the only non-derisive definition i've ever heard of a cult came from ancient Rome. at the time there was essentially a national religion, which everyone followed and "believed" (at least publicly). then on the side you had _many_ different "secret cults." these were formal and secretive groups that were usually established for an expressed purpose. say for instance to worship a specific deity for a specific purpose. the most significant feature of the cult was a strict adherence to an explicitly set process of rituals. on the other hand, the roman's just loved their rituals in general. so i guess that doesn't really answer any questions. anyway, in Rome it was alright to belong to many different secret cults (and really, who's going to know that you are if they're suppose to be secret) because they all had their individual purpose. they don't seem to have deeply affected how a person lived their life on a constant basis, but rather added more of a mystic ceremonial world they could find peace with the gods in.
I hate to go "on the attack" but I don't want to bother coming up with a structured argument and whatnot. So forgive me if this sounds a bit defensive or angry.
I've got to ask, if a union is incapable of assuring the employer of a certain level of qualification due to the complex nature and chaotic world of schools, trade education, and general lazy-ass-tom-foolery how is it possible that the same employer would be capable of doing so themselves? An employer holds no secret key that can enable them to divine the best worker any better than a structured organization whos existance/should/ depend on the quality of the workers. The fact of whether a union is capable of doing this at all or not is on a per union or even per person basis of course, which is what i suppose we're talking about. But if shotty work or dangerous behavior is the result of the actions of a union there/should/ be reforms in that union, or perhaps a disbandment of the entire thing.
The point is, if a union can't hire good employees there isn't much of a shot that the average HR department is going to be able to either.
The middle of your post, as I read it sounds like this (over simplified of course), "Well they can't do any good, so why bother trying at all." And honestly thats a bit sad. Have we become so complacent and expectant that our jobs will just disappear into someone elses hands who's willing to live a shittier life than us that we are no longer willing to even attempt to exercise any control over our circumstances? A union isn't a silver bullet aimed at the heart of corporate america as they ship millions of jobs to other countries. Its unified line of defence. A rallying point at the beach head. Its a movement toward action. Well, that is if its at its best.
But you're right, at its worse its just another organized way of profiting from the hardwork of people who trying to make a living. Its not enough to just say you're a group of people, you've got to act. If you don't think that a large union such as the ILWU or Teamsters, or a conglomeration of unions can change the minds of politicians and company owners to provide incentives for staying in this country, then you're going to be really surprised when the next contract negotiations come around in 2007.
I think its a matter of believing whether or not it is possible to control the situation as an employee. In California we're an 'at will' state and if you don't like the job or how the employer is handling something, you can walk away whenever you like. It might not turn any heads if one person did it. But a couple of thousand people, or hundred thousand and you've got yourself one hell of a show.
Or at least another parade of people through the streets of LA, but this time big angry dock workers with health benefits, savings accounts, and a bit of time to kill while fruit, grain, cars, and all those other goods you said they could just emport cheaply rot about 30 miles off the coast of california, washington and oregon.
The fact that he thought his job was assured no matter how he performed is likely to either be false, or a failure in the way that the union is setup. It isn't a protection against stupidity and laziness. Or at least shouldn't be. The manager can and should have filed a complaint with the union, and the company who was working with that union. And should have included statements from fellow employees and members of the same union who were witness to it. The lack of accountability is of definite detriment to spirit in which unions were originally established. A weak union is pointless of course and if there is no effort made by the people who operate it, then when the next election comes around it should be you or someone willing to make a difference who runs. Life in general is limited by what you make out of a situation, and unions are just an attempt (in the case of ILWU and many others) to make the best best case for a better quality of living for the employees of a company. The forklift driver was an asshole, fuck him. But he doesn't represent the hundreds of thousands of workers who rely on unions to get a fair shake.
Being the son and product of a union which you directly referenced, the ILWU, and a member of a family who have had at least 3 generations of Long Shoremen or Marine Clerks I have deep pride for the men and women who risk their lives every day moving more inventory in and out of this country than you can even begin to fathom.
