Unfortunately, I have broadband and I do care about the speed I get. Only because I'm downloading at 6.5k/sec. I hate it when ISPs say speeds up to 768k so they're still okay when you're downloading slower than a 56k modem.
Just because you can't download fast doesn't mean you don't have the bandwidth. My bandwidth is capped at 2.5 megabits per second, yet I rarely see this. For example, I find a good measure of download speed is grabbing an ISO for FreeBSD or the Linux distro of the month from some overloaded FTP server. Of course, if a server's bandwidth is maxed out and can only give 6.5 KB/sec, it doesn't matter what your bandwidth is.
When they say you have a certain bandwidth, that is the maximum. A lot of factors (load on the local router, ISP's upstream line, local trunk's capacity or utilization, etc) impact your actual speed. That's why I ask around and don't go by the numbers.
The other advantage is you won't get a disconnect when 98% done downloading that 650 MB Linux ISO. And your ping will be faster in Quake, since there is no D/A A/D conversion going on. I'll take a 6.5 KB pure digital download over a 6.5 KB analog modem download any day.
Actually I'm personally holding out for a highspeed link directly into my brain...
I wouldn't mind broadband to my brain. It would be difficult explaining to my wife why I was looking at pr0n sites during sex, though (hint: you didn't weigh this much when I married you).
AK-47 can fire semi-automatic , burst or full-auto, so it's pretty much a machine gun.
There are several differences between an assault rifle and machine gun:
Caliber: an assault rifle is usually smaller caliber than a machine gun. For example, the M-16 assault rifle fires 5.56 mm NATO rounds, while the M-60 machine gun fires.50 inch rounds.
Cyclic rate: this is basically how fast a gun can theoretically fire. The higher the rate, the more often bullets come out. Assault rifles usually fire lower cyclic rates, a few hundred rounds per minute. Machine guns typically fire over 1,000 bullets per minute. Machine guns can also sustain a rate of fire: assault rifles overheat faster and need more cool-down time. This is one reason they usually have a burst-fire mode, which is a cross between semi and full automatic. It fires a short burst with each trigger press, instead of firing until you let up on the trigger.
Weight: because machine guns have extra cooling and a tougher firing mechanism to handle the increased rate of fire, they generally weigh a lot more. An assault rifle may weigh 6-10 pounds, where a machine gun may weigh as much as 40 pounds for a small one (i.e. hand-held or tripod mounted). Heavy machine guns can easily weigh 100 pounds and require a fixed mount, like the turret on top of a military Humvee, or on top a tank.
Power: both types of guns have incredible power. While most handguns fire rounds that won't penetrate a human body, the rounds fired from an assault rifle or machine gun will penetrate multiple human bodies in a row.
There is a big difference between the two. Legally, it is important. Machine guns are definitely bigger and more powerful, although very unweildy even for exceptionally strong people. Here in the U.S.A., the difference is in the type of fire: semi or full auto. Machine guns are full automatics, assault rifles either have a selector switch or just aren't fully automatic.
I've seen the difference. I've fired different guns, to include weapons that are illegal for civilians to posses. Yes, I am in the military. The damage potential with a machine gun or a fully automatic assault rifle compared to a semi or burst assault rifle or even a semi pistol is huge. An assault rifle has pinpoint accuracy and power, but not much spray. A machine gun will fire so many bullets that there is no point in even putting a sillouet (sic) downrage. It's almost so powerful that you'd be afraid of destroying the bullet-proof wall at the other end of the range and hurting people.
I think gun laws are stupid for the most part. But I agree that a line needs to be drawn somewhere: allowing civilians to have anti-aircraft or gattling guns (machine guns' big brothers, the kind they mount on Navy boats or Air Force gunships) would be moronic. Enough crazy and stupid people would shoot down airliners and generally cause havoc that it cannot be allowed. By striking a balance, the government can give us our right to bear arms and defend ourselves without allowing criminals the right to arm themselves with potentially unstoppable weapons.
I assume you meant "safe." Anyway, not all houses have basements. I am currently living in the south (against my will), and when I ask about basements, people look at me funny. "Oh yeah, I've seen those in movies!" Also, some people live in apartments. Otherwise, good advice. I didn't think about the smoke molecules, but now that you mention it, I am reminded of a computer I once had to salvage from fire damage. It was amazing where we found solidified smoke: inside disk drives, PCI slots, etc. And I'm sure safes aren't air (or smoke) tight.
Every human civilisation, and there have been hundreds, in the whole of history has collapsed or been destroyed by something (except perhaps for the Chinese).
Don't forget the Russians. They've been around just as long. Maybe the fall of the Soviet empire could be considered a collapse, but so could the end of the rule of Emperors in China. Either way, 226 years is just one page in the history of one of these civilizations.
