6/12    china barbi

6/12    Are stock option "repurchase plans" normal?  I have an offer
        from a pre-IPO startup, where my options expire 90 days after I
        leave the company.  The repurchase plan says that the company
        has the right to "repurchase at exercise price" (i.e., take away)
        all my stock if they haven't gone IPO by then.  Is this common? i.e.,

        (1) I work for three years and leave the company.
        (2) I've exercised every option I got as soon as it became available.
        (3) The company hasn't gone anywhere yet.
        (4) The company elects to buy back all my stock at the same price
            I paid, + 10% interest. (i.e., I'm even)
        (5) The company hits it big six months later and I have no stock.
        \_ Read it again.  Normally companies have option to purchase
           back unvested shares that you have exercised at the exercise
           price.  Anything that's vested belongs to you if you want it.
           \_ "The Company shall have the right to repurchase any or all
              of the Shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of this Option
              following the termination of the Optionee's employment.
              The Repurchase Right may be exercised by the Company at any
              time during the period commencing on the date of termination
              of employment and ending 90 days thereafter."
              \_ This is not typical of startup companies. Make them
                 change it or take your skills somewhere else.
              \_ Cool, so I can fire you right before the IPO, and won't
                 suffer any of the share dilution your options would've
                 caused.
              \_ YANAL
                 \_ "YANAL"=?

              \_ Thanks.  Has anyone heard of this sort of deal before?

6/12    As of ruling by the CA gov't, not paying salaried (exempt) workers
        during a company shutdown is not allowed.  For all of you discussing
        forced vacations, I found the link describing the situation.  It's an
        open letter issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcment for
        the state of California:
        http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/SalaryTestUnderNewOrders.pdf
        Quote from letter:
        "..if an employer has exempt salaried employees, those employees must
        generally be paid in any situation where the employee is ready, willing
        and able to work and the employer does not provide work.  Failure to
        pay the salary of the exempt employee will result in loss of the
        exemption.  The employer may not, faced with this obligation to
        continue the salary, resort to the employee's vested vacation pay (an
        obligation which the employer already has if the employee is to remain
        exempt from overtime pay)."
        -phale
        \_ Here's an LA Times article on the matter:
           http://www.latimes.com/business/20010609/t000047972.html
        \_ what if it's put to the employees like this:  "Take your vacation
           then or we'll lay you off. --PeterM
           \_ what if it's put to the employer like this: "Don't make me take
              a vacation or I'll sue you"?
              \_ What if the employer in return simply say "Ok I won't.  I'll
                 just lay you off then."
                 \_ you can still sue. just like "give me a bj or you're fired"
                    \_ Really?  Isn't it that for firing the employer needs
                       to show that the employee has done something wrong,
                       whereas for layoffs an employer doesn't need to show
                       any fault on the employee's part?
                       \_ no...for example if they lay off old people just
                          because they're old, those people can sue, and stuff.
                          \_ I see.
                 \_ Ironically, if they immediately lay you off, they still owe
                    you the amount of money for your vacation days, paid in
                    full.
                    \_ This isn't ironic, they already allow for these
                       payouts since they are always counted under Liabilities.
                       Thats the whole reason to force vacations, to
                       decrease this liability.
                    \_ Yeah, but if they don't lay you off immediately, they'll
                       still owe you the same amount of money for your
                       vacation and they'll have to keep paying you salary.
                       Plus you'll accrue even more vacation.
        \_ the way it was explained to me, it was very much in my
           personal interest not to lose my exempt status.
           I think it had to do with not being able to keep stock options.
           Anyone more familiar with this?
           \_ That's BS.  Perhaps it's company policy to give stock options
              only to exempt employees.  But if a bunch of exempt people turned
              non-exempt and still worked their typical 60-hour work weeks, the
              company is absolutely fucked.  Can you say "double your salary"?
           \_ Besides, it isn't YOUR choice to become exempt or non-exempt.  If
              the company has a work shutdown, and they don't want to pay your
              salary, the HAVE to make you non-exempt.  It's THEIR choice.
           \_ These discuss a bit about why its unlikely you'd get
              options as an non-exempt employee.
              http://www.bizforward.com/archives/2000-06/viewfromthehill
              http://www.morganlewis.com/wp11299.htm
                \_ Yes, but if an employee already has options, then this does
                   not really matter.  So make a long story short, if a company
                   actually makes an exempt employee non-exempt, they are
                   really fucking themselves.

