From the article, the phone comes with concierge services – i.e. you hit a call button and can get a real person on the phone – which – if I had to guess – would be why it is so expensive.
Is Germany one of the strongest economies in Europe today? Yes. Was West Germany one of the strongest economies in Europe just before integration? IIRC the growth in GNP drastically slowed. Were a lot of jobs created by building new infrastructure? Yes – but Germany had to take out a lot of loans to do that. (fortunately they took out the loans at the right time and paid them off.) The general consensus is that West Germany would be further ahead of where it is today if it did not have to integrate East Germany. (We are ignoring the cost of maintaining the cold war)
During integration Germany was kind of like Kobe Bryant playing basketball with 20 bound ankle weights – off the peak game but still impressive.
Umm – you know that your post covers everything from hand held drones to the top of the line jet powered drones, designed for multi-day missions with military strike capability. That’s a huge range.
As for the costs – you would be amazed at the backed costs of running an airplane. Helicopters are even worse. Maintenance costs are very high. Pilots are expensive - and you need a lot of them because their flight hours are limited.
Most drones can be controlled from the ground – in fact most drones are controlled from the ground when they are landing – too much lag time to go via the satellite. During the first Gulf War most of the drones were controlled, IIRC, UHF from local sites.
The reason why most are controlled via satellite today is that the military does not want to maintain lots of ground stations in a war zone. If there were routinely operating in the US – well I am sure they would build out the networking capacity to handle it.
Those STEMs were engaged in cutting edge research – often in basic science which is one area that the private sector does a very poor job. They were doing real work and I am all for that.
Having 5 STEMs keep up a e-mail server when you only need 2? How is that going to advance the economy? Sure, you may have a patent clerk you invents special relativity – but that is the exception.
How do you know how effective your programs are? How do you calibrate your presentations? How do you accommodate different learning styles?
I ask because most of the methods that rate teaching effectiveness is thin. That is, “Does New Math work better then drilling students?” “Does this video work for dyslexia students?” etc.
I have seen may teachers guided by antidotal evidence or heuristic rules – which makes sense because you need to evaluate students taught by thousands of teachers - each who have their individual style.
It would seem to me that you would have a vast trove of data to pull out – and validate – how effective your courses are.
If a Libertarian (and I consider myself a pragmatic libertarian) were to say this then it would be the same old thing. Not saying it’s wrong – just not advancing a new argument.
However, if a liberal is saying this – that is new. And if the left and the right can agree on something – well – that is new and news – and worth exploring.
I want my tax dollars spend on things that bring value, not for make work jobs for STEMs. If “the cloud” can offer services cheaper then why not do it? I am sure there are reasons but creating government jobs is not one of them.
Except it is coming from a liberal insider, not a libertarian outsider, so the details and reasoning vary. It might point towards common ground so we can grow into something better than the current sludge we have now.
You have to consider total cost of operations – not just the initial capital layout costs.
Drones tend to be lighter (no human pilot) so fuel costs are lower.
Human costs are lower – one pilot can run multiple drones.
Drones can operate for longer periods – so less downtime. Etc.
True – but helicopters are expensive to operate – drones are much cheaper. I am mindful of the slippery slope logical fallacy but it does bring us one step closer to 24 hour surveillance.
Just like a vet would be well served by obtaining a zoology degree prior to entering veterinary school.
FYI, I don’t think you would be well served by that Zoology degree. From the hundreds of vets that I have meet, the preferred degrees are Biology, Chemistry, and English. Zoology might help if you wanted to get into exotics – but every vet that I know who got into exotics by a very individualistic unique path. Animal husbandry might be slightly better choice, but still
It’s not about the amount of raw talent – though that is a consideration.
One of the geniuses of United States is that we bring together the best and the brightest where they can interact.
Partly it is a networking thing, getting the best people regardless of where they are born.
Partly it is a diversity thing - Diverse viewpoints can unlock new insights.
Partly it is a globe thing – If you are going to run a global economy it helps if “locals” are on-shore to share their experience.
Simple. The mathematical property of Transitive tells us:
Slashdot likes conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theorist like news on the Catholic Church. Ergo, Slashdoters would be interested in this.
For example, we all know that the reason why Linux has not succeeded is that the Knights Templar control Microsoft. The only way to break their control over the monetary system is to move to BitCoin.
I don’t think what he is saying is racist – but rather 2 contradictory sentiments that he is trying to balance out.
On one hand, America is a land of immigrants and we have been reluctant to use language as a criteria - not having a national language. The loopy left takes this to the extreme.
On the other hand, for culture cohesion and personal economic success English is the way to go in America. However, the people who put forward this argument the strongest tend to be the nativist parties, who distrust open immigration.
