This letter is pretty dumb. So, you might need to put it in the bed of a pickup truck with an inverter, but you can easilly pick up a Q-switched pulsed Nd:YAG laser. I see a couple on Ebay right now.
Retinal damage may initially go undetected because retina lacks pain sensory nerves. Photoacoustic retinal damage may be associated with an audible "pop" at the time of exposure. Visual disorientation due to retinal damage may not be apparent to the operator until considerable thermal damage has occurred.
Even a small Q-switched YAG laser (~3W avg power) can cause eye damage at 1000 feet away.
Of course,.50 cal might be a better and cheaper option, but would be easier to spot due to noise.
I have conducted chats between a coffeehouse in the US and the Baghdad Internet Cafe using Yahoo! Messenger. The video is webcam-like, and the audio is actually quite good. Plus you can always type if you get into a connectivity jam.
Now, come on, a young person of my age should see 1% real rate of return from Social Security.
Unless, of course, they "save it", for example raising the retirement age, cutting benefits, raising payroll taxes, or raising income taxes to pay from the general fund. In which case, I'll just see 0% return...
In Virginia on the evening of August 21, 1831, a band of 6 slaves lead by Nat Turner started their crusade against bondage, killing a total of 57 whites and attracting up to 70 fellow slaves to the conspiracy during the next few days. On the 24th, hundreds of militia and volunteers stopped the rebels near Jerusalem, the county seat, killing at least 40 and probably nearer 100. Turner was hanged on November 11.
Neither the Atlantic no the Pacific appeared to be a significant barrier to projection of military force during World War II...the US projected it in both directions, and achieved its objectives.
Unfortunately, China plans to build 562 new coal power plants. Between China, India, and the US, 850 new coal-fired power plants will emit as much as an extra 2.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2012.
In contrast, Kyoto countries by that year are supposed to have cut their CO2 emissions by only 483 million tons....
The average American viewpoint is not that "war is never necessary," but instead, "live free, or die."
That may be why the US has never been devastated many times...and also why millions of people in Afghanistan and Iraq are not living under brutal dictatorships today.
Europeans should be happy that they can free-ride on the US efforts such as the destruction of the Communist Empire and the upcoming end of Middle Eastern and Chinese dictatorship.
I remember driving north from Corpus Christi - you'd see the oncoming headlights 5 minutes before you'd pass an oncoming car, and you both are doing 70! Talk about a snoozer of a drive.
I can assure you that if you speed on the privately owned Dulles Greenway, you will get pulled over by the Virginia State Police, as there are ones assigned to the road.
The speeding laws in Virginia talk about speed limits on "limited access highways with divided roadways," which appear to cover both private and public roads meeting the description. A privately-owned race track, for instance, is not a "highway," but the Dulles Greenway is.
"In November 1970, for example, a tropical cyclone, combined with a high tide, struck southeastern Bangladesh, leaving more than 300,000 people dead and 1.3 million homeless. In May 1985, a comparable cyclone and storm surge hit the same area. "This time," according to IDNDR Director Dr. Olavi Elo, "there was better local dissemination of disaster warnings and the people were better prepared to respond to them. The loss of life, although still high, was 10,000 or about 3% of that in 1970." When a devastating cyclone struck the same area of Bangladesh in May 1994, fewer than 1,000 people died."
"The dramatic difference, according to Roundtable participant Mohammed Saidur Rahman, Director of the Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre, was a new early-warning system that allows radio stations to alert people in low-lying areas."
I have a suggestion for government officials of countries with a shoreline - watch USGS Earthquake Hazards web site. When you see a quake that is over Magnitude 6.5 in your ocean basin, consider a possible tsunami threat.
There really is no research showing global sea-level rise (beyond the average 2 mm per year for at least the last century or so).
You may personally be experiencing a localized land sinking, or you may be experiencing an anthropogenic reduction in silt flow to keep estuaries built.
We are getting both in the Chesapeake Bay area of the US east coast, thus losing many islands and marshes. The Netherlands has some ground sinking as much as 9 cm per year. How they are going to keep parts of that country afloat against nature will be interesting to see. But I suspect they will remain rich enough to do it.
1) There is zero evidence of actual rising global sea levels (yet)
2) Actual global warming has consistantly been below modeled predictions
3) Non-athropogenic climate change in the past has been severe (human species-threatening)
4) The key to human survivabiity of climate change (anthropogenic or non-anthropogenic) is technology. The US often is hit by hurricanes that would kill tens of thousands if they hit a less-developed country such as India, for example, yet often fewer then 100 Americans die from these storms.
