Yes. There's also one where Dilbert and a salesman are discussing who pays for bug fixes and Dilber realizes the more bugs the vendor includes, the more his employer has to pay in support fees. The salesman mocks him and tells someone on his phone they're going to be rich.
I took umbrage, about 17 years ago with a vendor, for not including something in release, which was a routine fundamental to a few applications. When they told me they would fix it in the next release, due in 6 months, I yelled something to the effect of 'what the hell are we paying you people for if you don't send out the missing code on a tape right away.' The boss announced I was to write the missing code myself and not talk to them anymore. Sometimes you get to see just how bad it is and get no support.
Yet, some people write comments as bad or worse than they code. We had a Sr. (by title only, AFAIC) programmer where I once worked, he spelled the same variable three different ways in a moderately complex statistical application. Stupidly, the bug, failing to assign or read the right variable probably worked out within an acceptable margin of error. Before the programmer left for another job, he was required to go through thousands of lines of code and document, what had been documentation free code. I was handed the project, took about 3 days looking through it and decided it was less work to understand what the application did, what the inputs and outputs were and just rewrite it all from scratch. The documentation read like a bad narrative. "The program does this, the program does that", rather than "Determine raw data scores and differentials, store in table indexed by input and rank, etc. For KR coefficient, the following cannot be zero..."
It turned out to be the smart move, because within a 3 years I had to recode it for another system, then another several years later.
Email, the Web, and IM ALONE justify the purchase of a new computer (or even better, a $50 old one) and $20/mo dialup service. I
can honestly say that life would be a real pain in the ass without the Net.
If she's really a friend, what's stopping you from setting her up with one?;-)
Not only has the novelty worn off (about 4 years ago), but obnoxious advertising is making some sites so unpleasant to visit, I visit only when necessary. So far Slashdot is ok, in my bookmarks.
I'm in the midst of building a dual CPU system and was interested to see reports of Durons and Athlon XP's running in dual motherboards. Certainly the builders think they are getting something like MP performance. Seems to me that successfully getting two CPU's to run on an Asus A7M266-D, Tyan S2466N or MSI K7D isn't necessarily the same as having two MP. I'd like to see benchmarks showing a negligible performance difference. All that money to get there, I wonder why some still try to skimp a few bucks.
IMHO it's not too unlike hotrodders, many of whom knew tricks to get more power out of cars, but at what cost, i.e. stinky exhaust, short lived engine, failure to pass smog (in CA) Not quite the depth of knowledge, but lots of creative guessing.
If painting, the stuff to use is in little bottles, sold at automotive stores, used to repair reat window defrosters.
Unfortunatley, odds are that as soon as they win the case, the spammer will disappear and resurface somewhere else, only to repeat the
process.
The hole in this theory is that most of these people are actually based in the US and spamming because they have squat for money and need to con people to get any. Now, assume they relocate to Mexico they might get away with it for a while, but I wouldn't count on that either. Effectively they'd have to pick up and move themselves to a country without extradition, etc. If they have the wherewithall to do that, most probably wouldn't need to spam.
They've had that URL for ages (imagine all the rappers, comedians and other characters who wanted that url...) They advertise a lot in the bay area '...lawyers for the global economy...' and the story was carried by KCBS this morning, about 6 AM. I was thinking, "kewl..."
I think spammers should be forced to pay by donating an organ for each forged header.
Maybe even one to the church Kathleen and Rob will get married in.;)
Also means that banks are probably at this very moment lobbying for a new set of controls to shackle PayPal in the "public interest." Banks have been trying to screw credit unions for decades, since they are in competition. PayPal if not already in competition, probably represents future competition for banks, and you know how seriously they take that.
Reminds me of those big rubber disks (like neoprene) I put under my turntable for isolation. Maybe you could do that with a table, depending on table mass.
The reverse is a bad idea; using speakers as tables. I was just commenting a moment ago on someone in my department who taped (not duct, tch tch tch) some small cabinets on the top of their monitor, whether it has any ill effect. After moving into an apartment a couple years ago I had no stand (but now have the deluxe cynderblock and plank set:) for my nice flat screen blackstripe monitor and put it up on a big guitar speaker cabinet. It was quite a site to see TV in purples and greens. Fortunately it degaussed and recovered. Never again.
