Unfortunately that kind of stuff actually happens. Political operatives, PR firms hired to astroturf, "community organizers", bored QA employees, jacklegs who are ready to dump their shares of brand-X; all kinds of people are only more than happy to issue their brand of the truth. Don't forget the escapade during Beijing '08 Olympics between Russia and Georgia. with all of the turfing, I'm still not quite sure what happened in that thing.
All of this doesn't even bring in the factor or "people power"; enraged citizens who will happily jump on a subject, just because despite knowing very little about it. Hell, just mention the name Miloshevich in some spots and see how 1st time posters pop up.
The solution is a lot simpler. Everyone in the center has to grow a pair and call a troll when they see one. If we did, we could find compromise that could possible move us forward.
Hell, when you boil it down the tea party is nothing but a group of griefers. Who else shows up to claim that the Bhumfarq county council is in league with Obama and the UN to put those funny black signs up on secondary highways (to obviously guide UN tanks in the upcoming invasion)?
Not that the left doesn't have it's own crazies, but they tend to specialize in their own, very specific brands of crazy.
Same thing happened with radio. In the age of crystal sets, everyone who was interested built one. Not everyone did, but those who were so inclined could build from scrap. Then it was just something that everyone had in their car. Now most people don't even know who Marconi was and if you asked them the difference between a dipole and a Yagi, they'd probably think you were some weirdo.
OK, where to start. As everyone has said, a dog is generally the best place. Dogs are nice, friendly, intimidating and they have ears that are much better than yours. If nothing else they are excellent door bells.
The next place is getting something like a floor safe. I can't speak for most people in most areas, but when someone broke into my home some years back they didn't do it while I was sitting at the dinner table, rather they did it while I was a work. On that note, no safe cracker is going to break into your home and most thieves aren't going to waste the time and effort of ripping it out when it is hammered into concrete. Now the real trick here is obvious, remember to put your valuables IN the safe, don't wait. Why a floor safe? Because it isn't easy to notice and you aren't going to accidentally leave one open.
I'm leery of guns, not because I'm against gun ownership, but the last person I knew who went that route ended with a broken jaw from being repeatedly pistol whipped. Granted that guy wasn't too bright, but in a bad situation do you know if you will keep your cool or lose you head? If you think so a 12 gauge Mossberg is always cheap and reliable. Also gun stores who buy old police issue weapons tend to sell them cheap. Granted I accept no responsibility for anything in this post, this is your life and your responsibility.
Next up security cameras. I picked mine up when my workplace was upgraded theirs, so it only cost me siamese coax and a few bolts. I can't say I'm a big fan of wireless cameras. Granted anyone who is going to bother circumventing it will probably just steal cars from a parking lot, your crap isn't that important. Honestly, they just creep me out a little. Seems like something my friends would use to screw with me.
If you ever have to turn something over to the police you should be mindful of two things. Is "taping" the interior or exterior of your home in any way illegal (will you be brought up on wiretapping charges and become yet another 'is Big Brother out to get us' Slashdot post?). Ask a lawyer. The next is the chain of custody. If you are backing up or directly saving your video off-site, it may require a subpoena just to make it admissible as evidence. Paperwork is a bitch and your story is nothing new to the police, so you may want to consider saving it locally. So the obvious paranoid crazy person question is "What if they steal my computer?". Well, they won't. The guy who breaks into your home probably didn't spend his formative years reading Tom's Hardware; computers are cheap and bulky, not something you want to steal like money or jewelry or prescription medication. If this is something that still bugs you, conduit boxes are cheap and most mini-ATX boards will easily fit into one with the aid of a Dremmel tool. It is the one place where the appearance of wires doesn't seem out of place. Granted if they were crackheads looking for scrap copper, well, you lost that bet anyway and should have gotten a dog.
Honestly, just go with Wolfling1's Risk Management, more wisdom there than you will find here.
