
Re: Quantum computing is easy to understand.
How about a proper "Hello World" application using quantum logic gates?
(or perhaps "Hello, World?" - that's a quantum computing joke I think...)
10515 publicly visible posts • joined 1 May 2015
They TRIED population control in COMMUNIST China. Now they have too few women because (NPR link) their "one child policy" motivated the aborting of girl babies so that families could have sons to carry on the family name (etc.) and the army could have SOLDIERS. (I chose an NPR link because if I had chosen Fox News, it would have been a distraction for the ad-hominem attackers to exploit).
I _DO_ believe (and it is especially apparent over the last few years) that EMULATING COMMUNIST CHINA is something we should NOT _EVAR_ DO.
I think the "No Nuke" hysteria started in Cali-Forn-You in the 60's. That pretty much explains it.
and no real science since then, lots of FUD, hysteria, emotions, "feel good" protesting, and willing accomplices in government that do what they can to regulate nuclear power out of existence for their own personal gain (and that of their donors). Yeah, pretty much THAT. And I should know things about nuclear power since I spent ~4 years on a sub running the nuclear power plant (and went to school for about 2 years to learn how to do it, which included nuclear physics so we would understand how the things work and why we need certain procedures and precautions).
there was very little warning about the Fukushima tsunami that caused the disaster. Only 2 employees washed out to sea suggests they were at least trying to take cover as best as they could at the time. My best guess is that those two were doing risky things to try and prepare and minimize the disaster (whether it worked or not). I mean they were literally at "ground zero" right at the coastline with a massive wall of water hitting them directly, one that destroyed the entire town (and so on). Mother Nature can REALLY be a BITCH.
I actually just assumed that the stuff about nuclear power was hyperbole... for comedy.
But seriously it's like anything else that is potentially toxic, from the rare earth stuff that make LCD panels and efficient solar cells possible, to the lithium in high efficiency batteries (halt and catch fire?) to the industrial chemicals needed to etch circuit boards and make those silicon wafers that get turned into cell phones. Some of that stuff (like cyanides and flourides) are EXTREMELY toxic and dangerous outside of the controlled environment.in which they are used and it is my understanding that a LOT of recycling goes on (to avoid dumping toxic waste AND be more economical in the long run - win win).
My point is not to scare people. My point is that these industries have safety standards they must adhere to, just like nuclear power plants, which means that inevitable accidents are few and far between (and neither the planet nor human population has been killed by these infrequent accidents). The solution is intelligent application of basic safety and attention to important details by operators and management.
But yeah, to avoid having to live in caves in fear of predators, humans invented ways of using fire, which is ALSO dangerous. Right?
I guess the general public aren't upgrading PCs as much
In a BAD economy, with DOUBLED fuel prices, rapidly rising food prices, and with computer hardware costs ALSO abnormally high (along with so many OTHER things) due to supply chain bottlenecks and "chip scalpers" inflating prices beyond the customers' ability to pay, is Micros~1 TRULY expecting us to wait in line JUST to get a new PC with THEIR OS on it, when MANY OLD designs just cannot run it?
Priorities on spending whatever family income is LEFT after TAXES, rent, utilities, food, fuel, and replacing broken things does not leave a whole lot of dough for replacing something that WORKS with some "New, Shiny" that Micros~1 *FEELS* is better, especially when it is NOT. They did not learn from Windows Vista hardware requirements, *FEELING* that re-packaging that nonsense as 'New Shiny Windows 11' would work THIS time for sure.
I suspect people will be contemplating new clothes and new phones (especially for their kids) and even NEW CARS, LONG before getting anything resembling an "11-compatible" PC replacement with Redmond's newest impersonation of an operating system pre-installed.
Results predictable. Micros~1 lost touch with customers a LONG time ago. This is just more of same.
Linux Distro = package maintainer (when you boil it all down)
In theory, this just determines how you install and keep your Linux OS updated, and what comes with it by default. But, what matters for REAL is:
* what init system(s) you have available from your Linux distro
* what GUI system(s) it uses by default (and can you CHANGE it?)
* what device support it has (other than going out and finding source and compiling yourself)
* which desktop options you have that are EASILY set up (this includes boot to console)
* what [other] 3rd party software you have available for easy install
* how reliable and close to 'bleeding edge' the binary package versions are
* how easy it is to build from source if you need to fix things or do development work
Any Linux distro that has good support for THOSE things for YOUR purpose is just fine, I say
Many distributions seem to provide these things. My current favorite is Devuan.
