Let's not (any more) confuse the Bible-thumping US with "civilization". What we need is a nuclear exchange with Iran, so the arch theists of the world can kill each other in droves.
So fuck working for the general public. Anyone who might be nominated has other, lucrative options.
Most of the public are, let's be kind, drooling pieces of shit. No wonder people who can screw over such willfully ignorant and stupid people do so. The victims don't deserve better. Sucks for us (I won't say "the rest of us"), but the few people with an IQ over room temperature do have the tools to thrive no matter who is master.
An old VW Bug ENGINE could possibly do some of those things VERY, VERY slowly given the a tough enough transmission with deep enough reduction, a robust frame, tough final drive, and so forth.
Teach him to obfuscate the search by including militaria, history, etc. I'm interested in those subjects and know there is AMPLE information available from "wholesome" sources.
Everyone, innocent or guilty, should groow their online persona for the time when there is NO privacy from commercial entities or the government.
The most useful thing a person can learn in life is to lie, comfortably, with a straight face and no cues. Honesty is a desirable quality in a victim, which is why others so prize it.
"a manual for making illegal weapons of indiscriminate destruction."
Not really. It's just information. A manual describing how so-called WMDs work can contain the same information and be titled "WMD Processes, a Handbook for Investigators" or similar. An ordinary military close combat manual or unconventional operations manual or "Field Expedient weapons" manual can have the same info as a pub named "Eco-Necro-Pedo-Copro-Jihadist Tutorial for Total Annihilation!".
Specific example: Phosgene is produced for industrial use, and is one of the first war gases.
"I'm risking getting blasted here, BUT, I think we have an overabundance of mediocre people with a degree."
Getting a degree means showing up and passing exams. It's a nice filter for employers to use, but when everyone has one it means less. Who here doesn't know that?
"We've been content to let other people do the "hard work" and encouraged many of our smartest and most talented people to pursue "quick-and-easy" money in areas like the financial industry to the ultimate detriment of other industries."
They went where the money was. If one wants employees, pay what the market will bear. Refusal to compete is not a strategy, and there is zero reason for smart people not to seek money. Why work hard in a society where employers and government are both your enemies and dedicated to separating you from your money?
Life is a shit sandwich. The more bread you have, the less shit you'll taste.
Dumping the dumbshits into the vocational school makes for some...interesting classes, but the sharp folks who want to be there can do very well in life.
A system that sufficiently exposed students to alternatives, so they could make an informed career choice would produce much better results.
An intelligent weldor, machinist, or mechanic can make a secure and comfortable living. Sad that those trades are scorned.
"Critical thinking, its something you ought to learn... I suppose you never thought of the possibility of developing the tech here, apply here, and skip the trip?"
The bonus from doing that would be huge, with quick payoffs from terrestrial application, swifter development cycles unconstrained by the expense of sending the hardware into space, coupled with the development of tech we could use off-world at leisure.
"and there ought to be an investigation on the price of (safety related) repair parts."
Good luck with that. Know that the only economic way to repair older vehicles is to have enough salvage parts to play "swaptronics". (BTDT at a used car lot.) Vehicles are often "totaled" after a crash that fires the airbags due to cost, but these can be swiftly replaced along with sensors from a donor vehicle.
The next, obvious stage in vendor lock is to lock "safety" parts to a particular chassis and require reprogramming to use them. Easy to do.
Current OBD systems aren't guaranteed to be the future standard, and if the makers can use the excuse of "security" to restrict access to an increasing number of functions (including "functions yet unborn" they can ensure a revenue stream.
Trusting auto makers to ensure easy system access is like trusting Sony to look after your PlayStation.
Access to ALL functions of automotive computer systems facilitates support when factory support ends and aftermarket support takes over.
This should have been approached from a MECHANICS POV, not that of a frightened rabbit. Vehicle computer systems should be easy to access, instead of vendor-locked so others can't see (and potentially correct or improve) factory settings.
Pre-computer vehicles were easy to troubleshoot and maintain precisely because systems were simple to access/repair/modify. Newer systems have greater capability, but restricting access to dealers who won't be supporting the vehicle after it's about ten years old (and charge a shitload of money before that, because they can) is not helpful to the consumer.
Obligatory personal computer analogy:
How about all PCs be sold potted in fiber-reinforced epoxy so "saboteurs" can't monkey with them?
