Java's reputation for slowness is based on a few factors, none of which is applicable here:
The GUI, partiuarly AWT, is horribly slow. This is unavoidable because there's no good (fast) way to do platform-independent graphics. However, since a database engine has no GUI components, this won't be a factor.
A lot of the perceived slowness of Java comes from the time it takes to load and initialize the JVM. This is a factor when launching a desktop app written in Java. However, since a db engine is a long-running (daemon) process, this is also not applicable in this case.
Early JVMs, particuarly before JIT (just-in-time compilation) took off, were indeed slow. Modern JVMs with JIT, once loaded, run (non-gui) Java code at a speed comperable to compiled C++. This is just 8 year old FUD that needs to die.
A database is almost never CPU bound. The very nature of databases causes them to be I/O bound -- I/O bandwidth (especially disk throughput) is almost always the limiting factor in database performance. Modern CPUs are so vastly over-powered for database work that even if it took twice as many cpu cycles to run the Java code as it would to run comperable C++ code, you'd still only be using a small fraction of the available CPU cycles. Excessive CPU consumption in a database is almost invaribly caused by user error -- poor schema design, missing indexes, poor SQL coding, etc.
How is going to bugmenot.com faster or easier than using a single unique name and password everywhere you need it? Bugmenot works great as a plug in, but using it manually is drasticly more cumbersome than the alternative.
But I at least have difficulties in remembering what userid/password I've registered with
So you pick a userid which is unusual enough that it's unlikely to be used by anyone else, and use it everywhere. BugMeNot is a good idea but doesn't help you when you're using a computer (like the one at work) that you can't install FireFox on.
As I said, I REALLY hope I'm wrong about this. But there are too many similarities between current events in the USA and historical events in Germany to not remain vigilient.
While Kerry is indeed a Bonesman, he's not part of the Straussian neo-conservitive faction.
Kerry and his cronies are not going to accomplish jackdoodle, even assuming they could figure out how to wield the power they would hold
Which is exactly why I'd prefer to see them in power rather than the Bushmen. Given a choice between efficient evil and incompetant evil, I'll chose incompetant evil. Hopefully, they'll be too busy dealing with infighting, backstabbing, and their own ineffectiveness to really give the public the royal assfucking they'd like to deliver. As Mark Twain once said, "I'm not a member of an organized political party, I'm a Democrat." That about sums it up.
I don't want to talk about this anymore tonite. Sorry.
I don't play voting games based on polls or likelihoods. I vote according to who I think could do the job, and my belief wrt to such, and I stick with it, until they prove otherwise. Political and Partisan games are for pussies who don't know what integrity is. (sorry, but that's the way I see it)
Under normal circumstances, I'd be totally in agrement with you. However, I have a deep-seated fear (premonition?) that given another four years with control of the Presidency, the House, and the Senate to cement their control, the Straussian neo-con movement (cabal?) will have effectively dismantled the Constitution. I know I'm invoking Godwin's Law here, but it's starting to look like Gleichschaltung 2, the sequel. Like it or not, the rise of the Nazi party is the textbook example of how to turn a Constitutional Republic into a dictatorship. While Shrub probably hasn't read that book (unless there's a comic book version of it), you can be sure that Chaney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Wolfowitz, and the rest of the top neo-cons have.
There are just too many parallels for comfort. 9/11 is turning out to have been less of a Pearl Harbor and more of a Reichstag Fire. The USA-PATRIOT act and other legislature passed in the wake of 9/11 directly parallels the Riechstag Fire Decree. While USA-PATRIOT is not quite as blatant, the similarities are frightening: dubious constitutionality, suspension of civil liberties & due process, and the consolidation of executive power in a single charismatic individual. The scapegoating of a minority religious group and the persecution/demonization of homosexuals also directly parallels Nazi political tactics. The way the neo-con leadership uses the Religious Right to shore up it's popular support is eerily reminescent of the way the Nazi heirarchy used the SA (Side note: Right wing Christians should look up what happened to the SA after Hitler no longer needed them). The manipulation of public opinion to start a war of aggression/conquest is another frightening similarity: Austria + Poland = Afghanistan + Iraq. The list goes on.
