Another issue is that BOINC requires fairly modern hardware. I kept some older computers around specifically to crunch Seti@Home packets for a long time, including an overdriven 486 DX/2-66 (nee 5x86/133).
Now, crap, even my daily desktop (built in early 2002) is hardly up to the task. Considering that I started crunching packets in 1999, I'd really [i]like[/i] to continue, but I'm not going to buy hardware just to keep up with Seti@Bloat.
I was in the Duke University TIP, and I scored well enough to be invited to attend the TIP activities at Duke. Did I? No, I assumed that it was expensive and couldn't see the real benefit, so I chose to just attend the regional awards ceremony and forget the Duke stuff.
Through most of school, I was able to perform to A or B level with little to no work. The only things that challenged me in high school were foreign language and, maybe, the higher level math and physics. Even then, I was so frustrated by how sloooooooowwww the math class went, that I couldn't maintain any sort of enthusiasm.
I pretty much assumed that's all there was to education, so I placed little to no importance on the choice of a university. Thinking very practically, I dismissed out-of-state public schools because tuition would be expensive. I dismissed expensive private schools because tuition was ridiculous--how could my family possibly afford $20,000+ per year? Based on that, I had just decided to concentrate on location. I looked for universities that were relatively near my home town, that had the program I wanted to enter, and that I was reasonably competitive at for scholarships. Ended up choosing a mid-sized regional state school.
Fast forward to college. I had crappy study habits, and a host of other things that happened and situations that came up that resulted in me earning less-than-stellar grades for several semesters. I pulled out of the nose dive and wound up with a relatively decent GPA, not great, but not terrible either.
After college, I decided to work for a year as an admissions counselor for my university. Again, chosen mainly for location rather than ambition...but what I learned while helping students look at college options was that I had other options in high school but no one told me about them. I realized that I could have gone to any of those state or private universities. Just based on my ACT and GPA, I could have gone to Duke, possibly even Stanford, CalTech, or MIT...but I thought I couldn't afford it.
If I had gone to the Duke University program, rather than dismissing it as having little value, I probably would have had a stronger link with Duke. I probably would have talked with them about going to some place like Duke. I probably would have been told, by someone, somewhere, that universities go out of their way to create financial aid packages to help worthy students attend...
Hindsight is 20/20, and you don't always get a second chance. I hope students and parents recognize the importance of these types of programs and don't let fantastic opportunities slip by...
What you are paying for is not the right to attend class and do as you please. What you are paying for is the opportunity to learn. That opportunity comes under certain guidelines, some covering the whole university and some determined by individual professors.
If you truely want to purchase a degree as a consumer, respond to any of the "opportunities" you get by email every day to "earn" a BS, BA, Ph.D. or other degree for "life experience" or whatever other nonsense. If what you want is to earn a real degree, you're going to have to pay for the priviledge and abide by their regulations.
Are you sure you aren't thinking of the cervical cancer cells taken from Henrietta Lacks (the classic HeLa cell line), a line which has been in use in research all over the world since around her death in the early 1950s?
She and her family were not aware that her cells were used in research.
I'm not fearful of a nuclear reactor in my back yard; there's one about thirty miles away, and I'd gladly build another one literally in my back yard...especially if they'll hire me to run it.
I think investment in nuclear fusion energy plants--of all kinds, utilizing all of our available nuclear resources including 'waste' fuel--is extremely important to our economic and overall future health. Fusion reactors, though, are ten to twenty years away--and they have been for at least fourty years. We can't count on fusion as an energy source; we need to concentrate on fission and other non-petroleum energy production, we need to continue to pursue new oil/organic chemical fuel sources, and we need to continue to do basic research and engineering in fusion reactor design to try to reach the point where it's a viable energy source.
Great idea! First, though, you will need to raise salaries across the board to compensate. Tenure currently compensates for the lower salaries in academe.
Otherwise what you'll do is drive those who are able to work outside of academe right out into the non-academic jobs, leaving few to teach at Universities. This will ultimately give them the same job security as they have in the tenure system, because no one will be educated in their fields to compete with them for jobs.
The question isn't "Lazy or creative?", it is "For the given non-productive work time, is the primary explanation that our workers are lazy, or is the primary explanation that our workers are creative?"
It isn't an either-or question, so the false dichotomy doesn't apply.
Perhaps for general ed this would be "OK", assuming that it actually saves the students money over the ridiculous buy&sell mill process that the bookstores go through.
