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http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-1100-Prepaid-Phone-Tra cfone/dp/B000BF4406
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-1600-Phone-Unlocked/dp /B000IEBSXG

Here are a few examples from this documentary. BTW, I own both Atomic Bomb movies. Awsome stuff! Can't wait for the high-def version.

I would say an expert can at times generate up to 3 times a much output, but 10 times is ludicrous.

Well, I've also noticed that there isn't a good representation of women in garbage collection force either. Oh no, they're also under-represented in the mines!

That's because these jobs also don't appeal to women. "Men work longer hours at more dangerous and disagreeable jobs. They more readily accept night shifts, hardship postings to Alaska and entrepreneurial risks. Men get in-demand degrees in engineering, while women get degrees in French literature. Female librarians earn less than garbagemen, not because of discrimination, but because so many applicants compete for the safe, clean, comfortable, convenient, fulfilling jobs women prefer." This is the simple reality behind the wage gap.

I'm amazed how every five years someone realizes what people knew 40 years ago, only to promptly forget it for the next wave of people to figure out five years from now.

Every five years someone rediscovers, The Mythical Man Month and thinks they've had a great insight. People should be handed a copy of this when they start their tech jobs. Managers should have it inserted forcefully into appropriate orifices. Hardback copies for senior management.

Basically, some people are just better coders, and adding sub-standard assistance just ensures late, sub-standard software. Adding people to late projects makes them later.

...a point hit home by the success of the "For Dummies/Idiots" series. It's one of the selling points of the books

I think the very readable For Dummies series of books hasn't reached the seemingly untapped potential of its target audience. ;-)

Maybe someone with a better knowledge of history or who has studied technical writing can elaborate on this, but I believe it was the O'Reilly series of books that broke ground on changing the manner in which technical books were written from textbook-ish style to something more informal and entertaining.

I'd guess there's more than a few books in the O'Reilly catalogue, for example, on everybody's favourite list, but the increasing focus on appealing to readers often leads to compromising on actual content. More people educating themselves by buying or reading more books (or on-line documentation) is A Good Thing, of course, but my preference has been for the (apparently dated) textbook-ish approach. Compare, for example, something like Internetworking With Tcp/Ip: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture (Internetworking with TCP/IP Vol. 1) published in 1991 with anything published today on the subject of networking. One is as comprehensive and as well written as it is boring to read, while the others are more accessible and topical and shorter. No surprise which sells more copies.

What I've never got my head around is that people increasingly don't want to read anything. I wonder how somehow making their living as a writer feels knowing that most of us are guilty of relying on a Google search for a quick intro or how-to when the READMEs, man pages, source code, etc. is sitting on their hard drive.

Any reading of food as a science must start with Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's 1825 treatise, "The Physiology of Taste: Or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy" brilliantly translated in 1949 by the equally impressive food writer MFK Fisher. Brillat-Savarin meditates on every aspect of food including the benefits of sugar and chocolate (new discoveries at the time), cures for thinness and obesity, the social value of restaurants, why beautiful women should be included in any dinner party*, and how to recognize a gourmand by their facial features. Fisher adds her own glosses with 20th century examples of the "professor"'s proclamations, playful chiding of the man's 19th century mentality, and obvious deep respect for his writing, his knowledge, and his love for gastronomy and desire to see it studied like the other "-onomies" that were becoming so fashionable at the time. Looks like it only took 182 years.

The author: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Anthelme_Brillat -Savarin

The book: http://www.amazon.com/Physiology-Taste-Meditations -Transcendental-Gastronomy/dp/1582431035

The translator: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._F._K._Fisher

* had to get the /. crowd's attention somehow

It doesn't just give recipes. It also explains the testing and experimenting that went into developing the recipes. An interesting and useful book, for sure. I've done a fair bit of cooking and baking with this book and it has never let me down.

While it's likely that grammar Nazis have already read this book, "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" is still worth mentioning...

http://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance -Punctuation/dp/1592402038/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_prod _0_0/103-5376028-7903034

You can buy home propane wok rings like this one. Or do What I do, fire up a chimney starter full of charcoal and then put the wok on top when the coals get super hot.

