If you're talking the realm of five 9s, etc, that's in reference to service availability at some given point in time throughout the course of a year. If you discuss the probability there will be an outage once during a year, the answer is somewhere in the middle, around "more likely than not".

You could use this same probability around a pacemaker. The device is virtually certain (99%) to function at a given point throughout the year, but the probability that the device will not fail over the course of the year is not 99%. If the pacemaker had a 99% chance of not failing once during the course of a year, it would be virtually certain it would not fail during that year.

From a point of reference at the center of the clock, clockwise is always left to right.

Blame his professors.

> I view business as inherently evil and selfish.

I suggest rebuilding your frame of reference.

Offering something of value for a profit is not evil. It may be considered selfish, but it is also selfish to offer something of value for free to gain moral high ground, peer recognition, and resume fodder.

Being selfish isn't evil; survival isn't evil. You live in a community that has rules and values, and if you live in the spirit of those rules and values, being selfish isn't causing harm, and in most cases, helps others. When a business bends those rules, or breaks them with no regard for the community, that can be considered unethical and in some cases "immoral" and possibly evil by some definitions.

If your business model doesn't take advantage of customers, employees, or the surrounding community, you probably have a good business plan.

> I suggest rebuilding your frame of reference.

Thanks, but I'm perfectly happy with my opinions and will not be discarding them at the behest of some HN user.