Should I change my avatar
-
I just went to a book reading/lecture in Seattle with Cory Doctorow and David Brin. It was great; Brin is very pragmatic, sort of the "centrist" type; while Cory is a radical "modernist". Different takes on things; made for a very interesting discussion.
Brin has a book called "The Transparent Society" that I picked up and started reading. Very interesting stuff...."Will technology force us to choose between privacy and freedom?" is the tagline. provokes thought; that's for sure.
Digital Rights are very important; especially in developed countries like Europe and the US (and developing countries, for that matter). The EU parliament is debating IP laws right now (email your representative!). Big business wants the EU to adopt the US model; while developing countries and sane people argue against it.
Big things going on right now, and we'd be mistaken to ignore them. For example, right now cities and counties in the US are starting to provide free Wi-Fi access to their people. Sounds like a great thing, right? It is unless you're a big ISP. They're lobbying right now to make it illegal; cities will have to get approval FROM ISPs to set up their own services. Looks like they might win, too. WTF!? Since when has it been more important to assist big business instead of making the common citizens life better? Oh, wait; I guess for a while. But it still doesn't make it right.
It's a battle, and there's a lot at stake.
Signature is NULL
-
What little I know of copyright laws makes it even more sickening. If I am company and have a trademark and you are small company, (say a gas station) and you locate near me. If you use my trademark in your name, I have to fight it! Even the slightest infringement. If I, (say I am big, nasty conglomorate) do not fight even the smallest infringement I am aware of, I could lose my trademark completely.
It is crummy, but with out litigious society, I see why they have to do this...
I wasn't born stupid - I had to study.
-
-
(in regards to intellectual property)
The battle has been over and lost for a long time. What you see as conflict now is just scattered feeding frenzy resolutions.
IP is a bad thing. A very, very bad thing. Philosophically fundamentally against nature at the lowest of levels. It's the classic short term gain, long term disaster scenario.
But this is off topic--
Back on topic, to answer the question of changing your avatar depends on what is your intent: Why? Or, what image do you wish to project of yourself?
-
Unless someone else forces me to, I don't want to change my avatar. I was just asking, because it was mentioned in the other thread *and* I was told before, that this smiling shark might be frightening to new posters here. Especially when used in addition with an inappropriate language. After all, the Great White stands for an ultimate top predator. I guess I've chosen it, because I've never seen anyone using something similar before. Call it the rest of rebel youth in me.
--
Frank Kalis
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Webmaster: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs
My blog: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs/frankkalis/[/url] -
I certainly hope you have more than that left in you
. -
Yeah
More than one might guess. < vbg >
--
Frank Kalis
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Webmaster: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs
My blog: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs/frankkalis/[/url] -
Yes, for new, uncertain/timid posters this av comes off bad, intimidating, etc.
Even for those not so timid, one is uncertain what to make of it.
If you do not want to put off people unfamiliar with you, you ought to change it.
If, on the other hand, you don't care, or, like me, wish to do you part to encourage people grow up, face the world, and deal with unfriendly looking people by knowing that one's own reactions exist only within onesself and that each has control over his own ability to fear/resent/hate... or NOT... well then don't change it.
-
I for one just ain't afraid of that tiny shark... he's gonna have to try harder to scare me off this board
. -
Glad you decided to keep it, Frank.
Funny stuff, John; I wish we could just tell the studios to "grow up", too. They're big, spoiled babies (ever seen Spirited Away?). It's like, here's this invention that benefits all men, but they want to do business as usual. So they sue and bribe (excuse me...lobby) to get what they want. If they weren't spoiled dumb they would actually try to figure out how to USE it, and make money off it (like Frank and his SQLServer woofie).
Oh well...
Signature is NULL
-
Actually now that I think about it, I am curious...
How would one go about forcing you to change it?
Pantomime sarcasm? Voodoo dolls? Threaten to cut off my own finger and send it to you if you don't? I guess there's always slipping a line item into the next omnibus spending bill in the House of Representatives: "543.23.1 $10,000 for the purposes of hiring Guido the Killer Pimp to make Frank change his avatar..."
As for scaring me off the board: What gives me the willies is all these follow up answers that propose using cursors. Seriously, everytime I have to go away for a few weeks and recover my sanity...
-
Maybe we should find a way to scare these guys away
. -
Word...we could have a "uses cursors when sets will do" tag, then mod them down in discussions.
Grant you, I do have a few loops in my code ("While" loops instead of cursors, of course), but this is only after trying everything else possible, and only when dealing with really small recordsets. And I'm admitting defeat every time I end up using one; some of these guys seem to prefer them! I guess it's because they're used to writing:
while (resultset.next()) {do something to each row}
or
for (int i = 0; i <= maxrows; i++) {do something to each row}
It's hard for those programmers to think in sets.
Signature is NULL
-
Even the idea that I want to scare anyone off this board is pathetically hilarious! I'm not even going to comment on this thought
:If someone is really scared by this avatar, I suspect him to have other massive problems, but that's another story.
But actually it's really easy to "force" me to change it. A single word by the site-owners, and I will do so. After all, it's only a picture, and nothing one should made a psychological discussion about.
--
Frank Kalis
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Webmaster: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs
My blog: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs/frankkalis/[/url] -
Yeah...pretty funny. I really don't think anybody was seriously considering it, just poking fun.
(chant) "I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine....Fish are friends, not food."
Hilarious scene...cracked me up.
BTW, you've inpired me to finally set up an avatar image...go creative commies!
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66209,00.html
Signature is NULL
Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 41 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply