What are you basing your statements on? Can you cite some research which isn't based on CRU's Hockey Stick graph which has been debunked and which clearly indicates that global warming is happening and it is not due to any natural geological cycle?
I am asking for research which indicates clearly that global warming is occurring due to humans and this research must not be based on CRU's data.
No, I am not quoting some idiot paid by oil companies to distort science, I think it is perfectly reasonable to cite researchers who have:
a) Placed their data online b) Placed the source of the programs they have written to arrive at the results c) Placed their detailed findings online
If you would rather believe a bunch of "scientists" who claim to have lost their raw data but who seem to have retained all the results data, then please go ahead.
1. Do you think that it is even remotely possible that all of CRU's data was stored on a single storage medium and that ALL scientists who ever worked on the data, worked on this single storage - that too on the only master storage of data without ever taking any copies of this data?
2. Do you think that it is even remotely possible that all of CRU's data was lost despite the fact that the email log released yesterday includes emails even from the mid 1990s. Why is that email was backed up while the rest of the data was lost?
3. Why is that even reputed magazines such as Nature and Science who have policies on data retention for all articles published in them didn't either a) Get the data from CRU or b) Retain this data - despite it being their own policy?
4. Why isn't CRU releasing the raw data even now - despite all the controversy and wide-spread feeling that the research is flawed?
Also, I would be interested in hearing a response from CRU on the email sent to CRU by Fred Pearce from New Scientist as early as 1996.
Given the happenings of the past couple of days, I think it is pertinent at least at this time for the University of Anglia to release the data that was used in the study and the algorithm used to calculate the 6c/century figures. Let independent scientists verify that the algorithm actually works and does give the purported result.
Or are we still expected to believe the 6c figures because they said so?
Yes, it is the same CRU. Fact is, they have refused requests to release data by other scientists (not just Steven McIntyre).
This is a good opportunity for someone to step in and demand that the actual data be released. CRU's claim of having lost data is completely untenable.
You make really good points about some products and then fail spectacularly with some other products.
Microsoft Visual Studio was very inferior to Borland's IDEs (Borland C++, Delphi, C++Builder) for a very long time. The reason that MS succeeded while Borland didn't was because of Borland's piss poor marketing and idiotic pricing - and strange fascination for management fads (read Borland's name change to Inprise and the thinking behind that move) and products that very few were interested in (read up on ALM).
The truth is there are many products out there which are superior to similar offerings from MS but they still don't succeed in the market - the reasons vary, but it isn't always because the products were technically inferior to MS's products.
What *isn't* formed by "entirely natural" processes and products? Name something which is formed out of supernatural / unnatural material?
Or did you mean that this was formed by a totally unguided process? Also, what about being "formulated" in a lab sounds like a totally unguided process?
Are you saying that the possibility of everything and anything happening because of the "cosmological timescale" is 100%? Because that is what it looks like you are saying.
Where is the evidence for this?
If what you are saying is true, then we can basically forget about postulating what may happen in this world a few billion years from now because anything and everything can happen.
The myth that it is the population which is causing all the problems is an old one.
The problem is not the population - but the fact that people are very wasteful.
Example: Do you really need a couple of TVs in your house? Three cars? One way to reduce pollution is for us curtail our purchases - we must purchase less of EVERYTHING. Also, we should try and repair broken things before we head out to buy a replacement.
Also, You are right in that this CFL madness going on is a scam. The bulbs are far more expensive and also much more difficult to recycle because of the mercury content.
Also, what about the latest craze for hybrids and electrics? All electrics and any sort of high-end energy efficient solar panel requires rare earth minerals and these are very, very expensive in terms of energy to mine. But yet, we consider these as good ways of saving energy. The better way to reduce automobile emissions would have been to allow individuals to purchase far more efficient engine replacements for their cars or reconditioning the existing engines and cars without requiring them to completely junk the car to purchase a new one.
Yes, you are right in that India's growth has been incredible - by purchasing power parity, India's GDP is the 4th largest in the world ahead of Germany, Russia, UK etc.. And even now the GDP growth rate is very strong.
But let us look at some other statistics - though we are listed 4th in the world in GDP (by PPP), our per capita income is listed 142nd in the world. That means though India has grown so much, the majority of the population is still very poor. This goes to mean that the rich in India have gotten incredibly rich while the poor have remained very poor or have actually become poorer.
So while we have Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Lamborghini showrooms in India, there are poor people who live just a block away who don't even have access to clean water or basic sanitation.
