First, thank you for your time and reasonable responses, Zero_Kelvin. I appreciate your candor and insights.
"Her work was in theoretical mathematics, on a thesis for which (as she explained to me) this adviser was her only option, at her school. If the work was generic or potentially transferable research, it might make sense that she should be able to simply find another adviser."
Or another school
I noted the "at her school" for this reason. Yes, finding another school was technically an option. However, the difference between "technically" and "practically" is significant. I was never a graduate student, but I know enough about the process to understand that [Boromir] one does not simply pick up and find another school [/Boromir]. The degree of harassment was relevant--it was not a black-and-white matter of violent, physical abuse. This was a real world situation, with all the fuzziness, complexity, and difficult decision-making that goes along with that. It was undoubtedly* harassment, but obviously it was not intolerable for her. I'm sure it crept into their interpersonal dynamic in an insidious fashion, over time, like a slow boil. This is part of the reason that sexual harassment is such a problem, for both the accused and the accusers.
* Undoubtedly to me, based on my familiarity with her as a friend, and on how her story was revealed in bits and pieces, over months/years of our casual conversations. Of course, it would be impractical and difficult to convey this in words, online. My trust in my friend's honesty would never get imparted to a stranger, just as it would be very hard for me to put myself in someone else's shoes in a similar manner.
"Couldn't the university claim that the adviser's offense is not the university's offense?"
No
IANAL, though I suspect you're probably correct. The question was rhetorical, intended to illustrate some of the uncertainty we faced. It's easy to simply say "No", but that is not the same as seeking answers from a qualified lawyer or legal advocate. That takes time and energy. For a graduate student who is already lacking both, being further drained by such a negative dynamic, I think it's understandable for them to avoid the stress as much as possible. We may be the kind of proactive people who focus on this kind of problem until it gets solved, but I know others (including my two math friends) sometimes opt to avoid the stress of dealing with confrontation or emotional situations.
" Covert recordings are usually illegal/inadmissable as evidence without a warrant
Sexual harassment is illegal where I am from. I don't know about where you live. If it is indeed illegal there she should talk to a lawyer, who can involve the police and secure a warrant for the recording.
Seeking a warrant to gather evidence is a good idea, if that's actually an option. We didn't think of that, probably because of our unfamiliarity with legal process, and because of the time/energy that would take. However, this is part of why I posted about this, so that others facing a similar situation might have the benefit of such suggestions. Thanks!
I agree that I wish my friends had been endowed with the personality traits and logistical means to champion their own causes. But they weren't, and I can't blame them for that. Not everyone has the character, energy, time, or desire to be an activist. As their friend, there wasn't much I could do for them, other than to offer my support. If I tried taking matters into my own hands, I would have likely been ineffective (since I'm not even a student there), and I could have inadvertently caused major problems for them. It wasn't my decision to make for them.
Taking the time to tell this story is part of my way of trying to bring it to light, in a public forum. Perhaps someone can suggest some specific, helpful ways this type of problem could be addressed in the future, so that others can do something about it, if they find themselves in a similar situation. My friends and I gave this considerable thought, and we didn't think or or find anything that would let them handle the situation without potentially causing major problems for them.
Her work was in theoretical mathematics, on a thesis for which (as she explained to me) this adviser was her only option, at her school. If the work was generic or potentially transferable research, it might make sense that she should be able to simply find another adviser. It's something both of my friends would have certainly done, if that were an option. I think once one gets to that level of material, though, specialization is the rule, and one typically selects an adviser based (in part) on their specialization. You're kind of locked in, then, and become more so with time.
I'm not sure your statement "no university would try to collect on tuition from a student [who] could prove they were being sexually harassed" is viable. Couldn't the university claim that the adviser's offense is not the university's offense? Also, "proving" sexual harassment is easier said than done. Covert recordings are usually illegal/inadmissable as evidence, and overt recording would simply result in the adviser censoring themselves, or not allowing the recording. Even assuming one could obtain legal, indisputable evidence...would you want to put your academic and professional career on pause, in order to take it to court? I know I probably would, but just because I would doesn't mean others would.
What surprises me here is all the vitriol and hostility being directed against my account of my friend's difficult situation. I don't get the point of it. Why would she make this stuff up, and why would I? Rhetorical questions, of course...I'm fully aware of what Internet anonymity does to discourse.
