Yeah me too. We had one of those, and we had the stove type for cooking, which we sometimes did. LOVE early morning heat. Just gets you up and MOVING. Haven't felt that in years and I'm old now as are you. We both could use it.
It was not as cold where I lived, but I did walk to and from the bus stop and it was about a half mile. 5 days a week with a few other kids who all centered on the same route, just because company on that kind of thing is just nice. And there is some basic safety in numbers. You learn that out there...
Good posts. I struggle with some of the energy decisions too. I like things that can be regional and local, like solar. I'm not such a fan of fossil fuels for heating.
I think there are many good options coming on line. I think wood will continue to be one of them.
Reading through this, I just had a goofy idea. Might be fun. Wants, needs, risks and weightings.
Have people input their income and expenses. The product of that is some nice presentation of where their money currently goes.
Add value by doing the math, and if the inputs do not come within a few percent of income, prompt them for more spending.
For each spend, give it some data fields that detail the kind of spending, when, why, how and variances. Break it down so they get a screen with some great picks that tell the system what they are spending and might spend in rough ways.
eg:
Type of spend Electric Bill, recurring, 15th of every month. Time base = quarter (as opposed to weekday, week, day, year, month, etc...) Summer = $100, Fall = $150, Winter = $200, Spring = $75
Smokes, recurring, every other day (give options here, day of month, pattern, weekly, annually, quarterly), $5
Oil Change, recurring, Quarterly, $35.
Savings, recurring, bi-weekly, $200.
You get the idea.
The more they input, the more robust the data is, and show them that as often as you can, or ideally as they are inputting so you are flexing that database and using spiffy features too.
Now they know what they are spending. Ask them about risks based on the input and some stuff you've thought up.
Car repair? Theft? Get sick? Have them input those.
Wants.
New car, $10K. Given that want, and the spending, show them options to save vs finance. As they add more wants, highlight where they overshoot their means and how the risks might screw them.
Then they can select weightings of various kinds...
Lots of fun there, uses database, might actually get used too.
In a nut shell, I make them regret they even considered calling me. Generally speaking, I get them to run from the cube sobbing, never to return to work again. Ideally, they quit their job right then and there. Been close to that, and I've deffo scored the sobbing and a coupla "unscheduled breaks" from the cube. One of these days, I will get one to quit right then and there.
Throughout that mess, I remind them about that recording for quality and I ask them whether or not they really want to face the ribbing they will get when the call gets checked. "Jesus, look at what happened to Ron last Tuesday! Holy fuck! What a lamer!" Or whatever...
There are a few rules to this.
1. You have to keep the call time high. It takes some time to break through their script and understand them well enough to impact them personally.
2. Every single word is double edged torture, laced to the max with empathetic expressions of wonder and disgust over how they can even consider doing that work, while at the same time establishing a rapport on some common ground basis they can identify with. This really gets to them.
3. Use profanity very lightly, if at all, and always use it in context that can be taken to be colorful, passionate expression, not anything they can take personally. Demean the work, the company, everything, but make sure it's one citizen to another trapped in a hopeless machine kind of way.
4. Use their name frequently, and if you suspect it's fake, work 'em for the real deal, then continue.
I've stopped most of them on the first call. Once or twice I've come up on the dialer within a short time frame. Typical responses are, "Oh fuck, it's you!" to which I start in as if nothing ever happened, happy to be speaking with them again, and where did we leave off?
The best is when they lose it big! Usually, it's some rant, or really sorry story, involving crying, yelling, frustration, you name it. And I listen intently, looking for just the right response to send them over the edge hard.
Call me, you might lose one of ur doodz.
Fuck, if I know the answer to this mess, but I do know how to raise the cost and I've got some great audio archived.... Hey Brandon from Vonage! Yeah, it's me. You know who I am, and are you still working there after our last two calls? Jesus dude, I told you how to get hold of me. Quit that shit and I'll do my best to hook you up. Just let me know.
They need extensive testing and an object level code audit, along with tool chain certification to insure what they are running is what the code represents.
That's a hilarious warning. When we observe elections in other nations, we get involved at all levels, and frankly given the state of many of our elections, could use the same here.
Oregon Vote My Mail: Ask for it in a State near you.
All of them. They remain useful until they are completely broken, thrashed, just worn the fuck out dead.
That's why they are doing well. I pay a lot for mine, run them hard, and when they are behind the curve, they get cycled home for various things, until they finally just don't work, and that process is generally painless too.
I like the matte black finish. It's not sexy, but it endures way better than the shiny, "please don't scratch it" finishes on so many machines do. Maybe starting out a little less sexy has it's advantages. Black is damn cool in my book, and there is always that little brightly colored something on the machines, sort of like a great tie on an otherwise boring business suit. Perfect.
The keyboards are a bit noisy, but I like that too. Always have. I can type and type and type until the buttons are all worn, and they just keep going great, no worries.
Heavy little buggers, if you buy the more powerful ones. If I need to clock somebody with my laptop, Lenovo is there! No worries, and I can probably post to Facebook after doing it too.
Linux is well supported across most of the machines. I love that. A Think Pad was the first machine I ran OS X on too. Worked amazingly well, and was faster than the Mac I ended up getting soon after. Gotta admit, the touch pad on the Mac is better tho, but not by much. Some Think Pad touch pads need to be worn in. Once that has happened, they work much better. Weird.
By and large, I leave most of the value added software on the machines. It works well. HP is noisy, Dell just horrible, etc.... I get a competent disc burning kit, defrag tools, etc... Nice package that actually has some real value. On my latest machine they even tossed in the nVidia 3D licenses. Didn't know that, until I connected up to a new TV for some 3D CAD tests. Nice!! That's $14.99 for most of you out there.
