Religion: REALITY CHECKPOINT - do not pass!
on
Spoonful of Quickies
·
· Score: 2
You know, this is the country of Freedom of Religion. That means anybody in this country can practice any religion, parody any religion, or choose not to have any religion at all. And nobody has a right to denegrate anybody's religion, or lack thereof. If people disagree with somebody's religious viewpoints - fine. Saying you're right and everybody else is wrong and will be eternally damned if you don't believe them is not. I happen to take great pleasure in any group that takes itself just alittle too seriously - and this CAP warning definately fits the bill nicely.
Combining pseudo-science and mock-seriousness just about had me floored in fits of laughter. What's even better is the idea that merely watching a movie will earn you eternal damnation. Most religious groups that take themselves this seriously wind up on 60 minutes, or the evening news along with the latest FBI embarassement.
But since I know nothing less than a philosophical debate will satisfy things to certain people, I offer this brief insight into the world of theology - it is my opinion that finding God is a personal experience, and not one you can find simply reading scripture. CAP alerts, speeches about eternal damnation, and the latest Rush Limbaugh episode will not find you God. Only you can find Him, and only if you want to.
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I have a friend who was working on the open qubit project - they've opensourced their work, but there seems to be a shortage of quantum physicists that know C.:)
Anyway, more interesting is the prospect of encryption with qubits using "intertwining" of particles to ensure that nobody can listen in on your conversation.. without you knowing about it. Think about it. If somebody "cracks" your encryption scheme, you know *right now*. That would basically eliminate alot of signals intelligence that the NSA engages in today. They won't be getting much funding from uncle sam, I can assure you of that!
The GPL is not a "relic", because it is still actively developed and modified. Keep in mind it is at one end of the spectrum, with the other being proprietary software and NDAs. Somewhere between those two extremes lies "free" software, shareware, etc.
Secondly, the GPL has already passed OSI certification. It meets and exceeds every criteria. It is unyielding, whereas other licenses yield some (ie: the BSD-style) to allow commercial interests to make use of the code.
It's a tradeoff that you, as the developer, must decide.
I haven't seen any of this on license-discuss. Either the OSI has abandoned public input on licenses before they're "branded", or IBM has put out a press release alittle early.
--
Re:The (m)eek shall inherit the earth...?
on
GEEK Unions?
·
· Score: 2
... "The same thing we try to do every night pinky: try to take over the world!"
We don't need divine intervention to take over the world. Some help with getting IE5 out of windows would be nice though.
Yes, you can limit downstream bandwidth. Routers have QoS, the linux kernel has several shapers to choose from, etc. But upstream might be more difficult. A malicious customer could simply type ping -s 1500 -f www.somewhere.com, and flood the entire wireless link he/she was on. There isn't an easy way to fix this. You can, however, confinscate their equipment and/or report them to the FCC for causing harmful inteference if they do decide to take down the link. I know that several cablemodems use snmp to inject QoS filters at the hardware level. Maybe there's similar offerings for other NICs. It could help during an emergency, and also to help limit upstream bandwidth.
--
Technical Trade Unions
on
GEEK Unions?
·
· Score: 3
The idea has been kicked around on several listservs, as well as among a few of my friends. You're not the first one to notice the discrepancy between geek "workplace rights", and others. We're the ones usually staying well into the evening when the server crashes, we're the ones called in on holidays when a project is running late. Holiday vacation? Yeah, right - not until you finish your Y2K work.
Geeks may be getting the highest pay, but arguably the lowest QoS in the workplace. Stock options aren't as important to most of us as doing stuff we like to do - namely hacking code, gaming, and just having fun online. All those things are routinely forbidden in today's modern workplace.. where productivity reigns king.
The 1930's through to about the mid 60's brought in organized unions for the masses - auto workers, factory workers, ad nauseum. It was the unions that created public education - to ensure that their kids got the same right to an education that a rich person did.
Those unions were smashed to pieces by cunning political moves, corruption, and plain stupidity on the part of union leaders, and the whole thing slid off into the sea, never to be heard from again.
Most unions today are technical in nature - high demand workers who cannot easily be replaced. Plumbers, electricians, teachers. Government unions are also common - Airlines, Postal Workers, etc. This definately speaks something to the legitimacy of organizing a geek union.
I do believe it's possible. Geeks have shown repeatedly an interest in having their fair share of the pie in political issues. Strangely enough though, when pressed, they seem apathetic and indifferent - preferring to talk about the issues, but would rather not invest the time - "I'd rather be coding" would make a fine bumper sticker on most geekmobiles.
I honestly don't know whether it's possible. Technical unions are usually the most successful due to high demand and low availability. The question is - can you really herd cats? Can you convince the geeks of the world to unite in a shared vision (a better workplace)?
Contact me at this address if you'd like to talk more.
