I recently bought a computer for my 14 year-old son as a birthday gift. I also bought him a router so that his mother (my ex-wife) could configure it appropriately. She still hasn't set it up (she VPNs into a network and often works from home) and she dictates when he can get on the net. I have no problem with her decision since she has to deal with him regularly and I'm not so sure that unrestricted net access is such a good thing for him.
Don't try to trick your kids, as they will eventually discover the attempts and respect you less. You might be surprised at how inquisitive and aware a 5 year-old can be.
Yeah, I like the way that my "Sent" folder is a click and a slidey graphic away from my inbox. Type-ahead knowledge of people's email addresses in my address book? I have to click a button. Lower right corner "draggability" to enlarge a dialog box?
I guess I need to spend another $100 for features that are already available on other, free email software packages. Sheesh.
Well said. That's why effective teams need a good leader and mutual trust (and sometimes a team member will have to take the lead temporarily). Much of the notion of being a so-called team player is misdirected, since often being a team player really means "dilution of responsibility" as you mention.
The above relates to project-type, long-term office work, not some hypothetical realtime physical emergency.
This is also why it is highly recommended, in an emergency, to not just say "help" but to single out a particular person, point at them, and ask *them* for help.
Excellent advice, as it imposes individual responsibility onto someone who may still be in a state of shock/disbelief/denial.
...simple rules of interaction between unintelligent subcomponents of a system can lead to emergent behavior which is surprisingly complex and intelligent.
Hold on a second, are we talking about patents or the mythical Windows user of the future?
Is it just me, or do most ACs have extremely low attention spans and not much appreciation for well thought-out writing? Oh wait, maybe fyng... was right in the first place.
If books don't sell, they are remaindered or destroyed for credit (that's a very odd quirk of the publishing industry, and believe me, it has major effects on the publisher's bottom line.)
If I remember correctly from 35 or so years ago as a comic book-loving kid, this means that the covers or other identifiable parts are returned to the distributor while the cover-less publications are "destroyed". I used to get and read hundreds of comics because my dad knew a store owner.
Arrr, matey, even back then I was an innocent pirate and reading the illegal material warped my mind!
Can I put two dual-core Opterons on that and have it work to my advantage? I'm waiting for 64-bit Windows and more multi-threaded applications before replacing my recently upgraded AMD Athlon SMP machine.
Amen. Several times per week I utter "let's drag out the drafting boards again" due to bad experiences with fairly sophisticated (but popular, in my field) CAD software that you have likely never even heard of. No, it's not AutoCAD, that's pretty straightforward as a digital pencil-type program.
I've found their phone customer service to be quite good and without long wait times. G4TechTV's (I subscribe only because of Call for Help, yay Leo) reception with digital TV is horrible, though, and I can't figure out why that is the only station that has a sporadically crappy signal.
Videotron also offers a la carte digital programming for a flat rate. You can change channel choices via the web or telephone and the changes happen immediately.
The facilities I typically work on have the electrical stuff routed on piperacks outside, so confined spaces is usually not a problem.
We tolerate the electrical guys polluting our pristine racks with their trivial wiring nonsense and generally give them their own site sandbox to play in for their transformers and other unimportant thingies.
Don't get me started on the HVAC guys or those damn welders that insist on pointing out mistakes in the drawings...
Doing physical routing drawings for wiring is usually not needed. With large electrical installations in process plants that have major (multiple 24" wide trays) cabling for power and signal from the junction boxes it becomes more important to have physical routing diagrams. Even then, cables are much more flexible than piping, structural steel or major equipment.
Autodesk seems to like screwing around with plotting terminology and features. This frustrates many users. Another thing that can be a major annoyance is the CLI (I use customized keyboard shortcuts by modifying the acad.pgp* file for commands because I can usually avoid having to re-educate myself about the newest, coolest icons/placement of commands in the pull-down menus). Plus, it's just faster to use the keyboard.
Maybe I'm misremembering, but the CLI used to be modify-able under Tools > Options but now it requires a registry hack.
I must be a luddite for not wanting to learn "all the new stuff".
Which makes me wonder if a radio shack could set up shop just offshore and offer cheap wireless net access. Just an idea, please don't send a carrier group or two to "check me out".
Every company I know saves back to ACAD 2000 so as to have a stable base. 3D is not the panacea that it is made out to be.
Based on my experience, it's really cool to be able to zoom around (very impressive!) inside a model. However, as an old fart designer that runs these nifty 3D visualization programs I have to say that they actually hinder the design process. Why?
