No, maybe YOU want information for free. Some of us recognize that various industry evilness aside, there are artists out there who deserve something in return for their creative work.
I'd say, whatever turns your crank. You've got a piece of paper. Unless you want to teach, getting more paper isn't going to make an appreciable difference. Since you've ruled out an M.S. it sounds like you're not interested in teaching.
So, take things you enjoy, and don't worry about what piece of paper it leads you to. The fact that you're studying something, anything, will have a bigger effect on employers than 'studying XYZ'. If you try to match your studies to the want ads, you'll find that thost want ads could give a shit about courses. They want 2-5 years experience in EXACTLY the area they're employing for.
I have a B.Sc in CSC from '93, and post degree courses in everything from network admin to creative writing. Your local community college is a good place to check out, if you havn't already.
In my case, I left the country when I was 6, and returned when I was 34. Trying to get a SSN at the age of 34 is problematic, to say the least.
I did register for Selective Service while living in Canada. Don't remember what I did about SSN, or if they required it then (mid 80s). I do remember that their turn-around time to acknowledge my change of address was about the same length of time it took for me to move, as a student at a semester University. Four months.
Very similar to myself, except that my 'out of state' license was Canadian. The most indignant thing about it for me was that although my Canadian license was valid for 30 days, I had to take a driving test. So I drove through Atlanta traffic to the DMV, to find that the 'driving test' was on a dirt lot with no other cars or lane markings. Just some fake road signs. Presumably after driving around this dirt parking lot for a while I'd get a GA license.
Except it was sprinkling rain that day. No tests in the rain. So I drove back home, in Atlanta traffic (in the rain).
I never did get my GA license before I moved out of state.
'Thinking outside the box' is not high on the requirements list for government jobs.
I challenge your 'somewhat harder' part. In the off chance that the person getting on the plane were a 'known' terrorist, they'd simply borrow some id from someone who looked like them. Terrorists do all look alike, don't they?
One of the litmus tests for a security measure is, "Does it appreciably increase security, or does it address a particular security problem?" In this case, I don't see how it does. Having ID is not a problem for terrorists. In fact, the terrorist is the guy who will willingly show his ID, take off his shoes, and anything else all the other people are doing. The people he wants to blend in with.
Related- Many people I've talked to equate terrorists with illegal immigrants. There have never been any illegal immigrant terrorists. Legal immigrants (all the 9-11s e.g.) and citizens (Kazinsky, McVeigh e.g.). Terrorists try to blend in as much as possible. That means doing everything 'by the book'.
I think the airlines have always had a 'no resale' policy. That is, if you got caught with someone else's ticket, they didn't have to let you fly. They do this because it lets them sell more tickets. For a flight with X seats, they'll sell X + Y tickets, where Y is some number arrived at through all kinds of statistical and financial analysis. Sometimes they sell too many, and have to give people vouchers to give up their seats. If people could re-sell their tickets, more tickets would be used, and Y, hence tickets sold, would be smaller.
Not that many years ago, you only showed ID for international flights. They spot checked domestic flights, but not that often.
I don't know if there really is a law, or if the airlines want to blame it on a law. Blaming it on some phantom regulation is an easy way out for the security person on the scene, but in this case there probably is a law.
Still, it fits in well with the airlines' desire for people to not be able to re-sell their tickets.
When Social Security was first created, people raised alarm bells over this 'universal number'. The government promised it would be for Social Security only. But, hey, if you've got nothing to hide, then you won't mind if your college, DMV, health insurance etc use it for ID... And look at the mess we're in now.
I have no objection to using things for what they're for, but when we rely on them because they're easy, they begin to be used for other things. Anything the proves who I am should work for ID. Any method of paying for my potential financial liability should work in place of a credit card. You should have seen the Radioshack staff when I tried to buy a computer with cash! Yes, they accepted it, but that was pre 9-11. I think today they would have called the DHS on me!
The police did accept my passport as ID, but they had a place on the form for a DL#. They really wanted to fill that in. Having to put some other number, and a note was outside the realm of their standard procedure. They also didn't like taking my word for my address.
If I were a biblical alarmist, I'd point out that a credit card is essentially a mark of the beast. Try to buy and sell without one.
Why should a company be obligated to provide a service if you do not meet their guidelines? Infact, the reason this is happening is likely because people never had to provide some proof of credit.
The problem is, they ask for a CC because it's easy. Since 99% of us have a CC, it works, mostly. But what if someone doesn't want a credit card? Do you have to have a credit card to be credit worthy? Why can't I pay in advance?
I lived through this as a US citizen who grew up in Canada. I returned to the US as a working adult, with no SSN. Anyone in the US without a SSN is deemed to be a foreigner, so they show their immigration papers. But I was a citizen, with a passport. My Canadian DL was not accepted as identification. I fell through the cracks, and had a hell of a time 'becoming a real person' in the eyes of all those companies that were not trying to 'jack me off' (the bank, apartments, DMV, phone company, etc etc). I was (and am) a fine upstanding law abiding citizen, who was actually willing to show any cards I could. I just didn't have the cards everyone wanted.
