But to answer the question, our book circulation is actually only slightly down from what it was in the 1950s. Add in the free Internet and the video/DVD/ebook/audiobook/music CD/toy kit/puppet/etc. loans, and we are significantly above that, at least at my library.
I know you spoke tongue in cheek, but the popular image of libraries as sterile, safe places notwithstanding, in real life we deal with some surprisingly difficult-to-violent patrons, at least in the public libaries. "Front line" is not an exaggeration.
More people than you might think have something wrong that makes them sick very often. Some chronic illnesses, even without being severe, can still severely impact work attendance.
Also, I suspect that the "3 weeks of vacation and 1 or 2 weeks of sick leave" is much rarer than you think. It's unusual for front-line service-sector jobs, and almost unheard-of for minimum-wage jobs, at least in the U.S.
It might be interesting to see if there have been any studies comparing productivity for workers who are given generous, fully-compensated sick leave and workers who are given punitive sick leave such as you describe. My hunch (speaking as a supervisor and former small-business owner) is that you actually get more work out of the former and less work out of the latter -- and if my hunch is correct, then when you are sick, it actually is the employer's problem.
There are actually people who want to go to work when they're sick. They define themselves entirely by their careers, and literally have no idea how to spend their time if they aren't working.
Working from home isn't possible for all jobs, no matter what cultural views you change.
For example, I work on the front line in a library. There simply is no way to work from home for about 90% of my job, which involves being there for the people who walk in. There isn't any way to change that, short of making libraries obsolete -- and despite what most pundits seem to think, the Internet has not made a dent in library popularity. My own library is busier every year (measured by people in the building and by circulation statistics).
Sometimes a pre-order gets you benefits, like in-game rewards, access to the beta, or the ability to log in several days before everyone else. These are my reasons for having pre-ordered Guild Wars 2.
This. Exactly this. I've said all along that this Frankencare was designed and paid for by the insurance companies to guarantee an entire countryful of customers. Their protests against it were only to save face.
FWIW, I just reinstalled Win7 on my laptop. No date showing in the status bar by default, and I can't find any setting to enable showing it. (The date does appear as a mouseover tooltip.)
If you really think "/dev/sdb2 is the second partition on the device plugged into SATA port 2" counts as "trivial" to the casual computer user, you are taking your technical knowledge for granted. Most casual computer users don't have a clue what a partition is, let alone a SATA port. And actually, in Windows Explorer, the icon for the E: drive usually does give you some visual clues (and often a description) as to what physical device it might be. It's not a perfect system, and it's not always sufficiently informative, but it's usually much more transparent to the casual user.
(FWIW, I'm a Linux user myself, but my bf just doesn't get it, and I'm probably switching back to Windows because I'm tired of fighting Wine to get his Windows-only games to work.)
Yes. The title here on/. is misleading. It says it "hinders learning", but does not address the question of whether there is any other kind of learning taking place, perhaps even at an accelerated rate.
Not to mention the fact that when "Almost all experts agree" on a wide range of things, they are almost certainly going to be wrong about at least a few of them. The notions of experts about what sorts of foods make people fat have changed drastically in my several decades of adulthood. They're bound to change again. Will the taxes go away on foods that the latest scientific version of the truth decides are no longer fattening? Of course not. They'll stay, and also be added to the new alleged culprits, as more and more foods fall under the tax.
And then, aside from the food question, there's the question of whether it's in the best interest of government to discourage mental activity and learning (in the form of games) on the dubious assumption that the alternative that people will choose will be healthier.
If a bread multiplying machine was invented would you outlaw it with the best interest of bakers in mind? No. You ( we ) would want free bread.
Sadly, looking at history, there would indeed be an earnest effort to halt, or at least limit, the use of such a machine, for exactly the reason you give. There would also be people decrying the machine as "untested" and demanding that it never be used till it can be proved to be 100% safe.
We sacrifice inessential liberties for safety all the time. We are required to get our cars registered and inspected (in some states),
I'm curious -- do you have some evidence that car registration and inspection increases car safety? I'd be interested in seeing studies that show that such requirements are actually "for safety".
While I understand your frustration at the paraphrasing, but all the same let's not lose sight of the aptness of the (mis)quote: I think this case is profoundly disturbing, for the same reasons Franklin provided the original saying.
Slashdot Mirror
That's easy. Just don't have ceilings!
Flu is caused by a virus, not by bacteria.
Wait, you mean most humans don't lick themselves already? Fascinating....
This is precisely correct. Thank you.
But to answer the question, our book circulation is actually only slightly down from what it was in the 1950s. Add in the free Internet and the video/DVD/ebook/audiobook/music CD/toy kit/puppet/etc. loans, and we are significantly above that, at least at my library.
