Actually, I liked Caprica very much. I thought it was underrated. I think people expected it to be a copy of Galactica, and were disappointed when it carved out its own style and pace. Too many people were tuning in expecting cool cylon battles, only to get complex explorations of family and religion instead. It was less space opera and more about asking questions like "Can a disembodied human still have a soul?" It never really caught on, but I will miss it.
Never watched Lost.
I watched a few episodes of Babylon 5 and didn't care for them, but was impressed with one of the follow-up TV movies they did.
This is one of those series that I keep hearing fellow geeks talk about (like Eureka) that I just don't get. I tried watching a couple of episodes of this show early on, and all I saw was a pretty boring, predictable, and pedestrian "incident of the week" show with some pretty silly supernatural or pseudo-scientific themes. It reminded me of the X-files in that regard (with the notable exceptions of the frickin' *brilliant* X-files episodes that Darin Morgan wrote).
So what is supposed to be so great about this series, again?
I too have taken the "Believe it when I see it" view of DNF. Frankly I think this latest round is just a big publicity stunt. Come April 1st, Gearbox will announce "April Fools!" and reveal it was all a big hoax.
A lot of companies have done this sort of thing over the years. I remember even my old university used special screws on everything in the dorms to keep the students from tampering with anything in their rooms without authorization. And, as for Apple, at least they HAVE screws now. Anyone remember having to pry open their Mac Mini with a freaking putty knife?
Does is suck? Yep. Is is anything new? Nope.
The only thing that strikes me as new is the issue of patenting the screw design to keep third parties from designing screwdrivers. I wasn't even aware that screws were patentable. But I guess you can patent anything these days.
Because it seems like a shell game that takes the teeth out of anti-pollution laws (by letting the wealthy and well-connected buy what are, effectively, exemptions to the law). The whole thing looks like a con where everyone can SAY they're fighting pollution, without anyone actually having to really change or really sacrifice anything.
Questions like "Are you now, or have you ever been a Communist--or voted Democrat?" "Have you ever criticized NASA, one of its employees, or a relative of one of its employees?" and "Does the movie Red Dawn give you an erection and, if not, why?" are vital in assessing the security risk of a new employee or contractor. Otherwise, they had might as well put a sign out that says "Pinkos and homosexuals welcome!"
NASA is the first line of defense, people. Their job isn't to hire good engineers, it's to hire good AMERICANS!
It varies greatly from device to device. I have a Xbox 360 and a bluray player that both support Netflix. My 360 almost never has buffering issues, but the blu-ray player is constantly having them (even though it has a gig of storage built-in). This is especially true of HD movies.
Having one minor hoop to jump through before visiting Cuba (flying through Canada)
Actually, it's illegal for a U.S. citizen to do that. And, as I noted in my original post, the restrictions are FAR from limited to "sensitive military technology."
Is there some particular reason you trust any statement on open source that comes from Microsoft
I would agree, but counter with the question: Is there some particular reason you trust any statement on open source that comes from OSS fanatics who have a quasi-religious devotion to open source software?
I predict that this report will be met with much skepticism on/.
I also predict that I will make the argument that open source really *isn't* always all it's cracked up to be--and be shouted down by many, many voices
I always love a government that tells me where I can and can't travel, where I can and can't sell my stuff, who I can and can't talk to--then proceeds to bad-mouth everyone else for not being free enough. Even when I was a kid and everyone was chiding the Ruskies with the "Papers please" and "In Russia you can't travel around or say whatever you want without government permission" I was stuck with the hypocrisy. Try telling the next cop who pulls you over that you don't need to show him your papers and see what happens. Try to take a vacation to Cuba sometime and see how free you are to travel anywhere. Try to export your software (or any other goods) to a country the U.S. doesn't like at the moment (i.e. countries who won't play ball) and see who comes knocking on your door.
What if the Google guys legitimately believe that the Iranian government is running a peaceful nuclear program and is being unfairly targeted by a hostile U.S. ally (Israel)? Not saying this is the case, but shouldn't they still be able to sell them non-weapon/non-military software if they want to? That's hardly an unreasonable "freedom" in a country that holds itself as a bastion of both personal freedom and glorious capitalism.
Maybe I would see it differently if the U.S. were actually at *WAR* with Iran. But if the criterion is "any country we don't like today," then exporting any product must be a goddamn nightmare for any international corporation.
