Reminds me of the Star Trek episode where the people were colored one half white and one half black, but two separate races with the colors on opposite sides. Another example of Rodenberry's prescience?
Sure, they bump up against each other and become charged. But because they aren't spatially separated, no large electric fields develop. It's the vertical winds that sort the particles by size, and remember the article stated that small particles were always one charge and the large the other. This creates the electric potential differnce from the top of the storm to the bottom.
The idea that I don't see anywhere here is that increased fuel efficiency means less pollution. Now I realize that automobiles are only a part of the emmissions problem, but reducing is still reducing. For anyone who truly cares about the world we'll leave to our children, higher gas prices in order to force reduced fuel consumption is a good thing.
Which is exactly the problem with science education in this country today. As a former scientist (biochemist) who left industry to teach H.S. chemistry, I know that the vast majority of science teachers are teachers who took a few science courses, but who don't really understand how real experimentation works. They are more concerned with teaching facts, because they are evaluated on how well students regurgitate those facts on standardized tests (insert NCLB rant here). It is more intellectually demanding and time consuming to teach critical thinking skills, and many teachers simply don't have the time, desire or ability.
Ignoring for the moment the fact that the gas giants aren't rocky or have molten cores, even Mars wouldn't qualify. Its core cooled and solidified several million years ago, killing its geodynamo (which BTW, may be the reason it lost its water and most of its atmoshpere).
I've worked as an umpire at everything upto the Div I college level for over a decade, and I can say without a doubt that you have no fucking clue what you're talking about.
First, the "fat men" standing behind the plate are a dwindling minority in MLB. It takes a lot of hustle to be in the correct position to make a call, especially at third base or in the outfield.
Second, his job is physically dangerous. Why do you think the plate man wears so much protective equipment? Let's see how well you recover from a 90+ mph fastball between the eyes, off the inside of your knee, or (God forbid) a tipped ball that gets by the catcher and goes right off your nuts. Broken bones are a fact of life for any umpire with a full schedule of high-level ball.
Third, his job is mentally and techincally demanding. He must make an immediate ruling on action that occurs in a fraction of a second, and is expected to get it right every time by the fans sitting in the stands or in the their air-conditioned homes, who, btw, also have the benefit of slo-mo instant replay from multiple camera angles. They also must have a complete mastery of probably the most convoluted and counter-intuitive set rules for any major sport.
And just for fun, he gets to be the target of the wrath of the fans for every call that doesn't go their way.
The average MLB umpire does between 130-160 games a year, not counting spring training or postseason assignments. All those games require travel, which puts a huge burden on their families. Most of them spend the offseason training for the regular season, just like all the other athletes. And all of this is after they've spent several years working their way up through the minors, making $1700/month, traveling by bus, and staying in cheap motels nine months out of the year.
Hmmm, I guess paying $300k to someone who has over 15 years experience at their physically, mentally and emotionally challenging job just wouldn't be fair to everyone else.
Now, as far as QuesTec goes, I think it is a usefull tool for evaluating umpire performance, but nothing beyond that.
The problem with this idea (especially in this economy) is the large number of small and/or rural towns who simply couldn't afford to either purchase or properly maintain their lines. The only way for them to do so would be to siginificantly raise property taxes, or charge enormous line fees to the telcos using the lines, both of which amount to big costs being passed back to the consumers. I look at the little town I live in: we can't even get the city to fix the roads or the sidewalks because there's no money to do so. I can't even imagine the situation if they also took over the phone lines. There's no way they'll be able to absorb the cost of upgrading old equipment, either. (This old equipment is apparently such a problem, I've been told by three different phone carriers, the cable company and the city manager that there won't be broadband of any sort available here for at least 5-7 more years.)
Because then not only are the mice themselves patented, but also any of their offspring (which happen to be created by a very non-scientific process). Besides, the idea is not protection per se, but revenue generation for Harvard.
