"Opus: Who says there's money in comics?" Answer: Scott Adams does, because you get to do nothing but slack off and make fun of people all day, but you are paid for it. As opposed to most people who slack off and make fun of people all day, but are paid for some other duty, like manager or peon or programmer.
I miss Bill the Cat, who was my fav toon when I was a kid.
Reduced water usage, and reduced soap and shampoo being pumped into our water systems, or backing up filtration. Recuded heat and energy would be consumed. Home working would result in fewer showers because people wouldn't have to go outside as much, if at all. (Some geeks would be in heaven if they never had to leave their systems). This would also reduce the spread of disease because you would come in contact with fewer people.
I'm a couple hours east of Toronto, and would never work there because of the insane traffic, smog and pop density. I would bet that at least 40% of the traffic (pulled out of the air, indeed), to and from Toronto, is traffic that could be avoided. It could be even higher than that.
The reason most jobs are forced at work is because some red-tape-loving-sicko-with-power has to control everyone, and they get off on it. Without a RL workforce, how would managers like this get their jollies?
This seems like a good trend for the environment too, because reduced traffic jams, means reduced emmissions, and reduced pollution. Plus you become more productive working from home. You don't have to shower, or dress up (spend lots of paycheck on classy wardrobe), or spend the time it takes in traffic every day to get to work.
Obviously some jobs will require you to be there, but for development, it's not necessary. There are arguements for having devs in work, because people fear they might be slacking off, but the proof is in the pudding!
A pretty good book to read if you are interested in gaming professionally, is Monster Gaming, by Ben Sawyer. Not only does it outline the competitive online gaming community, it delves into mods and other cool stuff like customization & configuration. The book has a foreword by Angel Munoz, the founder of the CPL, and cover art by Id legend Paul Steed. While Monster Gaming is not about becoming a CPL athlete, it is about being a better gamer.
The number of wicked web links in there is enough for any gamer to drool over. I've been thinking of doing a Slashdot book review of it, too.
"Enforces statutory damages of $2 million for violations, tripled to $6 million for intentional violations, and unlimited damages for fraud and abuse."
Does this mean that if you are a spammer in the USA, and you spam addresses outside of the US, you will be fined $6 million dollars? Or does it mean that if you are a spammer from outside the USA, and you spam inside the USA, you will be fined by the USA for doing so? Or does it cover both as international violations?
How is the average SPAMming scumbag supposed to know where his 1.6 million email addresses are going? Do you look at every AOL email addy and assume it's linked to a user in the states? Okay, now what about Hotmail? Does this mean a new database of SPAMworthy email addys will be created so that SPAMmmers will have to use it against their lists, to prevent fines? Might be a good way to lower the bounce-count, at the bare min... not to mention, a way to perhaps add a SPAM-surcharge, so that SPAMmers will have to pay to SPAM.
The meaning of this could get mixed into a quagmire. I wouldn't care, because they are spammers (so who cares anyway), but I wouldn't want to see some of the more savvy ones wiggle off the hook because of some point of law that was overlooked. I mean, at least the law is here, but let's really have at it and make it solid.
IANAL, but American law only applies to America, right? How are they going to stop the spam coming into the states? Many of the offenders exist outside the States. Is if the next US lead war is going to be against countries who SPAM, and rip off Americans with Nigerian scams? That'd be funny as hell!
But as for unlimited damages for fraud and abuse, I think it's a good idea that the US Gov't has the power to bankrupt SPAM companies that lie, cheat and steal. How can I convince my own govrenment (Canada) to do something like this?
Yes, I agree with you. But because I didn't read it, I can't be associated with it. So I release them whenever I want. You see, by generalizing EULA's, I have an arguement if I happen to violate them.
I don't have three years to read every EULA for every prog I run, so I put it in my head that they all have the same exact EULA. Don't steal the software and resell it, or hack it and sell the secrets to how it works, unless it's to make it *better*.
Let's face it, the day I'm sued for disclosing benchmarks on the net, is the day the company suing me goes belly up (mo: SCO will die off soon for suing themselves out of all their profits).
No. It's just me being sick of using ie. Sometimes a cigar...
