I had some good success with Verizon Wireless. Really, it depends on where you are , to how good the service will be. I've had better than 1Mb/s down while driving. Then again, I've had what felt like double digit bytes per seconds in not so great areas.
After one move I had a problem. The DSL provider said they could service the house. We gave them two weeks notice to get the new line ready. They were "provisioning" it for 3 weeks, until they finally said they couldn't do it. {sigh}
So we put in an order with the cable company. It took 2 weeks for the "install package" to come in, and 3 more days after I plugged it in for it to actually work. During that period, I had a PC with my Verizon Wireless air card up, and it acted as my NAT for the other computers. It wasn't a great area for cell service, because of the mountains. Even the wireless service was hit and miss. I swear, when it got windy, the service would go down. More likely, trees were blowing between my card and the tower, but I still blame the wind.:)
I highly recommend getting a card that has a jack for an external antenna. It makes a HUGE difference in service quality. Check out evdoinfo.com for good information on the card offerings from Verizon and Sprint.
The Verizon card gave me one thing that you can't get from a residential or business provider. I had my laptop running on a cross country drive, feeding telemetry (GPS data and video) to my web site, so friends and family could see what I saw and where I was. I got a call in the middle of the desert, asking if I was ok. I showed to be about 20 feet off the road, not moving, and facing desolate nothing. In reality, I was tired, pulled off into a rest area, parked the car facing away from the only building there, and was taking a nap. The rest area was new, so it didn't show on Google Maps yet, which is what I was using to show my location. I hadn't looked when I stopped, I just saw a place to sleep so I took it.
I opened one eye enough to look at the screen, saw where I was on the map (100 miles from nowhere, parked 20 feet off the road), confirmed that's where I was, told them it's a rest area now, and went back to sleep.:) After a couple hours, I woke back up, checked my email, did a little online recon to see what was ahead (not a damned thing), and then started driving again.
Sure there were some dead spots. My phone would drop, and the Internet connection would usually follow behind by about a minute. The card's antenna was suction cupped to the windshield, so it had a better signal than the phone. That was very intermittent though. Most of the time I had at least some sort of service.:)
Hey, don't knock the elves like that!:) At least they never formed a cult of humans that was the driving force behind multiple crusades.
In any group, you'll have extremes. Some will be extremely superstitious, and some complete disbelievers, with the majority landing in the middle somewhere.
I'd prefer to believe in elves, faeries, and other little people.:)
> IE6 has some root code that is insecure and patching is merely chasing the tail of the dragon when it comes to security exploits.
You haven't been paying attention to the way Microsoft works, have you? This has been typical for.... ummm.... as far as I can remember. Ship first, patch later and frequently.
You are correct, it could be very dangerous for the information to be leaked.
I do IT work. That of course involves lifting, carrying, and racking heavy servers. I can usually do this fine. Sometimes I hurt myself, and have to lay down. You'll find laying on a datacenter floor isn't anywhere near as comfortable as you can imagine.:) If it was a matter of record that employers could pull, it's very likely I would be overlooked for a position because an employer may assume that I can't do the job, or I may lie about my physical ability to get the job. In reality, I've only laid on a datacenter floor twice in over 10 years, for about 20 minutes each time. I have walked like a 90 year old man the next day after throwing too much equipment around, but I've always gotten over it.:)
It's not that the database exists that concerns me most. It's that many people can access it. There are leaks anywhere where people are involved. People get nosy. People get greedy. What if they're just interested in looking, and the information came out? What if they're greedy, and sell the information?
What if.... a known religious figure and political activist tested positive for a STD? What if his wife tested negative? Just that alone would have the rumor mill boiling. Whatever he was doing, good or bad, would be wasted time, because people would focus on the new fact that he's obviously cheating on her. I know, there are other options like a platonic (or safe sex) but loving relationship, because they were both aware of his condition before marriage. Giving a full history up to anyone who can access it can be dangerous.
Did you know I was born with a cataract? It was detected at birth, but didn't become a serious issue until I was 18. That could have excluded me from many things. Ok, so this physically inferior person (poor vision in one eye) isn't worth teaching in school. Well, the teachers didn't do well anyways, but I'm still here, making more money than them.:) Focus could have been given to other students, leaving people like me behind.
As for my cataract, it was surgically removed in the early 90's, and I've had no negative side effects since then, other than being able to see UV light with one eye. Trust me, it's trippy when looking at things under a black light. Maybe it's an advantage now.:)
From what I've read, that part of the world has strong beliefs in this type of superstition. Many of these superstitions date back at least thousands of years.
In Iceland, a decent percentage of the population believes in gnomes, faeries, and elves (among other things)
I have heard legend that the Shannon airport in Ireland either during construction or expansion, was delayed because a fairy circle existed in the planned construction area. Due to this, the runway was built in a different direction, so it didn't disturb the circle.
Beliefs in superstition aren't all that bad. There are plenty of things we don't know about the universe yet. Maybe they are simple superstition for unexplained things, or maybe (just maybe) they have a basis in reality somewhere.
I usually prefer not to bash anyone's superstitions. What if they're right.:)
A decent percentage of Americans are amazingly superstitious too, and follow those superstitions through their whole lives. Don't believe me? Check out any local church. I'm not saying religion is wrong. It could be right. Who am I to say that it's wrong. Someday I may find out the truth (probably a few seconds after I die, I would expect).
Before you bash the superstitions of others, look at your own.
I read this on my phone first, and didn't see the picture. In my mind, I saw the Swedish Bikini Team hiking naked, except for boots. Oh how disappointed I am to see the real picture.
I've built a lot of PC's for people over the years. When they come to me, they want something good, fast, and stable, that will last them for years. They've usually been burnt with the pre-boxed big name machines, that have some sort of fatal problem after a year or so, and have no component upgrade path. Like, when a manufacturer uses a proprietary motherboard with everything integrated, when the video card dies you likely have to replace the motherboard (because frequently add-on cards don't work either). Since you can't get a motherboard that will fit into the case, you're now looking at a new case, motherboard, video card, and then adding in NIC (if not integrated). Since it's probably an upgrade, the CPU and memory won't be compatible either. All that you have left is the old drives. If you're going that far, why keep the old drives in a new computer?
