Nerd movie update

Nerd movie update Like many of you, I caught Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith this weekend. If you stayed through the credits, you saw the name of my old Baker House housemate, who was a Sequence Supervisor for special effects company Industrial Light Magic (ILM). He was a Digital Effects Artist on the other two Star Wars prequels, and Revenge of the Sith was his 17th film with ILM. Another MIT acquaintance of mine has started digital animation work on his first film. He is working at Pixar, and is a Technical Director on the forthcoming film Cars. Both my ILM friend and my Pixar friend majored in Electrical Engineering Computer Science (EECS, or Course 6) at MIT, so if youre interested in working on the next special effects blockbuster, you may want to check out this department. I also caught The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy recently. Though I was a bit nervous going in, I thought the film did quite a good job; I enjoyed it. As Im writing about the film, Im reminded that Douglas Adams, the author of Hitchhikers Guide, spoke at MIT while I was still a student in 2000 (I missed the lecture). Not too long afterward, Adams passed away. Students commemorated his passing with a hack in Killian Court: Banner in honor of Douglas Adams reads, So long and thanks for all the wit, hung beside a massively useful towel. And on the subject of nerd movies and hacks, Id be doing you a great disservice if I didnt close this entry with one of my favorite MIT hacks from recent years. Two days before the opening of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in 1999 (the first day of final exam week my junior year spring), MITs Great Dome was turned into R2-D2: The Great Droid A few choice quotes from the MIT News Office article: MIT Campus Police discovered the red, white, blue and black lightweight mesh fabric panels representing the robots sensors and lights on the dome during routine patrol at 4:18am. At about the same time, the unofficial MIT Hack Hotline spread the news to selected members of the community by phone. Assistant Safety and Environmental Officer David M. Barber received a memo that described the hacks safety features, how it works, and how the panels are constructed and mounted, as well as directions on how to remove the cables. The memo, addressed to Imperial Drones, is signed Rebel Scum. A dozen donuts were also left at the scene for Mr. Barber and Gary F. Cunha of the Department of Facilities, who inspected the hack together. Its one of the more professional hacks Ive seen from a structural and safety standpoint, said Mr. Barber. They went to great pains to protect the dome. The material is very light and the wind will blow through it, not billow up behind. It is colorfast and wont run in the event of rain. The whole thing is very well done. Local TV stations covered the police car hack and the segment was picked up by network news broadcasts [and Slashdot, of course -mm]. The story appeared in newspapers in California, Israel, Korea and points between. It was probably the most successful hack ever perpetrated. For those of you who have seen Revenge of the Sith and Hitchhikers Guide, what did you think?