"Sit on their ass and watch machines do the work they used to do"
That's true, some of their jobs are being replaced by machines. And someone needs to run those machines. It isn't uncommon for someone to sit while operating machinery. But what you're failing to notice then is that jobs people can and have been doing quite successfully for many years now are being offset to machines that don't do the jobs very well, and require adult supervision. Currently the companies are pushing for an automated system to inventory and monitor the shipping yard, and every attempt to add some mechanical automation to the current system has met with horrible failure and loss of productivity. They implement overly complicated systems requiring machines to align multi-ton objects with laser precision in order to have them later read by optical scanners when a human being is capable of inventory a row of containers in half the time, with less trouble.
They want to move security and dock operations out of state to the locations where the home offices are. But what happens if something goes wrong? Obviously you can keep a staff of repair people, and security agents to handle and fix problems. But in the mean time, it could mean the shut down of one of the worlds most active ports. Whereas a dock run locally by humans could maintain operation in another location while a problem was being handled. Humans don't have to be programmed to route around trouble; we've spent millions of years developing that skill.
As for safety, there is no question that the job is tremendously safer today then it was 100 years ago. And no, there aren't riots in the streets and dock bosses beating men. But there is still a major problem with safety. In fact, not 2 weeks ago a man was severed in half by truck driver, who then ran off the dock and disappeared. The truck driver was undocumented immigrant, the company who owned the truck denied they hired him, and the man will probably never be found. A union worker, who was trained and qualified for a job and guarantied by his union that he would do that job well was essentially murdered by a man who most likely had no formal training, who's employer would have provided no protection for the worker or the shipping company in the event of accident. That is what unions give to employers in exchange for wage, a guaranteed level of skill that can be expected to perform when the person shows up for work one day.
The exchange between employer and employee should be a friendlier one than it is with the ILWU, but in an industry where the employer has consistent and demonstrable lack of concern for their employees it is difficult to trust their intentions. Unions can act like big babies, and the ILWU is the largest of them. But that doesn't mean there isn't a good reason to do so at times. Today they struggle to keep a job that has been a great source of income for people who would have otherwise not had the education or means to raise live and raise their families.
CEO's of companies have to act in the best interest of their stock holders at all times, that's basically required to do so by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But who is supposed to act in the best interest of the employee. A single person has little or no influence in a company. If one person quits they are easily replaced. But if they can all stand together as a group and demand better treatment they have a better chance of winning. And by treatment I don't mean just safety and wages but the reliability of the job itself. In America we've had the chance to be part of a great scientific and technological boom, the Internet. But how are American's expected to care about what they do when the gove
hmm, most people who have contracted the virus don't actually die "of AIDS" they die of an infection, TB, the common cold. whatever you got. HIV and AIDS just beats up on the system so badly that it can't defend itself against anything else, and you die from the same thing the guy in aisle 3 is taking NyQuil for.
I don't know what version of mandrake you're using, but KDE3.2 that comes with 10 has a pretty good "fast user switching" capability. Although, I actually did find it a little easier to use on SuSE, maybe there is a minor version difference in KDE I'm not aware of. But its totally good, you can lock your term and everything when you switch. The new gnome has it too, I think.
Just to be a karma whore the book was The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. I just took a class in the History of Western Scientific Thought (a must for any CE or CS student I think) where we had to read it. The language in the book is dry, but [parent] is right about the meaning being lost overtime. As I understand it, the term wasn't new when he used it, but actually used "paradigm" for the first time in that context. What he presented about was so freaking interesting and true.
On the other hand, one day someone will make a new discovery and I'll believe something completely different.
oh my god no! This isn't how the system works. My Political Science teacher used this _exact_ same example. 51% of the population could never enslave the other 49%. First off, on this perticular issue, you'd have to pass a constitutional amendment voiding another one (Thirteenth Amendment - Slavery And Involuntary Servitude), which would require two thirds to pass! Second, we have minority rights. Which are vigorously fought for by (strangely) the majority of the people. And to be the billionth person to bring up the issue, the last US presidential election proved that you can win a majority of the votes and still lose an election. "Checks and Balances." It's two chapters at least in any intro to gov class.
When I first read your post I thought for sure you not a US citizen, but then I realized that your complete lack of fundimental understanding of how the United States government works meant that you are a US citizen. My guess is, you're in the midwest somewhere.