However, when working with / evaluating a development ARM board recently, I had to install a version of Ubuntu (only available choice) which was pre-loaded with WAYLAND which i had to IMMEDIATELY SWITCH OUT for Xorg for MANY reasons, and even after being ANGERED by WAYLAND and FIXING IT to use XORG (which was a bit painful) it STILL did not work with the LCD screen afterwards... (not even a change in Linux distro or desktop back-end can fix hardware design flaws). But CHOICE between Linux distros would have led me to that conclusion a LOT quicker.
Alt-tab doesn't show apps on different desktops
I'm glad it doesn't! ctrl+alt+right and ctrl+alt+left switches between desktops in Mate, though, at least on my FreeBSD systems. Alt+Tab then switches between things on THAT desktop. I use the desktops to organize tasks, and I do not want to alt+tab between 30 different windows on 9 different [named] desktops (not exaggerating) when I'm switching between open mate-terminals (let's say), or different browser windows, or whatever else, on a specific desktop where I want to get things done.
So I'm quite happy it works "that way" and hope it NEVER changes. A change to the basic behavior of Alt+Tab would REALLY hamper my productivity.
do you understand the difference between stable and unstable systems?
Consider the behavior of an unstable system, balancing a ball on your nose.
Consider the behavior of a stable system, balancing a ball in a baseball glove.
Now re-read what you wrote and re-consider. If the climate is UNstable, that is, going into a "thermal runaway" situation, it would have done so a LONG time ago. But... when water vapor accumulates in the atmosphere, *IT* *RAINS*.
(that is where the stable system takes over and balances things, like equilibrium)
why do these people keep buying into that LAME HOAX about "Man Made Climate Change" via CO2 when ANYONE with a scientific background could EASILY verify that CO2 is TERRIBLE as a greenhouse gas on earth, though on MARS it helps maintain that -80F average temperature. This is just SO sad. I guess people want to *FEEL* threatened by a crisis or something, then control OTHERS in order to *FEEL* *IMPORTANT* or something WORSE than just controlling their OWN behavior...
Keeping the cost down for the AI is really what is important. Tying it into a *LIE* like "Man Made Climate Change" (a lie that motivates people to try and take away OTHERS' FREEDOM) is NAUSEATING.
icon, because, facepalm
(hint: temperatures are CYCLIC. And this cycle isn't even the HOTTEST one in 450,000 years of ice core data!)
I was reading medical and other science books when I was 5... but did not start a company. (I look back at how hilarious it must have been back in 1966 when *they* tried to hold me BACK in kindergarten for "Improper Social Development" yet I was reading a 1st year medical book given to me by the family doctor, and due to mother and doctor they were FORCED to give me an I.Q. test, which included Rorshach drawings - one looked like a bat, and another looked like cells dividing so I said "cellular mitosis" since I wanted to impress the teacher with big words being not quite 6, and the teacher said "whu?" and I repeated and added "See those look like the chromosomes dividing". She left the room and I waited forever, thought I was in trouble - for being "smart". Test continued and I played with blocks for a while as some guy used a stop watch. I heard later I was pegged high off of the IQ scale - and NO SHIT, THIS REALLY HAPPENED - and *they* wanted to HOLD ME BACK in KINDERGARTEN for IMPROPER SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (and, of course, DRUG me) - like a bunch of SOCIALISTS - in 1966! Hell I had nothing in common with other 5-6 year old kids, so what the hell?)
i've heard that, too. Back in the B.C. Roman days, It was reportedly Vitruvius that invented the steam engine by using bent pipes on a boiling pot of water on a spindle, proving the concept.
Anecdotally, the response by those who might have funded it and/or promoted development: "What will we do with all of the slaves?"
(Apparently the Roman economy was too closely to slavery)
You are not wrong.
Although I see unions as a necessary evil in some cases (to deal with exploitation) by asking for too high of a wage and/or too expensive of a benefits package,. unions can often shut down the company, especially when it is on the verge of unprofitability as it is (right Hostess?).
Still, a union can ALSO be a benefit to all if it manages the HR stuff for the management company, and provides reasonable cost for services (almost like a contracting agency would).
