You take a guy on Death Row, and you give him the option : Take a risky procedure that MIGHT kill him, or certain death. So long as the risky procedure is not painful and cruel and unusual, it is a good trade off.
Look, I'm a huge BitTorrent guy, I run uTorrent every day and pretty much max out my connection for about 8 hours a night.
That said, I don't understand this attitude of "If you sold me 10Mbps, then you'd better be able to give it to me 24/7"
The electricity in your home is also sold to you on the assumption that you can run any and all household appliances from it.
But guess what? If you switch everything on, because you're allowed to and can afford to, and so do your neighbours, and everyone else on the grid... the grid collapses.
There were certain statistical assumptions built into the grid and the pricing model. One of those assumptions was that their customers wouldn't take up 100% of their allowable usage ALL THE TIME.
If we then want a couple of optional courses in computer science, higher physics, economics, art, history, geograph and so on, that's great.
Actually, I think History should easily be a core subject, given the times we live in. Perhaps if we understood history a little better, we wouldn't be so insistent on repeating its mistakes.
Any kid who's been studying chemistry or physics or mathematics or engineering today should be able to pick up a textbook from the 1950s and recognize nearly everything in it. If they don't, then they're sorely lacking in the basics.
Not exactly true. You'd recognise the basics, sure. But the curriculum changes a lot over 50 years.
I know because I had the chance to look at some maths exams from the 1970's and 60's. A common question on the maths paper was to use Taylor Expansions. There's nothing inherently difficult about them, and they certainly would have been understandable by me at age 16, but they weren't on the curriculum. I never studied them. (Didn't even see one until I got to college.)
At age 14, our class covered three-point floating averages. And yet, when I was doing statistics in college, the lecturer was astonished that we had covered that topic years ago in school. From her point of view, it was never on her curriculum while she was in school. Things change more than we think.
So I'm sure I could understand the introduction chapters of Trigonometry, Calculus, Periodic functions, Matrices and so on. But I'm also sure I wouldn't recognise "nearly everything" in it.
when you can just show up for an audition to a TV program, do a little dance and become rich and famous overnight, why on earth would you want an education?
So that you can see if your agent or manager are ripping you off?
I think you're quite right, and hence the use of the "epicycle" tag on this story.
Epicycles, if you don't know, were the artificial additions to the "circular" orbital theory, which became more and more clumsy and unwieldly, until some bright spark called Copernicus simplified the whole thing. And then when we finally worked out orbits were elliptical, not circular, we looked back on epicycles and said "Of course! How could we have been so stupid!"
I bought a notebook about 5 years ago, that gave 2.4Ghz. By the oft-misunderstood (I'm sure I'm using it incorrectly here) that would have meant that I could be buying a 9.6Ghz machine these days.
What am I not understanding here? (Bear in mind that CPU's and architecture are really outside my scope of knowledge/interest.)
Of course, Fomalhault "b" is only a temporary designation; if smaller planets are detected closer to the star, then one of those would become "b" I imagine.
Actually, I chose the term because although the story is of more interest to Irish readers, the vast vast majority of slashdot readers ARE American. Framing the issue in terms they would understand, is simply common sense. (For the same reason, I listed the GSM providers, and explained what the Gardai are. Totally uncessary for Irish readers.)
When you see some of (frankly) SHIT that the National Lottery in the UK funds, it's mind boggling to me that they haven't ponied up some cash for this site already.
Maybe as a Lottery, they feel a deep resentment for anyone who is good at math? I don't know.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah for the good old days when only Jesus could raise the dead.
Heck we can bring him back too! Zombie Jesus tours Palestine.
It's GOLD Jerry! GOLD!
You take a guy on Death Row, and you give him the option : Take a risky procedure that MIGHT kill him, or certain death.
So long as the risky procedure is not painful and cruel and unusual, it is a good trade off.
Why do you think they're only available in white?
Well, didn't everyone see that super-secret Memo sent by Steve Jobs? "If it ain't white, it ain't right."
The caucasian also has -1 * Charisma modifier to the "Humility" skill.
And the African American gets a +3 to Thief skill
And the Asian gets a +3 intelligence modifier
What? We're only allowed to be racist against Caucasians now?
Everyone would get grouped in to two categories. Israeli or Terrorist.
Right. Like when you go through Israeli passport control, and they ask
"Why are you here, business or pleasure?"
"Business"
"Occupation?"
"No, just a two day meeting."
In a statement outlining the strategy the EU claimed "half of all internet crime involves the production, distribution and sale of child pornography".
And the other half is copyright infringement?
Look, I'm a huge BitTorrent guy, I run uTorrent every day and pretty much max out my connection for about 8 hours a night.
That said, I don't understand this attitude of "If you sold me 10Mbps, then you'd better be able to give it to me 24/7"
The electricity in your home is also sold to you on the assumption that you can run any and all household appliances from it.
