One of my friends who informally DJs for a local dance venue made the mistake of buying a really good set of headphones and speakers... now all of his collection seems useless to him. Mp3s are very flat, abrupt, muted, tinny, and garish. With the good equipment he hears a whole lot more he couldn't before... including musicians taking breaths, and nuances of how all that little stuff affects play. Using a CD vs mp3 exaggerates the differences even further.
The problem with cutting calories is you also cut nutrition (vitamins, minerals, amino acids...). Screw with your body's fuel long-term, and you'll also screw up various aspects of your endocrine system, among others. If you screw that up, you change how your body reacts to and processes food and nutrients. Then your body is trying to fight disease and imbalances in addition to coping with less energy. Doesn't sound too good for you, does it? And guess what? You don't feel so great while that happens.
The calories in/calories out argument is a good general thing to keep in mind, but it's *vastly* over-simplified. Your body needs other types of fuel than just calories. If you can manage to view foods as fueling different processes your body needs, you're on the right track.
Same with exercise. Instead of viewing it as "something I have to do to lose weight", people should really be asking what the goals are and how the exercise will work on the body to give specific benefits.
It seems obvious to give more weight to the opinion of those who study and practice nutrition and sports medicine than those who do not. Constantly read and learn, and put fringe theories in the holding tank.
Many fruits contain lots of sugar. That's not good for diabetics.
Fruits aren't necessarily a no-no for diabetics. Fruit is fine for diabetics if you eat them like you're supposed to in the first place: in moderation, and a small portion size (i.e. 1/2 of a large banana). The glycemic index (effect on blood sugar) isn't necessarily high. Furthermore, the GI can be significantly modified by taking it with other foods such as protein, carbohydrates, and acids.
Fresh apple with natural peanut butter or a couple of apricots? Fine. Peaches canned in juice with sugar added, or eating two freaking cups of dehydrated apricots... bad.
It would be better in Papyrus. That font is so Egyptian and cool. It would really make a statement.
I have no problem with many graphic designers getting a hold of and using fonts, because they can use them appropriately. I do fear about bloggers and home-made web pages. 2012, the year of the death of blogging?
How can bright people who rise up in their field be so stupid when it comes to basic social logic?
(Granted things might be a little culturally different over there...)
Regardless where your position is on a feminist or decency angle, it's pretty obvious that it was not appropriate for the event. On a scale of "professional" events, this one seemed somewhat more on the professional side... in which case, this type of thing has no place there.
An example - a conference on a programming language... porn doesn't need to be on slides. It's not professional. It's not appropriate. If you have second thoughts and ask friends and your spouse whether you should, that in itself is a huge clue that maybe you shouldn't. Though many people were talking about the women & feminist aspect, I really think the biggest issue of all is geeks self-stereotying themselves as socially clueless people... and being obnoxious and loud about it (look at all the responses re: the ruby conference). Perpetuate that, and you perpetuate that we're the muling lackeys who work with the 'puters. It certainly doesn't portray us as professionals, or candidates for positions with more responsibility.
How can someone not get this? A lot of geeks really have mastered being so smart and so stupid at the same time.
And an article link posted (from the National Post?) a few months ago on here mentioned it was the liberals who actually put it on the table in the first place, while they were in power.
In general:
It takes more than one party to enable this nonsense. Last year after Geist brought this to our attention, there were a lot of knee-jerk reactions of "evil Conservatives". Get real and use your brain, people. This is not a single party issue. So many people were waving around their single-coloured flags (red or blue) so hard they forgot to actually deal with the freaking issue.
Furthermore, anyone desperate to get back into power can promise anything they like (like reducing GST... which didn't happen until only a couple years ago...). This is the case for ANY party.
The reason I am in sciences instead of politics is because I never had any interest in playing the same childish junior high verbal games over and over again... or at least, not having it take up the majority of my day. I couldn't abide being that useless. On the other hand, if you like the science of bullshit, get into politics.
Good to know. I was just thinking the other day how wonderful it would be to have audio textbooks. I could listen on my commute to work, or at the gym.
Fat chance of that happening, without taking matters into my own hands.
