The End of an Era

The End of an Era Hi, everyone! Sorry that I vanished off the face of the earth. That was really kind of terrible form, I know. But Ben and my mom are conspiring, which means that I need to put that to an end. In the next little while, Ill try to do a recap of last term, which was fantastic, but unbelievably hosing. This particular post, though, is about a particularly well-known class around the Institvte. As many of you know, 6.001 was a class invented at MIT to teach the fundamentals of how to program. The first class was taught in 1980 by Hal Abelson and Gerry Sussman, the authors of its companion book Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, which also happens to be the official name of the course. The class has been offered constantly since then, and its been taught roughly the same way. The class was structured around Scheme, a programming language which Sussman invented with Guy Steele in the 70s here at MIT. Its an unusual language with a syntax thats radically different from most other programming languages (at least ones that arent LISP), so most people arent familiar with it coming in. And because of this, the class has gotten a lot of flak in recent years, especially from people who know more normal programming languages. In spite of this, 6.001 had a very strong reputation for teaching people not only how to program, but how to think about programming, and how to take big problems and deal with them. There are a lot of classes that claim to do this same thing, and probably many of them do, but 6.001 seems to be unique in just how it manages to pull it off. Starting this year, though, the Course VI department is beginning to migrate incoming freshmen to the new curriculum. And 6.001 doesnt really have a place in the new curriculum, so this is the last term that it was offered. Several years ago, Sussman said that he wanted to be the last person to teach 6.001, and so he taught it this term, taking it back from (guest blogger) Eric Grimson, the head of the department, who has taught the class for as long as any of my friends can remember. Because 6.001 is early in the day (10 AM which is very early by MIT standards), frequently the students will opt for other means of learning the material, but for this last lecture ever, current students of 6.001, past students of 6.001, and even people who had never taken 6.001 came to see the class off. And just to put their own stamp of approval on the class, some hackers apparently covered the original room number (32-123) with a new number for the day: For the last lecture, Sussman spent about 30 minutes talking about the halting problem the idea that a computer cant determine whether or not its possible to calculate something in finite time. At the end of his lecture, though, one of the TAs came up to say something about the classs passing. In particular, he noted that it was remarkable that a course invented then [the 80s] is still so dead on in what matters. He pointed out the remarkable insight of Abelson and Sussman to see into the core of computation, keeping it fresh for more than a quarter of a century. And afterwards, the entire room stood up and applauded the class. Now that 6.001 is gone, its being replaced by 6.00, 6.01, and 6.02 in the new curriculum. There are a lot of students that dont really like the new curriculum, but for the most part, it seems to me that they are just being resistant to the change. Its definitely true that 6.01 hasnt quite settled into being a really solid class yet, but 6.02 looks like its amazing. Among other things Chris Terman, my 6.111 professor, is teaching part of it, and hes just generally awesome. It think that the new curriculum isnt quite there yet, but its definitely close. I promise that Ill try to post more during IAP and this next term! Really! Ive definitely got a long list of things to talk about. The end of an era On Saturday, I sat in the floor lounge and began writing this entry. Yeah, that was a few days ago. I was distracted by the front desk and its extensive collection of movies. Ive decided to replace Veronica Mars with Lost, so Ive watched almost the entire first two seasons in the last two weeks. Its so, so sad. (I just finished the episode where Ana Lucia dies. WTF?! She rocked so hard. That makes me mad, killing off good characters for no reason. Rar.) I was in the floor lounge to distract myself from the bustling activity of the seniors packing up their belongings and preparing to leave us forever. I remember thinking, After today, there will be no Ruth or Sam around all the time to make Conner 2 the bastion of awesomeness that it is. Tear! I decided to finally blog (weeks after the fact) about the series(!) finale of my ex-favorite TV show, Veronica Mars. The week before the finale, the following exchange happened on the floors email list: Subject: non-lounge reservation From: Sam Date: 5/17/07 1:48 PM To: conner 2 I am NOT reserving the floor lounge at 8 PM on Tuesday to watch the American Idol finale, because Melinda got voted off last night, and that