Who Says Chinese Education is Better?

Before you think I am hating on the Chinese people or Asian-Americans, please go and read this article, “In China, families bet it all on college education for their children.” I’ll wait. Assuming you didn’t read it, I’ll summarize. The Wus have one daughter who studies 13 hours a day and still graduated 16th in…

|

Math, Programming and The Ultimate Fighter

I track statistics on my blogs, of course, both this one and my personal blog, which often discusses judo and other martial arts. Normally, this blog has three times as many visitors. Despite what graduate students imply, most people are more interested in statistics than in getting knocked down or punched in the face.  A…

| |

The point of view of truth: Another thing I’ve Learned in 55 Years

” … we may then define intellect in general as the power of good response from the point of view of truth or fact.” – Thorndike, 1921 Edward Tufte impresses me. His books on visual data show him as possessing in copious amounts that very rare commodity – truly original thoughts . So, when he tweeted…

|

Should transgender athletes compete in women’s MMA: The data

There has been far more heat than light surrounding the current controversy over whether a transgender (male to female) fighter should be allowed to compete in mixed martial arts in the women’s division. This article on The Verge said that opponents of Ms. Fox competition “are not supported by the current science”, citing the fact…

|

Be a detail person! #14 of 55 things I have learned

I’m not much for reading management blogs. Most of them are  just a collection of worn-out cliches, but the fifth of Cristina’s Five Things You Wish You Could Say to Employees, really caught my eye.  5. Your Work Is Sloppy! OK, don’t use the “s” word, it has all sorts of negative baggage. Employees who have this…

|

How do non-technical managers evaluate programmers?

When I was an undergraduate, I argued with my professor about the management theory that said it was not necessary to understand the business to be an effective manager but only to understand management. The example he gave (and that I never accepted) was of a carriage in the park. The driver of the carriage…

|

Two more things I have learned in 55 years: Kindness is never wasted & You just never know

Apparently, I skipped from #7 to #9, so here are two more things I have learned in 55 years bringing me up to 13. #8 Kindness is never wasted  Over the years, I have donated a lot of money, anonymously, to various causes. In more cases than I want to admit, I have seen signs…

The hardest errors to find are the things that aren’t there: A PHP example

In my defense, the actual program is longer than this … <?php require ‘connect.php’; // Create variables ; $id = strtoupper(trim($_REQUEST[‘id’])) ; $application_date = $_REQUEST[‘yr_of_apply’] . “-” . $_REQUEST[‘month_of_apply’] .”-“. $_REQUEST[‘day_of_apply’] ; $assessment_date = $_REQUEST[‘yr_of_assess’]. “-” . $_REQUEST[‘month_of_assess’] .”-“. $_REQUEST[‘day_of_assess’] ; $eligibility_date = $_REQUEST[‘yr_eligible’].”-“.$_REQUEST[‘month_eligible’] .”-“. $_REQUEST[‘day_eligible’] ; $ipe_date = $_REQUEST[‘yr_ipe’].”-“.$_REQUEST[‘month_ipe’] .”-“. $_REQUEST[‘day_ipe’] ; $notify_rights =…