I had to take the tests for work... they're a joke. The questions are more along the lines of "How many screws do you need to remove to access the systemboard?" then any actual troubleshooting. Thankfully, they give you access to all of the "technical" manuals that give the answers to the questions.
The biggest memory of this I have was for the movie Spaced Invaders. Pretty much every line in the trailer wasn't in the movie, even though the scenes from the trailer were. They just changed all of the dialog...
Easy. If you ever get called for it, at least in the county I live in, it takes up at least five days of your life.
You get to drive downtown, pay for parking, go sit in a room and wait for x hours. If you get called, you go sit in another room for y minutes. After that, you get to spend z hours sitting in a courtroom, listening to the same damned questions over and over again, until a jury is selected.
And gods help you if you actually have any knowledge about something the case is about. You're a doctor, you're off these cases dealing with medicine. You know computers, right off any computer crime case.
I got called for jury duty for the first time in my life this year. I got to sit in the main waiting room, three different jury waiting rooms, and two courtrooms. I never sat in the jury box, and never had a direct question asked of me by anyone.
And the worst part was the orientation video they showed us... they proved the system was random, because people watched the computer spit out names.
When I become a world dictator, you take the first twenty people, and sit them down. 12 of them are jurors, the other 8 are alternates. Proceed with the case.
Well... first, let's tighten up the Sci-Fi for a moment... are you looking for soft or hard?
Some of the sci-fi authors still writing that I do enjoy include the Kristine Kathryn Rusch Retrieval Artist series, Orson Scott Card's Shadow series, some of Larry Niven's stuff, John Barnes (only read if you're in a misanthropic mood), Spider Robinson (if usually far more on the light sci-fi side), and Neil Gaiman (yeah, it may qualify more as fantasy, but not swords and dragons style).
Nephilium... hopefully some of these will be new to you...
Meh. It's not just the left, the right is just as bad with nanny-stating.
The left wants to protect us from: Things that offend someone, violence, having our self-esteem damaged, the government run by the right, and ourselves.
The right wants to protect us from: Things that offend them, nudity, sex, the government run by the left, and ourselves.
Personally, I'll trust the article, but I wouldn't necessarily trust the law enforcement agents involved. Just do a quick google for no-knock SWAT raid incidents for a reason not to trust them...
Not really true... most small corporations want smaller government in the areas of their field... while the bigger corporations want bigger government, with more barriers to entry to help protect themselves...
I think what you have is the right-wing nuts "protecting" our children from sex and illegal drugs... while the left-wing nuts want to "protect" our children from violence (anvil dropping anyone? Or the guns in E.T.?), tobacco use, obesity, and "racism" (Speedy Gonzales)...
Personally, I think both of those groups can go straight to hell... it's up to the parents to decide... which reminds me of when I let my niece watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit when she was 7 or 8... my sister was pissed... until I reminded her that my niece was as old as my sister was when she first saw it... she quickly realized the error of her ways...:)
The answer? The local baseball team had won the baseball championship. The police response was against fans, celebrating the victory in the streets. The Boston response to people celebrating a sporting victory is to call out the riot police. According to the reporter, the last time something like this happened, the Boston police actually killed a fan, using a "less than lethal" weapon that proved not to live up to its name.
You mean to prevent stuff like the riots in Detroit when the Pistons won the championship? Or the flaming mattresses in Columbus when OSU won?
Hells... look at the fact you can get science teachers to sign bans on di-hydrogen monoxide. I think we need to get back to beating people until they learn how to think rationally...
Actually I found the flaming assholes at the smaller companies... I lost one of my jobs because I wouldn't help the owner cheat on a certification exam...
When I started at my current position, the bureaucracy was minimal and it was of the CYA style ("No, I can't give you access to that unless your boss asks me to give it to you."). The larger bureaucracy is starting to creep in now... so it may be time to start looking for a different job... but right now I'm working with a good team, all of whom are willing to bust their asses and work longer hours when necessary.
Actually... I would say there's three things at play here...
1) We're techies... we like problem solving... especially interesting ones. Keep us fed with interesting problems, and we'll stay for a long time.
2) IT people (as a group), are generally bad at negotiating.
3) A standard fear of change... everyone has it. Especially when it comes to jobs and paychecks (unless they're going up).
And I worked for many years at small companies... working the 60+ hours. About two years ago, I was without a job, and got one at a faceless corporation. It's amazing, my stress level is lower, my pay is higher (by a significant amount), and my hours are generally less. The other IT people who I work with who started by interning for this company don't seem to understand how bad it can be... which amuses me...
Slashdot Mirror
Yep. Leisure Suit Larry made a 3 and a 5, but never made 4.
Nephilium
I had to take the tests for work... they're a joke. The questions are more along the lines of "How many screws do you need to remove to access the systemboard?" then any actual troubleshooting. Thankfully, they give you access to all of the "technical" manuals that give the answers to the questions.
Nephilium
I'll disagree on the "no comic book to movie adaptation has been good" part. The list isn't a really long one... but I'd say that:
Batman
Batman Begins
Spider-Man (1/2)
Sin City
Road to Perdition
From Hell
X-Men (1/2)
Were all good comic book movies...
