I deal with a browser-based CMMS system at work that has this fault. One would hope for the cost of the purchase of software, hardware and the annual maintenance (not cheap) that the developers would make sure the system has something as basic as record locking, notification that the record is in use, or both. After all, it's a front end of a relatively sophisticated database. And databases have been around a while and for the most part are thoroughly understood. The first package we had: V2.0; the current package V4.0. Guess what? No record locking. And no luck with the vendor. They are very nice and seem to be attentive to bug reports, but still no record locking. The CMMS system is better than most for our application and is easy to learn and use. It's this one thing that's the pisser. We've learned to save work very, very frequently. And you're right, there's nothing quite as annoying as losing 15 minutes or more of work. Just gone. Just a information box saying, in effect, "So Sorry, record in use, entries not saved". Really wish you were on that dev team.
"And cheese is just a form of milk that stores better, just like flour is wheat that stores better." And whiskeys are various grains that store better. Seventeen years, twenty years, give or take some . . .
I've seen just this very thing happen where I work. We're still recovering from the results. Not that any of those programs are necessarily bad, per sey, it's just WHO does the implementing . . . you know, the sycophant dancing-and-prancing, ass-kissing, no-real-life-work-experience so-and-soes. I once heard a executive of a high-powered engineering firm doing some contract work for us state he's "never seen an 6-sigma blackbelt that wouldn't get his ass kicked in the parking lot." I agree. Recently due to the, um, economic downturn, a new senior management team came to town. Within a few months the new management plan was obvious: ax the blackbelts: check; ax the total quality leadership program and any other "total" programs found lurking about: check; reduce the LEAN department from many to one: check; try to mitigate the damage done . . . well, that's harder to do both from the perspective of the company's employees and our customers, some of them former customers.
Mark Twain's autobiographical stories about life on the Mississippi River as a steamboat pilot are absolutely funny and at the same time insightful and moving. The collection is a great read and well worth the time the time spent.
Sad part is: there's no grey bars or idiotic "friend/foe" buttons when viewing with IE 7 (not my browser of choice); say, Slashdot's rulers are not trying to tell us something, are they? Or, perhaps SUBSCRIBING to Slashdot will make this crap go away? Hm?
Hey, this is funny. Sort of like:
What's the difference between zoos in the North and zoos in the South?
Well, the zoos in the North have nameplates next to the animal exhibits and on those nameplates are the animals' common names, scientific names, and a little of the animals natural history. The zoos in the south have nameplates that have the animals' common name . . . and a recipe.
I'm left-handed and keep the mouse on the right-hand side because it's easier to write something down as needed while still using the mouse. I know an engineer who's right-handed and uses the mouse from the left side for the same reason: he can write while still using the mouse. Didn't change the button orientation, though; still a standard right-side mouse.
Children don't have many rights, that's true; and it's true even those rights and freedoms that remain are being eroded. But children do grow up. And they DO remember. If the cohort in question, the current generation of children-through-teenagers, aren't too fragmented to coalesce into a Movement reminiscent of that of the "Sixties," well, it may be fun to watch. Just mix in enough pissed off kids and a few charismatic leaders with a Message. . . By the way, when I was a teenager back in the "Sixties," just like today, nobody listened nor wanted to; every generation faces the same hurdle it seems. And remember that great 60's anthem "we won't be fooled again"? Sadly, most of my generation and the following generations didn't remember or care to. The consequences are obvious.
Don't forget: "we are the people our parents warned us about. .."
Seriously though, it may not be the parents so much as a vocal few - liberal and conservative alike - that demand everyone else live lives in the manner that that few righteously know we should. And, of course, the insidious "think of the children" crowd - usually but not always the same folk - taking away rights, liberties and freedoms to "protect the children." I wonder, when will the young realize what's been done to them in the guise of "protecting the children" and rebel?
Umm . . . as a veteran city-of-Chicago highway driver (meaning any driving on Chicago tollways and Interstates is done only when absolutely necessary and then only aggressively for self-preservation - average speeds 70 to 80 mph bumper-to-bumper - what 55 mph speed limit?) I must say I found the several times I drove through Nashville and Atlanta much faster and much crazier, though I imagine that's because being in a strange town and trying to pay attention not to get lost tends to make things seem worse. . .
