The problem I have with it is the use of the social security numbers on the card, providing yet more opportunities for id theft. Even though it may be encoded, I give it a month before it's hacked. Then comes the inevitable commercial applications, like needing to show the ID to purchase groceries (not that we don't show a card many places now anyway). You know, I don't think it's apathy so much as everybody is trying to keep their head above water with other issues in their lives. But, Americans can not forget that there is a civic duty required beyond jury duty and voting (which many do not do anyway). I can't also help but think that the creation of the DHS was a mistake, as it's another government agency making rules to justify it's existence.
Laugh as you might, but fat kids are contributing to global warming with all the extra methane they are releasing. When people finally realize this, something will finally be done about it.
You need to remember that a private establishment can refuse service to you for whatever reason they want. Also, the level of apathy in this country has risen to the point where no one except the few of us on slashdot cares about privacy.
The worrisome thing is not so much that this guy's driver license was scanned using a digital scanner, but that the data is shuffled off to a database somewhere to be mined. Imagine your insurance rates going up because the insurance company did not like what you had to drink the night before.
If there was enough of us around, I would be all for picketing an establishment to deter customers from going to it because of its data-collecting policies (that goes for those stupid supermarket cards as well). The only things that hurts a company is the financial or legal consequences of its actions. Unfortunately, laws need to be made for there to be legal consequences, and we all know that the current politicans are hopeless. So that leaves hurting a company finacially somehow through meaningful consumer actions. Otherwise you might as well blow off as it does not matter a whit.
When I said "repair," I was referring to it as a system, as they did more to it than just give it glasses:). But informally, that's all they did to the mirror was add lenses (though it was a quite complex mechanism). I remember when the Hubble was launched and they discovered the mistake, the countless jokes that were made about it. So much so that it was part of a gag in the Naked Gun movie. Quite a comeback! But I digress.
What congress did to the ISS, they also did to the space shuttle, producing something that really is (and was) not generally useful. The ISS was needed to make the space shuttle useful for something.
The only thing that the shuttle has accomplished of note was running missions to the ISS and repairing Hubble. One could even argue that for the cost of shuttle missions (no one really knows the true cost) it may be less expensive to replace the Hubble outright on an unmanned rocket. While the shuttle was a marvelous technical feat, that's all that it really was.
Their days are increasingly numbered. It seems there is a solid state equivalent for everything these days, including high power medium wave RF transmitters. Probably the next to last vestige of the tube, after CFLs. But even those might go with the way LEDs are improving. No tube is safe. It's hard to believe but true.
Can somebody convince me? Legitimate question. But before you throw away the Hubble, take a long cold hard look at the international space station, something NASA is pushing to decommision anyway in a few years. Something where in my opinion the money could have been better allocated.
Also, compare it to the triumph of the Voyager mission, and the moon landing. Two missions that I feel advanced us as a nation. I do believe as you peruse the totality of groundbreaking images and science that have come from Hubble you will see that it compares favorably. Also, remember the technical triumph that was overcome by managing to repair a mirror that had a fatal manufacturing defect. Something that as a nerd, I find inspiring in itself, and is taken for granted everytime an image is released to the public.
So I think while it is worthy to point a finger, be willing to point it in a judicious manner.
Stop trying to make me feel guilty! If those other programmers (who are smarter than me) solve the puzzle, that simply means that they already have a job and are looking for a better one. But I, on the other hand, do not have one. Face it, we all believe in commie ideas here, and need to spread the wealth around!
I mean, it just SOUNDS like he made it up on whim! Agreed. If he would have giving it any thought he would have named the large expanse of hot gas the O'Reilly Cloud.
I keep hearing about how wonderful Canada is....and then stuff like this happens which seems to show no regard for the common citizen at all! Look at it this way. After the RIAA cops beat them up at least they will be able to find healthcare. So still better, kinda.
we got to feel smug despite the rubber keyboard You are being overly generous. The first sinclairs had a membrane keyboard. I also know of many a man that lusted after the 16K expansion module. That's what made the C64 so great. It came with a real keyboard, and a full 64K of address space that an 8 bit cpu could address. Truly visionary.
How the hell could that *NOT* be directly related to her job duties?
Because the boss said "today I want you process all the textbook TPS receiving forms" and she went to a presentation instead?
I know I could get fired in a heartbeat for doing something like that. Irrelevant of whether the presentation happened to be tangentially related to what I was doing.