I commented about this lower in the thread. Basically, recording covertly isn't really an option (legally), and recording openly would have likely been too confrontational for her and/or too easy for him to raise a fuss about. While undoubtedly an asshole, the adviser is a theoretical mathematician. Literally a smart, calculating villain.
I thought of this too, which led me to consider/suggest the more reasonable, less dramatic approach of simply doing it the opposite way: give her a voice recorder to use in plain sight, for its traditional purpose of recording notes for later review. The intention was to get him (the adviser) to stop his bad behavior, not to get him in trouble. Once he knew things were being recorded, he would be smart enough to discontinue the unprofessionalism. But realistically, this probably wouldn't work, and she knew it. He'd simply refuse to let her use it in his office or something, and then she'd have to deal with the fallout from the resulting situation.
Agreed--it seems like there are obvious ways this could be fixed. Whenever I've discussed these issues with my graduate school friends, though, they seem to clearly understand and explain why these issues won't get fixed. Complicated situations involving politics, grants/funding, tenure, etc.
My friend is lesbian. Apparently, her faculty adviser found this fascinating. During their regular meetings, instead of keeping to the purpose of their meetings (ie. her research), he would do things like ask whether she found particular women attractive or not. He also repeatedly commented that she would be more attractive it she wore more feminine clothing, or wore her hair differently (ie. past her shoulders). According to her, these kinds of inappropriate digressions happened regularly. She not only felt objectified and creeped out by his behavior, but the digressions took substantial time away from making progress with her research. Sometimes, she could not proceed further in her work without his input, and he would spend their whole meeting on stuff like that. Keep in mind, she's a student, racking up loans while getting her degree, so these kinds of frequent delays were costing her money as well as time, aside from the whole issue of harassment.
I don't know why she would make this stuff up. She's not an attention seeker, and obviously doesn't intend to seek retribution or punishment against the guy. She's quiet, introverted, and non-confrontational.
Furthermore, I have a male friend who had the same faculty adviser. The adviser was a total asshole to him. He regularly implied or directly called my male friend an idiot. Again, my male friend is quiet, introverted, and non-confrontational, so he got walked on. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made if he weren't, though, due to the power dynamic. I attended his defense, and actually met the adviser. There were five professors at his defense, including his adviser. Among these, only his adviser interrupted his defense to criticize his presentation. Frequently, and usually for something completely trivial. Several times, he insisted that my friend change the phrasing of a statement, to the point where he would literally tell him exactly what to say, then have him repeat it out loud, word for word. It was embarrassingly obvious to everyone in the room that this adviser just loved the power, and loved to exercise it in ways that would trivialize or demean others. It was absurd to watch, even if it weren't my friend taking the brunt of the abuse.
I offered to pay for a recording device for my friend, who was regularly sexually harassed by her faculty adviser. She decided against it, mainly because she felt trapped in her situation. Getting another adviser (either by seeking one or reporting the abuse of hers) would mean abandoning years of work (and racking up more debt), which could not simply be resumed with another adviser.
Two of my friends were trapped with a faculty adviser who was incredibly abusive (verbally) toward one, and regularly sexually harassed the other. On a daily basis, for years. They tolerated his abuse for so long because they felt they had no choice. Getting a different adviser would mean abandoning their work (in theoretical mathematics), setting them back a ton of money (in academic loans) and years of work/research. Reporting the adviser's abuse would result in the same penalties for them.
It was a messed up power dynamic of which their adviser was likely fully aware and certainly took full advantage. Even after obtaining their PhD's, my friends can't do much about it. They still need the adviser's support as a reference, for getting published, and they just want to put it all behind them.
Loved Snow Crash, liked Crypto and Reamde, but the Baroque Cycle was a bit too dense for me, and I bought Anathema without ever opening it. I hadn't planned on getting into Seveneves unless the reviews were glowing, but the first 26 pages were a quick and compelling tease, enough to sell me. I'll get this on Audible, too. Smart move, making the first hit free, Neal!
(No, I'm not being serious. The topic just reminded me of when I once jokingly justified a poorly estimated ETA on a "simple" development project by referencing the above paper.)
Forcing breeders out of the city and making it inconvenient to buy pets locally will also encourage people to consider the reasons that is being done. I am not familiar with any other significantly effective way at educating the masses about the pros and cons of shelters vs. breeders. It's not a black and white issue. Many shelter animals are not problem-free, and many pet owners and breeders are responsible pet caregivers. Without actually working in an animal shelter and personally euthanizing scores of otherwise-adoptable animals, I don't know how the "average" person could be convinced that shelter animals are often just as loving and healthy (if not healthier) than animals bred for purchase.
