"Fidel Castro runs a socialist dictatorship; not communist."
Fixed that one for you.
Who exactly is he friendly with? If you mean anyone who agrees with everything Castro says, then OK I'm sure he's friendly with them, but he ain't so friendly to anyone who dares disagree with him.
"If I'm on an aeroplane I want the computer to be more terrified of crashing than I am so it does everything to stay in the air until it's supposed to be on the ground."
Why the hell would you want that? And how would that be better than a flight computer with rock-solid programming? Is the non-emotional computer going to just give up the ship? If it's (competently) programmed to keep the plane from crashing, that's what it will do. I would want a computer doing the job precisely because it is emotionless. This guy is an idiot. Besides, didn't he see 2001?
I wonder if you could argue with yourself or if you would just end up agreeing all the time?
Maybe being "virtualized" will change the brain-copy's perspective enough so that you won't see eye to eye with yourself anymore.
What would be awesome is if you able to set the digital brain to working out a problem while you do other stuff and then you sync up your memories later. Say you've had some books you've been wanting to read (which would mean that the brain-copy wants to read them too) but original-brain/body doesn't have time to read them. So the brain-copy can kick back and read. Then you sync up later.
Unless it were given a believable virtual body that was placed in a believable virtual world, the copy brain would probably figure it out pretty quick. It would have all of your memories and reasoning capacity so if you can deduce your current situation correctly then so would your brain copy, especially if you knew the download process was going to occur and retained a memory of this fact before it occured.
Interestingly I was reading a book about the plague just this morning. Yes it wiped out 25% of the European population. However, if they'd had anywhere near the knowledge about the nature of disease, vectors, and transmission that we possess there would have been far far fewer deaths. Even without antibiotics.
If any potential epidemic pops up there are people all over the world ready to track it down and isolate it, quarantine cases, eliminate vectors, etc. Look at SARS. It turned out to be not too bad, but still it's amazing how soon we went from the first cases appearing to isolating the virus. In the 14th century they couldn't even make the rat-flea-man connection. Now we are able to isolate the pathogen almost as soon as a new disease emerges. This goes a long way to preventing widespread pestilence. A new disease could take out a lot of people, but it would have to be one hell of a bug to take out a quarter of the world's population.
BTW, are you a clinical immunologist? I'm a 2nd year med student and Allergy/Immunology is one specialty I'm thinking of (neurology is another). Our immune systems and nervous systems are, to me, the most fascinating and amazing things we possess. I love this stuff.
# Name Height Year 01. Bank of America Tower 285 m 1985 02. Washington Mutual Tow.. 235 m 1988 03. Two Union Square 226 m 1989 04. Seattle Municipal Tow.. 220 m 1990 05. 1001 Fourth Avenue Pl.. 192 m 1969 06. Space Needle 184 m 1961 07. US Bank Centre 177 m 1989 08. Wells Fargo Center 175 m 1983 09. Bank of America Fifth.. 166 m 1981 10. Union Bank of Califor.. 163 m 1973
The point isn't that the movie is not 100% accurate. He even stated in his review that it isn't expected or even supposed to be the same.
The problem is that the spirit of HGtG has been lost in the translation. It was like the film makers didn't realize that the stories were not popular because they were good sci-fi or even that great of a story. They weren't. If you want that go read Dune or Contact. They were popular because of the wit and humor. It sounds like they basically stuck to the story, but forgot the one thing that made the Hitchhiker's Guide great: It is funny!
Example from review:
"I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them." "That's the Display Department." "With a torch." "The lights had probably gone." "So had the stairs." "But you found the plans, didn't you?" "Oh yes, they were 'on display' in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the leopard.'"
Or, as the movie version has it:
"I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them." "But you found the plans, didn't you?"
Yes the same even takes place, but the whole point of the dialogue is lost. That point being it's humor.
Count me out on this one. I love the books. Don't want to spoil it by tainting my memory with crap.
My sister has lost her passport in a foreign country (not Canada) not once...but twice! It was a pain for her to get a replacement so she could come home, but it wasn't too big of a deal.
Well, there is quite a difference between lobbying with companies and harrassing the hardware vendors. From these emails Theo de Raadt comes across as a whiney jerk. Not to mention he posted the Adaptec guy's email address so the entire obsd mailing list could spam him.
