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Category: Technology

Slashdot | Can People Really Program 80 Hours a Week?

Variety is the spice of life, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy, addicts do not make good friends – I can think of no aphorisms which praise spending excessive time doing the same thing. Why do you think Archimedies is reputed to have discovered the law of displacement of water being equal to the weight of a floating body in the bath – most insights are generated when you walk away from the task and see the whole picture whilst your mind idles.

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Free or Not: the Case for and mostly Against Micropayments

There is a certain amount of anxiety involved in any decision to buy, no matter how small, and it derives not from the interface used or the time required, but from the very act of deciding…. The desired state for micropayments – “Get the user to authorize payment without creating any overhead” – can thus never be achieved, because the anxiety of decision making creates overhead.

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Exit Polls Contradict “Official Results”: Another Steal for Bush?

I believe that the mandate of the Bush team was to keep things close enough that they would be able to gerrymander the election without getting caught out. All the Democrats need to contest this election is a clear demonstration in even one state of foul play with the electronic voting machines or of discarded or incinerated ballots or of partisan ballot counts or of extensive disqualification of eligible voters.

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Best pun/simile of the week: Nora Jonestown

Apparently all is not well in the world of Blue Note fans. The worst thing to happen to them were the Grammies that Norah Jones won. The triumph of Capitalism with a capital C. Her success caused controversy on the company forums. The forums were taken down, scattering and angering the fan base which had kept the company running for twenty years.

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Google assumes no responsibility for any pet: growling, barking, chasing, or biting

Aggressive behavior, such as growling, barking, chasing, or biting, is unacceptable….Employees are financially responsible for any damage or cleaning to Google facilities…. Owners must maintain adequate liability insurance against dog mishaps. Google assumes no responsibility for any pet. Following these guidelines mentioned above should allow dog owners to enjoy the company of their pets while allowing all Google employees to feel safe and secure in their work place.

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Tim Berners-Lee on wealth and values

“Core in my upbringing was a value system that put monetary gain well in its place, behind things like doing what I really want to do. To use net worth as a criterion by which to judge people is to set our children’s sights on cash rather than on things that will actually make them happy.” Tim Berners-Lee

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