical anti-development, pro-nature type film that hollywood has been cranking out for some time.
I'm looking forward to seeing it - but not for the plot.
It's unfortunate that this entire thread appears to be about the politics of this situation and none about the tech. Ushahidi is the work of Erik Hersman and the folks at Afrigadget. I've been fortunate enough to hang out with Erik some and he's a really cool guy with some amazing ideas around tech and the developing world (specifically Africa in his case but they are applicable in many other settings.) If you are on twitter he's worth following - @whiteafrican
And FrontlineSMS has been getting great press lately as people have been getting more and more creative in its use. It is producing great results in first world countries as well as the developing world. What I find exciting though is that in the FrontlineSMS forums one meets developers that are helpful and even if they can't solve a persons problem, the code is all open and others are welcome to add the functionality they need. This is huge for the NGOs that they are able to get tools they need at little or no cost while at the same time not getting stuck with vendor lock in that limits their options. And it's a great tool.
Every so often we have an ask slashdot about how tech types can give back. FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi are two great examples of projects that are out their doing it in a big way and provide a great opportunity for geeks to get on board. If you are really hung up on worrying about Afghanistan, go to the sites of both and see all the other places they are being used in meaningful ways to make people's lives better.
What was the name of the story where the guy stumbled upon a pair of sunglasses that showed the plans for some Asian conglomerate to rebuild a city? (L.A. I think?) I don't know if it was a novel or part of a collection. I'm leaning towards collection - and included was a story about a guy being chased by some killing machine thing that moved slowly but never stopped so he always had to stay on the move. Others were typical cyberpunk stuff - I'm googling away but can't track it down.
I wouldn't do it in the first place and I'd bail in the middle if I found out the employer lied. And I know some people end up in that stuff because they either feel that they don't have a choice - or they really don't. So maybe I'm just really lucky rather than smart - either way I've never let an employer take over my entire life and I feel that for the most part I've been able to give fair effort for fair compensation.
If you aren't exempt I'd say any is too much. You are screwing yourself and your fellow employees.
If you are exempt, as TFA says it get's a little murkier. I've happily put in extra time when needed but I expect my employer to be flexible when the heat is off. Otherwise my tendency is to then lean towards voting with my feet. Right now that is easier to say than do for a lot of people. But what is acceptable varies so much from person to person that it is impossible to come up with any kind of general rule to fit all those different cases.
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I rafted the Poudre this summer. It was a great time. The company we went with did a great job, not sure why the need to race photos back. Our photographer rode back with us, while we turned in our gear, changed clothes, etc. he set up in the office, and started showing the pictures to folks on an iMac. While we watched he burned a dvd. We had a big group so he set a price and sold us a dvd that we could all copy. It was pretty sweet. Mountain Whitewater Descents was the company we used and I'd recommend them to anyone headed that way.
Apparently a while back some French trappers got snowed in and hid their gun powder by the river - that's how it got its name.
There's a long discussion of this above. That said, I've got pretty extensive experience dealing with the government and the VA and I'll stick with what I said.
A person has a phone - they pay for minutes on the sim card. Those minutes have some value. That value can be transferred to another phone. People move money around and the phone company is essentially their bank. There are also endpoints where cash can be had, but in many places this isn't necessary as the money just moves around between phones.
It's been going on in Africa for quite a while. It sounds like they are just investing more in owning the full process so they can make more profit from what is already going on and will surely be growing. The cell phone companies in much of Africa have essentially become the banks for many people, and of course the vast majority of phones you will find there are Nokia phones.
I was in a meeting last friday with a guy from a communications lab at the University of Central Florida. He is working on distance learning with smart phones. I think we may be doing a test study with them in Kenya next year. We were primarily focused on the education software part of it, but much of the discussion also dealt with microloans and transferring of funds via this method. We would like what we do to be self sustaining. It's really some very exciting stuff I think, but I may be a bit biased.
Not directly related to the article - but they are using Android as their primary platform. I'm stoked about that too because I think Android is going to be huge down the road.
I did not know that. I just hopped over to the VA eligibility page and it's wider than I had believed. Nice to know I may have benefits I didn't know about. I've got insurance through my employer, but who knows what tomorrow holds.
Satisfaction surveys are not necessarily the best metric to use in determining quality of care. I think this has been shown in a few studies and many health care providers have tried to move to metrics that more accurately tell if care is actually good or not. I don't bring this up to enter into your argument about socialized medicine but just to try and look at the whole picture.
More importantly, your point about it being free couldn't be more mistaken. For the vets it either cost becoming disabled or a minimum of 20 years of full time service. The monetary costs are covered by tax payers. as RAH would say tanstaafl - there aint no such thing as a free lunch.
This is good info. but just to point out one thing- not everyone who is in the VA system necessarily has free lifetime care for everything. Many people receive care for lower levels of service connected disability. Many veterans use the VA and other health care systems - including public hospitals, private insurance, etc.
People who serve in the military are twice as likely to get ALS as people with no military service. I don't think anyone knows why but apparently the government is agreeing that they should help out vets who contract it. ALSA has a pdf with information about it - ALSA military paper.