I had a good chuckle at your use of E:mp, and then explainging it down the thread.:)
Tee Hee. What is the literary term for that? I think it's a cross between cruel irony and dramatic flair. Maybe Dramatic Irony? Hypocrissy, but with a tinge of sage whispering to the side. "No shame on you for using mo:, it's an E:mp!"
"I ignore all software EULA's that I click through"
Just when I went to click to add you as a friend for saying this, I noticed that you already are one!
I ignore all EULA's as well. What's the point? They all say, don't do anything wrong or we'll sue. Okay, I won't do anything wrong, so they won't sue. Simple enough.
Every living creature knows right from wrong. (Except maybe Darl McBride.)
Whenever someone says in other words, they mean that they are explaining how their previous statement works, so people say in other words as a Modus operandi clarification.
Personally, I use it to stand for Mozilla, and it could also be used for mottos.
The problem is that most of the generals wear pacemakers, and these bombs would kill them, thus causing the US to respond with nukes. You might not think it's possible, but what if an ebomb was detonated near Washington? How many senators have pacemakers? The President likely has one. It would be a nightmare to all, if such a thing happened, especially the innocent.
Technologically inclined countries would suffer the most from such attacks.However, terrorists would rather use low-cost/high-bodycount methods, like hijacking a plane and flying it into a building; no cost to Al Queda (they just had to pay for training and carpet knives).
Yes ebombs would be horrible if detonated on American soil, but switching to them is currently against terrorist doctrine. And the US wouldn't bother with them because there aren't any circuits in AK-47s, and the collateral damage is too great. Might be good to take out surface-air rocket launchers, and other big baddies, but you end up setting back the country you're attacking technologically on an even scale; there is no target descrimination.
It might make the general population of "liberated" countries like Iraq, even more hostile if you blow up their computers and Internet connections! Nothing worse than a horde of angry Iraqi children denied their Quake time.
Rather than say ie, which is a sick twisted way for Microsoft boobs to get in my head, I replace it with mo, for Mozilla. It doubles for the term modus operandi, but in a kind of twisted way to mean "in other words", or the "specific meaning".
I'm all for the idea of faster, better, stronger ways of browsing. I happen to think that mouse gestures and browser level code should be based in the browser, and controlled by the browser. Like look at all the gestures you get with Mozilla.
(mo: Don't invent the wheel: we have it already)
The problem I forsee with the jscript use, is a misuse of the mouse gesture jscripts by unethical sites. Because it's the planet Earth, and The Internet, half of the sites will impliment this correctly, the other half will use it as a joke, or for annoying adverts (browser interstitials) and thus cause the whole thing to be crap.
If it's at a browser level, websites can't fuck with it. So ideally, browsers will want to add the ability to block javascript mouse control, and promptly add this cool feature at a browswer level. I'm all for the idea of mousegestures, but I'm against the ability to tell a website to fuck off using them. (mo: KISS).
Isn't the first rule, don't talk? This coder is going to get whacked! I would have kept my mouth shut if made a proggie for the mob. If I had a ham sandwich with Tony Soprano, I wouldn't talk about it for chrissakes.
The author Simson Garfinkel could also get whacked because he knows the guy who talked.
Maybe it's too Hollywood, but would you even risk it? Would you? So maybe they didn't pay the guy enough? He says he makes 1/3 of $150k, but he likes living under the radar. That makes sense for about two seconds. I'd rather make $150k and keep it in my shoebox.
They aren't paying the guy enough, so he bragged about it to Wired, who published it.
The chain of stupidity doesn't stop there. Now the IRS is after this guy for tax evasion, and they can connect him to the writer of the story and the mob itself, meaning some mob boss at the top is shitting his pants right now -- if this is isn't total BS.
"But in the fog of all those poker games, I had neglected to take the humanities classes required for graduation. So I left without a degree and moved to New York City. My plan was to become a professional card player."
"Just in case, prepare a plan for migrating to another platform within two years."
Maybe once the plans to migrate are prepared fully, smart employees will push for migration citing the existing contingency plans as existing (hey, we planned to move in 2003), and show how cheaper/better life could be without the SCO. At least with that plan, even the most obtuse managers would see the truth.
Funny how the legal fees of a legal aggressor company like SCO prove that overextending yourself is a bad business model. They're like Rome! But at least they are setting the bad example, so that other businesses with money won't dare go after the Open Source community so readily next time around. I say it looks like we are proving ourselves to the traditional red herring pundits.