just sucks. Please watch something else during this time period. angrily, sam Subject: RE: non-lounge reservation From: Wesley Date: 5/17/07 1:55 PM To: conner 2 On that note, Im reserving the floor lounge on Tuesday from 8-10 pm for the season finale of veronica mars. Not so angrily, Wesley Subject: RE: non-lounge reservation From: Laura Date: 5/17/07 2:02 PM To: conner 2 Just to introduce an opposing opinion, I angrily support Wesleys reservation. As an avid VMars supporter for nearly 3 years, Im appalled at the subpar quality of season 3, most notably the fact that theyve destroyed any integrity the character once had. Ill be watching, just to give the show a good kick in the pants on its way out, seeing as how it was (thankfully) not renewed for Season 4. Just keeping up the theme. Angrily, Laura Which basically sums up my feelings about the show, and the finale. It may be hard to believe, but once upon a time, Veronica was basically the most awesome person EVER. I aspired to BE her. For real. But then she just became whiny and self-centered and superficial and just plain dumb. For those of you who didnt see it, in the series finale, someone sneaks a video camera into her boyfriends room and then spreads a video of them around on the Internet. And at first, the episode looked promising- because Veronica became her old self and utterly destroyed the lives of everyone who remotely stood in her way of justice. It ROCKED. Then she started doing really dumb things, like breaking into the Kane estate (um what?) and then LYING to her dad about it, who proceeded to DESTROY THE EVIDENCE against her. I cannot tolerate stupidity, seriously. Then, she hacked into this hard drive and found all the info about the members of this all-male secret society, so she gave the list of their names to Nish, because you know, she and Nish are all BBF blood sisters and all. THEN, she finally figured out who posted the video, and she did NOTHING to him. Its like, I did not sit through 2 hours of Veronica and her supercurls flouncing around while she does idiotic things to ruin her relationship with her dad in exchange for NO payoff whatsoever. I mean, the guy sat down next to her in the cafeteria and taunted her, and she just LOOKED at him, didnt even make a snarky remark. Then Logan came in and beat the ?#$! out of the guy (sweet!), threw him at her feet, and demanded his apology. And Veronica was all, I dont want it. Um, excuse me, in her shoes, Id be like, Oh yes, while youre down there, please lick the bottom of my shoes and then dont move so I can stomp on your face. But apparently Veronica is less vindictive than me. Sure. I buy that. One thing I did find hilarious about the episode was not actually in the episode, but in the Television Without Pity recap of the episode: In the Mech E lab, Veronica is visiting Wallace, whos working on a 1/32 model of an amphibious regional turbo prop. It looks more like a toy plane to me, but theres a reason I stayed away from engineering in college. Those kids never slept. Ha! That totally made me laugh. =) In any case, my apologies for the rant- apparently that episdoe made me go into CAPS LOCK MODE for some reason, but its all out of my system now. Also, before you start judging, I really dont watch that much TV. I used to watch Arrested Development, then after that was canceled I watched Veronica Mars, and now Im going to try Lost. I figure my brain deserves to sit there and let itself rot for at least one hour per week. Thats my strategy, and Im sticking to it. Anyway, now the seniors are long gone, and the summer session is finally really getting started. People are moving into their summer rooms and getting started at their jobs and UROPS, and its all terribly exciting, which is why we sit around watching 10 hours of TV shows on DVD per day. Im the summer RA for the dorm, which means Im in charge of planning exciting events each week, so that should be fun. No worries, once I catch up with Lost Ill have plenty of free time to chronicle the life of a summer-time MIT student. As sad as it was to see the seniors go, I wish it were moving day more often. Do you have any idea how much free stuff Ive acquired? Last Saturday alone I got two half bottles of laundry detergent (seriously, I have enough to last me for like 3 more years now), a couple of mixing bowls, a handy map of Boston (I have the worst sense of direction of all time), a strand of decorative lights, a can of WD-40, and a soldering iron (thanks to Evan, the newest blogger). I think getting a free can of WD-40 and soldering iron in one day is more than a girl could ask for, nevermind all that other stuff. The problem inherent in all of this is that now I have even MORE,,,junk I dont really need cluttering my room, so when I move in the fall (into a slightly smaller room, no less), thatll kind of suck. Okay, so now that Ive rambled about every topic under the sun NOT relating to the actual purpose of this blog, I think Ill finish this one off. But trust me, theres some good material on its way. Good luck to everyone on