A New Orleans lawyer sought a FHA loan for a client. He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated back to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down.
After sending the information to the FHA, he received the following reply:
Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's loan application, we note that the request is supported by an Abstract of Title. While we compliment the able manner in which you have prepared and presented the application, we must point out that you have only cleared title to the proposed collateral back to 1803. Before final approval can be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to its origin.
Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows:
Your letter regarding title in Case No. 189156 has been received. I note that you wish to have title extended further than the 194 years covered by the present application. I was unaware that any educated person in this country, particularly those working in the property area, would not know that Louisiana was purchased by the U.S. from France in 1803, the year of origin identified in our application. For the edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France, which had acquired it by Right of Conquest from Spain. The land came into possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the privilege of seeking a new route to India by the then reigning monarch, Isabelle. The good queen, being a pious woman and careful about titles, almost as much as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to fund Columbus' expedition. Now the Pope, as I'm sure you know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And God, it is commonly accepted, created this world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that He also made that part of the world called Louisiana. He, therefore, would be the owner of origin. I hope you find His original claim to be satisfactory. Now, may we have our loan?
Sorry, but I couldn't let this one go without a reply.
I use a Mac G4 running OS X 10.1.5 on our Windows 2000 network. As a sysadmin, I use XDarwin to connect to our VMS box and administer our DP software. I use VNC to control our optical system server and our Windows 2000 file server. In addition, I use this machine for Web development (we're a small place, I wear a lot of hats). In this capacity, I use ssh in Terminal to work on our Linux Web servers.
I don't use OS X because I can't do CLI; I've been using CLI for years, on Solaris, Linux, AIX, and now BSD (OS X). I held out for a Mac for my job because I don't have the time for my personal machine to crap out because I installed an RPM that broke something or tried to compile source code that bombed because of some arcane dependency. My machine is too important for me to spend all my time making it work. I have too many other machines to worry about.
Besides, since XServer ships with Samba, you actually save time and money using an XServer vis-a-vis a Windows box. I spent hours trying to get Samba working on Red Hat 6.2. It took minutes to set up this machine to work on our Windows 2000 network.
When you buy Apple, you're not just buying good hardware; you're also buying the Apple philosophy: "People want to use their computers productively. Let's make it work so they don't have to." With Macintosh, the machine disappears so you can concentrate on the task at hand. I can't explain it to you; you have to experience it. With a Mac, things work, the way you expect, the first time. And they don't mysteriously break later, leaving you scratching your head. By using Macintosh for my job, I have more time to do my job. The hardware and UI are tools that make me more productive. For the "huge price tag," You get reliability, simplicity, and stability - exactly what any real sysadmin wants in a server.
During the Depression, hoboes used signs to signal where they could get a meal. Nowadays, geeks use signs to signal where we can get a decent 'Net connection. We're hungry, but we're informed.
I have to agree. While Graffiti is nice, I remember the Newton 2000 (2100? can't remember now) I carried about 4 years ago as part of an R&D project on the campus where I worked then. The thing read my cursive writing - and that's a major feat. Even though I'm good at Graffiti, I still have to focus too much on what my Visor thinks I've written to concentrate on what I need to write next. This inconsistency keeps me from using my Visor to take notes in class.
I'm wondering now what Apple plans to do with the Ink technology they're planning on building into OS X 10.2. While handwriting technology may be cool for a desktop computer, it would be a major coup for a handheld.
As for battery life, I generally replace my batteries every six weeks or so. I really don't consider this too frequent.
Kids may be using technology to do these things, but I still wonder about the push to implement IT at the school level.
My daughter was fascinated by my Handspring Visor at 5 years old, but I told her I wouldn't teach her Graffiti until she mastered writing English. She writes very well for a student entering first grade, but I don't think her writing skills are good enough yet for Graffiti. I know she could learn it, but I don't want her writing her assignments in Graffiti by mistake.
Her kindergarten room had an old Windows box in it for the students to use. The students were required to use it for around 30 minutes or so each week. We once noticed on my daughter's weekly contract the teacher noted she was having difficulty using the machine. My wife was concerned, but I said, "Hey, why worry? She's reading on a 3rd grade level in kindergarten. If she can read, she can learn anything."
Besides, she knows how to log in and work on my OS X-running Mac.:-).
