I hate to point this out, but most State Constitutions mirror the Federal Constitution.
So, have you read the California Constitution? Really read it?
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
SECTION 1. All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
SEC. 2. (a) Every person may freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of this right. A law may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or press.
Sorry, but it really makes me cranky when someone uses the, "but that is a State law" argument. This is the United States of America, United being the operative word. In many cases the State Constitutions are more direct regarding our Rights than the Federal counterpart. Case in point, the Constitution of the State of Indiana.
Section 32. The people shall have a right to bear arms, for the defense of themselves and the State.
Takes care of that pesky "militia" subversion of the intent of the Framers, doesn't it?
By and large most Americans don't expend a lot of energy trying to understand Vertical Separation of Powers in regards to our rights, as at the Federal level there really shouldn't be any.
"Amendment 10 The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The State Constitutions cannot be contrary to the United States Constitution, and in regards to the Rights granted by the Constitution cannot be more restrictive, but that's it. The rest of your Rights are reserved to your State, or yourself.
I work in the aerospace industry, specifically an airline, as a manager of an Engineering subgroup. (if "manage" is what you call what I do)
One of the first things I have a new hire do is read Feynman's appendix to the Challenger Report. Primarily to instill a respect for dealing with data, not desires or pressures, and to (re)enforce the concept that "it worked last time", does NOT make it right or safe to do the same thing again.
The pressure / desire from above or parallel organizations within the company is constant, and usually precipitated by the latest operational interruption. All to frequently the refrain is along the lines of "but last time you authored a deviation, this is only a little bit more". When I feel the pressure is starting to cause situational ethics creep, I pull out Feynman's appendix, and read it myself, or have the affected person on my staff read it.
It is amazing how effective it is in restoring sanity, and a healthy respect for the ability of the hardware to kill you (and / or your customers).
Richard Feynman gave many things to this world, and especially certain segments of it. It's my opinion however that one of his best and most unsung gifts was the Challenger Report Appendix. It should be required reading for ANYONE who will ever touch or direct action on hardware that could even remotely present a potential for injury or death.
The message was not rocket science, but as the Columbia accident proved the rocket scientists still can't get it right.
Eliminate the TSA, arm each passenger over the age of 18 and with no mental illness history with a.380 caliber handgun loaded with 2 rounds of low velocity ammunition. The weapon is turned in at the destination.
The beneficial side effects will include increased customer service, a reduction of "air rage", a nearly 0 likelyhood of more than 2 fatalities from a hijacking attempt (and 1 of those will be a "bad"guy), and general increase in civility and tolerance.
And no, I'm not joking...
If you believe what is currently going on in the commercial aviation industry is "security", then I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.
Consider this, and yes I know it's now being said a lot!
The answer to slower than desired uptake of Vista, is to break XP. It's just that simple.
I DON'T use Auto update, and never have. I want to KNOW what is going on to my 'puter. It is simply the ONLY way to put yourself in a position to troubleshoot problems or avoid unpleasant and productivity sucking downtime.
I am conscientious about checking the Window Update site (home systems) and applying what I believe are relevant and useful updates. Even applying this methodology however I've been bitten.
Relevant to the current discussion are the recent additions to Windows update of Critical and (mostly) Optional updates for "Vista compatibility". IE7, PNRP, Remote Desktop Connection, and others.
As an example of the "hurt XP" theory, and after a reasonably careful review of the PNRP update I elected to install it across my network. WHAT A MISTAKE! Network performance plummeted, and the stability of the network went from rock solid to barely functional.
To quote the Technet article on PNRP "PNRP is an efficient, protected, low cost, dynamic protocol that uses an iterative, serverless method for name resolution.". In my environment it was anything but any of these. My network was killed with PNRP traffic, and using Wireshark I found PNRP continually trying to get out of my LAN.
Any of the foregoing would have been enough to drive PNRP off my systems. After thinking about the experience however, and working a short time with a Vista machine, I'm becoming suspicious that the "works with Vista" claims are in reality a will break XP warning.
Worth considering, and passing along to your XP using friends.
I've not made a habit of backing up CD / DVD media based games or content, primarily due to the hassle. For the adult stuff my wife and I are careful enough with the disks that the risk of the disk becoming damaged through normal use is reasonably low. (read as not worth the hassle and cost of obtaining technically illegal software and quality media)
An incident last weekend however has me reconsidering my current practices, at least where my kids CDs, DVDs and games are concerned.
Over the course of the last few years I've had to use the furniture polish trick on a few game CDs. Usually after one of the kids left them sliding around in a drawer and the PS2 or 'puter couldn't read them anymore. With I think one exception, so far I've been lucky and they've all be playable.
