The Maya (actually, probably the Olmec before them) independently invented the concept of the zero some time around 350 BCE. So they got there first. However, this was probably in what is now Guatemala or Belize, so Mexico has no rights to that.
The most commonly used correlation of the Gregorian Calendar and the Maya Calendar is the GMT correlation, after Goodwin, Martinez, Thompson, the main proponents. In this correlation, December 21, 2012 will be the end of the 13th Baktun. The only other correlation used by any but fringe scholars places the end of the 13th Baktun two days later on December 23rd. These guys are proposing a new correlation because of some reading of the Venus pages in the Dresden Codex. However. as has been known since at least the 1950s the Venus pages work exactly right with the GMT correlation, so these guys are just wrong about their correlation.
The reason for all the hoopla about 2012, is that in the Maya Calendar, the last creation ended on a 13th Baktun. The lunatics suppose that since the last creation ended on a 13th Baktun, the Maya supposed that this creation would also end after 13 Baktuns, but there is no evidence that the Maya had any such beliefs. There is a date on the West Panel of the Temple of Inscriptions from Palenque that refers to an anniversary of the crowning of the king, Pacal, that makes it quite obvious that the Maya believed that there was a 14th through 20th Baktun.
So, in summary, these guys are wrong about the new correlation, and all the 2012 nutjobs are wrong about even the Maya believing that 2012 was the end of this creation. For more information, see the presentation on the FAMSI (Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies) web site by Mark Van Stone that fully details what is known and what is true about Maya beliefs about 2012. http://www.famsi.org/research/vanstone/2012/index.html
Only 10% of users even consider changing defaults
on
On the Humble Default
·
· Score: 1
I was at a meeting at Microsoft recently. A program manager on Visual Studio said that in their metrics, only 10% of the people ever open the Options dialog in a program, much less change anything. For that reason, the default configurations have to be right, and it takes a very strong argument to add the feature to make changing the default configurations even possible.
No, IE became popular because. for a period of time, its only serious competition was Netscape version 4. IE was gold compared to that bug laden, mish-mashed piece of software. I'd take IE version 4 over Netscape version 4 any time.
So create an app so that it collects real-time data gathering information via GPS, Wi-Fi hub, and cell tower triangulation and uploading it to a central server (similar to Google Latitude). You could even use the accelerometer in the iPhone to detect when trains started moving, since I'm sure that it would be a different profile than walking. After a month or so, you'd have a real database of when the trains run rather than what appears on the schedule, which is more valuable information anyway. They couldn't touch that info, since they don't own it. If I lived Down Under, I'd write it just to tell them where they can stuff their copyright.
Bottom line: "one person, one vote" must mean exactly that; otherwise, elections can't be trusted.
That's not the way that the U.S. electoral process works. People from Wyoming get more of a vote than anyone else, since the state has more electoral votes per population than anywhere else. Now ultimately it is one person, one vote, but only when we are talking about the electors from each state that vote on December 15th.
Why do organizations insist on having one network? Why not multiple networks? One for secure stuff and one essentially open to the employees to do unsecure stuff. Have an essentially open wireless network for employees to use their personal laptops on, possibly with a minimal WEP key to keep non-employees out of it. The issue is that most employees are trying to get stuff done that the secure network prohibits, so instead of fighting them, why not allow it, but keep their unsecure stuff off the secure network. If they want their personal laptop to do email or yahoo messenger...fine...on the unsecure network.
I have three networks inside my house. One for guests and family members, one for my work computers, and one for my web servers, with firewalls between them.
First you need a rack. I got my rack at the local used computer equipment store in Seattle, RE-PC. Got a 75U rack for $75. Didn't need that much U space, but allows for further expansion. 45U takes as much floor space as 12U!
Next you need cases. I got 4U cases. There are lots around. As others have mentioned, 4U cases allow you to use any standard hardware.
Next you need slide rails. Search for "rack mount slide rails" on eBay. I bought from ArrowMax for $18, plus shipping. The shipping is expensive, so buy all the rails you will need at once. Rails work just fine.
Since I use 4U cases, almost any motherboard will work. I had to search to find a commodity motherboard that supports ECC memory. They don't tend to say that in the descriptions for non-server motherboards on NewEgg, so you have to look in the downloaded manual for a BIOS setting that allows you to turn on ECC support. I wouldn't run a server without ECC memory.
Many KVM's are rack mountable already--you want the little L shaped mounting brackets. Don't need a KVM for a single server, of course. Also bought 24 port network switch at RE-PC for cheap. Works just fine. Use a small keyboard and minimal LCD screen.
I'm really happy with my rack. All blinken-lighten and all.
