If they didn't scan everyone, then what's the point of scanning anyone? Imagine this progression:
Ok, we'll exempt: pilots, flight crew, ground crew, airport administration, First Class passengers, concession workers, Business Class passengers, the airport staff and janitorial crew.
I hate to break it to you, but from what I understand the ground crew and most airport back-room workers don't get scanned or searched - though I believe they may pass through metal detectors. Don't know about concession workers. Most (all?) undergo a pre-employment background check, but are not checked as they show up for work each day. This has been proposed, but deemed "not practical" as, one person put it, they could simply throw something over the fence.
Scanning the actual flight crew is stupid as they already have full access to the plane and its controls.
How about for people you don't need extra stuff/crap and just want a fucking phone? I'm a Unix/Windows SA and systems programmer with 4 computers at home (Windows and Linux) and have managed everything from Crays to PC - so, hardly a technophobe - and I still use my Qualcomm QCP-1900 from 1998. It cost me $200 with no-contract and my service is still $15/month (no contract). The thing still provides 6 hours of talk and two-weeks of standby.
Sure, text and web might be nice - sometime - but I don't really need/want to be that "connected" all the time.
I, for one, won't feel safe until we replace all TSA workers...
While I strongly disagree with the current security theater here in the USA, I'd like to interject that the TSA *workers* are simply doing their job, legally. Granted some (many) seem to be power-enthralled dicks, but I digress. Perhaps it's a work-environment, pay-scale, education-level or HR issue.:-)
In any case... The people we all should be and remain angry at are our elected representatives and, by deduction, us for electing them. They made the rules, we keep them in office.
Yes, given the example on your link, if I ever need to checkout the *entire* FreeBSD repository, I'll think of GIT. Otherwise, I'm not losing much sleep over the speed difference.:-)
From a practical standpoint, people will use what their employer is already using. Here, we mainly use CVS. There are pockets of SVN and (perhaps) GIT, but no one is interested in converting and, more importantly, retraining the users and rewriting the management/utility scripts.
Another example, I also currently use SCCS to revision system data files on a Solaris project because it comes with the OS out of the box -- cannot install something else -- and it works just fine.
Bottom line: If I ever need to use something else, I'll learn it, but here and casually at home, I already know RCS/CVS and they work just fine.
Hey, wasn't Linus Torvalds himself who said "you must be brain dead to use CVS"?? Don't shoot the messenger!
Linus is not a god and not everything he says should be taken as gospel. He gets a LOT of things wrong. Put down the cool-aid.:-)
Hey, I'm successful and independently wealthy too, and I like CVS. Quote that!:-) Now, I admit that I haven't extensively used most of the tools in the "article", but I haven't needed what they offer above and beyond CVS.
As for the cell-phone analogy in the "article", I still use a Qualcomm QCP-1900 cell-phone from 1998 and, surprise, it still manages to work great as a phone. Paid $200 for it outright (no contract), which works out to $16 a year and still have a $15/month no-contract account. I only need it to make phone calls. Sometimes, it pays to stick with what you have and what works...
...is that pilots are also required to be scanned or patted-down. PILOTS. Two, three times a day, every day - from a practical standpoint. That's a lot of scanning or touching.
Of course, it's critical to ensure their identity is correct - that they are who they are suppose to be - but then screening them? Um... Even *if* they were "bad guys", they don't need weapons or explosives; they're flying the plane.
Pat-downs were invasive even before, and now they've turned them into non-consensual erotic massages.
Perhaps people should start tipping their TSA agents after the pat-down, perhaps with a "here's $10 dollars, that was nice, but slower next time - like you mean it".
I'd easily give $100 dollars to the first person who clearly, loudly, publicly asks their TSA pat-down agent, "how much for the happy ending" and gets audio/video. Or fakes a convulsion and blackout while getting scanned - that would put a spike in the "opt-outs" for the day.