So the question comes up, "What video card should I get?" I always tell people to get the $100 card. It sounds like a half answer, but it's easily explained.
The pricing usually goes a little something like this...
For several hundred dollars, you can get the latest greatest offering in the local stores.
For a couple hundred dollars, you can get the latest greatest video card from 6 months ago.
For $100, you can get the latest greatest video card from a year ago, which was "just marked down" or "on sale".
For $20, you can get the latest greatest off-brand offering from several years ago.
So I ask them, "be honest and think about what you really do with your computer."
If they really (REALLY) go out and buy the latest games the day they're released, and that's the majority of their usage, they may want the expensive card. They may also want to upgrade the video card several times before they want a new PC built in a year because they need better performance.
If they usually surf the net, write emails, read Slashdot, watch movies (DVD, youtube, downloaded porn, etc), and occasionally play a game that's a year or so old, they would be very happy with the $100 card.
If they generally don't do much more than answer emails, they'd be happy with the $20 card.
I've never had anyone request for me to put the $20 card in their new computer. Those have always been used in servers that don't have a monitor hooked up most of the time anyways.
Most people want the $100 card. I know there's a lot of brand loyalty on here, but to most people it doesn't really matter. I tell the customer to compare specs, and figure out which comparable card is cheapest right now. Sales fluctuate, so you may have a choice of $99.95 and $129.95 for comparable cards. They'll always go for the $99.99 card.
In my own machines, I'm working in shells through X11. I may have a few dozen windows open, if I'm using clusterssh, and a few browser sessions open. Occasionally (very occasionally), I play video games on the PC, and that's only if I have a Windows drive to boot to do it. I buy the $100 card, and am perfectly happy.
So, figure out what you do the most with your PC, and build it accordingly. Bragging rights of "I have the better card" are for teenage boys who don't realize it really doesn't matter, because mom isn't buying you a new computer after this one, because this one cost too damned much. Enjoy your $4,000 Alienware machine. In a year when faster better machines are available, you'll still be using that one. And in 2 years. And in 4 years. And the whole time, your friends will be getting newer better PCs at less than $1k, and you're "I'm the coolest kid on the block" fame will be gone.
I won't try to say what anyone should buy. If you want to spend hundreds on a video card, go for it. It's your money. That's why I let people pick what they want in theirs when I build one out. I only guide them through the options.
I'd worry more about a doctor 5 years ago noting in the file "Hypochondriac. Prescribe placebo to make him happy."
In my case, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if a doctor noted "Complains about pain, probably just wants drugs. Prescribed to keep him happy." I can give them my full history verbally, because I lived it.
I was in a car accident several years ago. I had to be convinced by friends to go to the hospital. I had a concussion and was delirious, so I was refusing to go. If I had been all together, I would have known I needed to go. The hospital didn't see an immediate need for treatment, other than pain killers, muscle relaxers, and bed rest. They also told me what doctor specialist to go to first thing in the morning. As I recall (which was fuzzy because of the concussion), they were very stern about needing to go FIRST thing in the morning. The had arranged a 9am appointment for me.
6 months of therapy 3 times a week later, my insurance wouldn't cover it any more. During that period, I had X-rays, an MRI, more test and treatments than I can count. I was advised that I had muscles that were badly torn, and two bulging disks that may need surgery in the near future. I was doing ok after the therapy. Not great, but I was walking and talking, and showing up to work. After hard physical work, I was usually in pain. Years later, after moving several times, I found it necessary to go to a doctor about it. They asked for the old doctor's info. I didn't remember his phone number, nor street address. Most of my files had been trimmed down over various moves, and I couldn't find any paperwork about the doctor. I did remember his name, the main street he was on, and approximate cross street. They couldn't find anything about him. They treated me anyways, based on my complaint, and verbal account of my related history. After a while, things were good again, and I went about my business.
A few years (and a couple moves) later, I was in a lot of pain again. I woke up one morning, and couldn't roll over. I couldn't lift my head. Any movements caused tremendous pain. My wife had already gotten up, and there was no one to find me stuck in bed. Over the course of the next hour, I managed to move enough to get to my cell phone on the bedside table. I called my wife. I called into work 1/2 hour late. We took a drive to the new doctor in this town. I rode in the passenger seat, literally holding my head up in my hands, trying not to move anything from my mid back up, because it all hurt badly. All I could give the doctor was my verbal account. he asked for the doctor history, so I told him about the 1st doctor after the accident. I was back in the same area, but this doctor had never heard of him. I told him about the second doctor, who did share my patient record.
My new doctor (still my current doctor) is a really nice guy. He did warn me that because of how long it had been, my X-rays and MRI were probably already destroyed due to document retention policies. There may be paper files, but for a doctor who's not practicing any more, it could be virtually impossible to get those records, assuming I could find him. What if he retired, and moved out of the country? So until I can get more testing done (which my insurance minimally covers), there's no real documentation out there other than "the patient complains of.... and has specifically requested...."
So, if this were put into a centralized database now, it's very likely I will look like a drug shopper. Well, not a very determined one. Two doctors in several years, and prescriptions intermittently requested and filled (i.e., on an as-needed basis).. What if one or both of these doctors noted me as a possible drug shopper? A central database will stop me from getting the treatment I need. Then again, if it had existed years ago, all of my records would exist, and there would be no
SCO tried, but they couldn't find anyone left to sue there. Since there so lawsuit happy, I'd suspect if it wasn't dead, they would have found someone. Actually, I'm pretty sure they'd be willing to sue a corpse, but that's just supposition (i.e., SCO, please don't sue me for saying it).
There are only two types of people in this world. The hunters... and the hunted.
