Things to do: Ocean Front Walk Mission Beach, you can rent skates, bikes, surfboards, etc. Cabrillo National Monument, check out the beach along Cabrillo Road if you get the chance. Drive over to Coronado, Nice shops and restaraunts plus the Hotel del Coronado. Visit the Star of India, cool old ship. Visit the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Visit La Jolla, nice seafront walks, seal beach. LegoLand, it is up by Carlsbad, not too bad of a drive and and it is amazing what they do with Legos. Watch sunset over Pacific.

Gypsum (CaSO4*2H20). Gypsum is a filler material used in the manufacture of PVC pipe and is an alkali material. Since the PVC piping is new, there is probably some leaching of the filler material exposed on the interior of the pipe. I suspect the pH will rise over time as the leaching declines. Gypsum is also used as a food additive in many foods, especially "Calcium Enriched" foods, and as an additive to soaps and cosmetics, so leaching would probably not be a concern relative to potable water.

modified on Thursday, September 30, 2010 7:51 AM

You've mixed questions. Is 99 cents too much?, is the choice you make every time you buy a song, depends on the song, depends on you. The piracy question is; which is a better price for a song, 99 cents or apparently free?. If it were actually free, I'd pick free over 99 cents. People who understand the choice they are making understand that piracy is not a sustainable model, there is a cost and their choice to pirate depends on someone else doing the right thing and paying those costs. To be truthful though, the costs are not what the record companies would have you believe. They are used to having an entry barrier to the market. In the past the general public couldn't press vinyl, or make high quality copies of tapes. The entry barrier gave them a lot of power, they could charge what the market would bear with restricted competition, they decided who was an artist and who wasn't. The entry barrier allowed them to charge in excess of the value they offered and allowed for a top heavy organization. The record companies haven't reacted well to the loss of their entry barrier, they'd much rather that things stayed the way they were. Instead of looking at what value they do offer and marketing that, they've decided to treat the public as an enemy. Truthfully, the record companies did add value, they developed and marketed artists, made them more broadly accessible. They could develop a profitable model based upon the value they do offer, instead they have saddled us with DRM and legal fees and bullshit. Sony went so far as to install rootkits on peoples computers. People who want to take the free choice look at the record companies pathetic behavior and use that as their excuse to steal from everybody. That is the way some people are, when they want to avoid taking responsibility for their behavior, they find someone else to blame for their behavior. Unfortunately the record companies have make it to easy for a lot of people.

Which, it occurs to me, bears some similarity to the original problem.

Not necessarily in order: 2001 A Space Odyssey The Fly (The Jeff Goldblum version) 12 Monkeys Tron Collossus The Forbin Project Lawnmower Man Blade Runner I have to include the First Star Wars movie, it was groundbreaking at the time. Metropolis Total Recall

They are not assumptions. 1. The proof that the laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe is Einstein's General Theory of Relativity which lays out the structure of the universe required to make the laws of physics the same in all frames of reference. The things that most people associate with the Theory of Relativity, E=mc^2, space-time, time dialation, etc. are the results of the structure that Einstein proposed and have been tested and verified. The General Theory of Relativity was the result of Einsteins reconciliation of Maxwell's equations, which do not allow for a standing electromagnetic wave, and Newtonian physics which held that space and time were seperate static entities. Prior to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, there was a Theory of Relativity for Newtonian physics which held that the laws of physics were the same in all frames of reference but was primarily concerned with mechanical physics. 2.Our understanding of the laws of physics has changed over time but no one has ever demonstrated that the laws of physics themselves have changed. This is a good thing as relatively small changes to the laws of physics or some constants could radically alter the universe say making atomic structures or fusion impossible. As a for instance, to change the speed of light you would have to change the permitivity of free space which would in turn affect the electromagnetic forces between nuclear particles which could in turn change the energy released by fusion. If this change were to occur depending on which way it changed, some stars would either collapse into black holes or explode as the balance between the pressure from fusion and the weight of the matter in the star changed. If the laws of physics did change it is likely we would never know about it as we would almost certainly be instantly anihilated.

modified on Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:03 PM

"Fair and Balanced" The fact that they have to tell you is the first indication that they are not.

