...are condemned to repeat it.

Past tyrants are, I'm sure, cheering from the grave.

The old jokes about $500 hammers notwithstanding, it's amusing to me how corporations are almost universally blamed when government contracts overrun. Nobody seems to notice that it's only government contracts that do this regularly -- normal companies that do this go out of business or into bankruptcy.

Back here in the real world, we call this piss-poor planning, usually traced back to marketing/sales causing constant feature creep or declaring ex post facto that a certain spec (that THEY WROTE!) doesn't meet customer/program demands.

I wonder, has anyone ever seen a post-mortem review of a government contract? Does government ever even attempt to figure out where the inefficiencies lie and correct them or at least plan for them next round?

Also, in before the NASA boogeyman shows up.

It's interesting to me that we don't employ something like a keyfob that generates a code or a code texted to your cell phone, then combine that with a reasonable password. That way, it doesn't matter if your password gets guessed or compromised: the guesser/compromiser still needs the code from your text/keyfob.

I realize it isn't infallible but it would seem to be a very easy next step that would add a significant barrier to the vast majority of criminal methods in use today.

While I realize there may be some outrage over the "overconfident" label, it does make sense in terms of learned behavior. More specifically, Windows users have known malware has been rampant for so long that:

A) they're used to having to use antivirus, firewalls and other "security" type apps

B) Windows has steadily improved its built-in firewall and anti-trojan features to combat real and perceived vulnerability

C) Windows-based PC OEMs and system builders install anti-virus by default and have for quite some time now.

I can't say whether Macs get a/v software by default but despite our joking about macs not being susceptible to malware, that view is held by far too many mac users. While it might be true statistically speaking relative to Windows, it is unhelpful in being a rightfully vigilant denizen of this wretched hive of scum and villainy we call the Internet.

1) Accuse high-visibility company of using HUGE amounts of x resource.
2) Observe company admitting exactly how much they DO use.
3) Reveal WAG in original claim and propose new claim that real number is still ludicrously high.
4) ...
5) PROFIT!!!

http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/

Fry's (and other places, I'm sure) has shoebox PCs running low-power CPUs for about what you pay for a good external USB drive. Pick up a big drive and some RAM for it, install LAMP and BackupPC and then have it backup your other computers on your home LAN. Nice thing is that it has deduplication and uses rsync, so there are clients that work on Win, Mac and Linux.

...I place my hands on a frosty Dos Equis. Stay thirsty, my friends.

Having been in Southeast Texas for about 24 years, I must concur.

> Of course...people who can't find jobs are not content to just die. They absolutely will turn to crime instead, where they will either:
>
> a) take your wealth from you by stealing it, to your detriment, or
> b) receive free food and clothing, paid by your tax dollars, in jail.

(B) is redundant in your example, albeit hard to explain to certain sectors of the public.

I've been through a few different models from various manufacturers and they all fall into one of two categories: 1) not wide enough to be comfortable for me, or 2) plenty wide enough but a disaster in terms of mechanicals, software and/or quality.

Anyone have a suggestion?

Oh, yeah. Oooh, ahhh, that's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming.

Granted, I installed Team Nocturnal's modded EVO Stock image. Still, the thing does everything I want, has an app that adjusts my ringer/app/etc. volume and brightness during certain times of day and when I'm geographically at the office. I rarely ever (maybe once or twice a month) have any sort of app crash. My Yahoo and work (exchange) emails both Just Work(tm). The browser does a better job than a few desktop browsers I've used. Youtube and Netflix are actually usable. Apps that are written well perform nearly flawlessly in terms of performance. It does everything I want, short of winning me a lottery ticket. It is stupid simple to backup and modify the software image. It has replaced my kindle as my ebook reader of choice; it is just as reliable but performs much better. The camera and video recording features are actually usable and yield results I'm not embarrassed to publish online (camera not so much depending on lighting but the 720p video is fine). Extended battery life runs plenty long enough to watch a few movies on Netflix or 4-5 hours of Youtube. I can push or pull data off the phone via simple USB connections. It has replaced my regular alarm clock and does a better job. The WiFi pulls up to about 25mbit and pushes up to about 15mbit (no 802.11N, only G). 4G (wimax) service where I live averages about 7mbit at 1 bar (of 4) of signal strength, which is plenty for everything I use online.

In short, I can't really complain at all about the thing. Most of the family and a couple friends have them and they have rarely had any gripes.

Software Test Engineer is NOT a subset of Software Engineer.

Just be honest in the interview. If they ASK you to guess, then guess. Otherwise, just tell them what you know. You might be a perfect fit but you might be missing the particular skills they're looking for.

Is a possible rise in sea level of greater concern than a possible die-off[sic] of a huge swath of sea life? Not sure, thus my question.

I'm also not sure how you extrapolated "denier" or "not happening" from "how would we know" i.e. "what evidence is there of similar past events and how would such evidence inform us?"

Note the large, friendly letters.

Question seems to be, has this ever happened before? If it has, how would we know?