They complied with the request, they sent him the information, and they told him that he could get more. As part of a FOIA request, the agency can charge a fee, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#cost.
There is no initial fee required to submit a FOIA request, but the FOIA does provide for the charging of certain types of fees in some instances. For a typical requester the agency can charge for the time it takes to search for records and for duplication of those records. There is usually no charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first 100 pages of duplication.
They say that they will waive the fee if the information is in the public interest, and that the requester has no financial interest in the matter, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#fees. In short, this rule appears to exist to narrow the search.
You may request a waiver of fees. Under the FOIA fee waivers are limited to situations in which a requester can show that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
These rules are quite reasonable and appear to exist so that you can't just say "Tell me everything that the NSA knows about semantic processing" and expect the taxpayer to foot the bill. His request appears to be of the "tell me everything about this project" nature, which can be a time-consuming effort. They prepared a 7-page manuscript for him, with his/our taxpayer dollars. I find their actions reasonable.
Price is determined by two parties: the party willing to pay and the party willing to accept. If these parties have come to an agreement which they believe mutually beneficial, and a transaction ensues, then this is the real price.
no one will know what a book's "real" price is. Price will be determined by demand and perhaps by whim.
My house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, which is primarily based on demand. Why is a book so special that it has a "real" price not controlled by how much people want it?
Serves to reinforce my assumption that you make your fortune selling overpriced computerized "tutoring" crap...
First: I don't recall that you made that point. Disclaimer: I work with intelligent tutoring systems daily. Full disclaimer: I work for a non-profit.
What does all that fancy tech do, that a properly trained human can't?
The big thing is: be replicated.
Human tutoring on a one-to-one basis is remarkably effective. In fact, it is approximately 1-2 letter grades better than classroom instruction (depending on the source*). There are obvious limitations on these educational gains (28 person classroom needs 28 teachers!). A good portion, if not the majority, of people are trying to copy what a human tutor does, in order to make this level of education better, faster, cheaper, sleepless, or more available.
I would ask you to consider your own question for a number of other technologies:
What does all that fancy tech do, that a properly trained human can't?
What does this line assembly manufacturing robot do that a human can't? What does this ATM do that a human can't? What does this automatic check recognition system do that a human can't?
There is a list: work through the night, be easily replicated, serve in areas where the human can't/won't go, access content from the internet as soon as it becomes available, etc.
If you know the student has been struggling for the last 30 minutes, do you continue on this instructional vector, or adjust course? If you adjust course, how do you do so? If you are going to adjust course, what to you base it on? That the student is taking too long? That their facial responses indicate confusion? Frustration? Anger?
There is a field of educations and computer science research behind these decisions, which you have conveniently ignored.
This is not necessarily true. Emotional states can be picked up via computer, and are correlated significantly with learning outcomes. See "Affect and learning: An exploratory look into the role of affect in learning with AutoTutor" (2004) for some more information on the subject.
I owned a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis until last November. In total: $200/month for gas (7 mile daily commute, 50 mile biweekly visit, 50 mile weekend adventure, 18 mpg) $120/month for maintenance $50/month for insurance $10/month for tolls --- $380/month in operating expenses
The Grand Marquis broke ($5000 in repairs needed). I now own a 2008 Toyota Yaris. In total: $100/month in gas (holy crap fuel savings!) $18/month in maintenance (obviously not sustainable, oil changes only) $62/month in insurance $10/month in tolls --- $190/month in operating expenses
Owning a car is the second largest expense in my monthly budget (housing is first) which is not "Blow Money". I have never had car payments, and I drive significantly less than those around me. I suspect that I am not alone in this recognition of car expense. I live in Orlando and do not pay for parking/garage fees.
I will give up my car when a robocar which can take me to/from work, on a weekend adventure, and can be insured for less than $400/month. I will do so without hesitation, as the time gains are substantial.
Or not. The following short story presents a picture where, instead of being slaves to robots, we may enslave them instead. http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm
The benchmark isn't $45M. This can and will continue to happen until the security problems are fixed. If you don't want your ATM to be a Quik-E-Mart you are going to have to upgrade security.
Regular here. Hacked my teacher's computer in high school. I will have a PhD in Computer Engineering next month.
Correlation is not causation, of course, but an interest in "computers" leading to "using computers" and "degree in computers" isn't much or a stretch.
Hmm... A complaint about sending unneeded and unwanted food to people that want and need need it? That got modded up?
I suppose that you would have us destroy the food, rather than give it to hungry people? Because it will make the farmers for these starving people richer?