The other option is finding audio or video recordings of lectures and loading them onto my Archos. That would be difficult to find for more technical material, though.
For some cases, this might be suitable: i) take the book into a small print shop and have them chop off the spine with a paper guillotine (about $2) ii) scan the pages through a high-capacity feeder (or just scan individually at home) iii) re-bind the book with a plastic coil (about $2)
I do steps i) and iii) with all my music books so they lay flat while I'm trying to read them.. Might do it with some textbooks for a course I'm taking next year, too.
Our workplace (which is quite small) has a computer in the lunchroom that is hooked up to the internet, but not the company network. You can't install anything, but it's the place you take a break if you want to check something on facebook or a favorite web site, etc. It establishes "this side of the office is for work, this side is for fun".
Most of us self-regulate quite nicely, but it's been necessary for a couple employees who refuse to grow up. Though, now that I think about it, they were both fired and don't work here anymore...
Various flavours of UNIX were used in several labs - though this was ten years ago. The science labs had a fair number, though the most numerous were in the engineering building; some of the labs there were all UNIX. I doubt there were any in the arts building or phys.ed. labs, and I doubt you'd see a light bulb on those students' heads if you mentioned UNIX or Linux. Our campus was fairly large and spread out.
With really annoying (and recurring) issues, it would be so tempting to write filters for special situations (text that is 85% or more in caps gets a bounce back, certain words get filtered to another word...)
Or even better, special filters, for "special" people.
When I worked at a print shop, we'd always hold our breath when someone came in to print a thesis that was done in Word. Formatting issues were very common, even when opened with the same version at our office.
The multiple versions/multiple platform of Word don't play nice with each other. Printing from PDF is better, though there are multiple ways to make a PDF from a Word document, especially if you include the ways different versions do it too. The multiple ways *still* may give you inconsistent results.
I always felt sorry for those poor buggers because hey... they're using a word processor... an expected tool. It was tough to explain to them there wasn't a whole hell of a lot we could do.
But even funnier are the people trying to design invitations and cards with Excel and Word. Even Publisher is pretty inconsistent, and can fail at simple things like making things that are 2" on screen actually 2" long in print.
Want professional-looking documents and design? Use professional tools (and maybe even pay a professional who knows what the hell they're doing)!
(That being said, the vast majority of the population could probably suffice with a word processor that has font styles, sizes, b, i,u, and tabs).
I kinda suck at FPS, so I find the action points gives me a good helping handicap. It's a good FPS for people who suck at FPS because they have the option of at least making some of the fight turn-based.
I'm not much of a gamer, so I had to learn how to use the controller at the same time, to boot. Was using Normal mode by level 5, already considering testing out Hard.
Some people do meet by finding new interests (casual sports teams, dancing, professional groups, hobby groups), but I've noticed but I notice too that people who are really into those groups can also get a little apprehensive about asking someone from their group on a date? Why? If things go sour, you might be uncomfortable in the group.
If I were you, I would find a new social activity or two to try where you meet the opposite sex, but don't count on it. Try online dating too. Look at it as more of experiment - see if you happen to find people you jive with.
Take initiative and schedule to hang out with lesser-known friends you like and friends of friends. Make an effort to take genuine interest in others. You'll never know who you might meet. Even if you don't meet a girlfriend that way, it will be good for your soul. (I did this myself after a long-term relationship ended... best thing I ever did for myself).
And for God's sake, make sure you can communicate on things other than your one nerdy interest. One shouldn't change the nature of who one is, but if you ever want to meet another human being and hold their interest, you need at least a few subjects to talk about. "All the special items in Fallout and World of Warcraft" isn't likely to cut it.
I found my current boyfriend on PlentyOfFish, but had to sift through a lot to get there. It's the first time I've dated a non-geek, but it's a welcome change.
My previous problem with meeting geeky men before that was the whole "OMG YOU ARE A GEEK GIRL" thing. General the idea is they were so wound up with me being a geek woman they never considered if we actually got along. Please consider others' advice here, and consider you may want a woman with similar values to your own; she may or may not be a geek.
