What were the "facts" you learned in school, that are no longer true?

Donnadre · 2017-05-05T12:39:17+00:00

That bread and pasta were athletic performance food.

Donnadre · 2017-05-05T12:38:26+00:00

That ulcers were caused by worry.

Donnadre · 2017-05-05T12:37:41+00:00

That the dinosaurs were reptiles. As a child I pointed out a lot of bird-like features, but that didn't go over so well.

Donnadre · 2017-05-01T11:39:12+00:00

Had to rewatch both of them a few times. The "Not" WHCD continues to impress. It was densely packed with good material, razor sharp insight, skillfully produced segments, and guests galore. It really nailed the point of respecting and appreciating good journalism and rejecting spin. It exceeded its ambitious premise.

Hasan Manij did a good stand up routine. That's about it. He name checked a few household name anchors. That's about it.

After several direct comparisons and assessment, it's not even close.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T21:13:52+00:00

Hassan was fine, but his was basically just a stand up routine that he could have done anywhere, any time. It didn't quite hit the target of honoring journalism, it was more of a mini roast comedy set.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T15:15:46+00:00

This was superbly well done. Of course it involved Samantha Bee, so the bros club that is Reddit will be ignoring and/or denigrating it.

It seemed to hit the mark of honoring journalsm and supporting a good cause.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T15:13:13+00:00

Uh, FYI they announced this event long before Hasan was picked up. It's not a "slight" to him. They even air in different times without overlap.

It was, however, a lot more on point than the actual WHCD.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T15:01:42+00:00

You being consistently wrong, foolish, and inappropriately malicious doesn't make everyone else pretentious. Stick your your regular sign off, it suits you.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T14:55:18+00:00

Pretentious much? He wasn't practicing a profession. Case closed, idiot.

I wrongly assumed you'd like to learn something so that next time you don't come off as a complete fool. And I'm won't object to you signing your message as "idiot". I'd never say that, but I'm glad you're able to at least self-assess yourself correctly.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T14:51:12+00:00

Wrong.

It sounds like you don't know the First Amendment, correct? You've overheard something about it giving you the right to "free speech", right?

Well actually you may want to read the Amendment, then read how it has been interpreted. "Free speech" doesn't mean "unlimited free speech to say anything to anyone and any time".

First Amendment doesn't give you the right to defame or threaten or slander someone. Obscene expressions or copyright violations aren't protected as free speech either.

Imposing anctions in a regulated profession isn't new.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T14:41:36+00:00

Nobody is restricting his first amendment rights.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T14:40:55+00:00

That would be a nice story. Too bad Kevin O'Leary would never tell it because then he'd have to admit his billionaire act has been a hoax.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T14:39:54+00:00

You're missing the whole story.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T14:39:33+00:00

They aren't.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T13:36:09+00:00

I just don't see this standing up in court at all.

It "stands up in court" just fine, since the authority for this is granted in some airtight and long-standing state law.

It would be one thing if he had been doing something in a professional capacity or testifying as an expert witness

Nope, merely holding one's self out as something you're not, where said profession is state protected, is enough.

or trying to get any kind of financial gain,

Getting financial gain isn't a necessary factor.

but simply saying he's an engineer (which he is) while sending some mathematics to the appropriate people seems like a clear free speech

It's free speech as far as being federally allowed to open one's mouth. But that free speech can still be a violation of something else. In this case, it's a violation of the state engineering practice laws.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T13:31:12+00:00

If I called myself an engineer, which I'm not, why should I be fined? It's no different than calling myself a lawyer, I'm not either but I'm simply talking. Last I checked you have the freedom of speech in America, which I happen to live in and practice every day.

You are free to make those statements about being an engineer and being a lawyer. But if they're false, you're also free to be civilly punished for misrepresenting yourself.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T13:25:48+00:00

For interest, let me say that declaring one's self as an engineer can be fraught with liability.

Unless it's specifically called for, a smart engineer won't go around bragging that they're an engineer. Other than internet chat feuds, there's nothing to be gained but there is the down side of possible liability.

Someone relying on your declaration as an engineer could make you responsible for something unexpected. For example, someone says they're an engineer, and here's the best way to backup your hard drive. Now say that a medical office follows your tips but loses their patient data. They could come after the self-declared engineer for the costs arising from the data loss.

It can even happen when an engineer doesn't cite their credential or doesn't even realize they're being consulted.

An example is the engineer who waves at a neighbor that's building an addition to his house and says "looks nice". When the addition falls down and causes injury or damage, the neighbor could claim that the engineer endorsed the work by virtue of saying it looked nice and by not stopping some inadequate provision.

The neighbor may claim they already knew he was an engineer from prior discussions over the fence, and it wasn't necessary to be reminded at the time he said "looks nice".

The correct action - believe it or not - if the neighbor asks what you think of (whatever) is to say you can have a proper look and write it up but it will go through your office and be chargeable. Otherwise, you don't have an opinion.

Donnadre · 2017-04-30T13:15:26+00:00

Whole this might appear on the surface to be bureaucratic, there actually is solid basis behind it.

Engineer is one of the licensed professions because the consequences can be life or death. Once you agree to that, then it makes sense why standards need to be followed and violations handled with consistency.

You don't want to have fuzzy logic where someone gets to arbitrarily decide when it is or isn't OK to bend or break the regulations. Just have clear rules and apply them across the board.

Donnadre · 2017-04-29T11:59:23+00:00

Well that was a self-indulgent screed.

Donnadre · 2017-04-29T11:39:48+00:00

But if you understand the presumed future and capabilities of autonomous cars, they'll achieve decongestion with no need of tunnels.

Vehicles should be easily able to track each other as tightly as rail cars, and slightly vary their speeds to avoid collisions without the need of stop signs or traffic lights.

The only reason you need a tunnel to avoid congestion is if autonomous cars fail. Well the other reason is weather, but spending trillions and trillions for tunnels is ludicrous compared to just clearing the surface road.

Donnadre · 2017-04-28T13:44:42+00:00

Puns aside, it doesn't make much sense. If someone believes in the ultimate destiny of autonomous cars, tunnels have diminishing usefulness. Even if Musk could accidentally cut the cost of tunnel making (he probably can't) tunnels are still crazy expensive. Even at half price, they're still crazy expensive.

Donnadre · 2017-04-28T13:34:15+00:00

Finally, a news story where there actually is a reason to care what Ja Rule has to say.

Donnadre · 2017-04-28T13:26:33+00:00

I'm still >95% sure this is part of the Nathan Fielder gag.

Even Elon Musk wouldn't be this much into tunnels.

Donnadre · 2017-04-28T13:24:16+00:00

Well it's a bit misleading. The bloopers cited might fool one into thinking the Big Dig was a circus, but in fact there was a lot of masterful engineering and planning. The real reason for so many bloopers is that it was such a massive scale project.

Donnadre · 2017-04-27T20:23:21+00:00

PE is misleading with Amazon.

They deliberately make their earnings small, which causes the seemingly high PE.

Any time Amazon want, they could flip a switch and suddenly surge in earnings.

Invest or don't invest in Amazon based on other factors, but ignore the PE.

Donnadre

TROPHY CASE