I don't think we need it. My children had several "snow days" this year and less than half were reasonable. It either didn't snow or the roads were perfectly clear. When I was in high school about 25 years ago, I went to a private school and they almost never closed compared to the public schools. Public schools are too quick to pull the "cancel school alarm"
The problem is that administrators have to make the call in time to get the word out to everyone concerned that a snow day has been declared. Otherwise, you get school bus drivers and teachers showing up for work, parents dropping their kids off at school, and the whole system having to be started up and then stopped. Typically, an administrator needs to be up around 4 or 5 in the morning, poring over weather reports and trying to figure out what the impact will be. They make the best guess they can, and sometimes they're wrong. They would rather err on the side of caution, as letting school go on when the weather is too bad will lead to accidents and parents having to be called out of work or what have you when they finally decide they really do need to call it off early. But then that leads to the days when nobody understands why school was called off, because the administrator's best guess at the time he/she needed to make the call was that there would be too much snow, and he/she turned out to be wrong. They can't win.
Eventually, it might be a good idea, but a lot of people still don't have high speed internet or a computer for that matter.
A good point, but the way things seem to be headed, a house without a high speed internet connection will eventually be about as unheard of as a house without a telephone has been for decades.
Where I work, I use 2 identical computers, from a hardware perspective, toggling between them via a KVM switch. One is running Vista, the other Windows 7. The Windows 7 one is much faster and more reliable (it can take literally 15 minutes to log off of the Vista computer and log the next user on; on the Win7 one, it takes only a couple of minutes to do the same thing). I was hearing all sorts of bad press about Vista, but I didn't know what the fuss was about before we "upgraded" from Win2K. "Switch User" doesn't work right (it usually reverts from 1268x1024 screen resolution to 800x600 for the second user, and nothing can be done to set it back, short of a reboot) and the "User Profile Service" takes for-fucking-ever to complete, whether logging on or off.
We only got an exception from our corporate overlords to get the Win7 computer because we were having incredible problems with a critical application (our visitor registration system), and one fine day, several VIPs had to wait for several minutes before we could check them in, because they happened to arrive moments after I'd logged off and my relief was waiting to log on. We still have to use the Vista computer for email, etc.; we are only allowed to use the Win7 computer for the visitor registration app (although when I happen to "accidentally" use the Win7 one for those other apps during off hours, it is much, much faster for them too, so my perception doesn't have anything to do with one machine being more heavily loaded than the other). Switch User works fine on Win7; I've seen it with 4 or 5 different users logged on, and no ill effects. This would bring our Vista system to its knees; 2 logged on users is bad enough.
I decided shortly after we got the Vista computers that Vista's motto was "Please Wait".
Well, that's why online gambling is illegal. The guys behind those casinos don't want the competition, and have paid their lackeys in Congress to keep them off the playing field.
According to the article in the Independent (cited in another post about 10 min. before yours), it was actually movements between the tables that conveyed the moves. The confederate receiving the text would stand by the table corresponding to b3, for example, then move to the table corresponding to b4, signifying that the computer's move was b3-b4.
When I have my oil changed, the garage does some routine mechanical checks, just to make sure there's nothing wrong. They're under the car anyway, might as well have a look around and see if there's anything that needs to be addressed.
Yeah. The problem with that is that the exploiters do better politically than the explainers. The former are hailed as heroes trying to Do Something about the problem, while the latter are denounced as mealy-mouthed sympathizers or appeasers.
You're not going to get anywhere expecting the vast majority of the public to be rational about this.
This is all true. The problem is that 9/11 type incidents are spectacular. People see reports of hundreds or thousands of people all dying at once, and perceive the risk as much greater than that of driving, disease, etc. because those things only kill one or a handful of people at the same time. Many people don't really grasp math, and perceive a much greater risk from things that are actually much less likely to kill them (such as plane crashes vs. auto accidents), because when something does go wrong, it's instantly newsworthy. Dry statistics don't have that kind of emotional impact.
Except that virtually every company of any size these days has layoff cycles. It is virtually impossible for an employee to prove that he/she was discriminated against in a layoff (unless the company is stupid enough to lay off only people who meet very specific criteria, and even then it's tough). If you want to get rid of an employee for any reason, all you do is wait for another round of layoffs to come around (probably not more than about 3-6 months away, possibly much sooner) and presto! When I was laid off from HP, I got a printout telling me how many people of what ages and racial types were laid off during that cycle, which I suspect was an effort to "prove" it wasn't age/race discrimination. Funny how very few companies seem to want to hire a 50 year old these days, though. Other than as a security guard or a store greeter, of course.
