Mod parent up!
So, a 1-5 mm piece of debris caused a hole 40cm, i.e. 400mm wide - probably creating hundreds or thousands of pieces of new debris.
Since the satellite is in the crowded low earth orbit (apogee 693km), perhaps the chance of it hitting a piece of its own solar panel in the future is probably now higher than "1:35 and 1:130", though those bits would not be traveling quite as (relatively) fast as the original impact.
Apparently this exponential debris effect is called the Kessler_syndrome
Besides startgazing and awareness, there are many activities including guided walking tours to learn about nocturnal animals (and the effect light has on them).
How about flashing OpenWrt/dd-wrt on the Fon Fonera (http://www.fon.com)?
I have an Asus WL-500G v1 running OpenWrt and an Asus WL-500W still running stock firmware (but purchased with the intent to install OpenWrt, if necessary), but the Fonera seems quite interesting too.
You forgot a 3rd option: these 13,000 people are breaking copyright law (I guess, as long as they publish it in Belgium, though IANAL).
I would think a/.'er would know that it's not because you can find content on the internet, that it is legal...
I've had the same experience, and it was factual information about the language and place where I live, being reverted/"corrected" by someone who obviously didn't know much about Belgium. (To be specific it was that in the north of Belgium, Dutch is the official spoken language).
It happened to me several times, though I must say the reverting stopped once I got in touch with the person doing the editing and explained what I was doing and why - the simple "change log" entry was not enough to achieve that goal.
Seems like an awful lot of effort to do, for very little gain and all this in my free time. Needless to say, I've edited much less since.
I think the problem is that some misconceptions are simply very popular - that and that there are some very misguided wiki-editors with a lot of time on their hands out there.
You know, I think we agree with each other. What I wanted to add was that if the client is aware that it can take 40 hours to finish, it's your gain if you finish it in 4: you're more productive in the end even if the client didn't notice. Of course these kind of improvements are more the exception than the rule - but they are an advantage of taking your time before even *starting* a job (obviously something you don't always control). And by saying "taking your time" I mean working on other things which were already on your to-do list - not working randomly on "every short job that just came in".
Regarding your second point: I fully agree with you and in fact I tend to write down every little job precisely to focus on actual work. I'm still looking for some waterproof jot pad for in the shower:-)
Your last line is bang on, and I think one of the things you learn with experience (i.e. by having wasted too much time on things which were unimportant and not really essential).
I follow you 100%, but I wonder to what extent the same naming/population issues are applicable to other cases like Luxemburg and Kuwait.
If I recall correctly, both countries have a neighbouring province in Belgium/Iraq respectively with the same name, and there must be more examples. I've never heard anyone propose "South Luxembourg" or "South Kuwait" although they may very well be more correct.
> That is, if you have two tasks that are at highest priority and one takes 10 minutes and the other takes 4 > hours, you do the ten minute task first.
I agree, but for a different reason. Because the 10 minute task has a chance to get finished TODAY, and the 4 hour task probably won't (even if it's 9AM).
Another thing I've noticed: some (I said *some*) long-term tasks, when procrastinated carefully, will end up taking less time than you though because you've had the chance to think it over a few times (in between other stuff) and know how best to do it. And if the task was assigned by someone else, there's also a chance they've found a more efficient (faster) way of doing it.
>... people develop these apps is because IT has failed to provide tools or training on tools. This is nonsense. I have seen ("inherited") many apps made by people with more professional experience than myself which were simply not written "for the long haul". Also, IT tools and training have little to do with poorly written applications. Some better communication could help ease the pain though.
> By not providing them with assistance you are preventing innovation and damaging your company. This remark is not very constructive, and I disagree with your conclusion given that IT time is (also) a limited resource.
> Why didn't you "test market" 802.11 to a few departments before they knew they needed it ? > Why don't you try a customer satisfaction survey, then address the complaints with solutions instead of > waiting for homegrown solutions to develop (with attendant support issues) ? These are wonderfully easy questions to answer: management underfunds and understaffs IT in most companies I have heard of, and "marketing new technologies" internally and writing and processing surveys are not things high on any IT TO-DO list, which unfortunately tend to be dominated by more immediate needs. Limited (in scope) surveys can be very useful, though. So while in essence I agree your suggestions may be useful to improve IT service, it's just not all that realistic to expect this kind of behaviour as standard.
