Comment Re:IQ test (Score 1) 465
Ah ya you're right, been a while since I've seen the first one.
Still I don't think they really qualify as cyborgs, as the organic part is not essential...
I'll have to think about it some more.
Comment Re:IQ test (Score 0, Flamebait) 465
No I'm pretty sure terminators are classed as sentient AIs in robotic chassis.
Comment Re:Breaking the Stalemate? (Score 1) 725
If you think the Taliban does not have an internet presence you are sorely mistaken.
While I doubt the coalition troops are in any danger from these documents, I do think there are a good number of villages that are in danger of reprisal attacks by the Taliban if they were to see the full documents.
What better way to find the right targets than to read the nicely formatted official reports of your enemy?
These military actions have been mishandled from the start and at this point every time we make a friend and try to help someone out we are just painting a target on their back.
The situation is complex, I'm not sure a good outcome is possible at this point, just pulling all the troops out will result in thousands of deaths due to our inaction and staying there is just prolonging the inevitable.
Comment Re:What to do with extra bytes (Score 1, Flamebait) 131
Part of the competition was to use Canvas tags in interesting ways, and considering IE9 doesn't even support Canvas I think you're out of luck unless you get a standards compliant browser.
Comment Re:speak one, but I hear way more than that (Score 1) 674
I have a similar answer, in that I only speak english on a regular basis, but I hear and mostly understand spanish(mexican dialect) and japanese on a regular basis. I also read and partially understand russian and german on a fairly regular basis.
Comment Re:International Practical Shooting Confederation (Score 1) 52
Nice try, but all of those came after International Practical Shooting Confederation.
Comment International Practical Shooting Confederation (Score 3, Interesting) 52
They could have chosen the name better that acronym is fairly well known for something else...
12th Internet Problem Solving Contest, This Sunday 52
misof writes "Roughly a thousand teams from all around the globe have already
registered for IPSC 2010, which takes place on
Sunday, June 6. $3,000 in prize money (courtesy of Facebook, Inc.) is waiting for the best few of them. Participation is free and the contest is open to everybody. IPSC is what you could call a programming contest with a twist. Over the years, the problems always push the boundary and go
beyond the usual stuff you see in a programming contest. For example, in past few years the contestants have had to understand how arithmetic in computers differs from that in mathematics, produce a sequence of cache requests that generates many page faults,
solve
a logic puzzle given as a Flash game, and
recognize
images to evaluate a rock-paper-scissors game."
Conservative Textbook Curriculum Passes Final Vote In Texas 895
suraj.sun sends in a followup to a story we've been following about the Texas Board of Education's efforts to put a more political spin on some of their state's textbooks. From the Dallas Morning News:
"In a landmark move that will shape the future education of millions of Texas schoolchildren, the State Board of Education on Friday approved new curriculum standards for US history and other social studies courses that reflect a more conservative tone than in the past. Split along party lines, the board delivered a pair of 9-5 votes to adopt the new standards, which will dictate what is taught in all Texas schools and provide the basis for future textbooks and student achievement tests over the next decade. Texas standards often wind up being taught in other states because national publishers typically tailor their materials to Texas, one of the biggest textbook purchasers in the country. Approval came after the GOP-dominated board approved a new curriculum standard that would encourage high school students to question the legal doctrine of church-state separation — a sore point for social conservative groups who disagree with court decisions that have affirmed the doctrine, including the ban on school-sponsored prayer."
Comment Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined (Score 1) 548
I agree completely my first language was QBASIC and I didn't bring any of that with me, but I could still go back and do it just fine.
That said if I were to teach someone how to program now I would probably use javascript.
Comment Re:Obligatory XKCD (Score 2, Informative) 303
Comment Re:Sweet spot (Score 4, Insightful) 1027
Or he uses a private tracker site...
Comment Re:Mouse (Score 1) 137
I wonder if a bluetooth mouse could be used, maybe some sort of 10 key for the left hand and you would be set.
Comment Re:Been doing that in WA for a long time (Score 1) 425
I did something similar working as a CS tutor at community college when I was 17ish, the people I was tutoring really were idiots, but I did learn a lot about effective teaching.
Just because I realized they were idiots did not mean I treated them poorly, I treated them as though they were capable of understanding the material and tailored my tutoring to their specific problems.
It's not a superiority complex when it's just the truth.
Comment Re:Ill placed worries (Score 1) 425
I did what the article is describing on my own.
I took a state exam that allowed me to enter community college instead of continuing with highschool for my last two years.
I don't think I was ready for university, but community college was just fine and I was able to get a considerable amount of coursework done before I continued on to university, also it gave me a better understanding of what exactly I wanted to do in university.
When I entered university I feel I was better prepared than those that had just come from a highschool and I was able to enter an honors program that allowed me to do undergraduate research.
I think that this stairstepped progression is a good idea because the transitions are more gradual than the usual highschool to university transition.