Perhaps someone can organize a non-profit to reward people who embrace civil-disobedience.
First, the history/time-line is simply a lead-up to the plasticscm product.
Second, the article doesn't even mention SCCS, developed in 1972 (and still available), so his history lesson is lacking some completeness and perspective.
Third, remarking, "It [CVS] is outdated now, but it worked in the 90s! (If you have it, just walk away and go on to something else!)" -- as well as the other snobbish comments about other (older) systems -- is simply narrow-minded. CVS is completely satisfactory for many, many projects. Contrary to later comments in the article, I've used, and still use, CVS in several commercial products and it works just fine.
Real lesson: Newer is not always better; more features are not always needed.
I've already seen a lot of my less-technical friends move to Facebook messaging for most of their communications with friends - event invites, messages, chat, wall updates, etc., all going through Facebook.
Ya, I have a few friends like that too. I don't correspond with them much as I don't have (and won't have) a Facebook account.
why are they so much less interested in civil liberties than conscientious citizens are?
I don't believe that's the case, but standing up for what is right - or "your rights" - can be hard.
The last time I flew was the summer of 2005. I was hassled by a TSA agent who, when I (politely) asked him a few questions, asked me "Do you want to fly today?" I was with my wife and simply shut up so as not to get detained. Ya, I wimped out, so I guess I'm part of the problem. Now it's just me - my wife died in 2006 (brain tumor) - and I have yet to fly again.
As to the question of "why?" Governments - meaning the people in charge - are generally weak-minded and pander to the widest audience that keeps them in power. Perhaps some people actually believe they're doing what is best, right and necessary, but I believe many of those people are simply stupid and just want to get re-elected -- or, more sinisterly, get their party re-elected -- with the actual welfare of their people and country be damned.
Life is risk, get used to it. I have. I have nothing to lose.
TIP: Don't use the word "commando" in any context while at the airport.:-)
Re:Are you looking to start a flame war or for adv
on
Which Language To Learn?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Your comment doesn't make much sense. Python and Perl really are sort of on the same level in functionality/performance characteristics...
Agreed (from what I've read about Python). Perl is a bit more prevalent and has a longer history, meaning there may be more people/places using it and there's more code out there (not just CPAN).
From a functional point, if you know one you don't need the other, but if you don't know either, I'd suggest Perl. I know there's a little religious waw between the two, but it seems silly. That said, I think the white-space delimited block syntax in Python (and other languages) is really stupid. I know you Python people will chomp at the bit about that, but I'm right about this, Guido is a snob about this, and you know it - let it go. Anyone who's had their Makefile blown because of a lost tab, or bitched because X converted tabs to spaces in a copy/paste knows what I mean - and yes, get off my lawn:-)
Python should be in every programmers tool set because it is such a versatile tool. Unfortunately it's not enough in most cases for a guaranteed job.
That's why one becomes proficient in Perl and Ksh.
Speaking as a constantly employed for 25+ years Unix (and, sigh, Windows) sysadmin and application/system programmer anyway. Obviously C, Java, TclTk, Javascript, BAT/CMD, VBScript, and a bunch of others here and there have helped, but they're gravy. Of that "extras" list, C, Java, BAT/CMD and VBScript have been the biggest help, in that order.
As for Python. I've never used it, and never needed to. Now, if I need to do some BEA/Oracle Weblogic appserver programming, then I'll need to pick up Python.
Personally, I'd like to go back into research using LISP and Prolog again.
Gold is non-bioreactive in humans. It won't matter if it enters our lungs, as it doesn't cause any issues.
Although, a build-up of gold salts can be toxic. It's unclear if nano-sized particles of gold loose in the wild, presumably after the leaves decay, could combine with other compounds to produce these salts and then be inhaled or absorbed...
"15 minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance."
The sentence would be true if 1 in 10,000 people who took 15 minutes to call Geico...
The sentence is always true as the operative advertising word is "could".
