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| 2008/3/19-21 [Finance/Investment] UID:49495 Activity:nil |
3/18 Fed cuts the interest rate by another 3/4% and saves the
housing market. Moral of the story: BUY THAT HOME NOW!
Bush promises to make the economy good no matter the cost!
\_ PS: US to Yen went from 120 to 98 from 2007 to now. |
| 2008/3/19 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:49496 Activity:high |
3/19 Not a peep about Obama's speech? Just yesterday one of the
techs at the colo was saying "Shit, did you hear about Obama's
pastor? It's gonna be Rodney King all over again..." Seriously,
I don't get people. Are they really more scared of race riots
than the banking sector imploding? Is a sermon given a year ago
by a retiring pastor more important than the war?
\_ Scroll down to "Obama's pastor speech". |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Science/Physics] UID:49497 Activity:moderate |
3/19 This is one of the funniest xkcd's I've seen
http://xkcd.com/397
\_ This xkcd is not funny. This is one of the funniest xkcd's you have
ever seen. Therefore, you do not like laughing. ^
\_ You're an idiot |
\_ O WAU YR RITE |
\_ Yes, this is the level of the argument of the gp.
\_ MythBusters is totally bad science. The kind of bad science that
leads to "proving" theories that are completely invalid. XKCD
is wrong wrong WRONG about this one.
\_ You are precisely the kind of person Zombie Feynman would
bitchslap.
\_ My problem is not rigor. My problem is tests that don't
disprove the hypothosis. Hypothosis is "can x be done".
The test is "can I do x via method y". That may doesn't
disprove "can x be done". (Basically I'm sick of know-it-alls
telling me mythbusters proved something doesn't work
when mythbusters did no such thing. People aren't learning
to create tests and verify, people are learning "trust
the geeks on my tv".)
\_ How would you disprove "x can be done"?
\_ You can't. But you go do a lot better than "Can we go
faster than the speed of light? Well we built a really
cool rocket car and it only got to 300mph, so we are
going to say NO!"
\_ Wow, with strawmen like that I can see how you're a
much better thinker than the MythBusters.
\_ Well, it is probably impossible to show that in an
absolute sense most X cannot be done or some phenomenon
X is impossible. The best that one can hope for is that
if X was possible it would violate the known laws of
physics.
Re Mythbusters - I think they pick things that can be
disproven/proven for pratical purposes via a reasonable
experiement. I think of it as a first approximation,
rather than the final proof. Sometimes an approximation
may "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts"
as much as a final proof will.
\_ I'm sorry, they are bad science. 0 controls.
Multiple independant variables. This kind of
stuff matters and isn't hard to get right.
Why don't they?
\_ They routinely have controls. So you don't watch
the show, eh?
\_ When did they ever call themselves scientists?
They're special effects engineers putting together
an entertaining program. Seriously people...
And the XKCD isn't putting them forth as
scientists either. Whatever you're arguing is
missing the point.
\_ Okay, so they are engineers rather than scientists
:-). In any case, the presenters are doing
"science" in that they are are verifying claims
via experiment, albeit very crude and imprecise
experiments. Sure you can probably do a better,
more precise experiment, with controls, &c. But
it would probably be far less entertaining.
If you want rigor, watch Nova.
\_ Didn't Nova do a huge string theory special?
-- ilyas
\_ Well, they had a big 2 hour special
with Brian Greene based on "The Elegant
Universe." I think they have had a few
shorter shows on loop quantum gravity,
string/m-theory, &c. with Neil deGrasse
Tyson. Most of the Nova episodes re string
or m-theory have included some discussion
that the theory may not be physics b/c it
is untestable.
\_ I don't remember Nova string theory stuff
being anything other than a huge
cheerleading PR thing for string theory.
-- ilyas
\_ Hmm. I recall the string theory pgms
as being mostly cheerleading, but not
totally one-sided. Also there was a
program on LQG, which, I think, is a
different, testable, theory that
unites GR and QM w/o all the kookiness
of string/m-theory.
\_ Who is more anoying, Brian Greene or
Neil deGrasse Tyson?
\_ Not sure, but Samantha Carter recently
said that she thinks Neil deGrasse
Tyson is hotter.
\_ You're blaming Mythbusters for stupid people. They're
pretty good at narrowing their focus and explicitly saying
what that focus is. Instead of mental wanking (like people
asking about a plane taking off from a treadmill), they
actually try it. That *is* valuable, and that's precisely
what Zombie Feynman's point was. It's also a really good
shot at string theorists.
\_ Mythbusters isn't trying to prove that it impossible for
X to be done by any method. I think it is fairly obvious
from the show that the presenters pick the methods most
likely to accomplish X and then show whether X can be
accomplished via those methods. If it turns out that X
cannot be accomplished via the methods selected, then
the presenters conclude that it is unlikely that X can
accomplished. Although it is not a rigorous proof that
X cannot be accomplished at all, the demonstration can
be considered a sufficient approximation for most purposes.