But oh yeah, 'ours is an exception, you can safely put tens of millions of people out of jobs and magically new jobs will re-appear, because things don't change in OUR civilisation, they're stable'.
You're right, in your sarcasm at least. You can't get rid of all those jobs and expect it to work. One parent post mentioned that if you lose ten million entry level jobs, you may get back ten thousand non-entry level jobs. I disagree with even that bleak outlook. Try telling me that a retail cashier is going to lose his job, turn around, and get hired developing RFID technology.
All it will do, in my opinion, is lower the standard of entry-level. Those with cushy, high-paying tech jobs will be paid less as a massive shift in the job markey occurs. Ten million people jobless is a huge part of the population to have lose jobs. It may be small compared to 250 million, but our economy is a delicate balance and this would upset it. I'm thinking recession, possibly even a minor depression.
In the end, it boils down to the haves and have-nots. It will just widen the gap between the two. Capitalism is like Communism: it looks great on paper, but hurts in practice. Too many "little guys" get hurt while the upper class has more money than they know what to do with.
I had a friend who had to throw out an alarm clock because he couldn't get the ants out of it. Of all the electronics in his room, they infested that. He had a nice line of ants going to it too, like they were harvesting or something.
It was even better when he called his leasing office and told them ants infested his alarm clock, and he wanted them to do something about it. They gave him some advice, including "move your alarm clock."
In case you haven't noticed, the 10th admendment isn't really enforced anymore.
This is an important ammendment. Everyone talks about the 1st and the 4th, like they embody the bill of rights. The majority of the other ammendments in the Bill of Rights basically give civil liberties to the citizens. But the 10th is relatively unique in that it gives rights to the states.
To me, this means that if the Constitution doesn't say the Federal government can do it, they can't, but the states can.
To the government, this means nothing.
I think the U.S. needs to take a step back and re-evaluate a lot of laws and precedents that have been set. This goes beyond political bickering. I'm talking about the basic functions of government.
Your belief that people will do it anyway is right on the money. So why punish them? It is an actual victimless crime.
But there are victims. I don't know who, but given that it is a moral issue, I'm sure the Republicans would say it hurts society.
I really don't care. I don't smoke dope (or tobacco). I believe I have no right to tell other people that they shouldn't smoke it. However, some people in this country feel they need to push their flawed moral values on the rest of us.
I'm thinking of moving to Europe and giving up my United States citizenship.
I'm not confusing them, I'm just being lazy and sloppy. When I say "glibc" I also mean "libstdc++". I probably shouldn't do that, sorry for the confusion.
Part of my problem with Visual C++'s C++ library is that it is horribly out of date. Microsoft chose to use the most recent version when it was released, which was good. But then for each service pack, they failed to replace the libraries. Dinkum had a compliant library as of Visual C++ 6.0 sp3. Microsoft probably didn't want to include it because it would help programmers write cross-platform programs, threatening their monopoly.
Thanks to MinGW, I can cross-compile in Windows and Linux just fine. About the only thing I think Visual C++ (the IDE, not the compiler) is good for is creating graphical resources such as icons and menus.
I agree. Version 3.2 fixed a lot of standards-related issues, and added a bunch of optimizations that improved speed dramatically.
However, at least in the programs I write, GCC still produces large executables. Even Visual C++, when compared to G++ (both dynamically linking to the STL), produces smaller code. But GCC definitely produces faster code.
I don't have much experience with the Sun compiler, I've only used it a couple times. It did produce fast code, but it had a LOT of compilation issues. It was very picky as to what code it wanted to compile. Some code that was well within the standard wouldn't compile. And this was with the compiler bundled with Solaris 8, the latest at the time.
The latest version of GLibC is standards-compliant and faster than MSVCRT, Microsoft's implementation of the standard libraries.
Actually they use an old version of someone else's libraries, I think the Dinkam libraries.
Anyway, I haven't run into any problems with GCC/G++ and GLibC in a while. I think version 3 of the GCC fixed a lot of the standards-related issues, and GCC compiled code is plenty fast. It runs circles around the VC++ compiler.
Alabama and Mississippi are competing to see who can have a lower per capita income. Right now Alabama is losing, but it isn't for not trying.
Anyway, bringing this back to pr0n... A significant number of counties here in Alabama have anti-pr0n and anti-alcohol laws on the books. For example, here in Montgomery, it is illegal to possess a beer keg. Bars have to serve beer in cans or bottles, you can't get it on tap. Stores aren't allowed to sell even Playboy, which is hardly pr0n. If you want pr0n, buy the Playboy Special Edition -- it is 100% pictures, 0% articles (that's what I buy). My wife is outraged because she can't buy Playgirl in the city, and the base exchange doesn't carry it. Looks like I need to buy her a subscription.
