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User: Whomp-Ass

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Comments · 71

  1. A careful reading of the requirements states that you need to âalreadyâ be employed remotely.

    The demographic they're trying to attract is one with a progressive, entrepreneurial character...not deadbeats trying to bootstrap their underwater basket weaving business.

  2. Question Lacks... on Ask Slashdot: Best Alternative To the Canonical Computer Science Degree? · · Score: 1

    I have something of a unique take on the subject, coming from a mix of traditional education, and actual experience. I was at university for 5 years, though I never did graduate. I also have 15 years on the job experience, in many fields of software development.

    It has been my experience that a degree is a 50/50 proposition. Some of the best programmers I have worked with did not have degrees in computer science. The very best programmers I have ever worked with did not have degrees at all.

    It is a new science, a very young discipline, and at this stage is unwhole, unformed. It has roots in maths, philosophy, and a hodge-podge of other well established fields. It is coming into its own, but it is not there yet, and the academic bias is futile at this point.

    The very best database developer I have ever worked with was an ex-marine with a degree in accounting. The vey best general programmer I have ever worked with has no degree at all, yet has a multi-million dollar company, and he writes better code than anyone I have ever seen. The very worst programmer I have ever worked with had a masters degree from a university (non-US) in computer science, and could not code anything to save his life, but he could talk his way up into any situation, without the actual chops to back his talk up. The least well paid developer I know has a Doctorate in CS.

    YMMV, but it is a young duscipline and we are still sorting ourselves out.

  3. Firewalls, NIDS, TOR on Ask Slashdot: Software For Learning About Data Transmission? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Use your router to see where things are going. Set it up such that the firewall reports back to your computer (or displays when you log into it's interface), Or do the same with the firewall on the box you are using, or both. Wallwatcher, Syslogd, whatever works best for your situation.

    Set up a separate box to act as a NID (e.g. Snort) and ratchet up it's output to verbose. Behold nearly infinite data to play with.

    Set up a remote host, or log into a remote host you already have available, instruct it to portscan your home network, keep wireshark on, use resource manager to watch the TCP/IP connections come up and down, or task manager, or what have you.

    Use TOR and watch the map screen that shows you your connection route, try to have the kid logic-together why the web takes so long to surf that way.

    Lots and lots of tools that should be pretty much at your disposal with minimal effort are out there...

  4. Re:Voted by mail on U.S. Election Day In Progress: What's Been Your Experience? · · Score: 1

    OH - Yup, same deal. Actually had the time and patience to figure out who all the folks on the ballot actually were, google them, the lot, and make an informed decision, from my couch.

  5. Re:This is exactly what I was talking about on Torvalds Uses Profanity To Lambaste Romney Remarks · · Score: 1

    See...that's the thing. Evidence for a better argument of the appearance of a winged minion of an invisible monster king (who has an unexplainable fetish in your sexual habits, diet, and comparative values) from, frankly, less than reliable sources, without so much as a sliver, molecule, or scintilla of tangible evidence is still a crap argument: it's not even an argument; it is a falsehood.

  6. Re:any plans on long-term memory? on Researchers Create Short-term Memories In Rat Brains · · Score: 1

    I use a similar mental trick to increase retention and recall; like the opp, I would say that it takes effort and is not innate, however, like any other process instantiated and existing solely within the mind, it doesn't exactly have an off switch.

    Let's say that I asked you to picture a pink elephant with wings and the number 48 tattooed on it's side.

    I would say that this is the kind of thing that most people, myself included, would think about for a moment, then in moving on, forget.

    Now, I would like you to forget about the pink elephant.

    Try really hard to forget it.

    The harder you try, the harder it may well be, or is for most people, and now your going to be stuck with that damn elephant in your head...Assuming you did more than skim over this post, there exists a good chance that 5 years from now if I were to ask you what number was tattooed on the side of it, you may actually remember.

    Anyway. To put that into context, do mental tricks like that often enough and they become internalized and thereafter instinctive rather than forced and you end up recalling random shit without putting effort into retaining them.

    I too have a bizarre rate of recall for random things, for example, my wife brought home a box of 'Golden Crisp' cereal, asked if I like it, and I sang (verbatim) the commercial for that product, from 1980 (the one where he punches out the alligator). Why I remember that and not, for instance, that my anniversary was a week from the Sunday before last, until my phone tells me, is beyond me.

