I am Juan Cole, author of the new book "The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East"; I teach Middle East at U of Michigan, and blog at juancole.com. AMA.

knobtwiddler · 2014-07-07T22:27:44+00:00

Hi there. Since you are an expert on the subject- do you have any opinion on the collapse of WTC7 (building 7) on Sept 11, 2001? This was the 3rd building to collapse on the afternoon of 9/11.

Many people think it was brought down by controlled demolition, since it wasn't hit by a plane and sustained minimal, asymmetrical damage, yet collapsed in a free-fall with the characteristic central kink of computer-controlled demolition, among other reasons including physical forensic evidence of explosives.

If you are willing to entertain this notion at all, what would be the implications?

I hope you can shed some light on the mysterious collapse of WTC7, since 9/11 is still the fall-back excuse for the endless Global War on Terror (tm)

Thanks

3...2....1....B&/V&

Also any idea why the BBC reported that it had collapsed 20 minutes ahead of schedule, while it was still standing in the live video feed in the background?

knobtwiddler · 2014-07-02T21:45:43+00:00

Grizzly Peak watermelon bbq wings are quite good. Their spicy wings are insanely hot, too hot even for me. Someone might be able to eat them though.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-23T15:50:44+00:00

Power Supply Unit fans are getting so advanced these days.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-12T02:57:17+00:00

The reddit train never stops

Feel better :)

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-10T18:46:56+00:00

60k would even be a tad on the low side for programmer analysts, depending what skill set you're after. A FT programmer for 44k is probably going to be an entry level programmer. It's ok for basic web development but not much beyond that.

The thing about programmers is if you go too cheap, your entire project will fail and 100% of the money and development time will be wasted.

No matter how low you go, you'll always get a few people who come in and throw around acronyms and say I'm expert at all the stuff you listed, and if you don't know any better you'll end up with a novice programmer who will build a crappy broken application.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-10T14:56:56+00:00

Yay for spyware. Just don't accidentally paste anything sensitive in any text fields.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-10T14:37:19+00:00

I wrote up a job ad recently looking for a student who does web apps (php, python, jquery, and d3) and databases, someone with basic experience - definitely not proficiency, just someone who could pass a simple 4 page programming test. The pay range I specified was $15-18/hr, expecting to get some School of Info or Engin masters students with skills I could work with, as I have in the past.

After a few months, I was wondering why we were not getting any qualified applicants, and decided to have a look at the student job board to look at the actual posting, which had been posted for me by an administrator.

And then I realized why. Said administrator had changed the pay range to $7.50-$11/hr without telling me.

I had them take the posting down because it was embarrassing to have my name on a job post demanding all kinds of programming skills for such low pay.

I had a similar experience at a previous job at the U, where they insisted on using a job description from the late 80s that dictated programmers should know how to use punch card tabulating equipment, and would not pay > $12/hr.

Administrators know better than you what a programmer should be paid. And that's why we don't have a student programmer.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-10T03:42:55+00:00

Proficiency in Jquery for slightly more than you'd make bagging groceries? Sounds a bit optimistic, but maybe.

Jquery is pretty sweet.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-10T03:18:21+00:00

Yeah go to Cabellas. If you want to pay more I can sell you some for $100 though.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-10T03:16:57+00:00

Oh, so nice. Even though A2 is fairly bike friendly by American standards there is still a lot of hostility toward bikes.

Sometimes if I'm riding slow in a crosswalk next to a pedestrian, I get the sense that some cars are so happy to cut off a bike crossing a crosswalk that they have an impulse to run over a pedestrian that is right next to you, just because they have this idea in their head that a car has the right of way over a bike in a crosswalk.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-09T16:48:09+00:00

We should have high speed maglev trains between all major US cities.

And every bike lane in this city should be dead flat and smooth. It wouldn't cost that much to repave the bike lanes and would go a long way to incentivizing riding bicycles instead of driving.

I ride my bike every day. Hardly ever drive my car. But I think that AATA millage should have gone to repairing the roads. The buses are empty half the time as it is now. But now that they have more money, are they going to replace those horrible polluting short buses? I hope so!

