* Posts by Kiwi

4368 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Sep 2011

Why is the printer spouting nonsense... and who on earth tried to wire this plug?

Kiwi
Headmaster

Re: It was never my F**king DNS

i have Literally spent years as a junior ,senior and then team lead making sure my DNS was prefect internal and external

All those years you literally spent on your DNS work - was it because the system was such a mess or that you weren't the quickest person around that it literally took years out of your life?

Either way, I've found a small typo can easily turn a perfect config into a prefect config (you probably didn't know the prefects at my school).

we did have a problem where a Rouge Domain controller making itself the lowest cost for everywhere

Bet that made you see red!

Kiwi
Coat

Re: Kzzzeerrrttt

He managed to find it out, and saved the lives of 90+ workers, 1 week prior to opening.

At first reading I took the "he" to be the sparky involved and thus must ask why he was fired? Mistakes happen, testing and inspecting your work afterwards (and even getting another pair of eyes in) is a normal practice.

If the "he" is your friend and the sparky believe he'd completed the job to a suitable standard, then yes - firing may've been appropriate (though a practical demonstration with the sparky as the test subject may've been a much more, shall we say, illuminating educational aid).

That said, having some first-hand experience with what lightning can do and the interesting pathways it can take, I'd strongly recommend against any workers being tethered to an earth in any sense, that's just asking for fatalities!

(I've seen lightning strike equidistant between arrestors and other earthed items (only a few metres apart) - like the many of the yoof of today it seeks to cause mayhem but would prefer to avoid being arrested in the process!)

[Icon - I should leave before my shocking wit leads me to get arrested and charged...]

Kiwi

Re: Hiring the same guy!

A ray of sunshine!

Probably not sunshine. Certain sparkies have skills that, well lets just say at sufficiently close proximities, electricity can provide brightness comparable to and even exceeding that which one normally receives from the sun.

Kiwi

Re: Dynamo Dan, the Electric Man

It's shocking but rarely fatal, unless you are a kid or have a heart condition. AC tries to throw you off, it's sticky DC that kills.

Oh yes, AC at 240V can quite easily kill you. The trick is not having it go across your heart. If it's going in your right arm and down to your feet there's a good chance it won't kill you. If you're holding earth/neutral with your left hand and live with your right, there's a very good chance you're dead (though CPR can help). While I haven't found decent stats (and am done with searching), one article references 5 deaths in NZ from electrified foil insulation. It's quite safe to assume these were 240V mains.

https://www.building.govt.nz/about-building-performance/news-and-updates/all-news-and-updates/bc-update-188/

There was also a news article from 2015 about a man who'd been electrocuted under his house while looking for a leak from his hot water cylinder (also very likely to be 240V with 1 or 2 ~2kw elements). This was a case where an electrician had earlier reversed phase/neutral and an electrical inspector failed to do his job properly where such a fault should've been found (article by a bunch of yahoos : at nz[dot]finance[dot]yahoo[dot]com/news/disciplinary-action-taken-fatal-electrocution-210219851.html - I'd provide a proper link but that recraptha crap stops me - I won't have google JS running so cannot post some links, get it fixed please El Reg!)

As to letting go - no, can confirm that AC can cause you to grip tighter or can mess up nerve impulses so while it may not be causing your muscles to grip, you cannot tell them to release either. It isn't always the case of course, and I believe you are partly correct in that your chances with AC are better.

But overall, I must give you an upvote for the correct use of 'electrocution' which can mean non-fatal incidents :)

Kiwi

Re: Because..

(But try not to - the harm done is all about the path. Finger-to-elbow will make you jump. Left-hand-to-right-hand could be lethal.)

Years back I was taught one simple rule I still live by today. When playing with voltages that could prove fatal, put your left hand in your pocket. That vastly reduces the chances of the 'leccy flowing across your heart.

