George R.R. Martin is a rabid anti-bush democrat. I remember while we were waiting nearly a decade for the 4th book to come out, I'd stop by his website and he was routinely using it as a platform to spout off about how Bush was building a secret pipeline in Afghanistan, we were steeling their oil, etc... etc... etc... You know, all that stuff that Michael Moore was going on and on about that he completely fabricated but no-one seems to remember?
I've no doubt this was intentional, and they're pansies for pulling it. Doing something like this and then pretending it was an accident is just cowardly.
Everyone will use this as an argument against capitalism and libertarianism. As if we lived in a truly capitalist or libertarian society. Hell, we're not even in a true democracy by it's very definitional.
Capitalism only works as intended when unfettered by regulation AND it is relatively transparent. Unfortunately our economic system is drowning in regulation and most of that regulation does nothing more than obscure the true market. All regulation of financial markets should be for the sole purpose of increasing transparency into that market. An example of good regulation is weights and measures legislation. A gallon of a fluid is the same size no matter where you get it. Date stamping on foods. Ingedients lists. etc... etc...
We don't need legislation that dictates what these companies can and can not sell... that never works. We need laws that require them to disclose obviously what it is they are selling, what they will do with your information, and how long it will be stored. Then the public can make informed decisions about what they are doing online rather than have the government trying to constantly catch up to technology so they can "protect" us.
Me: Why are apples red? Would you prefer to see it painted khaki or maroon? Me: apples aren't painted. You are so negative just to annoy me, I know! Oh, what a fruitful conversation;-) Me: Fine, I'll play allong. Do you like Power Rangers? Does anyone hate it? Did I forget it or you really haven't told me about the place you are from? Me: alan turring would be turning over in his grave... You should know that Alan is a member of Great Robots Cabal. It's terrible.
ok, I'll not agree on the driving or flying... but loading the dishwasher is a fact. The general female rule of thumb seems to be "stuff as many dishes in as possible, and then complain to husband that it doesn't get anything clean we need a new one." I just don't get that. Look, if you stack 10 plates on top of each other, the bottom of the bottom plate will get clean. and the top of the top plate will get clean, but everything in between will still be dirty. This is just common sense! GAH!!!
If you count all the custom versions of LISP out there used for scripting inside other applications I think you'd be rather surprised just how many LISP programmers there are. Half of them probably don't even know what they're writing in is based on LISP.
He says it's "dustless" because it's spinning so fast the dust just gets "flung off" LOL That thing would get gummed up, off balance, and fail to work in about a week at my house.
Google is exactly right in what they are doing. Who makes more money? Ford or Ferrari? Roads were designed for ford cars not Ferraris. They ruled the auto industry because they made cars for real people, not just yuppies with too much money. This is the same mistake apple made in the 80s, and will continue to make now. They'll have a small niche market of people convinced they're the best... weather that's true or not, the majority of the world can't afford their products and will move to androids. $200 is the perfect price point. When a manufacturer finally comes out with a tablet that's got 4G (or better) a color eink screen (or equivalent from another vendor) with battery life measured in weeks instead of hours, and it's $200? That'll change the world over night. Are they there yet? No... but Googles a hell of a lot closer than Apple.
No, it'd be like if you had your name legally changed to Mitch Romney, moved in across the street from Mitt Romney, waited until you inevitably got some of his mail and then threatened to release it to the public unless he paid you a consulting fee. What this guy did was wrong, but sadly this is very likely going to result it poorly written court decisions or even laws that end up being used powerful people and organizations to squelch competition. Much like existing cyber squatting laws have been abused.
Complete horseshit. First of all, no lead round hitting a rock is going to start a fire. I don't care if it's sitting in gasoline. The only way this was going to happen is with incendiary or tracer rounds. If the target shooters were using that sort of ammo, that's an entirely different situation.
Second, even if it did, if the fire potential is THAT high the fire was going to start... period. It's just a matter of what sets it off.
