in case he needs to make a sequel to "Midnight Star" On second thought, maybe not. I don't think "New virus makes computers explode" would scan properly. Everybody, now! "Your pet may be an extraterrestrial" "The ghost of Elvis is living in my den" "You can learn to cope with stress" and "You can beat the IRS" and "The incredible frog-boy is on the loose again."
There is also a book based on the (true!) incident. Title: "The Wave - a classroom out of control" Author: Morton Rhue Search your favorite online book store. (This should be easier to find than a 20 year old made for TV movie.) Searching the web, I found that it is required or recommended reading for classes ranging from 8th grade literature to college psychology.
Einstein on the bomb: "Science has brought forth this danger, but the real problem is in the minds and hearts of men. We will not change the hearts of men by mechanisms, but by changing our hearts and speaking bravely. When we are clear in out heart and mind -- only then shall we find courage to surmount the fear which haunts the world."
The Army Weekly Intelligence Summary #81 said of the American Crusade to End Lynching (which Einstein co-chaired with Paul Robeson) "in the view of some of the endorsers, this crusade had all the earmarks of another Communist attempt to instill racial friction"
"Computational Molecular Biology" aka "Bioinformatics" is the making of algorithms used to study genetic codes. I am currently taking a class on this subject, some of the professor's lecture notes are available online in Powerpoint format. Here are some of the resources I learned to use in this class:
Codon Usage Database DNA is encoded as a series of nucleotides (G,A,T,C), but interpereted in groups of three, called "codons." This is a database of the frequencies of all 4^3 combinations for various species.
Info on Blast and FastA We can also compare the genomes of various species to see how similar they are. The above link is a short description of how two of the major programs work, BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) and FastA (not an acroynm). There's some theoretical background on genome sequence comparison on Dr. Just's page.
If you want use BLAST to search for for things with similar genomes, just grab your favorite chunk of DNA and take it on down to the BLAST homepage at the NCBI, and let it search for chunks of DNA that are similar. Don't know any gene sequences for you favorite organism? Then head to NCBI and type its scientific name into the "Search GenBank" box at the top.
If you're tired of this computer stuff, learn how actual DNA is scanned onto microarrays for analysis. Or, better yet, learn to build your own!
(And to think I was browsing Slashdot because I wanted to take a break from studying this.)
In the '50s, when Rep. McGrath was a student, students were subject to random inspections, and not allowed to have visitors of the opposite sex. Then the '60s and '70s came, and with them, US involvement in Vietnam. 18-20 year olds, who did not have the right to vote, were drafted. It occured to a few people (remember "Eve of Destruction"?) that someone who could be drafted is, in fact, an adult. It occured to so many people that they passed a constitutional amendment in 1971 giving 18 year olds the right to vote. Along with this came even more -- if 18 year olds are adults, perhaps we should stop treating 18 year old college students like children. Restrictions on students living in dorms were relaxed. And now, we have a proposal that takes a step back towards treating adults like children. Sheesh.
First (just let me get it out of my system) I would like to say that that ALFdot thing was totally out of line, in how it portrayed the slashdot community as a bunch of b1ff-like error-prone AOL lusers. ENOUGH WITH THE FUD, you Microsoft-loving drones! I don't condone hacking, but someone oughta bust into their server and totally deface the thing.
I wonder if we could run Linux on that kewl ASCII picture, or better yet, get a Beowulf cluster going on ASCII pictures of the whole slashdot crew. (I mean GNU/Linux; sorry.) I'm sure someone here could crack a quick-and-dirty port.
That super toilet is really something else. I'll bet that's the secret prototype someone swiped from the Transmeta labs. As a geek and hacker, I must say that it would be handy.
BTW that Wu-Tang thing was slashdotted awhile back.
Finally, I hope that Jura open sources the shotgun he used to destroy that computer. ------------------------------------------------ - while(Natalie_Portman==petrified) do pushdown(grits, pants); pop(beer_can.top); if(GNOME.coolness > KDE.coolness && vi.utility > emacs.utility && opera.stability > MSie.stability && Zen_Buddhism.oddness > Subgenius.oddness && slashdot.lameness > chips_and_dips.lameness) then drink(beer_can); printf("Linux SUX!!! BSD ROX!!"); end
On the other hand, ladies, if you want to attract nerdy guys, be nice to them. Smile at them; Treat them like they are actual human beings. Take a little interest in the intellectual pursuits they enjoy.
In high school and my first couple years of college, I was very shy and insecure. I'm overgeneralizing a bit, but there were three types of young women in my life:
"Most women" who I avoided interacting with,
"Intelligent women" who I respected, and
"Sweet women" who I simply adored, and looked forward to talking to for even just a moment.