In my experience, the people who do sales and provisioning at Verizon are completely incompetent idiots. I had static IP addresses, and needed some more. It took six weeks of daily calls before they finally provisioned it, including lying about escalating it multiple times. Almost the same thing with acquiring UseNet access. And about half a dozen other things. Idiots.
On the other hand, if you can actually talk to a tech guy in person, they are fantastic. They will do whatever it takes to fix whatever it is, no matter what it costs or how long it takes. They put a new DSLAM in the central office because I started getting intermittent connections on the DSL line. If you ever talk to a tech guy, make sure you get his phone number, and never lose it. If you have to call back to the general number, you will wind up with the idiots again.
I now use another ISP for my DSL over Verizon's wire. The one thing I dread about switching to FIOS is not being able to use my ISP and having to deal with Verizon sales and provisioning again.
Of course modifying an mdb file causes a vulnerability. It would be stupid for it not to. As an analogy...he's saying that he can modify an executable file to execute arbitrary code. Well, duh! Since an mdb file can already have executable code in it, in the form of macros, references to ActiveX controls, and vba code, to treat it as anything but an executable is stupid. Microsoft Outlook and other email programs already treat mdb files as suspect. There are plenty of legitimate security holes around, but this isn't one of them.
When are people going to realize that Mythbusters isn't a show about science? It's a show about engineering. The "science" part of it is rudimentary, at best, with inadequate controls, irreproducible results, and improper methodologies. The fascinating part of the show is the engineering necessary to construct the device to test the myth. When viewed as a show about engineering...how they brainstorm to use engineering to solve a problem, it is a fascinating show. When viewed as a show about the scientific method, it is just maddening.
I think they know this and advertise that they do "science" because it sells better than doing engineering. Scientist are sexy now, whereas engineers are boring.
The mission statement of the IT department is to keep people from getting information.
Most IT departments try to control what people do on the corporate computers. By locking down the corporate environment so that people have to come beg to install something new, they keep their stranglehold on the corporate environment. By maintaining that power, they justify their existence.
The problem with paper based training materials is that frequently they are just copies of slides. Good paper based training materials stands on its own as a book that can act as a reference when the course is over. That means that the concepts that the instructor covered are explained in the book with examples, screen shots, and comes with the sample programs that the instructor was demonstrating.
The instructor gives value by being able to answer questions and adds his real-world experience to the concepts in the book. The instructor can ask questions, and makes sure that the students understand the concepts before moving on.
Bill gave an interview sometime around 1990, in which he stated that he intended to give away most of his money. This was long before he married Melinda. His parents were well-off. His father was one of the most prominent lawyers in Seattle. His mother was on the board of regents of the University of Washington. His family had a long history of donating to causes and giving to the community.
Microsoft had a long tradition of giving to the United Way, with many executives giving from their personal fortunes. This came from the top, put into place by Bill. His father ran the Washington State United Way annual campaign for a year, and later ran Bill's foundation.
The Gates Foundations doesn't give money away. It invests money in charitable causes. Throwing money away is easy, but investing it is time consuming. One big difference between the Gates Foundation and many other charitable organizations is that it demands results for it's money--much like a corporation. Bill was busy building his company and didn't have time to run his foundation, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to. Implying that Bill wasn't interested in charitable causes before he married Melinda is just plain wrong.
I wrote my WA state representatives about this. One of the things that I argued was that this was going to cost me taxpayer money in first amendment suits. Below is the reply that I got from one of my representatives. She doesn't seem to get it.
Thank you for writing to me and sharing your views regarding online gambling. I truly appreciate you taking the time to write.
Senate Bill 6613 clarified what was already in state law which is any form of gambling that is not specifically regulated by statute is illegal. It also brings us into conformity with the federal ban on internet gambling. Therefore, even before this law took effect, online gambling was not legal. This bill clarified that internet gambling specifically is against the law and changed the penalties. This new law was also needed to support the state's policy on internet gambling against lawsuits and challenges brought under various international trade agreements; in enforcement actions prosecuted in cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies; and in negotiations under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. As you know, this bill passed both chambers overwhelmingly and is also supported by many lawmakers on the federal level.
Thank you, again, for your comments and concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions, concerns or recommendations on this or any other issue.
Best Regards,
Ruth
Representative Ruth Kagi
32nd Legislative District
304 John L. O'Brien Building
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
District: (206)368-4691
District Fax: (206) 368-4693
kagi.ruth@leg.wa.gov
The (Jack) Vance Integral Edition was a volunteer effort to produce a limited edition 42 volume set of the complete works of Jack Vance, restored to as close to the author's original manuscripts as possible.
(The project is complete, and an amazing success.)
The team scanned and edited many of Jack's early works for which there was no good clean manuscript. They developed software tools that would compare scans from different editions to automatically find errors. It turns out that even the best human editor still missed "scanos" (typos produced by the scanning process) that the automated tools found.