This sort of behavior just gives open source developers a bad name. Show a little professionalism and respect, and you might actually get something done without looking like a complete tool. If he thought it was taking a long time before, I doubt that anybody at Adaptec is going to be rushing to help out de Raadt now after he acted like a complete jerk.
Exactly. Google should release browser stats. EVERYBODY uses Google. That would surely be the most representative sample of browser distribution on the web.
Re:Ah. You tried to get into mensa....
on
MSN Sponsors Mensa
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· Score: 1
"Look at this thread : full of hatred against those folks, because they dare claim they're smart. "
The key word here is "claim". Why would they feel the need to announce their intelligence to the rest of the world? Usually to make up for some perceived inferiority in their lives.
It's interesting that often the TRULY brilliant people never really admit/realize how smart they are. Or they realize that there is always somebody smarter than them. I've been reading a memoir by Richard Feynman, who by most people's measure was a genius. Yet he continually says things that show that he isn't terribly impressed with himself. I guess meeting people like Niels Bohr and Einstein would do that to you (but those guys probably thought they weren't the super geniuses they were, either). But however these guys thought of themselves they DID something with their genius, not sit around and think about how smart they are. Would anybody remember them if they hadn't? You never hear people saying stuff like, "yeah he never got much done, but that guy was freaking smart!"
I guess my point is that nobody cares how smart you are. It's what you do with it. You don't need to be a super genius or even that far above average to accomplish something.
As for what have I accomplished? Well for today...you're looking at it. However smart I may be, it will never make up for the fact that I am lazy.
Re:I've noticed this at work...
on
Got Game
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· Score: 1
So I'm not sure which you are advocating?
Seems to me option B is the way to go. Instead of stabbing in the dark until you hit something, think things through and then act.
New management paradigm: (I hate that word)
on
Got Game
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Whenever a new management gimmick like this comes along a million "target employees" roll their eyes. Anything like this where the aim is for management to connect with the younger elements in their company by communicating "on their level". This usually means trying to appear like you understand where they're coming from by implementing some BS program like this.
Speaking as someone who was a kid in the 80s, I don't want my bosses to make work "like a game". How about: a) listening to what your employees need/want b) be clear in what your expectations are c) make those expectations reasonable d) give direction without dictating or micromanaging (following 'a' will usually bring you here) e) Be reasonable, receptive, and real (i.e. don't act like you "understand them" and make management decisions based on that)
All this kind of stuff is like the corporate "team building" bullshit that became so popular in the 90s. From anyone I've ever talked to who had to participate in this crap it pretty much has opposite the intended effect.
When I was interviewed for my job last year, I was told the company was looking for someone who "lives on the web."
Haha! That's the WORST employment criteria I've ever heard of!
I'm guessing it was an HR person who said this?
Apparently these people have no real concept of what hiring a person who "lives on the web" would mean.
I guess if they were looking for somebody who spends all day posting on Slashdot and Fark then that's what they want. Maybe they needed somebody to point them to the latest religious/political flame wars, articles about hacked tivos, and porn.
Is this your current job?
If that's the case please send me their contact info! I'm guessing that with my 5-digit slashdot ID number I'm a shoe in.
Unfortunately they probably wanted somebody who "knows a lot about the internet."
Still funny.
I've also never played an MMORPG (Played a fair amount of MUDs in college though). I'd like to see results from people more like myself who have been on the web basicaly since it's inception, but rarely, if ever, play games. More of the "information junkie" like you called yourself. These "junkies" who spend the majority of their time online reading news, perusing technical documentation, posting in forums, researching interests, etc. would have a whole different experience and perception of the internet than people who spend the vast majority of time in games.
Exactly. While some things are out of people's control, but a great many other things ARE your fault. I have plenty of bad habits but to call them "addictions" would be overstating the facts quite a bit.
Spend too much time on the internet? Maybe you need to look at changing your habits and apply a little will power. Too often people use "addiction" or "syndrome" as a cop out. "I can't help it. I'm addicted!" More often than not it's being too lazy to change your habits.
The fact that I'm posting on slashdot instead of studying shows that I'm just as guilty. But I KNOW that I'm being lazy and not doing what I'm supposed to.
