I don't think that a Lender is the right analogy. Rather, the Govt is an investor, where the benefits are measured in repaid loans PLUS jobs created PLUS new technologies developed PLUS strategic resource concerns alleviated. Investing in startups means taking different kinds of risks than traditional lenders do - higher risk of default, but bigger payouts when things succeed.
Deniers are not only sociopaths, they're also crying terrified babies. For some reason, they've forgotten what a properly primed market can do. We are seeing adoption of renewable energy sources far in excess of predictions just 8 years ago. Why's that? Some governments are properly incentivizing the research and development of transformative technologies.
Meanwhile, the entrenched interests continue to muddy the situation with studies from the Heartland Institute and other wholly self-serving tools. We _can_ turn things around, and still have a very good standard of living. But the people who profit from the status quo aren't interested in seeing their golden goose fly away.
Amory Lovins of the rocky mountain institute has been teaching businesses how they can save energy and money _at the same time_ since the 70s. He's just published a new book ( a must read for anyone who doesn't want to wring their hands and whimper ) called "Reinventing Fire". It shows how we can transform our economy and enjoy GDP _growth_ - by eliminating inefficiencies, and rewarding new technologies and systems.
We made this mess. If we are willing to try without fear, we can certainly clean it up.
in the "what are you going to believe, your own eyes?" department...
Research in Phenology (the study of the seasonal changes of plant and animal life) shows significant advances in spring activity at points across the globe.
These are supplemented by anecdotal evidence - particularly in higher latitudes - that things are changing rapidly, and that surroundings are changing with in a generations living memory.
I see what you did there!
These aren't from actual scientific journals - this is from a popular news paper. This post is predictable - yes, global cooling was a fad in the popular media in the 70s. But if the poster had been better informed (or more honest, I can't tell) they would have pointed out that real climate scientists were predicting global warming in the 70s (and earlier!)
Apple lets app developers limit availability to the models that support their desired features- something that's only feasible when there are only a handful of models.
Or you could, you know, develop an api that allows the developer to specify which features are necessary, which is then used by the android app store to limit that apps availability. I'm developing for the Android now, and the framework is very nicely thought out, thank you.
Fragmentation is a red herring.
Dan Morrill at Google on 'fragmentation'
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/05/on-android-compatibility.html
The difference is that the cooling position was mainly advanced by sensational media, while real scientists (at the same time - 1970s) were already starting to predict global warming - Just like they are today.
http://www.skepticalscience.com/ice-age-predictions-in-1970s.htm
Well, if the big picture means anything to you, the results that CRU came up with align with simulations and observations from NASA and other climate research centers around the world. Why don't you take the raw data and devise your own model for it, or use their methodology?
Yeah, it's a lot of work, but others are doing just that sort of thing now - check out the climate-science site "the Blackboard" - good discussion of the issues there.
Anyone who would question it without looking at the context and rebuttals would be a skeptic-poseur!
I find again and again that 98% of AGW "skeptics"never dig any farther than the last argument that supports their tribe.
_there are very few sincere AGW skeptics_
Skeptical Science maintains a database of links to peer-reviewed papers. There is currently discussion about which journals are 'peer-reviewed' but this is a good step towards providing information for everyone.
I'll warn you though - unless you have strong statistics chops, some of this stuff is hard to plow through. But, there is plenty out there for any _honest_ skeptic.
Well, if you bother to look at the evidence (including the 'most damning' elements held up by the 'skeptics'), you realize that a day of testimony is more than enough to put this witch hunt to rest.
_There are very few sincere skeptics among AGW skeptics_
MIT's Scratch http://scratch.mit.edu/ is a remarkable environment that will allow for young programmers (as young as 6 and 7 ) to become familliar with subroutines, variables, conditionals, message passing, etc. in an environment that makes it easy to express things visually. For a 12 year old, it might be worth a month of exploration in that environment, then on to a conventional language.
I wondered if the blown bridge in Afghanistan and it's coincidence with the nearby airbase closing (Uzbekistan? Turkmenistan? - due to Russian financial incentives) were likely to be a test from the Kremlin.
