Goal seek (an automated approach for successive approximations).

Yes. I know I can do the same by working out a calculus equation; but I lack the time and willingness to work that hard when I actually have other things to do.

See Wikipedia "False Dilemma"

"Jump to: navigation, search A false dilemma (also called the fallacy of the false alternative, false dichotomy, the either-or fallacy, fallacy of the excluded middle, fallacy of false choice, black-and/or-white thinking, or the fallacy of exhaustive hypotheses) is a type of informal fallacy that involves a situation in which limited alternatives are considered, when in fact there is at least one additional option. The options may be a position that is between two extremes (such as when there are shades of grey) or may be completely different alternatives. The opposite of this fallacy is argument to moderation."

These is a middle path between soft words and violence.

This seems more sensible than the American way of consigning people that dont fit the social mold to a proverbal rubbish heap. The tax breaks probably cost less then the loss in national productivity that occurs when people are not given the opportunity to do their best because of minor things that, when looked at with an objective eye, don't reduce performance.

I have an MBA from a state university; however, I also have very minor cerbral palsy, and yes, a just a touch of autism (used to be Aspergers untill the DSM change). The result is that, in America, the only jobs I am"qualified" for are washing dishes and watching security monitors. That is a waste of investment in training at a national level and leads to an overall loss in productuivity, both on a personal and a national level.

Tax breaks are not the most expensive way to deal with finding suitable employment for th emildly disabled. What America is dong now looks like a much more expensive way.

You don't learn to use th equipment in the University course. Those are taught in the Technology courses at the Community College level.

As far as the article goes, I strongly agree. I wen to a community college and studied electronic technology. I then went to work repairing copiers, faxes, and networked printers. Then, after over ten years of being a repairman, I got the stupid idea of moving up the ladder. i went back to college and got my BA, and eventually an MBA.

The result is that I am, essentially, unemployed and unemployable. No one wants a repairman for a professional position and no one wants someone with a professional degree for a repairman. Faced with the choice between being a security guard or dishwasher in America (really the only offers I got after getting my MBA at a State University) or teaching in China, I chose teaching in China.

I would have been better off 1. staying in copier repair; or, 2. becoming a truck driver. I suspect that when I return to the US I probably will become a truck driver.

If it makes you feel any better I have an MBA and I ended up with only two offers: one as a dishwasher and one as an entry level security guard. The dish-washing "position" only offered minimum wage because I don't speak Spanish; Chinese yes, Spanish no.

I finally left the country and took a position teaching at a small private High School; to add, my students score quite well on the standardized tests. I am frequently asked why I don't stay in America (more frequently by Americans than Chinese). The simple facts are that there were no jobs. It really does not matter that my country paid a lot to educate me and prepare me for the workforce if it then failed to provide opportunities to use that training; I had to do elsewhere.

Right, there is no magic bullet to education. There are just a variety of tools in the kit.

If I really care about what I am typing, I type it in word first. My students know I am the worlds worst typist when I type on the overhead; that is why I make an effort to use class material that I have written in advance. If I take the time to write well, which I am definitely not doing now, I can write, and have written, material suitable for publication

I will also add that I am a business teacher, I wrote well enough to make it through an MBA program (oddly enough, I was even called on to help edit for the ESL students). However, for all the amusement your jackass answer provided, it did not address the question. -- Grade F

I read the article and went to edX. At edX I signed up; but, I can not find out about this system. Quite Frankly, I am a teacher and I need my students to be writing more; however, I do not have the time to grade all of their papers so I have been assigning more objective homework that I would like.

A system like this may work as a first pass filter to do the bulk of the grading, allowing me to focus on identifying common problems and developing lessons based on common errors rather than tying myself down with a huge stack of papers. This would also benefit the students by providing them with more consistent grading and feedback.

This may not be what I go with; but, I would like to have a look at it. That takes me back to my question, can anyone point me to somewhere that I can get more information on this?

They are not free because the developer intended them to be free, or browser based. They are free because they have been cracked and are available for free from numerous websites (on another note, that is part of the reason torrents never really caught on in China, the stuff can be downloaded from normal sites). Just do a search on Baidu; or check tudou.com.

