Squash is the greatest sport in the world (no exceptions) and possibly one of the highest calorie burning. (Badminton is similar). You're also stuck in a closed-off room so only your opponent can see you haul your arse around. But really, who gives a stuff what people think. It's also terrific fun bashing the crap out of that little black ball, and you'll soon forget that you're exercising. There's no better motivation than trying to beat a friend : )
Don't bother with racquetball, that's for clueless Americans who don't know any better.
If you want to walk/jog, try taking up Geocaching. Gets you outdoors and there's hundreds of interesting caches out there.
While I grew up listening (and playing) to the above guitar heroes, if you want to genuinely hear some new guitar players that will blow your mind, please check out the following:
- Guthrie Govan ("Erotic Cakes" album)
- Greg Howe ("Parallax" album)
- Ron Jarzombek (Spastic Ink)
- Alan Holdsworth (anything, and prepare thyself)
- Brett Garsed (anything)
- Ritchie Kotzen (earlier stuff)
Guitar players of the 21st century.
You've probably already heard Buckethead if you're a guitar hero fan.
In my humble opinion, Satriani, Gilbert and Malmsteen haven't moved on from the 90's. They're great, they rock, I love them, but check out the above list and you'll soon see what I mean.
There was pretty extensive covering on the Australian TV news. I'd imagine that this was because it made good viewing - especially because everyone was wearing masks.
I don't know what kind of church you're talking about, but the aim of most christian churches is to spread the good news. And yes, this includes analysis, debate and discussion. And yes, the whole idea is that people get to hear the idea and judge it for themselves.
So umm, what do you think is the radically different purpose of the church?
You're impling that a robot mistake is the same as a human mistake. Can a robot even make a 'mistake'? When it comes to shooting someone, I reckon that a human would make less mistakes compared to bugs in a program or problems with hardware.
>the top 10% of the programmers are about 10x as productive as the middle 50%.
>The middle 50% are 10x as productive as the bottom 10%.
I'm sorry, but these figures are completely out of whack. I certainly
agree that better programmers are more productive, but 10x? No way. And don't
tell me that I "just haven't met the top 10% yet":)
My advice to the original poster is that you need to work on your
skills that aren't programming. Social skills (most important),
requirements gathering and negotiation to name a few. A developer who
can work well with most people (people who aren't
other programmers), have a sense of humour and is good to be around is
a rare person. Work on these skills and you will be valued. I'm sorry
guys, but programmers tend to be rude pricks. Be nice and stay calm
- it makes a huge difference (especially when the poo hits the fan).
I notice that a hiring manager has posted - pay careful attention
to what they said! Remember that most of these people give your
resume a 30 second glance. If your resume looks like you've just
got into one position and stagnated, then it raises a few too many
question marks. Consider taking on a project on your own - go on,
it's not that difficult:)
But yes, the IT world (at least in Australia here) is definitely
ageist. I've heard the phrase "we want someone young!" too many
damn times. Be careful about branding yourself as "just another
developer" - it won't look good.
Stay the hell away from any internal cards.
Noisy and a royal pain in the bum.
A "breakout" box will make your life a lot easier. Try to get something that
has at least 4 ins and 2 outs. Avoid those things that are an internal card
but come with a jack with lots of female plugs. Ergh.
Stay the hell away from anything by Creative.
Try to get yourself a decent microphone. A nice condenser makes everything
sound a lot better.
Have you considered software? What are you going to use? What have you used
previously?
Myself, I have an MBox2 by digidesign. Doesn't seem like a long of bang for
your buck, but it does come with ProTools. While this may be overkill for a
radio show, if you want to seriously get into recording and mixing, it's
really the industry standard. Works fine in XP. (Also consider Cubase).
M-Audio hardware is meant to be ok. Check it out.
Don't listen to those losers who tell you that you need a Mac. You'll be
paying twice the price (no offense, I love OSX, but hardware is $$$) for
the same thing.
Getting a great soundcard + mic will make a big difference, even
if you have crap speakers (or headphones). Especially if you're doing
stuff for other people. Mixing will be difficult though.
Get yourself a good pair of headphones. Annoying, but a lot cheaper than
a good pair of speakers (+ amp).
Go to a recording studio and ask if you can 'shut up and watch' for
a while. Don't go a super-duper expensive studio, maybe just a place
where they record demos. If the guy is nice enough you'll learn a lot.
Keep it simple! The less stuff you have, less can go wrong!