Last weekend however my son had a friend over for cooperative HALO3 fest. On the second evening they're setting up the friends system when my son decides to "stand up XBox so it can get some cooling". After this the system says the disk is unreadable, and it's discovered that their is a perfectly circular series of scratches about a quarter inch from the out edge and an eighth of an inch wide.
After multiple attempts with the furniture polish and toothpaste tricks I finally get the disk to read. I have NO doubt I'll be buying the young man a new HALO3 disk in the near future.
The moral of the story?
It should be EASY and LEGAL to make backups of your media. It doesn't matter whether it is music, a video or a game!
Oh, by the way, anyone have any favorite, tried and true, game disk restoration tips?:-)
Though I have to laugh at the "patenting of being a patent troll", I can see ultimate irony if IBM donated the patent to the Open Invention Network, Open Source Patent Protection pool.
Consider the potential outcomes, it just has to bring a smile to your face!
And hey, maybe the absurdity of the patent, coupled with its devastating use against a few notorious patent trolls, would wake someone in power up to the need for a return to the protections for IP the Founding Fathers intended. Instead of the obscene mega-business pandering mess we have now.
I've used OOo for over three years. For the first year I set the default save format to the M$ file types. About two years ago I refreshed by 'puter collection first with the kids box, then a new 'book, then a new main desktop machine.
Shortly after the Notebook was acquired I found myself changing the file save type to ODF, even though I initially set the default to the M$ formats. I believe there were two diverse drivers of my behavior change. First the Notebook did not and never had any M$ Office products on it. (The only copy of Office I have is Office 98, which I purchased with my last Dell desktop) Second in passing files back and forth to work and others I found that PDF was simply more convenient and secure (I don't mean secure in the cryptographic sense, but secure in the "what I thought I sent is what you'll actually see" sense).
In the end over a few months period all of the machines had their OOo default save formats changed back to the ODF types. The only issues which arise now are with items my son takes back and forth to school, and the occational document I carry between work and home.
In most cases for either of the troublesome items I either transport the file plain text and perform final formatting and graphic insertion at the point of completion, or I'll save in the.DOC format. It really depends on the complexity of the document, and what I'm doing with it.
For my son their is at least so far little impact from the document formatting. The bigger headache for him (and I) is the school has disabled the USB ports on the 'puters the kids use. (and I refuse to buy an external floppy to support some backward thinking primary school IT types)
Slashdot Mirror
Uhhhhh...
I hate to point this out, but most State Constitutions mirror the Federal Constitution.
So, have you read the California Constitution? Really read it?
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
SECTION 1. All people are by nature free and independent and have
inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and
liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing
and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
SEC. 2. (a) Every person may freely speak, write and publish his or
her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of
this right. A law may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or
press.
Sorry, but it really makes me cranky when someone uses the, "but that is a State law" argument. This is the United States of America, United being the operative word. In many cases the State Constitutions are more direct regarding our Rights than the Federal counterpart. Case in point, the Constitution of the State of Indiana.
Section 32. The people shall have a right to bear arms, for the defense of themselves and the State.
Takes care of that pesky "militia" subversion of the intent of the Framers, doesn't it?
By and large most Americans don't expend a lot of energy trying to understand Vertical Separation of Powers in regards to our rights, as at the Federal level there really shouldn't be any.
"Amendment 10
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people." The State Constitutions cannot be contrary to the United States Constitution, and in regards to the Rights granted by the Constitution cannot be more restrictive, but that's it. The rest of your Rights are reserved to your State, or yourself.
Neat concept, huh?
I work in the aerospace industry, specifically an airline, as a manager of an Engineering subgroup. (if "manage" is what you call what I do)
One of the first things I have a new hire do is read Feynman's appendix to the Challenger Report. Primarily to instill a respect for dealing with data, not desires or pressures, and to (re)enforce the concept that "it worked last time", does NOT make it right or safe to do the same thing again.
The pressure / desire from above or parallel organizations within the company is constant, and usually precipitated by the latest operational interruption. All to frequently the refrain is along the lines of "but last time you authored a deviation, this is only a little bit more". When I feel the pressure is starting to cause situational ethics creep, I pull out Feynman's appendix, and read it myself, or have the affected person on my staff read it.
It is amazing how effective it is in restoring sanity, and a healthy respect for the ability of the hardware to kill you (and / or your customers).
Richard Feynman gave many things to this world, and especially certain segments of it. It's my opinion however that one of his best and most unsung gifts was the Challenger Report Appendix. It should be required reading for ANYONE who will ever touch or direct action on hardware that could even remotely present a potential for injury or death.
The message was not rocket science, but as the Columbia accident proved the rocket scientists still can't get it right.
And I don't have any Moderation points today!!!!
Someone contact Cowboy Neal and ask him to Mod this post up to +6!
Eliminate the TSA, arm each passenger over the age of 18 and with no mental illness history with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with 2 rounds of low velocity ammunition. The weapon is turned in at the destination.
