rePosts – Page 166 – On The 8 Spot

April 7, 2009

rePost:Fashionably Skeptical:Seth's Blog: Poisoning the well

: Image via Wikipedia

I couldn’t agree more. People are just so fucking annoyed with two bit, multi faced interactions that it is personally dragging to interact with people. I remember this scene from “The Office” probably season4. Where Kelly kapoor and Darryl from the warehouse fights and kelly says. “I don’t understand him who says exactly what he means!” can’t help but feel this when talking to people I interact with hesistantly. What I mean is I tend to hang with simple people , people like darryl. Call shit on me when I am shitting them, tear me a new one when I am getting too arrogant and all in all telling me when; Incidentally If i had only listened to them a couple of weeks ago, I probably would not be depressed and extremely fragile right now. I am like a tinderbox ready to explode any second. Well to sum up, try to minimize the fog, speak simply and clearly, tell it to me straight and we will get along fine! In some ways I don’t like erecting walls that separate , but this is very important to me. Enough of the lies, enough of the deception tell it straight!

Which means that even if you have a really good reason, no, you can’t call me on the phone. Which means that even if it’s really important, no, I’m not going to read the instructions. Which means that god forbid you try to email me something I didn’t ask for… you’re trashed. It’s so fashionable to be skeptical now that no one believes you if you attempt to do something for the right reasons.
Selfish short-sighted marketers ruined it for all of us. The only way out, I think, is for a few marketers to so overwhelm the market with long-term, generous marketing that we have no choice but to start paying attention again.
via Seth’s Blog: Poisoning the well.

March 30, 2009

rePost: : Stumbling and Mumbling: Returns to good universities

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I graduated from UP (University of the Philippines). In the Philippines there is really no comparison with other universities here in my country (although a few friends would definitely disagree, this is my blog so bugger off). I’d have to say that one of the major reasons that UP is different is the diversity you have when your tuition fee is worth not even half a Play Station Portable and only a handful of your science programs are not the centers of excellence of your country(Electrical Engineering program in UP is the center of excellence for EE in Phils., It’s really disheartening that a few departments have the swagger but not the chops to be the best at least in the Here and be respected elsewhere). from my own experiences a UP diploma is good enough for a middle to upper middle income household if you start from scratch, and in a lot of ways helps open doors for you. I’ve always wondered about the people who refuse to study what they really want to study in lieu of studying something because that is the course that they got into in UP. It’s probably because of this, I think that either the median income of most professions in the Philippines really fall within a narrow field and this makes where you graduate almost as important as what was your course when you graduate. Well what do I know??

Returns to good universities
New research confirms what we’ve long suspected but not quantified – that it does matter what university you attend.
This paper shows that there are significant differences in graduate earnings, depending upon the quality of university. For example, if a university has an RAE score one standard deviation above-average, its graduates earn, on average, 4% more than the average graduate. And a graduate of a top quartile university earns 10-16% more (depending on which measure of quality is used*) than a graduate of a bottom quartile institution.
These differences control for students’ A level scores and other things, and so try to correct for the fact that better universities attract better applicants.
There seems to have been a rise in these returns over time, which suggests that as university numbers have expanded, so too has the premium upon attending a better one.
via Stumbling and Mumbling: Returns to good universities.

March 27, 2009

rePost:Signalling ang The Kindle:Marginal Revolution: Tom Foster on the Kindle

: Image via CrunchBase

This makes me wonder what is far stronger the need to signal what you are reading or the ability to hide what you are reading?? See, I’ve read a few books that I’d call my guilty indulgences, books I wouldn’t read in public or without their covers covered. And yes if you look at my desk I have a couple of these books, and with the ability to hide them effectively they would comprise a larger percentage of the books I own.

I wonder if Kindle advocates are underestimating how important it is for people to show those around them not just that they like to read, but also what they like to read?
via Marginal Revolution: Tom Foster on the Kindle.

March 24, 2009

rePost:Dying Alone:The dead man who wore pajamas – part II at Paulo Coelho’s Blog

We live in a culture of self absorption and in this world were we are ever connected to Die Alone is a great tragedy. I try to see the silver lining, I imagine that the dead man who wore pajamas was someone like miyamoto musashi, self recluse for purposes of enlightenment, but this is just me not wanting to see what I fear maybe the way I may go.