Some figures from my local Sam Goody: - Typical Blu-ray title: $30 (limited selection, new releases often even more expensive) - Used or marked down Blu-ray: $16 to $24 (very limited selection) - Typical used DVD (very broad selection): $8-$12 (some as low as $4 to $6)
For the same price as a single Blu-ray, I can walk home with three (or four, with their 4 for price of 3 special) DVD's. Given that I generally only want to buy "good" movies, and most "good" movies are just as good on regular DVD, it's a no-brainer why I keep buying DVD's, even though I own a new PS3. The limited selection of Blu-ray vs. DVD only swings me further toward DVD.
With Blu-Ray on the scene, I can buy regular DVD movies at Sam Goody (often used) at greatly reduced prices. And it's going to be a *long* time before Blu-Ray has the market penetration to replace DVD's entirely (if ever). For 95% of the movies I watch, I don't care whether it's in HD or not, the content transcends the resolution. For the regular standard-definition DVD consumer, Blu-Ray is the best thing that could have happened. You don't have to own a Blu-Ray player to love what it's done for the cost of owning movies!
PS - Have you seen how nice regular DVDs look when upscaled on a PS3? I'll look forward to that, if I ever choose to get myself one...
Before my Buffalo routers, I had several different (three or four) BEFSR41/BEFSR81 model Linksys routers. I always had problems with the Linksys ones. BEFSR81 v3 wouldn't let me play Counterstrike, for example, due to a known incompatibility with Steam. Users complained on DSLReports.com for months with no fix, I don't know if they ever fixed it. I had a BEFSR41 with a gimpy power connection, so I had to duct-tape the power cord to the router such that it would put strain on the power connector, letting it remain powered on. Most of my Linksys routers would not let me run two VPN connections simultaneously, which is a common issue with routers (due to NAT issues). If I connected a second VPN session with one already active, the first one almost always got disconnected. I had one Linksys router that seemed to let me run two sessions simultaneously most of the time. All of my Linksys routers ran warm (hot if you stacked them), each of them usually sucking at least 20-25 watts while idling.
My Buffalo routers running DD-WRT are exactly what I always wanted...they are very reliable. I've never had any problem running dual VPN sessions with them, and they only use 3 to 5 watts of power. It was hard for me to give up on Linksys after being loyal to them for so many years, but I don't regret switching to Buffalo/DD-WRT one bit. If anything, I regret not switching sooner.
I'm running DD-WRT 23v2 on two Buffalo WHR-HP-54G routers, and I never have to reset them. However, I did have to update their configuration from the default settings in order to make them reliably stable. With the default settings, I would have to reset them occasionally. I changed the "maximum ports" from the default of 512 to 4096, and changed TCP and UDP timeouts from the default of 3600 seconds to 120 seconds. The reason for this (as stated in the DD-WRT help documentation) is that P2P apps often open many ports without closing them properly. These settings allow the router to handle that kind of usage much better.
I agree with your call for election reform, but disagree with prioritizing Ron Paul after McCain, Obama, and Nader. If we'd had IRV in place for the primaries, it would have been interesting to see how Mr. Paul would have done.
I'm glad I'll be able to say "I was there, and I tried to stop it" when the grandkids ask if I remembered when America started down the path of forming a surveillance society.
Educating the public about the concerns of poorly implemented e-voting is good. Publicizing inaccurate, blanket statements about e-voting (as Avi Rubin does) is BAD. It gives powerful ammunition to parties (GOP and DNC) who see e-voting as a threat, since their success relies on gaming our flawed, draconian plurality voting system.
Avi Rubin has hurt this country considerably by effectively lobbying against some really good e-voting solutions that could revolutionize our democracy. His generalized and often inaccurate statements (and those of his colleagues at other respected institutions) about e-voting have sidelined startups providing some great solutions. I'm not talking about monstrosities like the Diebold black-box machines (which are still in use, despite Mr. Rubin's statements), I'm talking about proven successful, OPEN-SOURCE solutions like http://everyonecounts.com/. These startups have to fight tooth and nail to gain acceptance with the public and government, as long as Mr. Rubin and his ilk are spreading their e-voting fearmongering campaign.
