The one thing that bothers me about this article is it continues with the all too pervasive myth that last year, we were some free market paradise that has overnight turned into the USSR. The reality is that for nearly 80 years now we have been a mixed economy. Now, it is true that we heading more to the left, but much of the proposals are still, economically speaking, to the right of just about every other first world western nation, with perhaps the exception of the bailout (which I don't agree with).

Another thing that bothers me is that it tries to frame many of these issues in some sort of partisan light while completely ignoring recent history. The first stimulus package was signed by Bush. The TARP package was passed under Bush with his blessing. As for protestors being arrested or threatened, let us not forget the free speech zones and arrests that occurred under Bush. Also, let us not forget that many of the recent protests had individuals showing up with guns who were not harassed. While this is an issue that needs to be dealt with by all Americans, it is likely overzealous police that were responsible for the arrests which would make it difficult to point blame at either adminstration.

As for the anger, is this really just the result of Obama? Honestly, if the author of the article is truly making that claim, then he is clearly a partisan shill. There has been anger generating FOR YEARS. Anger caused by jobs going over seas, and people from other nations being imported here to fill jobs at lower pay. Anger that wages have remained stagnant. Anger over necessities that are becoming harder to afford. Anger over the increasing demands placed upon workers, both in terms of educational credentials and hours worked. Anger at politicians who are clearly bought and paid for. Anger of this fucking bailout. Anger over this has been building for years.

What we are witnessing here isn't anger over just Obama. It isn't really a fight between conservatives and liberals. In all honesty, I believe both sides realize how much we in the US have been fucked. The real argument is basically between who is spending the most time wearing the strap on, the government or the major corporations. Personally, I think it's both, and I'm sick and tired of engaging in partisan games while being tagged teamed.

Overall, I don't support this bill either. However, I do support some industries requiring certified security professionals, specifically those involved in e-commerce. I've seen some pretty horrific e-commerce code out there. I'll just say that there are very few sites I will submit my credit card info too.

At 8/28/09 06:34 PM, TheShrike wrote: I don't support this.

That said, I understand the reasoning. In the event of a true international all-out cyberwar, common people's computers could be infected with viruses that target infrastructure systems via the net, and this would give the government the power to instruct providers to cut access wholesale to prevent spread and ongoing attacks.

Honestly, I think that is just a stop gap. I don't think you critical infrastructure is connected to the internet, but if it is, then it needs to be converted to an isolated network ASAP. While I can understand concerns over cost, it is an unnecessary security risk to expose those systems to the net at large. As for e-commerce, I do think there needs to be tighter regulation on the code. The more information you store, the more regulation you need.

Design an agency to find and require fixes for software exploits...

I'm on the fence about this idea. It sounds good in theory, but given the amount of software out there, the agency would have to be massive. Also, it's not just the software that they have to watch. They will also have to inspect the configurations of software deployed on the net to make sure that it is configured properly, and even that won't allow them to find all of the holes. Even with all precautions in place, all it takes is an employee with a easily guessed password to blow the whole system wide open. This is one of those cases where I think it is better to put the onus on private industry to hire certified security experts to handle these matters. The problem is too massive for the government to deal with.

But don't get people who're already wound-up more panic ammo.

Agreed.

Honestly, while I do find the correlation between choice of major interesting, I'd be more interested in comparing the results to those within the field. If your assertion that money is the motivating factor for conservatives picking their majors, I'd suggest that you would likely see a different spread in political affiliations of those actively working in the field, at least in the technical disciplines.

Most computer programmers I know or who frequent forums that I go to are moderately liberal. I believe that there are two reasons for this. First, if money if the only reason you get into a technical discipline, you probably will not last. With speed of technological advancement, you have to be willing to devote a good portion of your free time to expanding and updating your skills. Someone who is only in it for the money will fall behind or burnout.

Second, I suspect that there may be a conversion from conservative once they enter the working world. Conservatives tend to praise business in part because they believe that businesses are efficient and meritocracies. People in technical disciplines tend to focus on efficiency as well, so when they enter the working world, they are very likely to pick up on many of the inefficiencies of the business. As for meritocracy, this concept can be quickly thrown out the window depending on the company you work for.

Many companies use their HR departments to select candidate for interview. The technically inclined must then suffer round after round of being judged by individuals who in reality have no idea what it is that they do. Then after being hired, they end up dealing with management who again have no idea what they do, or worse, have a very basic level of understanding, but not enough to realize how limited that understanding is. Many programmers I've talked to become quickly jaded by this sort of thing.