It didn't help that the show is slow and plodding, and not one of the characters is likable.... Instead everyone is lying to everyone else, the story seems to be stuck in the mud...
Personally, I think it's simply because of a weak writing staff. Not to insult anyone, but the writers are probably a bunch of 20-somethings with no real life experience from which to draw and this results in lame, wishy-washy, weak-minded characters who can't commit or decide on anything. The characters on Caprica are like the plot on Lost. Seriously. I can't decide who I can't respect more: Daniel, Zoe, (actually any of them)...
Slashdot Mirror
I hate to break it to you, but from what I understand the ground crew and most airport back-room workers don't get scanned or searched - though I believe they may pass through metal detectors. Don't know about concession workers. Most (all?) undergo a pre-employment background check, but are not checked as they show up for work each day. This has been proposed, but deemed "not practical" as, one person put it, they could simply throw something over the fence.
Scanning the actual flight crew is stupid as they already have full access to the plane and its controls.
How about for people you don't need extra stuff/crap and just want a fucking phone? I'm a Unix/Windows SA and systems programmer with 4 computers at home (Windows and Linux) and have managed everything from Crays to PC - so, hardly a technophobe - and I still use my Qualcomm QCP-1900 from 1998. It cost me $200 with no-contract and my service is still $15/month (no contract). The thing still provides 6 hours of talk and two-weeks of standby.
Sure, text and web might be nice - sometime - but I don't really need/want to be that "connected" all the time.
While I strongly disagree with the current security theater here in the USA, I'd like to interject that the TSA *workers* are simply doing their job, legally. Granted some (many) seem to be power-enthralled dicks, but I digress. Perhaps it's a work-environment, pay-scale, education-level or HR issue. :-)
In any case... The people we all should be and remain angry at are our elected representatives and, by deduction, us for electing them. They made the rules, we keep them in office.
Yes, given the example on your link, if I ever need to checkout the *entire* FreeBSD repository, I'll think of GIT. Otherwise, I'm not losing much sleep over the speed difference. :-)
From a practical standpoint, people will use what their employer is already using. Here, we mainly use CVS. There are pockets of SVN and (perhaps) GIT, but no one is interested in converting and, more importantly, retraining the users and rewriting the management/utility scripts.
Another example, I also currently use SCCS to revision system data files on a Solaris project because it comes with the OS out of the box -- cannot install something else -- and it works just fine.
Bottom line: If I ever need to use something else, I'll learn it, but here and casually at home, I already know RCS/CVS and they work just fine.
Linus is not a god and not everything he says should be taken as gospel. He gets a LOT of things wrong. Put down the cool-aid. :-)
Hey, I'm successful and independently wealthy too, and I like CVS. Quote that! :-) Now, I admit that I haven't extensively used most of the tools in the "article", but I haven't needed what they offer above and beyond CVS.
As for the cell-phone analogy in the "article", I still use a Qualcomm QCP-1900 cell-phone from 1998 and, surprise, it still manages to work great as a phone. Paid $200 for it outright (no contract), which works out to $16 a year and still have a $15/month no-contract account. I only need it to make phone calls. Sometimes, it pays to stick with what you have and what works...
Of course, it's critical to ensure their identity is correct - that they are who they are suppose to be - but then screening them? Um... Even *if* they were "bad guys", they don't need weapons or explosives; they're flying the plane.
Perhaps people should start tipping their TSA agents after the pat-down, perhaps with a "here's $10 dollars, that was nice, but slower next time - like you mean it".
I'd easily give $100 dollars to the first person who clearly, loudly, publicly asks their TSA pat-down agent, "how much for the happy ending" and gets audio/video. Or fakes a convulsion and blackout while getting scanned - that would put a spike in the "opt-outs" for the day.
Perhaps someone can organize a non-profit to reward people who embrace civil-disobedience.
