Students at three Seattle high schools have apparently been using key-loggers to steal network passwords and possibly alter grades.
They may not be learning, math, science, or any of the other important stuff but at least they are learning how to lie, cheat, and steal, and well that’s something.
They changed at the lanes on a street and I didn’t see the sign and went straight on a turn only lane. Stupid. The cop who pulled me over even said they had just changed it and recommended I go to court and ask for mitigation. I know he’s just doing his job so I am not pissed at him but stupid shit like this just pisses me off.
in Action Comics #900...
...Superman announces that he is going to give up his U.S. citizenship. Despite very literally being an alien immigrant, Superman has long been seen as a patriotic symbol of "truth, justice, and the American way," from his embrace of traditional American ideals to the iconic red and blue of his costume. What it means to stand for the "American way" is an increasingly complicated thing, however, both in the real world and in superhero comics, whose storylines have increasingly seemed to mirror current events and deal with moral and political complexities rather than simple black and white morality.Read More: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/04/27/superman-renounces-us-citizenship/#ixzz1Kn7va8VB
I was never a Superman fan anyway, mainly because he has always been a whiny shit who pulls crap like this. Speaking of whiny, how long before Whoopi Goldberg denounces Superman as racist because he renounces his citizenship while Barack Obama is president?
It is being reported that, following the departure of Robert Gates, Leon Panetta will be taking over as SECDEF and GEN Petraeus will be moving from his position in Afghanistan to Director of the CIA.
Two questions:
First – why is Panetta in line for SECDEF? As far as I know the guy has zero experience in that area and has demonstrated during his time at the CIA that he is incapable of adopting to the demands of a job like this.
Second – Why is Petraeus being tapped for the CIA. Nothing against him, but as far as I know he has no experience in the Intelligence arena, and given that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be opening soon I think that would be a far better post for him (even though it is the Marines turn).
How about we get an intelligence professional in at CIA and someone with a track record of some sort of success in at Defense, instead of just playing musical chairs with cabinet level posts?
Not much to report this week. Another call with my mentor. Discovered a class that I think should have been transferred in, so I am hoping they will take another look at it. Other than that just plugging a way. Knocked out a couple of sections of course work. I am still aiming to have all my current classes done by the 15th of May. Attended an orientation seminar for one of the courses I want to take after the current set is done – Windows 7 Configuration and Management. Sounds like it’s a bear of a test. The course mentor says it is much harder than previous Microsoft exams. Glad I decided to knock it out early.
This will complete my third class at WGU. I was aiming for Apr 30th but no appts. were available until May 6h. That’s OK I guess I will just push the next 2 back until the 22nd. (They are linked classes). After those two I get to add a whole new class load 
Reasoning and Critical Thinking (CLC1). I was worried because I am not known as reasonable or as a deep thinker but somehow I managed. OK seriously, it was a computer based objective exam mostly scenario type questions. My big complaint is that it had very little relationship to any of the quizzes, exercises, course materials, or the pre-assessment. I was greatly surprised when I got back from the testing center and found I had passed, much less that I had passed with a 90%.
If you stumble across this post looking for information about the assessment all I can really say from my experience is be very familiar with the application of bias.
Interesting. Is Microsoft really trimming their code that much?
it looks like there's a surprise hidden there for us, as we'll actually be able to run it from a USB stick.
An investigation by "60 Minutes" to be broadcast this weekend will cite multiple sources that contend some of the most inspiring stories in Greg Mortenson's books "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones into Schools" are not true.
I have heard this guy speak a number of times on various radio programs and CSPAN and the like and he has always come off as pretty upright; plus he is an acquaintance of an acquaintance (I can’t remember who exactly at the moment) so I have been supportive of his efforts to improve education in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Especially since (unlike many) I think the ultimate answer to Islamic extremism is nation building and breaking the hold of the clerical class on the populace. (Well that and a sexual revolution. If 13 to 30 year old men were getting laid they wouldn’t be strapping suicide vests to their chests. That is a guarantee.) So reading this I am highly disappointed. I guess all I can do is hope that 60 Minutes has bungled the investigation, as they have been known to do pretty spectacularly in the past. But, even if they have it still leaves a stain on the guys reputation and will impact any future efforts.
(Oh, he is also advising GEN Petraeus on how to win some hearts and minds over there so if he is a liar this really could be a life and death affair.)
Take my advice – Don’t!!!!!
