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Patricia Shanahan

 Discussion on question by Robin Gerte…

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Patricia Shanahan
Feb 17, 2022 22:15
@gnasher729 What makes you think they will give her the laptop once they have the deposit? If they sent the laptop first there would be no point to the deposit. My guess is that if she pays the deposit there will be an initial month materials fee...
 

 Discussion on answer by Ash: LEGO™ as…

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Patricia Shanahan
Aug 30, 2020 08:19
Youtube has videos on making ABS armor.
 

 Discussion on question by Tim: How sh…

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Patricia Shanahan
Aug 26, 2020 15:55
Needing, as an adult, to get advice on how to cross a road is very much a consequence of travel. One learns how to cross roads in one's home culture in childhood. If you don't travel that is all you need to know on the subject. Travelers often find themselves faced with different rules and conventions from their home culture.
 

 Discussion on question by Davide Toni…

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Patricia Shanahan
Aug 16, 2020 16:10
Did the contract specify that you had to personally type each line?
 

 Discussion on question by KeizerHarm:…

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Patricia Shanahan
Jul 30, 2020 02:36
An imperial exam system is inconsistent with multiculturalism. The exams will privilege some subset of cultures and languages. For example, the Chinese imperial exam system required mastery of a particular set of Confucian texts, and a particular style of writing.
 

 Discussion between Brian Z and Ertai87

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Patricia Shanahan
Jul 21, 2020 19:03
There is a significant difference in the US between homes and states. Amendment 15 to the US constitution says "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." That affects states but not homes. Arguably displaying on behalf of the citizens of a state a symbol many of them find abhorrent is a denial of their free speech rights.
 

 Discussion on question by Galactic: W…

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Patricia Shanahan
Jul 3, 2020 13:54
Do any machines, and especially machine tools, survive? If so, their maintenance manuals come just behind the book of log and trig tables.
 

 Discussion on question by Seallussus:…

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Patricia Shanahan
Jun 27, 2020 23:47
I suggest reading Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series. He has invaders with military and computer technology slightly advanced from our current state arriving on Earth in 1941. The invaders have various handicaps, but one key issue is that they have very little manufacturing technology.
 

 Discussion on answer by ff524: How to…

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Patricia Shanahan
Jun 24, 2020 05:24
This could be combined with an invitation to suggest questions on the course material that relate to life experiences of marginalized minorities, not necessarily for use this year but to educate the professor for setting future exams. Most university mathematics questions I've seen do not relate to anyone's life experiences, so the suggestions should be interesting.
 

 Discussion on question by Jamie F: Ca…

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Patricia Shanahan
May 28, 2020 10:13
There may be a commitment to non-smoking office related to your employer's insurance premiums. We are living in unpleasantly interesting times, and HR may be trying to work out how to implement that in a work-from-home environment.
 

 Discussion on answer by Rekesoft: Wou…

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Patricia Shanahan
May 18, 2020 18:34
As far as training is concerned, the warrior class having a significant hereditary element, many of the crusaders would have started learning to use a sword and spear, ride a horse etc. as small boys. They didn't need literacy or a general education, so they had a lot more time to spend learning warfare.
 

 Discussion on question by DT Cooper: …

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Patricia Shanahan
Apr 17, 2020 16:46
@Alexander got my point. There is an elaborate infrastructure for supplying water to Las Vegas. It gets about 4 inches a year of rainfall, mainly in the winter. For it to be habitable either someone is maintaining the Hoover Dam complex and an aqueduct, and controlling the water intakes in Lake Mead, or they have built a system for capturing, storing, and distributing their limited rainfall. Either way, it is going to take organization. Any farming in the region would have to be irrigated, requiring yet more water management and distribution.
Patricia Shanahan
Apr 17, 2020 16:46
Have you thought about how you are going to water Las Vegas?
 

 Discussion on question by you-slamm: …

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Patricia Shanahan
Apr 10, 2020 05:12
@you-slamm I think your question would be improved by adding a mention of your preference for Google Classroom and the reasons for it.
Patricia Shanahan
Apr 10, 2020 05:12
Do you have an alternative to offer that will allow you to teach the courses during the current emergency?
 

 Discussion on answer by Mark Johnson:…

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Patricia Shanahan
Mar 26, 2020 04:28
@Mavzouleus In addition to Mark Johnson's points, when you contact the embassy check whether the documents can be sorted out using some combination of mail and phone. Many organizations are adjusting their procedures to reduce contact.
 