There is a line drawn down the middle of the room. Hunters, please step to the right side of the line. Hunted, run to the left side of the line, and keep running. You'll have a 5 minute head start to keep things interesting.
Oh AC, are you running with a limp? That's a shame. The polar bear may get you before the hunters.:)
If the boss says to do it, do it. If they're springing for a $200 cable, because they're too stupid to realize that you really *CAN* make the same cable with the same functionality for $10, then let them buy it. It's not worth your job to argue the matter. More importantly, if you do impress your supervisor by saving the company $190, he's the one who will look golden, not you. You're obviously nobody in the company. Until you are someone, anything good you do is reflected on your boss, not you.
If you make your way up the ladder, and they ask "Why were we wasting all of that extra money for so many years?", explain it truthfully. "My supervisor made the executive decision, and it was not within the bounds of my position to contradict his decisions, no matter how wrong I thought it may be."
Or "that decision is/was above my pay grade."
I guess it would all depend on your employer, and their background (and yours).:)
The truth, there's nothing wrong with hand made cables, as long as you know what you're doing.
You seem to indicate making one cable. You're only passing 20Mb/s over it. Cables I made handled 100Mb/s, and I've even started attaching GigE devices to GigE switches, and have seen them well up past 200Mb/s. The stopped there due to what was being passed, not because of the cables.
My current work has the same opinion. I can't possibly make a cable that could be as good as the cable made by [insert company name]. I've gotten bad commercially made cables. I've also made the occasional mistake myself. The big difference is, when I make a mistake, it's usually because I was tired or working fast. I can spot my error through the connector, so I cut it off, and do it again right. When I've reterminated commercially made cables, I've found some use some pretty crappy wire. Some is really soft, and doesn't tend to lay well for insertion. Some is really hard, and hard to manipulate. And some are just right. Aw fuck, I sound like Goldilocks.:)
I won't admit to anything, but when I'm sitting on a pile of 25' cables, and I need 6' cables, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize a little cutting and crimping is a lot easier than leaving the datacenter, driving to the store, spending a bunch of money, and driving back. I could usually have a 20' cable reterminated into 3 6.6 cables. in the same amount of time it would take to lock up the cage and get to the DC front door.
I will warn you, be careful of quantity. For a while, I made all of my own cables. They all worked really well. But, when you have 100+ cables to make, your fingers start getting really sore. If you need a bunch of cables, it's worth your sanity, and the feeling in your fingers, to let the company buy them. I usually (usually) reserve the pleasure of making cables, to making cross connects when I need them (chop off an end, and reterminate as a cross connect), or when I need a special length. Hey, where are you going to find a 106' cable? Oh, you're not unless you special order it.:)
Even their cable crimpers are more expensive. I've been in strange cities, and needed some cables. When I hit the retail stores, I cringe at the prices, and then start asking "Where's Home Depot?" They sell the cable by the box. They sell crimpers cheap. They sell ends cheap.
I don't make all of my own cables. I usually do a little advanced planning, and get the cables I need cheap online (CDW or Tiger direct frequently have low prices), and then only make the cables that aren't standard sizes, or that I don't know the length before I show up. How far is it from the demark rack to the rack where I want my switch? Dunno? Make it when I get there.:)
You obviously didn't grow up in Florida. That was a nice cool day. Try over 100, with 99% humidity, but not quite ready to rain. The afternoon storms wouldn't come around until the end of the school day, so we had the pleasure of PE in full blinding sunlight. There's no excuse to participate until you fall out unconscious. Even then, the other students would drag your limp body around until you woke up.
Ahh, the good ol' days. When I see a news report about someone over 30 going back and shooting up a school, I don't really question why they did it. I only question why they'd do it because they're going to jail for a long long time.
Anyone tripping should (or must) have a babysitter. I've played babysitter several times, and having someone to talk to can be amazingly helpful. Even if the voice of reason (the babysitter) is saying "no, that giant green dragon monster over there isn't really after you, and isn't trying to eat your brains."
Been there, done that, talked them through it over the course of an hour.:)
My first Linux use was a failure. Back in the day, I'd guess the rate was much much higher. I had no *nix experience, but I managed to get the stack of floppies made, and followed step by step through the book (Linux unleashed, 1st edition, when it was first released, which included Slackware), and finally had a working machine. Well, working that it booted. Failed in that I had no clue where to go after that. It's not like I could Google answers like, how do I connect my modem? find me an example of a chat script. Oh ya, we didn't have much there either. Internet connections were limited at best, so I would have been using BBS's with it.:)
My next attempt was the one that stuck. I could actually install from a CD (oh my gosh), and I got it installed. It was a few months before I got that mystery of X windows working. I explored the net with lynx, and with my 386/16 Windows machine sitting nearby. Finally, I had X working, and my life has been downhill since then.:) I made a working NAT firewall with it, and several months later, it was needed by my office for a gateway, so it became the first server I had worked on too.
One Linux machine became many. Thundreds, or possibly thousands of machines later (mostly servers), it's a rather odd thing for me to have someone ask me a Linux question that I don't know the answer to, usually through experience.
I've used just about every major Linux distro, and many minor ones, and many other *nix OS's. I always come back to Slackware.
> Acid is not a toy. As a "bathtub" drug there is no consistency of dosage or quality.
You've just posted the most reasonable reason for legalizing recreational drugs that I've ever heard. No, you're not the first one to say it, but it's a very valid argument.
Street drugs may be recreational, but you don't know the dosage that you're buying. If it were legalized, and sold in stores at reasonable prices, blackmarket vendors would be out of business. You'd know if you're taking 50ug (nominal recreational dose) or 400ug (high dosage). If you just purchased what you thought was a light dosage of say 25ug (will induce light hallucinations), but were looking for a "heavier" trip, you could take a dozen hits. I've never heard of anyone doing it intentionally, but you could. If they were actually 400ug, you're already 25% of the way to a lethal dose (12,000ug).