Designers need time to focus and giving everyone and their dog the ability to follow progress results in pointless emails asking why things haven't been finished yet. Of course, all these inquiries come from each project manager, project engineer, project specialist, purchaser and janitor. This interrupts the design workflow and slows everything down before anything is really ready to be presented. In the "old days", drawings were hard to interpret, so everyone would wait until there was some sort of finished product to comment on. Maybe an analogy would be hiring a contractor to build a house for you, but you keep showing up every day asking how the finishing on the oak door trimmings is going while he's still framing.
I could see MS buying PaintShop Pro as an excuse to charge more.
Think they'd ever go after AutoCAD?
Lower-end CAD programs are slowly eating into the traditional markets (i.e., people getting fed up with Autodesk's ongoing expensive upgrades that offer less and less "functionality").
Not all architectural/engineering/construction firms can afford to keep up with "productivity-enhancing" software updates especially when what really counts is what you provide to the builder. 3D walk/flythroughs are nice and everything, but much of that is eyecandy designed to impress executives.
This is not to say that 3D CAD doesn't have its place, as a well-rendered, interactive model is quite amazing to see. But, as always, the devil is in the details and the proof is in the pudding (if you assume that the "pudding" equates to lower construction costs and faster construction).
Probably, the 90/10 rule applies (time spent to complete a project) and with process plants or other "real world" installations you can't just ship out a beta and fix it later by responding to user input.
Re-reading this, I seem to have ranted off-topic, sorry.
The term, "Congresscritter" was coined by Rush Limbaugh (unless I'm mistaken). Generally speaking, a "critter" is a small, furry and possibly cute animal. Melding professional politicians with something PETA would approve-of is a bad combination and possibly very un-American.
Just hearing the word gives me the warm fuzzies and makes me want to approve of trillion dollar government expenditures.
Slashdot Mirror
The Lexar JumpDrive attaches to a keychain and slots into a protective rubber "sleeve".
Amber's nervous/unstable-sounding laughter gives me the shivers. Monica was way hotter.
I recently used liquid helium to freeze the memories of thousands of Slashdotters.
The answers are:
-yes
-maybe
-only if hamsters are involved
-no
I recently bought a computer for my 14 year-old son as a birthday gift. I also bought him a router so that his mother (my ex-wife) could configure it appropriately. She still hasn't set it up (she VPNs into a network and often works from home) and she dictates when he can get on the net. I have no problem with her decision since she has to deal with him regularly and I'm not so sure that unrestricted net access is such a good thing for him.
Don't try to trick your kids, as they will eventually discover the attempts and respect you less. You might be surprised at how inquisitive and aware a 5 year-old can be.
Yeah, I like the way that my "Sent" folder is a click and a slidey graphic away from my inbox. Type-ahead knowledge of people's email addresses in my address book? I have to click a button. Lower right corner "draggability" to enlarge a dialog box?
I guess I need to spend another $100 for features that are already available on other, free email software packages. Sheesh.
What, Powerpoint doesn't work? Good!
Well said. That's why effective teams need a good leader and mutual trust (and sometimes a team member will have to take the lead temporarily). Much of the notion of being a so-called team player is misdirected, since often being a team player really means "dilution of responsibility" as you mention.
The above relates to project-type, long-term office work, not some hypothetical realtime physical emergency.
This is also why it is highly recommended, in an emergency, to not just say "help" but to single out a particular person, point at them, and ask *them* for help.
Excellent advice, as it imposes individual responsibility onto someone who may still be in a state of shock/disbelief/denial.
Hold on a second, are we talking about patents or the mythical Windows user of the future?
Is it just me, or do most ACs have extremely low attention spans and not much appreciation for well thought-out writing? Oh wait, maybe fyng... was right in the first place.
If books don't sell, they are remaindered or destroyed for credit (that's a very odd quirk of the publishing industry, and believe me, it has major effects on the publisher's bottom line.)
If I remember correctly from 35 or so years ago as a comic book-loving kid, this means that the covers or other identifiable parts are returned to the distributor while the cover-less publications are "destroyed". I used to get and read hundreds of comics because my dad knew a store owner.
Arrr, matey, even back then I was an innocent pirate and reading the illegal material warped my mind!
Can I put two dual-core Opterons on that and have it work to my advantage? I'm waiting for 64-bit Windows and more multi-threaded applications before replacing my recently upgraded AMD Athlon SMP machine.