 Discussion on answer by o.m.: How lon…

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Patricia Shanahan
Mar 18, 2020 06:24
@o.m. The question specifies surrounding. A more likely tactic would be the one the ships were designed for, sailing in a line past the enemy firing a broadside whenever guns bear on it.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 18, 2020 06:24
Although the magazines will be low in the hull, the ship is firing broadsides. There will be supplies of black powder on every gun deck.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 18, 2020 06:24
and remember it is not just one attacking ship. The battleship is surrounded by ships of the line all aligned to fire broadsides. Get the elevation right to hit a ship at that distance, and just keep firing the anti-aircraft guns in any directions.
 

 Discussion on question by JBF: How to…

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Patricia Shanahan
Mar 15, 2020 16:10
@HorusKol Yes, I started using USENET news groups about 35 years ago. Each newsgroup had a definite subject, and people objected to posting in the wrong newsgroup. Similarly, threads were supposed to stay on topic.
 

 Discussion on answer by cyber101: Wou…

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Patricia Shanahan
Mar 12, 2020 06:52
Coronavirus is a virus, so not affected by antibiotics. The travelers will be just as vulnerable to 12th century strains of flu as 12th century people will be to 21st century strains.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 12, 2020 06:52
@krb That takes smallpox out of the mix, but still leaves 12th century strains of flu.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 12, 2020 06:52
@MorrisTheCat What diseases are endemic now but unknown in medieval Europe? One of the worst of the colonization epidemics was smallpox, and that history tells us what happens when Europeans from before smallpox vaccination meet people with no vaccination or exposure to smallpox. A few of the longest-serving members of the company may have been vaccinated by the army in about 2002. Over 50's would have been vaccinated before 1972, when routine vaccination stopped in the US.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 12, 2020 06:52
@ZizyArcher Are you sure that the armies that got to Jerusalem included significant numbers of random peasants? Travel by sea had a big per-person cost and one would get more bang for the buck by bringing a smaller number of trained men-at-arms and knights. Travel by land weeded out all but the best supported and best equipped.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 12, 2020 06:52
On the disease issue, most people of current military age have no immunity to smallpox, having been born after it was eradicated.
 

 Discussion on question by Rav mills :…

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Patricia Shanahan
Mar 9, 2020 17:49
@Shadowzee Someone with officer training and the ability to do what is now elementary school arithmetic would be useful for calculating things like how much water is needed for a 1000 man army to march 50 miles, how much water a camel can carry, and therefore how many camels you need to get from here to there.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 9, 2020 17:49
Although the Battle of Hattin was 87 years after Godfrey of Bouillon's death, it is a useful illustration of the importance of logistics, especially water supply. Saladin managed to maneuver the crusaders into camping overnight without access to water. Meanwhile, he had camel caravans bringing plenty of water to his army.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 9, 2020 17:49
How much do your modern era people know about logistics?
 

 Discussion on question by Franck Dern…

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Patricia Shanahan
Mar 9, 2020 07:26
I think the question should have been closed, but for being too broad not opinion based. As @Traveller points out, it might well be answerable from experience for a specific country. There is no general rule that works for all countries.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 8, 2020 10:21
@FranckDernoncourt Getting to the point of being in front of an immigration officer without a required document is rare, because airlines try very hard to make sure all passengers have the right documents. Because of that rarity, it is difficult to know the ratio of immediate denial vs. being allowed to use a phone to buy a ticket on the fly.
Patricia Shanahan
Mar 8, 2020 10:21
Depending on the country, the immigration officer may be a different case from the airline. Some IOs make a judgement call on whether someone is a genuine visitor taking into account all circumstances, and might consider the need to purchase a ticket as indicating lack of real intent to leave on time. Also, the area where this happens is often a no-cell-phone zone, making ticket buying difficult.
 

 Discussion on question by Gohn: Promo…

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Patricia Shanahan
Feb 21, 2020 12:50
Often, when someone is promoted within weeks of being hired, they were really hired for the promoted position, but it could not be done directly because of e.g. a budget or headcount issue. Given whatever you know about Francis' qualifications, would you have felt the same way if he had been hired directly into the research team?
 

 Discussion on question by InsefelZhan…

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Patricia Shanahan
Feb 17, 2020 14:14
If you are going to advance, as a manager, a software architect, a product manager etc., anything other than as an individual contributor. you are going to need skill at bringing out the best in others and getting their non-grudging cooperation. Your technical skills seem to be fine, but you may not be promotable without work on your people skills. This may be a good time to practice, when helping others advance is not a formal part of your job.
 