Aside from the duplication issue, it would probably be a poor choice of primary key for a couple of other reasons. First, A person could decline to give you their SSN because of privacy or fraud concerns. If this were the case, you would have to generate a key value that does not duplicate any of the possible SSNs. The process for doing so would almost certainly be more complex than just generating a unique key up front. Second, by using SSN as a primary key, you introduce privacy requirements into your schema and processing. You would have to make sure that some output does not accidently expose the SSN to unauthorized recipients either explicitly or accidently, e.g. as part of some network communication. I would think that using SSN as a primary key would be more trouble than it is worth.

I have to agree with Suh, the USADA case is a disaster. The USADA system is flawed. First it operates from a presumption of guilt, it is up to the defendant to prove their innocence. This is a fundamental flaw as the USADA is assumed to be correct, they are not required to show that they have established their case. The USADA does not have the burden of proof, the defendant does. This lowers the bar for the USADA considerably and raises it for any defendant, just try proving that you haven't done something. Because they don't have the burden of proof, any information that USADA provides puts them at risk, thus they haven't been forthcoming in providing information that the defendant needs. In Floyd's case they have actually destroyed some of the original testing information and are presenting unverifiable copies as evidence. Second, irrespective of test that may show doping, it seems to be that they haven't established good sampling controls. Look back at Hamilton's case where they actually destroyed samples through mishandling. Keeping doping out of cycling is really important but, the way the USADA has handled this whole thing weakens anti doping efforts.

I quit a 15 year skoal habit after my son was born. Some things that helped me. Motivation: I knew my habit wasn't healthy. I also had figured out how much it cost me a year. Family and friends wanted me to quit. None of that had been sufficiently motivating because deep down I had not wanted to quit. With the birth of my son though I was faced with the prospect of having my kid watch me die of mouth and throat cancer which was very motivating. Tactics: I realized I actually had two habits, one was the nicotine addiction, the second was the ritual. I decided that it would be easier to break them one at a time so, I researched and found a non-tobacco substitute. This was actually really helpful as the ritual is psychologically very comforting. Once the nicotine habit was broken and its reinforcing effect disappeared, the ritual tapered off a bit, then I just quit buying the substitute. The ritual also helped me avoid substituting another unhealthy habit, like eating too much, for the one I was trying to break. Take it seriously: This is kinda like what others said about not lying to yourself but a bit different in that it is not about the lying to yourself, it is about the effects of lying to yourself. For me, once I (not others) had decided to quit, I knew that if I caved into my cravings, I would think less of myself whether or not anybody else did. Once you quit believing in yourself it dimishes everything you do and everyone who does believe in you. It is actually more important than just quitting tobacco. It is worth it. My son turns 12 in June. I also know that you can do it.

So what is his point? I hardly think that Berlinski's melancholy can be laid at the feet of modern physics. The idea that the known and unknown remain in balance is not new, each new answer brings more questions. And while modern physics has not arrived at a ToE, (nor is one necessarily possible)it has made possible the development of transistors, lasers, satellites, lcd screens and a great many other fun and useful items so, perhaps it hasn't been a total waste. Look, modern physics = more questions than answers + toys, it's an INTP's dream as far as I am concerned. Berlinski's demand that modern physics also provide him with the meaning of life and subsequent depression seems to be more of a personal choice. “We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.” - Douglass Adams

I think you should go solo. You need to put your knowledge and initiative to work for you. Having said that, I also want to pass along something I learned from a solo adventure of mine: When you start a business to do something that you like, coding, photography, etc., you have to understand that that activity is not what the business is about. Running a business involves accounting, tax forms, managing (more tax forms, social security witholding, health care, leave, etc.) and paying employees (first), insurance, advertising, renting space and so on. And, when you run a business, all of the problems that arise are by default, your problem. If something doesn't get done, you will be the one doing it. The activity you started a business to do can become the minor activity in your day. Note: Some people think, "Hey, I'll start the business from home and be the only employee so I won't have these problems." which is the same as saying, my business will not be successful. If your business is successful, you will have most of these things to deal with, if not all and more. Note 2: Some of the dumb one eared rabbits are there, not because they are the best at what they do, they are better at the business activities. Just remember the dumb one eared rabbits are there for a reason. I am not trying to discourage you, starting your own business is worthwhile even if all you wind up with is experience, I just think you should do it with your eyes open. On the other hand, if people knew what they were getting into starting a business, getting married or, having children ...

Yes, I also think of myself as a time traveler! Unfortunately, for the last 47 years its all been in the same direction. I've tried putting a rewind button into my applications to overcome this but, it cancels its own event and the rest of the code never executes, still working on this.