After a small(ish) initial investment, you can have pub-like ale at home. I get 1/4 barrel kegs of Sam Adams (I prefer a nice hoppy lager, but I'm sure you can find an ale to suit your tastes) for something like $56.00. A 1/4 barrel holds about 50 pints... that's what? $1.12ish a pint. What would you consider to be supermarket prices? Or better yet, brew your own and use a cornelius keg.

Or, even better, Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor

Mod parent up.

Even better, a link to the book at Amazon: McGee On Food and Cooking (Hardcover). (The hardcover version is worth getting).

Rich.

One of the best books to offer the basics of the 'science' of cooking is Harold Mcgee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Ki tchen/dp/0684800012/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1551306-21 10061?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186389795&sr=8-1

• Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor
• Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking
• In the Kitchen with Pierre Gagniere and Louis XIV

• Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor
• Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking
• In the Kitchen with Pierre Gagniere and Louis XIV

• Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor
• Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking
• In the Kitchen with Pierre Gagniere and Louis XIV

Bullshit. The American indians simply lacked the technology to have a significant impact on their environment until they got horses, at which point their population expanded and they routinely exhausted hunting grounds, and became far more mobile as a result.

If you really think so then maybe you'll learn something about America Indian culture before 1492 by reading "1491" . American Indians created entire ecosystems of cities and farms that improved the environment.

The fact is, it's the industrialized world that first became concerned about the environment, because we're rich enough to have the luxury of considering issues beyond subsistence.

Fact is is the American Indians, specifically the Iroquois, have had a saying about taking care of the environment:
"In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation... even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine."

...that is, this game which had an "infinite" universe. The book Infinite Game Universe has some good discussions of this sort of thing, too.

The Rare Earth Hypothesis is that microbial life is common, complex life is uncommon and 'intelligent' life is unique to earth.

C02 is a very minor greenhouse gas,

Wrong:

Despite the low concentration, CO2 is a very important component of the Earth's atmosphere because it absorbs infrared radiation at wavelengths of 4.26 m (asymmetric stretching vibrational mode) and 14.99 m (bending vibrational mode) and enhances the greenhouse effect to a great degree

Source: Wikipedia.

Wikipedia's source:
http://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Atmospheric-Rad iation/dp/0972903305/ref=sr_11_1/103-2633496-84110 35?ie=UTF8&qid=1186318261&sr=11-1

Here's a little science for you - the severity of our weather is determined by the tempature difference between 2 air masses, if the poles melt and the avgerage temperature increases it actually results in MORE calm weather (not necessarily a good thing for everyone as it might mean less rain for many places), the cult of global warming seems to completely skip this simple fact and blame every storm on global warming.

Source?

What do you mean "who would buy it" voluntarily? Probably lots of people. I think it's a great idea. I often find myself driving home on weekends not really sure if I'm over the limit (I probably am) or not. It would be nice to have something like this to help alert me if I'm actually not sober enough to drive.

Buy yourself a portable breathalyzer if you're not able to control your drinking. Not only will it let you know if you're too impaired to drive, it can also be great fun at parties. The person with the highest BAC wins! As a bonus, a portable breathalyzer can be used with any vehicle, and will likely cost much less than what Nissan will charge for this.

Soon they will not need men to reproduce, and will begin eliminating us.

Although there may be millions of idiots that believe the moon landing was a hoax, or perhaps worse, could be a hoax since they don't know any better, there are a few intelligent, well-reasoned self-proclaimed scientists who write books, do talks, etc that push the whole sordid matter. I recommend reading Michael Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things to get an ideal why this phenomena happens and help understand how to control it. Don't underestimate the ability for intelligent people to delude themselves!

Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics,
and you'll get ten different answers, but there's one thing every scientist on the planet
agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand years or a million years,
eventually our Sun will grow cold and go out. When that happens, it won't just take us.
It'll take Marilyn Monroe, and Lao-Tzu, and Einstein, and Morobuto, and Buddy Holly,
and Aristophanes...
all of this... all of this...
was for nothing.

Unless we go to the stars.

Nokia 9300. Rock steady OS/phone. Web/email/sms/crackberry. Plays mp3's, views pictures, all of it. SSH client totally works great. Free too. There's a win32 remote desktop client for it too. It's all there.

If you are a 24-7 sys admin you should have this phone to get you out of the occasional admin jam.