Anyway, the best way I can see to throw a monkey wrench into the neo-cons plans and keep them from grabbing more power is to put a Democrat in the White House. Of course, Kerry (like Bush and most of his cronies) is a member of Skull and Bones, so voting for him is probably pointless anyway . Come to think of it, Kerry might actually avoid the persecution Clinton endured, becuase he's an insider while Clinton was not.
Any government computers I have ever heard of require you to give consent to be monitored BEFORE you are authorized to use them
That's been my experience as well. Here's the login notice on the machines where I work (A US Gvt. agency):
Warning Notice!
This is a U.S. Government computer system, which may be accessed and used
only for authorized Government business by authorized personnel.
Unauthorized access or use of this computer system may subject violators to
criminal, civil, and/or administrative action.
All information on this computer system may be intercepted, recorded, read,
copied, and disclosed by and to authorized personnel for official purposes,
including criminal investigations. Such information includes sensitive data
encrypted to comply with confidentiality and privacy requirements. Access
or use of this computer system by any person, whether authorized or
unauthorized, constitutes consent to these terms. There is no right of
privacy in this system. [emphesis added]
We had a similar disclaimer on all our system when I worked in State government.
Ah, but - remember that Libertarian != libertarian != libertarian(singular):) Not all of us agree with the "party" - as if the Libertarian "party" were truly representative of all views libertarian; they are just the radical wing, so to speak.
I'm well aware of the distinction between the various flavors of libertarian. I consider myself to be, in the strictest sense, libertarian. (My personal definition of "libertarian" being "the philosophy wherein individual liberty is held to be paramount, and the political system wherein conduct which shall be prohibited by the state is that which infringes on the rights of others"
)
However, I'm somewhat reluctant to call myself libertarian, lest I be lumped together with the Ayn Rand / John Birch whackadoos. The Libertarian Party is so far out of touch with reality that they've tainted the word "libertarian" and made it useless for all practical purposes. My take on the Libertarian Party is that it has as much in common with real libertarianism as the Constitution Party has in common with real strict constructionism (IE, none at all). [Sorry, ChristTrekker; I've got to call them as I see them]
Shame about Powell, I used to have a lot of respect for him - nowadays he's mostly a parrot. Given a choice, I'll write-in Clark, and to hell with anyone who thinks that's taking away votes for either Bush or Kerry - I am NOT going to vote for either of them.
I may do a write-in for Clark too, depending on what the polls look like on election day. Considering that my home state (Maryland) is basically controlled by the Democratic machine, so it's likely that Kerry will win here by a wide margin. If it looks like a Kerry landslide is emminent, I'll vote for Clark. But, if it looks like it will be close, I'll have to vote for Kerry because I'll be damned before I let Bush take the state.
My impression is that Kerry, flaming dickhead that he is, won't ass-rape the Constitution quite as hard as Shrub will if he stays in power. A Kerry presidency's capacity for evil will be limited because he'll have to spend a lot of his time and effort fighting off continuous attacks and persecution from the Republicans. Assuming there actually is an election, and Kerry wins it, and is allowed to take office, I doubt that they'll even bother waiting for the inauguration before appointing the next special prosecutor. If you thought the Republicans went after Clinton with both barrels, just wait till you see the hell they unleash on Kerry.
No matter who wins the election in November (or whenever it actually happens), we all know who the losers are going to be: the American people and the Constitution. We're fucked either way, but at least Kerry uses lube whereas Shrub wears a sandpaper condom.
What a stupid statement. If Bush was anything like a king he wouldn't be able to be voted out right?
Call me cynical, but at this point I think the only reason we're having elections at all is that the polls are close enough that Bush's handlers think they can pull the same shenannigans they did in 2000 to ensure his victory. If the polls start show that he's got a serious chance of losing, I have a strong suspicion that there will be a convienient "terrorist" attack giving him an excuse to postpone the election indefinately.
I hope I'm wrong. I really do. But I wouldn't put it past the Skull & Bones junta to try for a repeat of 1933 if they thought they could pull it off. The situation, and the personalities involved, are far too similar for any degree of comfort. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
any American with half a brain will be voting for the person they think will be best for the country
OK, that accounts for about 5% of the electorate. Most will unthinkingly vote a straight party ticket. The gullible will vote for whoever their church or union endorses. And the shallow will vote for whoever they think is better-looking or who appeals to their pet prejudice.
