Police and fire are there for the safety of others. If my house burns down in an uncontrolled fashion, neighboring houses may also burn down. The police are there in an attempt to keep property in the hands of what the law defines as the owner.
So.. to carry your analogy further.. we only need the government to provide health coverage when one persons health endangers the health of others. And nothing more than that. So I guess they only need to provide flu shots and that's it.
Of course, the federal government has NO business in local fire and police enforcement, but that's a different matter altogether. The federal government only provides 'police' when matters cross state lines. And absolutely no fire protection other than national parks and such. Again, more proof the government has no right to meddle in providing health care for all.
Some believe that it's an individual's responsibility to budget and take care of themselves, and not the government. And not from my paycheck. I've managed to find jobs that had insurance for 30 years, and turned down jobs that didn't. My choice. I resent that I might be taxed more to pay for medical procedures for some of my friends that could afford health insurance, but have simply chosen not to so they can have nicer cars or homes. Granted, not everyone is in that position, but I sure know a lot of people that are.
Of course, Canadian premier Danny Williams believed that when he came to the US for a procedure that wasn't available in Newfoundland, but was in Ontario. I guess if you are rich in Canada, you also get freedom of choice.
Single payer system is just a way to tax those that work harder to pay for medical care for those that don't work as hard. Everyone has access to medical care in the USA.. it's just that some can't afford it. Just like everyone has the right to free speech, but not everyone can afford a front page ad in the New York Times to exercise it.
No thank you.... I haven't seen any single payer system that provides better care that I receive now. I prefer a free market approach. Just a few months ago my 26 year old son, who doesn't have health insurance because he free-lances, called a hospital to see how much it would cost to x-ray his ankle so he could make sure he could afford it. Because that's what responsible people do. They refused to give him an estimate. So he said thanks, and said he would look elsewhere.
Imagine my surprise when he told me the hospital called him back the next day and found a way to limit his financial exposure to a certain amount. My brother-in-law had a similar experience when a hospital not in his insurance 'network' refused to give him an estimate for a cardiac procedure so he could make sure he could afford it.
Seems that free enterprise also works when people have choices and use them instead of whining about being a victim.
Just because someone has an opinion that situation X would be better than situation Y doesn't make it fact.. it's an opinion. If the majority are willing to live with a situation, then it's the minority that are the problem, not the majority.
And.. to be honest.. I don't care about people's paranoid belief that giving their fingerprint to be used for identification for clocking in and out is a big deal. We give out our home address, contact information, social security number, and even our picture. And let's not forget any job that requires a security clearance. But not a fingerprint??
Some people just need to realize that there are plenty of other people who will be more than happy to give out their fingerprint and go find another job. Sorry that someday all jobs will require it. I'll be employed and still won't care.
And what the fuck do you know about my ability to remember things. I'm 50 now, and have had problems like this my entire life and tried all sorts of things to fix it. To add that up to 'self control' is nothing more than your ego saying that that you know best, which shows up in the rest of your post. My issue was more a result of ADD than it is 'simple forgetfulness'. I can remember my badge, and five minutes later walk out the door without it because I was thirsty and went to get a drink. Most of the time I'll remember. But some days I walk out the door without my cell phone, some days without my wallet, some days without my keys. At least I can't get in my car without my keys and have to go back in to get them before I get too far.
Are you also saying that my working for less money than you would takes away your right to make a lot of money? Grow up...if someone will do a job in a way you won't but that the employer wants, it's your fault and only your fault.
And remember... just because you are paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you....
I agree.. if you don't like it.. don't do it. No one is forcing you to. Others may not have the same concerns and would be more than happy to do that job, so I'm sure it won't bother them too much.
I used to work at a job that required using an id card to clock in and out. If you left it at home it was a huge hassle to get a temporary id card. Forget it too many times and they started to take disciplinary action. I'd rather use my fingerprint to 'clock in' than try and remember to bring my id card every day when the only function of that card was to clock in and out.
Dropped a pager into boiling water once... pager buzzed, I took it out to look at it, and it slipped out of my hand into a pot of hot water on the stove. While some people can quickly get a pager/phone out of a pool or toilet, I don't think very many would plunge their hand into a pot of boiling water. So it sat there for a while as I tried to use a spoon and then finally got some tongs.
I dumped the water out and started another pot after I realized that essence of pager is probably not a highly sought after flavor for mashed potatoes.
This is insurance... not a warranty. Insurance covers 'accidental damage'. Which many people translate to intentional damage that is made to look like an accident.
