"...hitting something 10 feet away requires a lot of practice and a very steady hand along with a good understanding of the weapon. also, not many guns have an effective (range to which they are still on target) of ten feet and if they are, recoil, and aiming are still major problems."
Actually hitting something ten feet away is easy. Ten yards is a bit more difficult. Without much practice. Perhaps you are just extremely bad at it? Or are shooting something very small?
But if you have difficulty hitting a human sized target in the center of mass at ten feet, guns aren't for you.
"RFID takes the error inducing element out. Pencil and paper does not."
Does it? I can see RFID's becoming common, staff relying on them instead of paper and pen, then leaving more things in people. Maybe there is a malfunction, the item didn't contain one, etc.
"this is the fundamental problem with wikipedia -- and it's unfixable."
Actually, it seems to be a fundamental problem with people, that is probably unfixable.:)
People are lazy. They tend to believe the info they want to believe. Objective is often in the eye of the beholder. And what is "objective" anyway? Everyone is biased. At best you can know the bias.
Out of curiousity, why spend so much time trying to find the "perfect" candidate? Why not train one who has enough skills/ability?
In any case, if you can afford not to hire someone, that indicates the need is not critical. Plenty of places seem willing to go a long time without an employee rather than hire someone and train them (in all fields). I don't understand this.
"Possibly, but the point is that it would create a real financial penalty for security lapses, which would be an improvement over the current situation..."
Maybe, trending towards probably not. There are fines for knowlingly hiring illegal aliens. Wonder how that has worked out...:)
The real problem is assigning some magical property (uniqueness, secrecy) to a number. It doesn't matter if that number is a SSN or some other number (or ID form). Because if it is widespread enough it will be used by everyone for ID. If it isn't, it will almost certainly be linked to it.
Easy access to credit is the one of the large drivers. Maybe large fines (as in bankrupting ones) to organizations that tie you to a debt on the basis of a number incorrectly. Or key your ID to a single ID (name, number, or whatever). Pigs will learn to land before that happens.
After all, do you really care if someone adds to your social security benefits?
"Regardless of whether global warming is a reality, the solution will involve finding cleaner, cheaper, alternative sources of energy. How can that be a bad thing?"
If they don't exist? Well, I'm sure you could find cleaner and cheaper sources of energy. But they wouldn't be as useful as what we have now.
We use coal and oil for a reason. Not because we want to destroy our environment.
If the current levels of CO2 emmisssions are going to cause significant warming then we are screwed. Because I don't see any realistic way to keep CO2 emmission world wide at present levels in the future without causing significant changes.
People don't like changes-and really would hate the changes required.
"I think this measure will help battle meth usage significantly for these reasons."
If that were the case, meth production would be sharply lower by now (higher prices, less labs found). Is it? I have seen no evidence. Doesn't mean there isn't any.
Personally, I think the only results will be higher prices, hence more crime (property) and people will switch drugs.
"The big problem is management, the people who make the big money to take responsibility, react more than proact."
No, it's the people coupled with our methods of identification. Data release WILL happen. Always did. People will make mistakes, take shortcuts, and break laws. Just the scope is different.
Frankly I don't see the point in not publishing the SSN's with names. Is there really any way to stop that information from being released and not significantly alter the way we live?
"No real data was ever allowed to be exported off the database server, period."
Was this by policy or via hardware/software? Because policy will be ignored at some point. Still doesn't prevent people from getting the real data. Sure, it would be intentional but the only difference is scope and effort.
But it CAN'T be fixed. Sure, you can fire all the people responsible for the error. But that won't fix the problem.
How can you prevent private information from being released by error when it is everywhere? And still have it be useful? People will eventually screw up.
It is far more important to make sure the release of information like this doesn't cause problems. I suspect that is what you mean by fix. Not easy to do. Or it would likely have been done.
"I don't understand how Norway can say that if one of the parties is Norwegian (or in Norway) that only the laws of Norway can control."
Because they make the law in their country? I'm sure Apple can say the US law applies but it doesn't mean that Norway has to honor it....
This is a problem that has become widespread in part due to the internet.
