When I was layed off from a tech job about 12 years ago, I didn't have a non-compete but the company insisted on keeping my cell phone number even though I had no involvement in sales. All the company did on the cell was to pay a part of the bill.
It was an annoyance but i di I not feel it was worth it to fight. Sent a note to most of my contacts with the new number and went on my way. Was my old company being a pain, YES, but I have done so much better after that 4 years. They actually did me a favor while losing some contracts in the process. I didn't actively try to keep my contacts, they simply found me at my new gig. Seems a bit of poetic justice.
In a time several careers ago, I worked at a radio station and had the "pleasure" of being there during the week that we maintained detailed logs (by hand, I said it was a long time ago) for ASCAP/BMI payment. It is just as the OP said, the sample was somewhat random and many cuts didn't make it on the log at all (we averaged 10-12 songs per hour). It would be the same for the RIAA if their wishes are granted.
The RIAA seems to think that they can get $$ from radio stations with no other impact. If they were talking about 1% or so of gross renevues, there would be objections but probably their money would come in. At 10% or more of gross, many stations would convert to other formats (more talk radio anyone?) to survive. And there is the rub, less stations with music, less $$ to the RIAA than they think they will get and much less promotion of artists.
Radio for me is mostly valuable for traffic reports and other time critical items, not music. However, music comes with the package. If it weren't part of broadcasting I'd get the same value (small as it is) and the RIAA would see no payments. In fact, I often listen to NPR because of the lack of value on the other stations, music format of not. I also avoid the get rich quick blurbs and weight loss drug ads that take up 20 minutes of every hour.
If this goes through I'd bet that the only music left would be Radio Disney since that payment is from one pocket to another. In fact, would the RIAA get into the broadcasting business if this goes through? It probably woudl be the only way to keep a significant part of music on air.
If you fly Southwest you can find nice lounge chairs with power and USB charging ports - just another thing they do to try to set themselves apart from the rest of the airlines.
So far I know of free WiFi at Denver, Phoenix, KC. Let the airport management know that you appreciate them providing WiFi at no charge to maybe get more to provide that service.
Several comments asked for some real numbers from hybrid owners. I live in Phoenix and get low 50s in a combination of city and highway driving (last time I looked my display showed 52.2).
Going up grade the car performs great. Last week I drove up to Flagstaff and had no problems maintaining 65 for the 5-10 mile stretches of 5-7% grade with 4 people in the car. The electric engine augments the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and that helps the performance.
On the A/C front, the Prius has a multistage compressor so the hit on the car is minimal under moderate heat. I see plenty of hot conditions out here and the milage doesn't seem to be effected much at all even at maximum cooling. If anything, the mileage is a bit lower in cold conditions due to the engine running longer to bring the engine up to temp for emisions management. It also is an ELECTRIC motor compressor so the power used is not directly from the gas engine. That should help with the new EPA tests.
Do I drive like a type "A" personality? No, that never did appeal to me to race up to a stop light to get one car ahead. I do drive to take advantage of the car I have. YMMV.
Have you looked at Lake Erie? Its barely 30' deep in many areas and has to have channels dredged for lake freighters. Yes, Superior is 500' and more but that is not the only lake available.
I recently aquired a 2005 Toyota Prius and have about 2700 miles on it. My actual performance does match the rated MPG for highway and city (51 and 60 respectively). With a government incentive, the preimum I paid is about $2500. As my commute is 18 miles one way on surface streets, the benefit compared to my old car is roughly 29 MPG to 57 MPG or double what I was experiencing.
Even at that, I expect only about a savings of $500 per year. However, one ecconomic benefit I do see is the resale value - these models don't lose much, at least as compared to standard gas only cars.
Would I buy one again - YES - for my wife and I it fits our needs well and I do get more questions about this car than any other I have ever had. Is that worth the premium I paid, probably not. Taken as a whole, I am happy (and this is from someone who views a car as a means from getting from point A to B safely).
The "commons" concept is alive and well at the FCC if the recent BPL (Broadband over Powerline) iniitative is their future direction. Concepts such as "permissible noise floor" and allocation of bands that are shared with many other licensed users for BPL use points at an eventual auction and leasing of frequencies by whomever can pay.
There truly is a scarce resource for frequencies that can perform for a particular service. The FCC seems to be taking a page out of this organization's play book. Look for bigger payouts for more spectrum if these trends continue. Paying for a resource that is not scarce is not going to happen by any commercial entity (although some non-profits might pony up because they don't know any better).