Alabama also has extremely high taxes. Sales tax is fairly low, but property tax is astronomical and income tax is high, too. All of the voters complain about the taxes, but the representatives only raise the taxes. I don't get it.
Thankfully I don't pay taxes here since I'm active duty military. I can buy pr0n and beer kegs on base (but can't take them off base) at the base exchange. And there's one surrounding county here that allows all the pr0n and beer anybody would want.
But overall, legislators are fairly stupid when it comes to cause and effect. Outlaw pr0n, tech people don't want to work in your state/county... odd, isn't it? Outlaw kegs, college students get pissed off and move away.
Maybe the state legislators feel penis-envy because they aren't in the Federal government, and feel they need to create controversy over stupid laws. So they mandate censorship of web sites, outlaw pr0n and alcohol (the root of all evil), and will eventually make laws requiring us all to go to church.
This is wrong. Government employees get a COLA increase every year on January 1st, but we also get time, or "step," increases. In the private sector you usually have to go beg for a raise. In the public sector you can't ask for a raise -- but Federal law spells out exactly when you get a raise, based on time.
Another advantage is since the pay is standardized, i.e. we have pay grades, it is trivial to find out how much someone else makes. This helps reduce the politics and especially the backstabbing associated with fiscal issues.
In the private sector, salaries are closely guarded secrets, and it's very competitive because people want to get on top in any way possible. In the public sector, the law mandates how much you make, not the boss you're brown-nosing to. And everyone knows how much everyone else makes, in fact, rank is established by your pay grade. There's really no way to cheat the system, so it's a lot more open and honest.
One hidden benefit is in the public sector, you cannot be denied a raise. If you qualify for a step increase or promotion, the government is required to give it to you. In the private sector, human resources can deny a raise because they aren't doing well financially. Sorry, no raise, we need to keep our stock price high for the stockholders! That will NEVER happen in the government.
It just depends on which situation you prefer. I plan on staying in the Department of Defense. Job security is very high here compared to the other Departments, there are more higher paying jobs compared to other Departments, and the jobs are generally cooler. Think about what IT does in the DOD -- spying, intelligence, hacking into foreign computers, all sorts of top secret stuff that if you do it in the private sector you would go to jail.
I've been in the Air Force in a computer desk job for two years now and I've definitely seen my fair share of idiots. But overall, the system works, and the pay isn't bad -- for civil service. Being enlisted, I make about $24,000 with allowances (extra money for food and rent). I could do the same thing in civil service (DOD civilian) making more than twice what I do now.
The difference? Civil service is tough to get into. Any decent job requires civil service experience AND a bachelor's degree. But once you get going, you get decent money, 50k+, excellent job security (there are layoffs and office closures but it's better than the private sector), and decent benefits.
For information on military and government civilian pay, check out the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. They handle all DOD pay matters and have charts and graphs. They also have a few other resources concerning DOD jobs. It is far from complete, but it's certainly a good start.
The military is great because it stresses the chain of command -- and it works. There is definite accountability, most everything is above board making embezzling, favoritism, sexual harassment, etc. next to impossible to get away with. It could be better, but efficiency is better than I've seen in the private sector. That is why once my military enlistment is up, I'm planning to stay in the DOD and get a civilian job working with military people. I love the environment, plus I'll get paid more money $-)
I am a programmer in the USAF, and my squadron (for security reasons I cannot say what my unit does) uses OSS.
We use Samba for sharing printers between Windows NT and Solaris. We don't change the source code, but we do use OSS. I believe that we also use GCC for some things, because (and I am not 100% sure on this since I am not a sysadmin) I don't think Solaris comes with a C compiler. We also use DivX for... I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you;-)
I've thought about this before because of our software licensing. Let's say Microsoft thinks they need a license audit. What's more important: maintaining our security by not allowing Microsoft access to sensitive computer systems, or complying with their "copyright" policies? If a computer is located in a secure area protected by federal classification law, who will know?
It goes both ways. The government could potentially abuse the GPL, but they could do the same to the draconian licensing terms in commercial software. It is my experience that the people in charge of acquiring systems will make sure their subordinates comply with the law. The higher-ups at my squadron stress that we must obey licensing laws because it's The Right Thing To Do.
I like open source software. I think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. But for some applications, such as classified computer systems, it may be best to stick to closed source if you need to change the open source software.
The US Air Force is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If I am not working, I am either on call or on leave. Even when I sleep. Those people in the intelligence community monitoring enemy communications (Afghanistan smoke signals), satellite photos, etc. work nonstop, for example. Chow halls and hospitals are open every day without exception. Flight crews and airplane mechanics are on call with packed bags (mobag, or mobility bag). Communications people monitor our computer networks nonstop.
