I have a simple rule - periodically, I review my own priorities in life -- what I consider important. If a job ever enters the 5 five of that list, it's time to quit, travel, go back to school, find a new job, etc. People that spend 24/7 at a job are letting their life slip away little by little.
No one on their deathbed ever has the regret: "I wish I spent more time working!"
I realize that the author of the article was only judging Gentoo by its installation, but using that as a sole criteria for a particular distro is silly. Would you buy a car based on how easy it was to sign the papers and drive off the lot?
I love Gentoo because of the ease of upgrading/adding *after* installation. There's never a reason to reinstall just because there's a new release. Want your system to be as up to date as possible? emerge --sync; emerge -u --deep world; Done.
The source-based installation avoids the binary rpm-hell I used to get with RH, Mandrake (when it was still called that), etc. I've used Gentoo on both personal and production boxes, and have never had any major problem that I couldn't fix/search the forums for an answer to.
The fact that most governments that have called themselves "Communist" have been ruled by elitist nutjobs whose only motivation was to increase their own power doesn't help, of course.
Exactly. Let's not forget that to those of Easten European descent (or their parents if not old enough):
Communism == evil form of dictator-controlled government intent on repressing their people.
And before you dismiss those people as "wrong", try to remember that they have lived in a Communist country, and usually have many bad memories of that system, and aren't likely to differentiate too closely between Communism as a political or economic system. I don't think that it's a coincidence that many of the staunchest supporters of Democratic-Capitalism have roots in former Eastern Bloc countries.
The thing is, as you pointed out, this is not what's happening. There are in fact fewer jobs available, and the salaries are the same (ie, not lower).
There's a theory from Keynesian economics (I think) that states that wages are sticky downwards. Basically, when the economy is good, workers are scarce which drives up the strike price of their work (ie. wages increase). However, in recessions when the labour market contracts, what should happen when workers are plentiful is that wages drop. However, what actually happens is that wages stay the same, but people get laid off and less jobs are available, which actually corroborates the initial poster's observation.
Err... I don't think this is supposed to solve routing issues, but rather unifying the multitude of postal code standards. It makes life easier for UI-developers too, since there will be no more need for horrid constructs like the following:
if (country == US)
ValidateZip else if (country == Canada)
ValidatePostalCode else if (country == UK)
etc...
However, the solution proposed by NAC is aesthetically ugly to me though. Who wants to write (or can even remember!) 10-digit codes like that?
Wow, a/. story I actually had the interest in to read the whole way through.;)
Seriously, I'm somewhat jealous of the cult-like fraternity of Mac users mentioned in the story. I've always used a PC, and he's right - there's no way PC users would help a complete stranger like that for no reason other than he uses a similar system to your own.
I guess that's part of the reason I run Linux - a desire to feel part of a 'small' community. Kinda like in the old days when I was part of the C-64 crowd. =)
Sometimes I wonder if I really want Linux to "make it" as some might define it (ie. become as ubiquitous as Winblows). I don't think I'd like to lose that outsider feeling. I remember converstations I'd have in the old days of Linux (say, 4-5 years ago)..
Winblows PC user: (looking at my Linux box) "What kinda system is that?!?"
Me: "It's Linux."
Win: "What's that?"
Me: "It's basically a Unix for x86 systems. All the OS is open source, you can download and compile all of it yourself."
Win: "Why would you want to do that? You must be some kind of anti-establishment geek!"
Even in the case of punched cards, the information can be transfered onto more modern media (e.g. hard drives) in a very reasonable amount of time with a very reasonable amount of effort. With newer media, the effort becomes even more trivial
Sure, the effort is trivial is someone/some people take the time to update the format to a more modern one from time to time (as you proposed). What happens when they don't, and the necessary hardware for data-extraction becomes antiquated, no longer works (because replacement hardware is non-existent), or simply doesn't exist?
I refer you to an article on Slashdot
dealing with the area of
computer forensics, and
how bloody expensive it can be when trying to recover data from obsolete formats.
The ironic part is whether the digitized versions will last/be usable longer then the clay tablets.
