Posts by jake

Re: Just move some disks...

Why would you want to tie something around your neck? You're supposed to throttle the bike, not yourself.

Re: Just move some disks...

I was talking to a "white coat" at ICL about 30 years ago. I asked "Why the white coat?". He said it was a holdover from the days when tens of thousands of relays created a lot of dust, and high voltages concentrated that and the naturally existing dust ... and then they threw in paper tape, punch cards and mag tape, all of which create more dust. So the coats were to protect the clothes of the wearer.

I pointed out that that was hardly a necessity anymore ... He just smiled sadly and said "We're British. We like uniforms."

Re: Just move some disks...

The last 9-5 I interviewed for (in 1989), I was wearing my racing leathers. When the interviewer queried my choice of "uniform", I pointed out that he had asked me to drive up from Palo Alto to South San Francisco by 10AM ... and had called at 9AM. I knew I could make it on the bike, but there was no way I was driving the Bayshore without armor ... I got the job.

The 9-5 prior to that, I wore the same outfit, for similar reasons. When queried, I responded along the lines of "are you hiring an engineer or a fashion plate?" ... They made me an offer. I counter offered, they hired me at my price point.

Re: Backup always

Fortunately the locks on fireproof safes are almost always easy to bypass ... The good ones are made more with fireproof in mind than safe. The lock is just there to prevent crimes of opportunity.

Re: Police Computer

"Speaking of the Police National Computer, you CAN'T delete data from it accidentality or deliberately, at least according to the Police"

They are liars, then. Even a WORM drive can have specific files "deleted". Simply copy the files you want to keep to another WORM drive, then thermite the first drive. Simples. (Yes, I have done this, legally, for reasons.)

"who are still illegally holding records which by law they are supposed to have deleted by now."

How much are they paying which Judge, and does the Press know?

Re: Just move some disks...

"I never wore a suit jacket or had my sleeves down in a machine room after that."

Shit, I never even wore a tie! Ever get a tie caught in a cooling fan or a line printer? There's a reason that ties were fair game for anyone with a pair of scissors at most early Silly Con Valley companies.

_{The only use for a tie is as a handle when trying to shake sense into the wearer.}

Re: Just move some disks...

SSDS ... It was the size that got me.

OP, what were they? StorageTek? Just curious.

Re: Back door in to the comms systems

"Was there an option to play thermonuclear war?"

That was just a batch file located on the local machine. Forced the modem to make all the correct connection noises, but didn't actually require a telephone line. Echoed the "responses" from the "far end" to the console. The version that used ANSI.SYS[0] to draw the screen was almost convincing.

[0] Or NANSI.SYS if you had clues.

Re: Back door in to the comms systems

I've sent back larger contracts for a three word reason:

Unfit for purpose.

Essentially, they have broken the contract by providing garbage disguised as equipment. I'd change ISPs, last month would be a good time.

Re: An age ago. Or two.

Operator Error occurs in every industry. Usually starting with the Boss, Owner or YetAnother C* bellowing "I DON'T CARE, JUST LET ME DO IT!".

Somewhat sadly, the proverbial lathe chuck-key never embeds itself into said muck-a-muck's forehead when he flips the switch inappropriately. Instead, others suffer.

::sighs::

_{Pun not intended.}

Re: An age ago. Or two.

Uh ... you do know that it wasn't the FBI, it was the Secret Service, it wasn't in '93, it was in '90, and all they found was games, and a user guide to a specific game purporting to be a "hacker's manual", not actual illegally obtained material, right?

_{Jeebus ... has it really been over thirty years? I'm gettin' old ...}

Re: Just move some disks...

If you knew how, you could program them to walk by themselves.

When I was at DEC, one of the guys learned to make the washing machine sized disk drives "walk" across the floor ... I had to fire him when he did it in front of Ken Olsen, who was visiting our lab. Was very hard on the hardware.

Re: Back door in to the comms systems

That's why we used dial-back modems.

Cognizant Engineer dials in, enters "password" for modem. Modem hangs up. Modem looks up "password" in a list, and dials back the appropriate number. Cognizant Engineer's modem answers, makes the connection, and is then presented with a login for whatever bit of gear needs twiddling, this time (hopefully!) with a proper login/password pair. Once set up, it's easier to do than to describe. Side benefit is the owner of the bit of kit being worked on pays the long-distance bills.

Re: Police Computer

"thanks to a salesman "misunderstanding" the requirements, selling something totally wrong for the network"

You mean unloading an obsolete bit of kit that provided him with a large commission for shifting the archaic boat anchor?

Seen it all to many times ... Yet another reason why Management and Marketing should have absolutely no hand whatsoever in purchasing new networking kit.

Re: why does this remind me of

Even when I have use of the system console, I have been plugging at least one "dumb terminal" into a serial port and throwing it a login since the early BSD days at Berkeley. I still do this with modern BSD and Linux systems. Handy for all kinds of things. For example, it's nice to have a friendly login prompt if/when the GUI goes TITSUP[0]. I do most of my serious writing on it as there are fewer distractions with a CLI. It's also a handy place to send stderr when debugging. Etc. Recommended.

[0] Total Inability To Show the Usual Pr0nictures

Re: So you might say ...

And why does the word abbreviation contain so many syllables?

_{No exact answers please, an approximation will do.}

Yes.

The hypocrisy is so thick it's palpable. And it's getting thicker, to the point where wading through it is becoming difficult. How much longer before it brings us all to a complete standstill? Because it's blindingly obvious that that is where we are heading ...

_{Retirement's sweet call is sounding more and more lovely ...}

Re: Inclusive must mean that we only include things that we like...