The two were so conveniently near in time. Then this? Could be hardball while we are preoccupied with transition and the economy.
I hope I'm just tinfoiling.
Some very big money is being spent right now in the US for these 'passive' systems.
Nevada, Arizona, and So. Cal all have big thermal projects they are bankrolling:
http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/
"Arizona Public Service, Arizonaâ(TM)s largest utility, announced plans Thursday for a 280-megawatt solar power plant to be built 70 miles southwest of Phoenix by Spanish company Abengoa Solar"
"Utility giant FPL has filed plans with California regulators to build a $1 billion, 250-megawatt solar power plant in the Mojave Desert. The move marks the first time that a major player â" in this case a Fortune 500 company â" has jumped into the nascent Big Solar market."
"Solel last July signed the world's largest solar power deal when it agreed to supply California utility PG&E (PCG) with 553 megawatts of green electricity to be produced by a massive solar thermal power plant to be built in the Mojave Desert."
Code Complete - Steve McConnell - this highly regarded book discusses the nuts-and-bolts of software construction, and is a pleasure to read. I'm not familliar with another book that discusses software development at this level. Worth picking up (get the second ed).
Precisely what I thought when reading it. It reminds me why I respect science and scientists, toiling to provide a shared understanding of our universe. There is an essential aspect of humility to science - submitting your ideas to live or die under the scrutiny of the community. Not that it's always so gracefully exemplified.
I'm lead to beleive that while insulation is important, keeping an airtight* thermal envelope is at least equally important. We've taken an old brick schoolhouse (1905 construction) in upstate NY, built all of the walls in 4 inches with isocyanurate insulation, and added fiberglass batts to the attic. This has helped, but there have been significant gains as we continue to identify and fix air-leaks throughout the interior (window frames, doorways, attic doors, etc.)
*(with external air provided through heat-recovery units)
"You're forgetting one thing: history. Wherever and whenever decision-making power has been highly concentrated, the final results have been markedly poorer than when it is more distributed."
Wrong Wrong Wrong.
Why can't people think in terms of greys anymore?
There are situations when concentration of resources results in efficient use, and others where they are better used distributed.
There is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Bill seems to think that certain problems have a "tipping point" that a concentration of wealth and work will solve. Once solved, our resources are freed to spend on other things. He may be right or wrong. History has plenty of examples to back him up (smallpox).
Why has Slashdot been annoying me so much the last week or so? I used to really enjoy it, but the hordes of witless MS bashers bring the collective value of the forum WAY down. Or, are poor artices being greenlit? I can't put my finger on it. The forum is feeling shoddy and slummy. Guess I'll go hang with the intellectuals at FARK.
Once visual artists explored realism in the renaissance, they moved into increasingly non-realistic explorations of the medium (for a while). It's simple. As visual realism gives fewer returns, the best creators will explore other areas. The market will reward games that provide satisfaction without relying on the realism, or which are more expressive rather than realistic in their depictions.
where will games go?
Better AI Better Physics Better interfaces (see Will Wright's "Spore") novel uses of networking Better actors (plenty of room for more realism in human expression)
The industry is in its infancy, but there are plenty of fertile areas for exploration. I think things are going to get more exciting, not less in the near future.
While visiting Iceland with my girlfriend, I saw this residential driveway being paved in Reykjavik.
They were installing coils of plastic tubing beneath a decorative brick surface - like an outdoor 'radiant floor' system - presumably to melt the ice off!
Hot water must be incredibly cheap there.
/wishes I had a 3 mile deep hole in backyard for a geothermal heat well.
Slashdot Mirror
Makers Unite: Here are instructions for those who would like to make their own cat ears:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Animatronic-Cat-Ears/
I don't think that a Lender is the right analogy. Rather, the Govt is an investor, where the benefits are measured in repaid loans PLUS jobs created PLUS new technologies developed PLUS strategic resource concerns alleviated. Investing in startups means taking different kinds of risks than traditional lenders do - higher risk of default, but bigger payouts when things succeed.