Mixers are cheap as hell these days. The behringer stuff is very
cheap and good. If you're not recording multiple sound sources simultaneously,
consider getting a good soundcard that only has 2 or 4 good AD converters
and piping everything through your mixer.
Don't skimp on patch leads and plugs and connectors.
Sales people will bullshit you into buying expensive crap! Don't listen to them!
Find someone who is genuially interested in helping you meet your needs!
That's because you didn't get it. Weird Al also does "style parodies" in which he does a song in the same style as another artist, but not actually a parody of a specific song. For example, listen to "Germs" on "Running with Scissors" - a parody of Nine Inch Nails.
I'm pretty sure that "Don't download this song" is a style parody of "We Are The World" - that benefit song sung by hundreds of celebrities in the 80's (Michael Jackson et al). It was also taken off in the Simpsons with "We're sending our love down the well". So now you know!
In Melbourne (Australia), we have an amusement park named "Luna Park" that had a really cool ride called the Gravitron, that looked like this. It was essentially a human sized centrifuge, where you walked in, and lay down against a padded mat that was lying on the wall. Then the ride would start, the thing would speed up and the the g's would start building up and press you against the wall.
Which enabled you to do stupid things like go upside down and have your face stretched. It was cool and my favourite ride at that age. Perhaps it contributed to my huge bone density and muscle strength of later years:)
Not sure if it is still there... anyone know? Anyone remember this?
Comparing movies to computer games is a bit like comparing an orange to a Ferrari 911.
Excuse my ignorance here, but what do you need to make a great movie?
- great script - great actors - a camera...
umm... that's about it. (Ok, wardrobe, scenery, lights... but even then). Sure it's not going to be The Matrix, but it could be the next Blair Witch project.
Now what do you need to make a great game?
- Great and lots of programmers (oh yeah sure, just 'buy the engine', don't give me that) - Great script - Great gameplay (so difficult to pinpoint and define, isn't it?) - Great music and sound effects - Great voice actors - Great characters (Deus Ex) - Great graphics (these days... sigh) - Multiplayer functionality
and I'm sure there's a lot more.
The problem is that the bar for games has been raised so high. To develop something as big as Deus Ex.. didn't it take them 2 years or something? There's only so much work a few indie people can do. Counterstrike is a result of lots of nerds all working together in harmony over a long period of time (correct me if I'm wrong). Try writing the next 'big thing' on your own and it's going to be pretty difficult to compete with the likes of Halo 2.
But damn it, I want someone to prove me wrong! Write the next awesome game yourself! (I want a version of Global Thermo Nuclear Warfare please)
Just make sure that you mute the record output (monitoring) level - otherwise you'll end up with a wonderful feedback loop!
It's actually more difficult than you might expect to be able to record your computers output - it actually would be an easier solution to use a second PC. Just make sure that you've got your equalizer set to something reasonably flat, otherwise you'll have too much bass and treble.
Pretty funny how we've now come full circle - doesn't this remind you of the tape trading days? Next thing you know we'll be playing back + recording sounds at twice the speed (so that you could tape an album in half the time...) - ahh, those were the days. Made it easier to slow down a fast guitar solo:)
Unfortunately buzzwords are a way of life in larger companies. Welcome to the real world. My advice is to play buzzword bingo. Here's some phrases you must learn:
Disconnect
Synergy
Strategic fit
Gap Analysis
Quick wins
(re)alignment / aligned
Cross pollenate
Value Chain
Leverage
Going (or moving) forward
On the same page
uurhgh. I feel so dirty.
We keep a wiki with the most up to date phrases in a grid. Just hang around
a few high level managers every now and then (my suggestion is about once per month)
and you'll hear the new ones. CEO's are also very good for this material.
What I don't understand is section 8.1:
"ISPs directly responsible for the allocation of IP addresses to their subscribers (eg, all of them) will use all reasonable efforts to retain information pertaining to those allocations for a minimum period of seven days."
Can someone tell me what this has got to do with spam? Isn't this just a case of our privacy being thrown out the window but disguising it within a "spam act"?
7 days is a bit of a joke.. what this means in reality is that ISP's will now have to store your account name, IP address and logon-logoff times in a db. Sounds to me like law enforcement want more evidence available for either prosecution or spying.
What I am surprised by is that no-one has noticed section 8.1:
"ISPs directly responsible for the allocation of IP addresses to their subscribers (eg, all of them) will use all reasonable efforts to retain information pertaining to those allocations for a minimum period of seven days."
Can someone tell me what this has got to do with spam? Isn't this just a case of our privacy being thrown out the window but disguising it within a "spam act"?