Kiwi
Paris Hilton

Re: Not mains but wiring just the same

the other end will fit into a RJ45 socket

Not so hard to do. Most RJ45 ports on the backs of computers are just above a stack of USB ports, in line. With width of a RJ45 port is the same as a USB port (USB could've been made a fraction of a mm wider and stopped that!). The insertion force is comparable, especially when you plug in a lot of cables on various machines. And in most cases the ports are at the back of the machine and barely visible at best, often not visible at all to the non-contortionist. I've often felt for a USB plug then tried plugging in 'above' it to find the plug feels like it is going in OK, only the peripheral doesn't work. Grabbing a readily available mirror (visually similar to a CD/DVD ;) ) shows me what went wrong.

It's made even worse now that plugs and sockets are all quite different (eg used to be a 9 pin D could be serial, or video, or..... but a PS/2 socket is keyboard or mouse, USB, network, power, monitor (slight issue with DVI having 2 main plug standards) etc are all generally quite obviously different. I usually tell people "if it fits in the socket easily, it's fine' - which sometimes leads to issues with LAN/USB...

Kiwi
Alert

Re: The user replied: "The same electrician who changed that plug rewired my house last week!"

then it doesn't really matter which way round the Live / Neutral go

Actually it does, and not just for the reason @Robert 22 gave.

Usually the switch is on the phase/live. Now you should unplug things before playing (unless you need to test it while powered up) but we don't all always think to do that (or have been unplugging/plugging in several times while trying to track down one of those faults and are so sick of it we're approaching 'suicidal' anyway). And when the thing is plugged in, and what should be 'neutral' is actually 'live', you find out that things are live that should never be live. Heaven help the poor person who has a knee idly resting against a workbench while they test such a badly wired unit.

Kiwi

Re: The user replied: "The same electrician who changed that plug rewired my house last week!"

You should never mix up your live and neural feeds.

True. Something like that could liven things up with your neurons.. Perhaps for a neurotically short time...

Kiwi
Coat

Re: Not on the wall socket

Even that seems a bit above the ability of a lot of PAT testers.

Well, at least they got passing the tests down PAT I guess....

(too much sugar maybe? Red food colouring?)

Kiwi
Coat

Re: Not on the wall socket

The reality on the ground was that the only acceptable evidence was a completed NVQ module and assessment certificate for the module.

Am I right in my guess that "NVQ" means "Not Very Qualified?"

Kiwi
Mushroom

He knows my mate!

[lots of swearing] "The same electrician who changed that plug rewired my house last week!"

Yup. That's him alright. And if he does your wiring, you're NOT alright!

--> Your house, 10 minutes after he leaves.

Cops storm Nginx's Moscow offices after a Russian biz claims it owns world's most widely used web server, not F5

Kiwi
Pint

Re: What licence header is on NGINX source files?

...If the code is GPL or BSD, it doesn't really matter who owns the copyright.

Actually if I write something and release it under a restrictive copyright, then you take all or some of the code and release it under GPL etc, it does matter - you were not the original rights owner and had no right to release the work under that license.

Likewise (though I believe irrelevant in this case), if your employee contract says anything you do while working for me belongs to me, and you write and release code under GPL, you also didn't have the legal right to do so (moral rights are another matter, especially if it was written on your own time and resources and not relevant to/in competition with my business).

LightAnchors array: LEDs in routers, power strips, and more, can sneakily ship data to this smartphone app

Kiwi

Re: And it could potentially be...

but there might be other options.

That link seems broken - just to an endlessly instantly reloading web page.

Kiwi
Coat

Re: Yes, but for what?

I imagine that there are industrial applications. Situations where wired or wireless connections are difficult to implement or unreliable. Might even be some domestic utility.

It could be used to help you control other devices. Why, instead of moving, you could point your phone (or a near phone-sized device) at the TV and hit a button and it starts pulsing a LED in the direction of the TV. The TV can "read" these pulses and knows to turn itself on (or off) as a result.

Why, you could even use this to change channels, or volume levels! The possibilities are endless! You could build something like that into stereos, or car radios (but why? The controls are always inches from your fingers), or even garage doors!

I think I shall file a patent on this idea. And since you use it to remotely control devices, I shall call it a "remote control"

Kiwi
Pint

Re: Why on earth

Here's what the people that have ability to think do. Turn it off when you have finished using it.