I'm curious, what should we do with the excess crop?
I am more interested in what Slashdotters have to say on the subject than anyone else. Typically a story like this plays out as follows: NPR/BBC - here are the unbiased details of the story BS news - OMG Explosion! Think of the children/town/nation! The government should do something/nothing! Slashdot - here are similar stories (ammonia nitrate-related disasters), chemical discussion, physics of the matter.
We've had primal tribal & religious bickering our entire existence.
What makes you think we can get beyond that?
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said that we were going to stop? We are just trying to extend the practice to new locations! Those people from Alpha Centauri think they're better than us pure Earthlings.
Pretend for a moment that our current energy needs are met 100% through non-renewable sources: gas, coal, oil, fission
What would make you think that there is one solution which replaces these? What makes you think it is biomass?
In reality, we will probably meet these needs through another combination of 'renewable' energy sources: wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass sources (algae, sugar beets), space-based sources (collection/transmission)
Additionally, our energy issues, like financial issues, are related to spending as well as creating. A more complete solution involves: more (or less) efficient electronics, 'offer' off states, more efficient heating/cooling/lighting, better reuse of 'waste' heating/cooling, increased storage and storage time for batteries, more conductive transmission of power, quicker start up and cool down of generation facilities, repurposing (or double-purposing) existing land/roof space for generation/storage, and many more incremental improvements.
We have quite a bit of biomass, and we would like to use it for power in addition to all our other supply. This is part of a larger solution, and should not be criticized with the point of "This can only be PART of the solution". Take joy in the advancements when they come.
For the record, you may refer to this as a "Letter of Marque" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_marque). Also, if you are pirating with the blessing of your Government (say, because you paid a tax to do so), you may officially refer to yourself as a "Privateer" (official pirate).
This posting removes a moderation, but education of slashdot on the subject of the patriotic/profitable practice of Officially-Sanctioned Vessels/Crews for Stealing is a worthy cause.
The goals of "helping" and "protecting" can both be fulfilled at once. You are correct that the students have been thoroughly vetted (foreign Government, US Government, State college, and personally). To be fair, I did not use a freely downloadable template, and instead opted for a lawyer-produced one from a lawyer connection (still free).
In the "open your home to a hacker that lives on your couch" model, I would think that the homeowner would not follow it altruistically. If I were in the position, it would involve background research (a PI?) and either a share of the profits from the business that they are starting, a benefit from the services they provide, an amount of chores performed about the house, or, of course, rent. And, in nearly a decade of living with roommates, I would NEVER, and I mean NEVER live with someone without meeting them. You only make that mistake once.
Note: I have put my money where my mouth is. I live with two foreign PhD students who pay drastically reduced rent. They are also the nicest people people that I have lived with.
"Largest Technology Company, as of this morning, is valued at $621 billion, thanks to a stock price that spiked at $663.10 per share (and that has risen this afternoon). That finally beats Now-Second Largest Technology Company, who previously held the record for most valuable company in 1999 at $619 billion. Incredibly, Largest Technology Company has almost doubled its valuation in the last year, when it topped Non-Technology Company for most valuable American company with a valuation of $346 billion. It's not the cleanest comparison, but to give you an idea of how much $621 billion actually is, only 23 countries had a GDP higher than that in 2011. So, basically, Largest Technology Company alone is worth more than what 200+ countries in the world could produce in an entire year."
Can you reasonably argue that this is biased reporting? What company is it biased towards? It doesn't even say something like: "The maker of product". It even gives context to the value. When a technology company becomes (arguably) the largest company in recorded history, I expect to SEE IT REPORTED ON SLASHDOT .
Slashdot Mirror
Like releasing the same document twice, with different redactions? http://www.aljazeera.com/humanrights/2013/08/2013851618340986.html
Or information on an Iraqi shooting? http://gcn.com/articles/2005/05/13/pdf-user-slipup-gives-dod-lesson-in-protecting-classified-information.aspx
Or when the TSA published their 'classified' handbook? http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/tsa-leak/
Or when the UK revealed their nuclear submarine secrets? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13107413
I don't know. I can't ask the grass, zooplankton, krill, or any of the large number of bacteria that spread through being eaten.
They complied with the request, they sent him the information, and they told him that he could get more. As part of a FOIA request, the agency can charge a fee, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#cost.
There is no initial fee required to submit a FOIA request, but the FOIA does provide for the charging of certain types of fees in some instances. For a typical requester the agency can charge for the time it takes to search for records and for duplication of those records. There is usually no charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first 100 pages of duplication.
