A friend of mine was in the Air Force in the '50s, stationed in France. While he was there, several Soviet generals were invited to tour the facilities, and inspect the bombers. My friend stated that if he had disclosed this information, he'd have been hanged, but here they were giving it away.
Of course, this was a controlled release of info, excluding critical operational details. Deterrence only works if the other side thinks that you have better weapons and will use them. So, yes, sometimes you do have to leave a calling card. The thing is, sometimes it looked like the US Government and the Soviet Government were in a conspiracy against their own respective peoples.
The real mistake was getting caught, or was it? The article says "Stuxnet didn't just damage the Natanz nuclear facility; it damaged the U.S.'s credibility as a fair arbiter and force for peace in cyberspace"
Was the US government ever seen as a "fair arbiter and force for peace in cyberspace". Yes, many Americans played that role, but the official government?
Deterrence only works if the other side thinks that you have better weapons and will use them. It's entirely possible that "Getting Caught" was a calculated risk, planned from the beginning. Unofficial channels may have sent the messge, "We were easy on you this time, back off, or next time we take off the gloves." Certainly, after you get caught, that's the way you want to spin it.
US business is always preaching the benefits of free market capitalism,....
Yes, but most US businessmen are not capitalists, but monopolists. To give an sports analogy. If a runner tries to do her best and wins the race that's good, and races will thrive. If the runner tries to win the race by shooting her competitors, or getting rules to eliminate them, she might win one more race, but the spectators will go away, and no more races will be held. There must be competitors for there to be a race.
Monopolists try to wipe out the competition. The end game, if they are successful, is worse off for everyone, even the monopolists. They get to swim in their vaults of gold and cash, but if they truly win, the economy collapses, and everyone starves. (Yes, Mr. Monopoly starves last, but he does starve)
The best and brightest people follow the rules - that's why they are the best. They break the rules in great times of need. When a project blows up on the weekend and we are going to miss an SLA, etc.
The best and brightest don't follow the rules, they make the rules. Their projects don't blow up.
Where I work, the challenge is to take a $20 million project, and make it work for $10 million. Blowing up is not an option.
... but in corporate IT all the I's are dotted and all the T's are crossed. You've got to follow procedures and get the proper authorizations and buyoffs for things otherwise you (the IT manager) will get hung out to dry if anything goes wrong.
In some shops, you'll get hung out to dry if you don't meet your deliverable date. You might have 6 weeks to deliver, but following process will take 6 months. Sometimes it's damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Your choice.
Ed Yourdon describes this in "Death March". Usually, if you get one of these projects, the only thing to do is polish your resume, you're going to get canned. Ed's advice is for the *next* manager. Before taking the already behind project, get firm commitments to bypass red tape that can be bypassed, get extra budget, and extra time. Get all this *before* taking the job.
...Chances are, if they have to spend on marketing, they're not delivering the best product for the best price. When presented with a choice of products and no further information, choose the one for which you don't remember seeing advertising.
Which is why marketroids spend tons of money to develop ads that nobody "remembers", but stay in the periphery of your consciousness. Also works for politicians.
Back in the early '80s, the NRO had extra "black projects" money, because its satellites were lasting longer than the design goals, so they didn't need as many. So they used the extra money to build a really nice campus near DC. Congress found out only after it was completed, and had a small cow.
I imagine that that is exactly what these were, spares that were never needed. As other commentors have noticed, they probably are obsolete, and since they don't have any instruments, are probably very adaptable to astronomy.
It's not possible to translate Russian into English and maintain the original depression. Nothing can possibly be more depressing than it can be in Russian.
And the more your company paid for a product, the more likely you aren't allowed to use anything else. "Why would we use a *free* product, when we have this overblown expensive product that doesn't work?"
The NYTimes is a reliable source, with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy.
Forty-nine years after its editorial mocking Goddard, on July 17, 1969 — the day after the launch of Apollo 11 — The New York Times published a short item under the headline "A Correction." The three-paragraph statement summarized its 1920 editorial, and concluded:
Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th Century and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error
So, yes they do follow up and correct their mistakes.
