Sure, I know TEX is that monster publishing engine... What's the big deal here, folks? I just don't get it.
\TeX is just the best damn typesetting system out there. Actually, a trained human typesetter will do better, but for us mortals, you can't beat \TeX. (There may be some high-end packages out there that are better, but I don't know of any. MS-Word, WordPerfect, Frame etc. etc. don't even come close.)
And setting math - well, nothing does math like \TeX. Nothing.
Flexibility: it is very easy to define a \TeX (or \LaTeX) package that typesets exactly the way you want. If you're writing your Ph.D. dissertation and live in constant fear of those Inquisitors at the Graduate College throwing out your work because the table of contents isn't just so, \TeX is for you. You just tell it to use the approved style and from that point on it's just high-level markup; out comes a perfectly formatted dissertation. (Things like MS-Word can also do templates and things, but it's so hard to get them right no one uses them.)
I also happen to believe that markup languages like \TeX (or HTML) are better for writing in, because they make you concentrate on the content rather than on how pretty the document looks on the screen. (That's why marketing morons don't like markup languages.) And, of course, with a markup language your hands stay on the home row instead of constantly having to reach for the mouse, pull down some damn menu or click on some damn toolbar button.
The idea of entering equation-like scripts just to get a few well-formatted chars up on the screen...
You use HTML, right? Here's some \TeX:
This is some text with \emph{emphasis}.
\begin{center} This is the next paragraph, centered. \end{center}
I recommend that you buy the \LaTeX2e book (The LaTeX Companion -- Mittelbach, Samarin, et al). First, admire the typesetting of the book - all done in \LaTeX. Then learn why it's so cool.
14 CFR 1211 100 through 108 was removed by Richard Truly on 26 Apr 1991 (which in itself struck many people as odd, since theoretically only Congress can repeal laws
There's a difference between Laws and Regulations, and CFR means Code of Federal Regulations. (14 CFR, for example, contains all the Federal Aviation Regulations: Parts 1 - 199.) Regulations are a civil, not a criminal, matter.
You cannot be imprisoned for violating a regulation, but other sanctions and fines can be applied. But you don't necessarily have the usual constitutional protections of due process etc. in a regulatory process.
The CFR's tend to be very technical, and the average congress person has no hope of understanding them. Try browsing Title 14. For example, 91.175 - Takeoff and Landing Under IFR.
The European Airbus aircraft was fitted with an automatic override system, to prevent the pilot from performing dangerous manoevers. At it's first public showing, the pilot flew low over a forest. The computer detected an apparently smooth surface below it, decided the pilot was trying to land, determined the landing gear was still up and the speed was too great... All on board (journalists and crew) were killed. The pilot, not the software company, was blamed.
AARRGGHHH! Airbus airplanes have many problems to do with computer control of the systems; however this accident did not depend directly on this computer control. But first, a few facts:
Three people were killed, not all. (There were 136 people on board, 130 + 6 crew.)
The flight control system has no way of `detecting a smooth surface.'
the landing gear was down and the speed was too low.
In brief, the problem was that there was management pressure on the pilots to give "a good show". The pilots were too low (50 feet) and too slow, with engines at flight idle. The pilots were complacent and did not follow checklists. They overrode the flight control system, and did it too long; by the time the crew realised the trees were too close, well, the trees were too close. Those big turbofan engines take a little while to spool up, so even though the CVR [Cockpit Voice Recorder] transcript mentions things like TOGA - Take-Off/Go-Around power, they did it all too late.
This accident actually is related to the topic of the thread but not in the way you think it is. The lessons are:
don't let management pressure you into showing off and doing unrealisitc things; and
don't rely too much on those automatic protection systems, especially when you override them. (Think how many times you have done something stupid while thinking you were an unpriv. user and then realised you had su'ed while you make that frantic reach for Ctrl-C...)
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And setting math - well, nothing does math like \TeX. Nothing.
Flexibility: it is very easy to define a \TeX (or \LaTeX) package that typesets exactly the way you want. If you're writing your Ph.D. dissertation and live in constant fear of those Inquisitors at the Graduate College throwing out your work because the table of contents isn't just so, \TeX is for you. You just tell it to use the approved style and from that point on it's just high-level markup; out comes a perfectly formatted dissertation. (Things like MS-Word can also do templates and things, but it's so hard to get them right no one uses them.)
I also happen to believe that markup languages like \TeX (or HTML) are better for writing in, because they make you concentrate on the content rather than on how pretty the document looks on the screen. (That's why marketing morons don't like markup languages.) And, of course, with a markup language your hands stay on the home row instead of constantly having to reach for the mouse, pull down some damn menu or click on some damn toolbar button.
You use HTML, right? Here's some \TeX:This is some text with \emph{emphasis}.
\begin{center}
This is the next paragraph, centered.
\end{center}
I recommend that you buy the \LaTeX2e book (The LaTeX Companion -- Mittelbach, Samarin, et al). First, admire the typesetting of the book - all done in \LaTeX. Then learn why it's so cool.
There's a difference between Laws and Regulations, and CFR means Code of Federal Regulations. (14 CFR, for example, contains all the Federal Aviation Regulations: Parts 1 - 199.) Regulations are a civil, not a criminal, matter.
You cannot be imprisoned for violating a regulation, but other sanctions and fines can be applied. But you don't necessarily have the usual constitutional protections of due process etc. in a regulatory process.
The CFR's tend to be very technical, and the average congress person has no hope of understanding them. Try browsing Title 14. For example, 91.175 - Takeoff and Landing Under IFR.
AARRGGHHH!
Airbus airplanes have many problems to do with computer control of the systems; however this accident did not depend directly on this computer control. But first, a few facts:
In brief, the problem was that there was management pressure on the pilots to give "a good show". The pilots were too low (50 feet) and too slow, with engines at flight idle. The pilots were complacent and did not follow checklists. They overrode the flight control system, and did it too long; by the time the crew realised the trees were too close, well, the trees were too close. Those big turbofan engines take a little while to spool up, so even though the CVR [Cockpit Voice Recorder] transcript mentions things like TOGA - Take-Off/Go-Around power, they did it all too late.
This accident actually is related to the topic of the thread but not in the way you think it is. The lessons are:
Here are some links:
Anyone interested in the problems of and with automation in Real Life should be reading the RISKS digest.
PS: The HCF instruction was a joke, son!