This isn't the first time Verizon's billing has screwed their customers. Check out this blog with audio of several phone calls where numerous accounts people and managers are completely unable to understand that 0.002 dollars and 0.002 cents are, in fact, different quantities. This was also previously posted on Slashdot
You're right. That is (regrettably) the debate. MY POINT, is that the debate is between reputable scientists (it is our fault and it matters) and skeptics like politicians, oil & gas, auto mfr, and the media (it's not our fault).
My point is that this is sad. I can't believe the debate can go on so long when one side talks about observation, fact, and reason (this is the science side, for those following at home), while the other simply shouts a lot.
While we're at it, what are some of the other times scientific evidence has been ignored or even persecuted?
1. Galileo, Copernicus, et. al. No! the earth must be the center of the universe.
2. Newton. The universe can't operate according to a set of defined immutable laws or God wouldn't be able to impose his will! Heretic!
3. Challenger. If you launch at this low temp, the o-rings will shatter and you will have "substantial loss of life". Nah, let's go for it! We're freaking NASA here!
Do I really need to go on?
Seems like when we ignore conclusions based on observation and reason, the result is either blind ignorance of the world in which we live, or loss of life, or both.
Climate change skeptics are expected to seize on the revised figures as evidence that action to combat global warming is less urgent. Scientists insist that the lower estimates for sea levels and the human impact on global warming are simply a refinement due to better data on how climate works rather than a reduction in the risk posed by global warming."
(emphasis mine)
That's right. The skeptics take this report as vindication. The scientists.... wait a minute. It's skeptics versus scientists? You mean, none of the scientists are skeptical of the global warming theory? Oh yeah, There hasn't been a single article in a reputable journal arguing against the fact that global warming is our fault. My mistake. I thought the counter-arguments were based on fact, observation, and reason.
Re:Nothing inconvenient about the results
on
An Inconvenient Truth
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
It's not really a bandwagon jump if he's BEEN AT IT SINCE HE WAS IN UNIVERSITY!
And where are these arguments against Global Warming being our fault? Seriously, where? And nothing from a newspaper, industry report, or Congressional committee counts on this issue. I'm asking where are the bona fide scientific papers in refereed journals? There aren't any. Saying there is evidence either way on this is like saying cigarettes might not kill you because I have this report from Imperial Tobabcco, and another from the Senate Committee on "Taxes on Tobacco make us piles of money" that say they're healthy.
Please, for our sakes, pull your ignorant head out of your ass and read something.
Keep in mind that a large group, like a student committee or slashdot, the group can be vocal oppontents [sic] and vocal proponents of intellectual property in different cases without any individual actually contradicting themselves.
I'm going to start with this one. The IP that groups - esp. groups like the/. community - is that which is detrimental to progress. More accurately, such groups are in favour of "free as in speech" sharing of ideas and knowledge. This approach, as it's currently implemented, relies on the originator of said ideas and knowledge to choose to share it freely with others. By and large, we do not want to force that sharing on others, and would far rather see the choice to share made freely.
These students are rightly protesting two issues. The first is that the choice to share their work was taken from them. Education is mandatory by law, up to a certain age, and students will inevitably turn in papers long before they are legally allowed to leave school. The second is perhaps even more serious. The retained papers are used by Turnitin for PROFIT. Any public license I've ever read (yeah, I'm the guy who reads EULA) clearly states that the work while free to use and distribute, may not be used for profit and must remain free for others to use regardless of its implementation.
For these reasons, the only conditions under which I could support the use and even existence of such a service are:
Students must consent to have their papers added to the database.
The service be not for profit
The database be made available to all
While having my work checked against a database every time to prove I'm not cheating is offensive and borders on insulting, I can understand the school's position. I would far rather see it used in cases of suspicion, and where the student is confronted first. I categorically disagree with the current implementation of this database and consider it an infringement on the students' rights to control their work. Should they choose to share it or not, the choice must be theirs.