I've read many studies on the long term effects. In the 60's, they believed the drug caused long term side effects, such as flashbacks. Now, the "flash backs" are more like a PTSD moment, where traumatic memories are recalled in a fully believable and current fashion.
PTSD exists. I have flashbacks from a particularly traumatic event. I don't take LSD, so you can't blame that.:) I know people with severe PTSD, usually from military service.
Voluntarily creating moments in your head that could be traumatic (i.e., bad acid trip) are a bad thing. Then again, drinking heavily and doing something bad could be just as traumatic. DUI involving fatality can be bad for your psyche. It could be just as traumatic for the non-DUI driver. At least alcohol has a measured and rated influence (alcohol proof). People don't necessarily follow guidelines, but then again, at least they have guidelines.
If a billion died, that would be a bad thing. There are 6.77 billion people on earth (Apr 2009 estimate), so if 15% of the world died (1 billion), it would be catastrophic.
We haven't even begun to understand what happens when modern bodies decompose. It won't be pretty. For most of the 100 billion people that have lived and died on earth, most have been "all natural" people. They've eaten from the land, and haven't had any modifications done. In more recent years, that's changed. We have ingested more heavy metals than should even exist in nature. We have teeth filled with toxic materials; capped with toxic materials; bones reinforced with metal implants; cosmetic alterations done with synthetic implants; poisons injected throughout our lives (vaccines, medications, etc). On top of this, when we die we are filled with more dangerous chemicals, placed in a coffin inside a vault, which are made to last for at least 100 years. What would happen if 15% of the population died in rapid succession? The 100 year safety net would disappear. We probably wouldn't embalm our dead. Mass grave sites would take the remains, and let them rot in the ground. In a relatively short period of time, the toxins that we currently vault away in the ground would leach into the ground quickly, contaminating the drinking water.
But hey, I'm the eternal optimist. Maybe most people aren't all that toxic. ha.
You know the way this works. The smart people will be the worst impacted demographic. The idiots on cell phones who don't realize that their call is less important than their lives, will survive happily. In a short period, idiocracy will become reality, and your sister will be dancing at Starbucks.
That, and most other disclaimers are completely worthless.
What if you had signs around the perimeter of your property at 6' intervals, written in a dozen languages to help insure it can be read by anyone, which says "Warning: Trespassers will be shot."? When someone walks past the sign, you can't just shoot them. Well, you can. You will also go to jail for premeditated manslaughter, to which you provided the evidence for.
Prosecution: So you had planned to murder the victim when he walked onto your property?
You: No.
Prosecution: When you purchased your firearm, as we've heard the dealer testify earlier to, you said "I am buying this gun to shoot anyone who comes onto my property."
You: But, I didn't mean I would.
Prosecution:... and you put up sign indicating to all neighbors and passers by that you intended to murder anyone who passed beyond the perimeter of your property.
You: But....
Prosecution: So you finally shot a person who accidentally walked past the border of your property.
You: I never intended.
Prosecution: You bought a gun to kill with. You made statements to the effect that you wanted to kill. You put up signs advertising that you wanted to kill. How can this be misconstrued to believe you weren't looking for someone to murder?
You: but...
Prosecution: So when little 12 year old Billy walked up the side of your property calling "Puppy, where are you puppy", obviously looking for his dog, you believed you were well within your rights to shoot him dead?
You: He was trespassing. He was warned.
Prosecution: With the testimony and evidence provided, we have no more questions for this witness.
See, just because you put a sign up doesn't protect you from doing bad things. Otherwise, I'll set up an exotic drugs lab, and just put signs around the perimeter saying "Anything happening on this property is fully compliant with all applicable laws. No unauthorized individuals allowed beyond this point.", and signs on the transport vehicles "All items inside this vehicle are legal. Search of this vehicle and driver are forbidden"
Have you ever noticed that in some TV shows, and many B movies, the logos on cars are removed? Pay attention. Usually they are slick about keeping them out of the frame, but sometimes they do really ugly obvious things to hide the logos.
I saw something on TV a few weeks ago, where the lead character was driving a Mercedes. It was obvious that it was a Mercedes. I had no doubt that it was a Mercedes. But, the grill logo had been removed, and a black blank had been put in it's place. They hadn't acquired rights to use the Mercedes logo in their show.
I was watching some law enforcement show on the Discovery Channel last night. The cops were driving a Ford SUV. They were driving to arrest someone with a history of making methamphetamines. Hopefully if you really care, that'll help you find the show. Anyways, in the shot, they had the interior lit up so you could see the driver while he was talking. The Ford logo on the steering wheel was removed after filming, so they just had a fuzzy blue circle overlaid where the logo was.
I've noticed in a lot of B movies, they'll replace the grill of a car with something else, so the logo doesn't show. It's usually done very badly (as with everything in a B movie). The vehicle itself apparently isn't a problem, but the company logos are.
I didn't see the logo or name used on the Corbis photo, but I didn't look all that carefully. Now, if they're putting the brand name on, they can run into problems. But hey, anyone can sue for anything. It's a matter for the court to decide who wins. But, whoever runs out of money first loses anyways. I suspect Taser may have more money than the kids who make the prop in SL.
Tracking User with GUI interface written in Visual Basic to track the IP address...
Sending kill pulse over Internet to disable user communications...
Isolating coordinates on power grid, and disabling power service...
Dispatching unmarked black vans and helicopters for potential terrorist pickup... Use of deadly force authorized...
When our agents reach your house, don't resist. It'll just make your death more painful, and make our agents work harder. The outcome is inevitable. On never mind, you can't see this, now can you. But maybe others will learn from your mistakes.
Slashdot Mirror
I had some good success with Verizon Wireless. Really, it depends on where you are , to how good the service will be. I've had better than 1Mb/s down while driving. Then again, I've had what felt like double digit bytes per seconds in not so great areas.