What Are U.S. Farm Subsidies and Why Do They Matter

Farm subsidies, also known as agricultural subsidies, are payments and other kinds of support extended by the U.S. federal government to certain farmers and agribusinesses. While some people consider this aide vital to the U.S. economy, others consider the subsidies to be a form of corporate welfare. The Case for Subsidies The original intent of U.S. farm subsidies was to provide economic stability to farmers during the Great Depression to ensure a steady domestic food supply for Americans. In 1930, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture Historical Archive, nearly 25 percent of the population, or roughly 30,000,000 people, lived on the nations nearly 6.5 million farms and ranches. By 2012 (the most recent USDA census), that number had dwindled to about 3 million people living on 2.1  million farms. The 2017 census is predicted to indicate even lower numbers. These numbers assume its more difficult than ever to make a living farming, hence the necessity of subsidies, according to proponents. Farming a Booming Business? That does not necessarily mean that farming isnt profitable, According to an April 1, 2011, Washington Post  article: The Agriculture Department projects net farm income of $94.7 billion in 2011, up almost 20 percent over the previous year and the second-best year for farm income since 1976. Indeed, the department notes that the top five earnings years out of the past 30 have occurred since 2004. The most recent numbers, however, are not as rosy.  Net farm income for 2018 is predicted to be the lowest since  2009, down to  $59.5 billion, a $4.3 billion decrease from  2018. Yearly Farm Subsidy Payments The U.S. government presently pays about $25  billion in cash annually to farmers and owners of farmland. Congress legislates the number of farm subsidies typically through five-year farm bills. The last, The Agricultural Act of 2014 (the Act), also known as the 2014 Farm Bill, was signed by President Obama on Feb. 7, 2014. Like its predecessors, the 2014 farm bill was derided as bloated pork-barrel politics by a plethora of Congress members, both liberals, and conservatives, who hail from non-farming communities and states. However, the powerful farm industry lobby and members of Congress from agriculture-heavy states won out.   Who Benefits Most From Farm Subsidies? According to the Cato Institute, the largest 15 percent of farm businesses receive  85 percent of the subsidies.   The Environmental Working Group, a database that  tracks $349 billion in farm subsidies paid between 1995 and 2016 backs these statistics up. While the general public may believe that the majority of subsidies go to helping small family operations,  the primary beneficiaries are instead the largest producers of commodities like corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice: Despite the rhetoric of preserving the family farm, the vast majority of farmers do not benefit from federal farm subsidy programs and most of the subsidies go to the largest and most financially secure farm operations. Small commodity farmers qualify for a mere pittance, while producers of meat, fruits, and vegetables are almost completely left out of the subsidy game. From 1995 through 2016, reports the Environmental  Working Group, seven states received the lions share  of subsidies, nearly 45 percent of all benefits paid to farmers. Those states and their respective shares of total U.S. farm subsidies were: Texas - 9.6%Iowa - 8.4%Illinois - 6.9%Minnesota - 5.8%Nebraska - 5.7%Kansas - 5.5%North Dakota - 5.3% Arguments for Ending Farm Subsidies Representatives on both sides of the aisle, in particular, those concerned with growing  federal budget deficits, decry these subsidies as nothing more than corporate giveaways. Even though the 2014 farm bill limits the amount paid to a person who is actively engaged in farming to $125,000, in  reality, reports the Environmental Working Group, Large and complex farm organizations have consistently found ways to avoid these limits. Furthermore, many political pundits believe that subsidies actually harm both farmers and consumers. Says Chris Edwards, writing for the blog Downsizing the Federal Government: Subsidies inflate land prices in rural America. And the flow of subsidies from Washington hinders farmers from innovating, cutting costs, diversifying their land use, and taking the actions needed to prosper in a competitive global economy.   Even the historically liberal New York Times has called the system a joke and a slush fund.  Although writer Mark Bittman advocates for reforming the subsidies, not ending them, his scathing assessment of the system in 2011 still stings today:   That the current system is a joke is barely arguable: wealthy growers are paid even in good years, and may receive drought aid when there’s no drought. It’s become so bizarre that some homeowners lucky enough to have bought land that once grew rice now have subsidized lawns. Fortunes have been paid to Fortune 500 companies and even gentlemen farmers like David Rockefeller. Thus even House Speaker Boehner calls the bill a slush fund.

Managed Care Philosophy and Initiatives Directed at...

