What a luxury!
Another Friday, another BOFH. Thank you, Simon.
2619 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Jan 2009
I ain't Spartacus,
you aren't funny - It seems that some commentards simply don't do humour. There are posts (not only mine) which I believe cannot be mistaken as a serious contribution. Truth is, they can and are.
Also saying anything critical about Apple tends to fire up the votes, in both directions.
I ain't Spartacus,
Not only that but Someone Else should have told us upfront of his surgery plans and, of course, where and when it was going to take place. So, someone else would have had the chance to hack and fiddle the surgery schedule, changing both the surgeon to someone else and the planned operation. And now Someone Else would instead of having a new knee be missing at least his/her testicles/boobs. That way Someone Else would not only have posted witty comments but also passively created a totally IT-related story for El Reg and thereby contributed to someone else's living and many else's entertainment.
I agree that the thumbs serve a purpose - but which purpose? Do I thumb-down a comment because I don't agree with it or because it is rubbish? Personally, I hardy thumb-down a post unless, eg it's inflammatory and humourless, even if I agree with it. Then there seem to be people around who thumb-down a comment simply because it was posted by jake.
However inconsistently they are used, I don't think we should get rid of the thumbs. The only bad thing was to insert the three top comments below the article which was a kind of thumbs-up machine. But El Reg got rid of this long ago.
The badges though, well, I addressed my reservations already earlier on. Btw, is the silver badge awarded automatically?
Trevor, I couldn't agree more. But I thinks it's worth mentioning that the first thing in managing changes is making the people dissatisfied with the current situation. While this is probably part of manage [...] people's rational thoughts, their emotions, and their environment it is a very important step on its own.
Dissatisfaction can already be there, eg due to a clumsy UI, or it needs to be created first, eg with exposing the users to much better (competitors' or own) UIs. The problem Microsoft had and still has is that a lot of keyboard/mouse users were/are quite happy with the Windows 95 et seqq. interface. For example, speaking of Office, while in my opinion it was never perfect (Open Office provided a more logical menu structure than MS Office 2003), it was good enough to work efficiently. Dissatisfaction started with the ribbons. I know, some people like them, I don't. After quite some time with the "ribbon Office" I still lose considerable time just trying to find some commands.
So, the dissatisfaction - for keyboard/mouse users - started with the new product, being it ribbons or Windows 8 tiles. It would be a perfect situation for a competitor. Problem is, there is none.
Thank you for the clarification. Well, I didn't take damian Kelly's comment very seriously*. That's why it made me smile. I don't and probably never will know damian Kelly's real attitude towards this topic. But if something looks like irony and smells like irony is probably is irony.
*And neither should you mine. Although part of my day job is to piss people off.
Crisp, did you ever consider stop engaging in criminal activities so that police choppers won't have a need to circle over you place?
What I wondered though, several times while living nearby, what military choppers (ie WAH-64) were doing over the Isle of Dogs. Were/are you living there?
ForthIsNotDead, don't be such a cynic! We only need to create owl wing shaped blades for the compressor and turbine and, hey presto, we have a silent jet engine. Too difficult? Alternatively, we try feeding owls into jet engines and see whether their feathers settle at the right place to create the desired outcome.
Isn't there an area in Russia (or former USSR) with a naturally high radiation level, which does not pose any problem for its residents? They, allegedly, have adopted to the radiation through evolutionary selection.
Breed with them - there's anyway enough time till a manned mars mission is ready - and send the offspring.
There I make a light hearted comment about the impossibility to find suitable travellers and you're going all serious! ;-)
Seriously, I agree with you, Lee D. But I believe even Scott, with his untested material, didn't think he would die. Mars on the other hand...well, once there is some habitable space there, why not...
The point? Getting there only to find the remains of an ancient civilisation who set out to move to earth because their own planet was bloody cold and hostile. Now that is what I'd call irony.
Other valid points are because we can (although not yet) or for the fun of it. That's sufficient reason for me.
I don't see the link between the anonymity of bitcoin and identifying contributions to campaign funds. If someone wants to keep his contribution anonymous there are other options, such as cash. Frankly, I don't know the regulation about campaign funds in detail. But in my opinion it should be the campaign to keep track of who it's contributors are and not the value transfer system.
I am aware that certain countries know limitations in trading otherwise freely tradeable goods. This, however, doesn't invalidate my point.
I agree with your scepticism on ETFs - I had and still have the same reservations. When I compare the risks and costs of holding gold physically with risks and costs of ETF the latter was favourable to me. The bank that holds my portfolio with the gold certificates is independent of the bank that issued said ETFs. The issuing bank is required to hold the equivalent of physical gold in its own premises (in a small country in the middle of western Europe) and in the unlikely case of the banks default my certificates should still give me access to my part of the physical gold. On the other hand holding gold physically bears the risk of it being stolen or lost and/or comes with the costs of transportation and secure storage.