I guess it defines what you mean by 'cheating'. A few months ago I asked my how much I'd take for a car I owned that wouldn't run. I told him $500 because the body was in good condition. He offered me $200 and I accepted it. What he didn't know is that I would have given it to him for free if he would have just gotten it out of my garage. Is that 'cheating'. I'm sure if he knew what I would have taken for it, he would have felt cheated. But he probably feels he got a deal, he got it running and it's probably now worth more than what he paid for and put into it. Did he cheat me???
Copying someone's code is cheating because the school says it is. Is it cheating when you take advantage of someone who doesn't know all the facts, or if you don't provide them?? That's what successful people do, take advantage of someone's lack of knowledge about a business transaction.
Cheating involves deception.. was I lying when I said '$500' when asked how much I'd take for the car. No.. I would have taken $500 for the car. But I didn't tell him I would take less. Is leaving that part out lying by omission?? Does that make it cheating???
In any business transaction, I'm sure a large portion of the people feel cheated afterward....that doesn't mean they were. I sometimes have felt cheated after taking a job offer... could I have gotten more??? No one will tell you the highest salary they are willing to pay, just the one they think they can hire you for. We all would probably accept a higher salary than we think we are worth if we could get away with it. Would that be cheating also???
It's so much easier to believe successful people must cheat then to accept the truth that there are people out there that are actually smarter, more motivated, and more clever. I've known a few people who are multi-millionaire's... and they are all far more talented in those categories than I am.
My ego is small enough that I can accept that I'll never be able to match their talents, nor do I want to work that hard to be that successful.
Garmin now offers a lifetime update option for $119.99... 'lifetime' being defined as "until your product's useful life expires or Garmin no longer receives map data from its third party supplier". So $600 for unit that has voice recognition, bluetooth, and a large backlit screen, then $119.99 for maps. Seems like a good deal to me. I had my old Garmin for 6 years until it fell off my motorcycle and it wasn't past it's "useful" life yet. I'll pay $720 instead of $600 for 6 years of use if the device provides me $120 more additional functionality.
Advanced??? Changed maybe. 30 years ago I taught myself BASIC from reference manuals in a few hours, enough to write a quadratic equation graphing program for my calculus class for extra credit. My second program was a password cracker so I could get higher priority on the university computer. I've modified code in languages that I had no experience in without any manual just by looking at syntax. So someone taking a few days to learn a programming language and modifying a planet simulator isn't all that impressive for a language... they just found someone that learns quickly. I'm impressed in the person that picked it up, not the language. It mostly comes down to understanding if/then/else logic, loop constructs, and how to call methods after you learn syntax. Learning these constructs isn't too difficult, applying them takes a little more.
So now.. instead of spending a few days learning syntax, and a few months mastering a language, we now take a few days to learn syntax, and YEARS to learn all the calls and libraries that go along with it. My first attempt at C++ resulted in my giving up, not because I didn't understand the language but because I was trying to write GUI programs and didn't have the right book to explain which libraries to use and why.
Programming tools have definitely advanced. The days of punched cards and line editors like EDLIN are far gone for most programming needs. It's nice that modern languages don't let you overflow arrays anymore or have to deal with pointers.
The biggest advances in programming??? Compilers, recursion, and object oriented syntax. I've seen far too many 'the next big thing' to get excited over something like this. Remember when C# was supposed to be the next big thing???
But I'm still using the same if/then/else and loop logic that I did 30 years ago. No matter how much things change, they still stay the same....
You may call it "one-upmanship among writers", but the person in HR reviewing a resume may notice blatant errors also. And they are getting paid to get someone the least number of resumes possible, not translate and decode. Make their job difficult, and the resume goes in the file. Granted, the odd misuse of a comma or 'its' probably won't get a resume rejected, but using words like 'cuz' and sprinkling more than one emoticon might. Unless the job specifically calls for it.
I have NEVER rejected a resume from someone because they could write well or misused a comma or two. But I have skipped over ones where the writer didn't write in a professional manner. Writing to your sister on Facebook may not require perfect grammar, but writing a report that the CEO of a company may read should be pretty damn close. It's not uncommon for someone to only read the first few paragraphs of an email or report, and bad grammar is one way to turn them away.
Many people associate poor grammar with lack of education or low intelligence. Sometimes the printed word is what will be used to form an impression of someone. I'm reminded of something my son said once. He was upset because people judged him on how he dressed. I told him he had two choices, dress as he wishes with the realization that some will form negative impressions and deal with it. Or recognize that there are times when dressing like everyone else is is more appropriate and give up your 'expressions' for that occasion. The same is true of writing. One can write however one wishes as long as they are willing to accept the consequences of that action. Or one can learn to write well and only use those skills when necessary.
