Miss KY

I am going down this path to make a point. The common argument I see is that NASA produces reliable software and it costs millions of dollars. Who could afford that level of reliability other than an agency with deep tax pockets? The common computer user certainly couldn't. But what this argument misses is that NASA is pretty much their only customer. By the same logic, if a car can only be made reliable by investing millions of dollars in research and development, then a company that builds just a single car (as in one physical car, not one model) would have to charge millions for it just to break even. By this argument which is commonly given to justify sloppy software, nobody but the most wealthy could afford a reliable car. But that is not the case because this is not what car manufacturers do. They invest millions in making a reliable design, that is true. But then they reproduce that design at a minute fraction of the original cost. That design, reproduced tens of thousands of times, is then shipped to dealers who can afford to charge $25K for that same car that took millions to design and produce and still make enough commission to take a week long vacation to the Bahamas. In other words, the cost of producing a reliable car CAN be compared to the cost of producing reliable software if both have a large customer base. It is a valid comparison.

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The problems I have seen seem to come in with custom development projects. They usually fall in the category of "one customer who must bear all of the cost". These projects lack the economy of scale that mass produced products enjoy and are like NASA and FAA projects in this respect. One client must bear the full cost and the argument can be made that, faced with the enormous cost of producing extremely high quality software, most companies settle for "good enough" software for a much lower cost. There is a lot of truth in this argument and I believe it is valid. But the flaw here is the assumption that the only way to produce quality software is by dramatically increasing cost. The implication is that clients put up with sloppy work because they can't afford high quality work. What this ignores is that there are many ways of controlling both cost and quality. In my next article, I will talk about some of the main causes of high cost and poor quality on software projects. See you then.

Metaphor Crash: Why creating software really is like building cars

"Don't tell him I said this, but he is an impressive fellow in many ways. He has inspired a great many Americans, some of whom had wrongly believed that a political campaign could hold no purpose or meaning for them," he said in Cincinnati, Ohio. Video Watch McCain offer praise for Obama »

"His success should make Americans, all Americans, proud. Of course, I would prefer his success not continue quite as long as he hopes."

McCain's comments were well-received, met by applause and laughs from the crowd.

"Whatever the outcome in November, Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing -- for himself and for his country -- and I thank him for it."nullnull

McCain says something nice about Obama.

McCain praises Obama in NAACP address - CNN.com

It is not just a direct hit that is worrisome. Through its charge, lightning can harm any creature within a fifty-metre radius of the strike point. We can also be harmed collaterally, by getting knocked off our feet by the percussive force or walloped by a struck tree. We cannot outrun it — lightning comes to earth at an estimated 220,000 kilometres an hour — and we cannot dress for it, as a bolt reaches temperatures of 28,000 degrees. We can only hide.

The Walrus Magazine » Struck By Lightning

It seems to me that these citywide gun bans are as ineffective as many other gun policies are for reducing gun crime. It is extremely difficult to legislate or regulate guns when there is an active black market and a huge stock of existing guns. When the people who value guns the most are the ones who use them in the drug trade, there is next to nothing you can do to keep the guns out of their hands.

My view is that we should not be making policies about gun ownership, because they simply don’t work. What seems to work is harshly punishing people who use guns illegally.

For instance, if you commit a felony with a gun, you get a mandatory five-year add-on to your prison sentence. Where this has been done there is some evidence gun violence has declined (albeit with some substitution towards crimes being done with other weapons).

These sorts of laws are attractive for many reasons. First, unlike other gun policies, they work. Second, they don’t impose a cost on law abiding folks who want to have guns. null

No More D.C. Gun Ban? No Big Deal - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

His main finding: blacks who “sound black” earn salaries that are 10 percent lower than blacks who do not “sound black,” even after controlling for measures of intelligence, experience in the work force, and other factors that influence how much people earn. (For what it is worth, whites who “sound black” earn 6 percent lower than other whites.)null

How Much Does It Cost You in Wages if You Sound Black? - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

Thank you Kindly Contributor Pierre Scalise.

These network diagrams provoke the question: What is the space that network diagrams reside in? I suppose the nodes are positioned relative to one another which means there must be many diagrammatic arrangements consistent with a data set, and that the inferences about social networks perhaps depend on the arrangment chosen.

Are social network diagrams somewhat like constellation (star-myth) maps? That is, self-referential and somewhat indeterminate.

More generally, in thinking about diagrams that show links, it is helpful early on to identify the space in which the linked nouns are placed.

See also the thread on analytical issues in causal diagrams: http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0000yO&topic_id=1&topic=

Nick, I'm thinking you might want to get into this, as its a chance to show off the social network visualizations for memestreams you did to Edward Tufte.

Ask E.T.: Visualizing Social Networks

Art of the How-To Video

Art of the How-To Video

Do you encounter useless Flash intros to company websites? Of course you do. Do you have a product or service that you'd like to explain on your website? Of course you do. Then you should take a look at how Start Cooking explains its recipes with stop-action photography that's more impressive than an Flash intro I've seen. Say, for example, you wanted to learn how to make teriyaki beef from a Japanese recipe passed down through the ages. Then watch this video debut of my culinary career.

Sun Small and Medium Business - Guy Kawasaki on Innovations

Babak Parviz wears contact lenses. But he's not yet using the new contact lenses he's made in his Seattle laboratory. Containing electronic circuits, they look like something from a science fiction movie. He's now going to add some extremely small light emitting diodes (LEDs), helping turn his prototype contact lenses into a sophisticated personal display - the tiniest one possible.

As an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington, Parviz works on bio-nanotechnology, self-assembly, nanofabrication and micro-electro mechanical systems. He makes tiny but functional electronic devices and, using nanotechnology and microfabrication techniques, integrates them on to polymers or glass using a process known as self-assembly.

So how did he think of making a "bionic" contact lens? "Imagine a person with that kind of research expertise and background," says Parviz. "Imagine also the same person waking up every morning and putting a contact lens in his eye."

Your life will be flashed before your eyes | Technology | The Guardian

Whitewater rafting has been gaining in popularity for many years now -- and for good reason. It′s a BLAST!! There are a wide range of difficulty levels of trips that allow outdoor enthusiasts of all skill levels to enjoy this sport. We offer rafting trips that range from beginner to intermediate that run on different rivers at different times of the year. To help sort out some of the possibilities, the following table divides our trips by Skill Level (left column) and Season (right column). To get additional information on any trip, just click on the name of the trip. The River Class Rating is given for each trip. Check out what to wear while rafting and FAQ page as well.

Whitewater Rafting, Canoeing and Instruction with Sheltowee Trace Outfitters in South-Central Kentucky on the Cumberland River.