This leads me to think that there are some serious problems with the Indian approach to economic growth - and so I wouldn't exactly be thrilled with other countries trying to emulate our model of growth.
Having said that - I must say that the Indian government has done a lot over the past decade or so to address the problems faced by the poor. But it is a huge problem - and not something that can be addressed or resolved quickly.
Coming to the whole point of this slashdot post - about whether broadband access will turn things around in developing nations - well, the whole premise behind that statement is that it is the lack of adequately advanced technology/science which is leading to poverty. I don't think that assertion is valid.
We can access all sorts of technology in India, but that is not removing the poverty here. So the problem lies elsewhere and broadband is most likely not the solution.
I am sorry but I don't see much evidence to support your claim. I run a business and I have noticed the rapid deterioration on the communication skills of the young. Many don't even know the basics of professional courtesy - example: You don't refer to your boss as "hey man" in an email. You don't use SMS lingo in official communication. You don't sit and listen to your ipod during office hours. You don't send SMSs to your pals when a business meeting is in progress.
Added to this is the greater sense of entitlement..and a sense of superiority - that is despite not having the skills to back it up. I am guessing this is a repercussion of over emphasis on the student's self-esteem in the educational system.
Yes, I do agree that each generation has seen the next generation as clueless, reckless and irresponsible. But it is also true that much has changed in the past 20 years - at a much faster pace than the decades before it. The growth of the internet and the pervasiveness of media, advertising, entertainment etc has had its toll on the young - the young want to be constantly entertained now; to remain in a high at all times and they believe it is the world's responsibility to keep them in that state. So attention spans have dropped - people multi-task much more but don't do any single task well.
And so, I don't think that the youth are getting "really good socials skills" training in school.
If there are groups of people who don't approve of pornography, should others not post any pornographic material or content on the web? Would it be wrong if I posted Mohammed the prophet's picture on the web despite knowing that it would upset Muslims?
Ultimately, none of us have the right NOT to be offended. Because no matter what you do, there will be some people who will be offended. If you believe that doing something is wrong, please don't do it and you could find like-minded people and get them not to do it as well.
But I don't think anyone should be forced to adopt a politically correct view at all times - because a view considered politically correct today could be considered quite incorrect tomorrow.
>This reminds me of an instance on the Debian mailing list a couple months back -- not this one [itwire.com], hmm... can't >find it right now -- where a woman on the list dared to speak up against some sexist comments that were going on, and got >flamed out of existence (certainly out of the Debian community) while the list "regulars" went on to make sex jokes for the >next several days. >And we wonder why there aren't more women in Linux.
If you are on a public forum, you can get to hear a lot of nonsense. If all of that is going to upset you, then you are basically in a position where you cannot participate in any online forum - whether it is about open source or whatever.
Example: If I am religious and there are a lot of people ridiculing God, I could opt to get really upset about it and sulk or I could deal with it. The same applies if you are an atheist and there are people making fun of atheists.
I think people just need to grow a thicker skin. No, you don't have the right not to be offended.
And one more thing - this may upset people, but men and women aren't exactly the same - they don't share the same interests and neither should they have to. I think it would be an interesting study to ask a large number of women programmers if they would like to work on open source projects.. and whatever be the answer, we should also ask them to specify the reason. I think we can learn much from it.
Glib + Gtk++ is pretty decent. You also have Gnome Db for database access. A number of people have suggested QT and also WxWidgets. Both are pretty good.
Good points. Obama has done NOTHING to merit this award. Look at the accomplishments of some of the others who have received this award and compare those with Obama's record.
Some of the other recipients: Dr. Marin Luther King Aung San Sui Kyi Desmond Tutu
Obama's nomination joins the list of dubious Nobel nominations over the past couple of decades such as the nomination of Yasser Arafat, Henry Kissinger etc.
The Nobel Committee has essentially pissed all over the Peace Prize by awarding it to Barack Obama - a man who hasn't come good on a SINGLE significant poll-time promise - but who has also at the same time extended the powers of laws designed to thwart and subvert human rights - the Patriot act and the extended wire-tapping provisions, indefinite detention laws etc.
Mac Mini is overpriced and so also the rest of the apple hardware. If you consider a Thinkpad or a Dell Latitude or any of the higher end Toshiba's, you will see that feature-to-feature, Apple is extremely overpriced. If you consider Psystar's computers, then Apple's inflated pricing becomes even more evident.