Some may think it is wrong to judge someone based on how they write, but it happens. Sometimes it's difficult for a reader to know whether the emoticons and misspellings are being used because the writer just didn't know any better, or they knew better and choose to write that way. Writing well doesn't have that problem. Although it can sometimes may make it seem the writer is too 'stuffy' or is using big words to try to impress someone.
We change our writing and speaking methods to suit our audience. We talk differently to our friends and our boss. I toss out far more f-bombs when I'm out riding my motorcycle with my buddies than when I'm in a meeting with the owner of the company I work for. Someone who can't determine what their audience is and communicate appropriately will have a more difficult time advancing in their career than those that can.
Exactly. Todays youth have access to a much more balanced and informed opinion than any other time in history - now that the hierarchical control of information flow is breaking down. The ability to balance out corporate/government-MIC propaganda that has dominated News and print media almost since its inception with alternative points of view is a very good thing.
There.. fixed that for you.
Many of the young people I know are very polarized because they surround themselves with friends that believe the same thing, and only pay attention to articles that agree with their opinions. There is a young man at work that knows all the quotes for the stuff he believes in, but is surprised when I offer dissenting information and disparages it without knowing the source of the data. He has access to the same Internet information I have, but whatever filters he is using is not presenting it to him.
Reminds me of the time I took a Fortran class in the late 70s, I had already been using it, I just wanted the credit. The professor gave us an assignment to mimic a bank queue. I was able to do it without using arrays because of the rules he gave us. He gave me a 'D' because I didn't use an array, even though my solution was quite clever and fast. So.. when we went on to 2D arrays, I decided to get even and wrote the program he asked for using a 5D array (even though it didn't need it).
The end of the story?? I showed up 30 minutes late to the final exam because of a car problem. He told me I had to get done in the remaining time period.
I finished the exam and left the room before anyone else did. And aced it. Stupid professor....
I agree with part of your comment. I dropped out of college because two out of four classes were BS and I couldn't justify the expense. I learned that in spite of what high schools guidance councilors brainwash us with, it is possible to get a clerical job and have someone else PAY for you to go to college to learn things. Sure.. it might take several years to get the education you want, but you will have all that experience already, no student loans, and just might have a few assets if you can manage your money well. No degree is even required, just take the courses that further your career. Like IT?? Business?? Statistics?? It's amazing how many courses you can take by just claiming to be a part time student and skipping all of the BS courses they require to get a degree. Granted.. that only works for awhile, but many colleges are pretty liberal about those things as long as you keep paying.
Thirty years later I have a great job with good benefits and make a 6 figure income. College isn't for everyone, no need to toe the line and follow the program if one doesn't need to.
That accurately describes most college degrees, most of the time they are necessary to get past HR screening, but tell you nothing about the qualifications of the individual in question.
College is about having goals, meeting deadlines, and dealing well (i.e. obediently) with authority figures, your willingness to allow them to determine the use of your time, your ability to follow their detailed instructions, and your willingness to be a cog in a large institution. Those are the qualifications many, but not all employers find desirable. They likely know that in this industry, a degree does not necessarily indicate skill or ability and that many of the most skilled developers and technicians never went to college. What they do know is that it demonstrates you are willing and able to jump through hoops of the sort that they find useful.
There.. fixed that for you. Funny thing, I have found jobs through referrals because I'm willing to do what I'm asked, motivated, get things done, and have a track record in doing so. Your first job is the most difficult. But if you take a shit job, do it well, and gain the respect of your peers.. the rest are easier to get.
Oh.. I dropped out of college after one semester of seeing how it wasn't full of smart people... mostly just those you defined above. I have found many PhDs in the IT and Finance field to be intellectually useless -- full of theory but not worth much else. There are a few gems out there, but having a doctorate in any field doesn't mean shit if you don't know how to use it.
I agree. I had to take the CompTIA Linux certification several years ago to teach a class and thought it was odd that there was no re-certification requirement. I passed it the first try without too much studying, just taking the sample test and finding out where I needed to brush up. I didn't have to pay for it, so I really didn't think too much about it, it was just one of those things I had to do to make a little extra spending money.
After I took it I found out that an NT guy with zero Linux experience passed it simply by studying for it.
CompTIA certs only impress people who don't know anything, and are helpful to get you through the HR screening by pasting it on your resume.
People like to do something called 'diversify'. Those morons who lost lots of value in Enron didn't do this and lost lots of value. (I say morons because anyone who places all of their eggs into one basket is a moron, and I didn't feel sorry for any of them.)