Put down your damn controller and TALK TO THE WOMAN. It's not actually that difficult. Be interested in her. Don't even think about turning on the television, or the computer, or any form of electronic equipment. Listen to what she says. Don't try to solve her problems, just listen.
My girlfriend and I enjoy scrabble a lot (yes, the board game). Lots of fun and you can show off your word power (or lack thereof), and argue about if a particular word exists.
Now put down your damn set of tiles and TALK TO THE WOMAN. CONTINUE TO DO SO. It will not kill you, and yes, you will hopefully come out unscathed. Try not to stare at her breasts.
We also enjoyed Mario Kart (well, while the other person was losing)
Now put down your damn controller and LISTEN TO THE WOMAN.
Where is the quoted prospectus?
on
Vonage IPO
·
· Score: 1
Does anyone know where you can download the company's prospectus for the IPO?
Slashdot Mirror
So did my wife. She loved them. Maybe Microsoft did actually know what they were doing. (shock horror).
There's an OS/2 community?
And I thought that Trekkies were nerdy.
I'd guess the best thing to use would be a laser time domain reflectometer
A "Laser Time Domain Reflectometer"? You made that up! Admit it!
Squash is the greatest sport in the world (no exceptions) and possibly one of the highest calorie burning. (Badminton is similar). You're also stuck in a closed-off room so only your opponent can see you haul your arse around. But really, who gives a stuff what people think. It's also terrific fun bashing the crap out of that little black ball, and you'll soon forget that you're exercising. There's no better motivation than trying to beat a friend : )
Don't bother with racquetball, that's for clueless Americans who don't know any better.
If you want to walk/jog, try taking up Geocaching. Gets you outdoors and there's hundreds of interesting caches out there.
While I grew up listening (and playing) to the above guitar heroes, if you want to genuinely hear some new guitar players that will blow your mind, please check out the following:
- Guthrie Govan ("Erotic Cakes" album)
- Greg Howe ("Parallax" album)
- Ron Jarzombek (Spastic Ink)
- Alan Holdsworth (anything, and prepare thyself)
- Brett Garsed (anything)
- Ritchie Kotzen (earlier stuff)
Guitar players of the 21st century.
You've probably already heard Buckethead if you're a guitar hero fan. In my humble opinion, Satriani, Gilbert and Malmsteen haven't moved on from the 90's. They're great, they rock, I love them, but check out the above list and you'll soon see what I mean.
I don't get it, it sounds like a typical developer boast to me:
Ben: "Hey look, I optimised this code and it runs 3000% faster!"
Bill: "Yeah great, was anyone complaining about the speed? How about that new feature that everyone wanted, how have you gone on that?"
Ben: "Uhhh.. but it's cleaner code!"
Big whoops. Talk about a non-article.
There was pretty extensive covering on the Australian TV news. I'd imagine that this was because it made good viewing - especially because everyone was wearing masks.
Here's an article about the protests in Australia.
Uhhh, wrong.
I don't know what kind of church you're talking about, but the aim of most christian churches is to spread the good news. And yes, this includes analysis, debate and discussion. And yes, the whole idea is that people get to hear the idea and judge it for themselves.
So umm, what do you think is the radically different purpose of the church?
Brilliant, a classic example of someone who just don't get irony! I bet you're American : )
As a programmer with close to 7 years experience working on code, all I can say is "PLEASE DON'T GIVE THEM GUNS!!!"
You're impling that a robot mistake is the same as a human mistake. Can a robot even make a 'mistake'? When it comes to shooting someone, I reckon that a human would make less mistakes compared to bugs in a program or problems with hardware.
>the top 10% of the programmers are about 10x as productive as the middle 50%.
:)
:)
>The middle 50% are 10x as productive as the bottom 10%.
I'm sorry, but these figures are completely out of whack. I certainly agree that better programmers are more productive, but 10x? No way. And don't tell me that I "just haven't met the top 10% yet"
My advice to the original poster is that you need to work on your skills that aren't programming. Social skills (most important), requirements gathering and negotiation to name a few. A developer who can work well with most people (people who aren't other programmers), have a sense of humour and is good to be around is a rare person. Work on these skills and you will be valued. I'm sorry guys, but programmers tend to be rude pricks. Be nice and stay calm - it makes a huge difference (especially when the poo hits the fan).