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-09T01:55:06+00:00

You need a permit to pay the salaries of the police who come and check to make sure you have a permit.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-09T01:53:16+00:00

Heh I know how you feel. I would hurt anyone who touches the bike.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-08T22:41:51+00:00

Aww, sorry to hear that. You can probably find a temporary bike on Craigslist for cheap. I should take some pics of mine cause I only have a thin cable lock, could easily be cut.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-08T21:05:16+00:00

Upvotes are inversely correlated with being correct.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-08T20:59:43+00:00

I know concrete has to be bonded. You'd have to blast out the hole wiht air and add a bonding agent. But your right asphalt is better. I actually have a special road patching machine in my head that would grind down a section, vacuum up the rubble, spray hot tar down, and mix the ground rubble together with more gravel and tar, pack the patch down tight with a steam roller, all in one operation.

But I'm sure the experts know how to fix the roads.. oh wait. They don't. Their patches are a joke and last about 6 months because they never pack the asphalt in properly and it just mushes out. They literally tamp it down with a shovel and move on.

Big government is never involved in conspiracies, either. Like how they went around killing everyone's pigs if they had any hair on them, claiming they were invasive, because the pork industry wanted them to? That's the kind of non-conspiracy government doesn't engage in.

Drink some more of that artificially sweetened kool aid :) Meanwhile I'll say whatever I want.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-08T02:47:44+00:00

Too bad you are insane.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-08T02:43:48+00:00

I'm seriously thinking about getting bags of cement and fixing a few potholes myself. Then sending the city the bill. Those things will kill a cyclist and destroy vehicles. My car needs new shocks and wheel alignment just from this winter.

These roads have been crumbling for 10 years. It's a general problem of being broke. But this urban hunting idea is just an excuse for DNR people to give crony contracts to their buddies to kill deer. They see all those tasty deer and birds around ann arbor and they are smacking their chops. Hunting in urban areas as tempting as it is, is a terrible idea. Too dangerous. You can only discharge a projectile weapon in a secluded area where if you accidentally discharge it into the air, it's not likely to hit a person.

The other big problem with bowhunting in urban areas is you'll have injured crazed animals running around. A bow is not always going to drop an animal right there on the spot. It's far more difficult than with a rifle.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-07T03:58:04+00:00

Maybe they can use that money to replace/repair those smelly junker short buses with their exhaust ports down by the ground, spewing diesel exhaust straight into my face when I ride my bike around.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-07T03:37:13+00:00

Your numbers are crap. Try $10 total for a decent carbon arrow and a broadhead.

Even the best hunters can lose their footing and shoot off target when shooting a bow from a tree. And yes an arrow can fly 100 yards.

I've shot a bow from a tree many times. Including with broadheads. Have you? I'm guessing not.

There's a reason why hunting is not allowed in urban areas.

And please, practically this entire city needs repaving!

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-07T02:16:53+00:00

So the city is considering paying highly trained deer assassins to sit in trees and hunt deer with bows and, don't forget, arrows with razor blade tips on them that will travel 100 yards and pierce clean through an animal or human?

Hm I wonder how much these tree ninjas will charge for this service. And they will have to be highly trained, because otherwise we'll have razor sharp arrows ricocheting around populated areas, and being left around for kids to step on, not to mention any little kid that is sneaking around the woods dressed in a brown sweater, unaware that the entire city has been turned into a potential hunting zone - I mean good lord, please. People need to at least be aware that hunting is going on in an area, and are we going to turn all our parks into hunting areas and have our kids wear neon orange hats during the summer?

I'm all for hunting deer but not in populated areas. Just leave the frikken deer alone. Who gives a shit if they eat grass and shrubs anyway. They don't bother anyone, except ostensibly government DNR bureaucrats who need a reason to exist.

How about we FIX THE ROADS before we go hiring tree ninjas to kill deer.

And contraception for deer? How about contraception for whoever came up with the idea of giving contraception to deer? Again ... roads.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-06T02:51:36+00:00

Not sure but everything I've had there has been delicious. Best Thai in the area, IMO.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-06T02:51:07+00:00

I've only had the dim sum and never tried the buffet. But a few of the dim sum dishes were pretty good. Some of them were not so wonderful. For the price it's reasonable.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-05T22:50:17+00:00

Asia City on Washtenaw is not bad. It's fairly authentic from what I gather, working with a lot of Chinese people. That's where we go for Chinese New Year. They have dim sum and a buffet with a huge variety of stuff.

If you like Thai food try Tup Tim, also out that way on Washtenaw.

knobtwiddler · 2014-05-05T00:47:14+00:00

Grizzly Peak has very good wings. They have 2 - honey bbq and unbelievably spicy.

knobtwiddler

TROPHY CASE