i doubt SBC even screwed up, why would a DSL technician be deleting user files unless the guy saved his scripts in c/windows/drivers or something like that.
I have it on good authority that field techs are by no means 1337 h4x0rs. They only seem to know what the desktop looks like on their machines.
I also kinda doubt that the tech in question was following proper procedure.
But in some cases, such as this, the government needs to step in a fill the primary reason for having a government: to protect those that cannot protect themselves
Funny, I don't see that in The Constitution.
Well, let's go through it piece by piece, and we'll start from the beginning:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty, to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Hey, it looks like we found something already!
Both groups want the government to protect their business, and government protection of a business is always bad for consumers because it prevents other businesses from competing against the protected business.
It's not economic competition unless they both offer competing products, which they generally don't.
Demand them to remove regulation, thus enabling compettition for AT&T.
How do you think the new competitor would get the necessary telecom infrastructure? Rent it from AT&T?
If AT&T is really screwing you over, then you'll gladly switch services if given the choice.
If only barriers to entry were lower (and they aren't there just because of regulation), there would actually be a choice.
Very possible for homosexuals with a durable power of attorney.
I don't really know a whole lot about this situation, but that sounds like you're bringing a lawyer in -- and that sounds expensive.
Because, of course, if "redneck" doesn't apply exclusively to white people, as you claim, then we should find all kinds of ethnicities described with that word, right?
You've built a very nice straw man here.
As far as I can tell, the word "nigger" is meant to apply to all blacks. However, "redneck" is not generally considered a racist term because it takes more than being white for "redneck" to apply. It generally includes other things, such as education level, economic status, and location.
What people should really be looking for isn't the split between Ivy League and all other schools, but the divide between private schools and public schools.
The middle class can easy afford that. They can just sell one of their weekend homes or hummers.
Bullshit.
I go to a public school because that's what my family can afford.
And to the GP... It's not just the Ivies that "fuck the middle class." Need-based aid programs in general need to take another look at reality: a family of four cannot reasonably be expected to put half of its income towards supporting a single family member.
And of those 280 million, how many don't own guns only because they can't?
I only know one person who doesn't own a gun for legal reasons, and it's probably a law you'd like to keep (deals with mental health).
That sounds a lot like my setup:
15-inch laptop, with a USB hub, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
When I want to take it on the road, I can just bring the lappy (fits in a briefcase-size carrier, which in turn fits in my bag) and the mouse (fits in my pocket).
It would be much easier to carry than a desktop.
Which is why I have a laptop.
As has been said in other comments, those machines have the worst qualities of both desktops and laptops.
This stupid ploy that the Baby Bells are making to reassert their nationwide monopoly will be their downfall.
How exactly is this going to happen?
There's plenty of recourse the other major backbone providers can use to totally bitchslap them if they try anything sleezy.
And they have about as much incentive to do so as the UAE has to split from OPEC.
at least we have a slight chance to influence a corporation, government, ours, theirs, whomevers, have proven time and time again that they are beyond our influence.
If Dennis Hastert screws too many people over, he can be voted out of office. Can't say the same for Ed Whitacre.
the primary difference between corporations and governments is that there will always be at least one other corporation wanting to sell us something different while government will simply strike the same old tune over and over and over.
Any suggestion that there is telecom competition is bullshit.
yeah I know some corporations wield considerable power but even they are beholden to governments. do you really want all the cards held by government?
Actually, corporate lobbyists have been writing the legislation for quite a while now -- then the Congresscritters just push it through the legislature for them.
Kinda reminds me of those people who don't vote because they don't think there's any difference between any two politicians. That's fine with me -- if you can't tell the difference between the Clinton administration and the Bush administration, you probably shouldn't be voting.
Re:Cheaper isn't everything
on
The Art of SQL
·
· Score: 1
There are two somewhat local bookstores I like to visit -- one used bookstore, and one cooperatively owned bookstore. Their inventory is a good match for what I'd be interested in buying, and I like the atmosphere in the stores themselves. Amazon is a nice substitute while I'm away at school, but there's more to these bookstores than the books themselves.
But the small chain stores could never carry the inventory to be able to go in and pick up any book in publish.
