That IS funny, but my company is simply running fiber through natural gas lines. It will be quite a long time before any fiber would get out to rural or suburban areas, but we're all over downtown San Diego.
As far as 6 power company guys, vs 1 telephone guy (and being a power company supervisor) I can tell you that power is considered a 'need' while a phone is considered a 'want', per the government in California. To be honest, though, I have no idea if that's applied on a state level or a federal level.
Imagine a great-grandmother on oxygen: after her battery-backup system dies, she may too if she gets too hot/cold. If the phone goes out, she simply can't be reached but is safe.
Disclaimer: I work for the parent company of two major (public) southern California utilities.
"Cooking the books" is not an option. I speak from the experience of the many SOX (Sarbanes Oxley) audits of which I've been a part of. SOX originated around the time of Enron (not talking down to you, this is just in case you weren't aware) and is meant to specifically end ANY financial mishaps. Things as simple as a recurring Friday-morning doughnut order, or a daily newspaper subscription have been disallowed, and all other expenses (including office supplies) require at least three signatures.
So while I could be wrong, I just don't think that "Cooking the books" is possible with the new rules in place.
That said, in California we have to plan 3-5 years in advance for all of our budgetary needs. If we can't prove that an increase in (power) price is absolutely necessary, complete with all documentation to back it up, we will either not do what we were going to do with that money, eat the cost and do it anyway (which could lead to lower stock price as revenue drops) or simply decide to axe another project and utilize those monies.
To get back on topic, we too are looking at BPL, and our version of remote meter reading / power monitoring (AMI). This is still up in the air, as we are waiting on the PUC to determine what size rollout (and thus how much expense gets generated) of AMI is required. The costs are high, what with new meters and some new infrastructure (my folks tell me that we'll produce an ADDITIONAL ~50TB of data per day) and that cost will either be bourne by the stockholders or the ratepayers.
We are not, by my understanding, thinking of providing internet access or other services to the home users. The speeds are apparently too slow, and signal repeaters are needed. Sort of like DSL.
In my opinion, BPL should be used only when there are no other signal options. Take an apartment or large office building, for example. If you can get a wireless signal anywhere near the building, use that as the primary backbone and then enter the building using BPL. That way, BPL does not become the bottleneck (I don't know the speeds, offhand) that some of the techical folks are decribing it to be.
I agree, to a certain extent. In my opinion, if someone is going to post numerous opinions, claiming that they are indeed fact, then the original poster needs to provide proof. Think of it as a bibliography at the back of a research paper. Sure, you could have guessed right, but without proof your research paper just turned into an editorial.
I think when people post things like "links please" or "proof?" they expect that one of two things will happen. 1) The original poster will provide proof and things will get back on topic, or 2) the original poster will admit that their post is at best a guess, and the thread will be essentially discredited and die.
If facts are posted, then their meaning can be "tuned" or skewed either in favor or against. If opinions are posted, then fantasy rules.
So take this all with a grain of salt, as all of this is just my opinion.:)
"The difference is that the GF7800GTX512 is available and sold right now, even if very expensive and hard to find (a proof of its success and popularity)..."
Wait...my local BestBuy is out of the Xbox 360! Could that mean that it's successful and popular???
Ok, so I'm just kidding. Just be careful that marketing hype and sales-control isn't clouding your decision making.:)
If there were a '+1 Sane' moderation, I'd give you one.
If the Music division had 1/2 the profits that they normally did, I doubt the Home Audio/Video division would even notice, and may even carry the rest of the company profit-wise.
Here are my results from taking the tickle IQ test, though I didn't pay to see how I compare.
Bryan, your Super IQ score is 125
Your overall intelligence quotient is the result of a scientifically-tested formula based on how many questions you answered correctly. But it's only part of what we learned about you from your answers on the test. We also determined the way you process information.
The way you think about things makes you a Creative Theorist. This means you are a highly intelligent, complex person. You are able to process information of nearly every kind with ease, using both creativity and analysis to make sense of the world. Compared to others you also have a very rich imagination.