George Clinton supported this in the 1970s
Deniers are not only sociopaths, they're also crying terrified babies. For some reason, they've forgotten what a properly primed market can do. We are seeing adoption of renewable energy sources far in excess of predictions just 8 years ago. Why's that? Some governments are properly incentivizing the research and development of transformative technologies.
Meanwhile, the entrenched interests continue to muddy the situation with studies from the Heartland Institute and other wholly self-serving tools. We _can_ turn things around, and still have a very good standard of living. But the people who profit from the status quo aren't interested in seeing their golden goose fly away.
Amory Lovins of the rocky mountain institute has been teaching businesses how they can save energy and money _at the same time_ since the 70s. He's just published a new book ( a must read for anyone who doesn't want to wring their hands and whimper ) called "Reinventing Fire". It shows how we can transform our economy and enjoy GDP _growth_ - by eliminating inefficiencies, and rewarding new technologies and systems.
We made this mess. If we are willing to try without fear, we can certainly clean it up.
Hear Hear - please bring back the original icons - they were much better because of their 'oddness' - these ones are ultimately sterile.
in the "what are you going to believe, your own eyes?" department...
Research in Phenology (the study of the seasonal changes of plant and animal life) shows significant advances in spring activity at points across the globe.
http://www.scienceonline.org/cgi/content/summary/sci;324/5929/887
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15592880
http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/Parmesan_2003_Nature.pdf
These are supplemented by anecdotal evidence - particularly in higher latitudes - that things are changing rapidly, and that surroundings are changing with in a generations living memory.
http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/11/the-great-global-experim.html
I see what you did there! These aren't from actual scientific journals - this is from a popular news paper. This post is predictable - yes, global cooling was a fad in the popular media in the 70s. But if the poster had been better informed (or more honest, I can't tell) they would have pointed out that real climate scientists were predicting global warming in the 70s (and earlier!)
Apple lets app developers limit availability to the models that support their desired features- something that's only feasible when there are only a handful of models.
Or you could, you know, develop an api that allows the developer to specify which features are necessary, which is then used by the android app store to limit that apps availability. I'm developing for the Android now, and the framework is very nicely thought out, thank you. Fragmentation is a red herring. Dan Morrill at Google on 'fragmentation' http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/05/on-android-compatibility.html
fear and guilt are emotions and they are the primary driver behind AGW believers.
Uhh, no, the overwhelming evidence given by peer reviewed science is the primary driver behind AGW believers. Thats the diff.
There are very few _true_ skeptics.
The difference is that the cooling position was mainly advanced by sensational media, while real scientists (at the same time - 1970s) were already starting to predict global warming - Just like they are today. http://www.skepticalscience.com/ice-age-predictions-in-1970s.htm
Well, if the big picture means anything to you, the results that CRU came up with align with simulations and observations from NASA and other climate research centers around the world. Why don't you take the raw data and devise your own model for it, or use their methodology?
Yeah, it's a lot of work, but others are doing just that sort of thing now - check out the climate-science site "the Blackboard" - good discussion of the issues there.
http://rankexploits.com/musings/
_there are very few sincere AGW skeptics_
Anyone who would question it without looking at the context and rebuttals would be a skeptic-poseur!
I find again and again that 98% of AGW "skeptics"never dig any farther than the last argument that supports their tribe.
_there are very few sincere AGW skeptics_
Skeptical Science maintains a database of links to peer-reviewed papers. There is currently discussion about which journals are 'peer-reviewed' but this is a good step towards providing information for everyone.
http://www.skepticalscience.com/resources.php?peer=1
I'll warn you though - unless you have strong statistics chops, some of this stuff is hard to plow through. But, there is plenty out there for any _honest_ skeptic.
Well, if you bother to look at the evidence (including the 'most damning' elements held up by the 'skeptics'), you realize that a day of testimony is more than enough to put this witch hunt to rest. _There are very few sincere skeptics among AGW skeptics_
MIT's Scratch http://scratch.mit.edu/ is a remarkable environment that will allow for young programmers (as young as 6 and 7 ) to become familliar with subroutines, variables, conditionals, message passing, etc. in an environment that makes it easy to express things visually. For a 12 year old, it might be worth a month of exploration in that environment, then on to a conventional language.
