Posts by Nunyabiznes 625 publicly visible posts • joined 6 May 2010
Yeah, I'm older and I have made whippersnapper cracks.
I tend to lump the youngsters who fit the mold "millennials" into one group and the others who have a work ethic and thick skin into another. I am fortunate enough to know several late teens to early 30s "kids" who are completely the opposite of "millennial".
:shrug: I guess we are all human. Some of us are bigger knobs than others, no matter the age.
While good recommendations are abundant in this thread, it also shows why *nix is having a tough time knocking Windows off of the desktop.
Almost every time I see a useful comment about how to move from Windows to *nix there are multiple competing statements about which flavor to try. Now, on a forum such as this it can be a good thing because sometimes you hear of obscure releases that might be just what you wanted. However, most typical computer users just get confused and fix their issue by buying a new computer pre-loaded with Windows. That might keep the hardware manufacturers solvent but it doesn't help the *nix to desktop cause.
I had just finished putting a rebuilt (and quite a bit more powerful) engine into the Colonel's Corvette. Might have had something to do with it. ;)
Also I was the go to guy for just about anything that needed fixing - from PDP 1124s to pneumatic control systems, hydraulics, mechanical and A/C. He knew I would stay and keep systems running even if it took all night. One of the few jobs I've had where going above and beyond got noticed - until that Colonel retired and reality set back in.
It all kind of sounds like a pyramid scheme (multi-level marketing for the PC literate).
Who remembers the rule of thumb for pay that the Japanese used in the 80s? IIRC it was that the CEO shouldn't make more than 10 times what the lowest paid full time employee makes. There were a lot of perks that weren't figured into that number, but it was still much more equitable than the current ratios that are common.
Even worse, they probably have a whole accounting division devoted to comparing the cost of hiding what they are doing vs. the cost of paying a fine or settlement vs. the money being made. This enables management to make easy A B C decisions with none of those pesky moral arguments getting in the way.
If the cost of trying not to get caught is higher than the potential fine, they don't even bother anymore.
Ours is similar.
We have a mandate to archive, in a manner that is immediately accessible, all email for all time. Right now we have ~28 years worth. We are warned that all email is discoverable (legally) and that you should not use work email for personal reasons (common sense there). Supervisors are routinely given access to worker email for one reason or another.
I used to have quite long hair. One day I was in a hurry to get under a car I was working on and did a flop onto the creeper (I don't know what they are called over yonder - but there are a low-slung wheeled board you can lay on that allows movement when working under a vehicle) and shot almost all the way under the car. Notice almost. My hair fell out of my cap and wound up around one of the wheels, which led to a rapid braking action. I had a dull knife in my pocket which I used to saw off the offending locks. The next day I had the same basic hair cut I wear today - some 30 years later. I can guarantee that it is short enough that it won't get caught in rotating mechanical devices.
@Lucre
I'm a little older and sometimes I think my mental flexability is declining. It seems I have to work harder to think outside the norm nowadays then I did 20+ years ago. That being said, the amount of work I can clear just because I've seen it before more than offsets that - for now anyway.
When the less experienced staff bother to listen I can significantly reduce their resolution times just because I have either seen the issue before or I can help them troubleshoot in a concise manner. That's what I like to tell myself anyway.
@ DougS
I like your idea but many times employees of the corporation are forced to invest into it for their retirement plan. This would hurt the bees more than the queens, maybe. Although with the stock options most C-level positions get it might hurt them enough to get their attention.
Well, it was a "closed" group - the digital equivalent of a locker room.
*Yes, Facebook I know, but the analogy stands.
And that being said, in today's society where any and everything is probably recorded and will eventually become public one way or another, a person should probably think before keyboarding.
I do find it interesting that so many people are piling on this group when shock "comedians" have said much the same or worse and gotten laughs and a pass.
Years ago I worked in a new factory being brought online. We were a non-union expansion for the existing union shop in the eastern US.
Including startup beginning in April, we were able to out-produce the old factory (that had more lines) by end of year.
The union shop got 10% production bonuses at Christmas based on our work. We got fruit baskets. Really.
We closed the factory the week between Christmas and New Year for maintenance, giving mischievous minds time to prank. I crawled through the rafters into the office area above the plant manager's office and carefully lowered enough fruit baskets to cover his quite large desk. This was, of course, in a corner office facing southwest - in south Texas. Even in winter the sun shines quite brightly most days and temps in an office where HVAC is off for plant maintenance can get notably elevated.
