893 karma · joined July 30, 2013
It's funny, when I first heard him tell me he used Fortran, I immediately thought "typical slow-to-change state government!" etc etc. Only subsequently did I realize how prevalent (and useful) the language is for scientific research, advanced computing, engineering, and a bunch of other services - basically the exact purposes he was using it for.
Nice to see some longevity after learning so many things that seem more fad-ish!
Thanks for the tip!
It's hard to read this any other way then "The criminality of African Americans means police excesses are understandable. What's a police officer to do, when he sees it's always black people committing crimes?"
Will that still be possible? I'm interested to see some of the new materials.
To say with a straight face, after the events of the 20th century (and the horrors of Russian and German domestic intelligence services, past abuses committed by the FBI, the current human rights clusterfuck in places like China, Iran, and Syria), that all communication should moderated and monitored by the government?
Can anyone support that idea in good faith? I agree with you that it's an almost unbelievable level of stupidity and one that betrays an ulterior motive. But normally I'd say something like this played into some industry or private-interest wish, but what bank or corporation (much less any commercial tech venture) is pushing for this? What group could this possibly serve in society other than the most high-ranking (and power-hungry) officials in the intelligence establishment?
Interesting to see a Python camp amid all the Ruby/JS buzz.
I'm sure I might be able to build something that glued together the Mailgun and Paypal/Stripe APIs, but my preference (since this is a side project, and one that's focused more on content at that) is to find an out-of-the-box integration if that's all possible. That's why I'm considering moving to Mailchimp. I'm just loathe to leave behind my beloved Mailgun!
I'm not sure what you're getting it. I don't think consumers will adopt those practices, which is why we're in trouble.
>> Again, though... Cities would "submerge" as part of a gradual process, and not all simultaneously. It doesn't happen overnight. There are technological measures to delay it, and even to manage it. Levies, stilts, barges are all increasingly economical options. Humans have adjusted to major changes throughout millennia, and it seems naive to assume they would be incapable of applying breakthrough civil engineering technologies to the problem of mitigating global warming's effect on coastal cities.
I made the wrong argument in my last post: I framed the debate over humanity's response to Global Warming in the language of the phenomenon's impact on humanity. On the damage and possible mitigation of that damage to human life and property.
But far greater a threat is compromising entire biomes themselves (raising the acidity of the sea via carbon dioxide, for example, to the point where it becomes toxic to certain kinds of flora and fauna vital to the larger food chain and ecosystem)
The reason I react so strongly to the argument you're putting forward as part of your discussion, as it's the one often used to justify current apathy towards the subject.
It doesn't matter if the coastal cities are given a respite from rising seawater, or if the Artic straights are opened up for international trade, or if new land is made arable - if the underlying problem is left unsolved, it will eventually compromise the planet's ability to support human civilization as we have come to know it. Anything that doesn't address the root problem of our massive and continued dumping of greenhouse gases is just a temporary patch - and one that won't matter in the end.
If we can't muster the political will to take even token action on climate change, what makes you think we could effect the forced resettlement of the majority of the world's population, who live on the coast? Or would even want to? Not to mention the devastating cultural loss of every major coastal city being underwater.
Sorry, but that throwaway statement is so colossally misinformed, it's hard to take you seriously.
Also, I hope you don't mind me asking (not fishing for an invite) but: How did you secure an invite to what.cd? Did you by any chance do the interview?
I just hope we don't become SF!
But there is a real chance, that in a few years, we'll see some moderation, as Millennials fail to replace the last crop of new homebuyers and current values fall. That's what I'm hoping for, at least.
I agree there shouldn't be as much emphasis on a bachelor's degree as a requirement - it's ridiculous to need a 4-year degree for most entry-level positions - but to attempt a solution by prescribing the universal cure-all of "learning the material yourself" through eBooks, tutorials, and MOOCS isn't feasible.
Most people don't have the initiative or free time to complete any serious course of self-directed study (why MOOC completion rates are abysmally low). That doesn't mean they're immoral, lazy, or worthy of condemnation - it's simply a very common learning style. Being a true auto-didact is rare.
The notion of going it alone also completely disregards the necessities of non-STEM careers. Although you might be able to at least attempt learning a subject like physics or mechanical engineering in a vacuum (though I don't think you'd get very far), it's simply not possible to grow in writing, rhetoric, or many of the humanities, without a dedicated dialogue between authors and evaluators. Writing for your blog is not enough to improve your style as a writer. The best advice on that front is to have someone savage it. College provides the critical space, time, and learning community to accomplish this. It has serious flaws, but there's a reason much of the West has adopted the (originally German) model of the modern university.
Are there any other forum moderation tools you would recommend (not competitors, obviously)? I'm curious what else is available to the homebrewer.