Frankly, I don't much care that the used bookstore doesn't carry everything under the sun. When I'm looking for variety, I don't mind reading something old or foreign. (The availability of out-of-print material is something of a novelty -- it can be interesting but is rarely of value.)
As for the other bookstore, they actually will take special orders, and they have even done overseas orders.
As far as the "local shop" mentality. Why support a company that doesn't innovate?
Because in many markets, innovation is not necessary.
If they choose not to go that route, I don't see why we as consumers should have to pay more for their lack of foresight/expansion.
I can't say I feel like I'm paying any extra by buying at these shops. At one, I get a 10% discount, plus a share of the profits. At the other, prices are down from the cover price by over 50%.
You're trying to draw attention away from the portability issue, which what the OP brought up in the first place. If I write code in Java, I can run it on a non-Solaris box. If I write code in VB, I can't run it on a non-Windows box.
My guess would be that at least 40% of that time was to appease management. It certainly wasn't highly productive time -- as you said, tired people don't work as well.
That said, every time I remove myself from distractions and sit down to work on a (somewhat interesting) project, even with a quickly approaching deadline, I can work for 6 hours straight and not feel tired at the end (not sure what this is like if repeated more than three days in a row).
Unfortunately, my current office environment does not seem ideal for this. Work does not keep appearing with any consistency (we spend more than half of some days waiting for something to do), work time is interrupted by management (why did we have to spend a full hour in that meeting?), and coworkers often provide distractions as well (lots of non-work related conversation).
The reason you are the whipping boys is because most of you are inarticulate and don't know how to win at office politics.
Oooh, now there's irrefutable justification.
Furthermore, you trained for a support role, and like janitors and cleaners and everyone else in that group, you don't get to be important.
Really? I thought "training" for software development meant it was somebody else's job to show the users how to use a computer. You know, kinda like how it's not the engineer's job to go around the building tightening all the bolts, mending the pipes, etc.
Re:Depends a lot on what type of work you do, too.
on
On Point On Slacking
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· Score: 2, Funny
Yes, I'll go get ready for all the problems that are going to come up tomorrow. Let's see....
There's this guy a couple cubes over -- his computer will crash, and he's going to come to me for help. I'd better make sure I'm not out of the office at that time. Wait, what time will that be? *engages magcial foresight* It'll crash at about 12:30, so I better eat lunch a bit late.
What's next... My boss is going to finally get the email with the new project specs, but the email is a bit late by now. I'd better start working on that project now -- don't want to push the deadline too far. Sure, I don't have the specs yet, but I can divine what they will be with this here crystal ball.
Oh, and my friend's car is going to break down too. I'll remind him to call the mechanic and ask them to have a truck ready for his car. I'll also make sure to look along the side of the highway for him. Actually, I'll get there early and wait for his car to break down. I know by my magical predictive power that it'll break down just past the exit at Route 68.
Yeah... everyone should be able to forsee problems and be prepared when they come up.
All my roommate and I did was bunk the beds. That way, he and his girlfriend had their own space -- of course, being on the lower bunk meant they had to wait until I was in my own bed, but that didn't stop them.
Of course wiring is expensive, and somebody has to pay for it. The difference is that right now that's being done with taxation, and the alternative would basically be the same, only that only those streets that would sign up for some kind of service would pay for wiring. Someone always pays for it. Today it'd probably be part of the house-buying contract, or included in the rent (i.e. the cost spread out over many years).
If it were directly from taxation, the wires would be gov't owned. As it is, the utility companies own the infrastructure they use, including the land it's set up on (e.g. the land those power lines near my house are on is owned by Commonwealth Edison).
As for individual streets paying, there is no government at the street level, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't object to adding another layer of bureaucracy like that. This would be handled by the municipal public works department, and they'd have to go all-or-nothing.
I can't see where you get your idea from that phone/internet etc. is not a product that would work with a free market (whatever "not work" would mean...).
I can't see where you got the idea that I said phone, internet, etc. don't work in a proper free market.
What I said is that waiting for them to become proper free markets is not going to work -- they're not going to become that any time soon.
Anarchy? Yes, I'd like that. Of course there has to be law, but I think it'd be vastly better than the current situation
So, not exactly anarchy, but not this plutocracy?
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i doubt SBC even screwed up, why would a DSL technician be deleting user files unless the guy saved his scripts in c/windows/drivers or something like that.
