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Stories and comments across the archive that link to tripod.com.

Comments · 1,859

  1. Re:Rarity and coincidence by aebrain · · Score: 1 · on Milky Way Inhospitable?
    We (the intelligent life) are here and not on another planet because this planet is uniquely suited to us.

    An elegant statement of the Weak Anthropic principle.

    FWIW my current worldview is

    • Life "as we know it" is a lot more common in our region than we think. Due to exobiology as per the Hoyle Wickramasinghe hypothesis. Even if the hypothesis is wrong and life requires a clay matrix to develop DNA, and even though the latest news on Martian Meteors looks like they didn't contain fossil bugs, the mechanism for propagating life pretty much anywhere near where it develops is sound. Bacteria are hardy beasts, and can survive in space quite well. With the latest news on the water on Mars, the odds of life there approach certainty.
    • That's the good news. The Bad news is that the step from procaryotes to eucaryotes, that is, going from single-cell to multi-celled organisms is a big one, and probably only a fraction of one percent of life origins ever make it.
    • But it's worse than that. Technology requires colonies of multicellular organisms. These can be as complex as as the Portugese Man-O-War which although it looks like a jellyfish is actually a colony of 4 different polyps, more like a multi-species anthill or coral reef than anything else. Or they can be as simple as the US Congress, an organism whose intellect is less than any of its constituent members. In any case, some multicellular genusses may remain in pre-school, and never develop anything as complex as an ant farm. The development of such complexity may require a stable double-planet system, rare as hen's teeth. Earth and its moon would be considered a double planet system if we didn't live on one of em.
    • It's worse still. The Dinosaurs were terrifically successful for megayears, but had they landed on the Moon, we'd almost certainly know it. So it's possible to have complex organisms, complex societies (herds), but still no technology for Sagans. Closer to home, Dolphins are unlikely to ever develop a technology. You may need to periodocally hit the planetary reset button with a meteor or super-volcano. But not too hard - or you've got to rebuild from procaryotes again. And not too soft, you only have a limited amount of time before the star you're around goes Ploof.
    • Finally, there's the "Goldilocks Zone" that's the subject of the original article. Star too close to galactic centre = bad. Star too far out = bad. And then within that torus, star in spiral arm centre = bad. Don't be too near a supernova. So the quicker you can develop a multi-stellar population, the better. Which reduces the odds even further.
    The scary thing is that we may be the Elder Race . An awesome responsibility for us. So let's be careful out there. Preserve Genetic Diversity, and get into Space ASAP. Then we can start making friends. And I do mean making - as in constructing - so we have someone interesting to talk to.

    Though we could start right now with Chimpanzees and Gorillas. They'd be considered primitive but undoubtedly intelligent species if they came from another planet. History will judge us harshly if we don't start granting sub-human rights to sub-humans.

    Which means that we'd better get our ethics up to scratch.

  2. A relevant piece of art... by ActiveSX · · Score: 1 · on Steve Jobs Gives The Bird on Xserve Video

    In response to the comments made at the Xserve introduction, a friend made this relevant work of art.

  3. Re:Spiderman suffered? by gorilla · · Score: 2 · on Director Attacks MPAA Piracy Claims

    But there have been many 'sure thing' hits which have flunked in the past. here are 10 movies which lost over $30 million each, and all of them are before the Internet could have made any difference. Even if a movie flops, that doesn't mean that it wouldn't have flopped without any internet unauthorized copying.

  4. Re:SimSim by drachenstern · · Score: 1 · on E3: SimCity 4 Preview Goodness

    so you're not just talking about RealLife v.1? I am just looking for the RealLife expansion pack that let's you save and quit, as well as the extra features GirlFriend 2.0 and Army of One (We're serious, wipe out whole galactic clusters with one tactical pulsar).

  5. Re:ISPs have the power by shepd · · Score: 1 · on RIAA Sues Audiogalaxy

    >Good thing wireless can't be monopolized...

    You don't live in Canada, do you? The CRTC would like a little chat with you... :-)

  6. Foundations, polystrata, three stars, a question by leonbrooks · · Score: 2 · on MS Cites National Security to Justify Closed Source
    I've often wondered why so many evolutionists are reluctant to question their foundations. Thanks for clearing that up for me!