They say that they will waive the fee if the information is in the public interest, and that the requester has no financial interest in the matter, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#fees. In short, this rule appears to exist to narrow the search.
You may request a waiver of fees. Under the FOIA fee waivers are limited to situations in which a requester can show that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
These rules are quite reasonable and appear to exist so that you can't just say "Tell me everything that the NSA knows about semantic processing" and expect the taxpayer to foot the bill. His request appears to be of the "tell me everything about this project" nature, which can be a time-consuming effort. They prepared a 7-page manuscript for him, with his/our taxpayer dollars. I find their actions reasonable.
MOD PARENT UP.
Price is determined by two parties: the party willing to pay and the party willing to accept. If these parties have come to an agreement which they believe mutually beneficial, and a transaction ensues, then this is the real price.
no one will know what a book's "real" price is. Price will be determined by demand and perhaps by whim.
My house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, which is primarily based on demand. Why is a book so special that it has a "real" price not controlled by how much people want it?
Serves to reinforce my assumption that you make your fortune selling overpriced computerized "tutoring" crap...
First: I don't recall that you made that point.
Disclaimer: I work with intelligent tutoring systems daily.
Full disclaimer: I work for a non-profit.
What does all that fancy tech do, that a properly trained human can't?
The big thing is: be replicated.
Human tutoring on a one-to-one basis is remarkably effective. In fact, it is approximately 1-2 letter grades better than classroom instruction (depending on the source*). There are obvious limitations on these educational gains (28 person classroom needs 28 teachers!). A good portion, if not the majority, of people are trying to copy what a human tutor does, in order to make this level of education better, faster, cheaper, sleepless, or more available.
I would ask you to consider your own question for a number of other technologies:
What does all that fancy tech do, that a properly trained human can't?
What does this line assembly manufacturing robot do that a human can't?
What does this ATM do that a human can't?
What does this automatic check recognition system do that a human can't?
There is a list: work through the night, be easily replicated, serve in areas where the human can't/won't go, access content from the internet as soon as it becomes available, etc.
*See VanLehn 2011, Bloom 1984
See http://iaied.org/about/, http://www.educationaldatamining.org/, http://its2012.teicrete.gr/, and others for more information.
If you know the student has been struggling for the last 30 minutes, do you continue on this instructional vector, or adjust course? If you adjust course, how do you do so? If you are going to adjust course, what to you base it on? That the student is taking too long? That their facial responses indicate confusion? Frustration? Anger?
There is a field of educations and computer science research behind these decisions, which you have conveniently ignored.
This is not necessarily true. Emotional states can be picked up via computer, and are correlated significantly with learning outcomes. See "Affect and learning: An exploratory look into the role of affect in learning with AutoTutor" (2004) for some more information on the subject.
I owned a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis until last November. In total:
$200/month for gas (7 mile daily commute, 50 mile biweekly visit, 50 mile weekend adventure, 18 mpg)
$120/month for maintenance
$50/month for insurance
$10/month for tolls
---
$380/month in operating expenses
The Grand Marquis broke ($5000 in repairs needed). I now own a 2008 Toyota Yaris. In total:
$100/month in gas (holy crap fuel savings!)
$18/month in maintenance (obviously not sustainable, oil changes only)
$62/month in insurance
$10/month in tolls
---
$190/month in operating expenses
Owning a car is the second largest expense in my monthly budget (housing is first) which is not "Blow Money". I have never had car payments, and I drive significantly less than those around me. I suspect that I am not alone in this recognition of car expense. I live in Orlando and do not pay for parking/garage fees.
I will give up my car when a robocar which can take me to/from work, on a weekend adventure, and can be insured for less than $400/month. I will do so without hesitation, as the time gains are substantial.
Or not. The following short story presents a picture where, instead of being slaves to robots, we may enslave them instead.
http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm
Someone please tag this. WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong.
The benchmark isn't $45M. This can and will continue to happen until the security problems are fixed. If you don't want your ATM to be a Quik-E-Mart you are going to have to upgrade security.
Regular here. Hacked my teacher's computer in high school. I will have a PhD in Computer Engineering next month.
Correlation is not causation, of course, but an interest in "computers" leading to "using computers" and "degree in computers" isn't much or a stretch.
Hmm... A complaint about sending unneeded and unwanted food to people that want and need need it? That got modded up?
I suppose that you would have us destroy the food, rather than give it to hungry people? Because it will make the farmers for these starving people richer?
I'm curious, what should we do with the excess crop?