For software people, a union would be a BAD idea. Many reasons exist as to why.
And of course Microsoft's position seems to be the only one they CAN take when it comes to unions.
(when you potentially make 6 figures doing creative things and playing with cool toys, why would anyone want to form a union and JEOPARDIZE that?)
well about some of that I'd say "you are not 'wrong'" in the general sense...
The thing is some of what the article says IS true. That is:
* smaller reactors have higher neutron flux, which means higher incidence of neutron activation of components that make up the reactor, coolant, and surrounding equipment.
* smaller reactors use higher fuel enrichment and necessarily have higher concentrations of unspent U235 in the waste
So in SOME ways they are right. What *I* call B.S. on is the "5 times" figure which seems oddly exaggerated to me. (if you assume all U235 in spent fuel as "waste" then MAYBE, but that would be a gross underutilization of U235 fuel, which I think is a WORSE thing than higher waste volume, if you consider how expensive enriching it is)
Also you have to keep in mind that U235 in nuke waste CAN be removed chemically. Were it not for a lot of N.I.M.B.Y. nonsense (and in the case of Sellafield, equipment and storage facilities in need of proper maintenance), we could streamline the process and maybe MAKE USE of decay heat in some practical way.
Radioactive metals from neutron activation are a problem, though, as are materials like Co60 that you get when Iron corrosion sends rusty particles through the coolant and into the heart of the reactor, where it is exposed to maximum neutron flux. The technical term for this radioactive rust is "CRUD". "CRAP" is what you have when things get contaminated outside of the reactor, like "I got crapped up when that valve dripped contaminated water on me".
So - MY $.10 worth (or maybe up to $.25 now) is that YES, you DO get more waste from smaller reactors, which is one reason why the industry likes BIG ones. But 5 times as much? I doubt it.
(since I have worked with one VERY small reactor design, and know what happens when it is very old and pipes are full of 'CRUD traps', and how often they need refueling, etc. etc. I think I can make a qualified assessment in this case).
requiring management to work to almost the same conditions as factory workers
EXACTLY! Middle and upper management jobs require you to actually MANAGE, not sit there at home in your underwear doing 'remote meeting' stuff.
Not the same as IT which can be done remotely or on site, depending on how you set it up and whether or not physical hardware is involved.
But building cars and rockets needs people who make physical things to perform their tasks on assembly lines and test with expensive equipment and so forth, and managers need to BE THERE to streamline and solve problems.
Aluminum is lighter but has higher resistance than copper. For super high voltage lines over long distances, I would expect aluminum cables to be of practical use, though.
Also because of 'skin effect' the high capacity distribution lines are really hollow pipes.
the method of heat generation for a typical steam plant can be radically different, but the steam produced generates electricity in roughly the same way (superheaters and operating temperatures notwithstanding) and require the same kinds of "infrastructure" to control the electrical generation systems and deliver power onto the grid. So yeah.
geothermal is GREAT news, but here is a problem: think of the reaction by environmentalists to FRACKING, which just might double the amount of oil that can be extracted economically from an oil well (and if I remember correctly, helps TREMENDOUSLY with natural gas extraction, which carbon-neutral people should LOVE).
Then consider how many "it affected my cows" claims will fling multiple lawsuits at ANYONE trying to produce energy from geothermal, regardless of how much you AND *I* like the idea.
Because, it is NOT about the environment, about some farmer's cows, or about saving the planet. It is about ECONOMIC CONTROL. (snip the rest, it's what I've said many times about taxation and elitists and whatnot)
Still, practical geothermal plants. I like that.
The west's dependence on oil or gas sources controlled by regimes that range from dodgy to outright evil
True, except when the USA becomes a net EXPORTER of oil again, which we were doing a couple o' years ago, and EASILY can, again. Then we stop funding evil regimes through the blockage of U.S. (and indidrectly Canadian) oil drilling.
humanity will have burnt up hundreds of millions of years' worth of stored sunlight in a little over a century
Most of the world's carbon (I think it is the eighth most abundant element in the universe, or something like that) is in the MANTLE, and is often gassed up by volcanoes and (indirectly) the surrounding area, which is (one of several reasons) why CO2 levels measured near Mauna Loa are skewed.
of course, the REAL problem is not so much evil regimes producing oil. The BIGGEST problem is that no matter HOW MUCH every OTHER country that is "not china" increases our own cost of energy [and wrecks our economies] through unnecessary carbon fuel taxes and bans, CHINA WILL NOT DO IT. That should frighten people.
burning fossil fuel faster than the released CO2 can be recaptured
No.
you have never done an actual phosphate titration, have you? Consider the HUGE amount of reagent that is needed to get "past the hump" to the next equilibrium point. Then re-read what I quoted.