When I give someone goods in exchange for a promise of dollars latter, virtual money is created. When they pay the debt, to me the virtual money changes to real money.
The supply of real money goes up when goverments print more. Suddenly everyone's real money is devauled by a bit, but as more virtual money is created, the real money regains value.
The whole thing collapses when everyone's faith in their virtual money simultaneously falls. Then any extra real money printed by the government devalues everyone else's real money by more than a bit, and inflation sets in.
They may do some things that seem irrational from our Western perspective, but they are not stupid. They know that starting a shooting war with Israel would be suicide.
The calculation you have to make is "What's the minimum number of people in Iran are required to launch the suicidal act?", then "How many people are currently, really, in charge?" Even if the people of Iran wouldn't launch a suicidal attack, it's at least plausible that the few people that could, would. Then, there's the accidental aspect.
If Iran doesn't verifiably have nuclear weapons, then a missle heading south will cause some grief, but it won't start WWIII. If on the other hand, Iran is know to have many deployed nukes, and a missile is headed to Tel Aviv, there's no time to determine if it will actually get to the city, or if it's armed. Israeli officials will have to make a decision right away.
Not-for-profit just means that there aren't shareholders that expect a payout. The executives can get paid all they can get away with, and it still be not-for-profit.
There may be precious little left over for the real artists.
That's fine as long as the output of the software doesn't affect anyone, anytime. If the software has any effect on the government's decision about anything that affects me, I should have the right to view the source.
Just like an American Citizen shouldn't have to worry about secret laws, the code that implements the law shouldn't be secret.
I've been known to do that. I'd wear noise cancelling headphones, so I don't hear idle chatter, doors opening and closing, phones ringing, or all the rest of the nonsense that is associated with an office. Sometimes I'd have music playing, sometimes I wouldn't.
What brand/model works best for canceling the chatter? The last time I used active canceling headphones, they only worked on repetitive sounds. ( >15 years ago)
3. If I'm trying to be promoted, I need to have somebody ready to take on the work that I'm currently doing (unless I want to go insane doing 2 jobs). Grooming a subordinate (who's going to have a certain amount of loyalty to me for making that effort) to take on my job is the safest way to do that.
Good plan, but imagine that you're a middle manager at the top of his game. There's nowhere to go. Bailing for another company is a risk, and will most likely involve a salary dip.
Now, if you are a real person, you still follow your advice, because it's the right thing to do. But, if you aren't a nice person, and have already been promoted to the level of your incompetence, you will only hire people who aren't as talented as you, since you can abuse them at will. If you work for a large company or bureaucracy, you can get away with this until retirement.
Companies that take shortcuts in the hiring process will pay for it in the end. A good HR department has to be willing to put in the effort to find good candidates.
It's always amazed me that HR doesn't rule the company, but that's because they're only there to keep the company from being sued. They are just a rule following department. Turns out, they don't actually have any say in hiring the executives that do rule the company.
Think how many companies are started by Engineers, Doctors, or even Salespeople. Then think how many are started by HR folks. (Recruiting and temp agencies tend to be run by salespeople, not the HR types)
I've interviewed a person that had 20 years Solaris experience, when Solaris was only about 15 years old. No, she hadn't worked for Sun, and she had never heard of SunOS.
They're fishing, trying to see what bites. Also, HR has to have a certain amount of busy work just to stay employed. They might not have any real openings, but they have to do something.
Any skill + Security Clearance is going to be hard to find.
AFAIK, to get a Clearance, you already have to have a job that requires it. So, your hiring pool is only people that already have jobs.
How many people in the US do have all those skills and the clearance? How many might be looking for a job? How many can you reach with advertising/word of mouth? Could this number be zero?
Slashdot Mirror
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."
A friend of mine was in the Air Force in the '50s, stationed in France. While he was there, several Soviet generals were invited to tour the facilities, and inspect the bombers. My friend stated that if he had disclosed this information, he'd have been hanged, but here they were giving it away.