Did I mention that Mr. Rubin and his counterparts from other respected institutions have been awared millions of dollars of goverment grants to continue their campaign against e-voting, under the guise of academic research? Gee, one might almost think the government has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo in our electoral system.
Putting the value of the equipment aside, I would say that having an officer remain on site for a few hours in order to bring a thief (grand theft, remember, not just petty theft) to justice would be worth the use of his time (barring another priority or emergency situation that required the county's full resources).
That said, I suppose if you replace "irrigation controller" with "laptop", it does sound unlikely that police would try too hard to catch the culprits. Still, if it were my laptop, and I knew who had it, I'd be pretty upset with them if their clumsy investigative work tipped off the thief, and then they sat on their hands long enough for the thief to cover their tracks.
Got my 1.5 TB ReadyNAS NV+ for ~$900
on
What NAS To Buy?
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
I did a ton of research on consumer NAS devices about six months ago, and eventually settled on the ReadyNAS NV+. The Qnap TS-409 and other similar devices were very tempting due to their extra features and lower cost, but their user communities seemed much smaller than Infrant's, and also seemed to report more problems with their devices. I didn't want to mess with "public beta" storage hardware, so I got a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ RND4250 from eAegis.com for $975, before shipping. eAegis.com had a promotion going on where they included a third 500 GB drive for free. All drives were new Seagate Barracuda ES drives, which are excellent drives. One arrived bad, (it was painfully slow, and I saw lots of SMART read/write errors in the ReadyNAS drive health report), and their great customer support helped me find the Netgear number I needed to call to get it replaced quickly.
At the time I purchased it, Netgear was also running a promotion for a free Sony DV camcorder in return for the original UPC, which I redeemed, selling the camcorder on Craigslist for $150. In all, with the camcorder sale, it cost me a bit under $900 for my 1.5 TB ReadyNAS NV+. I've been extremely pleased with it for the past six months, I set it up with a RAID-1 array that performs scheduled incremental backups to the third disk each day, and monthly full backups. I chose RAID-1 so that if my ReadyNAS hardware fails, I can still mount the drives in my PC and get my data off them.
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First, thank you for your time and reasonable responses, Zero_Kelvin. I appreciate your candor and insights.
Or another school
I noted the "at her school" for this reason. Yes, finding another school was technically an option. However, the difference between "technically" and "practically" is significant. I was never a graduate student, but I know enough about the process to understand that [Boromir] one does not simply pick up and find another school [/Boromir]. The degree of harassment was relevant--it was not a black-and-white matter of violent, physical abuse. This was a real world situation, with all the fuzziness, complexity, and difficult decision-making that goes along with that. It was undoubtedly* harassment, but obviously it was not intolerable for her. I'm sure it crept into their interpersonal dynamic in an insidious fashion, over time, like a slow boil. This is part of the reason that sexual harassment is such a problem, for both the accused and the accusers.
* Undoubtedly to me, based on my familiarity with her as a friend, and on how her story was revealed in bits and pieces, over months/years of our casual conversations. Of course, it would be impractical and difficult to convey this in words, online. My trust in my friend's honesty would never get imparted to a stranger, just as it would be very hard for me to put myself in someone else's shoes in a similar manner.
"Couldn't the university claim that the adviser's offense is not the university's offense?"
No
IANAL, though I suspect you're probably correct. The question was rhetorical, intended to illustrate some of the uncertainty we faced. It's easy to simply say "No", but that is not the same as seeking answers from a qualified lawyer or legal advocate. That takes time and energy. For a graduate student who is already lacking both, being further drained by such a negative dynamic, I think it's understandable for them to avoid the stress as much as possible. We may be the kind of proactive people who focus on this kind of problem until it gets solved, but I know others (including my two math friends) sometimes opt to avoid the stress of dealing with confrontation or emotional situations.
" Covert recordings are usually illegal/inadmissable as evidence without a warrant
Sexual harassment is illegal where I am from. I don't know about where you live. If it is indeed illegal there she should talk to a lawyer, who can involve the police and secure a warrant for the recording.
Seeking a warrant to gather evidence is a good idea, if that's actually an option. We didn't think of that, probably because of our unfamiliarity with legal process, and because of the time/energy that would take. However, this is part of why I posted about this, so that others facing a similar situation might have the benefit of such suggestions. Thanks!
