gyeh

Heck, you can take this to the next level and make it a guitar hero game for real instruments. A lot of music teachers wouldn't have jobs anymore...

I would be more interested in their search infra, specifically scaling that "highly optimized in-memory index".

I'm guessing it's similar to LinkedIn's Zoie (http://code.google.com/p/zoie/).

"I’ve always figured out that there 24 hours a day. You sleep six hours and have 18 hours left. Now, I know there are some of you out there that say well, wait a minute, I sleep eight hours or nine hours. Well, then, just sleep faster..."

The Governator (USC '09 Commencement)

Try Wikipedia searches using Google:

"<query> site:en.wikipedia.org"

It enhances the Wikipedia experience to a whole new level.

And Kindle with native PDF support.

From the Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/05/10/20...):

"A Crime Investigation Bureau [in Taiwan] official said there was no plan, but the bureau was working on allowing Chinese law enforcers to be stationed in Taiwan."

and the rationale?

"...Taiwanese police officers and China’s People’s Armed Police — be stationed in each country to strengthen cross-strait cooperation on crime prevention."

From my understanding of police enforcement, the practice of inviting representatives of a foreign police department is not unusual. Even the NYPD has units stationed around the world.

On a side note, the headline is slightly link-bait-ish. The usage of a question mark, reminds me of a Jon Stewart critique of television news headlines (http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=117466...).

An alternative business model for the textbook industry (even with rampant piracy):

"... publishers could move to a more sustainable model in which the textbook is priced close to the cost of printing and shipping (say, $20), while all students are charged a reasonable fee (say, $60) for what really matters, which is the content of the textbook, the labs and homework exercises. Other industries already use this model -- think hardware and software, or razors and razor blades."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05...

Equa XR: Quality of Herman Miller. Bargain prices of Costco.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=113004...

"Socrates wasn’t wrong—the new technology [writing] did often have the effects he feared—but he was shortsighted. He couldn’t foresee the many ways that writing and reading would serve to spread information, spur fresh ideas, and expand human knowledge (if not wisdom)." - Nicholas Carr (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google)

It's interesting to note that the author plans to release a book regarding the same subject later in the year: http://www.amazon.com/Management-Myth-Consulting-Present-Lar....

While it should be a good read, it's bit too opportunistic IMO, given the current economic climate. Heads will roll, and MBA's are a juicy scapegoat (nonetheless, deservingly so).

I guess not everyone can be like Shiller. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrational_Exuberance_%28book%2...)

Sorry for being nit-picky, but Singapore still vigilantly holds on to certain authoritarian practices (not to say some liberalization didn't happen).

It is important to note that many people in China look to Singapore to be the ideal political economic model.

This would be a very amusing scaling problem...

The "Newspapers Are About to Die" message has been repeated over and over again since the mid 90's. Because of the recent high-profile closings/cost-cuttings of newspaper organizations, the last 15 years of gloomy prognostications have essentially become reality (mainly precipitated by the current economy).

Similar to Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid and global warming, these are train-wrecks that can be seen miles and miles way. Unfortunately for newspapers, it seems they are in the middle of one.

From my personal experience, it's a bit overrated. After 45 min. of standing, my knees and feet start to hurt -- resulting in an irresistible urge to find the closest chair.

Perhaps, its best to have access to a variety of working positions/environment and switch to one that best suits your disposition. In my case, (bed <--> recliner <--> desk <--> standing desk).

Very nice job! One potential customer/institution to cater to: western-based Chinese schools:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_schools, http://www.ncacls.org/ncacls_frm_intro.htm

These community based organizations often rely on eastern teaching methods (often rote) to instruct large numbers of young children. Your app would definitely introduce a different mindset (and fun!), when learning Chinese.

Btw, will you guys support different dialects (ie. cantonese)?

Here's a rebuttal:

http://bryant.livejournal.com/672165.html

While the method is plausible, the rebuttal is plausible as well. Who to believe?

Heh. I had an Erlang question classified as "art". It would be interesting to understand how they build and categorize their vocabulary dictionaries.

The Economist has an article regarding the recent resurgence of "Atlas Shrugged" sales: http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1...

A really bad case of OCD.

Thank god, he didn't say "hope" and "change" that much...

I honestly love this show, especially when Charlie has an opportunity to interview for an hour straight, uninterrupted.

It is very difficult to spit out crafted sound bites and PR scripts, when you're under the camera for a hour. And even if that happens, it certainly reveals something about the guest's ability to BS.

I think part of the fear regarding for-profit aid organizations is this: the pursuit of profit will create an incentive for organizations to follow the money.

As a result, more resources would be allocated for the problems in more wealthy nations (ie. cancer), while problems in poorer regions would be neglected (ie. maleria). The same problem would exist even within a nation through existing class divisions.

While this schism already exists today, an increase of for-profit aid organizations/charities will probably exacerbate this divide.

In the end, this discussion opens a whole host of ethical issues and philosophical questions. Life is rarely simple.

Give NYT some credit, in the sense that not all their opinion pieces must adhere to some liberal ideology. As you mentioned, it is an "op-ed", not the NYT editorial board. The very fact that they have William Kristol as a regular columnist says a lot.

I just cringe every time he says "magically" in reference to software.

It's not that they do not understand this. It's often not in their short-term interest to go digital. Imagine being in Sony's position trying to sell their blu-ray products. Why promote an alternative form of content distribution?