I am British scientist, but work in a petroleum engineering department at a US university. I've never seen such an illogical mix of units - every formula comes in a plethora of versions with different conversion factors to account for historical "field" units. Petroleum engineers are so used to seeing random conversion factors in the middle of equations that when I presented Darcy's law in SI units a colleague couldn't believe it was correct until I worked through it with him. I am happy to use Imperial (not "English" as they call them here) units for day to day purposes but the inclusion of compound conversion factors in an equation only serves to obscure what is being represented.
And while I'm ranting anyway, the ISO paper system just makes sense, damn it.
I have never heard of Biblical Young Earth Creationists being physically attacked for their beliefs. Laughed at, yes - it's not something that lends itself to rational debate - but it's also not the kind of thing that tends to end in fisticuffs.
As for "just a guy with a doggie..."
Kayla is a three-year-old Dutch Shepherd and she was imported from Belgium at one year of age by the law enforcement K-9 training facility in Indiana. There she underwent extensive training in bomb detection and patrol techniques.
I have been to a lot of museums (my SO works at a Natural History Museum) and I never encountered one before that needed attack dogs. You might think twice before you visit and express a different viewpoint to the one they are hawking.
Evolution of modern whales from land-dwelling ancestors has been pretty well documented, with fossils showing the loss of the hind limbs (I seem to recall that Sperm Whales still retain a small pelvic girdle) as well as the migration of the nostrils from the tip of the snout to the blowhole on top of the head.
If you are near one of the partner museums you might visit the Explore Evolution exhibition (Disclosure: My Significant Other is Education Director at one of the museums).
Low voltage cables running to consumers are generally run in conduit. High voltage underground cables in the UK are insulated from the soil and groundwater using a wrapping of paper tape impregnated with cable oil, and surrounded by lead or aluminium and an outer polyethylene sheath. The oil is mostly a mixture of linear alkylbenzenes aka LAB - the main use for which is in the manufacture of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate detergents. The oil is maintained under pressure to prevent the ingress of water and can leak into soil if the cable is damaged or a cable joint fails. Once in the soil, it requires oxygen to be broken down effectively. While it can be broken down by anaerobic bacteria, this has only been shown in the laboratory and if alternate carbon sources are available they will be used before the LAB - this formed the basis of my MSc and PhD research. Newer cables are being insulated with the solid, highly crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) but it is not currently possible to interface the two types of insulation so for the forseeable future, repairs to cables will be with LAB.
The crux of Darwinism is precisely that evolution is undirected, stemming from *random* mutations.
... which are then selected by the environment in a decidedly *non*-random fashion.
We know that evolution can help an organism adapt... and, as the article shows, we are beginning to show that organisms do this in accordance to a pattern
Absolutely. The pattern is that adaptations that are good for survival and reproduction in the prevailing environment are successful and will proliferate within a population, while those that do not will become less common. The rate at which the adaptations become common depends on factors such as reproduction rate (most bacteria reproduce very quickly) and how intense the selection pressure is (surviving/not surviving in near-boiling water is a pretty intense selection pressure).
There are many mechanistic nuances to exactly how mutations occur, and what factors affect their selection and there is healthy scientific debate over the details, but the basic idea remains - it's not rocket science.
or (dare I say) a design.
Say it all you like - it won't make it true. Or science.
Caution, WinZip 10.0, when it is released, will not be a free upgrade. If you are a registered user of a previous version of WinZip and install WinZip 10.0, you will no longer be registered.
So much for those of us who supported them back in the mid-nineties by paying for a copy - we don't even get the "Professional" features.
I am afraid I must not have made myself clear. The parent post used a blatantly offensive racial stereotype - let's not pretend that we do not know what "ninux" meant. I agree that "Redneck" is just as offensive, and for the same reason - and that was precisely my point. I had hoped that the average Slashdot poster was above such behaviour - and I remain hopeful since the worst offenders do seem to post anonymously.
Sorry if I caused any offence myself - that was exactly the kind of thing I was trying to stand up against.
Interesting that this was posted AC. Maybe Redneck Linux or Bigot Linux would be more to the poster's liking. And, apparently, whoever modded it +1 funny.
Slashdot Mirror
You mean 1 (you forgot the parity bit).
Do NOT look through binoculars^W telescope at secret government laser satellite with remaining eye.