Can somebody please explain what the heck is going on? What happened is she walked off the job to attend a presentation not directly related to her job duties. She badmouthed the boss. She used state resources and time to work on her own stuff rather than duties directly related to her job. She got suspended for 30 days. She used "I got fired because of ID politics" to cover her own ass. The story got posted to Slashdot by editor Zonk because fundies are his own pet peeve, with a couple of sentences that fails to tell both sides of the coin. Since nobody RTFA to get the complete picture, numerous atheists feel obligated to flamebait creationists with their stupid fundie ways. The number of posts to the story exceed 666, which coincidentally is the number of the beast. The scientific sky will be falling again next week when Zonk returns to the helm, except it will be in Kansas. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem I have with it is the use of the social security numbers on the card, providing yet more opportunities for id theft. Even though it may be encoded, I give it a month before it's hacked. Then comes the inevitable commercial applications, like needing to show the ID to purchase groceries (not that we don't show a card many places now anyway).
You know, I don't think it's apathy so much as everybody is trying to keep their head above water with other issues in their lives. But, Americans can not forget that there is a civic duty required beyond jury duty and voting (which many do not do anyway).
I can't also help but think that the creation of the DHS was a mistake, as it's another government agency making rules to justify it's existence.
Laugh as you might, but fat kids are contributing to global warming with all the extra methane they are releasing.
When people finally realize this, something will finally be done about it.
Yeah, when I launch it there won't be a dull moment...
You need to remember that a private establishment can refuse service to you for whatever reason they want. Also, the level of apathy in this country has risen to the point where no one except the few of us on slashdot cares about privacy.
The worrisome thing is not so much that this guy's driver license was scanned using a digital scanner, but that the data is shuffled off to a database somewhere to be mined. Imagine your insurance rates going up because the insurance company did not like what you had to drink the night before.
If there was enough of us around, I would be all for picketing an establishment to deter customers from going to it because of its data-collecting policies (that goes for those stupid supermarket cards as well). The only things that hurts a company is the financial or legal consequences of its actions. Unfortunately, laws need to be made for there to be legal consequences, and we all know that the current politicans are hopeless. So that leaves hurting a company finacially somehow through meaningful consumer actions. Otherwise you might as well blow off as it does not matter a whit.
When I said "repair," I was referring to it as a system, as they did more to it than just give it glasses :). But informally, that's all they did to the mirror was add lenses (though it was a quite complex mechanism). I remember when the Hubble was launched and they discovered the mistake, the countless jokes that were made about it. So much so that it was part of a gag in the Naked Gun movie. Quite a comeback! But I digress.
What congress did to the ISS, they also did to the space shuttle, producing something that really is (and was) not generally useful. The ISS was needed to make the space shuttle useful for something.
The only thing that the shuttle has accomplished of note was running missions to the ISS and repairing Hubble. One could even argue that for the cost of shuttle missions (no one really knows the true cost) it may be less expensive to replace the Hubble outright on an unmanned rocket. While the shuttle was a marvelous technical feat, that's all that it really was.
Their days are increasingly numbered. It seems there is a solid state equivalent for everything these days, including high power medium wave RF transmitters. Probably the next to last vestige of the tube, after CFLs. But even those might go with the way LEDs are improving. No tube is safe. It's hard to believe but true.
Also, compare it to the triumph of the Voyager mission, and the moon landing. Two missions that I feel advanced us as a nation. I do believe as you peruse the totality of groundbreaking images and science that have come from Hubble you will see that it compares favorably. Also, remember the technical triumph that was overcome by managing to repair a mirror that had a fatal manufacturing defect. Something that as a nerd, I find inspiring in itself, and is taken for granted everytime an image is released to the public.
So I think while it is worthy to point a finger, be willing to point it in a judicious manner.
Quite honestly, this guy has nothing on me. I'm building a space shuttle out of disposable razors!
Britney Spears and Barry Manilow is a rootkit for the human brain.
Actually, the best google product that no one has heard about is their airplane business. I hear that you can have really cool parties on it.
Stop making fun of their language! "Tata" is hindi for "rubber band!"
You know, like "Go wind up the tata so we can get going!"
Stop trying to make me feel guilty! If those other programmers (who are smarter than me) solve the puzzle, that simply means that they already have a job and are looking for a better one. But I, on the other hand, do not have one. Face it, we all believe in commie ideas here, and need to spread the wealth around!
Thank you! Now I will get they job for sure, proving that 'I' know how to read slashdot!
Don't you wish the rest of congress could grow a spine?
Yes, this indeed has been done.
How about the Al Gore Cloud instead.
Nah. In that case it would be the Al Gore Belt.
How the hell could that *NOT* be directly related to her job duties?
Because the boss said "today I want you process all the textbook TPS receiving forms" and she went to a presentation instead?
I know I could get fired in a heartbeat for doing something like that. Irrelevant of whether the presentation happened to be tangentially related to what I was doing.
That's not what I heard;
I have had it with these motherfuckin' solar panels on this motherfuckin' space station!