Re:The late great Mancur Olson
on
Death By DMCA
·
· Score: 1
"Olson was puzzled why economic growth was faster in the South, after it lost the civil war, and also why France in the 19c after having had three or four revolutions and two catastrophic war time defeats had grown faster than Britain under stable rule. He concluded and showed that long periods of stability allow vested interests to accumulate anti competitive practices which enrich them at the expense of the whole."
Of course it had nothing at all to do with the fact that their economies were small (losing wars and having revolutions can do that....) It is far easier for a small economy to grow faster than a large one. Totally unremarkable.
I would have to conclude that Olson was a clueless economist. Somewhat redundant, of course.:)
"I think the political hurdles are larger than the technological ones - and that's saying quite a lot."
Not really. Political hurdles generally are greater than tech ones. Given enough time and money one can usually overcome tech problems. Getting the right (or enough) people to agree, however....
Of course, time and money help in this regard also:)
"Why do they keep requiring new editions when there are plenty of old ones on the used market?"
I taught for a couple of quarters and some of the reasons are:
Availability-everyone is able to get the current edition Quality- sometimes the current edition IS better. Often more "current" information. Consistancy- I can tell you where X is in the current book. Kind of useful when giving reading assignments or referring to charts/figures/pictures. If that isn't a problem for you, then I didn't have a problem with using the old book. Convenience- As a replacement lecturer one quarter it was easier. Of course the book also happened to be good. Then the next time I taught I already had the book....
No payoffs between the publisher and profs that I could see. Many profs are annoyed by the changes too (have to revise references). Writing a textbook is generally a pain in the rear. And rarely worth it monetarily for the time spent.
"I think "Average Joe" will instantly notice if his new DVDs look no better than his old ones, and be very angry! To make matters worse, once the disk is opened it cannot be returned. To avoid this travesty, those of us in-the-know need to inform "Average Joe" before he gets ripped off."
Why? Until the "average Joe" gets pissed nothing will change. And frankly if they haven't realized this by now they are part of the problem.
"Now that I've listened to DVD-Audio and SACD, I agree that CDs are lacking. But you're an audio engineer and I'm an uptight elitist asshole, and we represent a very very very small percentage of the market."
And you are reasonable too. An even smaller part of the market.:)
CD's aren't any worse for most people-because aside from preferring convienence, they CAN'T hear the difference. I mean how many double blind tests show differences between an identical recording on all three mediums (except for the bit rate)? I suspect most releases for SACD and DVD-audio are probably remastered to a significant degree. Add that to the fact that most people are easily fooled when they WANT to believe something is better.
Some people do hear real differences. But most only THINK they do.
"The government, and most businesses *do* want *more* immigrants, not less, by whatever means necessary. Lots of cheap labor will help businesses compete internationally.
The are hampered by a populist movement that believes they can maintain their jobs and high wages by keeping out foreign workers. *rolls eyes* What these people need to realize, is that if you can't compete for your job with pedro, you are screwed no matter what. Either the immigrants will come here to work, and at least contribute to our society, pay taxes, etc, or they will work in foreign countries and your job will either be outsourced there, or the market will simply be taken over by foreign countries."
And the quickest way to reduce illegal immigration (other than give amnesty to anyone who crosses the border) is to require companies verify the persons status. This is a step up from the current system. And then heavily fine any company that hires someone not permitted to work. But companies don't want that...
We can prevent "Pedro" from working here. If he can't work here, he probably won't come. And most of the jobs illegal immigrants take CAN'T be outsourced. Some industries might. Granted people may decide that lawncare or janitorial work isn't worth paying for anymore....
Slashdot Mirror
"...hitting something 10 feet away requires a lot of practice and a very steady hand along with a good understanding of the weapon. also, not many guns have an effective (range to which they are still on target) of ten feet and if they are, recoil, and aiming are still major problems."
Actually hitting something ten feet away is easy. Ten yards is a bit more difficult. Without much practice. Perhaps you are just extremely bad at it? Or are shooting something very small?
But if you have difficulty hitting a human sized target in the center of mass at ten feet, guns aren't for you.
"RFID takes the error inducing element out. Pencil and paper does not."
Does it? I can see RFID's becoming common, staff relying on them instead of paper and pen, then leaving more things in people. Maybe there is a malfunction, the item didn't contain one, etc.
