On poverty... it is much worse today... "In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty in the United States, including almost 20% of American children,[7] up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in poverty.[8] California has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.[9]
In 2011 extreme poverty in the United States, meaning households living on less than $2 per day before government benefits, was double 1996 levels at 1.5 million households, including 2.8 million children.[10] This would be roughly 1.2% of the US population in 2011, presuming a mean household size of 2.55 people. In 2011, child poverty reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels.[11] In 2009 the number of people who were in poverty was approaching 1960s levels that led to the national War on Poverty.[12]" - Wikipedia
People in poverty are not focusing on "wants"... they are just trying to meet basic needs. Interesting fact... 44% of people in homeless shelters have a job. Surely wages are too low.
I remember a long time ago when I was young that some people were predicting a future where due to technology advances you only had to work a small number of hours to meet your basic needs. People were worried about what we would do with all that leisure time. Of course, this was naive and while it is true that technology advances have made it possible to produce much more with less labor, all of the productivity gains have been captured by the corporations and the 1%. We now have a situation where there is a surplus of capital controlled by the rich 1% and corporations and also a surplus of workers due to gains in productivity. Unfortunately, this leads to low wages and not enough jobs. Poverty and social unrest are the result. One would think that different approach to society would correct these imbalances by first raising the pay for work which would allow people to work fewer hours and create more jobs. Also, the idle capital of the rich and corporations could be harnessed (taxed) to improve infrastructure and social services. We could have a utopia if the capitalists weren't so firmly in control of our government. Instead we have a dystopia with poverty, disease and social unrest... perhaps that could lead to a better government but it will be messy and the outcome is far from certain.
The new IPS TFT screens are much better than OLEDs. My new phone with IPS is very readable even in direct sunlight whereas my old OLED screen is unreadable in direct sunlight. (Side by side comparison).
Most of the time the police are on a fishing expedition for suspects. All "witnesses" are potential suspects. They let you talk until you say enough to become a suspect. They look for small inconsistencies and imprecision in what you say and then use that against you. You can then be charged with lying to the police even if you have nothing to do with the crime. A lot of criminal convictions are not about the crime but about lying to the authorities. Best don't say anything.
The wrist watch was created because it was a pain to keep taking your pocket watch out to check the time. We've regressed... now we have to take our phones out of our pockets to check the time. Hence, the smart watch.
Lots of people have very expensive watches on their wrists and don't seem to worried about them getting damaged or catching hair. Carrying a phone in your pocket to tell the time is like carrying a pocket watch. Do you like pocket watches?
I think people want a smart watch for the same reason they want a wrist watch... they don't want to have to keep taking the phone out of their pocket to check for messages, etc. How many people do you know who still use a pocket watch?
I checked out California's exchange web site and it's running fast. No problem registering or logging in and it's well designed to let you see your options. California is a state which is completely in control of the Democrats. We don't have the tea baggers who are trying to destroy government here. (I think there are a few but we ignore them and they are powerless.) Government (and most other things) work better here.
Basic reading and comprehension. Try reading it slowly (without moving your lips). Have you ever heard of a "control" group? (Hint: It's a basic part of the scientific method)
Science has an axe to grind here, obviously, and this "experiment" is seriously biased. It does not appear that it was submitted to any closed, for-profit journals (like Science). It would have been much more interesting to see how many of them would have accepted the paper.
Not so much Samsung in the Nexus dept. Nexus One was by HTC Nexus 4 was by LG Nexus 7 is by Asus Nexus 10 is by Asus Anyway, it doesn't matter to me who makes the phone, I look at the features, OS and apps. Samsung has done a good job of marketing the Galaxy series. Some people buy because of good marketing. I still hate it when the manufacturer or the telecoms giant mess with the interface and applications... it's usually not an improvement.
Smith only mentions "pursuing his own interest" and makes no mention of the different forces affecting that interest. He does not exclude government (or specifically include any other force). He only states that that the public interest is promoted by pursuing his own interest. Pursuit of "own interest" will, of necessity, include all forces, free market, government, social, etc.
"Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it... He intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for society that it was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."
Nuclear power has had a magnificent run of externalizing most of its costs (federal liability insurance, all of their basic research costs, uranium mining and refining costs and financial subsidies for construction). In spite of all of these subsidies and benefits, it still is not "economic". The nuclear power has a negative learning curve when the cost of plants has been rising for years... unlike most industries such as solar and wind where the costs have been dropping dramatically.
The "invisible hand" includes all of the factors which influence decisions. This includes both private profit motives as well as government regulations. So in the case of fracking, the fact that the government has created a favorable legal environment (loose regulations, shielding from liability, tax incentives, etc.) all factor into the decision by the private sector to invest in this profitable activity. The fact that the government is doing a poor job of regulation (exemption from clean water laws, for example) helps push the decision to drill and frack.
I think the mechanism is "endocrine disruptor". These synthetic chemicals mimic naturally occurring endocrines by binding to endocrine receptors. This has been clearly demonstrated. It is disingenuous to say that "there is no known mechanism" in the literature. There have been thousands of studies and there is a clear scientific consensus.
I'm not sure that it would be "easy" to treat runoff. The article points out that the synthetic steroids are changed in daylight but then reform at night. It also points out that we can't assume that the "broken down" molecules are safe. Currently they only test for the specific original molecule but it could be that the broken down molecules are also bioactive. They recommend using a bioassay (which tests the water on living systems) rather than just a chemical assay for the original compound. Another problem in treating the runoff is that it comes from cattle roaming farms of many acres and seeps into the ground. It's not just a single pipe with effluent.
Slashdot Mirror
I have Microsoft Sync in my car and it is a useless POS. Doesn't sync. Odd options. Doesn't play music from the USB reliably.
Absolutely worthless.
Oracle also has a stranglehold on South Africa government.
I have seen their "sales" effort in person and it is impressive.
On poverty... it is much worse today...
"In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty in the United States, including almost 20% of American children,[7] up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in poverty.[8] California has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.[9]
In 2011 extreme poverty in the United States, meaning households living on less than $2 per day before government benefits, was double 1996 levels at 1.5 million households, including 2.8 million children.[10] This would be roughly 1.2% of the US population in 2011, presuming a mean household size of 2.55 people. In 2011, child poverty reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels.[11] In 2009 the number of people who were in poverty was approaching 1960s levels that led to the national War on Poverty.[12]" - Wikipedia
People in poverty are not focusing on "wants"... they are just trying to meet basic needs.
Interesting fact... 44% of people in homeless shelters have a job. Surely wages are too low.
I remember a long time ago when I was young that some people were predicting a future where due to technology advances you only had to work a small number of hours to meet your basic needs. People were worried about what we would do with all that leisure time.
Of course, this was naive and while it is true that technology advances have made it possible to produce much more with less labor, all of the productivity gains have been captured by the corporations and the 1%.
We now have a situation where there is a surplus of capital controlled by the rich 1% and corporations and also a surplus of workers due to gains in productivity. Unfortunately, this leads to low wages and not enough jobs. Poverty and social unrest are the result.
One would think that different approach to society would correct these imbalances by first raising the pay for work which would allow people to work fewer hours and create more jobs. Also, the idle capital of the rich and corporations could be harnessed (taxed) to improve infrastructure and social services.
We could have a utopia if the capitalists weren't so firmly in control of our government. Instead we have a dystopia with poverty, disease and social unrest... perhaps that could lead to a better government but it will be messy and the outcome is far from certain.
The new IPS TFT screens are much better than OLEDs.
My new phone with IPS is very readable even in direct sunlight whereas my old OLED screen is unreadable in direct sunlight. (Side by side comparison).
OLEDs wash out in bright light (like outdoors).
They also "burn in" images just like old CRTs.
The Omate TrueSmart is a watch which straps to your wrist. Not zipped in a pocket. Same as swimming with a regular waterproof watch.
Why not?
I go swimming with my waterproof watch all the time.
