Well, the ideal solution was Polycom's line of analog desktop phones (the SoundPoint series). Those are all IP models now, sadly, but I've had a pretty good experience with the "small" conference room models.
With that said, I have a separate office, with a door, so I don't have issues with "ambient" noise. If that's not the case for others, I can see how someone washing dishes a few feet away would not be the best possible scenario.
VOIP, cell phones, etc - are simply not reliable enough if some important portion of your job depends on you being on a conference call. I spend $20ish/month on a regular, low-frills analog phone line because it always works. I know when I can't understand someone on a call, it's because of a problem with their phone, and not mine.
That leads me to another point, if you do spend a good amount of time on conference calls, invest in a good desktop phone, like a Polycom. They're expensive (you get to write it off as an office expense, in the States, at least), but just another one of those things that lets you communicate clearly and effectively and not be the "that guy/gal" that nobody can ever understand over the echo.
Definitely also have an internet access backup plan, even if it's just having your phone ready to tether or knowing how fast you can get to Starbucks. I've found that there's some slack for the occasional ISP issue, but you have to be ready for that "emergency" where you have to be connected, *now*.
I think the boils down to "make computers and software run faster, plz."
It's certainly a good idea, but if you have some process in a program that takes a particular amount of time, and your choices are "pretend" or "show a status screen" -- why not show a status screen?
I think it's helpful to know what a program is up to (or thinks it is up to), especially if something bad happens.
Mr. Thomas seems to think the solution is to try and hide what's going on. Or, I guess, wait until that magical time, any day now, when every program opens instantly and is immediately ready for work, no matter what.
The town has a population of just over 1000 people. It has a park with a swimming pool, and CLAIMS to have the third-best golf course in NEBRASKA, and decent houses go for under $100,000.
I was offering a reasonable contrast to life in Mountain View. I didn't say it was a hell hole (depending on your take of the importance of good pizza), but it's a pretty far take from life in the valley.
I don't think because the town runs a swimming pool and has a small golf course means that somehow negates its ability of being a contrast. namely on affordability, but if you're looking for decent pizza in Mountain View, let me know. I can help.
This is really good advice - I mean, probably not so much for OP, who would find it hard to uproot his kids, and presumably his significant other is happy where they live too.
There is a happy medium between, say, the "the valley" (in the bay area) and Red Cloud, Nebraska (it's a real place, with bad pizza - look it up!). If you're ready to make the choice that money isn't everything, you can, with planning, reduce the cost of your lifestyle - and that's what it takes.
I just don't think that's the case... I mean, it's true - people *can* sue for anything, but malpractice, again, typically implies negligence or reckless indifference. A doctor that had (and likely continued) to try and convince a patient to be vaccinated, but that patient was not yet convinced... for whatever reason... I don't think that meets the standard.
An ophthalmologist who tells a patient to get new glasses, and the patient refuses, and then knocks over and injures another patient in the waiting room. The doctor's fault? Malpractice? It still doesn't seem like it.
Maybe you can start making arguments about how unvaccinated people should have to wear masks or what-not, while in the waiting room?
It seems like the doctor has a couple of a good defenses, but namely that the patient themselves didn't follow his advice. I think a doctor that actively encouraged vaccine refusal would be, or at least could be, in a somewhat more tenuous situation, but typically malpractice stems either from negligence or reckless indifference.
A doctor that tried and failed to convince a patient to vaccinate seems neither negligent or indifferent.
That isn't to say that the anti-vaccine folks really appear to be a bunch of certified nutters.
Honestly, the voucher is better than the free flight most of the time. The free flight is subject to a seat in the "free" bucket being available, and you can ask anyone trying to use miles how easy that is, and you don't get miles for the flight.
Whereas a voucher can be used for any flight, and even if the voucher covers the entire cost, you still "earn" miles. The risk, of course, is that you plan on flying someplace really expensive and only get a $150 voucher - but for me, when they get to about $400/$500, I know just about anywhere in the continental US I want to go, that's going to cover most, if not all, of the ticket.