I think what you do is nail repeat offenders with jail time instead of fines, particularly if they've actually caused accidents. That just might get their attention.
Disability insurance != health insurance. Disability insurance is designed to replace income lost because of inability to work due to a medical condition. Health insurance is designed to pay for medical care.
I wish Verizon offered FIOS in my neighborhood. Or at least would tell me when I can expect it here! I'm so damned eager to dump Comcrap, it isn't even funny. But right now, I have no good alternative. Every time I plug in my address to the "check FIOS availability" page, they want to sell me a dish (which my landlord won't let me get; he's fussy about the appearance of the house and the lawn) plus DSL. Well, I want the bundle; it's cheaper that way. I'd settle for dish + DSL if I could do it, but paying separately for cable TV and DSL doesn't make sense. Hell, I'd even settle for broadcast TV and DSL, but this neighborhood has lousy reception for that.
And as someone else said, once you've worked "behind the scenes" in this industry, you'll never play again because you'll have a good understanding that it's not really your "luck" from a "random" event resulting in a win, but rather being the lucky one to be in the right place at the right time when the controlling computer decides it is time for a jackpot.
What's the difference between one form of luck (getting the right die roll, RNG output, or whatever) and the other (being in the right place at the right time when the computer "decides" it's time)? Sure, if you know in advance when that right place and time are, you can arrange to be there then, but otherwise, it's still a random event you have no control over. The only real question is whether the odds are correct for the game you're playing.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem is that administrators have to make the call in time to get the word out to everyone concerned that a snow day has been declared. Otherwise, you get school bus drivers and teachers showing up for work, parents dropping their kids off at school, and the whole system having to be started up and then stopped. Typically, an administrator needs to be up around 4 or 5 in the morning, poring over weather reports and trying to figure out what the impact will be. They make the best guess they can, and sometimes they're wrong. They would rather err on the side of caution, as letting school go on when the weather is too bad will lead to accidents and parents having to be called out of work or what have you when they finally decide they really do need to call it off early. But then that leads to the days when nobody understands why school was called off, because the administrator's best guess at the time he/she needed to make the call was that there would be too much snow, and he/she turned out to be wrong. They can't win.
A good point, but the way things seem to be headed, a house without a high speed internet connection will eventually be about as unheard of as a house without a telephone has been for decades.
-Mike
I know they're all wrong, anyway.... ;)
Where I work, I use 2 identical computers, from a hardware perspective, toggling between them via a KVM switch. One is running Vista, the other Windows 7. The Windows 7 one is much faster and more reliable (it can take literally 15 minutes to log off of the Vista computer and log the next user on; on the Win7 one, it takes only a couple of minutes to do the same thing). I was hearing all sorts of bad press about Vista, but I didn't know what the fuss was about before we "upgraded" from Win2K. "Switch User" doesn't work right (it usually reverts from 1268x1024 screen resolution to 800x600 for the second user, and nothing can be done to set it back, short of a reboot) and the "User Profile Service" takes for-fucking-ever to complete, whether logging on or off.
We only got an exception from our corporate overlords to get the Win7 computer because we were having incredible problems with a critical application (our visitor registration system), and one fine day, several VIPs had to wait for several minutes before we could check them in, because they happened to arrive moments after I'd logged off and my relief was waiting to log on. We still have to use the Vista computer for email, etc.; we are only allowed to use the Win7 computer for the visitor registration app (although when I happen to "accidentally" use the Win7 one for those other apps during off hours, it is much, much faster for them too, so my perception doesn't have anything to do with one machine being more heavily loaded than the other). Switch User works fine on Win7; I've seen it with 4 or 5 different users logged on, and no ill effects. This would bring our Vista system to its knees; 2 logged on users is bad enough.
I decided shortly after we got the Vista computers that Vista's motto was "Please Wait".
Okay, Mr. Picky, they built a replica of the Trojan Horse. Happy now?
-Mike
Well, that's why online gambling is illegal. The guys behind those casinos don't want the competition, and have paid their lackeys in Congress to keep them off the playing field.
