Nortel Networks, a famous but defunct Canadian maker of telecom equipment (central office switches to be precise) was hacked ten years ago, really thoroughly hacked. Their customer lists, payroll, product plans, email, everything, had been a wide open book to the hackers for at least ten years. The hackers buried rootkits on Nortel computers, which are probably still active, and moving on to infect the companies that bought up parts of now dead Nortel. This was a cover story on the Wall St Journal the other day. And the story has turned up on the Web.
Not discussed. Did the hacking have anything to do with Nortel going bankrupt? Did Nortel's competitors learn what Nortel was bidding on a job and then under bid them? Did Nortel's competitors read Nortel's plans and duplicate Nortel's equipment?
Few suits understand or care about computer security. Suits need to understand that if the competition knows everything you know, you are gonna loose the business.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Alternative Energy
NHPR was pushing this one. Wood pellets. They are locally grown, so if you heat with wood pellets, the money stays in NH, rather than going to the Middle East. Groovy. Then they gave some numbers. Unusual that, especially as the numbers are unfavorable.
NHPR gave the price of a wood pellet furnace at $16,000 (WOW). The pellets only cost $243 a ton, and a ton of wood pellets gives the same heat as 125 gallons of oil.
A standard oil burner only costs $2000, new, installed. So how long will it take to get your money back on a $16,000 wood pellet furnace?
I use about 800 gallons of furnace oil a winter at $4 a gallon, total $3200 . In wood pellets that would be 6.4 tons at $243 a ton, total $1552.2. Let N be the number of years to pay off the VERY pricy wood pellet burner.
Cost of oilburner + $3200 * N = cost of woodburner + 1552.2 * N.
Solve for N (high school algebra)
N = 8.449 years.
That's right, it takes 8 and a half years to pay off the wood pellet furnace. That's a long time. I wonder if the price of wood pellets will stay at $243 a ton for the next 8.5 years.
NHPR gave the price of a wood pellet furnace at $16,000 (WOW). The pellets only cost $243 a ton, and a ton of wood pellets gives the same heat as 125 gallons of oil.
A standard oil burner only costs $2000, new, installed. So how long will it take to get your money back on a $16,000 wood pellet furnace?
I use about 800 gallons of furnace oil a winter at $4 a gallon, total $3200 . In wood pellets that would be 6.4 tons at $243 a ton, total $1552.2. Let N be the number of years to pay off the VERY pricy wood pellet burner.
Cost of oilburner + $3200 * N = cost of woodburner + 1552.2 * N.
Solve for N (high school algebra)
N = 8.449 years.
That's right, it takes 8 and a half years to pay off the wood pellet furnace. That's a long time. I wonder if the price of wood pellets will stay at $243 a ton for the next 8.5 years.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Math Education in Vermont
Vermont? Why Vermont? Here in the border regions Vermont Public Radio comes in stronger than NH Public Radio. It was one of those interview shows and started off with a Vermont state ed bureaucrat, I missed his name. This bureaucrat admitted that Vermont students were doing no better than mediocre on the "kneecap" (his word) test. Kneecap? That was a brutal Irish Republican Army treatment for captives, leaving them in great pain and crippled for life. Good name for a school test.
Then he admitted that many or most Vermont elementary school teachers had never taken a math course in themselves. And, Vermont high school students can graduate without taking algebra or geometry. And most of the science courses taught in Vermont high schools are Geology, a descriptive science with no mathematical content at all. The real high school science courses are physics and chemistry, which are sparsely attended. In short, Vermont schools allow a student who wants to, to avoid taking any mathematics at all. And he personally believes that math is "difficult" which is why so many students avoid it.
They brought on a new guest, a practicing elementary grades math teacher. That's a new one. My elementary grade teachers all taught math (arithmetic) them selves. They didn't need to call in a specialist. This guy stressed the importance of mathematical learning in the very early grades.
