Metadata maps the social networks, storage allows you to drill down into the details. The FBI used the same technique with paper dossiers during the civil rights uprising and the misadventure in vietnam. Understanding the metadata is far more informative about a groups strengths and weaknesses than snooping on a specific individual.

I was stopped at some lights one time and there was a guy next to me on a pushbike doing the balance thing where the bike is upright but not moving. He suddenly lost balance and fell on the side of my car, no damage to anything but his dignity. I only wish I had a photo of his face because the mental image of it sliding down the passenger window still makes me laugh.

As not only activists but almost everyone aware of the rampant abuse going on has been claiming for years, it is high time that the "under penalty of perjury" part of the DMCA claims is actually enforced. Mistakes can happen, nobody is perfect, but some companies have been taking down large amounts of content for years, repeatedly and with not even a slap on the wrist.

Is there a threat (even a theoretical one) of the server going into an infinite loop based upon what you're doing?
It may be that the database engine requires the subquery to break the possibility of a cycle in the code, and sequence the computation.

Take a couple pilz and call me in the morning.

Nobody ever wants to go on strike, any more than employers want a lockout. It's the nuclear option, used as a last resort.

A patent cartel is a double edged sword that can smite trolls, competitors, or both. All depends of who's holding the blunt end.

Software patents are absurd and a form of double dipping since software is already protected by copyright they should indeed be scrapped. However just because patents are currently too powerful and have spread into areas where they don't belong does not mean the concept is fundamentally flawed.

The fundamental flaw is greed, the fact that 1000 individuals have obtained an income that is more than 3X that of 1,000,000,000 individuals combined is simply too much of a temptation to all but the strongest moral compass. OTOH, if everyone gets the same income who in their right mind would not just sit back and let "somebody else" worry about silly things such as a job?

The sweet spot lays somewhere in between, most economists put the ideal income ratio between richest and poorest at 10:1 and point to Norway's position at the top of almost every economic and social metric known to man as prima-facie evidence. Norway was smart enough to realise the North Sea oil boom would come to an end one day so they taxed the hell out of oil companies during the boom and invested it in both industrial and social infrastructure. Many economists now argue it is the social infrastructure that has seen the highest ROI.

Here in Australia we have done the opposite with our mining boom, there were some good reforms and we built lots of roads and railways that lead to giant holes in the middle of nowhere but mostly we squandered it on tax cuts and corporate welfare. In the meantime China has been buying our coal and iron ore and for quite some time has been building up their infrastructure at a phenomenal rate. Ironically they now have one of the highest inequity ratings of any nation. This is because of the discrepancy between the rural areas and the "economic zones". China is now in the process of building up the infrastructure in these rural areas but the pace has slowed because of the financial mess in the US and EU. They are now officially in deflation meaning production has overshot demand. Consequently our 25yr mining boom has come to a sudden halt and we have two fifths of fuck all to show for it. Sure our economy is still in much better shape than the EU and US, but I'm old enough to remember when life was good in both Norway and Argentina.

Disclaimer: I plead guilty to OT ranting, but I put it to the reader that a spliff and an end of the working week rant is far more humane than kicking the cat.

Eternal Champignon?

No thanks, keep the lawyers out of it unless a genuine crime has been commited, the last thing we want is politicians regulating peer-review. There is no system that is totally incorruptable, the fact that these frauds were exposed means the system is working in this case. The fact that the scientific and academic communities will ostrasize the fauds for the rest of their lives is natural justice, anything more crosses the line between natural justice and revenge

Great band, I had the privlage of living across the road from the Olinda pub in 1979/80. A front row table for one of the best musicians ever to come out of Oz was not hard to come by. :)

I have no sympathy for idiots who poke the bear and then whine about the obvious consequences. A court of law will sort out if the charges are valid or not. These people deliberately broke the FAA ceiling in full view of a police chopper. They are not oppressed heros, they are wankers who bring the hobby into disrepute and fuck it up for everyone else.

Said someone about every president since WW2. You guys elected him twice, collectively you fucking love the guy.

Hey, don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!!

:)

But seriously, I used to think Carter was the worst, and I wasn't terribly happy with Bush Jr., but Obama, ugh.

I used to think it was just his agenda, but I'm starting to think it is more fully explained by incompetence. I used to joke and ask my friends that voted for him "How's that Hope and Change" working out for you.

Not anymore, I'm frankly a bit scared about the US and the world. He has no answer and seems to really not even care about:

Problems in Libya, Syria (draws imaginary line in sand when not going to back it up), ISIS coming in from Syria, Our southern US border currently being overrun by illegals, when he actually COULD with a swipe of his pen, fix the problem there, or at least send national guard and militarize the damned thing, economy still in the toilet, etc.

He's a great speaker with a teleprompter and good politician (for getting elected), but I think as far as presidency, he's in way over his head and I'm frankly worried about the state of the world under his last 2x years.

Hmm.

But none of those DACs, nor the SoundBlaster seem to have an offering with good old fashioned Vacuum Tubes?!!?

Stereos that glow are cool, and sound OH so good, especially through a pair of Klipschorns.