The textbook example of a regressive tax is the sales tax, which is a fixed rate for everyone regardless of income. This affects poor people more than rich people because the poor spend much more (as a percentage) of their income on taxable goods than the rich (who are generally investing their money). It's even worse when the sales tax applies to food and other necessities.
Malcolm Gladwell talks about this concept in his book The Tipping Point. Specifically, Google is looking for Mavens, the people that you go to for information. Mavens are the early adopters, and a circle of friends often relies on their opinions to determine whether or not to purchase a product. Marketers have been trying to find a way to specifically target Mavens for decades. I don't think that what Google is doing is very manipulative (since they are asking the Maven in the first place). I would assume that a Maven by nature would reject advertisements that he/she didn't agree with, or make comments about the ones he/she likes or doesn't like on their personal page anyways.
While I agree with much of what you say (I walk to lunch if I'm going out to eat, and I take the stairs all day), I've found that stress alone can actually cause me to *gain* weight. A study in a recent volume of Men's Health (can't find the link right now) also pointed to a link between high stress and weight gain.
The caveat is that for me, high stress can be the motivation I need for an extra-hard workout at the gym or an extra 2 miles on my run that day. Recently, after a manager whose job title could officially be "chief roadblock" sent me an email (CC'ing my boss) accusing me of being a "PowerPoint Engineer" (because he couldn't understand my UML diagram since he has no background in software), I hit the gym for 2 hours and took a 15 mile run in the same day. I definitely felt a lot better after that.
In California (my home state), the standard for a missing person is fairly low:
In California, a missing person is someone whose whereabouts is unknown to the reporting party. This includes any child who may have run away, been taken involuntary or may be in need of assistance. It includes a child illegally taken, held or hidden by a parent or non-parent family member (See California Penal Code Sections 277-280).
There is NO waiting period for reporting a person missing. All California police and sheriffs' departments must accept any report, including a report by telephone, of a missing person, including runaways, without delay and will give priority to the handling of the report.
Seems to me that this opens the door for exploitation by many people, including law enforcement, since the police have to accept any and all reports, without any burden of proof on the part of the reporter (while it is illegal to file a false report, the standard is whether or not the reporter knew that the reportee was missing - sort of like he said/she said). But we have to think of the children!
I just read a great article on this today at The Daily WTF. The author talks about a concept called the "Value Apex", which explains why high performers become disillusioned quickly.
I recently (last week) quit my current job to take another engineering job in a completely different domain (left aerospace for digital signal processing), and I can say that the change is very refreshing. I used to dread waking up in the morning to go to another day of the same old crap at the office. Often, all it takes to regain motivation is the necessity to learn something new. I'm now excited to wake up every morning and go to work. I know eventually that feeling will pass, and it will be time to move on again. I will eventually hit the "Value Apex" again. Link
The reason that skilled employees quit, however, is a bit more complicated. In virtually every job, there is a peak in the overall value (the ratio of productivity to cost) that an employee brings to his company. I call this the Value Apex.
On the first minute of the first day, an employee's value is effectively zero. As that employee becomes acquainted with his new environment and begins to apply his skills and past experiences, his value quickly grows. This growth continues exponentially while the employee masters the business domain and shares his ideas with coworkers and management.
However, once an employee shares all of his external knowledge, learns all that there is to know about the business, and applies all of his past experiences, the growth stops. That employee, in that particular job, has become all that he can be. He has reached the value apex.
If that employee continues to work in the same job, his value will start to decline. What was once "fresh new ideas that we can't implement today" become "the same old boring suggestions that we're never going to do". Prior solutions to similar problems are greeted with "yeah, we worked on that project, too" or simply dismissed as "that was five years ago, and we've all heard the story." This leads towards a loss of self actualization which ends up chipping away at motivation.
Skilled developers understand this. Crossing the value apex often triggers an innate "probably time for me to move on" feeling and, after a while, leads towards inevitable resentment and an overall dislike of the job. Nothing - not even a team of on-site masseuses - can assuage this loss.
Ummm... The US has proven that we can do ASAT, well before the Chinese did. We strap a missile to an F-15, fly up to about 80,000 feet, invert, and launch (then you hope that the pilot can recover the aircraft at high altitude and low airspeed). We successfully destroyed a satellite in 1985 using this technique, but Congress canceled the program in 1988 because they were afraid of the diplomatic implications (and it was getting expensive). Link and Link
The math is not that simple for most states (including California), where *all* the electoral votes go to the candidate who gets the plurality of votes in the state. There are other states (Maine and Nebraska currently with 9 total electors) that divide up their votes based on the percentages of the votes received.
