Recently I was asked to improve the performance of a MySQL based PHP web application. After turning on query caching and tuning the settings I was left with looking at the queries involved. It turned out the application was really the problem, not the queries. Just loading the main page involved several hundred queries. For example, settings were saved in a table. Instead of loading all of the settings with a single query, it grabbed them one at a time. It wasn't like they had a few hundred variables and only used a few. There were a couple of dozen and they loaded all of them individually. This kind of bad design was consistent though out the application. Turning on query caching made a huge difference, but the thing was packed with similar problems that could not be overcome with a simple fix like that. A complete rewrite was really the only answer -- and wasn't going to happen.
I disagree. Too often it takes years just to take a patentable idea and turn it into a viable consumer product. A reasonable time would be at least 10 years, but probably not more than 20 years. I have nothing against patents. I have everything against patents for stupid and obvious ideas.
Now copyrights are another matter. A book or a piece of music is going to sell now or not at all. So 5 years is reasonable. I'm willing to compromise and go to 20 years. This forever minus a day is just bullshit.
There's a whole lot of classic blues and jazz music that should have fallen into the public domain but have not and are locked up by forever copyrights so we can't get to them. Even if they don't reduce the copyright period, at least put in a death clause so that if the copyright holder does not make it available for a certain period of time (say two years for the sake of argument) it automatically falls into the public domain. And no pulling bullshit tricks like making it available for $1,000,000 per track just to say they complied. It must be made available at industry standard prices, e.g. a buck a track.
It's pretty damn easy to do. You get the geoip database (I forget the url, but google is your friend) and install the geoip module for iptables. Then it's one simple line:
iptables -A INPUT -m geoip --source-country RU -j DROP
You can limit the block to specific ports. I block a list of countries from accessing port 25 (China being one). This has resulted in a huge drop in spam.
If you really wanted to fight cybercrime, you'd be engaged yourself (one who is not willing seeks excuses, one who is, seeks possibilities). But from what you say, you prefer just hiding from Russians and Chineese.
After thinking about this part of your comment I became a bit annoyed. The world condemns the U.S. for "sticking our noses into other people's business". Now you are condemning us for not sticking our nose into your business. My suggestion of blocking your country is exactly what we should do to deal with the problem without interfering in your internal affairs. You would be free to go about your business online, just not with us. Quite fair and we don't have to worry about any fallout from doing something more drastic. Like nuking your data centers from orbit because it's the only way to be sure.
I never said to "fix" the problem. I said give them a deadline to "get their asses in gear". Perhaps it's a language problem since I used a slang expression. What I was trying to say is give them a deadline to make an _attempt_ at dealing with the problem. From where we are sitting, the Russian government is at best doing nothing, at worse actively working with the criminals.
No one expects an overnight miracle. What we do expect is for Russia to abide by and cooperate with international law. Your heads of state bitched enough about our previous president and international law, so they act like they care. Not that I believe they do.
Seriously. If they won't deal with the cyber crime and if the majority of cyber crime originates there, give the Russian government a deadline to get their asses in gear or they will be blocked. Getting this done on the backbone might be problematic, but not impossible.
I've already blocked all of Russia and China from accessing my servers because of too many problems from those countries.
A smart person will go on cragslist and get a used guitar that's hardly been touched for a fraction of it's retail price. There's an endless supply of quality instruments sitting in people's closets gathering dust. That happens when they discover they won't play like a rock god after just a couple of lessons. I picked up a beautiful Epiphone Les Paul for $300 that way. I also own a genuine Gibson Les Paul.
A Mexican made Fender Strat can be had for about the same price. An American made version costs at least twice that, but is still a lot cheaper than getting it new.
No, I don't play like a rock god. Still taking lessons. I prefer The Blues.
I worked in the game industry in the past and I felt this was one of their problems. The developers all had the latest greatest processors and the cutting edge overpriced video cards. The games ran just fine, of course. On a typical system, however, the game performance would suck big time. I refuse to replace my computer every year just to play the latest game.
You can continue to give the developers cutting edge hardware, but make sure your QA people are running "typical" systems.
My experience was from years ago when a 386 system was standard. I don't know what it's like today.
It's one thing to have employment provided health care. It's part of the overall cost the employer expects to pay out to hire talent. It's quite another thing to ask me to pay for your health insurance.