Funny thing is I was not a fan early on. One ended up at the house, and I started using it. By the time I got it, the machine was a bit dated, but damn if it wasn't just great to use. When it outlasted some HP thing or other, I was sold. Typically, I get a top machine for work purposes. Need big RAM / CPU, nVidia, etc... Once it's done, it goes home for micro-controller related projects. Long life cycle on these. Worth it.
And... matte finish displays that are typically nice, bright, with fine dot pitches. They've wavered a bit on these on some models as of late. Gotta be a bit picky about that, but so has everybody else. Get the better display they offer, and it's no worry.
The few times I've ordered replacement things under warranty, they shipped 'em, the work wasn't hard. Once the machine ends up at home, I find I can service it much easier than I can the HP machines, which incorporate all manner of fiddly components, glue, buttons that fail, etc... Ugh. Dell sometimes does better, and is in my mind, competitive on this front. Apple? Difficult, but then their stuff works a long time too. Fair game they are playing, but HP is just losing big on this front. Get an HP, and you better hope it works, or service might be very difficult no matter who does it.
I expected some of this to fade when IBM let go to Lenovo. Very pleased to see they've kept the bar high so far. Hoping they continue.
The official curriculum consisted of some application specific learning. Standard stuff for the time, Visicalc, AppleWorks, etc... When the PC lab got built, it was the same deal there. Practical learning, skills based, focused on using the computer to do something specific.
It also included some real basics on computers. The parts of them, things about data, floppies, backups, etc... Not too much, other than care and feeding of the computer and some understanding of what makes it do what it does.
Our labs were Apple ][ series machines, one PC AT / XT lab, and a Mac or two hidden away for special things, LOL!
Unofficially?
Anything and everything. One educator there was very fond of putting students into interest groups where he would then enable that learning, whatever it was. For me, and a few peers, this was golden! I've written this here a time or two, but can't find it at the moment, so I'll just summarize:
We got a few rules. State what we wanted to do, state why, sell that, then do it and move onto the next thing. In a few years, we got through programming in BASIC, LOGO, PASCAL, 6502 assembly. We also got to explore CP/M and compare / contrast to the Mainframe we could dial up running UNIX, and Prodos and our own home computers, whatever they were.
It ended up being a mini comp-sci course, where we worked from books, photocopied data sheets, and long hours on black boards working out binary math for various things. A few of us ended up teaching courses too for senior projects and such. Mine was LOGO programming, and it was a pretty successful course with most students able to write some spiffy programs.
While this was going on, those of us really interested were scoring info wherever we could. Magazines at the corner market, photocopies made from the University library, and documentation requests from various companies. Moto sent me out their 6809 / 68K programming reference just for the asking! Rockwell sent us data books too. Damn cool time.
For those that got after it, some seriously good learning happened. For the ordinary student, it was less than stellar, though they did at least get some seat time and basic literacy skills.
I went on to start into manufacturing, knowing enough to tackle things like paperless drawings and CAD and Internet in 91. Automation systems of various kinds, G-code, and filters / plotters to evaluate that stuff happened too. I often wrote in basic back then, just because it was good enough, but Turbo Pascal was the real tool. High School was enough to continue directly, which is what I and a few peers did, all having tech-oriented jobs today doing various things. Invaluable frankly.
Coupla notable things:
1. The math teacher was down on binary. "Who uses that esoteric number system?"
2. Took a class in mechanical drafting, then got exposed to some early CAD. I finished that class with an F, because it was much more useful to lay out D&D maps... The CAD ended up being a career as I could use CAD leaving High School, and did right away in a manufacturing context, later on engineering.
3. Some learning was different. Today, kids are often taught Microsoft Word. Back then we were taught what a word processor was, it's functions, etc... Then we got exposed to some word processors. Same with operating systems, and all manner of things. There is a perspective that comes with learning that way I find extremely valuable today. My own kids didn't get that from school, but did at home, of course.
Lots of things didn't happen yet. Internet was not really deployed on a wide scale, meaning one basically got online through University, or via some expensive service, or through a BBS gateway, etc... My experiences there were outside of school. The same is true for storage, networks, etc... All mostly missing, due to the time frame. No educating was done on this, but to explain the dial up to the University to tap the mainframe. (And the damn thing printed on big paper, such a waste... They could have attached a VT100 or something for a much better experience, something I didn't know until after leaving.)
There are a few layers to this discussion. One is the stationary computer. For me, that's gone for all but that old Apple.
The second is "The end of the PC" discussion, and I don't think we are anywhere close to that. Tablets and phones are growing very potent. Lots can be done on them, but they are not the general purpose computing devices "PC" devices are. Some of them can be, and I see people attempting to do that.
I myself am looking at a basic droid device for that purpose. I also use portable Linux distributions a lot, along with virtualization to decouple from hardware.
When it comes to authoring things, the PC is still king. For information consumption and some light manipulation, tablets and phones are rapidly filling that niche. There will be fewer PC's, but no end to them anytime soon.
I've ditched the desktop. One laptop works for me. I don't even have external screens and such anymore. It was just easier to learn to use it well just as it comes. I will, on occasion plug in a mouse, or other specialized input device, and those are carried in my backpack.
Older laptops get purposed for specific things. Media server, or development machine for micro-controllers and such.
The only real PC that I have now is my Apple//e! (and I wish it were portable) And it's a nicely equipped//e, with a USB card for storage, serial, etc...
Being a programmer, at the lowest level, is composing instructions. Lots of people do that, and they do so without too much trouble.
Now, being a good programmer requires being able to manipulate and keep track of simultaneous abstractions. That's a lot harder, and I do think there are plenty of people who just don't work well that way.
There is a process on these things. It's not a perfect process. All of us have to deal in some ways so that we may see the greater gains by doing so.
You said this:
Thanks for the lecture, Dad. Now, can I live like a grown up and make my own mistakes? Or do I still need your permission and still need to pay tithes to your institution for the privilege of your guidance and leadership?