The Japanese smacked us hard because let's face it, nobody would attack on a Sunday morning. That's taboo. Or is it? What's next, an airplane crashing into a building on Christmas or Thanksgiving or some other holiday us Americans hold sacred?
Luckily I had Christmas off, but again, I was on call in case something broke that I was responsible for. We've been called into work at 0300 (3 AM) before for no reason other than to check our reaction time that early in the morning.
I do development at work (US Air Force) in a tightly locked down NT 4 environment -- I can't edit the Registry, change my desktop at all, can't even change the time (and all the workstations are at least half an hour off the real time).
We also have a stand-alone network we use for developing certain applications where we have Administrator access. In addition to that we also have a Solaris network where we have our own development server - rlogin to the server, do what we need with higher (but not root) privleges, and have the SAs (who have root) move code. It's a lot easier to have a locked-down network and still give specific permissions and access in UNIX than in NT/2000.
One of the things that is more important than just locking everything down is accountability - keep an audit trail so you know who is responsible when Bad Things (tm) happen.
I am an amateur musician (as well as a programmer) and I think hard work should be rewarded, not popularity.
The Backdoor Boys and other pop sensations are an insult to us real musicians. Anyone can dress and act like a child molester, get up on stage, and look good to 14 year old girls. But to write good songs, achieve a level of skill beyond lip synching, and win people over because your music rocks rather than you're cute, now that is not easy.
And those musicians that can do this deserve to rake in some good money. Just like programmers who land the right job and write excellent software deserve the same.
Personally, I would be bored if I put in a few hours of work and lived off it for the rest of my life. I would want to keep working. I wouldn't think it right.
But even so, it can be difficult for new artists (and I mean artists, not faggot boy bands) to break into the business and make money even if they are good. It all depends on what the RIAA's member companies think people want, what the pop trends are.
If I had enough start-up capital I would consider starting a record label that caters to the musicians and offers a fair chance for anyone to publish music -- and allow them to keep copyright ownership of their own songs.
It is essential for the US military to have a strong space presence. Why is it that would-be aggressors are scared of the United States? Because they know we have the best military hardware in the world and some of the best-trained soldiers in the world. They understand that wars are very political until you get into all-out fighting (i.e. WW I/II). Saddam knows we can't just go in and kick his ass. That would be uncouth for such a developed nation.
So besides playing politics in a touchy situation, what can we do? Launch satellites into space to do the covert work the media doesn't need to know about. Right now we have satellites for reconnaisance, but not attack. There are many hurdles to overcome, but it needs to be researched and put into practice. Then people need to be educated about it -- the cold war proved that deterrence is the way to win wars in a situation where a slip of the finger on the big red button could reduce the planet to a smoldering lump of carbon.
Maybe I am biased. I am, after all, in the US Air Force myself. I love the military and would like to see a better defense system, as if our current one wasn't good enough.
And before you flame me for being in the military (if you think that's a bad thing, I'm sure SOMEBODY does), know that I am an ex-Katz geek. Now I have access to military hardware to get back at those bullies from high school, and anybody that flames me:-)
Opinions are like bungholes, everybody has one and they all stink.
I think the best thing to do is start of teaching programming concepts and not languages. For example, in college my first programming class used Java, but we didn't get to any syntax or code until the second half of the quarter. The first half our professor talked about OOP in very basic terms (this major was designed for people with no experience whatsoever), about objects as lego blocks (made me proud:-)) and cookie-cutters as classes, etc.
Teaching children programming should take the same approach. Teach them concepts, talk about building a program as a bunch of objects working together and use an OOP language such as Java, *then* start talking syntax.
No matter what, don't use a book. I've learned from books and I've learned from professors, and I can honestly say I much rather have the personal attention of a professor that can answer questions, explain things in different ways, etc. even if (in class at least) I had no control over the pace of instruction like you do in a book. Going one on one with someone is the best way to teach.
Oh, be sure to teach good coding style from the start. In college I would get an answer wrong if a single code block didn't have a comment or my indentation was off or any other style problems. That taught me good coding style VERY quickly!
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Unfortunately, I have broadband and I do care about the speed I get. Only because I'm downloading at 6.5k/sec. I hate it when ISPs say speeds up to 768k so they're still okay when you're downloading slower than a 56k modem.
Just because you can't download fast doesn't mean you don't have the bandwidth. My bandwidth is capped at 2.5 megabits per second, yet I rarely see this. For example, I find a good measure of download speed is grabbing an ISO for FreeBSD or the Linux distro of the month from some overloaded FTP server. Of course, if a server's bandwidth is maxed out and can only give 6.5 KB/sec, it doesn't matter what your bandwidth is.
