If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Rate Thread | Display Modes |
#46
|
|||
|
|||
MS is broken due to piracy
On 5/5/2015 8:11 PM, cameo wrote:
On 5/5/2015 4:14 PM, Ken Springer wrote: On 5/5/15 4:25 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote: On Tue, 05 May 2015 15:55:33 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: It's no wonder the US is losing leadership in so many areas. We've raised a group of people that simply know too few basics. OK, I'll bite. To whom, as a nation, are we "loosing leadership" (as opposed to voluntary abdication) and in which areas? Pick something, Norman. LOL We used to be the leader in producing science and math grads, now those numbers are down. We certainly aren't the leader in manufacturing, notably steel. What about space travel? NASA's budget has been cut over the years. We're in a ****ing match with Russia, but they have the only manned space vehicles I'm aware of. There's a couple of private companies sending unmanned cargo vehicles of supplies to the space station, and the last one exploded during take off. When it comes to putting something is space, I'd say France, India, and China are currently more active that we are. Nations listed in no particular order. How about high speed rail? There's plans for high speed passenger trains on the west coast, the two leading countries/companies bidding on the contract are China and Japan. Remember your history, rail was once king, but the railroads did nothing to try to combat aviation travel. Whenever there's a big debate about education in Washington, there's usually a news outlet or two that dig out the stats leadership in the world. A lot of them have the US way down on the list. We even get beat out by countries many Americans have probably never heard of. How about infant mortality rate. We're way down on that list. Personally, I consider myself very fortunate to live in a country that millions of people are trying to get into as opposed to living in a country from which millions of people wish to escape. No disagreement here. But what percentage of those folk are coming here for political reasons, better opportunities, better anything in many areas. But that doesn't make us the leader, we're just a better place than where the immigrants are coming from. Much like the folks sailing from Libya to Europe, or still from Cuba to the US. Also remember, there's a certain percentage of those coming here that are better educated in the areas where good jobs are to be found, and some of those are actively recruited by US companies because American students don't fill the bill. Great inventions are not created by people who can't read, write, and think. And I work with a bunch of them, sadly, of all ages. :-( Apologies for any typos or unclear writing, I don't have time to proof read this message. Well said, Ken. I'd just add that though we still do have the best universities because of funding them, but increasingly their students and professors are foreign born. Especially their science and engineering faculties. I can see a not too distant future where all the high paying skilled jobs will be going to recent immigrants because American kids just lack motivation and ambition to study hard subjects required for those jobs. Part of the problem started back as far as the 70's. Seems that industry and the medical fields were involved in importing foreign graduates to reduce salary. This continues today, and the educated immigrants often work under condition and pay that are better than in the country they came from. The pay is often such that the US students choose less rigorous fields that have comparable or better pay. It often turns out that a licensed tradesman can make more than an engineer. My field was electronics at heart. I retired ten years ago from an associated field, avionics management and technical and logistics support. When I returned from military service in the late 60's, electrical and electronics engineers were starting to feel the pressure from foreign immigrants. Fortunately, my military specialty and education allowed me to obtain a job as a technician at a GE research lab. It was not very long (about two years) that I transferred to a part of the QC department concerned with instrumentation and automated testing. A few years later, the local cost of living (mainly housing) virtually doubled overnight. I elected to find another job, and went to work for a defense contractor. The first position was as an engineering specialist in an avionics design and development lab for the B-1A. I ended up specifying most of the lab equipment, and then training many of the engineers on how to use the most complex ones, as well as building automated test systems, and conducting Mil Qual testing of the prototypes. Even had to train the calibration lab techs on how to calibrate and repair instrumentation. They tended to panic when they opened instruments and found labels from the equipment mfrs that stated that the equipment was somewhere between a hand built engineering prototype and regular production. Carter killed the B-1A production. A friend asked me if I'd be interested in taking a field engineering position in Germany on another program. Naturally, seeing the handwriting, I accepted, and then I and my family spent several years in Germany. When the tax situation deteriorated, it was time to move back. The company had next generation automated systems that were being put in place at a stateside location, so we moved back to the US. Eventually, after several different contract positions with as many companies, I retired about ten years ago. The field I was in was such that the majority of legal immigrants were not eligible or qualified, even with a degree. Not all of my contemporaries were that fortunate. Others went into businesses of one type or another, with the usual mixed results. |
