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User: JWSmythe

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  1. Re: Translated into English on Floridian (and Southern) Governmental Regulations Are Unfriendly To Solar Power · · Score: 2

        The article is a bit misleading. I don't know about that specific house, and the article sure isn't clear other than "Indian Rocks Beach". I know of people in the area who do use solar panels, and are grid-tied.

        I see a few potential problems.

        First, she rents the property, so the owner may not want it.

        Second, the property may be deed restricted as part of a HOA. For example, my house is in a HOA but enforces nothing. My mom's house is also, but they are strict down to how many plants you can have on your front porch (6), and screening in the porch is forbidden unless it happened before the current management took over. We can have satellite TV, solar water heater, or whatever we want. My mom can't even have a digital satellite dish or even a small mast antenna.

        And finally, the article clearly states "vintage cottages". It may fall under some local rules imposed on historic properties. That "city" is only about 1.5 miles by 0.5 miles, and I haven't lived in it so I don't know the specific rules. I did work in the county, and I did see homes and businesses with solar panels installed. So, it's not a county or state issue, it's a local government or HOA issue.

        I know there *is* work for solar. We need some electrical work done on our house, and when I was looking for contractors about half of them specialized in solar. That has a higher profit than just coming in and repairing basic electrical problems.

  2. Re:What about hybrid sites? on Google Will Give a Search Edge To Websites That Use Encryption · · Score: 1

    Really, it's not more intensive to use https. There are lots of people who have analyzed the difference.

    A few more packets are sent. It's really trivial. While it is measurable, it can be recovered by removing one little picture, and/or compressing one of those pictures.

    A trivial amount of CPU time is taken. Most of the measurements saying it was significant was when CPUs were single core 200Mhz or less, and memory was measured in MB rather than GB.

    I've been offering or forcing users to SSL, depending on the site. Sometimes I just do it because I can.

    There's no good reason to not use SSL now. I've forced it on hobby sites, and huge load sites.

    There is a risk of serving even simple elements insecure. It would be mistakes or silly things that don't seem to make a difference. I've seen lots of little mistakes when packet sniffing networks (with explicit permission, of course). Once in a while, someone will make the little mistake developing a site, and I'll see a request like http://example.org/images/logo... .

    Your site could be totally perfect today, and you've gone over it every which way to make sure of that. But next week or next year when you make a "simple" change, it could make a huge difference.

  3. Re:It's about time! on Google Will Give a Search Edge To Websites That Use Encryption · · Score: 1

    They're not $50/ea though. ssls.com sells Comodo PositiveSSL for $8.95/yr. If they set up as a reseller and do enough volume, the price drops to $6.15/yr.

    If they aren't making enough to cover those costs (or even the $50), their link farms really aren't worth having.

  4. Re:Oh come on!!! on Why the "NASA Tested Space Drive" Is Bad Science · · Score: 2

    Unfortunately, it could only get you to one star in your lifetime, and we have a pretty decent view of it from here.

  5. Re:Simple Answers to Simple Questions on Ask Slashdot: IT Personnel As Ostriches? · · Score: 1

    Right. The "irregularity" may be that the dates are showing in the wrong format on the monthly report. Or that it's 90% less than what it should be. It could be assumed that because there are emails going around, it's already being investigated by the appropriate people.

    It's not up to the IT people, even if you're a Chief- or Director- level, to follow up on problems in other departments. You could find your employment rather limited if you go to the CEO or CFO about the "irregularities".

  6. Re:As a last resort, maybe.. on Ask Slashdot: IT Personnel As Ostriches? · · Score: 2

    I don't see how ignoring is a hard thing.

    I've had access to countless mailboxes, confidential files, and sat down at executive's computers to fix problems. The magic secret is, don't read it. If someone's mail isn't working, so I repair the problem and check it, I see that there are words. I don't read the words. It's nothing more than a passing glance.

    When I have been specifically (and legally) tasked with reading email, I can say that it is amazingly boring.

    Usually, just as you said, if I'm testing functionality of a server, I make something to test with. If I'm testing a mail server, there's no reason to spam a real user's box with. I'll create my own test account, do whatever testing needs to be done, and then when I'm satisfied with the resolution, delete the account.

    I have a client who does have confidential data. They are contractually bound not to release that data to any third parties, which could include me. I create my own test files, and move them around. If I only need a small file, it may just be a file that contains the string "testing". It may be a huge file created with dd.

