Given the fact that you seem unable to resolve key personal issues using your own judgement
I already know I'm satisfied with where I'm going. Having been an architect at the company for a year now, and quite successfully, based on project managers' feedback, I already know it's what I want to do. What I was looking for was input from others who have been there--who have made the same transition before. I can ignore the detritus from the "college students and other random posters," for the most part.
Because I could care less about being the first post. Call me silly, but I care more about contributing thoughtful, incisive comments than I do about putting the first comment in the comment table that's foreign keyed to the article.
Want to have fun with embedded development? How about the "cool" factor of running Java on an embedded system, one which is embedded in Legos? Check out Lego Mindstorms.
Re:how long will it take
on
Magnetic Fluids
·
· Score: 4, Informative
We won't see any infomercials for this stuff. Toxic, flammable, corrosive and mutagenic are just a few of the drawbacks. Add to it that the resultant fluid will "permanently stain almost any fabric".
Let's face it: Unless your quirkiness impinges on your ability to deal with A) your co-workers, or B) your code, you're okay. I know that most of my co-workers would call me quirky. I know that some of 'em would probably take it a step further. It all comes down to your output.
Myself, I'm quirky. I like legos. A LOT. I have several sets at my desk. I'll pace a lot while rolling something around in my head. I'll even think out loud while doing so. On conference calls, I put on my cordless headset and go and kick a ball against the wall obsessively.
When the shit hits the fan though, I'm on the top of my game. I've been with my current employer just shy of a year now, and have garnered a very strong reputation across all the groups I work with. One of our production guys actually said, when I showed up to look at an issue, "It must be fucked up because they only bring $name in when it's nearly done and they need him to fix it." I took that as a compliment of the highest order.
That being said, I like being quirky. I try not to annoy people with it, though some are too easily annoyed. I'm a good resource, people come to me with their intractible problems. One project manager even said "Without $name on the project, I don't think we could've gotten it done." For the most part, my quirks are indulged. I get to trick out all the hardware I want on my desktop, I have reasonable play time allowed, and I get to work my own hours. That being said, output is the key. No results, no indulgence.
Specific intrusions that result in zeroization include:
Opening the case
Removing the chip's metallurgically bonded substrate barricade
Micro-probing the chip
Subjecting the chip to temperature extremes
Combine that with a firewall they say is running on it, the fact that it has an unalterable clock, and that it has a unique serial number, both engraved on the outside and burned into ROM, this comes about as close to Fort Knox for data as you're going to find this side of classified.
Of course, it does run java, and it would be possible, if you didn't properly secure it, to load arbitrary java code on it and use that to do whatever you (or those whom you want to protect your data from) wanted to do.
You're ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. For most consumers, it's about the Benjamins (or whoever is on your money wherever you may be). Myself, I'll sacrifice some on price for service. There's a small grocery local to me. Sure, it costs more, but I'll buy my non-commodity items there because they're a higher quality.
Not to mention the fact that there's a community aspect at the drug stores that you just won't find at the grocery stores
Yanno, I was with you right up until this one. In case you hadn't noticed, there aren't any owner/operator pharmacies anymore. I know it's just business, but to say that there's a "community aspect" to chain drug stores is like saying there's an "environmental aspect" to automobiles.
getting my photo posted for all eternity in the staff break room
This would scare the crap out of me, but maybe I'm just paranoid. I thought this is what they do with shoplifters and check bouncers.
No, it's not. What is a bad thing is dicking over people who don't use them (me) by jacking up the prices and offering "discounts" that bring the price back in line.
how do you expect to get customers to keep coming to your store if you can't track them?
How about this for a novel concept: Sell things for an everyday low price. When lowered market demand or locally prevailing conditions dictate, offer a discounted price (the pros sometimes call this "a sale").
I know that grocery is a horrible business to be in. You're operating on a 1-3% margin. Forcing consumers to chose between getting fucked over privacy-wise (for those who submit to being profiled) or getting fucked over financially (by not getting the ephemeral "discounts", and paying the artificially inflated price) is what is wrong about the cards.
If it was about loyalty, then all the cards would track is that you were in the store, and perhaps what you spent. If it was about profit (from the data), then the cards would record who you are, where you live, what you buy, and when you buy it. They can't yet track what made you buy it (or, should I say, not anymore--cuecat), but once cheap cybernetic links are available, I'm sure they'll offer the same "discounts" for them as well.
It's sleazy to break your half of the bargain by deliberately contaminating their data while expecting them to keep to their side by continuing to provide discounts.