The show can also be considered to as "educational" in the
sense that it teaches people to disbelieve claims that
cannot be demonstrated via experiment.
\_ Ack this is just bull. Something either is, or isn't.
You're either with us, or against us, it's as simple
as that!
\_ Does this pass for humor in your circles? |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Uncategorized] UID:49498 Activity:nil |
3/19 Mike Huckabee on Jeremiah Wright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTFLOu8fjxU |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Recreation/Shopping] UID:49499 Activity:nil |
3/18 Two close friends of mine had a kid recently. What is a good present
for the boy that isn't clothes. Around $80-$125. Clothes ok if not
something outgrown immediately.
\_ Glider/Ottoman combo:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2603374
--- yuen |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Politics/Domestic/RepublicanMedia] UID:49500 Activity:nil |
3/19 If Ann Coulter had live-blogged the Gettysburg Address
http://csua.org/u/l2n (samefacts.com) |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Uncategorized] UID:49501 Activity:nil |
3/19 Holy cow, it's blojo!
http://www.davidhellman.net/blog/the-1up-show-interview
\_ Wow, way to go, Jon!
\_ HellPeacock! |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Politics/Foreign, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:49502 Activity:nil |
3/19 McCain's foreign policy bumbling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ykntCXZcE |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Troll/Aspolito] UID:49503 Activity:low |
3/19 It always amazes me how people on soda are willing to casually talk
about hurting people who disagree with them (aspolito on wall today).
\_ Thanks for your concern. -- !aspolito
\_ It always amazes me how much people on soda totally miss the point.
-aspolito
\_ Hi ilyas.
\_ Fail. -- ilyas
\- If richard perle were to be laying in the road bleeding
tp death, I'd like to think I'd let him die. I thik I could
do that. If he were laying in the road covered with gasoline,
I'm not sure I could drop a match on him. |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:49504 Activity:moderate |
3/19 The Swiftboating of Obama begins in earnest:
http://csua.org/u/l2s (politico.com)
Has it really come to this? Again? Are we really going to have a
campaign that's a replay of 2004? Are there any adults left?
"Idiocracy" is starting to look like prophecy.
\_ Oh no! Some one posted a video critical of a politician on youtube!
Send him to the gulag! Fairness doctrine!
\_ Oh no! Some one might tell the truth about a politician in a hotly
contested election! Quick! Smear the opposition!
\_ "the truth"... Uhhuh... Are you one of those people holed up
waiting for ObamaBinX to launch his racial holy war? RAHOWA!
ATTACA! Fuck off.
\_ Bad troll! No cookie! Back to your content-free cage!
\_ Wow, 38,000 whole views. And I bet 99% of them were all rabid
GOP partisans. Yawn.
\_ actually, the article we all came from to view it, was
critical of it. I expect a large portion of the views are
from people who are pro-obama, and the video will change
approx. 0 of their minds. It is actually pretty weak, I
doubt it will become a big item.
\_ A McCain aide was just suspended for pushing it:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/3co4w4 [tpm]
\_ It what way is that article critical of the YouTube clip?
It seemed mildly congratulatory, to me.
\_ Yeah, it was pretty poorly done. Of course, the combo of
"Just words?" and "God Damn America!" was pretty obvious. |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Recreation/Humor] UID:49505 Activity:nil |
3/19 Steve Jobs introduces a new product: iRack
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-mCCYLC-4xA
\_ not funny -emarkp
\_ Ironically, I think it *is* funny, and I'm also the guy who
thought that http://xkcd.com/397 was funny. -emarkp
\_ but we already knew that Mormons have no sense of humor.
\_ The issue is not whether he's a Mormon or not. The
issue is that he has Asperger's Syndrome.
\_ Probably not funny to the 30% of the population that still
thinks that invading Iraq was a good idea. The rest of us
are amused.
\_ I thought the idea was funnier than the execution. The comedic
timing was pretty weak. Although the final joke was well done. |
| 2008/3/19-21 [Transportation/Car] UID:49506 Activity:moderate |
3/19 Does anyone know a decent pro-bono auto accident type lawyer
in the bay area? I was almost killed, my truck is in a million
pieces, and people are starting to send me bills for
this. I'm thinking of suing my insurance company for
incompetence at the very least.
\_ Excuse me, why do you need a truck in this world? I mean,
are you a construction worker? Do you NEED a truck?
\_ good troll. I think. I'm sorry your life is so boring.
Also... I don't have a truck anymore! see above.
\_ I think the point is you aren't gonna get pro-bono work
for a wrecked truck. It's not that vital.
\_ AND THEN?
\_ Pro-bono? Are you destitute? Try a lawyer on a contingent.
\_ This is not the kind of case lawyers typically take pro-bono.
You can complain to the California Consumer Protection Agency
about your insurance company and also the BBB.
\_ You can probably find an attorney who is willing to take your
case on contingency. Normal contingencies are in the range of
20-35% of whatever recovery you get. |
| 3/14 |