"Complicated" is Avril Lavigne's first single, released in 2002 from her debut album, Let Go. The single reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lavigne's first top-ten single. The single also reached number three in the United Kingdom and number one in Spain...
That's the "International Scrabble Club" at http://www.isc.ro/
Servers are run out of Romania to avoid the legal issues. It manages to attract many of the best Scrabble players in the world.
you don't have time or inclination to spend, say, one hour reading candidate platforms (every candidate has a website), newspaper endorsements (most provide succinct voting guides), or any of five thousand political blogs, or ask your family and friends who they are voting for and why, but you do have the time to ask Slashdot whether you should still vote? I really hope your ignorant ass winds renditioned to Guantanamo where you can spend your indefinite stay without charges wondering what's really worth your time to understand.
I've contracted as a software engineer off and on for the last six years. I prefer not to anymore, though I still enter into shorter term consulting arrangements. It's really not an easy decision, and probably has more to do in the end with personal preference than economics. Here are just a few non-obvious things to consider:
On being your own boss:
in some ways you are, in other ways you're even more under the thumb than a regular employee. Contractors often get stuck with tasks that no one else wanted to do. You may also get shoved lower down on the reporting chain that you feel you deserve--as a contractor I've been supervised by substantially junior engineers.
On not being part of the team:
this varies a lot by company, and can range from no differnce, to having a different colored badge, to being treated differently by security and excluded from many corporate outings. You may not think you'd care about the company picnic but it's hard not feel left out when all your "peers" are off partying on the company dime while you work.
Paying your own taxes requires discipline:
The first year I contracted this bit me hard. I was used to the money that I took home being mine--and generally got money back at tax time. Now as much as 40% of it needs to be reserved to pay taxes. It's very easy to spend it fully intending to catch up on saving next month. I suggest setting up a separate savings account and transferring the tax reserve to it every time you deposit a check.
Q: Does the GPL allow me to charge a fee for downloading the program from my site?
A: Yes. You can charge any fee you wish for distributing a copy of the program... [but] the fee to download source may not be greater than the fee to download the binary.
Q: Does the GPL allow me to require that anyone who receives the software must pay me a fee and/or notify me?
A: No....
Q: If I distribute GPL'd software for a fee, am I required to also make it available to the public without a charge?
A: No. However, if someone pays your fee and gets a copy... [they may] release it to the public... without a fee. For example, someone could pay your fee, and then put her copy on a web site for the general public.
My read on the second question (emphasized above) is
that this sort of 30 day shareware timer
is in fact an attempt "to require
anyone who receives the software to
pay a fee" and is therefore in violation
of the GPL.
I think it's worth noting that the indictment makes clear that Enron's fraud was stating the software was in use on their own network, which is an important distinction from just saying it exists and has such and such functionality. It's much like showing off a revolutionary new car that doesn't need an engine, but really you've just hidden an engine in the trunk. Here's a relevant excerpt (edited for brevity, see page 4 for full text).
On April 19, 1999, defendants [...] issued [a press release announcing] that the Enron Intelligent Network was tested, "lit," or operational, and ready to deliver [streaming media]. The press release stated that a software control layer powered by InterAgent was embedded on Enron's network [...] The press release stated that the InterAgent sofware provied built-in "intelligence" that allowed Enron to route data efficiently and reliably [...] All of these clams were false and misleading. Among other false claims, only a small part of the network was lit, the [streaming media product was] not functional, and the claimed network control software [InterAgent] did not exist.
I am a huge fan of Iain (M.) Banks (he adds the M. on SciFi/Fantasy books), but I think a warning is needed for the uninitiated. His novels can be extremely dark, and he will explore regions of psychological terror (think Silence of The Lambs) that you may not expect in a SciFi novel. This effect is compounded by the highly engaging characters: by the time you realize something bad is going to happen you already care about the people it will happen to. His more recent Culture novels (Look to Windward and Excession) have been somewhat lighter than his earlier books, and I highly recommend Excession as a starting point. For those familiar with his SciFi you may enjoy the crossover elements in his fantasy novels such as Inversions or The Bridge.
Slashdot Mirror
That's the "International Scrabble Club" at http://www.isc.ro/ Servers are run out of Romania to avoid the legal issues. It manages to attract many of the best Scrabble players in the world.
you don't have time or inclination to spend, say, one hour reading candidate platforms (every candidate has a website), newspaper endorsements (most provide succinct voting guides), or any of five thousand political blogs, or ask your family and friends who they are voting for and why, but you do have the time to ask Slashdot whether you should still vote? I really hope your ignorant ass winds renditioned to Guantanamo where you can spend your indefinite stay without charges wondering what's really worth your time to understand.
Played this a ton on Macs back in the late 80's, seems to be abandonware now: http://www.whatisthe2gs.apple2.org.za/the_fairway/ game_pages/crystal_quest.html
It has the same concept of enemy's behavior indicated by their shape.
Here, apparently.
On being your own boss:
- in some ways you are, in other ways you're even more under the thumb than a regular employee. Contractors often get stuck with tasks that no one else wanted to do. You may also get shoved lower down on the reporting chain that you feel you deserve--as a contractor I've been supervised by substantially junior engineers.
On not being part of the team:- this varies a lot by company, and can range from no differnce, to having a different colored badge, to being treated differently by security and excluded from many corporate outings. You may not think you'd care about the company picnic but it's hard not feel left out when all your "peers" are off partying on the company dime while you work.
Paying your own taxes requires discipline:My read on the second question (emphasized above) is that this sort of 30 day shareware timer is in fact an attempt "to require anyone who receives the software to pay a fee" and is therefore in violation of the GPL.
I am a huge fan of Iain (M.) Banks (he adds the M. on SciFi/Fantasy books), but I think a warning is needed for the uninitiated. His novels can be extremely dark, and he will explore regions of psychological terror (think Silence of The Lambs) that you may not expect in a SciFi novel. This effect is compounded by the highly engaging characters: by the time you realize something bad is going to happen you already care about the people it will happen to. His more recent Culture novels (Look to Windward and Excession) have been somewhat lighter than his earlier books, and I highly recommend Excession as a starting point. For those familiar with his SciFi you may enjoy the crossover elements in his fantasy novels such as Inversions or The Bridge.