Tech lead for WEMC here - see https://tealtool.earth Straightforward charts of climate related data for different countries and regions around the globe
For temperature and a few other variables, it shows historical data from the EU Copernicus service (C3S) along with three different projected series out to 2100
for CO2, it shows the latest historical data
The charts are concerning and I am sure my co-workers are not hell bent on faking data to scare people just to get more funding; they work too much and go to too many meetings.
There is no way to DM on HN, as far as I am aware. I would be interested in talking - I have some Ml/NLP based ideas and some free time... See my profile info for my website/email
Interesting idea.... I have been idly working on an web crawler / indexing / organizing system that uses NLP etc to sort of solve the OP's problem(s) - if you don't mind, could you send me an email about your needs? See my HN account for contact info.
I have been collecting bookmarks for some time now as well - all unsorted... Doing it manually would be a nightmare so I have been thinking about making a SaaS - webcrawler + AI (NLP + clustering)
It would at least accomplish a preliminary sort/grouping; manual cleanup or fine tuning would always be needed, I think, but at least the bulk of the work could be done in an automated fashion to give the user a head start.
Would anyone else want such a SaaS? I thought about how to charge for it, but ideally it is a one-time operation, so charging anything more than $1 to $5 doesn't seem reasonable. And the privacy issues ... bunch of practical problems, so I may just write some OSS.
Given you already have a few years of experience which is a bit more important than just a degree (IMO), I would not worry so much. "Computing" is not "IT support" (no one gets a degree in that) and those are good unis you mention, so why in the world would they be offering a silly degree in "IT support"? I have never heard of such a thing actually.
If the company (manager / HR people) you are interviewing with actually think like what you worry about, you do not want to be working there because that is a sign of a bad company that knows nothing of IT or respects developers. We are not mere plumbers (I am from the US and the UK attitude towards developers has been a bit annoying over the years, but it does seem to be changing). Although it'd be nice to be paid as much as plumbers...
My M.Sc. from Edinburgh was in "Informatics" because that is what they call Computer Science, and my M.Sc from UEA was in "Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining" aka AI/Machine Learning. I would assume you will have to do a final-year project, so a line in your CV describing that ought to be enough to show you are a developer and not a help desk jockey. (along with your previous work experience)
But I wouldn't call it "Computer Science" though - if some jobsworth actually decides to validate the contents of your CV (they usually don't and you do have work experience), the renaming of the degree might influence their opinion of you etc... e.g. "did they actually go to ICL?"
Between this and FTX, I am really starting to think the death penalty ought to be applicable for financial crimes beyond a certain magnitude. The intangible cost to society / peoples' lives is incalculable, but given the fundamental hypocrisy of the West anymore, the only thing that truly matters is money, especially rich people's money and thus grifters and con artists like SBF and Trump are allowed to skate by with a slap on the wrist. 11 years (no way is she serving that) is a slap on the wrist.
I basically agree. The point of punishment is to maintain Trust and standards in business dealings. This is very important.
That said, is a different argument and the idea that this specific Financial crime hurt lots of people throughout society. Nobody outside the investors was or will be harmed as long as trust and standards are maintained.
By comparison, I think the social harm would have been far greater if she defrauded $1 from every working american instead, instead 140M from 14 investors
Wouldn't the misallocation of funds be actually very big impact? Think of all the money spend on engineering, marketing, etc. were instead used on something productive?
They would have a big impact if they were used on something productive, but that is far from guaranteed. The money wasn't stolen from the community children's fund, which would naturally affect a lot of people. They were stolen from 14 investors, so the most likely alternative is that they would simply be used to further enrich those 14. Obviously, this is still wrong, but the number of people harmed in society is far fewer.
Death penalty would perhaps be suitable if customers died because of Theranos' faulty products. I'm not familiar with this case in detail but I know she scammed patients with her blood tests. Imagine your doctor scamming you with your health records?! That reminds me of a horror movie Jigsaw where main antagonist gets his cancer X-ray record mixed up with other patient's record. I agree 11 years is a light sentence. If I was judge I would give her 20 years.