Let's face it, the first time most people used dice for other than shooting craps was when rolling up characters and playing D&D and like games. Eventually the same or highly similar probability systems were implemented by other game companies and many computer games. Some time in the past TSR voiced their displeasure at other games using 3D6 for stats, how armor class is calculated, etc. Hence many games used their own varied methods of valuation of stats, etc., making it a bit of a trick to determine where characters of various genres stood. Is it still a concern for RPG game developers, to create their own systems of statistics, or is those methods and values as detailed by TSR pretty much an open standard?
A check in the Campaign Donor box guarrantees the
holder insulation from legislation which may find
the card holder liable for any damages, further, the
card holder may be elligible for assistance from the
Department of Justice in legal matters.
Well, considering the ATX form factor of a new cabinet (like the one I *just* got), if it were 150mm on a side, you might be able to pack two of them in a cabinet. Which has some possibilities. As it is, it's going to fit a smaller box, great. Be like the Apple cube or something.
Just a side note, in case anyone reading Slashdot attends HH Dow Highschool in Midland, MI. The paperclips embedded in the ceiling of the library magazine room are my legacy. >8^)
Big-ass rubber bands were all the rage in my old IT department, several years ago. We used to get this monster rubber bands, a foot long at rest, binding 9-track reels. Nothing promotes an arms race like the sudden discovery that one of the other programmers has a box of rubber bands in his desk drawer. These babies brough about detent and eventually peace returned to the office. Once again proving, the best defense is the threat of a massive welt.
Slashdot Mirror
I took umbrage, about 17 years ago with a vendor, for not including something in release, which was a routine fundamental to a few applications. When they told me they would fix it in the next release, due in 6 months, I yelled something to the effect of 'what the hell are we paying you people for if you don't send out the missing code on a tape right away.' The boss announced I was to write the missing code myself and not talk to them anymore. Sometimes you get to see just how bad it is and get no support.
System Development Life Cycle
-------- -------
Wild enthusiasm for new project
Implementation
Failure and disillusionment
Search for the guilty
Punishment of the innocent
Promotion of non-participants
It turned out to be the smart move, because within a 3 years I had to recode it for another system, then another several years later.
Argh! Caught in the act! Guess I'd better get back to writing errors in code! ;-)
Other useful metrics:
Spelling errors per line of documentation
Size of chopstick collection
Volume of spam on harddrive
How many years out of fashion clothes are
Months since last date
Weight of programming manuals in personal collection
Accumulation of fast food and junk food detritus on keyboard
How long to gnaw leg off to escape meeting
How many minutes can talk in jargon and acronyms alone
Number of hours will voluntarily work if just left alone to do the damn thing
Age of most out-of-date, yet essential, book and when it became out of date
Serverity of unintelligible handwriting because everything is usually typed
Increase in heartrate when new technical journal arrives
Depth of paper, notes, cans, wrappers, computer bits, et al piled on desk
Ability to quote from any Monty Python show, movie, recording, book, without error.
Proportion in size of editor macros relative to actual code
"I need you to be great and create something totally fantastic and immensely profitable by Friday, Can you do it?"
Why programmers consider murder:
"What's taking you so long? I've already built something just like it in Access."
Why programmers retire early:
"We're totally bankrupt, you probably didn't work hard enough. Thank goodness I've got a golden parachute."
What, she's amish?
Email, the Web, and IM ALONE justify the purchase of a new computer (or even better, a $50 old one) and $20/mo dialup service. I can honestly say that life would be a real pain in the ass without the Net.
If she's really a friend, what's stopping you from setting her up with one? ;-)
Editors cleaning up the story and/or title has a long Slashdot tradition of being optional. Besides, their errors give you purpose! (c=
Here's the link to save you having to scroll all the way down the page and type in Kathleen Fend Read This Story (c=
Not only has the novelty worn off (about 4 years ago), but obnoxious advertising is making some sites so unpleasant to visit, I visit only when necessary. So far Slashdot is ok, in my bookmarks.
