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Delusional College Senior by i_quit_lurkingin AdviceAnimals

[–]dudleydidwrong -2 points-1 points ago

Every one of the graduates from our program had at least one solid job offer and most had two or more. These were majors in CompSci, CIS, and web development. The tech majors help, but we also stress internships and national competitions. We also try to network with former graduates. Those later things should work for any major. The networking and resume builders we encourage result in at least as many job offers as the degrees themselves.

Did you ever think you were going to die from a shit? by tunabomberin AskReddit

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

This reminds me of a description of sitting on the toilet with stomach flu. "First you are afraid you are going to die, and then you are afraid you are going to live."

Why do human nostrils generally point downwards, whereas those of most mammals point ahead? by Sir_Rexalotin askscience

[–]dudleydidwrong 3 points4 points ago

Humans are more vulnerable to spoiled food than many other species. The human nose is well placed to sniff food and detect spoilage.

Also, humans rely heavily on vision. The human nose and mouth stay out of the normal field of vision.

What about this president? by robnotbobin trees

[–]dudleydidwrong 2 points3 points ago

The last three US presidents (Obama, W, and Clinton) all used marijuana. So much for the theory that it ruins your chances of future success.

Scumbag History Channel by ThePhilosopherGurlin AdviceAnimals

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

The new in-topic is junk dealers with an occasional break to remind you why you don't want to hunt alligators or join a logging outfit.

Scumbag History Channel by ThePhilosopherGurlin AdviceAnimals

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

At least they have moved off Aliens, Nostradamus, and the Mayan calendar. The current in thing is junk dealers which is marginally better.

I was excited a few weeks ago because I found myself watching an actually history documentary about the lead-up to WWII. But then I realized I was on the National Geo channel, not the History Channel.

If the US was able to put men on the moon in the '60s with less computing power than a modern cell phone, why is it that modern countries such as China or even North Korea can't pull it off? by PoeticGopherin askscience

[–]dudleydidwrong 12 points13 points ago

In 1960 any rational person who really understood the scope of the task should have said that it was not realistic to attempt the project until the next century. Fortunately the decisions were not made by rational people who really understood the scope of the task. The more I learn about the process, the more I think "They couldn't have possibly done this." But they did.

I thing there are a couple of things that made it possible. 1) They were willing to spend an enormous amount of money on the project. 2) They were willing to let people die, and there were people willing to die to be part of the process. Not many people actually died, but when they did the program kept moving after figuring out what went wrong. 3) The entire country bought into the dream. It was infectious. In the 1950's Americans had a terrible impression of the US space program. It was a joke. But after Kennedy said we were going to the moon before the decade was out all of that changed in an instant. I was a teenager during that period, and everyone simply accepted the fact that it would be done. The only real tension was whether it would be done before 1970 or right after.

In some ways I find it hard to condemn the "Moon Landing Birthers" because they do recognize how bloody unlikely the whole project was.

This is not my account. What are the best things you've stumbled across that people have forgotten to log off of? by MyParentsArentHomein AskReddit

[–]dudleydidwrong 6 points7 points ago

I remember trolling people by intentionally leaving a terminal logged in.

Back in the mid-70's the University of Iowa had a bunch of minicomputers hooked to dumb terminals via thumb-wheel switches. Machine 8 allowed games. We always had town kids who would stand around and want you to leave the terminal logged into Machine 8 for them. One guy wrote an awesome intro screen for a Star Trek game that said at the bottom "please stand by while we prepare to beam you aboard." Then it turned off echo to the terminal and disconnected. The only clue that you were disconnected was the little light on the thumbwheel switch. So until the kids caught on it was fun to say "Sure! Have you seen the new Trek game? Here, let me start it for you."

Dad vs The Mole. Round One... by jam_sandwich123in pics

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

Am I the only one that sat there waiting for the rest of the GIF to load?

The picture itself looks like the kind of situation that will not end well. Or, considering the usual reddit mentality, perhaps it will end very well.

Every time above [4] by iXD420in trees

[–]dudleydidwrong 1 point2 points ago

I do that sometimes, and I don't even smoke.

