Y2k; Millennium Bug Essays - Calendars, Software Bugs, COBOL

Y2k; Millennium Bug The Millennial sun will first rise over human civilization in the independent republic of Kiribati, a group of some thirty low lying coral islands in the Pacific Ocean that straddle the equator and the International Date Line, halfway between Hawaii and Australia. This long awaited sunrise marks the dawn of the year 2000, and quite possibly, the onset of unheralded disruptions in life as we know it in many parts of the globe. Kiribati's 81,000 Micronesians may observe nothing different about this dawn; they only received TV in 1989. However, for those who live in a world that relies on satellites, air, rail and ground transportation, manufacturing plants, electricity, heat, telephones, or TV, when the calendar clicks from '99 to '00, we will experience a true millennial shift. As the sun moves westward on January 1, 2000, as the date shifts silently within millions of computerized systems, we will begin to experience our computer-dependent world in an entirely new way. We will finally see the extent of the networked and interdependent processes we have created. At the stroke of midnight, the new millennium heralds the greatest challenge to modern society that we have yet to face as a planetary community. I am describing the year 2000 problem, known as Y2K (K signifying 1000.) Nicknamed at first The Millennial Bug, increasing sensitivity to the magnitude of the impending crisis has escalated it to The Millennial Bomb. The problem begins as a simple technical error. Large mainframe computers more than ten years old were not programmed to handle a four digit year. Sitting here now, on the threshold of the year 2000, it seems incomprehensible that computer programmers and microchip designers didn't plan for it. But when these billions of lines of computer code were being written, computer memory was very expensive. Remember when a computer only had 16 kilobytes of RAM? To save storage space, most programmers allocated only two digits to a year. 1993 is ?93' in data files, 1917 is '17.' These two-digit dates exist on millions of files used as input to millions of applications. Programmers did whatever was required to get a product up and working; no one even thought about standards. The same thing happened in the production of microchips as recently as three years ago. Microprocessors and other integrated circuits are often just sophisticated calculators that count and do math. They count many things: fractions of seconds, days, inches, pounds, degrees, lumens, etc. Many chips that had a time function designed into them were only structured for this century. And when the date goes from '99 to '00 both they and the legacy software that has not been fixed will think it is still the 20th century -- not 2000, but 1900 Y2K Date calculations affect far more millions of systems than those that deal with inventories, interest rates, or insurance policies. Every major aspect of our modern infrastructure has systems and equipment that rely on such calculations to perform their functions. We are dependent on computerized systems that contain date functions to effectively manage defense, transportation, power generation, manufacturing, telecommunications, finance, government, education, healthcare, and more. The list is longer, but the picture is pretty clear. We have created a world whose efficient functioning in all but the poorest and remotest areas is dependent on computers. It doesn't matter whether you personally use a computer, or that most people around the world don't even have telephones. The world's economic and political infrastructures rely on computers. And not isolated computers. We have created dense networks of reliance around the globe. We are networked together for economic and politica l purposes. Whatever happens in one part of the network has an impact on other parts of the network. We have created not only a computer-dependent society, but, also an interdependent planet. We already have had frequent experiences with how fragile these systems are, how failure's cascade through a networked system. While each of these systems relies on millions of lines of code that detail the required processing, they handle their routines in serial fashion. Any next step depends on the preceding step. This serial nature makes systems, no matter their size, vulnerable to even the slightest problem anywhere in the system. In