I dont think the shielding is all that effective. I used to have a TV service like Direct TV, but it was suppose to use microwaves or some junk like that. In a weird strange sequence of events the antenna was placed on my roof, a story above my microwave oven. Every time we microwaved, our TV would go out. Took me about 2 months before I realized what was happening. So I'm thinking those little buggers leak waves like crazy.
My mommy has a Sony Vaio that's got the same spread. Huge screen, keyboard that goes on for days. I haven't picked up the PowerBook yet, but the vaio comes in at about 100lbs I think. I'd love to see the both of them fitted with folding monitors.
I'm not trying to go one-for-one with the mac. The comment just fits better under you than the parent comment I guess.
Have you ever seen the "Spirt of St. Luis" radioes that Sharper Image used to sell? Those things are beautiful. And one of my favorite features is that they used toggle switches for almost everything. The silver of all of the hardware incased in a [feux] wood box. I've seen a few ITX machines that rank up there with it. I'd love to see someone gut one of these radios put a CD-Rom and ZIP in place of the CD rom and tape player and hook up all of the switches nicely. It would be very elegant.
Plus, there is something to be said about computer that has enough switches and nobs that it would look at home sitting in the background of an old sci-fi movie
I'd like to see a union or guild develop
on
Lifetime Careers in IT?
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· Score: 2, Insightful
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day, and we agree, sadly, that due to a deeping interest in, and an understanding of computers by the average person (although, we could contend that the average person still doesn't know ziltch, but thats another reply) that the average IT will become more of a janitorial position. The way I like to describe what I do to people who don't have a clue is to say, "Imagine your office manager. That is pretty much what I do, but it's all on computers." So if you know any office managers or janitors with comfortable retirement packages, I'd like that job myself.
So we were thinking it would be a good idea to form some sort of union, or official guild. I don't know if there is such a thing at this point, anyone know? Being the son of a union family, I realize the immense comfort that this sort of instituion provides to a family (if the contract is negotiated correctly), and the horrible feeling of doubt when the contract is up (i.e. PMA and ILWU) however, something sort of collective barganing would be in order I'd think.
I would be first to apply to such an orgization, and avid fighter for our rights to a comfortable future.
Slashdot Mirror
the only non-derisive definition i've ever heard of a cult came from ancient Rome. at the time there was essentially a national religion, which everyone followed and "believed" (at least publicly). then on the side you had _many_ different "secret cults." these were formal and secretive groups that were usually established for an expressed purpose. say for instance to worship a specific deity for a specific purpose. the most significant feature of the cult was a strict adherence to an explicitly set process of rituals. on the other hand, the roman's just loved their rituals in general. so i guess that doesn't really answer any questions. anyway, in Rome it was alright to belong to many different secret cults (and really, who's going to know that you are if they're suppose to be secret) because they all had their individual purpose. they don't seem to have deeply affected how a person lived their life on a constant basis, but rather added more of a mystic ceremonial world they could find peace with the gods in.
I hate to go "on the attack" but I don't want to bother coming up with a structured argument and whatnot. So forgive me if this sounds a bit defensive or angry. I've got to ask, if a union is incapable of assuring the employer of a certain level of qualification due to the complex nature and chaotic world of schools, trade education, and general lazy-ass-tom-foolery how is it possible that the same employer would be capable of doing so themselves? An employer holds no secret key that can enable them to divine the best worker any better than a structured organization whos existance /should/ depend on the quality of the workers. The fact of whether a union is capable of doing this at all or not is on a per union or even per person basis of course, which is what i suppose we're talking about. But if shotty work or dangerous behavior is the result of the actions of a union there /should/ be reforms in that union, or perhaps a disbandment of the entire thing.
The point is, if a union can't hire good employees there isn't much of a shot that the average HR department is going to be able to either.
The middle of your post, as I read it sounds like this (over simplified of course), "Well they can't do any good, so why bother trying at all." And honestly thats a bit sad. Have we become so complacent and expectant that our jobs will just disappear into someone elses hands who's willing to live a shittier life than us that we are no longer willing to even attempt to exercise any control over our circumstances? A union isn't a silver bullet aimed at the heart of corporate america as they ship millions of jobs to other countries. Its unified line of defence. A rallying point at the beach head. Its a movement toward action. Well, that is if its at its best.