At 8/21/09 12:02 PM, Ericho wrote:

At 8/19/09 02:04 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: I remember when people asserted that Obama is the antichrist
That show on History Channel is on right now...

Yeah, because that has so much to do with actual history.

If I'm remembering the special, it was dealing more with the historical roots of the Bible, but I may be thinking of a different Bible special.

At 8/21/09 01:56 AM, SolInvictus wrote:
k, enough with the Japanese girls, please.

No, let him keep it up. The DA will be able to use this thread as evidence once he finally snaps and shoots up the Hello Kitty section at target.

At 8/20/09 09:56 PM, Proteas wrote:

At 8/20/09 09:51 PM, ViolentAJ wrote:

So you deny African citizenship, and you would deny African natives the right to live on their own land.

And 'when' the genocide goes down, I'm sure AJ will blame it on the white man for teaching him about manifest destiny.

At 8/20/09 09:02 PM, SolInvictus wrote:

At 8/20/09 08:56 PM, VigilanteNighthawk wrote:

the Japanese are not Chinese damnit!!

Damn it. NO! I was hoping he wouldn't realize this. Guess night with a hooker it is. :(

Alright, I know how to end all of this. I'll set up a site for AJ with a paypal link on it so people can make donations. Then, we can use this money to buy AJ either a) a night with high priced Japanese hooker OR b) a Chinese Mail order bride. Anyone with me?

AJ is famous. They've even made a movie about him. The trailer

At 8/20/09 08:16 PM, ViolentAJ wrote: http://www.vnnforum.com/showthread.php?t =99331

I'm not even going to honestly bother reading whatever nonsense you posted. Wow, people are still racist, no shit Sherlock, but clearly there are enough people who aren't, including white people to elect him President. As for his approval rating slipping, that couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that his health care reform package and his handling of it has managed to piss just about everyone across the political spectrum with it, could it? Oh, sorry, logic doesn't work.

Here's some advice for you. Go whack off to hentai (or maybe yaoi in case?) and come back in here when your pity party is over. Then again, maybe you don't get a good connection under that bridge?

At 8/20/09 08:13 PM, ViolentAJ wrote:

At 8/20/09 08:12 PM, VigilanteNighthawk wrote:

Well, if Obama really cares about half of his heritage, then perhaps we would help us to establish this nation, especially when he realizes that the rest of the world no longer respects the USA since it has a Black (one drop rule) president and his approval rating is dropping as racism rises day by day.

Oh go back under your bridge already. It's pretty obvious that black people have a glass ceiling which they cannot rise above, and that is this nations highest office. Sorry you can't be emperor of the world. Boo fucking hoo hoo.

Ok, since no one else has brought out the obvious nuke to this whole argument, I think I'm going to do it.

Guys, ViolentAJ has a page about him in wikipedia. Check it out here. If you look at his picture, it should be obvious why no woman wants him.

Guys. This is a post from AJ's newgrounds blog in August 2007:

I read a lot of things, but after going back, I think that a substantial portion of Japanese do not hate Black people.

I actually met a few cute girls that I could have been with maybe (if I were there longer and spoke Japanese). I really hope that I can live there some day. I just have to really improve my artwork (drastically), learn the lingo, and finish my schooling.

Apparently, AJ won't even trust himself as a source.

At 8/20/09 05:21 PM, ViolentAJ wrote:

At 8/20/09 05:07 PM, Dawnslayer wrote: All right, AJ - I'm going to ask this question again, with a little more elaboration:

I don't care what the white man does except for stay out of Africa once the building period is over. We'd thank the Whites that helped us, we'd respect them, and we'd have mutual boundaries which we would not cross. If the white man wants to keep indians and japanese women then that's on him. The Negro nazi Nation would not have anything to do with race-mixing or communism. Maybe trade is we could work out an agreement, but we wouldn't even have tourists. They'd all be gassed.

You know, I may be out on a huge limb here, but somehow I seriously doubt you've bothered to inform Africa of your plans. What if the black Africans want nothing to do with your plan? Will you let them have their way, or will you, like every other imperialistic jackass before you, do whatever it takes to force your will upon them based on some 'moral' mandate?

Also I must find this funny:

We'd thank the Whites that helped us, we'd respect them, and we'd have mutual boundaries which we would not cross......They'd all be gassed.