I'm too tired to do the math right now, but I guess my point is that it doesn't really require 60 CA votes to "cancel out" a Wyoming vote, since CA is winner take all (just like Wyoming). One could argue that a California vote carries much more power (when you vote for the winner), since you have a much larger overall impact on the election (55 electoral votes vs 3). However, for the loser, your vote counts for nothing (and there are a whole lot more votes in CA that count for nothing than there are in Wyoming). Also, you need to consider the voter turnout statistics. CA voter turnout was 60% in 2004, compared with 65% for Wyoming, which also changes the percentages.
I just re-read this, and while it made sense in my head, I guess it's too late to get it into usable words. Oh well.
I work for a large defense contractor on mission critical applications with millions of lines of code, and we have requirements (in the software spec) that mission-threatening bugs be fixed in 72 hours or less. The longer it takes, the less we get in our award fee (the "bonus" in a cost-plus contract). That includes root cause identification, patch development, regression test (at subsystem and system level) and delivery to the customer site. It's amazing how motivating money can be.
I like the fact that in the article, MTV's writers felt the need to add ridiculous teenage grammar to a perfectly good sentence from one of the committee members that voted to include Colbert:
"I would love to see that kind of energy put toward party building -- they were ginned up," she said, adding jokingly, "[Like,] 'We have to save the state from Stephen Colbert!' Which I think is hilarious."
Thank you. You beat me to it. This is a _brand new_ rocket. The fact that it made it off the pad in one piece and only failed because the first stage shut down 8 seconds or so early is a _significant_ accomplishment. This test was hugely successful compared to the one last week (where the ICBM interceptor failed to even launch). Surprise, launching rockets is HARD.
Disclaimer: I work for Boeing, but not on either of these projects.
Interesting is right! But I don't like 12... Since you seem to have just pulled that number out of the blue, can I arbitrarily pick another number? How about pi? By your logic: 31/pi = 10. 10*18 = 180 months. My math is even less encouraging!;)
I bought my O'Gio Rebar backpack from ebags last year, and I'm still using it. It was around $30, and has plenty of room for my laptop as well as all of my school stuff. It's even got a little pouch for your iPod or other MP3 player.
Your number for Accenture seems low. I just got an offer from them for $3200/mo, which works out to almost $40k per year, and I'm only an intern.
just FYI.
Yet again, the EFF is at the ready to organize the protection of our digital rights. If you think they are doing a good job, you can donate money to their cause, or even join!
Remember to fax or call the governor, because like the article says, it is much more effective than email.
I use a canon S300 printer. The quality is great, but the thing goes through print cartridges once a month or so. Granted, I'm a college student who prints lots of papers and also LONG code listings for classes, but still, my old HP lasted 3-4 months before a new cartridge was necessary. Oh well, at least the cartridges for my Canon are only $6 when you buy them online.
You are about to start the hardest 9 years of your life. Just remember that women will come and go, and jobs will come and go. Stick with your friends, because they will be with you through all of it.
Oh, and in about 7 years you're gonna be out training on your bike, and you're gonna see a car come out of a driveway.... Trouble is, she isn't gonna see you. So slow down if you don't want some expensive dental work;)
I know it's a faux pas, but I'm slightly intoxicated and it's my 21st birthday on the 21st. So I'm taking this opportunity to get a possible first post.
~apok
Slashdot Mirror
Axis of Evil: http://www.google.com/squared/search?q=axis+of+evil
The smartphones query doesn't include the G1. Oops. http://www.google.com/squared/search?q=smartphones
The textbook example of a regressive tax is the sales tax, which is a fixed rate for everyone regardless of income. This affects poor people more than rich people because the poor spend much more (as a percentage) of their income on taxable goods than the rich (who are generally investing their money). It's even worse when the sales tax applies to food and other necessities.
0) Invert
1) Attach to vertical post
2) Cover with palm fronds
3) Shade
Malcolm Gladwell talks about this concept in his book The Tipping Point. Specifically, Google is looking for Mavens, the people that you go to for information. Mavens are the early adopters, and a circle of friends often relies on their opinions to determine whether or not to purchase a product. Marketers have been trying to find a way to specifically target Mavens for decades. I don't think that what Google is doing is very manipulative (since they are asking the Maven in the first place). I would assume that a Maven by nature would reject advertisements that he/she didn't agree with, or make comments about the ones he/she likes or doesn't like on their personal page anyways.
CNN Article from 2001
While I agree with much of what you say (I walk to lunch if I'm going out to eat, and I take the stairs all day), I've found that stress alone can actually cause me to *gain* weight. A study in a recent volume of Men's Health (can't find the link right now) also pointed to a link between high stress and weight gain.
The caveat is that for me, high stress can be the motivation I need for an extra-hard workout at the gym or an extra 2 miles on my run that day. Recently, after a manager whose job title could officially be "chief roadblock" sent me an email (CC'ing my boss) accusing me of being a "PowerPoint Engineer" (because he couldn't understand my UML diagram since he has no background in software), I hit the gym for 2 hours and took a 15 mile run in the same day. I definitely felt a lot better after that.
