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Re: Boys, Girls and Math

Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:29 am
by Kevin Solway
DHodges wrote:But then, take a look at this. Is the Boys = Girls thing really true, or just politically correct?
If the test is easy enough, then everyone will get 100%, and therefore everyone will be perfectly equal.

Re: In the News

Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:06 am
by Diebert van Rhijn
Yeah, I noticed it too. It's like opening supermarkets on every corner and then proudly claiming that the capacity for hunting food shows no difference between genders anymore.

The alarm bells should ring when it mentions "standardized test scores now required by No Child Left Behind". Check the wiki article on the NCLB program. Apart from the expected problem of gaming the system to acquire funding, you have critics saying that:
the focus on standardized testing (all students in a state take the same test under the same conditions) as the means of assessment encourages teachers to teach a narrow subset of skills that will increase test performance rather than focus on deeper understanding that can readily be transferred to similar problems.

Re: In the News

Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 10:19 am
by Leyla Shen
Scaling and the ENTER score
In each study, the study scores are adjusted so that the overall level of scores in that study matches the scores obtained by the same group of students in all of their studies. For example, in Economics in 2006 the average VCE Study Score was 30, but the students averaged 32 for all their studies. This shows that the students who did Economics in 2006 were of above average strength in their other studies. Therefore the scaling process adjusted the Study Scores upwards so that the average ENTER Subject Score for Economics was set at 32. The 2006 Psychology students averaged 28 in all their studies, therefore the scaling process adjusted the study scores downwards so that the average ENTER Subject Score for Psychology was 28. In some studies the scaling process produces ENTER Subject Scores that are greater than 50. However, the minimum ENTER Subject Score cannot go below zero. VCE studies are always scaled in the year in which they were undertaken (this may not necessarily be in the year in which you receive your ENTER). This scaling process is carried out each year for each VCE study and VCE VET program for which there is a study score. There are no pre-determined outcomes – the adjustments are based on the performance of students each year. Nevertheless, the process is very stable and there is very little difference from year to year in terms of the scaled ENTER Subject Scores.
Mathematics
VCE Mathematics studies are designed to cater for students of differing abilities and interests. Specialist Mathematics is the most difficult, followed by Mathematical Methods and then by Further Mathematics. To ensure that students undertaking the more difficult Mathematics studies are not disadvantaged, Mathematical Methods is compared to Further Mathematics and adjusted up as and if necessary. Similarly Specialist Mathematics is compared to Mathematical Methods and adjusted up as and if necessary.

Re: In the News

Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:21 pm
by Elizabeth Isabelle
America's police force at work.

With shootings, stabbings, etc. so common that they no longer even make headlines, you'd think that the police would have something better to do than bully bicyclists.

Re: In the News

Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:24 am
by Elizabeth Isabelle
Canada is not so peaceful either. See? people don't need guns to commit gruesome, senseless murders on strangers.

Shock therapy makes a quiet comeback (see photo)

Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:32 am
by Tomas
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When Bill Russell tells people that his severe depression was relieved by shock therapy, the most common response he gets is: "They're still doing that?" (see photo)

http://news.mobile.msn.com/en-us/articl ... d=26044935

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Why Do Men Snooze After Sex?

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:51 am
by Tomas
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Why Do Men Snooze After Sex?

Your penis is a barometer of your overall health

7 things guys don't know about their sexual health

-snip-
"A man's lack of interest in sex is a big redflag that something is out of balance. Up to 25% of men have a lw-to-no sex drive," says Dr.Laux. "It could be even higher, as men don't talk about low libido."

(see photo)

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/sex ... 2gt1=31028


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Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:19 pm
by Jamesh
Intel showed off a wireless electric power system that analysts say could revolutionise modern life by freeing devices from transformers and wall outlets.

Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner demonstrated a Wireless Energy Resonant Link as he spoke at the California firm's annual developers forum in San Francisco.

Electricity was sent wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than a typical laptop computer.

Most importantly, the electricity was transmitted without zapping anything or anyone that got between the sending and receiving units.

"The trick with wireless power is not can you do it; it's can you do it safely and efficiently," Intel researcher Josh Smith said in an online video explaining the breakthrough.

"It turns out the human body is not affected by magnetic fields; it is affected by elective fields. So what we are doing is transmitting energy using the magnetic field not the electric field."

Examples of potential applications include airports, offices or other buildings that could be rigged to supply power to laptops, mobile telephones or other devices toted into them.

The technology could also be built into plugged in computer components, such as monitors, to enable them to broadcast power to devices left on desks or carried into rooms, according to Smith.

"Initially it eliminates chargers and eventually it eliminates batteries all together," analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said of Intel's wireless power system.

"That is potentially a world changing event. This is the closest we've had to something being commercially available in this class."

Previous wireless power systems consisted basically of firing lightning bolts from sending to receiving units.

Smith says Intel's wireless power system is still in an early stage of development and much research remains before it can be brought to market.

Rattner spoke of technological transformations he expects by the year 2050.

"You'd like to cut the last cord," Smith said.