When they say you have a certain bandwidth, that is the maximum. A lot of factors (load on the local router, ISP's upstream line, local trunk's capacity or utilization, etc) impact your actual speed. That's why I ask around and don't go by the numbers.
The other advantage is you won't get a disconnect when 98% done downloading that 650 MB Linux ISO. And your ping will be faster in Quake, since there is no D/A A/D conversion going on. I'll take a 6.5 KB pure digital download over a 6.5 KB analog modem download any day.
Actually I'm personally holding out for a highspeed link directly into my brain...
I wouldn't mind broadband to my brain. It would be difficult explaining to my wife why I was looking at pr0n sites during sex, though (hint: you didn't weigh this much when I married you).
AK-47 can fire semi-automatic , burst or full-auto, so it's pretty much a machine gun.
There are several differences between an assault rifle and machine gun:
Caliber: an assault rifle is usually smaller caliber than a machine gun. For example, the M-16 assault rifle fires 5.56 mm NATO rounds, while the M-60 machine gun fires .50 inch rounds.
Cyclic rate: this is basically how fast a gun can theoretically fire. The higher the rate, the more often bullets come out. Assault rifles usually fire lower cyclic rates, a few hundred rounds per minute. Machine guns typically fire over 1,000 bullets per minute. Machine guns can also sustain a rate of fire: assault rifles overheat faster and need more cool-down time. This is one reason they usually have a burst-fire mode, which is a cross between semi and full automatic. It fires a short burst with each trigger press, instead of firing until you let up on the trigger.
Weight: because machine guns have extra cooling and a tougher firing mechanism to handle the increased rate of fire, they generally weigh a lot more. An assault rifle may weigh 6-10 pounds, where a machine gun may weigh as much as 40 pounds for a small one (i.e. hand-held or tripod mounted). Heavy machine guns can easily weigh 100 pounds and require a fixed mount, like the turret on top of a military Humvee, or on top a tank.
Power: both types of guns have incredible power. While most handguns fire rounds that won't penetrate a human body, the rounds fired from an assault rifle or machine gun will penetrate multiple human bodies in a row.
There is a big difference between the two. Legally, it is important. Machine guns are definitely bigger and more powerful, although very unweildy even for exceptionally strong people. Here in the U.S.A., the difference is in the type of fire: semi or full auto. Machine guns are full automatics, assault rifles either have a selector switch or just aren't fully automatic.
I've seen the difference. I've fired different guns, to include weapons that are illegal for civilians to posses. Yes, I am in the military. The damage potential with a machine gun or a fully automatic assault rifle compared to a semi or burst assault rifle or even a semi pistol is huge. An assault rifle has pinpoint accuracy and power, but not much spray. A machine gun will fire so many bullets that there is no point in even putting a sillouet (sic) downrage. It's almost so powerful that you'd be afraid of destroying the bullet-proof wall at the other end of the range and hurting people.
I think gun laws are stupid for the most part. But I agree that a line needs to be drawn somewhere: allowing civilians to have anti-aircraft or gattling guns (machine guns' big brothers, the kind they mount on Navy boats or Air Force gunships) would be moronic. Enough crazy and stupid people would shoot down airliners and generally cause havoc that it cannot be allowed. By striking a balance, the government can give us our right to bear arms and defend ourselves without allowing criminals the right to arm themselves with potentially unstoppable weapons.
1) Put the same in the basement.
I assume you meant "safe." Anyway, not all houses have basements. I am currently living in the south (against my will), and when I ask about basements, people look at me funny. "Oh yeah, I've seen those in movies!" Also, some people live in apartments. Otherwise, good advice. I didn't think about the smoke molecules, but now that you mention it, I am reminded of a computer I once had to salvage from fire damage. It was amazing where we found solidified smoke: inside disk drives, PCI slots, etc. And I'm sure safes aren't air (or smoke) tight.
Every human civilisation, and there have been hundreds, in the whole of history has collapsed or been destroyed by something (except perhaps for the Chinese).
Don't forget the Russians. They've been around just as long. Maybe the fall of the Soviet empire could be considered a collapse, but so could the end of the rule of Emperors in China. Either way, 226 years is just one page in the history of one of these civilizations.
But oh yeah, 'ours is an exception, you can safely put tens of millions of people out of jobs and magically new jobs will re-appear, because things don't change in OUR civilisation, they're stable'.
You're right, in your sarcasm at least. You can't get rid of all those jobs and expect it to work. One parent post mentioned that if you lose ten million entry level jobs, you may get back ten thousand non-entry level jobs. I disagree with even that bleak outlook. Try telling me that a retail cashier is going to lose his job, turn around, and get hired developing RFID technology.
