The problem when using SMS/Twitter slang is that it is inexact and imprecise. If you are writing a formal or technical document, then you need the precision that is lost with any form of slang (modern or otherwise). This is a problem that many students do not comprehend. If someone is marking your term paper, the marker will generally not tweet you a question and give you the opportunity to tweet back a clarification. What you submitted the first time is what you get graded on.
Having said that, I have no problem with informal (but respectful) conversation in a classroom setting where we can ask for and receive clarification when needed. Different people have different ideas of what is respectful and being able to adapt to that is part of getting on in a professional workplace. However, if you are submitting a progress report, a term paper, or some other document that will be read by others at an arbitrary time outside of your control, you had better learn to write clearly and concisely in the language of your institution.
Short version: slang is for immediate communications, proper spelling and grammar are for the record.
These people already distrust anything science. They likely didn't get the point in high school and have been training their resistance to critical thinking and evidence based reasoning ever since. All that this will do is start a bunch of human rights complaints. The government would probably have better luck forcing all non-vaccinated kids into one school for the parentally challenged.
A significant portion of that $1.13 billion is actually coming from Nfld. and Lab. as a result of a really stupid set of deals negotiated around Churchill Falls back in the 1960's. Quebec never seems to remember that they are screwing Nfld. and Lab. out of millions every year. So, really, those electrons should be speaking Newfy.
The most common thing that I see in chemistry is that online resources are used to post powerpoint slides for first year courses. This is mostly done as a concession to placate students who complain that they can't follow the lecture if they don't have something to follow. Fair enough I suppose. The problem comes when students then go to study for exams and think that a few collections of what amounts to flash-cards are sufficient to study from and are shocked when not a single question on the exam ever appeared in lecture (though all of the concepts were there, and all of the concepts were explained in even more detail in the textbook).
An alternative perspective is that the research faculty want the hopeless cases to realize as soon as possible that their niche is not in the subject that the professor teaches, and are teaching primarily to the better students. Why do you think med. schools in North America still want students to jump through the hoop of first year chemistry? Is it because every MD out there needs to know how to titrate? Or is it because if you can't even learn something as trivial as titration, the med. schools know that your chances of safely learning about surgery, anaesthetics, and prescription medication (including doses) are almost zero.
Just to clarify for the AC, system 76 sells/ships laptops, desktops, and servers with Ubuntu. If you are a linux user or feel like you might be ready to take the plunge, this is a good place to start. At least their systems are fully linux compatible.
Even if you don't like ubuntu and have some other pet distribution, it has a better chance of working on one of these than if you get a windows laptop and flush the hard drive to install linux.
Bonus: no windows tax, and no money to MS (except for possible hidden patent trolling on hardware or firmware).
You seem to be suggesting that there is some sort of double standard. So tell me, when was the last time that you heard of Google sending their armed law enforcement agents to a private residence to arrest someone? We hold corporations and governments to different standards because they have different powers and different duties. Part of the duties of a government are to protect the rights of citizens and individuals (often from corporations). This sort of legislation betrays the trust that we are supposed to be able to have for our government.
In some cases (like my dad or old boss) it would have to morph into one giant key positioned under the index finger of the right hand and magically map to the correct letter for each key press.
Will it stay on after the zombie apocalypse?
Stupid context, but seriously, if the smart grid is going to be able to talk to my fridge and potentially let some hacker melt my icecream, that means it will have a lot of complexity to it. With that level of complexity (and invested time/money) it damn well better stay on for a bit if it has to be left unattended.
A bit like the hype that comes out for months (or years in the case of "longhorn") BEFORE the release of any new version of windows. I guess consumer computing likes to have a bit of balance.
Just in case anyone was wondering.
It would be nice if editors would get into the habit of making sure that the front page summaries had a definition of these TLA's in at least 10% of the posted articles.
TLS == three letter acronym, by the way.
Why was this comment labeled offtopic? "ping" is one of the most basic commands on Unix-like systems. It even works on a Mac. It's the first thing that came to mind when I read the title. It also has uses in online gaming. At the very least I could see some concern for potential trademark confusion (even if you'd have to be some sort of SCO to try an sue Apple over it.) Currently, if you plug "ping" into wikipedia search, it's the Unix command that comes up by default (though that will probably change soon).
Anyway "ping" already has some well established (and very specific) meaning in the computer world. I'm surprised Apple would choose that specific word for their newest gimmick. Especially since it is already loaded with such uncool, geeky history.