IANAL, but wouldn't it be wise for everyone to just wait out the SCO? They are doing their damndest to ruin their own business reputation, so the rest isn't far off anyway. I mean it's obvious, right?
Given my comment about CSIS, how is this accurate? CSIS was given the access to eavesdrop on all phone calls in Canada during the early 90's. They abused the right and were set straight, har har har. But if the FBI *can* simply tune into any car they please, what's stopping them from totally abusing this "feature"?
If they plant a bug, there is evidence they made the action of eavesdropping, and they can be caught; but if they just tune into a particular car because it has OnSpy, there is no evidence, and no problem. They could listen to anyone they want. They likely could detect if the car has OnSpy, and find the frequency or what have you.
Maybe the information they want can't be obtained on warrant anyway, so they just listen in and find something else. Or maybe they are working for a particular Senator that wants to suppress a certain report from coming out, so they use the OnSpy thing to get past the red tape and impinge liberty, once again.
There are great uses for knowing what people are saying in a car. Blackmail is just one of many.
Too true. If the bugs are built right into the car, it makes the FBI's job way easier. Pretty soon, FBI directors will invent OnSpy for your home, so you can request help or service at the push of a button in any room. This law is going to be overturned because the FBI always get what they want, don't they?
Also, I thought the US just printed money when they needed more of it?
What's most disturbing is that they only passed this because it prevented the saftey features from working, and not because it was infringing on rights of privacy. Crap, if they have a bug order anyway, can't they just bug the car?
I mean, the cops are listening... so... uh... what's the point of having roadside assistance? If the car breaks down, the FBI or whoever was listening could repsond!
I remember CSIS was slammed some years ago for agents listening in on random phone calls to Canadian citizens, and gossiping about what was going on with other agents, in a kind of Real-Radio type gagfest.
It's a good sign from the states that they are stopping this stuff, but I don't have much faith in that being followed by every cop out there. If they want to know what you're up to, trust me... they will.
My question is about sneaks. There are software packages that sneak spyware onto systems currently, but little is published about how to prevent this from happening. New technology circumvents anti-spyware using.Net and other features that hide the programs running. Similar uses for.Net is used by Counterstrike hacks, for cheating.
My guess is that while we keep putting energy toward blocking spyware, and detecting it, the same energy is being put toward inventing it. Is this a battle between good and evil? It would seem so.
Generally, I run anti-spyware programs on a frequent basis, but is it enough? Likely not. A watchdog organization, at the governmental level, is required, not just a committee. Committees come and go, but their findings should go toward an ethical standards legal department, or some kind of funded watchdog that has a declaration of what an ethical software package is, and what crosses the line. Penalties involving more than fines are in order, too, or you get people who just want to break even or make some dough, but are willing to risk fines. Espionage is illegal. Maybe that law applies, but IANAL...
When I first read this, I read "AOL Dicks". In all honesty, they are the type of people who really need this sort of guide. Nerds have their own patterns and be damned anyone who steps in and tries to change them. I like the part about going outside, or becoming social. You shouldn't wait for an outage in order for that to happen, as it is more stable to have set times when you go outside. Nerds will agree that having a good schedule makes for a sensible life that has meaning, and positive ebb and flow. Maybe there are times when panic sets in, but for the most part, geeks without internet are geeks who suddenly shed their reclusive behaviour and gently stretch, as they crawl out from their stagnant dens of computing supremacy. Perhaps we spend too much time in there anyway?
I can think of a hundred better things to do with an AOL CD than actually using it... well at least one! This article has a place in our lives if we work techsup, as a guide to give users. The only problem is reading the URL on the phone to them!
If the net has to go down in order for you to spend time with your spouse, you are sunk anyway, and she's prolly got the divorce papers drawn up, and can't get enough face time with you to get a signature. I have set times I spend with my family, but I also have flex times, when anyone can interrupt what I'm doing. Good policy if you like having a family, and wish to keep it.
Slashdot Mirror
"Opus: Who says there's money in comics?"
Answer: Scott Adams does, because you get to do nothing but slack off and make fun of people all day, but you are paid for it. As opposed to most people who slack off and make fun of people all day, but are paid for some other duty, like manager or peon or programmer.