After one move I had a problem. The DSL provider said they could service the house. We gave them two weeks notice to get the new line ready. They were "provisioning" it for 3 weeks, until they finally said they couldn't do it. {sigh}
So we put in an order with the cable company. It took 2 weeks for the "install package" to come in, and 3 more days after I plugged it in for it to actually work. During that period, I had a PC with my Verizon Wireless air card up, and it acted as my NAT for the other computers. It wasn't a great area for cell service, because of the mountains. Even the wireless service was hit and miss. I swear, when it got windy, the service would go down. More likely, trees were blowing between my card and the tower, but I still blame the wind. :)
I highly recommend getting a card that has a jack for an external antenna. It makes a HUGE difference in service quality. Check out evdoinfo.com for good information on the card offerings from Verizon and Sprint.
The Verizon card gave me one thing that you can't get from a residential or business provider. I had my laptop running on a cross country drive, feeding telemetry (GPS data and video) to my web site, so friends and family could see what I saw and where I was. I got a call in the middle of the desert, asking if I was ok. I showed to be about 20 feet off the road, not moving, and facing desolate nothing. In reality, I was tired, pulled off into a rest area, parked the car facing away from the only building there, and was taking a nap. The rest area was new, so it didn't show on Google Maps yet, which is what I was using to show my location. I hadn't looked when I stopped, I just saw a place to sleep so I took it.
I opened one eye enough to look at the screen, saw where I was on the map (100 miles from nowhere, parked 20 feet off the road), confirmed that's where I was, told them it's a rest area now, and went back to sleep. :) After a couple hours, I woke back up, checked my email, did a little online recon to see what was ahead (not a damned thing), and then started driving again.
Sure there were some dead spots. My phone would drop, and the Internet connection would usually follow behind by about a minute. The card's antenna was suction cupped to the windshield, so it had a better signal than the phone. That was very intermittent though. Most of the time I had at least some sort of service. :)
Hey, don't knock the elves like that! :) At least they never formed a cult of humans that was the driving force behind multiple crusades.
In any group, you'll have extremes. Some will be extremely superstitious, and some complete disbelievers, with the majority landing in the middle somewhere.
I'd prefer to believe in elves, faeries, and other little people. :)
That was a different playing field. IBM had the money for the lawyers, where they knew they could run SCO into the ground.
Tom-tom, when faces against Microsoft, knew the couldn't afford it, were offered a decent option, and took it.
It may not be a decent option in the grand scheme of things, but it was something they could afford.
Yes, frequently. I said nothing about timely.
> IE6 has some root code that is insecure and patching is merely chasing the tail of the dragon when it comes to security exploits.
You haven't been paying attention to the way Microsoft works, have you? This has been typical for .... ummm .... as far as I can remember. Ship first, patch later and frequently.
You are correct, it could be very dangerous for the information to be leaked.
I do IT work. That of course involves lifting, carrying, and racking heavy servers. I can usually do this fine. Sometimes I hurt myself, and have to lay down. You'll find laying on a datacenter floor isn't anywhere near as comfortable as you can imagine. :) If it was a matter of record that employers could pull, it's very likely I would be overlooked for a position because an employer may assume that I can't do the job, or I may lie about my physical ability to get the job. In reality, I've only laid on a datacenter floor twice in over 10 years, for about 20 minutes each time. I have walked like a 90 year old man the next day after throwing too much equipment around, but I've always gotten over it. :)
It's not that the database exists that concerns me most. It's that many people can access it. There are leaks anywhere where people are involved. People get nosy. People get greedy. What if they're just interested in looking, and the information came out? What if they're greedy, and sell the information?
What if.... a known religious figure and political activist tested positive for a STD? What if his wife tested negative? Just that alone would have the rumor mill boiling. Whatever he was doing, good or bad, would be wasted time, because people would focus on the new fact that he's obviously cheating on her. I know, there are other options like a platonic (or safe sex) but loving relationship, because they were both aware of his condition before marriage. Giving a full history up to anyone who can access it can be dangerous.
Did you know I was born with a cataract? It was detected at birth, but didn't become a serious issue until I was 18. That could have excluded me from many things. Ok, so this physically inferior person (poor vision in one eye) isn't worth teaching in school. Well, the teachers didn't do well anyways, but I'm still here, making more money than them. :) Focus could have been given to other students, leaving people like me behind.
As for my cataract, it was surgically removed in the early 90's, and I've had no negative side effects since then, other than being able to see UV light with one eye. Trust me, it's trippy when looking at things under a black light. Maybe it's an advantage now. :)
From what I've read, that part of the world has strong beliefs in this type of superstition. Many of these superstitions date back at least thousands of years.
In Iceland, a decent percentage of the population believes in gnomes, faeries, and elves (among other things)
I have heard legend that the Shannon airport in Ireland either during construction or expansion, was delayed because a fairy circle existed in the planned construction area. Due to this, the runway was built in a different direction, so it didn't disturb the circle.
Beliefs in superstition aren't all that bad. There are plenty of things we don't know about the universe yet. Maybe they are simple superstition for unexplained things, or maybe (just maybe) they have a basis in reality somewhere.
I usually prefer not to bash anyone's superstitions. What if they're right. :)
A decent percentage of Americans are amazingly superstitious too, and follow those superstitions through their whole lives. Don't believe me? Check out any local church. I'm not saying religion is wrong. It could be right. Who am I to say that it's wrong. Someday I may find out the truth (probably a few seconds after I die, I would expect).
Before you bash the superstitions of others, look at your own.
I read this on my phone first, and didn't see the picture. In my mind, I saw the Swedish Bikini Team hiking naked, except for boots. Oh how disappointed I am to see the real picture.
I've built a lot of PC's for people over the years. When they come to me, they want something good, fast, and stable, that will last them for years. They've usually been burnt with the pre-boxed big name machines, that have some sort of fatal problem after a year or so, and have no component upgrade path. Like, when a manufacturer uses a proprietary motherboard with everything integrated, when the video card dies you likely have to replace the motherboard (because frequently add-on cards don't work either). Since you can't get a motherboard that will fit into the case, you're now looking at a new case, motherboard, video card, and then adding in NIC (if not integrated). Since it's probably an upgrade, the CPU and memory won't be compatible either. All that you have left is the old drives. If you're going that far, why keep the old drives in a new computer?
