I'm pretty sure Kindles burn well, but why would Amazon make that a feature? And I think the EPA would have a problem with that. Is our energy situation really that bad?
Book-burning in the 21st century! I can see it now - the latest version of the Hitler youth pitch-forking the numerous kindles into the flames!
Once upon a time, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and hired whole departments full of people to test and document a stable release of software before it went out the door; these expenses can be done away with by outsourcing QA to end users in the form of autogenerated coredumps, and the documentation to the end users by third parties hosting banner-ad-funded wikis and web fora. Sure, the product was more likely to actually work, but the unacceptable downside was that under waterfall, users had months between patches, and were consequently several weeks behind the hottest trends in masturbatory UX fashion design.
Agile's so much better than that stodgy old waterfall methodology, because with Agile, you're always on the upgrade treadmill, and only have to wait a few days for the next patch full of bugs comes down the pipe. You may not know what version of the software you're running, but at least you're always up to date!
Brilliant analysis. I am interested in your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Yep. I have (somewhere) in my library the gospels of Peter, Thomas and Mary. (No, not Paul - definitely Thomas). These were 'excised' from the canonical bible over the last two thousand years or so. Were this the middle ages I'd be posting as an AC to avoid being burnt at the stake.
How, exactly, would you "ultimately prove" anything about life? I'm a very religious person, and I love science, but I also know that humility is the biggest key to seeking understanding about the world. Not every religious person is anti-science. Many of us fully embrace both.
After recent (last three years) conversion to atheism, I don't think that you can. One of the final nails in the coffin is when you realize (or are told) that you can apply scientific methods to religious questions, and hence that nothing is sacred. Once you've done that, then *poof* - it's very quickly gone. Religion relies on some things being believed to be true rather than demonstrably true. I know - I've been there. And it must be demonstrably true to be scientific. If you have demonstrable truth of religious proofs, then please tell the rest of us.
I think religious people can be scientific, but scientific people cannot be religious. Doubting Thomas was right to doubt
Totally agree with your comment on humility though. Very true.
The Board keeps choosing bad CEO's. Why do the shareholders keep re-electing them? Where are the institutional investors on this? I guess it's their company to destroy, if they really want to.
As a shareholder in many companies, I don't vote. I have a 1,000 shares in this one, 500 in that... the people on the board have half a million shares. Voting isn't democratic, it's weighted by the number of shares you hold. Not much point me voting for Joe Soap who has good ideas but went to the wrong and doesn't play squash with the treasurer's nephew.
I see no problem with calling this "spontaneous human combustion", if by SHC you mean "this guy burned up and we can't prove how it happened." The coroner didn't posit a supernatural explanation; he's basically saying he's got a bunch of ashes, and can't explain it.
I do. Calling it SHC is akin to not looking inside an area on a map and writing 'Here be Dragons'. Maybe with a picture of one, for emphasis.
Coroners can record an 'open verdict', meaning that they don't know. Using the same analogy (I know... it's maps, not cars), that's "Terra Incognita". Better than dragons any day of the week.
They've had cases in the UK where everyone was glued to their TV sets until the adverts came on, then rushed to the toilet. Water consumption soared for a minute or three, then back to normal again when the TV show (Eric and Ernie's Christmas special?) was back on.
Analyzing the advertising times against the water consumption - and we've got it.
Of course we're assuming
a) everyone flushes
b) everyone uses the toilet for their "private time", rather than the nearest bush or garden ornament
I remember sitting in my parent's garage with half-a-dozen similarly spotted adolescents 'dungeon-mastering' a game of D&D. If a player killed a few innocent bystanders, then his character chart (good-evil, law-chaos) dropped a little toward the 'evil' side. Result was that when he wanted to do 'good' things, or want help from 'good' people, his chances of being successful were less.
And who else remembers those immortal words... stairs going down...
Just so you know - I'm here for you with these posts. I read that one video game they changed the blood from red to green (and the people from real ones to zombies) so that it was ok in everyone's minds to run them over.
Interesting comment. I've been coding for some thirty years (yeah yeah...) and was in a bank the other day, getting a foreign currency money order and being a slow day, got chatting with the people behind the counter. I used to work at the bank in the IT department, I said. Is [sysname] still in use? Yep, it is. And there's bit of my brainwork in that application, in use some twenty years after I wrote. I'm not getting any cash from the bank for it's continuing use of software I write. Fair enough - intellectual property blah blah. So when a singer ('artist' to me is someone who paints...) records something, why do they have the rights to that intellectual product for decades after?
Maybe... Could... Possibly....Could Michael Jackson be on the Moon? Well, yes... but extremely unlikely. Where's a quantum physicist when you need them,...
Slow news day indeed....
Hear hear. Us rest-of-the-world folk admired the things that the US did, and were capable of doing back in the late 60s and 70s. That's why a lot of the world emulated the States. Then you (the States) seemed to lose your way.
Step back into the limelight. The world needs you.
David Howe. I got a job as a DBA in an interview in the UK, read this in the plane on the way to take it up and it helped no end. Lucky it was a long flight:)
Oh, you said programming... well, database design is important too.
I'd argue the learning process is driven by interest in the subject. IMHO, giving each kid a laptop doesn't generate interest in any subject.