    He also asks about eavesdropping. Simple enough, don't do it. If someone is talking about something to you that you probably shouldn't know about, just say it. "Don't tell me about that." It's been both a joke, and good for covering my own ass.

  7. Re:Customer service? on Man Booted From Southwest Flight and Threatened With Arrest After Critical Tweet · · Score: 1

    "spazzies"? Really? You know, before the car accident that screwed me up, I was perfectly normal. Now that they've done surgery to correct the issue, I'm perfectly normal, with a little extra titanium hardware. We're all one car accident away from having the same issues. That is, unless you never leave your mother's basement.

  8. Re:Customer service? on Man Booted From Southwest Flight and Threatened With Arrest After Critical Tweet · · Score: 1

    Ya.. There are are a bunch of whiny bitches here. :) The same ones who complain about kids, or the fact that I bypassed the lines in the courtesy wheelchair, because I couldn't walk through an airport.

    Thanks. I am so delighted it got fixed. It only took about 1.5 years and a half dozen "expert" doctors to find one who knew what he was doing. I had sympathy for people who couldn't get around before. Now I have a *lot* more.

  9. Re:Customer service? on Man Booted From Southwest Flight and Threatened With Arrest After Critical Tweet · · Score: 1

    Only if you're lucky. Well, I think SW does that. No other airlines I fly do. I don't really care about kids. My ears have never really tolerated flying much, so I have to use the pressure relieving earplugs. Wearing noise cancelling headphones over them, I can barely tell the engines are running, much less screaming children. :)

  10. Re:Customer service? on Man Booted From Southwest Flight and Threatened With Arrest After Critical Tweet · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No, you really want them to board first.

    For the last year, up until last month, I was barely able to walk. I still had to fly for work. I boarded flights with the kids and anyone else that needed help.

    The parent doesn't just stow their stuff and sit down. They stow the kids bags, get the kids to sit down, shut up, buckles on, no you can't go to the bathroom, blah, blah, blah.

    For me, it took me about 4x as long just to get down the airway. A guy barely walking down the ramp with passengers walking normal speed definitely held up the flow, no matter how much room I tried to leave. I still got held up by the parents with kids, and I didn't care. I'd just sit on the nearest armrest until they were done.

    You don't want me, or the parents with kids slowing you down. People are assholes enough boarding planes.

    If you wait for them to board last, now you'll have parents trying to stow bags in the last few spots (if there are any), trying to get the kids in their seats at the same time, and having the kid(s) climbing over other passengers.

    For me, barely able to walk, if I had to take the window seat, that would mean everyone in the other seat(s) would have to move. Walking on a cane, I wasn't able to just squeeze by anyone, especially if there were no good seats available. It was still hard just to get *to* the window seat.

    And before any of you complain, since surgery I can walk fine. The cane is retired at least for another 30 years.

  11. Level3 on Verizon's Accidental Mea Culpa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Level 3 Communications is (or at least was) a really great company to work with. When the company I worked for was a huge customer of theirs, they did anything and everything to satisfy us. The claim of them volunteering to install 10GE cards really does sound like something they'd just do to make a large customer happy.

    I really miss working with them.

  12. phones? on Avast Buys 20 Used Phones, Recovers 40,000 Deleted Photos · · Score: 1

    I was wondering why someone would buy 20 crappy phones from me on eBay.

    Just kidding. I take all my dirty pictures with a Polaroid. :)

  13. Re:GPS on Mars on ESA Shows Off Quadcopter Landing Concept For Mars Rovers · · Score: 1

    I'd love to see something like that functional. It could really change what we're doing there. quadcopter or quadcopter/fixed wing hybrids, could do really well exploring the surface of Mars. It's not like there's a rush to get anywhere. They could lay out with solar panels extended for weeks to charge, and then fly for miles. It wouldn't be practical for moving lots of equipment, but it could grab samples and bring them back to the rover/base.

    They'd need to take into consideration those pesky sandstorms though. It's not a great place for an aircraft, unless they can automatically secure it. Like have a screw anchor it to the ground (like a tent screw or dog tiedown), and a cover to extend over it and secure itself. Then there's the matter of digging itself out after the storm without killing the batteries.

  14. Re:GPS on Mars on ESA Shows Off Quadcopter Landing Concept For Mars Rovers · · Score: 2

    That would be a cool trick. I think it will be a long long time before we see that.