People who actually have the ability to think realise that there are a number of circumstances in which things can accidentally be left on (and also accidentally turned on - eg cat chasing a fly that lands on the switch). Sure I've only done it a couple of times in my life but I know I could answer the phone while working on something (no point turning the heaty thing off for a few seconds phone talk) only to get some news or an urgent request that has me distressed or racing out the door in a hurry, thoughts of things making sure everything is turned off far from my mind. I also use heaty things (eg soldering iron) quite often, sometimes several days a week. Turning it off is something so common I have to check if I have a doubt (same as locking the door, I do it at least once every day so no way to recall a specific time.

That said, I do agree with not having all the cameras and other IoT crap around. Me? I have a safe work bench. If I leave something there and it gets all hot and sweaty then there's no way fire can spread even with flaming melted plastic running off. Try to be sure I have things turned off, check them anyway, but also work in a place where flames aren't scary. Much simpler - and safer - then having an excess of IoT-infested cheap tat.

Kiwi
Pint

Re: Why on earth

basically the thermostat clicking off, glue gun stats aren't that big so generally don't click loud enough to hear, if they have a thermostat at all that is..

pretty sure my $5 cts one doesn't. It does have remarkable longevity though, having been used a lot over the last few years.

Best one was doing some work in a mate's garage and he wanted to borrow it afterwards, so I left it with him in his garage.

3 weeks later ask for it back and he says it's where I left it as he'd never used it. Go round to his place and oh shit, forgot to turn off the powerpoint when I'd last used it - on for 3 weeks. Still works fine a year later. The glue was kinda darkened but still worked - that which hadn't melted and spilled out. Took a bit to clear some of the excess but in the end was fine. Would normally have sent it for recycling rather than take the effort to clear it (for $5), but figured it'd survived that long so deserved to live on (I've had expensive soldering irons fail with less on-time then that!)

BOFH: I'd like introduce you to a groovy little web log I call 'That's Boss'

Kiwi
Pint

Re: Most people have nothing interesting to say on a regular basis.

I've found if I'm quiet too long, people think that I'm angry or something.

Bloody hell. Is that what's up with them?

I tend to be a quiet person most of the time, and prefer not to speak unless I'm certain I can improve upon the silence (yes, I know, my El Reg posts beg to differ!).

So often I've heard people claim that I am an angry person, yet I very seldom raise my voice at people or swear or cut them off/given the silence etc.

Now I think I understand, people just assuming I'm quiet because I'd rather not speak then spout some inane drivel (again, I realise my posts beg to differ... :) )

Thanks very much for the headsup. I shall now spew forth worthless drivel in case people think I am simmering just below the boil-over point.

Google Chrome will check for leaked credentials every time you sign in anywhere

Kiwi
Big Brother

Re: Middle of the road, me

Chromium is nice, as long as you remember toblg out of every Google service after use (true of all browsers, of course.)

"The trick is not to try and bend the spoon - that would be impossible. The trick is to realise, there is no spoon".

(or in this case, no point in logging out of google's slurpware, better never to log in in the first place (and also realise, there is no service, but you are getting 'serviced' and there sure is a load of bull involved!)

Kiwi

Re: what happens when Google's master key gets compromised?

My guess is that they made the system work and now are being a little evasive in explaining exactly how it works.

Pops a query over to haveibeenpawned.com (or whatever that site is) and asks 'on your behalf'?

All unsuccessful queries fully logged for future use of course. I mean so that if it gets detected in future they can warn you early, honest!

Kiwi

Re: what happens when Google's master key gets compromised?

That is assuming that the system is working as specified publicly and not doing something else entirely. How could we know?

There's one way I know it couldn't be used in a malicious way...

<clickey>d e l c h r o m e . e x e<clickey>

(or in my case, never installed)

Kiwi

Re: Is this *another* attempt to smother me in Gmail shit ?

It's just for registering, then you can bin it.

You can't.

Every now and then, the device and IP number you've been using several times a day, every day, for the last 10 years, will be deemed by "google" to be new and previously unused. They will decide you cannot be logged in till you can verify your account, and to do that they need to send you a text.

(Now, if you phone gets a number of verification texts every day, will that count as sufficient use?)