But for your major subject...are there majors where it is reasonable to sell back all your books? I have about three dozen books that were texts or support books for my classes (physics) which I keep on hand for review and referral. I would never, ever buy a physics text as an e-book, unless it came in/addition/ to the paper book so I could have it as ready-reference on a PDA or PC.
Even then, an e-book is a pathetic substitute for a real book. It simply can not be used in the same way, and is comparitively extremely limited.
Can she shut off the computer and turn off her cell phone for a few hours or a day without becoming 'twitchy' thinking about checking her mail, blog, IM, etc?
A capsule-return spacecraft would not necessarily need to be the cramped Mercury-Gemini-Apollo style spacecraft. The ascent/return capsule would probably be conservatively designed, but could be more spacious than what was used 35 years ago.
But the real key is that there is no reason that there could not be other habitable (pressurized) sections of a launch craft. In fact, one could imagine a continuously growing space station, put together from a steady supply of hab modules from capsule launches.
There have been designs of capsules that would hold a dozen astronauts. The shuttle is a nice system, and a nice concept, but perhaps it simply isn't the right direction for the future of practical space travel.
For instance, look at some of the concepts pictured here.
Perhaps the reason you don't see many spinoffs from the space program is that they are literally all around you. You can't see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Miniaturization is often quoted, and it is quite true. There are many other examples, many in medicine and industry.
[blockquote]It's President Bush, not "Mr. Bush", jackass.[/blockquote]
After the first reference to "President Bush" it is proper form to refer to him as "Mr. Bush". I don't have a copy of the AP Style Guide in front of me, but I think that is where I looked that up.
I have had to remove IM clients from the office computers because people are using them exclusively to send info to each other, and there is no Documentation. Baddddd when you work at a Dr's Office.
So how do you stop them from picking up a phone and Realtime Voice Messaging (tm) someone? Surely you aren't recording all RVMs.
And what about Spatial Proximity Verbal Information Interchange (tm)? How do you control SPVII, are the workers chained to their desks with ball gags in their mouths?;)
I know that the law provides for an inane division of record keeping between written and verbal communication, but it has simply gotten silly.
Ah, I see. Well, when doing things on the side, I generally charge $22.50/hr. That's for writing/editing, computer hardware or software work, whatever. When I started charging that, it was reasonable, now it is cheap. Someday I'll increase my base rate.
My original post (see two parents above this one) was regarding the ability of a "...college kid working as a techie..." making $20/hr. Assuming the kid worked part time 20 hr/wk, that would amount to an income of about $21,000/yr. That is simply unheard of for an 18-22 year old student.
It is certainly very different for someone who is not a student, and is not doing the work part time while in school. Or, for someone in school who earns multiple certifications and progresses in the techie business as a career rather than as a side job to pay the bills.
Ultimately, I was being slightly facetious while pointing out that real-world techies in my college town and others relatively local to me are usually not earning even half of the $20/hr wage quoted by the original poster.
Think about it for a minute. A typical college kid who's working as a techie in a computer store is going to expect about $20/hr for their time.
Oh my God, did I fall asleep in 2005 and wake up in 2030?
Why did I bother going to college if I could make $42,000 a year as a non-degreed computer techie? And I've been doing that crap for free for my department and relative for years!
Of course, around here, the non-degreed computer techies can expect to make $6.50-$8/hr, maximum, with no benefits...
As for the Constitutional Arguments, they are bit rediculous, the Constitution Clearly grants the Federal Government the right to regulate interstate commerce...
The government has no rights. None whatsoever. Absolutely not one right at all.
The government has only limited powers granted it by the people through the Constitution.
A fundamental misunderstanding of this issue is a common problem, apparently it is not taught well in general education. No one can make educated and rational decisions about the government if they do not understand this fundamental underlying concept.
If the People wish to limit the Government's actions, even in national defense, because of infringements on personal rights and liberties, it is the People's prerogative to do so.
Thank you. I have grown so tired of responding to the obvious ignorance of what a "scientific theory" is and how it differs from "some idea someone had one time" that I often just skip the argument.
A truly random number would never repeat a sequence no matter how many digits were in the sequence.
This is untrue. The most common fallacy about random numbers is that they need to "appear" random.
Of the list of numbers,
734901253789 666666666666 123456789012
Which is random? One answer is that all of them may be random. There is no reason why 1234 is any less random than 7305. A truly random number with infinite digits will absolutely repeat any sequence of numbers you can think of of any length whatsoever.