    GPS, and GLONASS have 24 satellites for global coverage. Galileo has 27. Beidou has 10 right now, but has limited coverage. It will have 35 when it's fully operational.

    Most (all?) require ground stations to keep them updated, so it isn't just a matter of throwing some satellites up and having GPS on another planet. As I recall, GPS satellite service will degrade to unusable somewhere between 90 to 180 days. [insert obligatory apocalypse reference]

    Theoretically with GPS, you can lock with 3, but that assumes a highly clock on the receiver. Our phones and GPS receivers aren't that accurate, so we require 4 satellites.

    But I believe this was dumbed down for the casual reader, so they said "GPS". Using the known location of the orbital vehicle, gravitational center of mars, magnetic poles, and stars optically with a sextant, and using inertial sensors, they could put it down on a precise target.

    They might use GPS for test flights here, since we have the luxury on this rock. They aren't accounting for other things with their tests right now. Like the Mars average ground level air pressure is 0.087psi. The summit of Mount Everest is 4.89psi. The highest surface air pressure they'll get on Marswould be Hellas Planitia at 0.168psi.

    They're going to need some *huge* propellers on their quadcopter. Flying on Mars is like flying at just over 100,000 feet on Earth. The record for any propeller aircraft is the Boeing Condor UAV with no payload, at 67,028 feet.

    The record altitude for a helicopter in Earth's atmosphere is 40,820 feet, and it also got the record for the longest autorotation when the helicopter stopped flying. :)

    But other than navigation, and lack of atmospheric pressure, it could work fine. :)

  15. Re:Did you bother to read the story? on 2600 Distributor Withholds Money, Magazine's Future In Limbo · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, it's a fairly standard business tactic.

    Corp X has assets and debts. They sell the assets to Corp Y, which includes products, staff, equipment, etc. Corp X holds the debts. Wen they declare bankruptcy, there's no way to recover the debt, so it's gone.

    Corp Y may be operating in the same office, with the same people at the same desks, doing the same jobs. The only real difference is that employee paychecks now say the new name, as does all new marketing materials and letterhead.

    So what about the people owed money from Corp X? They get nothing. Or if they're lucky there's something left and they'll get pennies on the dollar.

    Sometimes it's done for the right reasons, and they will work out deals with those owed. For examine (if I read the article right), 2600 is owed $100K. That may be broken up to $10K/mo over 10 months, or $1K/mo over 100 months. In the end, they get their money. Unfortunately when they already have high dollar events scheduled, it hurts.

  16. Re:Absolutely. on Are the Hard-to-Exploit Bugs In LZO Compression Algorithm Just Hype? · · Score: 1

    Of course, because of ... Betteridge's law of headlines.

  17. Re:Uh, sure.. on Ask Slashdot: Correlation Between Text Editor and Programming Language? · · Score: 1

    I guess I'm weird. I use text editors.

    On the server(s) or dev boxes, I use vim for anything.

    When I'm on a Windows desktop, I use UltraEdit. I don't use most of the extra functionality, but the brace matching lines are nice. I could almost do just as well with notepad.

    I have to pay more attention to what I'm doing, but I end up writing better code than I see churned out by a lot of people with overly helpful IDEs.

  18. Recharging drones. on Automated Remote Charging for Your Flying Drones (Video) · · Score: 1

    A while back, I was thinking about how to to make an ultra-long range drone. Like something I could send off on a mission, and expect it to come back on it's own later on. One of the ideas, if it were battery powered, was to instruct it to land on or near power lines. That would have been a nightmare to figure out though.

    To be stealthy, it would need to fly around 5K to 10K feet. It wouldn't be able to approach ground level, except in uninhabited areas. There's no way you'd get a map of all the high tension power lines in the world, and I don't know of any method of detecting them miles away. Well, other than Hollywood magic methods, which unfortunately don't translate well to the real world. :)

    To land on power lines or on the connecting towers, it would have to hover, which is battery expensive. Automatically picking an arbitrary landing spot isn't exactly easy. Once you're parked close to the power lines (like on them, or on the towers) inductive loops could handle farming electricity without human intervention or needing to deploy charging mats.

    In the end, I gave up on the idea. I don't really have a reason to make one. If I did, and it worked, I'd have all the lovely three-letter-agencies knocking on my door to have a chat over a nice cup of tea.