This is not a new argument – it been around since America’s creation. FYI, I am for a more liberal immigration policy. However, I struggled over the debate on if we should grant Hmong refugees who could not English citizenship. It not a question over residency – They fought for us during Vietnam so we took them in after the war. But as a citizen I expect them to participate in public politics and it is hard to make an informed vote if one can’t speak English. I still have not decided.
Shockley is not a good example. If you have one parent who is a US Citizen, you child is a natural citizen – not a naturalized citizen (which is important if you plan on running for President).
The other examples, on the other hand, are wonderful.
For finer detail you notice that Schmidt has file a “plan” to sell 2.4b over the next year. That plan gets handed over to a 3rd outside party so Schmidt is removed from the timing and execution of said plan. So, at this point everybody on a level playing field.
Except that in inflationary periods, real assets don't fall in value. In fact they may go up in value because people value those real assets. If you are looking for a hedge against inflation stocks are a good way to good. Then add in that a fair chunk of Google's profits comes from overseas.
Case #2: I donate $100 in stock to a charity. That stock has some unrealized capital gain.
From the charity viewpoint, how would they know what tax they should pay? For the gifter's standpoint – they are donating exactly the same value – right?
I like most of your post, but I think you are wrong on this point.
If you donate stock you can deduct the full market price from your tax returns. If he sells the stock first he has to pay capital gains first. So it is always better to gift Google stock to a charity then to sell the stock and gift the money - i.e. the charity will always end up with more money. (Now, the first thing most charities will do is to sell the stock).
Not that easy. Buying A class shares requi5es a lot of real money. After you get above 5% you have to start declaring things - like how much you own, how much you plan on buying, and why you are buying.
There are Slashdotters who value fairness, reject sloppy logic, guilt by association, and broad generalizations.
Was Amazon selling best sellers at a loss as a loss leader? They wanted to generate overall excitement and get people to visit the store and buy Kindles. Or was this to crush book stores – which were already in decline.
If true, and I think there is more than a smidge of truth in those accusations, then Amazon should be brought on a lawsuit for it’s failings. Giving Apple a free pass is not the right option.
Slashdot Mirror
From the article, the phone comes with concierge services – i.e. you hit a call button and can get a real person on the phone – which – if I had to guess – would be why it is so expensive.
No - Germany did see a drop for 2 decades.
Is Germany one of the strongest economies in Europe today? Yes. Was West Germany one of the strongest economies in Europe just before integration? IIRC the growth in GNP drastically slowed. Were a lot of jobs created by building new infrastructure? Yes – but Germany had to take out a lot of loans to do that. (fortunately they took out the loans at the right time and paid them off.) The general consensus is that West Germany would be further ahead of where it is today if it did not have to integrate East Germany. (We are ignoring the cost of maintaining the cold war)
During integration Germany was kind of like Kobe Bryant playing basketball with 20 bound ankle weights – off the peak game but still impressive.
And, IIRC, East Germany was about 1/4 the size of Germnay. North Korea is 1/3.
From what I have read, the reintegration of N. Korea is going to be a bigger deal then East Germany.
Umm – you know that your post covers everything from hand held drones to the top of the line jet powered drones, designed for multi-day missions with military strike capability. That’s a huge range.
So I will throw you this one – more in line with what a police department woudl run - powered by a snowmobile engine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAI_RQ-2_Pioneer
As for the costs – you would be amazed at the backed costs of running an airplane. Helicopters are even worse. Maintenance costs are very high. Pilots are expensive - and you need a lot of them because their flight hours are limited.
Not necessarily.
Most drones can be controlled from the ground – in fact most drones are controlled from the ground when they are landing – too much lag time to go via the satellite. During the first Gulf War most of the drones were controlled, IIRC, UHF from local sites.
The reason why most are controlled via satellite today is that the military does not want to maintain lots of ground stations in a war zone. If there were routinely operating in the US – well I am sure they would build out the networking capacity to handle it.
I don’t think you disagree.
Those STEMs were engaged in cutting edge research – often in basic science which is one area that the private sector does a very poor job. They were doing real work and I am all for that.
Having 5 STEMs keep up a e-mail server when you only need 2? How is that going to advance the economy? Sure, you may have a patent clerk you invents special relativity – but that is the exception.
How do you know how effective your programs are? How do you calibrate your presentations? How do you accommodate different learning styles?
I ask because most of the methods that rate teaching effectiveness is thin. That is, “Does New Math work better then drilling students?” “Does this video work for dyslexia students?” etc.
I have seen may teachers guided by antidotal evidence or heuristic rules – which makes sense because you need to evaluate students taught by thousands of teachers - each who have their individual style.
It would seem to me that you would have a vast trove of data to pull out – and validate – how effective your courses are.
I think you missed my point.
If a Libertarian (and I consider myself a pragmatic libertarian) were to say this then it would be the same old thing. Not saying it’s wrong – just not advancing a new argument.
