I went from being a network administrator of a small school district (7 schools, 1000 to 1500 computers, just me) to working as a union cable installer.
The good: I work for a small family company. I get to work in a somewhat informal environment with a group of likeable misfits and some people who are just darn good. I show up and work hard and smart (as possible), and I go home feeling like I earned my pay and 'helped out the team.' I take almost none of it home with me. I am off work by 3:30-4:00. We change jobsites sometimes once and sometimes 60 times a year, I find the variety stimulating. YMMV The pay is quite decent, even though we communications guys are lower paid than the union electricians. The work is physical, sometimes you just have to crawl under that frat-house with the cable tied to your belt loop, or something. The plus side of this is how much easier it is to stay reasonably fit. Climbing up and down a ladder all day as well as carrying ladders and materials around can be pretty good exercise. Medical HMO-Style, Dental, Vision.
The bad: Getting to work at 6 to 7 in the morning can be tough until you adjust to it. Sometimes you have to do something downright disgusting or even a little dangerous, but at least these things usually make for good stories. If there isn't enough work to go around, you can be laid off by your employer and in tough times, it can be a while before you get sent to another job. Leading me to the unions. Again, YMMV. I'm told ours is one of the better trade unions to be in, but we have: No paid leave of any kind. You don't work, you don't get paid, and if you're out of work for long enough, your benefits are no longer paid for. I also just get the general impression that Union administrations tend toward barrel-assed, protect-my-cushy-desk-job, pettily corrupt kinds of entities. Not saying they all are, but there's a smell of it about. A great deal depends on which Union, and likely, which Local. Also, most people have to go through an apprenticeship that can last from 3 years (Communication installer) to 5 years (Inside Wireman (Electrician)). During your apprenticeship you will make more like $14 to $20 an hour (depending on the trade, some probably even make more!), instead of the Journeyman rate of around $28 to $45-50 and up.
My verdict: I like my job now. It is a tonic after coming from a fairly hectic and stressful job. But I am in my thirties now. I have very little desire to still be working this hard with my body when I am in my fifties. In the end I think it's better to be paid for your smarts, so you can save your body for the fun stuff.
myzerotwo
Personally, I think the (TV) commercial for Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is pretty blatantly nationalistic... NSA Spook sneaking around shooting people and blowin' things up while the voices of children recite the pledge of allegiance in the background? Seems like a thinly veiled attempt to drum up positive public opinion for America's new unilaterally aggressive posture in the international arena. Maybe it's just me.
I'm surprised no one mentioned this yet, but doesn't this remind anyone of DivX (not the codec) for video games? I guess the key differences are 1. You don't buy any physical media. 2. So you have to download the data.
I mean, didn't DivX fail spectacularly enough to make it obvious that people, given the choice, would rather own a usable copy of the data they're paying for, instead of being subject to the whims/viability of the service provider?
I think Ken Kesey's life/work/philosophy might appeal to the minds of many slashdotters. If you haven't read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, that's always a good place to start, but I also recommend his later work, Sailor Song, about (ready for it?) a hollywood movie corp. moving into an Alaskan fishing town to shoot a movie because it is one of the last unspoiled frontiers. Set in the not too distant future.
Kevin Costner and Kurt Russel (two great campy actors (even if they don't intend it that way)) star as the (implied) 2 illegitimate sons of Elvis who have turned to a life of Crime, and who get together to rob (what else) a casino. Also stars Kevin Pollack, John Lovitz, and inexplicably, Courtney Cox.
ps. Also Ice T.
From the Wired article:
At about one thousandth the size of a regular power station, the engine-on-a-chip will create about 1 millionth the power level
So, all else being equal, wouldn't it work out roughly thus:
miniturbinesize*1000=Powerstationsize
miniturbinepower*1000=PowerstationPower/1000
?
In other words, one of these turbines the size of a power station would still only produce 1000th the power.
Or am I wrong?
Good Question. What have they prepared?
What was on those planes? I haven't heard anyone mention this yet, but what about the possibility of biological/chemical weapons? I read somewhere that the CDC mobilized its biological weapons units, but what, in short, is up with that?
Does anyone have any SOLID information?
And assuming (and hoping) that there were no chemical or biological weapons involved, what about the next skirmish in what many people are calling a War? I hear many people crying WAR, but I wonder how many of us are prepared for the kind of war this would appear to be?
Hear Hear. I agree that allowing law enforcement the tools they need to ATTEMPT to combat this sort of thing is a good idea. But this horrible tragedy does not change the fact that giving law enforcement (not to mention the NSA, FBI etc.) more power (in the form of more legal ways for them to observe/record/surveil people) will also increase the severity of potential abuse of that power. Terrorism is a difficult animal to combat because it can be perpetrated by as little as one person. It can be a person who, until they commit their terrorist act, was no more suspicious than "the quiet man who kept to himself." The question we should be asking is, how can law enforcement and the barrage of gov't acronyms combat this sort of thing. The most effective way is to thoroughly monitor and surveil as much of the population of this country and others as possible. I don't have to point out to this crowd the invasions of privacy that can result from this sort of strategy. We all saw _Enemy of the State_.
I am not saying that I am necessarily against taking extreme measures to combat terrorism, but it is important to be aware of the sacrifices that may have to be made to combat it effectively.