What is more likely is the shooters were smoking, started the fire by tossing a cigarette and blamed it on their ammo so they wouldn't get fined.
in all of history, the number of extinction level asteroid impacts are very few and far between. The number of times mankind has come close to using technology in such a way that it leads to an equivalent event are almost too numerous to count, even though we've not been in possession of such technology for more than 100 years. Long story short, I think asteroids are the least of our worries.
You're right. The best way to get the best employee is to have the entire team do the interviews. Or at least, have whoever you already know is great at the job, interview the person. They can tell bullshit from fact. But there is a HUGE problem with this method. Usually people like engineers have no experience interviewing. They're also not likely fluent with all the legal, regulatory and even publicity related issues that interviews can bring up. One of my co-workers is a great programmer and generally a great guy... after working with him for about 6 months, over lunch one day he starts telling me his theory about the reason for the decline of the US dollar and average household income... women in the workplace. If we just didn't let women work and families relied on single incomes again, our problems would be solved! or so he says... imagine if he had been put in charge of an interview? Your company may run interviews this way now... but someday they are going to send in the wrong guy to do an interview... and the interviewee is going to be the wrong person to here what that wrong interviewer has to say... and your great system will come to an end. Sad to say, but it happens.
As far as what to do before and in college: 1. Delete your facebook account immediately. Never go back. 2. Don't drink. Do not hang out with anyone that drinks. Spend all of your time alone, in your dorm room. Don't tempt yourself. 3. If you have a girlfriend, dump her immediately, do not date until your finished with school. 4. Do not participate in Summer/Winter/spring/fall breaks. Take classes all the way through. 5. Do not buy any of the books listed as needed for the classes you are taking. Wait until you're in class and they ask you to take it out... then dig through your bag and say "Oh man, that's the one I forgot!" pick it up at the student bookstore on the way back to your room. 75% of the books that were listed as "Required" for my classes were a. never used in the class and b. written by the professor teaching the class (i.e. it was a scam to get you to buy his shit) 6. Replace the video card in your computer with the oldest, most worthless once you can find. Make sure than even doom would have trouble rendering on your computer. Do not play any video games... ever. 7. Get rid of your smartphone.
You may think this all sounds extreme... but after you're out of school with your insane GPA, you'll be able to pick your job... your girl... what you want to drink... 70% of my classmates dropped out the first year. Think about that.
"The angle of the struts that connect the foils to the command module is adjustable—so the craft can ride high in choppy seas and at high speeds (so waves don’t hit the middle part), and low in calm water and at lower speeds.
“We’re basically riding on two supercavitating torpedoes. And we’ve put a boat on top of it,” Sancoff says."
Ok, so it's a hydrofoil...
"The propellers are powered by a modified gas turbine—a jet engine—housed in each foil; the air intake and exhaust ports for the engines are in the struts."
Yep, definitely above water... boat... not submarine....
"Yet its rumored speed is at least 80-100 knots—over 100 mph. That’s not going to challenge the top speedboat records—there have been hydroplane efforts (riding on the water surface) that have exceeded 200 mph (174 knots) and even 300 mph (261 knots), some with fatal results—but the Ghost is faster than any previous underwater vehicle, Sancoff says."
wait... what? It's a surface vehicle that's faster than any previous underwater vehicle? Why doesn't he just invent a Jet airplane and make the same claim?!?
"he Ghost provides a much smoother ride than what Navy SEALs are used to"
ok... so the ride is smoother. So far this seems like its only benefit.
"As for the craft’s audio profile, Sancoff is proud of its “silent propulsion” system that includes a sophisticated muffler system for the engines. You can’t hear it from 50 feet away, he says."
Ok, it's powered by JET ENGINES but you can't hear it from 50 feet away? um... yea...
I think the point is, if they can read them from 6 meters away, they don't need to ask in the first place. They have your fingerprints the second you walk through the door. Hell, every department store in the country could have the system built into the front door and then follow you about the store with cameras. Basically everything you do, anywhere, will be tracked, logged and used to either get your money or your vote. Welcome to the future.