LOL!! Bet you are somewhere in your 20's, right where I was when I said similar things. It's a tough gig, but time cures a lot of things. Trust me on that. Yeah, Dad now. Was just starting that gig when I signed up to this site, and the last kid is about to leave the house. Long time.
Here's the hard truth. You won't like it either, but it's fact, absolute. You are accountable to those you need stuff from. That's reality. Now, you say you want to live it on your own totally as an individual? Great! Give it all up. That means you don't get citizenship, that means you don't get infrastructure, that means you don't get courts, police, fire, or any of the other things you found up and running here like everybody else did.
Go off and do it all yourself, ideally somewhere that the rest of the world will just let you have, and then you can do fuck all you want, if you live long enough to actually do it.
Not a pleasant idea is it?
You see, you want shit, but you don't value what you see around you. Somehow, you think that's just a freebie and that you've got some entitlement to declare yourself above it all, that rugged individualist who doesn't need anybody or anything, just keep your hands off my money, blah, blah, blah.
Everything costs something pal. Everything. And the cost of living here is dealing with the process that is up and running here. Don't like how some of the taxes get spent? Great. I suggest you invest some of your time in politics and advocacy and get it changed, just like anyone else can and should be doing. That's how we resolve that stuff.
We don't resolve it by devaluing the society we live in, and declaring taxes as theft is like shitting where you eat. Fucking stupid.
You are lazy as hell, expecting some simplistic market solution to very complex, very old, very human problems. Been reading "those books?" Bet you have, and the attraction there is it's simple. Vote with your feet right? And if we just dismantle it all, the magic market forces will sort the people out.
Doesn't work that way either, and it doesn't work that way because the real money will crush you and me like we don't even exist. The real money, left unchecked would enslave people, kill off the gays, promote smoking tobacco to avoid paying for old people as optimal profit is when the worker dies right after their productive years, etc...
Go and read your history. That's how it has always gone down, and given no checks and balances, that is how it will continue to go down.
So here's the deal on "supporting" stuff. It's a package. You can either leave, or not. If you stay, then you deal. That's it. Assuming you are here, then we have the politics to help shape how things go, and we have the dollars to fund what gets done. Given you leverage all of that stuff no matter what you do, those taxes are no different than cutting me in for my share of a joint project. I don't like war either. But, I do appreciate the New Deal, and many other good thing we do, so I pay my taxes, and I do my politics and advocacy to speak my mind about it, ideally resonating with many others in ways that impacts how things get done and that changes things for the better, or worse...
The worse part?
When you tune out, buy into the idea that the system is fucked, and that somehow you would be better off just on your own with "your money", fuck everybody else style. Nobody gets to do that. Thinking you somehow deserve to be able to do that, or can do that is idealistic and naive frankly.
Again, take it or leave it. You are accountable to those you need st
How exactly did you make "your" money? I assume you've accounted for the value of the nation you live in, right? The infrastructure, education, currency, military protection, local protection, license to do business, etc...
Are those things worth nothing?
Have you considered what making "your" money would actually look like, if people were dumb enough to really buy into the idea that taxing is stealing?
Think margins are thin now, just wait until you need to fund your own protection, figure out currency issues and value exchange, or need to settle differences with weapons instead of courts, or fight of plunderers, thieves, and copy cats.
You have a birthright, and it was established through the collective labor and taxes to add value to our lives over time. Nothing you do, and I mean absolutely nothing is done in isolation.
Yeah, that means you didn't build it yourself and nobody else did either. That also means you've got to pay your share just like everybody else does, because it's a package deal. Nobody gets to just not participate, because it doesn't work that way. It can't work that way.
Early on, the idea of self-governance was justified for these reasons. We need taxes, we need infrastructure, we need government and we need it because eeking it out as hunter gatherers just doesn't get us anywhere, and the quality of life sucks complete ass too.
We are free people in the US. We agree to fund government and submit to it, while preserving our right to challenge it, become part of it, work with it, and deal with it so that we are better able to enjoy our freedom.
A hunter gatherer is very free, but also very poor. That hunter gatherer, operating in isolation, "building it themselves" will invest most of their time getting established, and working to survive, ideally having a small family, not getting killed off by some other person wanting a quick leg up, with the idea of having a little bit of time to simply do what they want to do as opposed to what they need to do.
Wealth is measured in time. When most of our time is "must do" time, we are poor. When most of our time is "want to do" time, we are wealthy.
You are wealthy due to the labor invested in making sure you are born wealthy enough to even contemplate bitching about having to contribute your share needed to keep it all rolling.
Now, if we are to do a proper accounting of "your money" as opposed to the cut you owe the others who busted their ass to hand you a posh birthright, things start to get a little ugly.
Truth is, your taxes are a steal, even with the abuses. Could be better, but you are still getting one hell of a deal.
"your money" equals what you get paid for your labor products, most of which are not even possible to do or profit from without that birthright you ignore and refuse to value properly. Your slice of the education, military, research, police, infrastructure, courts, etc... is directly related to the value you get for all those things. They aren't free. They don't exist in a vacuum, and there isn't some picking and choosing which ones you like and which ones you don't, because the whole thing breaks down without everybody paying in their fair share to get their fair value out, which makes the whole thing work for you like it does.
So that means yeah, you are going to pay for some things you think are shit, and you are going to deal, because the alternative is sucking ass somewhere, living to work, working to live, hoping to god you don't get hurt, or killed before you even turn 30.
There is a reason I've stepped away from modern gaming. There is the occasional title or two I want to play or my wife does, and we do that together, able to share some time. Honestly, those are getting fewer and fewer.
Gaming is expensive, and the value proposition keeps getting diluted down to a point where it's really starting to show. Think the same kind of death corporate radio is suffering. The dynamics are very similar, as will be the end game.