Another suggestion. Pit Droids by the now defunct Lucas Learning. This was a great puzzle game. Playable by and challenging to any age or intellect. A kid could play it, and an intelligent adult could be challenged by it. The only violence occurrs when your droids are marched under a hazardous ob-stackle
Slashdot Mirror
I went from being a network administrator of a small school district (7 schools, 1000 to 1500 computers, just me) to working as a union cable installer.
The good: I work for a small family company. I get to work in a somewhat informal environment with a group of likeable misfits and some people who are just darn good. I show up and work hard and smart (as possible), and I go home feeling like I earned my pay and 'helped out the team.' I take almost none of it home with me. I am off work by 3:30-4:00. We change jobsites sometimes once and sometimes 60 times a year, I find the variety stimulating. YMMV The pay is quite decent, even though we communications guys are lower paid than the union electricians. The work is physical, sometimes you just have to crawl under that frat-house with the cable tied to your belt loop, or something. The plus side of this is how much easier it is to stay reasonably fit. Climbing up and down a ladder all day as well as carrying ladders and materials around can be pretty good exercise. Medical HMO-Style, Dental, Vision.
The bad: Getting to work at 6 to 7 in the morning can be tough until you adjust to it. Sometimes you have to do something downright disgusting or even a little dangerous, but at least these things usually make for good stories. If there isn't enough work to go around, you can be laid off by your employer and in tough times, it can be a while before you get sent to another job. Leading me to the unions. Again, YMMV. I'm told ours is one of the better trade unions to be in, but we have: No paid leave of any kind. You don't work, you don't get paid, and if you're out of work for long enough, your benefits are no longer paid for. I also just get the general impression that Union administrations tend toward barrel-assed, protect-my-cushy-desk-job, pettily corrupt kinds of entities. Not saying they all are, but there's a smell of it about. A great deal depends on which Union, and likely, which Local. Also, most people have to go through an apprenticeship that can last from 3 years (Communication installer) to 5 years (Inside Wireman (Electrician)). During your apprenticeship you will make more like $14 to $20 an hour (depending on the trade, some probably even make more!), instead of the Journeyman rate of around $28 to $45-50 and up.
My verdict: I like my job now. It is a tonic after coming from a fairly hectic and stressful job. But I am in my thirties now. I have very little desire to still be working this hard with my body when I am in my fifties. In the end I think it's better to be paid for your smarts, so you can save your body for the fun stuff. myzerotwo
Personally, I think the (TV) commercial for Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is pretty blatantly nationalistic... NSA Spook sneaking around shooting people and blowin' things up while the voices of children recite the pledge of allegiance in the background? Seems like a thinly veiled attempt to drum up positive public opinion for America's new unilaterally aggressive posture in the international arena. Maybe it's just me.
merkin : A pubic wig for women.
I'm surprised no one mentioned this yet, but doesn't this remind anyone of DivX (not the codec) for video games?
I guess the key differences are
1. You don't buy any physical media.
2. So you have to download the data.
I mean, didn't DivX fail spectacularly enough to make it obvious that people, given the choice, would rather own a usable copy of the data they're paying for, instead of being subject to the whims/viability of the service provider?
I think Ken Kesey's life/work/philosophy might appeal to the minds of many slashdotters. If you haven't read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, that's always a good place to start, but I also recommend his later work, Sailor Song, about (ready for it?) a hollywood movie corp. moving into an Alaskan fishing town to shoot a movie because it is one of the last unspoiled frontiers. Set in the not too distant future.
we believe they already have several nuclear weapons
Excuse me, Mr. President, but don't you mean Nukular Weapons?
Kevin Costner and Kurt Russel (two great campy actors (even if they don't intend it that way)) star as the (implied) 2 illegitimate sons of Elvis who have turned to a life of Crime, and who get together to rob (what else) a casino. Also stars Kevin Pollack, John Lovitz, and inexplicably, Courtney Cox.
ps. Also Ice T.
So, all else being equal, wouldn't it work out roughly thus:
miniturbinesize*1000=Powerstationsize
miniturbinepower*1000=PowerstationPower/1000 ?
In other words, one of these turbines the size of a power station would still only produce 1000th the power.
Or am I wrong?
And assuming (and hoping) that there were no chemical or biological weapons involved, what about the next skirmish in what many people are calling a War? I hear many people crying WAR, but I wonder how many of us are prepared for the kind of war this would appear to be?
Hear Hear. I agree that allowing law enforcement the tools they need to ATTEMPT to combat this sort of thing is a good idea. But this horrible tragedy does not change the fact that giving law enforcement (not to mention the NSA, FBI etc.) more power (in the form of more legal ways for them to observe/record/surveil people) will also increase the severity of potential abuse of that power. Terrorism is a difficult animal to combat because it can be perpetrated by as little as one person. It can be a person who, until they commit their terrorist act, was no more suspicious than "the quiet man who kept to himself." The question we should be asking is, how can law enforcement and the barrage of gov't acronyms combat this sort of thing. The most effective way is to thoroughly monitor and surveil as much of the population of this country and others as possible. I don't have to point out to this crowd the invasions of privacy that can result from this sort of strategy. We all saw _Enemy of the State_. I am not saying that I am necessarily against taking extreme measures to combat terrorism, but it is important to be aware of the sacrifices that may have to be made to combat it effectively.
Another suggestion. Pit Droids by the now defunct Lucas Learning. This was a great puzzle game. Playable by and challenging to any age or intellect. A kid could play it, and an intelligent adult could be challenged by it. The only violence occurrs when your droids are marched under a hazardous ob-stackle