The difference between hydrogen being inert, flammable, or explosive is a matter of how much oxygen is mixed in with it. Here's a test you can try yourself: get two balloons, fill one with hydrogen only, and fill the other one with a stoicheometric mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. You will need less hydrogen for the second one since 1/3 of the volume is take up by oxygen. Now hold some ignition source up to each balloon. You'll get a relatively mild woosh from the pure hydrogen balloon as it has to mix with oxygen from the air before it can burn. If you're standing within about five meters of the premixed balloon you should have a doctor on hand to stop your ears from bleeding.
You can also put some pure hydrogen in a more solid container with not chance of a leak introducing oxygen, rig up a spark plug or something, and nomatter how hard you try, it won't go off unless there is a leak for air to get in.
Same thing goes for gasoline. Put some in a bowl and light it on fire and you get a nice slow flame. Get some gasoline vapors and mix them with stoicheometric amounts of oxygen and you will get an explosion.
There's more to combustion than just thermodynamics, kinetics matters too.
I agree with you about the hydrogen powered car having lots of issues though.
And how is that different from being forced to pay for closed source development? At least if you are force to pay for open source development, you won't have to pay again in order to reap the benefits of the development. If the stimulus money only goes to closed source, you'll have to pay again to buy the software before you see any immediate benefit. All the costs of socialism with none of the benefits.
If you really are opposed to this on such idealistic grounds, then you should be opposed to the entire concept of a stimulus package.
In addition to version control, another nice thing about LaTeX is the ability to leave comments in your document, just like in any other program. Comments like "this paragraph makes no sense, be sure to clarify it before sending to the editor", for example. Or point-form lists of what you want to get through in each section. It's a very handy programming tool to have access to when writing a large document. And just like when programming, the comments don't show up in the final "compiled" product.
There may be better tools out there if you have a big budget, but I'd have to agree. I got sick of word and its quirks when writing my thesis (sort of a technical book if you want to think of it like that). Emacs and LaTeX were a life-saving combination. Bibtex took some getting used to for the indexing, but that was the hardest thing to learn.
Formatting is easy. Large projects are easy. It copes with all the major image formats. And if using a text editor is not your thing, there are pseudo-wysiwyg gui's available.
On a side note, there are also (problematic) tools to convert your document to html and many other formats once you have it in tex.
If my Dad can use Slackware, anybody can. The real fun is when my step-mom can't get XP to recognize her camera so my dad had to DL the pictures and copy them to a USB stick.
Folks who haven't tried Slackware since the mid '90s really have no busness commenting about the distro. It's come just as far as all the rest, but somehow managed to stay true to the idea of being stable and reliable that has been there from day one.
If you want to be a point-and-click drone and only need to do email, then Slack will work just fine. On the other hand, I rarely have any problems compiling stuff either (haven't had to google for strange libs since I left redhat in the dust).
Slashdot Mirror
The problem when using SMS/Twitter slang is that it is inexact and imprecise. If you are writing a formal or technical document, then you need the precision that is lost with any form of slang (modern or otherwise). This is a problem that many students do not comprehend. If someone is marking your term paper, the marker will generally not tweet you a question and give you the opportunity to tweet back a clarification. What you submitted the first time is what you get graded on. Having said that, I have no problem with informal (but respectful) conversation in a classroom setting where we can ask for and receive clarification when needed. Different people have different ideas of what is respectful and being able to adapt to that is part of getting on in a professional workplace. However, if you are submitting a progress report, a term paper, or some other document that will be read by others at an arbitrary time outside of your control, you had better learn to write clearly and concisely in the language of your institution. Short version: slang is for immediate communications, proper spelling and grammar are for the record.
These people already distrust anything science. They likely didn't get the point in high school and have been training their resistance to critical thinking and evidence based reasoning ever since. All that this will do is start a bunch of human rights complaints. The government would probably have better luck forcing all non-vaccinated kids into one school for the parentally challenged.
Well, it works out to just under 2 furlongs per hour. (about 1.78955 furlongs/hour) How's that?
Do you honestly think that homeopathy is not a big industry?
A significant portion of that $1.13 billion is actually coming from Nfld. and Lab. as a result of a really stupid set of deals negotiated around Churchill Falls back in the 1960's. Quebec never seems to remember that they are screwing Nfld. and Lab. out of millions every year. So, really, those electrons should be speaking Newfy.
The most common thing that I see in chemistry is that online resources are used to post powerpoint slides for first year courses. This is mostly done as a concession to placate students who complain that they can't follow the lecture if they don't have something to follow. Fair enough I suppose. The problem comes when students then go to study for exams and think that a few collections of what amounts to flash-cards are sufficient to study from and are shocked when not a single question on the exam ever appeared in lecture (though all of the concepts were there, and all of the concepts were explained in even more detail in the textbook).