For speaking Heresy against the Holy Trinity (FreeBSD, Linux, and OS/2), we hereby sentence Bill Gates to the purgatory of Perpetual Beta, beyond the land of Broken Standards, in the Pit of The Unmoving Watch Icon.
For burning the Sacred documents of Truth, we bannish ye from our domain forevermore, and declare thy software Proprietary and Inferior!
May you burn in the hells of Eternal Tech Support for your crimes!
Only phaser-rifles. Handheld models do not have targetting systems.
On the other hand, it seems the star wars universe has no targetting systems at all - witness the imperial star destroyers - how many ships can zoom around those things without being shot? I mean, comeon - there's an entire fleet outside, and they can only get a hit maybe 1:150?
Atleast the Enterprise can do precision targetting ("Worf, disable their shields" *two shots later* "done.").
No, they didn't need to. They just sucked one into a subspace fissure. (one way trip, of course)
Now, have you ever seen a storm trooper actually *hit* his target within a reasonable period of time? How about a whole group of them? Now, in the star trek universe, they actually teach you how to aim your weapon.;)
Whoah, somebody must have received *just a few* too many flames. I read the entire critique, and I have to say it's really a nitpicker's guide to star wars. I mean, yes, the plot has some holes. But after reading that article, I wouldn't have been suprised to see "So there, Nyaaaah!" written at the end.
In my opinion, it was still a good movie dispite the holes in the plot. Take Armageddon - did you really think for one second that a nuclear warhead that might have weighed maybe 300 lbs was going to blow a asteroid the size of *texas* in half? No, but that doesn't mean the movie sucked for that fact alone (it sucked for other reasons *g*).
And finally, comparing Star Trek to Star Wars is just *asking* for the geeks here to break out their light sabres and phasers and go get medival on your ass. Those two universes are seperate. For one, Star Wars has far more interesting aliens. However, bar none, the Enterprise has the bigger guns.:) *ducking and running*
This is doubtless true. Even Einstein didn't create the atomic theory behind nuclear energy without help (manhattan project).
As a side note.. if it's true that electrons on the surface of the metal is what cause this.. wouldn't that mean that electromagnetic fields would have a major effect on it - especially high frequency transmissions?
I know. And Xerox != x consortium. I was just trying to be funny without worrying about hysterical raisining, er historical reasoning. That, and I wanted to make first post *and* have something intelligent to say. Alas, such things are unattainable.:)
Washington,DC -- Legal experts today commended a move by the Xerox to sue the computer industry for flagrant violation of it's patent on "windows". A spokesman for Xerox stated that "We invented the basic GUI that almost all modern computers are based on." Legal experts applauded the move, and some say this could prove a serious threat to the dominant Microsoft corporation.
Slashdot has also reported being sued by CNN news, for violation of it's proprietary look and feel interface to daily news. "Slashdot has intentionally ripped off the idea of using html code to distribute news to the masses, and we will not stand by while they continue to do this."
should be left on the bench. The only use is to justify your expenditures to management. Personal experience is the best measure of what works, and what doesn't. Let the marketing departments drool over them. Personally, I'd file them in the circular.
Benchmarks only test a very narrow spectrum of performance, and is rarely representative of real world performance. Witness the mindcraft benchmarks. Specint is a "standard" now in benchmarking, hence it's to be expected that companies will be adding special optimizations that wouldn't otherwise be done.
I was referring to we in terms of the english-speaking nations in general. Yes, the country of England did invent the system first, and then we ported it over to our cultu.. ooh, scratch that, we integrated it into our own culture.
Well, in honor of France's attempt at changing time, I hereby dub them Honorary Americans. Not since we invented the english system of weights and measurements has another scheme been so stupid as to evoke hysterical laughter from every other country on the globe.
And not a moment too soon.. David Letterman was running out of material.
Slashdot Mirror
You know, this is the country of Freedom of Religion. That means anybody in this country can practice any religion, parody any religion, or choose not to have any religion at all. And nobody has a right to denegrate anybody's religion, or lack thereof. If people disagree with somebody's religious viewpoints - fine. Saying you're right and everybody else is wrong and will be eternally damned if you don't believe them is not. I happen to take great pleasure in any group that takes itself just alittle too seriously - and this CAP warning definately fits the bill nicely.
Combining pseudo-science and mock-seriousness just about had me floored in fits of laughter. What's even better is the idea that merely watching a movie will earn you eternal damnation. Most religious groups that take themselves this seriously wind up on 60 minutes, or the evening news along with the latest FBI embarassement.
But since I know nothing less than a philosophical debate will satisfy things to certain people, I offer this brief insight into the world of theology - it is my opinion that finding God is a personal experience, and not one you can find simply reading scripture. CAP alerts, speeches about eternal damnation, and the latest Rush Limbaugh episode will not find you God. Only you can find Him, and only if you want to.