So, to keep nerdy guys away, I guess you should do the opposite: project the attitude of not caring about the intellect, and be rude and uncaring at all times.
"I have a lot of time for the nerds of the world, the ones that don't make the cut. I'd hang out with science kids - they can blow things up! I mean, what's cooler than that?" - Tori Amos
Katz's "open journalism" concept resembles the model used in academic journals. When someone submits a paper to a journal, the editor sends copies of it (paper and/or by email) to other experts and asks them to review it. These experts check for errors, verify references, point out other articles on the same topic that the author might have missed, etc. Furthermore, the author might send copies of it to his/her colleagues before even submitting it to a journal. (I have seen more that one article with the statement "I would like to thank Dr. so-and-so for telling me about this article from five years ago...") So, journal articles are reviewed my many members of the community before publication.
The downside of this is that the review process takes quite awhile. Many months. Sometimes many many months. (It is acceptible, however, to reference not yet published documents in your own papers. Just put it in your references as "Manuscript" instead of giving a publication date, and be ready to correct things if the manuscript gets altered.)
By the way, this fits with descriptions I have seen comparing open-source programming to the academic model -- Katz's "open source journalism" resembles the academic model as well.
n.b.: I am not a professor, just a grad student (aka "Professor-in-Training", aka "Cheap Labor"). But I have been a research assistant to a professor, so I have an idea on how these things are done.
Abian presented the theory that time and mass are equivalent on sci.math and other scientific newsgroups. Basically, he thought that mass is consumed in creating time. Here is a summary of how he came up with this. (No real experimental data -- just a few necessary assumptions mathematically manipulated to make a coherent theory.) He extended his theories further to get the idea that: 1) We should make massive changes to the earth to make it a better place 2) We should bring Venus into a near-earth orbit so we can try out these changes on it first 3) Some of the changes we should make are getting rid of the moon and un-tilting the earth
He also had some non-crackpot mathematical writings on set theory.
For reasons known only to him, James "Kibo" Parry has collected some of Abian's postings, and his own responses to them.
In one of his future histories, sci-fi author and all-around opinionated guy Robert A. Heinlein described some scientists who invented highly efficient bioluminescent chemicals (turned energy into light) and quickly figured out that it worked the other way around as well. So, they patented their idea, and licensed it to anyone who wanted at the rate of a couple bucks per panel. Result: billions of people get a renewable energy source for peanuts, and a few scientests get filthy rich.
Take a step back and look at the parent site, Earthfiles. Take a look at the "Headline News" section. Over half of it seems to be on UFOs and crop circles.
Just think, twenty years from now, we could have geometric patterns of these things laid out in the middle of cornfields!
We seem to be getting few "average" neuroticism results, and many Leia/R2s and many Tuscan Raiders. I wonder if that's a commentary on computer nerds, or just a quirk of the test. For the record, I'm: Open 70 (Wicket) Conscientious 17 (Han Solo) Extraversion 1 (Wompa) Agreeable 63 (Qui-Gon) Neuroticism 18 (Leia)
The new elements are called : Ununhexium and Ununoctium. Sorry, no interesting names for the elements, new elements have been numbered rather than named for quite awhile.
I can see the new MicroFUD campaign now: "Now you can have Linux, who won some artsy-fartsy award from some art snobs in Europe, ... or you can have MS Win00, which won the IndustryGroupInMicro$oft'sPocket Award for Buglessness, Speed, Reliability, and Clever Advertising Campaigns (TM)."
I think in retaliation, we ought to hit Microsoft with a "Shiniest CDs" award for Win98, a "Most Clever use of Font Size Diversity in a Manual" award for Publisher, and a "Most Effective as a Thrown Weapon" award for the packaging and documentation of Office Professional.
"..........priceless at $6295.00 (space travel included for destinations in the continental U.S.A.)"
Cool! I wanna go to Io, one of the moons of Mars! Other people will want to go to Mars itself, or Venus, or that moon of Jupiter that might have life on it, but I want to be able to say "I've been to Io!", and have other people say "Huh?"
Oh, wait it says it's included for destinations in the continental USA. Well, if a relative from Neptune ever wants to come visit me, here's a way to travel cheap.
This reminds me of a book I read on Burma Shave signs. One of the series of signs read "Free Offer! Free Offer!/A Trip to Mars!/For 1000/Empty Jars!/Burma Shave" Some wiseguy who owned a store asked all of his customers to give him all their empties he sent them all in... The Burma Shave company found a town called Mars, or Moers, or something like that in Pennsylvania, and gave him a vacation there for his efforts. It's not exactly a trip into outer space, but at least it's better than their plan B, which was to give him a tour of the local Mars Candy factory.