All it will do, in my opinion, is lower the standard of entry-level. Those with cushy, high-paying tech jobs will be paid less as a massive shift in the job markey occurs. Ten million people jobless is a huge part of the population to have lose jobs. It may be small compared to 250 million, but our economy is a delicate balance and this would upset it. I'm thinking recession, possibly even a minor depression.
In the end, it boils down to the haves and have-nots. It will just widen the gap between the two. Capitalism is like Communism: it looks great on paper, but hurts in practice. Too many "little guys" get hurt while the upper class has more money than they know what to do with.
a fraction of the spam
I get about 20 spams a day. My wife gets about 60. If what you say is correct, it's a good thing I don't use Microsoft's service.
Of course, the only thing I use my Yahoo account for is places where I know I will receive spam.
I had a friend who had to throw out an alarm clock because he couldn't get the ants out of it. Of all the electronics in his room, they infested that. He had a nice line of ants going to it too, like they were harvesting or something.
It was even better when he called his leasing office and told them ants infested his alarm clock, and he wanted them to do something about it. They gave him some advice, including "move your alarm clock."
Wasn't this story already posted? I thought I remembered a story about Doom being ported to every device, including cell phones...
this is like Office Space. Them stealing the remainders as they are rounded off.
Last time I checked, I had one vote. Not half, not three quarters, just one. How do I get a fractional vote?
The only explanation is that you're as drunk as I am ;-)
In case you haven't noticed, the 10th admendment isn't really enforced anymore.
This is an important ammendment. Everyone talks about the 1st and the 4th, like they embody the bill of rights. The majority of the other ammendments in the Bill of Rights basically give civil liberties to the citizens. But the 10th is relatively unique in that it gives rights to the states.
To me, this means that if the Constitution doesn't say the Federal government can do it, they can't, but the states can.
To the government, this means nothing.
I think the U.S. needs to take a step back and re-evaluate a lot of laws and precedents that have been set. This goes beyond political bickering. I'm talking about the basic functions of government.
Your belief that people will do it anyway is right on the money. So why punish them? It is an actual victimless crime.
But there are victims. I don't know who, but given that it is a moral issue, I'm sure the Republicans would say it hurts society.
I really don't care. I don't smoke dope (or tobacco). I believe I have no right to tell other people that they shouldn't smoke it. However, some people in this country feel they need to push their flawed moral values on the rest of us.
I'm thinking of moving to Europe and giving up my United States citizenship.
My Representative, Dennis Kucinich, was re-elected in my House district (Ohio 10).
This is the same man who, during his tenure as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, once caught his hair on fire during a press conference.
You're confusing C and C++ libraries.
I'm not confusing them, I'm just being lazy and sloppy. When I say "glibc" I also mean "libstdc++". I probably shouldn't do that, sorry for the confusion.
Part of my problem with Visual C++'s C++ library is that it is horribly out of date. Microsoft chose to use the most recent version when it was released, which was good. But then for each service pack, they failed to replace the libraries. Dinkum had a compliant library as of Visual C++ 6.0 sp3. Microsoft probably didn't want to include it because it would help programmers write cross-platform programs, threatening their monopoly.
Thanks to MinGW, I can cross-compile in Windows and Linux just fine. About the only thing I think Visual C++ (the IDE, not the compiler) is good for is creating graphical resources such as icons and menus.
I agree. Version 3.2 fixed a lot of standards-related issues, and added a bunch of optimizations that improved speed dramatically.
However, at least in the programs I write, GCC still produces large executables. Even Visual C++, when compared to G++ (both dynamically linking to the STL), produces smaller code. But GCC definitely produces faster code.
I don't have much experience with the Sun compiler, I've only used it a couple times. It did produce fast code, but it had a LOT of compilation issues. It was very picky as to what code it wanted to compile. Some code that was well within the standard wouldn't compile. And this was with the compiler bundled with Solaris 8, the latest at the time.
The latest version of GLibC is standards-compliant and faster than MSVCRT, Microsoft's implementation of the standard libraries.
Actually they use an old version of someone else's libraries, I think the Dinkam libraries.
Anyway, I haven't run into any problems with GCC/G++ and GLibC in a while. I think version 3 of the GCC fixed a lot of the standards-related issues, and GCC compiled code is plenty fast. It runs circles around the VC++ compiler.
Then don't move to Alabama either.
Alabama and Mississippi are competing to see who can have a lower per capita income. Right now Alabama is losing, but it isn't for not trying.