Seriously, though, the stretch of I80-94 south of Chicago proper from, say, I294 to I65 in Indiana has got to be the most traveled stretch of road in the world: anything driving east or west on the Interstates in the upper third of the US Midwest must go around Lake Michigan and this route is how they go. This infamous "Borman Expressway" was recently and extensively widened during a multi-year project and do you know what? Remember the line from some movie, "build it and they will come?" Well, they built it and, damn, if the traffic didn't come. It seem just as crowded now as it was as a two-laner in the past and, as usual, most of the traffic is 18-wheelers. There's been talk about constructing a parallel Interstate route south I80-94 through the Crown Point, Indiana, area but for political reasons, sort of like Chicago's proposed new "third" airport south of the city, this project will never see the first shovel-full of dirt turned over until sometime in the next century.
As a long time reader (and almost everyday reader -- wastes lots of time at work on this website), and a very seldom, if ever, poster, I salute Slashdot's tenth anniversary. Thanks, Slashdot. In reading Slashdot I am at once amused, bemused, and confused, but always entertained and informed by some, most, or all posts; oh, but always entertained. By the way, in true/. tradition. I rarely read the Story.
Early on, I vividly remember one enlightening post (goes something to the effect) " where else but Slashdot could you follow a serious, informative and authoritative discourse between two people named 'Moofie' and 'Asshat.'" And I agree.
Like many posters here today, I didn't register for some time after beginning reading. Pity. Merely a 6-digit midget. I became interested in computing on meeting the IBM 1320 or 1620 or what ever the hell that thing in the basement at College was that they actually allowed me to lay hands upon (DO NOT ever touch that RED BUTTON unless you ACTUALLY SEE FLAMES, not smoke, Dammit, FLAMES!). Computers became a hobby during the days of wire wrapping, meter reading, and head scratching - those days are long gone, of course, giving way to the same kinds of things only on a more complex, microscopic, surface mount, buy-it-and-assemble-it level.
I also remember "back in the day" folks, when they were short cash for a house payment, car payment, whatever payment, would pull out a 15K memory board or power supply from their home brew S100-bus stuff and sell it at the local computer club, knowing they would be able to by something similar or better back some day when someone else needed a . . . house payment. . . Damn, how some things change. Ah, but the old canard: The more things change, the more they stay the same . . . including the quality of the posts on Slashdot. My favorite WEB 2.0 social network. Hey, if there's a party in the south suburban Chicago area, what the Hell, I'll go. . .
You're a Chicago guy . . . do you remember Dr. Posen's Universe (or something similar) back in the early 60's? This wonderful program originated from the Museum of Science and Industry . . . but perhaps you're not *that* old. I was just a kid when Dr Posen's show was broadcast but it left a lasting impression. Like you, I loved Dr. Jacob Bronowski's series (and his books). James Burke was a hoot as well; thought provoking and original. There were a few others over the years mostly on PBS, the names of which escape me at the moment. ..
You want to know about Science on tv (including cable) or the viability of a true Science Channel? Why, just take a trip to your favorite bookstore or, for that matter, any bookstore, saving a college or university bookstore, and count up the number of titles in the "New Age" and "Self Help" sections. Then count up the number of titles in the "Science" section - if you can find it - and don't count those books on owning cats and dogs. Shelf after shelf after shelf of the "New Age" stuff. Very little Science. I started doing this kind of counting years ago as an informal "experiment" and over the years watched Fact, as represented by books on science and technology dwindle away, replaced by books about Faith and Belief, to the tune of something approaching 75-to-1. It's depressing. The majority of the population of this country apparently care nothing about understanding the world we live in. And that, is exactly representative of the current state of Science on tv. I guess Faith and Belief are ok if it keeps folks from killing their neighbors. ..
Any engineers out there recently sit for the P. E. examinations? Any engineers out there ever sit for the P. E. exams? Although not required, the P. E. exam is one of the mechanisms in place to make sure engineers know what engineering is about . . . of course a P. E. will command a top-dollar wage.
And how many engineers upon graduation went to work for an Engineering firm apprenticed to an experienced Engineer with a P. E. for three to five years (depending on engineering discipline) prior to sitting for the P. E. examinations?
How many engineers out there are certified in their states of residence (USA - and no doubt many other places in the world) and keep those certifications - and their skill set - up to date?
I've worked with some excellent, gifted engineers that didn't sit for the P. E., some not even having a degree in their area of expertise, and I've worked with rabble called engineers because they were given the title "engineer." You know: "give 'em a title and no raise." Of course most of these guys tend to weed themselves out over time.
Engineering is a passion. Or should be. If an engineer is not vitally passionate about his work (not job) perhaps another endeavor would be wise.
Engineering is also about Details. Details in excruciating detail. But most of all, engineering is about FUN. In my opinion. ..
My father, a civil engineer of the Old School, told me that one should always multiply estimates of any king by the square root of 2. Sounds like nowadays this fudge-factor might not be enough. . .