I'm in a sort of similar situation as a medical student. I've found that if you get to know the IT staff on their level they are usually pretty accomodating. On several occasions I've had people tell me about how the IT guy is a jerk (he may not be that good but he's not a jerk;) or something like that. But after mentioning that I basically used to do his job it usually helps. Once he realizes that you can communicate on his level and don't have to be handheld for every little thing then he'll be willing to give you some slack. Otherwise he (however wrong it may be) will probably just assume that you're some doctor who read a few articles online or in the latest PC World, and decided that you need direct access to the database. I always like to think about the guys who start hacking the windows registry without a clue and then call in the poor IT guy complaining that their computer is screwed up. Make them see that you are not this guy and that will go a long way.
"Consider that throughout the US, there are 16000 seats in all the medical schools per year, and there are 48000 applicants vying for them."
Yeah, makes it tough for "non-traditional" med school applicants. But don't discount Osteopath and International schools. I know several people who went that route who are now successful and respected doctors working in the US.
I was a CS graduate, worked as a systems admin for several years and then decided to go to medical school. That began two years worth of undergrad pre-med courses, taking MCAT, applying, etc; no it's not a quick and easy route. Also my undergrad grades way back then weren't exactly stellar. So, needless to say I wasn't one of the 16000. But, inspired by some fine doctors I know, I chose to go to an international school. Unlike the majority of students at US med schools who are fresh out of undergrad we have many nurses, PAs, EMTs, Business people, and even sys admins!
I don't really know what my point is, except that if you want it there is always a way. That said...I REALLY need to go study!
"While I agree that there are definitely more valuable things to fight for, it should be noted that the airwaves over which the networks broadcast are public property. In other words, it belongs to you and me and the rest of the American people."
That's exactly what I'm talking about. Why put your effort to something that is made solely to make a profit for some corporation.
The airwaves DO technically belong to the public. That's why we should be fighting for LPFM (low power FM) and other broadcasting that actually benefits the public. Take the airwaves back from the corporations who refuse to share the broadcast space with the public.
Slashdot Mirror
Man...that article was worse that your average slashdot troll. Hardly "interesting and thought provoking."
"Fidel Castro runs a socialist dictatorship; not communist."
Fixed that one for you.
Who exactly is he friendly with? If you mean anyone who agrees with everything Castro says, then OK I'm sure he's friendly with them, but he ain't so friendly to anyone who dares disagree with him.
Yeah, because if it's in an article it's got to be true!
Sounds like urban legend material to me. Like exploding monitors and the like.
The feeling airplane comment was the best:
"If I'm on an aeroplane I want the computer to be more terrified of crashing than I am so it does everything to stay in the air until it's supposed to be on the ground."
Why the hell would you want that?
And how would that be better than a flight computer with rock-solid programming? Is the non-emotional computer going to just give up the ship? If it's (competently) programmed to keep the plane from crashing, that's what it will do. I would want a computer doing the job precisely because it is emotionless.
This guy is an idiot. Besides, didn't he see 2001?
I wonder if you could argue with yourself or if you would just end up agreeing all the time?
Maybe being "virtualized" will change the brain-copy's perspective enough so that you won't see eye to eye with yourself anymore.
What would be awesome is if you able to set the digital brain to working out a problem while you do other stuff and then you sync up your memories later.
Say you've had some books you've been wanting to read (which would mean that the brain-copy wants to read them too) but original-brain/body doesn't have time to read them. So the brain-copy can kick back and read. Then you sync up later.
How would he/I know which was the copy?
Unless it were given a believable virtual body that was placed in a believable virtual world, the copy brain would probably figure it out pretty quick.
It would have all of your memories and reasoning capacity so if you can deduce your current situation correctly then so would your brain copy, especially if you knew the download process was going to occur and retained a memory of this fact before it occured.
I can't wait for their next console: the Vapor!
President who cannot be voted out of office == dictator
Interestingly I was reading a book about the plague just this morning. Yes it wiped out 25% of the European population. However, if they'd had anywhere near the knowledge about the nature of disease, vectors, and transmission that we possess there would have been far far fewer deaths. Even without antibiotics.
If any potential epidemic pops up there are people all over the world ready to track it down and isolate it, quarantine cases, eliminate vectors, etc.
Look at SARS. It turned out to be not too bad, but still it's amazing how soon we went from the first cases appearing to isolating the virus. In the 14th century they couldn't even make the rat-flea-man connection. Now we are able to isolate the pathogen almost as soon as a new disease emerges.
