I'm trying to learn Japanese, and I'm doing something similar to what this guy describes in the second half of the article. After learning the kana (Japan's phonetic "alphabets"), I switched my iPod into Japanese.
Of course I can get around most menus without reading at all, since I knew where everything was by heart. However if I go into Browse or Settings, I have to translate.:) Unfortunately it doesn't give me much more than phonetic reading practice, since most of the words used on the iPod are actually on loan from English. Example: "purei-risuto" (Japanese fudges out the U's, making it sort of "pray-rist"). HMM, I wonder what that could possibly be....
Setting my computer's main language to Japanese could be next... but I think that will be a way bigger challenge.
Indicentally, I am also using the Pimsleur course this guy recommends. I'm on level 1 lesson 21, and so far it has been great. My friends' eyes bug out when I start speaking Japanese to them. Now if only I had some Japanese friends to practice on...:P
Justin
My Google HR Experience
on
Defining Google
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Two years ago when I was desperate for a job, I sent resumes to almost everywhere imaginable. In desperation I even checked the Google jobs site, despite the fact that I live nowhere near them. Lo and behold, they had a sys admin position available here on the east coast. Holy crap! Of course, I immediately sent them a resume. I had no hope that they would contact me, since (as you already know if you read the post) they receive over 1,000 resumes a day.
Maybe a week later, I get an e-mail from Google! O, frabjous day. They want to do a quick interview over the phone. I immediately agree, and the interviewer calls me at the appointed time. He asks me some standard HR-ish questions about who I am and where I want to be, and then the real interview starts.
"Now for this part, you can't use a computer or a calculator." Uh oh. He starts asking me networking questions. Geeky ones. Hard ones. He had me list off the port numbers for various services, calculate netmasks in my head and troubleshoot hypothetical problems. I trip up only a little bit on the mathy parts, and he informs me right on the phone that I seem good enough, and that I could be scheduled for a real live interview.
Then comes the rub: He's explaining about the job (basically live in their east coast datacenter and maintain their server farm) and in the process tells me how much they're paying. Ouch... True, it's sort of a low-level job, but with my mortgage and family, there's no way I could live on it.:(
He tells me that in a few years, I could move up in the company, were I willing to pack up and ship off to California. Could this really be a backdoor into a coveted position in the Engineering department for those of us without Ph.Ds? I can tell you that if I were single and commitment-free, I'd have taken that job in a second. IMO, roughing it for a few years would be worth it to work for Google.
But it was not to be. I have an excellent (and far higher-paying) job now, and I didn't even have to move to California for it.;) Still, just this small contact with Google, where even the HR suits are geeks, was inspiring.
With four children, I've been on the lookout for a backup contraception method and this definitely fits the bill. Now I just have to run heavy number crunching in the background on my PowerBook so as to raise the heat level. Say goodbye, little swimmers!
(Hey, using a kickass laptop beats getting a vasectomy anyday!)
For an even closer analogy, my clothes dryer has a sensor in it which detects when the clothes are as dry as I wanted them and shuts the dryer off. I think this would qualify the dryer as a robot, since it has sensors and actuators and responds to stimuli. Of course, that would mean my heating system is also a robot, since it comes on automatically when it gets too cold in the house. Feh.
I think people look at devices that move around of their own accord and they know, "oh, that's a robot." Since appliances just sit there, people will not call them robots no matter how intelligent they are.
There's a reason why it's brilliant. It was stolen directly from Orwell's 1984. I know this because I re-read the book recently. See the beginning part of this page for confirmation. (I claim no responsibility for the rest of that page's content, because I didn't even read it!)
In any case, if Star Trek didn't give Orwell credit, that's pretty sad, since the premises of the two stories are so blatantly similar!
(This thread is sort of off-topic, so karma bonus has been turned off)
Dude, the info was out there on the 'net before you started your trip. You just had to go look for it!