If you've been pleasant about it, you can sometimes snag the upgrade on the later flight too. Not as much nowadays, but...
I think the real issue is that from an economic perspective, getting someplace faster, isn't necessarily better anymore.
It used to be that travel time was down time. Whatever the mode of transport was, you couldn't really be productive (in the traditional sense) while you were on the move. The less time you spent in the metal tube meant more time you spent someplace where you could do something other than pick at "chicken ala mystery". The Concorde was better, because you spent less time in the plane doing "nothing".
Now you can be connected wherever. Sitting on the plane is no different than sitting in an uncomfortable office. How much is it worth to get there faster now? Some? Maybe. But not very much. And certainly not the difference in fare prices between First/Business class on a 777 and the Concorde.
There's obviously more to "productivity" than "presence", but for the sort of folks that are forking over that kind of money for a plane ticket, it's pretty important.
My first computer didn't even have 8-bits. It had 2, but you couldn't use both at the same time. You had to go up 7 floors to get the other bit and then swap them out.
I'm as much of a Mac fanboy as the next guy, but I do want to point out that the "on-site" service isn't as amazing as it sounds.
I have a Mac Pro and recently discovered that the on-site service is provided at the discretion of the local store/repair center and not Apple. If you call with a problem and want on-site service for it, they'll give you a list of local stores that you can then call and try and convince them to come out on a Saturday (it doesn't work, btw). I imagine if you bought all your systems from a place they'd be more interested, but just as a random guy with AppleCare -- the earliest I could arrange was some 36 hours later at an Apple Store (that Mac Pro was fun to lug on the subway, too).
It's a great computer and all of that, but if you have business critical needs, you need something way more than AppleCare.
It's well known that failed hard drives can be recovered, but few people actually use a recovery service because they're expensive and not always successful
Yep. The article helpfully points out the $1500 charge for a medium sized hard drive. It might have been more interesting if the article demonstrated a time when it wasn't successful.
Even fewer people ever get any insights into the process, as recovery companies are secretive about their methods and rarely reveal any more information that is necessary for billing.
So, just like this article? Got it. Something involving putting old platters into new drives by people wearing bio-hazard suits.
The recovery team did not give away many secrets, but they did reveal a number of insights into the process.
Wowsers. You can say that again, but insights? I defy anyone to name any insight that wasn't in their last press release... much like this article.
[M]y drive failed in about every way you can imagine. It had electro-mechanical failure resulting in severe media damage.
Doesn't "elctro-mechanical failure" describe anything that could be wrong with a device that is.. err.. mechanical and electrical? You mean the reciprocator was caught in the optical refraction? Now that's worth $1500.
It's a good thing space on the interwebs is free. Someone should run this past the kids that edit airline magazines.
It's a misc. itemized deduction -- which requires that you itemize (of course), and that they exceed 2% of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
The only other requirement is that the product or service be "helpful, but not necessarily essential" to your occupation. There are certain specific exclusions like airline lounges, etc. but otherwise it's mostly anything that fits the broad outline of "helpful".
4. NULLIFICATION. The jury can decide that, although the defendant is guilty of violating the law, the law itself is wrong.
Actually, a jury doesn't make a formal determination of "Nullification". A jury which has chosen the nullification option, simply finds the Defendant Not Guilty, regardless of facts of the case.
In the US, the jury is charged with being the "finder of fact", and the judge is the "finder of law". This is where the whole nullification thing gets sticky. From a legal standpoint, since the jury is the finder of fact, it can only determine guilt based on the facts of the case. The more practical matter is that there are few checks on the jury's power to determine facts (a "directed verdict" being one of them), and hence the basis of the finding of the jury isn't really subject to question, as long as everyone on the jury keeps quiet about it. What happens if they don't is interesting -- usually I'd suspect there'd be a mistrial -- but a Defendant acquitted that way would have some very compelling appeals.
