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User: Boawk

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  1. Social Justice => Victimhood on The Brains of Men and Women Are 'Wired Differently' · · Score: 1

    There will certainly be abuses. There will be people who take and don't give back. And this should be prevented

    I think this has been severely underemphasized and is missing a dynamic. There are compelling arguments to evaluate whether social justice is doing more harm than good. http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/dec/03/ideology-of-victimhood-hampers-those-at-the-bottom/

  2. Re:So many improvements on Linux 3.13 Kernel To Bring Major Feature Improvements · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately it won't any time soon. The reason? MS Office, and its billions of unmaintainable macros that keep most companies from being able to switch to something else. Sad, but true.

    I think this extends to many Microsoft technologies. I predict that some years from now programmers/maintainers of the Microsoft development ecosystem will be the COBOL programmers of the 21st century.

  3. Range of problems on A Math Test That's Rotten To the Common Core · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The problems with Common Core are manifold, from the (lack of) primary research behind it, to the squishiness of the outcomes. Here's a nice quote: "even if they said 3 X 4 was 11, if they were able to explain their reasoning and explain how they came up with their answer, really in words and oral explanations and they showed it in a picture but they just got the final number wrong; we’re really more focusing on the how and the why." (Fuzzy Math)

    Since 1970 we've more than doubled per-pupil spending on primary and secondary students in real dollars (National Center for Education Statistics) with little to show in academic improvement. <sarcasm>But hey! We've found the problem! What we need to do is yoke all 50 states to a common set of education standards! That'll help!</sarcasm>

    I abhor the intelligent design crap that some states try to shove into primary and secondary school curricula. However, all the power to them as long as I'm free to influence the math- and science-rich curriculum I want established in my state. I find it more repugnant that the Federal government sees fit to bribe states to adopt a one-size-fits-all model.

  4. Cutting room floor footage on Lost Star Wars Footage Found On LaserDisc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In the fall of 1982 I saw a pre-release version of Return of the Jedi. Our high school had some connections to Lucas. An announcement was made that the front office had tickets available to a LucasFilm prescreening of "Twice Upon a Time" (I still have the large blue tickets saved away somewhere). They had booked a large theater in San Francisco for the screening. At showtime a person walked out and regretfully informed the full house that Twice Upon a Time wasn't to be shown, so instead they brought Return of the Jedi (wild cheers erupted).

    Some of the special effects weren't finished, and some scenes had only rough editing. I remember several of the scenes were trimmed down quite drastically in the release version. The dance scene in Jabba's palace was really, really (really!) long. At the end of the movie we were all given a questionnaire to fill out on how we felt about various scenes.

    All in all, a very cool experience for someone who grew up during the original releases of episodes 4 through 6.

  5. See if you can build a bridge out of him on Ask Slashdot: Can Bruce Schneier Be Trusted? · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's the best way to tell

  6. Linux already has a killer game on Battlefield Director: Linux Only Needs One 'Killer' Game To Explode · · Score: 1

    I think the best sci-fi, alien landscape, puzzle-solver mystery game I've ever played is Gnome 3

  7. FreeBSD? on FreeBSD 9.2, FreeBSD 10.0 Alpha 4 Released · · Score: -1, Troll

    What's that? Some new fangled waana-be OS that's going to topple Linux?

  8. Conservationists Demand Status Quo on New Species of Legless Lizard Discovered Near LAX Runway · · Score: 4, Funny

    Los Angeles, August 12, 2082
    On Tuesday, a public hearing on shutting down the Los Angeles International Airport was again disrupted by conservationists. This is the second public hearing the LAX Airport Authority has held to consider repurposing the airport property into a nature preserve. Decreasing numbers of passengers and reduced tarmac requirements for liftoff for vessels such as the Boeing 998 Starduster have obviated the need for a traditional airport. In an attempt to stop the meeting, several conservationists handcuffed themselves to the podium. With signs and chants, the conservationists expressed their dismay at shutting down the fragile ecosystem of the rare legless lizard found only at LAX. "Every change the [LAX Airport] Authority makes to the airfield threatens to overturn the delicate balance of nature our legless comrades rely on." inveighed Charles Slatun, the group's putative leader. "We protested quite vocally when airlines began installing sound-dampeners on engines landing at the airport. But now, LAX as a nature preserve? This disregard for extant species must stop!" For months conservationists have been seen acting as informal greeters inside LAX as well as offering free taxi rides to the airport in an effort to convince the public that preserving LAX in its current form is in their best interest.

  9. Re:Valuable Antiaircraft Weapon on Canadian City Uses Drone To Chase Off Geese · · Score: 2

    I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne...

    Well there's your solution right there. If you don't have a drone handy, just hire Sean Connery to chase 'em around with his umbrella. He is no longer acting so he's probably looking for a post-retirement gig.

  10. |bleep| the question on Google Pressure Cookers and Backpacks: Get a Visit From the Feds · · Score: 1

    Which raises the question: How'd the government know what they were Googling?"

    NO! That should be "Which begs the question..."
    How are we supposed to mock your incorrect use of the phrase if you don't even use it!