Introduction. Managed health care is a system that is used to control the financing and the method of delivery of healthcare services to those individuals who are enrolled is specific types of healthcare plans such as Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO) and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO). Managed healthcare main goal is to ensure that the care that is received by the patient is not just routinely done so that the providers are making a high profit but to ensure that providers are delivery a high quality of care that is also cost effective. Managed care philosophy and initiatives directed at prevention and health maintenance within the managed health care. The manage care philosophy was designed with the intent of placing†¦show more content†¦With such major scare the local hospital and the Department of Health launched a collaborative program to increase influenza vaccine coverage in the community. This was done by increasing the number of individual that were vaccinated which would result in a close moderation of the severity of lower respiratory tract illness during the winter season. To accomplish this however certain procedure will have to be in place for example to public needs to be aware of the providers intent and plan of action have to be in place to enhance the delivery of the vaccine. The steps taken to improve quality. It is important steps are taken to increase the rates of immunization while ensuring a safe delivery. The immunization records should be maintained at least at federal level for a long period of time. It is believed that the introduction of the point-of-service data entry there was a big increase in the quality of immunization. There was also an introduction of an automated immunization due reminder and a monthly report to several providers on the patient’s immunization status. There was also a comparison of the immunization rate per provider. Several programs were put in place to ensure that vaccination is delivered to as many individual asShow MoreRelatedNanotech 1AC Essay13565 Words   |  55 PagesRegulation of Nanotechnology,† 03/12/2012, http://www.tierramerica.info/nota.php?lang=engidnews=3920olt=568, AC) MEXICO CITY, Mar 12 (Tierramà ©rica).- Nanotechnology, which is currently unregulated in Mexico, could pose serious threats to human health and the environment, cautions a new study. Far from a policy of precaution vis-à  -vis these new technologies, products are entering the market without regulation to guarantee their safety or labels to inform of their use, researcher Guillermo FoladoriRead More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 Pagesof the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching in 1986. He was a regional winner of the IBM Com- Contents 1 The Role of Statistics and the Data Analysis Process 1.1 Three Reasons to Study Statistics 1 1.2 The Nature and Role of Variability 4 1.3 Statistics and the Data Analysis Process 7 1.4 Types of Data and Some Simple Graphical Displays 12 Activity 1.1 Head Sizes: Understanding Variability 22 Activity 1.2 Estimating Sizes 23 Activity 1.3 A Meaningful Paragraph

Storytelling Free Essays

STORYTELLING: LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD Storytelling  is a universal, traditional art form, that has featured strongly in all cultures as an effective communication tool. Important messages can be so skilfully conveyed through storytelling, as the listener is so entranced by the magic images the storyteller paints before your eyes. And it is in this way that we as educators of young children can promote their learning. We will write a custom essay sample on Storytelling or any similar topic only for you Order Now We have finished to do storytelling as one of our task given. The topic that our group chosen are Little Red Riding Hood. According from characters in that story, there are five character in that story. So our group consists five person in group are divide that each of characters. They are Little Red Riding Hood as main characters, mothers’s Little Red Riding Hood, grandmother, wolf, and woodsman. We also add narrator in our storytelling. The scripts we are use according to the each of scene in that story. Before we started our storytelling we have search some information in internet about this story. As we know Little Red riding Hood is the most favourite fairy tales story among children. Eventhough it is ages, but until now the story is still famous as activity in classroom. Our group have selection of material to show for each characters in that story. for example we have choose puppet act as narrator. Then we had print in colour the image each of the characters. Then our group put the image paper on the stick that we had bought. As conclusion storytelling is one of activity in classroom its well-suited for student exploration. As a learning tool, storytelling can encourage students to explore their unique expressiveness and can heighten a student’s ability to communicate thoughts and feelings in an articulate. Besides that, throgh storytelling is can gaining verbal skills, imagination which developing the imagination can empower students to consider new and inventive ideas. Developing the imagination can contribute to self-confidence and personal motivation as students envision themselves competent and able to accomplish their hopes and dreams. How to cite Storytelling, Papers