As for showing a DL to the DMV, why ask for a DL, why not ID? Because if you go into the police dept to report a traffic incident, they assume you have a DL. And if you don't, you don't fit into their template, and so you're more work. And they don't like that.
Why should you need to show a credit card to buy something not on the credit card? I tried to report a car running a red light and almost hitting me on my bike. The police wanted to see my drivers license. Um- I wasn't driving. As a cyclist, I'm not required to have a drivers license. So, why ask for it?
Just because things are ubiquitious in our society doesn't make them right. Most of the time you are 'required' to flash a card, it's for the convenience of the other party.
is so that you can't fly on someone else's ticket.
If you have a ticket you can't use, you can't sell it in the paper (or on eBay). There used to be all kinds of classified ads for airplane tickets for sale. No more. It's economics, not security.
Advertising is becoming increasingly integrated into the show. The Toyota ad on the big screen in the background. The Motorlola logo on the dude's cell phone as he pops it open to take a picture.
Heck, in my day you had to GET UP OF THE COUCH! and walk over to the TV to change the channel. Someone came out with a volume switch on a long wire. Sitting in your couch you could TURN OFF THE SOUND! durring comercials without getting up.
The 'avoiding the ads' argument is as old as the hills. People have and will avoid commericals.
Some of the feedback is interesting as well. Basically, the 'solution' doesn't solve any problems, and it's money that could be better spent on teachers and books. Yes, I know, this one was 'free', but it won't always be free.
Slashdot Mirror
And while you're at it, don't forget to sign up all your friends to http://www.raptureletters.com/
They'll thank you for it later. Really, they will.
Ya. And that's pretty much why you support Islam as well, right? Brothers in faith?
Soldiers have to lie about being gay.
The biggest supporters for the state of Isreal are radical Christians, who see it as a neccessary precursor to the rapture.
:-)
Not that they'd neccessarily agree on much in one-on-one dialog
Wonder if they ask people if they read fiction or go to movies...
No, maybe YOU want information for free. Some of us recognize that various industry evilness aside, there are artists out there who deserve something in return for their creative work.
In Russia, ISPs have to aborb the cost of providing monitoring to the FSB.
In the US, it's called CALEA (among other things).
I've heard 'accounting', 'business', 'economics'.
I'd say, whatever turns your crank. You've got a piece of paper. Unless you want to teach, getting more paper isn't going to make an appreciable difference. Since you've ruled out an M.S. it sounds like you're not interested in teaching.
So, take things you enjoy, and don't worry about what piece of paper it leads you to. The fact that you're studying something, anything, will have a bigger effect on employers than 'studying XYZ'. If you try to match your studies to the want ads, you'll find that thost want ads could give a shit about courses. They want 2-5 years experience in EXACTLY the area they're employing for.
I have a B.Sc in CSC from '93, and post degree courses in everything from network admin to creative writing. Your local community college is a good place to check out, if you havn't already.
They'd be going after the thousands of kiosks all over every Russian city, selling movies, software, and yes, music, for 2$ per CD.
In my case, I left the country when I was 6, and returned when I was 34. Trying to get a SSN at the age of 34 is problematic, to say the least.
I did register for Selective Service while living in Canada. Don't remember what I did about SSN, or if they required it then (mid 80s). I do remember that their turn-around time to acknowledge my change of address was about the same length of time it took for me to move, as a student at a semester University. Four months.
Very similar to myself, except that my 'out of state' license was Canadian. The most indignant thing about it for me was that although my Canadian license was valid for 30 days, I had to take a driving test. So I drove through Atlanta traffic to the DMV, to find that the 'driving test' was on a dirt lot with no other cars or lane markings. Just some fake road signs. Presumably after driving around this dirt parking lot for a while I'd get a GA license.
Except it was sprinkling rain that day. No tests in the rain. So I drove back home, in Atlanta traffic (in the rain).
I never did get my GA license before I moved out of state.
'Thinking outside the box' is not high on the requirements list for government jobs.
Let me re-phrase that.
The BIGGER reason is...
I won't be surprised if this phantom law ever does show up, but I'm convinced that the real motivation for the airlines to check your ID is financial.
I challenge your 'somewhat harder' part. In the off chance that the person getting on the plane were a 'known' terrorist, they'd simply borrow some id from someone who looked like them. Terrorists do all look alike, don't they?
One of the litmus tests for a security measure is, "Does it appreciably increase security, or does it address a particular security problem?" In this case, I don't see how it does. Having ID is not a problem for terrorists. In fact, the terrorist is the guy who will willingly show his ID, take off his shoes, and anything else all the other people are doing. The people he wants to blend in with.