Think of it this way: If you have a true random number generator, spitting out a digit every second, and you see it spit out:
1...2...3...4...
then can you predict what the next digit will be? If it is truely a random number generator, the answer is no, you can not. However, the next digit has a 1 in 10 chance (0..9) of being a 5, so it is possible. If you reject 1...2...3...4...5 as possible sequence, then you have instituted a rule restricting the possible outcomes of the random number generator--and have therefore reduced it's effective randomness. Rules defeat randomness, so 12345 is as valid a random number as any other sequence of five digits.
If you operate one of these devices in the U.S., and it operates on ANY frequency used by the military, government, business, or amateur radio, you will be hunted down and taken out--by the FCC.
The price of the unit may be cheaper than cell phone bills, but add on that $10,000 fine and seizure of the equipment and it gets real expensive real quick.
And in case you think you're safe because it's in an amateur band, you should note that amateur radio operators practice RDF (Radio Direction Finding) or "Foxhunting" for fun. They will hunt you down, and the FCC accepts evidence from licensed operators in cases against violators.
Random question-- I recently read this idea that the universe might be curved back on itself...that light that seems to be from a "long long long way away" might actually be from "here", but a long time ago. Is there any evidence for or against the universe being a closed system like that? Is this idea taken seriously by anyone of repute?
That is actually one idea which has been discussed and is not out of contention--a finite limit that reverts upon itself not unlike a Mobius strip or Klein bottle.
In light of this brilliant scheme, I think we should enact another law that will eliminate most crime.
From now on, the owner, operator, or maintainer of any road will have to report any crime that occurs where the criminals used roads to arrive at the scene, depart from the scene, transport goods or materials or persons, or to return home from committing a criminal act.
This should eliminate non-internet crime altogether, right?
Slashdot Mirror
Another issue is that BOINC requires fairly modern hardware. I kept some older computers around specifically to crunch Seti@Home packets for a long time, including an overdriven 486 DX/2-66 (nee 5x86/133).
Now, crap, even my daily desktop (built in early 2002) is hardly up to the task. Considering that I started crunching packets in 1999, I'd really [i]like[/i] to continue, but I'm not going to buy hardware just to keep up with Seti@Bloat.
Jim
I was in the Duke University TIP, and I scored well enough to be invited to attend the TIP activities at Duke. Did I? No, I assumed that it was expensive and couldn't see the real benefit, so I chose to just attend the regional awards ceremony and forget the Duke stuff.
Through most of school, I was able to perform to A or B level with little to no work. The only things that challenged me in high school were foreign language and, maybe, the higher level math and physics. Even then, I was so frustrated by how sloooooooowwww the math class went, that I couldn't maintain any sort of enthusiasm.
I pretty much assumed that's all there was to education, so I placed little to no importance on the choice of a university. Thinking very practically, I dismissed out-of-state public schools because tuition would be expensive. I dismissed expensive private schools because tuition was ridiculous--how could my family possibly afford $20,000+ per year? Based on that, I had just decided to concentrate on location. I looked for universities that were relatively near my home town, that had the program I wanted to enter, and that I was reasonably competitive at for scholarships. Ended up choosing a mid-sized regional state school.
Fast forward to college. I had crappy study habits, and a host of other things that happened and situations that came up that resulted in me earning less-than-stellar grades for several semesters. I pulled out of the nose dive and wound up with a relatively decent GPA, not great, but not terrible either.
After college, I decided to work for a year as an admissions counselor for my university. Again, chosen mainly for location rather than ambition...but what I learned while helping students look at college options was that I had other options in high school but no one told me about them. I realized that I could have gone to any of those state or private universities. Just based on my ACT and GPA, I could have gone to Duke, possibly even Stanford, CalTech, or MIT...but I thought I couldn't afford it.
If I had gone to the Duke University program, rather than dismissing it as having little value, I probably would have had a stronger link with Duke. I probably would have talked with them about going to some place like Duke. I probably would have been told, by someone, somewhere, that universities go out of their way to create financial aid packages to help worthy students attend...
Hindsight is 20/20, and you don't always get a second chance. I hope students and parents recognize the importance of these types of programs and don't let fantastic opportunities slip by...
Jim
You, the student, are a consumer
What you are paying for is not the right to attend class and do as you please. What you are paying for is the opportunity to learn. That opportunity comes under certain guidelines, some covering the whole university and some determined by individual professors.