Fascinating. Slashdot interviews Moshe Bar - computer geek extraordinaire - about Linux kernel maintenance, openMosix, programming, oh, and theology. Theology consumes the discussions that follow. If you don't believe me, set your prefs to browse this discussion at level 2 (as I do) and compare the # of posts about Linux to the # about the existence of a supreme being.
Then consider the quality of the posts on both sides of the issue. I've seen few of these issues discussed at such length in the seminary I attend. Maybe I should direct some of my professors here for reference.
And people think geeks don't care about God. I know of no other group who could carry this conversation at this intensity.
On top of all of this, I believe that startups should only be allowed access to an existing companies equipment for a specified period of time. I believe this will provide incentive to build their own infrastructure.
I'm not so certain about everyone building their own infrastructure - seems like a waste of resources. What would have happened if every auto maker had to build their own highways?
I don't claim to know how the details would work, but it seems the information infrastructure should be public domain. Perhaps the feds should reimburse companies for existing infrastructure and contract with private entities to provide maintenance, upgrades, and expansions. That way, startups wouldn't have to undergo the horrendous process of petitioning monopolies and/or the courts for access rights.
Come on,/.'ers, we all know this isn't new around here. After all, didn't Trinity learn to fly a helicopter by having a program downloaded into her brain?
I know a few users I'd like to educate that way. Just think of the productivity gained by eliminating the learning curve.
I'm not certain these techniques address the major problem most of us face: assuring unique identities on the systems with which we interact.
Most/.'ers can probably empathize with me. I have a (password-protected, of course) password app on my Handspring Visor. I have nearly 30 passwords and user ID's in this app, including my/. ID and password and NYT ID and password. This does not include the systems with which I interact on a daily basis. Add those ID's and passwords, and I probably have nearly 40 identities to remember.
Granted, the normal user doesn't have our problem. However, the normal user also has little inclination to merely accept this predicament. While I think nothing of whipping out my Visor for a password, most people lack the sense of urgency we feel to insure system security. Nor do they have the patience to commit 30+ identities and passwords to memory.
Maybe we've run into the "Aunt Minnie" problem. Aunt Minnie knows who she is, she wants to be her everywhere, and she has no desire to create a unique identity on every system she sees. So we shouldn't be surprised to see Aunt Minnie use her AOL ID and password for Web sites and such.
I really don't recommend Linux on the new Power Macs (B&W G3's and newer). The times I've tried to install LinuxPPC and YDL on these Macs, I nearly hosed the machine when I had to mess with the firmware.
I'm running OS X 10.1 on my beige G3, and I haven't had any trouble with it. Sure, I had to buy more RAM, but hey, I paid only $25 for a 256MB DIMM.
There's only one drawback to using OS X on the beige G3's: no serial support. Fortunately, I needed another printer anyway.
I don't buy the idea that the reason for military forces will evaporate with the rise of cyberspace entities. These guys are forgetting that war is still considered a viable, legitimate extension of foreign policy. If you doubt it, ask the Serbs.
The authors may think that nation-states will abstain from violence when threatened by whatever is seeking to replace them. I sincerely doubt that existing nation-states will roll over and die in the face of virtual territories.
As Heinlein pointed out in Starship Troopers, anyone who thinks violence solves nothing should ask the citizens of Carthage.
After all, if I'm the leadership of a sovereign nation and I can't outwit you, I can always pass laws to restrict you (examples, anyone?). Last resort, if you're located in another nation and threaten me badly enough, we use the military option. Harden those server rooms, boys.
Ars Technica has covered Mac OS X extensively since some of the first developer releases. Many of your questions have been answered there. You can start here with a Q&A on OS X. JA
Does anyone know where to find Lego universal joints? They used to produce them in the '80's (showing my age here:-) ), and they allowed you to build really cool stuff, e.g. cars with real transmissions and drive trains.
Unfortunately, I had only seven or eight u-joints, and they've all broken. I have a daughter that loves Lego blocks, and I'd love to recreate some of my "contraptions" for her. But I have no u-joints, and I can't find them anywhere.
I can't find them on Lego's site. Any help would be appreciated.
I found this quote on Jerry Pournelle's site (www.jerrypournelle.com): In 1979 I said "By the year 2000, anyone in Western Civilization will be able to get the answer to any question that has an answer."