But you're right, at its worse its just another organized way of profiting from the hardwork of people who trying to make a living. Its not enough to just say you're a group of people, you've got to act. If you don't think that a large union such as the ILWU or Teamsters, or a conglomeration of unions can change the minds of politicians and company owners to provide incentives for staying in this country, then you're going to be really surprised when the next contract negotiations come around in 2007.
I think its a matter of believing whether or not it is possible to control the situation as an employee. In California we're an 'at will' state and if you don't like the job or how the employer is handling something, you can walk away whenever you like. It might not turn any heads if one person did it. But a couple of thousand people, or hundred thousand and you've got yourself one hell of a show.
Or at least another parade of people through the streets of LA, but this time big angry dock workers with health benefits, savings accounts, and a bit of time to kill while fruit, grain, cars, and all those other goods you said they could just emport cheaply rot about 30 miles off the coast of california, washington and oregon.
The fact that he thought his job was assured no matter how he performed is likely to either be false, or a failure in the way that the union is setup. It isn't a protection against stupidity and laziness. Or at least shouldn't be. The manager can and should have filed a complaint with the union, and the company who was working with that union. And should have included statements from fellow employees and members of the same union who were witness to it. The lack of accountability is of definite detriment to spirit in which unions were originally established. A weak union is pointless of course and if there is no effort made by the people who operate it, then when the next election comes around it should be you or someone willing to make a difference who runs. Life in general is limited by what you make out of a situation, and unions are just an attempt (in the case of ILWU and many others) to make the best best case for a better quality of living for the employees of a company. The forklift driver was an asshole, fuck him. But he doesn't represent the hundreds of thousands of workers who rely on unions to get a fair shake.
Being the son and product of a union which you directly referenced, the ILWU, and a member of a family who have had at least 3 generations of Long Shoremen or Marine Clerks I have deep pride for the men and women who risk their lives every day moving more inventory in and out of this country than you can even begin to fathom.
"Sit on their ass and watch machines do the work they used to do"
That's true, some of their jobs are being replaced by machines. And someone needs to run those machines. It isn't uncommon for someone to sit while operating machinery. But what you're failing to notice then is that jobs people can and have been doing quite successfully for many years now are being offset to machines that don't do the jobs very well, and require adult supervision. Currently the companies are pushing for an automated system to inventory and monitor the shipping yard, and every attempt to add some mechanical automation to the current system has met with horrible failure and loss of productivity. They implement overly complicated systems requiring machines to align multi-ton objects with laser precision in order to have them later read by optical scanners when a human being is capable of inventory a row of containers in half the time, with less trouble.
They want to move security and dock operations out of state to the locations where the home offices are. But what happens if something goes wrong? Obviously you can keep a staff of repair people, and security agents to handle and fix problems. But in the mean time, it could mean the shut down of one of the worlds most active ports. Whereas a dock run locally by humans could maintain operation in another location while a problem was being handled. Humans don't have to be programmed to route around trouble; we've spent millions of years developing that skill.
As for safety, there is no question that the job is tremendously safer today then it was 100 years ago. And no, there aren't riots in the streets and dock bosses beating men. But there is still a major problem with safety. In fact, not 2 weeks ago a man was severed in half by truck driver, who then ran off the dock and disappeared. The truck driver was undocumented immigrant, the company who owned the truck denied they hired him, and the man will probably never be found. A union worker, who was trained and qualified for a job and guarantied by his union that he would do that job well was essentially murdered by a man who most likely had no formal training, who's employer would have provided no protection for the worker or the shipping company in the event of accident. That is what unions give to employers in exchange for wage, a guaranteed level of skill that can be expected to perform when the person shows up for work one day.
The exchange between employer and employee should be a friendlier one than it is with the ILWU, but in an industry where the employer has consistent and demonstrable lack of concern for their employees it is difficult to trust their intentions. Unions can act like big babies, and the ILWU is the largest of them. But that doesn't mean there isn't a good reason to do so at times. Today they struggle to keep a job that has been a great source of income for people who would have otherwise not had the education or means to raise live and raise their families.
