Or maybe you're assuming a lot of things that don't need to be true.
2. Bit coins? Really? here is a guy who is publicly saying he committed a crime. FBI goes to the Bit Coin Servers with a warrant sends the million and tracks every Bit to see who finally receives it.
But what if nobody ever receives it? Do you think the government has a giant vault in northern Kentucky filled with gleaming stacks of Bitcoins that they pile into briefcases every time this happens?
Suppose that somebody does try to pay this ransom. It's unlikely that they would have a million dollars worth of Bitcoin just sitting around, so they would have to convert $1,000,000 USD into about 100,000 BTC (Assuming an exchange rate of about $10 USD to the BTC. That's not quite right, but let's pretend it is so that the math works out). As there are only something like eight million BTC in existence, that's a pretty big buy order.
If someone, let's call him Herbert J. Acker, were to happen to be selling a few thousand Bitcoins at the right time, he could walk away with tens of thousands of US dollars in an entirely legal way without ever having any connection to any kind of extortion scheme.
It's no different from the old scam of placing two classified ads in different newspapers -- One offering to sell a rare but useless item at an inflated price and another pleading for a chance to buy the same item and offering twice as much for it. Once some sucker sees the obvious opportunity for arbitrage all you need to do is make the sale and then have the buyer mysteriously lose interest and disappear.
Our department works under the premise that if more than a couple of emails go back and forth over a topic, we get on the phone. Especially if it's sensitive or urgent.
Good thinking. That way, there's no paper trail and none of you can be blamed when everything goes wrong. It also ensures that you can't escalate a problem to anyone who hasn't been involved from the start without having to explain it all over again, so everybody wins.
“Massive combined inoculations to small children is the cause for big increase in autism spread shots over long period and watch positive result.”
That's almost as bad as Akins "legitimate rape" comment
It's even worse. At least Akins was able to speak in complete sentences. It is possible that Trump's brain was been hacked by a spam bot purple monkey dishwasher?
Or is he really concerned about the rise in "Autism spread shots"?
I want a console that never requires me to upgrade or look at a "System Requirements" label on the game I'm buying. Does your "PC" console satisfy those criteria?
I think all of you are posers. I only use Workstation class laptops. i7 3.5ghz and workstation Nvidia graphics card. My dell precision is 900X better than your toy asus will ever be in it's life
The Dell Precision M6600 weighs almost eight US pounds. That makes is 3.5 times the PC that an ASUS EEE is, and only 90 times the PC that a Raspberry Pi is.
Fortunately, many of us use computers for something other that weight training,
Let me guess, you think your Chevy Aveo is as good as that BMW 325 you see pass you going to work every day.... how cute.
And I'm guessing that you think being stuck in traffic in a BMW would make you better than the people who zip past you on bicycles. There's the car analogy, are we done yet?
There's a site called Slashdot which allows comments to be rated from 0 to 5. Spam, trolls, and posts like this one will be moderated down to zero and blocked from view by most other users.
You know, geology is a science too. And geologists like to look at rocks. Most of them spend a lot of time on Earth, so they get used to looking at rocks under the kind of lighting found here on Earth.
That's why the photo has been adjusted to account for differences in martian lighting -- So that scientists looking at it can pick out details that they recognize.
A PhD won't get you a job. It certainly won't land you a cushy faculty position at a prestigious University. And it won't magically transport you back in time fifty years to a point in history in which having a degree was valuable. It will give you a few things you won't get anywhere else, though:
- A guaranteed topic of conversation when you meet other graduate students and post-docs.
- A keen insight into what is wrong with the education system today.
- Stress, anxiety, and possibly some new drugs to be dependant on. Sure, you could get those elsewhere, but not in the same concentrated form that you get with grad school.
If you have a real reason for doing this and a definite goal in mind, then go ahead with it. But don't decide to go to grad school because you think it's a fun thing to do unless you are already independently wealthy and want to support your therapist financially for a few more years.
It's time to sign up a few more fake accounts on random social networks and porn sites using the email addresses of famous people. We have to keep the writers at Wired employed somehow.
This time I think I will add "mhonan@gmail.com" to the mix...
Slashdot Mirror
Well that guy is an idiot.
Or maybe you're assuming a lot of things that don't need to be true.
2. Bit coins? Really? here is a guy who is publicly saying he committed a crime. FBI goes to the Bit Coin Servers with a warrant sends the million and tracks every Bit to see who finally receives it.
But what if nobody ever receives it? Do you think the government has a giant vault in northern Kentucky filled with gleaming stacks of Bitcoins that they pile into briefcases every time this happens?
Suppose that somebody does try to pay this ransom. It's unlikely that they would have a million dollars worth of Bitcoin just sitting around, so they would have to convert $1,000,000 USD into about 100,000 BTC (Assuming an exchange rate of about $10 USD to the BTC. That's not quite right, but let's pretend it is so that the math works out). As there are only something like eight million BTC in existence, that's a pretty big buy order.