One of the reasons I was repulsed by Obama was his desire to implement national health care. After seeing what became of the UK system and where the Canadian system was headed, I wanted no part of that mess. Government waste, inefficiency, laziness, and uncaring all tightly wrapped around my ability to see a doctor? No fucking thank you.
The cost to implement his plan is staggering. The country is already going bankrupt with his useless stimulus packages and bailouts. Have you been paying attention to how much money Obama as already spent? And he's just getting started.
It would be nice if his programs worked. But they won't. In four years perhaps we can finally get a fiscally responsible government (I'm not suggesting Republicans since they spent just as much as the Democrats). I'm not holding my breath.
I pay for employer provided healthcare through my hard work, so I'm not getting it for free.
With more and more businesses and websites adding funky clauses to their "contracts", suggesting I see a lawyer is starting to get out of hand. It won't be long before you have to sign a release just to use the bathroom in a restaurant. If that ever happens I'll probably pull it out and pee on the contract instead of using the bathroom.
Yes, I do mark up contracts. At my last job I crossed out and initialed the health care contract part that said I couldn't sue.
Re #5. If you don't want me to laugh, stop making jokes.
Your company provides you with health insurance. The health plan is your typical HMO. You don't get to choose your doctor. This is not an unusual situation. So what options do you have if they insist you sign one of these things? Your choices are sign it or not get any medical help at all. And don't say you have the option of paying for your own medical coverage. Have you seen the price of private medical insurance?
You forgot the most important rule. If a law can be abused by the people in power, it will be abused by the people in power.
Here's a quick way to do it. The law says the warrant can only be issued for crimes that involve at least seven years of imprisonment. So start creeping up the penalties each year. Soon, everything falls under the requirements.
Yes, Kalifornia is broke. We've been broke for at least a decade. This is the result of excessive government regulations on businesses, one of the highest personal and business tax rates in the country, and the government subsidizing every idiotic idea that has ever come along.
You don't actually expect the government or the people to actually learn their lesson here, do you?
1. Target shooting (it's a hobby for me) 2. Hunting 3. Self defense 4. Annoy the crap out of GFWs (Gun Fearing Wussies)
You make the claim that a large portion of guns end up being used in crimes or accidents. I demand a citation, except not from The Brady Bunch or other hardcore, anti-gun organization. FBI crime statistics would be acceptable.
I've been saying for years that we want the best and the brightest. Not for a few years, but permanently. The work visas should be tied to progress towards citizenship. The temporary visa should be revoked immediately if the person fails to apply for citizenship at the appropriate time, or is found to not be eligible for some reason (e.g. committed certain crimes). It should be made easier for a work visa holder to switch jobs so they can no longer be exploited by companies. Simply remove the tying of a visa to a specific company as is done now and make it no more than a simple formality to file an employment change. REAL comparisons of salaries (which should include average hours worked) should be made, and companies found to be paying less than market rate to visa holders should be fined big time along with the difference plus penalties being paid to the worker.
A big however. When there are citizens lining up to get jobs and the unemployment rate is growing, the work visas should be seriously curtailed. Sorry, but harsh reality.
I don't agree that an anonymous post carries no weight. Lies, whether from a known or unknown person can cause harm. Just as the truth is still the truth whether from a known or unknown (anonymous White House source, anyone?).
It seems the court is making a good effort at striking a balance between a person's right to privacy and a person's right to not have their reputation defamed. It's a step in the right direction.
I believe a person has the right to post anonymously. I also believe a person should have some recourse if an anonymous person is posting horrible lies about them.
If any company pulled that crap on me I would have immediately called a lawyer and contacted the labor board. I wouldn't even bother telling the company I would be doing that since they had already proven they could not be trusted. Fark 'em.
The Constitution specifically states that the job of the Federal government is to provide a military. I don't consider the AF to be outside this Constitutional power. But if you want to be anal about it we can say it's a violation of the Constitution and pass an Amendment to make it legal. I didn't say most of the government agencies aren't necessary. I said they exist in violation of the Constitution. The proper procedures to make it legal have been bypassed.
Actually, I do believe most federal agencies are unnecessary and should be left up to the state or local governments. That doesn't diminish my argument that proper procedures have been ignored. Personally, I believe it argues in favor of proper Constitutional scrutiny. Education being a prime example of the federal government overstepping their Constitutional authority and subverting local governments. Education should be left up to the city or county (not even the state, in my opinion).
