I recall reading some comments from general contractors lately that amounted to about the same practice.
In essence, it's cheaper to hire poor developers to build the thing and then hire some experts for a limited fixing after the fact than it is to just hire the expert to begin with.
Of course, by cheaper, I mean less expensive in terms of up-front costs (or, the amount of time it takes the contractor to get paid).
There's a certain amount of truth to this, though, even in many other fields. If I go to a doctor, the first one I see is the generalist. He does what he knows how to do, and once it gets to a point where he doesn't, he sends me to a specialist.
Or maybe it's a cut-rate landscaper that buys his trees from a cut-rate nursery. Everyone is happy until a month of tough weather destroys the work, at which point they bring in well-grown plants.
Some people do intend to build things right the first time, but even the best intentions are subverted when the unknown unknowns appear and declare the project a disaster.
Maybe I'm old or something, but I remember when programmers...
You may also remember when people knew how to change their own flat tire. No so much anymore, hence the increasing reliance on tow-trucks and "courtesy patrols" on the highway.
I'm a web developer. I like that I can use developer tools (which are already built into the browser) to debug headers in the rare cases that its necessary. If the debug tool developers want to convert from binary to text, that's fine with me, but I'd like to look at something human readable without having to worry about doing something outside of my job scope.
There's always some nincompoop that thinks they know everything about a person because they recently took a Critical Reasoning course.
For me to have choice bias here, it makes sense that I would have had to make the choice myself, though I suppose it's not out of the question that I automatically support my parents' choice because I am biased toward their decisions despite the fact that my parents haven't spoke since I was in grade school.
For all I know, you, the AC here, copy/paste that link simply because you want your own confirmation bias that your parents' choice (or lack-thereof) was the correct one for you.
My choice bias in this case is non-existent, since I am not remembering something better than it actually is. I am simply relying on feedback from others, such as my girlfriend, when she states "yes, I am glad you are circumcised". Or when I hear tales from the uncut folks about how the smeg, I am not falsely recollecting some memory here, I am simply weighing the options and deciding that I am happy with this choice that has been made for me.
Would it be choice bias if I were happy that my parents had a miscarriage between my older sister and I, resulting in the very strong likelihood that I was never born? Probably, huh?
I don't really see the public getting pissed off about this. It's mail, a physical package, that is having its "meta data" recorded, instead of a virtual thing like an email or a phone call which connotes that is some how more entitled to absolute privacy.
Would I have a problem with the USPS taking photos of things I send in the mail? Not particularly. I wish it didn't have to come to this, but the goal is to protect against whack-jobs that send scary shit in the mail. Do I have a problem with someone "taking a snapshot" of an email I send or a phone call I make? Not particularly, and for basically the same reasons since the two methods are analogous.
Are some of the things I am doing being watched? Yes. Most definitely. I don't, however, consider many of them to be "spying on me". There is so much noise involved that there isn't any real spying going on a majority of the time. But that's sort of beside the point. The reason people are upset is that they fear that their government will use information about us against us. We worry that if our motives are misconstrued we will be sent to prison and forgotten about.
There is no practical way for the government to actually spy on all of its citizens. Even THX and LUH were able to get away with a few things for awhile despite constant surveillance. Of course, spying just like everything else will become more efficient. Maybe one day it will be possible, but as of right now, no, I don't really have a problem with what they're doing despite the fact that it might lead one day into something that does bother me quite a bit. Funny how that works.
It's not that the parts were poorly designed, it's just that when the designer was considering iterative improvements through genetic selection, it was not taken into account that it may work in the opposite direction as well... iterative degradation through genetic selection.
If you sit toward the back on can see the glow of a half dozen smartphone screens at any given time (or more).
I was fortunate enough to see Roger Waters at the LA Coliseum last year. Fucking amazing show. The most brilliant bit was during "Run Like Hell". Across the sea of audience, you could see thousands of phone screens, everyone taking video, snapping pics, etc. Meanwhile, Waters is mocking all of these people with images of people wearing the white ear buds on the giant projection screen (as well as a few comments before the song).
And then.... AND THEN!!! Everyone starts singing along and doing the overhead clap thing... "RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!!"
The irony was completely lost on them. I sat and watched and just couldn't believe my eyes. Hitler would have loved these people.
I just don't care, and I don't have a problem with it.
Neither do I, though, I haven't been to a movie in the theaters in many years. Before cell phones, they were already very loud, full of obnoxious teenagers, some guy with big hair and a loud laugh, and so many other annoyances that going to a movie theater is the last place I'd like to go to enjoy a film.
It's part of the Silicon Valley startup douchebag mindset.
Or! It's part of the mindset that decides it's a better idea to stop supporting old browsers. Whatever their motive, it's their motive. Maybe they want to save money in customer service because they don't want to have to deal with someone like my dad using their product.