--
Save yourself the trouble of downloading the AOL source:
#include "makemoneyfast.h"
#include "spam.h"
#include "lawsuit.h"
void main()
{
while(mailbox_not_full()){
spam(makemoneyfast,50);
}
printf("You've got mail!\n");
if(lawsuit){
printf("We're not responsible, honest!\n");
deleteusers(5000);
printf("Problem fixed!\n");
while(ms_antitrust){
mergewitheverybody();
}
}
--
Ssshhh. Don't tell Mindcraft about this.
--
Send in the lawyers!
[rs.internic.net]
Access to Network Solutions' WHOIS information is provided to assist persons in determining the contents of a domain name registration record in NSI's registrar database. The data in this record is provided by NSI for informational purposes only, and NSI does not guarantee its accuracy. Compilation, repackaging, dissemination, or other use of the WHOIS database in its entirety, or a substantial portion thereof, is not allowed without NSI's prior written permission. By submitting this query, you agree to abide by this policy. All rights reserved.
Yahoo (YAHOO-DOM) YAHOO.COM
yahoo.com (DUZEN3-DOM) DUZEN.COM
yahoo.com, jcarr (JY2887) jcarr_10@YAHOO.COM
303-843-2121 (FAX) 303-843-2221
yahoo.com, trisdog (TY1503) trisdog6@YAHOO.COM
303-571-4930 (FAX) 303-571-4911
yahoo.com, trisdog (TY1504) trisdog6@YAHOO.COM
303-571-4930 (FAX) 303-571-4911
To single out one record, look it up with "!xxx", where xxx is the
handle, shown in parenthesis following the name, which comes first.
There. I repackaged it into this page. Come get some!
--
I have a friend who was working on the open qubit project - they've opensourced their work, but there seems to be a shortage of quantum physicists that know C. :)
Anyway, more interesting is the prospect of encryption with qubits using "intertwining" of particles to ensure that nobody can listen in on your conversation.. without you knowing about it. Think about it. If somebody "cracks" your encryption scheme, you know *right now*. That would basically eliminate alot of signals intelligence that the NSA engages in today. They won't be getting much funding from uncle sam, I can assure you of that!
--
If you're reading this, it's too late to get your OS Wars T-Shirt. :)
--
The GPL is not a "relic", because it is still actively developed and modified. Keep in mind it is at one end of the spectrum, with the other being proprietary software and NDAs. Somewhere between those two extremes lies "free" software, shareware, etc.
Secondly, the GPL has already passed OSI certification. It meets and exceeds every criteria. It is unyielding, whereas other licenses yield some (ie: the BSD-style) to allow commercial interests to make use of the code.
It's a tradeoff that you, as the developer, must decide.
--
I haven't seen any of this on license-discuss. Either the OSI has abandoned public input on licenses before they're "branded", or IBM has put out a press release alittle early.
--
... "The same thing we try to do every night pinky: try to take over the world!"
We don't need divine intervention to take over the world. Some help with getting IE5 out of windows would be nice though.
--
Yes, you can limit downstream bandwidth. Routers have QoS, the linux kernel has several shapers to choose from, etc. But upstream might be more difficult. A malicious customer could simply type ping -s 1500 -f www.somewhere.com, and flood the entire wireless link he/she was on. There isn't an easy way to fix this. You can, however, confinscate their equipment and/or report them to the FCC for causing harmful inteference if they do decide to take down the link. I know that several cablemodems use snmp to inject QoS filters at the hardware level. Maybe there's similar offerings for other NICs. It could help during an emergency, and also to help limit upstream bandwidth.
--
The idea has been kicked around on several listservs, as well as among a few of my friends. You're not the first one to notice the discrepancy between geek "workplace rights", and others. We're the ones usually staying well into the evening when the server crashes, we're the ones called in on holidays when a project is running late. Holiday vacation? Yeah, right - not until you finish your Y2K work.
Geeks may be getting the highest pay, but arguably the lowest QoS in the workplace. Stock options aren't as important to most of us as doing stuff we like to do - namely hacking code, gaming, and just having fun online. All those things are routinely forbidden in today's modern workplace.. where productivity reigns king.
The 1930's through to about the mid 60's brought in organized unions for the masses - auto workers, factory workers, ad nauseum. It was the unions that created public education - to ensure that their kids got the same right to an education that a rich person did.
Those unions were smashed to pieces by cunning political moves, corruption, and plain stupidity on the part of union leaders, and the whole thing slid off into the sea, never to be heard from again.
Most unions today are technical in nature - high demand workers who cannot easily be replaced. Plumbers, electricians, teachers. Government unions are also common - Airlines, Postal Workers, etc. This definately speaks something to the legitimacy of organizing a geek union.