Contradiction much?

And of course, we come to the motivation for this whole rant:

If the white man wants to keep indians and JAPANESE WOMEN

At 8/20/09 05:27 PM, OddlyPoetic wrote: You're an idiot and a troll. Rockwell was insane and his influence will never rise beyond his stinking, rotted corpse.

Bye Topic :(

Bye topic? If you've seen AJ before, you'd know it never should have been hello topic. AJ has serious emotional issues and a strange fixation on Japanese Women. Now, he's simply redirecting his internal rage upon the rest of us, or he's just an attention seeking troll. Seriously, though, a black Neo Nazi. You have to admit, if you ignore the danger AJ probably is to himself and others, it is pretty damned funny.

At 8/20/09 04:12 PM, ViolentAJ wrote:

At 8/20/09 01:55 PM, Proteas wrote:

At 8/20/09 01:35 PM, ViolentAJ wrote:

How is that different from any other white, latino, or asian? They'd all curb-stomp Blacks too if they had the chance.

You forgot us injuns. Wait, I'm only 1/4 injun, so how do I 3/4 curd stomp someone? In fact, could you explain this 'curb stomping' thing to me, because having grown up in an area that had almost equal representation of every race (except for Native American, unless you count Mestizos), and I never felt the urge to curb stomp anyone. In fact, I had good friends from all races. I never got the memo that I was supposed to be curb stomping them. Of course, being biracial, I guess I wasn't trusted with that info.

YOU and the other white liberals and zionists are the ones that want to keep Blacks ignorant. We were brought here ot be slaves and nothing more. Since you have robots and mexicans now, we've outlived our usefulness. Japanese women love western men, but they don't like Blacks. That's just proof that the Black Man has no place in western society.

Have you been living a fucking cave for the past 9 months? I mean honestly, you are aware that George W. Bush isn't president anymore, and that the new guy has one hell of tan.

At 8/20/09 04:30 PM, ViolentAJ wrote: The media also puts Blacks in it, and that's why fat white girls go for Black guys. Also, japanese women go for ANY RACE BUT BLACKS.

Excuse me, my white Aunt, who has been married to my Black uncle for over 17 years, is not, nor has she ever been, fat. I'm awaiting your apology.

Ok, it's time for you to here the truth, AGAIN. As I've told you in the past, your issues have nothing to do with you being black. It's YOU. That's right, IT'S YOU. The reason women of any race don't like you, the reason people don't want to hire you, IS YOU. You have some serious mental problems. You sound like you are suffering from low self esteem and depression. You need to seriously see a therapist and get help. I'm not trying to insult you here. I've been there myself. Blaming the white man isn't going to stop. Blaming no one will change it. You are going to have to get help and work through it.

At 8/20/09 01:39 PM, Bacchanalian wrote:

At 8/20/09 01:35 PM, ViolentAJ wrote: asian women

... you're still at it with that?

Ok, ok, who here wants to take a bet that ViolentAJ did in fact finally score his Japanese goddess, but when he did, he dropped his pants, and to throng of high pitched laughter, forever dispelled the myth about black men and size?

1) Flash forum

2) 40% ownership of code we write. Ha ha ha. Lazy ass.

At 8/18/09 10:54 PM, BrianEtrius wrote: How about the obvious one?

"They have fake teeth that AREN'T made from wood? Since when?"

Followed by: "And which barber shop would I go to acquire some of these new marvles?"

At 8/18/09 09:37 PM, BrianEtrius wrote: " My God, we have somewhat decent relations with the British? And who's Russia?"\

"Russian? My good sir, would you be referring to Prussia?"

Why do you assume that bureaucracy would be the first thing Washington would notice or be horrified at? I suspect he'd be much more shocked by the amount of partisan rancor, and the flat out lies both parties are comfortable telling to the American public.

At 8/18/09 06:28 PM, fli wrote: Why would it even matter what he believed?
Wouldn't it be more important what we believe since we're living it now?

He would say to Obama, "A black president? Egads!"

Followed by: "Health care reform? Why for? Are there not enough leaches to go around?"

No, you won't. Linux is very different from windows. You will need to learn how to use the terminal. You will likely have issues with getting drivers for your hardware (though the situation has certainly improved significantly over the years). You will have to learn at some point how to edit configuration files, though this has again improved significantly over the years. In addition, you will have to learn to use a lot of new software, and you might not be able to replace everything, especially if you use flash. I would recommend doing a dual boot system at first. I've been using linux for years, and I still keep windows on my system for flash and certain video editing suites. Don't thrash your windows install until you are sure you won't need it. The first time I used linux, I had to install over a borked copy of windows 98, and I couldn't do anything. Trust me, it will go a lot smoother if you still have your windows partition to fall back on.