I miss Bill the Cat, who was my fav toon when I was a kid.
Managing WAH emps will be tough, but it's worth it in the end because they do more for the company, at least the ones who are good.
Reduced water usage, and reduced soap and shampoo being pumped into our water systems, or backing up filtration. Recuded heat and energy would be consumed. Home working would result in fewer showers because people wouldn't have to go outside as much, if at all. (Some geeks would be in heaven if they never had to leave their systems). This would also reduce the spread of disease because you would come in contact with fewer people.
I'm a couple hours east of Toronto, and would never work there because of the insane traffic, smog and pop density. I would bet that at least 40% of the traffic (pulled out of the air, indeed), to and from Toronto, is traffic that could be avoided. It could be even higher than that.
The reason most jobs are forced at work is because some red-tape-loving-sicko-with-power has to control everyone, and they get off on it. Without a RL workforce, how would managers like this get their jollies?
This seems like a good trend for the environment too, because reduced traffic jams, means reduced emmissions, and reduced pollution. Plus you become more productive working from home. You don't have to shower, or dress up (spend lots of paycheck on classy wardrobe), or spend the time it takes in traffic every day to get to work.
Obviously some jobs will require you to be there, but for development, it's not necessary. There are arguements for having devs in work, because people fear they might be slacking off, but the proof is in the pudding!
A pretty good book to read if you are interested in gaming professionally, is Monster Gaming, by Ben Sawyer. Not only does it outline the competitive online gaming community, it delves into mods and other cool stuff like customization & configuration. The book has a foreword by Angel Munoz, the founder of the CPL, and cover art by Id legend Paul Steed. While Monster Gaming is not about becoming a CPL athlete, it is about being a better gamer.
The number of wicked web links in there is enough for any gamer to drool over. I've been thinking of doing a Slashdot book review of it, too.
OK, time to go home. *sigh*
"Enforces statutory damages of $2 million for violations, tripled to $6 million for intentional violations, and unlimited damages for fraud and abuse."
Does this mean that if you are a spammer in the USA, and you spam addresses outside of the US, you will be fined $6 million dollars? Or does it mean that if you are a spammer from outside the USA, and you spam inside the USA, you will be fined by the USA for doing so? Or does it cover both as international violations?
How is the average SPAMming scumbag supposed to know where his 1.6 million email addresses are going? Do you look at every AOL email addy and assume it's linked to a user in the states? Okay, now what about Hotmail? Does this mean a new database of SPAMworthy email addys will be created so that SPAMmmers will have to use it against their lists, to prevent fines? Might be a good way to lower the bounce-count, at the bare min... not to mention, a way to perhaps add a SPAM-surcharge, so that SPAMmers will have to pay to SPAM.
The meaning of this could get mixed into a quagmire. I wouldn't care, because they are spammers (so who cares anyway), but I wouldn't want to see some of the more savvy ones wiggle off the hook because of some point of law that was overlooked. I mean, at least the law is here, but let's really have at it and make it solid.
IANAL, but American law only applies to America, right? How are they going to stop the spam coming into the states? Many of the offenders exist outside the States. Is if the next US lead war is going to be against countries who SPAM, and rip off Americans with Nigerian scams? That'd be funny as hell!
But as for unlimited damages for fraud and abuse, I think it's a good idea that the US Gov't has the power to bankrupt SPAM companies that lie, cheat and steal. How can I convince my own govrenment (Canada) to do something like this?
Yes, I agree with you. But because I didn't read it, I can't be associated with it. So I release them whenever I want. You see, by generalizing EULA's, I have an arguement if I happen to violate them.
I don't have three years to read every EULA for every prog I run, so I put it in my head that they all have the same exact EULA. Don't steal the software and resell it, or hack it and sell the secrets to how it works, unless it's to make it *better*.
Let's face it, the day I'm sued for disclosing benchmarks on the net, is the day the company suing me goes belly up (mo: SCO will die off soon for suing themselves out of all their profits).
No. It's just me being sick of using ie. Sometimes a cigar...
:)
I had a good chuckle at your use of E:mp, and then explainging it down the thread.
Tee Hee. What is the literary term for that? I think it's a cross between cruel irony and dramatic flair. Maybe Dramatic Irony? Hypocrissy, but with a tinge of sage whispering to the side.
