I feel the exact opposite. My 'first' language was Pascal, but I hated it; when I got to university, my first course was in Scheme, and then later courses were in Java/etc. I've since done a lot of coding in Perl, Java, and in a crippled Lisp variant. There are still things that make me glad I learned Scheme.
The biggest one was destroying any fear of recursion. Often a recursive function is easier to write, test, and read than a logically-equivalent iterative process. (Sometimes it's decidedly NOT, of course.) So, when I think about a problem, I feel fine with using a recursive solution if it fits -- something some coworkers or friends are less eager to do.
I also like that a functional background seems to have helped me try to build things in smaller pieces, which often seems to make testing easier. It's possible that I could have learned this in another language, but seeing the code my co-students wrote (a decade ago) seems to counter that thought.
Lisp (Scheme, etc) may not be the language for you, but I feel that learning it has helped me grow in many ways as a programmer.
On the slim chance that you're NOT joking, the entire premise of Doom is that you're fighting enemies that get ported in from Hell. In Doom2, I believe your character actually goes there. So, in effect, he was saying that "despite its age, playing Doom is as fun as playing Doom".;)
What's interesting is, regardless of whether he actually experienced it (or if the experiences he has are correctly explained by his explanations), a lot of it seems like it WOULD work. Social pressure is pretty interesting, and one could certainly imagine a group of teens harassing someone in some of those ways.
But yes, just looking at the headings of the main page makes it easy for one to think he's a crackpot.
I think that what he means is, most data that we encrypt are things that we'd be more than willing to surrender to a force-wielding attacker. Similar to how one gives one's wallet to muggers, it's pretty straightforward to say "Oh, that drive. That's my encrypted drive of family photos and baby videos."
Exactly. The only reason you need a large rocket to get things off of Earth is that you have to overcome gravity losses. Once you're far enough out of the gravity well, ion engines and other electric propulsion are very efficient. No need for a Saturn-scale rocket.
This is why I like Steam. I know it's DRM, and I know it's not true ownership, but it's pretty damned close. (Blizzard's product registration is now similarly awesome.) I have things on Steam that I bought over a decade ago, registered, and have subsequently lost or broken the media for. I can install any of them easily. The only reason I buy games not-on-steam is the instant-gratification factor.
I'm sure many will laud you, and many will criticize, but thanks for putting so much work into making this happen. It's an impressive feat (and I don't mean the product itself).
trigger it creatively in ways that will get calls placed to their parents (who, preferably, would be let in on this by the student and will just have a hearty laugh).
I hope this happens. As a parent, if my child were dealing with this, I'd tell him (or her) that I'd make special time to waste as much of their principle's time as possible, the more creatively (and innocuously) they triggered the system. This thing needs to drown in a sea of false positives.
If you find conspiracy theories entertaining, Deus Ex and its prequel, DX: Human Revolution are awesome. If you've ever liked the X files, ID4, Blade Runner, almost anything by Neal Stephenson, or even the Shadowrun RPG, these games are a must-play. It's like sending a beer-lover on an expense-paid trip around the world to every brewery they might imagine.
In some ways, I like Human Revolution better than the original game (blasphemy, I'm sure, to some fans). In some ways, the protagonist us easier to empathize with, and his motivations are in some ways more personal. I like that it's easier (and rewarding!) to use nonlethal takedowns than in the first game, too, and I find myself NOT killing a large number of foes in the game.
Best money I've spent on a game in... a long time.
Where do you do this? On the sales floor, at customer service? Before or after purchasing? I'd like to do it in a way that inconveniences me the least (and gets them to be the most helpful). Do you have a prepared spiel that you give them ("Before I buy this, I'd like to verify that it all works correctly")?
The machines you linked are not the same specs, though. The CPU and dimensions are the same, but the drive space and ram differ. (The Best Buy one still appears to be a better value, though.)
I haven't read Slashdot since the beginning, and it was a long time before I felt it was necessary to register to post a comment, but thank you. Thank you for the best discussion forum I've ever been a part of, and for building a community that is truly news for nerds.
Slashdot Mirror
I feel the exact opposite. My 'first' language was Pascal, but I hated it; when I got to university, my first course was in Scheme, and then later courses were in Java/etc. I've since done a lot of coding in Perl, Java, and in a crippled Lisp variant. There are still things that make me glad I learned Scheme.
The biggest one was destroying any fear of recursion. Often a recursive function is easier to write, test, and read than a logically-equivalent iterative process. (Sometimes it's decidedly NOT, of course.) So, when I think about a problem, I feel fine with using a recursive solution if it fits -- something some coworkers or friends are less eager to do.
I also like that a functional background seems to have helped me try to build things in smaller pieces, which often seems to make testing easier. It's possible that I could have learned this in another language, but seeing the code my co-students wrote (a decade ago) seems to counter that thought.