> If you are finding rogue wifi and non-IT PCs on your net, it's a clear indication that IT has failed > its customers. I cautiously agree with that statement, although I am sure we disagree as to the cause and perhaps even to the solution.
This is a very interesting idea (although I hope you are exaggerating the costs) but of course it could cut both ways. Replacing a $500 SIMM (do they still put thise in servers??) could very well cost $500 in IT time as well, especially in a production system where downtime needs to be scheduled and additional pre- and post-testing may need to be done. Slightly digressing, in the case of RAM (and as a sysadmin in a 100 person company) I don't often consider it a frivolous investment - hell, it could extend the life of a machine for a year and thus save costs, depending.
In this whole developer-IT thing that this thread is, a bit of respect for each other's job (which includes timely communication both ways) is all that's really needed. And it helps if you work with each other face to face on a regular basis, a situation which I fear most posters are not currently in.
I think the difference with a successful terrorist act on IT infrastructure is that the dead would be an indirect result rather than a direct result of the attack.
I'm pretty sure in any given period of days/weeks/months (because that's how long it would take to fix it) more than a few thousand lives rest in the hands of IT infrastructure working properly.
Seems like a stupid tactic to wait for such an act to happen, as you seem to imply, before doing something to prevent it.
From the "Fact Sheet" on Enwave's site, http://www.enwave.com/enwave/view.asp?/dlwc /fact
Will DLWC warm up Lake Ontario?
* No. Enwave is not extracting from Lake Ontario's water and then directing 'warmer' water back to the lake. The DLWC project has been designed to draw very cold lake water - colder than what the City needs for its water supply - from Lake Ontario. Enwave will extract the extra coldness before the water is sent into the usual water supply system. Water from Lake Ontario is being used for two different purposes: a cooling alternative for Enwave and a drinking water source for Toronto and York citizens.
Of course, what would you expect them to say?
Huh? Targetting Outlook? Not this time...
on
Darl Goes to Harvard
·
· Score: 0, Offtopic
The Internet News article states:
"...the MyDoom.A e-mail virus, which targeted Outlook and Outlook Express users and installed malicious code..."
To the best of my knowledge this is one of the few worms which does NOT specifically target/exploit Outlook/Outlook Express!
This one relies on stupidity ONLY, as far as I know, and a Windows OS.
Incidentally, using Linux wouldn't have stopped the flood of mails this one has generated at my work. But I guess it could protect a moron from running the executable properly.
Yes, it is. Have a look at Mozilla bug id 122445 (http://bugzilla.mozilla.org), that's exactly what this is about.
Various suggestions have been made in the two years (!) since this bug was filed: stop showing the username:password in the address bar, show them in a separate place/colour, show them as a "login" dialogue box, or scrap support for it altogether (and I probably forgot some).
On another note: I was wrong about the "obsoleted by" though, RFC2396 merely "updates" RFC1738.
Instead of actually installing the whole system (as they seem to do) to get out the MD5s, isn't it possible (and easier) to extract the info from the rpm files themselves (Linux-only I guess). I think it would save a lot of work, but of course then you don't have SHA-1.
In fact, for any hardware appliance you buy here in Belgium (a PC, CD-ROM, freezer... *whatever*) you pay a certain amount (35 or so for a freezer) which also guarantees that the store where you purchase your stuff will also take your old junk in, and in theory have it recycled. Our local green party got that legislation through about half a year ago I think.
I've never thrown away a PC so far so it's been a big waste of money. I wonder if the money really goes where it's supposed to go - to cover the recycling costs.
Slashdot Mirror
Mod parent up!
So, a 1-5 mm piece of debris caused a hole 40cm, i.e. 400mm wide - probably creating hundreds or thousands of pieces of new debris. Since the satellite is in the crowded low earth orbit (apogee 693km), perhaps the chance of it hitting a piece of its own solar panel in the future is probably now higher than "1:35 and 1:130", though those bits would not be traveling quite as (relatively) fast as the original impact.
Apparently this exponential debris effect is called the Kessler_syndrome
In Belgium, many towns have been doing this once a year since 2008 or earlier: it's called Nacht van de Duisternis / La Nuit de l'Obscurité.