People also like to do something called 'buy low.. sell high'. In other words, Google has probably just about reached the end of it's stellar climb and is probably over valued (like gold is right now) and will be stagnant for awhile. It is only natural that people who have a lot of shares would want to sell when it is at it's high point so they can take that money and invest it into other stocks that are not.
Executives in companies do this all the time, the records of any C-level executive selling stock in their own company is public information. The SEC provides a means for them to create these plans so when they do sell they don't have to be as worried about being accused of insider trading.
So.. other than these guys thinking Google is probably at it's peak, this is a non-event.
I agree.. I also want a dedicated GPS for my car/motorcycle. We just purchased a Nuvi for the car.. the screen is much larger than a phone and easier to see. At a glance, it is simple to see the upcoming streets, speed limits, distance to next turn, what the next turn will be, estimated time to the turn, and estimated time to destination. My wife used to use her Blackberry for GPS, but loves using the Nuvi, it's a lot easier to use and less distracting.
I use a Garmin 60CSx on my motorcycle. It screen isn't any larger than a cell phone, but it has easy to use, dedicated buttons that I can use even with gloves on. It isn't a touch-screen, but I've heard the GPS units designed for motorcycle use don't stand up to the vibrations. I figured one designed for hiking would be better. Plus, it's cheaper so I won't feel so bad in 3-4 years when it starts to die like my Garmin legend did.
The thing is, we really don't need a GPS most of the time. I can find my way around Phoenix and most of Arizona without a map. But it's nice to be reminded a turn is coming up, especially on the motorcycle if I'm on a ride with several other bikes and we need to change lanes. And it's nice if you do miss a turn, or the road is under construction, having the GPS reroute you. I've discovered that what I thought was the quickest route.. wasn't.
I suppose if I was on a limited budget, or felt that I had better things to spend money on, then I could deal with having just a phone like I have... well.. most of my life. But for me, a dedicated GPS provides more functionality and ease of use than a telephone when it comes to driving around. On the flip side, it's nice having it on your phone 'just in case'. So I have both....
And the dirty little secret Nokia and the other phones won't tell you... leave the data network.. and your phone GPS doesn't have as much functionality. It can tell you where you are, but without the ability to download maps, it's not much use. My wife and I took my Centro with Google Maps and her Blackberry on a photo excursion to Globe, AZ. Even though we had phone coverage, we couldn't use either her GPS or Google maps because we had no data access. So until they are willing to either download ahead of time or store the entire US road map on the phone, I want my dedicated GPS.
Re:Great, still doesn't fix the Houston problem.
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The Year of the E-Bicycle
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· Score: 2, Interesting
So when someone makes logical arguments, they are being bought and paid for by big oil??? When bikers pay into the highway system, then they can have bike lanes. It costs money to build and maintain bike lanes.. how can anyone disagree with bike riders paying their fair share to use them???
This is just like the people around Phoenix who want to fence off mountain areas for the 'enjoyment of the people'. Instead of allow wealthy people to build, and charging them up the wazoo for property tax.. they would rather fence it off and have my tax dollars pay to maintain it, so a few people can wander around the desert aimlessly for free, get lost in the heat because they didn't bring enough water, and have to be rescued. (Happens every year when it gets hot around here.)
Heaven forbid they get on their bikes and ride an hour outside the city where there is MORE than enough room to wander around aimlessly and get lost and no one wants to build there.
We have similar problems with bike riders in Phoenix, which actually HAS bike lanes. I guess bikers are too insecure to ride in single file, I see packs of them on the weekends riding 4 and 5 deep, taking up half the right lane in their funny outfits, even with a clearly marked bike lane. They run stop lights, and dart out across traffic without hand signals.
No wonder people don't want to spend their tax money and throw things at them.. maybe if they learned to follow rules people wouldn't get so pissed at them.
So a city that is built around the way most people want to travel is somehow made that way by big oil??
Nah.. no bias in that post.
Travel by bike in any major city.. sucks for the reasons noted above. Travel by bike and bus in cities with bike racks on buses.. sucks because buses are slower than hell and once people start using the bike racks, there is no guarantee the next bus won't have a full bike rack. The only city I found where I liked taking public transportation was Boston, because the subway got you where you wanted to go faster than a car, and cost less than parking. Toronto was pretty good too as long as you didn't have to go anywhere off the subway lines, because their bus lines.. sucked.
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Police and fire are there for the safety of others. If my house burns down in an uncontrolled fashion, neighboring houses may also burn down. The police are there in an attempt to keep property in the hands of what the law defines as the owner.
