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As for archival copies, so many government agencies and private corporations fail at it, its not longer funny. Just because you think you are backing up and archiving does not mean you are and you only do so in reality when you randomly and routinely check all back up and archives, in fact you need to spend more time on testing and auditing backups and archives than in producing them in order to ensure that you are in reality producing them and that is up to and including restoring from backup onto test systems.

http://dilbert.com/strips/comi...

Now, imagine what would happen if the NSA gave another false "we don't mass collect" excuse this time.
Anyways, if that Rep. intentionally is trying to shed new light on the NSA's workings, then well played, even if he is a Texas Republican.

Unfortunately, this happens a lot, from top to bottom within the government.
But Dilbert provides us with the solution!

You didn't follow his Electricity from air stuff then?
I'm familiar with him looking like a gargantuan idiot and pathetic narcissist, but not being right about a paradigm shift in engineering. Do you have an example?

I worked around the PHB doing something like this by telling him we'd written our own cloud software and were using it because it was more secure than what is currently available.

He doesn't talk to cloud guys, because we've already got a cloud provider (AFAHKT).

Yes, things like this really work in real life.

Until someone or some armed gang takes it from you.

The problem won't just be lack of food, water, and transportation; it will be your fellow citizens turning on you to survive at all cost.

I have taken that into account.

Longer than "rsync --archive --verbose /var/www/html/. new-host:/var/www/html/." takes to type.

But again, that's the extreme simple case. That'll serve you well for somebody's 1993 web site, though their "contact us!" form may require a little more work (though I do realize that this form doesn't fit into the "just static files" restriction I mentioned.)

But even back in 1993 that was simpler than most "real" services. Scott Adams gave a nice example of how people viewed complexity back in 1994 (and it's still accurate.). You can argue that anything that is complicated is not properly programmed ... and that's fine, but then again ... by that definition, the vast majority of stuff must not be properly programmed.

I don't know how complicated Gamespy's services are, I don't know how it's built. But I seriously doubt it can be replicated with a simple rsync to the new server. (Unless you rsync *everything*, and the new server has similar hardware to the old server and will sit at the same address in the same datacenter.) And of course EA doesn't even own Gamespy so they can't rsync it to begin with.

> Oh and if you report on a project, use a traffic
> light that is green or use smileys...

Reminds me of my all-time favorite picture example.

Oblig. Dilbert Reference

Dilbert, of course: http://dilbert.com/strips/comi...

In theory, true.

Just like a good manager can manage anything.

In practice, however, a lobbyist is much more valuable if he or she has cultivated contacts and inside access to a particular regulatory bureaucracy. They guy pestering the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary in the lobby is vastly less effective, and commands much less money, than the guy who can dial the private phone number of the department head's own secretary and schedule a couple hours with his immediate successor in the job of department head.

And that's where the conflict of interest lives: a person gained access and personal trust in the context of public service. He cashes in on that asset, originally conferred for the benefit of the public, for his own personal benefit (bigtime lobbying contracts) and the benefit of his private clients (in the regulated field). Plus, you know, regulatory capture.

Best random number generators are impervious to statistics

Then there is the follow up to that in the tech world.

Right, Catbert?

You cannot eliminate it when you create an endless suppy.

So, it's like comparing Apples and Oranges?

If I get my hands on the asshat who's been poaching my unicorns there'll be hell to pay

It's those guys from the marketing department.

But does it come in Mauve?
http://search.dilbert.com/comi...

XKCD
How do you know it's not random?

http://dilbert.com/fast/2014-0...

They also teach search and rescue in our rubble piles and collapsing buildings.

HOLY COW, now THERE'S a gig: building collapsing buildings.

Demand: There's ALWAYS another construction job to do next week.

Quality? The damn thing needs to stay standing for just a few days.

Obsolesce? No one's surprised when it falls apart.

Insurance? If it collapses and kills someone, that's just job training -- NOT my problem.

Offensive rubble color? Just wait a week and this time ask for Baby Blue.