Ads |
#47
|
|||
|
|||
How OT can we get? was: MS is broken due to piracy
On 5/5/15 5:25 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 5/5/2015 6:02 PM, XS11E wrote: Ken Springer wrote: There's a Broadway play that was turned into a movie, with a similar undercurrent. Paint Your Wagon, with Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin in the movie. Neither format was a real winner, but there is one song that made it to the airwaves when the play was running, (The Call the Wind) Maria. Sung in the film by Harve Presnell who did a great job on it. A couple of other songs, "I talk to the trees" and "I still see Elisha" were sung by Clint Eastwood, a very talented musician but not much of a singer. The song, "I was born under a wandering star" was sung by Lee Marvin who's raspy growl made Eastwood's singing sound better! YouTube has all the above, they're worth a listen..... When I first heard "I was born under a wandering star" by Lee Marvin it was so bad that I thought the disc jockey was playing a joke on his audience. If we're going to talk about bad voices, I don't think much of Rod Stewart or Kim Carnes. LOL That being said, at least Clint and Lee never claimed to be singers, AFAIK. -- Ken Mac OS X 10.8.5 Firefox 36.0.4 Thunderbird 31.5 "My brain is like lightning, a quick flash and it's gone!" |
#48
|
|||
|
|||
MS is broken due to piracy
On 5/5/15 6:11 PM, cameo wrote:
On 5/5/2015 4:14 PM, Ken Springer wrote: On 5/5/15 4:25 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote: On Tue, 05 May 2015 15:55:33 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: It's no wonder the US is losing leadership in so many areas. We've raised a group of people that simply know too few basics. OK, I'll bite. To whom, as a nation, are we "loosing leadership" (as opposed to voluntary abdication) and in which areas? Pick something, Norman. LOL We used to be the leader in producing science and math grads, now those numbers are down. We certainly aren't the leader in manufacturing, notably steel. What about space travel? NASA's budget has been cut over the years. We're in a ****ing match with Russia, but they have the only manned space vehicles I'm aware of. There's a couple of private companies sending unmanned cargo vehicles of supplies to the space station, and the last one exploded during take off. When it comes to putting something is space, I'd say France, India, and China are currently more active that we are. Nations listed in no particular order. How about high speed rail? There's plans for high speed passenger trains on the west coast, the two leading countries/companies bidding on the contract are China and Japan. Remember your history, rail was once king, but the railroads did nothing to try to combat aviation travel. Whenever there's a big debate about education in Washington, there's usually a news outlet or two that dig out the stats leadership in the world. A lot of them have the US way down on the list. We even get beat out by countries many Americans have probably never heard of. How about infant mortality rate. We're way down on that list. Personally, I consider myself very fortunate to live in a country that millions of people are trying to get into as opposed to living in a country from which millions of people wish to escape. No disagreement here. But what percentage of those folk are coming here for political reasons, better opportunities, better anything in many areas. But that doesn't make us the leader, we're just a better place than where the immigrants are coming from. Much like the folks sailing from Libya to Europe, or still from Cuba to the US. Also remember, there's a certain percentage of those coming here that are better educated in the areas where good jobs are to be found, and some of those are actively recruited by US companies because American students don't fill the bill. Great inventions are not created by people who can't read, write, and think. And I work with a bunch of them, sadly, of all ages. :-( Apologies for any typos or unclear writing, I don't have time to proof read this message. Well said, Ken. I'd just add that though we still do have the best universities because of funding them, but increasingly their students and professors are foreign born. Especially their science and engineering faculties. I can see a not too distant future where all the high paying skilled jobs will be going to recent immigrants because American kids just lack motivation and ambition to study hard subjects required for those jobs. +1 -- Ken Mac OS X 10.8.5 Firefox 36.0.4 Thunderbird 31.5 "My brain is like lightning, a quick flash and it's gone!" |
#49
|
|||
|
|||
MS is broken due to piracy
On 5/5/15 7:20 PM, Charlie wrote:
