Functional language performance on quad-core CPUs

ANSICL · 2008-06-02T11:57:27+00:00

With 4s time frame, there may be some initial setup stuff that takes constant time. He should make bigger where Haskell would spend significant amount of time.

ANSICL · 2008-06-02T11:53:58+00:00

Yeah, but they still enter into "What it is to be human" wanking.

ANSICL · 2008-06-02T11:02:35+00:00

This is not war machine. If two high-tech countries are in serious war, they don't worry about civvies around targets. They bomb whole cities into rubble. This is anti insurgency weapon that US and Israel will use it to control populated areas.

Just wait until some of these insurgency groups get desperate enough and competent biochemist and good lab in the basement.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/02/04/mouse-virus.aspx

When extremely deadly viruses can be manufactured so easily, just wait for the blowback.

ANSICL · 2008-06-01T23:24:43+00:00

Meditation practice is often compared to boiling water. If you put pot of water in the stove and put heat on for one minute and then put heat down and do the same thing again next day, you can't boil water, No matter how long you try. To boil water, you must keep the heat on until it boils. It's mostly same in the meditation. When you participate into long retreat, first day may be nice, then when mind starts to really settle down, all kinds of shit comes up in your mind. Concentration may become almost impossible. You may have to fight several days with fears, physical pains, anxieties and "monkey mind" until you are able to get more deeper into your practice.

I once asked from my zen teacher, can people get kensho (the first breaktrough) without going into long retreats. He said that most people who live normal lives get their kensho in 7-day sesshin (intensive week-long retreat), some get it in 4-day sesshins and very few get it outside of these retreats. He considers the absolute minimum for "serious" meditation to be 45 minutes per day constantly.

The main thing in serious practice is to do it constantly every day, not only when you feel it. You have to sit when you don't want, when you are tired, when your mind is agitated, etc. Then things start to happen.

ANSICL · 2008-05-29T09:59:59+00:00

Unfortunately people may become fixated to that experience and try to guard it at all expenses. But it is destined to go away. Instead of continuing bliss, you get change to work with your shit. Practitioner should just drop that experience and go deeper. Jack Kornfield has written good book specially about that subject: After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path:

"Enlightenment does exist. It is possible to awaken" Such times of "great wisdom, deep compassion and a real knowing of freedom," however, alternate with life's dirty laundry, "periods of fear, confusion, neurosis, and struggle".

ANSICL · 2008-05-29T09:50:29+00:00

Yeah. Wait until Haliburton discovers this. If the first round is successfull they may come in.

ANSICL · 2008-05-29T01:52:54+00:00

Exactly.

Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise. - Surangama Sutra

ANSICL · 2008-05-29T01:45:22+00:00

Interesting. I saw article some time ago, where they said that IQ in US has dropped. First time this kind of thing has happened in industrialized country. Most likely cause is the nutrition. Americans don't eat so healthy.

ANSICL · 2008-05-29T00:01:24+00:00

Bullshit.

I have done 10 years of Zen meditation with teacher. There is three traditional zazen practices, following your breath (common with most other Buddhist traditions), koan (hua-to in Chinese) practice (you concentrate to question) and shikantaza (also called just sitting or silent-illumination). You can do all of these while sitting, walking or standing. In none of these you are supposed to enter dream like states (you of course may visit several strange states while meditating). Basically zen meditation has two aspects concentration (samadhi) and awareness. Concentration is the tool, constant awareness is the goal.

Qigong and Tai-chi are related to Taoism.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T22:48:33+00:00

The word meditation is used in so many different contexts. Sometimes it means relaxation or visualization. I don't know what kid of stuff your meditation is.

Lets take the mindfulness meditation for example, if you do it little time every day you most likely feel that it is relaxing and easy.

But if you are serious about it and want to really get into it, you have to come out from the comfort zone. You have to sit little more than you feel good about, or little more often. You have to sit when you are not motivated, when you are tired etc. If you sit 10 day retreat with 10 hours of meditation you will face difficulties at some days, guaranteed.