Driving is remarkably convenient in most places, and for the miles travelled and useful work done the cost in blood is cheap. We casually tolerate vastly greater casualty counts from other less useful activities.
I have more than five vehicles, but I only drive one at a time. They transport me whence I would go, with what I wish to take. Not having them would reduce my choices/freedom/income.
Better yet, why spend money to send people when we can send machines and do science?
There is zero _urgency_ to send humans, we need robots on earth and in space much more than we need humans in space, and robots don't (unlike humans) impose a prohibitively costly burden. Let other countries eat the R&D, then do what China does to us and enjoy the fruits of other peoples research.
The problem isn't a COTS problem, it's a fucking SONY problem.
Buy _standard_ hardware with available competitive equivalent, and use an operating system that doesn't come with shackles!
BTW, one reason to use standard processors is the availability of standard MOTHERBOARDS. Buying Sony to get the proc in a cheap package backfired because the "motherboard" and its supporting systems are vendor-locked.
You can also have the vehicle towed by a towing service, who charge for tow and storage.
If the owner doesn't redeem it, it goes to a magistrate auction for what is owed plus whatever bidders wish to bid (normally not above monies owed). YMMV, but "abandoned" property law can be looked up at county court houses where auction and tax auction notices are posted.
Wanna buy cheap land, homes, etc? Haunt these auctions and be ready to act.:)
Slashdot Mirror
Those who cling to XP yet need more storage can simply build a server running an appropriate OS.
Having more than one PC is trivial these days. A computer is a cheap appliance and you can have many.
"Hysteria can bring down a civilization."
Let's not (any more) confuse the Bible-thumping US with "civilization". What we need is a nuclear exchange with Iran, so the arch theists of the world can kill each other in droves.
"FOX is in the business of publishing nonsense."
Most of the American public believe, if not crave, such nonsense.
Fox is profitable because they affirm the cherished beliefs of their audience. They don't exist in a vacuum.
...any insufficiently moderated forum will turn into 4chan.
Light pollution in most sleeping areas is voluntary.
My bedroom is dark, has no glowing LEDs other than those on the alarm clock, problem solved.
For those in a communal situation, the G.I. custom of opaque curtains (we used ponchos) referred to as "spank walls" works well.
So fuck working for the general public. Anyone who might be nominated has other, lucrative options.
Most of the public are, let's be kind, drooling pieces of shit. No wonder people who can screw over such willfully ignorant and stupid people do so.
The victims don't deserve better. Sucks for us (I won't say "the rest of us"), but the few people with an IQ over room temperature do have the tools to thrive no matter who is master.
An old VW Bug ENGINE could possibly do some of those things VERY, VERY slowly given the a tough enough transmission with deep enough reduction, a robust frame, tough final drive, and so forth.
"addresses of those attracted to grey blobs"
Craigslist works for me!
Teach him to obfuscate the search by including militaria, history, etc. I'm interested in those subjects and know there is AMPLE information available from "wholesome" sources.
Everyone, innocent or guilty, should groow their online persona for the time when there is NO privacy from commercial entities or the government.
The most useful thing a person can learn in life is to lie, comfortably, with a straight face and no cues. Honesty is a desirable quality in a victim, which is why others so prize it.
"a manual for making illegal weapons of indiscriminate destruction."
Not really. It's just information. A manual describing how so-called WMDs work can contain the same information and be titled "WMD Processes, a Handbook for Investigators" or similar. An ordinary military close combat manual or unconventional operations manual or "Field Expedient weapons" manual can have the same info as a pub named "Eco-Necro-Pedo-Copro-Jihadist Tutorial for Total Annihilation!".
Specific example:
Phosgene is produced for industrial use, and is one of the first war gases.
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/phosgene/basics/facts.asp
It can be used to make plastics, or for other things...
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html
"I'm risking getting blasted here, BUT, I think we have an overabundance of mediocre people with a degree."
Getting a degree means showing up and passing exams. It's a nice filter for employers to use, but when everyone has one it means less.
Who here doesn't know that?
"We've been content to let other people do the "hard work" and encouraged many of our smartest and most talented people to pursue "quick-and-easy" money in areas like the financial industry to the ultimate detriment of other industries."
