Ask the Mormon

[ccgr]

Have you seen the mormom.org ads on Foxnews too or are they targeting me for conversion?

[ArcticFox]

Want a shirt that say's "This is my +6 save shirt"?

Who wouldn't?

Have you seen the mormom.org ads on Foxnews too or are they targeting me for conversion?

You mean like, you go onto foxnews.com and see ads for that site?

[ccgr]

website ads and video ads when I watched some of their online news videos

[ArcticFox]

I don't generally go to foxnews.com, so I haven't noticed the ads for myself, but I do know that a lot of the ad generating software used by sites like foxnews.com takes a look at the cookies in your browser history to run an algorithm to target ads on the assumption that you'd be interested in them, since your browser has apparently looked at them before.

It's an interesting privacy conundrum, and I recently attended a lecture in the building where I work where they were talking about ways to solve the problem of finding a way to have ad software be more precisely tuned to people's interests, while still preserving their privacy... Facebook being the test case, as it were.

For example, suppose I used Facebook. Suppose also that I were Diabetic and order Diabetes supplies online. Facebook's ad software would see cookies in my browser and determine from that that I might be interested in Diabetes supplies ads. Fine. Here's the problem:

People's privacy settings sometimes block that sort of thing, so Facebook's ad software has another approach: looking at what your friends are interested in, then sending you ads based on it. If most of my friends are into Warhammer, then Facebook will tend to put ads on my screen about Warhammer, even if my own privacy settings prevent it from seeing the Warhammer cookies in my browser. This because people in a circle of friends tend to have similar interests. Still with me?

So now imagine that I don't want my friends to know I have Diabetes. Facebook might send them ads on Diabetes because they're my friends and it sees that I visit Diabetes supplies websites. *BOOM* My privacy has been breached. True, my friends wouldn't necessarily know that I was the one generating these Diabetes Supply sites hits, but they do know that SOMEONE in their circle of friends does, and maybe they can deduce from there who it is. (For the record, I don't have Diabetes, but if I did, I wouldn't care who knew it. But that's just me.)

So, if you're visiting a site like foxnews.com, and you're seeing ads for mormon.org, then either their ad software saw cookies in your browser from that site, possibly from following a link to there at some point that I posted here, or maybe you've been to some other site that triggered the software to react to a keyword like "Mormon" and sent you an ad based on that. Maybe you were reading a news article about Mitt Romney, or some Christian site with an article talking about Mormons, or whatever.

Incidentally, the conclusion drawn by the mathematicians behind this privacy vs. targeted ads research was that it's impossible to both have ads targeted with perfect accuracy AND preserve people's privacy. Food for thought.

[ccgr]

website ads I can understand but the video ads too? Interesting regardless.

[ArcticFox]

Yeah I know websites need their revenue but some of the ads are down right obnoxious.

[Chozon1]

Terminator armor?

[Deepfreeze32]

So...my semester for next semester will be ridiculous.

Here's what I'll be taking:

IT 220 (Intro to Databases and Database Management)
CS 332 (Design and Analysis of Algorithms)
CS 355 (Compiler Construction)
CS 374 (Software Engineering)
MATH 377 (Statistical Methods I)
(Also a bowling course, but if that infringes on my schedule we have bigger problems...)

Am I insane for signing up for this course load? Because some of my friends think that taking three 300-level CS courses concurrently is a death sentence. XD

Also, What think ye of Digital Circuits? We just got to them in my Electronics course, and it's like a breath of fresh air (Since I took Computer Organization last semester). Seriously. Analog was killing me. XD

[ArcticFox]

Terminator armor?

Sometimes. Terminators can teleport in, get Invulnerable saves, and gain +1 attack because they come with Terminator honors. It also allows them additional weapon options. On the other hand, they are slower to move and cost huge points. They can't come in by drop pod (which is safer and more reliable than teleportation) and sometimes their battlefield role can be a bit unclear.

I use them most often as anti armor assets. My Sword Brethren Terminator squad is 7 marines, mostly Power Fist and Storm Bolter equipped, with a Cyclone Missile Launcher and an Assault Cannon tossed in for fun. Note: This configuration is not legal for any army except Black Templars.

So...my semester for next semester will be ridiculous.

Here's what I'll be taking:

IT 220 (Intro to Databases and Database Management)
CS 332 (Design and Analysis of Algorithms)
CS 355 (Compiler Construction)
CS 374 (Software Engineering)
MATH 377 (Statistical Methods I)
(Also a bowling course, but if that infringes on my schedule we have bigger problems...)

Am I insane for signing up for this course load? Because some of my friends think that taking three 300-level CS courses concurrently is a death sentence. XD

Also, What think ye of Digital Circuits? We just got to them in my Electronics course, and it's like a breath of fresh air (Since I took Computer Organization last semester). Seriously. Analog was killing me. XD

I don't know if you're insane for that... You will be challenged, for sure... But when I was working on my CS degree I found the 200 level classes to be generally harder, because those tend to be the weeder classes, meant to filter out those who aren't likely to do well in that field... Those who get through that gauntlet then cruise through 300 and 400 level courses which build on the new concepts you learned in the 200s, for more advanced or more specific concepts. I think that's a LOT of credit hours to be taking at once, and maybe I'm a wuss for always taking from 9 - 12 per semester, but my son loads his schedule heavy like you're doing and he'd handling it, so if you feel confident that you can keep up with that then more power to you.

I never did much with digital circuits. My focus was more database/application/development focused. I did do one class that took it down to the digital circuit level and added layers and layers working up to the Operating System level. So we'd start with transistors, go into digital logic, work up to simple adders, work up to instruction sets, through system architecture, memory, I/O, assembler, then OS. I wish it had been more hands on and less theory, because I'm familiar with that stuff but I'm not one of those guys who could take a bag of transistors and build you a calculator.

[Chozon1]

My codex get here today, and it is indeed the currant one. ^_^ Pretty thrilled. Been perusing it all day.

I was bummed to find out you can't equip troop choices with thunder hammers though. XD

Scouts?

[ArcticFox]

Heh yeah Thunder Hammers are for Terminators and characters. Bummer, no?

Scouts... well... if you have a specific role in mind for them they have their uses. I'm not really experienced with them because Black Templars don't use scouts at all. They have a sort of equivalent, but they run in units mixed with regular marines. Scouts can be useful meat shields or objective grabbers, but they're not really much for keeping up with the fully power armored brethren.

[Chozon1]

Totally. I had this whole thought process of equipping assault troops with thunder hammers. XD Still, just means I need to get a terminator squad.

Do you use names or generic heroes most often?

[ArcticFox]

I like to name my heroes. Makes the game more fun and gives a sense of storyline to it that way.

[Chozon1]

I meant do you use the famous heroes like Marneus Calgar (or Black Templar equivalent), or make a hero up and use a named heroes rule set?

OR...did I completely read that little box wrong? XD

Do you have a unit you would recommend I start off with?

[ArcticFox]

OHHHH Well the selection of named heroes in the Black Templars Codex isn't great, so no, I don't use any of them. I do have one that was introduced separately in a White Dwarf article, but he's not very good so I play him as a custom character with my own loadout and just kept the name.

If you're staring out, the first unit in your force should be a 10 man Space Marine Tactical Squad. It's a nice, flexible unit that gives you plenty of options, and can serve in a variety of roles. Your minimum requirements for your FOC are two Troop choices and one HQ, and that Tac squad satisfies one of those Troop choices. A Rhino is a good transport option for such a squad. (You could also go Land Raider on that, but...)