On 5/5/2015 8:11 PM, cameo wrote: On 5/5/2015 4:14 PM, Ken Springer wrote: On 5/5/15 4:25 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote: On Tue, 05 May 2015 15:55:33 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: It's no wonder the US is losing leadership in so many areas. We've raised a group of people that simply know too few basics. OK, I'll bite. To whom, as a nation, are we "loosing leadership" (as opposed to voluntary abdication) and in which areas? Pick something, Norman. LOL We used to be the leader in producing science and math grads, now those numbers are down. We certainly aren't the leader in manufacturing, notably steel. What about space travel? NASA's budget has been cut over the years. We're in a ****ing match with Russia, but they have the only manned space vehicles I'm aware of. There's a couple of private companies sending unmanned cargo vehicles of supplies to the space station, and the last one exploded during take off. When it comes to putting something is space, I'd say France, India, and China are currently more active that we are. Nations listed in no particular order. How about high speed rail? There's plans for high speed passenger trains on the west coast, the two leading countries/companies bidding on the contract are China and Japan. Remember your history, rail was once king, but the railroads did nothing to try to combat aviation travel. Whenever there's a big debate about education in Washington, there's usually a news outlet or two that dig out the stats leadership in the world. A lot of them have the US way down on the list. We even get beat out by countries many Americans have probably never heard of. How about infant mortality rate. We're way down on that list. Personally, I consider myself very fortunate to live in a country that millions of people are trying to get into as opposed to living in a country from which millions of people wish to escape. No disagreement here. But what percentage of those folk are coming here for political reasons, better opportunities, better anything in many areas. But that doesn't make us the leader, we're just a better place than where the immigrants are coming from. Much like the folks sailing from Libya to Europe, or still from Cuba to the US. Also remember, there's a certain percentage of those coming here that are better educated in the areas where good jobs are to be found, and some of those are actively recruited by US companies because American students don't fill the bill. Great inventions are not created by people who can't read, write, and think. And I work with a bunch of them, sadly, of all ages. :-( Apologies for any typos or unclear writing, I don't have time to proof read this message. Well said, Ken. I'd just add that though we still do have the best universities because of funding them, but increasingly their students and professors are foreign born. Especially their science and engineering faculties. I can see a not too distant future where all the high paying skilled jobs will be going to recent immigrants because American kids just lack motivation and ambition to study hard subjects required for those jobs. Part of the problem started back as far as the 70's. Seems that industry and the medical fields were involved in importing foreign graduates to reduce salary. This continues today, and the educated immigrants often work under condition and pay that are better than in the country they came from. Back in the 90's I predicted today's situation to my coworkers, who thought I was nuts. Also said it will remain this way until the global playing field levels out. I think we see some of this leveling starting to happen. It's not well publicized, but there are strikes for better wages and conditions in those foreign countries, even in China. snip -- Ken Mac OS X 10.8.5 Firefox 36.0.4 Thunderbird 31.5 "My brain is like lightning, a quick flash and it's gone!" |
#50
|
|||
|
|||
MS is broken due to piracy
On 5/5/15 7:25 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote:
On Tue, 05 May 2015 17:14:46 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: On 5/5/15 4:25 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote: On Tue, 05 May 2015 15:55:33 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: It's no wonder the US is losing leadership in so many areas. We've raised a group of people that simply know too few basics. OK, I'll bite. To whom, as a nation, are we "loosing leadership" (as opposed to voluntary abdication) and in which areas? Pick something, Norman. LOL We used to be the leader in producing science and math grads, now those numbers are down. We certainly aren't the leader in manufacturing, notably steel. What about space travel? NASA's budget has been cut over the years. We're in a ****ing match with Russia, but they have the only manned space vehicles I'm aware of. There's a couple of private companies sending unmanned cargo vehicles of supplies to the space station, and the last one exploded during take off. When it comes to putting something is space, I'd say France, India, and China are currently more active that we are. Nations listed in no particular order. How about high speed rail? There's plans for high speed passenger trains on the west coast, the two leading countries/companies bidding on the contract are China and Japan. Remember your history, rail was once king, but the railroads did nothing to try to combat aviation travel. Whenever there's a big debate about education in Washington, there's usually a news outlet or two that dig out the stats leadership in the world. A lot of them have the US way down on the list. We even get beat out by countries many Americans have probably never heard of. How about infant mortality rate. We're way down on that list. Personally, I consider myself very fortunate to live in a country that millions of people are