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[Heron TSG]

I, for one, am a fan of what I just named the 'Barbarossa Scale', that I drew in two minutes in Paint. It comes with examples! The bisexual symbol I came up with probably doesn't exist and was made up on the spot and rotated to fit the top. It looks kinda neat, though.

Spoiler: The Barbarossa Scale (click to show/hide)

Person Turquoise is incredibly attracted to females. Persons Blue are the same, and are attracted to both biological sexes equally, at a moderate level. Person Green is moderately attracted to males. Person Brown is fully asexual, preferring neither gender and having no sex drive. (Libido) Persons Magenta (accidentally drawn in smaller) are the same, and are mildly attracted to females with an equally mild liking for males as well. (Pretend that it's at a perfect 45* angle.)

Do note that the gender of the subject person is not stated.

[GlyphGryph]

Wait... what?
That's an... odd way to plot it, to be honest! 75% of your "scale" conveys no information at all! And why are dots required to be mirrored along the horizontal?
Why... well, most of it, to be honest!

Here, try the glyphGryph grid.
Same exact information, slightly different presentation. It's better, because I don't have to explain what any of it means. Except maybe that the dots are data sample point! But you should be able to figure out what their position represents.

Likes Men
^
|*                                   
|             *                  *
|
|                         *
*----------------------------> Likes Women

[Heron TSG]

They're not required to be mirrored, it's just that that axis is only really important in magnitude, not direction. I didn't want to give the wrong impression. The angle determines sexuality, the radius from the center libido. Or did I draw it wrong? It was really just a quick drawing.

The only thing I see wrong with your graph is a lack of pretty colors. Inexcusable. 

[ECrownofFire]

All of these come up with the question of how you find a "maximum" point. Trying to objectively measure libido would be damn difficult, if not impossible.

[Heron TSG]

I don't think there really is a maximum. That's why I divided it into four sections: Above average, (red) Average, (orange) and Below Average (yellow) with the middle of yellow being a more pale color representing asexualism or near-asexualism. It's impossible to measure, so guessing would be adequate.

[ECrownofFire]

I don't think there really is a maximum. That's why I divided it into four sections: Above average, (red) Average, (orange) and Below Average (yellow) with the middle of yellow being a more pale color representing asexualism or near-asexualism. It's impossible to measure, so guessing would be adequate.

Well then you might as well put it up on a dartboard and have people toss darts at it. Obviously their subconscious will guide them correctly

[Truean]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irene-could-leave-many-apf-2011674395.html?x=0

America:doesn't want to maintain anything, especially foreseeable stuff.

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/08/doctor_shortage_threatens_us_a.html give.... scholarships.... I was accepted to three medical schools. I simply did not have the god damn money and should never have to borrow half a million dollars to save the lives of the people loaning me that money.

http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2011/08/sen_sanders_pla.htm
Republicans, were wrong when we enacted social security, and they are wrong about it now.

"“When [Social Security] was developed, 50 percent of seniors lived in poverty. Today, poverty among seniors is too high, but that number is ten percent. Social Security has done exactly what it was designed to do!”"

[ChairmanPoo]

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/08/doctor_shortage_threatens_us_a.html give.... scholarships.... I was accepted to three medical schools. I simply did not have the god damn money and should never have to borrow half a million dollars to save the lives of the people loaning me that money.

What I find strange is that it's rather difficult to land a residency in the US, compared to other places... one would think that if there is a lack of specialists, they'd make it easier to become a specialist, not harder.

[Truean]

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/08/doctor_shortage_threatens_us_a.html give.... scholarships.... I was accepted to three medical schools. I simply did not have the god damn money and should never have to borrow half a million dollars to save the lives of the people loaning me that money.

What I find strange is that it's rather difficult to land a residency in the US, compared to other places... one would think that if there is a lack of specialists, they'd make it easier to become a specialist, not harder.

It shouldn't be about specialists, but those are profitable and hospitals can charge more for them, and the state can charge more to certify them, so.... Same thing with law, a lawyer who has been practicing real estate law for 30 something years legally can't call himself a "Specialist" until he takes extra classes which the state charges him through the nose for....

[Virex]

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/08/doctor_shortage_threatens_us_a.html give.... scholarships.... I was accepted to three medical schools. I simply did not have the god damn money and should never have to borrow half a million dollars to save the lives of the people loaning me that money.

What I find strange is that it's rather difficult to land a residency in the US, compared to other places... one would think that if there is a lack of specialists, they'd make it easier to become a specialist, not harder.

I don't think the US government is at fault here. The greater the doctor shortage, the more the current doctors make, so it is in the interest of all current doctors to limit the amount of new doctors. And the great majority of those working at the medical schools are, you guessed it, doctors. Of course there are plenty of doctors who only concern themselves with the wellbeing of their patients (A large majority even), but then again, those don't tend to "fall upwards" to manager positions.