The difference between the phones is pretty obvious:
1: Buttons. The mini-qwerty keyboard is perfect for me.
2: Advertising.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SBGOHO/sr=8-1 /qid=1186178543/ref=olp_product_details/102-950111 7-2106551?ie=UTF8&qid=1186178543&sr=8-1&seller=

Lets make a similar math book for all the boys who aren't interested in math. It should feature GI Joe's using math to kill each other, aliens, and anything gross or violent. For the older boys lets throw in some soft core porn to get their eyes on the page (males are after all more visual, right?).

Hey, when I was in the book store the other day I came across Kaplan-brand Warcraft graphic novels with SAT vocab words and definitions inside.

OK, sorry, shoulda said "anthology" I guess. But the sad part is that Harlan Ellison, collaborating with Asimov, wrote a simply superb screenplay for it on a Warner Brothers contract...it would have gone down as the best SF film ever made, period. Warner tried to pressure Ellison into making all the robots like R2D2. Ellison made the sort of suggestion you'd expect, the contract expired, and he published it in print:

http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Illustrated-Screenplay -Harlan-Ellison/dp/0743486595

rj

Armed Robots? quick where's Tom Selleck when we need him http://www.amazon.com/Runaway-Tom-Selleck/dp/B0000 4TX5G

Dude, give the fanboy crap a rest:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/

The PS3 is outselling the 360 2-1 worldwide right now. The PS3 just sold 40k units last week alone in Japan.

Warhawk
Lair
Uncharted
Little Big Planet
GT Prologue
SOCOM
Ratchet and Clank
Heavenly Sword

You can stop posting in this thread. You're done.

You are correct in that in order to get 62my ago, you have to fudge quite a bit. Also, there is increasing evidence that the Permian Extinction (250my ago) was caused by simultaneous (almost) volcanic events from "megavolcanos". Try reading Peter Wards "Rivers in Time" for a paleontologist's investigation into the mass extinctions. http://www.amazon.com/Rivers-Time-Peter-D-Ward/dp/ 0231118635 Sounds like someone needed to "publish or perish" for this article.

Samsung YP-MT6
I got it through Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-YP-MT6X-Digital-Audi o-Player/dp/B0007M610O/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6259151-50 72101?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1186018368&sr=8-1

I got a 512mb, but I think there is a 1GB version. I've never been happier with a player. I use it at the gym and walk/jog all the time. The sound is solid. It was only available as refurbished from a third-party retailer through Amazon, but it looks and works like new. It's probably a discontinued item.

It has FM tuner, equalizer, easy navigation. Best of luck!

Ok assuming you bought the actual version with the hard drive (most people do), here it is on Amazon.Com in the header for ya: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-Console-20GB-Hard-Drive /dp/B000B43OY4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-3708007-6314047 ?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1186008321&sr=8-1 Note where it says "Includes 20 GB Hard Drive". That is THE STANDARD size hard drive in the Premium SKU (the $399 model with the hard drive). In the new black "Elite" SKU they include 120GB Hard drives.

You really have to put yourself in Zonk's shoes.

# You just spent the last year or two trashing Sony and the PS3 every single day
# You just spent the last year or two coming up with a bitter spin at the end of every positive Sony news story
# You just spent the last year or two smugly smiling to yourself that you were really fucking Sony over

And now all that effort has been for nothing:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/

Spewing bitter vile seems to be a pretty expected reaction.

You didn't see the link to the book on Amazon that was included with the summary?

The 360 is dead in both Japan and Europe. And the 360 is getting outsold by both the PS2 and the PS3 monthly in the US.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/

360 exclusives? Yeah, wow, millions of gamers are going to suddenly start giving a shit about a mediocre fps like Halo 3 that looks and plays like a last gen game.

I wouldn't want to use my pc a day without the Logitech trackman marble FX

It's a real shame Logitech doesn't make it anymore. Its design was a revolution but it really takes little to get used to.
Amazon seems to have some used ones at a ridiculous price:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-TrackMan-Marble-FX- Trackball/dp/B00000JBUI

I use hand trackballs instead of thumb trackballs and find them much easier to use. I have a Trackball Explorer at work and a Cordless TrackMan Optical at home. I used to have the Microsoft one at both home and work but went wireless at home. The Logitech one is superior; while the Microsoft one is actually really nice, it requires a lot of maintenance (it gets insanely dirty and starts to skip and drag). The main issue for me is that the thumb trackballs have always required extremely precise movement and perfectly still hands, lots of dexterity, while largely ignoring the rest of the hand. The hand trackballs make much better, IMHO, use of the space.