Seems to me that this opens the door for exploitation by many people, including law enforcement, since the police have to accept any and all reports, without any burden of proof on the part of the reporter (while it is illegal to file a false report, the standard is whether or not the reporter knew that the reportee was missing - sort of like he said/she said). But we have to think of the children!
I recently (last week) quit my current job to take another engineering job in a completely different domain (left aerospace for digital signal processing), and I can say that the change is very refreshing. I used to dread waking up in the morning to go to another day of the same old crap at the office. Often, all it takes to regain motivation is the necessity to learn something new. I'm now excited to wake up every morning and go to work. I know eventually that feeling will pass, and it will be time to move on again. I will eventually hit the "Value Apex" again. Link
Ummm... The US has proven that we can do ASAT, well before the Chinese did. We strap a missile to an F-15, fly up to about 80,000 feet, invert, and launch (then you hope that the pilot can recover the aircraft at high altitude and low airspeed). We successfully destroyed a satellite in 1985 using this technique, but Congress canceled the program in 1988 because they were afraid of the diplomatic implications (and it was getting expensive). Link and Link
The math is not that simple for most states (including California), where *all* the electoral votes go to the candidate who gets the plurality of votes in the state. There are other states (Maine and Nebraska currently with 9 total electors) that divide up their votes based on the percentages of the votes received.
I'm too tired to do the math right now, but I guess my point is that it doesn't really require 60 CA votes to "cancel out" a Wyoming vote, since CA is winner take all (just like Wyoming). One could argue that a California vote carries much more power (when you vote for the winner), since you have a much larger overall impact on the election (55 electoral votes vs 3). However, for the loser, your vote counts for nothing (and there are a whole lot more votes in CA that count for nothing than there are in Wyoming). Also, you need to consider the voter turnout statistics. CA voter turnout was 60% in 2004, compared with 65% for Wyoming, which also changes the percentages.
I just re-read this, and while it made sense in my head, I guess it's too late to get it into usable words. Oh well.
I work for a large defense contractor on mission critical applications with millions of lines of code, and we have requirements (in the software spec) that mission-threatening bugs be fixed in 72 hours or less. The longer it takes, the less we get in our award fee (the "bonus" in a cost-plus contract). That includes root cause identification, patch development, regression test (at subsystem and system level) and delivery to the customer site. It's amazing how motivating money can be.
This is a new low in "journalism".
It's played on a table, so it qualifies, right?
Make sure you quote the example correctly before you call it flawed. From TFA: ""Berkeley courses: vegetarian cuisine""
Thank you. You beat me to it. This is a _brand new_ rocket. The fact that it made it off the pad in one piece and only failed because the first stage shut down 8 seconds or so early is a _significant_ accomplishment. This test was hugely successful compared to the one last week (where the ICBM interceptor failed to even launch). Surprise, launching rockets is HARD.
Disclaimer: I work for Boeing, but not on either of these projects.
Interesting is right! But I don't like 12... Since you seem to have just pulled that number out of the blue, can I arbitrarily pick another number? How about pi? By your logic: 31/pi = 10. 10*18 = 180 months. My math is even less encouraging! ;)
I bought my O'Gio Rebar backpack from ebags last year, and I'm still using it. It was around $30, and has plenty of room for my laptop as well as all of my school stuff. It's even got a little pouch for your iPod or other MP3 player.
Well, I for one use wireless access in the classroom. Hell, I'm sitting in CS 480 right now, reading slashdot instead of paying attention. ;)
Yet again, the EFF is at the ready to organize the protection of our digital rights. If you think they are doing a good job, you can donate money to their cause, or even join!
Remember to fax or call the governor, because like the article says, it is much more effective than email.
~a
I use a canon S300 printer. The quality is great, but the thing goes through print cartridges once a month or so. Granted, I'm a college student who prints lots of papers and also LONG code listings for classes, but still, my old HP lasted 3-4 months before a new cartridge was necessary. Oh well, at least the cartridges for my Canon are only $6 when you buy them online.
~a
The University of Southern California is starting a new video game design minor program. An article in the Daily Trojan (USC Student Newspaper) tells about one class. A syllabus can be found here.
~apok
You are about to start the hardest 9 years of your life. Just remember that women will come and go, and jobs will come and go. Stick with your friends, because they will be with you through all of it.
;)
Oh, and in about 7 years you're gonna be out training on your bike, and you're gonna see a car come out of a driveway.... Trouble is, she isn't gonna see you. So slow down if you don't want some expensive dental work
I know it's a faux pas, but I'm slightly intoxicated and it's my 21st birthday on the 21st. So I'm taking this opportunity to get a possible first post. ~apok