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User: Notabadguy

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  1. Re:Spot the Fed comments in TFA were pretty tame on FBI Releases Its Files On DEF CON: Not Amused By Spot-the-Fed · · Score: 1

    Indeed.

    I went to DefCon 2005, and got spotted. It was quite friendly. During one of the keynotes, someone shouted out that they had spotted a fed, and pointed at me - then I was asked up on stage for a series of Q&A.

    A military haircut, shirt tucked into your pants, and wearing socks with sandals was apparently enough of a giveaway. I did get a "I'm the Fed" T-shirt, and it was quite fun.

  2. Re:Far too expensive for a used car on Tesla Adds Used Models To Its Inventory, For Online Purchase · · Score: 3, Informative

    No, you do not.

    If you look at the federal tax credits at fueleconony.gov, the tax credit only applies to the first owner of the vehicle, only for new vehicles, and only in certain years.

    If you lease a new EV, the dealership keeps the federal tax credit as well. If you look at the forms at fueleconomy.gov, it's pretty specific.

  3. Re:tax unhealthy choices on Robots Step Into the Backbreaking Agricultural Work That Immigrants Won't Do · · Score: 1

    I wish I had mod points for this bit of cleverness.

  4. Re:Fabricating a Crisis? on Think Tanks: How a Bill [Gates Agenda] Becomes a Law · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one who read this and was searching their memory of the Matrix trilogy to figure out where Mr. Smith said that?

  5. Re:if that were true on Obama Administration Claims There Are 545,000 IT Job Openings · · Score: 1

    I don't have IT experience, but you said "tech workers", so I'm going to chime in.

    In my experience, our open positions are filled in three ways:
    1. We have an internship/co-op program and hire kids who work out well while on co-op.
    2. Poach from other tech firms when they lay off or close down.
    3. Advertise the position, sift resumes, interview, and hire.

    Most - actually, almost all - of our hires come from #1 or #2. The chances of finding a decent person with method #3 is very, very low. You have a lot of people who, I don't know if they suck at interviews or just suck in general, but not many come through the door that I'd like to work with based on the interview. We get a lot of co-op duds as well, but those just go away in a few months. The good ones are trained cheaply while they are co-ops and then can start right away as full-time engineers... win-win. Another real score is when places like Lockheed or Honeywell close a facility nearby. It isn't that frequent and you feel bad for the employees, but man we get some good talent from them.

    This - except with four bullets, and #1 is referrals from current employees.

    I dread sifting resumes. Contractors are hired through a third party company, and the only time I've ever seen talent come from them has been when I send them someone to hire to work here. Non-contract work job-postings are a mix between HR and hiring managers for what goes into the listing...and I'm starting to feel incredibly jaded by the process.

    Don't blame HR for everything - hiring managers generally have as much input as they want, and HR is there to support them. Unfortunately, many hiring managers outsource their responsibilities to HR, thinking that since the HR role / department exists, they don't have to do anything except open their arms and receive the best and brightest candidates, pre-screened. If only that happens.

  6. Re:Pro-Boy Bias? on Will Elementary School Teachers Take the Rap For Tech's Diversity Problem? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How do you explain the research that certainly strongly suggests there is such a bias? And given that the bias is assumed to be unconscious, how can you be sure that you don't also have similar biases, affecting your judgement?

    Well, for one - the study and research were done in Israel, not in the United States. Despite the author's conjecture that "The results should apply in the United States as well" - Israel is NOTHING LIKE the United States in education, culture, or....well, a lot of things.

    What if I visited the Ivory Coast, or the Congo, or Nigeria, and did a study on elementary schools? The headline would read, "New Research Shows lack of White students affects diversity."

    Then I wrote a research paper about how there's not enough white children in schools. I'd give that study about the same merit. Israel has radically different social bias - they are virtually a country of martial law - justifiably so because of the daily threats they live with. Their educational system reflects that. Applying it to the United States is bollocks. Israel doesn't learn about slavery and the U.S. civil war, or about our political system or national pastimes in school. Seriously, bollocks.

  7. Re:Uber is the problem! Let's ban it! on Uber Will Add Panic Button and Location/Journey Sharing In India · · Score: 1

    The App allowed the woman to order a taxi service from a person who was not checked out properly and turned out to be a rapist.

    Seriously? Do you even READ the news, or just blindly post opinions here?

  8. Re:Uber does as well, or better on Indian Woman Sues Uber In the US Over Alleged New Delhi Taxi Rape · · Score: 2

    Yes....garbage collectors get jobs through political favors.

    Google "Overpaid garbage collectors."

    http://globaleconomicanalysis....
    http://www.answers.com/Q/Are_N...
    http://www.investopedia.com/fi...