"If you know something about a binomial random variable (which is what we just sampled from), you know that this is (100 choose 48)*.5^(100) =.0735! Wow...and that was with only 100 random coin flips. A 1 in 20 chance that, by their metrics, this was a fair set of coin flips (see where the logical incongruity happens?)"
You fail at illustrating the proper point. What a bastardization of using statistics. The third sentence is ridiculous, that's not the point that the data indicates.
... and the douchebag posturing that comes several months before and a couple after an election. If we were always pre and post-election, NOTHING would get done, because everyone's more worried about lying about promises to get re-elected.
And when I say nothing, I mean even less gets done than when we grumble about it normally.
Or especially in the case of thyroid problems, but you can't lose weight because of the thyroid problem.
Even more fun if you're subclinical in TSH. The doctor sees you in the low normal range, and says you're fine, never considering you're subclinical. Heaven forbid they should do the more accurate tests for T3 and T4, because those cost more money.
It's bloody hard to have to fight to get better and get medical care when the reason you're going in the first place is because you're so exhausted you can barely do anything. I guess the medical system lucks out in that those people don't come back for many repeat visits as often as they should because they're too busy feeling miserable. But surely the people who have to make repeat appointments because their problem isn't being solved costs the system a lot more than if more time was correctly spent with the patient in the first place?
That's why my blog is more of a "problems/solutions to look up" list. As I encounter a problem, I write a quick blurb, but don't publish. When I have time to look up the solution and fix it, I copy the links, explain the solution in simpler terms, and publish it.
About half of my posts are actually published.
It helps me keep track of my system, and helps others at the same time.
Slashdot Mirror
If they have crappy equipment.
One of my friends who informally DJs for a local dance venue made the mistake of buying a really good set of headphones and speakers... now all of his collection seems useless to him. Mp3s are very flat, abrupt, muted, tinny, and garish. With the good equipment he hears a whole lot more he couldn't before... including musicians taking breaths, and nuances of how all that little stuff affects play. Using a CD vs mp3 exaggerates the differences even further.
The problem with cutting calories is you also cut nutrition (vitamins, minerals, amino acids...). Screw with your body's fuel long-term, and you'll also screw up various aspects of your endocrine system, among others. If you screw that up, you change how your body reacts to and processes food and nutrients. Then your body is trying to fight disease and imbalances in addition to coping with less energy. Doesn't sound too good for you, does it? And guess what? You don't feel so great while that happens.
The calories in/calories out argument is a good general thing to keep in mind, but it's *vastly* over-simplified. Your body needs other types of fuel than just calories. If you can manage to view foods as fueling different processes your body needs, you're on the right track.
Same with exercise. Instead of viewing it as "something I have to do to lose weight", people should really be asking what the goals are and how the exercise will work on the body to give specific benefits.
It seems obvious to give more weight to the opinion of those who study and practice nutrition and sports medicine than those who do not. Constantly read and learn, and put fringe theories in the holding tank.
Fruits aren't necessarily a no-no for diabetics. Fruit is fine for diabetics if you eat them like you're supposed to in the first place: in moderation, and a small portion size (i.e. 1/2 of a large banana). The glycemic index (effect on blood sugar) isn't necessarily high. Furthermore, the GI can be significantly modified by taking it with other foods such as protein, carbohydrates, and acids.
Fresh apple with natural peanut butter or a couple of apricots? Fine. Peaches canned in juice with sugar added, or eating two freaking cups of dehydrated apricots... bad.
It would be better in Papyrus. That font is so Egyptian and cool. It would really make a statement.
I have no problem with many graphic designers getting a hold of and using fonts, because they can use them appropriately. I do fear about bloggers and home-made web pages. 2012, the year of the death of blogging?
Introducing yourself when you call someone and stating your reason for calling is basic politeness/etiquette.
If you have a relevant reason for calling, it should not be difficult to get through to the person you need.
How can bright people who rise up in their field be so stupid when it comes to basic social logic?
(Granted things might be a little culturally different over there...)
