So let me ask this. What makes IT/IS people any less likely to do Bad Things(tm) than anyone else? If you feel the need to do background checks on everyone, then do them on everyone. Just be warned: A background check doesn't work the same as inspiring loyalty in your workers.
I'd say they're just being overly cautious. Announcing the discovery of water on Mars is big news. Having to retract that and say, "Oh, nope, it's just...really odd dust." would really suck from a PR perspective. Better to say, "Well, we might have water, but we're not positive." right up until a probe goes and picks some up in a sippy-cup and sends it back home.
You could probably ask for volunteers for a one-way mission to Mars and get enough responses from slashdot alone to fill the roster.
Finding volunteers for spaceflight is a non-issue. Finding qualified ones...well, that's probably still a non-issue. It's the nerd equivalent of offering Joe Sixpack tickets to the Super Bowl if he'll just smear hot grits all over Natalie Portman.
I'd wager that overall health is a big factor, too. I recall a study that ended up on the front page here. Rats that were injured and under stress both took longer to heal AND were a lot less active. Speaking from personal experience, any sort of lingering pain/injury can really contribute. In my case, it got to a point where the injury kept me from sleeping well, which made getting up and going to work awful. When I was there, I was horribly unproductive as I was always distracted/unable to concentrate, which ended up causing more stress as work piled up. When I got home, I'd need to wind down before I could get to sleep.
The end result was that I was always tired, hurting, and totally unable to get anything done. It was one massive negative feedback loop, and I found myself just wanting to quit everything. The end result was depression, burnout, and suffering.
I'd say staying healthy is one step in preventing burnout.
Yeah. I punched in an approximation of my yearly wages, and it popped up some things I could do with my dough.
For $8, I could buy X apples...OR some farmer in Honduras could buy 25 apple trees to feed his village!
Yeah, that's swell. I'm sure that while the farmer in Honduras isn't doing as well off as me, he's doing a hell of a lot better than I would be if I had the exact same funds as him. I sure as hell can't buy 25 apple trees for $8. I doubt I could buy two for that much.
Stupid link. Maybe somewhat funny, depending on your outlook on things, but utterly worthless otherwise.
No, I don't whine about the ads in print magazines I purchase.
I just don't re-sub to them. Recently subscribed to several National Geographic publications and found that they contained so much advertisement that they weren't worth even the deeply discounted rates they offered to resubscribe.
Due to a well-placed chipped tooth I got in my youth, I can produce sound near that frequency by whistling a certain way. It was great back in 8th/9th grade, when I could make most of my classmates grimace without most of the teachers being able to hear it.
I could also do a pretty convincing cricket chirp, as well.
Why, I take very good care of my users. In fact, I wouldn't have a job without them, right? I mean, I support the computers they use, and without them the computers wouldn't NEED any support. In fact, I just had a brand new backup system installed in our halon-protected server room. It's there to ensure that any data they find valuable will always be available. Go ahead, step in and take a look for yourself. It's right there in the back row, about halfway down.
We can't possibly let these "information technology" people decide what to do with our inter-nets resources. They obviously don't understand the critical nature of how this technology works. Why, just this Friday I sent an email to one of my contacts in the state government there, and their internets were so clogged that it still hasn't arrived. If they can't keep their system of tubes clean, how can we possibly expect them to make good decisions about what prograpplications are wise to run on their computers?
I've got you both beat. My first mental image was of Barney Fife furiously trying to load his single bullet into his revolver, dropping it, then throwing his hands into the air in front of a bunch of suit-clad agent types.
Pre-dawn makes a lot of sense. A lot of others have said the same thing. I was thinking 'early morning' as in shortly after sunrise, which didn't seem like a terribly good idea to me.
Wouldn't it make more sense to take thermal image shots a little while after sundown instead? Doing in the morning strikes me as being less accurate, as depressions in the ground/shadowed spots will heat less quickly than other areas. At night, once the sun has gone down, soil should more or less cool at about the same rate. It seems like they'd get less false positives at night. Maybe I'm just crazy.