I have it on good authority that field techs are by no means 1337 h4x0rs. They only seem to know what the desktop looks like on their machines.
I also kinda doubt that the tech in question was following proper procedure.
But in some cases, such as this, the government needs to step in a fill the primary reason for having a government: to protect those that cannot protect themselves
Funny, I don't see that in The Constitution.
Well, let's go through it piece by piece, and we'll start from the beginning:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty, to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Hey, it looks like we found something already!
Both groups want the government to protect their business, and government protection of a business is always bad for consumers because it prevents other businesses from competing against the protected business.
It's not economic competition unless they both offer competing products, which they generally don't.
Demand them to remove regulation, thus enabling compettition for AT&T.
How do you think the new competitor would get the necessary telecom infrastructure? Rent it from AT&T?
If AT&T is really screwing you over, then you'll gladly switch services if given the choice.
If only barriers to entry were lower (and they aren't there just because of regulation), there would actually be a choice.
Very possible for homosexuals with a durable power of attorney.
I don't really know a whole lot about this situation, but that sounds like you're bringing a lawyer in -- and that sounds expensive.
Because, of course, if "redneck" doesn't apply exclusively to white people, as you claim, then we should find all kinds of ethnicities described with that word, right?
You've built a very nice straw man here.
As far as I can tell, the word "nigger" is meant to apply to all blacks. However, "redneck" is not generally considered a racist term because it takes more than being white for "redneck" to apply. It generally includes other things, such as education level, economic status, and location.
And even if you do need more ports, USB hubs aren't all that expensive.
What people should really be looking for isn't the split between Ivy League and all other schools, but the divide between private schools and public schools.
The middle class can easy afford that. They can just sell one of their weekend homes or hummers.
Bullshit.
I go to a public school because that's what my family can afford.
And to the GP... It's not just the Ivies that "fuck the middle class." Need-based aid programs in general need to take another look at reality: a family of four cannot reasonably be expected to put half of its income towards supporting a single family member.
FWIW, I know plenty of Mac users who hear "nano" and think "text editor."
Go read up on monopsony markets, and then we can talk.
And of those 280 million, how many don't own guns only because they can't?
I only know one person who doesn't own a gun for legal reasons, and it's probably a law you'd like to keep (deals with mental health).
And how many dissenters can you fit in there?
That sounds a lot like my setup:
15-inch laptop, with a USB hub, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
When I want to take it on the road, I can just bring the lappy (fits in a briefcase-size carrier, which in turn fits in my bag) and the mouse (fits in my pocket).
It would be much easier to carry than a desktop.
Which is why I have a laptop.
As has been said in other comments, those machines have the worst qualities of both desktops and laptops.
Perhaps we kould replas "ch" viz "tsh."
Yeah, it's not like he couldn't get anything done without having some allies in the Republican-controlled Congress or anything.
This stupid ploy that the Baby Bells are making to reassert their nationwide monopoly will be their downfall.
How exactly is this going to happen?
There's plenty of recourse the other major backbone providers can use to totally bitchslap them if they try anything sleezy.
And they have about as much incentive to do so as the UAE has to split from OPEC.
What country do you live in?
at least we have a slight chance to influence a corporation, government, ours, theirs, whomevers, have proven time and time again that they are beyond our influence.
If Dennis Hastert screws too many people over, he can be voted out of office. Can't say the same for Ed Whitacre.
the primary difference between corporations and governments is that there will always be at least one other corporation wanting to sell us something different while government will simply strike the same old tune over and over and over.
Any suggestion that there is telecom competition is bullshit.
yeah I know some corporations wield considerable power but even they are beholden to governments. do you really want all the cards held by government?
Actually, corporate lobbyists have been writing the legislation for quite a while now -- then the Congresscritters just push it through the legislature for them.
Kinda reminds me of those people who don't vote because they don't think there's any difference between any two politicians. That's fine with me -- if you can't tell the difference between the Clinton administration and the Bush administration, you probably shouldn't be voting.
There are two somewhat local bookstores I like to visit -- one used bookstore, and one cooperatively owned bookstore. Their inventory is a good match for what I'd be interested in buying, and I like the atmosphere in the stores themselves. Amazon is a nice substitute while I'm away at school, but there's more to these bookstores than the books themselves.
