Forgot your password?

Close
typodupeerror

Comment: Time is not free (Score -1, Troll) 296

by jeblucas (#28105327) Attached to: Build an $800 Gaming PC
$800 is great for the machine that will be built from those parts, but $800 won't get you that machine. It will get you the parts with which you can construct that machine. The article mentions how much has changed in 15 months--that's about how much time it would take me to gather the minutes and hours to put together one of these homebuilt beauties. I want that computer and I want it for $800, not $800 + $1000 worth of my time.
Earth

Drilling Hits an Active Magma Chamber In Hawaii 251

Posted by timothy
from the time-for-a-lava-luau dept.
Smivs writes "The BBC are reporting that drillers looking for geothermal energy in Hawaii have inadvertently put a well right into a magma chamber. Molten rock pushed back up the borehole several meters before solidifying, making it perfectly safe to study. Magma specialist Bruce Marsh says it will allow scientists to observe directly how granites are made. 'This is unprecedented; this is the first time a magma has been found in its natural habitat,' the Johns Hopkins University professor told BBC News. 'Before, all we had to deal with were lava flows; but they are the end of a magma's life. They're lying there on the surface, they've de-gassed. It's not the natural habitat.' It is hoped the site can now become a laboratory, with a series of cores drilled around the chamber to better characterise the crystallisation changes occurring in the rock as it loses temperature."

Comment: Read Managing Humans (Score 1) 551

by jeblucas (#26097459) Attached to: How Do I Manage Seasoned Programmers?
The best "Holy crap I need to manage nerds!" book I've seen is Managing Humans by Michael Lopp* of Rands in Repose fame. He's been on both sides of the equations and knows where the problems are.

Here's a good start, the Nerd Handbook.

--
*An associate's link! I stand to make hundreds of microcents if you use it!

Businesses

How Do I Manage Seasoned Programmers? 551

Posted by kdawson
from the just-don't-say-mmm-kay dept.
An anonymous reader writes "I have a technology background and worked as a programmer for a few years before slipping over to the dark side. I am now on the business side and have been given responsibility for a small team of Java programmers. While the technology aspect of what my team works on doesn't scare me, I need ideas to make sure the team stays motivated while reporting to me, a business-oriented guy. Perhaps I should mention I am in my early 30s while the majority of the team constitute an older, wiser generation. What advice should I follow to avoid turning into yet another Bill Lumbergh?"
Security

Department of Defense Now Blocking HTML Email 262

Posted by Zonk
from the nuke-them-from-orbit-only-way-to-be-sure dept.
oKAMi-InfoSec writes "The Department of Defense (DoD) has taken the step of blocking HTML-based email. They are also banning the use of Outlook Web Access email clients. The DoD is making this move because HTML messages can easily be infected with spyware and executable lines of code that enable hackers to access DoD networks, according to an article in Federal Computer Week by Bob Brewin . A spokesman for the Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) claims that this is a response to an increased network threat condition. The network threat condition has risen from Information Condition 5 to Information Condition 4 (also called Infocon 4). InfoCon 5 is normal operating conditions and Infocon 4 comes as a result of 'continuing and sophisticated threats' against DoD Networks. The change to Infocon 4 came in mid-November, after the Naval War College suffered devastating attacks that required their entire system be taken offline, but the JTF-GNO spokesman claims there is no connection."

Hardware Hacking a Voting Machine in 4 Minutes 482

Posted by Zonk
from the ready-set-vote dept.
goombah99 writes "Bev Harris of BlackBoxVoting.org has acquired an actual Diebold Acu-vote ballot scanner. Rummaging through King County's trash, she managed to get her hands on some of their tags and seals. She has since demonstrated a successful penetration of the seals without breaking them ... all in under 4 minutes with no training or technical skills required. There's a nice how-to with photos over at Verified Voting New Mexico." More from goombah99 below.

Congress To Restrict Social Security Number Use 280

Posted by Zonk
from the they're-not-toys-you-know dept.
diverge_s writes "News.com.com has an article detailing a long overdue attempt Congress is making to restrict the use of Social Security Numbers. From the article: 'In both the House and the Senate, there are at least three pieces of pending legislation that propose different approaches to restricting the use and sale of SSNs. Politicians have expressed astonishment at what they see as a rising identity fraud problem, frequently pointing to a 2003 Federal Trade Commission survey that estimated nearly 10 million consumers are hit by such intrusions each year.'"
User Journal

Journal: Filming a movie near my house.... 2

Journal by jeblucas
A movie is being filmed just up the street from me. Yesterday Jon Heder, FKA Napolean Dynamite, walked right by me. I saw kids taking off hellbent after a golf cart with Adam Sandler in it. Rob Schneider was tossing a baseball around. I shook hands with Dennis Dugan. Pretty neat. Details and pics on my blog.
User Journal

Journal: Pop Quiz I guess.

Journal by jeblucas
spell your name backwards: Smada Sacul Bej.
have you ever had a song written about you: No
what song makes you cry: Philadelphia by Neil Young
what song makes you happy:She Don't Use Jelly by The Flaming Lips
what's your all time fav. song?: Where is My Mind? by Pixies
what do you listen to before you go to sleep:Silence.
height: 5'8"
hair color: red
piercings: formerly left ear lobe
tattoos:
User Journal

Journal: History of First Post on /. ? 4

Journal by jeblucas
I get the moderator points, I read at -1 when I have them (normally I read at +4 because I am an elitist shit), and I wonder in amazement at the "fp" phenomenon. It's something I'm really not getting. At least trolls seem to have a purpose in life (to annoy others), but the motivation for an fp is beyond my comprehension.
User Journal

Journal: Wal-Mart bought my house

Journal by jeblucas
Actually, it's still buying it. I work for a supplier to Wal-Mart. I'm a little conflicted. I like Mom & Pop stores and stuff, but I'm employed solely because Wal-Mart buys about a zillion dollars worth of stuff from my boss. Why just on Tuesday they purchased four times my salary from us. They purchase 4 times a week. So, the reason I can make my mortgage payments is because Wal-Mart overwhelmed my boss enough to hire an account manager for this behemoth.

What do you think?

The Courts

Journal: I got a story accepted

Journal by jeblucas
Wow--I'm so thrilled. I don't have much to go on by way of excitement these days, so this is news for me. Slahsdot accepted my Oyez.org story. And the tech lead of the site is in the Comments--many times. It's nice to see an admin not explode and/or cry about the traffic generated by a Slashdot post. Yes, the servers melted, yes, he was suprised at the amount of hits, but he was also very

Underlying Principle of Socio-Genetics: Superiority is recessive.

Close