Even so, in the final books there were a handful of errors that slipped through, despite extremely careful editing by hundreds of volunteers.
Except that GMT hasn't been used as the international time standard since January 1, 1972. It has been replaced by UTC.
I've been saying that local time should be done away with for a long time. There is, however, the concept of relative daylight. People say 8 a.m. when they mean "morning", noon when they mean "middle of the day", 6 p.m. "when they mean "late afternoon", etc. The idea is to give some idea of how much daylight there is or is left.
To separate local time from an absolute time scale we need more precise words for the relative daylight. Things like store hours should all be stated in UTC, but the relative daylight words should indicate where the sun is overhead.
The largest number of animals that are infected are raccoons on the East Coast:
Raccoons: 2778
Skunks: 2223
Bats: 1240
Foxes: 453
Cats: 249
Dogs: 114
Cattle: 83
Coyotes: 8
CDC Statistics
Human cases 1990-2002:
Bats: 27
Dogs: 9
CDC Statistics
Slashdot Mirror
The Maya (actually, probably the Olmec before them) independently invented the concept of the zero some time around 350 BCE. So they got there first. However, this was probably in what is now Guatemala or Belize, so Mexico has no rights to that.
The reason for all the hoopla about 2012, is that in the Maya Calendar, the last creation ended on a 13th Baktun. The lunatics suppose that since the last creation ended on a 13th Baktun, the Maya supposed that this creation would also end after 13 Baktuns, but there is no evidence that the Maya had any such beliefs. There is a date on the West Panel of the Temple of Inscriptions from Palenque that refers to an anniversary of the crowning of the king, Pacal, that makes it quite obvious that the Maya believed that there was a 14th through 20th Baktun.
So, in summary, these guys are wrong about the new correlation, and all the 2012 nutjobs are wrong about even the Maya believing that 2012 was the end of this creation. For more information, see the presentation on the FAMSI (Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies) web site by Mark Van Stone that fully details what is known and what is true about Maya beliefs about 2012. http://www.famsi.org/research/vanstone/2012/index.html
I was at a meeting at Microsoft recently. A program manager on Visual Studio said that in their metrics, only 10% of the people ever open the Options dialog in a program, much less change anything. For that reason, the default configurations have to be right, and it takes a very strong argument to add the feature to make changing the default configurations even possible.
A friend of mine used to take Thunderbird, put it in expensive wine bottles, and serve it at parties. It was always a hit.
No, IE became popular because. for a period of time, its only serious competition was Netscape version 4. IE was gold compared to that bug laden, mish-mashed piece of software. I'd take IE version 4 over Netscape version 4 any time.
If Microsoft hadn't written this crappy code, and they'd used Linux instead, this wouldn't have happened.
So create an app so that it collects real-time data gathering information via GPS, Wi-Fi hub, and cell tower triangulation and uploading it to a central server (similar to Google Latitude). You could even use the accelerometer in the iPhone to detect when trains started moving, since I'm sure that it would be a different profile than walking. After a month or so, you'd have a real database of when the trains run rather than what appears on the schedule, which is more valuable information anyway. They couldn't touch that info, since they don't own it. If I lived Down Under, I'd write it just to tell them where they can stuff their copyright.
That's not the way that the U.S. electoral process works. People from Wyoming get more of a vote than anyone else, since the state has more electoral votes per population than anywhere else. Now ultimately it is one person, one vote, but only when we are talking about the electors from each state that vote on December 15th.
I have three networks inside my house. One for guests and family members, one for my work computers, and one for my web servers, with firewalls between them.
Server 2008 is the same kernel as Vista.
If there is a power outage, how am I going to fire up my desktop machine and view Google Earth?
Might that be because they started paying dividends?
Of course, I mean 45U rack for $75. 75U would be a little tall!
First you need a rack. I got my rack at the local used computer equipment store in Seattle, RE-PC. Got a 75U rack for $75. Didn't need that much U space, but allows for further expansion. 45U takes as much floor space as 12U!
Next you need cases. I got 4U cases. There are lots around. As others have mentioned, 4U cases allow you to use any standard hardware.
Next you need slide rails. Search for "rack mount slide rails" on eBay. I bought from ArrowMax for $18, plus shipping. The shipping is expensive, so buy all the rails you will need at once. Rails work just fine.
Since I use 4U cases, almost any motherboard will work. I had to search to find a commodity motherboard that supports ECC memory. They don't tend to say that in the descriptions for non-server motherboards on NewEgg, so you have to look in the downloaded manual for a BIOS setting that allows you to turn on ECC support. I wouldn't run a server without ECC memory.
Many KVM's are rack mountable already--you want the little L shaped mounting brackets. Don't need a KVM for a single server, of course. Also bought 24 port network switch at RE-PC for cheap. Works just fine. Use a small keyboard and minimal LCD screen.