Besides startgazing and awareness, there are many activities including guided walking tours to learn about nocturnal animals (and the effect light has on them).
http://www.bondbeterleefmilieu.be/nacht/index.php
http://www.nuitdelobscurite.be/
How about flashing OpenWrt/dd-wrt on the Fon Fonera (http://www.fon.com)? I have an Asus WL-500G v1 running OpenWrt and an Asus WL-500W still running stock firmware (but purchased with the intent to install OpenWrt, if necessary), but the Fonera seems quite interesting too.
> let's not blow things way out of proportion
That's very funny coming from a man with a fisheye lens...
You forgot a 3rd option: these 13,000 people are breaking copyright law (I guess, as long as they publish it in Belgium, though IANAL). /.'er would know that it's not because you can find content on the internet, that it is legal...
I would think a
References for that: Google for http://www.google.com/search?q=atomium+sabam (SABAM is the Belgian RIAA)...
(So, mod grandparent up, and parent down...)
I've had the same experience, and it was factual information about the language and place where I live, being reverted/"corrected" by someone who obviously didn't know much about Belgium. (To be specific it was that in the north of Belgium, Dutch is the official spoken language).
It happened to me several times, though I must say the reverting stopped once I got in touch with the person doing the editing and explained what I was doing and why - the simple "change log" entry was not enough to achieve that goal.
Seems like an awful lot of effort to do, for very little gain and all this in my free time. Needless to say, I've edited much less since.
I think the problem is that some misconceptions are simply very popular - that and that there are some very misguided wiki-editors with a lot of time on their hands out there.
> The world needs very very few people that do nothing but make decisions and commentary for a living.
How come everyone would agree with that, and yet everyone has a comment or opinion to share anyway?
Thanks for the history lesson, wish I had some mod points
Wow, sorry for this late update.
:-)
You know, I think we agree with each other. What I wanted to add was that if the client is aware that it can take 40 hours to finish, it's your gain if you finish it in 4: you're more productive in the end even if the client didn't notice. Of course these kind of improvements are more the exception than the rule - but they are an advantage of taking your time before even *starting* a job (obviously something you don't always control). And by saying "taking your time" I mean working on other things which were already on your to-do list - not working randomly on "every short job that just came in".
Regarding your second point: I fully agree with you and in fact I tend to write down every little job precisely to focus on actual work. I'm still looking for some waterproof jot pad for in the shower
Your last line is bang on, and I think one of the things you learn with experience (i.e. by having wasted too much time on things which were unimportant and not really essential).
I follow you 100%, but I wonder to what extent the same naming/population issues are applicable to other cases like Luxemburg and Kuwait.
If I recall correctly, both countries have a neighbouring province in Belgium/Iraq respectively with the same name, and there must be more examples. I've never heard anyone propose "South Luxembourg" or "South Kuwait" although they may very well be more correct.
> That is, if you have two tasks that are at highest priority and one takes 10 minutes and the other takes 4
> hours, you do the ten minute task first.
I agree, but for a different reason. Because the 10 minute task has a chance to get finished TODAY, and the 4 hour task probably won't (even if it's 9AM).
Another thing I've noticed: some (I said *some*) long-term tasks, when procrastinated carefully, will end up taking less time than you though because you've had the chance to think it over a few times (in between other stuff) and know how best to do it. And if the task was assigned by someone else, there's also a chance they've found a more efficient (faster) way of doing it.
As someone in IT, I felt the urge to respond:
... people develop these apps is because IT has failed to provide tools or training on tools.
>
This is nonsense. I have seen ("inherited") many apps made by people with more professional experience than myself which were simply not written "for the long haul". Also, IT tools and training have little to do with poorly written applications. Some better communication could help ease the pain though.
> By not providing them with assistance you are preventing innovation and damaging your company.
This remark is not very constructive, and I disagree with your conclusion given that IT time is (also) a limited resource.
> Why didn't you "test market" 802.11 to a few departments before they knew they needed it ?
> Why don't you try a customer satisfaction survey, then address the complaints with solutions instead of
> waiting for homegrown solutions to develop (with attendant support issues) ?
These are wonderfully easy questions to answer: management underfunds and understaffs IT in most companies I have heard of, and "marketing new technologies" internally and writing and processing surveys are not things high on any IT TO-DO list, which unfortunately tend to be dominated by more immediate needs.
Limited (in scope) surveys can be very useful, though. So while in essence I agree your suggestions may be useful to improve IT service, it's just not all that realistic to expect this kind of behaviour as standard.
> If you are finding rogue wifi and non-IT PCs on your net, it's a clear indication that IT has failed
> its customers.