Fuck these guys. Go retro and or indie. Lots of platforms from home built micro-controllers to older machines that can play great games to phones, PC's and other devices that can also play great games.
There is also the homebrew scene. It's a lot like indie, but different in that it usually involves older machines. Much of the homebrew scene is open too. You can see the code, modify the game, interact with the developer, be the developer, contribute graphics, or just collect 'n play. I've spent more on homebrew titles than I have modern gaming for a few years in a row now. There are scenes for the 8 bit machines, some computers and odd devices. AtariAge is one place where it's happening. Quality works too, right along with a bunch of people doing games and getting help on it from others ranging from insiders who just like retro, to enthusiasts who just have picked up how things get done.
Wrote one for the 2600 a while back for a Minigame compo. Need to do it again too, because I had a lot of fun and got some great feedback. On many of the titles I buy, I know the guy who wrote it, and I know they love that "this game kicks ass! Thanks for it!" feedback as much as they do the few $$$ they get from a physical media run or two.
Right now, I'm gaming on older gear, and building fun little projects with micro-controllers that have classic ports. Learning about the tech, building things, modifying them, and such is just as much fun as jamming on a modern title is, and I know I'm way better off for it too. Long ago, this started on the old Apple ][, which I have setup to play on to this day. The kids like the thing for all it's weird games, sounds, and such.
Back then, cracking 'em was as fun as playing them, and several of us did, getting good enough to start careers in computing too. We used to write games, share them, laugh at them, play them, build on them, and just enjoyed it on a lot of levels besides just playing through some linear, scripted pile of shit that's full of licensed IP to the gills. Same game, different skins, diluted value each time... Now that people are picking up on this stuff, they are insuring that they maximize their return on the least value possible, and that's the end game for a top heavy industry suffering as so many others have.
So yeah, fuck you very much. EA was founded on some great ideas. Now it's just riding a wave, so seriously disconnected from the art of things it's sad to see.
If they are going to spot check the liquids, just do it before I purchase said liquid. That's kind of a nice deal, given it actually has some impact on my safety. Random checks after the purchase has a really shitty end game:
1. Liquid found to be benign: "Sorry for bothering you, and trust us the chemicals used for testing are no big deal." Right. Feeling good about that one. NOT! 2. Liquid found to be dubious: "I'm afraid we need to conficate your coffee miss..." She asks, "Well, what about that guy over there, who got one too?" Yeah, that's ugly. Do they go and get his to put up a brave face, eventually just taking all the coffee? Or is it just a lie, or menacing behavior to get her to just shut down? And if she asks, "But you guys certified them for sale inside the terminal right?" Their reply? LOL!!! 3. Liquid found to be dangerous: See dubious, but for a lawsuit. +1 for pain and suffering on all sides. Might as well just start handing out good drugs to prevent the headaches that are going to happen. Here in Oregon, somebody might just strip over it! State law permits nudity as a legit protest. Hello 10 O'Clock news!
There are times when I seriously wonder whether or not anyone actually thinks about these things on more than a basic level.
Of course, the vendors would throw a fit! They need to make the money, so fuck us, right? Right.
Much better able to figure out who they are, where their talents lie, and exercise life choices in a more robust way.
My own High School, in the 80's and in a hick town of maybe a few thousand mind you, offered quite a lot. My own skill sets were:
music, drama, speech, debate, I directed several performances starting from sheet music and some willing participants formal and creative writing math through intro to calculus, which I bailed on, headed off into binary math, booleans, etc... when the teacher asked, "why? Nobody uses those numbers?" Metal fabrication skills Wood fabrication skills Auto Repair, and I completely rebuild a nice car I got for a song too. Introduction to radio and electronic media Basic Electronics Ceramics, Art Social Studies, History, Economics I taught LOGO my Senior year BASIC, 6502 Assembly, PASCAL, Beginners C (Aztec, if I recall correctly) Desktop Publishing Basic Biology, Chemistry
Hobbies were HAM Radio, Computer programming, building cars, fabricating products to sell in local markets, and TV tune up and Repair for date money....
Not every kid soaked it up, and for them, they could drill down into some niche and excel. Others, like myself, just wanted to learn and build.
Coupla things that have resulted from that:
1. Fell on hard times growing up. Sometimes didn't eat. I could do lots of work as a High Schooler, and did. Turn right around and hunt for food, going from the shot, to meat on a plate. Old school, no joke.
2. I've never, ever paid for a locksmith. Won't either.
3. All I need is ANY car. Hard times happened again a few years ago. That old car with 300K+ miles on it got me through, runs great, cheap ass. I completely understand that thing. Again, cheap ass.
4. Took lots of jobs to attend college. Manufacturing ended up a focus, because I can make stuff, make a lot of stuff, make it right, make it on time, and make it cheap ass. People love cheap ass.
5. Can learn on my feet, and I know that's from the broad stimulation I got when it mattered.
And it goes on and on. Not everybody wants to make things, or even understand them. That's OK. But when hard times come calling, you all will be damn glad to know those of us who do, and school is about building great people. All kinds of great people. Starting out by underestimating them isn't how it's done.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah me too. We had one of those, and we had the stove type for cooking, which we sometimes did. LOVE early morning heat. Just gets you up and MOVING. Haven't felt that in years and I'm old now as are you. We both could use it.
It was not as cold where I lived, but I did walk to and from the bus stop and it was about a half mile. 5 days a week with a few other kids who all centered on the same route, just because company on that kind of thing is just nice. And there is some basic safety in numbers. You learn that out there...
Good posts. I struggle with some of the energy decisions too. I like things that can be regional and local, like solar. I'm not such a fan of fossil fuels for heating.
I think there are many good options coming on line. I think wood will continue to be one of them.
The solution to checking work on weekends is to focus on your weekend.
