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Comment: Re:Well, uh... (Score 5, Interesting) 363

by FuzzyHead (#45866363) Attached to: Senator Bernie Sanders Asks NSA If Agency Is Spying On Congress

I think there is something deeper to this. Even with no evidence that the NSA is spying on congress, he can still put them on a very difficult dilemma. The problem is as follows. If the NSA says yes, then they will admit to spying on the rulers of the US and opening up the possibility of blackmail implications, but best of all turning Congress against the NSA. If the NSA says no, then he can ask the NSA why they spying on the American public and not Congress when no laws should be applied differently.

My guess is that the NSA will reply something like, "We do not separate data between regular citizens nor congress men, but we further do not actively seek out data on any congressman or government official."

Comment: Re:Charm school? Really? (Score 1) 217

by FuzzyHead (#43104041) Attached to: MIT's Charm School For Geeks Turns 20

I used to be against suits, but in the last year I changed my mind for the following reasons.

First once you understand that your clothing doesn't have to be an expression of yourself, but rather the image that you want to portray, using a suit becomes a marketing tool for bigger and better jobs. At a certain level people associate certain levels of management and class based upon the wearing of a suit. The suit becomes a way to level up faster in a lot of respects. Fashion is a game, those who play the game can win, but those who do not play cannot win.

Second, the suit can make a 20-30 year old become valuable and important in a room full of 50-60 year old people. In my current position, I was Executive Director of a Nonprofit at age 29. I often entered meetings with other social services and found that very few people would consider my opinion valuable. However, the moment the suit or even sport coat combo was used, I found my opinions were listened too much more often.

Third and the real reason for a suit. Men wear suits so that they can look down upon those common peasants with their regular jobs.


+ - Half Naked Ivy League Professor Opens Quantum Physics Course ->

Submitted by FuzzyHead
FuzzyHead writes "There is no (definitive) manual on How to Teach Quantum Physics, obviously, but one imagines that if such a manual existed it would likely recommend against opening your first lecture half-naked, curled into a fetal position while footage of Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and 9/11 play on the projector. And yet! Columbia professor Emlyn Hughes opened his Frontiers of Science—one of the Ivy League university's core classes—with just such a show"
Link to Original Source

Comment: Re:no (Score 1) 729

by FuzzyHead (#41217821) Attached to: Do We Need a Longer School Year?

Unfortunately, you know nothing of poor schools. In my current community, a large number of the students don't get breakfast or lunch during the summer. There is a summer lunch program that feeds kids in the park, which helps. It's bad enough that coaches of some sports are giving the kids dinner, so that they get the nutrition needed to compete effectively.

As far as sleep is concerned, I've read some great studies about sleep when it comes to high school and middle school. One local private Christian school has looked to moving their 7th-12th grades to a 9:30am-4:30pm schedule, but never got the traction for it to take off. They opted to doing easy work from 8:30am-10:00am and at 10:00am classes get much more difficult.

Comment: Re:If you enjoy your job, then why not? (Score 1) 948

by FuzzyHead (#38680988) Attached to: Do Companies Punish Workers Who Take Vacations?

Some of you may not understand, but I really do enjoy my job. If I was a multimillionaire, I'd probably be doing some things similarly. I'm currently both an assistant pastor at a church and a director of a small non-profit that helps those in poverty. I probably would reduce the amount of time I did these things and I'd do some other interesting things. I'd be picky about the tasks I do in these jobs. I'd take a few more vacations and spend a little more time with my family.

Back the topic at hand, I never feel punished by employers. The only thing vacations means is more work to get everything covered while I'm gone and more work when I get back to figure out how things were screwed up while I'm gone. My duties as assistant pastor typically require about 10 volunteers to cover. The duties of the non-profit are actually much less work to cover.

Comment: Re:Define your needs first (Score 2) 126

by FuzzyHead (#38552318) Attached to: Best Software For Putting Lectures Online?

I've help some speakers record at a local place. We use one camera for recording straight into a laptop in HD. I ask for a copy of the power points on a thumb drive. Normally, I export the power points into PNG files. Then I can edit the whole thing in Sony Vegas overlaying the slides. It's more labor intensive than a set and forget solution, but it doesn't take that much work and I can typically edit the final video in less time that it took to record everything.

Comment: Re:Question? (Score 2) 571

by FuzzyHead (#38471910) Attached to: New Study Confirms Safety of GM Crops

I'm guessing you've never talked to any farmers in the US about pesticides. Pesticides are a HUGE deal. There are limits to the strength and amount of Round-up you use. To be able to purchase large amount of pesticides you have to attend classes every year or two. These classes cover safety of pesticides, strength of pesticides, disposal of pesticides, amount of pesticides a farmer is able to use and any changes in the law or regulation. Frankly, most farmers want to use the minimal amount of pesticides to get the job done. For every amount they spend on pesticides, they have to be able to justify that by the increase of production because a pesticide cuts into the bottom line.

Typically 1 gallon of round up is applied for every 2 acres for most Round-Up Ready crops. A small farm may have 200-400 acres of crops to farm. Round up is not cheap. I typically buy my Round-Up at a local supply store and pay between $80-$90 a gallon. It's been a while since, I've seen the numbers for commercial purchasing, but I'd guess in the $70 range. For a 200 acre farm you'd need 100 gallons, or $700 worth per application. If you thought using 3x as much would be better, the farmer would be spending an extra $1,400. Plus, if you were caught you'd face fines and penalties, and sometimes you cannot even legally sell what you've grown. For most farmers it's not worth it.

A fail-safe circuit will destroy others. -- Klipstein