    Maybe I can clear it up a little further.

    Or not....

    "Questioning my foundations" is what led me to reject creationism, and favor evolution, in the first place.

    And so what happened? You seem to have either stopped questioning too early, or to have based your conclusion on the strength or weakness of some individual's position, rather than on the strength or weakness of the available evidence itself.

    I started my thinking life as an evolutionist. I upset Mum badly one day (but she didn't show it then or ever) by mentioning some one-line wisdom I'd heard to her in a 'phone conversation: `a man needs religion like a fish needs a bicycle.' She started praying for me that day (and asked her church to as well), said nothing to me, and within two months I was studying the Bible, history and science with a variety of people and within six months was a committed Christian - although in such a completely different branch of Christianity to hers that I think Mum died not completely convinced that her prayers had been answered.

    One advantage that I've had is in directly witnessing several supernatural events, through my association at the time with a `white' witch (the basic difference is in purpose, not in methods). One of those takes a while to describe, involved two other sober people, and was deeply shocking. Another was watching some books leap out of a book-case unaided (I checked the book-case and books (and wall) all over, inside and out, carefully, and made sure that there was no mechanical trickery here) and several meters across the room. Even without that advantage, you can turn to one of the very many events which were clearly supernatural, witnessed by many people, and well documented (Lloyds subsequently came back at $500 PA and extended coverage to Guyana).

    I suspect that such events are not more prevalent today for several reasons, foremost among which are (1) any diety interested in wholehearted allegience would probably want it to depend on that nature of that diety, rather than on a `sugar-daddy' stream of miracles, and (2) there is apparently more than one source (direct or indirect) of supernatural effects, which opens the field more widely to fraud.

    I'd presumed upon the millions-of-years thing myself, and polystratic fossils are one of the more graphic and convincing observations which overturned that presumption for me. Of course, sans millions of years, materialism doesn't even give the appearence of being in the running.

    For example: the Yellowstone trees (so often cited as evidence of life over millions of years) combined with dendrochronology (also so often cited as proof of excessive amounts of time) are actually a fairly clear witness to the absence of those years, for the Yellowstone fossils are not only polystratic and bedded on different strata but also grew contemporaneously and show strong symptoms of having been emplaced by a mechanism essentially identical to that observed in Spirit Lake after the eruption.

    There are many, many other good polystratic examples to
    hand, including inclined trees, and also many half-hearted attempts to explain them away. One of the common `counterexamples' is a set of lycopods with root systems; an examination of the available samples indicates that these trees grew floating, or at least on an extremely spongey substrate, so it is reasonable to expect them to be disturbed and embedded complete with roots. Even ignoring this, it is still most unreasonable to expect even relatively short (1.2m, in the worst case) stumps to be fossilised upright and intact in an evolutionary scenario.

    It is the height of arrogance to assume that someone is closed minded just because they have reached a conclusion different from yours.

    Yah, and the height of stupidity as well. Given the number of viewpoints in the world, simple arithmetic tells you that most or all of your (and my) opinions are globally wrong in some way. (-:

    ...and don't get me started on `contextually wrong'! (-:

    After all, if we hold a view, it's usually because we think it is correct. Each side would do well to remember that this is true of the other side as well. I can't count the number of times I've been guilty of this error myself.

    If I was a Wemmick, I'd give you at least three stars for that statement. (-:

    Food-for-thought time.

    Five-year-old Mary was obliged to undergo an operation, and lost so much blood that it was necessary to resort to blood transfusion. The blood of thirteen-year-old brother Jimmy was found by test to match exactly the little patient's. "Will you give your sister some of your blood, Jim?" asked the doctor. Jimmy set his teeth. "Yes, sir, if she needs it." He was prepared for the transfusion. In the midst of the drawing of the blood, the doctor observed Jimmy growing paler and paler. "Are you ill, Jim?" he asked. "No, sir, but I'm wondering just when I'll die." "Die?" gasped the doctor. "Do you think people give their lives when they give a little blood?" "Yes, sir," replied Jimmy. "And you are giving your life for Mary's?" "Yes, sir," replied Jimmy.