I agree that I wish my friends had been endowed with the personality traits and logistical means to champion their own causes. But they weren't, and I can't blame them for that. Not everyone has the character, energy, time, or desire to be an activist. As their friend, there wasn't much I could do for them, other than to offer my support. If I tried taking matters into my own hands, I would have likely been ineffective (since I'm not even a student there), and I could have inadvertently caused major problems for them. It wasn't my decision to make for them.
Taking the time to tell this story is part of my way of trying to bring it to light, in a public forum. Perhaps someone can suggest some specific, helpful ways this type of problem could be addressed in the future, so that others can do something about it, if they find themselves in a similar situation. My friends and I gave this considerable thought, and we didn't think or or find anything that would let them handle the situation without potentially causing major problems for them.
Her work was in theoretical mathematics, on a thesis for which (as she explained to me) this adviser was her only option, at her school. If the work was generic or potentially transferable research, it might make sense that she should be able to simply find another adviser. It's something both of my friends would have certainly done, if that were an option. I think once one gets to that level of material, though, specialization is the rule, and one typically selects an adviser based (in part) on their specialization. You're kind of locked in, then, and become more so with time.
I'm not sure your statement "no university would try to collect on tuition from a student [who] could prove they were being sexually harassed" is viable. Couldn't the university claim that the adviser's offense is not the university's offense? Also, "proving" sexual harassment is easier said than done. Covert recordings are usually illegal/inadmissable as evidence, and overt recording would simply result in the adviser censoring themselves, or not allowing the recording. Even assuming one could obtain legal, indisputable evidence...would you want to put your academic and professional career on pause, in order to take it to court? I know I probably would, but just because I would doesn't mean others would.
What surprises me here is all the vitriol and hostility being directed against my account of my friend's difficult situation. I don't get the point of it. Why would she make this stuff up, and why would I? Rhetorical questions, of course...I'm fully aware of what Internet anonymity does to discourse.
I commented about this lower in the thread. Basically, recording covertly isn't really an option (legally), and recording openly would have likely been too confrontational for her and/or too easy for him to raise a fuss about. While undoubtedly an asshole, the adviser is a theoretical mathematician. Literally a smart, calculating villain.
I thought of this too, which led me to consider/suggest the more reasonable, less dramatic approach of simply doing it the opposite way: give her a voice recorder to use in plain sight, for its traditional purpose of recording notes for later review. The intention was to get him (the adviser) to stop his bad behavior, not to get him in trouble. Once he knew things were being recorded, he would be smart enough to discontinue the unprofessionalism. But realistically, this probably wouldn't work, and she knew it. He'd simply refuse to let her use it in his office or something, and then she'd have to deal with the fallout from the resulting situation.
Agreed--it seems like there are obvious ways this could be fixed. Whenever I've discussed these issues with my graduate school friends, though, they seem to clearly understand and explain why these issues won't get fixed. Complicated situations involving politics, grants/funding, tenure, etc.
My friend is lesbian. Apparently, her faculty adviser found this fascinating. During their regular meetings, instead of keeping to the purpose of their meetings (ie. her research), he would do things like ask whether she found particular women attractive or not. He also repeatedly commented that she would be more attractive it she wore more feminine clothing, or wore her hair differently (ie. past her shoulders). According to her, these kinds of inappropriate digressions happened regularly. She not only felt objectified and creeped out by his behavior, but the digressions took substantial time away from making progress with her research. Sometimes, she could not proceed further in her work without his input, and he would spend their whole meeting on stuff like that. Keep in mind, she's a student, racking up loans while getting her degree, so these kinds of frequent delays were costing her money as well as time, aside from the whole issue of harassment.
I don't know why she would make this stuff up. She's not an attention seeker, and obviously doesn't intend to seek retribution or punishment against the guy. She's quiet, introverted, and non-confrontational.
Furthermore, I have a male friend who had the same faculty adviser. The adviser was a total asshole to him. He regularly implied or directly called my male friend an idiot. Again, my male friend is quiet, introverted, and non-confrontational, so he got walked on. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made if he weren't, though, due to the power dynamic. I attended his defense, and actually met the adviser. There were five professors at his defense, including his adviser. Among these, only his adviser interrupted his defense to criticize his presentation. Frequently, and usually for something completely trivial. Several times, he insisted that my friend change the phrasing of a statement, to the point where he would literally tell him exactly what to say, then have him repeat it out loud, word for word. It was embarrassingly obvious to everyone in the room that this adviser just loved the power, and loved to exercise it in ways that would trivialize or demean others. It was absurd to watch, even if it weren't my friend taking the brunt of the abuse.