I'm really happy with my rack. All blinken-lighten and all.
In my experience, the people who do sales and provisioning at Verizon are completely incompetent idiots. I had static IP addresses, and needed some more. It took six weeks of daily calls before they finally provisioned it, including lying about escalating it multiple times. Almost the same thing with acquiring UseNet access. And about half a dozen other things. Idiots.
On the other hand, if you can actually talk to a tech guy in person, they are fantastic. They will do whatever it takes to fix whatever it is, no matter what it costs or how long it takes. They put a new DSLAM in the central office because I started getting intermittent connections on the DSL line. If you ever talk to a tech guy, make sure you get his phone number, and never lose it. If you have to call back to the general number, you will wind up with the idiots again.
I now use another ISP for my DSL over Verizon's wire. The one thing I dread about switching to FIOS is not being able to use my ISP and having to deal with Verizon sales and provisioning again.
Of course modifying an mdb file causes a vulnerability. It would be stupid for it not to. As an analogy...he's saying that he can modify an executable file to execute arbitrary code. Well, duh! Since an mdb file can already have executable code in it, in the form of macros, references to ActiveX controls, and vba code, to treat it as anything but an executable is stupid. Microsoft Outlook and other email programs already treat mdb files as suspect. There are plenty of legitimate security holes around, but this isn't one of them.
When are people going to realize that Mythbusters isn't a show about science? It's a show about engineering. The "science" part of it is rudimentary, at best, with inadequate controls, irreproducible results, and improper methodologies. The fascinating part of the show is the engineering necessary to construct the device to test the myth. When viewed as a show about engineering...how they brainstorm to use engineering to solve a problem, it is a fascinating show. When viewed as a show about the scientific method, it is just maddening.
I think they know this and advertise that they do "science" because it sells better than doing engineering. Scientist are sexy now, whereas engineers are boring.
Most IT departments try to control what people do on the corporate computers. By locking down the corporate environment so that people have to come beg to install something new, they keep their stranglehold on the corporate environment. By maintaining that power, they justify their existence.
The problem with paper based training materials is that frequently they are just copies of slides. Good paper based training materials stands on its own as a book that can act as a reference when the course is over. That means that the concepts that the instructor covered are explained in the book with examples, screen shots, and comes with the sample programs that the instructor was demonstrating.
The instructor gives value by being able to answer questions and adds his real-world experience to the concepts in the book. The instructor can ask questions, and makes sure that the students understand the concepts before moving on.
Bill gave an interview sometime around 1990, in which he stated that he intended to give away most of his money. This was long before he married Melinda. His parents were well-off. His father was one of the most prominent lawyers in Seattle. His mother was on the board of regents of the University of Washington. His family had a long history of donating to causes and giving to the community.
Microsoft had a long tradition of giving to the United Way, with many executives giving from their personal fortunes. This came from the top, put into place by Bill. His father ran the Washington State United Way annual campaign for a year, and later ran Bill's foundation.
The Gates Foundations doesn't give money away. It invests money in charitable causes. Throwing money away is easy, but investing it is time consuming. One big difference between the Gates Foundation and many other charitable organizations is that it demands results for it's money--much like a corporation. Bill was busy building his company and didn't have time to run his foundation, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to. Implying that Bill wasn't interested in charitable causes before he married Melinda is just plain wrong.
It is Just-In-Time compiled to native code.
The (Jack) Vance Integral Edition was a volunteer effort to produce a limited edition 42 volume set of the complete works of Jack Vance, restored to as close to the author's original manuscripts as possible.
(The project is complete, and an amazing success.)
The team scanned and edited many of Jack's early works for which there was no good clean manuscript. They developed software tools that would compare scans from different editions to automatically find errors. It turns out that even the best human editor still missed "scanos" (typos produced by the scanning process) that the automated tools found.
Even so, in the final books there were a handful of errors that slipped through, despite extremely careful editing by hundreds of volunteers.
I've been saying that local time should be done away with for a long time. There is, however, the concept of relative daylight. People say 8 a.m. when they mean "morning", noon when they mean "middle of the day", 6 p.m. "when they mean "late afternoon", etc. The idea is to give some idea of how much daylight there is or is left.
To separate local time from an absolute time scale we need more precise words for the relative daylight. Things like store hours should all be stated in UTC, but the relative daylight words should indicate where the sun is overhead.
The largest number of animals that are infected are raccoons on the East Coast: Raccoons: 2778 Skunks: 2223 Bats: 1240 Foxes: 453 Cats: 249 Dogs: 114 Cattle: 83 Coyotes: 8 CDC Statistics Human cases 1990-2002: Bats: 27 Dogs: 9 CDC Statistics