Almost certinaly they won't - the article at Salon mentions the digital encoding of Cuneiform images started in the 1970's in Berlin with punch-cards. Given that the technology we used only 30 years ago is already obsolete, what are the odds that in 4 millenia we'll still have the digital versions in a readable format?
I'd sooner bet on Gates and co. releasing an open-source version of Windoze...
It's funny that the article mentions Toronto as a viable relocation for high-tech companies - Toronto is generally considered as the most expensive city in Canada, followed by Vancouver.
Calgary is attractive to employees because unlike most of Canada, there is no provincial sales tax, only federal sales tax (so they end up paying only 7% on everything they buy, as opposed to 15% like Ontario and the eastern provinces).
One major centre which is not mentioned in Montreal - which is incredibly cheap compared to the other major urban centres in Canada. It's generally cheaper Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa in almost every category for employees (rent, car insurance, food, beer...) Only problem is that Quebec has a high rate of provincial tax, so maybe it factors out a bit in the end.
I thought there was/is a contest (first prize still outstanding) whereby a whole whack of money would go the person/team which could build a machine with the ability to replicate itself - note that this is different from this article, whereby a machine designed (presumably) simpler machines.
As alluded in the canoe article, adding sensors would make the offspring more functional - but also increase the complexity of the designing/manufacturing machine.
That's the caveat of the contest I mentioned - the more complicated you make your factory, the more complicated the offspring becomes, and then the more elaborate your factory has to be...
NPR has the added benefit of getting BBC world service so that one can actually get international news. Americans are (often) so insulated that "cat stuck in tree" and "local man wins $100 in state lottery" get more importance than civil war in Africa.
Frankly, I don't give a damn about local news.
I couldn't agree more. I work currently for the Canadian Space Program - at least until Friday. An e-commerce company doubled my salary - what could I say? Factor in aerospace's complete and utter monotony from a software point of view, and the decision was a no-brainer.
There are *lots* of complete morons who work in the space industry. Aerospace is a big filter - the smart people trickle through and leave, but the idiots become lifers.
Of course there's a high-tech labour shortage in the U.S. There are many jobs I'm qualified for in the U.S. (I'm Canadian) that I can't apply for on jobs boards because they require permanent residency / U.S. citizenship.
The really amusing part is that these same jobs with the same contact information keep coming around, and around every few days... because they have no one to fill them.
He did say something like: "We'll keep our options open" in reference to supporting Alpha, which, in political business-speak means "We have no current plans, and probably never will - but thanks for asking."
It seems likely that VA must have some sort of deal with Intel - why else would they not move into the (presumably) easy AMD market?
Re:Creating Life != Playing God (Mycoplasma)
on
Planet Gattaca
·
· Score: 2
Ahhh, so the scientists are not evil, but only the implementation of scientific ideas. You're laying the onus on the engineers to ensure their work is "moral/ethical". Nice idea in theory, but I think the line between scientist/engineer is quite a bit more blurred in reality.
Slashdot Mirror
No one on their deathbed ever has the regret: "I wish I spent more time working!"
I realize that the author of the article was only judging Gentoo by its installation, but using that as a sole criteria for a particular distro is silly. Would you buy a car based on how easy it was to sign the papers and drive off the lot?
I love Gentoo because of the ease of upgrading/adding *after* installation. There's never a reason to reinstall just because there's a new release. Want your system to be as up to date as possible? emerge --sync; emerge -u --deep world; Done.
The source-based installation avoids the binary rpm-hell I used to get with RH, Mandrake (when it was still called that), etc. I've used Gentoo on both personal and production boxes, and have never had any major problem that I couldn't fix/search the forums for an answer to.
As well you should - Canada (and specifically Quebec) was the largest independent French-speaking population not to surrender to Germany in WWII.
Communism == evil form of dictator-controlled government intent on repressing their people.
And before you dismiss those people as "wrong", try to remember that they have lived in a Communist country, and usually have many bad memories of that system, and aren't likely to differentiate too closely between Communism as a political or economic system. I don't think that it's a coincidence that many of the staunchest supporters of Democratic-Capitalism have roots in former Eastern Bloc countries.
The thing is, as you pointed out, this is not what's happening. There are in fact fewer jobs available, and the salaries are the same (ie, not lower).