I offered to pay for a recording device for my friend, who was regularly sexually harassed by her faculty adviser. She decided against it, mainly because she felt trapped in her situation. Getting another adviser (either by seeking one or reporting the abuse of hers) would mean abandoning years of work (and racking up more debt), which could not simply be resumed with another adviser.
Two of my friends were trapped with a faculty adviser who was incredibly abusive (verbally) toward one, and regularly sexually harassed the other. On a daily basis, for years. They tolerated his abuse for so long because they felt they had no choice. Getting a different adviser would mean abandoning their work (in theoretical mathematics), setting them back a ton of money (in academic loans) and years of work/research. Reporting the adviser's abuse would result in the same penalties for them.
It was a messed up power dynamic of which their adviser was likely fully aware and certainly took full advantage. Even after obtaining their PhD's, my friends can't do much about it. They still need the adviser's support as a reference, for getting published, and they just want to put it all behind them.
Loved Snow Crash, liked Crypto and Reamde, but the Baroque Cycle was a bit too dense for me, and I bought Anathema without ever opening it. I hadn't planned on getting into Seveneves unless the reviews were glowing, but the first 26 pages were a quick and compelling tease, enough to sell me. I'll get this on Audible, too. Smart move, making the first hit free, Neal!
See http://scribblethink.org/Work/kcsest.pdf and http://scribblethink.org/Work/Softestim/softestim.html
(No, I'm not being serious. The topic just reminded me of when I once jokingly justified a poorly estimated ETA on a "simple" development project by referencing the above paper.)
Forcing breeders out of the city and making it inconvenient to buy pets locally will also encourage people to consider the reasons that is being done. I am not familiar with any other significantly effective way at educating the masses about the pros and cons of shelters vs. breeders. It's not a black and white issue. Many shelter animals are not problem-free, and many pet owners and breeders are responsible pet caregivers. Without actually working in an animal shelter and personally euthanizing scores of otherwise-adoptable animals, I don't know how the "average" person could be convinced that shelter animals are often just as loving and healthy (if not healthier) than animals bred for purchase.
aka. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome
How is this news, I thought that was the whole point of g-strings.
Some figures from my local Sam Goody:
- Typical Blu-ray title: $30 (limited selection, new releases often even more expensive)
- Used or marked down Blu-ray: $16 to $24 (very limited selection)
- Typical used DVD (very broad selection): $8-$12 (some as low as $4 to $6)
For the same price as a single Blu-ray, I can walk home with three (or four, with their 4 for price of 3 special) DVD's. Given that I generally only want to buy "good" movies, and most "good" movies are just as good on regular DVD, it's a no-brainer why I keep buying DVD's, even though I own a new PS3. The limited selection of Blu-ray vs. DVD only swings me further toward DVD.
With Blu-Ray on the scene, I can buy regular DVD movies at Sam Goody (often used) at greatly reduced prices. And it's going to be a *long* time before Blu-Ray has the market penetration to replace DVD's entirely (if ever). For 95% of the movies I watch, I don't care whether it's in HD or not, the content transcends the resolution. For the regular standard-definition DVD consumer, Blu-Ray is the best thing that could have happened. You don't have to own a Blu-Ray player to love what it's done for the cost of owning movies!
PS - Have you seen how nice regular DVDs look when upscaled on a PS3? I'll look forward to that, if I ever choose to get myself one...
Before my Buffalo routers, I had several different (three or four) BEFSR41/BEFSR81 model Linksys routers. I always had problems with the Linksys ones. BEFSR81 v3 wouldn't let me play Counterstrike, for example, due to a known incompatibility with Steam. Users complained on DSLReports.com for months with no fix, I don't know if they ever fixed it. I had a BEFSR41 with a gimpy power connection, so I had to duct-tape the power cord to the router such that it would put strain on the power connector, letting it remain powered on. Most of my Linksys routers would not let me run two VPN connections simultaneously, which is a common issue with routers (due to NAT issues). If I connected a second VPN session with one already active, the first one almost always got disconnected. I had one Linksys router that seemed to let me run two sessions simultaneously most of the time. All of my Linksys routers ran warm (hot if you stacked them), each of them usually sucking at least 20-25 watts while idling.