    Mary and Jimmy are pseudonyms, but the story is true. If you had been Jimmy, would you have done the same?
  7. Re:An interesting perspective coming from Business by idiotnot · · Score: 1 · on BusinessWeek on Open Source and Copy Protection

    Hollywood will this, Hollywood wants that. Sounds very much like a dark force and I think that's the effect it will have on readers, especially those who wonder what in hell Hollywood is doing in the middle of what ought to be governmental functions.

    Time to dig up 'ol Tailgunner Joe to deal with these Hollywood types.

    But seriously, we're all in a tizzy right now about the bill's implecations. Yes, they're bad. Still, I don't think so long as the Democrats control the Senate (at least through January unless a Democrat Senator in a state with a GOP Governor assumes room temperature in the meantime), that this'll ever get to the floor.

    Still, my two senators, a few of my local reps (I live in Va....drop Boucher's name in the letter "Dear Rep. So-and-so...talk to Rep. Boucher about this bill...it's worse than kiddy pr0n.") have gotten calls and e-mails, and will get letters soon as I get a printer (damn $50 printers don't last too long).

  8. Re:T-Shirts by strudeau · · Score: 1 · on 2600 Appeal Rejected
    Kent State wasn't the only instance where police or National Guard troops fired on and/or killed unarmed protestors. Check out the history of the US labor movement some time. For example, the Ludlow Massacre, where 20 innocent, unarmed women and children were slaughtered by a force that included the Colorado militia during a coal strike.


    That said, you're right -- the DC police, with the help of Federal Marshalls, would be more than capable of "handling" any sizable protest -- and if the powers that be are too threatened by the protest, they are likely simply to arrest large groups of people on specious charges (e.g. "parading without a permit") rather than beat them senseless -- it's better PR.

  9. Like Ozymandias Watching TV... by jgro · · Score: 1 · on Tapping the Alpha Geek Noosphere with EtherPeg


    ..as the "transdimensional tear" takes place in Watchmen . If memory serves, he samples dozens of TV stations to update his investment portfolio in real-time.

    Interesting thing would be see how the patterns change as more and more people became aware of the sampling.

  10. "When will they learn..." by surfcow · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Microsoft Urged Linux Retaliation
    "When will they learn that these memos always come back to haunt them ..."

    They won't, because memos don't always get out. You only hear about the ones that do.

    The really incriminating stuff never gets typed up in the first place. Verbal only. (The CIA manual on assassination offers similar advice. Never put anything seriously incriminating in writing. Verbal only.)

    Even if something seriously incriminating did make it to writing, it might never see the light of day. (Ask Reagan's archivists.) And if it did see the light of day, it might not be admissable in court. And even if it is admissable, it might be countered with any of 20 tactics, (like a loud "so what").

    =brian

  11. More links by hochwald · · Score: -1, Redundant · on New Lighting Technology To Wipe Out Wi-Fi Access?

    Using microwave energy on sulfur gas to provide large scale lighting
    Sulfurlamp.com has a picture of the bulb containing the Sulfur
    Two sulfur lamp, hollow light guide retrofit lighting systems demonstrated at Portland, Oregon with pictures of the light and the lighting system installed at the premises
    Google search on microwave sulfur lamp
    Google search on microwave sulfur lamp fusion Lighting

    Some Experiments

    Fluorescent tube in a Microwave
    Microwaving high-pressure sodium vapor lamps

  12. More links by hochwald · · Score: -1, Redundant · on New Lighting Technology To Wipe Out Wi-Fi Access?

    Using microwave energy on sulfur gas to provide large scale lighting
    Sulfurlamp.com has a picture of the bulb containing the Sulfur
    Two sulfur lamp, hollow light guide retrofit lighting systems demonstrated at Portland, Oregon with pictures of the light and the lighting system installed at the premises
    Google search on microwave sulfur lamp
    Google search on microwave sulfur lamp fusion Lighting

    Some Experiments

    Fluorescent tube in a Microwave
    Microwaving high-pressure sodium vapor lamps

  13. Are you gay? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic · on PC/104 Linux Minicluster - miniHowTo

    And into fishing? If so, consider Wading with Wendell!