I know you spoke tongue in cheek, but the popular image of libraries as sterile, safe places notwithstanding, in real life we deal with some surprisingly difficult-to-violent patrons, at least in the public libaries. "Front line" is not an exaggeration.
More people than you might think have something wrong that makes them sick very often. Some chronic illnesses, even without being severe, can still severely impact work attendance.
Also, I suspect that the "3 weeks of vacation and 1 or 2 weeks of sick leave" is much rarer than you think. It's unusual for front-line service-sector jobs, and almost unheard-of for minimum-wage jobs, at least in the U.S.
It might be interesting to see if there have been any studies comparing productivity for workers who are given generous, fully-compensated sick leave and workers who are given punitive sick leave such as you describe. My hunch (speaking as a supervisor and former small-business owner) is that you actually get more work out of the former and less work out of the latter -- and if my hunch is correct, then when you are sick, it actually is the employer's problem.
There are actually people who want to go to work when they're sick. They define themselves entirely by their careers, and literally have no idea how to spend their time if they aren't working.
Frankly, I think it's a mental illness.
Working from home isn't possible for all jobs, no matter what cultural views you change. For example, I work on the front line in a library. There simply is no way to work from home for about 90% of my job, which involves being there for the people who walk in. There isn't any way to change that, short of making libraries obsolete -- and despite what most pundits seem to think, the Internet has not made a dent in library popularity. My own library is busier every year (measured by people in the building and by circulation statistics).
I don't want my supervisor in the bathroom with me when I'm home with an intestinal bug. Hell, I don't want my supervisor anywhere near my home.
Many employers encourage you to stay home when you're sick -- and then punish you either directly or passive-aggressively when you do.
No, but the prep was.
As if he weren't already, over dwarf-tossing jokes and blond Legolas.
Sometimes a pre-order gets you benefits, like in-game rewards, access to the beta, or the ability to log in several days before everyone else. These are my reasons for having pre-ordered Guild Wars 2.
This. Exactly this. I've said all along that this Frankencare was designed and paid for by the insurance companies to guarantee an entire countryful of customers. Their protests against it were only to save face.
FWIW, I just reinstalled Win7 on my laptop. No date showing in the status bar by default, and I can't find any setting to enable showing it. (The date does appear as a mouseover tooltip.)
If you really think "/dev/sdb2 is the second partition on the device plugged into SATA port 2" counts as "trivial" to the casual computer user, you are taking your technical knowledge for granted. Most casual computer users don't have a clue what a partition is, let alone a SATA port. And actually, in Windows Explorer, the icon for the E: drive usually does give you some visual clues (and often a description) as to what physical device it might be. It's not a perfect system, and it's not always sufficiently informative, but it's usually much more transparent to the casual user.
(FWIW, I'm a Linux user myself, but my bf just doesn't get it, and I'm probably switching back to Windows because I'm tired of fighting Wine to get his Windows-only games to work.)
Yes. The title here on /. is misleading. It says it "hinders learning", but does not address the question of whether there is any other kind of learning taking place, perhaps even at an accelerated rate.
Excellent point. Thanks for the reminder.
Not to mention the fact that when "Almost all experts agree" on a wide range of things, they are almost certainly going to be wrong about at least a few of them. The notions of experts about what sorts of foods make people fat have changed drastically in my several decades of adulthood. They're bound to change again. Will the taxes go away on foods that the latest scientific version of the truth decides are no longer fattening? Of course not. They'll stay, and also be added to the new alleged culprits, as more and more foods fall under the tax.
And then, aside from the food question, there's the question of whether it's in the best interest of government to discourage mental activity and learning (in the form of games) on the dubious assumption that the alternative that people will choose will be healthier.
If a bread multiplying machine was invented would you outlaw it with the best interest of bakers in mind? No. You ( we ) would want free bread. Sadly, looking at history, there would indeed be an earnest effort to halt, or at least limit, the use of such a machine, for exactly the reason you give. There would also be people decrying the machine as "untested" and demanding that it never be used till it can be proved to be 100% safe.
Slashdotware?
I have long said that any body of law that can't be memorized by a reasonably intelligent person inside of a week is too long.
Then the writer will sic the cops on you for copyright infringement. You can't win, man.
We sacrifice inessential liberties for safety all the time. We are required to get our cars registered and inspected (in some states),
I'm curious -- do you have some evidence that car registration and inspection increases car safety? I'd be interested in seeing studies that show that such requirements are actually "for safety".
While I understand your frustration at the paraphrasing, but all the same let's not lose sight of the aptness of the (mis)quote: I think this case is profoundly disturbing, for the same reasons Franklin provided the original saying.