However, if a liberal is saying this – that is new. And if the left and the right can agree on something – well – that is new and news – and worth exploring.
I want my tax dollars spend on things that bring value, not for make work jobs for STEMs. If “the cloud” can offer services cheaper then why not do it? I am sure there are reasons but creating government jobs is not one of them.
Except it is coming from a liberal insider, not a libertarian outsider, so the details and reasoning vary. It might point towards common ground so we can grow into something better than the current sludge we have now.
You have to consider total cost of operations – not just the initial capital layout costs.
Drones tend to be lighter (no human pilot) so fuel costs are lower.
Human costs are lower – one pilot can run multiple drones.
Drones can operate for longer periods – so less downtime.
Etc.
True – but helicopters are expensive to operate – drones are much cheaper. I am mindful of the slippery slope logical fallacy but it does bring us one step closer to 24 hour surveillance.
Just like a vet would be well served by obtaining a zoology degree prior to entering veterinary school.
FYI, I don’t think you would be well served by that Zoology degree. From the hundreds of vets that I have meet, the preferred degrees are Biology, Chemistry, and English. Zoology might help if you wanted to get into exotics – but every vet that I know who got into exotics by a very individualistic unique path. Animal husbandry might be slightly better choice, but still
It’s not about the amount of raw talent – though that is a consideration.
One of the geniuses of United States is that we bring together the best and the brightest where they can interact.
Partly it is a networking thing, getting the best people regardless of where they are born.
Partly it is a diversity thing - Diverse viewpoints can unlock new insights.
Partly it is a globe thing – If you are going to run a global economy it helps if “locals” are on-shore to share their experience.
Simple. The mathematical property of Transitive tells us:
Slashdot likes conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theorist like news on the Catholic Church.
Ergo, Slashdoters would be interested in this.
For example, we all know that the reason why Linux has not succeeded is that the Knights Templar control Microsoft. The only way to break their control over the monetary system is to move to BitCoin.
Or am I missing something here?
I don’t think what he is saying is racist – but rather 2 contradictory sentiments that he is trying to balance out.
On one hand, America is a land of immigrants and we have been reluctant to use language as a criteria - not having a national language. The loopy left takes this to the extreme.
On the other hand, for culture cohesion and personal economic success English is the way to go in America. However, the people who put forward this argument the strongest tend to be the nativist parties, who distrust open immigration.
This is not a new argument – it been around since America’s creation. FYI, I am for a more liberal immigration policy. However, I struggled over the debate on if we should grant Hmong refugees who could not English citizenship. It not a question over residency – They fought for us during Vietnam so we took them in after the war. But as a citizen I expect them to participate in public politics and it is hard to make an informed vote if one can’t speak English. I still have not decided.
Shockley is not a good example. If you have one parent who is a US Citizen, you child is a natural citizen – not a naturalized citizen (which is important if you plan on running for President).
The other examples, on the other hand, are wonderful.
Excellent post.
For finer detail you notice that Schmidt has file a “plan” to sell 2.4b over the next year. That plan gets handed over to a 3rd outside party so Schmidt is removed from the timing and execution of said plan. So, at this point everybody on a level playing field.
Except that in inflationary periods, real assets don't fall in value. In fact they may go up in value because people value those real assets. If you are looking for a hedge against inflation stocks are a good way to good. Then add in that a fair chunk of Google's profits comes from overseas.
And how/why would they?
Case #1: I donate $100 in cash to a charity.
Case #2: I donate $100 in stock to a charity. That stock has some unrealized capital gain.
From the charity viewpoint, how would they know what tax they should pay? For the gifter's standpoint – they are donating exactly the same value – right?
I like most of your post, but I think you are wrong on this point.
If you donate stock you can deduct the full market price from your tax returns. If he sells the stock first he has to pay capital gains first. So it is always better to gift Google stock to a charity then to sell the stock and gift the money - i.e. the charity will always end up with more money. (Now, the first thing most charities will do is to sell the stock).
Not that easy. Buying A class shares requi5es a lot of real money. After you get above 5% you have to start declaring things - like how much you own, how much you plan on buying, and why you are buying.
You might want to look up the Christen concepts of "predestination" and "double predestination". It's not exclusive to Islam.
My libary lends e-books.
Also, doesn’t Amazon Prime kind of do this – letting you lend 1 book a month?
Do 2 wrongs make a right?
There are Slashdotters who value fairness, reject sloppy logic, guilt by association, and broad generalizations.
Was Amazon selling best sellers at a loss as a loss leader? They wanted to generate overall excitement and get people to visit the store and buy Kindles. Or was this to crush book stores – which were already in decline.
If true, and I think there is more than a smidge of truth in those accusations, then Amazon should be brought on a lawsuit for it’s failings. Giving Apple a free pass is not the right option.