5) The key to technology is economy. Advanced economies create advanced technology
Putting it all together, we have to answer the question - to what level should reducing global greenhouse gas emissions (methane and CO2) be balanced with the need for global economic growth, keeping in mind that we really are not sure how anthropogenic current climate change is, we are not really sure how bad it will be and what the effects will be, and that we risk much survivability of any climate change (anthropogenic or not) by slowing global economic growth and stifling global technological improvement.
Re:Good Economists and Bad Economists
on
Emergence
·
· Score: 1
US government spending (at all levels, not just federal) as a percentage of GDP is about 30%. Of that, about 5% of US GDP is Social Security income redistribution.
Good Economists and Bad Economists
on
Emergence
·
· Score: 1
I'm surprised about the statement regarding economists supporting centralized planning of economies. Good economists understand that the free market is an emergent system, and planned centralized economies have a long history of failure.
Of course a lot of socialist economists get the press, because there are so many liberal leftists in academia.
Why people who believe in evolution and not in creationism yet don't believe in the emergent free market but instead believe in central socialist planning is beyond me.
Edison schools operate with tax dollars. They are simply private contractors to the local government educational system. I wouldn't say they represent a serious change in the socialist monopoly system of US public schooling, but possibly open up some opportunities for student school choice and end-running government bureacracy. And generally Edison schools are "set up to fail" where possible by local educational unions and school boards.
Nonetheless, the Edison Project continues...some data from their most recent report:
Edison students posted an average gain of 6.7 percentage points between 2002 and 2003. This gain rate is more than two and nearly three times the respective district and state gain rates where those Edison partnership schools are located.
On the basis of average achievement gains at each school across the system -- 82 percent -- are fulfilling their primary mission: raising student achievement.
The average gain rates of Edison partnership schools with predominantly African-American students (90 percent or higher) are nearly identical to the rates of gain across all Edison schools.
For the eighth consecutive year, parents are over-whelmingly satisfied with their Edison schools. In an independent survey, 85 percent of Edison parents rate their school an A or B, with a majority of 51 percent giving their schools an A.
Slashdot Mirror
This letter is pretty dumb. So, you might need to put it in the bed of a pickup truck with an inverter, but you can easilly pick up a Q-switched pulsed Nd:YAG laser. I see a couple on Ebay right now.
.50 cal might be a better and cheaper option, but would be easier to spot due to noise.
Retinal damage may initially go undetected because retina lacks pain sensory nerves. Photoacoustic retinal damage may be associated with an audible "pop" at the time of exposure. Visual disorientation due to retinal damage may not be apparent to the operator until considerable thermal damage has occurred.
Even a small Q-switched YAG laser (~3W avg power) can cause eye damage at 1000 feet away.
Of course,
I have conducted chats between a coffeehouse in the US and the Baghdad Internet Cafe using Yahoo! Messenger. The video is webcam-like, and the audio is actually quite good. Plus you can always type if you get into a connectivity jam.
Now, come on, a young person of my age should see 1% real rate of return from Social Security.
Unless, of course, they "save it", for example raising the retirement age, cutting benefits, raising payroll taxes, or raising income taxes to pay from the general fund. In which case, I'll just see 0% return...
In Virginia on the evening of August 21, 1831, a band of 6 slaves lead by Nat Turner started their crusade against bondage, killing a total of 57 whites and attracting up to 70 fellow slaves to the conspiracy during the next few days. On the 24th, hundreds of militia and volunteers stopped the rebels near Jerusalem, the county seat, killing at least 40 and probably nearer 100. Turner was hanged on November 11.
Any human being given the choice to die this day (as in gun to the head), or live as a slave to fight another day will do the latter.
Why do Iraqis line up to join the Iraqi Police?
Please, dont even think about leaving the US. Ever
Until I can find another country with a high degree of personal and political freedom, a good economy, and a low tax rate, I won't!
Neither the Atlantic no the Pacific appeared to be a significant barrier to projection of military force during World War II...the US projected it in both directions, and achieved its objectives.
Unfortunately, China plans to build 562 new coal power plants. Between China, India, and the US, 850 new coal-fired power plants will emit as much as an extra 2.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2012.
In contrast, Kyoto countries by that year are supposed to have cut their CO2 emissions by only 483 million tons....
The average American viewpoint is not that "war is never necessary," but instead, "live free, or die."
That may be why the US has never been devastated many times...and also why millions of people in Afghanistan and Iraq are not living under brutal dictatorships today.
Europeans should be happy that they can free-ride on the US efforts such as the destruction of the Communist Empire and the upcoming end of Middle Eastern and Chinese dictatorship.
I remember driving north from Corpus Christi - you'd see the oncoming headlights 5 minutes before you'd pass an oncoming car, and you both are doing 70! Talk about a snoozer of a drive.
I can assure you that if you speed on the privately owned Dulles Greenway, you will get pulled over by the Virginia State Police, as there are ones assigned to the road.