Nephilium
The biggest memory of this I have was for the movie Spaced Invaders. Pretty much every line in the trailer wasn't in the movie, even though the scenes from the trailer were. They just changed all of the dialog...
Nephilium
As a side note... check out:
http://flexyourrights.org/
They've got some good write ups about what your rights are under various police encounters...
Nephilium
Easy. If you ever get called for it, at least in the county I live in, it takes up at least five days of your life.
You get to drive downtown, pay for parking, go sit in a room and wait for x hours. If you get called, you go sit in another room for y minutes. After that, you get to spend z hours sitting in a courtroom, listening to the same damned questions over and over again, until a jury is selected.
And gods help you if you actually have any knowledge about something the case is about. You're a doctor, you're off these cases dealing with medicine. You know computers, right off any computer crime case.
I got called for jury duty for the first time in my life this year. I got to sit in the main waiting room, three different jury waiting rooms, and two courtrooms. I never sat in the jury box, and never had a direct question asked of me by anyone.
And the worst part was the orientation video they showed us... they proved the system was random, because people watched the computer spit out names.
When I become a world dictator, you take the first twenty people, and sit them down. 12 of them are jurors, the other 8 are alternates. Proceed with the case.
Nephilium
Well... first, let's tighten up the Sci-Fi for a moment... are you looking for soft or hard?
Some of the sci-fi authors still writing that I do enjoy include the Kristine Kathryn Rusch Retrieval Artist series, Orson Scott Card's Shadow series, some of Larry Niven's stuff, John Barnes (only read if you're in a misanthropic mood), Spider Robinson (if usually far more on the light sci-fi side), and Neil Gaiman (yeah, it may qualify more as fantasy, but not swords and dragons style).
Nephilium... hopefully some of these will be new to you...
Sorry, I should have been clearer. Make that "Depictions of violence".
Nephilium
Meh. It's not just the left, the right is just as bad with nanny-stating.
The left wants to protect us from: Things that offend someone, violence, having our self-esteem damaged, the government run by the right, and ourselves.
The right wants to protect us from: Things that offend them, nudity, sex, the government run by the left, and ourselves.
Nephilium
Pandora's Box also held Hope.
Nephilium
If my memory serves me, it's a Ray Bradbury story.
One of the authors I read when I want to be in a good mood...
Nephilium... currently reading Chandler.
Personally, I'll trust the article, but I wouldn't necessarily trust the law enforcement agents involved. Just do a quick google for no-knock SWAT raid incidents for a reason not to trust them...
Nephilium
Work? On Monday March 17th? It's a day for the bars...
St. Patrick's Day, the only holiday I know of where bars open at 5:00 AM...
Nephilium
Where? The only VHS players I can find now are the combo DVD/VHS players... that start at about $100...
Nephilium
Not really true... most small corporations want smaller government in the areas of their field... while the bigger corporations want bigger government, with more barriers to entry to help protect themselves...
Nephilium
I think what you have is the right-wing nuts "protecting" our children from sex and illegal drugs... while the left-wing nuts want to "protect" our children from violence (anvil dropping anyone? Or the guns in E.T.?), tobacco use, obesity, and "racism" (Speedy Gonzales)...
Personally, I think both of those groups can go straight to hell... it's up to the parents to decide... which reminds me of when I let my niece watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit when she was 7 or 8... my sister was pissed... until I reminded her that my niece was as old as my sister was when she first saw it... she quickly realized the error of her ways... :)
Nephilium
You mean to prevent stuff like the riots in Detroit when the Pistons won the championship? Or the flaming mattresses in Columbus when OSU won?
Nephilium
Hells... look at the fact you can get science teachers to sign bans on di-hydrogen monoxide. I think we need to get back to beating people until they learn how to think rationally...
Nephilium
And for those in the U.S.... You should know what your rights are...
Nephilium
Heh...
Actually I found the flaming assholes at the smaller companies... I lost one of my jobs because I wouldn't help the owner cheat on a certification exam...
When I started at my current position, the bureaucracy was minimal and it was of the CYA style ("No, I can't give you access to that unless your boss asks me to give it to you."). The larger bureaucracy is starting to creep in now... so it may be time to start looking for a different job... but right now I'm working with a good team, all of whom are willing to bust their asses and work longer hours when necessary.
Nephilium
I think the term is Bread and Circuses...
Nephilium
Actually... I would say there's three things at play here...
1) We're techies... we like problem solving... especially interesting ones. Keep us fed with interesting problems, and we'll stay for a long time.
2) IT people (as a group), are generally bad at negotiating.
3) A standard fear of change... everyone has it. Especially when it comes to jobs and paychecks (unless they're going up).
And I worked for many years at small companies... working the 60+ hours. About two years ago, I was without a job, and got one at a faceless corporation. It's amazing, my stress level is lower, my pay is higher (by a significant amount), and my hours are generally less. The other IT people who I work with who started by interning for this company don't seem to understand how bad it can be... which amuses me...
Nephilium
That's easy. A visible, measured, violation of the laws of science.
In short. A miracle.
Nephilium
One example would be Jerry Greenwalt, the link goes to an interview with him I was able to dig up.
Nephilium
Or the ALF...
Nephilium