I am VERY good at applying for, interviewing for, and getting hired for jobs. About 10 years ago I took a bunch of courses on how to write resumes, interview well, etc... Unlike most classes of this sort, these were run by an older black gentleman who I can only describe as a genius when it comes to the hiring process.
There are basically 2 ways a company can hire. The old way, which is based on gut instinct. The interviewer reads your resume, meets you, and if they like you, you're hired. This method is fraught with problems that revolve around the basics of human nature. Someone with a weak handshake will almost never get hired. They are immediately seen as passive, slow, lazy. Someone that understands the system (like me) can thoroughly thwart the system by simple changing the subject during the interview. You talk about things that interest the interviewer. Their questions are ALL bad. Every question they ask is a question that is meant to in some way disqualify you. The more you can get them distracted from their questions, the better chances you have. Do they have a sports teams pin on? Pictures of their kids? You bring all of this up... they talk about everything but you and leave the interview with a warm/happy feeling about you.
Some businesses have recognized the inherent problems with human nature and tried to implement methods to get around them. Unfortunately these systems almost always involve scorecards of some sort. The hiring manager lists out the key skills he's looking for... this is the first problem, the managers expectations are almost always wildly over the top. Their asking for someone with a doctorate and they really need someone with a 2 year degree. The person conducting the interview basically scores you off of your resume. As well as on things like appearance, personality, etc... etc... The solution to this type of interview is rather simple... lie. Just flood your resume with technical data. The interviewer gets so overwhelmed they just score you high, irrelevant of your real skills. Always ware a suit. Suit = 10 points. Anything else is < 10 points. A firm handshake and confidence is easy to fake.
The simple fact of the matter is, it is impossible to judge someones ability to do the job you want them to do based on a resume and interview. A degree is slightly better, but as we all know the vast majority of people with those degrees have proven nothing more than that they are good at memorizing things for tests. Actually being competent in a working environment is something entirely different. The entire system is flawed to its core. Many people refuse to be misleading in their interview or on their resume and think that shows integrity... when all they really get shown is the door.
When employers hire people... they hire the people that aggressive at selling themselves as a product... People that are fluent and at ease in an interview. If that person also happens to be good at the job... great! Despite what many people think, if you bluff your way into a job your not qualified for, you don't just get fired immediately. The manager doesn't want to look like a fool for hiring the person and usually they can hang onto the job for as long as they'd like to. Raises and promotions are another thing.
The basic problem with the workforce today is employers have no idea what they need, and even if they did, they have no way of finding out who has the skills they actually do need. Simple as that.
I don't want to defend the guy, but don't diss him over the way he spends his money. He gives well over $100 million/year to charity and is also one of the "Giving Pledge" signatories. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge
We have no idea what he plans to do with this island but it may not be as we all expect. It might be part of some charity scheme. We'll just have to wait and see.
Even the cheapest tracking software includes methods for tracking people with cookies turned off. Buisnesses have wised up and are tracking you based on info you can't change, like your IP, windows version, etc... Then they share this info with each other. Private browsing is NOT private. Your only hope is to use a proxy service.
No, he's afraid that he's never even make it to Sweden. He's just as likely to walk off a plane in Guantanamo or Jordan. If the US even gives he remotest shit about making this look good they'll let him land and then pick him up in the airport. If there is one thing that's for sure, he will never stand trial in Sweden or the US. They don't want any of the evidence they'd have to show to be made public. If he's very very lucky, he'll get a military trial and spend the rest of his life in Leavenworth. The most likely scenario is rendition, torture and almost certain death.
What if the alternative is rendition to... lets say Pakistan? Our government has proven as of late, not shy about "disappearing" people. And our public has be alarmingly unconcerned about the practice as well.
Slashdot Mirror
George R.R. Martin is a rabid anti-bush democrat. I remember while we were waiting nearly a decade for the 4th book to come out, I'd stop by his website and he was routinely using it as a platform to spout off about how Bush was building a secret pipeline in Afghanistan, we were steeling their oil, etc... etc... etc... You know, all that stuff that Michael Moore was going on and on about that he completely fabricated but no-one seems to remember?