  14. Jacob's Ladder - Definitely! by jacobb · · Score: 2 · on The Most Beautiful Experiments in Physics
    This is so so so beautiful to see. Caution: it's pretty deadly if mistreated, though (you're playing with 15 - 30 kV ). On a relatively dry day, the "spark" that's produced is like a sheet of blue-ish electricity, traveling up the wires and bulging/shooting off the end with a really cool, audible buzz.
    If you place a piece of paper in between the wires (UNPLUG FIRST!), it will ignite dramatically too. Here is a text file with instructions and ascii art. Here's a cooler html file with a decent picture. Here's a site devoted to one guy's JL, and it has some cool gifs and a movie or two (both c. 700kB)- these are kind of disappointing though - the arc is whiter and kind of pathetically small.

    What happens is that the air is broken down TO PLASMA between the wires so that it conducts electricity, just like lightning 8-D. The spark then convects upwards due to the very hot air. After it's shot off, air is broken down at the bottom again, and another spark is started.

    The best photos are probably HERE, but they're yellow sparks (i think that's to do with the gas) which isn't in my opinion as cool as brilliant blue ones :). TechTV also has a page on it and a cool-ish video if you can view asx files. Their JL is pretty weak though, because it stops before the spark "falls off" the end - meaning the wires are too far apart for the voltage to be that small to be able to turn the air in between into plasma.

  15. Jacob's Ladder - Definitely! by jacobb · · Score: 2 · on The Most Beautiful Experiments in Physics
    This is so so so beautiful to see. Caution: it's pretty deadly if mistreated, though (you're playing with 15 - 30 kV ). On a relatively dry day, the "spark" that's produced is like a sheet of blue-ish electricity, traveling up the wires and bulging/shooting off the end with a really cool, audible buzz.
    If you place a piece of paper in between the wires (UNPLUG FIRST!), it will ignite dramatically too. Here is a text file with instructions and ascii art. Here's a cooler html file with a decent picture. Here's a site devoted to one guy's JL, and it has some cool gifs and a movie or two (both c. 700kB)- these are kind of disappointing though - the arc is whiter and kind of pathetically small.

    What happens is that the air is broken down TO PLASMA between the wires so that it conducts electricity, just like lightning 8-D. The spark then convects upwards due to the very hot air. After it's shot off, air is broken down at the bottom again, and another spark is started.

    The best photos are probably HERE, but they're yellow sparks (i think that's to do with the gas) which isn't in my opinion as cool as brilliant blue ones :). TechTV also has a page on it and a cool-ish video if you can view asx files. Their JL is pretty weak though, because it stops before the spark "falls off" the end - meaning the wires are too far apart for the voltage to be that small to be able to turn the air in between into plasma.

  16. More Fortress Maximus Photos by kyoko21 · · Score: 1 · on Transformers On the Move Again
    Check out the pics here.

    Fortress Maximus Photos.

  17. Re:For those in Florida... by ronfar · · Score: 1 · on Reason Magazine on DRM
    Is it the same reply as I got? (See Below)

    My reply from Senator Bill Nelson of Florida

    Or has he changed it since then? (Oh, and does he still include the Post Script about Anthrax?)

  18. Re:Already wary of this... by peddrenth · · Score: 1 · on Employees Are The Biggest Security Threat

    Damn that's good.

    The Guild

  19. puckmd is da man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic · on Dreamcast Reading An IDE Hard Drive

    I just wanted to share....I found a great site. I have this file I dl'ed off gnutella. It was a wrapster file and zipped with a password. Pissed me off. But I found this site with all the passwords to wrapster zip files. Check it out:

    puckmd.tripod.com

    thanks puckmd, you da man

  20. Re:It's a hoax--sorry, it's not by ajp · · Score: 1 · on Apple Deals with Devil, Communists

    Just because it's "over-the-top" doesn't mean it's not sincere. If this is a hoax they did a lot of work making (or finding) other over-the-top sites to link to. Check out their Objective: Landover Baptist Shutdown page. The links at the bottom are all the same style, but not all the same hosting service. This is one expensive and time-consuming hoax.
    Citizens United for a Decent Internet
    More shutdown Landover Baptist stuff
    Rebuilding Noah's Ark. Maybe if they did it with Legos it'd be a good /. story...
    I'm sorry to say, SS, but this is as real as Christianity in America gets. Maybe you Brits are a little more subdued, having gotten all of your religious craziness flushed out with Old King Hank. This is 'Merka, though, boy, and we march to the tune of our own banjoes.