  7. Re:Irrefutable fact on Disentangling Facts From Fantasy In the World of Edison and Tesla · · Score: 1

    To toss in my favorite: Simo Hayha

    In temperatures between 40 and 20 degrees Celsius, dressed completely in white camouflage, Häyhä was credited with 505 confirmed kills of Soviet soldiers... Remarkably, all of Häyhä's kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 days–an average of 5 kills per day–at a time of year with very short hours of daylight. The Soviets tried several ploys to get rid of him, including counter-snipers and artillery strikes. On March 6, 1940, Häyhä was shot in the lower left jaw by a Russian soldier during combat. The bullet tumbled upon impact and exited his head. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his head was missing", but he was not dead: he regained consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared.

    This guy survived a soviet artillery campaign directed solely at him then had his head shot off: He got better. Pretty sure this guy is Deadpool.

  8. Possession of the document is a crime, eh? on Man Who Downloaded Bomb Recipes Jailed For 2 Years · · Score: 1

    Apparently simply having this sort of document is a crime in the UK.

    Is anyone else suppressing the urge to mass-email it to every Brit they don't like, members of parliament, and perhaps some royals (for good measure) to see if their police will go about a country-wide arresting spree?

  9. Re:Barbiturates work too on LSD Alleviates 'Suicide Headaches' · · Score: 1

    No, They do not, not for me anyway.

    The only conclusive relief I have ever been able to achieve was through oxygen therapy.

    I also have an auto-injector of Imitrex which helps when I'm out-and-about...but it is **prohibitively** expensive to use.

    I have used LSD to break a cycle, and it works...The problem is that I do not maintain a lifestyle where finding LSD is an easy experience, nor do the benefits outweigh the risks, though to be fair, things take on a different perception when I'm in the middle of a cycle.

  10. Re:Why smaller? on Apple Proposes Smaller SIM Card Design · · Score: 1

    Bullshit.

    Plenty of space is wasted in not using lightweight, high-strength, low deforming materials on the back (non-touch-screen side.)

    For the cost, a wafer thin sliver of titanium would work, perform the same function, and reduce the 'problem' of size/thickness/what-have-you. On the other hand, it would raise the cost of the device by about a nickel...Can't have that.

    If you were to go ahead and disassemble the iPhone4 you will find enough voids in the sub-and-super-structure that could house a standard-sized sim card...hell, a couple of screws on the above mentioned back and you could change the battery yourself too.

  11. Re:Sugar doesnt 'damage' you. on Is Sugar Toxic? · · Score: 1

    Glucose is a powerful oxidizer. In sufficient quantities it can oxidatively damage the mitochondrial DNA of cells. The quantities involved are not high.

  12. Re:All I see is on Elderly Georgian Woman Cuts Armenian Internet · · Score: 1

    The government entity that laid them no longer exists.

  13. EULA is a contract. EULA attempts to restrain... on Judge Lets Sony Access GeoHot's PayPal Account · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Title 15, Chapter 1 captures most of Sony, RIAA, MPAA, behavior and declares it illegal with a $100,00,000.00 Fine. Hell, most mega-corps are guilty in some way of violating Title 15.1

    TITLE 15 > CHAPTER 1 > Â 1

    Â 1. Trusts, etc., in restraint of trade illegal; penalty

    Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.

    Â 2. Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty
    Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.

    Â 14. Sale, etc., on agreement not to use goods of competitor
    It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, to lease or make a sale or contract for sale of goods, wares, merchandise, machinery, supplies, or other commodities, whether patented or unpatented, for use, consumption, or resale within the United States or any Territory thereof or the District of Columbia or any insular possession or other place under the jurisdiction of the United States, or fix a price charged therefor, or discount from, or rebate upon, such price, on the condition, agreement, or understanding that the lessee or purchaser thereof shall not use or deal in the goods, wares, merchandise, machinery, supplies, or other commodities of a competitor or competitors of the lessor or seller, where the effect of such lease, sale, or contract for sale or such condition, agreement, or understanding may be to substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce.

  14. Needs more Title 18 on N.C. Official Sics License Police On Computer Scientist For Too Good a Complaint · · Score: 5, Informative

    Government employees really need to be reminded that as a condition of being employed by the state that they are held to a higher standard and can be tossed to the wolves for stuff like this, namely:

    TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 13 > 241

      241. Conspiracy against rights

    If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or
    If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured—
    They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

    TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 13 > 242

      242. Deprivation of rights under color of law

    Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

  15. Re:Finally? on FBI Set To Turn Up Advanced Security Search Engine · · Score: 1

    Don't most employers ask if you've ever been arrested before anyway?

    Negative. You are asked if you have ever been convicted of a felony, in most cases.

    And I doubt employers will have access to this information.

    Unless your employer is a LEO, or you require a security clearance, or NASA, or you want to work for any other government agency, or...well, you get the idea.

