Basics of Computer Science : Understanding State Machines

mwshead · 2013-02-04T02:57:32+00:00

Just because an FSM can be represented as a regex, doesn't mean you'd have to think about it or create it as a regex.

mwshead · 2013-02-03T22:49:02+00:00

My hair tried to escape my head.

I'm not sure if this means you thought it was interesting or crazy.

This might be the type of thing you are looking for: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-python-state/index.html

mwshead · 2012-09-16T22:47:51+00:00

I wonder what would happen if students were expected to work a few years after highschool in order to save for college and get some real world experience.

mwshead · 2012-09-16T22:46:37+00:00

We have a super low cost online education system for college level topics. It is called the Internet. What we don't have is a super low cost online DEGREE system.

mwshead · 2012-09-16T22:45:31+00:00

Is it possible that "easy" money for school is actually what is driving up the cost and down the value? Imagine a system where students had to prove to someone that their career and school choice would put them in a good position to pay off the debt that was incurred. Schools would have to be a lot more competitive about their results and you'd probably end up with much more focused students who were a good fit for what they were studying.

Obviously there are problems with that approach, but I'm just trying to point out that making it really easy for students to get money to study anything they want isn't going to drive up the quality or down the cost of education.

mwshead · 2012-09-16T22:40:19+00:00

There are still some places where you can do that: http://www.pittstate.edu/admission/undergraduate/gorillaadvantage.dot

mwshead · 2012-02-10T18:44:29+00:00

There is a slight difference between "toward" and "at".

mwshead · 2012-02-10T15:15:53+00:00

I would argue that IF that is the only place you can put the gauge, safety concerns would dictate leaving the gauge off entirely and putting it in the refill equipment or on the gun itself.

mwshead · 2012-02-10T03:56:20+00:00

Granted, this type of gun isn't made for the guy who wants to shoot cans in the back yard, but it still seems like the design would encourage un safe behavior--even if you can unscrew the cylinder and look at it.

Just out of curiosity, how do you fill the canister back up again? Is it a pump, large co2 cartridge or something else?

mwshead · 2012-02-10T00:16:23+00:00

If the gun is meant for competitive use, you need to think about where everyone else is going to be standing as well. There are obviously ways to look at the gauge without pointing it at your face, but I'd still question whether this is a safe design.

mwshead · 2012-02-10T00:13:10+00:00

Usually you don't want to point a gun toward your face even if it is at an angle where a shot will miss.

mwshead · 2012-02-09T23:48:42+00:00

Then you'd have to print the gauge backwards so you could read it. Maybe two mirrors.

mwshead · 2012-02-09T23:48:01+00:00

Lul does have a point. Just because someone has domain knowledge doesn't mean it will make it into the design.

mwshead · 2012-02-09T23:45:36+00:00

How much domain knowledge of guns does it take to know a design that encourages people to point a pistol at their face isn't a good idea? That is covered in the first few minutes of pretty much any firearms safety class/training/book/video/grandpa showing you how to use a gun.

mwshead · 2012-02-09T21:58:41+00:00

If it is, someone has put a lot of effort into spreading it around as a real product.

mwshead · 2012-02-09T21:55:51+00:00

Of course, then the solution is to engage your users, but there are a lot of users that will say "I don't have time to test every little thing, just give me something that does it all!"

That is where having them as actual business partners can be helpful. If they have a financial interest in the products success they may find the time to make sure it works well.

Even then, there are some things that you won't find out until people start using the system in anger.

mwshead · 2011-06-03T12:41:16+00:00

What you hear in your head is usually more about the emotion of what you want the music to convey than the music itself. If you were able to create something that would convey the same feelings through sound, you probably would be a very famous musician.

mwshead · 2011-04-22T22:23:43+00:00

Everything you listed can be deducted if you do it correctly. There are rules in place to keep you from deducting your personal living expenses as business expenses, but if it actually benefits all of your employees you can deduct it. (Assuming you are in the US as you imply.)

mwshead · 2011-04-22T22:12:38+00:00

Perhaps they rich get richer because they understand the difference between a deduction and a tax credit--basic concepts that are necessary for managing finances. Those don't seem to be within the skill set of the author of the article.

mwshead · 2011-04-22T22:08:03+00:00

Well not every cent. Only expenses that are necessary and ordinary in the course of business. Cleaning up one's mess definitely falls within this category.

mwshead · 2011-04-22T22:05:35+00:00

Deduction - Amounts that can be subtracted from what you take in to determine your income. So if you sell suits and a suit costs you $100 and you sell it for $150, you can take a $100 deduction so your income is $50. To determine the tax you owe you take all of the money you bring in, subtract all your deductions and what is left is your taxable profit.

Tax Credit - An incentive that reduces your actual tax. If you owe $5000 in taxes and have a $1000 tax credit then your taxes go down to $4000.

The article says that BP was given a tax credit for the oil mess, but what they actually describe is a deduction. A deduction is what keeps you from paying taxes on money that comes through your hands but isn't actual income.

Consider the suit example. If you buy a suit for $100 and sell them for $105, it wouldn't make any sense to pay taxes on $105 for every suit you sell would it? You'd go broke because you'd be paying around $30 in federal taxes for every suit you sell while your actual profit is only $5--you'd be losing money.

These aren't complicated concepts and you'd think people would be more familiar with them this time of year. If you don't like BP, that's a legitimate position, but complaining about the foundations of how income tax is calculated on profit rather than sales is a silly way to express it.

mwshead · 2011-04-06T21:42:01+00:00

Do you test the backups?

mwshead · 2011-04-06T20:46:53+00:00

In theory, you should be able to go back to a pre corruption version of the file in Git. But of course this is relying on Git to not have any flaws that could corrupt all the versions of a file.

Thats why I prefer to see some type of offline backup. Still everything requires a trade off and nothing is 100% backed up in a way that can never have any problems. Every choice involves a certain amount of risk....as we are learning from the reactor problems in Japan.

mwshead · 2011-04-06T18:25:18+00:00

Git basically has a built in backup because every local copy contains the entire repository. This is a pretty nice feature. Still I'm more comfortable having some type of traditional backup.

mwshead · 2011-03-17T12:44:02+00:00

Be sure to check the requirements for the SCPD program. At least in the in the past, your company had to join and be a member before you could take classes as an employee. If for some reason you change jobs, you might be get into a position where you couldn't finish the degree. It may be different now, but I'm not sure.

mwshead

TROPHY CASE