Actually, churches receive a large benefit due to their tax-exempt nature. So while the government isn't actually handing them a stack of C notes, they are getting a monetary benefit of sorts.
I donate to the ACLU as well as the EFF, but frankly I think these two groups should get a grant yearly from the government to keep watch over them. Silly idea? Ever heard about the GAO?
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO's work includes oversight of federal programs; insight into ways to make government more efficient, effective, ethical and equitable; and foresight of long-term trends and challenges. GAO's reports, testimonies, legal decisions and opinions make a difference for Congress and the Nation.
I see the ACLU and EFF serving the same purpose, except they're the investigative/defensive arm of the general citizenry.
"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."
You bring up a good point. How do I pay for road use when I charge my electric car from solar panels/wind turbines on my property?
Step 1: Take cost of maintaining roads
Step 2: Divide equally among drivers
Step 3: Profit (or in this case, have well-maintained roads and a cleaner environment)
Now, I'm not saying this is perfect, as there will always be people who use the road more than others. But you can price this according (motorcycles are X amount per year, cars are X amount per year, semi trucks are X amount per year).
Very true. Something inherently designed to perform it's function is what engineering is all about. Take example SpaceShipOne. It's designed to aerodynamically stabilize itself during re-entry to prevent breakup/buildup.
"Absurd" is subjective, but I agree in principle. Microsoft has it's MS Research group. Google does a large amount of research (although it's restricted to the data organization/search space). Both companies have huge margins according to their SEC filings. So what's wrong with that? My problem is with CEOs that demand innovation with small R&D budgets. It doesn't happen. Innovation/R&D is a "try and fail" method, thereby causing it to cost a lot. If you don't have the margins to do R&D, don't bitch when there aren't results fast enough.
Agreed. Guess what? Not every idea will turn into a short-term, high-return product/service/etc. CXO positions (I know, I generalize here) rarely understand this. The days of real R&D (Bell Labs anyone) are long gone.
What country do you live in? Obviously, not the US. The DOJ doesn't have "executive order". Unless they come to you with a warrant (even a FISA-issued warrant), you're a jackass for violating your customer's privacy. This isn't "24".
Good sir, I'm sure by the time your 3 year old can drive (13 years, assuming 16 is the driving age at your locale), his electric car will be sure to outrun any ICE of our day. And for pennies per mile.
True story. When I was 17 (around 2000-2001), I dropped out of high school and got a gig as a sysadmin for a web development company. A week later I went over to Carmax and got a 1999 Corvette with a targa top (6-speed manual). I had to ask the sales dude to do the test drive with me in the passenger seat (as I did not know how to drive manual at that point). Learned to drive stick well over the next week or so with my father teaching me (no damage to the transmission shockingly enough).
I only kept the car for 2 years or so, but it was definitely worth it. Didn't hurt with picking up the young ladies either =)
P.S. Never had an accident with that Corvette, nor my next one (2001 Convertible). Not all 17 year olds will drive a monster car like it's stolen. Only those who don't understand the rocket under their seat will most definitely kill them quickly if not driven with care (and traction control).
How about just coming out and saying that TorrentSpy should move all their equipment to the same colo facility as The Pirate Bay? How many servers do they have? It shouldn't be that expensive. Then they don't have to deal with this US legal system bullshit they've been dealing with (and by bullshit, I mean the situation within the legal system, not the legal system itself).
Not a problem. I should've posted relevant links in my first post. Let me collect what I have (as my current academic research topic is appropriate interconnection points for large-scale renewable energy distributed generation facilities on the North American power grid) and will post in reply to this shortly.
Guess who wants those rebates out there? That's right. Power companies. The same people who will come out to show you how to conserve power. Why? In most cases, their profitability is fixed due to their monopoly status. They don't want to shell out a ton of cash for a new generating station. It's easier for them to make the money they're making now, help you save energy and some money, and continue to operate the power grid as is (not that that is a bad thing).
For quite some time countries have been moving to the Euro as a reserve (from the US dollar). I would wager that you'd see the dollar lose it's reserve status in the next 3-5 years.
Believe it or not, back in high school I built a fairly large battery bank out of (wait for it) kegs. We used salt water as the medium. Does it scale? Probably with some research, but we were able to drive a fairly big CO2 laser with it for 20 minutes.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd rather choose which private company gets my business instead of paying that same money to a government.