Don't forget the Shenandoah, R38, Roma, Akron and Macon. The Los Angeles was the only rigid US airship that didn't go crashing into the earth or sea and that is only because we the good sense to ground it before it had to chance to take out another crew. I can think of no other mode of transportation with such a failure rate and in the end it has only done Goodyear and Goodrich any good.
I hate to rain on this guy's parade, it is an awful neat one, but what advantage does it serve? In war it is the definition of slow moving target. For surveillance we already have satellites and they don't require a crew of airmen, massive hangers that rival the wonders of the ancient world and they run well under an airship's budget. Travel? For the speed and price why not take a cruise; the last time I check a lighter than air craft doesn't have room for a waterslide, chorus line or multiple all-you-can-eat buffets.
Don't get me wrong, it is terribly fascinating idea. If you said, 'Hey, you wanna take a ride on a airship, here are the tickets', I'd jump at it, but just because it is an interesting idea doesn't mean it was a good one.
You have it all wrong. Hardware Hackers May, the Next Frontier. New trip-hop inspired gloom-core band. Don't any of you guys get the HHM street team newsletter?
It worries me that the USRP gets so much press. I'm sure it is good for ETTUS in the short term, but eventually the FCC is going to do some shit kicking when the masses realize that not only does such a thing exists, but that anyone can purchase it for $700. Lord help HAM radio operators and other RF hobbyist if 60 Minutes does a piece on it. They already have a hard enough time being viewed as whack jobs, adding "potential domestic terrorist" won't help.
Yes, sometimes we get an asshole boss. But other times it is not. It's called LIFE!!! And when you repeatedly hear someone always complaining about asshole bosses, they are actually saying "I'm an arrogant, prima donna turd, and since my boss doesn't get my social ineptitude and lack of professionalism, he has to be an asshole."
Often but not always. Some business environments promote and facilitate sociopaths, because they get results and their superiors never question why their underlings are so unhappy, unsatisfied, revolving door, etc. I've thankfully never had one as a boss, but I've seen, worked with and watched the type. Lousy human beings can be found on both sides of the desk.
There are people out there who like to work. There are developers out there who like to code no matter the years.
If someone cannot understand this, they should think twice about being in this career.
Agreed. It is one of the few fields that allows and encourages the creative process and constantly gives you new problems to tackle. It is also one of the few fields where you can't possibly learn everything and if you can't get use to the fact that you are constantly picking up new skills, it probably isn't the line of work for you.
I'd second all of that and say that most of the JS books out there total crap. The only real way to get proficient in it is to download IE, Firefox and your Webkit browser of choice and tinker until you know how to get your scripts running on all 3. Outside of W3Schools and essays written by folks who deal with it every day and are compelled to stretch it and make it work as a language, you are going to end up with some crappy guides that point you towards oblivion.
As for the non-web side of things, I'd suggest tinkering with C++. Other languages left faith-based questions where C++ gave answers concerning OOP. I really wish I had started there instead of other languages that will not be mentioned. I'd have had few headaches.
From there it is on to design patterns and from there the world.
Because MS will go out of their way to get you to use Exchange, Sharepoint, Outlook, etc. Google on the other hand will go out of their way to get you to use the Internet.
I'll also have to say that I'm not knocking math majors or putting them in the same boat as business majors. If there is any sin, the latter might be it.
I'm a bit mixed on the subject. On one hand you pick things up in academia that you simply don't get or have the time or inclination to go over in real life, simple methodology mostly. Also I'd have never gone through something as obvious as discrete math in day to day life. Not out of lack of interest, it is simply something I wouldn't have thought of (unless of course I had picked up a college catalog and said, "Hey, I want to cover as much ground as these guy, I'm gonna go read a book on that").
On the other hand, I ended up working in IT; something far removed from my field of study. It just started out as something I did while in college and I never left it. With the exception of a few logic courses, I've had to go the self taught route. So instead of spending hours in school then, I now spend hours at home reading books, breaking and fixing things, etc. It is a mixed bag.