It's even sleazier to jack up the prices on items and offer "discounts" for people who use the cards when the discounted price is what the retail price should be. One rather nasty example of this that I saw recently was where a commodity item (a tube of toothpaste) was marked "Buy One Get One Free" with the card, where the price for the single unit was twice what comparable brands were selling for.
If you go into the store claiming your CD doesn't work and the seal HAS been broken, the best they will do is provide you with a replacement of the same item.
And I'm just bastard enough to file a claim against them for selling me a defective product, if they don't give me my money back (and if it's not clearly labeled that it's broken on PC's).
Can they really distinguish this from a remote ad server that just isn't responding?
You betcha. Two ways off the top of my head, one client side, one server side (assuming you serve your own ads). The first, client side, was actually done by hotornot.com for a while. Basically, if the picture wasn't found, it would dump to the next page. This was done in javascript. On the server side, it gets a bit trickier, as you need to wait to finish sending the HTML until after you've received the request for the ad. If the browser doesn't request it, insert a meta-refresh to your "bad user" page.
hard to understand why sites would want to force people to download/display them
No it's not. If your revenue depends upon serving up ads, and that's the only way you are making money, then it's incumbent upon you to find the point at which the most users will see the most ads. Between a single banner per page that millions see and a bazillion banners per page that only one person can stand to look at is the point where you cram just enough ads in to not piss off a majority of users.
As it is, I'm pretty easy-going. The only thing that motivated me to action was pop up/under ads, which I block religiously.
Given that there are strict laws against eavesdropping on phone calls and intercepting mail, the expectation of privacy in phone calls and mail is entirely reasonable.
That's the entire point.:) If those have a reasonable expectation of privacy, why then should not URL's and HTTP headers? It's not like it's magically open to snooping because you put it in in digital form. Hell, for telephones, it's all digital after it hits the CO (sooner if you have a PBX).
Same argument applies to HTTP headers. Guys, you're sending traffic across an unencrypted, insecure wire. What expectation of privacy do you really have?
You're absolutely right. Fuck it. If you send a letter through the post office, unless you've physically secured it by putting a lock on it, anyone and everyone should be able to open it and toss it around the office. If you make a phone call without encrypting the voice stream, you're sending it out over an unsecure wire, and you deserve to have anyone and everyone listen in on your conversation for whatever reason their whim may dictate.
You're right, I already know they'll tell me to fsck off.
but it demonstrates how far our government has come from simply keeping law and order.
It also forms a reasonable defense, both de jure and de facto, as any hacking prosecution can be considered selective prosecution. If I report hacking attempts, ones which carry a life sentence (I order from ThinkGeek, ergo my pc is involved in interstate commerce), and my complaints aren't even investigated while they zealously go after someone who 0wN's someone's boxen, how can this not be considered selective prosecution?
Thank god they're doing something about these hackers. I think I'm going to have to turn over my IDS logs to the FBI and get them to start locking up all the people probing me to infect with Code Red.
I wonder... Has anyone actually done that? They exhibited only tepid interest in clear child pornography when I tried to report it to them. If people are trying to hack my system, the FBI knows about it, and they do nothing, is there any recourse? I have to have thousands of individual hosts, all dutifully logged and timestamped. These are clearly hack attempts on my system. Why is this any different than some script kiddie "terrorist"?
Maybe someone should take that information which Larry thinks the government should have, and pretend to be Larry Ellison. Oh, wait, it's already been done...
Sure, we'll provide the server software. Oh? GMAC wants to jack into it? Guess you'll be client software, huh?
I would say that you're probably reading too much into it... It's nothing personal, just a bureaucrat doing thier job. You are correct about having more to offer... Once you're self-sufficient, and able to contribute a bit more to the country, I'd be willing to bet that they'll be far more agreeable than your first go round.
I can deal with the birth certificate thing.. She's British by birth, American by parentage. Given that I'm the typical IT geek, it wouldn't be hard for me to find a job or make a strong case I'm not some slacker hitching across the pond to slurp from the socialized trough.
And yes, the whole camera thing is somewhat off-putting, but is less objectionable than are warrantless wiretaps. At least you know about the cameras.
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Given the fact that you seem unable to resolve key personal issues using your own judgement
I already know I'm satisfied with where I'm going. Having been an architect at the company for a year now, and quite successfully, based on project managers' feedback, I already know it's what I want to do. What I was looking for was input from others who have been there--who have made the same transition before. I can ignore the detritus from the "college students and other random posters," for the most part.
