Slashdot Mirror


User: CaroKann

CaroKann's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
127
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 127

  1. Re:Lead Paint Theory is Flawed on Senior Game Designer Talks About Game Violence, Real Violence, and Lead (Video) · · Score: 2

    I can imagine kids eating paint chips. However, from what I've heard, it's not so much the paint chips as it is the dust from deteriorating paint. Have you ever run your finger along a dirty windowsill? A lot of that is not just regular dust and dirt, it also contains paint dust.

  2. Re:Cuts on USPS Reports $15.9 Billion Loss, Asks Congress For Help · · Score: 1

    After reading this thread I could not help but remember how my last package was delivered. The package was shipped using Fed Ex, but it arrived via USPS. Fed Ex flew it across the country, then dropped it into the mail for the last hundred miles. That tells me it's more economical for them to use the USPS instead of their own trucks for the last leg of the journey.

  3. Snowfall on Hurricane Sandy Nears East Coast · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One interesting aspect about this storm is the snowfall. Snowfall is expected in WV and KY. Moisture from the storm is wrapping around into cold air in the higher elevations. A hurricane producing snow, how unusual! http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/291149.shtml?

  4. People start to make stuff up on Ask Slashdot: When Does Time Tracking at Work Go Too Far? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've noticed that when companies start to go overboard with the amount of time and/or project tracking detail people need to record, employees resort to just making stuff up. I'm not saying they out-right lie, but because it's impossible to have a system detailed enough to record every little thing that may happen in a work day, people will often just pick a generic bucket to dump time into for things they don't remember or don't know how to categorize.

    This defeats the purpose of installing these types of systems. Instead of simply not knowing exactly what employees are spending their time on, they now have an inaccurate or down-right false picture of what employees are doing. This can lead the management to make the wrong decisions on things such as when to hire or how to allocate resources, especially when they believe the data over their lower level managers.

  5. Re:Over dramatic much? on This Is What Wall Street's Terrifying Robot Invasion Looks Like · · Score: 1

    One thing I've always wondered: If the market for the most part trades based on other trades, then it is basically trading with itself. It is a closed system, occasionally infused with data from the real world. What meaning then does the stock price have?

    As I understand it, supposedly the market arrives at a price based on its perception of the value of the underlying company, with its future prospects and the time value of money factored in. Unless these algorithms are taking this data into account, I'm not sure this idea is true now. After all, these algorithms are the ones setting the price. If they are not looking at the underlying company while setting the price, then the price they set has nothing to do with the underlying company or its prospects. Of course, there are still trades made that take the fundamentals into account, but as more volume becomes algorithmic volume, then the relationship between the stock price and the underlying value of the company becomes more tenuous.

  6. Two "World" books on Ask Slashdot: Good, Forgotten Fantasy & Science Fiction Novels? · · Score: 1

    I remember "The Wall at the Edge of the World" by Jim Aikin and "The Shattered World" by Michael Reaves.

    The first novel is about a dystopia set in the future. Mankind consists of a small totalitarian, telepathic, hive-like society. The old world was destroyed by this society and has long since returned to a wild state. However, small groups of ordinary survivors still remain, and when they discover the telepathic society, confict results.

    The second novel is a fantasy novel, set in a world that was broken up by magic. I honestly don't remember much of the plot now, but the novel was set in a very original world that I still remember.

  7. Re:Great... on UK Plans Private Police Force · · Score: 1

    No, ED-209! Then, after OCP destroys "Old London", it can start on "Delta City". Delta City certainly looks like the kind of place I would want to live.

  8. Good idea for a movie on Amateur UAV Pilot Exposes Texas River of Blood · · Score: 1

    There is a good horror/sci-fi/suspense movie here somewhere.

  9. I wish they would hire more. on The 'Cable Guy' Now a Network Specialist · · Score: 1

    Based on my own experiences, my cable company now tries to discourage technician visits. It takes a week to get an appointment, even if you have no service.

    Now, they are encouraging customers to go to the local cable office to pick up their own equipment and install it themselves.

    In recent years, the equipment itself has changed. The cable box is now a simple box, without even an on/off button. I think the idea is supposed to be "hook it up, plug it in, it works", requiring no expensive visit. Unfortunately it does not always work that way.

    In my case, after hooking everything up and having the cable company register the box over the phone, the box would simply die. I could not even be able to turn it on. Following their advice, I did three exchanges before I lucked out with a phone person who knew what was happening. After entering a series of secret codes using the remote, the box suddenly worked. I don't think the boxes were physically defective at all. It would have been so much easier to have someone come out.

    Now if only all of my channels would work...

  10. The horses are gone on Bill Gates Takes the Stand In WordPerfect Trial · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wordperfect? Windows 95? What decade are we talking about here? Not only have the horses left the barn, they have established a healthy feral population.