    For those who want to see the Evolution series in Seattle, it airs beginning May 14 on KCTS. I'm just finishing Dennett's book and look forward to the TV special. God has really blessed me: if not for the good folks at Mt Fellowship Baptist, I would have missed two hours of anti-Christian brainwashing Communist propoganda.

  21. sucks for you guys, by paradesign · · Score: 2, Interesting · on History of Video Games Exhibit
    i have 72 different systems to choose from. 8bit, 4bit, 16bit, 24bit, 32bit, 64bit, 128bit, you name it i bet i can be playing it within a day.(alot are in storage) if you want to see them go here. vidgame0 good bye bandwidth.

  22. Some more links for folks ... by felicity · · Score: 3, Informative · on Hybrid Powertrains and Hydrogen Fuel Cells
    I own a Toyota Prius, and love every minute of driving it. I have been promoting hybrids at work and came up with this list of URLs about the various mass-produced "green"/alternate fuel vehicles available today. There are also some other links associated with these cars (fuel efficiency guides, etc.) I know it's not a complete list, but it's a decent representation of what's out there. Here you go ... :)

    There's a good amount of information available about clean vehicles at:

  23. Re:Laptops only? Surely not. by Ed+Avis · · Score: 2 · on Intel Shows Off 'Banias' Chip for Mobile Devices

    Yes, a desktop does have to worry about power consumption and *definitely* space limitations. We're always being told how computers are getting smaller and smaller, yet the desktop PC hasn't shrunk at all recently, if anything it is bigger than ten years ago (minitower cases, larger CRTs).

    You don't really need AGP, it's not essential for a video card (unless you play certain games). Not having PCI support is more contentious, but if the stuff you need is on the motherboard you could build a desktop PC without PCI slots. I mean what does the average desktop have beyond video, sound and Ethernet?

    I'm thinking of something like the IBM PS/2 E, which was essentially a laptop in a desktop case. It had four PCMCIA slots, an LCD screen and trackpoint keyboard. Video and IDE interfaces were on the motherboard. The machine is very small and, when the HD spins down, completely silent. With its 50MHz 486SLC2 processor it wasn't a speed demon even at the time (1992), but quietness, reliability and a small footprint are sometimes more important than raw speed.

  24. What the hell does a cow know about CDs? by toothless+joe · · Score: 1 · on Singing Cow To Attack CBDTPA

    Do you really think people are going to listen to a cow? I mean, they can't even spell.

  25. Re:getting past the physical limitations by Seth+Finkelstein · · Score: 4, Informative · on High Table at Cambridge with Stephen Hawking
    Read Profiles Of Courage - Stephen William Hawkings for inspiration.
    I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family, and being successful in my work. This is thanks to the help I have received from Jane, my children, and a large number of other people and organisations. I have been lucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope.

    Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org)

  26. Top 3 Screenplays George Lucas Wants Forgotten by Carnage4Life · · Score: 3, Funny · on Star Wars as Pulp Sci-Fi
    1. Star Wars Holiday Special

    2. The Ewok Adventure

    3. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
    Of course, an honorory Golden Turkey Award has to go out to the slop that was Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
  27. Re:Tonight, I celebrate my love for you!! by Mao+Zedong · · Score: -1 · on The Periodic Table of Comic Book Elements

    Son, You cannot even begin to imagine how much joy that brought me.

    However, the photo posted was quite old, I have updated my website with a much newer taking here for your records!

    Remember, if you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself. If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience

  28. Yeah! by Greyfox · · Score: 2 · on Tattered Cover v. Thornton Reversed
    And while we're at it, we should round up all the goddamn muslims and put them in concentration camps!

    Whoops! I call Goodwin's Law!

  29. Der Kommissar by gravastar · · Score: 1 · on ASCI White Detonates The First E-Bomb



    I thought Falco dropped the first eBomb back in '85.