Free Essays on Murder In The First

Murder in the First â€Å"A society that respects life does not deliberately kill human beings. An execution is a violent public spectacle of official homicide, and one that endorses killing to solve social problems - the worst possible example to set for the citizenry. The benefits of capital punishment are illusory, but the bloodshed and the resulting destruction of community decency are real.† Hugo Bedau, in The Case Against the Death Penalty In American society, the threat of capital punishment stands as the ultimate sentence for a criminal. The moral ramifications of the taking of another life, whether it be by murder or as legally accepted punishment, remains an unresolved conflict between Americans. Despite the fact that capital punishment, otherwise known as the "death penalty", is legal in only a handful of countries in the world, the majority of Americans regard it as acceptable retribution. In the 1981 Gallup Poll, two-thirds of Americans voiced general approval of capital punishment. By 1994, the same poll concluded that a tremendous 80% of Americans approved of capital punishment (Moore, 1994:5). It is no wonder that many of our countries leaders endorse the death penalty. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, believes that mass executions of "27 or 30 or 35 people at a time" would be effective in the reduction of the importation of illegal drugs in to America (Taylor, 1995). In 1972, capital punishment was eradicated in the United States when the Supreme Court declared that under then existing laws "imposition and carrying out of the death penalty... constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th and 14th amendments." (Fruman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238). This decision, however, was repealed in 1976 by the Supreme Court. Advocates of capital punishment claim that it is an effective deterrent against cr... Free Essays on Murder In The First Free Essays on Murder In The First Murder in the First â€Å"A society that respects life does not deliberately kill human beings. An execution is a violent public spectacle of official homicide, and one that endorses killing to solve social problems - the worst possible example to set for the citizenry. The benefits of capital punishment are illusory, but the bloodshed and the resulting destruction of community decency are real.† Hugo Bedau, in The Case Against the Death Penalty In American society, the threat of capital punishment stands as the ultimate sentence for a criminal. The moral ramifications of the taking of another life, whether it be by murder or as legally accepted punishment, remains an unresolved conflict between Americans. Despite the fact that capital punishment, otherwise known as the "death penalty", is legal in only a handful of countries in the world, the majority of Americans regard it as acceptable retribution. In the 1981 Gallup Poll, two-thirds of Americans voiced general approval of capital punishment. By 1994, the same poll concluded that a tremendous 80% of Americans approved of capital punishment (Moore, 1994:5). It is no wonder that many of our countries leaders endorse the death penalty. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, believes that mass executions of "27 or 30 or 35 people at a time" would be effective in the reduction of the importation of illegal drugs in to America (Taylor, 1995). In 1972, capital punishment was eradicated in the United States when the Supreme Court declared that under then existing laws "imposition and carrying out of the death penalty... constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th and 14th amendments." (Fruman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238). This decision, however, was repealed in 1976 by the Supreme Court. Advocates of capital punishment claim that it is an effective deterrent against cr...