Would society be any better off if she got 20 years vs 11 years (also accounting for the $300000 those 9 years would cost the government)? I guess read https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/elizabeth-holmes-sente... and see if it changes your mind. Her life is basically ruined with the only consolation being the fact that her husband is rich and I doubt any would be fraudster would repeat what she did if they knew they could get 11 years for it. I think there is a case to be made for penalizing some of the more calculated frauds, like there is a huge Medicare fraud problem and there'll be cases with loss amounts in the millions where people get 2-3 years which in my opinion is too low to have a deterrent effect. But giving her any more just seems cruel and would ultimately just hinder whatever restitution she is supposed to make.
Be very explicit, from the beginning, that you do not do fixed price contracts (which is essentially really what clients always want) unless the job is obviously trivial enough to estimate properly - and even then, there is always a chance something might occur.
Make better estimates to account for such unknowns like having to install packages because you're dealing with a codebase someone else developed - be very detailed in these estimates you provide as well and provide not a single number but a range.
If they still grumble about the cost, then maybe offer to reduce the cost of trivial work like setting up the necessary environment by 1/3 or something (only if the client is a decent one and just needs a bit of education...)
Provide good info about the reasons for extra time - you're trying to get the client to ultimately trust you, that you know what you're doing, and are focused on trying to not spend as much of their money as you'd like. So keep them in the loop as much as possible w/o being annoying about what is going on. A daily or weekly update? A heads-up before diving into something time consuming? E.g. if the code you're dealing with is garbage, explain that in a professional way (and clearly, but not too much detail) so they understand the issue (to the extent they need to understand it)
So basically it's a process of educating the client, over time or however efficiently enough, about the true nature of IT work. Metaphorically, you're a plumber or a general contractor, or a carpenter, not a factory worker. Everyone knows that sort of work always involves more time than expected sometimes. If they still complain, then they're a bad client and let them go find someone on Upwork instead.
I am in the UK - it seems the company you are working for is in violation of the IR35 regulations (but I'm not entirely sure of what nuances there are given you are in another country). i.e. you are a contractor, but are being treated as a full time employee with none of the benefits of such. e.g. they 'should' be paying the government for National Insurance etc.
I have been contracting for 10+ years so know something of IR35 but have always made sure the contracts I sign are quite clear about me not being an employee etc - no long term contracts etc. So I'm not an expert here.
If they are violating IR35, which I really think they are, then you have quite a lot of power at your disposal if you can play things right. You can either get them to start respecting you (but it doesn't sound like that is the best idea because staying is a __bad idea__) or sue them or just turn them over to HMRC.
In any case, you should talk to a solicitor - get everything you can documented and well organized, then any good employment lawyer can tell you the cost/benefits of turning them over to HMRC / the authorities. Google IR35 and employment law / solicitors ... pick one that has a well designed website. Talking to them ought to be free for the first 1/2 hour (I would think) or you should be able to send an email with a good summary of the situation w/o incurring any costs.
An upvote for you (if I could). I'm American but have lived in the UK for near 20 years. My great-whatever grandfather signed the Declaration of Independence so I'm hardly a royalist... So WTF am I doing living in the UK??? (the NHS etc...)
My general sense is that of respect for the Queen as a symbol. She did it right and wasn't a useless numpty like ... oh... all of the rest of them. Primarily nothing but B list celebrities. William and Kate seem fine enough, Harry and Meghan are .. irrelevant except to the nonces who have no actual lives, and let's not discuss Andrew...
Hopefully Charles will use the "soft power" he supposedly has to corral the professional sociopaths destroying this country (e.g. wind and solar power, given his supposed environmental leanings) but I don't know.... it very well may be all downhill from now. England (and by extension all of the UK) is destined to become a failed state.
Which is why I am looking hard at moving to Scotland (soon to be independent!) or even the EU to get the F out of here ASAP. It really is a transitional point.
Odds heavily against Scottish independence in the next 20 years.
Bookmakers price a referendum before 2025 at about 10% probability. I think that's too big a number - I'd say 10% chance by 2030.
Let's suppose it happens in 2025, though. At that point, the UK and EU will still be at loggerheads over the border with NI meaning the SNP's central premise - that Scotland should be able to rejoin the EU - will look more and more like a dangerous and economically calamitous poison pill. Even pro-independence financial analysts will warn of a deep recession with house prices falling off a cliff. That'll make independence about as popular as mouldy bread.
