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User: michael.karl.coleman

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Comments · 34

  1. Wired: Be careful, esp because holiday! on CDC: Do Not Eat Any Romaine Lettuce Until Further Notice (wired.com) · · Score: 1

    > [CDC] isn't usually so sweeping in its statements, but with a holiday coming...

    Seriously? If (like me) you were wondering whether that clanger came from the CDC itself or the vapid press (Wired in this case), it's the latter.

  2. Possible Encryption Cracking? on Is Quantum Computing Impossible? (ieee.org) · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure that the CIA and friends would pay all of the money (*all of it*) to have a box that could crack public key encryption. How feasible is this? Is it on the horizon, or one of those things (like practical fusion) that always will be?

  3. Re:The reason why higher wages doesn't put on Authors of Controversial 'Seattle Minimum Wage' Study Revise Their Conclusions (bloombergquint.com) · · Score: 1

    That can't be the reason. On the margin, raising wages ought to make some of that work unprofitable, leading to the workers in question being let go.

    Not taking a position on the study, but if raising the minimum wage doesn't lead to workers being let go, there must be some other explanation.

  4. You meant that as a joke, but this is actually a good solution to the problem of bullshit self-valuations: Pass a law allowing anyone to buy a property for (say) 3x the owner's valuation of it, with no recourse by the owner.

    Problem solved.

  5. Yes, according to their numbers (?) on Diversity At Google Hasn't Changed Much Over the Last Year (cnet.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A more interesting question is how they managed to go from 59.6% white techies in 2014 to 50.7% white techies in 2018. That's an 8.9% drop in four years. Presumably they're not preferentially firing white techies, nor are they preferentially quitting. That leaves hiring, which for some reason has fallen off a cliff, versus non-whites. Is there any innocent explanation for this?

    On top of that, female techies have gone from 16.6% to 21.4% over the same four years. Since many of these new hires are undoubtedly white, that means that white male techies have fallen even more than the above stats would indicate. We need more data, but I'm guessing 15 or 20% over four years.

    This seems almost beyond belief, and yet no one else seems to be discussing it. Am I all wet here? Or maybe Google screwed up their numbers?

  6. As a data point, I did an extensive job search this last year at 53. Although I'd heard that market value decreases with age, it was a bit surprising to me how sharp the drop-off was. I do, of course, hope that your experience is not like mine. But prudence suggests that you assume that your market value at 55 is similar to what your market value at 35 was, and will decrease from there. Plan accordingly and godspeed.

  7. Re:Secondary question on Ask Slashdot: How Can Programmers Move Into AI Jobs? · · Score: 1

    No. This problem is so difficult that even our best minds are unable to attack it...

  8. I'm sorry, but you're too late. All of the programming jobs are already gone. :-)

  9. Christopher Alexander? on The Hidden Ways That Architecture Affects How You Feel (bbc.com) · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's stunning that someone could write an article like this and not be aware of Christopher Alexander's work on the subject. Highly recommend his book A Pattern Language.

  10. Re:A whole lot of nothing in the leak on Edward Snowden On Trump Administration's Recent Arrest of an Alleged Journalistic Source (freedom.press) · · Score: 1

    Security clearances aren't about being "fair". They're simply about an estimate of the likelihood that the subject will turn out to be a bad actor, able to be compromised, etc. Fairness isn't a part of that.

  11. 1000 bits/ per LED? on Malware Uses Router LEDs To Steal Data From Secure Networks (bleepingcomputer.com) · · Score: 2

    Is that like making the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs?

  12. Re:High Sierra Format on Apple Unveils What's Next For macOS Desktop OS: High Sierra (venturebeat.com) · · Score: 1

    It's okay. We won't think any worse of you than we do of Apple's marketing department...

  13. Re:Wikipedia has a category 'Visual programming on Ask Slashdot: Is There a Way To Write Working Code By Drawing Flow Charts? · · Score: 1

    These were noble experiments, but none are useful for practical programming, AFAIK.

  14. Re:People Don't Demand Better on For Video Soundtracks, Computers Are the New Composers (npr.org) · · Score: 1

    I feel a bit wistful asking this, but is it really worse? Deadmau5 isn't necessarily better or worse than the NY Philharmonic, just different. And while computer-generated scores might be mediocre now, soon enough they will probably exceed what a human can do.

  15. T-Mobile == Carrier From Hell on Slashdot Asks: Which Wireless Carrier Do You Prefer? · · Score: 1

    T-Mobile was great until I made the mistake of moving. Coverage unusable at new place, even though it was in an urban area. After many months of run-around from T-Mobile, finally gave up and ate the contract penalty, which was about $800. Never again.

  16. Drink the "kOOl-aid" on Ask Slashdot: Do You Like Functional Programming? (slashdot.org) · · Score: 2

    Not sure whether that was an intended pun or not, but I'm using it...

  17. Re:I wonder about the under-performing coworker on Researchers Determine What Makes Software Developers Unhappy (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    I wonder if some perceived "under-performing coworkers" aren't actually NPV performance leaders...

  18. Re:How many Chromebook buys are accidental? on Are Chromebooks Responsible For PC Market Growth? (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    People are going to be pissed, though, when they discover that Chromebooks won't run their viruses...

  19. The System is Usually in an Error-Free State on Ask Slashdot: What Are Some Lies Programmers Tell Themselves? · · Score: 1

    The truth is that some part of whatever system you're thinking about is almost always suffering from errors.

  20. Even worse than that on No, We Probably Don't Live in a Computer Simulation, Says Physicist (gizmodo.com) · · Score: 2

    If you think about it, there's no way--even in principle--to find the programmer or a bug in the simulation. It'd simply be impossible to distinguish between that and arbitrarily odd observed natural behavior. At best, you might (might!) be able to observe the universe acting in an unexpected way.

    As the Greeks mused, we're simply living in a dream of sorts, with no hope of ever knowing the true nature of reality.

  21. Just Exodus? (cost of living) on Seattle Tech Engineers Are More Loyal Than Those in San Francisco, Data Shows (geekwire.com) · · Score: 1

    Perhaps this entire difference could be explained by the rate of workers leaving these cities, which is in turn mostly caused by cost of living issues? San Francisco, and the Bay Area generally, is ferociously expensive. And that effect is magnified once one reaches the age of having children.

  22. Re:Just inflate history on Ask Slashdot: Should You Tell Future Employers Your Salary History? · · Score: 1

    That's pretty goofy. So if they answer the questions you ask them, you just shitcan their app rather than bidding and negotiating?

  23. That's pretty impressive. You should write a book or something. I'd love to learn how to get those shallow jackasses to see me as a warm and empathetic person... ;-)

  24. Re:So what would you use? on Slashdot Asks: What Are Your Favorite Java 8 Features? (infoworld.com) · · Score: 0

    "modern C++" is a non-existent abstraction, like an ideal, dimension-less point. Most real C++ systems are a mish-mash of styles and levels of quality. Even for actual high-quality C++ codebases, it's all but impossible to verify that they are without months of study. And a couple of commits by Joe Schlub will knock it back to the stone age again.

  25. Re:Adult Conversation on FBI Director Says Prolific Default Encryption Hurting Government Spying Efforts (go.com) · · Score: 1

    Indeed. If you have nothing but name-calling, you don't deserve a seat at the table, FBI.