Of course, this was a controlled release of info, excluding critical operational details. Deterrence only works if the other side thinks that you have better weapons and will use them. So, yes, sometimes you do have to leave a calling card. The thing is, sometimes it looked like the US Government and the Soviet Government were in a conspiracy against their own respective peoples.
The real mistake was getting caught, or was it? The article says "Stuxnet didn't just damage the Natanz nuclear facility; it damaged the U.S.'s credibility as a fair arbiter and force for peace in cyberspace"
Was the US government ever seen as a "fair arbiter and force for peace in cyberspace". Yes, many Americans played that role, but the official government?
Deterrence only works if the other side thinks that you have better weapons and will use them. It's entirely possible that "Getting Caught" was a calculated risk, planned from the beginning. Unofficial channels may have sent the messge, "We were easy on you this time, back off, or next time we take off the gloves." Certainly, after you get caught, that's the way you want to spin it.
US business is always preaching the benefits of free market capitalism, ....
Yes, but most US businessmen are not capitalists, but monopolists. To give an sports analogy. If a runner tries to do her best and wins the race that's good, and races will thrive. If the runner tries to win the race by shooting her competitors, or getting rules to eliminate them, she might win one more race, but the spectators will go away, and no more races will be held. There must be competitors for there to be a race.
Monopolists try to wipe out the competition. The end game, if they are successful, is worse off for everyone, even the monopolists. They get to swim in their vaults of gold and cash, but if they truly win, the economy collapses, and everyone starves. (Yes, Mr. Monopoly starves last, but he does starve)
The best and brightest people follow the rules - that's why they are the best. They break the rules in great times of need. When a project blows up on the weekend and we are going to miss an SLA, etc.
The best and brightest don't follow the rules, they make the rules. Their projects don't blow up.
Where I work, the challenge is to take a $20 million project, and make it work for $10 million. Blowing up is not an option.
... but in corporate IT all the I's are dotted and all the T's are crossed. You've got to follow procedures and get the proper authorizations and buyoffs for things otherwise you (the IT manager) will get hung out to dry if anything goes wrong.
In some shops, you'll get hung out to dry if you don't meet your deliverable date. You might have 6 weeks to deliver, but following process will take 6 months. Sometimes it's damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Your choice.
Ed Yourdon describes this in "Death March". Usually, if you get one of these projects, the only thing to do is polish your resume, you're going to get canned. Ed's advice is for the *next* manager. Before taking the already behind project, get firm commitments to bypass red tape that can be bypassed, get extra budget, and extra time. Get all this *before* taking the job.
...Chances are, if they have to spend on marketing, they're not delivering the best product for the best price. When presented with a choice of products and no further information, choose the one for which you don't remember seeing advertising.
Which is why marketroids spend tons of money to develop ads that nobody "remembers", but stay in the periphery of your consciousness. Also works for politicians.
My early chemistry researches were finding household chemicals that could blow things up. I found them. YMMV
Back in the early '80s, the NRO had extra "black projects" money, because its satellites were lasting longer than the design goals, so they didn't need as many. So they used the extra money to build a really nice campus near DC. Congress found out only after it was completed, and had a small cow.
I imagine that that is exactly what these were, spares that were never needed. As other commentors have noticed, they probably are obsolete, and since they don't have any instruments, are probably very adaptable to astronomy.
If the supernova was behind or near the Sun, earthlings around 775 wouldn't have been able to detect it.
It's not possible to translate Russian into English and maintain the original depression. Nothing can possibly be more depressing than it can be in Russian.
Amen brother.
And the more your company paid for a product, the more likely you aren't allowed to use anything else. "Why would we use a *free* product, when we have this overblown expensive product that doesn't work?"
The NYTimes is a reliable source, with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy.
Forty-nine years after its editorial mocking Goddard, on July 17, 1969 — the day after the launch of Apollo 11 — The New York Times published a short item under the headline "A Correction." The three-paragraph statement summarized its 1920 editorial, and concluded: Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th Century and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error
So, yes they do follow up and correct their mistakes.
When I give someone goods in exchange for a promise of dollars latter, virtual money is created. When they pay the debt, to me the virtual money changes to real money.