Then I thought of the dead man in his pajamas, of solitude so utter and abysmal that for twenty years nobody in this whole wide world had realized that he had simply disappeared without leaving a trace. And my conclusion is that worse than feeling hunger and thirst, worse than being jobless, suffering for love, in despair over some defeat – worse than all this is to feel that nobody, absolutely nobody in this world, cares for us.
Let us at this moment say a quiet prayer for this man and let us offer him our thanks for making us reflect on how important our friends are.
via The dead man who wore pajamas – part II at Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

March 23, 2009

Challenge To Wallstreet::Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Needed for AIG and the TARP: Silicon Valley Compensation Schemes

Punitive taxes on compensation that takes the form of long-term restricted equity stakes is a dangerous and destructive move. If the compensation bill that emerges from the conference committee does not allow TARP-receiving companies to offer such SVCSs, then Obama should veto it.
And if the traders of Wall Street then quit en masse? If they say that they are going to “Go Galt” if they don’t get their traders’ options to take the money upfront after assuring us shareholders that they have made us a lot of money, that their positions and strategies are sound, and that they have prudently managed the risks? Well, then that tells us something about what they really think the true value of their work product has been.
via Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Needed for AIG and the TARP: Silicon Valley Compensation Schemes.

March 20, 2009

rePost:35-year-old community college dropout makes more than $100,000 a year, with a two-day workweek:The Peekaboo Paradox – washingtonpost.com

Except for the fact that he is at the top of his niche I think this is repeatable in many other context!

“I mean,” Vicki said, “what’s the hook?”
Now, the Great Zucchini was eating toilet paper.
“I mean, are you that desperate?” she asked.
On the floor in front of us, the kids — 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds — were convulsed in laughter. Literally. They were rolling on the carpeted floor, holding their tummies, mouths agape, little teeth jubilantly bared, squealing with abandon. In the vernacular of stand-up, the Great Zucchini was killing. Among his victims was Trey, who, as promised, had indeed been re-transitioned into his own party.
The show lasted 35 minutes, and when it was over, an initially skeptical Don Cox forked over a check without complaint. The fee was $300. It was the first of four shows the Great Zucchini would do that Saturday, each at the same price. The following day, there were four more. This was a typical weekend.
Do the math, if you can handle the results. This unmarried, 35-year-old community college dropout makes more than $100,000 a year, with a two-day workweek. Not bad for a complete idiot.
If you want to understand why the Great Zucchini has this kind of success, you need look no further than the stresses of suburban Washington parenting. The attendant brew of love, guilt and toddler-set social pressures puts an arguably unrealistic value on someone with the skills, and the willingness, to control and delight a roistering roomful of preschoolers for a blessed half-hour.
That’s the easy part. Here’s the hard part: There are dozens of professional children’s entertainers in the Washington area, but only one is as successful and intriguing, and as completely over-the-top preposterous, as the Great Zucchini. And if you want to know why that is — the hook, Vicki, the hook — it’s going to take some time.
via The Peekaboo Paradox – washingtonpost.com.

March 20, 2009

Why I Don't Use Safari::iTWire – Mac hacked in under 10 seconds at PWN2OWN

: Image via Wikipedia

from here:
Mac hacked in under 10 seconds at PWN2OWN E-mail
by by Davey Winder
So just how secure is your Apple computer now that Mac hacker supremo Charlie Miller has broken into a MacBook in less than 10 seconds?

The annual CanSecWest PWN2OWN competition is always guaranteed to grab a few headlines and spark off another OS Wars flame. Last year security researcher Charlie Miller managed to hack a Mac in a rather astonishing two minutes flat.
This year he pulled off the same feat to win the contest, the MacBook he hacked and a US $5000 prize. Well the same feat but a lot quicker: how does Mac hacked in under 10 seconds grab you as a headline?
Although full extent of what the hack entailed remain a little sketchy, with Miller refusing to reveal the vulnerability details at this time, it is known that both the MacBook and the version of
The reason for that lack of detail would appear to wrapped up in the fact that the cash prize also took the form of a payment from the competition sponsor,
Obviously the whole cracked in 10 seconds thing is worrying, but just how worried should you be if you are a Mac or Safari user? Truth be told, I am not convinced that this is as big a deal as it sounds.
Yes, any vulnerability needs investigating. But the under 10 seconds thing was only achieved because Miller simply provided a
Miller says that he provided the link, the judges clicked it and he then showed them he had full control of the MacBook concerned.
via

March 20, 2009

rePost:Is It?:Is the Waiting Room Necessary? – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

: Image via CrunchBase

The problem is not waiting but actually not knowing how long the waiting would be. I think the doctor could actually try to implement gathering of patient statistics. I imagine that when you get appointments you already have a reason to go. The doctor could aggregate patient data on how long it takes per procedure and the variance with respect to each patient. This would help the doctor in estimating more accurately how feasible is the appointments for the day.
I agree with ML(17) and Saumya. I would like to add that if the waiting room was designed to have activities that were well suited to how long the average waiting time is. They need to make waiting rooms more activity centered rather than waiting/magazine reading centered!.