$100 x 20,000 buyers x 2 months (assuming 5% money market account): $16,667
Actually, churches receive a large benefit due to their tax-exempt nature. So while the government isn't actually handing them a stack of C notes, they are getting a monetary benefit of sorts.
The GAO isn't only on the government payroll, but is also *a part of the government*, yet they do an excellent job.
http://www.gao.gov/
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO's work includes oversight of federal programs; insight into ways to make government more efficient, effective, ethical and equitable; and foresight of long-term trends and challenges. GAO's reports, testimonies, legal decisions and opinions make a difference for Congress and the Nation.I see the ACLU and EFF serving the same purpose, except they're the investigative/defensive arm of the general citizenry.
"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."
When you lose a nuclear weapon, the DOD term is Pinacle - Empty Quiver. When a nuclear weapon is stolen it's Pinacle - Broken Arrow.
Was a loadmaster a lifetime ago.
Step 1: Take cost of maintaining roads
Step 2: Divide equally among drivers
Step 3: Profit (or in this case, have well-maintained roads and a cleaner environment)
Now, I'm not saying this is perfect, as there will always be people who use the road more than others. But you can price this according (motorcycles are X amount per year, cars are X amount per year, semi trucks are X amount per year).
Orwell's Revenge (Hardcover): http://www.amazon.com/Orwells-Revenge-Peter-Huber/ dp/0029153352
Very true. Something inherently designed to perform it's function is what engineering is all about. Take example SpaceShipOne. It's designed to aerodynamically stabilize itself during re-entry to prevent breakup/buildup.
"Absurd" is subjective, but I agree in principle. Microsoft has it's MS Research group. Google does a large amount of research (although it's restricted to the data organization/search space). Both companies have huge margins according to their SEC filings. So what's wrong with that? My problem is with CEOs that demand innovation with small R&D budgets. It doesn't happen. Innovation/R&D is a "try and fail" method, thereby causing it to cost a lot. If you don't have the margins to do R&D, don't bitch when there aren't results fast enough.
Agreed. Guess what? Not every idea will turn into a short-term, high-return product/service/etc. CXO positions (I know, I generalize here) rarely understand this. The days of real R&D (Bell Labs anyone) are long gone.
What country do you live in? Obviously, not the US. The DOJ doesn't have "executive order". Unless they come to you with a warrant (even a FISA-issued warrant), you're a jackass for violating your customer's privacy. This isn't "24".
Good sir, I'm sure by the time your 3 year old can drive (13 years, assuming 16 is the driving age at your locale), his electric car will be sure to outrun any ICE of our day. And for pennies per mile.
I only kept the car for 2 years or so, but it was definitely worth it. Didn't hurt with picking up the young ladies either =)
P.S. Never had an accident with that Corvette, nor my next one (2001 Convertible). Not all 17 year olds will drive a monster car like it's stolen. Only those who don't understand the rocket under their seat will most definitely kill them quickly if not driven with care (and traction control).
How about just coming out and saying that TorrentSpy should move all their equipment to the same colo facility as The Pirate Bay? How many servers do they have? It shouldn't be that expensive. Then they don't have to deal with this US legal system bullshit they've been dealing with (and by bullshit, I mean the situation within the legal system, not the legal system itself).
Not a problem. I should've posted relevant links in my first post. Let me collect what I have (as my current academic research topic is appropriate interconnection points for large-scale renewable energy distributed generation facilities on the North American power grid) and will post in reply to this shortly.
Guess who wants those rebates out there? That's right. Power companies. The same people who will come out to show you how to conserve power. Why? In most cases, their profitability is fixed due to their monopoly status. They don't want to shell out a ton of cash for a new generating station. It's easier for them to make the money they're making now, help you save energy and some money, and continue to operate the power grid as is (not that that is a bad thing).
For quite some time countries have been moving to the Euro as a reserve (from the US dollar). I would wager that you'd see the dollar lose it's reserve status in the next 3-5 years.
Believe it or not, back in high school I built a fairly large battery bank out of (wait for it) kegs. We used salt water as the medium. Does it scale? Probably with some research, but we were able to drive a fairly big CO2 laser with it for 20 minutes.
Good sir, simply based on your post I'd fly with you any day.
Funny. I was reading above your post and about to google for this exact story to rebut "tftp". Thanks for saving me the trouble =)
The "El" in Chicago isn't horrible, but there are things that could be improved.
Anything wide area should be VPNd back to a central concentrator, and should not run over the public internet.