their senior dinners and proms and graduations and stuff! The End of an Era The other day I was watching a video about typography and the speaker was explaining why, because the human eye is innately attracted to bright objects, awkward s pa ci ng between words and letters is visually displeasing. The whiteness screams out, “Look at me, I exist!” And we reply, “Go away, you’re making our eyeballs uncomfortable.” Most people don’t give a second thought to the spaces between letters. We don’t think about the inky blackness of words on a page because honestly, when we have 198 pages of lecture notes to get through, the last thing we want to concern ourselves with is the existential crisis of some whiteness. But when something is missing, we notice. Somehow, the emptiness is jarringly loud. I finished my last final Thursday after two not-so-fun back to back 18.03 and 18.02 exams. Sitting in front of my desk at 4:57pm, I realized that something felt profoundly different. Was it hunger? The delicious piece of garlic bread that had recently been introduced to my stomach said no. Apprehension? Perhaps a little, but that was a recognizable knot of dread curled up in the bottom of my gut, not this strange sensation that was disconcerting in its unfamiliarity. Upon closer introspection, I concluded, with some alarm, that what I was feeling was emptiness. No more finals. No more psets. No more classes. No more late nights cramming for midterms. Suddenly, everything that had once filled my waking hours ceased to exist and I didn’t know how to feel about it. I think I never truly realized how stressful a semester of classes really was. Being submerged in work and day to day obligations became the new norm. A shift of reference frame had taken place at some point in the semester without my noticing and what once would have been considered hectic and unbearable became normal. It wasn’t until it all dissipated with the last flourish of my pencil that I could take a step back and notice the difference. I didn’t appreciate how much effort we had been putting in until we didn’t have to anymore. The sudden absence of pressure, anxiety, and responsibility had imparted a sense of weightlessness, probably similar to what a balloon feels when the child holding it prisoner accidentally sets it free and it drifts off into the sunset. I’m not actually a balloon though, so I wouldn’t know. You should ask one. I hear they’re very friendly. The truth is, a semester at MIT can be stressful, difficult, confusing, frustrating, ulcer-inducing, and downright discouraging at times. But that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come to MIT. I wanted to challenge myself, and I think that’s something we all consider when choosing this fine institution. For every time that we inevitably fall, there are the times when we feel so happy our faces hurt from smiling too much. Maybe it was the first time we truly understood eigenvalues, or the time we made it to the third round of NCAAs with the best team ever, or the time we got to eat free burritos during finals week and it was seriously the best thing that had happened all day. Sometimes it’s the monumental moments of achievement and accomplishment that make it all worthwhile. Other times, it’s the little things that bring a smile to your face, even amidst all the bad. Here at MIT, we take them all in stride and call it a day. Friday was the first full day of summer vacation and I spent the morning baking brownie-cookie-oreo deliciousness and spending a leisurely afternoon in the humanities library. As I was leaving, I heard the faint whisper of piano music drifting out of Killian Hall, a small performance room I had never entered before. On a whim, I grabbed a program and sat in the corner. As the music enveloped me, I closed my eyes and drifted in a sea of Rachmaninoff and Debussy for an hour and a half, meditating on the nature of nothingness and absolute freedom. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so at peace with myself. My first year here has come and gone and soon, I’ll be an old sophomore waving my cane at freshmen who pass by my front porch, reflecting with fondness upon pass/no record shenanigans and the first round of finals that actually mattered. Before the fall semester arrives in all its glory, I’ll be staying in Boston over the summer and UROPing on campus. I’ll take the peace and quiet while it lasts, but I’m excited for another year here at MIT and all that it entails! P.S. For those of you who enjoy the simple pleasures of exterminating unwanted white space, here’s a kerning game that I stumbled upon today while perusing the internet:  http://type.method.ac/

Worldshaker - 755 Words

