Posts by jake 26713 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Jun 2007
One could argue that most of the so-called "busywork" should have been taken care of years ago.
Some people make a big deal of tidying up their kitchen because they only do it once a month or so, whether it needs it or not. Me, I make sure the kitchen is clean every night before I go to bed. Only takes a couple minutes, max.
... faithfully reports all your transgressions back to Winnie the Pooh while taking pictures to snitch on all your relatives, friends and neighbors?
And what's that port in its posterior for? Does it sit to recharge? Might give your little ones a bit of a jolt emulating it ...
"while living in the least hygienic environment imaginable"
Shirley New York City is at least marginally worse ... why else would folks bail out of NY and head for Florida once they have enough money?
I'll leave why they wouldn't pick a less objectionable new location as an exercise for the reader.
Used to see full-grown engineers befuddled by this one when some lout turned down their oscilloscope screen(s) when nobody was looking.
Daft thing is they KNEW they could dim the silly thing (duh!), but it never clicked that somebody would do it on a lark. One guy I knew at SLAC still buys me a beer whenever we see each other because I "fixed" the problem about 15 minutes before some big-shot arrived for a demo ... and that was back in the early 1970s!
It usually only worked once, as you noted.
He didn't want to abolish GOTO, he considered it harmful as used in most cases.
And yes, he considered learning BASIC as your first programming language as a good way to fuck up your ability as a programmer for life, partially but not only due to the heavy use of GOTO. After many years in the industry, I tend to agree with this assessment. HOWEVER, please note that I know people who are exceptions to the rule ... but most of them will agree that learning BASIC first stunted their early growth as a programmer.
Maybe if they encouraged the kids who are interested in the subject and stopped trying to force it on all and sundry?
In my experience, the kids who are interested in it are disgusted at being held back by their peers who have no interest in the subject matter whatsoever.
The "no kid left behind" concept is ruining an entire generation. Fact is, we are NOT all the same, and we are NOT all capable of the same work.
The problem is marketing and management want coding to be inexpensive. So easy, in fact, that kids can be taught to program by a teacher with a certificate to teach general education.
Unfortunately for them, computers are the single most complex tool HomoSap has managed to invent. They are inherently difficult to program. And there is no easy way around that ... regardless of language.
The cops had no reason to suspect a crime was in progress. The neighbor reported "something odd". In those words. So the cops went to have a gander.
The cops testified (insurance hearing) that they detected nothing wrong. The perps had even garaged their van, and closed the door behind them, after letting themselves in through an easily opened window.
As with most homes in the US, the backyard was fenced off from the street, so they only had the front of the house to go on. All of the downstairs front windows are (still) curtained. The neighbor who called it in had gone shopping and wasn't home when the cops got there.
The perps were caught some 4 months later when my friend found one of his missing power tools in the hands of the son of a cow-orker. The kid fingered his "friends". Seems the kid had overheard them discussing the upcoming fishing trip. Inside job, of a sort.
First offense. Tools and other kit returned (including all the jewelry!), and 300 hours community service. Each. The victim got lucky in this case ... And learned a valable lesson about what is actually useful when it comes to home security.
Suggestion, Bob ... don't go there. Not worth it.
A friend had a doormat that said "Come Back With a Warrant!". He thought it was funny. Until a neighbor called the cops after seeing something odd at his house one weekend when he was away on a fishing trip.
His front porch video cam caught the cops reading the mat, shrugging and going away ... leaving the burglars (also caught on cam... masked, no ID likely) free to steal everything that wasn't locked down. Timestamps show the bad guys were aware of the cops on the porch.
His insurance company was not amused.
"Just stop acting like assholes to cops and maybe they won't act like assholes to you."
Fact. Ask yourselves "How many cop shootings/beatings/whatever would never have happened had the person just shut up, stood still and let the cop do his/her job?". The answer is "Almost all of them".
Cops have a very, very stressful job. If you contribute to that stress ... Well, need I say more? Shirley the proverbial Thinking Man would stand still, keep his hands visible, and move to whatever location to cop asks, without acting like a belligerent asshole. If you do, chances are better than excellent that you will be allowed to continue on your way, with nothing lost but a little time and possibly a citation for whatever illegal thing you were doing that drew the cop's attention in the first place.
And YES, if you are carrying drugs or a stolen gun (or your own legal gun, sans CCW permit), or have a warrant out for your arrest, or otherwise raise flags, you might get arrested. What the fuck did you expect? You broke the fucking law! Accept the arrest, take the punishment, and then get on with life, hopefully having learned something.
Or you can try to fight the cops to get away. And very possibly die. Where's the logic in that?
"Can you convince the police of this?"
Nope. I wouldn't even try. Proving a negative is a logical fallacy.
"Will they believe you?"
Frankly, I don't care.
"Will you be arrested for obstruction?"
No. There is no law on the books that states I have to give those details to the police.
"It's like the TV Licensing people coming round to your house"
Wrong jurisdiction there, pardner. The LAPD is in the US, not the UK.
Correct. As stated, he's not wrong.
However, it also might work if you are black. Or yellow. Or brown or red or whatever colo(u)r amfM claims to be.
As stated, in this context, it is designed to do nothing more than stir up shit. The person uttering those words is a shit disturber, for no reason other than to stir shit. As such, that person is a part of the problem, not a part of the solution.
Miranda rights still exist here in the United States. There is no punishment for refusing to talk to a cop here. You don't even have to provide your name vocally, much less ID.
The trick is knowing how and when to refuse to talk or produce ID. For best results, discuss it with a real lawyer in your jurisdiction before the fact.
Note that Internet Lawyers are worth exactly the money you pay them. Likewise, so is any advice you may think I have just provided. Seriously, if you think you have a need to know the details, talk to a real lawyer in your jurisdiction. The rules in LA and San Francisco can vary, and from state to state the differences can be quite large.
Also note that you are required by law to produce a valid driver's license, current registration and proof of insurance if a cop stops you while in charge of a motor vehicle. This goes along with the privilege of driving.
I normally don't carry any phone at all, but when I do it's as close to an old Nokia 5185 as I can manage in today's world. All I want a telephone to be is a telephone ... and even then, it's only for emergencies and usually stays turned off, in the glovebox (cars & trucks) or under the seat (bikes). No electronic leashes for me, thanks.
Shame about the crappy transmitters and receivers these days ...
What the fuck does that have to do with my comment?
Or are you claiming that there are never any dissenting voices within the High Court of Australia? If so, that would be very, very scary.
Probably a bad case of Whataboutitis ... take two bop pills and call me in the morning.
"Could that be the end of Facebook"
Don't be daft. Facebook could drop out of Oz completely and not see a blip in their profits. Nor their prophets, both the employed ones and the volunteers.
" and boom of self-hosted personal blogs in Australia?"
Of course not. That would be hard, and people would have to actually learn something.
... Does Australia's High Court have facebook presence? Or any other so-called "social" media presence?
If not, it seems to me this is legislation without representation.
If so, I hope their censors editors have plenty of red pencils, and overtime has been authorized.
Just sayin' ...
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