In some countries, the learning process is driven by the Government. They decide what gets taught, when, how. Public schools... Not a conspiracy theory. And I don't know if there's anything wrong with it either. The Gov'mint should know what's coming up, what sort of country they want to build, what skills are necessary.
Nothing to do with the laptop process so feel free to mod me offtopic...
Slashdot Mirror
I'm pretty sure Kindles burn well, but why would Amazon make that a feature? And I think the EPA would have a problem with that. Is our energy situation really that bad?
Book-burning in the 21st century! I can see it now - the latest version of the Hitler youth pitch-forking the numerous kindles into the flames!
Once upon a time, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and hired whole departments full of people to test and document a stable release of software before it went out the door; these expenses can be done away with by outsourcing QA to end users in the form of autogenerated coredumps, and the documentation to the end users by third parties hosting banner-ad-funded wikis and web fora. Sure, the product was more likely to actually work, but the unacceptable downside was that under waterfall, users had months between patches, and were consequently several weeks behind the hottest trends in masturbatory UX fashion design.
Agile's so much better than that stodgy old waterfall methodology, because with Agile, you're always on the upgrade treadmill, and only have to wait a few days for the next patch full of bugs comes down the pipe. You may not know what version of the software you're running, but at least you're always up to date!
Brilliant analysis. I am interested in your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Is this like the death of the mainframe stuff? Year of LINUX? Delivery of Duke Nukem For ..oh, wait...
Yep. I have (somewhere) in my library the gospels of Peter, Thomas and Mary. (No, not Paul - definitely Thomas). These were 'excised' from the canonical bible over the last two thousand years or so. Were this the middle ages I'd be posting as an AC to avoid being burnt at the stake.
How, exactly, would you "ultimately prove" anything about life? I'm a very religious person, and I love science, but I also know that humility is the biggest key to seeking understanding about the world. Not every religious person is anti-science. Many of us fully embrace both.
After recent (last three years) conversion to atheism, I don't think that you can. One of the final nails in the coffin is when you realize (or are told) that you can apply scientific methods to religious questions, and hence that nothing is sacred. Once you've done that, then *poof* - it's very quickly gone. Religion relies on some things being believed to be true rather than demonstrably true. I know - I've been there. And it must be demonstrably true to be scientific. If you have demonstrable truth of religious proofs, then please tell the rest of us.
I think religious people can be scientific, but scientific people cannot be religious. Doubting Thomas was right to doubt
Totally agree with your comment on humility though. Very true.
1: Take over HP
2: Run it into the ground doing whatever
3: Take fat cheque at departure
4: Profit!
The Board keeps choosing bad CEO's. Why do the shareholders keep re-electing them? Where are the institutional investors on this? I guess it's their company to destroy, if they really want to.
As a shareholder in many companies, I don't vote. I have a 1,000 shares in this one, 500 in that ... the people on the board have half a million shares. Voting isn't democratic, it's weighted by the number of shares you hold. Not much point me voting for Joe Soap who has good ideas but went to the wrong and doesn't play squash with the treasurer's nephew.
I see no problem with calling this "spontaneous human combustion", if by SHC you mean "this guy burned up and we can't prove how it happened." The coroner didn't posit a supernatural explanation; he's basically saying he's got a bunch of ashes, and can't explain it.
I do. Calling it SHC is akin to not looking inside an area on a map and writing 'Here be Dragons'. Maybe with a picture of one, for emphasis.
Coroners can record an 'open verdict', meaning that they don't know. Using the same analogy (I know ... it's maps, not cars), that's "Terra Incognita". Better than dragons any day of the week.
I thought the same. Go, Psychohistory. Of course I'd have spelt Asimov right. Or probably mentioned Hari Seldon.
I'm tempted to post as an AC just in case Amazon come knocking on my door....
Analyzing the advertising times against the water consumption - and we've got it.
Of course we're assuming
a) everyone flushes
b) everyone uses the toilet for their "private time", rather than the nearest bush or garden ornament
Liked his voice, and he worked well with Bob. And as for Dorothy Lamour ...
Give them an Etch-a-sketch each (with apologies to Scott Adams...)
And who else remembers those immortal words ... stairs going down...
Just so you know - I'm here for you with these posts. I read that one video game they changed the blood from red to green (and the people from real ones to zombies) so that it was ok in everyone's minds to run them over.
PS Rhetoric question...
Communism and libertarianism both suffer from this. The real world is a bitch of a place for theories.
Another great, applicable quote: "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they are different".
Hmmm
Maybe ... Could ... Possibly ....Could Michael Jackson be on the Moon? Well, yes ... but extremely unlikely. Where's a quantum physicist when you need them,...
Slow news day indeed....
Step back into the limelight. The world needs you.
But the next thing you know, you've got a theme park full of velociraptors hunting down the park's patrons.
As long as they eat Richard Attenborough first, I'm OK with that.
They're back... just continuing a theme.
Oh, you said programming... well, database design is important too.
Nuff said.
The learning process is driven by the teachers
I'd argue the learning process is driven by interest in the subject. IMHO, giving each kid a laptop doesn't generate interest in any subject.
In some countries, the learning process is driven by the Government. They decide what gets taught, when, how. Public schools ... Not a conspiracy theory. And I don't know if there's anything wrong with it either. The Gov'mint should know what's coming up, what sort of country they want to build, what skills are necessary.
Nothing to do with the laptop process so feel free to mod me offtopic ...