They went where the money was. If one wants employees, pay what the market will bear. Refusal to compete is not a strategy, and there is zero reason for smart people not to seek money. Why work hard in a society where employers and government are both your enemies and dedicated to separating you from your money?
Life is a shit sandwich. The more bread you have, the less shit you'll taste.
"We could all work 20 hour weeks if our society weren't so focused on production as the only measure of value."
Our competitors would crush us. Business is war, the world is full of people who want money and will work for it.
Dumping the dumbshits into the vocational school makes for some...interesting classes, but the sharp folks who want to be there can do very well in life.
A system that sufficiently exposed students to alternatives, so they could make an informed career choice would produce much better results.
An intelligent weldor, machinist, or mechanic can make a secure and comfortable living. Sad that those trades are scorned.
"Critical thinking, its something you ought to learn ... I suppose you never thought of the possibility of developing the tech here, apply here, and skip the trip?"
The bonus from doing that would be huge, with quick payoffs from terrestrial application, swifter development cycles unconstrained by the expense of sending the hardware into space, coupled with the development of tech we could use off-world at leisure.
"and there ought to be an investigation on the price of (safety related) repair parts."
Good luck with that. Know that the only economic way to repair older vehicles is to have enough salvage parts to play "swaptronics". (BTDT at a used car lot.) Vehicles are often "totaled" after a crash that fires the airbags due to cost, but these can be swiftly replaced along with sensors from a donor vehicle.
The next, obvious stage in vendor lock is to lock "safety" parts to a particular chassis and require reprogramming to use them. Easy to do.
"unless they come up with a way to make a "secure" bus (perhaps using fiber optics)."
Don't give them any ideas for more expensive, delicate parts. :)
"Why not provide manual overrides for things like door locks and windows."
Here ya go!
http://www.lifehammer.com/
IAAM (I Am A Mechanic) too.
Current OBD systems aren't guaranteed to be the future standard, and if the makers can use the excuse of "security" to restrict access to an increasing number of functions (including "functions yet unborn" they can ensure a revenue stream.
Trusting auto makers to ensure easy system access is like trusting Sony to look after your PlayStation.
Access to ALL functions of automotive computer systems facilitates support when factory support ends and aftermarket support takes over.
This should have been approached from a MECHANICS POV, not that of a frightened rabbit. Vehicle computer systems should be easy to access, instead of vendor-locked so others can't see (and potentially correct or improve) factory settings.
Pre-computer vehicles were easy to troubleshoot and maintain precisely because systems were simple to access/repair/modify. Newer systems have greater capability, but restricting access to dealers who won't be supporting the vehicle after it's about ten years old (and charge a shitload of money before that, because they can) is not helpful to the consumer.
Obligatory personal computer analogy:
How about all PCs be sold potted in fiber-reinforced epoxy so "saboteurs" can't monkey with them?
Why fire him? It's not like the page will get Slashdotted.
Driving is remarkably convenient in most places, and for the miles travelled and useful work done the cost in blood is cheap. We casually tolerate vastly greater casualty counts from other less useful activities.
I have more than five vehicles, but I only drive one at a time. They transport me whence I would go, with what I wish to take. Not having them would reduce my choices/freedom/income.
Better yet, why spend money to send people when we can send machines and do science?
There is zero _urgency_ to send humans, we need robots on earth and in space much more than we need humans in space, and robots don't (unlike humans) impose a prohibitively costly burden. Let other countries eat the R&D, then do what China does to us and enjoy the fruits of other peoples research.
The problem isn't a COTS problem, it's a fucking SONY problem.
Buy _standard_ hardware with available competitive equivalent, and use an operating system that doesn't come with shackles!
BTW, one reason to use standard processors is the availability of standard MOTHERBOARDS. Buying Sony to get the proc in a cheap package backfired because the "motherboard" and its supporting systems are vendor-locked.
Just use a dummy profile and tell your friends (offline) to use email for most comm.
My Facebook page tells visitors that it's light on info because it's not more than a point of contact.
You can also have the vehicle towed by a towing service, who charge for tow and storage.
If the owner doesn't redeem it, it goes to a magistrate auction for what is owed plus whatever bidders wish to bid (normally not above monies owed). YMMV, but "abandoned" property law can be looked up at county court houses where auction and tax auction notices are posted.
Wanna buy cheap land, homes, etc? Haunt these auctions and be ready to act. :)