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Comment I'm not narcissitic at all (Score 1) 1316

I'm going to graduate in less than two months. I'm not narcissitic at all. I know I reflect on myself too much to be absorbed in myself. I'm completely perfect.

But in all honesty, I've seen a number of my colleagues who think they're hot shit, who really aren't. They talk about how they're going to be hot-shot devs for some up-and-coming game company, but I'm betting they're going to be working 65 hours a week and burnout in a few years.

Me? I've got a pretty good job lined up with good benefits. I'm not expecting to travel at all, or be given rewards for doing a good job. I do expect that if I consistently do a good job and do better than expected of me that I'll be rewarded in some way. I'd much rather have a less super-star job and a relatively stress-free 40-45 hour work week. What does everyone else here think of that?

P.S. I hope someone got the reflective joke...

Comment Just do it. Go abroad, whatever you have to do. (Score 3, Insightful) 386

I'm a senior CS student at Rice University who studied abroad the first semester of my sophomore year. The hoops you have to jump through to study abroad are worth it.

You probably don't really need to take technical courses every semester: there may be a light one with courses you can put off. I had to take a 3 week summer course and adjust my schedule a bit, but I made it to Florence, Italy for a semester. If you absolutely cannot go abroad for a full semester, do a summer program or go after you graduate (I knew a kid who graduated, then still went abroad for the experience).

Decide what school you want to go to based on whether you want to experience the culture or drink. A lot of the schools built for studying abroad have people who just go abroad to drink. I was at one of those schools although I would've liked more cultural things and less drinking. It's up to you.

I took no technical courses while abroad. I actually fulfilled a number of university requirements (arts and social sciences).

Make sure you clear all the courses you're going to take with your advisor: they should know you might be taking a semester off of CS. Make sure that you also get any classes you want to transfer approved beforehand. Get signatures.

(It may actually be cheaper to go abroad if you're currently going to a private school. If you have scholarships, some of them may pay for you to go abroad)

If you can't find some time to go, you don't want it bad enough. Feel free to contact me if you have any more specific questions.

Music

Submission + - Someone In Congress Actually Understands Mixtapes!

An anonymous reader writes: Most of us (for pretty good reasons!) have come to assume that our Congressional representatives are pretty far out of touch when it comes to things like technology and culture, but it's nice to see that at least one Congressman seems to understand that mixtapes and mashups aren't such a bad thing. Techdirt has the transcript of Rep. Mike Doyle's speech, which talks about the benefits of mixtapes, while wondering about why DJ Drama was arrested: "I hope that everyone involved will take a step back and ask themselves if mash-ups and mix-tapes are really different or if it's the same as Paul McCartney admitting that he nicked the Chuck Berry bass-riff and used it on the Beatle's hit 'I Saw Her Standing There.' Maybe it is. And, maybe Drama violated some clear bright lines. Or, maybe mixtapes are a powerful tool. And, maybe mash-ups are transformative new art that expands the consumers experience and doesn't compete with what an artist has made available on iTunes or at the CD store. And, I don't think Sir Paul asked for permission to borrow that bass line, but every time I listen to that song, I'm a little better off for him having done so...."
Handhelds

Submission + - Cisco, Apple settle iPhone trademark battle

_nderscore writes: "The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Cisco Systems Inc. and Apple Inc. have settled the trademark-infringement lawsuit regarding use of the "iPhone" name. From the article, 'The companies said they reached an agreement that will allow Apple to use the name for its sleek new multimedia device in exchange for exploring wide-ranging "interoperability" between the companies' products in the areas of security, consumer and business communications. No other details of the agreement were released. The companies both said they would dismiss any pending legal actions regarding the trademark.'"
Media

Submission + - College Students Illegally Sharing

An anonymous reader writes: The IndyStar has an article about how copyright infringement is rampant on college campuses here. The article explains that if the schools do nothing about it, they could be subject to lawsuits. However, the punishments used by the school don't appear to be too harsh for the first couple offenses.
Wireless Networking

Skype Asks FCC to Open Cellular Networks 292

Milwaukee's_Best writes "Skype has just asked the FCC to force wireless phone companies to open their networks to all comers. Skype essentially wants to turn the wireless phone companies into just another network of the kind currently operated on the ground. This would require carriers to allow any phone to be used on their networks, and for any application. Users would simply purchase a voice or data plan (though these could easily converge into a data plan if VoIP calling is used) and then use the device of their choice to access the network of their choice. Think of it as network neutrality for cell networks. Given the competition that exists within the industry, is this needed?"
Businesses

Submission + - Registerfly - do you know where your domain is?

hookmeister writes: "If you registered your domain at Registerfly.com, then you should know it may be locked, and you are at the moment unable to access it through registerfly.com's website. The story as a video. You may even have an un-renewable situation where your domain expires into a status known as redemption through no fault of your own. By all accounts there are just under 2 million domains at risk here, ENOM dumped them as a reseller, Its a Mess... Once clue is that thier SSL cert expired.

Fortunately there is some good news. The Principals in this are trying to restore order. A website www.Registerflies.com (originally crafted as a gripe-zone and forum for regsiterfly users) has gotten inside the ranks of the Regsiterfly management shakeup, made some friends and connections and is creating a back-door problem reporting form that goes directly to those that can correct a domain problem. (The RegisterFly support ticketing system is clogged with thousands of Un-answered complaints.) Go HERE and get at the top of the list, or follow it as the situation evolves."

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Top Ten Things Overheard At The ANSI C Draft Committee Meetings: (5) All right, who's the wiseguy who stuck this trigraph stuff in here?

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