Because I could care less about being the first post. Call me silly, but I care more about contributing thoughtful, incisive comments than I do about putting the first comment in the comment table that's foreign keyed to the article.
Want to have fun with embedded development? How about the "cool" factor of running Java on an embedded system, one which is embedded in Legos? Check out Lego Mindstorms.
We won't see any infomercials for this stuff. Toxic, flammable, corrosive and mutagenic are just a few of the drawbacks. Add to it that the resultant fluid will "permanently stain almost any fabric".
Let's face it: Unless your quirkiness impinges on your ability to deal with A) your co-workers, or B) your code, you're okay. I know that most of my co-workers would call me quirky. I know that some of 'em would probably take it a step further. It all comes down to your output.
Myself, I'm quirky. I like legos. A LOT. I have several sets at my desk. I'll pace a lot while rolling something around in my head. I'll even think out loud while doing so. On conference calls, I put on my cordless headset and go and kick a ball against the wall obsessively.
When the shit hits the fan though, I'm on the top of my game. I've been with my current employer just shy of a year now, and have garnered a very strong reputation across all the groups I work with. One of our production guys actually said, when I showed up to look at an issue, "It must be fucked up because they only bring $name in when it's nearly done and they need him to fix it." I took that as a compliment of the highest order.
That being said, I like being quirky. I try not to annoy people with it, though some are too easily annoyed. I'm a good resource, people come to me with their intractible problems. One project manager even said "Without $name on the project, I don't think we could've gotten it done." For the most part, my quirks are indulged. I get to trick out all the hardware I want on my desktop, I have reasonable play time allowed, and I get to work my own hours. That being said, output is the key. No results, no indulgence.
Maybe they were selling special versions in Arabic to Saudis living in Afghanistan? (When you have 4 wives, you have to keep a lot of secrets.)
:)
Naah. Not when your wives can't divorce you and have no meaningful rights to speak of that aren't granted to them by you.
Go ahead. Mod me down.
From the java ibutton web page:
Specific intrusions that result in zeroization include:
Combine that with a firewall they say is running on it, the fact that it has an unalterable clock, and that it has a unique serial number, both engraved on the outside and burned into ROM, this comes about as close to Fort Knox for data as you're going to find this side of classified.
Of course, it does run java, and it would be possible, if you didn't properly secure it, to load arbitrary java code on it and use that to do whatever you (or those whom you want to protect your data from) wanted to do.
You're ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. For most consumers, it's about the Benjamins (or whoever is on your money wherever you may be). Myself, I'll sacrifice some on price for service. There's a small grocery local to me. Sure, it costs more, but I'll buy my non-commodity items there because they're a higher quality.
Not to mention the fact that there's a community aspect at the drug stores that you just won't find at the grocery stores
Yanno, I was with you right up until this one. In case you hadn't noticed, there aren't any owner/operator pharmacies anymore. I know it's just business, but to say that there's a "community aspect" to chain drug stores is like saying there's an "environmental aspect" to automobiles.
getting my photo posted for all eternity in the staff break room
This would scare the crap out of me, but maybe I'm just paranoid. I thought this is what they do with shoplifters and check bouncers.
So trying to get customer loyalty is a bad thing?
No, it's not. What is a bad thing is dicking over people who don't use them (me) by jacking up the prices and offering "discounts" that bring the price back in line.
how do you expect to get customers to keep coming to your store if you can't track them?
How about this for a novel concept: Sell things for an everyday low price. When lowered market demand or locally prevailing conditions dictate, offer a discounted price (the pros sometimes call this "a sale").
I know that grocery is a horrible business to be in. You're operating on a 1-3% margin. Forcing consumers to chose between getting fucked over privacy-wise (for those who submit to being profiled) or getting fucked over financially (by not getting the ephemeral "discounts", and paying the artificially inflated price) is what is wrong about the cards.
If it was about loyalty, then all the cards would track is that you were in the store, and perhaps what you spent. If it was about profit (from the data), then the cards would record who you are, where you live, what you buy, and when you buy it. They can't yet track what made you buy it (or, should I say, not anymore--cuecat), but once cheap cybernetic links are available, I'm sure they'll offer the same "discounts" for them as well.
It's sleazy to break your half of the bargain by deliberately contaminating their data while expecting them to keep to their side by continuing to provide discounts.
It's even sleazier to jack up the prices on items and offer "discounts" for people who use the cards when the discounted price is what the retail price should be. One rather nasty example of this that I saw recently was where a commodity item (a tube of toothpaste) was marked "Buy One Get One Free" with the card, where the price for the single unit was twice what comparable brands were selling for.
