IMHO, this system was designed by psychopaths, for psychopaths, and is maintained by psychopaths. The rest of us just try to fit in the best we can, and try not to become one ourselves.
Yet emergency situations requiring their brashness tend to be very rare.
That just gave me an idea for a business, "Psychopaths On Call." We can have them stay at home with a pager, and companies can hire them by the hour for those tough, decisions of questionable ethics...
I think I'll call my attorney about the legalities of this one.
I have already written my senators on this matter, and have urged all of my friends (in the US anyway) to do the same. I never heard anything back from the senators, and it's been three months already. With their voting records, they must be too busy kissing up to accuweather to actually read their mail.
I have a lot of respect for the NWS. They seem to really be interested in doing their job and making good use of taxpayer money, regardless of the pressure put on them by lobbyists, senators, and corporations.
It is probably the only US government agency that I would ever consider working for.
I pay for them to gather the weather, why should I have to pay accuweather to give it to me in a more readable format.
None of should have to pay accuweather for data that we've already paid for. This bill in the US Senate is still pending. Given that the NWS is still going forward with making this data available, I don't think that the folks at the NWS support the bill.
Actually, the GP does have a valid point. While AOL users tend to be novices and are usually more likely to fall for such schemes, there is one thing that AOL really does right: spam filtering. AFAIK, their spam filtering is one of the best around.
Therefore, the list of screennames would be worth much less to a spammer, as the delivery rate for the mails would be much lower, even with multiple addresses for each account.
And laws are laws. While there may be some overlap of the three, each is still different from the others.
but many world religions state that morals and ethics are ultimatly more enforcable
Law and religion (in most places) are two different things.
Now granted, I think this mugging could have been dealt with from within the game (Beat the guy up, force him to only play from with one building for a couple months)
If the point of your post is that ethics and morals form the physical world apply to the virtual world, then do you think that beating somebody up for theft is ethical and moral? What about "turning the other cheek," as so many religious people like to say?
Continuing with your line of reasoning, we should put all of the actors who have ever played a baddie in the movies in jail too, as they have been unethical in a virtual world.
Most switch sites used by the telcos and the cable companies have robust UPS systems and backup generators, so power outages (or blackouts) usually do not affect communications. Question: have you ever called the power company to report that your power is out?
Please provide a link to the law you mention in your argument. There is a difference between ethics and law, and the "right" thing to do may not be the same as the ethical thing to do. Just because you witness something which may or may not be a crime, it does not mean that you have committed a crime yourself. The exception may be: if somebody voices their intent to break the law, then breaks it, with you as a witness.
All that being said, it is still not likely that the tech "accidently" stumbled across these files. How does the tech know the intent of the customer, and the law? If the tech were a qualified attorney, do you think he would be working at Gateway fixing pcs?
This is probably going to be a close call. If a cop pulls you over for speeding and sees your stash in the back seat, then he has every right to search the rest of your vehicle and arrest you (according to the law, anyway).
However, the person who found these purportedly objectionable files was NOT a cop. It was not his responsibility to call the police, nor was it Gateway's. Also, the fact that the police officers searched his entire hard disk based on heresay likely will be a big issue too. The files in question were clearly not in plain view of the police, and likely not even in the plain view of the technician (although that's moot anyway). I wonder if the technician was just looking for some good pr0n or maybe warez that he could copy.
This is yet another reason why I prefer to build and support my own systems... fewer prying eyes.
I don't mind going along with the notion that God (who I believe was the creator) could have used many things that scientists hold true and call "evolution" and the "Big Bang" to get us to where we are today.
The joys of reading too fast. I thought you said, "I don't mind going along with the notion that God (who I believe was the creator) could have used many things that scientists hold true and call "evolution" and the "Big Bong" to get us to where we are today."
Yes - you are correct; thank you for pointing that out. I did mean that the ratio of Windows admins to servers was higher. Not enought coffee this morning;)
if you don't know what is something it does not imply it is bad.
You hit the nail on the head with that. This article is a classic example:
Be a consulting company (analysis).
Exploit the human trait, fear of the unknown, by writing a report regarding TCO (Win -vs- *NIX), and emphasizing that you can't know your TCO unless you know everything about your environment.
Post article to/. (where some interested PHB's may lurk), knowing that your submission will likely be accepted due to the "flamewar factor."
100% back of the envelope, likely wishful thinking, unsubstantiated guess.
