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- How much of your coding is done by AI coding agents these days? Posted on June 21st, 2026 | 33 comments
In my house, Santa mostly ...
"A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked." -- John Gall, _Systemantics_
Sells things (Score:1)
Missing Option (Score:5, Interesting)
Lives alone, far from family, doesn't even bother with decorations. :(
Re:Missing Option (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Missing Option (Score:5, Insightful)
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"But I don't feel like being molested by TSA or making bad nudie picks for them. "
This matters more than family?
If you need more motivation, make it fun. Eat a shitload of kimchee (which is quite tasty) so you sweat garlic, top off with devilled eggs, and don't wash for two weeks before making the trip. Clean up at a hotel when you arrive.
You can do this, it won't hurt, there is no reason to be sensitive, and you can use insensitivty to mind-fuck those who are weak.
In a world with vanishing privacy, don't b
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I feel sorry for your seatmate on the flight though.
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My rights matter. Sometimes you have to take a stand to stand up for what you believe in. It won't always be fun and games.
"In a world with vanishing privacy, don't be shy" I don't feel the need to just step in line, don't ask questions and only do what I'm told with a smile on my face. Just because some people feel that they don't need privacy doesn't mean that everyone needs to feel that way. Sometimes privacy is needed to make change. Without privacy things like the USA would never have become a country
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In a world with vanishing privacy, don't be shy" I don't feel the need to just step in line, don't ask questions and only do what I'm told with a smile on my face. Just because some people feel that they don't need privacy doesn't mean that everyone needs to feel that way.
I think the parent poster has the right to express his freedom in any way he wants. And if that means saying "go ahead, feel me up, you aren't going to stop me flying" then so be it.
If things were that bad where I live, I would simply lodge a complaint every time I was subjected to a scan or a search. Based on what i've heard it would be fairly trivial to find something to complain about. Maybe one of the security staff said "how are you today?" in a tone I don't like.
The whole idea of terrorism is to creat
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Apparently, you've never met his family.
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Your comment was epic. : )
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Amtrak isn't an option for alot of the United States.
Only four routes across the US and most of those only run 1-2 times a week, and four north/south routes with most of the trains running on the east coast.
TSA will be coming with scanners and pat downs for the trains and buses soon too.
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I heard a song on the radio last week, "Grandma got molested at the airport" about the TSA.
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For some families, there's good reason to live away from relatives. One side of my family have become real pricks since my grandfather and uncle passed away. A lot of it was because my mother and myself spent more time with them than anyone else. Bitter about the fact we did what they should have done.
The other side of my family won't even acknowledge my existence. Something about my father being catholic and divorced five times before I was born.
Can't wait to spend the holidays with them...
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Exactly, I only rarely get a chance to spend time with one side of my family, and refuse to speak with the other(they are vultures are circling my grandmothers death bed) So for the holidays I spend time with the family I care about.It makes buying gifts easier as I only have to pick out a few of them.
Re:Missing Option (Score:5, Interesting)
I was always amazed by this characteristic of the American (or just Western in general?) people. I grew up in secular Yugoslavia, pretty much without religion and thus, without Christmas (Santa Clause comes at New Year's eve for us). The few years I spent in USA, people kept inviting me for their Christmas dinners and felt really sad that I was "alone" and away from the family and whatnot. I couldn't care less about Christmas, but still, very nice of them...
Re:Missing Option (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Missing Option (Score:4, Interesting)
Doing my first alone Christmas here...
I think mostly it's only really sad if you do it wrong. Today's been busy... been up for breakfast, called family to prove I'm still live and thinking of them, had a mince pie, sorted out lunch, ate lunch, cleaned up after lunch, had another mince pie. Just chilling with some TV and the xmas pudding I forgot at lunch now, and pondering dinner.
If you sit at home doing nothing but moping about not having your family with you, it will be sad. Keep busy, do the bits of Christmas you enjoy, it'll be fine.