Oi, Queenslander who downloaded 26.8TB in June alone – we see you

Kiwi
Flame

Re: Easily done...

... or anyone downloading their Steam library on a new PC.

Or just the fecking updates every time I bother to actually play it... "Hmm, havn't tried this in a few weeks, maybe I'll play something different" [5 mins later] "Sick of waiting, I'll go do something else" [few hours later] Oh yeah, that was downloading updates. Well maybe next weekend I'll give it a whirl.."[Week+5 minutes later] "Sick of waiting....."

Kiwi
Pint

Re: "We cannot see any content access or information sent over the internet."

Guess what? To an ISP, we aren't that interesting. Sure, they have to log some stuff by law, but to think they want to spy on all their users is tinfoil country.

Both when I did SysOpy-stuff and when I had a repair shop I had people who thought I'd be sifting through all their data. Most quickly groked that you really don't have the time or the inclination to be going through it. A very small few were always concerned we would still snoop (and told variations of "if you're that worried, go elsewhere, I have way too much to do and don't want to waste more time with this talk").

ISPs, even small ones, have so much stuff passing through them that trying to retain anything beyond the most basic of accounting data quickly becomes overwhelming. Just try and keep up with all the material posted here to El Reg and you'll get an idea of the information volumes even small ISPs face. And try and catalogue (even automatically) all of that material so there's some semblance of usefulness....

(that's why I post so much - so theystop monitoring me or go bankrupt with all the disks they'd need! :) )

Kiwi

Re: Quick maths

A very quick calculation suggests that's a constant ~100Mbps for the whole month.

Sexy housewife and a security system that tops the list at insecam?

Kiwi

Re: Kittens

You're thinking of New Zealand.

Nah, sheep are definitely Ozzy - that's why the have so many of them. The only sheep in NZ are coz we're good friends to the ozzies, and always help them with a date.

Nope. Not sheep in NZ. Why do you think we're so big on dairy farming? ;)

Kiwi
Windows

Probably trying to get a stable set of windows updates...

Though I wonder if it's an accounting error. Perhaps not DL but UL, MS checking their personal data several times over for 'memory errors'

When is an electrical engineer not an engineer? When Arizona's state regulators decide to play word games

Kiwi

Re: The customer changed the requirements, then got upset when the price went up (a bit)

adding a USB charger (to a lunatic concept) is going to up the regulatory effort

In "the land of the free", do you have to get government approval to add USB chargers to devices?

I wouldn't have expected it was necessary even over there!

Kiwi
Facepalm

If a client gives out requirements in dribs and drabs, the court agrees that the contractor isn't allowed to raise the price as a result.

When someone is starting to design a new product, they seldom come up with the entire thing in one hit. Features are added or removed.

For millenia we had a stick and a bit of string/cord for a drill. Then someone invented the drill bit and the brace. Later electricity came along and we got drill presses, and some years later we got drills small enough to be carried around. Then we got a variety of cordless drills till we reached what we have today - cheap battery-powered drills that can do a hell of a lot of work while being cheap enough even I have several of them and often use 3 separate ones for a job (one for the screw hole, one for the screw, and one for the larger hole in the held bit of wood - if I wasn't so lazy and using self-countersinking screws I'd have another for the countersink bit). We also have hammer drills, clutch drills, and where years back you needed a large compressor and a humongous bank-balance for the actual unit, we have cordless rattle-guns around the same size as a common drill, and for around the same price.

I and anyone else who has done any actual design work knows that there will be changes between the initial idea and the final result. Sometimes it'll be the wife suggesting the buttons would be more comfortable if moved along a bit, sometimes it's someone asking for a speed regulator, sometimes you yourself realise it'd be cool if it could also....

So when you do design work for others, you charge a set rate and drop the prices a reasonable amount for doing less work, or add to it a reasonable amount for doing more work.

$800 for a $1 USB charger is very very far from reasonable, and the criminal deserves to be charged and tried. If he'd not charged such an outrageous amount for the job he wouldn't be in the boat he is in now, even if he was operating outside the law. Hell, in this day and age it's such an obvious accessory he could've spent 20 seconds adding it to the design just in case, or as an added feature to even more please the customer.

