TECHNOLOGY: toy-like but gun-wielding robot designed to replace human soldiers

Saturday, December 8, 2007

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/12/new-killer-bot.html

Newbies Build Killer Robot; Fortune Fawns
By Noah Shachtman
December 05, 2007 | 12:33:01 PM

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Killer robots might have just had their dot-com bubble moment, in this fawning Fortune article. The stars: “a 25-year-old self-taught engineer named Adam Gettings” and his “toy-like but gun-wielding robot designed to replace human soldiers on the battlefield.”

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I’m not so sure that I think it will match the video, but the video gives one a vivid idea of their intent.

Will it use windoze?

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JOBSEARCH: My Judge Judy Law Degree says that this may be good enough in a severance chat

Saturday, December 8, 2007

FROM AN MLPF EMAIL EXCHANGE

***Begin Quote***

>Re: job in Florida
>Posted by: “Nadine Turner”
>Tue Dec 4, 2007 9:24 pm (PST)
>HOW you’ve successfully negotiated an employment contract. I’m not focused on fair pay

I haven’t gotten a contract on the inbound side, but I have gotten contracts on being throw out the door.

Go figure?

>HOW YOU GOT the contract

If a contract is a meeting of the minds as evidenced in writing …

… then I’d assert that you can write a letter indicating that you are accepting their offer and outlining what you understand the terms to be.

(My Judge Judy Law Degree, and experience, tells me that it might be good enough to use in exit negotiations. YMMV)

Should they respond in writing correcting your obvious mistakes, (Notice: I didn’t say include something wrong deliberately, but mistakes do happen. Not typos; some significant item like three weeks vacation and seven paid holidays — when the deal was for 6.) Well, then I’d feel comfortable in front of Judge Judy saying here it is “Your Honor”.

:-)

<<Bear in mind, I am not a doctor, lawyer, nor indian chief. I have not played one on TV. And, most certainly have not stayed in a Holiday Inn Express recently. This advice is given for entertainment purposes. And, is not to be considered investment advice under the SEC Act, medical advice under the AMA protection racket, or indian advice which is limited to the BoIA diktats. Since your facts and circumstances may differ please consult your own doctor, lawyer, or indian chief as appropriate.>>

Clearly, if something is important to you, then you have to ask yourself “just how important”?

If I was reloing for a job when I had a job already, then I’d get ten of my most pessimistic friends to develop a list of EVERY single thing that could go wrong! And, I’d want to either conscientiously decide to accept the risk, or I’d want a contract. If I was out of work, then the risk calculation would be different.

I know for sure that I would not trust ANY big biz, any more than I trust any politician. Which is never!

Once you’ve gotten an offer letter and responded. Those are the terms. How “cold and hungry” you are will determine if you accept it? If they want you more than you want them, then you can hold out for more. BUT, get it in writing.

When I took a “dicey job” without one, I got slammed. So, now I ask. Implicit in the asking is you’re saying “i don’t trust you”. If you can do it without being insulting, you might even get it. If they won’t give it to you, you have to ask yourself “why won’t they give it to me”. Then you get the answer, “because i can not trust them!”.

Argh!

fjohn

***End Quote***

YMMV

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Posted by reinkefj

XPfails – luggable – weird lockup

Saturday, December 8, 2007

At 20071208 0747, LUGGABLE went nuts. I was working with Word and Outlook and Outlook pegged at 95%. The DYNDNS went red indicating a network problem. Eventually, at 0811, I became exasperated and did a power cycle. Now let’s see if there’s any damage. And poke around for a reason other than the usual suspects Comcast and MICROSOFT OUTLOOK. DYNDNS shows a network burp at 0850!?

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The adventure continues. The box wouldn’t reboot. An XP Repair luckily resuscitated it. (As I sat computing how royally screwed was I?) This time the Intelligent Designer decided that he had heard enough Irish prayers and permit the lesson to end with only 90 minutes wasted on this particular “productivity tool”.

Argh!!

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[003] – 07:50:23 – 12/08/2007 – IP changes (69.248.143.184 > 5.44.68.254 [automatic])
[005] – 07:50:24 – 12/08/2007 – Update process starts
[004] – 07:56:13 – 12/08/2007 – reiinkefj [dyndns.org]: 10091 (Network subsystem is unavailable)
[005] – 07:56:14 – 12/08/2007 – Update process finished
[004] – 07:56:16 – 12/08/2007 – Update result: winsock error
[002] – 07:56:24 – 12/08/2007 – Will try to check again within 1 minutes
[002] – 07:56:25 – 12/08/2007 – Next force update: 01/01/2008 17:22:44
[002] – 07:56:25 – 12/08/2007 – DynDNS Updater ready…
[001] – 08:07:52 – 12/08/2007 – DynDNS Updater started…
[002] – 08:08:42 – 12/08/2007 – Total group(s): 1 group
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Total host(s): 1 host
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Connected from: lug
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Connected using: Local Area Network
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Automatic update: Enable
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Checking interval: 5 minutes
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – IP address is detected automatically
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Current IP: 5.44.68.254
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Updated IP: 69.248.143.184
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Last updated: 14 hours 45 minutes ago
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – Next force update: 01/01/2008 17:22:44
[002] – 08:08:43 – 12/08/2007 – DynDNS Updater ready…
[003] – 08:09:09 – 12/08/2007 – IP changes (69.248.143.184 > 5.44.68.254 [automatic])
[005] – 08:09:10 – 12/08/2007 – Update process starts
[004] – 08:09:22 – 12/08/2007 – reiinkefj [dyndns.org]: 11001 (Host not found)
[005] – 08:09:26 – 12/08/2007 – Update process finished
[004] – 08:09:26 – 12/08/2007 – Update result: winsock error
[002] – 08:09:26 – 12/08/2007 – Will try to check again within 1 minutes
[002] – 08:09:27 – 12/08/2007 – Next force update: 01/01/2008 17:22:44
[002] – 08:09:28 – 12/08/2007 – DynDNS Updater ready…