If you truely want to purchase a degree as a consumer, respond to any of the "opportunities" you get by email every day to "earn" a BS, BA, Ph.D. or other degree for "life experience" or whatever other nonsense. If what you want is to earn a real degree, you're going to have to pay for the priviledge and abide by their regulations.
Jim
Are you sure you aren't thinking of the cervical cancer cells taken from Henrietta Lacks (the classic HeLa cell line), a line which has been in use in research all over the world since around her death in the early 1950s?
She and her family were not aware that her cells were used in research.
Jim
I'm not fearful of a nuclear reactor in my back yard; there's one about thirty miles away, and I'd gladly build another one literally in my back yard...especially if they'll hire me to run it.
I think investment in nuclear fusion energy plants--of all kinds, utilizing all of our available nuclear resources including 'waste' fuel--is extremely important to our economic and overall future health. Fusion reactors, though, are ten to twenty years away--and they have been for at least fourty years. We can't count on fusion as an energy source; we need to concentrate on fission and other non-petroleum energy production, we need to continue to pursue new oil/organic chemical fuel sources, and we need to continue to do basic research and engineering in fusion reactor design to try to reach the point where it's a viable energy source.
Jim
+ Eliminate Tenure???
Great idea! First, though, you will need to raise salaries across the board to compensate. Tenure currently compensates for the lower salaries in academe.
Otherwise what you'll do is drive those who are able to work outside of academe right out into the non-academic jobs, leaving few to teach at Universities. This will ultimately give them the same job security as they have in the tenure system, because no one will be educated in their fields to compete with them for jobs.
Jim
The question isn't "Lazy or creative?", it is "For the given non-productive work time, is the primary explanation that our workers are lazy, or is the primary explanation that our workers are creative?"
It isn't an either-or question, so the false dichotomy doesn't apply.
Jim
IQ tests: BogoMIPS for wetware.
SI units? You want us to use SI units?
But we were just getting warmed up to Metric!
Perhaps for general ed this would be "OK", assuming that it actually saves the students money over the ridiculous buy&sell mill process that the bookstores go through.
/addition/ to the paper book so I could have it as ready-reference on a PDA or PC.
Buy new: $90
Buy used: $80
Sell back, perfect condition: $30
But for your major subject...are there majors where it is reasonable to sell back all your books? I have about three dozen books that were texts or support books for my classes (physics) which I keep on hand for review and referral. I would never, ever buy a physics text as an e-book, unless it came in
Even then, an e-book is a pathetic substitute for a real book. It simply can not be used in the same way, and is comparitively extremely limited.
Jim
There is such a thing as too much connectivity.
Can she shut off the computer and turn off her cell phone for a few hours or a day without becoming 'twitchy' thinking about checking her mail, blog, IM, etc?
Jim
A capsule-return spacecraft would not necessarily need to be the cramped Mercury-Gemini-Apollo style spacecraft. The ascent/return capsule would probably be conservatively designed, but could be more spacious than what was used 35 years ago.
But the real key is that there is no reason that there could not be other habitable (pressurized) sections of a launch craft. In fact, one could imagine a continuously growing space station, put together from a steady supply of hab modules from capsule launches.
There have been designs of capsules that would hold a dozen astronauts. The shuttle is a nice system, and a nice concept, but perhaps it simply isn't the right direction for the future of practical space travel.
For instance, look at some of the concepts pictured here.
Jim
The pen that can write upside down (likely the Fisher Space Pen) was completely privately developed and was not funded or supported by the government or space program.
Perhaps the reason you don't see many spinoffs from the space program is that they are literally all around you. You can't see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Miniaturization is often quoted, and it is quite true. There are many other examples, many in medicine and industry.
I think there may be a few things you have overlooked but they are easy enough to find.
Jim
[blockquote]It's President Bush, not "Mr. Bush", jackass.[/blockquote]
After the first reference to "President Bush" it is proper form to refer to him as "Mr. Bush". I don't have a copy of the AP Style Guide in front of me, but I think that is where I looked that up.
Jim
So how do you stop them from picking up a phone and Realtime Voice Messaging (tm) someone? Surely you aren't recording all RVMs.
And what about Spatial Proximity Verbal Information Interchange (tm)? How do you control SPVII, are the workers chained to their desks with ball gags in their mouths?