CEO's of companies have to act in the best interest of their stock holders at all times, that's basically required to do so by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But who is supposed to act in the best interest of the employee. A single person has little or no influence in a company. If one person quits they are easily replaced. But if they can all stand together as a group and demand better treatment they have a better chance of winning. And by treatment I don't mean just safety and wages but the reliability of the job itself. In America we've had the chance to be part of a great scientific and technological boom, the Internet. But how are American's expected to care about what they do when the gove
hmm, most people who have contracted the virus don't actually die "of AIDS" they die of an infection, TB, the common cold. whatever you got. HIV and AIDS just beats up on the system so badly that it can't defend itself against anything else, and you die from the same thing the guy in aisle 3 is taking NyQuil for.
I don't know what version of mandrake you're using, but KDE3.2 that comes with 10 has a pretty good "fast user switching" capability. Although, I actually did find it a little easier to use on SuSE, maybe there is a minor version difference in KDE I'm not aware of. But its totally good, you can lock your term and everything when you switch. The new gnome has it too, I think.
Just to be a karma whore the book was The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. I just took a class in the History of Western Scientific Thought (a must for any CE or CS student I think) where we had to read it. The language in the book is dry, but [parent] is right about the meaning being lost overtime. As I understand it, the term wasn't new when he used it, but actually used "paradigm" for the first time in that context. What he presented about was so freaking interesting and true.
On the other hand, one day someone will make a new discovery and I'll believe something completely different.
immediately mod me off topic. I just noticed this guys sig. And i have to say: No, I'm the onceler.
oh my god no! This isn't how the system works. My Political Science teacher used this _exact_ same example. 51% of the population could never enslave the other 49%. First off, on this perticular issue, you'd have to pass a constitutional amendment voiding another one (Thirteenth Amendment - Slavery And Involuntary Servitude), which would require two thirds to pass! Second, we have minority rights. Which are vigorously fought for by (strangely) the majority of the people. And to be the billionth person to bring up the issue, the last US presidential election proved that you can win a majority of the votes and still lose an election. "Checks and Balances." It's two chapters at least in any intro to gov class. When I first read your post I thought for sure you not a US citizen, but then I realized that your complete lack of fundimental understanding of how the United States government works meant that you are a US citizen. My guess is, you're in the midwest somewhere.
I dont think the shielding is all that effective. I used to have a TV service like Direct TV, but it was suppose to use microwaves or some junk like that. In a weird strange sequence of events the antenna was placed on my roof, a story above my microwave oven. Every time we microwaved, our TV would go out. Took me about 2 months before I realized what was happening. So I'm thinking those little buggers leak waves like crazy.
My mommy has a Sony Vaio that's got the same spread. Huge screen, keyboard that goes on for days. I haven't picked up the PowerBook yet, but the vaio comes in at about 100lbs I think. I'd love to see the both of them fitted with folding monitors.
I'm not trying to go one-for-one with the mac. The comment just fits better under you than the parent comment I guess.
Have you ever seen the "Spirt of St. Luis" radioes that Sharper Image used to sell? Those things are beautiful. And one of my favorite features is that they used toggle switches for almost everything. The silver of all of the hardware incased in a [feux] wood box. I've seen a few ITX machines that rank up there with it. I'd love to see someone gut one of these radios put a CD-Rom and ZIP in place of the CD rom and tape player and hook up all of the switches nicely. It would be very elegant.
Plus, there is something to be said about computer that has enough switches and nobs that it would look at home sitting in the background of an old sci-fi movie
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day, and we agree, sadly, that due to a deeping interest in, and an understanding of computers by the average person (although, we could contend that the average person still doesn't know ziltch, but thats another reply) that the average IT will become more of a janitorial position. The way I like to describe what I do to people who don't have a clue is to say, "Imagine your office manager. That is pretty much what I do, but it's all on computers." So if you know any office managers or janitors with comfortable retirement packages, I'd like that job myself. So we were thinking it would be a good idea to form some sort of union, or official guild. I don't know if there is such a thing at this point, anyone know? Being the son of a union family, I realize the immense comfort that this sort of instituion provides to a family (if the contract is negotiated correctly), and the horrible feeling of doubt when the contract is up (i.e. PMA and ILWU) however, something sort of collective barganing would be in order I'd think. I would be first to apply to such an orgization, and avid fighter for our rights to a comfortable future.