"No shame on you for using mo:, it's an E:mp!"
*sigh*
"I ignore all software EULA's that I click through"
Just when I went to click to add you as a friend for saying this, I noticed that you already are one!
I ignore all EULA's as well. What's the point? They all say, don't do anything wrong or we'll sue. Okay, I won't do anything wrong, so they won't sue. Simple enough.
Every living creature knows right from wrong. (Except maybe Darl McBride.)
I disagree.
Whenever someone says in other words, they mean that they are explaining how their previous statement works, so people say in other words as a Modus operandi clarification.
Personally, I use it to stand for Mozilla, and it could also be used for mottos.
The problem is that most of the generals wear pacemakers, and these bombs would kill them, thus causing the US to respond with nukes. You might not think it's possible, but what if an ebomb was detonated near Washington? How many senators have pacemakers? The President likely has one. It would be a nightmare to all, if such a thing happened, especially the innocent.
Technologically inclined countries would suffer the most from such attacks.However, terrorists would rather use low-cost/high-bodycount methods, like hijacking a plane and flying it into a building; no cost to Al Queda (they just had to pay for training and carpet knives).
Yes ebombs would be horrible if detonated on American soil, but switching to them is currently against terrorist doctrine. And the US wouldn't bother with them because there aren't any circuits in AK-47s, and the collateral damage is too great. Might be good to take out surface-air rocket launchers, and other big baddies, but you end up setting back the country you're attacking technologically on an even scale; there is no target descrimination.
It might make the general population of "liberated" countries like Iraq, even more hostile if you blow up their computers and Internet connections! Nothing worse than a horde of angry Iraqi children denied their Quake time.
(mo: in other words, modus operandi, Mozilla)
Rather than say ie, which is a sick twisted way for Microsoft boobs to get in my head, I replace it with mo, for Mozilla. It doubles for the term modus operandi, but in a kind of twisted way to mean "in other words", or the "specific meaning".
Okay you can all laugh at me now.
I'm all for the idea of faster, better, stronger ways of browsing. I happen to think that mouse gestures and browser level code should be based in the browser, and controlled by the browser. Like look at all the gestures you get with Mozilla.
(mo: Don't invent the wheel: we have it already)
The problem I forsee with the jscript use, is a misuse of the mouse gesture jscripts by unethical sites. Because it's the planet Earth, and The Internet, half of the sites will impliment this correctly, the other half will use it as a joke, or for annoying adverts (browser interstitials) and thus cause the whole thing to be crap.
If it's at a browser level, websites can't fuck with it. So ideally, browsers will want to add the ability to block javascript mouse control, and promptly add this cool feature at a browswer level. I'm all for the idea of mousegestures, but I'm against the ability to tell a website to fuck off using them. (mo: KISS).
Isn't the first rule, don't talk? This coder is going to get whacked! I would have kept my mouth shut if made a proggie for the mob. If I had a ham sandwich with Tony Soprano, I wouldn't talk about it for chrissakes.
The author Simson Garfinkel could also get whacked because he knows the guy who talked.
Maybe it's too Hollywood, but would you even risk it? Would you? So maybe they didn't pay the guy enough? He says he makes 1/3 of $150k, but he likes living under the radar. That makes sense for about two seconds. I'd rather make $150k and keep it in my shoebox.
They aren't paying the guy enough, so he bragged about it to Wired, who published it.
The chain of stupidity doesn't stop there. Now the IRS is after this guy for tax evasion, and they can connect him to the writer of the story and the mob itself, meaning some mob boss at the top is shitting his pants right now -- if this is isn't total BS.
"But in the fog of all those poker games, I had neglected to take the humanities classes required for graduation. So I left without a degree and moved to New York City. My plan was to become a professional card player."
And now the FBI knows you by name.
So if I hang out around SCO, when they go bust... what will I find?
"Just in case, prepare a plan for migrating to another platform within two years."
Maybe once the plans to migrate are prepared fully, smart employees will push for migration citing the existing contingency plans as existing (hey, we planned to move in 2003), and show how cheaper/better life could be without the SCO. At least with that plan, even the most obtuse managers would see the truth.