This is an absolutely stupid reason. We are all asked to present evidence from time to time for our age - and we present our birth certificates. Why isn't Obama required to do that when McCain had to?
And since you obviously can't read - a certificate of live birth != a birth certificate. Get an education sometime.
Do you think Slashdot posts all the stories that fall in the broad category of "News for nerds"?
Well, actually no - stories that don't 'fit', such as criticism of global warming research, will not make it to the home page - no matter how important.
For example, I submitted this story a few days ago.
From the Theregister:
The world's source for global temperature record admits it's lost or destroyed all the original data that would allow a third party to construct a global temperature record. The destruction (or loss) of the data comes at a convenient time for the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in East Anglia - permitting it to snub FoIA requests to see the data.
Nope, I don't work for them (Lcds4less). Have no business links with them whatsoever. It is just that I am sick of the OEMs screwing us over with laptop parts and spares and also for the service.
And oh, by the way, the Latitude was a good purchase. Excellent machine.
Sorry - nice try, but there is nothing whatsoever preventing the president from releasing his birth certificate - and not the "Certification of live birth" which is quite something else altogether.
May I ask why the president has prevented access to his school records, his college records etc? No other president has done this in history.
I posted this to Slashdot but it appears that the editors are more interested in Cosmic rays.
To quote from Theregister:
The world's source for global temperature record admits it's lost or destroyed all the original data that would allow a third party to construct a global temperature record. The destruction (or loss) of the data comes at a convenient time for the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in East Anglia - permitting it to snub FoIA requests to see the data.
Slashdot Mirror
What are you basing your statements on? Can you cite some research which isn't based on CRU's Hockey Stick graph which has been debunked and which clearly indicates that global warming is happening and it is not due to any natural geological cycle?
I am asking for research which indicates clearly that global warming is occurring due to humans and this research must not be based on CRU's data.
No, I am not quoting some idiot paid by oil companies to distort science, I think it is perfectly reasonable to cite researchers who have:
a) Placed their data online
b) Placed the source of the programs they have written to arrive at the results
c) Placed their detailed findings online
http://forkbomb.org/~ml/cmail/mail/1254751382.txt
If you would rather believe a bunch of "scientists" who claim to have lost their raw data but who seem to have retained all the results data, then please go ahead.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/13/cru_missing/
Just a few questions for you:
1. Do you think that it is even remotely possible that all of CRU's data was stored on a single storage medium and that ALL scientists who ever worked on the data, worked on this single storage - that too on the only master storage of data without ever taking any copies of this data?
2. Do you think that it is even remotely possible that all of CRU's data was lost despite the fact that the email log released yesterday includes emails even from the mid 1990s. Why is that email was backed up while the rest of the data was lost?
3. Why is that even reputed magazines such as Nature and Science who have policies on data retention for all articles published in them didn't either a) Get the data from CRU or b) Retain this data - despite it being their own policy?
4. Why isn't CRU releasing the raw data even now - despite all the controversy and wide-spread feeling that the research is flawed?
Also, I would be interested in hearing a response from CRU on the email sent to CRU by Fred Pearce from New Scientist as early as 1996.
http://forkbomb.org/~ml/cmail/mail/0845217169.txt
Given the happenings of the past couple of days, I think it is pertinent at least at this time for the University of Anglia to release the data that was used in the study and the algorithm used to calculate the 6c/century figures. Let independent scientists verify that the algorithm actually works and does give the purported result.
Or are we still expected to believe the 6c figures because they said so?
Yes, it is the same CRU. Fact is, they have refused requests to release data by other scientists (not just Steven McIntyre).
This is a good opportunity for someone to step in and demand that the actual data be released. CRU's claim of having lost data is completely untenable.
I salute this man's courage. Doing something like this in Russia invites an instant death sentence enforceable anywhere in the world.
People like this guy give others hope. Many who wouldn't have dared speak about these things will find new courage to speak at least a bit.
Again, I salute this man.
You make really good points about some products and then fail spectacularly with some other products.
Microsoft Visual Studio was very inferior to Borland's IDEs (Borland C++, Delphi, C++Builder) for a very long time. The reason that MS succeeded while Borland didn't was because of Borland's piss poor marketing and idiotic pricing - and strange fascination for management fads (read Borland's name change to Inprise and the thinking behind that move) and products that very few were interested in (read up on ALM).
The truth is there are many products out there which are superior to similar offerings from MS but they still don't succeed in the market - the reasons vary, but it isn't always because the products were technically inferior to MS's products.