How did we determine that your thinking style is that of a Creative Theorist? When we examined your test results further, we analyzed how you scored on 8 dimensions of intelligence: spatial, organizational, abstract reasoning, logical, mechanical, verbal, visual and numerical. The 3 dimensions you scored highest on combine to make you a Creative Theorist. Only 6 out of 1,000 people have this rare combination of abilities.
My thought with the scale was that it would make it more difficult to 'fool' the system. I'm not an RFID expert, but if I put an iPod in my cart and wrapped in tin foil there may be a chance that I could get out of the store with it being undetected. If there was a weight difference, then I would expect that to trigger an employee to come over and investigate.
I like the running-total idea!
So...would you settle for 50% of the proceeds from our idea? *grin*
I'd think that having a reader at the grocery store would be very beneficial, but close to the checkout. Imagine not having to stand in line. Perhaps the individual tags could list not only the prices, but the weights of the items. The cart would have to be weighed ahead of time, of course, to ensure that there is no cheating going on. You simply pay, and you're done. No cashier needed.
"I don't know about record stores, but at most places I shop it seems that the cashiers know nothing about the products that they sell, so how would you expect them to know anything about the right price?"
Having been a cashier in the distant past, I think the main thought (of the cashier mentioned in the article) was "Why the F should this guy get away with this, when *I* can't?" If it were as easy as simply switching barcodes, the cashiers would have done that LONG ago, leaving none for customers.
"What if you give every cart (and basket) its own tag?"
Interesting thought. So the items in the cart would be assiciated with the cart itself, similar to how an online (digital) shopping cart works. The only catch I see is if the associated cart were left in the store, like if I have purchased two gallons of milk and a magazine. Walking through the store, it's not manageable so I have a cart, but once in a bag I can manage just fine and will leave the cart in the store.
Unless you either had the readers earlier in the process (before the register would be interesting, as it could inventory the cart prior to purchase!) or if the cart return were outside the store.
I'm not sure what rights the parent poster is refering to, but they are one of the few places (Fry's comes to mind) that have lots of items in reach between the cashier and the door. That, and folks generally buy a large amount of items. I've had the door guy catch that a DVD I bought was not in my cart...the cashier had accidently left it on the counter out of my sight, forgetting to put it in my cart.
Rude? If the cashier did their job, and I merely walked from the cashier to the door, then what kind of job is that? Seems kind of opposite from the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing, don't you think?
That said, how would you feel (yes, I know this is a stretch) about cops on the street stopping you, when you've done nothing wrong, just to 'check your papers'?
Exactly! Or at LEAST make the new barcode be from an iPod accessory. The register folks, who are likely trying to figure out how THEY can get away with an iPod, aren't that dumb as to completely miss an iPod ringing up as a box of Crayolas.
That said, whenever I've bought a small, expensive item like this, it's behind glass. The salesperson will unlock the glass, take out the item, and hold it for me at the register. How did this guy, having no reported accomplice on the 'inside' get his hands on the item?
"And when they get caught with a $5 digital camcorder and they tell the judge "Honest your honor, I have no idea where that came from", who the hell is gonna believe them ?"
I was typing something contrary, but then thought it through and I agree with you, at least to a certain extent. When a barcode is changed, it reflects a DIFFERENT item and the register will show it as that item and price. So you're walking out with a digital camcorder, but the receipt shows that you paid for a small box of crayons.
Though if you were the one walking out of the store with the camcorder without any knowledge that *I* changed the barcodes, there would be no evidence of theft (I am not a lawyer) on video (instead it would show ME changing the barcode) so the only burdon of proof that I can think of is you proving that you don't know me.
Slashdot Mirror
That IS funny, but my company is simply running fiber through natural gas lines. It will be quite a long time before any fiber would get out to rural or suburban areas, but we're all over downtown San Diego.
As far as 6 power company guys, vs 1 telephone guy (and being a power company supervisor) I can tell you that power is considered a 'need' while a phone is considered a 'want', per the government in California. To be honest, though, I have no idea if that's applied on a state level or a federal level.