Sure, there is almost always something. Where a group or person is fully utilized, there always is.
"No problem, I can get on that first thing Tuesday AM, have a great holiday weekend --I'm going camping, yeah no service up there, see you Tuesday..."
Reading through this, I just had a goofy idea. Might be fun. Wants, needs, risks and weightings.
Have people input their income and expenses. The product of that is some nice presentation of where their money currently goes.
Add value by doing the math, and if the inputs do not come within a few percent of income, prompt them for more spending.
For each spend, give it some data fields that detail the kind of spending, when, why, how and variances. Break it down so they get a screen with some great picks that tell the system what they are spending and might spend in rough ways.
eg:
Type of spend
Electric Bill, recurring, 15th of every month. Time base = quarter (as opposed to weekday, week, day, year, month, etc...) Summer = $100, Fall = $150, Winter = $200, Spring = $75
Smokes, recurring, every other day (give options here, day of month, pattern, weekly, annually, quarterly), $5
Oil Change, recurring, Quarterly, $35.
Savings, recurring, bi-weekly, $200.
You get the idea.
The more they input, the more robust the data is, and show them that as often as you can, or ideally as they are inputting so you are flexing that database and using spiffy features too.
Now they know what they are spending. Ask them about risks based on the input and some stuff you've thought up.
Car repair? Theft? Get sick? Have them input those.
Wants.
New car, $10K. Given that want, and the spending, show them options to save vs finance. As they add more wants, highlight where they overshoot their means and how the risks might screw them.
Then they can select weightings of various kinds...
Lots of fun there, uses database, might actually get used too.
Generally, I'll sample during a trial because that's a freebie. If I've paid in, they get that cycle to sell me.
Ok, I can type more than that for my comment.
In a nut shell, I make them regret they even considered calling me. Generally speaking, I get them to run from the cube sobbing, never to return to work again. Ideally, they quit their job right then and there. Been close to that, and I've deffo scored the sobbing and a coupla "unscheduled breaks" from the cube. One of these days, I will get one to quit right then and there.
Throughout that mess, I remind them about that recording for quality and I ask them whether or not they really want to face the ribbing they will get when the call gets checked. "Jesus, look at what happened to Ron last Tuesday! Holy fuck! What a lamer!" Or whatever...
There are a few rules to this.
1. You have to keep the call time high. It takes some time to break through their script and understand them well enough to impact them personally.
2. Every single word is double edged torture, laced to the max with empathetic expressions of wonder and disgust over how they can even consider doing that work, while at the same time establishing a rapport on some common ground basis they can identify with. This really gets to them.
3. Use profanity very lightly, if at all, and always use it in context that can be taken to be colorful, passionate expression, not anything they can take personally. Demean the work, the company, everything, but make sure it's one citizen to another trapped in a hopeless machine kind of way.
4. Use their name frequently, and if you suspect it's fake, work 'em for the real deal, then continue.
I've stopped most of them on the first call. Once or twice I've come up on the dialer within a short time frame. Typical responses are, "Oh fuck, it's you!" to which I start in as if nothing ever happened, happy to be speaking with them again, and where did we leave off?
The best is when they lose it big! Usually, it's some rant, or really sorry story, involving crying, yelling, frustration, you name it. And I listen intently, looking for just the right response to send them over the edge hard.
Call me, you might lose one of ur doodz.
Fuck, if I know the answer to this mess, but I do know how to raise the cost and I've got some great audio archived.... Hey Brandon from Vonage! Yeah, it's me. You know who I am, and are you still working there after our last two calls? Jesus dude, I told you how to get hold of me. Quit that shit and I'll do my best to hook you up. Just let me know.
http://cm.bell-labs.com/who/ken/trust.html
They need extensive testing and an object level code audit, along with tool chain certification to insure what they are running is what the code represents.
??
That's a hilarious warning. When we observe elections in other nations, we get involved at all levels, and frankly given the state of many of our elections, could use the same here.
Oregon Vote My Mail: Ask for it in a State near you.
and take it to work.
Cheap ass, and damn tasty, if you know what you are doing. If not? Well, there is that Arby's...
All of them. They remain useful until they are completely broken, thrashed, just worn the fuck out dead.
That's why they are doing well. I pay a lot for mine, run them hard, and when they are behind the curve, they get cycled home for various things, until they finally just don't work, and that process is generally painless too.
I like the matte black finish. It's not sexy, but it endures way better than the shiny, "please don't scratch it" finishes on so many machines do. Maybe starting out a little less sexy has it's advantages. Black is damn cool in my book, and there is always that little brightly colored something on the machines, sort of like a great tie on an otherwise boring business suit. Perfect.
The keyboards are a bit noisy, but I like that too. Always have. I can type and type and type until the buttons are all worn, and they just keep going great, no worries.
Heavy little buggers, if you buy the more powerful ones. If I need to clock somebody with my laptop, Lenovo is there! No worries, and I can probably post to Facebook after doing it too.
Linux is well supported across most of the machines. I love that. A Think Pad was the first machine I ran OS X on too. Worked amazingly well, and was faster than the Mac I ended up getting soon after. Gotta admit, the touch pad on the Mac is better tho, but not by much. Some Think Pad touch pads need to be worn in. Once that has happened, they work much better. Weird.
By and large, I leave most of the value added software on the machines. It works well. HP is noisy, Dell just horrible, etc.... I get a competent disc burning kit, defrag tools, etc... Nice package that actually has some real value. On my latest machine they even tossed in the nVidia 3D licenses. Didn't know that, until I connected up to a new TV for some 3D CAD tests. Nice!! That's $14.99 for most of you out there.
Funny thing is I was not a fan early on. One ended up at the house, and I started using it. By the time I got it, the machine was a bit dated, but damn if it wasn't just great to use. When it outlasted some HP thing or other, I was sold. Typically, I get a top machine for work purposes. Need big RAM / CPU, nVidia, etc... Once it's done, it goes home for micro-controller related projects. Long life cycle on these. Worth it.