Well, ask yourself this. If your boss came to you and said "We're working on a new project and I want you to learn how to program for the iPhone" would you argue with him for an hour on how the iPhone sucks, or would you embrace it as a new opportunity to learn something new?
That's the difference between someone who's intellectually curious (and always looking to better themselves) and someone who's dug their heals in and is becoming more a liability every day.
While I agree that experience should, of course, count towards salary--I've also encountered a *LOT* of IT staff in general and programmers in particular who stubbornly refused to learn anything new after they left college (or shortly afterward). They fell further and further behind and became more useless every day. I have absolutely no sympathy for someone who works in a field as fast-changing as a computer-related field and refuses to learn new skills (including, *GASP*, on your OWN time). These are not professions in which it is cute (or acceptable in any way) to be the old curmudgeon.
Would you want a doctor who still exclusively used surgical techniques from the 50's to perform your open-heart surgery? Would you want a mechanic who hasn't learned anything new in 20 years to work on your Prius? Well, the IT world changes *way* faster than either of those fields.
No, the most obvious explanation is that it's coming from the country with the most to gain (Israel), an intelligence service that is highly skilled and has been working to infiltrate Iran's military and nuclear program for years (Israel), and more than anyone wants to stop Iran from going nuclear (Israel). Of course, you can construct any number of other conspiracy theories to absolve them if you REALLY want to believe they didn't do it. But considering that Israel makes no secret that it has a cyberwarfare division, no secret that it wants to stop Iran's program, and hasn't issued any sort of denial that they were involved with this attack--I think your defense is particularly deluded.
You mean like how the U.S. blew up its own World Trade Center, just as an excuse to attack the Muslim world?
Because most attacks aren't instigated by the far-and-away most obvious attacker(s)--but are equally as likely to be coming from anywhere, including from the victim. It's all a big conspiracy, you know.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, I liked Caprica very much. I thought it was underrated. I think people expected it to be a copy of Galactica, and were disappointed when it carved out its own style and pace. Too many people were tuning in expecting cool cylon battles, only to get complex explorations of family and religion instead. It was less space opera and more about asking questions like "Can a disembodied human still have a soul?" It never really caught on, but I will miss it.
Never watched Lost.
I watched a few episodes of Babylon 5 and didn't care for them, but was impressed with one of the follow-up TV movies they did.
This is one of those series that I keep hearing fellow geeks talk about (like Eureka) that I just don't get. I tried watching a couple of episodes of this show early on, and all I saw was a pretty boring, predictable, and pedestrian "incident of the week" show with some pretty silly supernatural or pseudo-scientific themes. It reminded me of the X-files in that regard (with the notable exceptions of the frickin' *brilliant* X-files episodes that Darin Morgan wrote).
So what is supposed to be so great about this series, again?
I too have taken the "Believe it when I see it" view of DNF. Frankly I think this latest round is just a big publicity stunt. Come April 1st, Gearbox will announce "April Fools!" and reveal it was all a big hoax.
A lot of companies have done this sort of thing over the years. I remember even my old university used special screws on everything in the dorms to keep the students from tampering with anything in their rooms without authorization. And, as for Apple, at least they HAVE screws now. Anyone remember having to pry open their Mac Mini with a freaking putty knife?
Does is suck? Yep. Is is anything new? Nope.
The only thing that strikes me as new is the issue of patenting the screw design to keep third parties from designing screwdrivers. I wasn't even aware that screws were patentable. But I guess you can patent anything these days.
Because it seems like a shell game that takes the teeth out of anti-pollution laws (by letting the wealthy and well-connected buy what are, effectively, exemptions to the law). The whole thing looks like a con where everyone can SAY they're fighting pollution, without anyone actually having to really change or really sacrifice anything.
I always assumed this whole silly emissions trading business was just one big scam already.
That probably explains why "NASA Open Mike Night" at the Cape Comedy Club was always such a let-down.
Village Roadshow Pictures
Forget it. there is NO WAY I'm giving up my "Sex and the City 2" blu-ray!
Says you. For all we know, you work for them.
If you ARE the source, maybe next time you shouldn't submit anonymously.
"Have you ever had sex with an animal?"
I bet they wouldn't find it amusing if I responded with "Does your director's wife count?"
They were aiming for the stars, but accidentally hit London.
You're not getting hired, buddy!