Every want to get out of Jury Duty? Just ask about nullification during voir dire. Oh sure it might get your cited for contempt -- but you won't be on the jury, that's for damned sure.
Calling someone's personal observations "wrong" because they have a claim that disagrees with what you've read about is an interesting tactic.
I'll rephrase for the scientifically minded:
"Calling someone's anecdotal evidence 'wrong' because they have a claim that disagrees with a scientifically tested hypothesis is an interesting tactic."
Yeah. Really interesting.
For the record, the folks at Consumer reports stuck these devices in rooms with a known quantity of household dust, etc. And then after 24 hours measured how much had been collected. They found that while other "Ionic" type air cleaners were effective, namely because of the fan, the Ionic Breeze did not measurable change the air quality of the room.
If you want to question the science they used to determine the results, that's great -- but to say that anecdotal evidence is superior to a reasonably conducted test, with measurable results -- well, that's just crazy talk.
Didn't we just have the Perpetual Motion Slashdot article? Maybe someone needs to try this method. "Power lines" doesn't sound as mysterious as "ether"... but you work with what you're given.
If I remember correctly, Print Shop Deluxe for the Apple ][e (Apple ][ forever!) by Broderbund also does that neat tiling, although I think the last printers it worked with was the ImageWriter and Okidata MicroLine.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, the ideal solution was Polycom's line of analog desktop phones (the SoundPoint series). Those are all IP models now, sadly, but I've had a pretty good experience with the "small" conference room models.
With that said, I have a separate office, with a door, so I don't have issues with "ambient" noise. If that's not the case for others, I can see how someone washing dishes a few feet away would not be the best possible scenario.
+1 to this, that's for sure.
VOIP, cell phones, etc - are simply not reliable enough if some important portion of your job depends on you being on a conference call. I spend $20ish/month on a regular, low-frills analog phone line because it always works. I know when I can't understand someone on a call, it's because of a problem with their phone, and not mine.
That leads me to another point, if you do spend a good amount of time on conference calls, invest in a good desktop phone, like a Polycom. They're expensive (you get to write it off as an office expense, in the States, at least), but just another one of those things that lets you communicate clearly and effectively and not be the "that guy/gal" that nobody can ever understand over the echo.
Definitely also have an internet access backup plan, even if it's just having your phone ready to tether or knowing how fast you can get to Starbucks. I've found that there's some slack for the occasional ISP issue, but you have to be ready for that "emergency" where you have to be connected, *now*.
(remember, "only XT users know that January 1, 1980 was a Tuesday"),
That was descent for my morning chuckle. Happy memories and good times. Thanks!
I think the boils down to "make computers and software run faster, plz."
It's certainly a good idea, but if you have some process in a program that takes a particular amount of time, and your choices are "pretend" or "show a status screen" -- why not show a status screen?
I think it's helpful to know what a program is up to (or thinks it is up to), especially if something bad happens.
Mr. Thomas seems to think the solution is to try and hide what's going on. Or, I guess, wait until that magical time, any day now, when every program opens instantly and is immediately ready for work, no matter what.
Dude(ette) ... "ahem"? Really?
The town has a population of just over 1000 people. It has a park with a swimming pool, and CLAIMS to have the third-best golf course in NEBRASKA, and decent houses go for under $100,000.
I was offering a reasonable contrast to life in Mountain View. I didn't say it was a hell hole (depending on your take of the importance of good pizza), but it's a pretty far take from life in the valley.
I don't think because the town runs a swimming pool and has a small golf course means that somehow negates its ability of being a contrast. namely on affordability, but if you're looking for decent pizza in Mountain View, let me know. I can help.
This is really good advice - I mean, probably not so much for OP, who would find it hard to uproot his kids, and presumably his significant other is happy where they live too.
