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User: sckeener

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  1. if they want to have to police it.... on NYTimes Editorial Board: The FCC Wants To Let Telecoms Cash In on the Internet (nytimes.com) · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Personally if I was them, I would not want this. They'll lose their carrier status and will be responsible for the content viewed

  2. virgin islands on Ask Slashdot: Where's the Most Unusual Place You've Written a Program From? · · Score: 1

    I had a programing friend that was coding on his boat in the virgin islands via aircard. I was very jealous.

  3. Re:So what happens when there are no more jobs? on Job Automation and the Minimum Wage Debate · · Score: 1
    There is another problem similar to the after effects of Bacon's Rebellion.

    It is easier to hate the wealthy when machines replace our jobs than when a foreigner takes our jobs. We will have more civil unrest against the upper class with machines replacing people than with jobs going overseas. Be on the lookout for distractions from serious issues like food, clothing, shelter. Expect more discussions about gay marriage, 'in god we trust', affairs, pledge of allegiance, school vochers, etc....

  4. iphone on Virtual Boss Keeps Workers On a Short Leash · · Score: 1
    It doesn't seem to be needed. All one has to do is give every employee an iphone with a company app on it that does the above.

    Tell them the app delivers their company email.

    They won't be concerned because they 'do nothing wrong' at work and won't think about the fact that the company will know everything else about them as well. They'll assume it is just internet surfing, long phone calls, and texting that the company wants to track when in reality it is everything, a drag net of employee data.

    That said, they'd drown in that much data. More likely they'd turn on such 'features' when they are already wanting to get rid of the employee.

  5. Re:Forget ratings, measure ROI. on Obama Seeks New System For Rating Colleges · · Score: 1

    What is the median salary, divided by total cost of education, one year and five years after graduation? That is really the main thing a prospective student needs to know. Everything else is window dressing.

    Correction, this might be what the student wants to know, but this is definitely what the government needs to know. After all, what bank loans out money with slim chances of getting the money back? There are more important things than money when seeking a college degree, but the government shouldn't be funding degrees or colleges where there is no chance of getting the funding back over time.

  6. Re:false premise on Reversible Male Contraception With Gold Nanorods · · Score: 2

    I've had 3 reversals and only one worked long enough for me to have a son. I've spent 45k. In my experience the reversals always work initially, but close up over time. My last reversal I hired the best I could get. I should have done that at the beginning, but the doctor I had preform it the 1st & 2nd times said that it is waste for me to try a 3rd time.

  7. Re:Knows and Presumes are not the same thing on Facebook Knows If You're Gay, Use Drugs, Or Are a Republican · · Score: 1

    I figure over-reliance on this sort of analysis explains why Facebook will show me ads for dating services even though it knows I'm married. I like all this geeky stuff, so obviously the advertisers assume I'm single.

    where's the 'like' button when you want it?!

  8. Re:American Wage Slaves are an Even Better Value on US CEO Says French Workers Have Three-Hour Work Day · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hell, I never took vacation... maybe 3 or 4 days in the last year. I got laid off anyway, never mind a promotion. I got no severance pay, but they gave me 70% of my remaining vacation time in cash.

    The lesson is: use your vacation. You may not get a chance later.

    I can easy one up that and drive the point home. My ex-father in law never called in sick or took vacation. He died at 48. The paycheck he got for the unused vacation time had no taxes taken out. His wife who died two years later had to pay a ton in taxes because of that. On his death bed, I showed him pictures of a recent vacation I had and he wished he had done more of that than work. Who wouldn't? And since you never know when your last day is take the time now if you can.

  9. ignorant question on Cubify 3D Printers Aren't Just for Squares (Video) · · Score: 1

    Since I don't have the $ just to try it out, can someone explain to me where the designs come from that the printer prints? Are the patterns printer specific? Are there standard formats used, like autocad or something? Everyone understands how a 2d printer works. 99% (grabbed out of thin air) of the net is 2d, but I'd love to print 3d objects. I play D&D. Even though it would be expensive, I'd to be able to print 3d versions of monsters mini's. I know it would kill wotc's miniture market, but I'm tired of using at best pictures on cardboard stock taking up the same amount of space. It'd be sweet to print up the # of missing minis for what the encounter called for or print up the dungeon/village/or terran where the fight was taking place.

  10. Re:Easy Solution on Open Source Electric Cars — Good Idea Or Not? · · Score: 1

    Someday a war will happen just like it did on BSG. The enemy will flip a switch and turn off all the vehicles.

