Re:In b4 losers asking why he didn't kill himself
on
Jack Kevorkian Dead at 83
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
On the other hand, those who are rendered helpless -- trapped in a body that no longer works -- do suffer for no good reason. When you can't move on your own, have to fed and have your poo cleaned by others, and most importantly, have no hope of it ever getting better -- you're effectively in the most cruel jail.
Certainly I do not want to be put in this awful position. However, my concern is that if doctor assisted suicide is legalized, the insurance companies will be significantly less motivated to treat seriously ill patients who choose to live. And eventually, even before they get to this stage.
(We already have "quality of life" decisions being made before treatment options are presented to patients. Those who are perceived to have "too low a quality of life" are only offered palliative treatments.)
And I swear to all that anyone has ever held holy, if you say "That would be too expensive for the rights holder," you are the dumbest sack of shit I'll have ever communicated with via electronic means, since if they're not prepared to pay for actual investigation they have no goddamn cause to be suing hundreds or thousands of people.
Isn't the law supposed to protect everyone equally, whether you are a mega corporation with billions to spend on lawyers or a poor sot making recordings in a bedroom?
(Yes, I know, the 'golden rule' applies. And certainly I am in favor of making it harder to bring nuisance law suits.)
Do you believe in Cause & Effect? If so, then you believe in karma
Sorry. Karma is about mystical/supernatural cause and effect. While some people may think that their good deeds are causing their good luck, the closest it gets to that in reality is that treating some one nicely might encourage that person to treat you nicely. Otherwise, cause and effect is a measurable physical process.
No doubt you would also be aghast if users start doing development on their *own* machines that they purchased with their own money as an alternative to using a crappy dev machine that makes their work painful.
Most companies would be aghast to see that happen. Companies and their IT departments have good reasons for not allowing non-company computers and accessories to be used for company business. They also legitimately dislike portable storage devices being connected to company.
Very often, this is can get in the way of productivity. On the other hand, my coworkers and I were able to get a new oscilloscope and a new logic analyzer by pointing out that a 'scope with an ether-net interface would allow us to send 'scope data to our PCs without needing to use memory cards. (Though we still use our old 'scopes and the memory cards they require.)
It ran a protocol called Layers. About 10 years, ago, I came across a later version of the BLIT, an AT&T 610, in a back corner of a testing lab in the office I was working at the time. Being curious, I did some searching and found C source for a user-space Layers driver. Basically, it worked like the screen utility works, except that the "driver" simply multiplexed the normal tty IO over a serial link, which could be a com port, TCP or other, to the terminal, which then de-multiplexed the streams to separate windows on its display. It also had some small capability to draw shapes from commands sent to it. I never got that feature working, just the equivalent of multiple xterm windows.
While I suppose a simple protocol like that could be useful for people who use remote shell access, I think it's easier to just run SSH in a bunch of xterm windows, leaving the multiplexing to TCP.
What's next, people who whistle getting charged for public performances?
They have tried. I have a neighbor who used to whistle popular tunes. Another neighbor, after trying complaining to the police, then called the American Society of Composers And Publishers, in an effort to silence the whistling. ASCAP lawyers then sent him a Cease and Desist letter, threatening to sue him for the maximum infringement penalty if he did not pay them a settlement immediately. AFAIK, the guy never paid any settlement, but neither did ASCAP further pursue the matter. (And the whistling ended.)
Screw the Himalayas. I was 12 when our year 7 (1st year of junior high for you Americans) science class constructed solar ovens out of aluminium foil, a large tin can, coat hangar wire and masking tape. They were good enough to cook sausages and eggs and this was at sea level. It wasn't lame but it wasn't exactly difficult for a 12 year old. A smart but not genius 8 year old could do it.
I built a solar hotdog cooker when I was 8, from cardboard and aluminum foil. My parents thought it was a great idea. Today, I have to worry about how badly Children's Protective Services will over react.
The correct checks and balances do not exist. The "kill switch" is to contact the ISP and ask them to stop routing traffic. If the ISP is not a common carrier and fails to do this immediately, hold them accountable for the traffic. If they are a common carrier then give them some time to get it dealt with. The legal system exists to handle this already.
The carriers in the US have already demonstrated the willingness to cooperate with even illegal government requests - and then showed that they have the lobbying muscle to get Congress to pass retro-active immunity and get the President to sign it.
,quote> Think about how much evidence is denied to law enforcement by envelopes, opaque concrete, and criminals' failure to shout.
I remember reading (several years ago) about a chemical that can supposedly make paper temporarily transparent.Also, seems to me that graphite and even pen ink might show up on an MRI scan. As for concrete, a portable neutron scanner should be useful to get some idea of what is inside. (No idea if such a scanner would be affordable to any but the very most important cases any time soon.)