It's funny that we rely on a "news" service like Slashdot to provide this sort of time-independent information. If you get a sudden pain in your chest, do you turn on the TV and wait 'til they run a story on heart attacks to find out more?;)
You're right, DLP has extremely fast switching time. However it's worth noting that its speed is tempered somewhat by the temporal dithering necessary to create shades of gray on pixels that can be either on (mirror towards screen) or off (mirror away from screen). So DLP may be able to switch on and off 1000 times a second but it certainly can't render even close to 1000 full-color images in that time.:)
I don't know what kind of DLP you mean, but owners of the Samsung rear projection DLPs are whining daily on AVS Forums about their sync problems. I personally never saw it with mine (I returned it for other reasons).
I know it's a joke, but in this country (I assume you're from the USA since you mentioned "medicare") we have a law that says emergency rooms have to stabilize anyone who walks in the door, insurance or not.
You would have done much better just killing the poor imaginary guy off at the scene of the stabbing, or making him starve to death.;)
A lot of people have pointed out how stupid it would be to replace Google's trademark minimalist look with cluttered, busy, or even over-designed pages. I agree, but I want to add something.
I personally use Google for all different kinds of research; work, play, random boredom. If I had to classify my searches I'd probably come up with 100 distinct categories of information I look for weekly. And I'm just one of millions of users from all different backgrounds, all searching in different fields and for different reasons.
In my opinion, one of the reason Google is such an amazing tool for searching all these fields of data is beacuse it is so minimalist. It is unadorned, free of styling and starkly generic. Almost like a page whose CSS style sheet failed to load. Why is this a good thing? It imparts no bias to the research task at hand. You could be looking for monitor parts, anti-malarial drugs or advice on your tax deductions, and your mind is free to focus into the data at hand.
Combined with its DWIM features and fantastic algorithm, I think that the "blank page" look makes Google almost invisible. It's totally transparent, leaving just you and the data. Pretty cool.
OK, I don't think I've ever written a more flaky-sounding paradigmy comment in my life. Forgive me.
When I had a Titanium Powerbook, the range was excellent. With Apple and non-Apple 802.11b APs, it worked from across a warehouse. Excellent range.
The one time I used it with an Airport AP, I was on the 1st floor of a house and it was on the 3rd floor. Still got five out of five bars and several megabits to the Internet. No problems.
I think we both have a small N but I can say with some authority that at least some Apple wireless products work great, some of the time;)
I think those are virus-laden e-mails. Some Outlooky virus a couple of years ago left lots of.eml files around in random places with random subjects just like that.
Maybe I'm dumb, but wouldn't it be better in every way to have another bit which specifies whether the available data is valid and current? Just zero that bit when the comms go down.
That way, you get a clear indication of what's wrong ("Comms are down") rather than a confused display of ridiculous -- yet safe -- data ("train on every track")?
You can still make control decisions based on that. ("We don't know what's going on in these blocks, better not send a train in there.")
Bakelite? Is this the same stuff they made ugly household items out of in the 1920s? Now that's high-tech! Since we're using space age materials, why not just encase the ICs in granite?
It's really primitive, especially compared to the My Virtual Model that landsend.com has had for years. It's just one static model represented by a bunch of jpegs loaded into Flash, with clothing as additional transparent images transposed on them. No actual 3D at work here. Looks like just photos taken from several angles. Stupid!!
All these sweet features and they gave it a low-res 160x160 screen?! CRAP! This TOTALLY ruins it for me. There's no way I can go back to low-res after having a Tungsten|T with 320x320.
Ha! I did this same exact thing in a high school computer lab.... except my version was set up to start verbally abusing the operator after 10 or 15 command lines.
Once I started it up when a known Mac user was coming buy. He only "tolerated" PCs, and he started going off loudly when DOS balked at his DIRs and CDs. "These stupid IBMs," he wailed, "I'd be done already if this were my IIcx at home.."
Slashdot Mirror
I'm trying to learn Japanese, and I'm doing something similar to what this guy describes in the second half of the article. After learning the kana (Japan's phonetic "alphabets"), I switched my iPod into Japanese.
:) Unfortunately it doesn't give me much more than phonetic reading practice, since most of the words used on the iPod are actually on loan from English. Example: "purei-risuto" (Japanese fudges out the U's, making it sort of "pray-rist"). HMM, I wonder what that could possibly be....
Of course I can get around most menus without reading at all, since I knew where everything was by heart. However if I go into Browse or Settings, I have to translate.
