Because the US doesn't use the British Imperial system? It's called the American Standard system.
A rose by any other name...
In terms of measurements there's "The Metric System" and "a bunch of outdated, confusing, inconsistent systems which are mutually incompatible DESPITE having identical names for some measures".
For scientific and engineering purposes spanning the entire globe, the choice is obvious except for countries which simply refuse to co-operate.
As it was blown some time ago, do you know that one stupid little anesthesiologist makes $400 thousands Canadian dollars?
Having undergone surgery recently (albeit in a different country) I for one am grateful that anaesthesiologists are highly paid. I slept through the surgery (under a general) and had almost no side-effects from going under.
When I'm being cut open like a fish the last thing I would want is a minimum-wage burger-flipping-esque junior managing my lack of pain.
History has shown that high taxes on the rich do NOT harm the economy
History has also shown that higher taxes != higher revenue, but that's not your point, is it?
The issue is not the official tax RATE, but the ease with which high-income earners (individuals and corporations) can avoid paying taxes. Offshore accounts, tax havens and other income-tax-dodging practices are the primary reason why ANY government has revenue issues.
The departments where people only do research that is guaranteed to work are usually the weaker ones. Good research addresses problems where the solution isn't known, where there are only some approximate ideas about what it may be, and where failure is likely. A big problem in academia today is exactly the attitude in your post - that people who do research that may fail should be penalised.
Somebody give him a medal for actually thinking through the problem.
I would argue (I don't have hard facts) that MOST "scientific discoveries" are not actually found as a direct result of being sought-after. If not "most" then certainly lots-and-lots were accidental/coincidental or peripheral discoveries. There are SO MANY discoveries resulting from "WTF was THAT?" turning into something useful (Penicillin, Viagra, Teflon, Vulcanization of Rubber, Cellophane, Microwave Oven) rather than something that was actively being researched.
Well across the board budget cuts are fine. But when science gets cut at the expense of the military(which ever keeps rising), it is not acceptable.
Actually the biggest problem is that those who are fighting to cut scientific research budgets argue that "across-the-board cuts are inherently fair". >
Which, to be honest, at first glance, does sound reasonable.
Until they propose a 1 BILLION dollar budget cut across *all* projects, and suddenly all scientific research projects are cancelled outright (their budgets were in the hundreds-of-millions) and the ONLY projects getting any further funding are The Military (which spends hundreds of billions annually and only just barely notice a budget cut of less than one percent).
Like the government-backed mortgage bubble we experienced from 2002-to 2007. That was supposed to stimulate the economy but instead it wrecked it.
You sir are an idiot! (you belong in politics, clearly)
Throwing Money At People does not usually benefit the economy. At best, no long term benefit. At worst it backfires like the mortgage bubble.
As opposed to investing in "development" (R&D, Infrastructure, Education), which *always* pays out generous returns. Admittedly said payouts are usually in the mid-to-long-term, but you yourself or perhaps your children will (still) be alive in the mid-to-long term and you'd much rather be better off as a result, RIGHT?
Who profits from BOTS pumping the FACEBOOK advertising system?
In practice it will be effectively impossible to identify the person-or-company who is *originally* responsible for this clickvertising pumping scheme.
The Olympics are self-important beyond their entertainment (or any other) value. Not interested.
Seems to me you're describing "reality television" exactly. Which is amazing because, for once, this *actually* is televised reality (unlike its namesake).
The Olympics is science, in the sense that we get together periodically to empirically test our understanding of the limits of the (unaltered) human body.
Ahahahaha, you must be kidding, right?
Since when has any sport featured nothing but the best of human ability untainted by performance-enhancing drugs?
Insert never ending BLATANTLY LYING drugs cheats here (Marion Jones, amongst others - Google it if you've been living under a rock).
ALL COMPETITIVE SPORTS RESULTS ARE SUSPECT - we can have *no real confidence* that we are catching all the "drug cheats", as proven by the continuing rain of "cheaters" found *many many* years after the fact.
I will say it plain and simple, ALL competitive sports have lots their integrity, cannot be trusted.
BAN all "drugs cheats", not for a week-or-three, but FOR LIFE. Revoke their medal and awards. NEVER let them work in The Sports Industry ever again.
Slashdot Mirror
http://www.amazon.com/Computer-One-Warwick-Collins/dp/0714530336
First it was The Nazis
Next it was The Communists
Now it's The Democrats
Anyone taking bets on WHO IS NEXT?
Seriously, how many "Curiosity is About To Land" articles do we need today?
I want to know what's going to happen This Afternoon.
Ustream NASA JPL ("media" stream) http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2
Ustream NASA Public (ie 'media' stream plus inserted clips, talking heads, etc) http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv
The Circus starts approx 3pm (Australian Eastern) and the fireworks (or not) around 3:30pm.
If we want to reduce the impact of Cattle, why dont we eat them when they are young? baby cows are mighty tasty!
Oh Veally?
Because the US doesn't use the British Imperial system? It's called the American Standard system.
A rose by any other name...
In terms of measurements there's "The Metric System" and "a bunch of outdated, confusing, inconsistent systems which are mutually incompatible DESPITE having identical names for some measures".
For scientific and engineering purposes spanning the entire globe, the choice is obvious except for countries which simply refuse to co-operate.
- first Rainbow-Logo computer?
- 64k should be enough for anybody
- ?
- Profit!
The Commodore-64 Came Out 30 Years Ago
Yup, with that Rainbow Logo the Commodore-64 was Out And Proud from day one.
Wake me up in another 34 years.
