Comment My working definition... (Score 2) 218
Life: something which defies the apparent path of least resistance (which would be to sit down and do nothing/die.)
Conciousness, of course, is much more involved.
Comment Re:I work at SUSE. (Score 1) 506
Yes. Though I'm not the OP. I've been using Linux as my primary desktop OS since 2002, have experience in everything from writing shell scripts to mirroring websites ("intelligent" processing, in bash, for a standard page format, not just wget -r) to setting up multiple RAID5's and restoring them when multiple drives fail (think cabling issue, then power outtage, ugh) -- something that is _not_ well documented, and can happen in miraculous ways. Still, for that last one, if you know the data's valid, it can be recovered.
Programming languages include C (favorite), perl, bash (most-used), java, php (hate it), SQL, and as with any decent programmer I can pick up whatever you want me to learn fairly quickly. The goal, of course, is to make computers do things. My life's goal is to automate the whole world out of required work. One step at a time..
I lack enterprise experience, but that's primarily because it's difficult to set up an enterprise in a small apartment -- or at least, to justify its use. Give me the tools, and I'll learn it. That last part -- learning -- it's my favorite thing to do
If you're interested, please contact for a resume: suse jobs dot 10 dot drkshadow at spamgourmet.com
The cambridge location is especially appealing, but I wouldn't consider that exclusive.
Comment But there was no ice in the 1500's (Score 1) 145
Forgive me for the attention-seeking headline, but I've read very interesting things about Antarctica and its ice sheets.
Primarily, there were maps made in the 1500's that closely resemble an ice-free Antarctica. They document mountains we've detected in the 1900's by sonar, and reflect the Antarctic coastline closely.
If these maps are correct, and there was no ice in the 1500's... how were these ice cores found?
If the ice cores were found, and they date back to 1000 AD, how were these maps made with knowledge of Antarctica having no ice?
I'm very curious. One good article I found is here:
http://www.diegocuoghi.it/Piri_Reis/PiriReis_Hoye-Lunde.htm
Quite plausibly, it seems that the maps are, in fact, not maps of Antarctica. I wonder how that affects the arguments given... thoughts?
Comment Re:flashblock (Score 1) 353
Console:
firefox -ProfileManager --no-remote
This will bring up a profile window, and you can choose which profile you want to use. Only browser sessions after the first must use --no-remote, but it must be there on all but the first.
I find it very convenient to run two firefox sessions -- one on my local computer, one on a USB key...
-DrkShadow
Submission + - Technology Antiquates Most Tech Positions (seventhknight.com)
Luke writes: "Technology created and refined for DoD use makes its way into scalable solutions for any size business or agency. Applications repair themselves automatically, executable code operates on self-managing white\black lists, and all user and machine events are stored centrally to create complete history reports. IT departments will be slow to adopt, since manpower could be reduced. Give your thoughts... Will this help or hinder the average IT professional?"
Feed Science Daily: Sperm Injection: Male-factor Infertility Technique Surging (sciencedaily.com)
A national study reveals that intracytoplasmic sperm injection, an assisted reproductive technology used to treat male-factor infertility, has increased dramatically in the United States since 1995 while the proportion of patients receiving treatment for male-factor infertility has remained stable.
Journal SPAM: Does the iPhone have a built-in spyware module? 2
The underground hacker team "web-Hack" from Russia released a whitepaper with results of iPhone firmware research where they reverse-engineered embedded functions. They claim discovery of a built-in function which sends all data from an iPhone to a specified web-server. Contacts from a phonebook, SMS, recent calls, history of Safari browser - all your personal information - can be stolen. Researchers as
Submission + - Security Researcher chases virus maker off the Net
An anonymous reader writes: I just saw a writeup on CNET that that covers the pursuit of a virus writer who created a fake Grand Theft Auto game, crippling PCs by causing them to endlessly reboot. Despite the police apparently not being very interested, a security researcher pursued his man anyway, culminating in a teary eyed "I'm leaving the internet" post from the virus writer himself. Awesome stuff, and one in the eye for the bad guys (for once).
Feed Techdirt: World's Least Successful eBay Merchant Sells A PS2 and 44,000 For 95 (techdirt.com)
We've had stories about the world's angriest eBay seller, but perhaps now we've found the world's worst eBay seller. A kid in England won an auction for a Playstation 2 for 95 pounds, but when it was sent to him, it also included 44,000 pounds in cash. The kid's parents have turned the money over to police, who are investigating the matter. The PS2 was also supposed to come with two games, though they weren't included -- but somehow we imagine that, even in the UK, 44 grand should be enough to pick up a few replacement copies.
Submission + - How to make money giving away albums
whoever57 writes: An article in the UK Daily Telegraph explains how Prince is able to make money by ging away 3 million copies of his most recent album to readers of the UK's Daily Mail.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/ar ts/2007/07/19/nosplit/bmprince119.xml