Anyway, bringing this back to pr0n... A significant number of counties here in Alabama have anti-pr0n and anti-alcohol laws on the books. For example, here in Montgomery, it is illegal to possess a beer keg. Bars have to serve beer in cans or bottles, you can't get it on tap. Stores aren't allowed to sell even Playboy, which is hardly pr0n. If you want pr0n, buy the Playboy Special Edition -- it is 100% pictures, 0% articles (that's what I buy). My wife is outraged because she can't buy Playgirl in the city, and the base exchange doesn't carry it. Looks like I need to buy her a subscription.
Alabama also has extremely high taxes. Sales tax is fairly low, but property tax is astronomical and income tax is high, too. All of the voters complain about the taxes, but the representatives only raise the taxes. I don't get it.
Thankfully I don't pay taxes here since I'm active duty military. I can buy pr0n and beer kegs on base (but can't take them off base) at the base exchange. And there's one surrounding county here that allows all the pr0n and beer anybody would want.
But overall, legislators are fairly stupid when it comes to cause and effect. Outlaw pr0n, tech people don't want to work in your state/county... odd, isn't it? Outlaw kegs, college students get pissed off and move away.
Maybe the state legislators feel penis-envy because they aren't in the Federal government, and feel they need to create controversy over stupid laws. So they mandate censorship of web sites, outlaw pr0n and alcohol (the root of all evil), and will eventually make laws requiring us all to go to church.
Sometimes I want to move to Canada...
This is wrong. Government employees get a COLA increase every year on January 1st, but we also get time, or "step," increases. In the private sector you usually have to go beg for a raise. In the public sector you can't ask for a raise -- but Federal law spells out exactly when you get a raise, based on time.
Another advantage is since the pay is standardized, i.e. we have pay grades, it is trivial to find out how much someone else makes. This helps reduce the politics and especially the backstabbing associated with fiscal issues.
In the private sector, salaries are closely guarded secrets, and it's very competitive because people want to get on top in any way possible. In the public sector, the law mandates how much you make, not the boss you're brown-nosing to. And everyone knows how much everyone else makes, in fact, rank is established by your pay grade. There's really no way to cheat the system, so it's a lot more open and honest.
One hidden benefit is in the public sector, you cannot be denied a raise. If you qualify for a step increase or promotion, the government is required to give it to you. In the private sector, human resources can deny a raise because they aren't doing well financially. Sorry, no raise, we need to keep our stock price high for the stockholders! That will NEVER happen in the government.
It just depends on which situation you prefer. I plan on staying in the Department of Defense. Job security is very high here compared to the other Departments, there are more higher paying jobs compared to other Departments, and the jobs are generally cooler. Think about what IT does in the DOD -- spying, intelligence, hacking into foreign computers, all sorts of top secret stuff that if you do it in the private sector you would go to jail.
I've been in the Air Force in a computer desk job for two years now and I've definitely seen my fair share of idiots. But overall, the system works, and the pay isn't bad -- for civil service. Being enlisted, I make about $24,000 with allowances (extra money for food and rent). I could do the same thing in civil service (DOD civilian) making more than twice what I do now.
The difference? Civil service is tough to get into. Any decent job requires civil service experience AND a bachelor's degree. But once you get going, you get decent money, 50k+, excellent job security (there are layoffs and office closures but it's better than the private sector), and decent benefits.
For information on military and government civilian pay, check out the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. They handle all DOD pay matters and have charts and graphs. They also have a few other resources concerning DOD jobs. It is far from complete, but it's certainly a good start.
The military is great because it stresses the chain of command -- and it works. There is definite accountability, most everything is above board making embezzling, favoritism, sexual harassment, etc. next to impossible to get away with. It could be better, but efficiency is better than I've seen in the private sector. That is why once my military enlistment is up, I'm planning to stay in the DOD and get a civilian job working with military people. I love the environment, plus I'll get paid more money $-)
I am a programmer in the USAF, and my squadron (for security reasons I cannot say what my unit does) uses OSS.
;-)
We use Samba for sharing printers between Windows NT and Solaris. We don't change the source code, but we do use OSS. I believe that we also use GCC for some things, because (and I am not 100% sure on this since I am not a sysadmin) I don't think Solaris comes with a C compiler. We also use DivX for... I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you
I've thought about this before because of our software licensing. Let's say Microsoft thinks they need a license audit. What's more important: maintaining our security by not allowing Microsoft access to sensitive computer systems, or complying with their "copyright" policies? If a computer is located in a secure area protected by federal classification law, who will know?
It goes both ways. The government could potentially abuse the GPL, but they could do the same to the draconian licensing terms in commercial software. It is my experience that the people in charge of acquiring systems will make sure their subordinates comply with the law. The higher-ups at my squadron stress that we must obey licensing laws because it's The Right Thing To Do.