For you enterprising folks out there looking to serve the long-suffering coprophilic community, I see that shitornot.com is available.
If you go into the store claiming your CD doesn't work and the seal HAS been broken, the best they will do is provide you with a replacement of the same item.
And I'm just bastard enough to file a claim against them for selling me a defective product, if they don't give me my money back (and if it's not clearly labeled that it's broken on PC's).
Can they really distinguish this from a remote ad server that just isn't responding?
You betcha. Two ways off the top of my head, one client side, one server side (assuming you serve your own ads). The first, client side, was actually done by hotornot.com for a while. Basically, if the picture wasn't found, it would dump to the next page. This was done in javascript. On the server side, it gets a bit trickier, as you need to wait to finish sending the HTML until after you've received the request for the ad. If the browser doesn't request it, insert a meta-refresh to your "bad user" page.
hard to understand why sites would want to force people to download/display them
No it's not. If your revenue depends upon serving up ads, and that's the only way you are making money, then it's incumbent upon you to find the point at which the most users will see the most ads. Between a single banner per page that millions see and a bazillion banners per page that only one person can stand to look at is the point where you cram just enough ads in to not piss off a majority of users.
As it is, I'm pretty easy-going. The only thing that motivated me to action was pop up/under ads, which I block religiously.
Given that there are strict laws against eavesdropping on phone calls and intercepting mail, the expectation of privacy in phone calls and mail is entirely reasonable.
:) If those have a reasonable expectation of privacy, why then should not URL's and HTTP headers? It's not like it's magically open to snooping because you put it in in digital form. Hell, for telephones, it's all digital after it hits the CO (sooner if you have a PBX).
That's the entire point.
Same argument applies to HTTP headers. Guys, you're sending traffic across an unencrypted, insecure wire. What expectation of privacy do you really have?
You're absolutely right. Fuck it. If you send a letter through the post office, unless you've physically secured it by putting a lock on it, anyone and everyone should be able to open it and toss it around the office. If you make a phone call without encrypting the voice stream, you're sending it out over an unsecure wire, and you deserve to have anyone and everyone listen in on your conversation for whatever reason their whim may dictate.
Oops, did I say dictate ?
I'm sorry, but that just sounds too much like a cheap movie title where cameron diaz learns how to be an 31337 haX0r...
Shit, Cameron Diaz is there? Hacking, government job, and Cameron Diaz. Where do I sign up?!
In times of solar flares, the BOFH recommends: "MAGNETS. Wrap your disks up in a pillow case with lots of magnets - Solar Flares hate that"
I suspect that you already know the answer,
You're right, I already know they'll tell me to fsck off.
but it demonstrates how far our government has come from simply keeping law and order.
It also forms a reasonable defense, both de jure and de facto, as any hacking prosecution can be considered selective prosecution. If I report hacking attempts, ones which carry a life sentence (I order from ThinkGeek, ergo my pc is involved in interstate commerce), and my complaints aren't even investigated while they zealously go after someone who 0wN's someone's boxen, how can this not be considered selective prosecution?
Thank god they're doing something about these hackers. I think I'm going to have to turn over my IDS logs to the FBI and get them to start locking up all the people probing me to infect with Code Red.
I wonder... Has anyone actually done that? They exhibited only tepid interest in clear child pornography when I tried to report it to them. If people are trying to hack my system, the FBI knows about it, and they do nothing, is there any recourse? I have to have thousands of individual hosts, all dutifully logged and timestamped. These are clearly hack attempts on my system. Why is this any different than some script kiddie "terrorist"?
Maybe someone should take that information which Larry thinks the government should have, and pretend to be Larry Ellison. Oh, wait, it's already been done...
Sure, we'll provide the server software. Oh? GMAC wants to jack into it? Guess you'll be client software, huh?
I would say that you're probably reading too much into it... It's nothing personal, just a bureaucrat doing thier job. You are correct about having more to offer... Once you're self-sufficient, and able to contribute a bit more to the country, I'd be willing to bet that they'll be far more agreeable than your first go round.
Thanks for the link! From what I'm seeing there, since yes, she is a British citizen, after three years, I can become one too.
I can deal with the birth certificate thing.. She's British by birth, American by parentage. Given that I'm the typical IT geek, it wouldn't be hard for me to find a job or make a strong case I'm not some slacker hitching across the pond to slurp from the socialized trough.
And yes, the whole camera thing is somewhat off-putting, but is less objectionable than are warrantless wiretaps. At least you know about the cameras.