Regardless of the views expressed in the interview, knowledge wants to be accessible to anyone, not just people in Washington, D.C. Just yesterday, I needed help with Javascript. Altavista quickly found several comprehensive references - entire books online.
I think the Library of Congress will soon realize the revolution has passed them by. Given the pace of technology, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way" has taken on more significance than ever.
We may like to think this ruling comes "too little, too late," that the computing world has already outgrown M'soft. Perhaps we have. However, many of us tend to forget that a world exists outside the academic and geek realms: the world of business. In that world, Microsoft still matters.
Go into almost any business nowadays and poll people on their OS's and applications. You'll find Microsoft still controls much of the business world. Macintosh and Linux are far behind. In fact, few businessmen even know about Linux.
I may be returning to the financial industry in a few months; I find out today. I'll be entering a pure Microsoft shop. My first order of business will be turning my personal machine into a dual-boot Linux-WinNT setup. I can do that because I know the alternative exists, and I have the expertise to make the alternative work. I've already told the DP manager I plan to implement a firewall and mail server using Linux. He has no Linux experience. All his PC experience concerns Microsoft OS's and applications. In this industry, he's not alone. Even worse, the DP vendors themselves have adopted wholesale Microsoft back-office and front-office applications - running on Microsoft OS's, of course.
Multiply this company by the multitudes of companies in other industries, and you'll see we're a long way from breaking the shackles of Redmond. And let's not even consider Aunt Minnie at home.
We have a long way to go before Microsoft truly doesn't matter. Hopefully, we'll arrive before this mess finally finishes at the Supreme Court. Then, we'll relish the triumph of knowing the marketplace settled the issue - helped along by the Slashdotters, of course.:-)
Actually, Facism was only a blip in German history - no more than 15 years at the most in a history lasting thousands of years. As for "failing" to defeat France, the Germans kicked French butts all over Europe for the better part of a century. The Germans didn't want France in the 19th century, and only American/British intervention kept Germany from annexing France completely in the 20th century. The French haven't won a war since Napoleon. In fact, the U.S. had to bail France out of every war they've faught in the 20th century - WWI, WWII, and Vietnam.
Slashdot Mirror
This story reminded me of a joke:
A New Orleans lawyer sought a FHA loan for a client. He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated back to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down.
After sending the information to the FHA, he received the following reply:
Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's loan application, we note that the request is supported by an Abstract of Title. While we compliment the able manner in which you have prepared and presented the application, we must point out that you have only cleared title to the proposed collateral back to 1803. Before final approval can be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to its origin.
Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows:
Your letter regarding title in Case No. 189156 has been received. I note that you wish to have title extended further than the 194 years covered by the present application. I was unaware that any educated person in this country, particularly those working in the property area, would not know that Louisiana was purchased by the U.S. from France in 1803, the year of origin identified in our application. For the edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France, which had acquired it by Right of Conquest from Spain. The land came into possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the privilege of seeking a new route to India by the then reigning monarch, Isabelle. The good queen, being a pious woman and careful about titles, almost as much as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to fund Columbus' expedition. Now the Pope, as I'm sure you know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And God, it is commonly accepted, created this world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that He also made that part of the world called Louisiana. He, therefore, would be the owner of origin. I hope you find His original claim to be satisfactory. Now, may we have our loan?
They got it.
Sorry, but I couldn't let this one go without a reply.
I use a Mac G4 running OS X 10.1.5 on our Windows 2000 network. As a sysadmin, I use XDarwin to connect to our VMS box and administer our DP software. I use VNC to control our optical system server and our Windows 2000 file server. In addition, I use this machine for Web development (we're a small place, I wear a lot of hats). In this capacity, I use ssh in Terminal to work on our Linux Web servers.
I don't use OS X because I can't do CLI; I've been using CLI for years, on Solaris, Linux, AIX, and now BSD (OS X). I held out for a Mac for my job because I don't have the time for my personal machine to crap out because I installed an RPM that broke something or tried to compile source code that bombed because of some arcane dependency. My machine is too important for me to spend all my time making it work. I have too many other machines to worry about.