And... matte finish displays that are typically nice, bright, with fine dot pitches. They've wavered a bit on these on some models as of late. Gotta be a bit picky about that, but so has everybody else. Get the better display they offer, and it's no worry.
The few times I've ordered replacement things under warranty, they shipped 'em, the work wasn't hard. Once the machine ends up at home, I find I can service it much easier than I can the HP machines, which incorporate all manner of fiddly components, glue, buttons that fail, etc... Ugh. Dell sometimes does better, and is in my mind, competitive on this front. Apple? Difficult, but then their stuff works a long time too. Fair game they are playing, but HP is just losing big on this front. Get an HP, and you better hope it works, or service might be very difficult no matter who does it.
I expected some of this to fade when IBM let go to Lenovo. Very pleased to see they've kept the bar high so far. Hoping they continue.
Well, not too much officially.
The official curriculum consisted of some application specific learning. Standard stuff for the time, Visicalc, AppleWorks, etc... When the PC lab got built, it was the same deal there. Practical learning, skills based, focused on using the computer to do something specific.
It also included some real basics on computers. The parts of them, things about data, floppies, backups, etc... Not too much, other than care and feeding of the computer and some understanding of what makes it do what it does.
Our labs were Apple ][ series machines, one PC AT / XT lab, and a Mac or two hidden away for special things, LOL!
Unofficially?
Anything and everything. One educator there was very fond of putting students into interest groups where he would then enable that learning, whatever it was. For me, and a few peers, this was golden! I've written this here a time or two, but can't find it at the moment, so I'll just summarize:
We got a few rules. State what we wanted to do, state why, sell that, then do it and move onto the next thing. In a few years, we got through programming in BASIC, LOGO, PASCAL, 6502 assembly. We also got to explore CP/M and compare / contrast to the Mainframe we could dial up running UNIX, and Prodos and our own home computers, whatever they were.
It ended up being a mini comp-sci course, where we worked from books, photocopied data sheets, and long hours on black boards working out binary math for various things. A few of us ended up teaching courses too for senior projects and such. Mine was LOGO programming, and it was a pretty successful course with most students able to write some spiffy programs.
While this was going on, those of us really interested were scoring info wherever we could. Magazines at the corner market, photocopies made from the University library, and documentation requests from various companies. Moto sent me out their 6809 / 68K programming reference just for the asking! Rockwell sent us data books too. Damn cool time.
For those that got after it, some seriously good learning happened. For the ordinary student, it was less than stellar, though they did at least get some seat time and basic literacy skills.
I went on to start into manufacturing, knowing enough to tackle things like paperless drawings and CAD and Internet in 91. Automation systems of various kinds, G-code, and filters / plotters to evaluate that stuff happened too. I often wrote in basic back then, just because it was good enough, but Turbo Pascal was the real tool. High School was enough to continue directly, which is what I and a few peers did, all having tech-oriented jobs today doing various things. Invaluable frankly.
Coupla notable things:
1. The math teacher was down on binary. "Who uses that esoteric number system?"
2. Took a class in mechanical drafting, then got exposed to some early CAD. I finished that class with an F, because it was much more useful to lay out D&D maps... The CAD ended up being a career as I could use CAD leaving High School, and did right away in a manufacturing context, later on engineering.
3. Some learning was different. Today, kids are often taught Microsoft Word. Back then we were taught what a word processor was, it's functions, etc... Then we got exposed to some word processors. Same with operating systems, and all manner of things. There is a perspective that comes with learning that way I find extremely valuable today. My own kids didn't get that from school, but did at home, of course.
Lots of things didn't happen yet. Internet was not really deployed on a wide scale, meaning one basically got online through University, or via some expensive service, or through a BBS gateway, etc... My experiences there were outside of school. The same is true for storage, networks, etc... All mostly missing, due to the time frame. No educating was done on this, but to explain the dial up to the University to tap the mainframe. (And the damn thing printed on big paper, such a waste... They could have attached a VT100 or something for a much better experience, something I didn't know until after leaving.)
And that cluster is 11th? Nice!!
That's it, just general best wishes.
I don't disagree.
There are a few layers to this discussion. One is the stationary computer. For me, that's gone for all but that old Apple.
The second is "The end of the PC" discussion, and I don't think we are anywhere close to that. Tablets and phones are growing very potent. Lots can be done on them, but they are not the general purpose computing devices "PC" devices are. Some of them can be, and I see people attempting to do that.
I myself am looking at a basic droid device for that purpose. I also use portable Linux distributions a lot, along with virtualization to decouple from hardware.
When it comes to authoring things, the PC is still king. For information consumption and some light manipulation, tablets and phones are rapidly filling that niche. There will be fewer PC's, but no end to them anytime soon.
I've ditched the desktop. One laptop works for me. I don't even have external screens and such anymore. It was just easier to learn to use it well just as it comes. I will, on occasion plug in a mouse, or other specialized input device, and those are carried in my backpack.
Older laptops get purposed for specific things. Media server, or development machine for micro-controllers and such.
The only real PC that I have now is my Apple //e! (and I wish it were portable) And it's a nicely equipped //e, with a USB card for storage, serial, etc...
Being a programmer, at the lowest level, is composing instructions. Lots of people do that, and they do so without too much trouble.
Now, being a good programmer requires being able to manipulate and keep track of simultaneous abstractions. That's a lot harder, and I do think there are plenty of people who just don't work well that way.
Thought so.
There is a process on these things. It's not a perfect process. All of us have to deal in some ways so that we may see the greater gains by doing so.
You said this:
Thanks for the lecture, Dad. Now, can I live like a grown up and make my own mistakes? Or do I still need your permission and still need to pay tithes to your institution for the privilege of your guidance and leadership?