The beneficial side effects will include increased customer service, a reduction of "air rage", a nearly 0 likelyhood of more than 2 fatalities from a hijacking attempt (and 1 of those will be a "bad"guy), and general increase in civility and tolerance.
And no, I'm not joking...
If you believe what is currently going on in the commercial aviation industry is "security", then I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.
Consider this, and yes I know it's now being said a lot!
The answer to slower than desired uptake of Vista, is to break XP. It's just that simple.
I DON'T use Auto update, and never have. I want to KNOW what is going on to my 'puter. It is simply the ONLY way to put yourself in a position to troubleshoot problems or avoid unpleasant and productivity sucking downtime.
I am conscientious about checking the Window Update site (home systems) and applying what I believe are relevant and useful updates. Even applying this methodology however I've been bitten.
Relevant to the current discussion are the recent additions to Windows update of Critical and (mostly) Optional updates for "Vista compatibility". IE7, PNRP, Remote Desktop Connection, and others.
As an example of the "hurt XP" theory, and after a reasonably careful review of the PNRP update I elected to install it across my network. WHAT A MISTAKE! Network performance plummeted, and the stability of the network went from rock solid to barely functional.
To quote the Technet article on PNRP "PNRP is an efficient, protected, low cost, dynamic protocol that uses an iterative, serverless method for name resolution.". In my environment it was anything but any of these. My network was killed with PNRP traffic, and using Wireshark I found PNRP continually trying to get out of my LAN.
Any of the foregoing would have been enough to drive PNRP off my systems. After thinking about the experience however, and working a short time with a Vista machine, I'm becoming suspicious that the "works with Vista" claims are in reality a will break XP warning.
Worth considering, and passing along to your XP using friends.
I've not made a habit of backing up CD / DVD media based games or content, primarily due to the hassle. For the adult stuff my wife and I are careful enough with the disks that the risk of the disk becoming damaged through normal use is reasonably low. (read as not worth the hassle and cost of obtaining technically illegal software and quality media)
:-)
An incident last weekend however has me reconsidering my current practices, at least where my kids CDs, DVDs and games are concerned.
Over the course of the last few years I've had to use the furniture polish trick on a few game CDs. Usually after one of the kids left them sliding around in a drawer and the PS2 or 'puter couldn't read them anymore. With I think one exception, so far I've been lucky and they've all be playable.
Last weekend however my son had a friend over for cooperative HALO3 fest. On the second evening they're setting up the friends system when my son decides to "stand up XBox so it can get some cooling". After this the system says the disk is unreadable, and it's discovered that their is a perfectly circular series of scratches about a quarter inch from the out edge and an eighth of an inch wide.
After multiple attempts with the furniture polish and toothpaste tricks I finally get the disk to read. I have NO doubt I'll be buying the young man a new HALO3 disk in the near future.
The moral of the story?
It should be EASY and LEGAL to make backups of your media. It doesn't matter whether it is music, a video or a game!
Oh, by the way, anyone have any favorite, tried and true, game disk restoration tips?
Though I have to laugh at the "patenting of being a patent troll", I can see ultimate irony if IBM donated the patent to the Open Invention Network, Open Source Patent Protection pool.
Consider the potential outcomes, it just has to bring a smile to your face!
And hey, maybe the absurdity of the patent, coupled with its devastating use against a few notorious patent trolls, would wake someone in power up to the need for a return to the protections for IP the Founding Fathers intended. Instead of the obscene mega-business pandering mess we have now.
I've used OOo for over three years. For the first year I set the default save format to the M$ file types. About two years ago I refreshed by 'puter collection first with the kids box, then a new 'book, then a new main desktop machine.
.DOC format. It really depends on the complexity of the document, and what I'm doing with it.
Shortly after the Notebook was acquired I found myself changing the file save type to ODF, even though I initially set the default to the M$ formats. I believe there were two diverse drivers of my behavior change. First the Notebook did not and never had any M$ Office products on it. (The only copy of Office I have is Office 98, which I purchased with my last Dell desktop) Second in passing files back and forth to work and others I found that PDF was simply more convenient and secure (I don't mean secure in the cryptographic sense, but secure in the "what I thought I sent is what you'll actually see" sense).
In the end over a few months period all of the machines had their OOo default save formats changed back to the ODF types. The only issues which arise now are with items my son takes back and forth to school, and the occational document I carry between work and home.
In most cases for either of the troublesome items I either transport the file plain text and perform final formatting and graphic insertion at the point of completion, or I'll save in the
For my son their is at least so far little impact from the document formatting. The bigger headache for him (and I) is the school has disabled the USB ports on the 'puters the kids use. (and I refuse to buy an external floppy to support some backward thinking primary school IT types)
To me it only makes sense to save in ODF.