(most of the good stuff I reserve for #ClimateChangeHoax )
unfortunately the power density is not high enough to utilize properly unless we can manage to build a giant magnifying lens... (solar cells can do around 200W per square meter, requiring a LOT of square meters for panels, especially when you consider electric cars and 30kwh or so per week needed for average driving)
Well, as I recall the MANHATTAN PROJECT was funded by the military and was part of the war effort in WW2, where they invented CONTROLLABLE FISSION.
So I'd consider DOUBLING the military budget and TASK THEM with making fusion electricity a practical reality.
The ENTIRE "reasoning" (if you can even CALL it that, as it is SO UN-SCIENTIFIC) that man-made CO2 *ALLEGEDLY* causes climate change is the BIGGEST [POWER/CONTROL GRAB] HOAX in CENTURIES. I think "flat earth" and "geocentric universe" (right Gallileo?) come in 2nd and 3rd, respectively (though the only power being grabbed and/or maintained in THOSE cases was from an overbearing church...)
Hint: CO2 is *terrible* at being a greenhouse gas (especially compared to WATER), is at equilibrium [with plants, rain, bodies of water, etc.], varies based on water temperature (which holds less CO2 at higher temps like a soda going flat when warm) and volcanic activity (which spews CO2), has been seen rising NEAR A SPECIFIC VOLCANO since 1958 which seems to drive "all of those charts" [not a representative sample in other words; volcanoes are known to often spew tons of CO2 when they are not erupting, more than humans even] and CO2 does not even absorb IR radiation well at frequencies that correspond to black body radiation for temperatures ACTUALLY FOUND ON EARTH.
(it does not take long to find this information, you just have to wade past the MIS-information dump from climate change activists)
And, you KNOW that there is NO WAY IN HELL that CHINA will become "carbon neutral". Why SHOULD they? They're busy EXPLOITING THE REST OF THE WORLD for being so GULLIBLE as to SHOOT OUR OWN ECONOMIC FEET over this.
(facepalm icon as well)
How about this: every teacher carries a loaded pistol and is properly trained in its use.
Then, pass laws that EXEMPT EVERYONE FROM PROSECUTION if deadly force is used to protect yourself or others from harm SUCH AS from a terrorist or a criminal.
And, MAKE SURE CAREER CRIMINALS GO TO JAIL AND STAY THERE.
Self defense is a RIGHT and must NOT be infringed, In My Bombastic Opinion. And children should be taught when it is appropriate to use such force, and when it is not. But we no longer teach any kind of morality in schools any more, do we???
An armed teacher could reduce the death count of any school shooting to *ONE*.
And an UNarmed population is easier to control, manipulate, coerce, lock down, etc... RIGHT AUSTRALIA? RIGHT CHINA?
or, "loud squeeky wheel wokesters" should just quit and work elsewhere. Companies need to tell these agenda-driven crybaby clowns to PACK! SAND!!!
(Good riddance when they quit over this. And, you KNOW that the wokesters would say the same thing to *US* if *THEY* were running the show, "just quit if you do not like it". Politics does NOT belong in business anyway!!!)
And, there are PLENTY of businesses where the execs and boards of directors will want to obtain services and goods from companies that REFUSE TO BOW DOWN TO THIS *WOKE* *CRAP*.
"Cancel culture" can KISS MY HAIRY NAKED FREEDOM LOVIN' BUTTOCKS! (someone has to say it)
exploiting a TRAGIC CRIME and/or TERRORIST ACT for "THE WOKE AGENDA" is *JUST* *SICK*.