I also avoid GTK, but mainly just because it always feels "off" on Windows.
I have heard good things about the FOX toolkit (http://www.fox-toolkit.org/). The Goggles Music Manager was written using this. Looks very Windows-ish on Linux, so I would expect it to FOX based apps to be comfortable for Windows users.
Traceability is a big issue as we are CMMI level 2, and thus our internal processes need to be clear and everything must be documented.
Sounds more like you are at Level 3, "Defined", than 2, "Repeatable"
In my experience, it takes a lot of upper management support to get to Level 3 - either that or they care only about process
As for tools, the clients of mine that have most successfully deployed such tools are the ones using a general issue management tool. Admittedly, this means a PDF or printed document ends up with a page for each requirement/specification/etc, but it allows for easy traceability and each requirement or spec has its own identifying number, which makes it easy to reference in the source code.
Yep. Most process people are truly only concerned with process.... You can have a good process, but the resulting software is wrong.... However, most auditors lack context when they evaluate process.
In my experience, the auditors are looking far more at compliance with the process then the process's compliance with business needs.
That's much harder and much more effective than some stupid filter.
At least in my observation, many parents treat these filters as "install and forget". Many times I have recommended certain blocked websites to fellow parents as being suitable for unblocking, the parents would just say "There must some reason the site is blocked, I don't want to second guess the blocking list"
I'm not sure that I wouldn't lower that age to 16, though. Kids are pretty much grown up by 16, or at least think they are.
Do keep in mind that until around a hundred years ago, 12 was considered grown up. Since then, the demands of an increasingly technological civilization required increasing the number of years of education - which had the side effect of prolonging childhood.
While I agree that very, very few under 18 are mature enough to be considered adults, our society has gone too far with this and has left us with huge numbers of 18 years olds who are almost completely unprepared to be adults, yet are expect to assume full adult responsibilities the instant they turn 18 - with all the consequences thereof.
Back when I was still a student, I used to update my status and location on my web page on the campus network. And I am aware that people used to do this with their "finger" profiles back before there was the web. Some people with "text pagers" even managed to these updates using their pagers. (Also, other things were wired to publish their status on web pages (or finger profiles), for example vending machines and hot tubs.)
I have a shelf full of DVDs that I can watch with whomever I want and loan out to people I know.
Actually, a court has already taken the first step in declaring that even if the disks themselves are ok to be loaned or sold (the "first sale doctrine"), that the content can not be loaned out or resold without paying the producer. So, no, it might be illegal for you to loan out your disks - or possibly even to invite friends over to watch them with you.
$0 source code is exactly the kind of thing a bunch of amateur programmers would want, it doesn't make the world a better place.
Many professional programmers, including me, contribute to open source projects. I don't think any of us would volunteer to contribute to a project that wasn't at least trying to improve its quality. There are open source tools that I've found easier to use than some of the (expensive) proprietary software my clients use in their offices.
True, there are really bad projects out there, but please don't lump it all in the trash can.
(As for ease of use, often it is a matter of what you have already learned. I happened to learn GIMP before PhotoShop, so I find PS to be difficult to use.)
Yes, #2. And I agree that the story is terrible. But the main goal of the project was to demonstrate the capability of open source tools. Of course, the really big cost is not the tools, it's the efforts of the team creating the movie.
I recall reading about a device that could analyze a combination of brain waves and just-under-the-skin neural impulses to interpret sub-vocalized speech. This new thing does not sound much better and is invasive as well. (Unfortunately, I have had no luck finding an authoritative source about the sub-vocal device.)
Real world example of self-limiting cat populations: Barn cats. Maybe the number quoted is theoretically possible, but if this were as much of a problem as the statistic implies, we'd have been buried in cats long ago.
The incumbents don't want to spend the money to light those fibers. And they don't want to lease access to them to competitors. Allied is willing to take the risk that it can lease access its fibers. The incumbents might be willing to spend the money to lease from Allied if for no other reason than to deny others access to all that bandwidth. Any that the incumbents don't lease is very likely to be leased by others. I think Allied has made a good bet.
There is an actual limit on available bandwidth: The capacity of the equipment and wiring carrying the data. To increase that capacity requires upgrades. Upgrades cost money. Even when the ISPs are willing to spend the money, the upgrades are done in small increments so as to minimize the "right now" costs. Of course, what Allied is doing only directly reduces the cost of backhaul bandwidth. It is possible some new ISPs could be enabled by this, which would be good. Otherwise its likely just more profit margin for the incumbents.
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On the other hand, those who are rendered helpless -- trapped in a body that no longer works -- do suffer for no good reason. When you can't move on your own, have to fed and have your poo cleaned by others, and most importantly, have no hope of it ever getting better -- you're effectively in the most cruel jail.