What he hell is in his USB charger that's worth even $50 let alone $800? And what's in his battery/switch/pump/spray nozzle design that makes it worth $40, let along $4,000?

Kiwi
WTF?

When was the last time you had it done for less?

Not too many weeks back. Was so trivial it wasn't worth charging extra for. Run some power, add a regulator and a few other bits, extending the length of the board slightly (ok, the actual circuit itself was a cut'n'paste from a previous job with a little bit of changing to make the final design aesthetically pleasing to me). Litterally ring ring "Hello?" "Hi, so-and-so here, just wondering if you could add a 5v output to the unit?" "Would a USB socket do?" "Yes, that'd be great! How much extra?" "For you, no charge.".

In a case like this I'd've suggested exactly that, chuck a buck charger on there (never really sure if they call them "buck" because of function or cost!) and be done with it.

I've also built a number of projects where I've tossed in a cheap USB charger socket for voltage regulation. They're so cheap and readily available. And the circuitry is so simple, hence why I also cannot see the $800 as anything less than theft.

The guy deserves all he gets for ripping off his clients, and clearly does not have a shred of integrity.

Kiwi
Coat

Re: "veggie burgers"

Well, so is beef. You are just eating what ends up after the cow has processed that vegetable material.

So is the brain of the person who downvoted you I guess - but then "you are what you eat"

Kiwi

Re: It's all in the 'title'

Thats works for doctors and teachers, but farmers?

There's a lot of stuff I could've slipped into the ground, the animals, or the milk vats that you'd not want to know about, and some of it could cause real harm if it was undetected.

It's simply not economically feasible to test every bit of produce (including meats and liquids), so the farmer's reputation is what you have to trust, and that of their workers. Enough distrust and whole industries can be hurt badly.

(BTW, on a real farm an 18yo kid should have pretty damned close to 18 years farming experience! (and at least 10 years driving heavy machines :) )

Kiwi
Pint

But if the whippersnapper is actually honestly doing their job and learning I don't mind the questions one bit.

In my unusually long (for my age[1]) working life, in my professional life, and in my recreational life I have met many people who are engineers, and many who are experts in other fields. Some of the names you will know I expect, as I've been blessed in that time with meeting some truly exceptional people (no doubt very few of whom could ever be expected to remember meeting me, but a few have become long-term friends).

Only once did I meet Sir Ancient GrumpenCunt, and for the first few years of our working together he truly was a grumpy old bastard who was deeply offended (later becoming a great friend and ally in the office politics). Part of the issue no doubt was I was brought in to help with a job he was getting too old to do, but he didn't want to admit it.

But the vast majority have been quite happy to pass on their knowledge, especially in situations such as you mentioned. They value people who are wanting to learn to do things the proper way rather than the modern 'get it barely functional before going elsewhere, don't care if it breaks tomorrow because it appeared OK today'.

I also count the likes of plumbers (not the sort who are lost if you ask them how to drill a hole in a 32mm PVC pipe), builders, proper electricians and my favourite, old-school mechanics (the sort who can cast their own pistons as good as any OEM, starting by making their own furnace, pots and molds if they don't already have one; who can find there's no available gear so cut and case-harden their own etc) among that lot - people who despair the loss of skills today and who are gladdened to see some keen to learn the skills, and are eager to pass on their knowledge before it is lost forever. True craftsmen (and women), not from-the-book/by-the-book only types (or "If youtube doesn't know how to do it, neither do I"

Er, yeah anyway.. Would you like cream or syrup with those wafffles? Have a beer for being one of the decent ones keen on helping others learn :)

[1] I was 5 at most when I did my first full-day of work, but I can remember being sent over to feed a neighbour's lambs at around 3. Can remember how far and how many worlds away it seemed..

Kiwi

Re: But on the other hand...

Have you ever mistakenly eaten one, when you thought it was the other? Didn't think so.

I have.

The situation was deliberately misleading, the person trying to prove how vegan garbage is better than proper food, selling products that normally would contain meat but made out of a plant substitute without using proper labelling.