Oh, and don't get started on Oakland. When you have documentaries named "Gangland Oakland", you know to stay the hell away with your 100k+ tech salary.
Except for the fact that if you were in the market for a very nice home with very nice views with friendly neighbors, you would probably choose Oakland over San Jose.
I think people underestimate the number of right wing nutjobs in America
I'd go so far as to say that people do underestimate the number of _____ wing nutjobs in America.
Most of us are quite moderate, but for some reason all the noise gets made by two distant sides that do nothing but spew about the same things over and over.
I see it as attempted sedation. You may not be as lucky.
Yes, it's mostly snake oil, but there is something to be said for properly implemented schema.org tags, well formed page names, and the rest of the stuff that makes your site not only bubble higher in the search results, but also provide useful links within your search results.
And by the way, you can indeed quantify SEO improvements. The only problem is that the SEO guy usually doesn't know how and ends up asking a developer anyway.
Or you can find a niche where formal education isn't terribly relevant. I got my previous job because the niche I work in has a gross lack of talent and I had a track record of building good stuff.
Granted, there are only a couple gray hairs on my head, but sometimes you just have to really hunt for the right employer.
You don't need to purchase minutes for domestic calls, only international. I pay absolutely nothing aside from the $5 I spent on the third-party android app that lets me make calls from an Android PMP.
What I do pay for is a 4G mobile hotpot through Clear. I use that as my main internet connection at home and around town. It's cheaper than a cell phone plan, I have unlimited data, and it performs reasonably well for voice calls through GV.
Despite this, however, I am considering getting a cheap pre-paid dumb phone so that I have emergency service when I'm in the mountains. The girlfriend always has her phone, but sometimes I leave her at home and go fishing by myself instead.
I use GV as my phone number. I haven't paid for cell service in years. One thing I'm going to go ahead and call you out on is the voicemail transcription. Here is an actual transcription that I received last night.
Hey person, what's up man. It's Meyer. I wanna talk to you about. The way I have been able to. Sir if I don't have your address. I did her phone number so if you could. Gimme a call back as soon as you get a chance if you got the number here pretty soon.
As you can see, leaves quite a bit to be desired. I can't say it's even improved much in the last couple of years, because it hasn't. Most of the time, the voicemail transcribes as "Unable to transcribe this message".
While it is definitely a great tool that I use everyday, the voicemail transcription is near useless.
I came across a few articles today that were "of interest to you". I read them, and inevitably, I scrolled to the comments.
Maybe I'm just intentionally naive, but some of the things people are willing to say to complete strangers online are absolutely appalling. I'm sure that I am as guilty as anyone at one point or another, but that's beside the point.
If anything, the Internet revolution that will be reflected upon in 100 years will be known as the time when we really began to discover the evils of the human soul.
I was specifically referring to forest fires. I never mentioned "desert fire", "brush fire", or anything else.
A home lost in a forest fire is a home loss that could have been prevented. "Poor people", the ones I was referring to, are not "poor people" at all. They have chosen to build million dollar homes in an area with a very high risk index for forest fires. If they lost their home due to fire, it was because of their own negligence.
This all fails to account for the many people with homes in the Waldo Canyon fire last year (Colorado Springs) who have already been given their insurance checks and rebuilt homes that are nicer than what they had previously.
My original point remains; people who suffer the consequences of their own actions and choices do not deserve the blind sympathy lain upon them by the public. When was the last time you heard someone mention how "unfortunate" Timothy Treadwell for being mauled by a bear? Or how "it's a shame" that Aaron Ralston had to chop off his own hand? These people, just like the people who build homes in forests, suffered the consequences of their choices. Sure, it sucks for them that it happened, but it's nothing that I'm going to lose sleep over. They knew the risks.
Places such as this, sure, there really isn't that massive of an impact, but an impact no less, and I would definitely hope that step one of a polar bear encounter is NOT to start firing.
If you live where polar bears live, you are in danger of attack and you certainly can't blame the polar bear.
I keep hearing people say things like, "oh those poor people, they lost their home in the forest fire", and I can't help but think it's their own fault for opting to live somewhere where forest fires occur and are expected.
It's not a shame that the people lost their home, or that someone was mauled by a polar bear. The shame comes in the form of humans being ignorant to their own choices and having some accountability.
In response to finding a better way to defend against polar bears, I would suggest the first step is to choose not to live with polar bears.
Slashdot Mirror
I recall reading some comments from general contractors lately that amounted to about the same practice.
In essence, it's cheaper to hire poor developers to build the thing and then hire some experts for a limited fixing after the fact than it is to just hire the expert to begin with.
Of course, by cheaper, I mean less expensive in terms of up-front costs (or, the amount of time it takes the contractor to get paid).