I cautiously agree with that statement, although I am sure we disagree as to the cause and perhaps even to the solution.
Cheers,
- G
This is a very interesting idea (although I hope you are exaggerating the costs) but of course it could cut both ways. Replacing a $500 SIMM (do they still put thise in servers??) could very well cost $500 in IT time as well, especially in a production system where downtime needs to be scheduled and additional pre- and post-testing may need to be done. Slightly digressing, in the case of RAM (and as a sysadmin in a 100 person company) I don't often consider it a frivolous investment - hell, it could extend the life of a machine for a year and thus save costs, depending.
In this whole developer-IT thing that this thread is, a bit of respect for each other's job (which includes timely communication both ways) is all that's really needed. And it helps if you work with each other face to face on a regular basis, a situation which I fear most posters are not currently in.
*Only* 3-4 ?? I would expect something like 30-40, honestly.
You got fired and updated the time span of your last job?
You got promoted and filled in a new job title?
You added "can come in and pick up the hardware and the code" to your resume?
You added "huge bonuses and stock options" to your ambitions/long term career goals??
Please, enlighten us!
I think the difference with a successful terrorist act on IT infrastructure is that the dead would be an indirect result rather than a direct result of the attack.
I'm pretty sure in any given period of days/weeks/months (because that's how long it would take to fix it) more than a few thousand lives rest in the hands of IT infrastructure working properly.
Seems like a stupid tactic to wait for such an act to happen, as you seem to imply, before doing something to prevent it.
From the "Fact Sheet" on Enwave's site,c /fact
http://www.enwave.com/enwave/view.asp?/dlw
Will DLWC warm up Lake Ontario?
* No. Enwave is not extracting from Lake Ontario's water and then directing 'warmer' water back to the lake. The DLWC project has been designed to draw very cold lake water - colder than what the City needs for its water supply - from Lake Ontario. Enwave will extract the extra coldness before the water is sent into the usual water supply system. Water from Lake Ontario is being used for two different purposes: a cooling alternative for Enwave and a drinking water source for Toronto and York citizens.
Of course, what would you expect them to say?
The Internet News article states:
"...the MyDoom.A e-mail virus, which targeted Outlook and Outlook Express users and installed malicious code..."
To the best of my knowledge this is one of the few worms which does NOT specifically target/exploit Outlook/Outlook Express!
This one relies on stupidity ONLY, as far as I know, and a Windows OS.
Incidentally, using Linux wouldn't have stopped the flood of mails this one has generated at my work. But I guess it could protect a moron from running the executable properly.
Sorry for being a nitpicker.
Yes, it is. Have a look at Mozilla bug id 122445 (http://bugzilla.mozilla.org), that's exactly what this is about.
Various suggestions have been made in the two years (!) since this bug was filed: stop showing the username:password in the address bar, show them in a separate place/colour, show them as a "login" dialogue box, or scrap support for it altogether (and I probably forgot some).
On another note: I was wrong about the "obsoleted by" though, RFC2396 merely "updates" RFC1738.
Which would be correct, except that RFC1738 is obsoleted by RFC2396, which does allow for user names.
(There's an interesting "discussion" over on Mozilla's bug id 122445 - regarding this, too)
Instead of actually installing the whole system (as they seem to do) to get out the MD5s, isn't it possible (and easier) to extract the info from the rpm files themselves (Linux-only I guess). I think it would save a lot of work, but of course then you don't have SHA-1.
/etc/init.d/xfstt 1488 1017085236 401aebc9f862938cc232003baefb4244 0100755 root root 1 0 0 X
/usr/X11R6/bin/xfstt 129380 1017085236 ce4f7d284c0026fc0c712847ab0d7cb2 0100755 root root 0 0 0 X
...
# rpm -qp --dump xfstt-1.1-414.i386.rpm
you get the idea.
Perhaps the time spared could be used to put the distro's update RPMs in there as well, otherwise large bits of my system will appear compromised.
In fact, for any hardware appliance you buy here in Belgium (a PC, CD-ROM, freezer... *whatever*) you pay a certain amount (35 or so for a freezer) which also guarantees that the store where you purchase your stuff will also take your old junk in, and in theory have it recycled. Our local green party got that legislation through about half a year ago I think. I've never thrown away a PC so far so it's been a big waste of money. I wonder if the money really goes where it's supposed to go - to cover the recycling costs.