Slashdot Mirror
Reminds me of the Star Trek episode where the people were colored one half white and one half black, but two separate races with the colors on opposite sides. Another example of Rodenberry's prescience?
Sure, they bump up against each other and become charged. But because they aren't spatially separated, no large electric fields develop. It's the vertical winds that sort the particles by size, and remember the article stated that small particles were always one charge and the large the other. This creates the electric potential differnce from the top of the storm to the bottom.
The idea that I don't see anywhere here is that increased fuel efficiency means less pollution. Now I realize that automobiles are only a part of the emmissions problem, but reducing is still reducing. For anyone who truly cares about the world we'll leave to our children, higher gas prices in order to force reduced fuel consumption is a good thing.
Which is exactly the problem with science education in this country today. As a former scientist (biochemist) who left industry to teach H.S. chemistry, I know that the vast majority of science teachers are teachers who took a few science courses, but who don't really understand how real experimentation works. They are more concerned with teaching facts, because they are evaluated on how well students regurgitate those facts on standardized tests (insert NCLB rant here). It is more intellectually demanding and time consuming to teach critical thinking skills, and many teachers simply don't have the time, desire or ability.
Ignoring for the moment the fact that the gas giants aren't rocky or have molten cores, even Mars wouldn't qualify. Its core cooled and solidified several million years ago, killing its geodynamo (which BTW, may be the reason it lost its water and most of its atmoshpere).
And exactly how do you get non-fornicating pregnant people?
First, the "fat men" standing behind the plate are a dwindling minority in MLB. It takes a lot of hustle to be in the correct position to make a call, especially at third base or in the outfield.
Second, his job is physically dangerous. Why do you think the plate man wears so much protective equipment? Let's see how well you recover from a 90+ mph fastball between the eyes, off the inside of your knee, or (God forbid) a tipped ball that gets by the catcher and goes right off your nuts. Broken bones are a fact of life for any umpire with a full schedule of high-level ball.
Third, his job is mentally and techincally demanding. He must make an immediate ruling on action that occurs in a fraction of a second, and is expected to get it right every time by the fans sitting in the stands or in the their air-conditioned homes, who, btw, also have the benefit of slo-mo instant replay from multiple camera angles. They also must have a complete mastery of probably the most convoluted and counter-intuitive set rules for any major sport.
And just for fun, he gets to be the target of the wrath of the fans for every call that doesn't go their way.
The average MLB umpire does between 130-160 games a year, not counting spring training or postseason assignments. All those games require travel, which puts a huge burden on their families. Most of them spend the offseason training for the regular season, just like all the other athletes. And all of this is after they've spent several years working their way up through the minors, making $1700/month, traveling by bus, and staying in cheap motels nine months out of the year.
Hmmm, I guess paying $300k to someone who has over 15 years experience at their physically, mentally and emotionally challenging job just wouldn't be fair to everyone else.
Now, as far as QuesTec goes, I think it is a usefull tool for evaluating umpire performance, but nothing beyond that.
The problem with this idea (especially in this economy) is the large number of small and/or rural towns who simply couldn't afford to either purchase or properly maintain their lines. The only way for them to do so would be to siginificantly raise property taxes, or charge enormous line fees to the telcos using the lines, both of which amount to big costs being passed back to the consumers. I look at the little town I live in: we can't even get the city to fix the roads or the sidewalks because there's no money to do so. I can't even imagine the situation if they also took over the phone lines. There's no way they'll be able to absorb the cost of upgrading old equipment, either. (This old equipment is apparently such a problem, I've been told by three different phone carriers, the cable company and the city manager that there won't be broadband of any sort available here for at least 5-7 more years.)
Actually, they did create the genes. Remember people, THIS IS NOT A NATURALLY OCCURRING ORGANISM!
Because then not only are the mice themselves patented, but also any of their offspring (which happen to be created by a very non-scientific process). Besides, the idea is not protection per se, but revenue generation for Harvard.