I'm in the midst of building a dual CPU system and was interested to see reports of Durons and Athlon XP's running in dual motherboards. Certainly the builders think they are getting something like MP performance. Seems to me that successfully getting two CPU's to run on an Asus A7M266-D, Tyan S2466N or MSI K7D isn't necessarily the same as having two MP. I'd like to see benchmarks showing a negligible performance difference. All that money to get there, I wonder why some still try to skimp a few bucks.
IMHO it's not too unlike hotrodders, many of whom knew tricks to get more power out of cars, but at what cost, i.e. stinky exhaust, short lived engine, failure to pass smog (in CA) Not quite the depth of knowledge, but lots of creative guessing.
If painting, the stuff to use is in little bottles, sold at automotive stores, used to repair reat window defrosters.
The hole in this theory is that most of these people are actually based in the US and spamming because they have squat for money and need to con people to get any. Now, assume they relocate to Mexico they might get away with it for a while, but I wouldn't count on that either. Effectively they'd have to pick up and move themselves to a country without extradition, etc. If they have the wherewithall to do that, most probably wouldn't need to spam.
I think spammers should be forced to pay by donating an organ for each forged header.
Maybe even one to the church Kathleen and Rob will get married in. ;)
Also means that banks are probably at this very moment lobbying for a new set of controls to shackle PayPal in the "public interest." Banks have been trying to screw credit unions for decades, since they are in competition. PayPal if not already in competition, probably represents future competition for banks, and you know how seriously they take that.
The reverse is a bad idea; using speakers as tables. I was just commenting a moment ago on someone in my department who taped (not duct, tch tch tch) some small cabinets on the top of their monitor, whether it has any ill effect. After moving into an apartment a couple years ago I had no stand (but now have the deluxe cynderblock and plank set :) for my nice flat screen blackstripe monitor and put it up on a big guitar speaker cabinet. It was quite a site to see TV in purples and greens. Fortunately it degaussed and recovered. Never again.
Risk assessors have to put a number on health, wit, and daring; they classify you by background, skills, and lifestyle, in dollars and cents.
"You must roll a 12 or higher to be covered by your policy."
Visit his site to see what he's been up to lately!
Let's face it, the first time most people used dice for other than shooting craps was when rolling up characters and playing D&D and like games. Eventually the same or highly similar probability systems were implemented by other game companies and many computer games. Some time in the past TSR voiced their displeasure at other games using 3D6 for stats, how armor class is calculated, etc. Hence many games used their own varied methods of valuation of stats, etc., making it a bit of a trick to determine where characters of various genres stood. Is it still a concern for RPG game developers, to create their own systems of statistics, or is those methods and values as detailed by TSR pretty much an open standard?
See today's date...
I wonder who's at fault.
Non-Donor []
A check in the Campaign Donor box guarrantees the
holder insulation from legislation which may find
the card holder liable for any damages, further, the
card holder may be elligible for assistance from the
Department of Justice in legal matters.
Perfect for that beowulf cluster you'll need to crack CD copy protection...
But, how about on your set-top box? Seems a good fit.
For more about form factors, here the definitive site.
Well, considering the ATX form factor of a new cabinet (like the one I *just* got), if it were 150mm on a side, you might be able to pack two of them in a cabinet. Which has some possibilities. As it is, it's going to fit a smaller box, great. Be like the Apple cube or something.
Just a side note, in case anyone reading Slashdot attends HH Dow Highschool in Midland, MI. The paperclips embedded in the ceiling of the library magazine room are my legacy. >8^)
The Programmer General is a programer AND a general, so watch it!
Big-ass rubber bands were all the rage in my old IT department, several years ago. We used to get this monster rubber bands, a foot long at rest, binding 9-track reels. Nothing promotes an arms race like the sudden discovery that one of the other programmers has a box of rubber bands in his desk drawer. These babies brough about detent and eventually peace returned to the office. Once again proving, the best defense is the threat of a massive welt.