spectastic

they were saying there's a $17k gap b/t those with college degree and those without it. college is becoming a necessity... for survival. those undisciplined, airheaded athletes can complain all they want about having to go to class. in the end, a college degree will help them do more than flip burgers for the rest of their lives. they should be grateful that they're getting a free ride, and have so much support from their coaches and the student body, for doing something that they love. Also, if you take school away, there'd be nothing to stop the coaches and their staff to go to town on these kids. forget about college, it'll just be a junior NFL. there's already enough scandals going on behind NCAA (particularly football) about coaches coaxing recruits and players through unethical means. Taking away school would give the coaches complete control, considering they all want to get to the championships by any means necessary.

Is there a source out there claiming this, or is that your speculation? My reasoning is because bitcoin is anonymous, people can see where the money is going, but nobody can do anything about it. Furthermore, if it's truly an anonymous account, which I think it is, there would be no official record on who actually owns the money without disclosure.

I think mainly money laundering and hackers. Because there is no central bank or anything governing bitcoins, you can't really regulate it or tax it. That's a window for people with money they don't want other people to know about hide it, but that's probably a stupid idea right now, due to the volatility of the currency. Also, people have tried to make fake transactions, or duplicate money.

one way to find out. https://blockchain.info/charts/market-price I still don't completely understand the validation process and bitcoin mining. But right now, I think it's not really a currency anymore than a stock option, or some new exploit/opportunity for rich people and drug dealers to store money. I think only a handful of places accept bitcoins as a currency. And because nobody seems to know where bitcoin is going to go next, it's pretty much a gamble to take any part in it at all. I'm curious how the mining works. It happens by validating the transactions, right? And that's apparently a painstaking process by itself because a third party (miner) has to solve this puzzle, and the miner then gets a reward of 25 bitcoins, which is like $12000. And it takes a while for the process to take place, which is like waiting there for 20 minutes for your credit card to go through. I'm probably wrong, but that just seems absurd.

This fucking neighborhood is fucked. (I'll tell the story once all this unfolds).

what's wrong with the kid?

the weather be trippin this year.

this is partially why I want to move to california ASAP. My people! and this weather is terrible. I hate riding on the roller. It takes all the fun out.

wow so many shooters here. I need to go shooting this weekend, see what all the fuss is about.

yea, it's probably because people around here are too hung up with their pickup trucks than to realize that cycling actually exists. I'd like to go shooting someday, but I heard it's expensive, like $50 at a time for the weapon, bullets, and the range itself.

I like to bike. And apparently if you say it exactly like that during the "tell us something about yourself sessions," people tend to think you're a sore loser with no life other than pedaling around the block.

shit, wrong forum

Sorry if the topic has been repeated before, but in my experience with headlights, they always crap out on me. I never ventured beyond the $20 light from walmart, or the cheap ebay stuff, primarily because they're easily replaceable, and use simple NiMh batteries. However, I've had these lights go out on me or change modes over bumpy roads while running full batteries, which tells me the circuitry in them are terrible. So I'd like to get one of those good ones with a Lithium battery, and a simple 2 modes (constant beam and flashing). I just need to be seen on the streets, and I don't need something powerful that'll light up the whole path, considering I don't like to go out at night anyway. Suggestions?

Journalists will write anything to get their paychecks and promotions.

People are forgetting that this is a country built by immigrants. Also, there are a lot of dumb, fucked up people on the Internet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MEsOzzunPQ btw this is the commercial (link is not working in the original post). And the comments on it are a lot nicer than those posted by the ignorant shitheads.

I would ask if they have seen my application, and if they would have any direct feedback. As a matter of fact, I'm about to do that when I get a chance on Monday. I exchanged emails with a professor who said that he liked my CV and is willing to answer my questions. But that was back in November.

is it basically a personality fit thing or are they going to be digging into your technical knowledge?

omg, California is beautiful. the roads are well paved, the scenery is nice, there's lots to do (near metro areas), weather is awesome, and the cycling culture is INSANE. I would be willing to work my ass off in my PhD just so I can do a post doc with a professor at Stanford, who's a very successful researcher in organic semiconductors. I thought moving to texas would be the answer to all my problems back in iowa, but no. the region I'm in is super redneck and boring, we're getting a cold front below freezing, and only few roads are very well maintained.

you lucky cat. Congrats. I heard that the nerds at Caltech are way more hardcore than those at MIT. Friend of a friend at Caltech was completely burnt out all the time. When he got to MIT for postdoc, it was smooth sailing. I don't know if that's because a postdoc is more relaxed, but I believe the statement holds true at the undergrad level as well.

professors at my old uni would generally curve to a B- average. although, I'm curious how grade inflation, course vigor, and student body average talent all balance each other out. I figure it varies between schools and majors, but I wonder how admissions weigh these factors when they get a low gpa from MIT, verses a high GPA from a lower ranked state school.

basically.

so.... I wasted my whole entire childhood compared to this kid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM5cdtWu0Ac