But the small chain stores could never carry the inventory to be able to go in and pick up any book in publish.
Frankly, I don't much care that the used bookstore doesn't carry everything under the sun. When I'm looking for variety, I don't mind reading something old or foreign. (The availability of out-of-print material is something of a novelty -- it can be interesting but is rarely of value.)
As for the other bookstore, they actually will take special orders, and they have even done overseas orders.
As far as the "local shop" mentality. Why support a company that doesn't innovate?
Because in many markets, innovation is not necessary.
If they choose not to go that route, I don't see why we as consumers should have to pay more for their lack of foresight/expansion.
I can't say I feel like I'm paying any extra by buying at these shops. At one, I get a 10% discount, plus a share of the profits. At the other, prices are down from the cover price by over 50%.
You're trying to draw attention away from the portability issue, which what the OP brought up in the first place. If I write code in Java, I can run it on a non-Solaris box. If I write code in VB, I can't run it on a non-Windows box.
My guess would be that at least 40% of that time was to appease management. It certainly wasn't highly productive time -- as you said, tired people don't work as well.
That said, every time I remove myself from distractions and sit down to work on a (somewhat interesting) project, even with a quickly approaching deadline, I can work for 6 hours straight and not feel tired at the end (not sure what this is like if repeated more than three days in a row).
Unfortunately, my current office environment does not seem ideal for this. Work does not keep appearing with any consistency (we spend more than half of some days waiting for something to do), work time is interrupted by management (why did we have to spend a full hour in that meeting?), and coworkers often provide distractions as well (lots of non-work related conversation).
The reason you are the whipping boys is because most of you are inarticulate and don't know how to win at office politics.
Oooh, now there's irrefutable justification.
Furthermore, you trained for a support role, and like janitors and cleaners and everyone else in that group, you don't get to be important.
Really? I thought "training" for software development meant it was somebody else's job to show the users how to use a computer. You know, kinda like how it's not the engineer's job to go around the building tightening all the bolts, mending the pipes, etc.
Yes, I'll go get ready for all the problems that are going to come up tomorrow. Let's see....
There's this guy a couple cubes over -- his computer will crash, and he's going to come to me for help. I'd better make sure I'm not out of the office at that time. Wait, what time will that be? *engages magcial foresight* It'll crash at about 12:30, so I better eat lunch a bit late.
What's next... My boss is going to finally get the email with the new project specs, but the email is a bit late by now. I'd better start working on that project now -- don't want to push the deadline too far. Sure, I don't have the specs yet, but I can divine what they will be with this here crystal ball.
Oh, and my friend's car is going to break down too. I'll remind him to call the mechanic and ask them to have a truck ready for his car. I'll also make sure to look along the side of the highway for him. Actually, I'll get there early and wait for his car to break down. I know by my magical predictive power that it'll break down just past the exit at Route 68.
Yeah... everyone should be able to forsee problems and be prepared when they come up.
All my roommate and I did was bunk the beds. That way, he and his girlfriend had their own space -- of course, being on the lower bunk meant they had to wait until I was in my own bed, but that didn't stop them.
Of course wiring is expensive, and somebody has to pay for it. The difference is that right now that's being done with taxation, and the alternative would basically be the same, only that only those streets that would sign up for some kind of service would pay for wiring. Someone always pays for it. Today it'd probably be part of the house-buying contract, or included in the rent (i.e. the cost spread out over many years).
If it were directly from taxation, the wires would be gov't owned. As it is, the utility companies own the infrastructure they use, including the land it's set up on (e.g. the land those power lines near my house are on is owned by Commonwealth Edison).
As for individual streets paying, there is no government at the street level, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't object to adding another layer of bureaucracy like that. This would be handled by the municipal public works department, and they'd have to go all-or-nothing.
I can't see where you get your idea from that phone/internet etc. is not a product that would work with a free market (whatever "not work" would mean...).
I can't see where you got the idea that I said phone, internet, etc. don't work in a proper free market.
What I said is that waiting for them to become proper free markets is not going to work -- they're not going to become that any time soon.
Anarchy? Yes, I'd like that. Of course there has to be law, but I think it'd be vastly better than the current situation
So, not exactly anarchy, but not this plutocracy?
Don't forget about digging up dirt on political opponents :-P