I almost had a heart attack watching this by Pniseatingcephalopodin videos

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

My favorite remark in the Youtube comments (which I entirely agree with): "Get back inside the triangle thing. Get back inside the triangle thing. Stop high fiving! Get back inside the triangle thing."

Maths for programming by othersProblemsin learnprogramming

[–]dudleydidwrong 6 points7 points ago

Over the years I have had about 25 students who went into gaming or closely related fields like military simulations. Based on what I have heard from them my advice would echo what some of the other comments have said. A strong math and problem-solving background is important. This would include linear algebra and probability. If I was going to suggest one thing that would almost guarantee success it would be getting a minor in Physics. The Physics itself is potentially useful, but the problem attack skills you learn in solving Physics problems seems to map very nicely onto a lot of gaming and simulation problems.

I am not saying that Math and Physics are the ONLY way to break into gaming. I have had CIS students who were more business oriented and whose highest Math was Business Calc and elementary statistics. But they are the exception. I am thinking of 4 or 5 out of the 25 students I have had go into games/simulation that I stay in some form of contact with. However, in my experience the general rule of thumb is that more Math and Physics is better in the gaming industry.

I would also add that the gaming industry is tough. I know a lot of students want to go into gaming, but it can be a brutal field. The pay is often excellent, but it can take a heavy toll on family life.

Fun with cotton. by SpaceBotanyin videos

[–]dudleydidwrong 2 points3 points ago

This isn't cotton like what is used in cloth. This is either seed distribution from cottonwood trees or cattail plants. The seeds are tiny and float around embedded in tufts of the "cotton." It can make a huge mess and is a maintenance nightmare for things like air conditioners.

TIL that 1 acre of hemp can make as much paper as 4.1 acres of trees, and that hemp fiber to make paper can be yielded in 90 days whereas tree paper comes from trees that take 15-50 years to grow. by mattm4473in todayilearned

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

The question now is not how much the paper and fiber industries could make from hemp. The question controlling politicians now is how much money the pharmaceutical industry might loose if cannabis replaced many very profitable drugs.

Why didn't the Vikings unleash apocalyptic plagues in the new world centuries before Columbus? by Naberiusin askscience

[–]dudleydidwrong 2 points3 points ago

There were probably fewer rats on the Viking ships. The Viking ships were more open and less complex than the ones Columbus used. There were a lot of places that rats could hide and breed on a Spanish carrack. Columbus also carried a lot more supplies and provisions than the Vikings were likely to carry on their island-hopping trip to north America. Weather and climate may also have been a factor in insuring that he arrived in the new world with a substantial rat population.

Why didn't the Vikings unleash apocalyptic plagues in the new world centuries before Columbus? by Naberiusin askscience

[–]dudleydidwrong 6 points7 points ago

Another possibility is that there is that they spread disease, but there is no record of it. Columbus was followed fairly quickly by other explorers. The effects of the spreading epidemics was either observed directly by the explorers, or the incidents were recent enough to be remembered by the tribes.

There might be some evidence in archaeological studies, but any such information would probably be fuzzier and harder to tie to the Vikings than the evidence recorded by the explorers and their scribes who followed after Columbus.

Is France really hated in the USA ? by SThorin AskReddit

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

I grew up in the 50's and 60's, and I think that era still influences attitudes toward the French. I am the age of a lot of the current crop of US politicians, so I probably have attitudes from the same sources as a lot of them.

Charles DeGaulle. That's pretty much it. We perceived DeGaulle as hating the US. We saw that attitude spreading throughout the French population. In my generation almost everyone had some uncle, father, or grandfather who had died or been disabled in Europe and we found the DeGaulle attitude toward the US to be very offensive. I also remember that our history textbooks blamed the French for the harsh anti-German provisions of le Traité de Versailles which one taught as one of the contributing causes of WWII.

People who traveled in Europe would come home and talk about how rude the French were to Americans. I took four years of French in high school. One of the things we were told was that if we went to France we should not try to speak French in public unless we were completely fluent. Every summer we had an opportunity to go to France for a few weeks. I never went, but what I heard from students who went bore out the wisdom of the advice. They said that the French would ridicule anyone who didn't speak perfect French.