Then we have the commerce clause used to justify everything under the sun. States who wish to legalize medical marijuana are fighting the feds, who use the commerce clause as justification for their interference. Stopping the use of pot grown locally for a local cancer patient. The commerce clause doesn't even enter the picture. I'm neutral when it comes to medical pot. Here in the San Francisco Bay area fake prescriptions for pot are easily obtained by perfectly healthy people, but I see the need for it for chronically ill people.
If the "thing" in question does not cross state lines, the Feds have no business interfering unless there is a violation of another part of the Constitution (e.g. civil rights).
No, it does not grant new powers. For example, creating the Department of Treasury is legal and proper and not a new power because the Constitution says the federal government has the power coin currency, etc. The Constitution says the Feds deal with currency and the necessary and proper clause says it's ok to make laws to enforce that power. Simple and to the point.
Without twisting clauses like this into entire new meanings, explain how the Department of Education is legal.
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Perhaps you missed the important parts which I've highlighted for you. That clause does not grant any additional powers. Ergo, it is an open and shut case.
I would much rather have my state and federal taxes reversed, i.e., pay thousands to my state but only hundreds to the fed, that way my money would work for me and those near me, rather than to help subsidize loads crap 3000 miles away. It would also take some of the power out of the US Congress and make state senators and representatives more important.
I've been making this argument for years. No one listens.
Most of the federal government exists in violation of the Constitution. Since the Constitution specifically states that any power not granted is denied, agencies such as the Department of Education should not exist.
At my last job, which ended yesterday, I couldn't even get them to implement plain common sense. For example, their backup plan for the database was to dump it on the VM and copy it to another VM on the same system. WTF! They hired me as their system admin, but I was prevented from doing pretty much anything useful. Their way of dealing with the huge number of errors being spit out of their PHP code was to turn off error messages. I'm so not sorry to be out of that place.
Considering their resistance to IT best practices, I doubt they would have listened if I suggested innovation.
b) because the entire plane of passengers just sat there and allowed it to happen.
Because the government has crammed down the throat of everyone that they should, "never take the law into their own hands", but should just sit by passively until the trained professionals come riding over the hill to rescue them.
Slashdot Mirror
Recently I was asked to improve the performance of a MySQL based PHP web application. After turning on query caching and tuning the settings I was left with looking at the queries involved. It turned out the application was really the problem, not the queries. Just loading the main page involved several hundred queries. For example, settings were saved in a table. Instead of loading all of the settings with a single query, it grabbed them one at a time. It wasn't like they had a few hundred variables and only used a few. There were a couple of dozen and they loaded all of them individually. This kind of bad design was consistent though out the application. Turning on query caching made a huge difference, but the thing was packed with similar problems that could not be overcome with a simple fix like that. A complete rewrite was really the only answer -- and wasn't going to happen.
If you are dead, what differences does it make to you? Your lazy kids can write their own damn poems.
I disagree. Too often it takes years just to take a patentable idea and turn it into a viable consumer product. A reasonable time would be at least 10 years, but probably not more than 20 years. I have nothing against patents. I have everything against patents for stupid and obvious ideas.
Now copyrights are another matter. A book or a piece of music is going to sell now or not at all. So 5 years is reasonable. I'm willing to compromise and go to 20 years. This forever minus a day is just bullshit.
There's a whole lot of classic blues and jazz music that should have fallen into the public domain but have not and are locked up by forever copyrights so we can't get to them. Even if they don't reduce the copyright period, at least put in a death clause so that if the copyright holder does not make it available for a certain period of time (say two years for the sake of argument) it automatically falls into the public domain. And no pulling bullshit tricks like making it available for $1,000,000 per track just to say they complied. It must be made available at industry standard prices, e.g. a buck a track.
It's pretty damn easy to do. You get the geoip database (I forget the url, but google is your friend) and install the geoip module for iptables. Then it's one simple line:
iptables -A INPUT -m geoip --source-country RU -j DROP
source countries can be a comma delimited list.
Full instructions can be found here: http://people.netfilter.org/~peejix/geoip/howto/geoip-HOWTO.html
You can limit the block to specific ports. I block a list of countries from accessing port 25 (China being one). This has resulted in a huge drop in spam.