  30. Re:Consoles becoming more like computers by paradesign · · Score: 1 · on New PlayStation 2 Chip

    thank God someone else sees the light. I have access to over 70 systems, and do you know which ones i play the most? Pre 3D. The Genesis is my favorite, but SNES and Neo Geo are serious competition. Go here to see.

  31. Freaky- Shades of The Hephaestus Plague by schmaltz · · Score: 2 · on Gigantic Bugs in Southern California

    This totally brings to mind a spooky horror novel from my childhood, called The Hephaestus Plague.

    Any of 'em start a fire yet?

  32. Nelson's Reply to My Letter by ronfar · · Score: 2 · on Seeking Arguments Against the CBDTPA?
    I don't know if you had a chance to read this before, but I figured I'd repost it:

    My reply from Senator Bill Nelson of Florida

    It might help you. (If you download it, it will be more legible, but oversized. I had trouble with the scanner.)

  33. Re:Happiness by drachenstern · · Score: 1 · on What Should Microsoft's Open Source Strategy Be?

    or at least have them release the code that allows them to have this. someone please tell me that i am not the first person to discover this?
    this screenshot at http://drachenstern.tripod.com/images/isnt_this_im possible_question.png (it looks like tripod is going to be very difficult about this) which has not been edited in anyway, except to actually put it in png format, shows a 1.82 GB cdrom.
    if the open source movement could squeeze this much information onto one cdrom, think of all the many more things we could probably due that microsoft isn't allowing us.

    can someone else duplicate this? MSVS 6.0 pro, the service pack 3 cdrom.
    and yes, this is absolutely serious
    and no, i dont like ms that much, but what does your local small college / vo tech use for their CIS program? i believe that the bulk of UNIX devel programs are more UNI, correct? (i guess this is what happens when the prof asks you to bring in your home boxen to burn cds for him while the rest of the class labors through an assignment. I guess it helps that i have shown him my ability to do the advanced level courses, and have to have this class for my sheepskin, which he knows.)
    browny points, why thank you. no. you're too kind. really.

  34. Re:This seems relevant somehow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Suing Sony for Everquest Related Suicide?
    PLEASE READ THIS!

    I was one of Irving's (he _hated_ being called Bink - that was his parent's name for him) co-D&D players. I can promise you that playing D&D had nothing to do with his unfortunate suicide. Frankly, from listening to him talk about his home life and how he looked forward to playing to get away from his family, I'd say it actually helped keep him alive longer. Telling is the fact that he committed suicide on either the last- or next-to-last day of the school year - he would've had to spend the summer under his parent's thumb.

    Suicide is a horrible thing - even more horrible is branding poor high school minors as murders instead of realizing that less-than-optimal parenting was to blame.

  35. This seems relevant somehow by connorbd · · Score: 2 · on Suing Sony for Everquest Related Suicide?
    http://members.tripod.com/~limsk/pulling.htm

    Read this, any of you who buy the RPG/MUD/Everquest-leads-to-suicide line. This is as clear-cut a case of scapegoating as I've ever seen. I've now done my duty as a Good Little Karma Whore (tm), I hope :-)

    /Brian

  36. Re:Playability is why we own consoles by Cutriss · · Score: 3, Funny · on Games People Shouldn't Play

    However, the reason I got a PS/2 was mainly down to the social aspects.

    Really? I got a PS/2 and let me tell you...my social life went in the shitter after that...Stupid jocks... :P

  37. first post by Polytechy · · Score: -1, Troll · on Mass Motherboard Review

    CowboyNeal loves me. He loves you too. See?

  38. Will they go after Cracker Jack next? by VValdo · · Score: 2 · on Intel Puts The Squeeze On ... A Yoga Foundation?

    After they hit up this ska band, of course.

    W

  39. for the lazy ones by mbennis · · Score: 0 · on Talk ... Without Speaking

    tourette syndrome

  40. A little background on QC by guest · · Score: 5, Informative · on Practical Quantum Cryptography
    Quantum Cryptography can be a bit hard to get your head around, if you're interested at all in the topic you can take a look at this page for the some of the basic ideas and history behind QC.