There are many different kinds of complex number systems in addition to the usual complex number system most everyone has seen where: z = x +iy (x, y are real numbers) and i^2 = -1.
There are systems such that C (a complex number system) = {x+iy (x, y are real numbers), i^2 = p} where p less than 0 (the usual complex number system lives here at p = -1), p equals 0, or p greater than 0 (p a real number).
For a very interesting, informative, and most importantly, accessible article, see The Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) Mathematics Magazine Vol. 77, No. 2, April 2004, page 118, "Geometry of Generalized Complex Numbers."
(maa.org).
Re:Taken out of context... and a little off topic
on
Spam as Poetry
·
· Score: 1
I found your quote - and a few others - a couple of years ago in my community's newsletter. . . The story of the first grade teacher apocryphal? Don't know. But funny.
Stolen from Timber Ridge's September 2000 news letter:
"A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. The insight may surprise you."
Better safe than . ..
"Punch a 5th grader."
Strike while the . ..
"Bug is close."
It's always darkest before . ..
"Daylight Savings Time."
Never underestimate the power of . ..
"Termites."
You can lead a horse to water but . ..
"How?"
Don't bite the hand that . ..
"Looks dirty."
No news is . ..
"Impossible."
A miss is as good as a . ..
"MR."
You can't teach a dog new . ..
"Math."
If you lie down with dogs, you'll . ..
"Stink in the morning."
Love all, trust . ..
"ME."
The pen is mightier that the . ..
"Pigs."
An idle mind is . ..
"The best way to relax."
Where there's smoke there's . ..
"Pollution."
Happy the bride who . ..
"Gets all the presents."
Two's company, three's . ..
"The Musketeers."
Don't put off till tomorrow what . ..
"You put on to go to bed."
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and . ..
"You have to blow your nose."
Children should be seen and not . ..
"Spanked or grounded."
If at first you don't succeed . ..
"Get new batteries."
You get out of something what you . ..
"See pictured on the box."
When the blind leadeth the blind . ..
"Get out of the way."
Slashdot Mirror
I deal with a browser-based CMMS system at work that has this fault. One would hope for the cost of the purchase of software, hardware and the annual maintenance (not cheap) that the developers would make sure the system has something as basic as record locking, notification that the record is in use, or both. After all, it's a front end of a relatively sophisticated database. And databases have been around a while and for the most part are thoroughly understood. The first package we had: V2.0; the current package V4.0. Guess what? No record locking. And no luck with the vendor. They are very nice and seem to be attentive to bug reports, but still no record locking. The CMMS system is better than most for our application and is easy to learn and use. It's this one thing that's the pisser. We've learned to save work very, very frequently. And you're right, there's nothing quite as annoying as losing 15 minutes or more of work. Just gone. Just a information box saying, in effect, "So Sorry, record in use, entries not saved". Really wish you were on that dev team.
Where's the "funny" for this one, mods?
"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"
"And cheese is just a form of milk that stores better, just like flour is wheat that stores better." And whiskeys are various grains that store better. Seventeen years, twenty years, give or take some . . .
I've seen just this very thing happen where I work. We're still recovering from the results. Not that any of those programs are necessarily bad, per sey, it's just WHO does the implementing . . . you know, the sycophant dancing-and-prancing, ass-kissing, no-real-life-work-experience so-and-soes. I once heard a executive of a high-powered engineering firm doing some contract work for us state he's "never seen an 6-sigma blackbelt that wouldn't get his ass kicked in the parking lot." I agree. Recently due to the, um, economic downturn, a new senior management team came to town. Within a few months the new management plan was obvious: ax the blackbelts: check; ax the total quality leadership program and any other "total" programs found lurking about: check; reduce the LEAN department from many to one: check; try to mitigate the damage done . . . well, that's harder to do both from the perspective of the company's employees and our customers, some of them former customers.
Mark Twain's autobiographical stories about life on the Mississippi River as a steamboat pilot are absolutely funny and at the same time insightful and moving. The collection is a great read and well worth the time the time spent.
Try the National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola NAS, Pensacola, Florida. Allow two days. (www.navalaviationmuseum.org)
Why isn't this comment modded up? Maybe it's too far down the thread. . . I'd give it a "insightful" mod point or two.
Sad part is: there's no grey bars or idiotic "friend/foe" buttons when viewing with IE 7 (not my browser of choice); say, Slashdot's rulers are not trying to tell us something, are they? Or, perhaps SUBSCRIBING to Slashdot will make this crap go away? Hm?