What makes you think India would have been worse off if not for the British invasion?
Can a car be formed completely naturally?
What *isn't* formed by "entirely natural" processes and products? Name something which is formed out of supernatural / unnatural material?
Or did you mean that this was formed by a totally unguided process? Also, what about being "formulated" in a lab sounds like a totally unguided process?
This is absolute BS.
Are you saying that the possibility of everything and anything happening because of the "cosmological timescale" is 100%? Because that is what it looks like you are saying.
Where is the evidence for this?
If what you are saying is true, then we can basically forget about postulating what may happen in this world a few billion years from now because anything and everything can happen.
The myth that it is the population which is causing all the problems is an old one.
The problem is not the population - but the fact that people are very wasteful.
Example: Do you really need a couple of TVs in your house? Three cars? One way to reduce pollution is for us curtail our purchases - we must purchase less of EVERYTHING. Also, we should try and repair broken things before we head out to buy a replacement.
Also, You are right in that this CFL madness going on is a scam. The bulbs are far more expensive and also much more difficult to recycle because of the mercury content.
Also, what about the latest craze for hybrids and electrics? All electrics and any sort of high-end energy efficient solar panel requires rare earth minerals and these are very, very expensive in terms of energy to mine. But yet, we consider these as good ways of saving energy. The better way to reduce automobile emissions would have been to allow individuals to purchase far more efficient engine replacements for their cars or reconditioning the existing engines and cars without requiring them to completely junk the car to purchase a new one.
The OP has a point though.
I am an Indian and I reside in India.
Yes, you are right in that India's growth has been incredible - by purchasing power parity, India's GDP is the 4th largest in the world ahead of Germany, Russia, UK etc.. And even now the GDP growth rate is very strong.
But let us look at some other statistics - though we are listed 4th in the world in GDP (by PPP), our per capita income is listed 142nd in the world. That means though India has grown so much, the majority of the population is still very poor. This goes to mean that the rich in India have gotten incredibly rich while the poor have remained very poor or have actually become poorer.
So while we have Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Lamborghini showrooms in India, there are poor people who live just a block away who don't even have access to clean water or basic sanitation.
This leads me to think that there are some serious problems with the Indian approach to economic growth - and so I wouldn't exactly be thrilled with other countries trying to emulate our model of growth.
Having said that - I must say that the Indian government has done a lot over the past decade or so to address the problems faced by the poor. But it is a huge problem - and not something that can be addressed or resolved quickly.
Coming to the whole point of this slashdot post - about whether broadband access will turn things around in developing nations - well, the whole premise behind that statement is that it is the lack of adequately advanced technology/science which is leading to poverty. I don't think that assertion is valid.
We can access all sorts of technology in India, but that is not removing the poverty here. So the problem lies elsewhere and broadband is most likely not the solution.
I am sorry but I don't see much evidence to support your claim. I run a business and I have noticed the rapid deterioration on the communication skills of the young. Many don't even know the basics of professional courtesy - example: You don't refer to your boss as "hey man" in an email.
You don't use SMS lingo in official communication. You don't sit and listen to your ipod during office hours. You don't send SMSs to your pals when a business meeting is in progress.
Added to this is the greater sense of entitlement..and a sense of superiority - that is despite not having the skills to back it up. I am guessing this is a repercussion of over emphasis on the student's self-esteem in the educational system.
Yes, I do agree that each generation has seen the next generation as clueless, reckless and irresponsible. But it is also true that much has changed in the past 20 years - at a much faster pace than the decades before it. The growth of the internet and the pervasiveness of media, advertising, entertainment etc has had its toll on the young - the young want to be constantly entertained now; to remain in a high at all times and they believe it is the world's responsibility to keep them in that state. So attention spans have dropped - people multi-task much more but don't do any single task well.
And so, I don't think that the youth are getting "really good socials skills" training in school.
If there are groups of people who don't approve of pornography, should others not post any pornographic material or content on the web? Would it be wrong if I posted Mohammed the prophet's picture on the web despite knowing that it would upset Muslims?
Ultimately, none of us have the right NOT to be offended. Because no matter what you do, there will be some people who will be offended. If you believe that doing something is wrong, please don't do it and you could find like-minded people and get them not to do it as well.
But I don't think anyone should be forced to adopt a politically correct view at all times - because a view considered politically correct today could be considered quite incorrect tomorrow.
