>Taking out huge loans that you don't have a way to repay, to get a degree that has no potential for income, show a serious lack of judgement.
Offering loans to people who have neither the means to repay them, nor the potential to repay them, shows an even greater lack of judgment. As such, the company offering the loan should learn from its mistake, by the person defaulting on the loan.
The decoupling of consequences from decision making creates moral hazard - decision makers tend to optimize their decisions in their own best interests:
-Banks lend to people unlikely to repay.
-Academic institutions raise tuition to fund showpiece buildings, climbing walls, and gourmet dining halls that not a required component of a top education.
While individuals should be held responsible for their poor decisions, there also needs be some accountability for the financial, government and academic institutions creating this systemic moral hazard.
My personal preference is to retroactively make all student loans eligible for default which penalizes banks and the government for creating the moral hazard of undisciplined lending, and limits academic institutions' ability to continue to increase costs going forward.
Someone who deliberately cuts off their own legs with a chainsaw don't get sympathy. So why should addicts?
I imagine someone who would do that on purpose must be suffering from some serious mental problem, or must have been blackmailed or under some kind of duress. Certainly they do deserve sympathy and help.
"Civilization will not last, freedom will not survive, peace will not be kept, unless a very large majority of mankind unite together to defend them and show themselves possessed of a constabulary power before which barbaric and atavistic forces will stand in awe."
Winston Churchill said that. It's true. Deal with it.
Given the great number of American and Allied lives that were sacrificed to lift the world out of darkness in WWII, and the number of American lives that continue to be lost today in defense of civilization, it would behoove those who would criticize the United States to do so in a more respectful manner.
...and quite a few of us are above average in terms of intelligence. I spent 6 years in the Navy, and I (nor anyone I knew) didn't shoot, rape OR pillage anyone.
Somebody has likely already beat me to the punch with this idea: If your province or state allows 8 or 7 character personalized license plates, order a set that reads: "NO PLATE" . Watch the judge throw out all of your parking tickets!!!
Watch the state direct tickets for all vehicles without license plates to your house...
If you contact the reporting agencies (Transunion, Experion etc.) you can ask them to place a fraud alert on your credit record. This discourages companies from providing you or an imposter with credit without a more thourough background check.
We're now faced with streams of college graduates who spent their time either sleeping or partying wondering why, oh why don't I have a job.
Of course there are plenty of old people with jobs wondering why, oh why, didn't I spend more time sleeping or partying in college when I had the chance.
Perhaps your coworkers don't begrudge your position because they take pity on you. Just for the record, no one is impressed that you don't belive in yourself enough to take on debt to invest in your future - especially with the current cost of money so low.
There have been no breakthroughs in amplifier technology in about 30 years, but speaker materials and design have changed greatly.
Good post, and informative, but a quibble. I was under the impression that Digital amps were not only a recent breakthrough, but likely the revolution of the future. ( Specifically I've heard good things about the Carver Pro ZR series Digital Amps, however I've neaver *heard* a digital amp.)
Actually, in most of Europe you can make emergency calls via 911. While the standard European emergency number is 112, 911 compatibility exists to ensure that those from 911 countries get through. In the US 112 gets you emergency services so Europeans feel at home too.
What makes anyone anywhere think the purpose of the US Military is to kill?
WWI
WWII
Korea
Vietnam
Gulf War I
Gulf War II
Not to be completely snide, people who object to the military usually do so because of the military's propensity to kill. While your point is taken that the projection of politically accecptable force by the military is often seen as a more important role for the military than the actual killing, it doen't seem so farfetched to assume that killing is an integral part of their mission statement.
"Join the Army, travel to exotic lands, meet new people, and kill them..."
Honestly, this guy is just using his position to have a whine. I'm not saying he hasn't good reason to complain, but I don't see what Linux has to do with it.
Linux enables the US military to be a more efficient killing force. While most of us belive the good from open-source outweighs the bad, or that the consequences are so far removed as to be not be cause for concern, this person has made a quite valid decision to stop supporting something that eventually supports killing.
All that adds up to at least half of a million dollars.
And for what - Something that amounts to a community service project? Hey, I'll give Google full credit for their current image in the geek community, but this seems a tad ridiculous.
Its a hell of a lot better advertizing than a 30 second superbowl ad.
I searched for a hardware store close to my Manhattan zip code. The first entry is sending me about 4 miles south... the second entry has me going to Jersey... and the third puts me in Brooklyn. I'm all for sight-seeing, but not when I just want to buy a wrench.
You can copyright it, of course, but if a copier made a number of minor, not very significant, changes in the tables, it would be very difficult to prove they had copied the original tables. "Of course we got the same results - they are the right results for this engine".
Mapmakers routinely include small false items on their maps to prevent copying - it is nearly as hard to identify and remove the one made up town on the map of the US you intend to copy as it is to go out and make your own map. Perhaps this could work in this situation.