Hey, this is funny. Sort of like: What's the difference between zoos in the North and zoos in the South? Well, the zoos in the North have nameplates next to the animal exhibits and on those nameplates are the animals' common names, scientific names, and a little of the animals natural history. The zoos in the south have nameplates that have the animals' common name . . . and a recipe.
Ah, for the want of a mod point. . .
I'm left-handed and keep the mouse on the right-hand side because it's easier to write something down as needed while still using the mouse. I know an engineer who's right-handed and uses the mouse from the left side for the same reason: he can write while still using the mouse. Didn't change the button orientation, though; still a standard right-side mouse.
Children don't have many rights, that's true; and it's true even those rights and freedoms that remain are being eroded. But children do grow up. And they DO remember. If the cohort in question, the current generation of children-through-teenagers, aren't too fragmented to coalesce into a Movement reminiscent of that of the "Sixties," well, it may be fun to watch. Just mix in enough pissed off kids and a few charismatic leaders with a Message. . . By the way, when I was a teenager back in the "Sixties," just like today, nobody listened nor wanted to; every generation faces the same hurdle it seems. And remember that great 60's anthem "we won't be fooled again"? Sadly, most of my generation and the following generations didn't remember or care to. The consequences are obvious.
Seriously though, it may not be the parents so much as a vocal few - liberal and conservative alike - that demand everyone else live lives in the manner that that few righteously know we should. And, of course, the insidious "think of the children" crowd - usually but not always the same folk - taking away rights, liberties and freedoms to "protect the children." I wonder, when will the young realize what's been done to them in the guise of "protecting the children" and rebel?
Umm . . . as a veteran city-of-Chicago highway driver (meaning any driving on Chicago tollways and Interstates is done only when absolutely necessary and then only aggressively for self-preservation - average speeds 70 to 80 mph bumper-to-bumper - what 55 mph speed limit?) I must say I found the several times I drove through Nashville and Atlanta much faster and much crazier, though I imagine that's because being in a strange town and trying to pay attention not to get lost tends to make things seem worse. . . Seriously, though, the stretch of I80-94 south of Chicago proper from, say, I294 to I65 in Indiana has got to be the most traveled stretch of road in the world: anything driving east or west on the Interstates in the upper third of the US Midwest must go around Lake Michigan and this route is how they go. This infamous "Borman Expressway" was recently and extensively widened during a multi-year project and do you know what? Remember the line from some movie, "build it and they will come?" Well, they built it and, damn, if the traffic didn't come. It seem just as crowded now as it was as a two-laner in the past and, as usual, most of the traffic is 18-wheelers. There's been talk about constructing a parallel Interstate route south I80-94 through the Crown Point, Indiana, area but for political reasons, sort of like Chicago's proposed new "third" airport south of the city, this project will never see the first shovel-full of dirt turned over until sometime in the next century.
As a long time reader (and almost everyday reader -- wastes lots of time at work on this website), and a very seldom, if ever, poster, I salute Slashdot's tenth anniversary. Thanks, Slashdot. In reading Slashdot I am at once amused, bemused, and confused, but always entertained and informed by some, most, or all posts; oh, but always entertained. By the way, in true /. tradition. I rarely read the Story.
Early on, I vividly remember one enlightening post (goes something to the effect) " where else but Slashdot could you follow a serious, informative and authoritative discourse between two people named 'Moofie' and 'Asshat.'" And I agree.
Like many posters here today, I didn't register for some time after beginning reading. Pity. Merely a 6-digit midget. I became interested in computing on meeting the IBM 1320 or 1620 or what ever the hell that thing in the basement at College was that they actually allowed me to lay hands upon (DO NOT ever touch that RED BUTTON unless you ACTUALLY SEE FLAMES, not smoke, Dammit, FLAMES!). Computers became a hobby during the days of wire wrapping, meter reading, and head scratching - those days are long gone, of course, giving way to the same kinds of things only on a more complex, microscopic, surface mount, buy-it-and-assemble-it level.
I also remember "back in the day" folks, when they were short cash for a house payment, car payment, whatever payment, would pull out a 15K memory board or power supply from their home brew S100-bus stuff and sell it at the local computer club, knowing they would be able to by something similar or better back some day when someone else needed a . . . house payment. . . Damn, how some things change. Ah, but the old canard: The more things change, the more they stay the same . . . including the quality of the posts on Slashdot. My favorite WEB 2.0 social network. Hey, if there's a party in the south suburban Chicago area, what the Hell, I'll go. . .
Thanks, Slashdot.