[RedKing]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irene-could-leave-many-apf-2011674395.html?x=0

America:doesn't want to maintain anything, especially foreseeable stuff.

More importantly, we don't want to develop new infrastructure. Like say, resonance induction technology that could replace high-tension power lines with individual transmitter towers and magnetic fields. The towers could be built to retract/collapse ahead of a storm, so that you have planned outages, but then after the danger passes, you pop up all the towers back up and voila...you're up and running.

But that would be expensive. And if there's one thing we've all learned about America, it's that we're a nation of cheapskates who want as much as as possible for as cheap as possible, and will gladly pay 50 cents every day for 50 years rather than pay 10 bucks up front and never pay again.

[Andir]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irene-could-leave-many-apf-2011674395.html?x=0

America:doesn't want to maintain anything, especially foreseeable stuff.

More importantly, we don't want to develop new infrastructure. Like say, resonance induction technology that could replace high-tension power lines with individual transmitter towers and magnetic fields. The towers could be built to retract/collapse ahead of a storm, so that you have planned outages, but then after the danger passes, you pop up all the towers back up and voila...you're up and running.

But that would be expensive. And if there's one thing we've all learned about America, it's that we're a nation of cheapskates who want as much as as possible for as cheap as possible, and will gladly pay 50 cents every day for 50 years rather than pay 10 bucks up front and never pay again.

I don't understand this anger (from either of you)... It was a huge freaking storm.  The workers are out restoring power as fast as they can... as stated in the article.

"resonance induction technology" -- are you serious?  Do you know how much wasted power there is involved in this?  Do you know how that will impact so many households between towers?  Your speakers would blow out of their cases and you'd probably develop cancers from all the radiation.  Do you realize how big these coils would have to be?  It's not a simple matter of pop-up towers or expense....  I don't even... ugh.

The only thing I can think of that would be even slightly "anger" inducing is that most of the power lines are not buried.  Some of them cannot be, but a greater majority can with today's technology levels.

[Truean]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irene-could-leave-many-apf-2011674395.html?x=0

America:doesn't want to maintain anything, especially foreseeable stuff.

More importantly, we don't want to develop new infrastructure. Like say, resonance induction technology that could replace high-tension power lines with individual transmitter towers and magnetic fields. The towers could be built to retract/collapse ahead of a storm, so that you have planned outages, but then after the danger passes, you pop up all the towers back up and voila...you're up and running.

But that would be expensive. And if there's one thing we've all learned about America, it's that we're a nation of cheapskates who want as much as as possible for as cheap as possible, and will gladly pay 50 cents every day for 50 years rather than pay 10 bucks up front and never pay again.

I don't understand this anger (from either of you)... It was a huge freaking storm.  The workers are out restoring power as fast as they can... as stated in the article.

"resonance induction technology" -- are you serious?  Do you know how much wasted power there is involved in this?  Do you know how that will impact so many households between towers?  Your speakers would blow out of their cases and you'd probably develop cancers from all the radiation.  Do you realize how big these coils would have to be?  It's not a simple matter of pop-up towers or expense....  I don't even... ugh.

The only thing I can think of that would be even slightly "anger" inducing is that most of the power lines are not buried.  Some of them cannot be, but a greater majority can with today's technology levels.

It isn't the response, it's the planning or inadequacy thereof from the planners.

Yes, it was a big storm, a hurricane, which we can foresee. We know we get them regularly along the Atlantic/Gulf and we know sometimes they are big storms, but we don't plan adequately.

The gripe isn't about the crews working or performance; it's that someone didn't hire enough crewmen. We need more than the "let's cut costs" skeleton crews. Yes this costs money; yes they should pay it, however it needs to be paid. Hire, more, utility workers, so we can get things up and running quicker. Also trim more tree branches that are in danger of falling on power lines.

The issue is maintenance, no one wants to properly fund and pay for it. People have taken the eight letters in "overhead" and condensed them into a four letter curse word no one wants to deal with. We then have the audacity to wonder why nothing gets done/nothing works....

The repair crews are understaffed. The maintenance is underfunded and underdone as a result.
The solution is to hire and retain more skilled utility workers and do more tree trimming of branches over power lines.

No one does this, because no one wants to pay for it or anything else.... Most Americans are cheap bastards (and yes I am American). I don't care if its done through increased utility bills or taxation, but we need to pay for things. You don't get something for nothing and there is no such thing as a free lunch. "But I don't wanna pay for anything," is not a valid reason and people should be forced to pay because it isn't acceptable to let the country rot: electric power grid, roads, bridges, etc. Somehow we are. <---- This is the larger issue here, proper infrastructure care, or its lack.