It's more than enough for messages of the "Call me when you get a chance" variety. Anything more usually belongs in an email anyway.
On an unrelated note, this is handy if the professor's computer displaying the lecture on very large screen is also connected to the campus network and you want to put "Bob smells" up over his presentation.
I may have been a little upset when I wrote that. The tone of that notification window sounded so much like MS "You need to restart your computer for the updates to take effect" window which harrasses you, popping up ontop of whatever you're doing every five minutes because maybe, just maybe, you want to finish a letter before restarting to complete the install of the latest outlook express update patch. It had happened to me that day and hit particularly close to the nerve. I'm sure I'll only see it on kernel upgrades, maybe nvidia drivers (but you have to kill x anyway) and dist-upgrade. Thanks for the clarification guys. I'm probably going to give dapper a whirl, but I'm still going to look at a few others first.
I've noticed this "dumbening" (is that how you spell it?) as well. I've been on Ubuntu since 4.10 and little by little, I realised things were creeping into it that made it fluffier, softer, and weaker. Along these lines, though I realise it happened before Warty, what the hell was wrong with cd's and flash drives mounting in 'mnt'?!?! Doesn't that make sense? You mount things in mount! Perfectly logical to me. But nope, now they go to media.
But back to it. Today I was checking out the screenshots of dapper - trying to decide exactly what to put on my new box due friday - and noticed something horrifying; something so terrifying I stopped dead. Screenshot #6 is particularly ominous. I'm not sure what will be going on this new box of mine, but in light of recent evidence, I'd say that Dapper is not the forgone conclusion it once was.
Engineers used to be taught free-hand sketching. Some still are. I, unfortunately, was only taught CAD. This has caused me a great deal of difficulty in my work. The abitlity to draw, by hand, is vital to Engineers and Architects. No I'm not bashing computer graphics and CAD programs; the are absolutely necessary if we ever want to do anything beyond 3-5 storey boxes. But let me ask you this: How do you think those drawings are first created? How are they revised? I'll tell you. The Architects and Engineers sketch them by hand. Architect's conceptual drawings? Often by hand. Any kind of design meeting? All the sketches by hand. Field investigation, do you think I have a computer? Nope! Everything I see gets sketched by hand. I need a detail to get drafted for a project? I sketch it by hand and give it to the CAD people.
This is a big problem, more so than many people (here) seem to realise. This isn't just the next slide rule falling by the wayside (although the introduction of the calculator has impaired the developement of "mental math" skills and a gut-check feel for the numbers that could avoid many problems.) What I'm getting at is that one should not supplant the other (back to drawing/drafting now); we need both . CAD should just be another tool in the design professional's hip pocket, to be used when it is the best tool for the job, and set aside when it is not.
There's a host of problems with hydroelectric that rarely get talked about. Damming the river slows the water, reducing the size of sediment it can transport. This causes all the sediment from upstream to settle out at the inlet to the dam resevoir, raising the bed level drastically. Changes in the river like this are detrimental to fish and plats in the river, and have also grounded many boats. This is why very few hydroelectric dams have been built in North America and Europe in the past few decades. For these and a host of ethical reasons (like displacing a couple MILLION people), the Three Gorges Dam should never have been built in China.
I'm not aware of any of these kinds of issues with geothermal (I really do support the idea), but then I don't know that much about the technology. Just pointing out that hydroelectric is far from 'free' when you build dams to do it. The thing is not everyone has something the size of Niagara Falls to generate power from. (Even then , Niagara does not acount for very much of Ontario's total power generation.)
There's also a German company Wortmann that makes a much more affordable notebook at around 1000 Euros. Looks like we're holding our breath for a few months or calling up friends and relatives abroud to get them for now.
Slashdot Mirror
Exactly. At best you could say there are 5-2/3, or "five and a short story"! Come on people!!
mod up informative.
Here's a link to another, slightly more serious article, which also links the paper itself.
Can anyone say "class action"?
Yeah, because that's the answer to... everything.