Regardless where your position is on a feminist or decency angle, it's pretty obvious that it was not appropriate for the event. On a scale of "professional" events, this one seemed somewhat more on the professional side... in which case, this type of thing has no place there.
An example - a conference on a programming language... porn doesn't need to be on slides. It's not professional. It's not appropriate. If you have second thoughts and ask friends and your spouse whether you should, that in itself is a huge clue that maybe you shouldn't. Though many people were talking about the women & feminist aspect, I really think the biggest issue of all is geeks self-stereotying themselves as socially clueless people... and being obnoxious and loud about it (look at all the responses re: the ruby conference). Perpetuate that, and you perpetuate that we're the muling lackeys who work with the 'puters. It certainly doesn't portray us as professionals, or candidates for positions with more responsibility.
How can someone not get this? A lot of geeks really have mastered being so smart and so stupid at the same time.
And an article link posted (from the National Post?) a few months ago on here mentioned it was the liberals who actually put it on the table in the first place, while they were in power.
In general:
It takes more than one party to enable this nonsense. Last year after Geist brought this to our attention, there were a lot of knee-jerk reactions of "evil Conservatives". Get real and use your brain, people. This is not a single party issue. So many people were waving around their single-coloured flags (red or blue) so hard they forgot to actually deal with the freaking issue.
Furthermore, anyone desperate to get back into power can promise anything they like (like reducing GST... which didn't happen until only a couple years ago...). This is the case for ANY party.
The reason I am in sciences instead of politics is because I never had any interest in playing the same childish junior high verbal games over and over again... or at least, not having it take up the majority of my day. I couldn't abide being that useless. On the other hand, if you like the science of bullshit, get into politics.
Only if Al Gore is your VP.
Find the Chicken Viking Hat, the Cthulu Balaclava, or the R2D2 Toque and you'll be changing your tune. //i'm a raveller myself
Good to know. I was just thinking the other day how wonderful it would be to have audio textbooks. I could listen on my commute to work, or at the gym.
Fat chance of that happening, without taking matters into my own hands.
The other option is finding audio or video recordings of lectures and loading them onto my Archos. That would be difficult to find for more technical material, though.
For some cases, this might be suitable:
i) take the book into a small print shop and have them chop off the spine with a paper guillotine (about $2)
ii) scan the pages through a high-capacity feeder (or just scan individually at home)
iii) re-bind the book with a plastic coil (about $2)
I do steps i) and iii) with all my music books so they lay flat while I'm trying to read them.. Might do it with some textbooks for a course I'm taking next year, too.
Our workplace (which is quite small) has a computer in the lunchroom that is hooked up to the internet, but not the company network. You can't install anything, but it's the place you take a break if you want to check something on facebook or a favorite web site, etc. It establishes "this side of the office is for work, this side is for fun".
Most of us self-regulate quite nicely, but it's been necessary for a couple employees who refuse to grow up. Though, now that I think about it, they were both fired and don't work here anymore...
The photogenic ones came from istockphoto, and no, they're not real employees.
Various flavours of UNIX were used in several labs - though this was ten years ago. The science labs had a fair number, though the most numerous were in the engineering building; some of the labs there were all UNIX. I doubt there were any in the arts building or phys.ed. labs, and I doubt you'd see a light bulb on those students' heads if you mentioned UNIX or Linux. Our campus was fairly large and spread out.
Ah yes, also known as the Schrödinger sexuality paradox. We're testing to see if it's alive or... dead.
With really annoying (and recurring) issues, it would be so tempting to write filters for special situations (text that is 85% or more in caps gets a bounce back, certain words get filtered to another word...)
Or even better, special filters, for "special" people.
When I worked at a print shop, we'd always hold our breath when someone came in to print a thesis that was done in Word. Formatting issues were very common, even when opened with the same version at our office.
The multiple versions/multiple platform of Word don't play nice with each other. Printing from PDF is better, though there are multiple ways to make a PDF from a Word document, especially if you include the ways different versions do it too. The multiple ways *still* may give you inconsistent results.
I always felt sorry for those poor buggers because hey... they're using a word processor... an expected tool. It was tough to explain to them there wasn't a whole hell of a lot we could do.