  11. I'd recommend doing something fun regardless of what language.

    If you are fine with Java or .Net, try out http://robocode.sourceforge.net/

    I know I'd love to write code as a kid to battle other players.

    I learned most of my programing as a kid by picking apart other code. I learned on a trs80 loading up basic games and then in my teenage years, tweaking code for BBS sites when 1200 baud was awesome.

  12. e-voting bad on Why Making Facebook Private Won't Protect You · · Score: 1

    And this is why e-voting should be killed off. FB is something that is neutral. Employers and employees don't have any issues talking about why they want or don't want to reveal profiles. Overseeing someone's e-voting is taboo at the moment because for decades that hasn't been an option. Give it a generation and we'll have Tuesday Church Services where everyone who goes to your church is expected to attend for a voting party, where the computers are not hidden behind curtains and your neighbors can look over your shoulder. We'll have some straglers who claim they can't go to their Church event because their boss wants them to do the same. They'll tell their boss that their Church requires them to be there and since bosses don't want to run afowl of the 1st amendment, they'll let them go saying 'bring a print out to work.' When in reality they go home where their spouse watches over their shoulder instead and then as they doctor up a screen shot so their boss doesn't know they voted.

  13. Re:Yes on Are Rich People Less Moral? · · Score: 1

    "The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been found out, because it was properly executed." by -Honore de Balzac which is normally paraphrased as 'Behind every great fortune there is a crime'. Thus the only way an honest man can get into congress is if a corrupt man helps him get there. Which leads into this quote "Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature." by Kin Hubbard (1868-1930)

  14. Order of the Stick on Angry Birds Boss Credits Piracy For Popularity Boost · · Score: 3, Informative

    People seem to be focused on the piracy aspect of the story and I focused on the 'fan' aspect. Something that is going on with Kickstarter as of this week is Order of the Stick, a free online web comic, that has blown away its goals multiple times in the first week of the kickstarter. That is the power of fans. The product is free on the web, but yet fans are tripping over themselves to get out of print material back in stores.

  15. Our war on germs will kill us on FDA Approves Self-Sanitizing Keyboard · · Score: 1

    Our War on germs is going to get us killed. Soap and water are enough. Anything more and we risk making the places where we really need more (hospitals) breeding factories for superbugs. Oh wait, that is what is happening. Stop eliminating superbugs competition. If those keyboards are wiping out 2/3s the germs, I bet 1/2 of the germs or more were good germs. I remember reading an article years ago, no clue on the current state, where some research doctors were trying out putting yogurt on their hands after washing to make sure their hands were protected by a protective layer of good germs.

  16. service jobs on The Real Job Threat · · Score: 1

    I don't care how good machines get there are certain 'service' jobs for humans that will always be in demand. ;)

    Seriously though, I was thinking of MMOs recently and the market for them. For the most part the target market is people who've had their lives made easier by machines. I can't see a machine coming up with all that World of Warcraft is.

    The day that machines can come up with Facebook or World of Warcraft or the iPad or a best selling novel is when we have to worry. Machines that invent or create art are problem

  17. Re:Lack of upward mobility on What Happens When the Average Lifespan is 150 Years? · · Score: 1
    What I'd like is, if all appeals fail, an option to end ones life behind bars. Some people would take that option rather than being locked up for the rest of their life. I make the stipulation of 'all appeals fail' because as evidenced by all the exonerations from DNA many people are in prison innocently. There are many cases were someone is serving a life sentence and there was no physical evidence. No DNA to get them out of jail.

    My father was one. He was given 30 years and died of cancer after 12 years. There was no physical evidence. Only the word of a 3 year old.

  18. Darnassus on "Wi-Fi Refugees" Shelter in West Virginia Mountains · · Score: 1
    Back in December, I moved to Darnassus. I think it's the right place for me. It is very environmentally friendly. To quote a friend of mine "I love Darnassus... trees everywhere." I highly recommend moving there, Diane. That said, there are some horrible little neighbors to the south east. They say things like

    "One word: plastics."

    "Yes, I'm a gold digger... and copper and silver."

    "If at first you don't succeed: blow it up again."

    "Skip to step three: profit."

    Needless to say these little annoying nats cause all sorts of environmental issues. Still, come to Darnassus for a small subscription fee.