Dude, GSM phones identify themselves just fine to the network without a SIM card.
You could try it yourself if you weren't so busy talking out your ass.
1. Remove SIM from GSM phone
2. Power up GSM phone sans SIM
3. See "Emergency Only" or equivalent
4. Dial 911 (or 211) and speak with emergency services
5. Conclude the network identifies the phone.
Perhaps you were thinking about identifying a particular user to the network requiring a SIM?
Slashdot Mirror
>Taking out huge loans that you don't have a way to repay, to get a degree that has no potential for income, show a serious lack of judgement.
Offering loans to people who have neither the means to repay them, nor the potential to repay them, shows an even greater lack of judgment. As such, the company offering the loan should learn from its mistake, by the person defaulting on the loan.
The decoupling of consequences from decision making creates moral hazard - decision makers tend to optimize their decisions in their own best interests:
-Banks lend to people unlikely to repay.
-Academic institutions raise tuition to fund showpiece buildings, climbing walls, and gourmet dining halls that not a required component of a top education.
While individuals should be held responsible for their poor decisions, there also needs be some accountability for the financial, government and academic institutions creating this systemic moral hazard.
My personal preference is to retroactively make all student loans eligible for default which penalizes banks and the government for creating the moral hazard of undisciplined lending, and limits academic institutions' ability to continue to increase costs going forward.
Someone who deliberately cuts off their own legs with a chainsaw don't get sympathy. So why should addicts?
I imagine someone who would do that on purpose must be suffering from some serious mental problem, or must have been blackmailed or under some kind of duress. Certainly they do deserve sympathy and help.
I imagine - hey, free chainsaw!
Winston Churchill said that. It's true. Deal with it.
Given the great number of American and Allied lives that were sacrificed to lift the world out of darkness in WWII, and the number of American lives that continue to be lost today in defense of civilization, it would behoove those who would criticize the United States to do so in a more respectful manner.
Oh wait, a civilization that hasn't invaded France. Nevermind.
In point of fact, Americans have invaded France (and were thanked for it):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D_day.
Given that civilization is typically defined as "a relatively complex agricultural and urban culture" your point that America is not civilized is even less well considered.
(Quote per Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization which was itself founded by an American http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_founder)
Jackass.
You are.
People don't pillage people, they pillage things.
Watch the state direct tickets for all vehicles without license plates to your house...
snopes link
I can only think of one country that actually dislikes the French at the moment and that's the US.
Not to be a French apologist, but have you heard of Algeria?
You were going to spend more than $10,000 on a laptop? At Best Buy?
Of course there are plenty of old people with jobs wondering why, oh why, didn't I spend more time sleeping or partying in college when I had the chance.
You sir are talking out of your ass.
IBM, for one, is hiring like mad.
Perhaps your coworkers don't begrudge your position because they take pity on you. Just for the record, no one is impressed that you don't belive in yourself enough to take on debt to invest in your future - especially with the current cost of money so low.
Good post, and informative, but a quibble. I was under the impression that Digital amps were not only a recent breakthrough, but likely the revolution of the future. ( Specifically I've heard good things about the Carver Pro ZR series Digital Amps, however I've neaver *heard* a digital amp.)
Actually, in most of Europe you can make emergency calls via 911. While the standard European emergency number is 112, 911 compatibility exists to ensure that those from 911 countries get through. In the US 112 gets you emergency services so Europeans feel at home too.
WWI
WWII
Korea
Vietnam
Gulf War I
Gulf War II
Not to be completely snide, people who object to the military usually do so because of the military's propensity to kill. While your point is taken that the projection of politically accecptable force by the military is often seen as a more important role for the military than the actual killing, it doen't seem so farfetched to assume that killing is an integral part of their mission statement.
"Join the Army, travel to exotic lands, meet new people, and kill them..."
Linux enables the US military to be a more efficient killing force. While most of us belive the good from open-source outweighs the bad, or that the consequences are so far removed as to be not be cause for concern, this person has made a quite valid decision to stop supporting something that eventually supports killing.
Its a hell of a lot better advertizing than a 30 second superbowl ad.
Or when you want to get a screw.
Mapmakers routinely include small false items on their maps to prevent copying - it is nearly as hard to identify and remove the one made up town on the map of the US you intend to copy as it is to go out and make your own map. Perhaps this could work in this situation.
QOS.
I've always thought a spell/ grammar - checker would be a useful add-on to most email filters.
Man admits Bigfoot hoax confession was in fact a hoax.
You could try it yourself if you weren't so busy talking out your ass.
1. Remove SIM from GSM phone
2. Power up GSM phone sans SIM
3. See "Emergency Only" or equivalent
4. Dial 911 (or 211) and speak with emergency services
5. Conclude the network identifies the phone.
Perhaps you were thinking about identifying a particular user to the network requiring a SIM?
Or do you have your browser open all the time Mr. IT Manager of a Corporate?