But even funnier are the people trying to design invitations and cards with Excel and Word. Even Publisher is pretty inconsistent, and can fail at simple things like making things that are 2" on screen actually 2" long in print.
Want professional-looking documents and design? Use professional tools (and maybe even pay a professional who knows what the hell they're doing)!
(That being said, the vast majority of the population could probably suffice with a word processor that has font styles, sizes, b, i ,u, and tabs).
Never mind that. Don't you dare tell someone that books (and music) are available in a library.
Or will the problem simply be you can't post a link to a library on your home page?
Maybe we need to find people to sue others on this principle to demonstrate how absurd the judgement is.
I kinda suck at FPS, so I find the action points gives me a good helping handicap. It's a good FPS for people who suck at FPS because they have the option of at least making some of the fight turn-based.
I'm not much of a gamer, so I had to learn how to use the controller at the same time, to boot. Was using Normal mode by level 5, already considering testing out Hard.
Some people do meet by finding new interests (casual sports teams, dancing, professional groups, hobby groups), but I've noticed but I notice too that people who are really into those groups can also get a little apprehensive about asking someone from their group on a date? Why? If things go sour, you might be uncomfortable in the group.
If I were you, I would find a new social activity or two to try where you meet the opposite sex, but don't count on it. Try online dating too. Look at it as more of experiment - see if you happen to find people you jive with.
Take initiative and schedule to hang out with lesser-known friends you like and friends of friends. Make an effort to take genuine interest in others. You'll never know who you might meet. Even if you don't meet a girlfriend that way, it will be good for your soul. (I did this myself after a long-term relationship ended... best thing I ever did for myself).
And for God's sake, make sure you can communicate on things other than your one nerdy interest. One shouldn't change the nature of who one is, but if you ever want to meet another human being and hold their interest, you need at least a few subjects to talk about. "All the special items in Fallout and World of Warcraft" isn't likely to cut it.
While you're at it, read http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Encourage-Women-Linux-HOWTO/
I found my current boyfriend on PlentyOfFish, but had to sift through a lot to get there. It's the first time I've dated a non-geek, but it's a welcome change.
My previous problem with meeting geeky men before that was the whole "OMG YOU ARE A GEEK GIRL" thing. General the idea is they were so wound up with me being a geek woman they never considered if we actually got along. Please consider others' advice here, and consider you may want a woman with similar values to your own; she may or may not be a geek.
"If you know something about a binomial random variable (which is what we just sampled from), you know that this is (100 choose 48)*.5^(100) = .0735!
Wow...and that was with only 100 random coin flips. A 1 in 20 chance that, by their metrics, this was a fair set of coin flips (see where the logical incongruity happens?)"
You fail at illustrating the proper point. What a bastardization of using statistics. The third sentence is ridiculous, that's not the point that the data indicates.
On a positive note, you'd make a good politician.
... and the douchebag posturing that comes several months before and a couple after an election. If we were always pre and post-election, NOTHING would get done, because everyone's more worried about lying about promises to get re-elected.
And when I say nothing, I mean even less gets done than when we grumble about it normally.
Or especially in the case of thyroid problems, but you can't lose weight because of the thyroid problem.
Even more fun if you're subclinical in TSH. The doctor sees you in the low normal range, and says you're fine, never considering you're subclinical. Heaven forbid they should do the more accurate tests for T3 and T4, because those cost more money.
It's bloody hard to have to fight to get better and get medical care when the reason you're going in the first place is because you're so exhausted you can barely do anything. I guess the medical system lucks out in that those people don't come back for many repeat visits as often as they should because they're too busy feeling miserable. But surely the people who have to make repeat appointments because their problem isn't being solved costs the system a lot more than if more time was correctly spent with the patient in the first place?
Even better... out here, we call them "Timmy Ho's".
That's why my blog is more of a "problems/solutions to look up" list. As I encounter a problem, I write a quick blurb, but don't publish. When I have time to look up the solution and fix it, I copy the links, explain the solution in simpler terms, and publish it.
About half of my posts are actually published.
It helps me keep track of my system, and helps others at the same time.