I'd vote Libertarian if they wern't a pack of slavering nutjobs. I'm not in favor of theocracy, so the "Constitution" party is out. Socialism and big-nanny government aren't my cup of (organic herbal) tea either, so the Greens aren't getting my vote.
Forget picking the one who will be best for the country; I'll vote for the one who stands the best chance of keeping the one who's WORST for the country out of office. Personally I find Kerry only slightly less loathesome the The Shrub. But, since he's the only one running who has a chance of keeping King George out of office, I'm going to vote for him.
The only serious candidate this time around who didn't make my skin crawl was Gen. Wesley Clark. Of course he's too honest and has too much personal integrety to be allowed to be President. I used to think that Powell had integrety, before he sold out to the Skull & Bones junta. McCain still has a (very small) shred of integrety and concience left, and despite some occasional lapses is mostly a strict constructionist. Lieberman, while I don't agree with his politics, has more conviction and ethics than the rest of the Senate put together (which isn't really saying much). Any one of these guys would be a better president then either The Shrub or Kerry. Unfortunately, anyone with honesty, integrity, and a real concience is effectively unelectable as President.
So the same requirements as membership to the real Democratic party
Nah, the Democrats will take people with a lower net worth, and aren't as biased against people who earned their money/position as opposed to inheriting it. In any case, the Democrats aren't the ones who are really in control of things. Even when the Dems have a majority in Congress and/or have thier puppet in the White house, it's painfully obvious who's REALLY running the show.
Anybody who wants to is welcome to press their nose against my living room window to watch along with me. I'll probably freak out and have them arrested as potential burglers casing the joint, but I can't stop them.
You've been well trained by your authoritarian overlords. The police are your friends, and exist only to provide for your personal safety.
Personally, if I saw someone I don't know with their nose pressed against one of my windows, I'd likely press the barrel of my shotgun against the other side, about two inches up from the tip of their nose. THEN I'll call the police -- whether it is to arrest the asshole or to clean up the mess depends on whether or not he does anything threatining in the meantime. Besides, the statement "I am holding a prowler at gunpoint" gets a MUCH faster police response than "There's a prowler outside my window".
As a Republican, I'm afraid I missed the Right Wing Conspiracy meeting on this one
Silly peasant. Just being a registered supporter of the Republican party isn't going to get you invited to the V.R.W.C. meetings. Admission to the REAL Republican party requires at least one (and preferably more) of the following criteria:
A net worth well in excess of $100,000,000. Bonus points if got your money from Daddy instead of earning it yourself, and even more if your daddy got it from HIS daddy.
Your daddy (and, preferably, his daddy) held held a high political office. Elected office helps, but a high-level appointed position (cabinet-level, head of a major agency, or major embassadorship) is almost as good.
Be the CEO or on the Board of Directors of a billion-dollar corporation. Earning that position by personal merit and hard work is marginally acceptable, but not nearly as good as having gotten it through nepotism.
Daddy bought you a diploma from an Ivy League school. Any peasant with a brain can EARN one, so that's nothing special. Only the RIGHT kind of people have the money and political connections to actually BUY one. (Note that this generally requires requires a bribe^H^H^H^H^H donation at the name-a-building-after-granddad level)
Membership in the Skull and Bones fraternity. Of course, admission to this select group is generally granted based on having met most or all of the preceding criteria.
It's political satire - they are not making a parody of the song itself
I don't know what planet you are living on. Parody and satire are not mutually exclusive. You can have satire which is not parody (EG any Dennis Miller routine) and you can have parody which is not satirical (EG any Wierd Al song). Or, as in this case, you can have something which is BOTH an amusing parody of a song AND a satirization of political candidates.