My Buffalo routers running DD-WRT are exactly what I always wanted...they are very reliable. I've never had any problem running dual VPN sessions with them, and they only use 3 to 5 watts of power. It was hard for me to give up on Linksys after being loyal to them for so many years, but I don't regret switching to Buffalo/DD-WRT one bit. If anything, I regret not switching sooner.
I'm running DD-WRT 23v2 on two Buffalo WHR-HP-54G routers, and I never have to reset them. However, I did have to update their configuration from the default settings in order to make them reliably stable. With the default settings, I would have to reset them occasionally. I changed the "maximum ports" from the default of 512 to 4096, and changed TCP and UDP timeouts from the default of 3600 seconds to 120 seconds. The reason for this (as stated in the DD-WRT help documentation) is that P2P apps often open many ports without closing them properly. These settings allow the router to handle that kind of usage much better.
If only my memory weren't so volatile, I'd remember to buy HP stock as soon as I hear that memristor memory will perform as well as current DDR-RAM.
I agree with your call for election reform, but disagree with prioritizing Ron Paul after McCain, Obama, and Nader. If we'd had IRV in place for the primaries, it would have been interesting to see how Mr. Paul would have done.
Signed. We have more to be afraid of from our own government now, than we do from the "hordes of terrorists" abroad.
I'm glad I'll be able to say "I was there, and I tried to stop it" when the grandkids ask if I remembered when America started down the path of forming a surveillance society.
Educating the public about the concerns of poorly implemented e-voting is good. Publicizing inaccurate, blanket statements about e-voting (as Avi Rubin does) is BAD. It gives powerful ammunition to parties (GOP and DNC) who see e-voting as a threat, since their success relies on gaming our flawed, draconian plurality voting system.
Avi Rubin has hurt this country considerably by effectively lobbying against some really good e-voting solutions that could revolutionize our democracy. His generalized and often inaccurate statements (and those of his colleagues at other respected institutions) about e-voting have sidelined startups providing some great solutions. I'm not talking about monstrosities like the Diebold black-box machines (which are still in use, despite Mr. Rubin's statements), I'm talking about proven successful, OPEN-SOURCE solutions like http://everyonecounts.com/. These startups have to fight tooth and nail to gain acceptance with the public and government, as long as Mr. Rubin and his ilk are spreading their e-voting fearmongering campaign.
Did I mention that Mr. Rubin and his counterparts from other respected institutions have been awared millions of dollars of goverment grants to continue their campaign against e-voting, under the guise of academic research? Gee, one might almost think the government has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo in our electoral system.
Putting the value of the equipment aside, I would say that having an officer remain on site for a few hours in order to bring a thief (grand theft, remember, not just petty theft) to justice would be worth the use of his time (barring another priority or emergency situation that required the county's full resources).
That said, I suppose if you replace "irrigation controller" with "laptop", it does sound unlikely that police would try too hard to catch the culprits. Still, if it were my laptop, and I knew who had it, I'd be pretty upset with them if their clumsy investigative work tipped off the thief, and then they sat on their hands long enough for the thief to cover their tracks.
I did a ton of research on consumer NAS devices about six months ago, and eventually settled on the ReadyNAS NV+. The Qnap TS-409 and other similar devices were very tempting due to their extra features and lower cost, but their user communities seemed much smaller than Infrant's, and also seemed to report more problems with their devices. I didn't want to mess with "public beta" storage hardware, so I got a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ RND4250 from eAegis.com for $975, before shipping. eAegis.com had a promotion going on where they included a third 500 GB drive for free. All drives were new Seagate Barracuda ES drives, which are excellent drives. One arrived bad, (it was painfully slow, and I saw lots of SMART read/write errors in the ReadyNAS drive health report), and their great customer support helped me find the Netgear number I needed to call to get it replaced quickly.
At the time I purchased it, Netgear was also running a promotion for a free Sony DV camcorder in return for the original UPC, which I redeemed, selling the camcorder on Craigslist for $150. In all, with the camcorder sale, it cost me a bit under $900 for my 1.5 TB ReadyNAS NV+. I've been extremely pleased with it for the past six months, I set it up with a RAID-1 array that performs scheduled incremental backups to the third disk each day, and monthly full backups. I chose RAID-1 so that if my ReadyNAS hardware fails, I can still mount the drives in my PC and get my data off them.