Is the Waiting Room Necessary?

By Daniel Hamermesh

I spent 40 minutes waiting to begin diagnostic tests preparatory to seeing my ophthalmologist. What a waste of my valuable time! And my calculations from data from the American Time Use Survey suggest that this is a standard problem: the average adult American spends four hours per year waiting for medical or dental care, with each wait averaging around 45 minutes.
Pricing this time out at even half the average wage rate, the cost amounts to about $5 billion per year. Seems like a lot, and very inefficient, but what is the alternative?
The only way that every medical provider could ensure no waiting would be for the provider to have downtime herself, in order to have unutilized resources, both of her time and the services of the capital stock used in the practice. I’m not sure what’s the right mix of provider and customer waiting; but as annoying as my waiting is, the current system may be economically efficient.
via Is the Waiting Room Necessary? – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com.

March 19, 2009

GMANews.TV – Sleepy student barred from taking final exams – Odds and Ends – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News – BETA

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There was not a single class that I didn’t sleep on in college. The problem was I had this bad habit of sitting in the first or second row. If I had professors as easily offended as the one in this article , I would not have passed any of my subject! Hehe, good thing I had such wonderful professors!

Sleepy student barred from taking final exams
AIE BALAGTAS SEE, GMANews.TV 03/19/2009 | 11:24 PM
MANILA, Philippines – A second-year college student in Manila was barred from taking the final examinations by her professor after she was caught sleeping during a lecture, a television report said Thursday.
In his report on GMA News’ “24 Oras,” JP Soriano said Elizabeth Balitaan, a student of La Consolacion College, has admitted falling asleep while her Finance professor Ronald Pastrana was lecturing, but said it was due to a headache.
Balitaan said she tried talking to Pastrana but he refused to listen to her.
“Kinausap ko na po siya. Sinundan ko siya sa Dean’s Office tapos hindi niya ako pinansin. Tapos failed na daw po ako [kasi] parang nakakabastos daw ang ginawa ko,” Balitaan said.
[I tried talking to him but he won’t listen to me. He told me to consider myself failed for sleeping in the class.]
Balitaan was later allowed to take the exam by the school administration, the report said.
The incident however upset Balitaan’s mother, who went to see Pastrana to discuss the problem.
Pastrana, for his part, said he did not allow Balitaan to take the examination because she missed a lot in the lecture.
via GMANews.TV – Sleepy student barred from taking final exams – Odds and Ends – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News – BETA.

March 19, 2009

rePost:Excellent Idea:Rosetta Disk

saw this at reddit! This is an excellent idea, hope they can come up with something like this for programs, there are a lot of virtual machines right now hope they could make one for every significant operating system or computer architecture that we still have access to right now, while a few of the original designers are still alive to help with the details!

The Rosetta Disk is the physical companion of the Rosetta Digital Language Archive, and a prototype of one facet of The Long Now Foundation‘s 10,000-Year Library. The Rosetta Disk is intended to be a durable archive of human languages, as well as an aesthetic object that suggests a journey of the imagination across culture and history. We have attempted to create a unique physical artifact which evokes the great diversity of human experience as well as the incredible variety of symbolic systems we have constructed to understand and communicate that experience.
The Disk surface shown here, meant to be a guide to the contents, is etched with a central image of the earth and a message written in eight major world languages: “Languages of the World: This is an archive of over 1,500 human languages assembled in the year 02008 C.E. Magnify 1,000 times to find over 13,000 pages of language documentation.” The text begins at eye-readable scale and spirals down to nano-scale. This tapered ring of languages is intended to maximize the number of people that will be able to read something immediately upon picking up the Disk, as well as implying the directions for using it—‘get a magnifier and there is more.’
On the reverse side of the disk from the globe graphic are over 13,000 microetched pages of language documentation. Since each page is a physical rather than digital image, there is no platform or format dependency. Reading the Disk requires only optical magnification. Each page is .019 inches, or half a millimeter, across. This is about equal in width to 5 human hairs, and can be read with a 650X microscope (individual pages are clearly visible with 100X magnification).
The 13,000 pages in the collection contain documentation on over 1500 languages gathered from archives around the world. For each language we have several categories of data—descriptions of the speech community, maps of their location(s), and information on writing systems and literacy. We also collect grammatical information including descriptions of the sounds of the language, how words and larger linguistic structures like sentences are formed, a basic vocabulary list (known as a “Swadesh List”), and whenever possible, texts. Many of our texts are transcribed oral narratives. Others are translations such as the beginning chapters of the Book of Genesis or the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
via Concept —.