.. to carry your analogy further .. we only need the government to provide health coverage when one persons health endangers the health of others. And nothing more than that. So I guess they only need to provide flu shots and that's it.
So
Of course, the federal government has NO business in local fire and police enforcement, but that's a different matter altogether. The federal government only provides 'police' when matters cross state lines. And absolutely no fire protection other than national parks and such. Again, more proof the government has no right to meddle in providing health care for all.
Thank you!
Some believe that it's an individual's responsibility to budget and take care of themselves, and not the government. And not from my paycheck. I've managed to find jobs that had insurance for 30 years, and turned down jobs that didn't. My choice. I resent that I might be taxed more to pay for medical procedures for some of my friends that could afford health insurance, but have simply chosen not to so they can have nicer cars or homes. Granted, not everyone is in that position, but I sure know a lot of people that are.
.. it's just that some can't afford it. Just like everyone has the right to free speech, but not everyone can afford a front page ad in the New York Times to exercise it.
.... I haven't seen any single payer system that provides better care that I receive now. I prefer a free market approach. Just a few months ago my 26 year old son, who doesn't have health insurance because he free-lances, called a hospital to see how much it would cost to x-ray his ankle so he could make sure he could afford it. Because that's what responsible people do. They refused to give him an estimate. So he said thanks, and said he would look elsewhere.
Of course, Canadian premier Danny Williams believed that when he came to the US for a procedure that wasn't available in Newfoundland, but was in Ontario. I guess if you are rich in Canada, you also get freedom of choice.
Single payer system is just a way to tax those that work harder to pay for medical care for those that don't work as hard. Everyone has access to medical care in the USA
No thank you
Imagine my surprise when he told me the hospital called him back the next day and found a way to limit his financial exposure to a certain amount. My brother-in-law had a similar experience when a hospital not in his insurance 'network' refused to give him an estimate for a cardiac procedure so he could make sure he could afford it.
Seems that free enterprise also works when people have choices and use them instead of whining about being a victim.
Just because someone has an opinion that situation X would be better than situation Y doesn't make it fact .. it's an opinion. If the majority are willing to live with a situation, then it's the minority that are the problem, not the majority.
.. to be honest .. I don't care about people's paranoid belief that giving their fingerprint to be used for identification for clocking in and out is a big deal. We give out our home address, contact information, social security number, and even our picture. And let's not forget any job that requires a security clearance. But not a fingerprint??
And
Some people just need to realize that there are plenty of other people who will be more than happy to give out their fingerprint and go find another job. Sorry that someday all jobs will require it. I'll be employed and still won't care.
And what the fuck do you know about my ability to remember things. I'm 50 now, and have had problems like this my entire life and tried all sorts of things to fix it. To add that up to 'self control' is nothing more than your ego saying that that you know best, which shows up in the rest of your post. My issue was more a result of ADD than it is 'simple forgetfulness'. I can remember my badge, and five minutes later walk out the door without it because I was thirsty and went to get a drink. Most of the time I'll remember. But some days I walk out the door without my cell phone, some days without my wallet, some days without my keys. At least I can't get in my car without my keys and have to go back in to get them before I get too far.
Are you also saying that my working for less money than you would takes away your right to make a lot of money? Grow up...if someone will do a job in a way you won't but that the employer wants, it's your fault and only your fault.
... just because you are paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you....
And remember
I agree .. if you don't like it .. don't do it. No one is forcing you to. Others may not have the same concerns and would be more than happy to do that job, so I'm sure it won't bother them too much.
I used to work at a job that required using an id card to clock in and out. If you left it at home it was a huge hassle to get a temporary id card. Forget it too many times and they started to take disciplinary action. I'd rather use my fingerprint to 'clock in' than try and remember to bring my id card every day when the only function of that card was to clock in and out.
Dropped a pager into boiling water once ... pager buzzed, I took it out to look at it, and it slipped out of my hand into a pot of hot water on the stove. While some people can quickly get a pager/phone out of a pool or toilet, I don't think very many would plunge their hand into a pot of boiling water. So it sat there for a while as I tried to use a spoon and then finally got some tongs.
I dumped the water out and started another pot after I realized that essence of pager is probably not a highly sought after flavor for mashed potatoes.
This is insurance ... not a warranty. Insurance covers 'accidental damage'. Which many people translate to intentional damage that is made to look like an accident.
Dropping a phone 'accidentally' into a toilet, pool, pot of boiling water, etc. should just about break most them. Not all that difficult.
What they are really saying is that people just aren't that clever....