Most of the time the police are on a fishing expedition for suspects. All "witnesses" are potential suspects. They let you talk until you say enough to become a suspect. They look for small inconsistencies and imprecision in what you say and then use that against you. You can then be charged with lying to the police even if you have nothing to do with the crime. A lot of criminal convictions are not about the crime but about lying to the authorities. Best don't say anything.
The web site and the Kickstarter site have all the details...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omate/omate-truesmart-water-resistant-standalone-smartwa
Here's one which is waterproof and a complete Android phone. You can go swimming with it.
http://omate.com/
The wrist watch was created because it was a pain to keep taking your pocket watch out to check the time.
We've regressed... now we have to take our phones out of our pockets to check the time.
Hence, the smart watch.
Lots of people have very expensive watches on their wrists and don't seem to worried about them getting damaged or catching hair.
Carrying a phone in your pocket to tell the time is like carrying a pocket watch.
Do you like pocket watches?
I think people want a smart watch for the same reason they want a wrist watch... they don't want to have to keep taking the phone out of their pocket to check for messages, etc.
How many people do you know who still use a pocket watch?
Here's one:
http://omate.com/
Complete Android phone on your wrist... waterproof too!
I checked out California's exchange web site and it's running fast. No problem registering or logging in and it's well designed to let you see your options.
California is a state which is completely in control of the Democrats. We don't have the tea baggers who are trying to destroy government here. (I think there are a few but we ignore them and they are powerless.) Government (and most other things) work better here.
Basic reading and comprehension.
Try reading it slowly (without moving your lips).
Have you ever heard of a "control" group? (Hint: It's a basic part of the scientific method)
Science has an axe to grind here, obviously, and this "experiment" is seriously biased.
It does not appear that it was submitted to any closed, for-profit journals (like Science). It would have been much more interesting to see how many of them would have accepted the paper.
It's always fair game to blame the victim.
Not so much Samsung in the Nexus dept.
Nexus One was by HTC
Nexus 4 was by LG
Nexus 7 is by Asus
Nexus 10 is by Asus
Anyway, it doesn't matter to me who makes the phone, I look at the features, OS and apps. Samsung has done a good job of marketing the Galaxy series. Some people buy because of good marketing. I still hate it when the manufacturer or the telecoms giant mess with the interface and applications... it's usually not an improvement.
Smith only mentions "pursuing his own interest" and makes no mention of the different forces affecting that interest. He does not exclude government (or specifically include any other force). He only states that that the public interest is promoted by pursuing his own interest. Pursuit of "own interest" will, of necessity, include all forces, free market, government, social, etc.
"Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it ... He intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for society that it was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."
Nuclear power has had a magnificent run of externalizing most of its costs (federal liability insurance, all of their basic research costs, uranium mining and refining costs and financial subsidies for construction).
In spite of all of these subsidies and benefits, it still is not "economic". The nuclear power has a negative learning curve when the cost of plants has been rising for years... unlike most industries such as solar and wind where the costs have been dropping dramatically.
The "invisible hand" includes all of the factors which influence decisions. This includes both private profit motives as well as government regulations.
So in the case of fracking, the fact that the government has created a favorable legal environment (loose regulations, shielding from liability, tax incentives, etc.) all factor into the decision by the private sector to invest in this profitable activity. The fact that the government is doing a poor job of regulation (exemption from clean water laws, for example) helps push the decision to drill and frack.
I think the mechanism is "endocrine disruptor". These synthetic chemicals mimic naturally occurring endocrines by binding to endocrine receptors. This has been clearly demonstrated. It is disingenuous to say that "there is no known mechanism" in the literature. There have been thousands of studies and there is a clear scientific consensus.
I'm not sure that it would be "easy" to treat runoff. The article points out that the synthetic steroids are changed in daylight but then reform at night. It also points out that we can't assume that the "broken down" molecules are safe. Currently they only test for the specific original molecule but it could be that the broken down molecules are also bioactive.
They recommend using a bioassay (which tests the water on living systems) rather than just a chemical assay for the original compound.
Another problem in treating the runoff is that it comes from cattle roaming farms of many acres and seeps into the ground. It's not just a single pipe with effluent.