Dynamic SQL should be avoided like the plague. Transact-SQL (in both Sybase and Microsoft flavors) encourages the use of variables for query parameters:
create table Foo ( Foo_Key char(5) not null, constraint PK_Foo primary key (Foo_Key) ) create table Bar ( Bar_Key char(5) not null, Foo_Key char(5) not null, A int not null, B int null, C int null, constraint PK_Bar primary key (Bar_Key), constraint FK_Foo_Bar foreign key (Foo_Key) references Foo (Foo_Key) ) create procedure Example ( @SearchValue char(5) = null ) as begin set nocount on declare @ErrMsg varchar(255)
if exists ( select 1 from Foo where Foo_Key = @SearchValue ) begin select Bar_Key, A, B, C from Bar where Foo_Key = @SearchValue end else begin -- error handler select @ErrMsg = '"' + @SearchValue + '" is not a valid key.' print @ErrMsg end return end
AArgh. Does anyone know how to keep slashdot from eating the formatting in a <ecode> tag?
Depending on stored procedures as a key element of security is obviously not desirable
I totally disagree. Stored procedures should be your primary access control measure, particuarly when you're designing a publicly accessable system.
Stored procedures act similarly to an suid program in Unix -- they run with their owner's permissions, not the caller's permission. The passwd command is a perfect example -- a normal user has no permissions to/etc/shadow, but by using the passwd command a user can manipulate the one part of/etc/shadow which pertains to him, and nothing else.
Typically for a web-based system I'll make a webuser account, which has no permissions whatsoever in the database other than permission to execute some stored procedures. The net effect is that even if an attacker is able to mount a SQL injection attack, he won't have permission to run arbitrary SQL statements against the database. Even if an attacker gains direct access to the database, he'll still be limited to exactly the same set of operations he could perform via the official interface.
Turbines are generally happiest when running at a constant speed. However, it's not necessary to vary the turbine's speed to duplicate the heart's action -- what you really need to vary is the net flow rate. A variable net flow rate can be achieved even with a constant-speed turbine with some valves and clever plumbing.
Sorry to get off on a Dennis Miller-ish rant here, but I don't want my phone to be a fucking PC, PDA, camera, MP3 player, and electronic ass warmer. I want it to make phone calls, period. Nice clear phonecalls where I don't have to repeat yourself 5 times to get the other person to understand what I said. Phonecalls that sound better than two tin cans and some string.
I carry both a PDA and a Cell Phone. While combining them might mean I have to carry less junk in my pockets, I'd rather have them as seperate devices. They are different devices and have mutually incompatible design constraints.
A phone should be as small and light as possible while still being ergonomically suited to it's intended use. It can get by with a minimalistic display -- enough for maybe two or three lines of text, tops. All of it's battery power should go to driving the signal -- it shouldn't have any parasitic crap which reduces it's talk and standby time.
A PDA on the other hand should be big enough to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and have a display big enough to show a paragraph of text in a non-eyestrain-causing font. It should give you a writing/drawing surface roughly equivilent to a post-it note. And it should have a battery life measured in weeks, not hours. A few extra bells and whistles (like games, MP3s, and email) might be nice as long as they don't detract from the primary purpose of keeping all the information I need organized and handy, and reminding me when I need to go to a meeting.
The problem with the combination devices is that if it's small enough to make a good phone, it's too small to make a good PDA; and if it's big enough to make a good PDA it's too clunky to make a practical phone.
It's worth re-iterating that NSA has two different, but interelated missions:
Break the other guys' codes
Keep the other guys from breaking our codes
Most people, particuarly those in the tin-foil-hat brigade, forget about the second part of NSA's mission. Making the official cypher algorithm as strong and as resistant to attack as possible is a big part of their mission.
While vigilantes are necessary in uncivilized lands, they are counter-productive in civil society.
In a half-joking way, that sounds like a point against "civil society". IMHO one of the biggest problems with modern society is that it demands of us that we rely on others for our personal safety and protection. Big nanny government is not much of an improvement over the Wild West, and in some ways it's arguably worse.
GWB is the head of the executive branch of government, making him personally responsible for all policies set by the executive branch. He did not publicly repudiate or express any disapproval of the plan to delay the elections proposed by the Dpt of Homeland Security (an executive branch agency headed by one of his cronies).
His failure to comment on the plan is a de-facto admission that he approved it. If he was not aware of a major policy decision that was made by his subordinates then he is guilty of the high crime of dereliction of duty.
A leader is ALWAYS responsible for the actions of his subordinates, because their authority derives from the power which he delegated to them. The first thing they teach you in ANY leadership course, civilian or military, is that you can delegate authority but you can never delegate responsibility.