LOL!! Bet you are somewhere in your 20's, right where I was when I said similar things. It's a tough gig, but time cures a lot of things. Trust me on that. Yeah, Dad now. Was just starting that gig when I signed up to this site, and the last kid is about to leave the house. Long time.
Here's the hard truth. You won't like it either, but it's fact, absolute. You are accountable to those you need stuff from. That's reality. Now, you say you want to live it on your own totally as an individual? Great! Give it all up. That means you don't get citizenship, that means you don't get infrastructure, that means you don't get courts, police, fire, or any of the other things you found up and running here like everybody else did.
Go off and do it all yourself, ideally somewhere that the rest of the world will just let you have, and then you can do fuck all you want, if you live long enough to actually do it.
Not a pleasant idea is it?
You see, you want shit, but you don't value what you see around you. Somehow, you think that's just a freebie and that you've got some entitlement to declare yourself above it all, that rugged individualist who doesn't need anybody or anything, just keep your hands off my money, blah, blah, blah.
Everything costs something pal. Everything. And the cost of living here is dealing with the process that is up and running here. Don't like how some of the taxes get spent? Great. I suggest you invest some of your time in politics and advocacy and get it changed, just like anyone else can and should be doing. That's how we resolve that stuff.
We don't resolve it by devaluing the society we live in, and declaring taxes as theft is like shitting where you eat. Fucking stupid.
You are lazy as hell, expecting some simplistic market solution to very complex, very old, very human problems. Been reading "those books?" Bet you have, and the attraction there is it's simple. Vote with your feet right? And if we just dismantle it all, the magic market forces will sort the people out.
Doesn't work that way either, and it doesn't work that way because the real money will crush you and me like we don't even exist. The real money, left unchecked would enslave people, kill off the gays, promote smoking tobacco to avoid paying for old people as optimal profit is when the worker dies right after their productive years, etc...
Go and read your history. That's how it has always gone down, and given no checks and balances, that is how it will continue to go down.
So here's the deal on "supporting" stuff. It's a package. You can either leave, or not. If you stay, then you deal. That's it. Assuming you are here, then we have the politics to help shape how things go, and we have the dollars to fund what gets done. Given you leverage all of that stuff no matter what you do, those taxes are no different than cutting me in for my share of a joint project. I don't like war either. But, I do appreciate the New Deal, and many other good thing we do, so I pay my taxes, and I do my politics and advocacy to speak my mind about it, ideally resonating with many others in ways that impacts how things get done and that changes things for the better, or worse...
The worse part?
When you tune out, buy into the idea that the system is fucked, and that somehow you would be better off just on your own with "your money", fuck everybody else style. Nobody gets to do that. Thinking you somehow deserve to be able to do that, or can do that is idealistic and naive frankly.
Again, take it or leave it. You are accountable to those you need st
Nice framing attempt, but not really material.
What you say?
Yeah, selfish.
How exactly did you make "your" money? I assume you've accounted for the value of the nation you live in, right? The infrastructure, education, currency, military protection, local protection, license to do business, etc...
Are those things worth nothing?
Have you considered what making "your" money would actually look like, if people were dumb enough to really buy into the idea that taxing is stealing?
Think margins are thin now, just wait until you need to fund your own protection, figure out currency issues and value exchange, or need to settle differences with weapons instead of courts, or fight of plunderers, thieves, and copy cats.
You have a birthright, and it was established through the collective labor and taxes to add value to our lives over time. Nothing you do, and I mean absolutely nothing is done in isolation.
Yeah, that means you didn't build it yourself and nobody else did either. That also means you've got to pay your share just like everybody else does, because it's a package deal. Nobody gets to just not participate, because it doesn't work that way. It can't work that way.
Early on, the idea of self-governance was justified for these reasons. We need taxes, we need infrastructure, we need government and we need it because eeking it out as hunter gatherers just doesn't get us anywhere, and the quality of life sucks complete ass too.
We are free people in the US. We agree to fund government and submit to it, while preserving our right to challenge it, become part of it, work with it, and deal with it so that we are better able to enjoy our freedom.
A hunter gatherer is very free, but also very poor. That hunter gatherer, operating in isolation, "building it themselves" will invest most of their time getting established, and working to survive, ideally having a small family, not getting killed off by some other person wanting a quick leg up, with the idea of having a little bit of time to simply do what they want to do as opposed to what they need to do.
Wealth is measured in time. When most of our time is "must do" time, we are poor. When most of our time is "want to do" time, we are wealthy.
You are wealthy due to the labor invested in making sure you are born wealthy enough to even contemplate bitching about having to contribute your share needed to keep it all rolling.
Now, if we are to do a proper accounting of "your money" as opposed to the cut you owe the others who busted their ass to hand you a posh birthright, things start to get a little ugly.
Truth is, your taxes are a steal, even with the abuses. Could be better, but you are still getting one hell of a deal.
"your money" equals what you get paid for your labor products, most of which are not even possible to do or profit from without that birthright you ignore and refuse to value properly. Your slice of the education, military, research, police, infrastructure, courts, etc... is directly related to the value you get for all those things. They aren't free. They don't exist in a vacuum, and there isn't some picking and choosing which ones you like and which ones you don't, because the whole thing breaks down without everybody paying in their fair share to get their fair value out, which makes the whole thing work for you like it does.
So that means yeah, you are going to pay for some things you think are shit, and you are going to deal, because the alternative is sucking ass somewhere, living to work, working to live, hoping to god you don't get hurt, or killed before you even turn 30.
What a selfish ass you are. Fuck.
There is a reason I've stepped away from modern gaming. There is the occasional title or two I want to play or my wife does, and we do that together, able to share some time. Honestly, those are getting fewer and fewer.