Same thing goes for our pothole infested roads and failing bridges: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge. Most of our roads were built when, 50? 60 years ago? Many of them need major repairs. Our bridges aren't receiving passing grades. The ones in Cleveland suck horridly and we had to move the I 90 bridge into downtown 7 inches to avoid collapsing it. http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/Innerbelt/Pages/default.aspx They are finally doing something because the engineering reports were atrocious....

This is not just me saying this; this is real and the experts agree: http://www.dcnonl.com/article/id32356

[Andir]

I don't understand this anger (from either of you)... It was a huge freaking storm.  The workers are out restoring power as fast as they can... as stated in the article.

"resonance induction technology" -- are you serious?  Do you know how much wasted power there is involved in this?  Do you know how that will impact so many households between towers?  Your speakers would blow out of their cases and you'd probably develop cancers from all the radiation.  Do you realize how big these coils would have to be?  It's not a simple matter of pop-up towers or expense....  I don't even... ugh.

The only thing I can think of that would be even slightly "anger" inducing is that most of the power lines are not buried.  Some of them cannot be, but a greater majority can with today's technology levels.

It isn't the response, it's the planning or inadequacy thereof from the planners.

Yes, it was a big storm, a hurricane, which we can foresee. We know we get them regularly along the Atlantic/Gulf and we know sometimes they are big storms, but we don't plan adequately.

The gripe isn't about the crews working or performance; it's that someone didn't hire enough crewmen. We need more than the "let's cut costs" skeleton crews. Yes this costs money; yes they should pay it, however it needs to be paid. Hire, more, utility workers, so we can get things up and running quicker. Also trim more tree branches that are in danger of falling on power lines.

The issue is maintenance, no one wants to properly fund and pay for it. People have taken the eight letters in "overhead" and condensed them into a four letter curse word no one wants to deal with. We then have the audacity to wonder why nothing gets done/nothing works....

The repair crews are understaffed. The maintenance is underfunded and underdone as a result.
The solution is to hire and retain more skilled utility workers and do more tree trimming of branches over power lines.

No one does this, because no one wants to pay for it....

The problem isn't always trees above the lines.  Debris can fly from anywhere and hit power lines.  Power poles themselves can be blown or knocked over.  Lines past stress points, someone's clothesline gets wrapped around the power....

Hiring 150% of your normal staff isn't going to miraculously ensure that nobody loses power, nor is it going to be cost effective (or smart).  You'd have people sitting around twiddling their thumbs doing nothing (or be laid off) most of the year.  When people have nothing to do they get complacent and slow.  Hiring on a bunch of people like that would likely make things worse because they'd likely not be as experienced as a well worked crew who routinely fixes these issues and they'd likely make mistakes.  (If you do the same work daily, you're less likely to screw up, miss a step, cut corners as if you did the work once a month.)

Also some data on "wireless power"...
http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/mass-transit/a-critical-look-at-wireless-power/0

In the United States, for example, many follow IEEE’s C95.1 standard, whereas Europeans generally adhere to the somewhat stricter guidelines of the International Commission on NonIonizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Take the ICNIRP guidelines for RF fields at 10 megahertz, the frequency of the system Soljacic and his MIT colleagues built. For this frequency, those guidelines indicate that the general public should not be exposed to magnetic fields in excess of 0.073 ampere per meter, or to electric fields greater than 28 volts per meter.

According to their 2007 Science paper, Soljacic and his colleagues measured a magnetic field of 1 A/m at the halfway point between transmitting and receiving coils—almost 14 times the ICNIRP limit. The electric field was 210 V/m, which tops the ICNIRP limit by a factor of 7.5. Things get even worse if you consider the fields closer to the coils. Twenty centimeters away, the magnetic field was more than 100 times—and the electric field 50 times—the ICNIRP limit.

(Edit: Snipped quote nest...)

[Nadaka]

The inverse square law nullifies "resonance induction technology", plus you have to consider that every charging device between you and the transmitter creates a shadow and reduces your signal.

Cancer though? probably not with the wavelengths used. Non-ionizing radiation only affects organic tissue by heating it slightly.

Truean: I would point out that it should have taken a year or so to restore power after Katrina over a much wider area, these things tend to go much faster than expected because every available service truck will drive across the country and go to work putting power infrastructure back in place starting with corridors leading to high value locations, and then spreading out from there. After a couple weeks, the only people without power should be the ones living far out of the way.

There is no practical way for a single municipal vendor to keep enough linemen on call to handle this kind of wide destruction. And even if they did, they would risk loosing their workers and stored materials to storm damage. It really is better to have the material and workers distributed so that they can perform normal work most of the time, but be available to respond en mass to rare destructive events.

There are other issues, but I don't think disaster response is a significant one.