Contractor termination scenario:
Builder: Bob, I'm afraid we're going to have to let you go.
Bob, crying, in shock: But why?? I do the absolute best job that I can do! My work is built to withstand anything!
Builder: Well Bob, you see: that's the problem.

The neighbors that come by and always complain about the smoke and noise? That's easily outsourced to friends:

That division includes an on-staff sniper.

Yes, we nerds are suitably embarrased by this fact.

Ob Dilbert.

As both a Dilbert and XKCD fan, I appricaite them both for different reasons.

DIlbert often highlights the funny / depressing work side of my life. (Control systems engineer) e.g. http://dilbert.com/strips/comi... recienlt just about made me choke on my coffee.

Where as XKCD appeals to my geeky nature, though also applicable to work situations sometimes e.g. https://xkcd.com/927/ but there are so many others that come up in ever day life for those of us that are geeky

So "this one is deterministic" seems like a weak complaint.

By your standards, this PRNG isn't so bad.

It gets in the way of business.

I think this has generally been disproven. Granted, there will be problems when selecting materiel to be played over a P.A. system that is acceptable to all. But headphones have ameliorated this issue.

I was reading a book about the design and production of the VT fuze during WWII recently. Plants involved in tedious production steps found that piping in music sped up production notably .... with one exception. A hit song for a time was 'Deep in the Heart of Texas'. When this was piped in, the workers would hum along with the tune, as they did with others. But there is a repeating part in the tune that consists of four accented beats. When that part came around, the workers stopped for a moment to tap their tools on their workbenches in time with the beats. The drop in productivity was measurable. But management decided not to ban the song, as it eventually dropped from the top of the charts.

The issue of upper management's perception of music, or outside intellectual pursuits as being anathema to productivity may have something to do with the selection criteria for MBA candidates. People who pursue such degrees might just be less capable of multitasking and not posses the mental faculties necessary.

See The Dilbert Principle and this.

They had a commercial during the SuperBowl with 10,000 80's superstars. Getting into futuristic stuff like Raspberry Pi's, Arduinos and 3D printers is a great idea, but it would have been nice to hear about that during the commercial rather than see Hulk Hogan get into a DeLorean. Instead, I just found out about it on this thread.

And they need to stop the price gouging. If a Pi is $35 online, there's no way I should pay more than $69.99 no matter how much they are helping me. Anything more is robbery.

Radio Shack spent too much on their Superbowl ads and not enough on training staff. I live overseas so I visit RS maybe once a year. When I heard they were getting back to their hobbiest roots I almost forgave them for diving all of the independent radio parts shops out of business such as my former employer. I asked their employees about arduinos and other microcontrollers, they'd never heard of them. So I took them to the back of their store and showed them where they were. I asked about UV LEDs. They found me an IR LED, close but no cigar. I dug through a couple more drawers and showed them the UV one. Something like $4 for one LED, only about 5000% markup from the low-quanity price at Digi-key and Farnell, 10000% above what you'd get them delivered from Chinese online shops if you're willing to wait a month but yes if I needed it then and there, there it was. If only their staff knew what they had and knew how it could be used so they could help customers and get customers interested in buying more.

RS management, if you're listening, hire hobbiests and train the rest of your staff in Linux, electronics repair, arduino, PIC. Sift through the millions of wholesale electronics products and sell only the most open, well-documented and hackable products. Sell Arduinos, Pics, Pis, Canon (CHDK) capable cameras, software defined radio chips. Set aside a Makerspace/repair cafe in your store. Install 3D printers and create online portal for shared 3D designs, arduino sketches, Raspberry Pi and Linux. Buy a small wave solderer and train staff on how to rejuvenate the millions of video games, laptops and tablets whose GPUs have unsoldered themselves. Make deals with Amazon, alibaba, ebay, dx, farnell. You have a &(*@ load of retail space, they have the commodity components and proprietary batteries. Make your stores retail portals with staff to explain, upsell on installation and help. Clear your in-store warehouses to make room for deliveries.
You're welcome!

...or am I bluffing?

You need frienditutes!