This goes a long way to preventing widespread pestilence. A new disease could take out a lot of people, but it would have to be one hell of a bug to take out a quarter of the world's population.
BTW, are you a clinical immunologist? I'm a 2nd year med student and Allergy/Immunology is one specialty I'm thinking of (neurology is another). Our immune systems and nervous systems are, to me, the most fascinating and amazing things we possess. I love this stuff.
Tallest buildings in Seattle
# Name Height Year
01. Bank of America Tower 285 m 1985
02. Washington Mutual Tow.. 235 m 1988
03. Two Union Square 226 m 1989
04. Seattle Municipal Tow.. 220 m 1990
05. 1001 Fourth Avenue Pl.. 192 m 1969
06. Space Needle 184 m 1961
07. US Bank Centre 177 m 1989
08. Wells Fargo Center 175 m 1983
09. Bank of America Fifth.. 166 m 1981
10. Union Bank of Califor.. 163 m 1973
My ibook purchased in April '04 came with Garageband. You must have not bought from Apple?
Everytime? Yes. I am world renowned for my grammar errors.
And we would know the question if it wasn't for those damn Vogons!
The point isn't that the movie is not 100% accurate. He even stated in his review that it isn't expected or even supposed to be the same.
The problem is that the spirit of HGtG has been lost in the translation. It was like the film makers didn't realize that the stories were not popular because they were good sci-fi or even that great of a story. They weren't. If you want that go read Dune or Contact. They were popular because of the wit and humor.
It sounds like they basically stuck to the story, but forgot the one thing that made the Hitchhiker's Guide great: It is funny!
Example from review:
"I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"That's the Display Department."
"With a torch."
"The lights had probably gone."
"So had the stairs."
"But you found the plans, didn't you?"
"Oh yes, they were 'on display' in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the leopard.'"
Or, as the movie version has it:
"I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"But you found the plans, didn't you?"
Yes the same even takes place, but the whole point of the dialogue is lost. That point being it's humor.
Count me out on this one. I love the books. Don't want to spoil it by tainting my memory with crap.
My sister has lost her passport in a foreign country (not Canada) not once...but twice!
It was a pain for her to get a replacement so she could come home, but it wasn't too big of a deal.
Well, there is quite a difference between lobbying with companies and harrassing the hardware vendors.
From these emails Theo de Raadt comes across as a whiney jerk. Not to mention he posted the Adaptec guy's email address so the entire obsd mailing list could spam him.
This sort of behavior just gives open source developers a bad name. Show a little professionalism and respect, and you might actually get something done without looking like a complete tool.
If he thought it was taking a long time before, I doubt that anybody at Adaptec is going to be rushing to help out de Raadt now after he acted like a complete jerk.
Exactly. Google should release browser stats. EVERYBODY uses Google. That would surely be the most representative sample of browser distribution on the web.
"Look at this thread : full of hatred against those folks, because they dare claim they're smart. "
The key word here is "claim". Why would they feel the need to announce their intelligence to the rest of the world? Usually to make up for some perceived inferiority in their lives.
It's interesting that often the TRULY brilliant people never really admit/realize how smart they are. Or they realize that there is always somebody smarter than them.
I've been reading a memoir by Richard Feynman, who by most people's measure was a genius. Yet he continually says things that show that he isn't terribly impressed with himself. I guess meeting people like Niels Bohr and Einstein would do that to you (but those guys probably thought they weren't the super geniuses they were, either).
But however these guys thought of themselves they DID something with their genius, not sit around and think about how smart they are.
Would anybody remember them if they hadn't? You never hear people saying stuff like, "yeah he never got much done, but that guy was freaking smart!"
I guess my point is that nobody cares how smart you are. It's what you do with it.
You don't need to be a super genius or even that far above average to accomplish something.
As for what have I accomplished? Well for today...you're looking at it. However smart I may be, it will never make up for the fact that I am lazy.
So I'm not sure which you are advocating?
Seems to me option B is the way to go. Instead of stabbing in the dark until you hit something, think things through and then act.
Whenever a new management gimmick like this comes along a million "target employees" roll their eyes. Anything like this where the aim is for management to connect with the younger elements in their company by communicating "on their level". This usually means trying to appear like you understand where they're coming from by implementing some BS program like this.
o n/index.html
Speaking as someone who was a kid in the 80s, I don't want my bosses to make work "like a game".