  41. Tying In The Higgs Boson by cybrpnk · · Score: 3, Informative · on NASA Still Trying to Verify Anti-Gravity Claims

    I have yet to see ANYBODY in this field tie the Pokletnov claims to the mainstream theory of gravity believed by most particle physicists, which is that it is caused by a particle called the Higgs Boson. What's interesting is that these mainstream physicists share many traits with Pokletnov to the untrained eye - they haven't really found the Higgs particle yet, they just think it's there because it ought to be, and without understanding of some really DEEP math the Higgs at first blush seems to be just as much handwaving as anti-gravity. Some of the best public-consumption stuff on the Higgs is to be found here, something about the (so far unsuccessful) search here, and an audio discussion with the inventor of the whole concept, Dr. Higgs himself, here. If you want to get into the serious math of the Higgs (good luck) one place to start is the bottom of the web page here.

  42. Reply and Original Letter Up On Website by ronfar · · Score: 1 · on More Details on the CBDTPA
    I just put up my original letter and my reply form Senator Nelson on my Website:

    My Letter

    Senator Nelson's Reply

    I should note the scanner I used to copy the reply isn't the greatest and I didn't have much time to copy it. I hope it is legible.

  43. Reply and Original Letter Up On Website by ronfar · · Score: 1 · on More Details on the CBDTPA
    I just put up my original letter and my reply form Senator Nelson on my Website:

    My Letter

    Senator Nelson's Reply

    I should note the scanner I used to copy the reply isn't the greatest and I didn't have much time to copy it. I hope it is legible.

  44. Re:Advantages by red_dragon · · Score: 3, Funny · on More Details on the CBDTPA
    "see bee-dee tee pee-...uh, A."

    I kid you not, when I saw that, the first and only thing I thought of was Twiki.

  45. Re:Simple and older Conquest game by xTK-421x · · Score: 1 · on Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

    What a great series that was.. I remember playing the Ancient Art of War and the Ancient Art of War at Sea.. A guy actually has a website dedicated to this series here. Has the game for download on various platforms, a FAQ, screenshots, and hints.

  46. Scientologists hate musicians too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Scientology Uses DMCA to Delist Critic's Website

    Scientology has been very aggressive lately in trying to run critics off the 'Net. In fact a musician I met online has been threatened by Scientology lawyers for putting up some songs critical of them on MP3.com. He goes by the name of "El Queso" and has had a site on MP3.com for nearly a year. A cease and desist was sent to MP3.com and they immediately folded, pulling the site and sending all of his personal info to the Scientologists! Now he is just waiting for the inevitable "Fair game" tactics to start. He expects them to pull some shit, because he acutally insulted Scientology's mighty leader, David Miscavige. You can read all about it here and listen to the music here

  47. PDF press release, text version by m_chan · · Score: 2 · on Alternative Energy: Power Via Coastal Wave Motion.

    I read an interesting perspective on wave power from Dr. Peter M. Duesing regarding the exploitation of wave and tidal power here that basically says that its prospects of being a major contributor to large scale production are slight. On a small scale there are several cases that support localised usage.

    Regarding Ocean POwer Delivery, there is a pdf regarding their funding package available here.

    If their site goes down or if you don't want to click, here is the text clipped from the pdf:

    Press release

    Wave energy company Ocean Power Delivery secures £6m funding package

    Edinburgh-based wave energy company Ocean Power Delivery Ltd (OPD) today announced that is has secured £6m (EUR 9.8m) funding from an international consortium of venture capital companies led by Norsk Hydro Technology Ventures (NTV), the venture capital arm of Norway's largest industrial company and including 3i, Europe's leading venture capital company and Zurich-based Sustainable Asset Management (SAM). Each organisation provided an equal level of funding to produce the largest investment of its kind in a wave power company.

    The investment success builds on OPD's steady rise to prominence in the field and clears the way for the company to become the leading force in the sector.

    "This investment is the culmination of OPD's intensive four-year programme to develop the Pelamis concept, the funds secured today will allow us to demonstrate and commercialise the system," says Richard Yemm, Managing Director of OPD. "Wave energy represents a major commercial opportunity and we have positioned ourselves well to take advantage of this."