There is a happy medium between, say, the "the valley" (in the bay area) and Red Cloud, Nebraska (it's a real place, with bad pizza - look it up!). If you're ready to make the choice that money isn't everything, you can, with planning, reduce the cost of your lifestyle - and that's what it takes.
Trade some money for some happy, but plan for it.
I just don't think that's the case ... I mean, it's true - people *can* sue for anything, but malpractice, again, typically implies negligence or reckless indifference. A doctor that had (and likely continued) to try and convince a patient to be vaccinated, but that patient was not yet convinced ... for whatever reason ... I don't think that meets the standard.
An ophthalmologist who tells a patient to get new glasses, and the patient refuses, and then knocks over and injures another patient in the waiting room. The doctor's fault? Malpractice? It still doesn't seem like it.
Maybe you can start making arguments about how unvaccinated people should have to wear masks or what-not, while in the waiting room?
IANAL, of course -- but are you sure on #4?
It seems like the doctor has a couple of a good defenses, but namely that the patient themselves didn't follow his advice. I think a doctor that actively encouraged vaccine refusal would be, or at least could be, in a somewhat more tenuous situation, but typically malpractice stems either from negligence or reckless indifference.
A doctor that tried and failed to convince a patient to vaccinate seems neither negligent or indifferent.
That isn't to say that the anti-vaccine folks really appear to be a bunch of certified nutters.
Honestly, the voucher is better than the free flight most of the time. The free flight is subject to a seat in the "free" bucket being available, and you can ask anyone trying to use miles how easy that is, and you don't get miles for the flight.
Whereas a voucher can be used for any flight, and even if the voucher covers the entire cost, you still "earn" miles. The risk, of course, is that you plan on flying someplace really expensive and only get a $150 voucher - but for me, when they get to about $400/$500, I know just about anywhere in the continental US I want to go, that's going to cover most, if not all, of the ticket.
If you've been pleasant about it, you can sometimes snag the upgrade on the later flight too. Not as much nowadays, but ...
I think the real issue is that from an economic perspective, getting someplace faster, isn't necessarily better anymore.
It used to be that travel time was down time. Whatever the mode of transport was, you couldn't really be productive (in the traditional sense) while you were on the move. The less time you spent in the metal tube meant more time you spent someplace where you could do something other than pick at "chicken ala mystery". The Concorde was better, because you spent less time in the plane doing "nothing".
Now you can be connected wherever. Sitting on the plane is no different than sitting in an uncomfortable office. How much is it worth to get there faster now? Some? Maybe. But not very much. And certainly not the difference in fare prices between First/Business class on a 777 and the Concorde.
There's obviously more to "productivity" than "presence", but for the sort of folks that are forking over that kind of money for a plane ticket, it's pretty important.
I'm not sure how far he's gonna get with $27.50, a bag of skittles, and an old copy of 2600.
Slashdot users think Linux is awesome.
I read this exact story in '98. Y2K. All those mainframes with COBOL code and nobody to write it because CompSCI majors didn't learn it anymore.
We always seem to muddle through.
I didn't. My first computer was a 8-bit machine.
My first computer didn't even have 8-bits. It had 2, but you couldn't use both at the same time. You had to go up 7 floors to get the other bit and then swap them out.
I had a crush on Data and all, but at 14 I was definitely not interested in a 45-year-old actor in the same way these ladies were.
"Ladies." Right.
I'm as much of a Mac fanboy as the next guy, but I do want to point out that the "on-site" service isn't as amazing as it sounds.
I have a Mac Pro and recently discovered that the on-site service is provided at the discretion of the local store/repair center and not Apple. If you call with a problem and want on-site service for it, they'll give you a list of local stores that you can then call and try and convince them to come out on a Saturday (it doesn't work, btw). I imagine if you bought all your systems from a place they'd be more interested, but just as a random guy with AppleCare -- the earliest I could arrange was some 36 hours later at an Apple Store (that Mac Pro was fun to lug on the subway, too).