I do believe it's possible. Geeks have shown repeatedly an interest in having their fair share of the pie in political issues. Strangely enough though, when pressed, they seem apathetic and indifferent - preferring to talk about the issues, but would rather not invest the time - "I'd rather be coding" would make a fine bumper sticker on most geekmobiles.
I honestly don't know whether it's possible. Technical unions are usually the most successful due to high demand and low availability. The question is - can you really herd cats? Can you convince the geeks of the world to unite in a shared vision (a better workplace)?
Contact me at this address if you'd like to talk more.
--
Oh yeah, and for that browser-integration stuff? We're not terribly happy about that either.
--
For speaking Heresy against the Holy Trinity (FreeBSD, Linux, and OS/2), we hereby sentence Bill Gates to the purgatory of Perpetual Beta, beyond the land of Broken Standards, in the Pit of The Unmoving Watch Icon.
For burning the Sacred documents of Truth, we bannish ye from our domain forevermore, and declare thy software Proprietary and Inferior!
May you burn in the hells of Eternal Tech Support for your crimes!
--
You know, a simple "the show was cool" would have been enough...
--
Only phaser-rifles. Handheld models do not have targetting systems.
On the other hand, it seems the star wars universe has no targetting systems at all - witness the imperial star destroyers - how many ships can zoom around those things without being shot? I mean, comeon - there's an entire fleet outside, and they can only get a hit maybe 1:150?
Atleast the Enterprise can do precision targetting ("Worf, disable their shields" *two shots later* "done.").
--
No, they didn't need to. They just sucked one into a subspace fissure. (one way trip, of course)
;)
Now, have you ever seen a storm trooper actually *hit* his target within a reasonable period of time? How about a whole group of them? Now, in the star trek universe, they actually teach you how to aim your weapon.
--
Whoah, somebody must have received *just a few* too many flames. I read the entire critique, and I have to say it's really a nitpicker's guide to star wars. I mean, yes, the plot has some holes. But after reading that article, I wouldn't have been suprised to see "So there, Nyaaaah!" written at the end.
:) *ducking and running*
In my opinion, it was still a good movie dispite the holes in the plot. Take Armageddon - did you really think for one second that a nuclear warhead that might have weighed maybe 300 lbs was going to blow a asteroid the size of *texas* in half? No, but that doesn't mean the movie sucked for that fact alone (it sucked for other reasons *g*).
And finally, comparing Star Trek to Star Wars is just *asking* for the geeks here to break out their light sabres and phasers and go get medival on your ass. Those two universes are seperate. For one, Star Wars has far more interesting aliens. However, bar none, the Enterprise has the bigger guns.
--
This is doubtless true. Even Einstein didn't create the atomic theory behind nuclear energy without help (manhattan project).
As a side note.. if it's true that electrons on the surface of the metal is what cause this.. wouldn't that mean that electromagnetic fields would have a major effect on it - especially high frequency transmissions?
--
I know. And Xerox != x consortium. I was just trying to be funny without worrying about hysterical raisining, er historical reasoning. That, and I wanted to make first post *and* have something intelligent to say. Alas, such things are unattainable. :)
--
Washington,DC -- Legal experts today commended a move by the Xerox to sue the computer industry for flagrant violation of it's patent on "windows". A spokesman for Xerox stated that "We invented the basic GUI that almost all modern computers are based on." Legal experts applauded the move, and some say this could prove a serious threat to the dominant Microsoft corporation.
Slashdot has also reported being sued by CNN news, for violation of it's proprietary look and feel interface to daily news. "Slashdot has intentionally ripped off the idea of using html code to distribute news to the masses, and we will not stand by while they continue to do this."
--
should be left on the bench. The only use is to justify your expenditures to management. Personal experience is the best measure of what works, and what doesn't. Let the marketing departments drool over them. Personally, I'd file them in the circular.
Benchmarks only test a very narrow spectrum of performance, and is rarely representative of real world performance. Witness the mindcraft benchmarks. Specint is a "standard" now in benchmarking, hence it's to be expected that companies will be adding special optimizations that wouldn't otherwise be done.
--
I was referring to we in terms of the english-speaking nations in general. Yes, the country of England did invent the system first, and then we ported it over to our cultu.. ooh, scratch that, we integrated it into our own culture.
--
Oh yeah? We have Monty Python.
"I fart in your general direction!"
--
Well, in honor of France's attempt at changing time, I hereby dub them Honorary Americans. Not since we invented the english system of weights and measurements has another scheme been so stupid as to evoke hysterical laughter from every other country on the globe.
And not a moment too soon.. David Letterman was running out of material.
--
I'm sure microsoft PR is going to have a field-day with this. "See, See! proof that open source doesn't work", they'll all cry in unison.
It'll get finished. Planning what may very well be the most important piece of software most users will run on their system takes time.
In the meantime.. brace yourselves for the FUD-slinging.
--