Second, the article doesn't even mention SCCS, developed in 1972 (and still available), so his history lesson is lacking some completeness and perspective.
Third, remarking, "It [CVS] is outdated now, but it worked in the 90s! (If you have it, just walk away and go on to something else!)" -- as well as the other snobbish comments about other (older) systems -- is simply narrow-minded. CVS is completely satisfactory for many, many projects. Contrary to later comments in the article, I've used, and still use, CVS in several commercial products and it works just fine.
Real lesson: Newer is not always better; more features are not always needed.
Opening sequence of Serenity? Technically it's two long sequences match-cut together at the stairwell, but still... Not long enough?
Ya, I have a few friends like that too. I don't correspond with them much as I don't have (and won't have) a Facebook account.
Perhaps you didn't notice his login name, "SeriouslyNoClue".
I don't believe that's the case, but standing up for what is right - or "your rights" - can be hard.
The last time I flew was the summer of 2005. I was hassled by a TSA agent who, when I (politely) asked him a few questions, asked me "Do you want to fly today?" I was with my wife and simply shut up so as not to get detained. Ya, I wimped out, so I guess I'm part of the problem. Now it's just me - my wife died in 2006 (brain tumor) - and I have yet to fly again.
As to the question of "why?" Governments - meaning the people in charge - are generally weak-minded and pander to the widest audience that keeps them in power. Perhaps some people actually believe they're doing what is best, right and necessary, but I believe many of those people are simply stupid and just want to get re-elected -- or, more sinisterly, get their party re-elected -- with the actual welfare of their people and country be damned.
Life is risk, get used to it. I have. I have nothing to lose.
Because their people allow it and doing otherwise generally takes strong will and sacrifice.
Girlfriend wearing a giant strap-on?
TIP: Don't use the word "commando" in any context while at the airport. :-)
Agreed (from what I've read about Python). Perl is a bit more prevalent and has a longer history, meaning there may be more people/places using it and there's more code out there (not just CPAN).
From a functional point, if you know one you don't need the other, but if you don't know either, I'd suggest Perl. I know there's a little religious waw between the two, but it seems silly. That said, I think the white-space delimited block syntax in Python (and other languages) is really stupid. I know you Python people will chomp at the bit about that, but I'm right about this, Guido is a snob about this, and you know it - let it go. Anyone who's had their Makefile blown because of a lost tab, or bitched because X converted tabs to spaces in a copy/paste knows what I mean - and yes, get off my lawn :-)
That's why one becomes proficient in Perl and Ksh.
Speaking as a constantly employed for 25+ years Unix (and, sigh, Windows) sysadmin and application/system programmer anyway. Obviously C, Java, TclTk, Javascript, BAT/CMD, VBScript, and a bunch of others here and there have helped, but they're gravy. Of that "extras" list, C, Java, BAT/CMD and VBScript have been the biggest help, in that order.
As for Python. I've never used it, and never needed to. Now, if I need to do some BEA/Oracle Weblogic appserver programming, then I'll need to pick up Python.
Personally, I'd like to go back into research using LISP and Prolog again.
Although, a build-up of gold salts can be toxic. It's unclear if nano-sized particles of gold loose in the wild, presumably after the leaves decay, could combine with other compounds to produce these salts and then be inhaled or absorbed...
The sentence is always true as the operative advertising word is "could".
Personally, I think it's simply because of a weak writing staff. Not to insult anyone, but the writers are probably a bunch of 20-somethings with no real life experience from which to draw and this results in lame, wishy-washy, weak-minded characters who can't commit or decide on anything. The characters on Caprica are like the plot on Lost. Seriously. I can't decide who I can't respect more: Daniel, Zoe, (actually any of them) ...
Although... many American are idiots.
Supporting material: Popularity of Fox News, Glenn Beck, The Jonas Brothers, Rick Sanchez, etc...
Hm. A little slice of electrical tape somewhere inside ... problem solved.