  19. Re:In related news on World Population Expected To Hit 7 Billion In Late October · · Score: 2

    I guess I'm contributing to the decline; however I want to have kids now. I had a vasectomy years ago when I was with a partner who didn't want kids. I've since then found someone that I want to have kids with, but 2 reversals later the odds are still not good. (pretty much nil because of low mobility) I'm the only child of an only child. If I ever can have kids, I probably will only have one. If something happens to me or if I have a kid, only to lose it, no one is going to care about our family tree. The family stories I tell will not live long after I die. Everything I care about and everything my ancestors cared about is going to be lost. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter, but at an individual level, a family level, it hurts emotionally. You don't think it will when you are young, but the older I get the more it does. You look around at everything you have (physically or mentally) and want it to go on in some fashion.

  20. Re:Finally some sanity on What's Your College Major Worth? · · Score: 1

    Wealthier than average people are driven to succeed. They're driven to finish college and they are driven to find a good job. There is certainly correlation between education and income, but I see no reason to believe the formal education itself has any bearing on ones chances at financial success. It seems that the attributes one has drives them to finish college, then make lots of money. However, if you removed the option of college, they would still be driven to make lots of money.

    I agree. I do not have a degree. I dropped out to put my exwife through college. I had a drive to succeed. The bonus of having two parents that went into law and my dad being a work-aholic by only sleeping for 4 hours while maintaining 3 jobs for 25 years (lawyer in the morning, pc repairmain in the afternoon, sleep for 4 hours, and then work a night shift at NASA working on mainframes.) I'm making decent money. My ex-wife however did get a degree and then did nothing with it.

    One has to have the desire, the craving, to succeed. A degree will not give you that.

  21. CA Prison guard vs Harvard degree on What's Your College Major Worth? · · Score: 1
    I found this article humorous

    Basically make as much as someone with a Harvard degree, get paid to go to school and retire making 85% of your working income as a prison guard in CA.

    No wonder CA has budget problems.....

  22. Re:Time to bring back a Slashdot classic: on Do Geeks Make Better Adults? · · Score: 1

    Most companies want - most companies DEMAND that you show up for work, do your job, and mostly go unnoticed. They don't want quirks.

    Besides, for every success there are many that failed. People that don't conform are just another means to succeed. It is a gamble. If it works, great, but more likely than not, it won't work. Companies do want that sort of person, but they won't throw their entire budget at hiring them. They'll gamble in small doses.

  23. Re:People have never thought on their own on Do Gadgets Degrade Our Common Sense? · · Score: 1

    gps and car wrecks Lets hope we weed out some of humanity when they blindly follow their tech. Seriously though lets view it like viruses. There is no single virus that will wipe out humanity. We've grown too large. No matter the change, some where people will be isolated from it. Our tech reliance isn't going to affect us on a species level. This is a cultural issue.

  24. Re:Good life on How Viewing a "Virtual You" Can Help You Save · · Score: 1

    There are two extremes, and both are bad. While one shouldn't deny themselves everything in the short term simply to prepare for the future, neither should one sacrifice their future for today. Living every day like it's your last is a stupid way to live, financially speaking.

    Yeah, I knew someone that had 3 daughters. He worked multiple jobs at a time all with the plan that he would live after he retired. Heck, he was up front with his wife that if she didn't want to enjoy retirement, that he would write from whatever scenic place he was at. He was a good person, but planned to enjoy tomorrow rather than today. He never took off sick because he planned on using his sick pay to help fund his retirement. He died at the age of 48 from colon cancer. His wife died at 49 from the same.

  25. Re:Yeah... on Nicaragua Raids Costa Rica, Blames Google Maps · · Score: 1
    I always thought it was interesting that when it comes to the economy at the federal level we help the largest electorate first and then sprinkle out economic help just enough to get buy in from other representatives.

    There's no progressive economic incentives such as having large military bases or other major federal buildings (such as NASA) located in economically challenged regions.

    When it comes time to vote on keeping the current budget, they want the states with the most reps to have a vested interest in keeping the status quo or increasing it. It doesn't matter if we'd save money elsewhere. It doesn't matter if it would do more economic benefit to have federal offices located somewhere else. All that matters is keeping the votes you have and possibly expanding it. Want to guess why NASA hasn't been hurt worse over the years? or why it has been a slow painful cutting? It has offices in most of the states.

    So if you are from one of the major states, such as California, Texas, or New York, how likely are you to want to cause economic trouble for your state?