There's a certain amount of truth to this, though, even in many other fields. If I go to a doctor, the first one I see is the generalist. He does what he knows how to do, and once it gets to a point where he doesn't, he sends me to a specialist.
Or maybe it's a cut-rate landscaper that buys his trees from a cut-rate nursery. Everyone is happy until a month of tough weather destroys the work, at which point they bring in well-grown plants.
Some people do intend to build things right the first time, but even the best intentions are subverted when the unknown unknowns appear and declare the project a disaster.
I'm assuming you'll get right on that then! Thanks anti-social back-end developer!
Maybe I'm old or something, but I remember when programmers...
You may also remember when people knew how to change their own flat tire. No so much anymore, hence the increasing reliance on tow-trucks and "courtesy patrols" on the highway.
I'm a web developer. I like that I can use developer tools (which are already built into the browser) to debug headers in the rare cases that its necessary. If the debug tool developers want to convert from binary to text, that's fine with me, but I'd like to look at something human readable without having to worry about doing something outside of my job scope.
Fail.
There's always some nincompoop that thinks they know everything about a person because they recently took a Critical Reasoning course.
For me to have choice bias here, it makes sense that I would have had to make the choice myself, though I suppose it's not out of the question that I automatically support my parents' choice because I am biased toward their decisions despite the fact that my parents haven't spoke since I was in grade school.
For all I know, you, the AC here, copy/paste that link simply because you want your own confirmation bias that your parents' choice (or lack-thereof) was the correct one for you.
My choice bias in this case is non-existent, since I am not remembering something better than it actually is. I am simply relying on feedback from others, such as my girlfriend, when she states "yes, I am glad you are circumcised". Or when I hear tales from the uncut folks about how the smeg, I am not falsely recollecting some memory here, I am simply weighing the options and deciding that I am happy with this choice that has been made for me.
Would it be choice bias if I were happy that my parents had a miscarriage between my older sister and I, resulting in the very strong likelihood that I was never born? Probably, huh?
That's racist.
I am pretty sure I do not only speak for myself, but as a circumcised man, I am happy and thankful for the choice my parents made for me.
I don't really see the public getting pissed off about this. It's mail, a physical package, that is having its "meta data" recorded, instead of a virtual thing like an email or a phone call which connotes that is some how more entitled to absolute privacy.
Would I have a problem with the USPS taking photos of things I send in the mail? Not particularly. I wish it didn't have to come to this, but the goal is to protect against whack-jobs that send scary shit in the mail. Do I have a problem with someone "taking a snapshot" of an email I send or a phone call I make? Not particularly, and for basically the same reasons since the two methods are analogous.
Are some of the things I am doing being watched? Yes. Most definitely. I don't, however, consider many of them to be "spying on me". There is so much noise involved that there isn't any real spying going on a majority of the time. But that's sort of beside the point. The reason people are upset is that they fear that their government will use information about us against us. We worry that if our motives are misconstrued we will be sent to prison and forgotten about.
There is no practical way for the government to actually spy on all of its citizens. Even THX and LUH were able to get away with a few things for awhile despite constant surveillance. Of course, spying just like everything else will become more efficient. Maybe one day it will be possible, but as of right now, no, I don't really have a problem with what they're doing despite the fact that it might lead one day into something that does bother me quite a bit. Funny how that works.
It's not that the parts were poorly designed, it's just that when the designer was considering iterative improvements through genetic selection, it was not taken into account that it may work in the opposite direction as well... iterative degradation through genetic selection.
No maintenance? You mean besides being provided water and nutrients on a daily basis?
If you sit toward the back on can see the glow of a half dozen smartphone screens at any given time (or more).
I was fortunate enough to see Roger Waters at the LA Coliseum last year. Fucking amazing show. The most brilliant bit was during "Run Like Hell". Across the sea of audience, you could see thousands of phone screens, everyone taking video, snapping pics, etc. Meanwhile, Waters is mocking all of these people with images of people wearing the white ear buds on the giant projection screen (as well as a few comments before the song).
And then.... AND THEN!!! Everyone starts singing along and doing the overhead clap thing... "RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!!"
The irony was completely lost on them. I sat and watched and just couldn't believe my eyes. Hitler would have loved these people.
I just don't care, and I don't have a problem with it.
Neither do I, though, I haven't been to a movie in the theaters in many years. Before cell phones, they were already very loud, full of obnoxious teenagers, some guy with big hair and a loud laugh, and so many other annoyances that going to a movie theater is the last place I'd like to go to enjoy a film.
It's part of the Silicon Valley startup douchebag mindset.
Or! It's part of the mindset that decides it's a better idea to stop supporting old browsers. Whatever their motive, it's their motive. Maybe they want to save money in customer service because they don't want to have to deal with someone like my dad using their product.
Are you still watching Betamax too?