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MONEY: serious mistakes with their 401(k) plans

Saturday, December 8, 2007

http://www.dolans.com/video/DOEL_avoid_these_401k_mistakes_091207.html?sid=9AG316&cp=IPIE&ct=20071204&cc=eletter&en=3452901

***Begin Quote***

Avoid These 401(k) Mistakes!

We’ll be straight with you: In our many years of talking to people about their money concerns, we’ve heard from far too many folks who are making serious mistakes with their 401(k) plans. It breaks our hearts to think about how often we come across these mistakes — and how costly they are as well.

***End Quote***

Good folks with good advice!

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Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: Milk is an excellent example of US fascism

Friday, December 7, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/katz-j/katz-j26.html

Knowledge Through Ignorance
by Joshua Katz

***Begin Quote***

Now, the state of Pennsylvania has outlawed the labels. This is quite harmful to producers who built organic farms, which are much harder to build and maintain, on the expectation of being able to obtain a higher milk price. Now that the milk is not labeled, there will be no price differential, and soon enough there will be no untreated milk available for sale in the state, I’d wager.

***End Quote***

Milk is an excellent example of the fascism that pervades this country. Milk is highly regulated and highly taxed.

(Regulated for your “protection”. Like you couldn’t tell that the milk you were buying wasn’t pastuerized or homogenized. You used to be able to buy a BRAND of milk for it’s assurances. Now milk is a commodity!)

(Taxed because … well they can. When you see a gallon of milk, think of a gallon of gasoline. And, all the taxes on the gasoline that went to produce and deliver it to you are all hidden in the price of the milk that you buy!)

And, to ensure that the gooferment properly protects the fascist milk producers, there are milk price support laws! So you can pay more. And, that makes work for the lobbyists employed by milk fascist.

So where are your lobbyists?

How does this relate to money recognize that you are paying more? And, ask you congress critter why!

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How doe

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Posted by reinkefj

GUNS: Bill Of Rights guarantees the people, not the states, rights!

Friday, December 7, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese418.html

The Ideal Self-Defense Weapon
by Charley Reese

***Begin Quote***

The Supreme Court is about to decide an issue based on the Second Amendment. God only knows how the court will rule, but the Bill of Rights is crystal-clear. It guarantees the people, not the states or the militias, the right to keep and bear arms. Let’s hope the Supreme Court justices understand plain English.

***End Quote***

Let’s hope the old tank driver is right and common sense returns to gooferment.

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Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: Job-Hunt.Org’s mission is to provide links

Friday, December 7, 2007

http://www.job-hunt.org/linkexchanges.shtml

***Begin Quote***

Job-Hunt.Org’s mission is to provide links to the best Web sites for our visitors (job seekers and employers/recruiters), on a site that is clearly organized and easily navigated. Job-Hunt.Org is not a exhaustive list of all job- and career-related sites. We prefer quality over quantity, and try to add only the sites that are the most useful to job seekers and employers/recruiters.

***End Quote***

Useful to jump into the pool?

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Posted by reinkefj

FUN: Christmas card from Europe’s Railroad

Friday, December 7, 2007

FROM LUDDITE’S WIFE:

*** begin quote ***

Merry Christmas – Ireland is the best of course

*** attached ***

A Christmas card from Europe’s Railroad – click all the destinations…

Enjoy!!!!

http://downloads.raileurope.com/holidayCard/06_christmas_card.html

*** end quote ***

Some one, some where, has too much time on their hands!

But, it was funny.

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Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: If you did it, they’d lock you up as a “counterfeiter”!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-466210540567002553

Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve

*** Begin Quote ***

Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson understood …. But to most Americans today, Federal Reserve is just a …

*** End Quote ***

But when they do it, it’s “inflation”, “expanding the money supply”, or some other drivel.

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: the War on Drugs has “little discernible impact on the drug trade”

Thursday, December 6, 2007

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17438347/how_america_lost_the_war_on_drugs/6

How America Lost the War on Drugs
After Thirty-Five Years and $500 Billion, Drugs Are as Cheap and Plentiful as Ever: An Anatomy of a Failure.
Ben Wallace-Wells
Posted Nov 27, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Even by conservative estimates, the War on Drugs now costs the United States $50 billion each year and has overcrowded prisons to the breaking point – all with little discernible impact on the drug trade.

***End Quote***

Isn’t insanity defined as doing more of the same and expecting different results?

Don’t need a long article to say you can NOT stop someone from using drugs. All you can do is minimize the harm to others.

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Posted by reinkefj

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