Questions like "Are you now, or have you ever been a Communist--or voted Democrat?" "Have you ever criticized NASA, one of its employees, or a relative of one of its employees?" and "Does the movie Red Dawn give you an erection and, if not, why?" are vital in assessing the security risk of a new employee or contractor. Otherwise, they had might as well put a sign out that says "Pinkos and homosexuals welcome!"
NASA is the first line of defense, people. Their job isn't to hire good engineers, it's to hire good AMERICANS!
It varies greatly from device to device. I have a Xbox 360 and a bluray player that both support Netflix. My 360 almost never has buffering issues, but the blu-ray player is constantly having them (even though it has a gig of storage built-in). This is especially true of HD movies.
Having one minor hoop to jump through before visiting Cuba (flying through Canada)
Actually, it's illegal for a U.S. citizen to do that. And, as I noted in my original post, the restrictions are FAR from limited to "sensitive military technology."
Next thing you know, they will allow us to use curse language.
Is there some particular reason you trust any statement on open source that comes from Microsoft
I would agree, but counter with the question: Is there some particular reason you trust any statement on open source that comes from OSS fanatics who have a quasi-religious devotion to open source software?
I predict that this report will be met with much skepticism on /.
I also predict that I will make the argument that open source really *isn't* always all it's cracked up to be--and be shouted down by many, many voices
And that's why a kid is more valuable than you. He does have the time.
The existing workforce doesn't get raises, or only gets a pittance
IT is hardly alone in that regard. I've working in several fields where the best (or only) way to get a raise was to "job hop."
I always love a government that tells me where I can and can't travel, where I can and can't sell my stuff, who I can and can't talk to--then proceeds to bad-mouth everyone else for not being free enough. Even when I was a kid and everyone was chiding the Ruskies with the "Papers please" and "In Russia you can't travel around or say whatever you want without government permission" I was stuck with the hypocrisy. Try telling the next cop who pulls you over that you don't need to show him your papers and see what happens. Try to take a vacation to Cuba sometime and see how free you are to travel anywhere. Try to export your software (or any other goods) to a country the U.S. doesn't like at the moment (i.e. countries who won't play ball) and see who comes knocking on your door.
What if the Google guys legitimately believe that the Iranian government is running a peaceful nuclear program and is being unfairly targeted by a hostile U.S. ally (Israel)? Not saying this is the case, but shouldn't they still be able to sell them non-weapon/non-military software if they want to? That's hardly an unreasonable "freedom" in a country that holds itself as a bastion of both personal freedom and glorious capitalism.
Maybe I would see it differently if the U.S. were actually at *WAR* with Iran. But if the criterion is "any country we don't like today," then exporting any product must be a goddamn nightmare for any international corporation.
Well, ask yourself this. If your boss came to you and said "We're working on a new project and I want you to learn how to program for the iPhone" would you argue with him for an hour on how the iPhone sucks, or would you embrace it as a new opportunity to learn something new?
That's the difference between someone who's intellectually curious (and always looking to better themselves) and someone who's dug their heals in and is becoming more a liability every day.
While I agree that experience should, of course, count towards salary--I've also encountered a *LOT* of IT staff in general and programmers in particular who stubbornly refused to learn anything new after they left college (or shortly afterward). They fell further and further behind and became more useless every day. I have absolutely no sympathy for someone who works in a field as fast-changing as a computer-related field and refuses to learn new skills (including, *GASP*, on your OWN time). These are not professions in which it is cute (or acceptable in any way) to be the old curmudgeon.
Would you want a doctor who still exclusively used surgical techniques from the 50's to perform your open-heart surgery? Would you want a mechanic who hasn't learned anything new in 20 years to work on your Prius? Well, the IT world changes *way* faster than either of those fields.
No, the most obvious explanation is that it's coming from the country with the most to gain (Israel), an intelligence service that is highly skilled and has been working to infiltrate Iran's military and nuclear program for years (Israel), and more than anyone wants to stop Iran from going nuclear (Israel). Of course, you can construct any number of other conspiracy theories to absolve them if you REALLY want to believe they didn't do it. But considering that Israel makes no secret that it has a cyberwarfare division, no secret that it wants to stop Iran's program, and hasn't issued any sort of denial that they were involved with this attack--I think your defense is particularly deluded.
You mean like how the U.S. blew up its own World Trade Center, just as an excuse to attack the Muslim world?
Because most attacks aren't instigated by the far-and-away most obvious attacker(s)--but are equally as likely to be coming from anywhere, including from the victim. It's all a big conspiracy, you know.