â€Å"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.† - Alexander Hamilton Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am here today to encourage my peers and to also challenge my peers. The message I have focused on today is critical for the future is standing up for what is right. The future of humanity depends on our ability to speak and stand up for what we believe in and our values. We must use the youth to help this work and make this society a much more supportive and understanding society to live in. Today, I will discuss three texts that deal with the issue â€Å"Standing up for what is right†. These texts are: â€Å"WorldShaker† written by Richard Harland, Bob Marley’s song â€Å"Get Up, Stand Up† and the song â€Å"Caught in the Crowd† written by Kate†¦show more content†¦This is similar to the book because the filthies are fighting for acceptance and respect. This is important to the youth because teenagers are going to need the ability to fight for respect. The song â€Å"Caught in the Crowd† is about a girl that had befriend a boy. She had witnessed the boy being bullied physical and verbally but she had decided to walk away when he needed her the most. The issue is represented positively because by telling us that we should stand up for what isShow MoreRelatedGender and Col862 Words   |  4 PagesRichard Harland’s Worldshaker, both entertains and informs us. The reoccurring matter of discrimination brings forth the themes of disrespect of females, morals and ethics, self discovery and growth, and hierarchy of classes which don’t fail to provide information presented in ways which further intrigue us in the novel. Through these aids Richard Harland has pieced together a book keeping readers on their toes as we take a journey through the history of the juggernaught, ‘Worldshaker’, therefore informing

government and bullying Essay - 1042 Words

Senior Thesis Should the government put laws into place to prevent bullying? Many people say that causes of bullying come from our surrounding.For example family problems,cultural causes,social issuses and mainly bullys personal history. These issuses cause the victims to commit suicides and not only that but to actually kill the person that bullied them. These issuses are around us but we do not really pay attention to them unless we are the victims or someone that has a close relationship with us . In this case should government put laws into place to prevet bullying? Is is possible to prevent all these accidents from happening? According to the bullying statisctic program over 160,000 kids miss school everyday because†¦show more content†¦Also people judge them without knowing what is going on. Everything that bullies do is a cause of their mental issues. Authors, Dorothy Espelage and Melissa K. Holt mention in their articles â€Å"Journal of Emotional Abuse† how boys are more often bullied than girls.Also it talks how older students take part in bullying more often than the youger ones because they have more available resources to do that.. Younger kids do not know how to use facebook and other media that is available to them.In adition the studies from their articles prove that people that are bullies tend to hang out with other people that are bullies, and that is how bullies are geting stronger and abuse more and more innocent students,kids and even elders. As bullying is increasing so is the crime rate. There is more suicidal motifs that people have. If the government could put down a ny laws tto provent this from happening the crime rate would deffinately go down. Government in Georgia cam up with a plan as Abby Brunks mentioned in The „Atalanta Journal-Constitution†. The article talks about ideas that stuent think hat might help to prevent bullying. Also The government have made it necessary for any bullying to be reported. As long as the goverment know what is going on in his state he will try to do something about it. In addition to everything that was mentioned above, teachers,parents and other adults do not know if there is bullying because the students areShow MoreRelatedFederal Government Prevention of Bullying2962 Words   |  12 PagesFederal Government Prevention of Bullying We have all heard the words; the words that tear us down and break us apart. A person can only bend so far before they break. No one is immune to it, we are all capable of bullying. By no means is bullying right; often times the repercussions of being bullied are devastating. Although there is no Federal law currently in place to prevent bullying, there are discrimination and harassment laws and many states have anti-bullying laws; there is hope for theRead MoreU.s. Government Bullying The Native Americans994 Words   |  4 Pages I believe it was simply the U.S. government bullying the native Americans and taking something they wanted. It is as simple as I want what you have and I am bigger, stronger and have a larger gun. My opinion is the United states and white Americans took advantage of an unarmed and out manned society. I hope to show my reasons for this belief in this paper through historical facts. Americans who lived in the western frontier feared and resented native Americans. Americans believed that NativeRead MoreBullying And Its Impact On Bullying973 Words   |  4 Pages In example #2 of the bullying cases in which the female middle school student committed suicide after being harassed by her peers over a