Setting my computer's main language to Japanese could be next... but I think that will be a way bigger challenge.
Indicentally, I am also using the Pimsleur course this guy recommends. I'm on level 1 lesson 21, and so far it has been great. My friends' eyes bug out when I start speaking Japanese to them. Now if only I had some Japanese friends to practice on...:P
Justin
Two years ago when I was desperate for a job, I sent resumes to almost everywhere imaginable. In desperation I even checked the Google jobs site, despite the fact that I live nowhere near them. Lo and behold, they had a sys admin position available here on the east coast. Holy crap! Of course, I immediately sent them a resume. I had no hope that they would contact me, since (as you already know if you read the post) they receive over 1,000 resumes a day.
:(
;) Still, just this small contact with Google, where even the HR suits are geeks, was inspiring.
Maybe a week later, I get an e-mail from Google! O, frabjous day. They want to do a quick interview over the phone. I immediately agree, and the interviewer calls me at the appointed time. He asks me some standard HR-ish questions about who I am and where I want to be, and then the real interview starts.
"Now for this part, you can't use a computer or a calculator." Uh oh. He starts asking me networking questions. Geeky ones. Hard ones. He had me list off the port numbers for various services, calculate netmasks in my head and troubleshoot hypothetical problems. I trip up only a little bit on the mathy parts, and he informs me right on the phone that I seem good enough, and that I could be scheduled for a real live interview.
Then comes the rub: He's explaining about the job (basically live in their east coast datacenter and maintain their server farm) and in the process tells me how much they're paying. Ouch... True, it's sort of a low-level job, but with my mortgage and family, there's no way I could live on it.
He tells me that in a few years, I could move up in the company, were I willing to pack up and ship off to California. Could this really be a backdoor into a coveted position in the Engineering department for those of us without Ph.Ds? I can tell you that if I were single and commitment-free, I'd have taken that job in a second. IMO, roughing it for a few years would be worth it to work for Google.
But it was not to be. I have an excellent (and far higher-paying) job now, and I didn't even have to move to California for it.
Hmmmm....
For $15, you might have to settle for stuffing an electric blanket in your pants, set on High.
With four children, I've been on the lookout for a backup contraception method and this definitely fits the bill. Now I just have to run heavy number crunching in the background on my PowerBook so as to raise the heat level. Say goodbye, little swimmers!
(Hey, using a kickass laptop beats getting a vasectomy anyday!)
For an even closer analogy, my clothes dryer has a sensor in it which detects when the clothes are as dry as I wanted them and shuts the dryer off. I think this would qualify the dryer as a robot, since it has sensors and actuators and responds to stimuli. Of course, that would mean my heating system is also a robot, since it comes on automatically when it gets too cold in the house. Feh.
I think people look at devices that move around of their own accord and they know, "oh, that's a robot." Since appliances just sit there, people will not call them robots no matter how intelligent they are.
I'm sure we can all agree that this was the... most...disjointed...and rambling...article summary...ever!
Justin
There's a reason why it's brilliant. It was stolen directly from Orwell's 1984. I know this because I re-read the book recently. See the beginning part of this page for confirmation. (I claim no responsibility for the rest of that page's content, because I didn't even read it!)
In any case, if Star Trek didn't give Orwell credit, that's pretty sad, since the premises of the two stories are so blatantly similar!
(This thread is sort of off-topic, so karma bonus has been turned off)
Justin
Dude, the info was out there on the 'net before you started your trip. You just had to go look for it!
;)
It's funny that we rely on a "news" service like Slashdot to provide this sort of time-independent information. If you get a sudden pain in your chest, do you turn on the TV and wait 'til they run a story on heart attacks to find out more?
Justin
You're right, DLP has extremely fast switching time. However it's worth noting that its speed is tempered somewhat by the temporal dithering necessary to create shades of gray on pixels that can be either on (mirror towards screen) or off (mirror away from screen). So DLP may be able to switch on and off 1000 times a second but it certainly can't render even close to 1000 full-color images in that time. :)
Justin
I don't know what kind of DLP you mean, but owners of the Samsung rear projection DLPs are whining daily on AVS Forums about their sync problems. I personally never saw it with mine (I returned it for other reasons).