Related- Many people I've talked to equate terrorists with illegal immigrants. There have never been any illegal immigrant terrorists. Legal immigrants (all the 9-11s e.g.) and citizens (Kazinsky, McVeigh e.g.). Terrorists try to blend in as much as possible. That means doing everything 'by the book'.
I think the airlines have always had a 'no resale' policy. That is, if you got caught with someone else's ticket, they didn't have to let you fly. They do this because it lets them sell more tickets. For a flight with X seats, they'll sell X + Y tickets, where Y is some number arrived at through all kinds of statistical and financial analysis. Sometimes they sell too many, and have to give people vouchers to give up their seats. If people could re-sell their tickets, more tickets would be used, and Y, hence tickets sold, would be smaller.
Not that many years ago, you only showed ID for international flights. They spot checked domestic flights, but not that often.
I don't know if there really is a law, or if the airlines want to blame it on a law. Blaming it on some phantom regulation is an easy way out for the security person on the scene, but in this case there probably is a law.
Still, it fits in well with the airlines' desire for people to not be able to re-sell their tickets.
When Social Security was first created, people raised alarm bells over this 'universal number'. The government promised it would be for Social Security only. But, hey, if you've got nothing to hide, then you won't mind if your college, DMV, health insurance etc use it for ID... And look at the mess we're in now.
I have no objection to using things for what they're for, but when we rely on them because they're easy, they begin to be used for other things. Anything the proves who I am should work for ID. Any method of paying for my potential financial liability should work in place of a credit card. You should have seen the Radioshack staff when I tried to buy a computer with cash! Yes, they accepted it, but that was pre 9-11. I think today they would have called the DHS on me!
The police did accept my passport as ID, but they had a place on the form for a DL#. They really wanted to fill that in. Having to put some other number, and a note was outside the realm of their standard procedure. They also didn't like taking my word for my address.
If I were a biblical alarmist, I'd point out that a credit card is essentially a mark of the beast. Try to buy and sell without one.
Most stores will let you get an anonymous card these days. They don't actually care who you are, they just want to know what things you buy together.
Why should a company be obligated to provide a service if you do not meet their guidelines? Infact, the reason this is happening is likely because people never had to provide some proof of credit.
The problem is, they ask for a CC because it's easy. Since 99% of us have a CC, it works, mostly. But what if someone doesn't want a credit card? Do you have to have a credit card to be credit worthy? Why can't I pay in advance?
I lived through this as a US citizen who grew up in Canada. I returned to the US as a working adult, with no SSN. Anyone in the US without a SSN is deemed to be a foreigner, so they show their immigration papers. But I was a citizen, with a passport. My Canadian DL was not accepted as identification. I fell through the cracks, and had a hell of a time 'becoming a real person' in the eyes of all those companies that were not trying to 'jack me off' (the bank, apartments, DMV, phone company, etc etc). I was (and am) a fine upstanding law abiding citizen, who was actually willing to show any cards I could. I just didn't have the cards everyone wanted.
As for showing a DL to the DMV, why ask for a DL, why not ID? Because if you go into the police dept to report a traffic incident, they assume you have a DL. And if you don't, you don't fit into their template, and so you're more work. And they don't like that.
John Gillmore doesn't use checks, he uses cash.
If I'm willing to lay down enough deposit to cover the cost of the DVD if I don't return it, why should I have to show ID?
Next time, really f with them. Take off one shoe, and refuse to take off the other, or explain why :-)
And you've never questioned any of that?
Why should you need to show a credit card to buy something not on the credit card? I tried to report a car running a red light and almost hitting me on my bike. The police wanted to see my drivers license. Um- I wasn't driving. As a cyclist, I'm not required to have a drivers license. So, why ask for it?
Just because things are ubiquitious in our society doesn't make them right. Most of the time you are 'required' to flash a card, it's for the convenience of the other party.
is so that you can't fly on someone else's ticket.
If you have a ticket you can't use, you can't sell it in the paper (or on eBay). There used to be all kinds of classified ads for airplane tickets for sale. No more. It's economics, not security.
Um, well, no, it's not public domain. It might be fair use, but it's certainly not public domain.
Advertising is becoming increasingly integrated into the show. The Toyota ad on the big screen in the background. The Motorlola logo on the dude's cell phone as he pops it open to take a picture.
Heck, in my day you had to GET UP OF THE COUCH! and walk over to the TV to change the channel. Someone came out with a volume switch on a long wire. Sitting in your couch you could TURN OFF THE SOUND! durring comercials without getting up.
The 'avoiding the ads' argument is as old as the hills. People have and will avoid commericals.
Some of the feedback is interesting as well. Basically, the 'solution' doesn't solve any problems, and it's money that could be better spent on teachers and books. Yes, I know, this one was 'free', but it won't always be free.
g erprinting_1.html
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/01/fin
Like a kid is going to be stopped by a stupid badge? Yeesh. The system tracks badges, not kids.