On anything other than quickly consumed/disposed of items, I shop for quality. Of course, I also avoid eating fast food twice a day, so maybe I'm not the greatest example of the average American.
Nothing, though it is reccomended that you keep nothing valuable underneath the area where the charge is to be deployed. This includes rugs, expensive hardwood floors, and neighbors.
In related news, the DoD has awarded RoundCo Inc. a 100 million dollar contract to develop a circular structure to facilitate the movement of objects with maximum efficiency. RoundCo is currently investigating deploying rubber-based, air-filled rings to fit this need. "This new technology could revolutionize logistics.", says RoundCo CEO David Goodyear-Wheeler.
...then I say we give away contraceptives. Lots of them. For free.
People are starving in Africa, disease is a big problem, and overpopulation is a global issue. Give them lots of contraceptives and a little sex ed, and watch as things start getting cleared up.
The other option is to just leave them alone and let half of Africa continue blasting away at itself with AK-47's, but I don't see that working all that well either. Better to not have kids than to just let them shoot one another.
Frankly, I like that image better than most of the ones propogated by common religions. I wouldn't mind Heaven if I could go grab a beer and some bowling with God.
The answer is really simple. Don't buy 1 F-22 Raptor.
Seriously. Shave one off of the list of aircraft to buy. From what I'm seeing, the per-unit cost of those aircraft is in excess of $100M. Bam, funding for the next five years (or more) is done. I'm doubting we'll really notice the difference, militarily.
Or here's another idea: We could cut some of the rediculous spending elsewhere. Most of it is military, yeah, but I'm sure if we look hard enough, there are more bridges to nowhere that can be cut instead.
FFS, stop cutting science spending. Spending money on research is almost always a good idea, even if it doesn't pay off immediately. It's not that difficult, really. Learning = good. Duh.
Oh, no. We have the capability to eliminate any hostile force in Iraq in a matter of hours, if we really want to.
We just don't have a way of doing it without eliminating a substantial portion of (or, in truth, almost all of) the civilian population. Not to mention that actually _doing_ it, or making a real attempt at it, would be political suicide and would likely piss off every other nation in the world.
You know, for a government that exists solely due to the use of clever guerrilla tactics to which there _still_ isn't an effective counter, you'd think we would know better. Vietnam and Iraq suggest otherwise.
Frankly, I think militias suffer from the 'hacker effect'. Pretty much everyone that reads/. should know what I'm talking about. The word 'militia' has a negative connotation now due to media coverage of radical groups that called themselves militias. It's just the same as how a "hacker" is now viewed by Joe Sixpack as being some l33t guy who can automagically steal credit card numbers with nothing more than a USB thumb drive and a blackberry. This has little to do with the original meaning of the word.
I'm all for the other sort of militia. In my book, a militia should be comprised of a group of volunteers that are in no way compensated or supported by the government. They should be armed (at least on the individual level) with weaponry obtained and owned by the individual expected to use it. A militia member should be trained as best as possible, and should continue training in military techniques as part of being a member of the militia. This should all be done within the letter of the law.
A militia should also work closely with the local government to devise action plans for all sorts of major emergencies, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes. In fact, a well-run militia should (at least from my perspective) resemble the national gaurd in many ways, except for the command structure. A militia should be made up of members of the local community, and as such have no authority above it in the chain of command -- the only orders should be generated by the militia itself, as a direct result of the needs of the local community, and should reflect those needs.
This experiment proves that stem cells can be used to cure disease, but it also demonstrates that we lack the control required to put them into use. The real trick here isn't convincing stem cells to become X other cell, it's convincing them to _stop_ doing their thing at the correct time. Otherwise cancer is the inevitable outcome.
Slashdot Mirror
So let me ask this. What makes IT/IS people any less likely to do Bad Things(tm) than anyone else? If you feel the need to do background checks on everyone, then do them on everyone. Just be warned: A background check doesn't work the same as inspiring loyalty in your workers.