It is easy to cast aside observations that conflict with our values as the product of a mistaken mind; however, take note that I am the person who lives in China. I have done so since 2006. In addition to regular, daily contacts in an all Chinese environment I regularly read Chinese news and articles about attitudes of young Chinese (As it is important for me to do so for professional reasons). It might run into your Bias filter; but, surveys and studies have shown that the Chinese are not particularly interested in Politics and those that are, are generally turned off by American style freedom.

You might disrespect me because my years of observations conform to many studies; but conflict with your biases. However, that does not discount my years of observations and conversations. It also does not discount the work on this topic done by both the BBC and Al Jazeera or the Pew Research Center. In fact, all it does is shows that your bigotry interferes with your ability to absorb new information.

Oh, and they don't all look the same (although, funny enough, several of them, including a friend of many years, tell me that we all look the same to them. . . ).

Just to ask, where have you seen this? As in, what city and district?

I was in several computer markets (as you know, "store" does not quite describe the situation in a Chinese building of small shops) last weekend. I saw no linux.

That is not only in my city; but in the many I visit. If there is an Ubuntu store or Kosk in Shanghai I would like to know where it is, just so I can visit it (I am not in Shanghai; but, it is only a few hours travel away). I will also be in HK next week, near Wan Chi, If there are any in that district I would also be interested.

The Chinese government tried pushing Linux in the past, research “Red Flag” Linux. It was a failure. I only saw it once. I happened to be in a shop in Xian and I saw it on a computer. Before I could comment on it the sales man assured me that if I purchased the computer they would put a copy of Windows on it “so it could be useful.”

As others have commented, Linux is competing with free copies of Windows. Further, it lacks the games that the Chinese want (also free).

Free as in speech has no ring to the Chinese ear. The issue is broken down to choosing between two flavours of free beer.

I will also point out that weight loss was not the only goal. i also wanted to build up my arms and shoulders. In all the regimen worked well. I definitely was getting more positive attention from the young women in the office and the men were treating me different too, in a better way. I was no longer just the nice guy who had the ability, and the willingness, to help anyone out ( a classic "Bob").

  I was the nice guy who had the ability, and the willingness, to help anyone out who, no one doubted, could punch though a wall if I wanted to. In an aggressive culture it mattered. I really did continue being the same person; but, people stopped acting like I was a pushover. Like I said, it also went over well with the younger office women too (and really, why else do we care about our waist to shoulder ratio?)..

It certainly does fly in that face with most recommendations about weight loss. There is no magic bullet, and certainly not one that will work in most offices. That is why I think it needs to be combined with cardio, like riding a bicycle to work. The problem is that there just isn't much, as far as long, low intensity, workouts that work well in a real office environment.

That being said, I found the boxing to be good for keeping my general activity level higher at work. Weight loss does not only occur during intense activity, it also is increased by raising your activity level. The reality is that workplace fitness needs to be something you can do for 3-5 minutes; no, that is not ideal for weight loss. However, it becomes part of the process.

BTW, I went from 229 to 185 ( I am 5'6", the goal is 175)

At my last position I was able to put a punching bag in the hall next to my office. The nice thing about a punching bag is that just a few minutes is a good amount of time, unlike things like a treadmill that are low intensity but are used for long intervals

I think the boxing equipment also added to my "reputation" at work. It worked well for me and my personality becuae I am a real nice, helpfull, type; but, it is something you may want to weigh. In my case it halped add ballance to the personality I presented, if you are already a agressive type it may make you look like a hothead, if you are a real quiet type it may leave people thinking you are going to go postal.

At my new position, I havn't been here long enough for stuff "start showing up" so I just do some pushups now and again. I also cycle to work.

The trouble with that idea is that there are almost no entry level teaching positions. I have well over ten years of hardware experience, starting in Copier, and fax, repair and moving on to networked printers with a stint in network administration. I then went back to college and got my MBA with the intent of teaching. After that I spent four years teaching in a college in China so that I would have experience teaching college age students.

It turned out that thee are, simply, no jobs for teachers other than STEM. BTW, there are no entry level jobs for 45 year old MBAs' in "business"occupations either. So far, with over two months of searching daily, the only job offers I have gotten are as an entry level security guard.