Citation.
List the obligations and promises you are referring to.
After thinking about this part of your comment I became a bit annoyed. The world condemns the U.S. for "sticking our noses into other people's business". Now you are condemning us for not sticking our nose into your business. My suggestion of blocking your country is exactly what we should do to deal with the problem without interfering in your internal affairs. You would be free to go about your business online, just not with us. Quite fair and we don't have to worry about any fallout from doing something more drastic. Like nuking your data centers from orbit because it's the only way to be sure.
I never said to "fix" the problem. I said give them a deadline to "get their asses in gear". Perhaps it's a language problem since I used a slang expression. What I was trying to say is give them a deadline to make an _attempt_ at dealing with the problem. From where we are sitting, the Russian government is at best doing nothing, at worse actively working with the criminals.
No one expects an overnight miracle. What we do expect is for Russia to abide by and cooperate with international law. Your heads of state bitched enough about our previous president and international law, so they act like they care. Not that I believe they do.
Seriously. If they won't deal with the cyber crime and if the majority of cyber crime originates there, give the Russian government a deadline to get their asses in gear or they will be blocked. Getting this done on the backbone might be problematic, but not impossible.
I've already blocked all of Russia and China from accessing my servers because of too many problems from those countries.
A smart person will go on cragslist and get a used guitar that's hardly been touched for a fraction of it's retail price. There's an endless supply of quality instruments sitting in people's closets gathering dust. That happens when they discover they won't play like a rock god after just a couple of lessons. I picked up a beautiful Epiphone Les Paul for $300 that way. I also own a genuine Gibson Les Paul.
A Mexican made Fender Strat can be had for about the same price. An American made version costs at least twice that, but is still a lot cheaper than getting it new.
No, I don't play like a rock god. Still taking lessons. I prefer The Blues.
I worked in the game industry in the past and I felt this was one of their problems. The developers all had the latest greatest processors and the cutting edge overpriced video cards. The games ran just fine, of course. On a typical system, however, the game performance would suck big time. I refuse to replace my computer every year just to play the latest game.
You can continue to give the developers cutting edge hardware, but make sure your QA people are running "typical" systems.
My experience was from years ago when a 386 system was standard. I don't know what it's like today.
It's one thing to have employment provided health care. It's part of the overall cost the employer expects to pay out to hire talent. It's quite another thing to ask me to pay for your health insurance.
One of the reasons I was repulsed by Obama was his desire to implement national health care. After seeing what became of the UK system and where the Canadian system was headed, I wanted no part of that mess. Government waste, inefficiency, laziness, and uncaring all tightly wrapped around my ability to see a doctor? No fucking thank you.
The cost to implement his plan is staggering. The country is already going bankrupt with his useless stimulus packages and bailouts. Have you been paying attention to how much money Obama as already spent? And he's just getting started.
It would be nice if his programs worked. But they won't. In four years perhaps we can finally get a fiscally responsible government (I'm not suggesting Republicans since they spent just as much as the Democrats). I'm not holding my breath.
I pay for employer provided healthcare through my hard work, so I'm not getting it for free.
With more and more businesses and websites adding funky clauses to their "contracts", suggesting I see a lawyer is starting to get out of hand. It won't be long before you have to sign a release just to use the bathroom in a restaurant. If that ever happens I'll probably pull it out and pee on the contract instead of using the bathroom.
Yes, I do mark up contracts. At my last job I crossed out and initialed the health care contract part that said I couldn't sue.
Re #5. If you don't want me to laugh, stop making jokes.
Your company provides you with health insurance. The health plan is your typical HMO. You don't get to choose your doctor. This is not an unusual situation. So what options do you have if they insist you sign one of these things? Your choices are sign it or not get any medical help at all. And don't say you have the option of paying for your own medical coverage. Have you seen the price of private medical insurance?
You forgot the most important rule. If a law can be abused by the people in power, it will be abused by the people in power.
Here's a quick way to do it. The law says the warrant can only be issued for crimes that involve at least seven years of imprisonment. So start creeping up the penalties each year. Soon, everything falls under the requirements.
Yes, Kalifornia is broke. We've been broke for at least a decade. This is the result of excessive government regulations on businesses, one of the highest personal and business tax rates in the country, and the government subsidizing every idiotic idea that has ever come along.
You don't actually expect the government or the people to actually learn their lesson here, do you?