I'd say they're just being overly cautious. Announcing the discovery of water on Mars is big news. Having to retract that and say, "Oh, nope, it's just...really odd dust." would really suck from a PR perspective. Better to say, "Well, we might have water, but we're not positive." right up until a probe goes and picks some up in a sippy-cup and sends it back home.
You could probably ask for volunteers for a one-way mission to Mars and get enough responses from slashdot alone to fill the roster.
Finding volunteers for spaceflight is a non-issue. Finding qualified ones...well, that's probably still a non-issue. It's the nerd equivalent of offering Joe Sixpack tickets to the Super Bowl if he'll just smear hot grits all over Natalie Portman.
I'd wager that overall health is a big factor, too. I recall a study that ended up on the front page here. Rats that were injured and under stress both took longer to heal AND were a lot less active. Speaking from personal experience, any sort of lingering pain/injury can really contribute. In my case, it got to a point where the injury kept me from sleeping well, which made getting up and going to work awful. When I was there, I was horribly unproductive as I was always distracted/unable to concentrate, which ended up causing more stress as work piled up. When I got home, I'd need to wind down before I could get to sleep.
The end result was that I was always tired, hurting, and totally unable to get anything done. It was one massive negative feedback loop, and I found myself just wanting to quit everything. The end result was depression, burnout, and suffering.
I'd say staying healthy is one step in preventing burnout.
Yeah. I punched in an approximation of my yearly wages, and it popped up some things I could do with my dough.
For $8, I could buy X apples...OR some farmer in Honduras could buy 25 apple trees to feed his village!
Yeah, that's swell. I'm sure that while the farmer in Honduras isn't doing as well off as me, he's doing a hell of a lot better than I would be if I had the exact same funds as him. I sure as hell can't buy 25 apple trees for $8. I doubt I could buy two for that much.
Stupid link. Maybe somewhat funny, depending on your outlook on things, but utterly worthless otherwise.
No, I don't whine about the ads in print magazines I purchase.
I just don't re-sub to them. Recently subscribed to several National Geographic publications and found that they contained so much advertisement that they weren't worth even the deeply discounted rates they offered to resubscribe.
Due to a well-placed chipped tooth I got in my youth, I can produce sound near that frequency by whistling a certain way. It was great back in 8th/9th grade, when I could make most of my classmates grimace without most of the teachers being able to hear it.
I could also do a pretty convincing cricket chirp, as well.
Why, I take very good care of my users. In fact, I wouldn't have a job without them, right? I mean, I support the computers they use, and without them the computers wouldn't NEED any support. In fact, I just had a brand new backup system installed in our halon-protected server room. It's there to ensure that any data they find valuable will always be available. Go ahead, step in and take a look for yourself. It's right there in the back row, about halfway down.
No, really, I insist. Have a look.
We can't possibly let these "information technology" people decide what to do with our inter-nets resources. They obviously don't understand the critical nature of how this technology works. Why, just this Friday I sent an email to one of my contacts in the state government there, and their internets were so clogged that it still hasn't arrived. If they can't keep their system of tubes clean, how can we possibly expect them to make good decisions about what prograpplications are wise to run on their computers?
Sincerely,
Sen. Stevens.
I've got you both beat. My first mental image was of Barney Fife furiously trying to load his single bullet into his revolver, dropping it, then throwing his hands into the air in front of a bunch of suit-clad agent types.
Original Barney FTW.
Pre-dawn makes a lot of sense. A lot of others have said the same thing. I was thinking 'early morning' as in shortly after sunrise, which didn't seem like a terribly good idea to me.
Well, sure. They're bound to have a reason. I just want to know why they're opting for that method.
Wouldn't it make more sense to take thermal image shots a little while after sundown instead? Doing in the morning strikes me as being less accurate, as depressions in the ground/shadowed spots will heat less quickly than other areas. At night, once the sun has gone down, soil should more or less cool at about the same rate. It seems like they'd get less false positives at night. Maybe I'm just crazy.