"It's great that we have wireless email and wireless internet and stuff like that but at the end of the day it would be nice to have wireless recharge as well."


What a load of rubbish. Of course the mind is affected by magnetic fields - the brain is an electromagnetic system.

Joe Scarborough Had An Affair With His Intern - Then Killed

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:47 am
by Tomas
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Joe Scarborough Had An Affair Wih His Intern And Then Killed Her

-snip-
28 years old and happily married-had been in great shape. Her "complicated health" began only on the night that she died, and its "history" surfaced primarily because of Joe's misinformation.

The autopsy report revealed that Lori had suffered two skull fractures and an additional wound. A 7-1/4 inch crack all but spanned the top of her head, from right temple to left. (see photo)

http://www.larryflynt.com/notebook.php?id=17


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Experts fear fireflies are dwindling (see photo)

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:12 am
by Tomas
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Experts fear fireflies are dwindling

"When you talk to old people about fireflies, it is always the same," he said. "They saw so many when they were young and now they are lucky if they see one." (see photo)

http://news.mobile.msn.com/en-us/articl ... d=26471876


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Powwow

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:47 am
by Tomas
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Going to powwow.

Yes, Shahrazad, it is First Nations'.

Soooo happy, to have grown up in the sparse population center of North Dakota.

PS - to DHodges.. yes, there are cities in NoDak - jus' don't blink or you'll miss 'em.


See ya!


Tomas (the tank)
VietNam veteran - 1971

Prince of Jerusalem
16 Degree
Scottish Rite Free Mason


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The murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:19 pm
by Tomas
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The murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

http://www.realityreviewed.com/JFK%20murder.htm


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Re: In the News

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:25 pm
by Shahrazad
How was powwow, Tomas?

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 3:06 am
by brokenhead
Hey, is Sarah Palin a piece of ass or what?

Sarah and the...

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:46 am
by Tomas
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brokenhead wrote:Hey, is Sarah Palin a piece of ass or what?

Miss Wasilla (Sarah Palin) said - When in their (the contestants) bathing suits, the judges had the girls turn their backs ... so the judges could see their butts.

My, my, [tsk tsk] what a girl has got to do to get (earn?) a sports scholorship!

She was raised in (what is commonly referred to as) a "holy roller" church. Where, the laying on of hands, literally rolling on the floor, speaking in tongues etc. held sway.

Suppose her (piece of) ass stood out for all the young Ryan's, Nick's, Kissaki's and other sychophants, to vent their sexual-frustrations (er, "philosophical dimunitives") upon.

I've witnessed the holy-roller's in action, when growing up in North Dakota. My best friend (now deceased) was born into a family (Assemblies of God) was their church-of-choice.

Of course, the Lutheran-faith is the one in which I was subjected to - it has its own horror stories - of which I'd be overjoyed (in the spirit of moralistic brow-beating) to digress upon, barring any psychiatric examinations I'd be subjected to.


Other than the Revoutionary days...

Sen. Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii (more probably Kenya) tho the state of Hawaii claims to have no such document and Barack's father had multiple wives (and multiple sons and daughters) to further muddy the genetic waters.

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, in Pennsylvania.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, in the Panama Canal Zone.

Gov. Sarah (Heath) Palin, of Alaska, in Idaho.


These rascals (all of them being pimps, whores, prostitutes) represent states they were not born in.

PS - Palin is said to be the governor of a "small" state, well, you could fit 250 Delawares into Alaska...

PPS - She admits to smoking a lot of marijuana while it was "legal".



Go figure


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Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:12 am
by brokenhead
Tomas wrote:These rascals (all of them being pimps, whores, prostitutes) represent states they were not born in.
You didn't include Hillary, who fits your description as well.

My siser-in law had an interesting reaction to McCain choosing Palin. She is quite successful, being a department head at a major metropolitan museum (MoMA in New York). She resents the cynical ploy of choosing eye-candy instead of someone with more (really, any) qualifications, which would include just about everybody else. She thinks it is a slap in the face to women who make it on hard work and genuine abilities. She is also a new mother in her mid-forties who thinks Palin is putting her career before her family, that Palin has just had a baby with Down's Syndrome and a teenage daughter she was quite aware is pregnant. My sister-in-law cherishes her twin three-tear-olds and spends every second she can with them.

My sister-in-law is also eye-candy, although she would deny it, because it would be admitting the possibility that her looks have something to do with her evident success, and because she is a typical insecure broad, which I suppose is why I love her so much. I also like the fact that she thinks like a guy, with a delightfully grim outlook on things.

McCain's move is going to backfire. He will lose the slim hope the republicans had of garnering the women's vote. In every social situation, every classroom and workplace, that I have ever been in, females despise the best-looking broad in the room. Count on it.

I so hope Obama gets elected. The thought of Palin being a heartbeat away from the Presidency - and it is McCain's ancient ticker that is in question - is repellent. The big matter of state she'll be having to decide every day is should she wear her hair up or down.

Either way, we won't have to be seeing Hillary every day, and that should count for something, I guess.