Consecuencias de no presentarse a una cita con USCIS

Consecuencias de no presentarse a una cita con USCIS Si un migrante recibe una citacià ³n del Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) para presentarse en una de sus oficinas tiene la obligacià ³n de acudir a la misma el dà ­a y a la hora indicada. Sin embargo, si no puede presentarse en esa fecha, puede intentar cambiarla.  ¿Para quà © envà ­a el USCIS la citacià ³n? El USCIS puede enviar una carta (appointment letter, en inglà ©s) para comparecer en un Centro de Apoyo de Aplicaciones (ASC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) o en una de sus oficinas, conocidas como Field Offices. La razà ³n es que necesitan entrevistar a la persona citada o realizar otra labor sobre una solicitud o aplicacià ³n pendiente. Por ejemplo: examen para la adquisicià ³n de la ciudadanà ­a americana por naturalizacià ³ntoma de huellas digitales y otros datos biomà ©tricosentrevista de esposos para remocià ³n de condiciones de green card, etc. Quà © hay que hacer si no se puede acudir a la cita con el USCIS el dà ­a seà ±alado En primer lugar, deben seguirse las instrucciones que puede haber en la carta en la que se hacà ­a la citacià ³n. Probablemente, se pida el envà ­o de una carta explicando la razà ³n para cambiar la fecha. Adems, si habà ­a que presentarse en un Field Office se puede llamar al telà ©fono de Servicio al Cliente marcando al 800-375-5283. Si se tiene problemas auditivos, se puede utilizar el servicio TDD llamando al 1800-767-1833. En todos los casos, la razà ³n para pedir un cambio de la cita debe ser urgente y grave. Ser el propio USCIS quien decide si acepta o no posponer la cita. Y tambià ©n si hay que mostrarle evidencia de la razà ³n por la que se solicita el cambio es cierta. Cabe destacar que, frecuentemente, en los casos en los que USCIS pospone la fecha lo hace por menos de 30 dà ­as aunque depende de la carga de trabajo de la oficina correspondiente. Consecuencias del cambio de dà ­a en la citacià ³n Si el USCIS est de acuerdo en cambiar la fecha de citacià ³n, la à ºnica consecuencia del cambio es que se producir un pequeà ±o retraso en la tramitacià ³n de la aplicacià ³n. Adems, dependiendo del caso es posible que niegue temporalmente el derecho a recibir algà ºn tipo de beneficios. Sin embargo, si el USCIS no accede a cambiar la cita  y, a pesar de eso, la persona citada no acude es posible que eso signifique la negacià ³n de la solicitud o peticià ³n que se està © tramitando. Obligacià ³n de notificar el cambio de domicilio Nunca se podr alegar ante el USCIS que no se recibià ³ la notificacià ³n para presentarse en sus oficinas porque hubo un cambio de vivienda  y no se recibià ³ la carta en la nueva si no se ha notificado el cambio de domicilio.   Todos los extranjeros que estn legalmente en Estados Unidos por ms de 30 dà ­as tienen la obligacià ³n de informar al USCIS de todos sus cambios de domicilio permanentes, es decir, no por vacaciones. La regla general es llenar y enviar el formulario AR-11, que se puede descargar gratuitamente de la pgina oficial de USCIS o llenar electrà ³nicamente en la misma. Cabe destacar que los estudiantes internacionales y sus familiares con visa F-2  y los visitantes extranjeros con visas de intercambio J-1 y sus derivados J-! tienen sus propias normas. Finalmente, esta obligacià ³n de notificar los cambios de domicilio tambià ©n aplica a los ciudadanos estadounidenses que han firmado un affidavit of support en favor de un familiar o amigo en el proceso de peticià ³n de una tarjeta de residencia. Informacià ³n importante a tener en cuenta Si USCIS cita a un migrante indocumentado es recomendable asesorarse con un abogado. En la situacià ³n actual que vive el paà ­s se han dado casos de detenciones en oficinas migratorias. No confundir las consecuencias de no presentarse a una cita con el USCIS a las de no acudir a una cita con la Corte de Inmigracià ³n. Esta à ºltima es muy grave ya que podrà ­a suponer una declaracià ³n de una orden de deportacià ³n in absentia.   Finalmente, si un migrante no se siente cà ³modo hablando en inglà ©s y tiene una entrevista en Inmigracià ³n, puede ir con un intà ©rprete. Puntos Clave: Cita con USCIS Si un migrante recibe una carta de USCIS citndole a una de sus oficinas debe presentarse o intentar un cambio de fecha.El cambio de fecha se solicita siguiendo las instrucciones de la carta en la que USCIS notifica la cita. Siempre debe ser por causas justificadas.Si el USCIS accede al cambio de fecha, frecuentemente pospondr la cita un mximo de 30 dà ­as.Si un migrante no se presenta a una cita, su solicitud puede ser negada.Los migrantes deben comunicar a USCIS los cambios de domicilio, excepto por vacaciones. Esta regla no aplica a indocumentados. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

MEMO style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MEMO style - Essay Example Therefore, Saturday night is a perfect time for me, and there won’t be any inconveniences. Despite my acceptance of this invitation, I still have some reservations. This is basically because you are not clear on the time, your address, what to wear, and what to bring at this party. In your letter, you just mentioned that the party would occur on Saturday night. This is rather confusing, since I am eager to know at what time exactly would the party start, and the time that the people invited should assemble. This information would help me arrive early, at the venue. Another important issue that emerges is the address. It would be difficult for me, to attend a party, that I don’t know its address. It is therefore prudent that you give us the address ton your house. As this is a swimming/barbecue party, I am also concerned into knowing whether you would provide us with the costumes, or not. This would help me in coming up with a decision on whether to come up with my costumes or not. Furthermore, you failed to tell us on what to carry, in addition to the issues that I have mentioned in this