  9. Everyone back up a step... on Ubisoft Revokes Digital Keys For Games Purchased Via Unauthorised Retailers · · Score: 4, Informative

    FTFA -

    Ubisoft claims (for what it's worth) that the only digital keys that they revoked were those purchased fraudulently with stolen credit cards.

    No one has a right to keep stolen property. If you buy a watch in a pawn shop, and the police come for it because it's stolen, you forfeit the watch. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely detest Ubisoft, ever since XIII, and will never buy another product of theirs...I hope their corporate building burns down, they lose their IP to someone, and the name Ubisoft becomes a curseword...

    But at the same time, clamoring that the stolen goods you purchased on the black market were taken away from you doesn't garner sympathy.

  10. Re:3DS on 3D Cameras Are About To Go Mainstream · · Score: 1

    Yep. 3D stays off on my 3DS. Sales people and fanbois can holler that 3D is taking off but....it really isn't. Given a choice between 2D and 3D in a theater, I go with 2D every time.

  11. Re:Irony. on How Amazon's Ebook Subscriptions Are Changing the Writing Industry · · Score: 1

    Indeed.

    John Scalzi is one of my favorite authors. I buy his books. Whether or not he joins the subscription service, I'm still going to buy his books. Piers Anthony, R.A. Salvatore, the authors I like - I will buy their books regardless.

    This service just opens them to a wider audience.

  12. Re:Encouraging quality on How Amazon's Ebook Subscriptions Are Changing the Writing Industry · · Score: 1

    I looked at your smashwords link. I'm an avid reader.

    Your summaries make me think of Douglas Adams born and raised in South Africa....

    Which may appeal to a certain group of readers. That may not be your intent, but that's what I get from your summaries.

  13. Re:Headline on Google Motion Denied In Lawsuit Against Mississippi Attorney General · · Score: 1

    Young'uns can have taste too!

    It's a sign of solid parenting. Would you rather they had come in singing Nicki Minaj's [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZX4ooRsWs]Anaconda[/url]?

    Egads, how does one embed a link on Slashdot?

  14. Re:Like little children on North Korean Internet Is Down · · Score: 1

    Some words are more made up than others, irregardless of your opinion.

    Gods, it hurts my brain to even type it.

  15. Re:Who will get on North Korean Internet Is Down · · Score: 2

    It kind of begs the question about what the US is still doing in South Korea anyhow. South Korea is a rich country. They can afford their own defense, but its convenient for them for Uncle Sam to pick up the tab. I have stood on the North side of the DMZ and it is clear that the US is just a thorn in the situation making everybody tense. There is no doubt that the South Koreans can adequately defend themselves against any potential "invasion" from the North. There is no reason for the US to be there. The constant presence of US marines on the DMZ make the North Koreans nervous that the South will invade them.
     

    Alright troll, you sucked me in.

    1. You've been on the North side of the DMZ looking south, and from your vantage point three feet from the border in peace village...it was clear to you that the US is a thorn in the situation? SERIOUSLY?!? You deduced all that at a glance?

    2. I'm going to presume you've never been to North Korea, and educate you about a few things.
              a.) First and Foremost, that's the U.S Army at the DMZ, not the Marines. Specifically, the 8th Army. The infantry units there come from the 2ID, (2nd Infantry Division), with Republic of Korea attachments (referred to as ROKs). Tank support comes from the 72nd armor regiment, artillery support from...you get the picture. Army units. Not Navy (marine) units.
              b.) There are an estimated 13,000 - 17,000 artillery pieces on the border, pointed at Seoul, which happens to be ~120 miles away from Pyongyang.
              c.) Seoul is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
              d.) If the US was not present, a war between North and South Korea would last 2-3 hours and would look like this:
                            d1.) Hostilities ensue.
                            d2.) Within the first hour, North Korea has obliterated most of South Korea's population centers.
                            d3.) South Korea retaliates with nuclear force, and levels Pyongyang.
                            d4.) Other stuff, largely secondary given that North and South Korea are largely depopulated.
              e.) The presence of the U.S - TODAY - is not as relevant as 3/5/10 years ago. However, U.S. foreign policy takes an incredible length of time to change.
              f.) North Korean guards on the border to not "look bored." The half cant of their eyes is because of their asian heritage. Both North and South Korean guards on the DMZ treat it like a ceremonial position - like being in the 3rd Infantry in D.C. stationed at Ft. Myer doing military funerals, or Tomb of the Unknown, or ceremonial duties.

    I *have* been to North Korea. I've been to Kijong-dong, and I *have* stood on the North Korean side of the border at the DMZ. If you'd like to see what it *really* looks like there, google it. Google, "Korean DMZ." You'll see pictures of guards on both ends of the border standing at perfect attention.