Imagine a great-grandmother on oxygen: after her battery-backup system dies, she may too if she gets too hot/cold. If the phone goes out, she simply can't be reached but is safe.
Disclaimer: I work for the parent company of two major (public) southern California utilities.
"Cooking the books" is not an option. I speak from the experience of the many SOX (Sarbanes Oxley) audits of which I've been a part of. SOX originated around the time of Enron (not talking down to you, this is just in case you weren't aware) and is meant to specifically end ANY financial mishaps. Things as simple as a recurring Friday-morning doughnut order, or a daily newspaper subscription have been disallowed, and all other expenses (including office supplies) require at least three signatures.
So while I could be wrong, I just don't think that "Cooking the books" is possible with the new rules in place.
That said, in California we have to plan 3-5 years in advance for all of our budgetary needs. If we can't prove that an increase in (power) price is absolutely necessary, complete with all documentation to back it up, we will either not do what we were going to do with that money, eat the cost and do it anyway (which could lead to lower stock price as revenue drops) or simply decide to axe another project and utilize those monies.
To get back on topic, we too are looking at BPL, and our version of remote meter reading / power monitoring (AMI). This is still up in the air, as we are waiting on the PUC to determine what size rollout (and thus how much expense gets generated) of AMI is required. The costs are high, what with new meters and some new infrastructure (my folks tell me that we'll produce an ADDITIONAL ~50TB of data per day) and that cost will either be bourne by the stockholders or the ratepayers.
We are not, by my understanding, thinking of providing internet access or other services to the home users. The speeds are apparently too slow, and signal repeaters are needed. Sort of like DSL.
In my opinion, BPL should be used only when there are no other signal options. Take an apartment or large office building, for example. If you can get a wireless signal anywhere near the building, use that as the primary backbone and then enter the building using BPL. That way, BPL does not become the bottleneck (I don't know the speeds, offhand) that some of the techical folks are decribing it to be.
I agree, to a certain extent. In my opinion, if someone is going to post numerous opinions, claiming that they are indeed fact, then the original poster needs to provide proof. Think of it as a bibliography at the back of a research paper. Sure, you could have guessed right, but without proof your research paper just turned into an editorial.
:)
I think when people post things like "links please" or "proof?" they expect that one of two things will happen. 1) The original poster will provide proof and things will get back on topic, or 2) the original poster will admit that their post is at best a guess, and the thread will be essentially discredited and die.
If facts are posted, then their meaning can be "tuned" or skewed either in favor or against. If opinions are posted, then fantasy rules.
So take this all with a grain of salt, as all of this is just my opinion.
I got the joke, but I'm surprised at the lack of "Psh! All I need is a green-screen for NetHack!" responses.
"The difference is that the GF7800GTX512 is available and sold right now, even if very expensive and hard to find (a proof of its success and popularity)..."
:)
Wait...my local BestBuy is out of the Xbox 360! Could that mean that it's successful and popular???
Ok, so I'm just kidding. Just be careful that marketing hype and sales-control isn't clouding your decision making.
If there were a '+1 Sane' moderation, I'd give you one.
If the Music division had 1/2 the profits that they normally did, I doubt the Home Audio/Video division would even notice, and may even carry the rest of the company profit-wise.
Here are my results from taking the tickle IQ test, though I didn't pay to see how I compare.
Bryan, your Super IQ score is 125
Your overall intelligence quotient is the result of a scientifically-tested formula based on how many questions you answered correctly. But it's only part of what we learned about you from your answers on the test. We also determined the way you process information.
The way you think about things makes you a Creative Theorist. This means you are a highly intelligent, complex person. You are able to process information of nearly every kind with ease, using both creativity and analysis to make sense of the world. Compared to others you also have a very rich imagination.
How did we determine that your thinking style is that of a Creative Theorist? When we examined your test results further, we analyzed how you scored on 8 dimensions of intelligence: spatial, organizational, abstract reasoning, logical, mechanical, verbal, visual and numerical. The 3 dimensions you scored highest on combine to make you a Creative Theorist. Only 6 out of 1,000 people have this rare combination of abilities.