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Christmas doesn't necessarily have anything to do with religion
As a matter of fact, it has. Just not with the christian one. It was originally a northern pagan winter festival, usurped by the roman church when they realized they couldn't convert those nordic savages without leaving them their festivities.
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As Jeremiah Cornelius said, [slashdot.org] "Put the Saturn back in 'Saturnalia'!"
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Yes, but you had Father Frost.
And, what you lacked in religion you made up for with slivovica.
I've spent a few Christmases in Belgrade when I was dating my wife-to-be, and had a blast. Not big on Baby Jesus, but y'all know how to par-ty.
Hristos se rodi, home-boy, u picku materinu...
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I couldn't care less about Christmas, but still, very nice of them...
Christmas is the only time a lot of westerners (don't you love generalisations :) catch up with family, so the perception is that if you are alone on Christmas you must be really alone.
No matter what your culture, a free meal is a free meal :)
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Really Christmas has zero to do with religion. You can choose to include religion but there is no need to. It's mostly a time of spending time with family and friends and giving to those less fortunate than yourself. We touched on the nativity and Santa but neither was a big emphasis. Most of our emphasis with our daughter was on choosing gifts for people and toys for the toy drive.
I don't understand people insisting on different names and days for their Christmas-that-isn't-Christmas holidays. Stop bickeri
Re:Missing Option (Score:5, Funny)
Dude - Go Buy:
A. few cases of Beer
B. some extremely loud powertools (insofar not available anyway)
Christmas Day, open a beer - forget the decoration, remodel that joint. Walls, who needs em? By the time you are on your fourth beer, you'll have made enough noise to personally get to meet every neighbour for miles. This is where the remainder of the beer comes in handy, the neighbours may initially be somewhat pissed at your db level - later, theyll just be pissed.
Result? - New Friends, New House, Bad Hangover - Hey, its Xmas!
Re:Missing Option (Score:5, Informative)
"If you throw a New Year's Party, the worst thing that you can do would be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw another party next year.
What you should do is throw the kind of party where your guest wake up several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they've been indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to avoid a recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning parties of their own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from having another one ...
If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door, unless your party is very successful in which case they will lob tear gas through your living room window. As host, your job is to make sure that they don't arrest anybody. Or if they're dead set on arresting someone, your job is to make sure it isn't you..."
-- Dave Barry
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Jesus loves you.
O sorry... Jesus just called, hes got syphilis from living in Alberta and cant love you until the antibiotics clean up his junk.
Santa will love you tonight, count on it (hes large... and jolly).
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I wouldn't bother either, but then I saw this Tree! [xkcd.com]
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You could always celebrate Santa, if you want to celebrate imaginary beings. But thanks for a change of pace at least. It's not often you see preaching on Slashdot.
Myself, I'll be seeing my real family, my real year-old nephew, my very real wife (for whom this will be our first Christmas married), and my real friends. You can spend it with your imaginary one, but I really do recommend trying reality sometime. It sucks sometimes, but it can be surprisingly cool too.
But myself, I really do recommend Santa, if
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Only at slashdot would a post reminding us that Christmas is the "mass of Christ" (even though we don't know when his real birthday was) be modded "troll".
Whoever modded the above "troll" is a sick individual whom I feel sorry for. If you mark a comment "troll" because you disagree with its message, YOU are the troll.
In my house, Santa mostly ... (Score:2)
...gives you stuff regardless of your behavior.
Santa Takes Daddy's Money (Score:2, Funny)
One year (about fifty years ago, yeah, I'm that old) my dad teased my sister with the story that, after Santa put all the presents under the tree he took all the money out of dad's wallet. When mom took my sister to see Santa and get their picture taken, she asked him if that's what he did. According to my mom, he winked at her and said, "I sure do." I don't recall that this dampened my sister's enthusiasm for Santa coming that Christmas.