This is easily the worst film I have seen in years, and I watched Gor on Netflix the other night. The only good thing I can say about it is I enjoyed the spectacle of the train engineer operating the engine in what appears to be a Las Vegas croupiers uniform. They might have gotten a deal from the makers of Ocean’s 11, I don’t know, but I swear it happened.
OK, I admit I am not a fan of the book, I found it simplistic and tedious, but the problems with the movie go way beyond that.
First, the acting. Calling it wooden is a disservice to fence posts everywhere. I swear that you can watch the actors eyes reading the cue cards and coming across the word smile or frown and changing their expression appropriately. Unfortunately the vocal intonations never change. It’s like listening to a text to speech reader except the computer has more inflection.
Second, the setting. This is supposed to be a dystopian reality, but it’s the cleanest friendliest dystopia I have ever seen. The streets are swept, everyone is happy and smiling. No foodlines, no beggars. One apparently unemployed guy standing on the street with a sign looking for work. (Oh and an abandoned car) That’s it. It just doesn’t fit. They didn’t even have the sense to film in the rain and at night ala “Blade Runner” to indicate that this is a dark time.
Third, the story (or maybe the story editing). There is little to no narrative flow. This story is supposed to take place over the course of 9 months or so, but nothing indicates that other than the occasional cut in news cast that reiterates something a character said 3 seconds before. Scenes are also disjointed because important elements are missing (edited out maybe) the effect is that the dialogue sounds like they pulled one line from the book about every 5 pages. It also has the effect of having pivotal scenes (such as when Dagney Taggart leaves Taggart Transcontinental to form the John Galt Line) jump out of nowhere. If you have read the book you have an idea what's going on. If you walked in cold you would be lost.
The camera work was good as was the scenery but that’s about it.
I really don’t expect parts 2 and 3 to be released.
(S)ome government workers are "slugs and not trying to do their job," according to the Knoller report.
Ouch, that’s gotta hurt! On the plus side when the next budget fight starts we can say we are just trying to eliminate the “slugs who aren’t trying to do their jobs”
Just had the weekly conference with my mentor. Got issues with a couple resources cleared up. I am done with the modules for my first real class (second class overall but the first one is one that everyone has to take.) and am just waiting on the exam to drop. Trying to plow thru the other three classes now. My goal is to have these 3 done by the 15th of May and move on as quickly as possible.
and counting…
It’s been 7 days since the Times enacted their paywall and I have managed to avoid giving them any clicks. Hopefully others are doing the same.
The classes are self-paced and competency based so that makes life much simpler. This class was a general requirement foe everybody and not that difficult, especially since I have taken online classes before. Had my first required weekly call with my mentor this morning and she seems pretty sharp and supportive so that’s a plus.
We all know how the scare about the supposed link between vaccines and autism started, an unethical doctor manipulated evidence and made unsupported claims which caused a panic.
That scenario looks to be playing out again in the US, only this time it is genetically modified crops that are the target:
Now, despite mountains of research to the contrary, one soil scientist is roiling the agricultural world with claims that there might be some truth to the farmer's unease. [ed. a belief that genetically modified crops and plant food / herbicides may be behind Sudden Death Syndrome]
Don M. Huber, an emeritus professor at Purdue University who has done research for Monsanto on chemical herbicides, alleges that he has found a link between genetically modified crops and crop diseases and infertility in livestock: an "unknown organism" he and other researchers claim to have discovered last summer in Midwestern fields like Friedrichsen's.
Soybeans are a major crop and a threat to them should be taken seriously – If the person who has discovered the threat has any credibility. Unfortunately this guy appears to be a crank in the who is drawing lessons from both the anti-vaccine and global warming crowds. Refusing to release data and names of scientific collaborators and raising concerns based on questionable data:
An official from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and researchers at Iowa State University have tried since last fall to get access to plant samples, but to no avail. Instead, Huber and his team have opted to talk to the media — rather than fellow scientists, said Robin Pruisner, entomologist for the Iowa agriculture department.
"They're telling these horror stories with nothing to back it up," Pruisner said. "We're arguing about something we can't see and they won't let us see."
So now we get to spend years and probably millions of dollars dealing with more junk science. A plus is that the anti-gm crowd will probably get some Senator to introduce a bill outlawing the manufacture and sale of the seeds, until the questions are settled (which they never will be), and millions of people will be put at risk of starvation.
