* Posts by Tom Ross

6 publicly visible posts • joined 9 Nov 2007

Autopilot blamed for Qantas plunge

Tom Ross

Why was this filed in Bootnotes?

It obviously belongs in RoTM.

Placing the blame on an autopilot going down will never wash. You may be able to get an autopilot to perform an controlled descent ... but get one to go down?

Baptist church in assault rifle giveaway

Tom Ross

@ Stephan Samuel

It wouldn't hurt you to take classes in history, civics, and comparative government.

The "right to own guns" not one of the unalienable Rights mentioned Declaration of Independence. It was spelled out later in the Constitution, and the right was granted by "God", but by the government.

The right is not unique to Merka, and certainly wasn't invented by Merkans. It goes back to the Assize of Arms granted by Henry II in 1181. This predates the Magna Carta by a few decades. Further, the right was included in the English Bill of Rights, which predates the US Constitution by 100 years, and would have applied to the colonists.

The New Order: When reading is a crime

Tom Ross

@ Doug

"And if you buy a pound of heroin, you're correctly assumed to be a pusher; some products do define the situation."

I browsed the training manual, and I'm baffled how anyone could consider it to be dangerous. It's tame compared to most of the literature I've seen from the survivalist, isolationist, fringe groups here in Merka. Honestly, I've read business plans that were more subversive than this.

Watered down Mao and Che, IMO. I think should be required reading for anyone studying political science, criminal science, sociology, etc.

TR

PayPal meltdown wreaks havoc on some ecommerce websites

Tom Ross

Shouldn't have to wait ....

... for the revolution to come or for a B Ark to be built. Justice should be swift, righteous and without mercy to anyone who says "percentage of merchants a percentage of the time."

Once earned a coveted Not a Team Player button when I pointed out to a PHB razor-thin inventory, his method for reducing operating expenses, caused 60% of the customers to be backordered 70% of the time on several key, top-selling products. His savings were costing $2.5M/mo in lost sales and could neatly be filed under Sales Prevention. And everyone *knows* what happened in Act II....

American Apparel's tags start tracking your pants

Tom Ross

Post-purchasing tracking

It's only a matter of time before the first store leaves the tags activated. To 'enhance the shopping experience' and all that.

And since leaving the tags active will prolly play merry hell with security sensors in this (and maybe any other store that carries the item), I suspect it will be a very short time before the same marketing wizards proclaim 'we listened to our customers' and start deactivating the tags again.

Nothing enhances a shopping experience quite like being detained under suspicion of shoplifting. It's a toss-up between which is more odious: the in-store music or the constant drone of security klaxon.

Apple hit with another class action

Tom Ross

$15,000 Class Action?

Is it just me, or does it look like this bozo and his lawyers were trolling for a quick, "undisclosed amount" settlement that nobody can ever talk about?

A vengeful jury might find in favor of the plaintiff ... and require him and his lawyers to administer the settlement. They would be responsible for all of the administration expenses, and the settlement could not be used to pay for these expenses. Administration would include identifying, notifying and verifying the members of the class action, as well as disbursing the funds and the full audit that demonstrates full compliance with the jury's verdict.