Deconstruction of Communalism Diversity †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Deconstruction of Communalism Diversity. Answer: Introduction: In the era of globalization and multiculturalism culturally diverse group is not only significant for workforce diversity but a great opportunity of assembling language skills, varied perspective and thought process and skills into the project. In a complex project this would be advantageous for the culmination of varied attitudes and skills to achieve better productivity in the project (Harvey Allard, 2015). As it is with varied group belonging from different cultural background, people will bring into the project multiple perspectives that would foster the innovative angle of the project. Any complex project should never adhere to one stereotyped or clichd idea, but should venture out to include more. This could be achieved by taking into consideration multiple perceptions and voices with the help of an enhanced communicational method. The amalgamation of different perspectives would help in increased productivity and faster resolution of complex issues (Harvey Allard, 2015). One of the many challenges of assisting project internationally is to implement strategies in proper synchronization with other communities and their cultural beliefs. Communal discontent is one of the burning issues today, some of the practices are moreover threatened by globalization. As a PM it becomes indeed difficult to strike a proper balance in introducing major policies and challenges in a progressive manner without hurting the sentiments of people at large (Singh, 2017). Another crisis while looking after international projects could be planning an effective budgeting which could be affected by the economy of the other countries thereby resulting in financial depletion and unnecessary expenses. While assisting international projects is unforeseen expenses and lack of collaboration on the part of the countries to come to a negotiation (Lynch, 2017). As far as my opinion is concerned, assisting projects internationally requires a very able project management team who would be able to predict possible time loss, financial instability, and lack of co-ordination in time schedules while completing the work (Beck, 2018). People who are connected with the project, positioning lower in the hierarchy of power often faces communicational hindrances due to lack of education and communication skills. As a PM responding to all these circumstances is a matter of time and money. Hiring experienced management team can eradicate the problems. Reference List: Beck, U. (2018).What is globalization?. John Wiley Sons. Harvey, C. P., Allard, M. (2015).Understanding and managing diversity: Readings, cases, and exercises. Pearson. Lynch, F. R. (2017).The diversity machine: The drive to change the white male workplace. Routledge. Singh, N. K. (2017). Mahesh Dattani's Final Solutions: Deconstruction of Communalism.International Journal on Multicultural Literature,7(2).

Email Etiquette for Students

Email Etiquette for Students Nowadays, email has become inevitable part of every business or college setting. While back in time you could communicate with your professor face to face only, today you can compose an email and address your concerns or submit assignments (in case your professor allows submitting assignments via email). Naturally, to avoid awkward situations or misunderstandings and other unwanted problems, you have to follow email etiquette. To make it easier for you to email your professors or other college personnel appropriately, this article contains email etiquette tips that all students should follow. When to email your professor or other college personnel You have a problem that has to be addressed as soon as possible, but receiver isn’t in his/her office You have a valid excuse for not going to their office personally e.g. you are sick, not in town etc. You have easy question that can be answered in one paragraph or less You have assignment that can be submitted via email. When to avoid sending email to professor or other college personnel The problem you have is to complex to be dealt with in email Turning in assignments to professors who specifically made it clear they don’t want to receive projects via email Asking for extension for particular assignment (it should be done face to face) Topic of your email requires continuous conversation (do it face to face) *** Professional email address To send email to your professor, you should use your college email address (if you have one) or make sure the address is appropriate and professional in case you use some other emailing system. This will also save you from feeling uncomfortable because you emailed your professor using address like . TIP: if your college (or other email) address contains your initials only, before you get to the point of your email, identify yourself. Also, if you’re a part of large class, to make sure professor knows who sends the email you can include the class name and division. For example, â€Å"this is John Smith from English literature class 8.30 – 9.20, Divison 0008†. Subject line – there for a reason Sending email without filling out the subject line is very unprofessional. Therefore, when composing an email, you should always ensure there’s a subject line describing what the email is about. Another reason why you have to enter subject is because otherwise it might end up in receiver’s spam folder if it’s recognized as randomly generated content. Address professor directly Instead of just launching straight into the request address your professor directly. For example, â€Å"Good afternoon Dr. Jones† or â€Å"Dear, Dr. Smith† are good ways to start your message to the professor. This sets professional tone and indicates you’re showing respect. Be polite Regardless of the reason why you’re sending email to your professor, you should stay calm and be polite at all times. Therefore, don’t accuse, avoid making demands, and always remember to write please and thank you. When composing email, use professional writing style. Instead of I wanna know†¦ use I would like to know whether†¦ Be specific Always bear in mind that there are hundreds of students in your college and chances are likely they send emails to that professor as well. They don’t have time to read long emails that look like novels. Although you sometimes feel like you have a lot to say about certain subject, you should strive to make it specific and short. Be positive Let’s say you’re emailing your professor regarding the current assignment. Instead of saying If I complete the writing assignment you should opt for When I†¦ Avoid using negative words or words that could be misunderstood in a negative manner i.e. you don’t want your professor to think you’re not capable to finish the assignment or to think you’re blaming him or her for something. TIP: avoid using smiley faces, emoticons, or winks. Identify attachments Yes, he or she will open attachment and see what you send, but it is more professional to identify what you attached. You should include filename, format, and the version of the program e.g. Attached: â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway Essay.doc† This file is in Microsoft Word 2007. TIP: consider sending file in rich text format such as PDF to ensure compatibility. Complaints Ideally, all complaints and problems should be addressed face to face. But, if you can’t wait for your professor to be in the office and want to deal with it as soon as possible, then you should be extra careful when composing an email. First and most important rule is not to write email when you’re angry, take a few moments to calm down and start writing then. Here are some tips that will help you compose complaint email: End it properly Don’t enter your request or submit assignment and just hit Send. To ensure professional demeanor from top to bottom of your email, you have to end it properly. Use Thank you for your time, Respectfully, Kind regards, Sincerely and always add your full name under. TIP: You can always find Signature options in your email’s setting section, enter preferred text and it will automatically add it to each email you send. For example: Kind regards, Jane B. Goldsmith Proofread Prior to sending your email, be sure you read it from top to bottom one more time to proofread and edit grammar errors and typos. Your email shouldn’t look like you were about to forward funny cat videos to your friends. Make sure it contains full sentences, real spelling (no abbreviations), and proper grammar. Then, you can press Send button. To ensure professional relationship with professors and college personnel it is extremely important to pay attention to email etiquette. Tips from this article will help you compose specific, professional, and polite emails fit for college setting.