    The Pelamis is a long, thin, semi-submerged articulated structure composed of four cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints, the complete system is oriented head-on to incoming waves. The wave-induced motion of the joints is resisted by hydraulic rams, these pump fluid through hydraulic motors to drive electrical generators. A 750kW machine with a similar output to a modern wind turbine will be 150metres long and 3.5metres in diameter. An array of 40 Pelamis machines would provide enough power to supply the energy needs of 20,000 homes.

    OPD aims to have a working prototype producing electricity to the grid within the next two years.

    Many previous wave energy concepts have failed as they lack the inherent survivability of the Pelamis. The system uses the unique combination of a streamlined, low-profile form and proven technology from the offshore oil and gas sector to provide the required load-shedding and reliability to withstand the rigours of the marine environment.

    OPD has recently demonstrated the system at intermediate scale in the Firth of Forth as part of a UK DTI supported programme to address all key aspects of technical risk. Further DTI support in conjunction with today's investment will allow all elements of the full-scale system to be thoroughly tested this summer before being installed in the first full-scale demonstrator next year.

    In 1999 the company won a contract to install a pair of Pelamis machines off Islay within the Scottish Renewables Obligation and recently beat off stiff international competition to secure an agreement with BC Hydro, the Canadian West Coast utility, to carry out a full feasibility study for a 2MW scheme for installation off Vancouver Island during 2003.

    Graeme Sword, 3i director commented: "OPD has developed a leading renewable energy technology which positions the business to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in the rapidly developing renewable energy market. The combination of this unique technology and strong management makes OPD an ideal fit for 3i in the development of our support for alternative energy technologies."

    "NTV's role is to seek exciting investments with venture capital financial returns, in arapidly evolving new energy economy." says Jørgen Rostrup, NTV's Managing Director. "We screened several wave energy machines around the world before finding Pelamis, and are delighted to work with OPD and our co-investors in commercialising this concept."

    "SAM is proud to be part of this exciting project in what we have identified as a highly promising new opportunity in the renewable energy space. Dr Richard Yemm has managed to gather an impressive group of talented people who have produced a design that stands out for successfully marrying robustness with efficiency," says Gianni Operto, principal of SAM Private Equity.

    ends 20 March 2002

    For further information please contact:

    Ocean Power Delivery Ltd

    Richard Yemm or Max Carcas

    Tel: +44 131 554 8444

    Email: enquiries@oceanpd.com

    Web: www.oceanpd.com

  48. Re:Hypocracy by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 2 · on Attack of the Clones Leaked

    Yeah, that's a good argument. "Because this reviewer viewed an illegally copied and illegally screened pre-release version of a film that's going to make millions, then he's a good guy!" Just because you like the movie doesn't mean that it's not illegal.

    You probably support the Napster-supported pirating of copyrighted music too, don't you?

    In the immortal words of Foghorn Leghorn, that's a joke, son.

  49. Re:Yeah: those Japanese kids' toys by stray · · Score: 0, Offtopic · on "Tap" Palm Art at The Whitney's Artport
    i think you are referring to tamagotchis. they became popular in around 1996 i think.

    going OT a bit: on a side note, i never found a authoritative answer what "tamagotchi" actually means. various translations i heard over the years include:

    • Egg-friend
    • Watch inside the egg
    • Lovable
    • Love-me
    • Care-for-me
    any native speakers can shed some light on this?
  50. Re:IBM killed OS/2 by weave · · Score: 2 · on The Sad Parable of OS/2
    Pretty good, but a few points. The original PS/2 line included some models with 80386 processors in them. I'm sure there has to be a PS/2 history web site out there...

    Ah yes, a quick google search turns up this PS/2 history page

    In 1987, IBM came out with five PS/2 models, model 30 (8086), model 50 and 60 (286s) and models 70 and 80 (386s). The 60s and 80s were tower units.

    The Model 50 was a dog. Had wait states and a slow-ass (80ms) hard drive. They later came out with a model 50Z where Z meant zero wait states.

    God, we're so much better off now. Look at the prices those things were. Imagine where we can be 15 years from now if we don't destroy each other first...