I was born, educated and did almost all of my 9-5 career, and virtually all of my consulting career, in Silicon Valley. This over a timespan that is pushing 70 years now.

There have been no accurate books written about the place, and what happened here, Not one. All the books written to date have either been complete fiction, or one particular person's personal short-sighted window into it (and those are often seen through an alcohol, cocaine and/or pot induced haze, whether admitted in the pages or not).

Re: "I'm actually honest, self-deprecating, and funny"

Michelin Radials are for mid-range simple transportation devices.

Real Men smoke Nitto tires. Ask any drifter.

_{Actually, real men know how to drive quickly without wrecking their tires.}

Re: I wholeheartedly agree

"Most women in the Bay Area are soft and weak, cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of shit."

My Wife, reading over my shoulder, points out that this guy's knowledge of "Bay Ara Women" probably doesn't extend much past the wives of Silly Con Valley senior management and other upper executives, and their hangers-on. She points out that we know many of these women ... and the guy is right for the subset of Bay Area Women he knows.

Before you poo-poo this, think Footballer's Wives.

Re: "I'm actually honest, self-deprecating, and funny"

I think you b0rked my parser. Try again?

Re: "I'm actually honest, self-deprecating, and funny"

The point that I was making is that when one makes a sweeping statement about a good sized percentage of humanity, and makes a point about leaving a specific portion or portions out, that other portion or portions might feel targeted ... and rightfully object.

What "brigade" is that? If I truly believe that all lives matter, will I get into trouble for not paying the brigade dues? Only a simpleton believes that black lives aren't included in the set of all lives ... and only a muck-stirrer trying to inflame the simpletons would even attempt to suggest that I mean it in any other way.

My opinion on votes here at ElReg is well recorded elsewhere ... but if I were "craving upvotes", do you really think I'd voice my actual opinion? Hell, no. I'd go all politician and pander to the lowest common denominator. That's how you get votes. Personally, I'd rather talk to intelligent people, even if they have a different take on the subject than I do.

Re: Smart people ...

"... will concentrate on the things and people that they like. And just stay silent on those that they don't."

Don't ask, don't tell? Sorry, that never works.

Re: Here we go again.

And the people who practice it are still holier-than-thou self-serving hypocrites masquerading as altruistic civilization savers.

Thought crimes are in the imagination of the accuser.

Re: "I'm actually honest, self-deprecating, and funny"

Presumably, my downvoter thinks that men should respect all women, but not necessarily all men. There is a word for that, too.

_{You can hear the knees jerking all the way out past the Asteroid Belt ...}

Re: Unfair dismissal

That would depend entirely on the paperwork he signed when he became an Apple employee. So no, he will probably not get a larger payout than his severance check.

_{Edit: Not my downvote.}

Re: "I'm actually honest, self-deprecating, and funny"

"A real man can respect all humans, because he's not afraid of them."

FTFY

Re: It’s more objectionable that he is an advertising guy than that he is a misogyne

"Just how many ads does the world need?"

I'll go out on a limb and answer that.

None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. 0. Not a one.

Re: Yup, it ain't easy.

Nah. More like providing a support frame for a neophyte ice skater.

Re: Yup, it ain't easy.

I'm fairly sure I clarified that ...

Re: Peer review

Two web pages for you to consider:

ESR's "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way"

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Bruce Schneier's Memo to the Amateur Cipher Designer

https://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram/archives/1998/1015.html#cipherdesign

_{Plain-text links provided for folks who care about personal security.}

Re: The pen is mightier than the sword.

I guess you are talking to yourself. As you were, then. Have fun!

Re: The pen is mightier than the sword.

Talking to yourself again?

Re: Peer review

"Any suggestions, please advise."

Quite honestly, if you have to ask you are probably in over your head. It's not like the appropriate venues are hidden away in dark, dank corners or anything like that.

"The point is that they will likely not break into the car in the first place if it does not appear to contain anything worth taking."

That's called security by obscurity, and only works until it doesn't. Which is to say it is not security at all.

As with (nearly) all my cars, every Mercedes I've ever owned has been de-badged, so I wouldn't know.

Re: Yup, it ain't easy.

"In the case of a hammer you could try to prevent beginners from hitting their own thumbs by suggesting they hold it with two hands but that only means the threat now moves to their toes, but I'm getting a bit off track here."

Just a bit off track ... but a good place to add something useful ... When first teaching someone to split wood, put them on their knees in front of the log, and the base of the log at ground-level. That way, when they miss the target, the sledge or axe strikes the ground, not their shins or feet. Saves on hospital visits. The actual loss in impact force is minimal, as measured by me, using a couple nieces & nephews, and a couple of adults as test subjects (that's strikers, not strikees).

_{I buried a cutting block in the ground out at the woodshed just for this.}

Re: The Cat & Phial

Because prior to optical help there were no streetlights.

Most of the kids on the Niece's clandestine Uni system aren't comp sci majors, either. In fact, the Niece has just finished her pre-vet work, and been accepted to two Vet schools, her choice of either Madison or Davis.

"Normal" teenagers knew what Usenet was before AOL became a Wall Street & Media darling. Easy access to unlimited free porn will do that to a kid who is dying of hormone poisoning. BBSes with free read-only Usenet access couldn't get lines installed fast enough ...

But whatever. Convince the kids that their parents/teachers don't use or understand Usenet/IRC/email and the kids will flock to it.

Re: So, Signal vs Telegram

Having evaluated both, I'll stick with IRC.

_{Tried pigeons once. Granpa was right ... noisy rats with wings.}