How about:
a) listening to what your employees need/want
b) be clear in what your expectations are
c) make those expectations reasonable
d) give direction without dictating or micromanaging (following 'a' will usually bring you here)
e) Be reasonable, receptive, and real (i.e. don't act like you "understand them" and make management decisions based on that)
All this kind of stuff is like the corporate "team building" bullshit that became so popular in the 90s. From anyone I've ever talked to who had to participate in this crap it pretty much has opposite the intended effect.
Found this good rant about this corporate motivation stuff: http://www.ranum.com/editorials/business-motivati
Haha! That's the WORST employment criteria I've ever heard of!
I'm guessing it was an HR person who said this?
Apparently these people have no real concept of what hiring a person who "lives on the web" would mean.
I guess if they were looking for somebody who spends all day posting on Slashdot and Fark then that's what they want. Maybe they needed somebody to point them to the latest religious/political flame wars, articles about hacked tivos, and porn. Is this your current job?
If that's the case please send me their contact info! I'm guessing that with my 5-digit slashdot ID number I'm a shoe in.
Unfortunately they probably wanted somebody who "knows a lot about the internet."
Still funny.
I've also never played an MMORPG (Played a fair amount of MUDs in college though). I'd like to see results from people more like myself who have been on the web basicaly since it's inception, but rarely, if ever, play games. More of the "information junkie" like you called yourself. These "junkies" who spend the majority of their time online reading news, perusing technical documentation, posting in forums, researching interests, etc. would have a whole different experience and perception of the internet than people who spend the vast majority of time in games.
Exactly.
While some things are out of people's control, but a great many other things ARE your fault.
I have plenty of bad habits but to call them "addictions" would be overstating the facts quite a bit.
Spend too much time on the internet? Maybe you need to look at changing your habits and apply a little will power.
Too often people use "addiction" or "syndrome" as a cop out. "I can't help it. I'm addicted!"
More often than not it's being too lazy to change your habits.
The fact that I'm posting on slashdot instead of studying shows that I'm just as guilty. But I KNOW that I'm being lazy and not doing what I'm supposed to.
I'm in a sort of similar situation as a medical student. I've found that if you get to know the IT staff on their level they are usually pretty accomodating. On several occasions I've had people tell me about how the IT guy is a jerk (he may not be that good but he's not a jerk ;) or something like that. But after mentioning that I basically used to do his job it usually helps.
Once he realizes that you can communicate on his level and don't have to be handheld for every little thing then he'll be willing to give you some slack.
Otherwise he (however wrong it may be) will probably just assume that you're some doctor who read a few articles online or in the latest PC World, and decided that you need direct access to the database.
I always like to think about the guys who start hacking the windows registry without a clue and then call in the poor IT guy complaining that their computer is screwed up. Make them see that you are not this guy and that will go a long way.
"Consider that throughout the US, there are 16000 seats in all the medical schools per year, and there are 48000 applicants vying for them."
Yeah, makes it tough for "non-traditional" med school applicants. But don't discount Osteopath and International schools. I know several people who went that route who are now successful and respected doctors working in the US.
I was a CS graduate, worked as a systems admin for several years and then decided to go to medical school. That began two years worth of undergrad pre-med courses, taking MCAT, applying, etc; no it's not a quick and easy route. Also my undergrad grades way back then weren't exactly stellar. So, needless to say I wasn't one of the 16000. But, inspired by some fine doctors I know, I chose to go to an international school. Unlike the majority of students at US med schools who are fresh out of undergrad we have many nurses, PAs, EMTs, Business people, and even sys admins!
I don't really know what my point is, except that if you want it there is always a way.
That said...I REALLY need to go study!
Pharm: so many drugs, so little time
"While I agree that there are definitely more valuable things to fight for, it should be noted that the airwaves over which the networks broadcast are public property. In other words, it belongs to you and me and the rest of the American people."
That's exactly what I'm talking about. Why put your effort to something that is made solely to make a profit for some corporation.
The airwaves DO technically belong to the public. That's why we should be fighting for LPFM (low power FM) and other broadcasting that actually benefits the public. Take the airwaves back from the corporations who refuse to share the broadcast space with the public.