Some people have a fetish for cataloging data it seems. I know people who rip movies even though they have no intention of ever watching them again, it's just a point of penis envy competition to point out they have that many binders of ripped DVDs
I agree with what you say about people who socialize being more productive, but I think with the pack-of-smokers example (hah, no pun intended) it gets counterbalanced--
Thing about smokers is that their productivity plummets when the nicotine craving hits. In job situations where it's not possible for the smoker to just mosey on outside whenever (ie, daily deadlines need to be met, which require the smoker to finish a number of tasks before taking a cig break is an option) it's easy to watch someone's focus go downhill from the first time they say "man I need a cigarette" Their productivity might be higher right after coming back from the break, but it'll go to hell pretty quick when the nicotine wears off (of course depending on the level of addiction)
Trackballs are okay for some types of PC games, RTSs and RPGs in my experience, but for a fast paced FPS it seems just too hard to keep looking in all directions as well as aim accurately using just a thumb. In those situations a mouse gives you much finer control. You also still at some point have to reposition your thumb, when you spin the ball a full half turn.
Now that I think about it, I suppose the sensitivity of a trackball could be adjusted so that a 'flick' of the thumb moves the player's viewpoint approximately the same as pivoting the wrist would move a mouse, which would equialize things a lot, but I'm still not convinced you'd be able to react as quickly.
This may come as a surprise to you, but college campuses do compose a non trivial part of the computing universe, and a HUGE part of the P2P universe. They also all pay for bandwidth and all have to consider things like this.
I've noticed fast torrents choking consumerl evel routers and switches on several ocaasions on different networks, and that's just with ONE running torrent. I shudder to think what a room full of torrenting computers would do.
I'd be willing to bet money that if you read your TOS there is a clause which states, roughly, "You may not always get the advertised data rate, and you agree to grin and bear it"
There are many many ways to get adequate supplies of vitamins without also consuming excess calories. Some of the most rich (nutritionally speaking) foods are nearly calorie free in a typical serving (dark leaf greens and vegetables)
The times are gone when most people in CS are geeks.
Many, many, *many* are in it for the money, or because people keep telling them computers are the place to be. I'm in computer engineering myself, but I've had to take up through jr level comp sci courses, and in each and every one I see people who fail to exhibit basic programming knowledge, or only a middling skill level in using the computer in general.
Why not? Because doing so violates the academic integrity policy of every last university in the nation, and as such makes you subject to anything from instant F in the class to being expelled.
One would think that's a good enough reason, considering the student is paying for the privilege of being in college.
Otter Ping Pong - They were testing the myth that you could raise a sunken ship by pumping thousands of ping pong balls into the hull. During the myth, an otter swam down to the hull and stole a ping pong ball and started playing with it, which caused everyone to worry that it might choke on it if it tried to swallow it. The myth was eventually proved successful.
I don't understand how that's any different than merely filling the hull with air (which would of course cause it to float, as it would return the boat to the condition it was before it sank)
off the top of my head, most of the non-combat D&D rules deal with how you interact with NPCs--hard to just roleplay that out, since the DM *is* the NPCs for purposes of roleplaying, and it's hard for the omniscient one to be unbiased (in a situation of say, trying to bluff or change someone's attitude towards you) --so some mechanics were necessary to eliminate DM-partiality from the equation.
My take on it at least. I agree that Player-player interaction should be totally freeform and not involve any dice at all (unless they're trying to kill each otehr)
Since all that stuff seems to be (as far as i know) handled on the assumption that SS# is a unique ID, i wouldn't be ALL That surprised if the aforementioned harassment happened (or at least the contact was initiated by the IRS) before anyone actually looked at the names on the forms
Sad fact is, blowing the whistle on something like that would probably cost you your job either from the lost revenue or the hit to the company's reputation.
That doesn't make much sense. The potential increase of your insurance from pleading guilty to a speeding violation will definitely be more than whatever 95% of the population gets paid in a day.
Alas, I don't have much of a liquor budget. Would much like to try Talisker but Aberlour was reccomended to me as a good Speyside without breaking the bank (yes, at my situation 50 bucks for a fifth is breaking the bank)
Very well written post, however I'd like to pick a minor nit--
I don't think young people even watch TV nearly as much as middle aged people did at their age.
I disagree here. People my agegroup (early 20s) watch tons of TV, it's just nearly all mindless entertainment, rather than news and current events or educational
I understand that content must be paid for, but the message I am attempting to send by using adblock is as much to the website as to the company: use disrupting ads or deal with those who do, and I don't have much of an interest in whether you sink or swim.