Re:Santa Takes Daddy's Money (Score:5, Interesting)
We call him the "The fat man in the red suit" and my eldest son when he was about 5 would run and hide at the merest glimpse of one in the distance
In my house WE (the parents) give our kids pressies NOT some stranger in a red suit!
Why should someone else get the praise when its our hard worked for money that paid for it all?
My two cents anyway - Now I'm broke LOL
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Why should someone else get the praise when its our hard worked for money that paid for it all?
Your kids are doomed.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
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I can't imagine how they'll survive after they're released into the real world.
I hope they survive just fine, and prosper, these real-world folks. Else all the kids who were raised on "magic" and the value of whimsy won't have any readers, listeners, viewers, or other fans to pay for what they create.
Re:Santa Takes Daddy's Money (Score:5, Funny)
My children are terrified of the Easter Bunny. He wrecks the house every year, leaving dirt, claw marks, and overturned furniture in his wake. Oh yeah, and some potentially poisoned candy that daddy has to 'test' for them.
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We have a pet bunny and my daughter last year was convinced he was responsible for the toys and candy.
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For us, Santa does the stockings and one little present for each kid, and the rest all say "from Mommy and Daddy" on them, for basically the same reason. And yet telling them that Santa might not bring anything if they misbehave is scarily effective.
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For us, Santa does the stockings and one little present for each kid, and the rest all say "from Mommy and Daddy" on them, for basically the same reason.
Same here, or... in my case it says "Uncle!"
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We only have one or two presents from Santa and the rest from family.. but who cares about praise, credit, etc??? The point is giving happiness to others. Otherwise, why bother. When I donate to the toy drive I don't write my name on each gift so the recipient will know who to credit.
Disillusions the children (Score:5, Funny)
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Him and Jesus. I think they're in it together.
Don't forget the Tooth Fairy. Our kids knew all three were fraudulent at a fairly early age.
However, they considered their realizations to be liberating rather than disillusioning. They still got treats when a tooth was lost, and still get lots of prezzies at Saturnalia/Yule/whatever. Of course, they know the true origin of such goodies.
The biggest plus for them? At school, when most of the class is trooped off for indoctrination with one or other of the officially promulgated forms of religious claptrap,
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I went to a private school that was (supposedly) "Christian", although by the time I left they'd changed it to "a broadly Christian ethos". It was the best option within a reasonable travel distance/price. Sometimes we had religious services, but about 10% of students were officially excused (sat in he library), 80% sat in the church at the back and ignored hte whole thing (I did this) and the other 10% took part but felt embarrassed about it.
With only 10% of British people regularly attending any religious
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Is this a public school? If so, if there's any "official religious claptrap," that's illegal.
It's a public school. It's in Finland. They all push the same couple of cults. Far from being illegal, it's actually required by the stupid law.
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What did you mean by... "is trooped off for indoctrination with one or other of the officially promulgated forms of religious claptrap" I don't quite understands what this means?
In Finland, state schools (=almost all schools) teach religion to the students. There are two officially approved cults - Lutheran and Russian Orthodox - which are taught in classes at school. Kids whose parents do not want them exposed to this claptrap have Ethics classes instead. However, several times per year, the religious victims are force-marched to rituals at churches etc. That's when the Ethics kids get free time in the computer lab, often several hours.
FWIW, about one eighth of one kid's class an
Obligatory WikiLeaks Seasons Greetings (Score:5, Funny)
Dear Children,
Santa is Mom and Dad.
Merry Christmas,
Wikileaks
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A german satire site came up with a better one:
http://www.schandmaennchen.de/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/wiki-xmas.jpg [schandmaennchen.de]
Translation:
"What do I have to read here, Marie? You've not been nice last year?"
"Fuck Wikileaks"
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Please, did you even notice his name? Crazy Jim. Maybe when he's not on /., he is the guy on the corner with the "Jesus Saves" sign. Cut him a little slack, maybe he gets a Treasury Dept. check each month.
Or, if you really want to have some fun, go stand next to him on the street corner with a sign that reads "But Moses Invests".
