it looked like the provincial government was going to make it a fine and not jail time
It's the federal government that's doing that.
but there was a while that a judge had tossed out the old laws entirely.
IANAL, but from what I understand, nobody is really sure if the law is still in place or not, and the situation isn't going to change until the feds bring in a new law, which will most likely decriminalize posession of small amounts. The cops were pretty lenient at SARSstock, though.
Go live in British Columbia. It has the highest provinical taxes in Canada (14.5% PST and GST Combined)
Are you referring to provincial taxes in general or just PST? PEI has 10% PST, and they pay PST on the GST for a tax of 17.7%. The other Atlantic provinces pay HST, which is 15%, and in Ontario GST+PST=15%.
You didn't answer the question. The average CS graduate is far better academically prepared for a career in software than the average EE graduate. Let's assume a CS graduate and an EE graduate have equivalent experience. How is the EE graduate better qualified to work in software engineering than the CS graduate?
It has more to do with liability than qualifications. When a P.Eng. puts his/her stamp on something, they are taking legal responsibility for it. Computer scientists don't have an equivalent of the P.Eng. stamp. Obviously, a lot of code doesn't need to be stamped by a P.Eng. In those cases a computer scientist would be more suitable for the job.
Besides, how would an EE with fifteen years of experience in software be less qualified to evaluate software than a computer scientist with fifteen years of experience?
What I disagree with is that someone could get a degree in X, become a professional engineer based on the X degree, and then somehow be seen as better qualified in the field of Y than someone who got a degree in Y and has equivalent or greater experience in Y.
For example, X=Mechanical Engineering, Y=Biology
Makes no sense, right? So why should it make sense for X=Electrical Engineering, Y=Computer Science?
Because electrical engineering and computer science are much more closely related than mechanical engineering and biology. There are a lot of EEs that work exclusively in software. This is especially true for computer engineers.
Why would it be an issue for the courts? The Legislature has a compelling interest in regulating professions.
Actually, I was thinking it was strange that it was being decided by the legislature. Shouldn't it be up to the licensed professional engineers? Some may say it would be elitist, but the professional engineers would be the most qualified to make that descision.
Speaking as someone who has just graduated from a university in Canada with a B.Sc Eng(Comp). i.e. Computer Engineering, even I don't feel bold enough to call myself an Engineer.
Good thing. I don't know what province you're in, but in New Brunswick and Ontario you can't legally use the term "engineer" unless you're a P.Eng. But then again, IANAL.
The fallacy in your argument is that there is no such thing as a "real" engineer who is qualified to evaluate a complex software system by virtue of his/her professional accreditation alone.
That's true, but the same could be said for evaluating anything. For instance, not all electrical engineers have suitable experience to work with electromagnetics. In Canada, engineers are expected to do work only if they have enough experience in that area. Obviously, someone fresh out of school wouldn't have experience in anything. This is one reason why four years of good engineering work experience is required in order to be a P.Eng.
We have already trashed one commercial band, namely, AM, when we could have easily fixed and extended it with AM stereo. (Which has some very nice qualities BTW.)
That would be hard to do. The AM radio stations in Canada and the US are 10 kHz apart. This means that AM radio stations have to filter their output through a 5 kHz lowpass filter to avoid interfering with other stations. The most effective way to improve the sound quality of AM radio would be to allocate a wider spectrum to each station, but these days that's not an easy thing to do.
Besides, what does AM stereo have to offer over FM stereo?
Actually, it was pretty simple. It was also my first module ever. I had a lot of fun writing all of this stuff, but people keep indicating that maybe some of it could actually be useful. If that's the case, so much the better.
Reminds me of a quote I read not too long ago. I don't remember the source. It might have even been Slashdot.
"Coding is like sex. Occasionally something good results, but that's not why we do it."
Slashdot Mirror
It's the federal government that's doing that.
but there was a while that a judge had tossed out the old laws entirely.
IANAL, but from what I understand, nobody is really sure if the law is still in place or not, and the situation isn't going to change until the feds bring in a new law, which will most likely decriminalize posession of small amounts. The cops were pretty lenient at SARSstock, though.
I don't know . . . AAAAAAAAHHHHH!
Actually, it's not not Unix, it's not UNIX.
You should donate to the EFF or some other charity.
True, but when you make money, the government makes money.
Are you referring to provincial taxes in general or just PST? PEI has 10% PST, and they pay PST on the GST for a tax of 17.7%. The other Atlantic provinces pay HST, which is 15%, and in Ontario GST+PST=15%.
Or maybe the 4-20 bin...
No, I'm not.
It has more to do with liability than qualifications. When a P.Eng. puts his/her stamp on something, they are taking legal responsibility for it. Computer scientists don't have an equivalent of the P.Eng. stamp. Obviously, a lot of code doesn't need to be stamped by a P.Eng. In those cases a computer scientist would be more suitable for the job.
Besides, how would an EE with fifteen years of experience in software be less qualified to evaluate software than a computer scientist with fifteen years of experience?
For example, X=Mechanical Engineering, Y=Biology
Makes no sense, right? So why should it make sense for X=Electrical Engineering, Y=Computer Science?
Because electrical engineering and computer science are much more closely related than mechanical engineering and biology. There are a lot of EEs that work exclusively in software. This is especially true for computer engineers.
Actually, I was thinking it was strange that it was being decided by the legislature. Shouldn't it be up to the licensed professional engineers? Some may say it would be elitist, but the professional engineers would be the most qualified to make that descision.
Good thing. I don't know what province you're in, but in New Brunswick and Ontario you can't legally use the term "engineer" unless you're a P.Eng. But then again, IANAL.
That's true, but the same could be said for evaluating anything. For instance, not all electrical engineers have suitable experience to work with electromagnetics. In Canada, engineers are expected to do work only if they have enough experience in that area. Obviously, someone fresh out of school wouldn't have experience in anything. This is one reason why four years of good engineering work experience is required in order to be a P.Eng.
It should be, "Light a man a fire and he will be warm for a while. Light a man afire and he will be warm for the rest of his life."
That would be hard to do. The AM radio stations in Canada and the US are 10 kHz apart. This means that AM radio stations have to filter their output through a 5 kHz lowpass filter to avoid interfering with other stations. The most effective way to improve the sound quality of AM radio would be to allocate a wider spectrum to each station, but these days that's not an easy thing to do.
Besides, what does AM stereo have to offer over FM stereo?
Yeah, he used to get complaints about Tina the Timid Tech Writer, so he created Antina. The best Antina quote: "Hey, is anybody up for some math?"
At least his brother, Dark Side Dave is.
Wow! Think about it. If we got talking dogs and someone kill it. Would someone get life prison or death sentence? Or the laws applied to "human" only?
From Deep Thoughts With Jack Handy:
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? Probably, if they screamed all of the time, and for no good reason."