Slashdot Mirror
in case he needs to make a sequel to "Midnight Star"
On second thought, maybe not. I don't think "New virus makes computers explode" would scan properly.
Everybody, now!
"Your pet may be an extraterrestrial"
"The ghost of Elvis is living in my den"
"You can learn to cope with stress"
and "You can beat the IRS"
and "The incredible frog-boy is on the loose again."
There is also a book based on the (true!) incident.
Title: "The Wave - a classroom out of control"
Author: Morton Rhue
Search your favorite online book store. (This should be easier to find than a 20 year old made for TV movie.) Searching the web, I found that it is required or recommended reading for classes ranging from 8th grade literature to college psychology.
Einstein on the bomb:
"Science has brought forth this danger, but the real problem is in the minds and hearts of men. We will not change the hearts of men by mechanisms, but by changing our hearts and speaking bravely. When we are clear in out heart and mind -- only then shall we find courage to surmount the fear which haunts the world."
The Army Weekly Intelligence Summary #81 said of the American Crusade to End Lynching (which Einstein co-chaired with Paul Robeson) "in the view of some of the endorsers, this crusade had all the earmarks of another Communist attempt to instill racial friction"
Codon Usage Database
DNA is encoded as a series of nucleotides (G,A,T,C), but interpereted in groups of three, called "codons." This is a database of the frequencies of all 4^3 combinations for various species.
Info on Blast and FastA
We can also compare the genomes of various species to see how similar they are. The above link is a short description of how two of the major programs work, BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) and FastA (not an acroynm). There's some theoretical background on genome sequence comparison on Dr. Just's page.
If you want use BLAST to search for for things with similar genomes, just grab your favorite chunk of DNA and take it on down to the BLAST homepage at the NCBI, and let it search for chunks of DNA that are similar.
Don't know any gene sequences for you favorite organism? Then head to NCBI and type its scientific name into the "Search GenBank" box at the top.
If you're tired of this computer stuff, learn how actual DNA is scanned onto microarrays for analysis. Or, better yet, learn to build your own!
(And to think I was browsing Slashdot because I wanted to take a break from studying this.)
In the '50s, when Rep. McGrath was a student, students were subject to random inspections, and not allowed to have visitors of the opposite sex. Then the '60s and '70s came, and with them, US involvement in Vietnam. 18-20 year olds, who did not have the right to vote, were drafted. It occured to a few people (remember "Eve of Destruction"?) that someone who could be drafted is, in fact, an adult. It occured to so many people that they passed a constitutional amendment in 1971 giving 18 year olds the right to vote. Along with this came even more -- if 18 year olds are adults, perhaps we should stop treating 18 year old college students like children. Restrictions on students living in dorms were relaxed.
And now, we have a proposal that takes a step back towards treating adults like children. Sheesh.
First (just let me get it out of my system) I would like to say that that ALFdot thing was totally out of line, in how it portrayed the slashdot community as a bunch of b1ff-like error-prone AOL lusers. ENOUGH WITH THE FUD, you Microsoft-loving drones! I don't condone hacking, but someone oughta bust into their server and totally deface the thing.
- -
I wonder if we could run Linux on that kewl ASCII picture, or better yet, get a Beowulf cluster going on ASCII pictures of the whole slashdot crew. (I mean GNU/Linux; sorry.) I'm sure someone here could crack a quick-and-dirty port.
That super toilet is really something else. I'll bet that's the secret prototype someone swiped from the Transmeta labs. As a geek and hacker, I must say that it would be handy.
BTW that Wu-Tang thing was slashdotted awhile back.
Finally, I hope that Jura open sources the shotgun he used to destroy that computer.
-----------------------------------------------
while(Natalie_Portman==petrified)
do
pushdown(grits, pants);
pop(beer_can.top);
if(GNOME.coolness > KDE.coolness && vi.utility > emacs.utility && opera.stability > MSie.stability && Zen_Buddhism.oddness > Subgenius.oddness && slashdot.lameness > chips_and_dips.lameness) then drink(beer_can);
printf("Linux SUX!!! BSD ROX!!");
end
In high school and my first couple years of college, I was very shy and insecure. I'm overgeneralizing a bit, but there were three types of young women in my life:
"Most women" who I avoided interacting with,
"Intelligent women" who I respected, and
"Sweet women" who I simply adored, and looked forward to talking to for even just a moment.
So, to keep nerdy guys away, I guess you should do the opposite: project the attitude of not caring about the intellect, and be rude and uncaring at all times.