    Maybe "nice" would be optional in their opinion, and cup of tea would be room temp water in an interrogation room. Either way.

  19. Re: In other news on Florida Man Faces $48k Fine For Jamming Drivers' Cellphones · · Score: 1

    A bus is a lot bigger than a car, with a lot less margin for error. I have a city bus that's converted to be a RV. All that extra space beside a car becomes pretty much non-existent. According to the FHWA, lanes are 9 to 12 feet wide. My bus is 8.5 feet wide, so on a narrow road, that gives me 3 inches on either side on a local road, along the 40 foot length of it.

    The last drive I took it for a drive, I cruised down a 6 lane "local" road, with 9' lanes. It was like threading a needle with giant steel elephant, and people get stupid around large vehicles. Sure, it can stop on a dime, as long as that dime is the size of a Buick.

    Bus passengers tend to be more annoying too. They tend to argue, just because they can.

    The "don't talk to the driver" rule is mostly there so the driver can say "Go away, I'm driving." I've had plenty of bus drivers that like some idle conversation. I'm not asking how to get to some obscure place, or demand that they take the bus off-route to drop them off, so they like talking to me. :)

  20. Re: In other news on Florida Man Faces $48k Fine For Jamming Drivers' Cellphones · · Score: 1

    Passengers scream a lot more about perceived threats too. :) They may see something out of the corner of their eyes (or directly in their line of sight). The person on the other end of a phone call rarely sees your driving hazards.

  21. Re:Thanks for the tip! on $500k "Energy-Harvesting" Kickstarter Scam Unfolding Right Now · · Score: 1

    It sounds like the formula for an urban legend.

    Take a little bit of truth. Just enough to be believable. Build up that truth with whatever lies you can tie to it, get enough suckers to believe it, and you'll have the next Snopes entry.

    I could build an inductive receiver. Given enough time, it could charge a small battery. Believers will see "enough time" as being minutes or hours. People analyzing it will see it's really centuries. The whole time, I never lied. I just let their misconceptions carry it along.

  22. when you go.... on Ask Slashdot: How To Bequeath Sensitive Information? · · Score: 1

    In the last several years, things have happened. Someone very close to me died with no notice. Quite literally, I saw him alive and normal at home. I went outside. A few minutes later I went back inside and he was dead. Natural causes.

    I went in for spine surgery a few weeks ago. I could have walked away from it, or have been rolled away to the cemetery.

    I always make sure someone knows how to do what I do. That person usually knows where everything is. They don't necessarily have all my passwords, but they know where the "key" is, which guides them to the vaults (one logical, one physical). I double checked the key, and the instructions for the vaults before surgery, and reminded them where the "key" is hidden. My "key" has another more colorful name, so I'm not even giving away secrets here. :) Your "key" could be something like an envelope marked "1997 expense reimbursements", with just a piece of paper containing a few important passwords and instructions for the rest.

    It doesn't have to be a life changing (or ending) event, or even an employment terminating event. It could be something as dumb as you're stuck in a remote airport during a blizzard, with no data service, and something major happened. Sure, everything *could* wait a week for the storm to pass. Or you could say "Call X. Tell them to go get the key. They will understand and can take care of everything." The instruction to "Call X" is kind of redundant, as the primary people should already know who the "oh shit" person is to contact. It's just reaffirming, "I'm stuck, and can't do anything from here."

    Just be very sure you can trust the people holding your secrets.

  23. Re:Internet2 on The Internet's Broken. Who's Going To Invent a New One? · · Score: 1

    Dammit, you beat me to it. Oh well, I'll have to wait until this conversation comes up again, and we're talking about Internet3.0a.

  24. Re:It's just Google being Google on Google Shifts Editing From Drive to Docs and Sheets In 'Confusing' Switch · · Score: 1

    Announcing Google FTFY Beta, an exciting new product to automatically correct your posts, past, present, or future! Join us on Google Buzz, for the latest news.

    Update Google Plus

    Update Google+

    Update G+

    Update #GoogleHashTagSupportIsLive

    But have you seen the new GoogleMapDocDrive, now online. Now on your desktop. Now in your Android Phone!

  25. Re:um... on Ask Slashdot: How To Back Up Physical Data? · · Score: 1

    Ah.. My passport was old. It had a real photograph on it. I need to get a new one, so I guess it will be a printed one.