I guess it defines what you mean by 'cheating'. A few months ago I asked my how much I'd take for a car I owned that wouldn't run. I told him $500 because the body was in good condition. He offered me $200 and I accepted it. What he didn't know is that I would have given it to him for free if he would have just gotten it out of my garage. Is that 'cheating'. I'm sure if he knew what I would have taken for it, he would have felt cheated. But he probably feels he got a deal, he got it running and it's probably now worth more than what he paid for and put into it. Did he cheat me???
.. was I lying when I said '$500' when asked how much I'd take for the car. No .. I would have taken $500 for the car. But I didn't tell him I would take less. Is leaving that part out lying by omission?? Does that make it cheating???
... could I have gotten more??? No one will tell you the highest salary they are willing to pay, just the one they think they can hire you for. We all would probably accept a higher salary than we think we are worth if we could get away with it. Would that be cheating also???
Copying someone's code is cheating because the school says it is. Is it cheating when you take advantage of someone who doesn't know all the facts, or if you don't provide them?? That's what successful people do, take advantage of someone's lack of knowledge about a business transaction.
Cheating involves deception
In any business transaction, I'm sure a large portion of the people feel cheated afterward....that doesn't mean they were. I sometimes have felt cheated after taking a job offer
It's so much easier to believe successful people must cheat then to accept the truth that there are people out there that are actually smarter, more motivated, and more clever. I've known a few people who are multi-millionaire's ... and they are all far more talented in those categories than I am.
My ego is small enough that I can accept that I'll never be able to match their talents, nor do I want to work that hard to be that successful.
Agile programming as been around for decades .. someone just wrote a book about it and gave it a name and structure. Which of course, ruined it.
Garmin now offers a lifetime update option for $119.99... 'lifetime' being defined as "until your product's useful life expires or Garmin no longer receives map data from its third party supplier". So $600 for unit that has voice recognition, bluetooth, and a large backlit screen, then $119.99 for maps. Seems like a good deal to me. I had my old Garmin for 6 years until it fell off my motorcycle and it wasn't past it's "useful" life yet. I'll pay $720 instead of $600 for 6 years of use if the device provides me $120 more additional functionality.
Advanced??? Changed maybe. 30 years ago I taught myself BASIC from reference manuals in a few hours, enough to write a quadratic equation graphing program for my calculus class for extra credit. My second program was a password cracker so I could get higher priority on the university computer. I've modified code in languages that I had no experience in without any manual just by looking at syntax. So someone taking a few days to learn a programming language and modifying a planet simulator isn't all that impressive for a language ... they just found someone that learns quickly. I'm impressed in the person that picked it up, not the language. It mostly comes down to understanding if/then/else logic, loop constructs, and how to call methods after you learn syntax. Learning these constructs isn't too difficult, applying them takes a little more.
.. instead of spending a few days learning syntax, and a few months mastering a language, we now take a few days to learn syntax, and YEARS to learn all the calls and libraries that go along with it. My first attempt at C++ resulted in my giving up, not because I didn't understand the language but because I was trying to write GUI programs and didn't have the right book to explain which libraries to use and why.
So now
Programming tools have definitely advanced. The days of punched cards and line editors like EDLIN are far gone for most programming needs. It's nice that modern languages don't let you overflow arrays anymore or have to deal with pointers.
The biggest advances in programming??? Compilers, recursion, and object oriented syntax. I've seen far too many 'the next big thing' to get excited over something like this. Remember when C# was supposed to be the next big thing???
But I'm still using the same if/then/else and loop logic that I did 30 years ago. No matter how much things change, they still stay the same....
You may call it "one-upmanship among writers", but the person in HR reviewing a resume may notice blatant errors also. And they are getting paid to get someone the least number of resumes possible, not translate and decode. Make their job difficult, and the resume goes in the file. Granted, the odd misuse of a comma or 'its' probably won't get a resume rejected, but using words like 'cuz' and sprinkling more than one emoticon might. Unless the job specifically calls for it.
I have NEVER rejected a resume from someone because they could write well or misused a comma or two. But I have skipped over ones where the writer didn't write in a professional manner. Writing to your sister on Facebook may not require perfect grammar, but writing a report that the CEO of a company may read should be pretty damn close. It's not uncommon for someone to only read the first few paragraphs of an email or report, and bad grammar is one way to turn them away.
Many people associate poor grammar with lack of education or low intelligence. Sometimes the printed word is what will be used to form an impression of someone. I'm reminded of something my son said once. He was upset because people judged him on how he dressed. I told him he had two choices, dress as he wishes with the realization that some will form negative impressions and deal with it. Or recognize that there are times when dressing like everyone else is is more appropriate and give up your 'expressions' for that occasion. The same is true of writing. One can write however one wishes as long as they are willing to accept the consequences of that action. Or one can learn to write well and only use those skills when necessary.