He's onto something there. Kids have to know addition and multiplication cold in order to go any farther in math. Addition and multiplication involve memorization, of the multiplication table and the addition table. The kids just have to memorize those tables and get drilled on them. This isn't fun, and isn't creative, it doesn't let the child demonstrate originality, it's just hard work, for both child and teacher. But unless the child comes out of grade school with a really solid base in arithmetic, he/she has come to the end of the road in math. And locked him/her self out the science and engineering track,the track that leads to real jobs.
Then he admitted that many or most Vermont elementary school teachers had never taken a math course in themselves. And, Vermont high school students can graduate without taking algebra or geometry. And most of the science courses taught in Vermont high schools are Geology, a descriptive science with no mathematical content at all. The real high school science courses are physics and chemistry, which are sparsely attended. In short, Vermont schools allow a student who wants to, to avoid taking any mathematics at all. And he personally believes that math is "difficult" which is why so many students avoid it.
They brought on a new guest, a practicing elementary grades math teacher. That's a new one. My elementary grade teachers all taught math (arithmetic) them selves. They didn't need to call in a specialist. This guy stressed the importance of mathematical learning in the very early grades.
He's onto something there. Kids have to know addition and multiplication cold in order to go any farther in math. Addition and multiplication involve memorization, of the multiplication table and the addition table. The kids just have to memorize those tables and get drilled on them. This isn't fun, and isn't creative, it doesn't let the child demonstrate originality, it's just hard work, for both child and teacher. But unless the child comes out of grade school with a really solid base in arithmetic, he/she has come to the end of the road in math. And locked him/her self out the science and engineering track,the track that leads to real jobs.
Signs of Spring
Fresh Strawberries, only $2.99 a box. From Florida. So I bought some. Bad idea. The humungous berries (some as big as lemons) are from the old tasteless giant berry strain. I thought the strawberry people had mastered growing giant berries that taste good. Last year I ate a goodly number of nice sweet strawberry tasting berries from Mac's Market. This year isn't starting off so well.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Enemies list
Media Matters has an enemies list. It's a short one, just Fox News. MM mentions that they need an enemy to trash and Bush doesn't work anymore.
I knew we had some left wing crazies out there, but I didn't think they were this crazy. And they are tax exempt too.
I knew we had some left wing crazies out there, but I didn't think they were this crazy. And they are tax exempt too.
Monday, February 13, 2012
What not to Wear
On TV. Plaids, Houndstooth sports jackets, striped shirts. Busy ties. Anything with a fine pattern to it, cause the TV cameras and sets cannot handle a fine pattern, little tiny dots or stripes. Instead we set a shimmering rainbow of color interference patterns. Most distracting, and yet I keep seeing people show up on TV for interviews wearing this stuff.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Will the Catholics back off?
Obama gave Catholics nation wide a slap in the face, demanding that Catholic schools and charities offer birth control "services" (pills) to all their workers. It must have been pretty bad to get Catholic bishops (normally a leftie lot) to speak out against Obama. Heat got intense enough for Obama to offer a "compromise" on Friday.
It ain't much of a compromise. They still got to offer the pills for free, but the insurance companies will route the paperwork directly to the insured, bypassing the Catholic institution. The institution still has to pay for all this, they just don't have to dirty their hands touching the actual insurance paperwork. Big deal.
Will this fig leaf be enough to get Catholic's off the war path? Catholic clergy have traditionally been democrats, so a lot of them will be happy to accept Obama's compromise for political reasons. Catholic laity are all over the map, 'cause they are real Americans and hold a diversity of views. Obama wins if he can just get the Catholic clergy off his case, 'cause the clergy still draw a lot of water with the laymen.
It ain't much of a compromise. They still got to offer the pills for free, but the insurance companies will route the paperwork directly to the insured, bypassing the Catholic institution. The institution still has to pay for all this, they just don't have to dirty their hands touching the actual insurance paperwork. Big deal.
Will this fig leaf be enough to get Catholic's off the war path? Catholic clergy have traditionally been democrats, so a lot of them will be happy to accept Obama's compromise for political reasons. Catholic laity are all over the map, 'cause they are real Americans and hold a diversity of views. Obama wins if he can just get the Catholic clergy off his case, 'cause the clergy still draw a lot of water with the laymen.
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