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Education

Non-Coders As the Face of the Learn-to-Code Movements 158

Posted by timothy from the but-I-play-one-on-tv dept.
theodp writes "You wouldn't select Linus Torvalds to be the public face for the 'Year of Basketball.' So, why tap someone who doesn't code to be the face of 'The Year of Code'? Slate's Lily Hay Newman reports on the UK's Year of Code initiative to promote interest in programming and train teachers, which launched last week with a Director who freely admits that she doesn't know how to code. "I'm going to put my cards on the table," Lottie Dexter told Newsnight host Jeremy Paxman on national TV. I've committed this year to learning to code...so over this year I'm going to see exactly what I can achieve. So who knows, I might be the next Zuckerberg." "You can always dream," quipped the curmudgeonly Paxman, who was also unimpressed with Dexter's argument that the national initiative could teach people to make virtual birthday cards, an example straight out of Mark Zuckerberg's Hour of Code playbook (coming soon to the UK). Back in the States, YouTube chief and Hour of Code headliner Susan Wojcicki — one of many non-coder Code.org spokespersons — can be seen on YouTube fumbling for words to answer a little girl's straightforward question, "What is one way you apply Computer Science to your job at Google?". While it's understandable that companies and tech leaders probably couldn't make CS education "an issue like climate change" (for better or worse) without embracing politicians and celebrities, it'd be nice if they'd at least showcase a few more real-life coders in their campaigns."

Comment And the remaining 8%? (Score 1, Interesting) 54

by Nuffsaid (#44978437) Attached to: Microsoft: We Offer Up User Data To Law Enforcement 2 Percent of the Time
"Ninety-two percent of requests for customer content came from U.S. law-enforcement agencies."

The remaining 8% of request came from various Mafia agencies, I suppose. This raises the obvious question: did Microsoft comply with them in the same proportions as with requests coming from U.S. law-enforcement agencies?

Comment Old news, obsoleted six months ago (Score 5, Informative) 307

by Nuffsaid (#43923081) Attached to: Chinese Firm Approved To Raise World's Tallest Building In 90 Days
The Fine Article is a full year old. On October 17 2012 the very same source reported that the firm revised its plans, pointing to a more reasonable (but still very short) 210 days construction time. http://inhabitat.com/worlds-tallest-skyscraper-to-be-built-in-210-days-instead-of-90-as-originally-planned/

Comment Saw them in Venice (Score 1) 52

Venice, Italy, is another place where cars simply cannot go. A few weeks ago I spotted the Trekker crew on the stairs of Rialto Bridge, plus another crew filming them. They looked like they were enjoying the trek.
Some photos: http://fotoni.liviux.altervista.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5182
Music

Submission + - "Open Source Bach" project completed; score and recording now online (opengoldbergvariations.org) 1

Submitted by
rDouglass
rDouglass writes: "MuseScore, the open source music notation editor, and pianist Kimiko Ishizaka have released a new recording and digital edition of Bach's Goldberg Variations. The works are released under the Creative Commons Zero license to promote the broadest possible free use of the works. The score underwent two rounds of public peer review, drawing on processes normally applied to open source software. Furthermore, the demands of Bach's notational style drove significant advancements in the MuseScore open source project. The recording was made on a Bösendorfer 290 Imperial piano in the Teldex Studio of Berlin. Anne-Marie Sylvestre, a Canadian record producer, was inspired by the project and volunteered her time to edit and produce the recording. The project was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign that was featured on Slashdot in March 2011."

Comment Re:This is good news. (Score 1) 347

by Nuffsaid (#38651170) Attached to: Carbon Emissions 'Will Defer Ice Age'

Are waterfront neighborhoods going to be abandoned to rising water? No way in hell. They'll just get rebuilt on taller foundations every 50 years or so when a major hurricane blows away whatever's there now.

I guess that makes sense, in a common USA mindset. After all, who wants to live in a house older than 50 years? My point of view is different, as I live in Venice and my 400-year old house is my most valuable property, at barely one meter over sea level thanks to last century's reckless underground water extraction. Relocating to a copy somewhere else (maybe Las Vegas?) is not going to be the same thing. Call me sentimental.
NASA

Spitzer Telescope Sheds Light On Colony of Baby Stars 34

Posted by Soulskill from the orion's-baby-pictures dept.
astroengine writes "NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope had the unprecedented opportunity to observe the heart of the Orion Nebula for 40 days, returning 80 images of the star-forming region. In doing so, the observatory has been keeping track of 1,500 young stars as they undergo rapid variations in brightness, caused by large 'cool spots' on the surface of the stars and obscuring dust. However, the high resolution images Spitzer is returning take center-stage, showing a tight cluster of stellar birth amid the nebulous clouds of dust. This is an incredible achievement considering its primary mission is over (after using up all of its liquid helium coolant in May 2009) and only two instruments are still working."

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