2/9     Looking for a Javascript slider bar example. The first example
        on Google is horrible-- initialization code all over the place,
        global variables, method conventions suck, etc. Thanks!
        \_ I don't have an answer for you, but what do you think of this
           article?  http://ajaxworldmagazine.com/read/333329_p.htm
           \_ From the article:
              "Although it's gotten significantly better with ECMAScript
               standardization, I would still rather program with Java than
               JavaScript, the main reason being inconsistency. Maybe in
               eight years the current version of ECMAScript will be standard
               across almost all browsers. But the current version of
               JavaScript, despite the random implementations, is already
               available, and there are zero installation issues. I think
               that's a fairly good proof that the reason Java hasn't taken
               over as the RIA language of choice is the installation
               problem."
              This doesn't lend much credence to the author's argumentation or
              critical reading skills.  That said, I think it's an
              interesting read, particularly some of the resources it links
              to. -dans
              \_ Whoa, didn't realize the author was Bruce Eckel.  I'll chalk
                 the bad quote up to a goof as opposed to overarching
                 incompetence. -dans
                 \_ Christ dans, you're an asshole.
                    \_ Yeah, but I stand behind my words. :) Though, it does
                       beg the question, why does pointing out a flaw in
                       someone's argument make me an asshole?  Or is it
                       because I believe flawed arguments are a sign of
                       incompetence?  Or is it because I excuse Bruce Eckel
                       the occasional goof in light of a long history of
                       insightful commentary? -dans
              \_ I think he's saying that Java is a better language but
                 Javascript is easy to install.  Since Javascript is where so
                 much RIA action is, that suggests the installation difficulty
                 as being very important.
                 \_ Yes, I get what he's saying.  He's just saying it badly.
                    Also, having read the entire article, I think it would be
                    more accurate to say he's saying that the available
                    implementation(s) of the Java language are better than the
                    available implementations of Javascript.  Having written a
                    fair amount of both, I feel that Javascript is a *far*
                    better language. -dans
                    \_ Really?  I'd be curious to know why. (not disagreeing,
                       genuinely curious) -emarkp
                       \_ The short version: JavaScript is Lisp with Algol
                          (for the non-language nerds reading this, C) syntax.
                          A bit of elaboration on the short version: Lisp
                          (and functional languages in general) have a lot of
                          powerful tools (e.g. lambda/anonymous functions,
                          closures) built in that many procedural languages
                          lack out of the box.
                          On top of that, Javascript is a *really small*
                          language.  There's something counterintuitive there,
                          which is that, in my opinion, JavaScript, which is a
                          much smaller language than Java (I mean the core
                          language, not the libraries) somehow has line for
                          line/operator for operator more expressive power.
                          Note that I'm not bagging on Java because it's
                          procedural; I love C.  In general, I've come to the
                          opinion that a small (but complete) language is a
                          sign of good language design.
                          -dans
                          sign of good language design. -dans

2/9     A large body of water might exist w/in the mantle:
        http://www.physorg.com/news90171847.html

2/9     Is there a resource that has tracked average temperature by location?
        That is, I know that the Earth's average temp has increased in the last
        century, but I'd like to see how it's changed in distribution (say, a
        time-lapse map of avg temps).

2/9     On August 2nd, the USS Maddox was attacked by three North Vietnamese
        P-4 patrol boats 28 miles away from the North Vietnamese coast in
        international waters...
        http://csua.org/u/i0x
        \_ Huh?
        \_ Excuse me, which tree-hugging hippie commune did fall out of?
           Iraq is not Vietnam. And North Vietnam is not Iran.
           \_ I think Iran is 100x worse than Vietnam.  Our oil was not
              under Vietnam.  Goddamn Bush!
              \_ Yeah, how stupid of him was it to put all our oil under
                 Iran?  Why didn't he put our oil under Texas or Alaska
                 or something?
                 \_ Because his Saudi oil masters wouldn't let him.
                    "We are merely exchanging long protein strings. If you can
                     think of a simpler way, I'd like to hear it."
                    \_ Well that was stupid to put the oil under Saudi Arabia
                       then, wasn't it?

2/9     How do I add a simple "Back" button to a .html web page?  I've seen
        some web pages with that button, and I vaguely remember that the source
        looks something like "javascript(back)".  How should it look exactly?
        Thanks.
        \_ quick google search says http://tinyurl.com/2wm5bw