So the question comes up, "What video card should I get?" I always tell people to get the $100 card. It sounds like a half answer, but it's easily explained.
The pricing usually goes a little something like this...
For several hundred dollars, you can get the latest greatest offering in the local stores.
For a couple hundred dollars, you can get the latest greatest video card from 6 months ago.
For $100, you can get the latest greatest video card from a year ago, which was "just marked down" or "on sale".
For $20, you can get the latest greatest off-brand offering from several years ago.
So I ask them, "be honest and think about what you really do with your computer."
If they really (REALLY) go out and buy the latest games the day they're released, and that's the majority of their usage, they may want the expensive card. They may also want to upgrade the video card several times before they want a new PC built in a year because they need better performance.
If they usually surf the net, write emails, read Slashdot, watch movies (DVD, youtube, downloaded porn, etc), and occasionally play a game that's a year or so old, they would be very happy with the $100 card.
If they generally don't do much more than answer emails, they'd be happy with the $20 card.
I've never had anyone request for me to put the $20 card in their new computer. Those have always been used in servers that don't have a monitor hooked up most of the time anyways.
Most people want the $100 card. I know there's a lot of brand loyalty on here, but to most people it doesn't really matter. I tell the customer to compare specs, and figure out which comparable card is cheapest right now. Sales fluctuate, so you may have a choice of $99.95 and $129.95 for comparable cards. They'll always go for the $99.99 card.
In my own machines, I'm working in shells through X11. I may have a few dozen windows open, if I'm using clusterssh, and a few browser sessions open. Occasionally (very occasionally), I play video games on the PC, and that's only if I have a Windows drive to boot to do it. I buy the $100 card, and am perfectly happy.
So, figure out what you do the most with your PC, and build it accordingly. Bragging rights of "I have the better card" are for teenage boys who don't realize it really doesn't matter, because mom isn't buying you a new computer after this one, because this one cost too damned much. Enjoy your $4,000 Alienware machine. In a year when faster better machines are available, you'll still be using that one. And in 2 years. And in 4 years. And the whole time, your friends will be getting newer better PCs at less than $1k, and you're "I'm the coolest kid on the block" fame will be gone.
I won't try to say what anyone should buy. If you want to spend hundreds on a video card, go for it. It's your money. That's why I let people pick what they want in theirs when I build one out. I only guide them through the options.
I'd worry more about a doctor 5 years ago noting in the file "Hypochondriac. Prescribe placebo to make him happy."
In my case, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if a doctor noted "Complains about pain, probably just wants drugs. Prescribed to keep him happy." I can give them my full history verbally, because I lived it.
I was in a car accident several years ago. I had to be convinced by friends to go to the hospital. I had a concussion and was delirious, so I was refusing to go. If I had been all together, I would have known I needed to go. The hospital didn't see an immediate need for treatment, other than pain killers, muscle relaxers, and bed rest. They also told me what doctor specialist to go to first thing in the morning. As I recall (which was fuzzy because of the concussion), they were very stern about needing to go FIRST thing in the morning. The had arranged a 9am appointment for me.
6 months of therapy 3 times a week later, my insurance wouldn't cover it any more. During that period, I had X-rays, an MRI, more test and treatments than I can count. I was advised that I had muscles that were badly torn, and two bulging disks that may need surgery in the near future. I was doing ok after the therapy. Not great, but I was walking and talking, and showing up to work. After hard physical work, I was usually in pain. Years later, after moving several times, I found it necessary to go to a doctor about it. They asked for the old doctor's info. I didn't remember his phone number, nor street address. Most of my files had been trimmed down over various moves, and I couldn't find any paperwork about the doctor. I did remember his name, the main street he was on, and approximate cross street. They couldn't find anything about him. They treated me anyways, based on my complaint, and verbal account of my related history. After a while, things were good again, and I went about my business.
A few years (and a couple moves) later, I was in a lot of pain again. I woke up one morning, and couldn't roll over. I couldn't lift my head. Any movements caused tremendous pain. My wife had already gotten up, and there was no one to find me stuck in bed. Over the course of the next hour, I managed to move enough to get to my cell phone on the bedside table. I called my wife. I called into work 1/2 hour late. We took a drive to the new doctor in this town. I rode in the passenger seat, literally holding my head up in my hands, trying not to move anything from my mid back up, because it all hurt badly. All I could give the doctor was my verbal account. he asked for the doctor history, so I told him about the 1st doctor after the accident. I was back in the same area, but this doctor had never heard of him. I told him about the second doctor, who did share my patient record.
My new doctor (still my current doctor) is a really nice guy. He did warn me that because of how long it had been, my X-rays and MRI were probably already destroyed due to document retention policies. There may be paper files, but for a doctor who's not practicing any more, it could be virtually impossible to get those records, assuming I could find him. What if he retired, and moved out of the country? So until I can get more testing done (which my insurance minimally covers), there's no real documentation out there other than "the patient complains of.... and has specifically requested ...."
So, if this were put into a centralized database now, it's very likely I will look like a drug shopper. Well, not a very determined one. Two doctors in several years, and prescriptions intermittently requested and filled (i.e., on an as-needed basis).. What if one or both of these doctors noted me as a possible drug shopper? A central database will stop me from getting the treatment I need. Then again, if it had existed years ago, all of my records would exist, and there would be no
SCO tried, but they couldn't find anyone left to sue there. Since there so lawsuit happy, I'd suspect if it wasn't dead, they would have found someone. Actually, I'm pretty sure they'd be willing to sue a corpse, but that's just supposition (i.e., SCO, please don't sue me for saying it).
There are only two types of people in this world. The hunters ... and the hunted.