â€Å"sexting† photo, the school demonstrated significant incompetence in both government anti-bullying protocols as well as legal, moral, and ethical imperatives based on bullying research in the field of school psychology. This is shown by the exclusive focus on the student’s sexting photo and not on the later acts of bullying and their psychological implicationsRead MoreShould The State Or Federal Government Put Laws?884 Words   |  4 Pagesstate or federal government put laws in school to prevent bullying? â€Å"With ignorance comes fear, from fear comes bigotry. Education is the key to acceptance†. Kathleen Patel. Bullying can take place in or out of school and in person or through other means of communication. Bullying can be verbal or physical, and when physical, it can be directed against a person, a person’s property, or be used to intimidate, rather than inflict damage to the person or his or her property. Verbal bullying can includeRead MoreResearch Paper Bullying1634 Words   |  7 PagesStrategies to Prevent Bullying One in five children between the ages of ten and eighteen, have been bullied both inside and outside of school. Government officials, and school administrators, are taking strides to prevent the act of bullying. Laws and anti-bully programs are being passed all over the United States to stop the bullying epidemic. There are bullies all over, torturing children for things such as appearance, sexual orientation, race, personality and much more. Due t o these bullies, childrenRead MoreShould Bullying Be Long Term?847 Words   |  4 Pagesthat around 46% of young people, have witnessed or been the victim of bullying during their childhood (Choices, 2016). Although there is no official legal definition of bullying, it is suggested that it is a repeated and negative behaviour which is deliberately used to hurt someone either physically or emotionally (Lives, 2013). There are many form of bullying including the most common; physical, verbal, relational and cyber bullying. 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If more thorough laws were put into place, instances of bullying would decrease to some degree. Therefore, the state or federal government should put bullying prevention laws into place. Bullying can take place inRead MoreAnti Bullying Essay1444 Words   |  6 PagesEnhanced Anti-Bullying Laws and School Programs Lisa Aparicio Saint Joseph’s College The Need for Enhanced Anti-Bullying Laws and School Programs Bullying was traditionally considered rites of passage, something all children and youth must go through. This is a myth. In today’s violent growing society, bullying has been responsible for several acts of non-punishable crimes. The lack of attention to implementing and enforcing anti-bullying state laws, and funding anti-bullying school programsRead MoreEssay about Bullying and Bullycide1685 Words   |  7 PagesBullying is defined as aggressive behaviour that is intentional and involves an imbalance of power and strength (1). From harsh words being wrote on the inside of bathroom stalls to being teased, socially exclude, physically assaulted and being hounded out on the internet, bullying appears to be escalating with no signs of stopping. The victims of bullies are often the targets for various reasons such as being too fat, too skinny, too quiet or in most cases being homosexual. Often times the victims

John Adams Defends the Red Coats Free Essays

Although John Adams defended the British redcoats at the end of 1770, the Boston Massacre actually happened March 5, 1770. Furthermore, events that led to the culmination of that night dated back to 1767 (Timeline). Many factors went into the decision, by John Adams, to defend the British soldiers. We will write a custom essay sample on John Adams Defends the Red Coats or any similar topic only for you Order Now The atmosphere of the times dictated much of that evening and of that trial. For the time it was a radical thing for a man such as John Adams to defend the British troops, however his respect of the law led to his defense of the British troops. John Adams was right in defending the redcoat in the Boston Massacre trial because he saw the actions of the redcoats as nothing more than men defending their lives. In 1767, with the passing of the Townshend Acts, the civilians began their resentment towards the British Parliament as well as the British troops stationed in Boston. The Townshend Acts were a series of Acts passed by congress on June 29, 1767 to increase taxes of commonly imported products on the Colonies. Having new taxes imposed by the British as well as their military presence in Boston angered the civilians. During this time John Adams was a local lawyer in Boston working case to case (Miller Center). In late 1768 more British troops came to reestablish order in Boston per order of the Crown. The climate of this time was a hostile one on the part of the civilians. â€Å"The civilians reacted to the redcoats like they were invaders by taunting them through name calling, spitting, and fighting† (Timeline). By the time March 