I wondered if the blown bridge in Afghanistan and it's coincidence with the nearby airbase closing (Uzbekistan? Turkmenistan? - due to Russian financial incentives) were likely to be a test from the Kremlin. The two were so conveniently near in time. Then this? Could be hardball while we are preoccupied with transition and the economy. I hope I'm just tinfoiling.
Some very big money is being spent right now in the US for these 'passive' systems. Nevada, Arizona, and So. Cal all have big thermal projects they are bankrolling:
http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/
"Arizona Public Service, Arizonaâ(TM)s largest utility, announced plans Thursday for a 280-megawatt solar power plant to be built 70 miles southwest of Phoenix by Spanish company Abengoa Solar"
"Utility giant FPL has filed plans with California regulators to build a $1 billion, 250-megawatt solar power plant in the Mojave Desert. The move marks the first time that a major player â" in this case a Fortune 500 company â" has jumped into the nascent Big Solar market."
"Solel last July signed the world's largest solar power deal when it agreed to supply California utility PG&E (PCG) with 553 megawatts of green electricity to be produced by a massive solar thermal power plant to be built in the Mojave Desert."
Code Complete - Steve McConnell - this highly regarded book discusses the nuts-and-bolts of software construction, and is a pleasure to read. I'm not familliar with another book that discusses software development at this level. Worth picking up (get the second ed).
Precisely what I thought when reading it. It reminds me why I respect science and scientists, toiling to provide a shared understanding of our universe. There is an essential aspect of humility to science - submitting your ideas to live or die under the scrutiny of the community. Not that it's always so gracefully exemplified.
I'm lead to beleive that while insulation is important, keeping an airtight* thermal envelope is at least equally important.
We've taken an old brick schoolhouse (1905 construction) in upstate NY, built all of the walls in 4 inches with isocyanurate insulation, and added fiberglass batts to the attic. This has helped, but there have been significant gains as we continue to identify and fix air-leaks throughout the interior (window frames, doorways, attic doors, etc.)
*(with external air provided through heat-recovery units)
"You're forgetting one thing: history. Wherever and whenever decision-making power has been highly concentrated, the final results have been markedly poorer than when it is more distributed." Wrong Wrong Wrong. Why can't people think in terms of greys anymore? There are situations when concentration of resources results in efficient use, and others where they are better used distributed. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Bill seems to think that certain problems have a "tipping point" that a concentration of wealth and work will solve. Once solved, our resources are freed to spend on other things. He may be right or wrong. History has plenty of examples to back him up (smallpox).
Why has Slashdot been annoying me so much the last week or so? I used to really enjoy it, but the hordes of witless MS bashers bring the collective value of the forum WAY down. Or, are poor artices being greenlit? I can't put my finger on it. The forum is feeling shoddy and slummy. Guess I'll go hang with the intellectuals at FARK.
Once visual artists explored realism in the renaissance, they moved into increasingly non-realistic explorations of the medium (for a while). It's simple. As visual realism gives fewer returns, the best creators will explore other areas. The market will reward games that provide satisfaction without relying on the realism, or which are more expressive rather than realistic in their depictions.
where will games go?
Better AI
Better Physics
Better interfaces (see Will Wright's "Spore")
novel uses of networking
Better actors (plenty of room for more realism in human expression)
The industry is in its infancy, but there are plenty of fertile areas for exploration. I think things are going to get more exciting, not less in the near future.
While visiting Iceland with my girlfriend, I saw this residential driveway being paved in Reykjavik.
They were installing coils of plastic tubing beneath a decorative brick surface - like an outdoor 'radiant floor' system - presumably to melt the ice off!
Hot water must be incredibly cheap there.
/wishes I had a 3 mile deep hole in backyard for a geothermal heat well.
FA is a solid collection of essays on policy by some substantial thinkers. Always food for thought, and always relevant.
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/