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Comment Integration is the key to more women in STEM (Score 1) 355

Integration as in boys and girls working together early on. So that when either are in a hiring capacity they blip right over the name (and try and determine sex) and go straight to their experience/qualifications and hire on that alone. If neither are used to being integrated then the disparity will continue to exist.

Comment He has a point, look at Louisiana, Post-Katrina (Score 1) 178

That's a real good and current example of complacency. They knew they were hedging their bets on those earth-berms and "it happened". I wonder what LA would look like post-exodus. Those that have the means and will to get out will do so, leaving the place to gangs. New Orleans had some gang activity but they dispersed, I think LA will be different, much different, like war-lord different.

Comment Their projects are awesome, dunno why the UAV spin (Score 2) 52

Really, look at their website and see the entire scope of their work. The blurb makes it sound like just UAV but it's much more and farther reaching. Very cool indeed. This UAV part, is on their, but it's just an extension of their core work. Totally sci-fi in a way, maybe of things to come.

Comment This is true (Score 1) 237

I was in the military and we could not operate all willy-nilly. A lot of our equipment, specifically radar, was way over-powered. However, the FCC rules only apply to the 12 mile limit (or whatever it may be now) of shore. The systems that we did use within that 12 mile limit had active FCC licensing. The one exception is that the operators, we did not have an FCC license. IIRC, in the commercial world we would have to have had them.

Comment That's a pico cell (Score 1) 237

I know what you are talking about as I had to install one at a military base. Ours supported only US Government cell phones and unless your personal phone was able to see a carrier you would have no signal. This does require coordination with the carriers to make sure you don't interfere with them. These pico-cells are "smart" in that they communicated with the towers when it comes to hand-over, etc.

Comment Catch-22 (Score 1) 848

USA goes and polices and we get chastised for it. We don't police and keep countries in check and we get chastised for it.


What we need is the EU/UN to actually get off their asses and do something. This is happening right next door to them but they just don't want their oil and gas disrupted. The only country that is moderately energy independent of Russian gas/oil would be the UK and they are not going to go in it alone. We really need the France, UK, and Germany to step in if we want to see Putin stopped.

Comment Re:Ahh...so this strikes again huh? (Score 1) 76

I encountered this with sub-1MB computers with RAM. They'd basically do the same thing and make a 120 ns RAM chip 80 ns RAM chip. The difference for most, unless you were a total geek/nerd type, was negligible if even detectable on this low speed machines. In the DC area there were gabillions of little mom and pop style stores that would pop up in office parks and the many strip malls here. They would pawn these re-branded video cards, HDDs, CPU's etc. How they pulled it off I still don't exactly know how but they knew that it would be months before someone would fill up a HDD to capacity and just made sure that they sold to consumers and not businesses.


Just set the price point low-enough to be believable and tantalizing and they will come in droves.

Comment So, what's the real "barrier" here? (Score 1) 561

Is it education? Plenty of HS offer CS classes, are enough of the "under represented demographic" (URD) starting here? With the quota system in place at most state colleges, if you happen to be an URD you have a higher degree of chance of getting into the program you want. There are also plenty of solid CS programs that are available via online delivery and then you have to start in the field.

Is it the "field" that is hard to get into? I'd say yes. I have a Masters in Information Assurance and a CISSP and I have been fielding interviews left and right to land an IA gig. They just don't want anybody and you have to find your niche and develop it. Do the URD perceive this as racist/sexist behavior when really its just the way the game is played?

Is it the "scene"? Are the URD not aware that just about everyone in IT is a bit of a weirdo and have a hard time socializing with ourselves let alone someone new? We all just basically ignore and avoid one-on-one and intra-personal communication unless we absolutely have too. Very common to have one-way conversations. Not normal just the way a lot of us are.

Is it "cultural"? Is there some barrier that makes a segment of the URD simply not want to pursue it? At either a cultural, societal, human level? Considering that you can do a lot of this work from home, it'd be ideal for working mothers, or, the disabled. But, where are they?


I just know of so many positions for all aspects within the IT field that they'll take anyone. I'm listening to interviews for a network engineer at my current company that can do modeling. They are willing to take me and my experience with OpNet is strictly from an academic stand point via my class labs. I just have another full-time commitment so I can't. A PM was walking around begging for security engineers. They don't care who, they just want a body that can do the work.


What is it exactly?

Comment I agree (Score 4, Insightful) 158

But, I don't think this will happen as a billions of dollars of industry, on both sides of the law, has been built. You have the drug cartels used to the market price and then you have the DEA, etc. who are used to the funding provided by the USG. You legalize the drugs and *POOF* goes the market value of the drugs and the funding to the DEA and all the companies that are fed off via contracts. The majority of the money is now going to the local and state governments in the form of taxes like with cigarettes and alcohol.

Comment Eastern block has always used VHF and UHF radars (Score 3, Interesting) 275

I should say, former Eastern Block, that is. But, this is nothing new and has been known for some time now. They have these huge deployable radar arrays that operate in the VHF and UHF bands. Originally, it was due to their limited technology capability but then it was realized that there was specific advantages to using those bands. Notably, no one else is looking for radar in VHF and UHF so you could be being tracked and have no idea.


This is also how they took down a stealth fighter over Kosovo, they used 900MHz-band cell towers, tuned ground radar station to look for the return, and then manually guided the missiles until they were close enough (probably for the heat signature to become evident) to lock on.


I really hope this was all factored into the design of these multi-billion money pit of an aircraft.

Comment You pass out and then wake up where??? (Score 1) 406

20 gallon tank, let's say at highway speed you get 25 MPG... that's quite a distance if you pass out on the highway. Those super-comfy seats and climate control, one drink too much, some nice music... you just might be out for 4-6 hours... 100-150 miles away from where you last remember. Heh.

Comment It's a risk assessment (Score 1) 102

That's what the security process is about. They know they can never know everything but they can make an informed "best-guess". Someone who has engaged in illegal/immoral behaviors in a consistent manner over time is a risk. Someone who has never done anything and has references is less of a risk. Most people though have done stuff in HS and maybe college but no longer partake in said behaviors, this is documented, and an interview is conducted to make a risk assessment on the individual. If you are low enough on the scale then you get the clearance. As you deal with different clearances/jobs/roles there may be actual personality/behavior tests, etc.

For the US you can look this up, the manual is published and freely available.

Yes, yes, yes, the system can be gamed but that's a different topic.

Comment Re:Consipricy nuts, go! (Score 3, Interesting) 100

How is it the fault of the US Government when news agencies are going at each other neck-and-neck, to have the latest, sensationalist story (to drive up ad revenue)? There may be some underlying Interpol related stipulation or other legal framework that has to be followed first before any details can be released. The Secret Service HQ is in DC, Maldives are in the Pacific, factor in time zones, operatives working, relaying info, people having to sleep, etc. So, the timeline makes sense. Having a PR statement is important but not as important as other legal things that need to be taken care of first.

Comment Ed Snowden will get sold soon enough... (Score 1) 60

After all, Obama imposed financial sanctions against Russian officials and Putin's inner circle, can't even use MasterCard or VISA. So, it's only a matter of time before the hard currency those guys have dries up or they get tired of money laundering. Probably won't be a direct trade, some political savvy will be applied to make it look like neither bowed to pressure, etc. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/...

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