Some may think it is wrong to judge someone based on how they write, but it happens. Sometimes it's difficult for a reader to know whether the emoticons and misspellings are being used because the writer just didn't know any better, or they knew better and choose to write that way. Writing well doesn't have that problem. Although it can sometimes may make it seem the writer is too 'stuffy' or is using big words to try to impress someone.
We change our writing and speaking methods to suit our audience. We talk differently to our friends and our boss. I toss out far more f-bombs when I'm out riding my motorcycle with my buddies than when I'm in a meeting with the owner of the company I work for. Someone who can't determine what their audience is and communicate appropriately will have a more difficult time advancing in their career than those that can.
Rubber bullets sometimes kill, too.
There .. fixed that for you....
It's hard to phone in an anonymous tip when you have to leave your name to prove you did it.....
Exactly. Todays youth have access to a much more balanced and informed opinion than any other time in history - now that the hierarchical control of information flow is breaking down. The ability to balance out corporate/government-MIC propaganda that has dominated News and print media almost since its inception with alternative points of view is a very good thing.
There .. fixed that for you.
Many of the young people I know are very polarized because they surround themselves with friends that believe the same thing, and only pay attention to articles that agree with their opinions. There is a young man at work that knows all the quotes for the stuff he believes in, but is surprised when I offer dissenting information and disparages it without knowing the source of the data. He has access to the same Internet information I have, but whatever filters he is using is not presenting it to him.
Reminds me of the time I took a Fortran class in the late 70s, I had already been using it, I just wanted the credit. The professor gave us an assignment to mimic a bank queue. I was able to do it without using arrays because of the rules he gave us. He gave me a 'D' because I didn't use an array, even though my solution was quite clever and fast. So .. when we went on to 2D arrays, I decided to get even and wrote the program he asked for using a 5D array (even though it didn't need it).
The end of the story?? I showed up 30 minutes late to the final exam because of a car problem. He told me I had to get done in the remaining time period.
I finished the exam and left the room before anyone else did. And aced it. Stupid professor....
I agree with part of your comment. I dropped out of college because two out of four classes were BS and I couldn't justify the expense. I learned that in spite of what high schools guidance councilors brainwash us with, it is possible to get a clerical job and have someone else PAY for you to go to college to learn things. Sure .. it might take several years to get the education you want, but you will have all that experience already, no student loans, and just might have a few assets if you can manage your money well. No degree is even required, just take the courses that further your career. Like IT?? Business?? Statistics?? It's amazing how many courses you can take by just claiming to be a part time student and skipping all of the BS courses they require to get a degree. Granted .. that only works for awhile, but many colleges are pretty liberal about those things as long as you keep paying.
Thirty years later I have a great job with good benefits and make a 6 figure income. College isn't for everyone, no need to toe the line and follow the program if one doesn't need to.
That accurately describes most college degrees, most of the time they are necessary to get past HR screening, but tell you nothing about the qualifications of the individual in question.
College is about having goals, meeting deadlines, and dealing well (i.e. obediently) with authority figures, your willingness to allow them to determine the use of your time, your ability to follow their detailed instructions, and your willingness to be a cog in a large institution. Those are the qualifications many, but not all employers find desirable. They likely know that in this industry, a degree does not necessarily indicate skill or ability and that many of the most skilled developers and technicians never went to college. What they do know is that it demonstrates you are willing and able to jump through hoops of the sort that they find useful.
There .. fixed that for you. Funny thing, I have found jobs through referrals because I'm willing to do what I'm asked, motivated, get things done, and have a track record in doing so. Your first job is the most difficult. But if you take a shit job, do it well, and gain the respect of your peers .. the rest are easier to get.
.. I dropped out of college after one semester of seeing how it wasn't full of smart people ... mostly just those you defined above. I have found many PhDs in the IT and Finance field to be intellectually useless -- full of theory but not worth much else. There are a few gems out there, but having a doctorate in any field doesn't mean shit if you don't know how to use it.
Oh
I agree. I had to take the CompTIA Linux certification several years ago to teach a class and thought it was odd that there was no re-certification requirement. I passed it the first try without too much studying, just taking the sample test and finding out where I needed to brush up. I didn't have to pay for it, so I really didn't think too much about it, it was just one of those things I had to do to make a little extra spending money.
After I took it I found out that an NT guy with zero Linux experience passed it simply by studying for it.