6/13    Damn it.  I wish people would just say "This is the problem that
        i am having: ..." rather than asking a bunch of stupid, usually
        irrelevant questions that don't contain any pertinent info. -Sys.Ad.
        \_ after they're done babbling, reitterate their story succinctly
           in one sentence. Eventually they'll get your point and start to
           behave better. Worked fer me...
        \_ You've gotta decide if you want to work with people or computers.
           \_ You're implying that one can work solely with computers if
              one so chooses.  This is incorrect.
              \_ you can, you just won't get paid for it.
              \_ Actually I was implying that sysadmins work for/with people.
                 There are jobs where one can work solely with computers, but
                 none as a sysadmin. The converse is not a valid implication.

6/13    Americans Have Gigantic Fat Asses:
        http://www.theonion.com/onion3722/surgeon_general.html
        \_ would be funnier if it weren't so goddamn true
        \_ did you know if you can transfer all the excess fat to 3rd world
           countries, there would no longer be world hunger? I read this
           somewhere.
           \_ oh fuck off with the world hunger. it's their own fault if
              they choose to have 10 kids when they can barely feed themselves.
               \_ Nice try, troll.

6/13    I want to subscribe to scientific american again. The best price I've
        been able to find seems to be their default price of ~$25. Anyone have
        any advice on how I might find cheaper?
        \_ You might want to try waiting for kids to come around to your house
           and offer subscriptions for their fundraiser.
        \_ subscribe, then cancel (don't pay). Afterwards they'll give you
           special deals like $39/2 years. That's what I did.
                \_ hmm. i'd wait till i saw a special.
                   my 3 yr. subscription was only $36.

<no selective censorship! if you delete, i delete>
        \_ Anyone find a better deal than $75/yr for the Economist?
           \_ No. Where did you find that?

6/13    Is there a way to pass in a C++ object's method to pthread_create
        as the function to call?  I want to do something like this:

        pthread_create(...,o->myfunc,...);

        where myfunc is a method of the object o.
        \_ Yes, but it's a pain in the ass.  You have to create a plain C
           wrapper function that invokes the object's method function, and
           pass that in.
           \_ So the void * arg in pthread_create has to be a pointer to the
              object right? I tried that but the compiler didn't like it.

6/13    oh fuck, no!!!  someone has already redeemed my $200 b&n coupon.
        how can this be???
        \_ who gave it to you?
        \_ i want one. where do i get it?