I've no doubt this was intentional, and they're pansies for pulling it. Doing something like this and then pretending it was an accident is just cowardly.
Everyone will use this as an argument against capitalism and libertarianism. As if we lived in a truly capitalist or libertarian society. Hell, we're not even in a true democracy by it's very definitional.
Capitalism only works as intended when unfettered by regulation AND it is relatively transparent. Unfortunately our economic system is drowning in regulation and most of that regulation does nothing more than obscure the true market. All regulation of financial markets should be for the sole purpose of increasing transparency into that market. An example of good regulation is weights and measures legislation. A gallon of a fluid is the same size no matter where you get it. Date stamping on foods. Ingedients lists. etc... etc...
We don't need legislation that dictates what these companies can and can not sell... that never works. We need laws that require them to disclose obviously what it is they are selling, what they will do with your information, and how long it will be stored. Then the public can make informed decisions about what they are doing online rather than have the government trying to constantly catch up to technology so they can "protect" us.
Me: Why are apples red?
Would you prefer to see it painted khaki or maroon?
Me: apples aren't painted.
You are so negative just to annoy me, I know! Oh, what a fruitful conversation;-)
Me: Fine, I'll play allong. Do you like Power Rangers?
Does anyone hate it? Did I forget it or you really haven't told me about the place you are from?
Me: alan turring would be turning over in his grave...
You should know that Alan is a member of Great Robots Cabal. It's terrible.
What an awful bot...
Red Dawn.. nuff said
ok, I'll not agree on the driving or flying... but loading the dishwasher is a fact. The general female rule of thumb seems to be "stuff as many dishes in as possible, and then complain to husband that it doesn't get anything clean we need a new one." I just don't get that. Look, if you stack 10 plates on top of each other, the bottom of the bottom plate will get clean. and the top of the top plate will get clean, but everything in between will still be dirty. This is just common sense! GAH!!!
If you count all the custom versions of LISP out there used for scripting inside other applications I think you'd be rather surprised just how many LISP programmers there are. Half of them probably don't even know what they're writing in is based on LISP.
In my company at least, the bean counters have to clear everything they do with the lawyers. Not the other way around.
He says it's "dustless" because it's spinning so fast the dust just gets "flung off" LOL
That thing would get gummed up, off balance, and fail to work in about a week at my house.
Google is exactly right in what they are doing. Who makes more money? Ford or Ferrari? Roads were designed for ford cars not Ferraris. They ruled the auto industry because they made cars for real people, not just yuppies with too much money. This is the same mistake apple made in the 80s, and will continue to make now. They'll have a small niche market of people convinced they're the best... weather that's true or not, the majority of the world can't afford their products and will move to androids. $200 is the perfect price point. When a manufacturer finally comes out with a tablet that's got 4G (or better) a color eink screen (or equivalent from another vendor) with battery life measured in weeks instead of hours, and it's $200? That'll change the world over night. Are they there yet? No... but Googles a hell of a lot closer than Apple.
Holy shit where are my mod points... that is the funniest thing I've ever read on slashdot. Hats off my friend.
No, it'd be like if you had your name legally changed to Mitch Romney, moved in across the street from Mitt Romney, waited until you inevitably got some of his mail and then threatened to release it to the public unless he paid you a consulting fee. What this guy did was wrong, but sadly this is very likely going to result it poorly written court decisions or even laws that end up being used powerful people and organizations to squelch competition. Much like existing cyber squatting laws have been abused.
Complete horseshit. First of all, no lead round hitting a rock is going to start a fire. I don't care if it's sitting in gasoline. The only way this was going to happen is with incendiary or tracer rounds. If the target shooters were using that sort of ammo, that's an entirely different situation.
Second, even if it did, if the fire potential is THAT high the fire was going to start... period. It's just a matter of what sets it off.