But guess what? If you switch everything on, because you're allowed to and can afford to, and so do your neighbours, and everyone else on the grid... the grid collapses.
There were certain statistical assumptions built into the grid and the pricing model. One of those assumptions was that their customers wouldn't take up 100% of their allowable usage ALL THE TIME.
This is hardly a new thing.
Now if only Linux was ready for the Desktop.
Oh well, there's always next year.
If we then want a couple of optional courses in computer science, higher physics, economics, art, history, geograph and so on, that's great.
Actually, I think History should easily be a core subject, given the times we live in. Perhaps if we understood history a little better, we wouldn't be so insistent on repeating its mistakes.
3. They can permanently expel disruptive children
Not a UK or US resident here (or victim of their school system) but are you telling us that regular schools CANNOT expel disruptive students???
Any kid who's been studying chemistry or physics or mathematics or engineering today should be able to pick up a textbook from the 1950s and recognize nearly everything in it. If they don't, then they're sorely lacking in the basics.
Not exactly true. You'd recognise the basics, sure. But the curriculum changes a lot over 50 years.
I know because I had the chance to look at some maths exams from the 1970's and 60's. A common question on the maths paper was to use Taylor Expansions. There's nothing inherently difficult about them, and they certainly would have been understandable by me at age 16, but they weren't on the curriculum. I never studied them. (Didn't even see one until I got to college.)
At age 14, our class covered three-point floating averages. And yet, when I was doing statistics in college, the lecturer was astonished that we had covered that topic years ago in school. From her point of view, it was never on her curriculum while she was in school. Things change more than we think.
So I'm sure I could understand the introduction chapters of Trigonometry, Calculus, Periodic functions, Matrices and so on. But I'm also sure I wouldn't recognise "nearly everything" in it.
when you can just show up for an audition to a TV program, do a little dance and become rich and famous overnight, why on earth would you want an education?
So that you can see if your agent or manager are ripping you off?
I think you're quite right, and hence the use of the "epicycle" tag on this story.
Epicycles, if you don't know, were the artificial additions to the "circular" orbital theory, which became more and more clumsy and unwieldly, until some bright spark called Copernicus simplified the whole thing. And then when we finally worked out orbits were elliptical, not circular, we looked back on epicycles and said "Of course! How could we have been so stupid!"
Epicycles. Dark Matter.
I bought a notebook about 5 years ago, that gave 2.4Ghz.
By the oft-misunderstood (I'm sure I'm using it incorrectly here) that would have meant that I could be buying a 9.6Ghz machine these days.
What am I not understanding here? (Bear in mind that CPU's and architecture are really outside my scope of knowledge/interest.)
If aliens are out there God may very have given them a book that talks mostly about Riegel 7.
Man, that will really piss off the aliens on Betelgeuse 3.
Of course, Fomalhault "b" is only a temporary designation; if smaller planets are detected closer to the star, then one of those would become "b" I imagine.
Oblig Khan reference :
"THIS is Fomalhault B!!!"
The basic rule of any con is that "You can't cheat an honest person".
That's what the con man tells you, playing up to your ego as well as convincing you that this isn't a con and there's NO WAY you could be cheated.
You're so honest. And wise. And did I mention good looking?
The list time I installed an OS from MS, it had a CONFIG.SYS file... What do they use nowadays?
I don't know about "use" but my XP system still has a Config.sys file in C:\
As well as IO.sys and MSDOS.sys and autoexec.bat
Actually, I chose the term because although the story is of more interest to Irish readers, the vast vast majority of slashdot readers ARE American. Framing the issue in terms they would understand, is simply common sense. (For the same reason, I listed the GSM providers, and explained what the Gardai are. Totally uncessary for Irish readers.)
Because it undermines the Church's attempt to monopolize men's source of pussy.
So true. But also other women of the non-prostitute variety, would also like to control men's access to pussy.
Which is why many of them look at prostitutes as if they were scabs crossing a picket line.
Selling is legal. Fucking is legal. So why isn't selling fucking legal?
Because if God had wanted women to prostitute themselves, he would have given them a pussy, and free will.
Oh wait.
let me tell you, NOTHING in the world can make you feel as old as being in frakin museum and finding yourself saying "I designed that!"
God, is that you??
It was a terrific game! Some guys I know had been playing it for YEARS.
Recently, a whole bunch of AOL newbies have joined the gaming scene though and fucked it up for everybody.
If you live in the UK, go for a visit. Fantastic place full of great exhibits.
I've been. They have a cool computer museum there.
And let me tell you, NOTHING in the world can make you feel as old as being in frakin museum and finding yourself saying "I remember those!"
Just ask John McCain.
When you see some of (frankly) SHIT that the National Lottery in the UK funds, it's mind boggling to me that they haven't ponied up some cash for this site already.
Maybe as a Lottery, they feel a deep resentment for anyone who is good at math? I don't know.