5, 1770 occurred, an incident had been bound to happen. With the distress of the townspeople and the presence of British soldiers, a disaster like this was waiting to happen. When the dust settled, and the day was done, 5 civilians were killed at the hands of the redcoats. John Adams, a local lawyer in the Boston area and graduate of Harvard, defended in court the men accused of the Boston Massacre. With all of the social pressure, living in Boston, it would have been easy to give up but John Adams saw the law for what the law was. He did not look at it as redcoat against Boston, but as man against man. In his closing argument for the defense of the British soldiers he questioned the jury; â€Å"Would it have been a prudent resolution in them, or in any body in their situation, to have stood still, to see if the sailors would knock their brains out, or not? † (Miss, 5). As a defense lawyer it is their responsibility to make a case for the accused party as reasonable doubt. With that quote John Adams did just that. He posed a question to the jury basically saying â€Å"what were they supposed to do, roll over and die? † He saw the redcoats’ behavior as defense. The entire time the British troops had been stationed in Boston they had not once had an incident such as the Boston Massacre; the only time they opened fire on the Bostonians was when the civilians came at them in a combative manner. John Adams had every right to defend the redcoats with the plausible â€Å"it was in self defense† defense. He was a Harvard Law graduate with a law firm to run and clients he believed were only acting in self defense. His action to defend the redcoats was the just thing to do. The British soldiers were put in a position where there were either going to die or they were going to fight back. The redcoats’ job was to be soldiers for the Crown. The Crown implemented more troops in Boston on October 1, 1768 to reestablish order in that area of the country. At that time the people of Boston were growing increasingly hostile and combative. By the time the Boston Massacre had occurred there was much history between the redcoats and the civilians of Boston. John Adams knew that history and did not choose sides based on loyalty. He interpreted the situation as a â€Å"do or die† situation on the part of the soldiers and defended them as such. He used his knowledge of the law in his closing statement for the defense of the redcoats. Ultimately his position on the Boston Massacre impacted the lives of the British soldiers in a positive way. His actions were noble because he pushed aside his personal history with the city and defended his clients according to the law rather than letting the atmosphere of Boston dictate his defense and his closing argument. Works Cited â€Å"American President: A Reference Resource. † Miller Center. University of Virginia. Web. 30 Oct 2012. . â€Å"Historic Timeline. † Boston Massacre Historical Society. Boston Massacre Historical Society, n. d. Web. 30 Oct 2012. . Miss, Angela. Boston Massacre Defense. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 4-5. Print. How to cite John Adams Defends the Red Coats, Essay examples

Wendt V. Host Essays - Cheers Characters, Cliff Clavin,

Wendt V. Host US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Case Name:WENDT V HOST INTERNATIONAL Case Number: Date Filed: 96-55243 12/28/99 FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT GEORGE WENDT, an individual; JOHN RATZENBERGER, an individual, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. No. 96-55243 HOST INTERNATIONAL, INC., a Delaware corporation, D.C. No. Defendant-Appellee, CV-93-00142-R and ORDER PARAMOUNT PICTURES, CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation, Defendant-Intervenor. Filed December 28, 1999 Before: Betty B. Fletcher and Stephen S. Trott, Circuit Judges, and Bruce S. Jenkins,1 District Judge. Order; Dissent by Judge Kozinski _________________________________________________________________ ORDER The panel has voted to deny the petition for rehearing. Judge Trott voted to reject the petition for rehearing en banc and Judges B. Fletcher and Jenkins so recommend. The full court was advised of the petition for rehearing en _________________________________________________________________ 1 Honorable Bruce S. Jenkins, Senior United States District Judge for the District of Utah, sitting by designation. 