"I have a lot of time for the nerds of the world, the ones that don't make the cut. I'd hang out with science kids - they can blow things up! I mean, what's cooler than that?" - Tori Amos
Katz's "open journalism" concept resembles the model used in academic journals. When someone submits a paper to a journal, the editor sends copies of it (paper and/or by email) to other experts and asks them to review it. These experts check for errors, verify references, point out other articles on the same topic that the author might have missed, etc. Furthermore, the author might send copies of it to his/her colleagues before even submitting it to a journal. (I have seen more that one article with the statement "I would like to thank Dr. so-and-so for telling me about this article from five years ago ...") So, journal articles are reviewed my many members of the community before publication.
The downside of this is that the review process takes quite awhile. Many months. Sometimes many many months. (It is acceptible, however, to reference not yet published documents in your own papers. Just put it in your references as "Manuscript" instead of giving a publication date, and be ready to correct things if the manuscript gets altered.)
By the way, this fits with descriptions I have seen comparing open-source programming to the academic model -- Katz's "open source journalism" resembles the academic model as well.
n.b.: I am not a professor, just a grad student (aka "Professor-in-Training", aka "Cheap Labor"). But I have been a research assistant to a professor, so I have an idea on how these things are done.
Abian presented the theory that time and mass are equivalent on sci.math and other scientific newsgroups. Basically, he thought that mass is consumed in creating time. Here is a summary of how he came up with this. (No real experimental data -- just a few necessary assumptions mathematically manipulated to make a coherent theory.) He extended his theories further to get the idea that:
1) We should make massive changes to the earth to make it a better place
2) We should bring Venus into a near-earth orbit so we can try out these changes on it first
3) Some of the changes we should make are getting rid of the moon and un-tilting the earth
He also had some non-crackpot mathematical writings on set theory.
For reasons known only to him, James "Kibo" Parry has collected some of Abian's postings, and his own responses to them.
In one of his future histories, sci-fi author and all-around opinionated guy Robert A. Heinlein described some scientists who invented highly efficient bioluminescent chemicals (turned energy into light) and quickly figured out that it worked the other way around as well. So, they patented their idea, and licensed it to anyone who wanted at the rate of a couple bucks per panel. Result: billions of people get a renewable energy source for peanuts, and a few scientests get filthy rich.
Steve Jackson Games has some information available on the GURPS Cyberpunk raid at their web site. This Secret Service raid was the first case taken on by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Take a step back and look at the parent site, Earthfiles. Take a look at the "Headline News" section. Over half of it seems to be on UFOs and crop circles.
Just think, twenty years from now, we could have geometric patterns of these things laid out in the middle of cornfields!
We seem to be getting few "average" neuroticism results, and many Leia/R2s and many Tuscan Raiders. I wonder if that's a commentary on computer nerds, or just a quirk of the test.
For the record, I'm:
Open 70 (Wicket)
Conscientious 17 (Han Solo)
Extraversion 1 (Wompa)
Agreeable 63 (Qui-Gon)
Neuroticism 18 (Leia)
The new elements are called : Ununhexium and Ununoctium. Sorry, no interesting names for the elements, new elements have been numbered rather than named for quite awhile.
I can see the new MicroFUD campaign now:
"Now you can have Linux, who won some artsy-fartsy award from some art snobs in Europe,
... or you can have MS Win00, which won the IndustryGroupInMicro$oft'sPocket Award for Buglessness, Speed, Reliability, and Clever Advertising Campaigns (TM)."
I think in retaliation, we ought to hit Microsoft with a "Shiniest CDs" award for Win98, a "Most Clever use of Font Size Diversity in a Manual" award for Publisher, and a "Most Effective as a Thrown Weapon" award for the packaging and documentation of Office Professional.
"..........priceless at $6295.00 (space travel included for destinations in the continental U.S.A.)"
...
Cool! I wanna go to Io, one of the moons of Mars! Other people will want to go to Mars itself, or Venus, or that moon of Jupiter that might have life on it, but I want to be able to say "I've been to Io!", and have other people say "Huh?"
Oh, wait it says it's included for destinations in the continental USA. Well, if a relative from Neptune ever wants to come visit me, here's a way to travel cheap.
This reminds me of a book I read on Burma Shave signs. One of the series of signs read "Free Offer! Free Offer!/A Trip to Mars!/For 1000/Empty Jars!/Burma Shave" Some wiseguy who owned a store asked all of his customers to give him all their empties he sent them all in
The Burma Shave company found a town called Mars, or Moers, or something like that in Pennsylvania, and gave him a vacation there for his efforts.
It's not exactly a trip into outer space, but at least it's better than their plan B, which was to give him a tour of the local Mars Candy factory.