And being someone who has food allergies (thankfully mild), there's a risk I'll have a severe reaction and wind up in hospital (you'll notice the vast majority of food allergies relate to plant-based products BTW).

People put lives at risk by mislabelling food. Those with food allergies need to be able to trust what they're eating contains nothing other than what is on the label.

In the last few months one of the larger burger chains found itself in legal hot water by doing the same, and with very good reason.

I've also had to warn some vegan twat that since he's been told I have an allergy, if he tries to sneak that stuff into my food claiming he doesn't believe I have the allergy, I'll make a complaint to the police - knowingly giving someone something they're allergic to is tantamount to attempted murder.

Kiwi
Trollface

Re: But on the other hand...

I can't believe it's not something else.

I think most vegan food would be covered with "I can't believe it's not vomit" or "I can't believe it's not shit that's been boiled for hours and hours and hours till any hope of nutritional value is washed away"

Kiwi

Re: But on the other hand...

The regulation used to limit these words to certain products of the dairy industry is a transparent case of big-business using law to protect their market from new comers.

We recently had a case here where some burger joint couldn't class their stuff as vegan/vegetarian as they used the same (vegetable based) cooking oil for both nutjobgunk[1] and for proper food, and maybe (after washing) some of the utensils.

If the nutjobs want it their way, then the rest of us can play that game as well. If they want to limit who can use their terms, we'll play that game. There's much more of us, plus we're much much fitter and healthier!

[1]All the vegans/vegetarians I've had the misfortune of knowing are unhealthy physically and extremely unhealthy mentally. They die relatively young from diseases that would've been prevented with a proper diet, or even at least using some basic supplements. During their dying they consume massive amounts of healthcare $$$ - $ they mostly don't contribute to because too few of them actually ever work due to some shit about not being part of corporate conspiracies or wotnot.

Kiwi
Trollface

Re: So... is he an engineer?

Genuine question - why?

Because 1+1+1=3?

Kiwi
Coat

Re: Rename the terms?

At the time of the offence (erm, sorry, felony) he presumably had no idea it would be an issue.

Can't he use the chump Jr defence, "being a clueless dolt is an absolute defence to the charges"? (or at least ignorance of the law in this case)

Kiwi
Coat

Re: AKA Libertarians

”In tech support, all tools start to look like a hammer.”

Actually I found most 'tools' quickly looked like nails; urgently needing a bloody good thumping on the head with blunt objects....

(So glad I'm away from those customers!)

Kiwi
Pint

Re: Re:software engineer

(Firing a locomotive is also an art form, there's a lot more to it than just shovelling coal.)

I've spent way to little time around steam locos and other steam engines/engineers, but did work for a guy who'd spent a long time in the boiler room of a refurbished passenger steam boat.

All sorts of tricky things, like having the boiler hot enough when it is time to sail that it is at full pressure, but not quite so hot it trips any of the release valves (wasted steam is lost water), and while sailing having enough pressure for emergency manoeuvring but not wasting any fuel in the process. Locos are a little less involved but still beyond the skill of most mere mortals, especially those who are unusually proud of their BBQing skills.. Loco firemen (a skill class itself in NZ that took a long apprenticeship) still have to have the train ready to move on schedule, and of course have to know some of what's coming so they can build up in the time of a long climb or relax a little for a long descent, know when they need to stop to top-off the boiler/tender, know when and for how long to open the mud valves(IIRC the correct name - gets rid of sludge build up from using impure water - most common cause for the large lets of steam most of us think are a part of the normal operation of the engine rather than an occasional removal of by-products thanks to hollywood).

As to the romance of steam.. I think it's stuff to do with the fact you can see the works, and in my case an admiration of the effort and skill in casting, machining, maintaining and operating the things - especially given how many are still in fine working order after 100 years or more. Of course, many people who romance them never even rode with let alone operated some "temperamental bitch overdue for the scrap heap or better, a dumping off the rails into an ocean grave".

One thing I've never understood though... Why the hell were most of the US locos so effing fugly? Look like their aesthetics were designed by a manager with an arts degree rather than by someone with real engineering skill.

Kiwi
Pint

Re: So... is he an engineer?