  11. The budget in pictures on Debt Reduction Super Committee Fails To Agree · · Score: 2

    For this subject, it's useful to see tax revenue and expenditures in a pie chart format. Even though this data is a little old, it still provides a good view of the landscape. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget

  12. Just like "The Carnival" by Michael Fedo on Designer Creates "Euthanasia Roller Coaster" · · Score: 1

    This reminds me of a short story called "The Carnival" by Michael Fedo. I read it in junior high school. It was a good creepy read. I've always thought it would make a good Twilight Zone episode.

  13. Re:CEOs Unwilling Even To Pay For Technical Debt on IBM Chief: All CEOs Reluctant To Invest In R&D · · Score: 1

    "So, developers do the refactoring on the sly. If they are really honorable, they come in on their own time and implement architectural improvements on their own dime."

    I used to have this attitude when I first started out, but I learned the hard way that the best thing a developer can do is leave well enough alone, "first, do no harm". This is especially true for hacked up, patched up code. Chances are, ugly as it is, that code is working as expected, especially if it's old, and you may not be able to figure out all of the subtle behavior. You will miss a few subtleties, and introduce bugs or unexpected behavior in a part of the system that was considered to be correct. In addition, you will have the client complaining "We only agreed to fix this one specific issue. What are you doing making all of these other changes?"

    Clients and management what to know exactly where things stand. They don't like surprises.

  14. All grown up on Ex-Google Engineer Blasts Google's Technology · · Score: 2

    Sounds like to me that Google's all grown up now.

  15. Re:So... on What Cities Want Your IT Skills? · · Score: 1

    Everyone is always chomping at the bit to work on something, so you need project managers to make sure that only the right work gets done. If you need a garden shed then don't let them build a skyscraper. Instead direct that extra energy to get some weeds pulled.

  16. Speaking via ambient noise on Gadgets For the Ghosthunter · · Score: 1

    I think there may be something behind the idea of hearing voices in white noise. I leave my floor fan on all night in the hallway. Sometimes, I wake up thinking I am hearing garbled voices or screams. When I turn the fan off, it disappears. I wonder if this is an audio illusion. It may be the mind trying to make something sensible out of the fans white noise, in the same way your mind makes faces out of the clouds.

  17. How much is 150 GB on AT&T To Introduce Broadband Caps · · Score: 1

    How much is 150 GB? How many hours of youtube or typical game playing will it take to use that up? How many windows updates will it take? If they want to limit traffic, they should provide some tools to help customers gain more control over their data usage. For example, lots of advertisers make heavy use of video on popular websites. I don't want stuff like that eating into my monthly cap, and I would like some tool or option to block that type of traffic.

  18. Re:Why would you refuse a breathalyzer? on 'No Refusal' DUI Checkpoints Coming To Florida? · · Score: 2

    In most parts of the USA, having your license suspended or revoked is almost the same as house arrest.

  19. Knitting on What's the Oracle Trial Against SAP Really About? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    All HP has to do is focus on their knitting. Make great products and take great care of your customers. You don't need lots of sound-and-fury drama to be a great company

  20. Taken seriously? on TSA To Make Pat-Downs More Embarrassing To Encourage Scanner Use · · Score: 1

    Was this article supposed to be taken seriously? It sounds like an attempt at bawdy humor to me.

  21. Who owns existing towers? on Long Island Town Enacts Tough Cell Tower Limits · · Score: 1

    This only bans new towers. This means existing towers will now be worth much more. Who owns those?

  22. Re:What do you mean 2001? on New Email Worm Squirming Through Windows Users' Inboxes · · Score: 1

    In this day and age, you would think it would not be possible to download and install a program simply by clicking on an email link. I would have thought Microsoft would have taken that 'feature' out 8-9 years ago.

  23. Re:Left out the best part on Iran Unveils Its First UAV Bomber · · Score: 1

    "The Ambassador Of Death" sounds like the type of phrase Fox News would like. Is Iran intentionally angling for Fox attention? Why?

  24. Why not Microsoft, Nokia, or Sony? on Apple, RIM, Google All Bid On Palm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think these companies missed out on a good thing.

    Microsoft would gain the WebOS, plus some phone hardware. In Microsoft's hands, the WebOS could have been offered across multiple hardware platforms, creating a good competitor to Android. Or, Microsoft could have simply folded aspects of the WebOS into Windows 7.

    Nokia would have immediately regained a good, solid foothold in the US market.

    Sony would have gained a versatile OS to power its device portfolio.

  25. Re:Interesting Pattern Near the Ring of Fire on ESA's GOCE Satellite Provides Gravity Map of Earth · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It looks like there could also be a relation to continental movements in some areas. The cooler colored areas appear to be trailing behind fast moving continental plates, almost like a backwash. Look at the southern tip of India, which is quickly moving north into Asia. There is a cool area to the south of the California plate, which is moving north. There is another cool area off the east coast of North America and to the east of the Caribbean.