What is more likely is the shooters were smoking, started the fire by tossing a cigarette and blamed it on their ammo so they wouldn't get fined.
Great idea. Was that in a book or something?
in all of history, the number of extinction level asteroid impacts are very few and far between. The number of times mankind has come close to using technology in such a way that it leads to an equivalent event are almost too numerous to count, even though we've not been in possession of such technology for more than 100 years. Long story short, I think asteroids are the least of our worries.
You're right. The best way to get the best employee is to have the entire team do the interviews. Or at least, have whoever you already know is great at the job, interview the person. They can tell bullshit from fact. But there is a HUGE problem with this method. Usually people like engineers have no experience interviewing. They're also not likely fluent with all the legal, regulatory and even publicity related issues that interviews can bring up. One of my co-workers is a great programmer and generally a great guy... after working with him for about 6 months, over lunch one day he starts telling me his theory about the reason for the decline of the US dollar and average household income... women in the workplace. If we just didn't let women work and families relied on single incomes again, our problems would be solved! or so he says... imagine if he had been put in charge of an interview? Your company may run interviews this way now... but someday they are going to send in the wrong guy to do an interview... and the interviewee is going to be the wrong person to here what that wrong interviewer has to say... and your great system will come to an end. Sad to say, but it happens.
As far as what to do before and in college:
1. Delete your facebook account immediately. Never go back.
2. Don't drink. Do not hang out with anyone that drinks. Spend all of your time alone, in your dorm room. Don't tempt yourself.
3. If you have a girlfriend, dump her immediately, do not date until your finished with school.
4. Do not participate in Summer/Winter/spring/fall breaks. Take classes all the way through.
5. Do not buy any of the books listed as needed for the classes you are taking. Wait until you're in class and they ask you to take it out... then dig through your bag and say "Oh man, that's the one I forgot!" pick it up at the student bookstore on the way back to your room. 75% of the books that were listed as "Required" for my classes were a. never used in the class and b. written by the professor teaching the class (i.e. it was a scam to get you to buy his shit)
6. Replace the video card in your computer with the oldest, most worthless once you can find. Make sure than even doom would have trouble rendering on your computer. Do not play any video games... ever.
7. Get rid of your smartphone.
You may think this all sounds extreme... but after you're out of school with your insane GPA, you'll be able to pick your job... your girl... what you want to drink... 70% of my classmates dropped out the first year. Think about that.
This article makes no sense.
"The angle of the struts that connect the foils to the command module is adjustable—so the craft can ride high in choppy seas and at high speeds (so waves don’t hit the middle part), and low in calm water and at lower speeds.
“We’re basically riding on two supercavitating torpedoes. And we’ve put a boat on top of it,” Sancoff says."
Ok, so it's a hydrofoil...
"The propellers are powered by a modified gas turbine—a jet engine—housed in each foil; the air intake and exhaust ports for the engines are in the struts."
Yep, definitely above water... boat... not submarine....
"Yet its rumored speed is at least 80-100 knots—over 100 mph. That’s not going to challenge the top speedboat records—there have been hydroplane efforts (riding on the water surface) that have exceeded 200 mph (174 knots) and even 300 mph (261 knots), some with fatal results—but the Ghost is faster than any previous underwater vehicle, Sancoff says."
wait... what? It's a surface vehicle that's faster than any previous underwater vehicle? Why doesn't he just invent a Jet airplane and make the same claim?!?
"he Ghost provides a much smoother ride than what Navy SEALs are used to"
ok... so the ride is smoother. So far this seems like its only benefit.
"As for the craft’s audio profile, Sancoff is proud of its “silent propulsion” system that includes a sophisticated muffler system for the engines. You can’t hear it from 50 feet away, he says."
Ok, it's powered by JET ENGINES but you can't hear it from 50 feet away? um... yea...
I think the point is, if they can read them from 6 meters away, they don't need to ask in the first place. They have your fingerprints the second you walk through the door. Hell, every department store in the country could have the system built into the front door and then follow you about the store with cameras. Basically everything you do, anywhere, will be tracked, logged and used to either get your money or your vote. Welcome to the future.