The entire office area had to be aired out for several days after staff returned.
Immature and childish, sure. But funny to everyone but the boss. Even other front office staffers were heard giggling - because they had been shorted also leaving only the plant manager getting a quite generous bonus.
Notably, we didn't get fruit baskets the next year, even after breaking production records again.
I would AC, but I really don't care if that employer finally figures out who did it.
I suspect this report could be duplicated in most Western governments, + or - a few percentage points.
When something is inconvenient people tend to consciously and unconsciously try to avoid or circumvent it. Also we can have goldfish memory for the rules.
We consistently have people try to do things that the provided training explains is a bad idea. They justify it by telling themselves they are trying to be efficient or productive or whatever, but it usually boils down to "I do that at home and I haven't had my computer hacked". Of course they have no idea whether or not they have been compromised. For that matter we probably don't really know whether we have been compromised at work - but based on our users and just how many vulnerabilities there are I would be surprised if we haven't been to some extent. We certainly try to adhere to best practices, but sometimes funding and manpower dictate prioritizing what gets done. And there I go justifying!
That's kind of the point of a tiered system of courts ruling on legislation and executive action. Checks and balances. The writer(s) of the Constitution knew there would be misinterpretation and outright muppetry and therefore put a system in place to limit it as much as possible. Unfortunately, there have been 200+ years of weasels enacting regulations, laws, rules, etc specifically to get around the original intent of the document - many of these have not been challenged through the courts and so have become entrenched. Sometimes the court system, including the SC, have own-goaled. Humans are nothing if not imperfect.
@DougS
Upvote, but a can of gas can sit on the living room floor indefinitely without exploding assuming it is stored in the correct container and there is no external ignition source.
Many lithium batteries have failed while being used exactly in the manner prescribed, because of either poor engineering or poor quality control driven by cost concerns of the manufacturer. That being said, it is still a vanishingly small percentage that have actually failed.
I remember that episode. Something along the lines of: "With the whole of the World Wide Web at my fingertips, what exactly would lead you to believe that whatever it is you are doing is worthy of my attention? If it is I already have backups of your browser history, personal folder and that folder that you think is hidden on your local hard drive. Should I continue or are you going to go away?"
Lots of paraphrasing there because my memory chips are pretty creaky.
Did almost exactly the same thing myself, only on a customer computer. Luckily it was almost brand new and I didn't lose anything important. Whew!
Luckily it was a customer who was pretty laid back and appreciated having something to kid me about for the next several years.
@ Charlie Clark
"In my experience the vast majority of cyclists are fine and generally play by the rules. Yes, there are always some knob jockeys who are going to endanger themselves and others. But they'll probably do this with whatever form of transport they're using, so it's not much basis for policy."
Good for you, but here is another story. It isn't just anecdotal evidence. There have been a couple of local Uni sponsored studies that proved that bicyclists in this area were much less likely to obey the rules of the road or even exercise good sense when riding in town. Outside of town the numbers were much better - probably because those riders are generally more serious and understand consequences.
As far as basis for policy - almost all policy is based on outliers instead of majority. IE - most people don't drive drunk but we have policies against that. Yeah, yeah, extreme example but relevant.
Road planning is one issue - the overarching belief that since "I'm saving the world by riding my bike/scooter/etc" road rules don't apply is another huge issue. If bicycles could run on smugness very few riders around here would have to pedal.
It is actually refreshing to see the occasional rider actually stopping at intersections, signaling and using appropriate safety devices (lights at night, reflectors, bright clothing).
Their estimate of damages is separate from what the court can/will impose as a fine for breaking the law. Usually in cases like this the perp is given two separate judgements - one for payback of damages and one for court costs and fines. The Judge will generally fact check the compensation claim from the victim and pass it along to the perp.
But, like the banner above a civil attorney's office locally says: Winning is one thing - collecting is another.
Honestly sounds a little low. If he destroyed 66 computers I would think replacement costs including staff time would be quite a bit more than that. I guess that is what the student interns are for.
Anybody want to do a little comparative vandalism to some .gov computers and let us know what their numbers add up to?
She's a nutter who has gone over the edge campaigning against all vaccinations. Apparently, she has no concept of what grief childhood diseases caused throughout history until very recently.
I wish all the anti-vaxxers would take a statistics class and do a workup on what the numbers are for serious health effects with vaccines vs. w/o.
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