Lisp (Scheme, etc) may not be the language for you, but I feel that learning it has helped me grow in many ways as a programmer.
Because Greenspun's Tenth Rule was meant to be a warning, rather than a threat? :D
Any sufficiently complicated C or Fortran program contains an ad hoc, informally-specified, bug-ridden, slow implementation of half of Common Lisp
On the slim chance that you're NOT joking, the entire premise of Doom is that you're fighting enemies that get ported in from Hell. In Doom2, I believe your character actually goes there. So, in effect, he was saying that "despite its age, playing Doom is as fun as playing Doom". ;)
What's interesting is, regardless of whether he actually experienced it (or if the experiences he has are correctly explained by his explanations), a lot of it seems like it WOULD work. Social pressure is pretty interesting, and one could certainly imagine a group of teens harassing someone in some of those ways.
But yes, just looking at the headings of the main page makes it easy for one to think he's a crackpot.
I think that what he means is, most data that we encrypt are things that we'd be more than willing to surrender to a force-wielding attacker. Similar to how one gives one's wallet to muggers, it's pretty straightforward to say "Oh, that drive. That's my encrypted drive of family photos and baby videos."
Exactly. The only reason you need a large rocket to get things off of Earth is that you have to overcome gravity losses. Once you're far enough out of the gravity well, ion engines and other electric propulsion are very efficient. No need for a Saturn-scale rocket.
The same way you'd put anything else at a Lagrange point, I imagine: rockets? :)
No teeth indeed. Didn't we give them Large Numbers of dollars over a decade ago to build out network infrastructure? Has that materialized?
I thought it was that it was effectively a way to flood the plane with poisonous gas. Chlorine gas does a lot more than produce headaches.
This is why I like Steam. I know it's DRM, and I know it's not true ownership, but it's pretty damned close. (Blizzard's product registration is now similarly awesome.) I have things on Steam that I bought over a decade ago, registered, and have subsequently lost or broken the media for. I can install any of them easily. The only reason I buy games not-on-steam is the instant-gratification factor.
Sounds like a poorly implemented rot26 implementation, then. :)
I'm sure many will laud you, and many will criticize, but thanks for putting so much work into making this happen. It's an impressive feat (and I don't mean the product itself).
In case other slashdotters want to read it, there's already coral cache:
http://www.itu.dk.nyud.net/courses/BPRD/E2010/
(: Thanks, whoever did that.
And Baywatch. Must appease Bun-Bun.
trigger it creatively in ways that will get calls placed to their parents (who, preferably, would be let in on this by the student and will just have a hearty laugh).
I hope this happens. As a parent, if my child were dealing with this, I'd tell him (or her) that I'd make special time to waste as much of their principle's time as possible, the more creatively (and innocuously) they triggered the system. This thing needs to drown in a sea of false positives.
If you find conspiracy theories entertaining, Deus Ex and its prequel, DX: Human Revolution are awesome. If you've ever liked the X files, ID4, Blade Runner, almost anything by Neal Stephenson, or even the Shadowrun RPG, these games are a must-play. It's like sending a beer-lover on an expense-paid trip around the world to every brewery they might imagine.
In some ways, I like Human Revolution better than the original game (blasphemy, I'm sure, to some fans). In some ways, the protagonist us easier to empathize with, and his motivations are in some ways more personal. I like that it's easier (and rewarding!) to use nonlethal takedowns than in the first game, too, and I find myself NOT killing a large number of foes in the game.
Best money I've spent on a game in ... a long time.
... yet.
It probably depends on the Dutch rules for products like that. In the US, you're allowed to advertise your product that way, but not in all countries.
Never gonna give you up ... ... oh, wrong Rick. Nevermind.
Especially if you use Bitcoin.;)
Where do you do this? On the sales floor, at customer service? Before or after purchasing? I'd like to do it in a way that inconveniences me the least (and gets them to be the most helpful). Do you have a prepared spiel that you give them ("Before I buy this, I'd like to verify that it all works correctly")?
I thought passports were legally required to be considered valid ID?
The machines you linked are not the same specs, though. The CPU and dimensions are the same, but the drive space and ram differ. (The Best Buy one still appears to be a better value, though.)
Best Buy ($480):
- 500 GB hd
- 4 GB ram
Newegg ($700):
- 640 GB hd
- 6 GB ram
There've been several Rolling Stone articles on the subject linked in this discussion thread. I think I got them all collected so far:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216?print=true
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-real-housewives-of-wall-street-look-whos-cashing-in-on-the-bailout-20110411?print=true
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/is-the-sec-covering-up-wall-street-crimes-20110817?print=true
Now if only I had time to read them.
I haven't read Slashdot since the beginning, and it was a long time before I felt it was necessary to register to post a comment, but thank you. Thank you for the best discussion forum I've ever been a part of, and for building a community that is truly news for nerds.