Having worked as a security guard before I completely understand the guy playing games while on duty. You need those things to pass the time because being a security guard is truly the most boring job in the world. You workd 12 hours shifts and all you do is sit there and occasionally walk around the grounds.
While I was a guard I did everything from watching dvds, to playing videogames to working on some code. He did screw up though since he failed to notice the inspector three times.
Re: Men at work.nightwng2000May 27 2006, 15:05:25 UTC
"This article explains why we need limitations."
Beg pardon? Say what?
What limitations are you speaking of?
Do you mean just no video games or other things that give the mind a little more activity during long stretches of little activity (such as being a security guard? Even a mere 4 hours can be rather mind numbing. Of course, becoming too distracted as this guard was is a little much. And if one finds video games too distracting, there's always music, audio books, even portable DVD players.
Re: Men at work.slashandhackMay 28 2006, 10:19:09 UTC
What I mean is that when you are at work. The gaming time shouldn't be outstretched to a very long time or this will be distracting your work.
If the person in charge give you breaks, I think if he or she lets you play games, then play. After break, then you had to stop play and continue working.
You know, "America's worst nuclear accident" was pretty mild. No injuries. No deaths. Most people got about as much radiation as they would from an x-ray, and it's estimated that the extra radiation might account for an increase in cancer cases of... one. Yes, one person *might* have died as a result of the Three Mile Island accident. This doesn't have anything to do with the main point of the story, of course. Obviously it's a bad idea for people who are supposed to be guarding these places to be so distracted. It just irritates me how the Three Mile Island incident is spoken about like it was Chernobyl or something, keeping people afraid of nuclear power. Chernobyl was a disaster. Chernobyl killed dozens of people immediately and spread fallout over millions. Three Mile Island ruined a reactor, of course, but did little harm to anybody. Except the nuclear power industry, of course...
I know it caused a lot of fear. That's my point. It was a big, fat nail in the coffin of American nuclear energy. I wouldn't call it fortunate how it worked out, though. The containment around the reactor did exactly what it was there to do, no luck there. The radiation that was released was done so deliberately, when they had to relieve some pressure from the primary loop by venting it a bit. It was actually a very unfortunate compounding of several errors. The most major of those errors, the poor design of the system that measured the water levels in the cooling loop, caused a huge delay in the response of the operators, as they had no indication that anything was wrong. Had that system been of the design like the ones in most of the reactors of that time (and certainly like all of them now), the problem could have been diagnosed and fixed well before it became critical
( ... )
I don't disagree that nuclear power, properly managed, could be a huge asset.
I recall the "no more nukes" movement in the late 70's, early 80's which was driven in large part by celebs like Jackson Browne and others. The topic was also fed by the films "Silkwood" and "China Syndrome."
The thing about nuclear power, though, human beings being fallible, is that potential cost of a screw-up is so high.
But, obviously, we are going to need to find a clean and renewable energy source for the future. Not an easy issue.
I mean really nowenmitywithinMay 27 2006, 14:58:35 UTC
even if another chernoble happened, would we blame videogames? hell no. Why? because it's the guard's own idiocy. if he's SO engrossed in the game that he can't even pay attention, and he's a GUARD! he should be fired for that.
you really can't blame this on videogames. Human incompetancy trumps all.
Re: I mean really nowenmitywithinMay 27 2006, 15:23:37 UTC
yes, I know it's NOT an indictment of games, but of course the anti-gamers won't see it like that.
They'll see it as "videogames are preventing even normal people from copmleting their jobs" or something to that effect. and the fact that it's a NUCLEAR plant doesn't help either. I'll bet you any money that some anti-gamer will say "another chernoble or another giant nuclear mess could have happened because of videogames!"
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While I was a guard I did everything from watching dvds, to playing videogames to working on some code. He did screw up though since he failed to notice the inspector three times.
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BUT... he could have been just as absorbed in a book or something on a laptop. If anything, it's the GUARD who is the problem, IMO, and not the game.
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Sure you can play games, but not during at work when you are a security guard or something. Because everything needs just a limitation.
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Beg pardon? Say what?
What limitations are you speaking of?
Do you mean just no video games or other things that give the mind a little more activity during long stretches of little activity (such as being a security guard? Even a mere 4 hours can be rather mind numbing. Of course, becoming too distracted as this guard was is a little much. And if one finds video games too distracting, there's always music, audio books, even portable DVD players.
nightwng2000
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If the person in charge give you breaks, I think if he or she lets you play games, then play. After break, then you had to stop play and continue working.
I hope you understand.
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This doesn't have anything to do with the main point of the story, of course. Obviously it's a bad idea for people who are supposed to be guarding these places to be so distracted. It just irritates me how the Three Mile Island incident is spoken about like it was Chernobyl or something, keeping people afraid of nuclear power. Chernobyl was a disaster. Chernobyl killed dozens of people immediately and spread fallout over millions. Three Mile Island ruined a reactor, of course, but did little harm to anybody. Except the nuclear power industry, of course...
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Ummm... having lived through it, I can tell you that it scared the hell out of everyone in Philadelphia, where I am from.
We were pretty fortunate in how it worked out. Could have gone very badly.
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I recall the "no more nukes" movement in the late 70's, early 80's which was driven in large part by celebs like Jackson Browne and others. The topic was also fed by the films "Silkwood" and "China Syndrome."
The thing about nuclear power, though, human beings being fallible, is that potential cost of a screw-up is so high.
But, obviously, we are going to need to find a clean and renewable energy source for the future. Not an easy issue.
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you really can't blame this on videogames.
Human incompetancy trumps all.
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Sounds like they will issue new regs restricting handhelds, though.
Actually, I'm surprised they allow PC's... They're pretty damned distracting...
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They'll see it as "videogames are preventing even normal people from copmleting their jobs" or something to that effect.
and the fact that it's a NUCLEAR plant doesn't help either.
I'll bet you any money that some anti-gamer will say "another chernoble or another giant nuclear mess could have happened because of videogames!"
that's what pisses me off.
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