You're a Chicago guy . . . do you remember Dr. Posen's Universe (or something similar) back in the early 60's? This wonderful program originated from the Museum of Science and Industry . . . but perhaps you're not *that* old. I was just a kid when Dr Posen's show was broadcast but it left a lasting impression. Like you, I loved Dr. Jacob Bronowski's series (and his books). James Burke was a hoot as well; thought provoking and original. There were a few others over the years mostly on PBS, the names of which escape me at the moment. . .
.
You want to know about Science on tv (including cable) or the viability of a true Science Channel? Why, just take a trip to your favorite bookstore or, for that matter, any bookstore, saving a college or university bookstore, and count up the number of titles in the "New Age" and "Self Help" sections. Then count up the number of titles in the "Science" section - if you can find it - and don't count those books on owning cats and dogs. Shelf after shelf after shelf of the "New Age" stuff. Very little Science. I started doing this kind of counting years ago as an informal "experiment" and over the years watched Fact, as represented by books on science and technology dwindle away, replaced by books about Faith and Belief, to the tune of something approaching 75-to-1. It's depressing. The majority of the population of this country apparently care nothing about understanding the world we live in. And that, is exactly representative of the current state of Science on tv. I guess Faith and Belief are ok if it keeps folks from killing their neighbors. .
Hummmm . . . Nobel Prize for mathematics? How about the Fields Medal? Try Google => almaz.com/nobel/why_no_math.html.
Any engineers out there recently sit for the P. E. examinations? Any engineers out there ever sit for the P. E. exams? Although not required, the P. E. exam is one of the mechanisms in place to make sure engineers know what engineering is about . . . of course a P. E. will command a top-dollar wage.
.
And how many engineers upon graduation went to work for an Engineering firm apprenticed to an experienced Engineer with a P. E. for three to five years (depending on engineering discipline) prior to sitting for the P. E. examinations?
How many engineers out there are certified in their states of residence (USA - and no doubt many other places in the world) and keep those certifications - and their skill set - up to date?
I've worked with some excellent, gifted engineers that didn't sit for the P. E., some not even having a degree in their area of expertise, and I've worked with rabble called engineers because they were given the title "engineer." You know: "give 'em a title and no raise." Of course most of these guys tend to weed themselves out over time.
Engineering is a passion. Or should be. If an engineer is not vitally passionate about his work (not job) perhaps another endeavor would be wise.
Engineering is also about Details. Details in excruciating detail. But most of all, engineering is about FUN. In my opinion. .
Science, Nature
Smithsonian
Various pubs of the AMA, ASA and MAA
Linux Journal & DDJ
Circuit Cellar
And a ton of technical trade journals (at work)
Havent' read PC mags in years since most went to an apparently all-advertisement format. . .
No, not always. Most of the time it's called "Chinese Dixieland. . ."
My father, a civil engineer of the Old School, told me that one should always multiply estimates of any king by the square root of 2. Sounds like nowadays this fudge-factor might not be enough. . .
There are many different kinds of complex number systems in addition to the usual complex number system most everyone has seen where: z = x +iy (x, y are real numbers) and i^2 = -1.
There are systems such that C (a complex number system) = {x+iy (x, y are real numbers), i^2 = p} where p less than 0 (the usual complex number system lives here at p = -1), p equals 0, or p greater than 0 (p a real number).
For a very interesting, informative, and most importantly, accessible article, see The Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) Mathematics Magazine Vol. 77, No. 2, April 2004, page 118, "Geometry of Generalized Complex Numbers."
(maa.org).
I found your quote - and a few others - a couple of years ago in my community's newsletter. . . The story of the first grade teacher apocryphal? Don't know. But funny.
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Stolen from Timber Ridge's September 2000 news letter:
"A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. The insight may surprise you."
Better safe than . .
"Punch a 5th grader."
Strike while the . .
"Bug is close."
It's always darkest before . .
"Daylight Savings Time."
Never underestimate the power of . .
"Termites."
You can lead a horse to water but . .
"How?"
Don't bite the hand that . .
"Looks dirty."
No news is . .
"Impossible."
A miss is as good as a . .
"MR."
You can't teach a dog new . .
"Math."
If you lie down with dogs, you'll . .
"Stink in the morning."
Love all, trust . .
"ME."
The pen is mightier that the . .
"Pigs."
An idle mind is . .
"The best way to relax."
Where there's smoke there's . .
"Pollution."
Happy the bride who . .
"Gets all the presents."
Two's company, three's . .
"The Musketeers."
Don't put off till tomorrow what . .
"You put on to go to bed."
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and . .
"You have to blow your nose."
Children should be seen and not . .
"Spanked or grounded."
If at first you don't succeed . .
"Get new batteries."
You get out of something what you . .
"See pictured on the box."
When the blind leadeth the blind . .
"Get out of the way."