Why does it matter whether the use military or civilian machines? Aren't the internets just a series of tubes?
LG3D
'nuff said.
No I'm sorry, it's being hit on the head lessons in here.
This isn't the first time Verizon's billing has screwed their customers. Check out this blog with audio of several phone calls where numerous accounts people and managers are completely unable to understand that 0.002 dollars and 0.002 cents are, in fact, different quantities. This was also previously posted on Slashdot
You're right. That is (regrettably) the debate. MY POINT, is that the debate is between reputable scientists (it is our fault and it matters) and skeptics like politicians, oil & gas, auto mfr, and the media (it's not our fault).
My point is that this is sad. I can't believe the debate can go on so long when one side talks about observation, fact, and reason (this is the science side, for those following at home), while the other simply shouts a lot.
While we're at it, what are some of the other times scientific evidence has been ignored or even persecuted?
1. Galileo, Copernicus, et. al. No! the earth must be the center of the universe.
2. Newton. The universe can't operate according to a set of defined immutable laws or God wouldn't be able to impose his will! Heretic!
3. Challenger. If you launch at this low temp, the o-rings will shatter and you will have "substantial loss of life". Nah, let's go for it! We're freaking NASA here!
Do I really need to go on?
Seems like when we ignore conclusions based on observation and reason, the result is either blind ignorance of the world in which we live, or loss of life, or both.
Remember: Science. It works bitches
See also: Playing Devil's Advocate to Win
That's right. The skeptics take this report as vindication. The scientists.... wait a minute. It's skeptics versus scientists? You mean, none of the scientists are skeptical of the global warming theory? Oh yeah, There hasn't been a single article in a reputable journal arguing against the fact that global warming is our fault. My mistake. I thought the counter-arguments were based on fact, observation, and reason.
Remember: Science. It works, bitches
So much for the paperless office.
It's not really a bandwagon jump if he's BEEN AT IT SINCE HE WAS IN UNIVERSITY!
And where are these arguments against Global Warming being our fault? Seriously, where? And nothing from a newspaper, industry report, or Congressional committee counts on this issue. I'm asking where are the bona fide scientific papers in refereed journals? There aren't any. Saying there is evidence either way on this is like saying cigarettes might not kill you because I have this report from Imperial Tobabcco, and another from the Senate Committee on "Taxes on Tobacco make us piles of money" that say they're healthy.
Please, for our sakes, pull your ignorant head out of your ass and read something.
If it bothers you so much, why not try an alternative?
Fedora Core
Ubuntu
Debian
SUSE
Mandriva
Slackware
Gentoo
or any of these?
Or Mac, or BSD, or even Solaris? There's no shortage of options
And you're betting the average Windows user even knows what a patch is? Let alone how to find it and apply it?
You've a lot more faith than I, my friend.
I'm going to start with this one. The IP that groups - esp. groups like the
These students are rightly protesting two issues. The first is that the choice to share their work was taken from them. Education is mandatory by law, up to a certain age, and students will inevitably turn in papers long before they are legally allowed to leave school. The second is perhaps even more serious. The retained papers are used by Turnitin for PROFIT. Any public license I've ever read (yeah, I'm the guy who reads EULA) clearly states that the work while free to use and distribute, may not be used for profit and must remain free for others to use regardless of its implementation.
For these reasons, the only conditions under which I could support the use and even existence of such a service are:
- Students must consent to have their papers added to the database.
- The service be not for profit
- The database be made available to all
While having my work checked against a database every time to prove I'm not cheating is offensive and borders on insulting, I can understand the school's position. I would far rather see it used in cases of suspicion, and where the student is confronted first. I categorically disagree with the current implementation of this database and consider it an infringement on the students' rights to control their work. Should they choose to share it or not, the choice must be theirs.Some salty lubbers have yet to be Touched by His Noodly Appendage. Tis right up there with grog, lootin' and pillagin' in my books.
Yar!