Justin
The ultimate virtual office? Metaphors providing interfaces for important applications?
I'm sorry Sir, but this sounds too much like Microsoft Bob for comfort.
Justin
I know it's a joke, but in this country (I assume you're from the USA since you mentioned "medicare") we have a law that says emergency rooms have to stabilize anyone who walks in the door, insurance or not.
;)
You would have done much better just killing the poor imaginary guy off at the scene of the stabbing, or making him starve to death.
Justin
A lot of people have pointed out how stupid it would be to replace Google's trademark minimalist look with cluttered, busy, or even over-designed pages. I agree, but I want to add something.
I personally use Google for all different kinds of research; work, play, random boredom. If I had to classify my searches I'd probably come up with 100 distinct categories of information I look for weekly. And I'm just one of millions of users from all different backgrounds, all searching in different fields and for different reasons.
In my opinion, one of the reason Google is such an amazing tool for searching all these fields of data is beacuse it is so minimalist. It is unadorned, free of styling and starkly generic. Almost like a page whose CSS style sheet failed to load. Why is this a good thing? It imparts no bias to the research task at hand. You could be looking for monitor parts, anti-malarial drugs or advice on your tax deductions, and your mind is free to focus into the data at hand.
Combined with its DWIM features and fantastic algorithm, I think that the "blank page" look makes Google almost invisible. It's totally transparent, leaving just you and the data. Pretty cool.
OK, I don't think I've ever written a more flaky-sounding paradigmy comment in my life. Forgive me.
Justin
When I had a Titanium Powerbook, the range was excellent. With Apple and non-Apple 802.11b APs, it worked from across a warehouse. Excellent range.
;)
The one time I used it with an Airport AP, I was on the 1st floor of a house and it was on the 3rd floor. Still got five out of five bars and several megabits to the Internet. No problems.
I think we both have a small N but I can say with some authority that at least some Apple wireless products work great, some of the time
I think those are virus-laden e-mails. Some Outlooky virus a couple of years ago left lots of .eml files around in random places with random subjects just like that.
Justin
Maybe I'm dumb, but wouldn't it be better in every way to have another bit which specifies whether the available data is valid and current? Just zero that bit when the comms go down.
That way, you get a clear indication of what's wrong ("Comms are down") rather than a confused display of ridiculous -- yet safe -- data ("train on every track")?
You can still make control decisions based on that. ("We don't know what's going on in these blocks, better not send a train in there.")
Just a thought.
Justin
Sumitomo Bakelite
Bakelite? Is this the same stuff they made ugly household items out of in the 1920s? Now that's high-tech! Since we're using space age materials, why not just encase the ICs in granite?
Justin
If anyone wants to see the current incarnation of this technology (if it can be called that), check out:
;)
http://rnainc.jp/360models_03_ss/index.html
It's really primitive, especially compared to the My Virtual Model that landsend.com has had for years. It's just one static model represented by a bunch of jpegs loaded into Flash, with clothing as additional transparent images transposed on them. No actual 3D at work here. Looks like just photos taken from several angles. Stupid!!
She is pretty hot, though.
Justin
Rumors of Mac Tablet completely false. Take that, Cringely.
(sniff... I would have bought one!)
Justin
All these sweet features and they gave it a low-res 160x160 screen?! CRAP! This TOTALLY ruins it for me. There's no way I can go back to low-res after having a Tungsten|T with 320x320.
:(
I was maybe gonna buy one of these until now.
Ha! I did this same exact thing in a high school computer lab.... except my version was set up to start verbally abusing the operator after 10 or 15 command lines.
Once I started it up when a known Mac user was coming buy. He only "tolerated" PCs, and he started going off loudly when DOS balked at his DIRs and CDs. "These stupid IBMs," he wailed, "I'd be done already if this were my IIcx at home.."
Justin
Wouldn't that make them the U.S. extra-special forces?
Justin
You "decided it was too risque" and yet I am reading it somehow... ;)
Justin
Here's a link that doesn't give a commission to the above Coward ;)
A Traveler's Guide to Mars at Amazon
Justin
GOD, that's nice to see for once!!
Justin