Certainly I do not want to be put in this awful position. However, my concern is that if doctor assisted suicide is legalized, the insurance companies will be significantly less motivated to treat seriously ill patients who choose to live. And eventually, even before they get to this stage.
(We already have "quality of life" decisions being made before treatment options are presented to patients. Those who are perceived to have "too low a quality of life" are only offered palliative treatments.)
And I swear to all that anyone has ever held holy, if you say "That would be too expensive for the rights holder," you are the dumbest sack of shit I'll have ever communicated with via electronic means, since if they're not prepared to pay for actual investigation they have no goddamn cause to be suing hundreds or thousands of people.
Isn't the law supposed to protect everyone equally, whether you are a mega corporation with billions to spend on lawyers or a poor sot making recordings in a bedroom?
(Yes, I know, the 'golden rule' applies. And certainly I am in favor of making it harder to bring nuisance law suits.)
Do you believe in Cause & Effect? If so, then you believe in karma
Sorry. Karma is about mystical/supernatural cause and effect. While some people may think that their good deeds are causing their good luck, the closest it gets to that in reality is that treating some one nicely might encourage that person to treat you nicely. Otherwise, cause and effect is a measurable physical process.
No doubt you would also be aghast if users start doing development on their *own* machines that they purchased with their own money as an alternative to using a crappy dev machine that makes their work painful.
Most companies would be aghast to see that happen. Companies and their IT departments have good reasons for not allowing non-company computers and accessories to be used for company business. They also legitimately dislike portable storage devices being connected to company.
Very often, this is can get in the way of productivity. On the other hand, my coworkers and I were able to get a new oscilloscope and a new logic analyzer by pointing out that a 'scope with an ether-net interface would allow us to send 'scope data to our PCs without needing to use memory cards. (Though we still use our old 'scopes and the memory cards they require.)
It ran a protocol called Layers. About 10 years, ago, I came across a later version of the BLIT, an AT&T 610, in a back corner of a testing lab in the office I was working at the time. Being curious, I did some searching and found C source for a user-space Layers driver. Basically, it worked like the screen utility works, except that the "driver" simply multiplexed the normal tty IO over a serial link, which could be a com port, TCP or other, to the terminal, which then de-multiplexed the streams to separate windows on its display. It also had some small capability to draw shapes from commands sent to it. I never got that feature working, just the equivalent of multiple xterm windows.
While I suppose a simple protocol like that could be useful for people who use remote shell access, I think it's easier to just run SSH in a bunch of xterm windows, leaving the multiplexing to TCP.
What's next, people who whistle getting charged for public performances?
They have tried. I have a neighbor who used to whistle popular tunes. Another neighbor, after trying complaining to the police, then called the American Society of Composers And Publishers, in an effort to silence the whistling. ASCAP lawyers then sent him a Cease and Desist letter, threatening to sue him for the maximum infringement penalty if he did not pay them a settlement immediately. AFAIK, the guy never paid any settlement, but neither did ASCAP further pursue the matter. (And the whistling ended.)
Screw the Himalayas. I was 12 when our year 7 (1st year of junior high for you Americans) science class constructed solar ovens out of aluminium foil, a large tin can, coat hangar wire and masking tape. They were good enough to cook sausages and eggs and this was at sea level. It wasn't lame but it wasn't exactly difficult for a 12 year old. A smart but not genius 8 year old could do it.
I built a solar hotdog cooker when I was 8, from cardboard and aluminum foil. My parents thought it was a great idea. Today, I have to worry about how badly Children's Protective Services will over react.
The correct checks and balances do not exist. The "kill switch" is to contact the ISP and ask them to stop routing traffic. If the ISP is not a common carrier and fails to do this immediately, hold them accountable for the traffic. If they are a common carrier then give them some time to get it dealt with. The legal system exists to handle this already.
The carriers in the US have already demonstrated the willingness to cooperate with even illegal government requests - and then showed that they have the lobbying muscle to get Congress to pass retro-active immunity and get the President to sign it.
,quote> Think about how much evidence is denied to law enforcement by envelopes, opaque concrete, and criminals' failure to shout.
I remember reading (several years ago) about a chemical that can supposedly make paper temporarily transparent .Also, seems to me that graphite and even pen ink might show up on an MRI scan. As for concrete, a portable neutron scanner should be useful to get some idea of what is inside. (No idea if such a scanner would be affordable to any but the very most important cases any time soon.)
I also avoid GTK, but mainly just because it always feels "off" on Windows.
I have heard good things about the FOX toolkit (http://www.fox-toolkit.org/). The Goggles Music Manager was written using this. Looks very Windows-ish on Linux, so I would expect it to FOX based apps to be comfortable for Windows users.