Just being facetious here, but what is the weight of a function?
I am British scientist, but work in a petroleum engineering department at a US university. I've never seen such an illogical mix of units - every formula comes in a plethora of versions with different conversion factors to account for historical "field" units. Petroleum engineers are so used to seeing random conversion factors in the middle of equations that when I presented Darcy's law in SI units a colleague couldn't believe it was correct until I worked through it with him. I am happy to use Imperial (not "English" as they call them here) units for day to day purposes but the inclusion of compound conversion factors in an equation only serves to obscure what is being represented.
And while I'm ranting anyway, the ISO paper system just makes sense, damn it.
Don't you mean 0.0508 x 0.116 m?
As for "just a guy with a doggie..."
Nice puppy.
I have been to a lot of museums (my SO works at a Natural History Museum) and I never encountered one before that needed attack dogs. You might think twice before you visit and express a different viewpoint to the one they are hawking.
That's "The Naked Civil Servant".
Why are people moderating the parent Informative rather than Funny? Is it supposed to be an ironic act and I'm just not getting it?
Evolution of modern whales from land-dwelling ancestors has been pretty well documented, with fossils showing the loss of the hind limbs (I seem to recall that Sperm Whales still retain a small pelvic girdle) as well as the migration of the nostrils from the tip of the snout to the blowhole on top of the head.
If you are near one of the partner museums you might visit the Explore Evolution exhibition (Disclosure: My Significant Other is Education Director at one of the museums).
...not to lick your dog's backside.
That's why they can prise my 1980's Model M from my cold, dead, RSI-ridden hands.
Well stap me vitals - so it is.
... sorry about the submarines.
It sounded so unlikely that I only half read TFA. Thanks for the correction.
By the way, as a Briton (with a Canadian gf)
Not a Wankel, a radial piston engine. Completely different animal.
The book mentioned in TFA is Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition - Science Slightly Over the Edge by Ed Regis. It's a little dated now but it is an entertaining introduction to fields such as cryonics and nanotechnology.
Low voltage cables running to consumers are generally run in conduit. High voltage underground cables in the UK are insulated from the soil and groundwater using a wrapping of paper tape impregnated with cable oil, and surrounded by lead or aluminium and an outer polyethylene sheath. The oil is mostly a mixture of linear alkylbenzenes aka LAB - the main use for which is in the manufacture of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate detergents. The oil is maintained under pressure to prevent the ingress of water and can leak into soil if the cable is damaged or a cable joint fails. Once in the soil, it requires oxygen to be broken down effectively. While it can be broken down by anaerobic bacteria, this has only been shown in the laboratory and if alternate carbon sources are available they will be used before the LAB - this formed the basis of my MSc and PhD research. Newer cables are being insulated with the solid, highly crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) but it is not currently possible to interface the two types of insulation so for the forseeable future, repairs to cables will be with LAB.
Absolutely. The pattern is that adaptations that are good for survival and reproduction in the prevailing environment are successful and will proliferate within a population, while those that do not will become less common. The rate at which the adaptations become common depends on factors such as reproduction rate (most bacteria reproduce very quickly) and how intense the selection pressure is (surviving/not surviving in near-boiling water is a pretty intense selection pressure).
There are many mechanistic nuances to exactly how mutations occur, and what factors affect their selection and there is healthy scientific debate over the details, but the basic idea remains - it's not rocket science.
Say it all you like - it won't make it true. Or science.
No - I tried it today and it Just Works(TM).
For more interesting sights see Google Sightseeing.
From TFA:
Caution, WinZip 10.0, when it is released, will not be a free upgrade. If you are a registered user of a previous version of WinZip and install WinZip 10.0, you will no longer be registered.
So much for those of us who supported them back in the mid-nineties by paying for a copy - we don't even get the "Professional" features.
Way to change your terms and conditions, WinZip.
See the big Monty Python foot? It means "It's funny - laugh". Why does Slashdot seem to have lost its sense of humour today?
Um - that is a millipede. The legs are a dead giveaway.
Sorry if I caused any offence myself - that was exactly the kind of thing I was trying to stand up against.
Interesting that this was posted AC. Maybe Redneck Linux or Bigot Linux would be more to the poster's liking. And, apparently, whoever modded it +1 funny.
Honest John's Instant Ice - just add water and pop it in the freezer.