When I met him he came across as a rude arrogant paranoid man with no social or hygiene skills. It didn't help that I was the only one in the room wearing a suit (came straight from work to a university programmer's society meeting). He spent most of his time on his weird comedy routine with the fake halo and robes (St iGNUtius).
I asked a simple question: "What do you say to those who suggest free software is harder to use?". This was a few years ago when rebuilding your kernel from source was the norm. His response was a dismissive "Who says that? I haven't heard that". Not like I had a lot left after his St iGNUtius rant but I lost all respect for him in that moment. I don't want him representing my point of view even on the occassions when we do agree.
That's okay. Stallman says it's GNU/Linux, but I'm sure he'd be happy if you dropped the Linux part;-) So just tell people you're building a GNU radio. Brand GNU.
The job is not just to make sure that you're working your butt off, but that your boss knows it. Help them to make informed decisions. It may suck, but you know what, that's life.
That's not life. That's having a poor manager. The manager's job is to track what his or her staff are doing, and modify what they do to best suit the company's goals. How do you do that when you don't even know what your staff are doing right now?
1. All deployers should don turtle necks 2. Deployers must act smug while promising the world 3. Now lock down everything...and I mean EVERYTHING that you don't explicitly approve or might not approve or might conceivably hamper possible earnings 4. Delay all deployments and roll out machines in a slow trickle 5. Did I mention that you should act smug 6. If problems are reported, deny, deny, deny them and blame it on misuse by the users 7. ???? 8. Profit!!!
And yes, dark matter and dark energy are just theories that a bunch of arrogant pricks pulled out of their asses to explain something they couldn't explain. Which is funny, because you say the same thing in the next sentence, just worded a little differently. The theories may be true, but they are still just something pulled out of the ass of some arrogant prick like yourself, to blinded by the religion they call science to think clearly.
I'm sorry but if you can't tell the difference between application of the scientific method to data and simply pulling nonsense ideas out of thin air I can't help you.
Science IS the best we can do. It is not religion. If something better comes along we dump it and move on to the new theory and perhaps keep the old theory as a simplified approximation. What would you have us do? IGNORE the evidence???
We have numerous alternative theories that explain, without resorting to saying the universe consists of 96% invisible voodoo, various anomalies such as gravitational rotation and the implied anisotropy of the CMB.
Actually we have NOTHING that simultaneously fits all the data. Not one damned thing. Certainly not MOND. Nothing that will explain the behaviour of the bullet cluster of galaxies AND the properties of the CMB and rotational curves of galaxies AND data that shows the universe is accelerating.
Looks to me like the dark matter syndrome: "Our theories wrong? Our calculations off by an insane amount? Unpossible! That can never be. Nature must be lying!"
I find it amazing that people who haven't even bothered to study the data or the reason for hypotheses like dark matter feel the need to make ass backwards comments about people who've literally dedicated their lives to it. What do you actually know about dark matter and the current state of the evidence? Do you even understand it at a layman's level let alone understand the insanely complex math? Have you heard of the bullet cluster? Do you know about the rotation curve of galaxies? Do you understand anything about the cosmic microwave background and its fluctuations? Do you understand the background theories you're ridiculing? Do you know why General Relativity fits the data we have collected so well? Have you even bothered to find out why scientists believe in these things? Dark matter and dark energy aren't just theories that a bunch of arrogant pricks pulled out of their asses. These are our best attempts to fit multiple kinds of data into a single theory of nature. Your attempt to imply it's just scientists refusing to believe the data is at best childish. At worst you're no better than a flat earther.
Really simple. No matter how "cool" (read how well marketed as cool) a device that won't run whatever software YOU choose for such artificial reasons as the manufacturer choosing to retain control isn't yours at all. Stop believing the marketing hype. Stop buying into this in droves or the future is nothing but a string of crippled devices. Mark my words. Next step will be devices that expire and refuse to work after a given date.
It's not cool just because it CAN run something if it WON'T run it no matter what some fuckwit in a turtle neck tells you. Think different means think like a fucking gullible sheep.
And this is coming from someone who loathes Google just as much as Apple. The Internet web 2 cloud computing buzzword age is ridden with little substance and lots of marketing doublespeak and the sickening thing is people are buying into it. Our world COULD be amazing in 20 years but I bet it's more restricted and more frustrating than ever.
Wrong lecture. This guy's talking about security. You're talking about confidentiality and purposeful ill advised dissemination of information. Anyone working with confidential material needs training on that, not security.