Traceability is a big issue as we are CMMI level 2, and thus our internal processes need to be clear and everything must be documented.
Sounds more like you are at Level 3, "Defined", than 2, "Repeatable"
In my experience, it takes a lot of upper management support to get to Level 3 - either that or they care only about process
As for tools, the clients of mine that have most successfully deployed such tools are the ones using a general issue management tool. Admittedly, this means a PDF or printed document ends up with a page for each requirement/specification/etc, but it allows for easy traceability and each requirement or spec has its own identifying number, which makes it easy to reference in the source code.
Yep. Most process people are truly only concerned with process. ... You can have a good process, but the resulting software is wrong. ... However, most auditors lack context when they evaluate process.
In my experience, the auditors are looking far more at compliance with the process then the process's compliance with business needs.
I was with you up until you called "him" a "resource".
To our employers, we are all resources. Why do you think the "employee relations" department is called "human resources"?
Mediocre doesn't mean terrible. It means normal, average, and ordinary.
But employers want much better than merely average, so being mediocre is a terrible thing to be.
Of course, as employers layoff average and below employees, they effectively raise the average.
That's much harder and much more effective than some stupid filter.
At least in my observation, many parents treat these filters as "install and forget". Many times I have recommended certain blocked websites to fellow parents as being suitable for unblocking, the parents would just say "There must some reason the site is blocked, I don't want to second guess the blocking list"
I'm not sure that I wouldn't lower that age to 16, though. Kids are pretty much grown up by 16, or at least think they are.
Do keep in mind that until around a hundred years ago, 12 was considered grown up. Since then, the demands of an increasingly technological civilization required increasing the number of years of education - which had the side effect of prolonging childhood.
While I agree that very, very few under 18 are mature enough to be considered adults, our society has gone too far with this and has left us with huge numbers of 18 years olds who are almost completely unprepared to be adults, yet are expect to assume full adult responsibilities the instant they turn 18 - with all the consequences thereof.
Back when I was still a student, I used to update my status and location on my web page on the campus network. And I am aware that people used to do this with their "finger" profiles back before there was the web. Some people with "text pagers" even managed to these updates using their pagers. (Also, other things were wired to publish their status on web pages (or finger profiles), for example vending machines and hot tubs.)
Creative people can produce works of genius with no technology to speak of
But technology can make it a lot easier. (Especially for a small team (possibly of 1).)
I have a shelf full of DVDs that I can watch with whomever I want and loan out to people I know.
Actually, a court has already taken the first step in declaring that even if the disks themselves are ok to be loaned or sold (the "first sale doctrine"), that the content can not be loaned out or resold without paying the producer. So, no, it might be illegal for you to loan out your disks - or possibly even to invite friends over to watch them with you.
$0 source code is exactly the kind of thing a bunch of amateur programmers would want, it doesn't make the world a better place.
Many professional programmers, including me, contribute to open source projects. I don't think any of us would volunteer to contribute to a project that wasn't at least trying to improve its quality. There are open source tools that I've found easier to use than some of the (expensive) proprietary software my clients use in their offices.
True, there are really bad projects out there, but please don't lump it all in the trash can.
(As for ease of use, often it is a matter of what you have already learned. I happened to learn GIMP before PhotoShop, so I find PS to be difficult to use.)
Yes, #2. And I agree that the story is terrible. But the main goal of the project was to demonstrate the capability of open source tools. Of course, the really big cost is not the tools, it's the efforts of the team creating the movie.
I recall reading about a device that could analyze a combination of brain waves and just-under-the-skin neural impulses to interpret sub-vocalized speech. This new thing does not sound much better and is invasive as well. (Unfortunately, I have had no luck finding an authoritative source about the sub-vocal device.)
Real world example of self-limiting cat populations: Barn cats. Maybe the number quoted is theoretically possible, but if this were as much of a problem as the statistic implies, we'd have been buried in cats long ago.
The incumbents don't want to spend the money to light those fibers. And they don't want to lease access to them to competitors. Allied is willing to take the risk that it can lease access its fibers. The incumbents might be willing to spend the money to lease from Allied if for no other reason than to deny others access to all that bandwidth. Any that the incumbents don't lease is very likely to be leased by others. I think Allied has made a good bet.
There is an actual limit on available bandwidth: The capacity of the equipment and wiring carrying the data. To increase that capacity requires upgrades. Upgrades cost money. Even when the ISPs are willing to spend the money, the upgrades are done in small increments so as to minimize the "right now" costs. Of course, what Allied is doing only directly reduces the cost of backhaul bandwidth. It is possible some new ISPs could be enabled by this, which would be good. Otherwise its likely just more profit margin for the incumbents.