I am VERY good at applying for, interviewing for, and getting hired for jobs. About 10 years ago I took a bunch of courses on how to write resumes, interview well, etc... Unlike most classes of this sort, these were run by an older black gentleman who I can only describe as a genius when it comes to the hiring process.
There are basically 2 ways a company can hire. The old way, which is based on gut instinct. The interviewer reads your resume, meets you, and if they like you, you're hired. This method is fraught with problems that revolve around the basics of human nature. Someone with a weak handshake will almost never get hired. They are immediately seen as passive, slow, lazy. Someone that understands the system (like me) can thoroughly thwart the system by simple changing the subject during the interview. You talk about things that interest the interviewer. Their questions are ALL bad. Every question they ask is a question that is meant to in some way disqualify you. The more you can get them distracted from their questions, the better chances you have. Do they have a sports teams pin on? Pictures of their kids? You bring all of this up... they talk about everything but you and leave the interview with a warm/happy feeling about you.
Some businesses have recognized the inherent problems with human nature and tried to implement methods to get around them. Unfortunately these systems almost always involve scorecards of some sort. The hiring manager lists out the key skills he's looking for... this is the first problem, the managers expectations are almost always wildly over the top. Their asking for someone with a doctorate and they really need someone with a 2 year degree. The person conducting the interview basically scores you off of your resume. As well as on things like appearance, personality, etc... etc... The solution to this type of interview is rather simple... lie. Just flood your resume with technical data. The interviewer gets so overwhelmed they just score you high, irrelevant of your real skills. Always ware a suit. Suit = 10 points. Anything else is < 10 points. A firm handshake and confidence is easy to fake.
The simple fact of the matter is, it is impossible to judge someones ability to do the job you want them to do based on a resume and interview. A degree is slightly better, but as we all know the vast majority of people with those degrees have proven nothing more than that they are good at memorizing things for tests. Actually being competent in a working environment is something entirely different. The entire system is flawed to its core. Many people refuse to be misleading in their interview or on their resume and think that shows integrity... when all they really get shown is the door.
When employers hire people... they hire the people that aggressive at selling themselves as a product... People that are fluent and at ease in an interview. If that person also happens to be good at the job... great! Despite what many people think, if you bluff your way into a job your not qualified for, you don't just get fired immediately. The manager doesn't want to look like a fool for hiring the person and usually they can hang onto the job for as long as they'd like to. Raises and promotions are another thing.
The basic problem with the workforce today is employers have no idea what they need, and even if they did, they have no way of finding out who has the skills they actually do need. Simple as that.
I don't want to defend the guy, but don't diss him over the way he spends his money. He gives well over $100 million/year to charity and is also one of the "Giving Pledge" signatories. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge
We have no idea what he plans to do with this island but it may not be as we all expect. It might be part of some charity scheme. We'll just have to wait and see.
Payday lenders are pure evil. Anything bad that happens to them is good for society as a whole.
lol... no... they'll just license it to all of the other cable companies.
Even the cheapest tracking software includes methods for tracking people with cookies turned off. Buisnesses have wised up and are tracking you based on info you can't change, like your IP, windows version, etc... Then they share this info with each other. Private browsing is NOT private. Your only hope is to use a proxy service.
No, he's afraid that he's never even make it to Sweden. He's just as likely to walk off a plane in Guantanamo or Jordan. If the US even gives he remotest shit about making this look good they'll let him land and then pick him up in the airport. If there is one thing that's for sure, he will never stand trial in Sweden or the US. They don't want any of the evidence they'd have to show to be made public. If he's very very lucky, he'll get a military trial and spend the rest of his life in Leavenworth. The most likely scenario is rendition, torture and almost certain death.
What if the alternative is rendition to... lets say Pakistan? Our government has proven as of late, not shy about "disappearing" people. And our public has be alarmingly unconcerned about the practice as well.