Funny how the legal fees of a legal aggressor company like SCO prove that overextending yourself is a bad business model. They're like Rome! But at least they are setting the bad example, so that other businesses with money won't dare go after the Open Source community so readily next time around. I say it looks like we are proving ourselves to the traditional red herring pundits.
IANAL, but wouldn't it be wise for everyone to just wait out the SCO? They are doing their damndest to ruin their own business reputation, so the rest isn't far off anyway. I mean it's obvious, right?
So now that the FBI tried to go the legitimate route, do you think they'll just go the other way now?
Given my comment about CSIS, how is this accurate? CSIS was given the access to eavesdrop on all phone calls in Canada during the early 90's. They abused the right and were set straight, har har har. But if the FBI *can* simply tune into any car they please, what's stopping them from totally abusing this "feature"?
If they plant a bug, there is evidence they made the action of eavesdropping, and they can be caught; but if they just tune into a particular car because it has OnSpy, there is no evidence, and no problem. They could listen to anyone they want. They likely could detect if the car has OnSpy, and find the frequency or what have you.
Maybe the information they want can't be obtained on warrant anyway, so they just listen in and find something else. Or maybe they are working for a particular Senator that wants to suppress a certain report from coming out, so they use the OnSpy thing to get past the red tape and impinge liberty, once again.
There are great uses for knowing what people are saying in a car. Blackmail is just one of many.
Too true. If the bugs are built right into the car, it makes the FBI's job way easier. Pretty soon, FBI directors will invent OnSpy for your home, so you can request help or service at the push of a button in any room. This law is going to be overturned because the FBI always get what they want, don't they?
Also, I thought the US just printed money when they needed more of it?
What's most disturbing is that they only passed this because it prevented the saftey features from working, and not because it was infringing on rights of privacy. Crap, if they have a bug order anyway, can't they just bug the car?
I mean, the cops are listening... so... uh... what's the point of having roadside assistance? If the car breaks down, the FBI or whoever was listening could repsond!
I remember CSIS was slammed some years ago for agents listening in on random phone calls to Canadian citizens, and gossiping about what was going on with other agents, in a kind of Real-Radio type gagfest.
It's a good sign from the states that they are stopping this stuff, but I don't have much faith in that being followed by every cop out there. If they want to know what you're up to, trust me... they will.
My question is about sneaks. There are software packages that sneak spyware onto systems currently, but little is published about how to prevent this from happening. New technology circumvents anti-spyware using .Net and other features that hide the programs running. Similar uses for .Net is used by Counterstrike hacks, for cheating.
My guess is that while we keep putting energy toward blocking spyware, and detecting it, the same energy is being put toward inventing it. Is this a battle between good and evil? It would seem so.
Generally, I run anti-spyware programs on a frequent basis, but is it enough? Likely not. A watchdog organization, at the governmental level, is required, not just a committee. Committees come and go, but their findings should go toward an ethical standards legal department, or some kind of funded watchdog that has a declaration of what an ethical software package is, and what crosses the line. Penalties involving more than fines are in order, too, or you get people who just want to break even or make some dough, but are willing to risk fines. Espionage is illegal. Maybe that law applies, but IANAL...
"Perhaps you should have read the article."
If I did that, I'd slit my own wrists!
When I first read this, I read "AOL Dicks". In all honesty, they are the type of people who really need this sort of guide. Nerds have their own patterns and be damned anyone who steps in and tries to change them. I like the part about going outside, or becoming social. You shouldn't wait for an outage in order for that to happen, as it is more stable to have set times when you go outside. Nerds will agree that having a good schedule makes for a sensible life that has meaning, and positive ebb and flow. Maybe there are times when panic sets in, but for the most part, geeks without internet are geeks who suddenly shed their reclusive behaviour and gently stretch, as they crawl out from their stagnant dens of computing supremacy. Perhaps we spend too much time in there anyway?
I can think of a hundred better things to do with an AOL CD than actually using it... well at least one! This article has a place in our lives if we work techsup, as a guide to give users. The only problem is reading the URL on the phone to them!
If the net has to go down in order for you to spend time with your spouse, you are sunk anyway, and she's prolly got the divorce papers drawn up, and can't get enough face time with you to get a signature. I have set times I spend with my family, but I also have flex times, when anyone can interrupt what I'm doing. Good policy if you like having a family, and wish to keep it.