For interviews, it really hasn't been as big a deal as I would have thought. Give me a laptop or piece of paper and a good problem and I'll go to town. The problem starts when promotions come into the picture. Getting and keeping a position is easy, that is me versus the company. Getting a promotion becomes me versus everyone in the company. Then that piece of paper changes everything and in the world of office politics it can become an albatross.
I can't say I regret the path I've taken. I know a hell of a lot more in certain areas than many of my peers (many CS majors, especially those who double majored in business or math are woefully ignorant of very basic electrical engineering and they write off most of the OSI model as "magic" or "soon to be obsolete"). Then again, that is the difference between CS majors and CS nerds. The nerds don't need a degree.
But it is a great example of most graphic designers I know. They have far more free time than they will ever admit. Far, far too much free time. "Meeting a client." is almost always a code phrase for "I'm sorry, but I'm already drunk.".
I'm guessing you don't look at campaign funding a lot. I can't speak for the current set, but the last Dem in my district was always in either content providers or large Telcos pockets. Often both at the same time.
Stock is a LOUSY indication of a CEO's performance.
Yeah, but it is the only one that matters. I can't speak for hedge fund managers, but the average people I know who have bought MS stock complain that it "isn't going anywhere". A company could make billions and shareholders won't care unless they made at least 200% of whatever they put into it with a year. Dividends? Who cares about those anymore, the only thing that matters is that I get to retire a few years earlier than scheduled. Boom or bust baby.
That is because as far as we are concerned it was a success. They had a golden goose, only they managed to accidentally blow its head off when they got it home with RRODs and other problems.
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That is why they'll have to pry my dial-up modem from my cold, dead fingers!
Depends on what you mean by government.
Though the FCC has made some truly bone-headed, pro-collusion decisions in the past, there are certainly plenty of competent people there.
Rep. Joe Wilson on the other hand, I wouldn't allow him to work on my toaster. It isn't the "government" that scares me, it is the legislators.
Unfortunately that kind of stuff actually happens. Political operatives, PR firms hired to astroturf, "community organizers", bored QA employees, jacklegs who are ready to dump their shares of brand-X; all kinds of people are only more than happy to issue their brand of the truth. Don't forget the escapade during Beijing '08 Olympics between Russia and Georgia. with all of the turfing, I'm still not quite sure what happened in that thing.
All of this doesn't even bring in the factor or "people power"; enraged citizens who will happily jump on a subject, just because despite knowing very little about it. Hell, just mention the name Miloshevich in some spots and see how 1st time posters pop up.
Just because you are paranoid...
The solution is a lot simpler. Everyone in the center has to grow a pair and call a troll when they see one. If we did, we could find compromise that could possible move us forward.
Hell, when you boil it down the tea party is nothing but a group of griefers. Who else shows up to claim that the Bhumfarq county council is in league with Obama and the UN to put those funny black signs up on secondary highways (to obviously guide UN tanks in the upcoming invasion)?
Not that the left doesn't have it's own crazies, but they tend to specialize in their own, very specific brands of crazy.
Namely Middle School for boys and High School for girls.
Same thing happened with radio. In the age of crystal sets, everyone who was interested built one. Not everyone did, but those who were so inclined could build from scrap. Then it was just something that everyone had in their car. Now most people don't even know who Marconi was and if you asked them the difference between a dipole and a Yagi, they'd probably think you were some weirdo.
OK, where to start. As everyone has said, a dog is generally the best place. Dogs are nice, friendly, intimidating and they have ears that are much better than yours. If nothing else they are excellent door bells.
The next place is getting something like a floor safe. I can't speak for most people in most areas, but when someone broke into my home some years back they didn't do it while I was sitting at the dinner table, rather they did it while I was a work. On that note, no safe cracker is going to break into your home and most thieves aren't going to waste the time and effort of ripping it out when it is hammered into concrete. Now the real trick here is obvious, remember to put your valuables IN the safe, don't wait. Why a floor safe? Because it isn't easy to notice and you aren't going to accidentally leave one open.
