Windows makes me CRAZY about this. the OS is internally configured to use an LRU algorithm to aggressively page.

("Technical bastards" who question my use of paging and swap interchangeably in this post can send their flames to /dev/null \Device\Null or NUL depending on OS)

What I found when disabling paging on an XP pro system with 2GB RAM is that the system performance is explosively faster without the disk IO.

Even an *idle* XP pro system swaps - explaining the time it takes for the system to be responsive to your request to maximize a window you have not used in a while.

I was thrilled to have a rocket-fast system again - until I tried to hibernate my laptop. Note that the hibernation file is unrelated to the swap/paging space.

The machine consistently would blue screen when trying to hibernate if swap/paging was disabled. Enabling swap enabled the hibernation function again. Since reboots take *FOREVER* to reload all the crap that XP needs on an enterprise-connected system - systems mangement, anti-virus agent, software distribution tool, and the required ram-defragger which allows XP to "stand by" when you've got more than 1GB of RAM, plus IM, etc

I reboot as infrequently as possible and consider "stand by" and "hibernate" required functions. As a result, I live with XP and paging enabled, and tolerate the blasted system "unpaging" apps that have been idle a short time.

Poo!

No, the problem is that
a) most bad guys don't get caught until they have done it a lot of times
b) the "justice" system lets them go over and over again,
c) it takes forever from arrest until incarceration.

Each of these adds up to make justice neither swift nor sure. That is what makes the idea of punishment less of a deterrent.

If the average person looked out for his neighbor and reported crime when he saw it, if we tried people within a short time (e.g. 24 hours of arrest) and when convicted of a first offense people received significant punishment, crime would drop.

When I got married, the budget was determined by the amount of money I had available to fund the event. My wife and I threw a wonderful party - the process included having friends coordinate the piza and sodas for the rehearsal dinner, and then we funded the reception at a quaint restaurant that my wife loved dearly.

People who take on debt, or worse than that, convince their parents to take on debt to fund a party - particularly when about 50% of marriages end in divorce - make a terrible financial decision.

In the same way, people who can't afford college and decide to take huge student loans to fund the life experience also make a terrible financial decision. It's possible to get married without debt, and a B.Sc. or a B.A. are possible without debt, too.

I think that there's huge value in liberal arts education - and in some ways I got a better technical education than friends who went to school someplace well known with "Tech" in the name....

More than that, I simply cannot understand the logic in borrowing huge money for a degree that qualifies for a job that pays too little to service the debt!

People should look at college/university in terms of an investment. There's no reason to spend a bajillion dollars on undergraduate education, unless you plan to make your career in education and the "brand" of the degree matters - or the connections you'll make in school really matter - like the friend who went to Wharton for his MBA - because in that market, that name matters. (Incidentally, he went to Wharton after working in industry for a few years, setting aside money to pay for the tuition there.)

Other than that, students should work and save money before college, then go to community college for the core credits, then go to state school for their major credits - working during breaks to earn cash to minimize the need for debt.

Why kids think that they are entitled to go to an expensive school, borrowing a crushing amount of money in the process, while trying to party like a rock star and buying endless streams of consumer junk they can't afford (like iPhones) is beyond me. Kids need to learn to live within their means - and that includes education!