QUANTITY SURVEY PRACTISE-COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT Essay

QUANTITY SURVEY PRACTISE-COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT - Essay Example This is because this will be the ideal thing to do so that the project is completed in good time to deter the anxiety of your clients. In the letter, he directs that i advice you on the implications of the letter. On this regard, I advice, that you initiate the project as directed. This is in view of the fact that it is your duty to do that, failure to which the client may initiate a legal complaint against your firm. It is more so important because of the history of the client in being quick to seek legal redress on slight delays. As it is in the public domain, the client sued Yanda property developers in the year 2007 for failure to initiate a project (Delay of one month). On this note, it is my humble opinion that you carry out your contractual obligations as soon as possible. (Aqua Group, 2007) I write on behalf of my client, Oligarch Investments, in reference to a letter dated 28 September 2012 14:23. Our client has, in receiving the letter, undertaken to fully carry out their obligation in time. My legal opinion is that this will be detrimental to your firm if the funding problem is not sorted out in time. This is because it is your legal obligation to carry out the project as stipulated in the contract. I write in reference to your letter dated, 8 October 2012 08.30, acknowledging receipt of the letter from the architecture and communication from your backers. The implication of this could be delay of the impending project. Subsequently a legal tussle may ensue. However, our firm would like to advice that we write to the relevant firms and authorities to seek extension of time to avoid

The Moral Decline Essay -- pornography, morality, economy, family, divo

Is our society in a state of moral decline? To answer this question we have to define the word â€Å"moral† first. In Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of the word moral is â€Å"Concerning or relating to what is right and wrong in human behavior.† From this definition we can understand that a moral decline is a decline in knowing the different between right or wrong. In another word our moral is like a guide for every choice we make in our life. Therefore anything could affect our moral reasoning would affect our life. So is our society is a state of a moral decline? I think yes our society in a state of a moral decline because of the raise of pornography, the increasing divorce rate, and the economy. First of all, the rise of pornography is one of the reasons that our society is in a state of moral decline. According to the IFR, a new pornographic video is created in the United States every 39 minute. Pornography rapes people from their identity and deliver them as a body part. For example, looking to the women as a sex object. â€Å" A 2009 study at Princeton that used MRI scans to document how pornography encourages men to perceive women â€Å"more as objects than as humans.†(Desmond) This will cause a sexually aggressive behavior toward women because a sex object is they only thing that the man see the women as. On the other hand we don’t see any objecting to the male in the pornographic industry because they are not cheap enough. This double stander will address a male are superiors, which will affect our equal society. Pornography is sending massage to the women that your body is what you are. An example of that are the magazine covers of nude women in a perfect shape. When a 17 year old over weight girl looks at that picture, firs... ... K. Crowder and J. Teachman. 2004. â€Å"Do Residential Conditions Explain the Relationship Between Living Arrangements and Adolescent Behavior?† Journal of Marriage and Family 66:721-738. Manning J., Senate Testimony 2004, referencing: Dedmon, J."Is the Internet bad for your marriage? Online affairs, pornographic sites playing greater role in divorces." CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage_divorce_tables.htm Kelly, J. B. and Emery, R. E. (2003), Children's Adjustment Following Divorce: Risk and Resilience Perspectives. Family Relations, 52: 352–362. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2003.00352.x E. Mark Cummings, a professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. With USA News June 15, 2012 http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/15/parents-fighting-may-have-long-lasting-effect-on-kids