Gaming is expensive, and the value proposition keeps getting diluted down to a point where it's really starting to show. Think the same kind of death corporate radio is suffering. The dynamics are very similar, as will be the end game.
Fuck these guys. Go retro and or indie. Lots of platforms from home built micro-controllers to older machines that can play great games to phones, PC's and other devices that can also play great games.
There is also the homebrew scene. It's a lot like indie, but different in that it usually involves older machines. Much of the homebrew scene is open too. You can see the code, modify the game, interact with the developer, be the developer, contribute graphics, or just collect 'n play. I've spent more on homebrew titles than I have modern gaming for a few years in a row now. There are scenes for the 8 bit machines, some computers and odd devices. AtariAge is one place where it's happening. Quality works too, right along with a bunch of people doing games and getting help on it from others ranging from insiders who just like retro, to enthusiasts who just have picked up how things get done.
Wrote one for the 2600 a while back for a Minigame compo. Need to do it again too, because I had a lot of fun and got some great feedback. On many of the titles I buy, I know the guy who wrote it, and I know they love that "this game kicks ass! Thanks for it!" feedback as much as they do the few $$$ they get from a physical media run or two.
Right now, I'm gaming on older gear, and building fun little projects with micro-controllers that have classic ports. Learning about the tech, building things, modifying them, and such is just as much fun as jamming on a modern title is, and I know I'm way better off for it too. Long ago, this started on the old Apple ][, which I have setup to play on to this day. The kids like the thing for all it's weird games, sounds, and such.
Back then, cracking 'em was as fun as playing them, and several of us did, getting good enough to start careers in computing too. We used to write games, share them, laugh at them, play them, build on them, and just enjoyed it on a lot of levels besides just playing through some linear, scripted pile of shit that's full of licensed IP to the gills. Same game, different skins, diluted value each time... Now that people are picking up on this stuff, they are insuring that they maximize their return on the least value possible, and that's the end game for a top heavy industry suffering as so many others have.
So yeah, fuck you very much. EA was founded on some great ideas. Now it's just riding a wave, so seriously disconnected from the art of things it's sad to see.
Seriously.
If they are going to spot check the liquids, just do it before I purchase said liquid. That's kind of a nice deal, given it actually has some impact on my safety. Random checks after the purchase has a really shitty end game:
1. Liquid found to be benign: "Sorry for bothering you, and trust us the chemicals used for testing are no big deal." Right. Feeling good about that one. NOT!
2. Liquid found to be dubious: "I'm afraid we need to conficate your coffee miss..." She asks, "Well, what about that guy over there, who got one too?" Yeah, that's ugly. Do they go and get his to put up a brave face, eventually just taking all the coffee? Or is it just a lie, or menacing behavior to get her to just shut down? And if she asks, "But you guys certified them for sale inside the terminal right?" Their reply? LOL!!!
3. Liquid found to be dangerous: See dubious, but for a lawsuit. +1 for pain and suffering on all sides. Might as well just start handing out good drugs to prevent the headaches that are going to happen. Here in Oregon, somebody might just strip over it! State law permits nudity as a legit protest. Hello 10 O'Clock news!
There are times when I seriously wonder whether or not anyone actually thinks about these things on more than a basic level.
Of course, the vendors would throw a fit! They need to make the money, so fuck us, right? Right.
Was part of a bet. Worked fantastically well.
It's also good for just walking around places. If you are presenting as somebody who is supposed to be there, you simply are. Kind of amazing really.
I know exactly what I'm going to do when they do attempt this with my drink.
"Oh, you want some coffee? Here, take mine, no worries, thanks."
Or maybe...
"Please hold on to this for me, thanks."
+1 to the "ditch digging" comment up-thread. Yeah, spot on. I want the security jobs, IF THEY ARE ACTUALLY ADDING MATERIAL SECURITY VALUE.
Much better able to figure out who they are, where their talents lie, and exercise life choices in a more robust way.
My own High School, in the 80's and in a hick town of maybe a few thousand mind you, offered quite a lot. My own skill sets were:
music, drama, speech, debate, I directed several performances starting from sheet music and some willing participants
formal and creative writing
math through intro to calculus, which I bailed on, headed off into binary math, booleans, etc... when the teacher asked, "why? Nobody uses those numbers?"
Metal fabrication skills
Wood fabrication skills
Auto Repair, and I completely rebuild a nice car I got for a song too.
Introduction to radio and electronic media
Basic Electronics
Ceramics, Art
Social Studies, History, Economics
I taught LOGO my Senior year
BASIC, 6502 Assembly, PASCAL, Beginners C (Aztec, if I recall correctly)
Desktop Publishing
Basic Biology, Chemistry
Hobbies were HAM Radio, Computer programming, building cars, fabricating products to sell in local markets, and TV tune up and Repair for date money....
Not every kid soaked it up, and for them, they could drill down into some niche and excel. Others, like myself, just wanted to learn and build.
Coupla things that have resulted from that:
1. Fell on hard times growing up. Sometimes didn't eat. I could do lots of work as a High Schooler, and did. Turn right around and hunt for food, going from the shot, to meat on a plate. Old school, no joke.
2. I've never, ever paid for a locksmith. Won't either.
3. All I need is ANY car. Hard times happened again a few years ago. That old car with 300K+ miles on it got me through, runs great, cheap ass. I completely understand that thing. Again, cheap ass.
4. Took lots of jobs to attend college. Manufacturing ended up a focus, because I can make stuff, make a lot of stuff, make it right, make it on time, and make it cheap ass. People love cheap ass.
5. Can learn on my feet, and I know that's from the broad stimulation I got when it mattered.
And it goes on and on. Not everybody wants to make things, or even understand them. That's OK. But when hard times come calling, you all will be damn glad to know those of us who do, and school is about building great people. All kinds of great people. Starting out by underestimating them isn't how it's done.