I have both a Logitech MX510 optical mouse ( http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Performance-Optical -Gaming-Mouse/dp/B0001YGIB0 ) as well as a Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman ( http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Cordless-Optical-Tr ackman-USB/dp/B00006B9CR/ref=sr_1_5/105-0528404-45 62867?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185994358&sr=1-5 ) hooked up to my home PC. I use the mouse 10x more than the Trackball. It is really just a matter of personal preference. The Trackball makes my wrist more sore than the mouse. This is an atypical experience, though.

I have both a Logitech MX510 optical mouse ( http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Performance-Optical -Gaming-Mouse/dp/B0001YGIB0 ) as well as a Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman ( http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Cordless-Optical-Tr ackman-USB/dp/B00006B9CR/ref=sr_1_5/105-0528404-45 62867?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185994358&sr=1-5 ) hooked up to my home PC. I use the mouse 10x more than the Trackball. It is really just a matter of personal preference. The Trackball makes my wrist more sore than the mouse. This is an atypical experience, though.

Sony has demonstrated time and time again that they just don't feel like actually trying to compete with Microsoft.

And yet PS3 is the top selling console at Amazon. Just wait until they actually start trying ;-)

I am quite a fan of the Logitech Racing Wheel (http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00006HYLN/ref=s9_asin_i mage_1-1966_g1/105-7930545-3200424?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKI KX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1SEZHC3YVRP9Y6VAZ8 W4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240701&pf_rd_i=507846/). I use the wheel to move left and right and the accelerator to go up and down the screen. I can even use the brake and gear shifter when I need more buttons. It's pretty awesome. Sometimes, when I'm really bored, I just sit at my PC and do laps around the edge of my screen...

I use them at work and home. The Trackball Explorer is fantastic. And yes, playing games with it rocks like Gibraltar!

I use it on my Powerbooks, and the FreeBSD server I run on the basement... I realize this is sacrelig, but the things kick ass.

It has a large ball, multiple buttons, and can be used for long periods of time comfortably. I have used mine for years and love it. I found one on amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-TrackMan-Marble-FX- Trackball/dp/B00000JBUI, although I can't imagine the prices they are asking for it - mine cost far less than $100 when I bought it. My wife and kids don't have a problem with it either - highly recommend.

Okay - it's no longer in production, however you can still find it in places..

Although I'm laughing because people are selling used ones for over $300.00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00000JBUI/ ref=dp_olp_2/104-8259869-4975153

A quick Amazon search shows quite a few models (15 or so at a quick glance), including what I am guessing is your Kensington. So I don't think they are too terribly difficult to find.
 
I have a few coworkers who use them - maybe 3 people out of around 80. Which isn't too bad I don't think. I know that for myself, I've just never used a trackball much outside of missile command. (And on a visit to a radar installation on a mountain once as a kid) That was a nice big trackball, but not real practical for using at a desk. Man, it would make my work day a lot more fun though -- this may be my next construction project. I can just start spinning it like crazy when I get frustrated, and the sound is sure to be pleasant to those in cubes around me. Making sure their day isn't too boring and quiet is a big part of what gets me through my day. I assume I'll need to track down some kind of used parts place to get one that size. They were 4.5 inches - and I don't think there is anything on the consumer pointer market now that is that size.

A quick Amazon search shows quite a few models (15 or so at a quick glance), including what I am guessing is your Kensington. So I don't think they are too terribly difficult to find.
 
I have a few coworkers who use them - maybe 3 people out of around 80. Which isn't too bad I don't think. I know that for myself, I've just never used a trackball much outside of missile command. (And on a visit to a radar installation on a mountain once as a kid) That was a nice big trackball, but not real practical for using at a desk. Man, it would make my work day a lot more fun though -- this may be my next construction project. I can just start spinning it like crazy when I get frustrated, and the sound is sure to be pleasant to those in cubes around me. Making sure their day isn't too boring and quiet is a big part of what gets me through my day. I assume I'll need to track down some kind of used parts place to get one that size. They were 4.5 inches - and I don't think there is anything on the consumer pointer market now that is that size.