If someone, let's call him Herbert J. Acker, were to happen to be selling a few thousand Bitcoins at the right time, he could walk away with tens of thousands of US dollars in an entirely legal way without ever having any connection to any kind of extortion scheme.
It's no different from the old scam of placing two classified ads in different newspapers -- One offering to sell a rare but useless item at an inflated price and another pleading for a chance to buy the same item and offering twice as much for it. Once some sucker sees the obvious opportunity for arbitrage all you need to do is make the sale and then have the buyer mysteriously lose interest and disappear.
But somebody would have to be in idiot to buy [...] bitcoins
Good point.
What happens when they attempt to hand out the 1,000,000,001th SSN?
The Rapture.
Our department works under the premise that if more than a couple of emails go back and forth over a topic, we get on the phone. Especially if it's sensitive or urgent.
Good thinking. That way, there's no paper trail and none of you can be blamed when everything goes wrong. It also ensures that you can't escalate a problem to anyone who hasn't been involved from the start without having to explain it all over again, so everybody wins.
Or worse, finding out what the users say they need is substituted.
less then a week before WoW 's X-pac hits.. that not exactly a great idea.
Hey, give Blizzard a break. They still think that "Wrath of the Kung Fu Pandas" is a wonderful idea.
the ink is so expensive because that's where they're actually making money.
It's not just expensive, printer ink is more expensive than human blood.
Then you're not doing it right.
“Massive combined inoculations to small children is the cause for big increase in autism spread shots over long period and watch positive result.”
That's almost as bad as Akins "legitimate rape" comment
It's even worse. At least Akins was able to speak in complete sentences. It is possible that Trump's brain was been hacked by a spam bot purple monkey dishwasher?
Or is he really concerned about the rise in "Autism spread shots"?
Yeah, you know who else used logical fallacies to support his arguments?
Hitler.
They should gain the trust of their users first if they really want to see things like this pick up steam IMO
Why bother? How much do the users pay them?
You might also enjoy Ray Bradbury's The Murderer, for similar reasons.
Your described PEBKAC.
Indeed, but which K and which C?
If you honestly believe what you just said then you need to learn something about both history and humanity.
Are you saying that the agriculture ministry _is_ in charge of Gundam?
I want a console that never requires me to upgrade or look at a "System Requirements" label on the game I'm buying. Does your "PC" console satisfy those criteria?
Does your X-Box? PlayStation? NES?
OMG, don't click on that link! NSFW!
Relax. It's not like I linked to TV Tropes or anything.
That would have been horrible.
I think all of you are posers. I only use Workstation class laptops. i7 3.5ghz and workstation Nvidia graphics card. My dell precision is 900X better than your toy asus will ever be in it's life
The Dell Precision M6600 weighs almost eight US pounds. That makes is 3.5 times the PC that an ASUS EEE is, and only 90 times the PC that a Raspberry Pi is.
Fortunately, many of us use computers for something other that weight training,
Let me guess, you think your Chevy Aveo is as good as that BMW 325 you see pass you going to work every day.... how cute.
And I'm guessing that you think being stuck in traffic in a BMW would make you better than the people who zip past you on bicycles. There's the car analogy, are we done yet?
There's a site called Slashdot which allows comments to be rated from 0 to 5. Spam, trolls, and posts like this one will be moderated down to zero and blocked from view by most other users.
Check it out some time.
There are three types of errors that programmers make: Logic errors, and off-by-one errors.
Not only does it work, it is setting educational policy in Kentucky.
You know, geology is a science too. And geologists like to look at rocks. Most of them spend a lot of time on Earth, so they get used to looking at rocks under the kind of lighting found here on Earth.
That's why the photo has been adjusted to account for differences in martian lighting -- So that scientists looking at it can pick out details that they recognize.
"Is it worth going for a graduate degree [...]?"
The simple answer to this is "No".
A PhD won't get you a job. It certainly won't land you a cushy faculty position at a prestigious University. And it won't magically transport you back in time fifty years to a point in history in which having a degree was valuable. It will give you a few things you won't get anywhere else, though:
- A guaranteed topic of conversation when you meet other graduate students and post-docs.
- A keen insight into what is wrong with the education system today.
- Stress, anxiety, and possibly some new drugs to be dependant on. Sure, you could get those elsewhere, but not in the same concentrated form that you get with grad school.
If you have a real reason for doing this and a definite goal in mind, then go ahead with it. But don't decide to go to grad school because you think it's a fun thing to do unless you are already independently wealthy and want to support your therapist financially for a few more years.
It's time to sign up a few more fake accounts on random social networks and porn sites using the email addresses of famous people. We have to keep the writers at Wired employed somehow.
This time I think I will add "mhonan@gmail.com" to the mix...
Always thought it was a bad idea [...] (EA Games)
You were right. Anything to do with EA Games is a bad idea.
Well, it's their second worst nightmare. Their worst nightmare is being asked if they have been to the Stampede yet.