In addition, the EU will be quite feckless and tone deaf to what that SNP promise of independence is centred on, and during any campaign will confirm confidently that yes, Scotland could rejoin the EU, all it'll take is adoption of the Euro (non-negotiable), and a complete adoption of all protocols and laws that the UK - including Scotland - will have mostly dismantled by that point (for better or worse). The timeline will be a decade or more, and the estimated costs will be in the billions, but the EU think it's still value. Meanwhile Scottish voters will wonder if a generation of being out of the UK _and_ the EU is worth the candle.
The idea that against that backdrop the SNP think their argument for independence is stronger, not weaker, is strange.
I think you'll also see a slight shift in polls in coming days and weeks because of the death of the Queen. Operation Unicorn is designed in a small way to allow Scottish unionists to show what the United Kingdom is all about. Sentimentality has been proven time, and time again, to be incredibly powerful in changing people's minds quite irrationally.
Coupled with Charles' political will - as you note, towards radical environmentalism and architectural protectionism that aligns neatly with a decent proportion of the Scottish populace - you might find Sturgeon and the SNP looks more and more marginal as time goes by.
The Queen oversaw a decline in Empire and a rise in the British believing in - and committing to - a people's right to self-determination. And so it will be in Scotland, just as it has been for so many countries that have gained independence from British rule in the last 75 years. But the backdrop right now is firmly that the SNP is about to slide, independence will become less popular to many, and Scotland will either be part of the renaissance we are all hoping for, or is coming down with the rest of us.
Which is why I am looking hard at moving to Scotland (soon to be independent!)
Has there been any real progress towards another referendum on independence? I know SNP still has the lion’s share of seats in Scottish parliament, but what else? As a Scottish ex-pat of sorts (born UAE, to Scottish parents, but raised and educated in the US), I have nostalgic notions of moving to Scotland. Then I remember its dark much of the year and rains a fair bit. Heck, it even snowed in June the last summer I visited (yes, that was up Glenshee, but still).
No one seriously thinks Scotland will leave soon. The energy is moving to a new settlement of the four nations. That will come in the next ten years. We're fine. Edinburgh got loads of tech energy. Glasgow's a massive city with loads of opportunity. We have a large financial sector that needs geeks. Come. We need you. Lived here thirty years now. No regrets. Weather is improving with climate change (ducks).
Not to mention ability to generate its own energy from various renewable sources and with climate change, more ability to grow food in the lower regions.
Definitely pay attention to how much sun Scotland -- heck, any part of the UK -- gets before moving there if you have even the slightest inkling that you might have seasonal affective disorder. You need to be pretty happy with very little sun.
I'm a fellow UAE born! Hello!! I live in Canada. Was just looking up moving to Scotland after seeing footage of Balmoral castle. Something about the beauty of the highlands captures the imagination. I'm of South Asian decent so I am a bit weary of how welcoming a new place will be.
No, in the UK, the loser will pay for court costs, in general. I had a bit of legal trouble a few years ago - the other side was trying to play "solicitor" to use the law as a way of extorting me (aka threatening to make criminal complaints over various (bullshit) things) so I had to hire someone to write a polite 'go fuck yourself' letter eventually. Solicitors are duty-bound to try and get things to settle out of court, so dealing with wanna-be solicitors is always a problem for them.
What's unique about the UK is that unlike actually civilized countries (incl. the US), there is no legal requirement to negotiate in good faith. It is expected for you to do so, but if the other side figures out that you haven't and tries to take you to court over that, then the English court system will say "tough luck". Manipulating the other side to your advantage should be expected, they said. There have been High Court cases that have established this principle. so doing business with the English is always possibly problematic (e.g. Brexit and all the lies, the mentality behind all that etc). Anecdotally, I have heard from foreigners that doing business with English people is more of a headache than with ones from other countries. And I have lived here long enough to 'understand' the English better than most Americans...
For temperature and a few other variables, it shows historical data from the EU Copernicus service (C3S) along with three different projected series out to 2100
for CO2, it shows the latest historical data
The charts are concerning and I am sure my co-workers are not hell bent on faking data to scare people just to get more funding; they work too much and go to too many meetings.