The single device that got me through engineering school, I still have it on my desk and it is STILL in daily use. Maybe that is why they had problems making enough profit; the equipment never gave up the ghost!
There are a few tech companies that just might make it long term. One I can think of is Rockwell Automation. The CEO is a 30 year veteran of the company and came up through the engineering ranks. Stock price just make an all time high this week. Its not sexy or truly cutting edge but the company has a "better that six months out" mentality.
I had been looking for 2-3 years in the southwest and was brought to Phoenix from Ohio for an interview. The company made me an offer which was a bit below what I was making but it would have gotten me where I wanted to be (my Mother was widdowed and I wanted to be near her). Something didn't feel right about the job so I used the lack of $$ to justify in my own mind not to accept.
I finally did get a job in Phoenix 2 years later for more money and a position which was a much better match to my skills. Its a big company (20,000+) but I can put up with the politics when I need to. Did get here 1 year before my Mom past away so I had my time with her, too.
Oh, and about the first offer I received... the office closed 9 months later! Whew... that was a close one.
Surprisingly, Arizona (typically behind the curve in ID theft as shown by the states ranking as the number 1 place to have your ID stolen on a per capita basis) enacted a law that went into effect Jan. 1, 2005 that requires all health care providers to NOT use SS# as an ID for their customers! Maybe its just a belated reaction to the problem by the state house, but my ID for the company health care was changed when I renewed my coverage.
It doesn't help much but I'll take any port in a storm. Now if we could get the other states (or gasp, possibly the US) to manadate the same for all of us here, and for most every credit, helath care and government account, we'd be getting som improvement in controlling our lives.
OK, so the volume of letters about BPL should have stopped it in its tracks. The vast majority of comments were against BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) but the FCC had already decided in their favor despite the comments and their own internal technical reports showing how flawed the technology is in its present form. In fact, the ARRL has filed for a reconsideration of the Report and Order partially on grounds that the Commission had already decided before the fact for the BPL.
ARRL Link
I just don't have confidence that the majority does rule in many of our agencies. I'd love to be convinced I'm wrong.
You obviously have never listened to Rush Limbaugh. SUVs and monster trucks are a right for all free Americans to drive; any limiting factor (like a higher per mile gas tax which is presently in effect) is unAmerican.
I've noticed a different result of my company dealing with the "Lowest cost provider" as they put it. I'm on the road a bunch more (over 150 days this year vs. 35 or so last year). I'm doing field engineering work because the "boring grunt work" is no longer in my office.
I'm actually making more money since I get OT while at a client's facility but I'm liking my work less. It doesn't look like things will be changing any time soon.... the US corporate world at its best!
I guess some don't even read the Slashdot postings much RTFA. The power wires act as antennas; a UPS doesn't do squat for getting rid of interference.
Once some experimental sites are set up for the rural areas and it is shown how expensive it will be to service a few people, BPL will be shown to be of little benefit. At least of little benefit to those who most need broadband.
I'm one of those engineer Dads from the 70's and still TODAY use my HP-35. It sits on my desk next to the phone, certainly a place of honor for an electronic device that is over 30 years old. I have no batteries for it and need to leave it plugged in, but it just works.
I paid a princely $200 for it in 1973 but it did get me through the last year of college and my BSEE. The friendly red glow from the 7 segment LEDs did take the battery down fairly quickly but as long as you had a full charge at the start of any exam, it made it though just fine.
RPN certainly takes a bit of training (and I do have to switch back and forth on occasion when the HP-35 isn't capable) but I like it!
I've got myself roped into being a judge at next year's ISEF event in Phoenix. As I have been involved with the IEEE for many years and they have a $10,000 award budget, this is no typical science fair judging and I have a simple BSEE to my credit. Any guidance for my participation? Is the "gee wiz" factor a good measure or can the technical merits be the primary criteria?
I saw several of the finalists on Lou Dobbs show on Monday evening on CNN. One of the students on the show was a Freshman!! I doubt I could have even understood basic Calculus back in my 9th grade year. (Do understand it a bit now)
Visit Phoenix next Spring and see this event in person. It may make you a bit less worried about the next generation's technical abilities.
Seems I remember a raid in Toledo last year of a bunch of homes to confiscate PCs and modems for uncapping broadband service speed limits by Buckeye Cable.
The FBI raided about 13 homes and took 23 PCs and modems but I don't think there was ever any arrests or indititments. The FBI had said the amounts exceeded $25,000 stolen but it never was pursued further.