@AC 16:31 GMT
More and more countries inflict restrictions on cross-boarder cash transfers. A bunch of bank notes, while it still happens, is definitely not a good choice (ask e.g. Cornelius Gurlitt - and he didn't even exceed the legal limit), it's too easily detectable. Diamonds are much more compact than cash, can safely be swallowed or rather easily hidden otherwise. So yes, you can pass airport security with a pocket full of diamonds - given they don't bulge your trousers - or alternatively, a stomach/rectum full of them. Changing them into cash is, despite the controls on conflict diamonds not really a problem. Either your diamonds may indeed have a certificate of origin - after all, you're not trading in diamonds but merely transporting wealth - or if they don't, you only have to know the right people. Or do you believe all the certificates of origin are genuine?
But I agree, transporting large amounts of money is easier with bitcoin. It comes with the risk of volatility though, probably a higher volatility than currencies or diamonds.
Jeff should only worry if he hasn't, like all the others, closed his Swiss bank account long ago and moved money to much calmer places in the Caribbean. Or, for example, what does the USA do against "financial practices" in Delaware? That would probably be my place of choice for hiding/laundering money - not being a US citizen I'd be safe from the USA and having the money within the USA also safe from all other countries.
@AC 16:25 GMT
it is reasonable to regulate the use of a currency.
Why? With bitcoin we are not talking about a currency that is closely interlinked with the economy of a country or area as are $, £, € etc and therefore needs regulation. Bitcoin could be more accurately compared to gold. Gold is freely tradeable and has, besides jewellery and some industrial niche use, no inherent value.
The only real difference is that gold is tangible, bitcoin isn't. Although all the gold I personally own is in 100% gold-backed ETFs, not tangible at all - and freely tradeable.
It surely is valid to ask the questions of those politicians. But the concerns they (and others) have originate in bitcoin being unknown. And alien is potentially dangerous.
I completely agree.
In 15 years in the financial industry I've learned something (among other things;-). If there appears to be a possibility of making some quick dosh, no matter how small this may be, there is at least someone stupid enough to risk his (not always but mostly "his") career for it. Chasing fraudsters is not just a hobby of mine ;-)
I was probably a bit too brief. It's not profits that lead to deficits (one of which would be unemployment). It is the system that enables profit-making companies to exist that, as a downside, also enables deficits (deficit in a general meaning - don't know what Brand meant). Such deficits can be companies closing down, going bankrupt, laid off staff, unemployed people etc.
If you know of a sustainable economic system that allows for privat profits without any deficits please let me know, I'd be very curious to hear about that. So far, I believe with capitalism it's like what Churchill said about democracy...
I'm lost. Can't remember when costs were tied to market revenue. I've read Bell's article. Still can't make sense of it. Well, the more you sell, the more (or more expensive) journalists you can afford (i.e. higher costs) at the same profit margin. But in which way tied?
Anyhow, I still believe one of the most accurate descriptions of journalism was given by Thompson: there is no objective journalism. (Referring to Bell's text.)
As of what Brand says (can't watch the video), I think he is right in the sense of profit-making in a capitalist system. Capitalism provides the opportunity to create wealth. The cost of this is, there are losers, too, i.e. those in the labour market with obsolete skills. That's why we have social benefits. Seems to work quite well (compared to other systems).
I don't use many "apps" on mobile phones. Unfortunately, skype is one of the few. Not only is its fucking user interface near incomprehensible but also fucking different on two different phones. How difficult must it be to fuck up a GUI for such a simple fucking application?!
(Sorry for the use of f-words. But I know how to develop software, testing, usability labs etc. And not just from reading books. It makes me fucking angry to see such rubbish.)
Rather than providing travellers with a set of answers to possible questions they should be equipped with the means to solve problems on their own, both intellectually and physically.
Traveller to Earth: "vital modul xyz broke. Please send replacement!" - "Sure, it takes 1 year to produce and 3 years to send. By the time it arrives you all dead." Alternative answers: "parlament cancelled the budged", "what?! Leyland Yutani went bust. Sorry.", "disaster broke and destroyed most of civilization. Over and out."
Anyway, having a small group of people locked up together almost indefinitely... How are the odds that they will kill each other sooner or later? (Rather than proper astronauts I'm thinking about volunteers such as wanted for Mars mission. The BigBrother type of volunteer...)
Tom7,
You forgot to mention that in those days printer didn't refuse to print because, allegedly, they were fucking refilling the toner cartridge themselves! Not that it works, not that it actually does anything in this time or, heaven forbid, that I believed it does. But it stops printing for 15 minutes and then it's still running out of toner.
I can't follow how this cat thing came up, but you're absolutely right, Blitterbug. I can't stand cats, I hate them. The more that the neighbours' cats crapped on my lawn. Got a cat on our own (which I adore, btw), problem solved. It's that simple - no more turd on our lawn.