There is a line drawn down the middle of the room. Hunters, please step to the right side of the line. Hunted, run to the left side of the line, and keep running. You'll have a 5 minute head start to keep things interesting.
Oh AC, are you running with a limp? That's a shame. The polar bear may get you before the hunters. :)
Oops, I forgot to complete my thought. :)
If the boss says to do it, do it. If they're springing for a $200 cable, because they're too stupid to realize that you really *CAN* make the same cable with the same functionality for $10, then let them buy it. It's not worth your job to argue the matter. More importantly, if you do impress your supervisor by saving the company $190, he's the one who will look golden, not you. You're obviously nobody in the company. Until you are someone, anything good you do is reflected on your boss, not you.
If you make your way up the ladder, and they ask "Why were we wasting all of that extra money for so many years?", explain it truthfully. "My supervisor made the executive decision, and it was not within the bounds of my position to contradict his decisions, no matter how wrong I thought it may be."
Or "that decision is/was above my pay grade."
I guess it would all depend on your employer, and their background (and yours). :)
The truth, there's nothing wrong with hand made cables, as long as you know what you're doing.
You seem to indicate making one cable. You're only passing 20Mb/s over it. Cables I made handled 100Mb/s, and I've even started attaching GigE devices to GigE switches, and have seen them well up past 200Mb/s. The stopped there due to what was being passed, not because of the cables.
My current work has the same opinion. I can't possibly make a cable that could be as good as the cable made by [insert company name]. I've gotten bad commercially made cables. I've also made the occasional mistake myself. The big difference is, when I make a mistake, it's usually because I was tired or working fast. I can spot my error through the connector, so I cut it off, and do it again right. When I've reterminated commercially made cables, I've found some use some pretty crappy wire. Some is really soft, and doesn't tend to lay well for insertion. Some is really hard, and hard to manipulate. And some are just right. Aw fuck, I sound like Goldilocks. :)
I won't admit to anything, but when I'm sitting on a pile of 25' cables, and I need 6' cables, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize a little cutting and crimping is a lot easier than leaving the datacenter, driving to the store, spending a bunch of money, and driving back. I could usually have a 20' cable reterminated into 3 6.6 cables. in the same amount of time it would take to lock up the cage and get to the DC front door.
I will warn you, be careful of quantity. For a while, I made all of my own cables. They all worked really well. But, when you have 100+ cables to make, your fingers start getting really sore. If you need a bunch of cables, it's worth your sanity, and the feeling in your fingers, to let the company buy them. I usually (usually) reserve the pleasure of making cables, to making cross connects when I need them (chop off an end, and reterminate as a cross connect), or when I need a special length. Hey, where are you going to find a 106' cable? Oh, you're not unless you special order it. :)
Have you shopped at the retail stores? One cable can easily be over $20.
Even their cable crimpers are more expensive. I've been in strange cities, and needed some cables. When I hit the retail stores, I cringe at the prices, and then start asking "Where's Home Depot?" They sell the cable by the box. They sell crimpers cheap. They sell ends cheap.
I don't make all of my own cables. I usually do a little advanced planning, and get the cables I need cheap online (CDW or Tiger direct frequently have low prices), and then only make the cables that aren't standard sizes, or that I don't know the length before I show up. How far is it from the demark rack to the rack where I want my switch? Dunno? Make it when I get there. :)
You obviously didn't grow up in Florida. That was a nice cool day. Try over 100, with 99% humidity, but not quite ready to rain. The afternoon storms wouldn't come around until the end of the school day, so we had the pleasure of PE in full blinding sunlight. There's no excuse to participate until you fall out unconscious. Even then, the other students would drag your limp body around until you woke up.
Ahh, the good ol' days. When I see a news report about someone over 30 going back and shooting up a school, I don't really question why they did it. I only question why they'd do it because they're going to jail for a long long time.
Thank you, and I agree totally. :)
I won't confess to anything, but....
Anyone tripping should (or must) have a babysitter. I've played babysitter several times, and having someone to talk to can be amazingly helpful. Even if the voice of reason (the babysitter) is saying "no, that giant green dragon monster over there isn't really after you, and isn't trying to eat your brains."
Been there, done that, talked them through it over the course of an hour. :)
Ahhh, memories.
My first Linux use was a failure. Back in the day, I'd guess the rate was much much higher. I had no *nix experience, but I managed to get the stack of floppies made, and followed step by step through the book (Linux unleashed, 1st edition, when it was first released, which included Slackware), and finally had a working machine. Well, working that it booted. Failed in that I had no clue where to go after that. It's not like I could Google answers like, how do I connect my modem? find me an example of a chat script. Oh ya, we didn't have much there either. Internet connections were limited at best, so I would have been using BBS's with it. :)
My next attempt was the one that stuck. I could actually install from a CD (oh my gosh), and I got it installed. It was a few months before I got that mystery of X windows working. I explored the net with lynx, and with my 386/16 Windows machine sitting nearby. Finally, I had X working, and my life has been downhill since then. :) I made a working NAT firewall with it, and several months later, it was needed by my office for a gateway, so it became the first server I had worked on too.
One Linux machine became many. Thundreds, or possibly thousands of machines later (mostly servers), it's a rather odd thing for me to have someone ask me a Linux question that I don't know the answer to, usually through experience.
I've used just about every major Linux distro, and many minor ones, and many other *nix OS's. I always come back to Slackware.
> Acid is not a toy. As a "bathtub" drug there is no consistency of dosage or quality.
You've just posted the most reasonable reason for legalizing recreational drugs that I've ever heard. No, you're not the first one to say it, but it's a very valid argument.
Street drugs may be recreational, but you don't know the dosage that you're buying. If it were legalized, and sold in stores at reasonable prices, blackmarket vendors would be out of business. You'd know if you're taking 50ug (nominal recreational dose) or 400ug (high dosage). If you just purchased what you thought was a light dosage of say 25ug (will induce light hallucinations), but were looking for a "heavier" trip, you could take a dozen hits. I've never heard of anyone doing it intentionally, but you could. If they were actually 400ug, you're already 25% of the way to a lethal dose (12,000ug).