A quote from a comment on that story, "At this stage they say they have not charged anyone with anything, but confiscated systems for evidence. My bet is that the systems will be returned and charges never filed. This is more of a scare tactic."
Might this be a similar situation; have a big profile raid and then do nothing else?
So what do I listen to the 99.99% of the time when there is power. Not much point to having equipment I can use 1 day every 15 years (if the next blackout is on schedule).
I am a potential Buckeye Cabelvision customer living in Toledo (and in fact use their TV service), but I have completely avoided use of the high speed service for just this reason. Why they didn't limit the bandwidth at their end or simply terminate service is beyond me, except for the negative PR value.
They were at the last local computer show and surprise!; no one came anywhere near their table.
Between this from the major providers and the article about Buckeye Cablevision in Toledo bring in the FBI to raid users homes for uncaping broadband modems,
it looks like the providers are implementing a broad front attack on users. I've already heard of Buckeye users cancelling their accounts but with no competition in an area, its DSL hell or dial-up. A great choice (but at least with dial-up I don't get many telemarketers - they just show up in my spam box).
"I wonder if it ever occured to Christina Hall or Mark Reiter to ask Paul Shryock how Buckeye figured these 13 home users "stole" such a massive amount."
The questions were not asked simply because Buckeye Cablevision and the Toledo Blade are own by the same outfit; these people are "co-workers"! Think having too much control of media in one company's hands is not bad? This is just one example of many that the Block family has performed on the Toledo area over the years. Is it illegal, no. It does have a chilling impact on what happens in NW Ohio, however.
Slashdot Mirror
When I was layed off from a tech job about 12 years ago, I didn't have a non-compete but the company insisted on keeping my cell phone number even though I had no involvement in sales. All the company did on the cell was to pay a part of the bill. It was an annoyance but i di I not feel it was worth it to fight. Sent a note to most of my contacts with the new number and went on my way. Was my old company being a pain, YES, but I have done so much better after that 4 years. They actually did me a favor while losing some contracts in the process. I didn't actively try to keep my contacts, they simply found me at my new gig. Seems a bit of poetic justice.
In a time several careers ago, I worked at a radio station and had the "pleasure" of being there during the week that we maintained detailed logs (by hand, I said it was a long time ago) for ASCAP/BMI payment. It is just as the OP said, the sample was somewhat random and many cuts didn't make it on the log at all (we averaged 10-12 songs per hour). It would be the same for the RIAA if their wishes are granted.
The RIAA seems to think that they can get $$ from radio stations with no other impact. If they were talking about 1% or so of gross renevues, there would be objections but probably their money would come in. At 10% or more of gross, many stations would convert to other formats (more talk radio anyone?) to survive. And there is the rub, less stations with music, less $$ to the RIAA than they think they will get and much less promotion of artists.
Radio for me is mostly valuable for traffic reports and other time critical items, not music. However, music comes with the package. If it weren't part of broadcasting I'd get the same value (small as it is) and the RIAA would see no payments. In fact, I often listen to NPR because of the lack of value on the other stations, music format of not. I also avoid the get rich quick blurbs and weight loss drug ads that take up 20 minutes of every hour.
If this goes through I'd bet that the only music left would be Radio Disney since that payment is from one pocket to another. In fact, would the RIAA get into the broadcasting business if this goes through? It probably woudl be the only way to keep a significant part of music on air.
If you fly Southwest you can find nice lounge chairs with power and USB charging ports - just another thing they do to try to set themselves apart from the rest of the airlines. So far I know of free WiFi at Denver, Phoenix, KC. Let the airport management know that you appreciate them providing WiFi at no charge to maybe get more to provide that service.
Going up grade the car performs great. Last week I drove up to Flagstaff and had no problems maintaining 65 for the 5-10 mile stretches of 5-7% grade with 4 people in the car. The electric engine augments the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and that helps the performance.
On the A/C front, the Prius has a multistage compressor so the hit on the car is minimal under moderate heat. I see plenty of hot conditions out here and the milage doesn't seem to be effected much at all even at maximum cooling. If anything, the mileage is a bit lower in cold conditions due to the engine running longer to bring the engine up to temp for emisions management. It also is an ELECTRIC motor compressor so the power used is not directly from the gas engine. That should help with the new EPA tests.
Do I drive like a type "A" personality? No, that never did appeal to me to race up to a stop light to get one car ahead. I do drive to take advantage of the car I have. YMMV.
At least some else agrees that DS9 was the top of the heap.