That could be, but not in my experience. At a really large company where I used to work, the ratio of Windows admins to servers is much lower that that of *NIX admins to servers. There were 10 Windows admins for about 200 servers, while there were 20 *NIX admins for about 5000 servers.
it certainly will be called "the regime" from the outside not too far from now.
From what I understand from friends in Eastern Europe (former Soviet controlled states), this is already happening. Even on their local television stations, "they" are referred to as the "Bush regime." Also, the people in these former communist countries swear up and down that Bush and his crew are communist (they explained to me that they mean this in the Stalinist fashion, not Marxism).
While big-label musicians get most of the radio play, I think that sometimes the DJs sneak in a little of what they actually like. For instance, just a few days ago, I heard on our local classic rock station the song, "Big Bottom."
Slashdot Mirror
That Wine and Linux go together?
How true this is. They will only follow the rules and norms when they can define them.
IMHO, this system was designed by psychopaths, for psychopaths, and is maintained by psychopaths. The rest of us just try to fit in the best we can, and try not to become one ourselves.
That just gave me an idea for a business, "Psychopaths On Call." We can have them stay at home with a pager, and companies can hire them by the hour for those tough, decisions of questionable ethics...
I think I'll call my attorney about the legalities of this one.
oh wait...
I guess I do. If I don't at least try to do something, then I would deserve what I get.
The EFF is also asking for help on this one.
*sigh* I can't wait for election day!
It is probably the only US government agency that I would ever consider working for.
None of should have to pay accuweather for data that we've already paid for. This bill in the US Senate is still pending. Given that the NWS is still going forward with making this data available, I don't think that the folks at the NWS support the bill.
Therefore, the list of screennames would be worth much less to a spammer, as the delivery rate for the mails would be much lower, even with multiple addresses for each account.
And laws are laws. While there may be some overlap of the three, each is still different from the others.
but many world religions state that morals and ethics are ultimatly more enforcable
Law and religion (in most places) are two different things.
Now granted, I think this mugging could have been dealt with from within the game (Beat the guy up, force him to only play from with one building for a couple months)
If the point of your post is that ethics and morals form the physical world apply to the virtual world, then do you think that beating somebody up for theft is ethical and moral? What about "turning the other cheek," as so many religious people like to say?
Continuing with your line of reasoning, we should put all of the actors who have ever played a baddie in the movies in jail too, as they have been unethical in a virtual world.
Yep... and now we have 'Raq.
By putting the lions in Crawford (at a specific ranch), there would be an active reduction in the dangers to civilization.
Most switch sites used by the telcos and the cable companies have robust UPS systems and backup generators, so power outages (or blackouts) usually do not affect communications. Question: have you ever called the power company to report that your power is out?
It makes no difference whether he's vacationing in Crawford or Washington. The end result is the same.
That's a good point. The people whose systems I work on must remove their porn before I get there ;)
All that being said, it is still not likely that the tech "accidently" stumbled across these files. How does the tech know the intent of the customer, and the law? If the tech were a qualified attorney, do you think he would be working at Gateway fixing pcs?
However, the person who found these purportedly objectionable files was NOT a cop. It was not his responsibility to call the police, nor was it Gateway's. Also, the fact that the police officers searched his entire hard disk based on heresay likely will be a big issue too. The files in question were clearly not in plain view of the police, and likely not even in the plain view of the technician (although that's moot anyway). I wonder if the technician was just looking for some good pr0n or maybe warez that he could copy.
This is yet another reason why I prefer to build and support my own systems... fewer prying eyes.
Interesting read.
The joys of reading too fast. I thought you said, "I don't mind going along with the notion that God (who I believe was the creator) could have used many things that scientists hold true and call "evolution" and the "Big Bong" to get us to where we are today."
Now THAT, I could believe ;)
Yes - you are correct; thank you for pointing that out. I did mean that the ratio of Windows admins to servers was higher. Not enought coffee this morning ;)
You hit the nail on the head with that. This article is a classic example:
That could be, but not in my experience. At a really large company where I used to work, the ratio of Windows admins to servers is much lower that that of *NIX admins to servers. There were 10 Windows admins for about 200 servers, while there were 20 *NIX admins for about 5000 servers.
Maybe it just depends on the environment.
From what I understand from friends in Eastern Europe (former Soviet controlled states), this is already happening. Even on their local television stations, "they" are referred to as the "Bush regime." Also, the people in these former communist countries swear up and down that Bush and his crew are communist (they explained to me that they mean this in the Stalinist fashion, not Marxism).
Period.
What a pleasant surprise!