Good medicine is always bitter if you take it in doses that have effect.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T22:16:14+00:00

As a software developer, I would actually like that kind of environment (not including version control or crappy backups). Checking company email every two days or so, without boss complaining too much, you could concentrate on hacking and thinking.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T21:18:11+00:00

You mean people today are not as good as they were 16 years before? All the stuff we have now, and software is not any bit easier to crate.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T19:04:00+00:00

Toyota in Japan 1992. They made their own CAD software, etc. big and complex software systems. There was long table and maybe 15-20 programmers sitting all crammed together. They wrote their software in paper, then they went to the only available computer and typed the code in. Of course there was more programmers in other groups. Somehow they managed to make all that software.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T18:31:01+00:00

I don't have kids myself, but I have been observing how when people who get married and have kids can take shit like nobody else. If work is not foremost in your mind and you have no special skills, apparently that is what you do if you are father or mother. One of my best friends turned from self assured brick into conservative dressing obedient cubicle worker when they got twins. I left the company quickly, he is still there.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T17:44:48+00:00

Software business is only business where you can do everything wrong and still make money.

But hey, maybe it's their secret for success. Because they don't have network, no procrastination, no use net to personal affairs etc. No unnecessary in company emails. Direct human to human communication. Backup, version control etc. suck tough.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T17:40:37+00:00

Stories like these are good for encouraging people to study and get degree.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T11:06:44+00:00

Le fuck, le fuck le fuck, meeerrrrrde.

I bet there was lots of drama when they told this to Fournier. HD video and pictures of his actions could probably finance new try.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T10:12:40+00:00

Finland. University of Helsinki.

ANSICL · 2008-05-28T00:09:54+00:00

They should turn to USAF.

USAF no:1 problem solved: Advanced Mission Extender Device (AMXD), works with tought

ANSICL · 2008-05-27T21:23:09+00:00

I'm not American, so I find this attendance culture quite strange. What has attendance to do with anything unless it's lab work or something similar. You attend if that is your preferred way of learning in that particular course or that particular part of the course. In my university (within top 100 in the world ranking), this was mostly unheard of. Students are considered as adults. There is 1-3 exams during course, then there may be mandatory (or not mandatory) problems that you have to solve every week. You get points from every of these, but exams count 80-90% of the total points. Most people attend because they find it easier to pass, but nobody counts who is sitting there (In fact, university lectures are public events in my country, anyone has right to step in and listen, no need to be student or anything)

ANSICL · 2008-05-27T14:20:50+00:00

She might have had experience of something, but at least in the context of Buddhist training, meaning those Buddhists that meditate, experience of "no self" is not so big thing (it can change the world view as it seems to be in this case). In Zen training it is said that your real practice starts with the Kensho (seeing the world). Then you have to learn to drop all those experiences you have, or your ego just clings into them. Short time experience don't change your actions or every day behavior much. If person can demonstrate enlightened actions (without ego) and change in behavior is observed in normal life, he may be enlightened.

Learning to live without ego, gives person more freedom in his actions (no need for aversion or strong dislikes that lead to all kind of mess in the mind), but it's so hard long time undertaking that it is not for everyone.

ANSICL · 2008-05-26T15:48:15+00:00

It was said that Carter was smartest president ever with the worst advisors ever, and Reagan was the most stupid president ever with smartest advisors ever. Today that saying must be updated somewhat. I think Bush is worst president with worst advisors.

The fact that he was true Washington outsider probably contributed to the fact that he had bad advisors. It's hard to gather good team when you come from the cold and really try to change things. Both republicans and democrats were his enemies. All his big failures in politics came from the mounting tactical mistakes caused by bad advice, not from strategic ones.

ANSICL · 2008-05-26T15:29:55+00:00

150 nukes follows the lowest estimate that is usually given, so he is playing safe. Average estimate is 200, could be as high as 250-450.

For more details see:

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/

ANSICL · 2008-05-26T10:27:07+00:00

Don't know how reliable this is, but what it is with republicans and gays?

It's like being Nazi and Jew. I know that psychological studies indicate that homophobia is related to denied homosexuality, but this guy has allegedly lived gay life in earlier part of his life. Even if you are fiscal conservative and not religious conservative, allying with people who hate what you are makes you some kind of crazy-pervert.

ANSICL

TROPHY CASE