The Off Topic Topic

[Admiral Yi]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/business/tesla-elon-musk.html

Elon Musk acts like crazy person at earnings call, Tesla stock dives.

[The Larch]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/business/tesla-elon-musk.html

Elon Musk acts like crazy person at earnings call, Tesla stock dives.

One would think that Tesla investors knew what they were getting into.

[jimmy olsen]

[Admiral Yi]

Harsh toke.

[DGuller]

Penguins can be such assholes.

[Razgovory]

  I saw that Ollie North will be the next head of the NRA.  Now there is a guy you can trust to keep weapons out of the hands of bad actors.

[Admiral Yi]

In France right now if you pass the baccalaureat (HS grad test) you earn the legal right (created by Napoleon) to attend any public university, in any degree program.  You can know dick about math and sign up for a physics program, and they have to accept you.  The end result is 70% of French uni students fail to get a degree in 3 years.

This does not include the 8% of students who attend les grandes ecoles or the 18% who attend private universities.

Macron is trying change the law to allow some degree of selectivity and students are pissed.

France has the highest percentage of students studying overseas of any advanced economy country.

From Econ

[Barrister]

I dunno - there is something very egalitarian about giving kids the opportunity, and being unafraid to fail them.  It's certainly the opposite of the US model where competition is fierce to get in - but then all the snowflakes whine when they get their first B.

[The Brain]

As long as the French think they can afford the waste... They ARE weird, like their love of disruptive strikes and fear of working 40 hours a week.

[Eddie Teach]

It's not fear, it's distaste. I agree completely.

[Duque de Bragança]

In France right now if you pass the baccalaureat (HS grad test) you earn the legal right (created by Napoleon) to attend any public university, in any degree program.  You can know dick about math and sign up for a physics program, and they have to accept you.  The end result is 70% of French uni students fail to get a degree in 3 years.

This does not include the 8% of students who attend les grandes ecoles or the 18% who attend private universities.

Macron is trying change the law to allow some degree of selectivity and students are pissed.

France has the highest percentage of students studying overseas of any advanced economy country.

From Econ

In the old days, only baccalauréat général allowed access to universities and requirements were higher.
Most of it is true, but physics and math degrees in public universities are not where the problem is, not too many students there, but mainly humanities and social sciences, sociology being the typical example.
Yet, those "humanities" students, even their "trade union" don't seem to read much and can't really spell in proper French as reported by the weekly satyrical Le Canard Enchaîné. 



Executive summary: not enough dictées and grammar lessons during primary school. 

[derspiess]

Holy crap, BIGS will soon release Taco Bell flavored sunflower seeds

I'm as stoked as grabon is on Bear Night.

[Tonitrus]

Sunflower seeds are a disgusting habit.

[The Larch]

Sunflower seeds are a disgusting habit.

Blasphemy!

[derspiess]

I can't do anything outside in the summer without them these days