Useful information found in a PowerPoint presentation?!? Say it isn't so!
"this is the fundamental problem with wikipedia -- and it's unfixable."
:)
Actually, it seems to be a fundamental problem with people, that is probably unfixable.
People are lazy. They tend to believe the info they want to believe. Objective is often in the eye of the beholder. And what is "objective" anyway? Everyone is biased. At best you can know the bias.
"but I have found that if you respect the police, they will respect you."
Maybe. But it doesn't mean they won't screw you because of their indifference and/or incompetance (my experience).
Out of curiousity, why spend so much time trying to find the "perfect" candidate? Why not train one who has enough skills/ability?
In any case, if you can afford not to hire someone, that indicates the need is not critical. Plenty of places seem willing to go a long time without an employee rather than hire someone and train them (in all fields). I don't understand this.
The big giveaway would be multiple wounds in a moving target.
:)
Police have a hard enough time hitting a stationary object.
Make it the Borg-Ballmer icon? :)
"Possibly, but the point is that it would create a real financial penalty for security lapses, which would be an improvement over the current situation..."
:)
Maybe, trending towards probably not. There are fines for knowlingly hiring illegal aliens. Wonder how that has worked out...
The real problem is assigning some magical property (uniqueness, secrecy) to a number. It doesn't matter if that number is a SSN or some other number (or ID form). Because if it is widespread enough it will be used by everyone for ID. If it isn't, it will almost certainly be linked to it.
Easy access to credit is the one of the large drivers. Maybe large fines (as in bankrupting ones) to organizations that tie you to a debt on the basis of a number incorrectly. Or key your ID to a single ID (name, number, or whatever). Pigs will learn to land before that happens.
After all, do you really care if someone adds to your social security benefits?
"Regardless of whether global warming is a reality, the solution will involve finding cleaner, cheaper, alternative sources of energy. How can that be a bad thing?"
If they don't exist? Well, I'm sure you could find cleaner and cheaper sources of energy. But they wouldn't be as useful as what we have now.
We use coal and oil for a reason. Not because we want to destroy our environment.
If the current levels of CO2 emmisssions are going to cause significant warming then we are screwed. Because I don't see any realistic way to keep CO2 emmission world wide at present levels in the future without causing significant changes.
People don't like changes-and really would hate the changes required.
"I think this measure will help battle meth usage significantly for these reasons."
If that were the case, meth production would be sharply lower by now (higher prices, less labs found). Is it? I have seen no evidence. Doesn't mean there isn't any.
Personally, I think the only results will be higher prices, hence more crime (property) and people will switch drugs.
"I said it before and I'll say it again: Dvorak is deliberately screwing the advertisers that pay for his web hits."
OK everyone, let's shed a tear for the poor advertisers.
Hey, where did everyone go?!?
Advertisers aren't innocents. If they get hurt, they went in with their eyes open.....
So, some of your boxes are connected to the internet. And you have malware on some of them at times. And you don't update them?
I hope they aren't terribly important. Because the fact that something bad hasn't happened doesn't mean it won't.
I don't know if you should be fired but you do seem to need additional security training.
"The big problem is management, the people who make the big money to take responsibility, react more than proact."
No, it's the people coupled with our methods of identification. Data release WILL happen. Always did. People will make mistakes, take shortcuts, and break laws. Just the scope is different.
Frankly I don't see the point in not publishing the SSN's with names. Is there really any way to stop that information from being released and not significantly alter the way we live?
"No real data was ever allowed to be exported off the database server, period."
Was this by policy or via hardware/software? Because policy will be ignored at some point. Still doesn't prevent people from getting the real data. Sure, it would be intentional but the only difference is scope and effort.
But it CAN'T be fixed. Sure, you can fire all the people responsible for the error. But that won't fix the problem.
How can you prevent private information from being released by error when it is everywhere? And still have it be useful? People will eventually screw up.
It is far more important to make sure the release of information like this doesn't cause problems. I suspect that is what you mean by fix. Not easy to do. Or it would likely have been done.
"I don't understand how Norway can say that if one of the parties is Norwegian (or in Norway) that only the laws of Norway can control."
Because they make the law in their country? I'm sure Apple can say the US law applies but it doesn't mean that Norway has to honor it....