As it was blown some time ago, do you know that one stupid little anesthesiologist makes $400 thousands Canadian dollars?
Having undergone surgery recently (albeit in a different country) I for one am grateful that anaesthesiologists are highly paid. I slept through the surgery (under a general) and had almost no side-effects from going under.
When I'm being cut open like a fish the last thing I would want is a minimum-wage burger-flipping-esque junior managing my lack of pain.
History has shown that high taxes on the rich do NOT harm the economy
History has also shown that higher taxes != higher revenue, but that's not your point, is it?
The issue is not the official tax RATE, but the ease with which high-income earners (individuals and corporations) can avoid paying taxes. Offshore accounts, tax havens and other income-tax-dodging practices are the primary reason why ANY government has revenue issues.
The departments where people only do research that is guaranteed to work are usually the weaker ones. Good research addresses problems where the solution isn't known, where there are only some approximate ideas about what it may be, and where failure is likely. A big problem in academia today is exactly the attitude in your post - that people who do research that may fail should be penalised.
Somebody give him a medal for actually thinking through the problem.
I would argue (I don't have hard facts) that MOST "scientific discoveries" are not actually found as a direct result of being sought-after. If not "most" then certainly lots-and-lots were accidental/coincidental or peripheral discoveries. There are SO MANY discoveries resulting from "WTF was THAT?" turning into something useful (Penicillin, Viagra, Teflon, Vulcanization of Rubber, Cellophane, Microwave Oven) rather than something that was actively being researched.
Well across the board budget cuts are fine. But when science gets cut at the expense of the military(which ever keeps rising), it is not acceptable.
Actually the biggest problem is that those who are fighting to cut scientific research budgets argue that "across-the-board cuts are inherently fair". >
Which, to be honest, at first glance, does sound reasonable.
Until they propose a 1 BILLION dollar budget cut across *all* projects, and suddenly all scientific research projects are cancelled outright (their budgets were in the hundreds-of-millions) and the ONLY projects getting any further funding are The Military (which spends hundreds of billions annually and only just barely notice a budget cut of less than one percent).
We got the best aerospace industry on Earth.
Famous
Last
Words
Any second now s/got/had/.
Like the government-backed mortgage bubble we experienced from 2002-to 2007. That was supposed to stimulate the economy but instead it wrecked it.
You sir are an idiot! (you belong in politics, clearly)
Throwing Money At People does not usually benefit the economy. At best, no long term benefit. At worst it backfires like the mortgage bubble.
As opposed to investing in "development" (R&D, Infrastructure, Education), which *always* pays out generous returns. Admittedly said payouts are usually in the mid-to-long-term, but you yourself or perhaps your children will (still) be alive in the mid-to-long term and you'd much rather be better off as a result, RIGHT?
... parading down the street with a coffin is stupid and melodramatic.
Hey if Stupid And Melodramatic is good enough for Microsoft, why shouldn't we all follow suit?
Don't be silly, this is /.
Obviously he was under the impression that This Is Sparta!
Who profits from BOTS pumping the FACEBOOK advertising system?
In practice it will be effectively impossible to identify the person-or-company who is *originally* responsible for this clickvertising pumping scheme.
But I know who I'd be betting on.
Under the Godwin Act of 2007 I'm afraid you are herby deported to the camps.
I'd say he's already been sent to The Gas Chamber (Slashdot being mostly Hot Air, even on a good day)
Bread and circuses.
Oddly enough The Olympics is not "bread and circuses" in the original sense.
Back in the day when the emperor spoke Latin, the "bread" was (effectively) free (the Roman practice of providing free wheat to Roman citizens).
At The Olympics the "bread" is most excessively not "gratis" by a long shot.
The Olympics are self-important beyond their entertainment (or any other) value. Not interested.
Seems to me you're describing "reality television" exactly. Which is amazing because, for once, this *actually* is televised reality (unlike its namesake).
Could Mars have oil? Film at 11.
Dunno if it has oil, but Mars Needs Women! (oddly enough - we've know this since *before* we first walked on the moon)
You can’t trick someone into caring about technology by turning it into a human interest story.
Which is one reason why NASA has become less relevant to society as they have less Man'd (or Woman'd) missions.
Bugger sending machines, send people.
Sure it'll mean people sacrificing their lives for the joys, fame, and science of exploration.
A large part of what it means to be human is to strive in the fact of impossible odds, to take risks, and to put your life on the line.
Being desperately afraid of losing even a single life has crippled space exploration. And, quite frankly, diminished our humanity.
The Olympics is science, in the sense that we get together periodically to empirically test our understanding of the limits of the (unaltered) human body.
Ahahahaha, you must be kidding, right?
Since when has any sport featured nothing but the best of human ability untainted by performance-enhancing drugs?
Insert never ending BLATANTLY LYING drugs cheats here (Marion Jones, amongst others - Google it if you've been living under a rock).
ALL COMPETITIVE SPORTS RESULTS ARE SUSPECT - we can have *no real confidence* that we are catching all the "drug cheats", as proven by the continuing rain of "cheaters" found *many many* years after the fact.
I will say it plain and simple, ALL competitive sports have lots their integrity, cannot be trusted.
BAN all "drugs cheats", not for a week-or-three, but FOR LIFE. Revoke their medal and awards. NEVER let them work in The Sports Industry ever again.
Der Tagesspiegel: The day's mirror.
These guys need some reflection.
er, perhaps a more correct translation would be "The Daily Mirror" ie "tabloid press".
For Americans who don't do The Dead Tree Thing think "Fox News".