I am more interested in what Slashdotters have to say on the subject than anyone else. Typically a story like this plays out as follows:
NPR/BBC - here are the unbiased details of the story
BS news - OMG Explosion! Think of the children/town/nation! The government should do something/nothing!
Slashdot - here are similar stories (ammonia nitrate-related disasters), chemical discussion, physics of the matter.
MOD PARENT UP. Half my kingdom for mod points.
iGoogle is a fantastic product. One of the best software services that I use daily.
We've had primal tribal & religious bickering our entire existence.
What makes you think we can get beyond that?
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said that we were going to stop? We are just trying to extend the practice to new locations! Those people from Alpha Centauri think they're better than us pure Earthlings.
Pretend for a moment that our current energy needs are met 100% through non-renewable sources:
gas, coal, oil, fission
What would make you think that there is one solution which replaces these? What makes you think it is biomass?
In reality, we will probably meet these needs through another combination of 'renewable' energy sources:
wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass sources (algae, sugar beets), space-based sources (collection/transmission)
Additionally, our energy issues, like financial issues, are related to spending as well as creating. A more complete solution involves:
more (or less) efficient electronics, 'offer' off states, more efficient heating/cooling/lighting, better reuse of 'waste' heating/cooling, increased storage and storage time for batteries, more conductive transmission of power, quicker start up and cool down of generation facilities, repurposing (or double-purposing) existing land/roof space for generation/storage, and many more incremental improvements.
We have quite a bit of biomass, and we would like to use it for power in addition to all our other supply. This is part of a larger solution, and should not be criticized with the point of "This can only be PART of the solution". Take joy in the advancements when they come.
A handsome young Cyborg named Ace,
Wooed women at every base,
But once ladies glanced at
His special enhancement
They vanished with nary a trace.
-- Barracks Graffiti,
Sparta Command
GRUE - get it right! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grue_(monster)
free license to pirate
For the record, you may refer to this as a "Letter of Marque" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_marque). Also, if you are pirating with the blessing of your Government (say, because you paid a tax to do so), you may officially refer to yourself as a "Privateer" (official pirate).
This posting removes a moderation, but education of slashdot on the subject of the patriotic/profitable practice of Officially-Sanctioned Vessels/Crews for Stealing is a worthy cause.
The goals of "helping" and "protecting" can both be fulfilled at once.
You are correct that the students have been thoroughly vetted (foreign Government, US Government, State college, and personally).
To be fair, I did not use a freely downloadable template, and instead opted for a lawyer-produced one from a lawyer connection (still free).
In the "open your home to a hacker that lives on your couch" model, I would think that the homeowner would not follow it altruistically. If I were in the position, it would involve background research (a PI?) and either a share of the profits from the business that they are starting, a benefit from the services they provide, an amount of chores performed about the house, or, of course, rent. And, in nearly a decade of living with roommates, I would NEVER, and I mean NEVER live with someone without meeting them. You only make that mistake once.
This post removes moderation effort in this thread.
You can issue a very simple document saying that the person waives their right to sue in the event of injury. Cave owners do it all of the time when cavers wish to enter their property. For example:
http://www.caves.org/grotto/jamesrivergrotto/JRGCaveTripReleaseForm.PDF
Rental property does it:
http://monkeyshines4kids.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Monkey-Shines-4-Kids-LLC-General-Liability-Release.pdf
and you can get a free one from nolo here:
https://www.rocketlawyer.com/secure/interview/new.aspx?id=154&utm_source=103&try=1&v=3&gclid=CPuF3peHg7ICFQmpnQodiCwAcw#q1
Shut up and start helping people.
Note: I have put my money where my mouth is. I live with two foreign PhD students who pay drastically reduced rent. They are also the nicest people people that I have lived with.
"Largest Technology Company, as of this morning, is valued at $621 billion, thanks to a stock price that spiked at $663.10 per share (and that has risen this afternoon). That finally beats Now-Second Largest Technology Company, who previously held the record for most valuable company in 1999 at $619 billion. Incredibly, Largest Technology Company has almost doubled its valuation in the last year, when it topped Non-Technology Company for most valuable American company with a valuation of $346 billion. It's not the cleanest comparison, but to give you an idea of how much $621 billion actually is, only 23 countries had a GDP higher than that in 2011. So, basically, Largest Technology Company alone is worth more than what 200+ countries in the world could produce in an entire year."
Can you reasonably argue that this is biased reporting? What company is it biased towards? It doesn't even say something like: "The maker of product". It even gives context to the value. When a technology company becomes (arguably) the largest company in recorded history, I expect to SEE IT REPORTED ON SLASHDOT .