At the end, they would explain what happened. We complained, and were punished. They would report the training was a success and that if we complained again next year, we'd take the *same* course. Another 8 hours of mandatory non-work.
If you're going to have your time wasted, why care that it's the same 8 hour training session. In fact since you're getting nothing from it the consistency means you can slack off and still answer questions about the training. I'd say complain away.
Puts already blocked all that. No complaints. Ya should be working not socializing anyway.
Spoken like a fool that thinks working means talking to a machine and not to other human beings. You shouldn't be spending excessive time on personal communication BUT that does not mean you don't talk to people and social networks CAN be a good way to do it under the right set of circumstances. If you need to treat your employees like thieves that will take every opportunity to slack off you have MUCH bigger problems than blocking one single way in which they do so.
Getting rid of the microwave, while not stopping the cancerous growth, may very well have served as a placebo for helping with her overall health. Sometimes results are more important than the method, and if she thinks this is helping her, more power to her.
Yes lets be dillusional and avoid proven treatments then justify such nonsense based on 3rd hand annedotal evidence. Meanwhile for every patient that is 'magically cured' through the miracle of 'radical healthy living' there are tens of thousands that DIE trying such stupid nonsense.
One person winning lotto does not make it a sensible thing to play lotto. One person 'cured' by doing radical alernative treatment doesn't mean others should do it.
My employer is changing its policy towards employee use of social networks. I've been asked to give a 40-minute presentation to the entire company, with attendance mandatory, on the security and privacy concerns relating to social networking.
Correct me if I'm wrong but that just sounds to me like your employer is going to start blocking Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, private email, and possibly everything else your filtering software classifies as social networking. Or at least a prelude to this.
If I'm right, the only opportunity you're being given here is to become the public face of a very unpopular move. Adding a lecture on security to this will only irritate people who'll be thinking "Well it's not going to matter anyway once it's blocked". It's going to be very difficult to come across as anything but condescending. People are quite likely to associate the decision with you personally. Your aim should be to stay brief and informative, not to "utilize" the opportunity, because it's an opportunity for social suicide. Ideally this should have been undertaken by email, been short and been to the point.
Agreed. This seems to be more of an official non-classified download repository than anything else. If I were in a small business and called their samba share that had the install images of Office, Acrobat, and other licensed packages for internal use an "app store", I'd be looked at by their IT people like I was some troll or pirate.
This, friends, is the real reason behind the famed Apple design of no user serviceable parts. Not to save weight, not to give Apple a few measly bucks for battery replacements but to prevent FOREIGN ESPIONAGE. Think about that that when you drop your Dell and 12 little plastic panels pop off.
Best of all you'll WANT to throw away your Apple device and buy a new one after just a few days of frustrating use. That is if it's not already scratched itself or cracked.
I know for a fact that in a certain very large defense company I worked for lots of "surprises" were found on a regular basis. Typically things like parts that were different from the specs, insects, and on occasion completely incorrect assemblies.
But in a twist of reality he has also taken some of the most beautiful photos of flowers [mapplethorpe.org] that I have ever seen
You're way too easily impressed. I'm sorry but either you have very little experience with this kind of photography or you're pulling my leg. There is literally much better on flickr.
Will I be forbidden from exchanging my own recordings (of my baby laughing or whatever) with my friends?
One can only hope you'd ban yourself. No one needs to hear your baby laughing. It may be cool to you but every baby since creation has laughed and no one is interested in yours. If they pretend to be interested, they're not and in fact will discuss what a boring pain in the rear you are behind your back. I say this as father of a 1 year old that is fascinated by his every development but wouldn't dream of boring friends with it.
I guess they felt they should get something from the acquisition of Lotus Symphony so that's what they call their version of OpenOffice. Perhaps Microsoft should offer their own version of OO and call it "Microsoft Bob".
Slashdot Mirror
When I met him he came across as a rude arrogant paranoid man with no social or hygiene skills. It didn't help that I was the only one in the room wearing a suit (came straight from work to a university programmer's society meeting). He spent most of his time on his weird comedy routine with the fake halo and robes (St iGNUtius).
I asked a simple question: "What do you say to those who suggest free software is harder to use?". This was a few years ago when rebuilding your kernel from source was the norm. His response was a dismissive "Who says that? I haven't heard that". Not like I had a lot left after his St iGNUtius rant but I lost all respect for him in that moment. I don't want him representing my point of view even on the occassions when we do agree.