-Mike
According to the article in the Independent (cited in another post about 10 min. before yours), it was actually movements between the tables that conveyed the moves. The confederate receiving the text would stand by the table corresponding to b3, for example, then move to the table corresponding to b4, signifying that the computer's move was b3-b4.
When I have my oil changed, the garage does some routine mechanical checks, just to make sure there's nothing wrong. They're under the car anyway, might as well have a look around and see if there's anything that needs to be addressed.
-Mike
Damn time-traveling plagiarist!
-Mike
The House doesn't allow filibusters; they have had rules limiting the duration of debates since 1842. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster#House_of_Representatives.
-Mike
Yeah. The problem with that is that the exploiters do better politically than the explainers. The former are hailed as heroes trying to Do Something about the problem, while the latter are denounced as mealy-mouthed sympathizers or appeasers.
You're not going to get anywhere expecting the vast majority of the public to be rational about this.
-Mike
This is all true. The problem is that 9/11 type incidents are spectacular. People see reports of hundreds or thousands of people all dying at once, and perceive the risk as much greater than that of driving, disease, etc. because those things only kill one or a handful of people at the same time. Many people don't really grasp math, and perceive a much greater risk from things that are actually much less likely to kill them (such as plane crashes vs. auto accidents), because when something does go wrong, it's instantly newsworthy. Dry statistics don't have that kind of emotional impact.
-Mike
Aw, c'mon, don't hold back! Tell us how you really feel!
-Mike
enhance
I do not think that word means what you think it means....
-Mike
Seriously. We need a "-1 WHOOSH!" mod option....
-Mike
Except that virtually every company of any size these days has layoff cycles. It is virtually impossible for an employee to prove that he/she was discriminated against in a layoff (unless the company is stupid enough to lay off only people who meet very specific criteria, and even then it's tough). If you want to get rid of an employee for any reason, all you do is wait for another round of layoffs to come around (probably not more than about 3-6 months away, possibly much sooner) and presto! When I was laid off from HP, I got a printout telling me how many people of what ages and racial types were laid off during that cycle, which I suspect was an effort to "prove" it wasn't age/race discrimination. Funny how very few companies seem to want to hire a 50 year old these days, though. Other than as a security guard or a store greeter, of course.
-Mike
I think what you do is nail repeat offenders with jail time instead of fines, particularly if they've actually caused accidents. That just might get their attention.
-Mike
Say, could you wash your car? We could use some rain....
-Mike
Yeah! That would have stopped Richard Reid COLD! Oh, wait....
-Mike
You seriously believe that the possibility of being shot is going to deter someone from attempting to blow himself up?
-Mike
You forgot s/find/fine/
HTH,
Mike
The day an Insurance company starts making decisions once reserved for medical professionals is a day I dread.
I hate to have to break it to you, but that day is already here, at least in the US. That's basically why our health care system is so broken.
-Mike
Disability insurance != health insurance. Disability insurance is designed to replace income lost because of inability to work due to a medical condition. Health insurance is designed to pay for medical care.
-Mike
I wish Verizon offered FIOS in my neighborhood. Or at least would tell me when I can expect it here! I'm so damned eager to dump Comcrap, it isn't even funny. But right now, I have no good alternative. Every time I plug in my address to the "check FIOS availability" page, they want to sell me a dish (which my landlord won't let me get; he's fussy about the appearance of the house and the lawn) plus DSL. Well, I want the bundle; it's cheaper that way. I'd settle for dish + DSL if I could do it, but paying separately for cable TV and DSL doesn't make sense. Hell, I'd even settle for broadcast TV and DSL, but this neighborhood has lousy reception for that.
-Mike
And as someone else said, once you've worked "behind the scenes" in this industry, you'll never play again because you'll have a good understanding that it's not really your "luck" from a "random" event resulting in a win, but rather being the lucky one to be in the right place at the right time when the controlling computer decides it is time for a jackpot.
What's the difference between one form of luck (getting the right die roll, RNG output, or whatever) and the other (being in the right place at the right time when the computer "decides" it's time)? Sure, if you know in advance when that right place and time are, you can arrange to be there then, but otherwise, it's still a random event you have no control over. The only real question is whether the odds are correct for the game you're playing.
-Mike
What a waste of money. Vitamin D reduces cancer to background noise. Getting rid of chicks' bras gets rid of most of the rest.
[citation needed]