>This reminds me of an instance on the Debian mailing list a couple months back -- not this one [itwire.com], hmm... can't
>find it right now -- where a woman on the list dared to speak up against some sexist comments that were going on, and got >flamed out of existence (certainly out of the Debian community) while the list "regulars" went on to make sex jokes for the >next several days.
>And we wonder why there aren't more women in Linux.
If you are on a public forum, you can get to hear a lot of nonsense. If all of that is going to upset you, then you are basically in a position where you cannot participate in any online forum - whether it is about open source or whatever.
Example: If I am religious and there are a lot of people ridiculing God, I could opt to get really upset about it and sulk or I could deal with it. The same applies if you are an atheist and there are people making fun of atheists.
I think people just need to grow a thicker skin. No, you don't have the right not to be offended.
And one more thing - this may upset people, but men and women aren't exactly the same - they don't share the same interests and neither should they have to. I think it would be an interesting study to ask a large number of women programmers if they would like to work on open source projects.. and whatever be the answer, we should also ask them to specify the reason. I think we can learn much from it.
Glib + Gtk++ is pretty decent. You also have Gnome Db for database access. A number of people have suggested QT and also WxWidgets. Both are pretty good.
BBC has well known leftist-bias. There are entire websites devoted to chronicling biased reporting by the BBC.
No, I am not some right-wing white american. I am not white or even american.
Good points. Obama has done NOTHING to merit this award. Look at the accomplishments of some of the others who have received this award and compare those with Obama's record.
Some of the other recipients:
Dr. Marin Luther King
Aung San Sui Kyi
Desmond Tutu
Obama's nomination joins the list of dubious Nobel nominations over the past couple of decades such as the nomination of Yasser Arafat, Henry Kissinger etc.
The Nobel Committee has essentially pissed all over the Peace Prize by awarding it to Barack Obama - a man who hasn't come good on a SINGLE significant poll-time promise - but who has also at the same time extended the powers of laws designed to thwart and subvert human rights - the Patriot act and the extended wire-tapping provisions, indefinite detention laws etc.
Miguel, thank you for your work on Mono and the rest. You are one of the best programmers, project managers in the world.
I think you should perhaps continue with the work you are doing instead of trying to fend off attacks from detractors.
Mac Mini is overpriced and so also the rest of the apple hardware. If you consider a Thinkpad or a Dell Latitude or any of the higher end Toshiba's, you will see that feature-to-feature, Apple is extremely overpriced. If you consider Psystar's computers, then Apple's inflated pricing becomes even more evident.
This is an absolutely stupid reason. We are all asked to present evidence from time to time for our age - and we present our birth certificates. Why isn't Obama required to do that when McCain had to?
And since you obviously can't read - a certificate of live birth != a birth certificate. Get an education sometime.
Do you think Slashdot posts all the stories that fall in the broad category of "News for nerds"?
Well, actually no - stories that don't 'fit', such as criticism of global warming research, will not make it to the home page - no matter how important.
For example, I submitted this story a few days ago.
From the Theregister:
The world's source for global temperature record admits it's lost or destroyed all the original data that would allow a third party to construct a global temperature record. The destruction (or loss) of the data comes at a convenient time for the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in East Anglia - permitting it to snub FoIA requests to see the data.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/13/cru_missing/
Do you know that it is really easy to change your LCD by yourself? try this:
http://www.lcds4less.com/laptop-lcd-removal-instructions.shtml
You can pick up a new screen for your HP laptop here:
http://www.lcds4less.com/search-lcds.shtml?lcds_search=HP+nw8240
Nope, I don't work for them (Lcds4less). Have no business links with them whatsoever. It is just that I am sick of the OEMs screwing us over with laptop parts and spares and also for the service.
And oh, by the way, the Latitude was a good purchase. Excellent machine.
Sorry - nice try, but there is nothing whatsoever preventing the president from releasing his birth certificate - and not the "Certification of live birth" which is quite something else altogether.
May I ask why the president has prevented access to his school records, his college records etc? No other president has done this in history.
I posted this to Slashdot but it appears that the editors are more interested in Cosmic rays.
To quote from Theregister:
The world's source for global temperature record admits it's lost or destroyed all the original data that would allow a third party to construct a global temperature record. The destruction (or loss) of the data comes at a convenient time for the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in East Anglia - permitting it to snub FoIA requests to see the data.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/13/cru_missing/
Simple: authors would stop trying to sell copies, and instead focus on selling their labor.
What is the result of an author's labour if it is not books/literature? and if he is not allowed to benefit from his labour, what else can he do?