It's a great computer and all of that, but if you have business critical needs, you need something way more than AppleCare.
Also in other news, the Bell System claims Touch-Tone a threat to the nation's telephone network and prohibits them.
It's well known that failed hard drives can be recovered, but few people actually use a recovery service because they're expensive and not always successful
... much like this article.
.. err .. mechanical and electrical? You mean the reciprocator was caught in the optical refraction? Now that's worth $1500.
Yep. The article helpfully points out the $1500 charge for a medium sized hard drive. It might have been more interesting if the article demonstrated a time when it wasn't successful.
Even fewer people ever get any insights into the process, as recovery companies are secretive about their methods and rarely reveal any more information that is necessary for billing.
So, just like this article? Got it. Something involving putting old platters into new drives by people wearing bio-hazard suits.
The recovery team did not give away many secrets, but they did reveal a number of insights into the process.
Wowsers. You can say that again, but insights? I defy anyone to name any insight that wasn't in their last press release
[M]y drive failed in about every way you can imagine. It had electro-mechanical failure resulting in severe media damage.
Doesn't "elctro-mechanical failure" describe anything that could be wrong with a device that is
It's a good thing space on the interwebs is free. Someone should run this past the kids that edit airline magazines.
It's a misc. itemized deduction -- which requires that you itemize (of course), and that they exceed 2% of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
The only other requirement is that the product or service be "helpful, but not necessarily essential" to your occupation. There are certain specific exclusions like airline lounges, etc. but otherwise it's mostly anything that fits the broad outline of "helpful".
It's all on Schedule A
Here are the instructions for the Schedule A form.
Really? I can't wait to rawk to my
Oh I don't know. This sounds way more expensive than a CueCat. That makes it cooler and better, right?
I give them credit for the attempt to make a "2d barcode" sound like it is somehow more than -- you know -- the one on my box of Lucky Charms.
Actually, a jury doesn't make a formal determination of "Nullification". A jury which has chosen the nullification option, simply finds the Defendant Not Guilty, regardless of facts of the case.
In the US, the jury is charged with being the "finder of fact", and the judge is the "finder of law". This is where the whole nullification thing gets sticky. From a legal standpoint, since the jury is the finder of fact, it can only determine guilt based on the facts of the case. The more practical matter is that there are few checks on the jury's power to determine facts (a "directed verdict" being one of them), and hence the basis of the finding of the jury isn't really subject to question, as long as everyone on the jury keeps quiet about it. What happens if they don't is interesting -- usually I'd suspect there'd be a mistrial -- but a Defendant acquitted that way would have some very compelling appeals.
Every want to get out of Jury Duty? Just ask about nullification during voir dire. Oh sure it might get your cited for contempt -- but you won't be on the jury, that's for damned sure.
Calling someone's personal observations "wrong" because they have a claim that disagrees with what you've read about is an interesting tactic.
I'll rephrase for the scientifically minded:
"Calling someone's anecdotal evidence 'wrong' because they have a claim that disagrees with a scientifically tested hypothesis is an interesting tactic."
Yeah. Really interesting.
For the record, the folks at Consumer reports stuck these devices in rooms with a known quantity of household dust, etc. And then after 24 hours measured how much had been collected. They found that while other "Ionic" type air cleaners were effective, namely because of the fan, the Ionic Breeze did not measurable change the air quality of the room.
If you want to question the science they used to determine the results, that's great -- but to say that anecdotal evidence is superior to a reasonably conducted test, with measurable results -- well, that's just crazy talk.
Didn't we just have the Perpetual Motion Slashdot article? Maybe someone needs to try this method. "Power lines" doesn't sound as mysterious as "ether" ... but you work with what you're given.
If I remember correctly, Print Shop Deluxe for the Apple ][e (Apple ][ forever!) by Broderbund also does that neat tiling, although I think the last printers it worked with was the ImageWriter and Okidata MicroLine.