^^^ what he said, in the comment above, plus an observation that some (who are socialists) assume that anyone who is rich neither earns the money nor deserves it. It's no longer like Victorian Age wealth (like from a Charles Dickens novel), nowadays. Most people actually have to EARN it.
well in the world of competing suppliers, those who know inventory control and supply chain management understand that there is a tradeoff between low price with poor delivery performance, and higher price with good delivery performance. The most important situation to avoid is LINE STOP. You run out, it's more expensive. So maybe people will make large "whenever it gets here" orders for safety stocks on occasion, or for anticipated demand increases, but I would expect that managers have good memories and will be looking at places "NOT CHINA" (with second and third sources) for procuring materials, in order to get RELIABLE delivery performance.
you are "not wrong". Sadly.
This is why "emergency powers" MUST be limited. I would say no more than 30 days without direct legislative approval. No exceptions. And, it should require re-approval ever 30 days. And it should apply SIMILARLY to the states/provinces and OTHER more local authorities. (a constitutional amendment would be required for this in the USA)
The last 2 years speak LOUDLY about the ABUSE of "emergency powers". And do not forget pre-WW2 Germany, either. (yes that is a link to a relevant "Washington Bleep" article).
sometimes making up your own API is easier (rather than using someone else's concept).
curl http://localhost:1234/function/param1/param2 <-- simple to implement and parse
(this would return back success, errors, query results, whatever like any URL to a web server would, ideally as plain text)
No need for XML, PUT, POST, JSON parsers, or whatever... unless you WANT to have it return XML or JSON or whatever. Pretty straightforward and flexible and do what you want. Not *entirely* RESTful but much better, In My Bombastic Opinion.
(such an API invoked by a set of a simple web pages can do some amazing things, where simple code quickly forms request URLs from user input, implementing it on the back-end in PHP rather than as JavaScript in the client, and use off-the-shelf web server and PHP - or if you wanted to, do a javascript query, whatever and have your API return XML. Pretty fast to do xml as sprintf() and return it. Oh yeah, I would implement the server part in C. In fact, I *HAVE* !!! SEVERAL times!!!)
API as a marketeering buzz-term. Now with MORE TIERS!
This reminds me when $CEO decided that TIERS were good, and MORE of them were better. It's a *FIVE* TIER SOLUTION! I was supposed to implement that. right...
So, is that "NEW TIERS, NOW with APIs"? Or, is it "NEW APIs, NOW with TIERS"?
I think *I* am in tears...
I chose my (shared) hosting provider in one aspect because it has PostgreSQL where most only seem to offer MySQL or maybe the MariaDB equivalent.
MySQL has some odd quirks with respect to embedded quotes. They do NOT follow the SQL standard for that, and it kinda bugs me to have to escape quote marks when it is legit to have "Joe's Computer" in a text field, or double quotes for that matter - the 3" valve, or the 1" pipe. Deaing with this for MySQL adds unnecessary complexity. (the standard SQL way is to double the quote mark if it is an actual embedded quote mark, within whatever context you use it).
So for that, at least, I prefer a database that follows the standard closely so as to be more predictable.
Also PostgreSQL seems to be extremely compatible with others, generating SQL statements (for a dump) that are generic enough for pretty much any DBMS to be able to import the data.
And MySQL (to me) has always been difficult to set up out of the box. Too much security diddly-fiddly crap, or at least was when i tried it a few years ago. Contrast to setting up many PG databases from scratch, and it "just works".
There are 2 kinds of progress, or perhaps a 3rd less obvious one as well.
Evolutionary: Progress forward in which things become faster, better, more reliable, by making EVOLUTIONARY changes.
Rotting: Progress towards a BAD END by making RADICAL changes that distrupt, and eventually CORRUPT everything to the point of decay.
Stagnation: a possible third which is as bad as ROTTING SLOWLY
Guess which one is systemd?
even though browser code bases REMOVE it, gopher still lives. But the same browser authors that remove gopher and ftp POINTLESSLY put CRAP IN ITS PLACE (tracking, 2D FLATASS, etc.) instead of staying the way they were.
You would think that browser devs (or the ones yanking their puppet strings) are a bunch of ARROGANT DWEEBS or something...
the whole system is a house of cards In My Bombastic Opinion.
And WHO gets the midnight phone call to correct the problem caused by an update to a trivial and insignificant shared thing that's merely in the dependency list and NOT even relevant to your code? Why YOU do, of course!
It's as bad as DLL HELL, and maybe even WORSE. [also why I statically link or build from source on a target platform whenever practical]