Maryland had these kinds of ballots for as long as I've been voting. Now the braintrust in Annapolis has decided to switch us from a proven, reliable, and auditable system to the piece-of-shit, demonstrably insecure Diebold touch screens.
I'm seriously considering filing for an absentee ballot, but I'm sure they'll find some way not to count it if it doesn't have the answers they want. Of course the voting technology used is irrelvant if King George decides to go ahead and postpone the elections for "security reasons" like he's already proposed doing.
Slashdot Mirror
How is going to bugmenot.com faster or easier than using a single unique name and password everywhere you need it? Bugmenot works great as a plug in, but using it manually is drasticly more cumbersome than the alternative.
As I said, I REALLY hope I'm wrong about this. But there are too many similarities between current events in the USA and historical events in Germany to not remain vigilient.
While Kerry is indeed a Bonesman, he's not part of the Straussian neo-conservitive faction.
Does it really matter if the NYT "knows" that I'm a black woman born in 1938 and live at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue?
There are just too many parallels for comfort. 9/11 is turning out to have been less of a Pearl Harbor and more of a Reichstag Fire. The USA-PATRIOT act and other legislature passed in the wake of 9/11 directly parallels the Riechstag Fire Decree. While USA-PATRIOT is not quite as blatant, the similarities are frightening: dubious constitutionality, suspension of civil liberties & due process, and the consolidation of executive power in a single charismatic individual. The scapegoating of a minority religious group and the persecution/demonization of homosexuals also directly parallels Nazi political tactics. The way the neo-con leadership uses the Religious Right to shore up it's popular support is eerily reminescent of the way the Nazi heirarchy used the SA (Side note: Right wing Christians should look up what happened to the SA after Hitler no longer needed them). The manipulation of public opinion to start a war of aggression/conquest is another frightening similarity: Austria + Poland = Afghanistan + Iraq. The list goes on.
Anyway, the best way I can see to throw a monkey wrench into the neo-cons plans and keep them from grabbing more power is to put a Democrat in the White House. Of course, Kerry (like Bush and most of his cronies) is a member of Skull and Bones, so voting for him is probably pointless anyway . Come to think of it, Kerry might actually avoid the persecution Clinton endured, becuase he's an insider while Clinton was not.
However, I'm somewhat reluctant to call myself libertarian, lest I be lumped together with the Ayn Rand / John Birch whackadoos. The Libertarian Party is so far out of touch with reality that they've tainted the word "libertarian" and made it useless for all practical purposes. My take on the Libertarian Party is that it has as much in common with real libertarianism as the Constitution Party has in common with real strict constructionism (IE, none at all). [Sorry, ChristTrekker; I've got to call them as I see them]
I may do a write-in for Clark too, depending on what the polls look like on election day. Considering that my home state (Maryland) is basically controlled by the Democratic machine, so it's likely that Kerry will win here by a wide margin. If it looks like a Kerry landslide is emminent, I'll vote for Clark. But, if it looks like it will be close, I'll have to vote for Kerry because I'll be damned before I let Bush take the state.My impression is that Kerry, flaming dickhead that he is, won't ass-rape the Constitution quite as hard as Shrub will if he stays in power. A Kerry presidency's capacity for evil will be limited because he'll have to spend a lot of his time and effort fighting off continuous attacks and persecution from the Republicans. Assuming there actually is an election, and Kerry wins it, and is allowed to take office, I doubt that they'll even bother waiting for the inauguration before appointing the next special prosecutor. If you thought the Republicans went after Clinton with both barrels, just wait till you see the hell they unleash on Kerry.
No matter who wins the election in November (or whenever it actually happens), we all know who the losers are going to be: the American people and the Constitution. We're fucked either way, but at least Kerry uses lube whereas Shrub wears a sandpaper condom.
I hope I'm wrong. I really do. But I wouldn't put it past the Skull & Bones junta to try for a repeat of 1933 if they thought they could pull it off. The situation, and the personalities involved, are far too similar for any degree of comfort. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
I'd vote Libertarian if they wern't a pack of slavering nutjobs. I'm not in favor of theocracy, so the "Constitution" party is out. Socialism and big-nanny government aren't my cup of (organic herbal) tea either, so the Greens aren't getting my vote.