Extremist Group Essay

Makenssey Brinkman Mr. Feudo English 1 Pre-AP – 6th 22 April 2010 The Dangers of The Extremes Extremist groups go above and beyond to get what they want. They go to extreme measures, even disregarding people’s safety and turning groups against each other to reach their goal. They are a great hazard to mankind. Despite the fact that people have the right of free speech and assembly, the banning of Extremist groups will better society because they promote hate and violence and turn people against each other. Topic Sentence 1) Extremist groups shower hate all over the groups of people who oppose them, and they become relentless in their attempt to do so. (Evidence 1) – â€Å"Anti-choicers harassed [George Tiller’s] patients, day in and day out. They bombed his clinic. They shot him once before. They filed lawsuit after lawsuit and even convinced local prosecutors to launch criminal investigations and trials. † (Analysis 1) – The Extremist pro-li fe group attacked the abortion doctor with hate.By harassing his patients and trying to convince prosecutors to go against him, they set a solid, horrid example for others that do not share the same views as Tiller. These hateful attacks ultimately led to Tiller’s murder by gun at The Reformation Lutheran Church. (Evidence 2) – â€Å"To recruit members and spread its beliefs, the American Front has collaborated with various neo-Nazi and skinhead groups to stage protests and rallies that demonize Jews, blacks, and other minorities. (Analysis 2) – Just to try and get members into the group, the Extremist group staged many protests and minorities put down many minor groups, They promoted hate into the people who listened to and watched them as they did so, and therefore spreading the hate all they could. (Example 3) – â€Å"Anti-Semites and racists have found video-sharing websites, such as YouTube and MySpace Video, an effective means to promote propagand a and hateful material that might not otherwise be seen by the public.Internet users who search video-sharing sites will often find anti-Semitic and racist videos when looking for information completely unrelated to the videos due to misleading tags and titles that extremists attach to the videos when uploading them to the sites. † (Analysis 3) – Extremist group are using the internet to spread hatred of other groups worldwide. By doing so, it makes it even easier for them to promote the hate and then hide the evidence if their website or video is caught. This must be stopped. Topic Sentence 2) Extremist groups use violence in reaching their goals and emphasizing the point they are trying to make. (Example 1) – â€Å"On June 10, 2009, a white supremist who believed it was â€Å"time to kill the Jews† took his gun to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D. C. , and stated shooting upon entering. † (Analysis 1) – In believing he was doing the ri ght thing, this Extremist tried to make his point by attacking the Holocaust victims museum. By attacking this museum, he made a big stand by basically showing with his violence that he supported what happened in the Holocaust. Example 2) – â€Å"[ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna)] has waged a relentless campaign of violence against the Spanish state, targeting politicians, policemen, judges, and soldiers. In 1980 alone, ETA was blamed for 118 deaths, and in 1995 it nearly succeeded in assassinating Jose Maria Aznar, then leader of the opposition, now Spain’s prime minister. † (Analysis 2) – The Extremist group ETA is taking their beliefs to an extreme extent. By killing and trying to assassinate a respected leader, they are using the violence to try and scare off and weaken their opposition. Example 3) – â€Å"Since 1977, there have been at least 17 attempted murders, 383 death threats, 153 incidents of assault or battery and three kidnappings committe d against abortion providers in North America. † (Analysis 3) – These are solid facts that exemplify all of the violence that have taken place from just one Extremist group. The groups cause pain and suffering in North America, and they feel as though using violence is one of the only ways to get their point across. (Topic Sentence 3) – Along with all the hate and violence that these groups reate, Extremist groups try tearing people further apart with their actions and words. (Example 1) – â€Å"The Kach movement was most famous for its platform calling for the removal of the entire Israeli-Arab population from Israel and transferring them â€Å"elsewhere. †Ã¢â‚¬  (Analysis 1) – The Jewish Defense League is another Extremist group that prizes themselves over all people. By trying to kick the Israeli-Arab population out of their homeland so they can take over, they cause horrible tensions between the people. These tensions would almost most certainly lead to more hate and more violence. Example 2) – â€Å"One man from Brockton, Massachusetts – who told police he had learned on white supremacist websites that a genocide was under way against whites – is charged with murdering two black people and planning to kill as many Jews as possible on the day after Obama's inauguration. † (Analysis 2) – By using the internet as a source to get to people, the Extremist groups have given false information and got what they wanted from it. They scared the man into believing that he was in danger, so he decided to take action and go against the other races. (Example 3) –