I had a friend who was diagnosed and dead in less than a year. He went from excellent care to being unable to pick up his kids in a few months. It was one of the most horrible things I've seen a person go through. I think his wife and kids are doing pretty well now, it's been 8 years since he died, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
The way the VA medical system works they'd probably die waiting to find out they were dying. The automated letter system is probably to save costs and time - that they completely hosed it up is no surprise.
The only sports where men and women compete against one another in the Olympics (to my knowledge) are the Equestrian sports. Otherwise they need to be separate so that the women have a chance. Maybe this is just true for the summer games though, because now that I think about it I may have seen men and women competing together in curling. Not sure though.
HTC has said that by next year half their phones will be Android.
That wont work because it would completely eliminate women from being competitive in a wide range of sports.
I just watched an interview with Cameron and he said the film is 35% live action - and I'm going to guess that part of that is the people.
Adams was a genius and having someone else pick up where he left off with anything makes no sense. If they are that good - they should be writing their own stuff.
I'll never forget the night I was baby-sitting some neighbor kids. They were in bed and I was watching PBS. A show came on and it was hilarious - that's how I found out about HHG - and once I got the books it was all over - I loved reading everything he wrote, even the unedited bits published after his death.
Weren't the humans in Final Fantasy the Spirits Within CGI? Wouldn't that make this film 8 years late in being the first?
I'm a fan of the Pern books myself - I would say that Eragon was a poor film because it was based on a poor book. (Which pretty much stole every interesting facet from somewhere else.) Not that Pern couldn't be ruined, but the books are good enough that good films could be based on them. Eragon never had a chance of being really good.
I would be much more excited to see more animated episodes to continue the story. My family is pretty stoked about the live action film - but I don't really see the point. I like the animated version and am unsure how live action could do as well, let alone surpass what already has been done.
I was able to buy all the tv episodes on dvd recently and have enjoyed watching the shows again. The story and characters are strong enough that it holds up well to multiple viewings.
It looked a lot like Final Fantasy to me - which I thought was pretty cool but it came out a while ago. It will be interesting to see how the full film compares.
There was not a single thing in that summary not clearly portrayed in the trailer. The trailer is not devoid of story - it completely gives away the entire plot. They only thing they don't show is the ending but it is very unlikely it wont end with things working out for the 'good' guys. But the paralysis - the transfer to another body - the love interest - the combat against invading earth forces - it's all there. This is a very typical anti-development, pro-nature type film that hollywood has been cranking out for some time.
I'm looking forward to seeing it - but not for the plot.
It's unfortunate that this entire thread appears to be about the politics of this situation and none about the tech. Ushahidi is the work of Erik Hersman and the folks at Afrigadget. I've been fortunate enough to hang out with Erik some and he's a really cool guy with some amazing ideas around tech and the developing world (specifically Africa in his case but they are applicable in many other settings.) If you are on twitter he's worth following - @whiteafrican
And FrontlineSMS has been getting great press lately as people have been getting more and more creative in its use. It is producing great results in first world countries as well as the developing world. What I find exciting though is that in the FrontlineSMS forums one meets developers that are helpful and even if they can't solve a persons problem, the code is all open and others are welcome to add the functionality they need. This is huge for the NGOs that they are able to get tools they need at little or no cost while at the same time not getting stuck with vendor lock in that limits their options. And it's a great tool.
Every so often we have an ask slashdot about how tech types can give back. FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi are two great examples of projects that are out their doing it in a big way and provide a great opportunity for geeks to get on board. If you are really hung up on worrying about Afghanistan, go to the sites of both and see all the other places they are being used in meaningful ways to make people's lives better.
What was the name of the story where the guy stumbled upon a pair of sunglasses that showed the plans for some Asian conglomerate to rebuild a city? (L.A. I think?) I don't know if it was a novel or part of a collection. I'm leaning towards collection - and included was a story about a guy being chased by some killing machine thing that moved slowly but never stopped so he always had to stay on the move. Others were typical cyberpunk stuff - I'm googling away but can't track it down.
You aren't arguing the reverse - you are restating what I already said.
I said if you are not exempt - don't work off the clock.
I said if you are exempt work off the clock but seek an equitable relationship with your employer or find another job.
I wouldn't do it in the first place and I'd bail in the middle if I found out the employer lied. And I know some people end up in that stuff because they either feel that they don't have a choice - or they really don't. So maybe I'm just really lucky rather than smart - either way I've never let an employer take over my entire life and I feel that for the most part I've been able to give fair effort for fair compensation.
If you aren't exempt I'd say any is too much. You are screwing yourself and your fellow employees.
If you are exempt, as TFA says it get's a little murkier. I've happily put in extra time when needed but I expect my employer to be flexible when the heat is off. Otherwise my tendency is to then lean towards voting with my feet. Right now that is easier to say than do for a lot of people. But what is acceptable varies so much from person to person that it is impossible to come up with any kind of general rule to fit all those different cases.