trying to get into as opposed to living in a country from which millions of people wish to escape. No disagreement here. But what percentage of those folk are coming here for political reasons, better opportunities, better anything in many areas. But that doesn't make us the leader, we're just a better place than where the immigrants are coming from. Much like the folks sailing from Libya to Europe, or still from Cuba to the US. Also remember, there's a certain percentage of those coming here that are better educated in the areas where good jobs are to be found, and some of those are actively recruited by US companies because American students don't fill the bill. Great inventions are not created by people who can't read, write, and think. And I work with a bunch of them, sadly, of all ages. :-( Apologies for any typos or unclear writing, I don't have time to proof read this message. We have widely divergent perspectives on many of the areas you have mentioned, however, I thank you for taking the time to reply. Which is a good thing. It can lead to intelligent discussion that often results in clearer understanding about many things. :-) I don't pay super close attention to specific numbers any more, to many numbers about. I just absorb and recognize trends. -- Ken Mac OS X 10.8.5 Firefox 36.0.4 Thunderbird 31.5 "My brain is like lightning, a quick flash and it's gone!" |
#51
|
|||
|
|||
MS is broken due to piracy
On 5/6/2015 12:12 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
I don't pay super close attention to specific numbers any more, to many numbers about. I just absorb and recognize trends. I agree, and would say that it's too easy to juggle numbers (statistics) to seemingly prove particular viewpoints. |
#52
|
|||
|
|||
MS is broken due to piracy
On 5/6/15 5:45 AM, Stormin' Norman wrote:
On Tue, 05 May 2015 22:12:11 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: On 5/5/15 7:25 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote: On Tue, 05 May 2015 17:14:46 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: On 5/5/15 4:25 PM, Stormin' Norman wrote: On Tue, 05 May 2015 15:55:33 -0600, Ken Springer wrote: It's no wonder the US is losing leadership in so many areas. We've raised a group of people that simply know too few basics. OK, I'll bite. To whom, as a nation, are we "loosing leadership" (as opposed to voluntary abdication) and in which areas? Pick something, Norman. LOL We used to be the leader in producing science and math grads, now those numbers are down. We certainly aren't the leader in manufacturing, notably steel. What about space travel? NASA's budget has been cut over the years. We're in a ****ing match with Russia, but they have the only manned space vehicles I'm aware of. There's a couple of private companies sending unmanned cargo vehicles of supplies to the space station, and the last one exploded during take off. When it comes to putting something is space, I'd say France, India, and China are currently more active that we are. Nations listed in no particular order. How about high speed rail? There's plans for high speed passenger trains on the west coast, the two leading countries/companies bidding on the contract are China and Japan. Remember your history, rail was once king, but the railroads did nothing to try to combat aviation travel. Whenever there's a big debate about education in Washington, there's usually a news outlet or two that dig out the stats leadership in the world. A lot of them have the US way down on the list. We even get beat out by countries many Americans have probably never heard of. How about infant mortality rate. We're way down on that list. Personally, I consider myself very fortunate to live in a country that millions of people are trying to get into as opposed to living in a country from which millions of people wish to escape. No disagreement here. But what percentage of those folk are coming here for political reasons, better opportunities, better anything in many areas. But that doesn't make us the leader, we're just a better place than where the immigrants are coming from. Much like the folks sailing from Libya to Europe, or still from Cuba to the US. Also remember, there's a certain percentage of those coming here that are better educated in the areas where good jobs are to be found, and some of those are actively recruited by US companies because American students don't fill the bill. Great inventions are not created by people who can't read, write, and think. And I work with a bunch of them, sadly, of all ages. :-( Apologies for any typos or unclear writing, I don't have time to proof read this message. We have widely divergent perspectives on many of the areas you have mentioned, however, I thank you for taking the time to reply. Which is a good thing. It can lead to intelligent discussion that often results in clearer understanding about many things. :-) I don't pay super close attention to specific numbers any more, to many numbers about. I just absorb and recognize trends. Where I am more interested in empirical evidence than anecdotal observations. I wouldn't say anecdotal, more like the summary of an extensive report. You need the empirical evidence to determine the trend, but you don't need the evidence to summarize the overall situation. -- Ken Mac OS X 10.8.5 Firefox 36.0.4 Thunderbird 31.5 "My brain is like lightning, a quick flash and it's gone!" |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | Rate This Thread |
|
|