An alternative perspective is that the research faculty want the hopeless cases to realize as soon as possible that their niche is not in the subject that the professor teaches, and are teaching primarily to the better students. Why do you think med. schools in North America still want students to jump through the hoop of first year chemistry? Is it because every MD out there needs to know how to titrate? Or is it because if you can't even learn something as trivial as titration, the med. schools know that your chances of safely learning about surgery, anaesthetics, and prescription medication (including doses) are almost zero.
Just to clarify for the AC, system 76 sells/ships laptops, desktops, and servers with Ubuntu. If you are a linux user or feel like you might be ready to take the plunge, this is a good place to start. At least their systems are fully linux compatible. Even if you don't like ubuntu and have some other pet distribution, it has a better chance of working on one of these than if you get a windows laptop and flush the hard drive to install linux. Bonus: no windows tax, and no money to MS (except for possible hidden patent trolling on hardware or firmware).
So, can this also bust DRM schemes like the system in bd+?
Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll was kind of a fun read ... compares to Cryptonomicon the way The Hobbit compares to LOTR.
You seem to be suggesting that there is some sort of double standard. So tell me, when was the last time that you heard of Google sending their armed law enforcement agents to a private residence to arrest someone? We hold corporations and governments to different standards because they have different powers and different duties. Part of the duties of a government are to protect the rights of citizens and individuals (often from corporations). This sort of legislation betrays the trust that we are supposed to be able to have for our government.
In some cases (like my dad or old boss) it would have to morph into one giant key positioned under the index finger of the right hand and magically map to the correct letter for each key press.
Will it stay on after the zombie apocalypse? Stupid context, but seriously, if the smart grid is going to be able to talk to my fridge and potentially let some hacker melt my icecream, that means it will have a lot of complexity to it. With that level of complexity (and invested time/money) it damn well better stay on for a bit if it has to be left unattended.
yes, but Basil is faulty
Yeah ... Star Control 2 was an awesome game.
A bit like the hype that comes out for months (or years in the case of "longhorn") BEFORE the release of any new version of windows. I guess consumer computing likes to have a bit of balance.
Just in case anyone was wondering. It would be nice if editors would get into the habit of making sure that the front page summaries had a definition of these TLA's in at least 10% of the posted articles. TLS == three letter acronym, by the way.
Anyway "ping" already has some well established (and very specific) meaning in the computer world. I'm surprised Apple would choose that specific word for their newest gimmick. Especially since it is already loaded with such uncool, geeky history.
You can also put some pure hydrogen in a more solid container with not chance of a leak introducing oxygen, rig up a spark plug or something, and nomatter how hard you try, it won't go off unless there is a leak for air to get in.
Same thing goes for gasoline. Put some in a bowl and light it on fire and you get a nice slow flame. Get some gasoline vapors and mix them with stoicheometric amounts of oxygen and you will get an explosion.
There's more to combustion than just thermodynamics, kinetics matters too.
I agree with you about the hydrogen powered car having lots of issues though.
Could it be caused by whales with digestive ailments?
And how is that different from being forced to pay for closed source development? At least if you are force to pay for open source development, you won't have to pay again in order to reap the benefits of the development. If the stimulus money only goes to closed source, you'll have to pay again to buy the software before you see any immediate benefit. All the costs of socialism with none of the benefits. If you really are opposed to this on such idealistic grounds, then you should be opposed to the entire concept of a stimulus package.
Maybe it's just me, but the Roxanne version reminds me of the music that came out of the radio in Portal.
In addition to version control, another nice thing about LaTeX is the ability to leave comments in your document, just like in any other program. Comments like "this paragraph makes no sense, be sure to clarify it before sending to the editor", for example. Or point-form lists of what you want to get through in each section. It's a very handy programming tool to have access to when writing a large document. And just like when programming, the comments don't show up in the final "compiled" product.
There may be better tools out there if you have a big budget, but I'd have to agree. I got sick of word and its quirks when writing my thesis (sort of a technical book if you want to think of it like that). Emacs and LaTeX were a life-saving combination. Bibtex took some getting used to for the indexing, but that was the hardest thing to learn.
Formatting is easy. Large projects are easy. It copes with all the major image formats. And if using a text editor is not your thing, there are pseudo-wysiwyg gui's available.
On a side note, there are also (problematic) tools to convert your document to html and many other formats once you have it in tex.
If my Dad can use Slackware, anybody can. The real fun is when my step-mom can't get XP to recognize her camera so my dad had to DL the pictures and copy them to a USB stick.
Folks who haven't tried Slackware since the mid '90s really have no busness commenting about the distro. It's come just as far as all the rest, but somehow managed to stay true to the idea of being stable and reliable that has been there from day one.
If you want to be a point-and-click drone and only need to do email, then Slack will work just fine. On the other hand, I rarely have any problems compiling stuff either (haven't had to google for strange libs since I left redhat in the dust).