There's a theory from Keynesian economics (I think) that states that wages are sticky downwards. Basically, when the economy is good, workers are scarce which drives up the strike price of their work (ie. wages increase). However, in recessions when the labour market contracts, what should happen when workers are plentiful is that wages drop. However, what actually happens is that wages stay the same, but people get laid off and less jobs are available, which actually corroborates the initial poster's observation.
However, the solution proposed by NAC is aesthetically ugly to me though. Who wants to write (or can even remember!) 10-digit codes like that?
Seriously, I'm somewhat jealous of the cult-like fraternity of Mac users mentioned in the story. I've always used a PC, and he's right - there's no way PC users would help a complete stranger like that for no reason other than he uses a similar system to your own.
I guess that's part of the reason I run Linux - a desire to feel part of a 'small' community. Kinda like in the old days when I was part of the C-64 crowd. =)
Sometimes I wonder if I really want Linux to "make it" as some might define it (ie. become as ubiquitous as Winblows). I don't think I'd like to lose that outsider feeling. I remember converstations I'd have in the old days of Linux (say, 4-5 years ago)..
Winblows PC user: (looking at my Linux box) "What kinda system is that?!?"
Me: "It's Linux."
Win: "What's that?"
Me: "It's basically a Unix for x86 systems. All the OS is open source, you can download and compile all of it yourself."
Win: "Why would you want to do that? You must be some kind of anti-establishment geek!"
Me: "Yep. I like it that way."
If Larry, Dan, et al want money why not try a job? While they're at it, maybe they could peddle my resume around too.
Sure, the effort is trivial is someone/some people take the time to update the format to a more modern one from time to time (as you proposed). What happens when they don't, and the necessary hardware for data-extraction becomes antiquated, no longer works (because replacement hardware is non-existent), or simply doesn't exist?
I refer you to an article on Slashdot dealing with the area of computer forensics, and how bloody expensive it can be when trying to recover data from obsolete formats.
Almost certinaly they won't - the article at Salon mentions the digital encoding of Cuneiform images started in the 1970's in Berlin with punch-cards. Given that the technology we used only 30 years ago is already obsolete, what are the odds that in 4 millenia we'll still have the digital versions in a readable format?
I'd sooner bet on Gates and co. releasing an open-source version of Windoze...
It's funny that the article mentions Toronto as a viable relocation for high-tech companies - Toronto is generally considered as the most expensive city in Canada, followed by Vancouver.
Calgary is attractive to employees because unlike most of Canada, there is no provincial sales tax, only federal sales tax (so they end up paying only 7% on everything they buy, as opposed to 15% like Ontario and the eastern provinces).
One major centre which is not mentioned in Montreal - which is incredibly cheap compared to the other major urban centres in Canada. It's generally cheaper Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa in almost every category for employees (rent, car insurance, food, beer...) Only problem is that Quebec has a high rate of provincial tax, so maybe it factors out a bit in the end.
As alluded in the canoe article, adding sensors would make the offspring more functional - but also increase the complexity of the designing/manufacturing machine.
That's the caveat of the contest I mentioned - the more complicated you make your factory, the more complicated the offspring becomes, and then the more elaborate your factory has to be...
NPR has the added benefit of getting BBC world service so that one can actually get international news. Americans are (often) so insulated that "cat stuck in tree" and "local man wins $100 in state lottery" get more importance than civil war in Africa. Frankly, I don't give a damn about local news.
There are *lots* of complete morons who work in the space industry. Aerospace is a big filter - the smart people trickle through and leave, but the idiots become lifers.
The really amusing part is that these same jobs with the same contact information keep coming around, and around every few days ... because they have no one to fill them.
He did say something like: "We'll keep our options open" in reference to supporting Alpha, which, in political business-speak means "We have no current plans, and probably never will - but thanks for asking."
It seems likely that VA must have some sort of deal with Intel - why else would they not move into the (presumably) easy AMD market?
Ahhh, so the scientists are not evil, but only the implementation of scientific ideas. You're laying the onus on the engineers to ensure their work is "moral/ethical". Nice idea in theory, but I think the line between scientist/engineer is quite a bit more blurred in reality.