See /. story from February
But yes, this is clearly a problem.
net send
as in: C:\> net send [user] [text]
or: C:\> net send [computer] [text]
It's more than enough for messages of the "Call me when you get a chance" variety. Anything more usually belongs in an email anyway.
On an unrelated note, this is handy if the professor's computer displaying the lecture on very large screen is also connected to the campus network and you want to put "Bob smells" up over his presentation.
I may have been a little upset when I wrote that. The tone of that notification window sounded so much like MS "You need to restart your computer for the updates to take effect" window which harrasses you, popping up ontop of whatever you're doing every five minutes because maybe, just maybe, you want to finish a letter before restarting to complete the install of the latest outlook express update patch. It had happened to me that day and hit particularly close to the nerve. I'm sure I'll only see it on kernel upgrades, maybe nvidia drivers (but you have to kill x anyway) and dist-upgrade. Thanks for the clarification guys. I'm probably going to give dapper a whirl, but I'm still going to look at a few others first.
I've noticed this "dumbening" (is that how you spell it?) as well. I've been on Ubuntu since 4.10 and little by little, I realised things were creeping into it that made it fluffier, softer, and weaker. Along these lines, though I realise it happened before Warty, what the hell was wrong with cd's and flash drives mounting in 'mnt'?!?! Doesn't that make sense? You mount things in mount! Perfectly logical to me. But nope, now they go to media.
But back to it. Today I was checking out the screenshots of dapper - trying to decide exactly what to put on my new box due friday - and noticed something horrifying; something so terrifying I stopped dead. Screenshot #6 is particularly ominous. I'm not sure what will be going on this new box of mine, but in light of recent evidence, I'd say that Dapper is not the forgone conclusion it once was.
They got it one hundred percent right. EULA's should come with:
"Warnings on hazardous materials."
Engineers used to be taught free-hand sketching. Some still are. I, unfortunately, was only taught CAD. This has caused me a great deal of difficulty in my work. The abitlity to draw, by hand, is vital to Engineers and Architects. No I'm not bashing computer graphics and CAD programs; the are absolutely necessary if we ever want to do anything beyond 3-5 storey boxes. But let me ask you this: How do you think those drawings are first created? How are they revised? I'll tell you. The Architects and Engineers sketch them by hand. Architect's conceptual drawings? Often by hand. Any kind of design meeting? All the sketches by hand. Field investigation, do you think I have a computer? Nope! Everything I see gets sketched by hand. I need a detail to get drafted for a project? I sketch it by hand and give it to the CAD people.
This is a big problem, more so than many people (here) seem to realise. This isn't just the next slide rule falling by the wayside (although the introduction of the calculator has impaired the developement of "mental math" skills and a gut-check feel for the numbers that could avoid many problems.) What I'm getting at is that one should not supplant the other (back to drawing/drafting now); we need both . CAD should just be another tool in the design professional's hip pocket, to be used when it is the best tool for the job, and set aside when it is not.
There's a host of problems with hydroelectric that rarely get talked about. Damming the river slows the water, reducing the size of sediment it can transport. This causes all the sediment from upstream to settle out at the inlet to the dam resevoir, raising the bed level drastically. Changes in the river like this are detrimental to fish and plats in the river, and have also grounded many boats. This is why very few hydroelectric dams have been built in North America and Europe in the past few decades. For these and a host of ethical reasons (like displacing a couple MILLION people), the Three Gorges Dam should never have been built in China.
I'm not aware of any of these kinds of issues with geothermal (I really do support the idea), but then I don't know that much about the technology. Just pointing out that hydroelectric is far from 'free' when you build dams to do it. The thing is not everyone has something the size of Niagara Falls to generate power from. (Even then , Niagara does not acount for very much of Ontario's total power generation.)
Unfortunately for us in North America, these notebooks are currently only available in Europe. Evesham Quest Series (scroll down) look amazing but quite pricey.
There's also a German company Wortmann that makes a much more affordable notebook at around 1000 Euros. Looks like we're holding our breath for a few months or calling up friends and relatives abroud to get them for now.