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Comment And that's why I didn't go to MIT (Score 1) 823

I was introduced to my first computer at age 7 (1975) and thought it was the most amazing thing ever. Pretty much from that point on, I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life, and because of that I wanted to go to MIT. I spent the next ~10 years with that goal in mind, got good grades, great test scores, AP classes, etc. And because of that, I was invited to a special event that MIT held in the D.C. area to recruit the top students, and they had many of their current students from the area attending. It was the most excruciating couple of hours I had spent--they were the most arrogant, conceited individuals I'd ever spent time with. I couldn't possibly see spending the next 4 years of my life like that. And that ended any thought I had of going to MIT. I ended up at the next best dual-degree program I could find (Washington University). Interestingly, my best friend had the same experience as I did--ended up going to Georgia Tech. I've been up to Cambridge a few times, and sometimes really think it might have been a great place...if it weren't for that attitude.

Comment Re:I know what I want (Score 1) 59

While you can't get an RS-25, you can get some X-34s. From http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm: Prescreening Period 14: Start Date - 9/4/2012; Internal prescreening ends - 9/25/2012; External prescreening ends - 10/16/2012 (Includes items from Shuttle, Hubble, and other programs along with X-34 engine nozzles, early Space Shuttle prototype models, X3 solar mirrors, and various Space Shuttle components) New!

Comment Re:Theory or fact? (Score 1) 672

So the only facts are those that are historical in nature ("a thing done"). So math is not a fact--just because 1 + 1 has equalled two in the past doesn't mean that it will continue to do so in the future. Anything predictive, no matter how many time it has been shown as accurate, is not "fact". That sound you just heard while making those pedantic observations about those definitions, as opposed to the concept of "scientific theory," was the sound of thousands of years of scientific progress sailing out the window.

Comment Re:Just throw darts (Score 1) 209

But the correlation is only useful if some attribute of twitter can be shown to lead the market.

And only if you can eliminate all random events from the world. eg. What if there's an earthquake tomorrow? The CEO is discovered having an affair? Some granny goes on TV saying her car accelerated suddenly...?

Uh, no. If Twitter continues to lead the markets (i.e. people tweet their sentiment first, and act second), and that time period is long enough to act on, then this will be wildly successful, especially because of random events. Granny shows up on TV, many people tweet "Foo Motors tries to kill old people", then unload their stock. If this company can figure that out fast enough, and short sells the stock before the mass unload causes the stock to tank, they'll make a killing.

Canada

Ontario School Bans Wi-Fi 287

St. Vincent Euphrasia elementary school in Meaford, Ont. is the latest Canadian school to decide to save its students from the harmful effects of Wi-Fi by banning it. Schools from universities on down have a history of banning Wi-Fi in Ontario. As usual, health officials and know-it-all scientists have called the move ridiculous. Health Canada has released a statement saying, "Wi-Fi is the second most prevalent form of wireless technology next to cell phones. It is widely used across Canada in schools, offices, coffee shops, personal dwellings, as well as countless other locations. Health Canada continues to reassure Canadians that the radiofrequency energy emitted from Wi-Fi equipment is extremely low and is not associated with any health problems."

Comment Re:Why stop online? (Score 5, Insightful) 597

That mentality existed through the fall of the Iron Curtain. When I lived in Europe in the 80's, a friend of the family worked in military intelligence (an oxymoron, I know). He couldn't give a lot of details, but one of the classic stories he'd tell was about Soviet military training exercises--back in those days, they wouldn't even tell a convoy where they were going. Their standard operational procedure was that only the commander would know, and he'd be in the first vehicle in a convoy. Any time they needed to turn, they'd drop off a soldier at the intersection, and he'd then direct everyone else and get back into the last vehicle of the convoy. This would be repeated over and over until they reached their destination.

Now, when the intelligence guys wanted to find out what was going on, we'd simply ask the guy at the intersection. He, predictably, would say that he couldn't tell them, and they'd reply that of course they knew they weren't allowed to follow the convoy, and that to ensure they didn't, they had to know which way the convoy was going, so they could go a different direction and not get into trouble with their superiors.

With that impeccable logic, the soldier would generally point out where the convoy was headed, allowing the intelligence guys to speed off in that direction...

Comment Re:He's Right (Score 1) 614

Enforcing by fiat from several thousand miles away.... geeze I wonder how that's going to look to the Chinese staff.

Having been there, my guess is that it won't be nearly as poorly perceived as you think. The Chinese have had several thousand years to get accustomed to that idea. It's quite ingrained by now.

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