Have you looked at Lake Erie? Its barely 30' deep in many areas and has to have channels dredged for lake freighters. Yes, Superior is 500' and more but that is not the only lake available.
Even at that, I expect only about a savings of $500 per year. However, one ecconomic benefit I do see is the resale value - these models don't lose much, at least as compared to standard gas only cars.
Would I buy one again - YES - for my wife and I it fits our needs well and I do get more questions about this car than any other I have ever had. Is that worth the premium I paid, probably not. Taken as a whole, I am happy (and this is from someone who views a car as a means from getting from point A to B safely).
There truly is a scarce resource for frequencies that can perform for a particular service. The FCC seems to be taking a page out of this organization's play book. Look for bigger payouts for more spectrum if these trends continue. Paying for a resource that is not scarce is not going to happen by any commercial entity (although some non-profits might pony up because they don't know any better).
There are a few tech companies that just might make it long term. One I can think of is Rockwell Automation. The CEO is a 30 year veteran of the company and came up through the engineering ranks. Stock price just make an all time high this week. Its not sexy or truly cutting edge but the company has a "better that six months out" mentality.
I finally did get a job in Phoenix 2 years later for more money and a position which was a much better match to my skills. Its a big company (20,000+) but I can put up with the politics when I need to. Did get here 1 year before my Mom past away so I had my time with her, too.
Oh, and about the first offer I received... the office closed 9 months later! Whew... that was a close one.
It doesn't help much but I'll take any port in a storm. Now if we could get the other states (or gasp, possibly the US) to manadate the same for all of us here, and for most every credit, helath care and government account, we'd be getting som improvement in controlling our lives.
I just don't have confidence that the majority does rule in many of our agencies. I'd love to be convinced I'm wrong.
You obviously have never listened to Rush Limbaugh. SUVs and monster trucks are a right for all free Americans to drive; any limiting factor (like a higher per mile gas tax which is presently in effect) is unAmerican.
I'm actually making more money since I get OT while at a client's facility but I'm liking my work less. It doesn't look like things will be changing any time soon.... the US corporate world at its best!
Once some experimental sites are set up for the rural areas and it is shown how expensive it will be to service a few people, BPL will be shown to be of little benefit. At least of little benefit to those who most need broadband.
I paid a princely $200 for it in 1973 but it did get me through the last year of college and my BSEE. The friendly red glow from the 7 segment LEDs did take the battery down fairly quickly but as long as you had a full charge at the start of any exam, it made it though just fine.
RPN certainly takes a bit of training (and I do have to switch back and forth on occasion when the HP-35 isn't capable) but I like it!
I saw several of the finalists on Lou Dobbs show on Monday evening on CNN. One of the students on the show was a Freshman!! I doubt I could have even understood basic Calculus back in my 9th grade year. (Do understand it a bit now)
Visit Phoenix next Spring and see this event in person. It may make you a bit less worried about the next generation's technical abilities.
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/27/13 29248&mode=thread&tid=99
The FBI raided about 13 homes and took 23 PCs and modems but I don't think there was ever any arrests or indititments. The FBI had said the amounts exceeded $25,000 stolen but it never was pursued further.
A quote from a comment on that story, "At this stage they say they have not charged anyone with anything, but confiscated systems for evidence. My bet is that the systems will be returned and charges never filed. This is more of a scare tactic."
Might this be a similar situation; have a big profile raid and then do nothing else?
So what do I listen to the 99.99% of the time when there is power. Not much point to having equipment I can use 1 day every 15 years (if the next blackout is on schedule).
I am a potential Buckeye Cabelvision customer living in Toledo (and in fact use their TV service), but I have completely avoided use of the high speed service for just this reason. Why they didn't limit the bandwidth at their end or simply terminate service is beyond me, except for the negative PR value.
They were at the last local computer show and surprise!; no one came anywhere near their table.
Searches by police, FBI target bandits of bandwidth
it looks like the providers are implementing a broad front attack on users. I've already heard of Buckeye users cancelling their accounts but with no competition in an area, its DSL hell or dial-up. A great choice (but at least with dial-up I don't get many telemarketers - they just show up in my spam box).
The questions were not asked simply because Buckeye Cablevision and the Toledo Blade are own by the same outfit; these people are "co-workers"! Think having too much control of media in one company's hands is not bad? This is just one example of many that the Block family has performed on the Toledo area over the years. Is it illegal, no. It does have a chilling impact on what happens in NW Ohio, however.