Interesting. Thank you for the information and the correction.
Do you have an estimate on the lumins that your projector puts out?
So any idea of the resulting lumins from the DIY projector?
Have you completed your projector? I'm interested in how many lumins a DIY project will be able to throw out.
My thought with the scale was that it would make it more difficult to 'fool' the system. I'm not an RFID expert, but if I put an iPod in my cart and wrapped in tin foil there may be a chance that I could get out of the store with it being undetected. If there was a weight difference, then I would expect that to trigger an employee to come over and investigate.
I like the running-total idea!
So...would you settle for 50% of the proceeds from our idea? *grin*
"This obviously excludes online IQ tests which will frequently have an upwards margin of error of up to 30 points or more"
Then perhaps either my source is incorrect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ#Distribution) or (more likely) I'm not interpreting the data correctly.
What if you bought helium balloons?
Perpahs I shouldn't post with so little sleep...
I'd think that having a reader at the grocery store would be very beneficial, but close to the checkout. Imagine not having to stand in line. Perhaps the individual tags could list not only the prices, but the weights of the items. The cart would have to be weighed ahead of time, of course, to ensure that there is no cheating going on. You simply pay, and you're done. No cashier needed.
Deny. 15-16 points is the deviation.
With the average age of the test subjects being 10 years old...I don't get it either.
No sir. A bit caustic, perhaps, but dead-on accurate reading comprehension skills.
"I don't know about record stores, but at most places I shop it seems that the cashiers know nothing about the products that they sell, so how would you expect them to know anything about the right price?"
Having been a cashier in the distant past, I think the main thought (of the cashier mentioned in the article) was "Why the F should this guy get away with this, when *I* can't?" If it were as easy as simply switching barcodes, the cashiers would have done that LONG ago, leaving none for customers.
"What if you give every cart (and basket) its own tag?"
Interesting thought. So the items in the cart would be assiciated with the cart itself, similar to how an online (digital) shopping cart works. The only catch I see is if the associated cart were left in the store, like if I have purchased two gallons of milk and a magazine. Walking through the store, it's not manageable so I have a cart, but once in a bag I can manage just fine and will leave the cart in the store.
Unless you either had the readers earlier in the process (before the register would be interesting, as it could inventory the cart prior to purchase!) or if the cart return were outside the store.
I'm not sure what rights the parent poster is refering to, but they are one of the few places (Fry's comes to mind) that have lots of items in reach between the cashier and the door. That, and folks generally buy a large amount of items. I've had the door guy catch that a DVD I bought was not in my cart...the cashier had accidently left it on the counter out of my sight, forgetting to put it in my cart.
Rude? If the cashier did their job, and I merely walked from the cashier to the door, then what kind of job is that? Seems kind of opposite from the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing, don't you think?
That said, how would you feel (yes, I know this is a stretch) about cops on the street stopping you, when you've done nothing wrong, just to 'check your papers'?
Exactly! Or at LEAST make the new barcode be from an iPod accessory. The register folks, who are likely trying to figure out how THEY can get away with an iPod, aren't that dumb as to completely miss an iPod ringing up as a box of Crayolas.
That said, whenever I've bought a small, expensive item like this, it's behind glass. The salesperson will unlock the glass, take out the item, and hold it for me at the register. How did this guy, having no reported accomplice on the 'inside' get his hands on the item?
"And when they get caught with a $5 digital camcorder and they tell the judge "Honest your honor, I have no idea where that came from", who the hell is gonna believe them ?"
I was typing something contrary, but then thought it through and I agree with you, at least to a certain extent. When a barcode is changed, it reflects a DIFFERENT item and the register will show it as that item and price. So you're walking out with a digital camcorder, but the receipt shows that you paid for a small box of crayons.
Though if you were the one walking out of the store with the camcorder without any knowledge that *I* changed the barcodes, there would be no evidence of theft (I am not a lawyer) on video (instead it would show ME changing the barcode) so the only burdon of proof that I can think of is you proving that you don't know me.