14901 banc. An active Judge requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter en banc. The matter failed to receive a majority of the votes in favor of en banc consideration. Fed. R. App. P. 35. The petition for rehearing is denied and the petition for rehearing en banc is rejected. _________________________________________________________________ KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge, with whom Judges KLEINFELD and TASHIMA join, dissenting from the order rejecting the suggestion for rehearing en banc: Robots again. In White v. Samsung Elecs. Am., Inc., 971 F.2d 1395, 1399 (9th Cir. 1992), we held that the right of pub- licity extends not just to the name, likeness, voice and signa- ture of a famous person, but to anything at all that evokes that person's identity. The plaintiff there was Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune letter-turner extraordinaire; the offending robot stood next to a letter board, decked out in a blonde wig, Vanna-style gown and garish jewelry. Dissenting from our failure to take the case en banc, I argued that our broad appli- cation of the right of publicity put state law on a collision course with the federal rights of the copyright holder. See 989 F.2d 1512, 1517-18 (9th Cir. 1993). The conflict in White was hypothetical, since the defendant (Samsung) did not have a license from the Wheel of Fortune copyright holder. Here it is concrete: The panel holds that licensed animatronic figures based on the copyrighted Cheers characters Norm and Cliff infringe on the rights of the actors who portrayed them. As I predicted, White's voracious logic swallows up rights conferred by Congress under the Copy- 14902 right Act. I Though a bit dated now, Cheers remains near and dear to the hearts of many TV viewers. Set in a friendly neighbor- hood bar in Boston, the show revolved around a familiar scene. Sam, the owner and bartender, entertained the boys with tales of his glory days pitching for the Red Sox. Coach piped in with sincere, obtuse advice. Diane and Frasier chat- tered self-importantly about Lord Byron. Carla terrorized patrons with acerbic comments. And there were Norm and Cliff, the two characters at issue here. Norm, a fat, endearing, oft-unemployed1 accountant, parked himself at the corner of the bar, where he was joined by Cliff, a dweebish 2 mailman and something of a know-it-all windbag.3 After eleven years on the air, the gang at Cheers became like family to many fans, ensuring many more years in syndication. See Gebe Martinez, Cheers Fans Cry in Their Beers as Sitcom Ends Long Run, L.A. Times, May 21, 1993, at B1. Defendant Host International decided to tap into this keg of goodwill. After securing a license from Paramount, the copy- right holder, Host opened a line of Cheers airport bars. To help get patrons into a Cheers mood, Host populated the bars with animatronic figures4 resembling Norm and Cliff: One is fat; the other is dressed as a mailman.5 _________________________________________________________________ 1 Sam: Hey, what's happening, Norm? Norm: Well, it's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear. 2 There's no rule against postal workers not dating women. It just works out that way. 3 It's a little known fact that the tan became popular in what is known as the Bronze Age. 4 As best the record discloses, these are life-size stuffed dolls that move somewhat and play pre-recorded quips. 5 In a half-hearted attempt to avoid litigation, Host changed the robots' names to Hank and Bob. 14903 Plaintiffs George Wendt and John Ratzenberger, the only actors who ever portrayed Norm and Cliff, sued Host for unfair competition and violation of their right of publicity. Paramount intervened, claiming that its copyright preempted any claim Wendt and Ratzenberger might have under state law. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants because it found that the robots didn't look like the plaintiffs: [T]here is [no] similarity at all . . . except that one of the robots, like one of the

How and Educational Theory Gains Acceptance essays

How and Educational Theory Gains Acceptance essays I think that we have already discussed the most basic of ways in which an educational theory gains acceptance in the academic community. They are through publication, through practice and through saturation, whether that is through the media or within the academic community itself. According to David Perkins, one of the founding members of Project Zero, people learn much of what they have a reasonable opportunity and motivation to learn. In other words, in order for an educational theory to be conceived, there needs to be a need for change or understanding. A consensus is then achieved through extensive exposure to the theory in which the theorists peers will probe from many angles in order to disprove any or all of the theory. At this point a theory will either gain acceptance or not. Although I find the process in which a theory gains acceptance to be a pretty straightforward concept, I am reminded that there is another way a theorist can have his thoughts or ideas gain acceptance as well. Gardner provides us with the prime example of Sigmund Freud. Freud did not like nor did he respect the working theories of others in his field. So instead of seeking the acceptance of his peers, he simply (or not quite so, as his theories took years to be considered mainstream) created a new domain of psychoanalysis. Its questionable as to whether something like this could ever happen in a public school system regarding an educational theory, but certainly there have been private schools that utilize unique methods of educating, that would be considered controversial by the general public. ...