6/13    What is the best FREE massively multi-player on-line game?
        \_ shockforce.
        \_ xcraft.  http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~xcraft
            \_ is this just a ripoff of http://www.freecraft.com
            \_ so out of curiosity, did 169 grade you at all on originality/
               design?
            \_ you ripped off the warcraft gifs, and made it networked.
               you expect this to remain "free"?
               \_ the graphics can be easily changed (though the units, spell
                  effects and such would also need to be) ... still, I find
                  it rather audacious for the authors to say, "Xcraft is ...
                  similar to Warcraft 2".  Similar?  Similar is comparing
                  Warcraft to Starcraft.  Xcraft is a clone, don't deny it.
                  BTW, I'm assuming that since Xcraft is a WC2 clone, it only
                  supports a maximum of 8 players.  That's hardly massively
                  multi-player.
                  \_ also not bad for 3 months work in 169. --jon
                        \_ No; it only has footman and peons.  We had progress
                     \_ They actually wrote all the source code for building
                        bases, casting spells, etc.?  In 3 months??
                        \_ No; it only has footmen and peons.  We had progress
                           reports to write and MBAs to coddle.  --dbushong
                     \_ I'm not saying it's not impressive.  It is.  But it's
                        still asking for lawyers to come knocking.
                        \_ It was a class project.  Who cares.
                        \_ Well, long term it'll use the data files from
                           the original... or would have.  It looks like
                           the freecraft people are doing fine, so I don't
                           feel terribly compelled to put more time into
                           it.  --dbushong
                     \_ Even more impressive after visiting the web site and
                        finding out that Donald Horton was one of their team
                        members.  I was unfortunate enough to have him in one
                        of my project groups; a stuffed animal or a cheap
                        paperweight would've made more of a contribution to
                        the group than he did.
                        \_ Wow.. another victim.  Good old Donald "Whoa, whoa,
                           whoa.. No One Said Anything About Archers!" Horton
                  \_ Actually the #/players limitation in XCraft is largely
                     that's it's basically 100% server intelligence.  If
                     you can get a machine buff enough to pathfind, track,
                     etc N moving units for M players, it'll handle that
                     many players...  in theory.  The plus of this is that
                     cheating is largely impossible.  Of course the whole server
                     really needs a rewrite (I'm free to say this since
                     I didn't really work on the server ;)  --dbushong
        \_ netrek - if you want to have real skills
        \_ mailto:lwall@csua.berkeley.edu
        \_ BSXMUD / ReGenesis
        \_ playing "spot the darkie" in soda hall?
           \_ is that you, bem?
           \_ why must we be so racially insensitive in this day and age?
              \_ Listen to this whiny-assed rice-boy.  Ain't he cute?
                 \_ Woe be to he who is an asiaphile anime-watching rice-
                    chaser participating in the assimilation of h07 42N CHIX!
                 \_ The H07 42N CH1X think so.
                            \_ forty-two'in ?
        \_ EarthSiege3, the alpha tech release, is the best Mech game
           I've ever played.  Actually, its one of the best games ever if
           you think skill and smooth game play are important.

6/13    http://somethingawful.com/nointelligence
        Makes sense to me.  --erikred
        \_ this link is broke, and it's broke from teh SA page.
           \_ Perhaps you haven't read the page?

6/13    Anybody know more about the Matrix Trilogy story line?  Is it based
        on a comic book?  I'd like to find out more about the story of II and
        III.  Thanks.
        \_ caliber comics.  look at the comic book trilogy "Go-man".  also
           some parts from "fringe"
        \_ matrix , like most current sci-fi, is a rip of older stuff with
           eye candy

6/14    XML.... I know keith fully appreciates the power of XML. But its
        power just transends everything. What I have defined ( which is
        totally wrong but just used as an example for the flippin idiots
        I work with ) is the specification of an equipment list
        ITEM
             TAG_NO
             ACCT
             DESCRIPTION
             FLOWSHEET
             Properties
                  Property
                       Value
                       Def_units
                       Act_units
        Given this we can go ahead with all sorts of initiative. Data
        exchange with Vendors through the web, internal software
        development, application integration run the gambit- of course
        these guys are just idiots and think that SAP, EY and consultants
        will do everything for us- and in the interim lets maintain our
        current army of internal application developers to support our
        Crappy legact systems ( which all they do is study to get MCSE/
        or Oracle certified ).  Just sickening- and I of course am so
        damn low on the todem pole for anyone to give a damn of my
        opinions. And of course all our software developers are just
        swamped.. ya right I know a lot of them and really all they do is
        screw around all day- especially the network guys. Maybe if one
        of those network guys setup a wireless lan/ or publicize VPN
        capabilities I would respect them. You wouldn't believe our
        remote access. Everyone think you have to dial in using modems-
        while our notebooks all have this really cool VPN software which
        works seemlessly with broadband connection- But no one ever
        mentions it sickening anyway that my midweek rant

<not positive about this one, but note the telltale "????" and tone>
        \_ uh.... learn to spell/type? Next week, you should post this to
           the 31337 uber-motd called /dev/null .

6/13    Thanks for the stock option advice.  I take it the consensus
        was that it was unusual for the company to be able to repurchase
        all your stock at exercise price when you quit.