And for the reference minded, look here.
I've read many studies on the long term effects. In the 60's, they believed the drug caused long term side effects, such as flashbacks. Now, the "flash backs" are more like a PTSD moment, where traumatic memories are recalled in a fully believable and current fashion.
PTSD exists. I have flashbacks from a particularly traumatic event. I don't take LSD, so you can't blame that. :) I know people with severe PTSD, usually from military service.
Voluntarily creating moments in your head that could be traumatic (i.e., bad acid trip) are a bad thing. Then again, drinking heavily and doing something bad could be just as traumatic. DUI involving fatality can be bad for your psyche. It could be just as traumatic for the non-DUI driver. At least alcohol has a measured and rated influence (alcohol proof). People don't necessarily follow guidelines, but then again, at least they have guidelines.
If a billion died, that would be a bad thing. There are 6.77 billion people on earth (Apr 2009 estimate), so if 15% of the world died (1 billion), it would be catastrophic.
We haven't even begun to understand what happens when modern bodies decompose. It won't be pretty. For most of the 100 billion people that have lived and died on earth, most have been "all natural" people. They've eaten from the land, and haven't had any modifications done. In more recent years, that's changed. We have ingested more heavy metals than should even exist in nature. We have teeth filled with toxic materials; capped with toxic materials; bones reinforced with metal implants; cosmetic alterations done with synthetic implants; poisons injected throughout our lives (vaccines, medications, etc). On top of this, when we die we are filled with more dangerous chemicals, placed in a coffin inside a vault, which are made to last for at least 100 years. What would happen if 15% of the population died in rapid succession? The 100 year safety net would disappear. We probably wouldn't embalm our dead. Mass grave sites would take the remains, and let them rot in the ground. In a relatively short period of time, the toxins that we currently vault away in the ground would leach into the ground quickly, contaminating the drinking water.
But hey, I'm the eternal optimist. Maybe most people aren't all that toxic. ha.
You know the way this works. The smart people will be the worst impacted demographic. The idiots on cell phones who don't realize that their call is less important than their lives, will survive happily. In a short period, idiocracy will become reality, and your sister will be dancing at Starbucks.
But hey, that's why people call me an optimist. :)
That, and most other disclaimers are completely worthless.
What if you had signs around the perimeter of your property at 6' intervals, written in a dozen languages to help insure it can be read by anyone, which says "Warning: Trespassers will be shot."? When someone walks past the sign, you can't just shoot them. Well, you can. You will also go to jail for premeditated manslaughter, to which you provided the evidence for.
Prosecution: So you had planned to murder the victim when he walked onto your property?
You: No.
Prosecution: When you purchased your firearm, as we've heard the dealer testify earlier to, you said "I am buying this gun to shoot anyone who comes onto my property."
You: But, I didn't mean I would.
Prosecution: ... and you put up sign indicating to all neighbors and passers by that you intended to murder anyone who passed beyond the perimeter of your property.
You: But....
Prosecution: So you finally shot a person who accidentally walked past the border of your property.
You: I never intended.
Prosecution: You bought a gun to kill with. You made statements to the effect that you wanted to kill. You put up signs advertising that you wanted to kill. How can this be misconstrued to believe you weren't looking for someone to murder?
You: but...
Prosecution: So when little 12 year old Billy walked up the side of your property calling "Puppy, where are you puppy", obviously looking for his dog, you believed you were well within your rights to shoot him dead?
You: He was trespassing. He was warned.
Prosecution: With the testimony and evidence provided, we have no more questions for this witness.
See, just because you put a sign up doesn't protect you from doing bad things. Otherwise, I'll set up an exotic drugs lab, and just put signs around the perimeter saying "Anything happening on this property is fully compliant with all applicable laws. No unauthorized individuals allowed beyond this point.", and signs on the transport vehicles "All items inside this vehicle are legal. Search of this vehicle and driver are forbidden"
I haven't read the book, but did they call his electric rifle a TASER, or did Taser International do that themselves?
I found the relevant information here
Have you ever noticed that in some TV shows, and many B movies, the logos on cars are removed? Pay attention. Usually they are slick about keeping them out of the frame, but sometimes they do really ugly obvious things to hide the logos.
I saw something on TV a few weeks ago, where the lead character was driving a Mercedes. It was obvious that it was a Mercedes. I had no doubt that it was a Mercedes. But, the grill logo had been removed, and a black blank had been put in it's place. They hadn't acquired rights to use the Mercedes logo in their show.
I was watching some law enforcement show on the Discovery Channel last night. The cops were driving a Ford SUV. They were driving to arrest someone with a history of making methamphetamines. Hopefully if you really care, that'll help you find the show. Anyways, in the shot, they had the interior lit up so you could see the driver while he was talking. The Ford logo on the steering wheel was removed after filming, so they just had a fuzzy blue circle overlaid where the logo was.
I've noticed in a lot of B movies, they'll replace the grill of a car with something else, so the logo doesn't show. It's usually done very badly (as with everything in a B movie). The vehicle itself apparently isn't a problem, but the company logos are.
I didn't see the logo or name used on the Corbis photo, but I didn't look all that carefully. Now, if they're putting the brand name on, they can run into problems. But hey, anyone can sue for anything. It's a matter for the court to decide who wins. But, whoever runs out of money first loses anyways. I suspect Taser may have more money than the kids who make the prop in SL.
Identifying poster IP...
Tracking User with GUI interface written in Visual Basic to track the IP address...
Sending kill pulse over Internet to disable user communications...
Isolating coordinates on power grid, and disabling power service...
Dispatching unmarked black vans and helicopters for potential terrorist pickup... Use of deadly force authorized...
When our agents reach your house, don't resist. It'll just make your death more painful, and make our agents work harder. The outcome is inevitable. On never mind, you can't see this, now can you. But maybe others will learn from your mistakes.
Have a nice day.