  16. Re:I'll be first to say WTF on Polynomial Time Code For 3-SAT Released, P==NP · · Score: 1

    It could also be said that .999... is 1/Infinity away from 1.

    i.e. .999... + 1/inf = 1

    But that's as stupid as this whole argument. .999 is as close to and may as well be for all practical intents and purposes for as much as it matters to anyone equal to 1.

    (.999 is still not Unity)

  17. Re:I'll be first to say WTF on Polynomial Time Code For 3-SAT Released, P==NP · · Score: 1

    Well, duh, when you break that 1 into 3 parts you're going to miss a few crumbs here and there, you know, onto the floor, stuck to whatever you cut that one up with...I mean, why get so worked up over a crummy unit?

  18. Re:Yes they are feasible. on Are 10-11 Hour Programming Days Feasible? · · Score: 1

    As an aside, our local devs did in a week, with greater quality, than what the offshore folks did in a month...

  19. Re:Yes they are feasible. on Are 10-11 Hour Programming Days Feasible? · · Score: 2

    There are people in india and china who will work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for a third of your pay

    Sort of...The in between you'll have to use to gain access to those folks eats about 1/3 of that third, so now you're looking at a savings of 2/3. The 'loss in translation' loses you a bit and the time difference effectively kills the other third so now you're looking at a 1:1...

    Now we add to that the ability to respond in real time to problems...good luck...you're looking at another 1/3 (and I'm being generous) and you're at a c/b of 1 1/3.

    Contract over, you've got a bug 6 months into production? 1 2/3.

    Scrap the overseas stuff and hire local? 2 2/3.

    We have tried this. Offshoring is for the foolish.

  20. Re:Some People on A Nude Awakening — the TSA and Privacy · · Score: 1

    Since you cannot seem to understand obvious disagreement and agreement I shall point out the following:

    You do not understand what he said.

    You do not understand that you do not understand what he said.

    You follow up with a misunderstanding of your complete lack of understanding of what was said.

    If you provide me with your patient number, I will route your handlers to your location to pick you up and take you back to your facility.

  21. Re:Some People on A Nude Awakening — the TSA and Privacy · · Score: 1

    You must not know many Americans. One third of them are stupid enough to do whatever the guy next to them tells them to and another third know that the evil terrorist is going to kill them anyway, while the other third are going to panic.

    It has been ingrained into the social consciousness in the US that you will absolutely die if you let the terrorist take the plane and you only *might* die if you resist.

  22. Re:Some People on A Nude Awakening — the TSA and Privacy · · Score: 1

    How, pray tell, are you going to maneuver your massive bulk through the swarming throng of people in front of you who are convinced they're about to die and the only thing that stands between them and the only chance possible of continued life, and health insurance for their children, is to smear the guy being tasered by the air-marsal with their carry-on-luggage?

  23. Re:Some People on A Nude Awakening — the TSA and Privacy · · Score: 1

    If you had only been blessed with the sense that was given unto the common Anvil you would understand that the universe of discourse is 'United States Hijackings' and that your link, while very linky, is completely useless, providing nothing in the way of contextual information.

    You do understand that over 12,000 pilots flying commercial, passenger, aircraft carry firearms, right? That there exists a peep-hole in the door? That they are not actually flying the plane unless it is taking off or landing?

    So yes, in your fantasy scenario, assuming the terrorist is not beaten to death with a scared father's laptop, or incapacitated with the taser of the air-marshal, somehow gets let into the cockpit (the pilots fully-aware of what is going on as they have had a chance to look) and it is an un-lucky chance that these particular pair of pilots is not packing...The terrorist will still get an escape-ax to the base of the spinal cord while focusing on one or the other (an Axe is standard equipment on *every* cockpit, to enable the pilots to shatter the glass, if necessary)

    You must be a retarded, moronic, mouth-breathing, moron-of-morons, cared over by other like-minded fud-slinging, twit-talking, swill of bastardized, twice-removed-actually-smart people, if you think that the American people will sit still for what is, in their minds, certain death anyway.

  24. Process on What Software Specification Tools Do You Use? · · Score: 1

    An 8 and 1/2 by 11 note-pad to collect my thoughts and good notes.

    One single, very short, power-point presentation to satisfy management.

    Thereafter, inspiration atop persperation, with the illumination of the congregation caused by instantiation of what was really asked for using the perpetuation of the prior derivation as a starting point...

  25. Re:An odd approach... on The Future of the Most Important Human Brain · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The major problem is that at the point of death (or at least, brain-death) is that the dendrites of the neurons detach from the axons of the surrounding neurons at about a rate that is the square of the of the difference over time of the inverse of temperature loss...meaning, by the time you slice-and-dice, the important bit (that is, the bits, rather...the connections and pathways that make you...well, you...are gone).