This is a problem that has become widespread in part due to the internet.
"Olson was puzzled why economic growth was faster in the South, after it lost the civil war, and also why France in the 19c after having had three or four revolutions and two catastrophic war time defeats had grown faster than Britain under stable rule. He concluded and showed that long periods of stability allow vested interests to accumulate anti competitive practices which enrich them at the expense of the whole."
:)
Of course it had nothing at all to do with the fact that their economies were small (losing wars and having revolutions can do that....) It is far easier for a small economy to grow faster than a large one. Totally unremarkable.
I would have to conclude that Olson was a clueless economist. Somewhat redundant, of course.
On the other hand.... :)
"More experience in a mentor relationship"
Doesn't mean they do it well. Or don't create more problems by doing it.
"Spouse has already done some kind of cost benefit analysis towards a person's "commitment""
May be incorrect. Or not relavent to the business environment.
"Worker has already demonstrated a willingness to commit"
Set in their ways. Unwilling to change.
"A worker with kids has more incentive to stay than a single childless twenty something"
Unwilling to relocate if needed. Higher health costs. Not willing to put in overtime.
It's easy to look at it from both sides. You really can't say married workers are more valuable than single workers. A mix is good.
"I think the political hurdles are larger than the technological ones - and that's saying quite a lot."
:)
Not really. Political hurdles generally are greater than tech ones. Given enough time and money one can usually overcome tech problems. Getting the right (or enough) people to agree, however....
Of course, time and money help in this regard also
"Why do they keep requiring new editions when there are plenty of old ones on the used market?"
I taught for a couple of quarters and some of the reasons are:
Availability-everyone is able to get the current edition
Quality- sometimes the current edition IS better. Often more "current" information.
Consistancy- I can tell you where X is in the current book. Kind of useful when giving reading assignments or referring to charts/figures/pictures. If that isn't a problem for you, then I didn't have a problem with using the old book.
Convenience- As a replacement lecturer one quarter it was easier. Of course the book also happened to be good. Then the next time I taught I already had the book....
No payoffs between the publisher and profs that I could see. Many profs are annoyed by the changes too (have to revise references). Writing a textbook is generally a pain in the rear. And rarely worth it monetarily for the time spent.
"I think "Average Joe" will instantly notice if his new DVDs look no better than his old ones, and be very angry! To make matters worse, once the disk is opened it cannot be returned. To avoid this travesty, those of us in-the-know need to inform "Average Joe" before he gets ripped off."
Why? Until the "average Joe" gets pissed nothing will change. And frankly if they haven't realized this by now they are part of the problem.
"Now that I've listened to DVD-Audio and SACD, I agree that CDs are lacking. But you're an audio engineer and I'm an uptight elitist asshole, and we represent a very very very small percentage of the market."
:)
And you are reasonable too. An even smaller part of the market.
CD's aren't any worse for most people-because aside from preferring convienence, they CAN'T hear the difference. I mean how many double blind tests show differences between an identical recording on all three mediums (except for the bit rate)? I suspect most releases for SACD and DVD-audio are probably remastered to a significant degree. Add that to the fact that most people are easily fooled when they WANT to believe something is better.
Some people do hear real differences. But most only THINK they do.
"The government, and most businesses *do* want *more* immigrants, not less, by whatever means necessary. Lots of cheap labor will help businesses compete internationally.
The are hampered by a populist movement that believes they can maintain their jobs and high wages by keeping out foreign workers. *rolls eyes* What these people need to realize, is that if you can't compete for your job with pedro, you are screwed no matter what. Either the immigrants will come here to work, and at least contribute to our society, pay taxes, etc, or they will work in foreign countries and your job will either be outsourced there, or the market will simply be taken over by foreign countries."
And the quickest way to reduce illegal immigration (other than give amnesty to anyone who crosses the border) is to require companies verify the persons status. This is a step up from the current system. And then heavily fine any company that hires someone not permitted to work. But companies don't want that...
We can prevent "Pedro" from working here. If he can't work here, he probably won't come. And most of the jobs illegal immigrants take CAN'T be outsourced. Some industries might. Granted people may decide that lawncare or janitorial work isn't worth paying for anymore....