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Some people have a fetish for cataloging data it seems. I know people who rip movies even though they have no intention of ever watching them again, it's just a point of penis envy competition to point out they have that many binders of ripped DVDs
I agree with what you say about people who socialize being more productive, but I think with the pack-of-smokers example (hah, no pun intended) it gets counterbalanced--
Thing about smokers is that their productivity plummets when the nicotine craving hits. In job situations where it's not possible for the smoker to just mosey on outside whenever (ie, daily deadlines need to be met, which require the smoker to finish a number of tasks before taking a cig break is an option) it's easy to watch someone's focus go downhill from the first time they say "man I need a cigarette" Their productivity might be higher right after coming back from the break, but it'll go to hell pretty quick when the nicotine wears off (of course depending on the level of addiction)
Trackballs are okay for some types of PC games, RTSs and RPGs in my experience, but for a fast paced FPS it seems just too hard to keep looking in all directions as well as aim accurately using just a thumb. In those situations a mouse gives you much finer control. You also still at some point have to reposition your thumb, when you spin the ball a full half turn.
Now that I think about it, I suppose the sensitivity of a trackball could be adjusted so that a 'flick' of the thumb moves the player's viewpoint approximately the same as pivoting the wrist would move a mouse, which would equialize things a lot, but I'm still not convinced you'd be able to react as quickly.
This may come as a surprise to you, but college campuses do compose a non trivial part of the computing universe, and a HUGE part of the P2P universe. They also all pay for bandwidth and all have to consider things like this.
I've noticed fast torrents choking consumerl evel routers and switches on several ocaasions on different networks, and that's just with ONE running torrent. I shudder to think what a room full of torrenting computers would do.
At the point when your hands are cold and dead, I think it's safe to say they've just been discharged ;)
I'd be willing to bet money that if you read your TOS there is a clause which states, roughly, "You may not always get the advertised data rate, and you agree to grin and bear it"
There are many many ways to get adequate supplies of vitamins without also consuming excess calories. Some of the most rich (nutritionally speaking) foods are nearly calorie free in a typical serving (dark leaf greens and vegetables)
Whoa, I missed that. When did Eisner get the boot?
Does that mean you shoplifted the 'y' ?
;)
Student loan.
Doom (played in the form of zDoom)
Counterstrike (great standby LAN game)
Diablo II (any computer these days can play it)
Neverwinter Nights
The times are gone when most people in CS are geeks.
Many, many, *many* are in it for the money, or because people keep telling them computers are the place to be. I'm in computer engineering myself, but I've had to take up through jr level comp sci courses, and in each and every one I see people who fail to exhibit basic programming knowledge, or only a middling skill level in using the computer in general.
Why not? Because doing so violates the academic integrity policy of every last university in the nation, and as such makes you subject to anything from instant F in the class to being expelled.
One would think that's a good enough reason, considering the student is paying for the privilege of being in college.
Otter Ping Pong - They were testing the myth that you could raise a sunken ship by pumping thousands of ping pong balls into the hull. During the myth, an otter swam down to the hull and stole a ping pong ball and started playing with it, which caused everyone to worry that it might choke on it if it tried to swallow it. The myth was eventually proved successful.
I don't understand how that's any different than merely filling the hull with air (which would of course cause it to float, as it would return the boat to the condition it was before it sank)
off the top of my head, most of the non-combat D&D rules deal with how you interact with NPCs--hard to just roleplay that out, since the DM *is* the NPCs for purposes of roleplaying, and it's hard for the omniscient one to be unbiased (in a situation of say, trying to bluff or change someone's attitude towards you) --so some mechanics were necessary to eliminate DM-partiality from the equation.
My take on it at least. I agree that Player-player interaction should be totally freeform and not involve any dice at all (unless they're trying to kill each otehr)
Since all that stuff seems to be (as far as i know) handled on the assumption that SS# is a unique ID, i wouldn't be ALL That surprised if the aforementioned harassment happened (or at least the contact was initiated by the IRS) before anyone actually looked at the names on the forms
Having the user go download and install any kind of software just to view your content is generally a poor design decision.
I'd wager Apple has a much greater customer loyalty, I wonder if that's worth anything at all to Intel
Sad fact is, blowing the whistle on something like that would probably cost you your job either from the lost revenue or the hit to the company's reputation.
Last time i checked, you still get a reciept for a cash sale basically everywhere. WTF kind of retail store have you been working in?
That doesn't make much sense. The potential increase of your insurance from pleading guilty to a speeding violation will definitely be more than whatever 95% of the population gets paid in a day.
Alas, I don't have much of a liquor budget. Would much like to try Talisker but Aberlour was reccomended to me as a good Speyside without breaking the bank (yes, at my situation 50 bucks for a fifth is breaking the bank)
Very well written post, however I'd like to pick a minor nit--
I don't think young people even watch TV nearly as much as middle aged people did at their age.
I disagree here. People my agegroup (early 20s) watch tons of TV, it's just nearly all mindless entertainment, rather than news and current events or educational
Good stuff, but make mine Aberlour 10yo =)
I understand that content must be paid for, but the message I am attempting to send by using adblock is as much to the website as to the company: use disrupting ads or deal with those who do, and I don't have much of an interest in whether you sink or swim.