I like open source software. I think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. But for some applications, such as classified computer systems, it may be best to stick to closed source if you need to change the open source software.
The US Air Force is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If I am not working, I am either on call or on leave. Even when I sleep. Those people in the intelligence community monitoring enemy communications (Afghanistan smoke signals), satellite photos, etc. work nonstop, for example. Chow halls and hospitals are open every day without exception. Flight crews and airplane mechanics are on call with packed bags (mobag, or mobility bag). Communications people monitor our computer networks nonstop.
The Japanese smacked us hard because let's face it, nobody would attack on a Sunday morning. That's taboo. Or is it? What's next, an airplane crashing into a building on Christmas or Thanksgiving or some other holiday us Americans hold sacred?
Luckily I had Christmas off, but again, I was on call in case something broke that I was responsible for. We've been called into work at 0300 (3 AM) before for no reason other than to check our reaction time that early in the morning.
John Gaughan
I do development at work (US Air Force) in a tightly locked down NT 4 environment -- I can't edit the Registry, change my desktop at all, can't even change the time (and all the workstations are at least half an hour off the real time).
We also have a stand-alone network we use for developing certain applications where we have Administrator access. In addition to that we also have a Solaris network where we have our own development server - rlogin to the server, do what we need with higher (but not root) privleges, and have the SAs (who have root) move code. It's a lot easier to have a locked-down network and still give specific permissions and access in UNIX than in NT/2000.
One of the things that is more important than just locking everything down is accountability - keep an audit trail so you know who is responsible when Bad Things (tm) happen.
I am an amateur musician (as well as a programmer) and I think hard work should be rewarded, not popularity.
The Backdoor Boys and other pop sensations are an insult to us real musicians. Anyone can dress and act like a child molester, get up on stage, and look good to 14 year old girls. But to write good songs, achieve a level of skill beyond lip synching, and win people over because your music rocks rather than you're cute, now that is not easy.
And those musicians that can do this deserve to rake in some good money. Just like programmers who land the right job and write excellent software deserve the same.
Personally, I would be bored if I put in a few hours of work and lived off it for the rest of my life. I would want to keep working. I wouldn't think it right.
But even so, it can be difficult for new artists (and I mean artists, not faggot boy bands) to break into the business and make money even if they are good. It all depends on what the RIAA's member companies think people want, what the pop trends are.
If I had enough start-up capital I would consider starting a record label that caters to the musicians and offers a fair chance for anyone to publish music -- and allow them to keep copyright ownership of their own songs.
-TSM
It is essential for the US military to have a strong space presence. Why is it that would-be aggressors are scared of the United States? Because they know we have the best military hardware in the world and some of the best-trained soldiers in the world. They understand that wars are very political until you get into all-out fighting (i.e. WW I/II). Saddam knows we can't just go in and kick his ass. That would be uncouth for such a developed nation. So besides playing politics in a touchy situation, what can we do? Launch satellites into space to do the covert work the media doesn't need to know about. Right now we have satellites for reconnaisance, but not attack. There are many hurdles to overcome, but it needs to be researched and put into practice. Then people need to be educated about it -- the cold war proved that deterrence is the way to win wars in a situation where a slip of the finger on the big red button could reduce the planet to a smoldering lump of carbon. Maybe I am biased. I am, after all, in the US Air Force myself. I love the military and would like to see a better defense system, as if our current one wasn't good enough. And before you flame me for being in the military (if you think that's a bad thing, I'm sure SOMEBODY does), know that I am an ex-Katz geek. Now I have access to military hardware to get back at those bullies from high school, and anybody that flames me :-)
Opinions are like bungholes, everybody has one and they all stink.
I have balls of steel! Oh crap, Apogee can now sue me for trademark infringement!
-TSM
I think the best thing to do is start of teaching programming concepts and not languages. For example, in college my first programming class used Java, but we didn't get to any syntax or code until the second half of the quarter. The first half our professor talked about OOP in very basic terms (this major was designed for people with no experience whatsoever), about objects as lego blocks (made me proud :-)) and cookie-cutters as classes, etc.
Teaching children programming should take the same approach. Teach them concepts, talk about building a program as a bunch of objects working together and use an OOP language such as Java, *then* start talking syntax.
No matter what, don't use a book. I've learned from books and I've learned from professors, and I can honestly say I much rather have the personal attention of a professor that can answer questions, explain things in different ways, etc. even if (in class at least) I had no control over the pace of instruction like you do in a book. Going one on one with someone is the best way to teach.
Oh, be sure to teach good coding style from the start. In college I would get an answer wrong if a single code block didn't have a comment or my indentation was off or any other style problems. That taught me good coding style VERY quickly!