The speeding laws in Virginia talk about speed limits on "limited access highways with divided roadways," which appear to cover both private and public roads meeting the description. A privately-owned race track, for instance, is not a "highway," but the Dulles Greenway is.
The government seizes my private property (part of my paycheck) and makes it available to use by the private sector (retired people).
"In November 1970, for example, a tropical cyclone, combined with a high tide, struck southeastern Bangladesh, leaving more than 300,000 people dead and 1.3 million homeless. In May 1985, a comparable cyclone and storm surge hit the same area. "This time," according to IDNDR Director Dr. Olavi Elo, "there was better local dissemination of disaster warnings and the people were better prepared to respond to them. The loss of life, although still high, was 10,000 or about 3% of that in 1970." When a devastating cyclone struck the same area of Bangladesh in May 1994, fewer than 1,000 people died."
"The dramatic difference, according to Roundtable participant Mohammed Saidur Rahman, Director of the Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre, was a new early-warning system that allows radio stations to alert people in low-lying areas."
source
I have a suggestion for government officials of countries with a shoreline - watch USGS Earthquake Hazards web site. When you see a quake that is over Magnitude 6.5 in your ocean basin, consider a possible tsunami threat.
On this page there are photos of exosuits which were at Robonexus in October in a mecha lifting contest.
Mechanicus is another home-made exoskeleton from Austin, TX.
There really is no research showing global sea-level rise (beyond the average 2 mm per year for at least the last century or so).
You may personally be experiencing a localized land sinking, or you may be experiencing an anthropogenic reduction in silt flow to keep estuaries built.
We are getting both in the Chesapeake Bay area of the US east coast, thus losing many islands and marshes. The Netherlands has some ground sinking as much as 9 cm per year. How they are going to keep parts of that country afloat against nature will be interesting to see. But I suspect they will remain rich enough to do it.
By the way, if you want some good info on home hacking of DNA, proteins, etc. check out DNAhack.com.
I assume you dislike PHP. What would you recommend instead?
Zope
I have gotten really burnt from PHP security-wise several times. I am a big believer in Zope, which appears to have much better security auditing.
1) There is zero evidence of actual rising global sea levels (yet)
2) Actual global warming has consistantly been below modeled predictions
3) Non-athropogenic climate change in the past has been severe (human species-threatening)
4) The key to human survivabiity of climate change (anthropogenic or non-anthropogenic) is technology. The US often is hit by hurricanes that would kill tens of thousands if they hit a less-developed country such as India, for example, yet often fewer then 100 Americans die from these storms.
5) The key to technology is economy. Advanced economies create advanced technology
Putting it all together, we have to answer the question - to what level should reducing global greenhouse gas emissions (methane and CO2) be balanced with the need for global economic growth, keeping in mind that we really are not sure how anthropogenic current climate change is, we are not really sure how bad it will be and what the effects will be, and that we risk much survivability of any climate change (anthropogenic or not) by slowing global economic growth and stifling global technological improvement.
US government spending (at all levels, not just federal) as a percentage of GDP is about 30%. Of that, about 5% of US GDP is Social Security income redistribution.
I'm surprised about the statement regarding economists supporting centralized planning of economies. Good economists understand that the free market is an emergent system, and planned centralized economies have a long history of failure.
Of course a lot of socialist economists get the press, because there are so many liberal leftists in academia.
Why people who believe in evolution and not in creationism yet don't believe in the emergent free market but instead believe in central socialist planning is beyond me.
Edison schools operate with tax dollars. They are simply private contractors to the local government educational system. I wouldn't say they represent a serious change in the socialist monopoly system of US public schooling, but possibly open up some opportunities for student school choice and end-running government bureacracy. And generally Edison schools are "set up to fail" where possible by local educational unions and school boards.
Nonetheless, the Edison Project continues...some data from their most recent report:
Edison students posted an average gain of 6.7 percentage points between 2002 and 2003. This gain rate is more than two and nearly three times the respective district and state gain rates where those Edison partnership schools are located.
On the basis of average achievement gains at each school across the system -- 82 percent -- are fulfilling their primary mission: raising student achievement.
The average gain rates of Edison partnership schools with predominantly African-American students (90 percent or higher) are nearly identical to the rates of gain across all Edison schools.
For the eighth consecutive year, parents are over-whelmingly satisfied with their Edison schools. In an independent survey, 85 percent of Edison parents rate their school an A or B, with a majority of 51 percent giving their schools an A.
I hear the best techno MP3's at go.mobi
US Schools: nearly 100% government funded, nearly the most expensive in the world, good yet not great results.
US Health Care: 50% government funded, the most expensive in the world, good yet not great results.
LASIK: Almost 0% government funded, gets better and cheaper every year.