Forget picking the one who will be best for the country; I'll vote for the one who stands the best chance of keeping the one who's WORST for the country out of office. Personally I find Kerry only slightly less loathesome the The Shrub. But, since he's the only one running who has a chance of keeping King George out of office, I'm going to vote for him.
The only serious candidate this time around who didn't make my skin crawl was Gen. Wesley Clark. Of course he's too honest and has too much personal integrety to be allowed to be President. I used to think that Powell had integrety, before he sold out to the Skull & Bones junta. McCain still has a (very small) shred of integrety and concience left, and despite some occasional lapses is mostly a strict constructionist. Lieberman, while I don't agree with his politics, has more conviction and ethics than the rest of the Senate put together (which isn't really saying much). Any one of these guys would be a better president then either The Shrub or Kerry. Unfortunately, anyone with honesty, integrity, and a real concience is effectively unelectable as President.
Personally, if I saw someone I don't know with their nose pressed against one of my windows, I'd likely press the barrel of my shotgun against the other side, about two inches up from the tip of their nose. THEN I'll call the police -- whether it is to arrest the asshole or to clean up the mess depends on whether or not he does anything threatining in the meantime. Besides, the statement "I am holding a prowler at gunpoint" gets a MUCH faster police response than "There's a prowler outside my window".
Stored procedures act similarly to an suid program in Unix -- they run with their owner's permissions, not the caller's permission. The passwd command is a perfect example -- a normal user has no permissions to /etc/shadow, but by using the passwd command a user can manipulate the one part of /etc/shadow which pertains to him, and nothing else.
Typically for a web-based system I'll make a webuser account, which has no permissions whatsoever in the database other than permission to execute some stored procedures. The net effect is that even if an attacker is able to mount a SQL injection attack, he won't have permission to run arbitrary SQL statements against the database. Even if an attacker gains direct access to the database, he'll still be limited to exactly the same set of operations he could perform via the official interface.
Turbines are generally happiest when running at a constant speed. However, it's not necessary to vary the turbine's speed to duplicate the heart's action -- what you really need to vary is the net flow rate. A variable net flow rate can be achieved even with a constant-speed turbine with some valves and clever plumbing.
I carry both a PDA and a Cell Phone. While combining them might mean I have to carry less junk in my pockets, I'd rather have them as seperate devices. They are different devices and have mutually incompatible design constraints.
A phone should be as small and light as possible while still being ergonomically suited to it's intended use. It can get by with a minimalistic display -- enough for maybe two or three lines of text, tops. All of it's battery power should go to driving the signal -- it shouldn't have any parasitic crap which reduces it's talk and standby time.
A PDA on the other hand should be big enough to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and have a display big enough to show a paragraph of text in a non-eyestrain-causing font. It should give you a writing/drawing surface roughly equivilent to a post-it note. And it should have a battery life measured in weeks, not hours. A few extra bells and whistles (like games, MP3s, and email) might be nice as long as they don't detract from the primary purpose of keeping all the information I need organized and handy, and reminding me when I need to go to a meeting.
The problem with the combination devices is that if it's small enough to make a good phone, it's too small to make a good PDA; and if it's big enough to make a good PDA it's too clunky to make a practical phone.
- Break the other guys' codes
- Keep the other guys from breaking our codes
Most people, particuarly those in the tin-foil-hat brigade, forget about the second part of NSA's mission. Making the official cypher algorithm as strong and as resistant to attack as possible is a big part of their mission.Most of Ventner's work is done under the auspices of the National Institute of Health, and is therefore in the public domain. I should know, I maintain several genomic databases at the NIH.
His failure to comment on the plan is a de-facto admission that he approved it. If he was not aware of a major policy decision that was made by his subordinates then he is guilty of the high crime of dereliction of duty.
A leader is ALWAYS responsible for the actions of his subordinates, because their authority derives from the power which he delegated to them. The first thing they teach you in ANY leadership course, civilian or military, is that you can delegate authority but you can never delegate responsibility.
I'm seriously considering filing for an absentee ballot, but I'm sure they'll find some way not to count it if it doesn't have the answers they want. Of course the voting technology used is irrelvant if King George decides to go ahead and postpone the elections for "security reasons" like he's already proposed doing.