Some legitimate uses for guns:
1. Target shooting (it's a hobby for me)
2. Hunting
3. Self defense
4. Annoy the crap out of GFWs (Gun Fearing Wussies)
You make the claim that a large portion of guns end up being used in crimes or accidents. I demand a citation, except not from The Brady Bunch or other hardcore, anti-gun organization. FBI crime statistics would be acceptable.
I've been saying for years that we want the best and the brightest. Not for a few years, but permanently. The work visas should be tied to progress towards citizenship. The temporary visa should be revoked immediately if the person fails to apply for citizenship at the appropriate time, or is found to not be eligible for some reason (e.g. committed certain crimes). It should be made easier for a work visa holder to switch jobs so they can no longer be exploited by companies. Simply remove the tying of a visa to a specific company as is done now and make it no more than a simple formality to file an employment change. REAL comparisons of salaries (which should include average hours worked) should be made, and companies found to be paying less than market rate to visa holders should be fined big time along with the difference plus penalties being paid to the worker.
A big however. When there are citizens lining up to get jobs and the unemployment rate is growing, the work visas should be seriously curtailed. Sorry, but harsh reality.
I don't agree that an anonymous post carries no weight. Lies, whether from a known or unknown person can cause harm. Just as the truth is still the truth whether from a known or unknown (anonymous White House source, anyone?).
It seems the court is making a good effort at striking a balance between a person's right to privacy and a person's right to not have their reputation defamed. It's a step in the right direction.
I believe a person has the right to post anonymously. I also believe a person should have some recourse if an anonymous person is posting horrible lies about them.
If any company pulled that crap on me I would have immediately called a lawyer and contacted the labor board. I wouldn't even bother telling the company I would be doing that since they had already proven they could not be trusted. Fark 'em.
The Constitution specifically states that the job of the Federal government is to provide a military. I don't consider the AF to be outside this Constitutional power. But if you want to be anal about it we can say it's a violation of the Constitution and pass an Amendment to make it legal. I didn't say most of the government agencies aren't necessary. I said they exist in violation of the Constitution. The proper procedures to make it legal have been bypassed.
Actually, I do believe most federal agencies are unnecessary and should be left up to the state or local governments. That doesn't diminish my argument that proper procedures have been ignored. Personally, I believe it argues in favor of proper Constitutional scrutiny. Education being a prime example of the federal government overstepping their Constitutional authority and subverting local governments. Education should be left up to the city or county (not even the state, in my opinion).
Then we have the commerce clause used to justify everything under the sun. States who wish to legalize medical marijuana are fighting the feds, who use the commerce clause as justification for their interference. Stopping the use of pot grown locally for a local cancer patient. The commerce clause doesn't even enter the picture. I'm neutral when it comes to medical pot. Here in the San Francisco Bay area fake prescriptions for pot are easily obtained by perfectly healthy people, but I see the need for it for chronically ill people.
If the "thing" in question does not cross state lines, the Feds have no business interfering unless there is a violation of another part of the Constitution (e.g. civil rights).
No, it does not grant new powers. For example, creating the Department of Treasury is legal and proper and not a new power because the Constitution says the federal government has the power coin currency, etc. The Constitution says the Feds deal with currency and the necessary and proper clause says it's ok to make laws to enforce that power. Simple and to the point.
Without twisting clauses like this into entire new meanings, explain how the Department of Education is legal.
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Perhaps you missed the important parts which I've highlighted for you. That clause does not grant any additional powers. Ergo, it is an open and shut case.
I've been making this argument for years. No one listens.
Most of the federal government exists in violation of the Constitution. Since the Constitution specifically states that any power not granted is denied, agencies such as the Department of Education should not exist.
At my last job, which ended yesterday, I couldn't even get them to implement plain common sense. For example, their backup plan for the database was to dump it on the VM and copy it to another VM on the same system. WTF! They hired me as their system admin, but I was prevented from doing pretty much anything useful. Their way of dealing with the huge number of errors being spit out of their PHP code was to turn off error messages. I'm so not sorry to be out of that place.
Considering their resistance to IT best practices, I doubt they would have listened if I suggested innovation.
Because the government has crammed down the throat of everyone that they should, "never take the law into their own hands", but should just sit by passively until the trained professionals come riding over the hill to rescue them.