Turns out it's cheap and quick to simply award yourself a title, but expensive and time consuming to do the work necessary to deserve it. Who knew?

Since a young child I've been drawn to all sorts of technical stuff. I can fix a huge range of engines (electrical and mechanical), I can diagnose, repair, and design relatively simple electrical and electronic circuits (and have done for money with one of my projects in use with a government organisation here in NZ), and have done an above-average amount of programming (including for said GO project).

I wouldn't dare call myself an 'engineer' though. I never got round to putting in the real work to deserve the title, even though my technical skills get high-praise from some very well qualified folk. The title implies real intelligence and skill, not what so many people spew out today.

Some of the posters here seem to believe they deserve the right to call themselves an engineer because they once saw the source code of a 'hello world' program in BASIC.

The weakening and ruining of language marches ever onwards.

Kiwi

Re: Quis...

Don't forget the experience requirement.

Well, some of NZ's worst ones seem to have taken "DOLE bludger" to whole new levels..

Kiwi
Coat

Re: As this article mentions, up to 98% of people with "engineer" in their titles

If you want to make the definition more exclusionary than that, you're gonna have to come up with some rules that go beyond anything yet mentioned.

How about.. "The majority of the code shall not be copied from stack exchange etc"?

Kiwi
Pint

Re: As this article mentions, up to 98% of people with "engineer" in their titles

our Engineers can add a castle floating on top of a big white cloud in your favorite game with minor effort..

And therein lies the problem. "Engineer" implies skill and effort. So much of what comes from the keyboard of 'programmers" today shows they barely deserver the title of "programmer" let alone "engineer".

Much of today's code shows very little effort or real though. Hell, a lot of it is done with grabbing existing source and cobbling bits together till something compiles and basically does what it's supposed to do.

Very little real thought goes into software these days, very few writers can be called 'engineers', and yet many disgustingly claim a title they don't deserve. (not all programmers come under this - I know some few true artisans remain --> for those who deserve the title, and an extra dozen for those who deserve it yet rarely use it)

Kiwi
Big Brother

Re: Software Engineers

while billing materials as miscellaneous server components.

Shh.. Or someone might query my "server rack illumination" in a bill from a few years back!

Kiwi

Re: AKA Libertarians

This may come as a suprise to you, but hairdressers in most of the world don't have to be licensed.

That's not necessarily a good thing though. Some of them are rather clueless when it comes to basics of hygiene or local consumer etc laws. Or paying their bills. Or....

Kiwi
Trollface

Re: AKA Libertarians

At one point, back in the early 1990's, licensed hairdressers in the state of Georgia were required to have more training and certification than police officers

Not surprised. Are any police officers capable of the intelligence levels needed to be a hairdresser?

Kiwi
WTF?

WTF? Greedy prick deserves all the fines he gets.

"After the client informed Mills that the device should support USB charging, Mills raised his initial estimate from $4,000 to $4,800."

$800 for copypasting cheap existing plans"designing" a USB charging module????? When there's so many existing plans and basic PSU designs and cheap USB charging modules he could shove in there?

Rip-off prat can afford to pay the fines and then some. How many other people has he screwed over like this?

I doubt I'd charge more than a couple of hundred for the design in the article, and could probably knock off the basic design in an afternoon, with a working prototype. How the hell could his prices be justified?

Elon Musk gets thumbs up from jury for use of 'pedo guy' in cave diver defamation lawsuit

Kiwi

Re: What were the jury thinking...

Remember, Unsworth wanted Musk to stick something where the sun don't shine, which is not nice, either.

And here you further show your ignorance. Done right it's actually quite pleasant tyvm. And for those who enjoy such things, 'sticking it where it hurts' can also be a pleasurable pastime.

Being called a paedophile by some worthless twat is quite a different thing. People being told to "stick your [whatever] where it hurts" seldom get much hurt. People being labelled as a paedo, especially in situations where they may work with vulnerable people, often lose careers and sometimes even suffer real physical harm.

I agree with others, musk is a vile piece of scum who if not in prison should at least be paying till it really hurts for repeating the claim. Once could be heat-of-the-moment. More than twice is not.

As IP said, I'd've expected much better from you.