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“The argument goes something like this: ‘I refuse to prove that I exist,’ says God, ‘for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.’
“‘But,’ says Man, ‘The Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED.’
“‘Oh dear,’ says God, ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ and promptly vanished in a puff of logic.
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God not being real is no more logical than God being real. Existence of anything is a contradiction.
My own twisted thought is that we all exist in some sort of feedback loop by which God is constantly recreated in an evolution process. At some point we'll all converge into some sort of super intelligent omnipresent collective that functions so smoothly that we're essentially a single being. By definition God exists in all times and places so once we reach a level of technology where we can achieve those key
Christmas disillusions (Score:3)
In my house San... Damn, I'd almost forgotten I was homeless as a child. : (
Thanks for reminding me (talk about being an insensitive clod!) I need a drink.
Missing Option (Score:2)
Im Jewish you insensitive clod! (Score:5, Informative)
Seriously..
Re:Im Jewish you insensitive clod! (Score:5, Funny)
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Jews don't celebrate the biggest day in the Capitalist calendar? Aren't you guys supposed to be good with money?
True quote this year (at the supermarket):
"Are you open on Christmas Day?"
"Yeah, all the Jewish guys come in and make triple-time."
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When made in a public forum to strangers the same statements are inappropriate. Context does matter. The same humor can't be told everywhere and it does not mean a defective funny-bone at all. It means you are socially aware and sensitive to the perceptions of others. The world isn't black (no off-color joke
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You know, that's odd because a lot of the Jewish kids and Atheists (like me) celebrate Christmas not as the Christians do of course but as a general time of giving. It was also a way of blending in.
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Most supposed 'Christians' really celebrate a secular 'Santa Day', not the Christian Christmas, just as the Jewish and Atheists have described here. Most Christians (at least those living in western civilization) really don't have more than a tenuous grasp of the basic tenets of their own religion.
In the Christian religion, Easter is way more important than Christmas. After all, Christmas is just the Catholic Church taking control of the non-Christian Solstice holidays during their expansion into the thos
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Yes, you are right about the relative importance between Easter (highest Holy Day for Catholics ) and Christmas ( Second Highest). But I don't think you can say most christians do not celebrate the religeous aspect of the holiday. If they do not, then they really aren't very good Christians.
We Catholics have a term for people who show up only on Christmas and Easter: Chreasters. Its not really a judgement of them just a convenient category and we do a lot around Christmas and Easter to try and get them to p
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Here in the UK many people say they're Christian without really thinking about it, like ticking the "Male" box or the one to keep your address private. They don't go to church, or pray, and quite possibly take the horoscope section of the newspaper as seriously as God.
I've never known any of my family (parents, grandparents, cousins, uncles etc) go to church, except all of them were married or had a funeral in one. They will all claim to be Christian, but not "that kind" of Christian.
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Yeah... I don't blame them. It was a punishable offence to be anything other than Anglican for a while there. Having a state Religion makes the state look stupid and the Religion fake.
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... After all, Christmas is just the Catholic Church taking control of the non-Christian Solstice holidays during their expansion into the those societies. ...
And you think Easter is any different? Well, think again [religioustolerance.org].
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It is a time for giving, why do people see it as a religious holiday? Because christmas, and also easter, were pagan holidays that were christianized by the roman catholic church, in a stunt to gain followers [google.com]. Among other evil reasons.
I just like the giving part!
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Wet blanket poll (Score:3)
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don't you mean some Christmas Beer?
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At this time, the "positive" response is running seriously last, with less than half the votes of either of the two leaders.
Looks, to me, like the poll has a reasonable range of choices, although "Basic Unit of Currency" (BUC) would be as useful as dollars, since not everyone calls their currency that.
missing option (Score:4, Insightful)
kisses mommy
Sinterklaas rules. (Score:5, Interesting)
Checks to see (Score:5, Funny)
Merry Christmas everyone!