Does it? Allot of organized crime already has one or several buyers for whatever is stolen. And the buyer(s) are usually the ones who gave the information of what where and when it can be stolen.

You think they're going to start unloading containers from a moving ship?

Let me guess: Into their little speedboats, right? And before the navy arrives.

http://www.dilbert.com/fast/20...

"$10M or your $LARGESUM ship and cargo land at the bottom of the ocean".

Riiight. Because there's no possible way they could do that at the moment is there...?

http://www.dilbert.com/fast/20...

Will the pirates at least wave and say thank you to the crew when they take manual control of the ship?

What if there's no "manual control" when the ship is out at sea? Are they going to start unloading containers onto their little speedboat from a moving ship?

I'm going to start including this on all ./ replies: http://www.dilbert.com/fast/20...

http://www.dilbert.com/fast/20...

What if they seed the PRNG with cosmic ray data? And/or XOR the PRNG with cosmic ray data?
I think if that also shows Bell correlations, it would only leave two possibilities:
* Either there's a god-like entity determining the results and actively misleading us. In which case, no amount of experimenting would help.
* Or quantum mechanics is right.

OK, there's third one:
* Actually the correlations don't really exist, but due to an extremely unlikely sequence of events the data still looks like we have one (similar to how a fair coin can land on the same side a million times in a row; it's just that it is so unlikely that we'd not believe that the coin is really unbiased if it happened; obligatory link).

Well, there's also a fourth one:
* Quantum mechanics as such is wrong, but we have parallel universes with an analogue of quantum suicide, and some extraterrestrial race wants to prevent us from discovering the true laws (because those would lead us to powerful weapons and thus make us a threat to them), and immediately vaporizes the earth as soon as a measurement violates quantum mechanics. Therefore in all surviving copies of the earth, the laws of quantum mechanics seem to hold.

OK, I guess I should stop before my possibilities get even more silly. ;-)

Dogbert

In sure somewhere in here is a relevant Dilbert... http://search.dilbert.com/comi...

Overpopulation won't be a problem.

Simply put: why are you going to take in more responsibility to enrich someone else while you can work on your own projects during your spare time and hit the jackpot?

Probably because most of us sign contracts assigning all work and patents to our employers. This tends to be the case for contractors, as well as employees.

Most companies won't go after us if we do FOSS work (as long as we don't use their code, or compete with the company). Some actually encourage it.

However, if you hit the jackpot, expect a visit from the lawyerpult.

http://dilbert.com/strips/comi...

This reminds me of one of my favorite Dilbert cartoons - "I'm gonna write me a new minivan this after-noon!" http://dilbert.com/strips/comi...

Dilbert's sage precience, circa 1995...

Say NO to cardboard betas.

Predicted 20 years ago!
http://dilbert.com/strips/comi...

Ugh.
I'm an engineer and not a fan of the open office at my job. I have my favorite Dilbert on this subject posted on my bookcase:
http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-05-31/

It is nice to be able to check if someone is at their desk without having to do anything more than turn my head, but I'm easily distracted and it can be very hard to focus on work even with the headphones. Oh yeah, back to work!

"He didn't fit in."

To me the reasons for the open office space are partially explained by this Dilbert strip.

Oblig. Dilbert.

Sounds like the usual arc of a project. Obligatory Dilbert

Made me think of this.

Fiberoptics for data transmission: "Laser beams will have to be led through plastic pipes, to avoid material and atmospheric interference."

What a fraud. Fiberoptics use glass, not plastic.

Or, if you have control issues, you can feed it White Castle before you put it in the box.

Or better yet, an etch-a-sketch.

> They continued selling that board :)

http://search.dilbert.com/comic/Iso

in particular this one http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/000000/10000/8000/300/18397/18397.strip.zoom.gif

> They continued selling that board :)

http://search.dilbert.com/comic/Iso

in particular this one http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/000000/10000/8000/300/18397/18397.strip.zoom.gif

As a developer, I generally try to *remove* bugs from the software, but for a share of the $150,000, I'm sure I could let something slip through and then tell you where to find it. Dilbert nailed this 18 years ago: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-11-13/