I'm leery of guns, not because I'm against gun ownership, but the last person I knew who went that route ended with a broken jaw from being repeatedly pistol whipped. Granted that guy wasn't too bright, but in a bad situation do you know if you will keep your cool or lose you head? If you think so a 12 gauge Mossberg is always cheap and reliable. Also gun stores who buy old police issue weapons tend to sell them cheap. Granted I accept no responsibility for anything in this post, this is your life and your responsibility.
Next up security cameras. I picked mine up when my workplace was upgraded theirs, so it only cost me siamese coax and a few bolts. I can't say I'm a big fan of wireless cameras. Granted anyone who is going to bother circumventing it will probably just steal cars from a parking lot, your crap isn't that important. Honestly, they just creep me out a little. Seems like something my friends would use to screw with me.
If you ever have to turn something over to the police you should be mindful of two things. Is "taping" the interior or exterior of your home in any way illegal (will you be brought up on wiretapping charges and become yet another 'is Big Brother out to get us' Slashdot post?). Ask a lawyer. The next is the chain of custody. If you are backing up or directly saving your video off-site, it may require a subpoena just to make it admissible as evidence. Paperwork is a bitch and your story is nothing new to the police, so you may want to consider saving it locally. So the obvious paranoid crazy person question is "What if they steal my computer?". Well, they won't. The guy who breaks into your home probably didn't spend his formative years reading Tom's Hardware; computers are cheap and bulky, not something you want to steal like money or jewelry or prescription medication. If this is something that still bugs you, conduit boxes are cheap and most mini-ATX boards will easily fit into one with the aid of a Dremmel tool. It is the one place where the appearance of wires doesn't seem out of place. Granted if they were crackheads looking for scrap copper, well, you lost that bet anyway and should have gotten a dog.
Honestly, just go with Wolfling1's Risk Management, more wisdom there than you will find here.
Don't forget the Shenandoah, R38, Roma, Akron and Macon. The Los Angeles was the only rigid US airship that didn't go crashing into the earth or sea and that is only because we the good sense to ground it before it had to chance to take out another crew. I can think of no other mode of transportation with such a failure rate and in the end it has only done Goodyear and Goodrich any good.
I hate to rain on this guy's parade, it is an awful neat one, but what advantage does it serve? In war it is the definition of slow moving target. For surveillance we already have satellites and they don't require a crew of airmen, massive hangers that rival the wonders of the ancient world and they run well under an airship's budget. Travel? For the speed and price why not take a cruise; the last time I check a lighter than air craft doesn't have room for a waterslide, chorus line or multiple all-you-can-eat buffets.
Don't get me wrong, it is terribly fascinating idea. If you said, 'Hey, you wanna take a ride on a airship, here are the tickets', I'd jump at it, but just because it is an interesting idea doesn't mean it was a good one.
You have it all wrong. Hardware Hackers May, the Next Frontier. New trip-hop inspired gloom-core band. Don't any of you guys get the HHM street team newsletter?
Grrrr, 1st gen iPod, not get. For penance I leave a link: http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2002/02/50688
I'd call it karma. Anyone else remember when kids would walk into Circuit City with the old 1st get ipods and copy software?
On the contrary, it does a fine job of controlling.
Yeah, Namco liked that idea too. Patented it in '95.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5718632.PN.&OS=PN/5718632&RS=PN/5718632
It worries me that the USRP gets so much press. I'm sure it is good for ETTUS in the short term, but eventually the FCC is going to do some shit kicking when the masses realize that not only does such a thing exists, but that anyone can purchase it for $700. Lord help HAM radio operators and other RF hobbyist if 60 Minutes does a piece on it. They already have a hard enough time being viewed as whack jobs, adding "potential domestic terrorist" won't help.