Best job ever (Score:2)
364 days of drunken debauchery and one night of work a year... Where do I sign up?
Still trying to convince my relatives... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm still trying to convince my family to stop buying presents for each other; all we're really doing is just shuffling the same money back and forth in the hope we get what we want instead of just buying what we want in the first place. Add to that the stress of a busy mall with screaming kids and adults and it's not something I look forward to.
What really sucks though, is that I can't even get people to compromise and give well thought out, handmade presents because somehow that sucks the fun out of Christmas. I'd much rather spend my time with friends and family than getting bounced around the mall like a pinball so I just wait for the online sales surrounding the season.
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It took me 20 years of trying, but I finally convince my family, (Except for my mother.) that there will be no gift exchange between adults. We still buy presents for the kids. But that part is fun and gives me an excuse to play with cool toys.
The argument that finally worked was along the lines of:
Anything that you can afford to give me as a gift for Christmas is not going to be anything I really want. With what any of us can afford to spend on each member of the family (16 people) if
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My family was doing the money shuffle as well. This year when people asked me what I wanted (to which the normal response is a dressed-up version of "I don't know; I buy what I need when I need it."), I pointed them at Child's Play, and asked them to pick a hospital and buy something.
I don't know that it'll actually catch on in my family, but I think it has a better chance of working than suggesting we stop buying gifts altogether.
I figure that now that the kids are all grown, none of the families particul
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Who shops at brick-and-mortar stores any more? Malls are for the computer-illiterate.
I can choose interesting or insightfully useful gifts when shopping online, and not even break stride surfing Slashdot.
Wife and self do flea markets, etc, and accumulate Fun Stuff throughout the year almost without trying.
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What I've taken to giving to my parents and siblings lately is a substantial donation to their favorite charity. We can all easily afford the stuff we want so why clutter up their lives further?
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I'm still trying to convince my family to stop buying presents for each other;
Instead of preaching, you have to start doing it. For next year, announce loud and clear and well in advance that you will neither give nor accept presents. If anyone wants to share something with you, their presence is all that is required. Repeat that a couple of times throughout the year so a) everyone is reminded and b) they realize you are serious, and then stick to it.
gets drunk. (Score:2, Informative)
Santa mostly... (Score:4, Funny)
pretends some illness and makes yearly movies about someone else "saving" his christmas. Then he laughs all the way to the bank. HO HO HO.
No cookies here. (Score:2)
Santa will have to settle for a beer and a plate full of bacon.
Sets off the early warning radar... (Score:2)
Santa.. (Score:2)
Would it not be PC to nail Santa to a cross on my lawn? I still have the cross that I use at Easter with that rabbit....
Naughty Santa (Score:2)
Santa likes to appear in front of my girlfriend and empty his sack. He's a very naughty Santa.
missing option (Score:2)
...has a restraining order. A german word fits it better: "Hausverbot" - banned from entering.
There's a fantastic (again, german) song that greatly sums it up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_zqJtuSjLQ [youtube.com]
Basically, my opinion is this: Christmas is a scam, even if you're a christian, and I'm not even that. It boggles my mind how anyone can feel anything special about it. I put it down to being one of those moments of collective insanity, like soccer/football or binge drinking.
The funny thing is that most everyo
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In English you'd probably say "barred" or possibly "blacklisted".
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I think Santa just is a very busy man, I suggest getting your chimney cleaned before he comes to town.
Re:Sweep (Score:5, Funny)
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So that's why he has that murderous robot built to take his place in the future.
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No worries 'bout that... (Score:2)
He gets your immortal soul in return when you die. And then you get to spend the rest of eternity in a very cold place making toys.
Which will in turn be used to bring in more greedy kids.
You did realize by now that Santa is an anagram? [tvtropes.org]
Or did you really think that there is another explanation for him sneaking in through the sulfur-belching household incinerator unhurt, year after year, all over the world?
I mean... the red outfit alone is a dead giveaway.
But you got to admit that he has a wicked sense of humo
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