That's okay. Stallman says it's GNU/Linux, but I'm sure he'd be happy if you dropped the Linux part ;-) So just tell people you're building a GNU radio. Brand GNU.
The job is not just to make sure that you're working your butt off, but that your boss knows it. Help them to make informed decisions. It may suck, but you know what, that's life.
That's not life. That's having a poor manager. The manager's job is to track what his or her staff are doing, and modify what they do to best suit the company's goals. How do you do that when you don't even know what your staff are doing right now?
1. All deployers should don turtle necks
2. Deployers must act smug while promising the world
3. Now lock down everything...and I mean EVERYTHING that you don't explicitly approve or might not approve or might conceivably hamper possible earnings
4. Delay all deployments and roll out machines in a slow trickle
5. Did I mention that you should act smug
6. If problems are reported, deny, deny, deny them and blame it on misuse by the users
7. ????
8. Profit!!!
Think different.
Managers are not stupid.
I'd avoid blanket statements and generalisations as a single counter example would prove you wrong.
"Your Job" Is largely to make sure your manager succeeds in his job. Period. Never forget this, seriously.
What if your manager's success depends on eliminating your position and destroying everything you hold sacred?
And yes, dark matter and dark energy are just theories that a bunch of arrogant pricks pulled out of their asses to explain something they couldn't explain. Which is funny, because you say the same thing in the next sentence, just worded a little differently. The theories may be true, but they are still just something pulled out of the ass of some arrogant prick like yourself, to blinded by the religion they call science to think clearly.
I'm sorry but if you can't tell the difference between application of the scientific method to data and simply pulling nonsense ideas out of thin air I can't help you.
Science IS the best we can do. It is not religion. If something better comes along we dump it and move on to the new theory and perhaps keep the old theory as a simplified approximation. What would you have us do? IGNORE the evidence???
We have numerous alternative theories that explain, without resorting to saying the universe consists of 96% invisible voodoo, various anomalies such as gravitational rotation and the implied anisotropy of the CMB.
Actually we have NOTHING that simultaneously fits all the data. Not one damned thing. Certainly not MOND. Nothing that will explain the behaviour of the bullet cluster of galaxies AND the properties of the CMB and rotational curves of galaxies AND data that shows the universe is accelerating.
Looks to me like the dark matter syndrome: "Our theories wrong? Our calculations off by an insane amount? Unpossible! That can never be. Nature must be lying!"
I find it amazing that people who haven't even bothered to study the data or the reason for hypotheses like dark matter feel the need to make ass backwards comments about people who've literally dedicated their lives to it. What do you actually know about dark matter and the current state of the evidence? Do you even understand it at a layman's level let alone understand the insanely complex math? Have you heard of the bullet cluster? Do you know about the rotation curve of galaxies? Do you understand anything about the cosmic microwave background and its fluctuations? Do you understand the background theories you're ridiculing? Do you know why General Relativity fits the data we have collected so well? Have you even bothered to find out why scientists believe in these things? Dark matter and dark energy aren't just theories that a bunch of arrogant pricks pulled out of their asses. These are our best attempts to fit multiple kinds of data into a single theory of nature. Your attempt to imply it's just scientists refusing to believe the data is at best childish. At worst you're no better than a flat earther.
Really simple. No matter how "cool" (read how well marketed as cool) a device that won't run whatever software YOU choose for such artificial reasons as the manufacturer choosing to retain control isn't yours at all. Stop believing the marketing hype. Stop buying into this in droves or the future is nothing but a string of crippled devices. Mark my words. Next step will be devices that expire and refuse to work after a given date.
It's not cool just because it CAN run something if it WON'T run it no matter what some fuckwit in a turtle neck tells you. Think different means think like a fucking gullible sheep.
And this is coming from someone who loathes Google just as much as Apple. The Internet web 2 cloud computing buzzword age is ridden with little substance and lots of marketing doublespeak and the sickening thing is people are buying into it. Our world COULD be amazing in 20 years but I bet it's more restricted and more frustrating than ever.
Wrong lecture. This guy's talking about security. You're talking about confidentiality and purposeful ill advised dissemination of information. Anyone working with confidential material needs training on that, not security.
Your basement doesn't have an email account, and doesn't leave you when you treat it badly;-)
At the end, they would explain what happened. We complained, and were punished. They would report the training was a success and that if we complained again next year, we'd take the *same* course. Another 8 hours of mandatory non-work.
