I'll assume that your post is based on your post-secondary school education in the fields of Chemistry and/or Physics. Failing that, I dismiss you as just another rambling idiot. Here are my thoughts:
Radioactive isotopes. Do you own a smoke detector? Not everything that's radioactive makes your hair fall out and your skin peel off. Low-intensity sources have many uses for the hobbyist. These folks aren't selling plutonium, fergodssake.
Burning lasers. No threat here. Lasers are not, and possibly will never be, useful weapons for individuals. Any laser capable of doing harm to a person can also cause blindness from stray reflected radiation. People buying these things might just possibly be interested in... welding. Do you get scared when your neighbor buys an arc welder??
What is anyone going to do with uranium? Enrich it to U-235? Hell, even Iran can't do that (yet). Want to machine it? Good luck. It's a very tough metal. I don't see someone buying small quantities of uranium as much of a threat to our way of life.
Heavy water? Where's the problem? You can DRINK the stuff. It's not radioactive, nor can it be used for evil purposes. Perhaps you're thinking of the Nazis' heavy water experiments, please reread your history.
Black powder is MUCH more dangerous than any of the aformentioned items, but you seem to think that's fine as a commerce item. Black powder is often used to propel lead projectiles and to blow shit up. Where's your logic, man???
Please get yourself informed before you post on a public forum and scare people with your nonsense.
I switched to contracting five years ago, and I've never looked back. I've had steady work throughout the economic mudslide, and I feel that the breadth of experience I've received has made me a stronger developer than I'd be if I'd been in a FT role the whole time.
You mentioned that the client was stable. That's key. I've had a lot of gigs where the money dried up after the initial 3 months, and it's a royal pain to look for new work so frequently. Finding stable clients *usually* means less moving around.
As far as the cash waterfall goes, the days of 'two salaries for the work of one' rates are long gone. Even so, I find I can make more than I'd earn as a perm guy. Many assignments cap contractors at 40 hrs/wk, too.
Rates vary by staffing agency, too. I've seen one agency offer $65 for an assignment, and another offer $45 for that same assignment. This may be an extreme example, but it's 100% real. A contractor has to do his homework, keep his finger on the pulse of the market and establish a network of reputable recruiters.
I incorporated, because it's nearly impossible for individuals to get health insurance in MA. As a biz, I can get group rates through the local Chamber of Commerce, etc. An easier option is going 1099, but many staffing agencies will only work with you as W-2 or corp-corp. If you decide to incorporate or go 1099, your first step is to find a good accountant.
Also, if you're a biz (corp or 1099), you can set up a SEP-IRA, which is the self-employed equivalent of a 401k. Your bank can give you more info.
The best thing about contracting, IMHO, is that you can concentrate on the WORK. No politics, fewer meetings and very little ancilliary corporate bullshit.
...if this flaw was discovered in JSP, PHP or Perl, would we see the same degree of venom?;-)./ has some really smart readers. Too bad there's so much platform religion. It's all the same crap in different packages. ASP.Net, JSP, PHP and Perl all suck and shine, differently but equally.
Slashdot Mirror
I'll assume that your post is based on your post-secondary school education in the fields of Chemistry and/or Physics. Failing that, I dismiss you as just another rambling idiot. Here are my thoughts:
Radioactive isotopes. Do you own a smoke detector? Not everything that's radioactive makes your hair fall out and your skin peel off. Low-intensity sources have many uses for the hobbyist. These folks aren't selling plutonium, fergodssake.
Burning lasers. No threat here. Lasers are not, and possibly will never be, useful weapons for individuals. Any laser capable of doing harm to a person can also cause blindness from stray reflected radiation. People buying these things might just possibly be interested in... welding. Do you get scared when your neighbor buys an arc welder??
What is anyone going to do with uranium? Enrich it to U-235? Hell, even Iran can't do that (yet). Want to machine it? Good luck. It's a very tough metal. I don't see someone buying small quantities of uranium as much of a threat to our way of life.
Heavy water? Where's the problem? You can DRINK the stuff. It's not radioactive, nor can it be used for evil purposes. Perhaps you're thinking of the Nazis' heavy water experiments, please reread your history.
Black powder is MUCH more dangerous than any of the aformentioned items, but you seem to think that's fine as a commerce item. Black powder is often used to propel lead projectiles and to blow shit up. Where's your logic, man???
Please get yourself informed before you post on a public forum and scare people with your nonsense.
Mark
I switched to contracting five years ago, and I've never looked back. I've had steady work throughout the economic mudslide, and I feel that the breadth of experience I've received has made me a stronger developer than I'd be if I'd been in a FT role the whole time.
You mentioned that the client was stable. That's key. I've had a lot of gigs where the money dried up after the initial 3 months, and it's a royal pain to look for new work so frequently. Finding stable clients *usually* means less moving around.
As far as the cash waterfall goes, the days of 'two salaries for the work of one' rates are long gone. Even so, I find I can make more than I'd earn as a perm guy. Many assignments cap contractors at 40 hrs/wk, too.
Rates vary by staffing agency, too. I've seen one agency offer $65 for an assignment, and another offer $45 for that same assignment. This may be an extreme example, but it's 100% real. A contractor has to do his homework, keep his finger on the pulse of the market and establish a network of reputable recruiters.
I incorporated, because it's nearly impossible for individuals to get health insurance in MA. As a biz, I can get group rates through the local Chamber of Commerce, etc. An easier option is going 1099, but many staffing agencies will only work with you as W-2 or corp-corp. If you decide to incorporate or go 1099, your first step is to find a good accountant.
Also, if you're a biz (corp or 1099), you can set up a SEP-IRA, which is the self-employed equivalent of a 401k. Your bank can give you more info.
The best thing about contracting, IMHO, is that you can concentrate on the WORK. No politics, fewer meetings and very little ancilliary corporate bullshit.
Good luck!
...if this flaw was discovered in JSP, PHP or Perl, would we see the same degree of venom? ;-) ./ has some really smart readers. Too bad there's so much platform religion. It's all the same crap in different packages. ASP.Net, JSP, PHP and Perl all suck and shine, differently but equally.