I know that the law provides for an inane division of record keeping between written and verbal communication, but it has simply gotten silly.
Jim
Ah, I see. Well, when doing things on the side, I generally charge $22.50/hr. That's for writing/editing, computer hardware or software work, whatever. When I started charging that, it was reasonable, now it is cheap. Someday I'll increase my base rate.
My original post (see two parents above this one) was regarding the ability of a "...college kid working as a techie..." making $20/hr. Assuming the kid worked part time 20 hr/wk, that would amount to an income of about $21,000/yr. That is simply unheard of for an 18-22 year old student.
It is certainly very different for someone who is not a student, and is not doing the work part time while in school. Or, for someone in school who earns multiple certifications and progresses in the techie business as a career rather than as a side job to pay the bills.
Ultimately, I was being slightly facetious while pointing out that real-world techies in my college town and others relatively local to me are usually not earning even half of the $20/hr wage quoted by the original poster.
Jim
Oh my God, did I fall asleep in 2005 and wake up in 2030?
Why did I bother going to college if I could make $42,000 a year as a non-degreed computer techie? And I've been doing that crap for free for my department and relative for years!
Of course, around here, the non-degreed computer techies can expect to make $6.50-$8/hr, maximum, with no benefits...
Jim
"No-brainer"
Well that pretty much describe government to a 'T' now doesn't it?
Jim
The government has no rights. None whatsoever. Absolutely not one right at all.
The government has only limited powers granted it by the people through the Constitution.
A fundamental misunderstanding of this issue is a common problem, apparently it is not taught well in general education. No one can make educated and rational decisions about the government if they do not understand this fundamental underlying concept.
If the People wish to limit the Government's actions, even in national defense, because of infringements on personal rights and liberties, it is the People's prerogative to do so.
Jim
1. "Lawyer up". Seriously, go consult with an attorney, because...
2. Withholding or threatening to withhold pay or benefits as you describe is very, very, very illegal, and so are...
3. Libel and slander (printed and spoken, respectively).
All based on my limited understanding of US law, but if you are not in the US there are still likely protections against what you have described.
Get. Attorney. Now.
Jim
Thank you. I have grown so tired of responding to the obvious ignorance of what a "scientific theory" is and how it differs from "some idea someone had one time" that I often just skip the argument.
Jim
This is untrue. The most common fallacy about random numbers is that they need to "appear" random.
Of the list of numbers,
734901253789
666666666666
123456789012
Which is random? One answer is that all of them may be random. There is no reason why 1234 is any less random than 7305. A truly random number with infinite digits will absolutely repeat any sequence of numbers you can think of of any length whatsoever.
Think of it this way: If you have a true random number generator, spitting out a digit every second, and you see it spit out:
1...2...3...4...
then can you predict what the next digit will be? If it is truely a random number generator, the answer is no, you can not. However, the next digit has a 1 in 10 chance (0..9) of being a 5, so it is possible. If you reject 1...2...3...4...5 as possible sequence, then you have instituted a rule restricting the possible outcomes of the random number generator--and have therefore reduced it's effective randomness. Rules defeat randomness, so 12345 is as valid a random number as any other sequence of five digits.
Jim
If you operate one of these devices in the U.S., and it operates on ANY frequency used by the military, government, business, or amateur radio, you will be hunted down and taken out--by the FCC.
The price of the unit may be cheaper than cell phone bills, but add on that $10,000 fine and seizure of the equipment and it gets real expensive real quick.
And in case you think you're safe because it's in an amateur band, you should note that amateur radio operators practice RDF (Radio Direction Finding) or "Foxhunting" for fun. They will hunt you down, and the FCC accepts evidence from licensed operators in cases against violators.
Jim
Random question--
I recently read this idea that the universe might be curved back on itself...that light that seems to be from a "long long long way away" might actually be from "here", but a long time ago. Is there any evidence for or against the universe being a closed system like that? Is this idea taken seriously by anyone of repute?
That is actually one idea which has been discussed and is not out of contention--a finite limit that reverts upon itself not unlike a Mobius strip or Klein bottle.
Jim
In light of this brilliant scheme, I think we should enact another law that will eliminate most crime.
From now on, the owner, operator, or maintainer of any road will have to report any crime that occurs where the criminals used roads to arrive at the scene, depart from the scene, transport goods or materials or persons, or to return home from committing a criminal act.
This should eliminate non-internet crime altogether, right?
Jim