CompTIA certs only impress people who don't know anything, and are helpful to get you through the HR screening by pasting it on your resume.
People like to do something called 'diversify'. Those morons who lost lots of value in Enron didn't do this and lost lots of value. (I say morons because anyone who places all of their eggs into one basket is a moron, and I didn't feel sorry for any of them.)
.. sell high'. In other words, Google has probably just about reached the end of it's stellar climb and is probably over valued (like gold is right now) and will be stagnant for awhile. It is only natural that people who have a lot of shares would want to sell when it is at it's high point so they can take that money and invest it into other stocks that are not.
.. other than these guys thinking Google is probably at it's peak, this is a non-event.
People also like to do something called 'buy low
Executives in companies do this all the time, the records of any C-level executive selling stock in their own company is public information. The SEC provides a means for them to create these plans so when they do sell they don't have to be as worried about being accused of insider trading.
So
I agree .. I also want a dedicated GPS for my car/motorcycle. We just purchased a Nuvi for the car .. the screen is much larger than a phone and easier to see. At a glance, it is simple to see the upcoming streets, speed limits, distance to next turn, what the next turn will be, estimated time to the turn, and estimated time to destination. My wife used to use her Blackberry for GPS, but loves using the Nuvi, it's a lot easier to use and less distracting.
.. wasn't.
... well .. most of my life. But for me, a dedicated GPS provides more functionality and ease of use than a telephone when it comes to driving around. On the flip side, it's nice having it on your phone 'just in case'. So I have both....
... leave the data network .. and your phone GPS doesn't have as much functionality. It can tell you where you are, but without the ability to download maps, it's not much use. My wife and I took my Centro with Google Maps and her Blackberry on a photo excursion to Globe, AZ. Even though we had phone coverage, we couldn't use either her GPS or Google maps because we had no data access. So until they are willing to either download ahead of time or store the entire US road map on the phone, I want my dedicated GPS.
I use a Garmin 60CSx on my motorcycle. It screen isn't any larger than a cell phone, but it has easy to use, dedicated buttons that I can use even with gloves on. It isn't a touch-screen, but I've heard the GPS units designed for motorcycle use don't stand up to the vibrations. I figured one designed for hiking would be better. Plus, it's cheaper so I won't feel so bad in 3-4 years when it starts to die like my Garmin legend did.
The thing is, we really don't need a GPS most of the time. I can find my way around Phoenix and most of Arizona without a map. But it's nice to be reminded a turn is coming up, especially on the motorcycle if I'm on a ride with several other bikes and we need to change lanes. And it's nice if you do miss a turn, or the road is under construction, having the GPS reroute you. I've discovered that what I thought was the quickest route
I suppose if I was on a limited budget, or felt that I had better things to spend money on, then I could deal with having just a phone like I have
And the dirty little secret Nokia and the other phones won't tell you
So when someone makes logical arguments, they are being bought and paid for by big oil??? When bikers pay into the highway system, then they can have bike lanes. It costs money to build and maintain bike lanes .. how can anyone disagree with bike riders paying their fair share to use them???
.. they would rather fence it off and have my tax dollars pay to maintain it, so a few people can wander around the desert aimlessly for free, get lost in the heat because they didn't bring enough water, and have to be rescued. (Happens every year when it gets hot around here.)
.. maybe if they learned to follow rules people wouldn't get so pissed at them.
This is just like the people around Phoenix who want to fence off mountain areas for the 'enjoyment of the people'. Instead of allow wealthy people to build, and charging them up the wazoo for property tax
Heaven forbid they get on their bikes and ride an hour outside the city where there is MORE than enough room to wander around aimlessly and get lost and no one wants to build there.
We have similar problems with bike riders in Phoenix, which actually HAS bike lanes. I guess bikers are too insecure to ride in single file, I see packs of them on the weekends riding 4 and 5 deep, taking up half the right lane in their funny outfits, even with a clearly marked bike lane. They run stop lights, and dart out across traffic without hand signals.
No wonder people don't want to spend their tax money and throw things at them
So a city that is built around the way most people want to travel is somehow made that way by big oil??
.. no bias in that post.
.. sucks for the reasons noted above. Travel by bike and bus in cities with bike racks on buses .. sucks because buses are slower than hell and once people start using the bike racks, there is no guarantee the next bus won't have a full bike rack. The only city I found where I liked taking public transportation was Boston, because the subway got you where you wanted to go faster than a car, and cost less than parking. Toronto was pretty good too as long as you didn't have to go anywhere off the subway lines, because their bus lines .. sucked.
Nah
Travel by bike in any major city