 Discussion on answer by Kilisi: I lik…

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Patricia Shanahan
Feb 14, 2020 12:45
One simple technique is to use a loud alarm clock and leave it out of reach of the bed.
 

 Discussion on question by Stupid_Inte…

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Patricia Shanahan
Jan 2, 2020 14:01
Although at first sight it looks like a general question, from comments it has become clear that it is really about a particular college's rather weird and counter-productive policies. That is equivalent to a question about a particular employer's policies, and I am voting to close on that basis.
 

 Discussion on answer by Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2: Ca…

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Patricia Shanahan
Jan 2, 2020 02:13
@Graham I am assuming the battery turns out to be dead, and looking at the two remaining alternatives, buying or borrowing.
Patricia Shanahan
Jan 2, 2020 02:13
The only downside to replacing the battery, rather than borrowing one, is that it is money sunk in a car that may have other, possibly fatal, problems.
 

 Discussion on question by user117849:…

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Patricia Shanahan
Jan 1, 2020 10:59
If, as is not unlikely, groups of students who know each other discuss professors and affect each other's opinions, evaluations may not be strictly independent, affecting whether the results are statistically significant.
 

 Discussion on question by Acroneos: V…

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 20, 2019 17:29
Have you considered railway instead of car? It is often faster, gets you closer to city centers than most parking, and avoids the danger of the driver's seat being on the wrong side.
 

 Discussion on answer by Muzer: Vistin…

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 20, 2019 11:16
For an example of "likely be quicker", London Kings Cross to York Station by rail is about 2 hours, and here is what you see when you leave York Station. The same journey would be about 4 hours by car, and you would still have to find somewhere to park in central York.
 

 Discussion on question by Sandy R: Ca…

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 17, 2019 00:23
One of the most important lessons to learn in digital literacy is that what you post is there forever, so it is important to think carefully about what personal information, if any, you post. You can still see material I wrote 30 years ago. The kid seems to understand this, and the school does not, so he is way ahead on digital literacy.
 

 Discussion on answer by James K: Can …

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 7, 2019 09:40
@Keinicke The underlying problem is that "socialist" is poorly defined, especially in US political discourse. When showing examples of problems caused by socialism, it means having a centralized command economy. In other contexts, it means setting the balance discussed above to have any government services, such as universal health care, that the US government does not provide. It is much more useful to discuss which specific services the government should provide, and which are better left to private enterprise.
 

 Discussion on question by Chagat Nahn…

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 3, 2019 01:33
I suggest reading Harry Turtledove's Historical Collection. It is a set of four historical novels, set earlier than you are aiming for, but centered on Mediterranean traders. Turtledove trained as a historian, and would be likely to get the technical details of sea travel right.
Patricia Shanahan
Dec 3, 2019 01:33
Carthage was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC, at the end of the Punic Wars. Mediterranean trade and military expeditions were common by then. Is your naval crew professional sailors of the period, or time travelers who might not know what to do without a compass?
 

 Discussion on question by user112172:…

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 2, 2019 19:31
Did you say in the interview something like "I can't answer that question because I don't know that library"? If so, did the interviewer say or indicate that you had no chance of getting the job? Remember the interviewer may be working off a script that gives every interviewee the same questions and opportunities to demonstrate a skill.
 

 Discussion on answer by David support…

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 2, 2019 17:21
I would add to the list of troubles that the later you board the greater the risk of not finding space for a carry-on bag and having to gate check it.
 

 Discussion on question by Franck Dern…

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Patricia Shanahan
Dec 2, 2019 17:20
@JBentley At the time I wrote my comments the information about the gate closing time had not been posted.
Patricia Shanahan
Dec 2, 2019 17:20
This comment on a similar question gives a good summary.
Patricia Shanahan
Dec 2, 2019 17:20
I don't see how the airlines can avoid it, so I assume "yes". If they kept the gates open for passengers who checked in but have not boarded, more and more passengers would ignore the "be at gate time" and not show up until just before nominal departure time, making on-time departure impossible.
Patricia Shanahan
Dec 2, 2019 17:20
If the flight is to leave on time, the doors must close some time before the nominal departure time. Getting all the passengers seated, with seat belts checked and carry-on bags stowed cannot be done instantly. How long varies.