Often but not always. Some business environments promote and facilitate sociopaths, because they get results and their superiors never question why their underlings are so unhappy, unsatisfied, revolving door, etc. I've thankfully never had one as a boss, but I've seen, worked with and watched the type. Lousy human beings can be found on both sides of the desk.
Agreed. It is one of the few fields that allows and encourages the creative process and constantly gives you new problems to tackle. It is also one of the few fields where you can't possibly learn everything and if you can't get use to the fact that you are constantly picking up new skills, it probably isn't the line of work for you.
I'd second all of that and say that most of the JS books out there total crap. The only real way to get proficient in it is to download IE, Firefox and your Webkit browser of choice and tinker until you know how to get your scripts running on all 3. Outside of W3Schools and essays written by folks who deal with it every day and are compelled to stretch it and make it work as a language, you are going to end up with some crappy guides that point you towards oblivion.
As for the non-web side of things, I'd suggest tinkering with C++. Other languages left faith-based questions where C++ gave answers concerning OOP. I really wish I had started there instead of other languages that will not be mentioned. I'd have had few headaches.
From there it is on to design patterns and from there the world.
Oh and the $130K yearly service contract from the vendor who won't sell us parts unless we sign the dotted line. It sounded so cheap back in '98.
Lets see, the Kindle DX has 3.3 GB for user space so thats about 1650 books per Kindle*. So that comes up to roughly 606 Kindles DXs worth of books.
So I'd say it qualifies as a metric ass-load of substrate. Prior to that it was all just packets.
Because MS will go out of their way to get you to use Exchange, Sharepoint, Outlook, etc.
Google on the other hand will go out of their way to get you to use the Internet.
I'll also have to say that I'm not knocking math majors or putting them in the same boat as business majors. If there is any sin, the latter might be it.
I'm a bit mixed on the subject. On one hand you pick things up in academia that you simply don't get or have the time or inclination to go over in real life, simple methodology mostly. Also I'd have never gone through something as obvious as discrete math in day to day life. Not out of lack of interest, it is simply something I wouldn't have thought of (unless of course I had picked up a college catalog and said, "Hey, I want to cover as much ground as these guy, I'm gonna go read a book on that").
On the other hand, I ended up working in IT; something far removed from my field of study. It just started out as something I did while in college and I never left it. With the exception of a few logic courses, I've had to go the self taught route. So instead of spending hours in school then, I now spend hours at home reading books, breaking and fixing things, etc. It is a mixed bag.
For interviews, it really hasn't been as big a deal as I would have thought. Give me a laptop or piece of paper and a good problem and I'll go to town. The problem starts when promotions come into the picture. Getting and keeping a position is easy, that is me versus the company. Getting a promotion becomes me versus everyone in the company. Then that piece of paper changes everything and in the world of office politics it can become an albatross.
I can't say I regret the path I've taken. I know a hell of a lot more in certain areas than many of my peers (many CS majors, especially those who double majored in business or math are woefully ignorant of very basic electrical engineering and they write off most of the OSI model as "magic" or "soon to be obsolete"). Then again, that is the difference between CS majors and CS nerds. The nerds don't need a degree.
But it is a great example of most graphic designers I know. They have far more free time than they will ever admit. Far, far too much free time. "Meeting a client." is almost always a code phrase for "I'm sorry, but I'm already drunk.".
I'm guessing you don't look at campaign funding a lot. I can't speak for the current set, but the last Dem in my district was always in either content providers or large Telcos pockets. Often both at the same time.
Stock is a LOUSY indication of a CEO's performance.
Yeah, but it is the only one that matters. I can't speak for hedge fund managers, but the average people I know who have bought MS stock complain that it "isn't going anywhere". A company could make billions and shareholders won't care unless they made at least 200% of whatever they put into it with a year. Dividends? Who cares about those anymore, the only thing that matters is that I get to retire a few years earlier than scheduled. Boom or bust baby.
That is because as far as we are concerned it was a success. They had a golden goose, only they managed to accidentally blow its head off when they got it home with RRODs and other problems.