Oh, and don't get started on Oakland. When you have documentaries named "Gangland Oakland", you know to stay the hell away with your 100k+ tech salary.
Except for the fact that if you were in the market for a very nice home with very nice views with friendly neighbors, you would probably choose Oakland over San Jose.
Oakland, +1
I think people underestimate the number of right wing nutjobs in America
I'd go so far as to say that people do underestimate the number of _____ wing nutjobs in America.
Most of us are quite moderate, but for some reason all the noise gets made by two distant sides that do nothing but spew about the same things over and over.
I see it as attempted sedation. You may not be as lucky.
If the cost of the damage is in the millions or billions, and there is a large number of injured or dead, I would call that mass destruction.
If only we could catch those lightning bugs torching our forests.
Yes, it's mostly snake oil, but there is something to be said for properly implemented schema.org tags, well formed page names, and the rest of the stuff that makes your site not only bubble higher in the search results, but also provide useful links within your search results.
And by the way, you can indeed quantify SEO improvements. The only problem is that the SEO guy usually doesn't know how and ends up asking a developer anyway.
Or you can find a niche where formal education isn't terribly relevant. I got my previous job because the niche I work in has a gross lack of talent and I had a track record of building good stuff.
Granted, there are only a couple gray hairs on my head, but sometimes you just have to really hunt for the right employer.
Seeing as they had to do some prison time, I guess this tactic worked out alright in the end for The Lone Rangers in Airheads.
You don't need to purchase minutes for domestic calls, only international. I pay absolutely nothing aside from the $5 I spent on the third-party android app that lets me make calls from an Android PMP.
What I do pay for is a 4G mobile hotpot through Clear. I use that as my main internet connection at home and around town. It's cheaper than a cell phone plan, I have unlimited data, and it performs reasonably well for voice calls through GV.
Despite this, however, I am considering getting a cheap pre-paid dumb phone so that I have emergency service when I'm in the mountains. The girlfriend always has her phone, but sometimes I leave her at home and go fishing by myself instead.
I use GV as my phone number. I haven't paid for cell service in years. One thing I'm going to go ahead and call you out on is the voicemail transcription. Here is an actual transcription that I received last night.
Hey person, what's up man. It's Meyer. I wanna talk to you about. The way I have been able to. Sir if I don't have your address. I did her phone number so if you could. Gimme a call back as soon as you get a chance if you got the number here pretty soon.
As you can see, leaves quite a bit to be desired. I can't say it's even improved much in the last couple of years, because it hasn't. Most of the time, the voicemail transcribes as "Unable to transcribe this message".
While it is definitely a great tool that I use everyday, the voicemail transcription is near useless.
I came across a few articles today that were "of interest to you". I read them, and inevitably, I scrolled to the comments.
Maybe I'm just intentionally naive, but some of the things people are willing to say to complete strangers online are absolutely appalling. I'm sure that I am as guilty as anyone at one point or another, but that's beside the point.
If anything, the Internet revolution that will be reflected upon in 100 years will be known as the time when we really began to discover the evils of the human soul.
during the chlorination phase of water treatment,
But we only drink Kool-Aid around here. Who gives a shit about the drinking water?
Whoa there cowboy.
I was specifically referring to forest fires. I never mentioned "desert fire", "brush fire", or anything else.
A home lost in a forest fire is a home loss that could have been prevented. "Poor people", the ones I was referring to, are not "poor people" at all. They have chosen to build million dollar homes in an area with a very high risk index for forest fires. If they lost their home due to fire, it was because of their own negligence.
This all fails to account for the many people with homes in the Waldo Canyon fire last year (Colorado Springs) who have already been given their insurance checks and rebuilt homes that are nicer than what they had previously.
My original point remains; people who suffer the consequences of their own actions and choices do not deserve the blind sympathy lain upon them by the public. When was the last time you heard someone mention how "unfortunate" Timothy Treadwell for being mauled by a bear? Or how "it's a shame" that Aaron Ralston had to chop off his own hand? These people, just like the people who build homes in forests, suffered the consequences of their choices. Sure, it sucks for them that it happened, but it's nothing that I'm going to lose sleep over. They knew the risks.
Places such as this, sure, there really isn't that massive of an impact, but an impact no less, and I would definitely hope that step one of a polar bear encounter is NOT to start firing.
If you live where polar bears live, you are in danger of attack and you certainly can't blame the polar bear.
I keep hearing people say things like, "oh those poor people, they lost their home in the forest fire", and I can't help but think it's their own fault for opting to live somewhere where forest fires occur and are expected.
It's not a shame that the people lost their home, or that someone was mauled by a polar bear. The shame comes in the form of humans being ignorant to their own choices and having some accountability.
In response to finding a better way to defend against polar bears, I would suggest the first step is to choose not to live with polar bears.