The supply of real money goes up when goverments print more. Suddenly everyone's real money is devauled by a bit, but as more virtual money is created, the real money regains value.
The whole thing collapses when everyone's faith in their virtual money simultaneously falls. Then any extra real money printed by the government devalues everyone else's real money by more than a bit, and inflation sets in.
Which brings up a interesting question: can a cyberwar escalate to a real war? If so, what would provoke that transition?
Launch of nuclear weapons? See Colossus: The Forbin Project http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/, Wargames http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/, and others.
Realistically speaking, any action that results in death or large scale destruction will result in real war.
They may do some things that seem irrational from our Western perspective, but they are not stupid. They know that starting a shooting war with Israel would be suicide.
The calculation you have to make is "What's the minimum number of people in Iran are required to launch the suicidal act?", then "How many people are currently, really, in charge?" Even if the people of Iran wouldn't launch a suicidal attack, it's at least plausible that the few people that could, would. Then, there's the accidental aspect. If Iran doesn't verifiably have nuclear weapons, then a missle heading south will cause some grief, but it won't start WWIII. If on the other hand, Iran is know to have many deployed nukes, and a missile is headed to Tel Aviv, there's no time to determine if it will actually get to the city, or if it's armed. Israeli officials will have to make a decision right away.
Not-for-profit just means that there aren't shareholders that expect a payout. The executives can get paid all they can get away with, and it still be not-for-profit.
There may be precious little left over for the real artists.
If the kids can't dance, I guess they'll have to screw...
Nothing I do could ever be considered "dancing", so I guess I'm safe.
I guess now we will have the dance police ready to come down hard on scoflaws.
Of course the kids will just make up something new to do to music that no one over 30 would ever call dancing. I propose we call it MusicF*cking.
That's fine as long as the output of the software doesn't affect anyone, anytime. If the software has any effect on the government's decision about anything that affects me, I should have the right to view the source.
Just like an American Citizen shouldn't have to worry about secret laws, the code that implements the law shouldn't be secret.
I've been known to do that. I'd wear noise cancelling headphones, so I don't hear idle chatter, doors opening and closing, phones ringing, or all the rest of the nonsense that is associated with an office. Sometimes I'd have music playing, sometimes I wouldn't.
What brand/model works best for canceling the chatter? The last time I used active canceling headphones, they only worked on repetitive sounds. ( >15 years ago)
3. If I'm trying to be promoted, I need to have somebody ready to take on the work that I'm currently doing (unless I want to go insane doing 2 jobs). Grooming a subordinate (who's going to have a certain amount of loyalty to me for making that effort) to take on my job is the safest way to do that.
Good plan, but imagine that you're a middle manager at the top of his game. There's nowhere to go. Bailing for another company is a risk, and will most likely involve a salary dip.
Now, if you are a real person, you still follow your advice, because it's the right thing to do. But, if you aren't a nice person, and have already been promoted to the level of your incompetence, you will only hire people who aren't as talented as you, since you can abuse them at will. If you work for a large company or bureaucracy, you can get away with this until retirement.
Companies that take shortcuts in the hiring process will pay for it in the end. A good HR department has to be willing to put in the effort to find good candidates.
It's always amazed me that HR doesn't rule the company, but that's because they're only there to keep the company from being sued. They are just a rule following department. Turns out, they don't actually have any say in hiring the executives that do rule the company.
Think how many companies are started by Engineers, Doctors, or even Salespeople. Then think how many are started by HR folks. (Recruiting and temp agencies tend to be run by salespeople, not the HR types)
I've interviewed a person that had 20 years Solaris experience, when Solaris was only about 15 years old. No, she hadn't worked for Sun, and she had never heard of SunOS.
They're fishing, trying to see what bites. Also, HR has to have a certain amount of busy work just to stay employed. They might not have any real openings, but they have to do something.
Any skill + Security Clearance is going to be hard to find.
AFAIK, to get a Clearance, you already have to have a job that requires it. So, your hiring pool is only people that already have jobs.
How many people in the US do have all those skills and the clearance? How many might be looking for a job? How many can you reach with advertising/word of mouth? Could this number be zero?