Essential Facts About Hurricanes, Typhoons, Cyclones

Essential Facts About Hurricanes, Typhoons, Cyclones During hurricane season, you may hear the terms hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone used often, but what does each mean? While all three of these terms have to do with tropical cyclones, they are not the same thing. Which one you use depends on which part of the world the tropical cyclone is in. Hurricanes Mature tropical cyclones  with winds of 74 mph or more that exist anywhere in the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or in the eastern or central North Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line are called hurricanes.    As long as a hurricane stays within any of the above-mentioned waters, even if it crosses from one basin to a neighboring basin (i.e., from the Atlantic to the Eastern Pacific), it will still be called a hurricane. A notable example of this is Hurricane Flossie (2007).  Hurricane Ioke (2006) is an example of a tropical cyclone that  did  change titles. It strengthened into a hurricane just south of Honolulu, Hawaii. 6 days later, it crossed the International Date Line into the Western Pacific basin, becoming Typhoon Ioke.  Learn more about  why we name hurricanes. The  National Hurricane Center  (NHC) monitors and issues forecasts for hurricanes occurring in these regions. The NHC classifies any hurricane with wind speeds of at least 111 mph as a major hurricane.    Category Name Sustained Winds (1-minute) Category 1 74-95 mph Category 2 96-110 mph Category 3 (major) 111-129 mph Category 4 (major) 130-156 mph Category 5 (major) 157+ mph The NHC Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale Typhoons Typhoons are mature tropical cyclones that form in the Northwest Pacific basin - the  western part of the North Pacific Ocean, between 180 °Ã‚  (the International Date Line)  and 100 ° East longitude. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) is in charge of monitoring typhoons and issuing typhoon forecasts. Similarly to the National Hurricane Centers major hurricanes, the JMA classifies strong typhoons with winds of at least 92 mph as severe typhoons, and those with winds of at least 120 mph as super typhoons.   Category Name Sustained Winds (10-minute) Typhoon 73-91 mph Very Strong Typhoon 98-120 mph Violent Typhoon 121+ mph The JMA Typhoon Intensity Scale Cyclones Mature tropical cyclones within the North  Indian Ocean  between 100 ° E and 45 ° E are called cyclones. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) monitors cyclones and classifies them according to the below intensity scale: Category Sustained Winds (3-minute) Cyclonic Storm 39-54 mph Severe Cyclonic Storm 55-72 mph Very Severe Cyclonic Storm 73-102 mph Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm 103-137 mph Super Cyclonic Storm 138+ mph IMD TC Intensity Scale To make matters  more  confusing, we sometimes refer to hurricanes in the Atlantic as cyclones too - thats because, in a broad sense of the word, they are. In weather, any storm that has a closed circular and counterclockwise motion can be called a cyclone. By this definition, hurricanes, mesocyclone thunderstorms, tornadoes, and even extratropical cyclones (weather fronts) are all technically cyclones!