  11. Peer-level strategy on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Deal With Programmers Who Have Not Stayed Current? · · Score: 1

    You might be able to succeed by disguising his schooling in terms him schooling you. Pick some topic which the guy needs to know (that you already know) and say (for example), "Bob, I'm having trouble understanding outer joins. I found this reference page on the Web but am still confused. Could we get together next Tuesday and maybe you could help me figure it out?". Providing lead time ("next Tuesday") gives him time to figure it out. Asking him for help strokes his ego and motivates him to learn the stuff so he can be helpful to you. There are variants on the theme. Pick some code from your project (or from the Web) that he can help you "understand".

    Regarding version control, see if you can find some smallish standalone side-project which is relevant to your job. Express enthusiasm for working with Bob on it. Start it in version control. Do things like sit at his desk with him and say, "Let me show you what I've done". Then pull out a cheat sheet and scan it for how to check out your code, discover an error (or add a comment), then make a show of referring to the cheat sheet for how to commit your change. When you're done showing him your code then "forget" your cheat sheet, leave it on his desk. He'll need it because while you showed him your code you asked him if he could add XYZ to your code.

    Code reviews. Have him participate in several reviews of others' code. If he's resistant to even that explain that because of his experience his insight is valued. Once in a review he's an equal participant in debating the merits of various blocks of code. The cordial, social aspect of debating the finer nuances of coding could be enough to warm him to the idea of submitting his own code to a review. Otherwise, when the time comes to review his code motivate it in terms of everyone learning from the code of an experienced engineer.

    You get the idea. Be creative in finding ways that he can "help" you.

    All that said, the parent is definitely correct. It really is management's job to set expectations including "learn this new technology". If management is amenable to "fixing" the old guy, but is just oblivious, then bring it to their attention, complete with telling management, "I don't want to hurt his feelings, but he can't do XYZ and it's taking time and energy away from the rest of the team for us to work around his limitations."

  12. Re:Why light bulb form factor? on A Tale of Two Tests: Why Energy Star LED Light Bulbs Are a Rare Breed · · Score: 1

    If you are investing in a light source that will not need replacement for a decade then why, exactly, do you care so much about it being shaped like a light bulb?

    Lamp shades that clamp on to the bulb itself?

  13. Games!?! on You Don't 'Own' Your Own Genes · · Score: 1

    Whew! I started to panic when I first read the headline as "You Don't 'Own' Your Own Games". That was quite the scare. OK, what's the next story?

  14. With vi/vim bindings? on What's the Best RSS Reader Not Named Google Reader? · · Score: 1

    What I loved about Google Reader was the vi bindings. Any of the best-of-class alternatives support that?

  15. Francis is PISSED on SimCity 5: How Not To Design a Single Player Game · · Score: 1

    Holy shit. I bet EA nailed plywood over their windows and staked a lookout on their roof after seeing this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9VClRhU404

  16. Re: Attack Asteroids With Lasers on California Professors Unveil Proposal To Attack Asteroids With Lasers · · Score: 1

    How the hell are you going to keep the sharks alive during their ascent into space?

  17. That pro cameras are better is not relevant on RIM Unveils BlackBerry 10, Its Big Turnaround Hope · · Score: 1

    Before discounting the inferiority of smart phone cameras to professional cameras, one needs to consider the user. There are millions of average Joes and Janes documenting their lives with their phones today. Go back 20 years ago and look at what the masses were using: instant cameras or some variant. Those cameras were inferior to professional cameras then as well. But the photos today's Joe/Jane are producing are absolutely amazing compared to the photos they were taking in decades past.

  18. Change Scrabble!!!??? on Scrabble Needs a New Scoring System · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    I bet that scofflaw Bush is behind this. Him and Halliburton.

  19. Once Sprint tracks down the problem on Bug Sends Lost-Phone Seekers To Same Wrong Address · · Score: 1

    They should change the default address to 1060 W. Addison
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsHjW8rBRk0

  20. The fucking tutorial on 30 Days Is Too Long: Animated Rant About Windows 8 · · Score: 2

    There's literally a fucking tutorial that shows you how to access most of what you mentioned

    If you have parental controls turned on, is there a version of the tutorial that doesn't involve the fucking?

  21. Re:Great potential on Auto-threading Compiler Could Restore Moore's Law Gains · · Score: 5, Funny

    If two bunnies eat the same carrot...the compiler will take care to run two bunnies eating away at the same carrot sequentially. However if there are 2 bunnies eating the green carrot and another 2 bunnies eating the yellow carrot

    Am I the only one who is totally horny after reading that?

  22. Happy Life Day on Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm, Star Wars Episode 7 Due In 2015 · · Score: 1

    As part of the vetting process, the directors of this new venture must endure the full seven and a half minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXcb7VPw59s

  23. Re:What's the hurry? on Boeing's X-51 WaveRider Jet Crashes In Mach 6 Attempt · · Score: 1

    I'd rather have...a lay flat bed, and show up the next morning.

    That's how California's new high-speed train's going to work!

  24. Re:The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet on Ask Slashdot: Best Science-Fiction/Fantasy For Kids? · · Score: 1

    This is what I was going to post. This book was totally captivating to me in 4th grade.

  25. Don't wish higher taxes on Apple on How Apple Sidesteps Billions In Global Taxes · · Score: 1

    Keep in mind that every company has to recoup its costs which includes taxes. If a wand could be waved to ensure all computer manufacturers paid higher taxes, you would see higher computer prices, not lower profits. Those higher taxes come out of your pocket, not the company's. Apple's prices are set according to what the market will bear relative to their competitors. If taxes on all computer manufacturers increase, so will prices.