Amen. Several times per week I utter "let's drag out the drafting boards again" due to bad experiences with fairly sophisticated (but popular, in my field) CAD software that you have likely never even heard of. No, it's not AutoCAD, that's pretty straightforward as a digital pencil-type program.
Different story here for cable TV from Videotron.
I've found their phone customer service to be quite good and without long wait times. G4TechTV's (I subscribe only because of Call for Help, yay Leo) reception with digital TV is horrible, though, and I can't figure out why that is the only station that has a sporadically crappy signal.
Videotron also offers a la carte digital programming for a flat rate. You can change channel choices via the web or telephone and the changes happen immediately.
Quebecor claims to be the world's largest commercial printer.
I think I need some time away from the computer; my brain initially interpreted word that as "babbage".
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The facilities I typically work on have the electrical stuff routed on piperacks outside, so confined spaces is usually not a problem.
We tolerate the electrical guys polluting our pristine racks with their trivial wiring nonsense and generally give them their own site sandbox to play in for their transformers and other unimportant thingies.
Don't get me started on the HVAC guys or those damn welders that insist on pointing out mistakes in the drawings...
Doing physical routing drawings for wiring is usually not needed. With large electrical installations in process plants that have major (multiple 24" wide trays) cabling for power and signal from the junction boxes it becomes more important to have physical routing diagrams. Even then, cables are much more flexible than piping, structural steel or major equipment.
Autodesk seems to like screwing around with plotting terminology and features. This frustrates many users. Another thing that can be a major annoyance is the CLI (I use customized keyboard shortcuts by modifying the acad.pgp* file for commands because I can usually avoid having to re-educate myself about the newest, coolest icons/placement of commands in the pull-down menus). Plus, it's just faster to use the keyboard.
Maybe I'm misremembering, but the CLI used to be modify-able under Tools > Options but now it requires a registry hack.
I must be a luddite for not wanting to learn "all the new stuff".
* Which is now more difficult to figure out.
Is the implication here that gays and lesbians (aside: are lesbians not also considered gay?) constitute 20% of the population?
The last figures I remember hearing mentioned 10% and even that figure is undoubtedly inflated for obvious reasons.
Which makes me wonder if a radio shack could set up shop just offshore and offer cheap wireless net access. Just an idea, please don't send a carrier group or two to "check me out".
Every company I know saves back to ACAD 2000 so as to have a stable base. 3D is not the panacea that it is made out to be.
Based on my experience, it's really cool to be able to zoom around (very impressive!) inside a model. However, as an old fart designer that runs these nifty 3D visualization programs I have to say that they actually hinder the design process. Why?
Designers need time to focus and giving everyone and their dog the ability to follow progress results in pointless emails asking why things haven't been finished yet. Of course, all these inquiries come from each project manager, project engineer, project specialist, purchaser and janitor. This interrupts the design workflow and slows everything down before anything is really ready to be presented. In the "old days", drawings were hard to interpret, so everyone would wait until there was some sort of finished product to comment on. Maybe an analogy would be hiring a contractor to build a house for you, but you keep showing up every day asking how the finishing on the oak door trimmings is going while he's still framing.
That made me think of two things:
http://www.freedomship.com/
(a project that is not going anywhere soon, but a cool concept), and
http://www.sealandgov.com/
(sysadmins wanted)
I could see MS buying PaintShop Pro as an excuse to charge more.
Think they'd ever go after AutoCAD?
Lower-end CAD programs are slowly eating into the traditional markets (i.e., people getting fed up with Autodesk's ongoing expensive upgrades that offer less and less "functionality").
Not all architectural/engineering/construction firms can afford to keep up with "productivity-enhancing" software updates especially when what really counts is what you provide to the builder. 3D walk/flythroughs are nice and everything, but much of that is eyecandy designed to impress executives.
This is not to say that 3D CAD doesn't have its place, as a well-rendered, interactive model is quite amazing to see. But, as always, the devil is in the details and the proof is in the pudding (if you assume that the "pudding" equates to lower construction costs and faster construction).
Probably, the 90/10 rule applies (time spent to complete a project) and with process plants or other "real world" installations you can't just ship out a beta and fix it later by responding to user input.
Re-reading this, I seem to have ranted off-topic, sorry.
The term, "Congresscritter" was coined by Rush Limbaugh (unless I'm mistaken). Generally speaking, a "critter" is a small, furry and possibly cute animal. Melding professional politicians with something PETA would approve-of is a bad combination and possibly very un-American.
Just hearing the word gives me the warm fuzzies and makes me want to approve of trillion dollar government expenditures.