  16. Re:Overpopulation and Length of Sentencing on GCHQ Warns It Is Losing Track of Serious Criminals · · Score: 1

    I'm trying to figure out how the man also controls time. He was indicted in 2011, and successfully served a 5 year prison sentence. That means it's 2016 man!!! Where did the last two years go?

  17. Re:Brilliant, an out of date dupe on Tor Warns of Possible Disruption of Network Through Server Seizures · · Score: 1

    And it was outdated news here on Slashdot yesterday. ;)

  18. Re:You forgot something... on Dish Pulls Fox News, Fox Business Network As Talks Break Down · · Score: 1

    I'm too lazy right now to google for you, but every one of the "news" networks has a slew of equally incriminating indictments against their journalistic integrity. You don't actually think that Fox is alone in this, do you?

  19. Dear Australia on Australia Moves Toward New Restrictions On Technology Export and Publication · · Score: 1

    I submitted a public comment even though I'm not Australian. :)

    --
    Dear Australia:

    Congratulations from the USA on making the international news - apparently you're debating a new bill, which includes as part of it reversing the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

    http://yro.slashdot.org/story/...

    We've done some newsworthy things in the last decade about restricting freedoms and civil liberties, but no one on this side of the pond has dared touch that one yet.

    The bill *does* make sense in a way - Australia was started as a colony of criminals - might as well presume everyone *is* one until proven innocent!

    Congrats again on your new found powers of oppression.

  20. Re:Conservatives mostly don't like the involvement on Single Group Dominates Second Round of Anti Net-Neutrality Comment Submissions · · Score: 1

    Competition works. Look at your shoes. Did they need to pass regulations to make your shoes not terrible? No. Competition did it. You as a consumer check out the shoes in the store and you only buy the ones that are worth your money. You don't buy the ones that are bad. The same principle can work in almost infinite applications.

    If you want the analogy to serve internet....what if the only shoe providers in the whole country were Nike, Reebok,and Adidas, and depending on where you lived in the country, you could only buy one brand of shoes - and you weren't allowed to shop online or travel to buy a competitor's pair?

    What kind of shoes do you think you would be wearing then?

  21. Re:Price of leveraging fiat government powers on Spanish Media Group Wants Gov't Help To Keep Google News In Spain · · Score: 1

    Except that the spanish law forbids this from taking place to prevent a repeat of Germany....where this did take place.

  22. Re:Imagine that! on Spanish Media Group Wants Gov't Help To Keep Google News In Spain · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you were to RTFA linked in the summary, you would find two things:

    1. The Spanish Newpaper Lobbyist Group (AEDE) is behind the legislation.
    2. Corruption in Spain is rampant, in every aspect of life.

  23. Re: The new threat on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 1

    Ah.....I just laughed my balls off.

    Well played.

  24. Re:tl;dr on Ask Slashdot: Dealing With Electronics-Induced Inattentiveness? · · Score: 1

    Good lord, the first world problems that people complain about.

    OP: You're not suffering a disease. What you're describing is self-induced lack of mental discipline. Find someone who isn't a tweenie-wanna-be-hipster to slap you in the face a couple of times, drink a glass of cold tap water (not bottled water packaged in environmentally friendly recycled plastic), and sleep it off.

  25. Re:I agree, except: on First Star War Episode 7 Trailer Released · · Score: 2

    As far as technology goes, what I observed from the episodes 1-3 is that they had better technology available than they did in 4-6, like double bladed light sabers, unlike the paltry one bladed ones available in the future. It's almost like their society is failing and their technology is limited to only what has already been produced and hasn't been destroyed yet. They should count themselves lucky to have TIE fighters.

    Give it time. Disney won't kill the franchise, so look forward to:

    Star Wars Episode 10: Jedi facing a crisis of lightsaber shortages. Lightsabers handed down generationally.
    Star Wars Episode 15: Re-introduction of kinetic weaponry. Jedi learn to their horror that when a lightsaber blocks a kinetic round, they get splashed with plasma and liquified metal.
    Star Wars Episode 18: Droids across the galaxy are falling into disrepair without the technology to repair them, and people with the ability to calculate the logistics and plotting for hyperspace routes grow fewer - they form into a guild called "Navigators."
    Star Wars Episode 22: Droids are gone, kinetic weaponry and explosives dominate, Jedi lightsabers are a thing of legend, and interstellar travel requires the help of the navigators, whom no one actually ever sees.
    Star Wars Episode 24: A boy with unprecedented midiclorian levels is born on the planet Calidan. Legend foretells that he will save or destroy the Universe.
    Star Wars Episode 25: A New, New Hope: The spice.....must flow....