What causes some people to be left handed and other right handed? by gloonin askscience

[–]dudleydidwrong 1 point2 points ago

I took typing classses in high school in the 1960's. We had typewriters in class that caused the right shift key to print letters slightly higher so that the teacher could tell which shift key you used. To this day I still use the opposite handed shift key.

What causes some people to be left handed and other right handed? by gloonin askscience

[–]dudleydidwrong 1 point2 points ago

My grandparents came to the US to avoid WW I. My father was born inthe US but the family went back to Belgium after the war. After getting back to Belgium they realized my father was left handed and could not be trained to use his right hand well enough before school started. Starting school as a lefty in Belgium would have guaranteed him a short education and menial jobs. My grandparents always said that was their main reason for returning to the US.

How does Brandon Sanderson's work compare to Robert Jordan's? by ketsugiin wheeloftime

[–]dudleydidwrong 1 point2 points ago

I would concur with what BillTheDoor and milhouse6 said.

I think Sanderson probably cut out some of the side stories that had kind of sidetracked Jordan at times. Rand must have been a tough write in The Gathering Storm, but Sanderson's Rand is spot on as Cuendillar-hard and scary. But then he turns around and creates the Rand Sedai of Towers of Midnight.

Mat was too cute in Sanderson's first book, but after that his Mat is restored to awesomeness. Mat has actually matured or grown in the later books while still staying in touch with his irrelevant side.

Book 8: The Path of Daggers Discussion (Spoilers) by TheBigHairyin wheeloftimereadathon

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

1) I am not at all sure why Liah went crazy. The only explanation I have is that she was used to living in a very social environment with the support from lots of spear sisters. She was forced to spend an extended period of time alone in an very hostile environment. Perhaps she was like someone stranded on a desert island who goes crazy.

As far as I know, only balefire puts someone beyond the Dark One's reach. But on the other hand, Shadar Logoth and Mashadar are a form of evil that is different than the Dark One's evil. Conceivably that different form of evil could be a complicating factor, but I don't know of anything definitive one way or the other.

2) Let's look at the Mat under a building situation using Mat's logic.

Mat hates responsibility. Mat hates nobility. Mat hates being around women who can channel. Before the building fell on Mat he was responsible for the safety of a couple of women who could channel and living in the midst of a bunch of nobles. By Mat's logic, having a building on top of him might not be such a bad change.

3) I think the Sea Folk's bargaining skill is a combination of self-confidence, stubbornness, strong arm tactics, reputation, and understanding the psychology of the bargaining process. That is pretty much what good bargaining comes down to in any situation.

Nynaeve. Yeah. Lan must be crazy. She is so extreme that I think her character becomes unbelievable at times. I think that is one of the things that makes the books 8 and 9 sequence the least favorite part of the series among lots of fans.

24 Years of experience doing what? PHP is only 17 years old by moebob24in PHP

[–]dudleydidwrong 4 points5 points ago

I am always amused at resumes where people misspell the name of the language they claim to know or don't follow the capitalization standard.

It does make for an entertaining interview when you can say something like, "So, tell me what you know about Cobolt."

This is all I could think about during my final exam... by Jackstickin funny

[–]dudleydidwrong 0 points1 point ago

I think of American electrical sockets as an effort to encourage the natural selection process. However, it does not seem to be working.

This is all I could think about during my final exam... by Jackstickin funny

[–]dudleydidwrong 1 point2 points ago

In order to put outlets on the tables, the tables must be bolted into place. The tables in the lecture halls are bolted down and have outlets on top. Regular classrooms do not have tables bolted down. Fixed tables in classrooms reduce flexibility to move furniture and increase maintenance costs.

This is all I could think about during my final exam... by Jackstickin funny

[–]dudleydidwrong 111 points112 points ago

I was in on the design of our new science and math building. I was the one who specified "Tables, no desks." I am proud to say that there isn't a traditional student chair/desk in the entire building. Even the lecture halls have rows of tables.

I also specified power outlets in the floor of the classrooms. The architects didn't like it because the budget was tight and floor outlets drove up the cost, especially in the old part of the building that was remodeled. We fought for them and got them. Now the battle is with the building maintenance people who have taken over hating the floor outlets. They keep waxing the covers shut. But students have learned to carry screwdrivers in their computer cases to pry them open.

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