If you're going to have your time wasted, why care that it's the same 8 hour training session. In fact since you're getting nothing from it the consistency means you can slack off and still answer questions about the training. I'd say complain away.
Puts already blocked all that. No complaints. Ya should be working not socializing anyway.
Spoken like a fool that thinks working means talking to a machine and not to other human beings. You shouldn't be spending excessive time on personal communication BUT that does not mean you don't talk to people and social networks CAN be a good way to do it under the right set of circumstances. If you need to treat your employees like thieves that will take every opportunity to slack off you have MUCH bigger problems than blocking one single way in which they do so.
Getting rid of the microwave, while not stopping the cancerous growth, may very well have served as a placebo for helping with her overall health. Sometimes results are more important than the method, and if she thinks this is helping her, more power to her.
Yes lets be dillusional and avoid proven treatments then justify such nonsense based on 3rd hand annedotal evidence. Meanwhile for every patient that is 'magically cured' through the miracle of 'radical healthy living' there are tens of thousands that DIE trying such stupid nonsense.
One person winning lotto does not make it a sensible thing to play lotto. One person 'cured' by doing radical alernative treatment doesn't mean others should do it.
My employer is changing its policy towards employee use of social networks. I've been asked to give a 40-minute presentation to the entire company, with attendance mandatory, on the security and privacy concerns relating to social networking.
Correct me if I'm wrong but that just sounds to me like your employer is going to start blocking Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, private email, and possibly everything else your filtering software classifies as social networking. Or at least a prelude to this.
If I'm right, the only opportunity you're being given here is to become the public face of a very unpopular move. Adding a lecture on security to this will only irritate people who'll be thinking "Well it's not going to matter anyway once it's blocked". It's going to be very difficult to come across as anything but condescending. People are quite likely to associate the decision with you personally. Your aim should be to stay brief and informative, not to "utilize" the opportunity, because it's an opportunity for social suicide. Ideally this should have been undertaken by email, been short and been to the point.
I don't even know what I'm looking at. It looks like something I could have made with my Commodore Amiga.
I've heard ridiculous claims from Amiga fans before, but are you actually claiming that an Amiga can be used to create the universe?
Agreed. This seems to be more of an official non-classified download repository than anything else. If I were in a small business and called their samba share that had the install images of Office, Acrobat, and other licensed packages for internal use an "app store", I'd be looked at by their IT people like I was some troll or pirate.
A+++++++++++++++ commenter. Would read again!
This, friends, is the real reason behind the famed Apple design of no user serviceable parts. Not to save weight, not to give Apple a few measly bucks for battery replacements but to prevent FOREIGN ESPIONAGE. Think about that that when you drop your Dell and 12 little plastic panels pop off.
Best of all you'll WANT to throw away your Apple device and buy a new one after just a few days of frustrating use. That is if it's not already scratched itself or cracked.
I know for a fact that in a certain very large defense company I worked for lots of "surprises" were found on a regular basis. Typically things like parts that were different from the specs, insects, and on occasion completely incorrect assemblies.
You guys get your laptops from Dell too huh?
What a coincidence! I advise people to buy new software after every Symantec install!
Don't you mean hardware? It's damn near impossible to uninstall that stuff.
But in a twist of reality he has also taken some of the most beautiful photos of flowers [mapplethorpe.org] that I have ever seen
You're way too easily impressed. I'm sorry but either you have very little experience with this kind of photography or you're pulling my leg. There is literally much better on flickr.
Will I be forbidden from exchanging my own recordings (of my baby laughing or whatever) with my friends?
One can only hope you'd ban yourself. No one needs to hear your baby laughing. It may be cool to you but every baby since creation has laughed and no one is interested in yours. If they pretend to be interested, they're not and in fact will discuss what a boring pain in the rear you are behind your back. I say this as father of a 1 year old that is fascinated by his every development but wouldn't dream of boring friends with it.
I guess they felt they should get something from the acquisition of Lotus Symphony so that's what they call their version of OpenOffice. Perhaps Microsoft should offer their own version of OO and call it "Microsoft Bob".
Don't you mean "Microsoft BOO.ob"
Of course not. That's a good LaTeX editor.
LaTeX does not even resemble a WYSIWYG word processor. The grand parent just asked for a coping saw and you handed him a jack hammer.