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:10 am
by maestro
brokenhead wrote:McCain's move is going to backfire. He will lose the slim hope the republicans had of garnering the women's vote. In every social situation, every classroom and workplace, that I have ever been in, females despise the best-looking broad in the room. Count on it.
You forgot the Horny Guys. Perhaps McCain is targeting them using Palin as a selling point, and you know for guys what matters is hotness not qualifications. I also think that this is a shrewd move, now McCain's campaign has become more newsworthy and juicy than Obama's. Had he selected some old white dude, it would have been a disaster for him.

Also with Palin in office imagine all the interesting news stories (gaffes) with sexy poses. The media is going to love it.

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:14 am
by maestro
Seems like it is already happening,

Searching for Palin's 'Hot Photos':
http://www.time.com/time/business/artic ... html?imw=Y

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:27 am
by brokenhead
maestro wrote:
brokenhead wrote:McCain's move is going to backfire. He will lose the slim hope the republicans had of garnering the women's vote. In every social situation, every classroom and workplace, that I have ever been in, females despise the best-looking broad in the room. Count on it.
You forgot the Horny Guys. Perhaps McCain is targeting them using Palin as a selling point, and you know for guys what matters is hotness not qualifications. I also think that this is a shrewd move, now McCain's campaign has become more newsworthy and juicy than Obama's. Had he selected some old white dude, it would have been a disaster for him.

Also with Palin in office imagine all the interesting news stories (gaffes) with sexy poses. The media is going to love it.
Maestro, maestro. Far be it from my humble self to forget the Horny Guys. What matters to guys is hotness and not qualifications if they want to sniff a girl's bicycle seat. Most guys don't really like any woman to be in a position of worldly power. A whip and high heels is fine if you are paying by the hour and get to leave when the hour is up. If I were wrong about this, there would have been women in political positions of power in greater numbers long before this.

I have been in scores of work environments, and let me tell you, if a woman is in charge, looks count against her, because by and large she is almost always less-qualified than many other women in the same office setting. Those other women gripe, and with good reason, and often will subtlely and otherwise undermine the babe in charge. It's funny, but women will tolerate a less-qualified male who got the promotion over them because he is a guy or the boss's son much more readily than an equally poorly qualified female who got the job because she does nice things to a sweater. And I have noticed that the better-looking women are poor leaders, They are quite good at advancing their own careers or agendas, but less successful at representing those of whom she is in charge to the powers that be. Yet women you would not fantasize about being in their birthday suits truly seem more competent than the average male on the same job. It's truly as if they have to work harder and be more qualified to win the support of those who work under her. The double standard seems to work for and against men and women alike: an entire department can suffer from being led by a woman who is eye-candy. She's likely not only to be less apt, but less able to learn from mistakes.

I have seen this happen in a dramatic fashion when I worked for a number of years at a major pharmaceutical company. A hottie on the team was promoted by the Big Boss. It seemed fair because he was not trying to get into her pants, in fact, they were cousins and it was like he was trying to make some peace in the family or something; otherwise, the promotion was inexplicable. She represented our team to the reast of the 60,000+ worker company (we even had our own zip code and our own mayor, who also happened to be female.) In a few short months, the reast of us found that other department heads were being short with us and not cooperating. It turned out this broad was a diva and ruined our relations with those we had to deal with. This was particulary troublesome, as we dealt only in house and not with the outside. It took us a good year after she was removed from her post to rebuild all the damaged good will.

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:42 am
by maestro
Broken Broken you forget this is America. A president needs to be likeable rather than qualified to get elected. Maybe guys would not like a female bossing them around at close quarters, but the president is a celebrity (cf. Bush), he needs to have entertainment value. Why else would the uber liberal CA elect the Governerator to office.

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:53 am
by brokenhead
maestro wrote:Broken Broken you forget this is America. A president needs to be likeable rather than qualified to get elected. Maybe guys would not like a female bossing them around at close quarters, but the president is a celebrity (cf. Bush), he needs to have entertainment value. Why else would the uber liberal CA elect the Governerator to office.
Bush has entertainment value? For comedians, I suppose. He's a human pimple.

Yeah, a candidate is often elected because he is likeable. But there are at least 5 Nixons for every Kennedy.

Sarah P.

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:52 pm
by DHodges
Tomas wrote:She was raised in (what is commonly referred to as) a "holy roller" church. Where, the laying on of hands, literally rolling on the floor, speaking in tongues etc. held sway.
Yes, she is a religious extremist. This is one of the things the far right likes about her.

These rascals (all of them being pimps, whores, prostitutes) represent states they were not born in.
News flash: politicians are scum.

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:27 pm
by brad walker
Anyone outside America who followed the RNC that wants to comment on McCain/Palin and how they impact your image of the US?

Re: In the News

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:32 pm
by Shahrazad
Brad, I just cannot believe that people still support politicians such as McCain. Many of us try to think of North Americans as ignorant and naive instead of as irresponsible arrogant bastards, but that is getting harder and harder during this decade.

Re: In the News

Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 12:29 am
by brokenhead
Does anybody remember the movie Putney Swope?