I've been reading a book on AI techniques, and it discusses the multlayer perceptron. Unfortuantely, it does not give any guidance beyond guess and check as to how to determine the number of neurons the hidden layer should have in a three layer MLP (input, hidden, output). How would you go about determining the number of neurons to place in the hidden layer?

At 8/14/09 02:54 AM, Thomas wrote:

I did a simple check ( $db = mysql_select_db(), if(!db) ), and apparently it isn't selecting it. Is there a reason for that (there are no spelling errors or anything).

Check that the user you are using to access the database has permission to access the database. If you are using cpanel, you have to add the user to each database after your create it, and make sure to assign the necessary permissions to it. I once spent three aggravating hours trying to diagnose a db error because I had forgotten to do that. Dump the error after the db selection to confirm it.

Also, your file extension checking function doesn't handle multiple extensions, such as tar.gz.

Not too worried about that (I don't have tar.gz in my list of allowed extensions - maybe in future I will change).

No problem then. If you are only going to be handling single part file extensions, I would still check to see how many parts are being returned to be sure that the file only has a single part extension. The returned array should only have two elements. Otherwise, someone is probably monkeying around with the extension of the file they are submitting.

I doubt it's the functions, though it's worth looking at. I would check that the database is actually being selected when you run mysql_select_db.

Also, your file extension checking function doesn't handle multiple extensions, such as tar.gz.

At 8/9/09 08:32 PM, MrStickyKeys wrote:

At 8/9/09 01:05 PM, ipsilondev wrote:

Also, as for the template system, again, I disagree. This is a preference, not a necessity.

I'm going to partially disagree here. If your programmer is disciplined, then not having a true template system shouldn't be too much of a problem because they will keep business logic out of the view. If your programmer isn't disciplined, then you could end up with views that have business logic in them, making your design impossible to change without risk of breaking the core functionality of your site.

If you decide to not have a template system, I would do this simple check. If you see html being mixed with database access calls, you should probably fire the developer.

hu doesn't refer to anything yet. Before you can invoke an action on a dom element, you must first obtain a reference to the node. In your case, you would simply use document.getElementById('hu').

function goHo(){
      var hu = document.getElementById('hu'); //get reference to dom node
      hu.innerHTML = 'Hello';
}

At 7/28/09 04:49 PM, DrClean wrote:

At 7/28/09 03:43 PM, djconnect wrote:

At 7/26/09 02:14 PM, Wonderful wrote:

At 7/26/09 01:02 PM, djconnect wrote:

What the fuck is wrong with C? it's the most powerful language, next to ASM(that I know of).

What's wrong with C? It's a freaking rip-off, that's what! With C, I don't get a '++' or even a '#.' Ooh, '#'

Ok, I know this is probably a stupid questions, and I'm probably stretching it asking here, but can you effectively run a laptop safely for without an external cooling device. I've resisted buying a laptop for as long as I could because I've always preferred desktops because they were much easier to upgrade. I finally broke down an bought a cheap laptop because I need to be able to take it with me on trips. I usually leave my desktop on anywhere from 10-16 hours nonstop a day, and I'm worried that this type of usage will cause heat related damage my new laptop. My desktop is about 5 years old now, so I plan on phasing it out and replacing it with my laptop.

Also, while I'm at it, any recommendations for a Linux distro? It's a gateway, with an AMD Athalon X2, ATI graphics (not sure of the precise chipset yet), and built in wireless N (again, not sure of the chipset yet). I normally use Ubuntu, but I'm fairly good with the command line when I need to be.

At 7/6/09 12:50 PM, urbn wrote:

At 6/28/09 10:22 PM, TheFlameAlchemist wrote: It's ok but like others said use Flash or Actionscript.

Flash OR Actionscript?

WAT?

Technically this is correct. There are libraries in other languages that can be used to generate .swf, even one for php, though I don't remember its name.

Have you considered creating a scene object? The a scene object holds actions that can be taken in that scene, and depending on the action taken, you proceed to other scenes. Each scene that directly proceeds from the current scene would be stored within the current scene. It would work like a custom tree or graph.