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rfeather | 7 years ago | on: Oil Demand for Cars Is Already Falling

The article doesn't talk about greenhouse gas emissions, so the power grid and fuel source isn't really relevant to the point, especially since oil is an extremely small part of the energy mixture in most places.[1]

If they were talking about greenhouse gases, then the answer seems to be that it depends on where you live and how/what you drive, but an electric vehicle almost always produces less emissions than an equivalent gas powered one. [2] does a decent job explaining though I feel he leaves a few parts out for the sake of clarity. For example, driving a P100D isn't the equivalent of driving the average car. It's more like driving a sports sedan (like a BMW M5), so those sorts of vehicles would probably be a more fair comparison. In the same vane, the whole US car fleet includes lots of SUVs and other trucks, which if there were equivalent electric models, would obviously not go as far as a Leaf. It would be great if there was a US calculator that worked like [3] does for the UK so that we could do the same sort of comparison based on the mix where we live.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generation#Product... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RhtiPefVzM [3]https://www.nextgreencar.com/tools/emissions-calculator/

rfeather | 7 years ago | on: How to deliver on Machine Learning projects

The point about hacking away at the code needs to be couched heavily. It's too easy to conclude you've got negative or positive results when what you really have is a silly little bug. The lack of focus on implementation skills in data (or even "real" science) is frightful. The one take away anyone trained in software engineering could share is that if you aren't very sure if it is working as intended, it's very likely not. Code review is very applicable here when making major pivots, even if unit or other testing is decidedly too time consuming for the train test improve loop.

Edit: typo "of" to "if". Somewhat serendipitous if you think about it.

rfeather | 7 years ago | on: The annoying habits of highly effective people

The boss could very easily at least make it known which engineer did the good work to fix it. If that isn't standard practice, something is seriously wrong. I make it a goal to be clear about who did the work when talking about something my team accomplished, even if I had the idea.

rfeather | 7 years ago | on: DuckDuckGo Traffic

All of the bang commands are probably a great way for them to get feedback on what they're not giving good results from. Very targeted training data.

rfeather | 7 years ago | on: Seaweed in Cow Feed Reduces Methane Emissions Almost Entirely

The unfortunate thing is that no matter whether something is illegal or not, it can still be a victim of bycatch when fishing for legal species, and bycatch mortality is quite high. Bycatch is actually higher than actual catch by weight for some fisheries+methods.[1] It's not just what you eat, but where it came from.

[1] http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t4890e/t4890e03.htm

Edit: A couple of extra spaces removed

rfeather | 8 years ago | on: The real prerequisite for machine learning isn’t math, it’s data analysis (2016)

In an academic/learning environment I agree. But, for professional purposes I wouldn't hire even an entry level person who didn't have at least enough of a basis to know when those concepts apply. I also wouldn't hire a data scientist who can't at least tell me the high level workings of an algorithm they might choose. I interview for both types of positions and know what it's like to have to compensate for an amateur.

rfeather | 8 years ago | on: Dangers of Sitting

I've found 1-2 walks around the parking lot per day to be a great boost to my well-being. I usually do it solo (escape from open office overload), though at my last job one of the more senior people would usually round up a core group for a good half hour walk.

If anything, taking active breaks has been good for my career. Often I go when I finish a task/segment and the quiet, outdoor time give my mind a chance to wander and put things in context so that I can choose my next tasks effectively.

It's anecdotal, but I suspect that the people who eat lunch at their desk and don't get up all day aren't actually creating more value than those who take some time. A quick search indicates there are at least some studies backing this up [1]. I'd be curious if there is evidence that points the other way though.

[1]http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8548292

rfeather | 8 years ago | on: The Argument Against Terraforming Mars (2016)

I'd highly recommend reading the referenced Mars Trilogy. The debate has some more detail in the words of the characters (though the summary here gets the major points of the "Reds"). What's missing here but present in the series is the counterpoint. For purposes of profit and self preservation, terraforming is all but inevitable. A more useful debate is about how it should happen if you want to preserve some of the Martian natural beauty.

rfeather | 9 years ago | on: Introducing Keras 2

I wonder why they decided to get rid of MaxoutDense. Is there something better or is it so trivial to implement they decided to drop it?

rfeather | 9 years ago | on: Database of Brutalist buildings

Thanks! When I see brutalism it conveys a sense of purpose and always looks futuristic. I guess I understand why people don't like it, but in my opinion, many of the buildings are much more interesting than seemingly cookie cutter modern glass towers.

Edit: wording

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