I notice that a hiring manager has posted - pay careful attention to what they said! Remember that most of these people give your resume a 30 second glance. If your resume looks like you've just got into one position and stagnated, then it raises a few too many question marks. Consider taking on a project on your own - go on, it's not that difficult
But yes, the IT world (at least in Australia here) is definitely ageist. I've heard the phrase "we want someone young!" too many damn times. Be careful about branding yourself as "just another developer" - it won't look good.
>Most people use toilets more often than iPods.
No shit.
Sorry.
That's because you didn't get it. Weird Al also does "style parodies" in which he does a song in the same style as another artist, but not actually a parody of a specific song. For example, listen to "Germs" on "Running with Scissors" - a parody of Nine Inch Nails.
I'm pretty sure that "Don't download this song" is a style parody of "We Are The World" - that benefit song sung by hundreds of celebrities in the 80's (Michael Jackson et al). It was also taken off in the Simpsons with "We're sending our love down the well". So now you know!
In Melbourne (Australia), we have an amusement park named "Luna Park" that had a really cool ride called the Gravitron, that looked like this. It was essentially a human sized centrifuge, where you walked in, and lay down against a padded mat that was lying on the wall. Then the ride would start, the thing would speed up and the the g's would start building up and press you against the wall.
:)
Which enabled you to do stupid things like go upside down and have your face stretched. It was cool and my favourite ride at that age. Perhaps it contributed to my huge bone density and muscle strength of later years
Not sure if it is still there... anyone know? Anyone remember this?
Comparing movies to computer games is a bit like comparing an orange to a Ferrari 911.
Excuse my ignorance here, but what do you need to make a great movie?
- great script
- great actors
- a camera...
umm... that's about it. (Ok, wardrobe, scenery, lights... but even then). Sure it's not going to be The Matrix, but it could be the next Blair Witch project.
Now what do you need to make a great game?
- Great and lots of programmers (oh yeah sure, just 'buy the engine', don't give me that)
- Great script
- Great gameplay (so difficult to pinpoint and define, isn't it?)
- Great music and sound effects
- Great voice actors
- Great characters (Deus Ex)
- Great graphics (these days... sigh)
- Multiplayer functionality
and I'm sure there's a lot more.
The problem is that the bar for games has been raised so high. To develop something as big as Deus Ex.. didn't it take them 2 years or something? There's only so much work a few indie people can do. Counterstrike is a result of lots of nerds all working together in harmony over a long period of time (correct me if I'm wrong). Try writing the next 'big thing' on your own and it's going to be pretty difficult to compete with the likes of Halo 2.
But damn it, I want someone to prove me wrong! Write the next awesome game yourself! (I want a version of Global Thermo Nuclear Warfare please)
Just make sure that you mute the record output (monitoring) level - otherwise you'll end up with a wonderful feedback loop!
It's actually more difficult than you might expect to be able to record your computers output - it actually would be an easier solution to use a second PC. Just make sure that you've got your equalizer set to something reasonably flat, otherwise you'll have too much bass and treble.
Pretty funny how we've now come full circle - doesn't this remind you of the tape trading days? Next thing you know we'll be playing back + recording sounds at twice the speed (so that you could tape an album in half the time...) - ahh, those were the days. Made it easier to slow down a fast guitar solo :)
uurhgh. I feel so dirty.
We keep a wiki with the most up to date phrases in a grid. Just hang around a few high level managers every now and then (my suggestion is about once per month) and you'll hear the new ones. CEO's are also very good for this material.
Why don't they just use divining rods?
(I previously posted this on zdnet.com.au)
What I don't understand is section 8.1: "ISPs directly responsible for the allocation of IP addresses to their subscribers (eg, all of them) will use all reasonable efforts to retain information pertaining to those allocations for a minimum period of seven days."
Can someone tell me what this has got to do with spam? Isn't this just a case of our privacy being thrown out the window but disguising it within a "spam act"?
7 days is a bit of a joke.. what this means in reality is that ISP's will now have to store your account name, IP address and logon-logoff times in a db. Sounds to me like law enforcement want more evidence available for either prosecution or spying.
What I am surprised by is that no-one has noticed section 8.1:
"ISPs directly responsible for the allocation of IP addresses to their subscribers (eg, all of them) will use all reasonable efforts to retain information pertaining to those allocations for a minimum period of seven days."
Can someone tell me what this has got to do with spam? Isn't this just a case of our privacy being thrown out the window but disguising it within a "spam act"?
Does anyone know where you can download the company's prospectus for the IPO?
So what you're essentially saying is that Black people are dumber than white people?
Nah, that's not controversial.