Besides, since XServer ships with Samba, you actually save time and money using an XServer vis-a-vis a Windows box. I spent hours trying to get Samba working on Red Hat 6.2. It took minutes to set up this machine to work on our Windows 2000 network.
When you buy Apple, you're not just buying good hardware; you're also buying the Apple philosophy: "People want to use their computers productively. Let's make it work so they don't have to." With Macintosh, the machine disappears so you can concentrate on the task at hand. I can't explain it to you; you have to experience it. With a Mac, things work, the way you expect, the first time. And they don't mysteriously break later, leaving you scratching your head. By using Macintosh for my job, I have more time to do my job. The hardware and UI are tools that make me more productive. For the "huge price tag," You get reliability, simplicity, and stability - exactly what any real sysadmin wants in a server.
Did anyone else refresh the page just to watch the counter record the /. effect?
During the Depression, hoboes used signs to signal where they could get a meal. Nowadays, geeks use signs to signal where we can get a decent 'Net connection. We're hungry, but we're informed.
/. fix.
Who cares about eating as long as I get my
I have to agree. While Graffiti is nice, I remember the Newton 2000 (2100? can't remember now) I carried about 4 years ago as part of an R&D project on the campus where I worked then. The thing read my cursive writing - and that's a major feat. Even though I'm good at Graffiti, I still have to focus too much on what my Visor thinks I've written to concentrate on what I need to write next. This inconsistency keeps me from using my Visor to take notes in class.
I'm wondering now what Apple plans to do with the Ink technology they're planning on building into OS X 10.2. While handwriting technology may be cool for a desktop computer, it would be a major coup for a handheld.
As for battery life, I generally replace my batteries every six weeks or so. I really don't consider this too frequent.
Kids may be using technology to do these things, but I still wonder about the push to implement IT at the school level.
My daughter was fascinated by my Handspring Visor at 5 years old, but I told her I wouldn't teach her Graffiti until she mastered writing English. She writes very well for a student entering first grade, but I don't think her writing skills are good enough yet for Graffiti. I know she could learn it, but I don't want her writing her assignments in Graffiti by mistake.
Her kindergarten room had an old Windows box in it for the students to use. The students were required to use it for around 30 minutes or so each week. We once noticed on my daughter's weekly contract the teacher noted she was having difficulty using the machine. My wife was concerned, but I said, "Hey, why worry? She's reading on a 3rd grade level in kindergarten. If she can read, she can learn anything."
Besides, she knows how to log in and work on my OS X-running Mac.
Fascinating. Slashdot interviews Moshe Bar - computer geek extraordinaire - about Linux kernel maintenance, openMosix, programming, oh, and theology. Theology consumes the discussions that follow. If you don't believe me, set your prefs to browse this discussion at level 2 (as I do) and compare the # of posts about Linux to the # about the existence of a supreme being.
Then consider the quality of the posts on both sides of the issue. I've seen few of these issues discussed at such length in the seminary I attend. Maybe I should direct some of my professors here for reference.
And people think geeks don't care about God. I know of no other group who could carry this conversation at this intensity.
I'm not so certain about everyone building their own infrastructure - seems like a waste of resources. What would have happened if every auto maker had to build their own highways?
I don't claim to know how the details would work, but it seems the information infrastructure should be public domain. Perhaps the feds should reimburse companies for existing infrastructure and contract with private entities to provide maintenance, upgrades, and expansions. That way, startups wouldn't have to undergo the horrendous process of petitioning monopolies and/or the courts for access rights.
My $0.02 US worth.
And a crash course on using them.
Come on, /.'ers, we all know this isn't new around here. After all, didn't Trinity learn to fly a helicopter by having a program downloaded into her brain?
I know a few users I'd like to educate that way. Just think of the productivity gained by eliminating the learning curve.
Oh, wait, then anyone could learn to do my job...
I'm not certain these techniques address the major problem most of us face: assuring unique identities on the systems with which we interact.
/.'ers can probably empathize with me. I have a (password-protected, of course) password app on my Handspring Visor. I have nearly 30 passwords and user ID's in this app, including my /. ID and password and NYT ID and password. This does not include the systems with which I interact on a daily basis. Add those ID's and passwords, and I probably have nearly 40 identities to remember.