On anything other than quickly consumed/disposed of items, I shop for quality. Of course, I also avoid eating fast food twice a day, so maybe I'm not the greatest example of the average American.
Nothing, though it is reccomended that you keep nothing valuable underneath the area where the charge is to be deployed. This includes rugs, expensive hardwood floors, and neighbors.
In related news, the DoD has awarded RoundCo Inc. a 100 million dollar contract to develop a circular structure to facilitate the movement of objects with maximum efficiency. RoundCo is currently investigating deploying rubber-based, air-filled rings to fit this need. "This new technology could revolutionize logistics.", says RoundCo CEO David Goodyear-Wheeler.
...then I say we give away contraceptives. Lots of them. For free.
People are starving in Africa, disease is a big problem, and overpopulation is a global issue. Give them lots of contraceptives and a little sex ed, and watch as things start getting cleared up.
The other option is to just leave them alone and let half of Africa continue blasting away at itself with AK-47's, but I don't see that working all that well either. Better to not have kids than to just let them shoot one another.
I'd have modded you up for that post, if I had points, simply because "Theo the Godfather" fills me with mirth.
Because it'd ruin their argument.
Frankly, I like that image better than most of the ones propogated by common religions.
I wouldn't mind Heaven if I could go grab a beer and some bowling with God.
The answer is really simple.
Don't buy 1 F-22 Raptor.
Seriously. Shave one off of the list of aircraft to buy. From what I'm seeing, the per-unit cost of those aircraft is in excess of $100M. Bam, funding for the next five years (or more) is done. I'm doubting we'll really notice the difference, militarily.
Or here's another idea: We could cut some of the rediculous spending elsewhere. Most of it is military, yeah, but I'm sure if we look hard enough, there are more bridges to nowhere that can be cut instead.
FFS, stop cutting science spending. Spending money on research is almost always a good idea, even if it doesn't pay off immediately. It's not that difficult, really. Learning = good. Duh.
Oh, no. We have the capability to eliminate any hostile force in Iraq in a matter of hours, if we really want to.
We just don't have a way of doing it without eliminating a substantial portion of (or, in truth, almost all of) the civilian population. Not to mention that actually _doing_ it, or making a real attempt at it, would be political suicide and would likely piss off every other nation in the world.
You know, for a government that exists solely due to the use of clever guerrilla tactics to which there _still_ isn't an effective counter, you'd think we would know better. Vietnam and Iraq suggest otherwise.
Frankly, I think militias suffer from the 'hacker effect'. Pretty much everyone that reads /. should know what I'm talking about. The word 'militia' has a negative connotation now due to media coverage of radical groups that called themselves militias. It's just the same as how a "hacker" is now viewed by Joe Sixpack as being some l33t guy who can automagically steal credit card numbers with nothing more than a USB thumb drive and a blackberry. This has little to do with the original meaning of the word.
I'm all for the other sort of militia.
In my book, a militia should be comprised of a group of volunteers that are in no way compensated or supported by the government. They should be armed (at least on the individual level) with weaponry obtained and owned by the individual expected to use it. A militia member should be trained as best as possible, and should continue training in military techniques as part of being a member of the militia. This should all be done within the letter of the law.
A militia should also work closely with the local government to devise action plans for all sorts of major emergencies, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes. In fact, a well-run militia should (at least from my perspective) resemble the national gaurd in many ways, except for the command structure. A militia should be made up of members of the local community, and as such have no authority above it in the chain of command -- the only orders should be generated by the militia itself, as a direct result of the needs of the local community, and should reflect those needs.
But I don't have any gro...
OH SWEET ROBOT JEBUS, what ARE these things?!
I'm inclined to agree.
This experiment proves that stem cells can be used to cure disease, but it also demonstrates that we lack the control required to put them into use. The real trick here isn't convincing stem cells to become X other cell, it's convincing them to _stop_ doing their thing at the correct time. Otherwise cancer is the inevitable outcome.