Troy Film Essay Essays

Troy Film Essay Essays Troy Film Essay Paper Troy Film Essay Paper Essay Topic: Equus A movie that is based on the on the narrative of love and war. Paris the Prince of Troy played by Orlando Bloom. was fell in love with the Queen of Sparta who is Helen ( Diane Kruger ) who happens to be the married woman of King Menelaus that has been convinced by his brother Agamemnon to assail Troy. To win the war he recruits Achilles the greatest warrior of all clip. to contend with the Greeks and they neer been defeated until Achilles died. All of us who have read the work’s of Homer would be more aroused to see what is look like of Helen and the brilliant work of the wooden Equus caballus of the Trojans. The Trojan Horse in the movie was non plenty to warrant what we have read from the narrative. it was supposed to be one of the major events. From my point of position the film shapers will do you experience nescient because they may believe that you are non cognizant of Grecian mythology. I’ve seen besides that the histrions tare non really good suited for there characters. like Achilles could be more like a hero to this film. or Paris could had been more persuasive than to be diffident because he must is acquiring Helen’s attending. retrieve she is the most beautiful adult female in this narrative. Possibly some of the scenery in this movie is good but some are non. The scenes of the collapsible shelters. the barbarian ways of the people. and the costumes in this movie was acceptable. When it comes to artistically plan of the movie as describes from the book it is non good presented as a whole. They have forgotten that the war lasted long. it could hold should that other people would be aging by that clip. This movie lacks from luring the audience to watch it until the terminal. I think if person is non knowing to this movie they will take to pick one of the histrions like Brad Pitt to wait for an exciting minutes of the scene. Worst some of us possibly caught kiping for the it didn’t truly made an impact to the people who had a great outlook to this movie. What I like to this movie is that the bravery of doing this film. because nowadays most of the immature 1s are non familiar or good informed to this sort of heroic narrative. They have got my ballot for being one of our reminders to larn more things from our antediluvian narratives. what the great authors of the universe have contributed to feed the universe about civilizations and tradition. Like for illustration in this narrative they have implicated to pay regard for the dead. the war had stopped for 12 yearss because of Hector’s funeral. This lone shows that in even in the conflict. there are somethings that will go forth us follow traditions and regard for each other remains. The good thing is what great creative persons from the yesteryear. has provided us a long permanent work of art. We know really good that up to now we benefit from this because creative persons today are still utilizing it. I believe that whatever civilizations or histories in the past that we have. will ever impact our present lives. though we may non be cognizant. If you will truly look at it. this things truly helps us to get by in this universe together with our yesteryear. Work Cited Victor. Smith. â€Å"Troy. † 2007. starpulse. com. December 12. 2007. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. starpulse. com/Movies/Troy/