Most
Granted, the normal user doesn't have our problem. However, the normal user also has little inclination to merely accept this predicament. While I think nothing of whipping out my Visor for a password, most people lack the sense of urgency we feel to insure system security. Nor do they have the patience to commit 30+ identities and passwords to memory.
Maybe we've run into the "Aunt Minnie" problem. Aunt Minnie knows who she is, she wants to be her everywhere, and she has no desire to create a unique identity on every system she sees. So we shouldn't be surprised to see Aunt Minnie use her AOL ID and password for Web sites and such.
Based on this article on MacSlash, XFree86 4.0 has already been ported to OS X. That's how MacGIMP runs on OS X.
:-)
I don't know if you could run Gnome in it or not. That would be a sight to see: Gnome on top of Aqua.
Read the article for some interesting info on X and OS X.
I really don't recommend Linux on the new Power Macs (B&W G3's and newer). The times I've tried to install LinuxPPC and YDL on these Macs, I nearly hosed the machine when I had to mess with the firmware.
I'm running OS X 10.1 on my beige G3, and I haven't had any trouble with it. Sure, I had to buy more RAM, but hey, I paid only $25 for a 256MB DIMM.
There's only one drawback to using OS X on the beige G3's: no serial support. Fortunately, I needed another printer anyway.
The authors may think that nation-states will abstain from violence when threatened by whatever is seeking to replace them. I sincerely doubt that existing nation-states will roll over and die in the face of virtual territories.
As Heinlein pointed out in Starship Troopers, anyone who thinks violence solves nothing should ask the citizens of Carthage.
After all, if I'm the leadership of a sovereign nation and I can't outwit you, I can always pass laws to restrict you (examples, anyone?). Last resort, if you're located in another nation and threaten me badly enough, we use the military option. Harden those server rooms, boys.
JA
Ars Technica has covered Mac OS X extensively since some of the first developer releases. Many of your questions have been answered there. You can start here with a Q&A on OS X.
JA
Unfortunately, I had only seven or eight u-joints, and they've all broken. I have a daughter that loves Lego blocks, and I'd love to recreate some of my "contraptions" for her. But I have no u-joints, and I can't find them anywhere.
I can't find them on Lego's site. Any help would be appreciated.
I found this quote on Jerry Pournelle's site (www.jerrypournelle.com): In 1979 I said "By the year 2000, anyone in Western Civilization will be able to get the answer to any question that has an answer."
Regardless of the views expressed in the interview, knowledge wants to be accessible to anyone, not just people in Washington, D.C. Just yesterday, I needed help with Javascript. Altavista quickly found several comprehensive references - entire books online.
I think the Library of Congress will soon realize the revolution has passed them by. Given the pace of technology, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way" has taken on more significance than ever.
Go into almost any business nowadays and poll people on their OS's and applications. You'll find Microsoft still controls much of the business world. Macintosh and Linux are far behind. In fact, few businessmen even know about Linux.
I may be returning to the financial industry in a few months; I find out today. I'll be entering a pure Microsoft shop. My first order of business will be turning my personal machine into a dual-boot Linux-WinNT setup. I can do that because I know the alternative exists, and I have the expertise to make the alternative work. I've already told the DP manager I plan to implement a firewall and mail server using Linux. He has no Linux experience. All his PC experience concerns Microsoft OS's and applications. In this industry, he's not alone. Even worse, the DP vendors themselves have adopted wholesale Microsoft back-office and front-office applications - running on Microsoft OS's, of course.
Multiply this company by the multitudes of companies in other industries, and you'll see we're a long way from breaking the shackles of Redmond. And let's not even consider Aunt Minnie at home.
We have a long way to go before Microsoft truly doesn't matter. Hopefully, we'll arrive before this mess finally finishes at the Supreme Court. Then, we'll relish the triumph of knowing the marketplace settled the issue - helped along by the Slashdotters, of course. :-)
Actually, Facism was only a blip in German history - no more than 15 years at the most in a history lasting thousands of years. As for "failing" to defeat France, the Germans kicked French butts all over Europe for the better part of a century. The Germans didn't want France in the 19th century, and only American/British intervention kept Germany from annexing France completely in the 20th century. The French haven't won a war since Napoleon. In fact, the U.S. had to bail France out of every war they've faught in the 20th century - WWI, WWII, and Vietnam.