There has been historic debate upon this subject...
The nickel today is not what it was fifteen years ago. Do you know what this country needs today?A seven-cent nickel. Yessiree, we’ve been using the five-cent nickel in this country since 1492. Now that’s pretty near a hundred years’ daylight saving. Now, why not give the seven-cent nickel a chance? If that works out, next year we could have an eight-cent nickel. Think what that would mean. You could go to a newsstand, buy a three-cent newspaper and get the same nickel back again. One nickel carefully used would last a family a lifetime!
Groucho Marx (film: Animal Crackers)
Some many years ago, Britain adopted a decimilised currencey. It simplified things, yet there were hidden disadvantages: after the introduction of the new coinage (12 old pennies comprised a shilling, then became 5 New Pence) prices for goods were converted upward, and led to a one-off step in inflation. for example, something that sold for an old penny, coverted directly to 0.416666667 in New Pence would now be sold for a New half penny, which was 0.083333333 New pence increase - a small matter of 16% increase. If you were a scruffy schoolkid who dealt in exchange rates based on the 'Mars Bar' economic standard, things got tough!
I watched the ground (stupendous,) I watched the lightning (amazing,) I watched the stars (Fascinating: it's worth watching them come upwards from the horizon - like rain in reverse, and also watch the atmospheric effects on them.) Then I tried to figure out where places are (still clueless: would like second-by-second tabulated list of locations, please.) Then I started watching the ISS itself - the play of light and reflections on the equipment that is visible, and have to ask (someone knowledgeable, please) if the motions of the solar panels while in earth shadow are really necessary? It just seems uneconomical electrically and mechanically to allow such movements.
Just asking, as always.
Graham.
(SETI user of the day 19 September 2011 - Every Little Helps!)
Oh, yes - people still looking for a fast startup can relate to core memory. You switch the machine on, set the switches to the base address, hit 'reset', hit 'run' and you are up and running the last loaded program (CPU next instruction address registers etc.. are volatile, so can't be used) So, for example, set 0019, Res, Run, and you are up and running (CIL System 90, and others) Not too shoddy, eh?
Oh, er, when can we get a 5 channel paper tape reader, 8 cps (characters per second) teletype, 800bpi (bits per inch - cute, eh?) mag tape, and punch cards, please:-))
Oh, for the days of spicing an edit into a bit of blank paper tape and taping it into the right place, !syad dlo doog eht erew esoht as we used to say.
Although not pre-dating Bunsen, my favorite, and explicit anti-patent inventor is Jagdish Chandra Bose, benefactor to us all in so many ways. He even proved that plant and animal tissues are have parallels to one another.
Slashdot Mirror
There has been historic debate upon this subject...
The nickel today is not what it was fifteen years ago. Do you know what this country needs today?A seven-cent nickel. Yessiree, we’ve been using the five-cent nickel in this country since 1492. Now that’s pretty near a hundred years’ daylight saving. Now, why not give the seven-cent nickel a chance? If that works out, next year we could have an eight-cent nickel. Think what that would mean. You could go to a newsstand, buy a three-cent newspaper and get the same nickel back again. One nickel carefully used would last a family a lifetime!
Groucho Marx (film: Animal Crackers)
Some many years ago, Britain adopted a decimilised currencey. It simplified things, yet there were hidden disadvantages: after the introduction of the new coinage (12 old pennies comprised a shilling, then became 5 New Pence) prices for goods were converted upward, and led to a one-off step in inflation. for example, something that sold for an old penny, coverted directly to 0.416666667 in New Pence would now be sold for a New half penny, which was 0.083333333 New pence increase - a small matter of 16% increase. If you were a scruffy schoolkid who dealt in exchange rates based on the 'Mars Bar' economic standard, things got tough!
Proposed Time Rhyme:
... now, what's my percentage of calendar sales?
March, June, December,
Please to remember:
31 Days are their alot.
Of all else
30 are got.
Beware your days,
Run, be merry without rest.
The Reaper will ignore the list,
Man's crude toy,
With a counting none resist.
I watched the ground (stupendous,) I watched the lightning (amazing,) I watched the stars (Fascinating: it's worth watching them come upwards from the horizon - like rain in reverse, and also watch the atmospheric effects on them.) Then I tried to figure out where places are (still clueless: would like second-by-second tabulated list of locations, please.) Then I started watching the ISS itself - the play of light and reflections on the equipment that is visible, and have to ask (someone knowledgeable, please) if the motions of the solar panels while in earth shadow are really necessary? It just seems uneconomical electrically and mechanically to allow such movements.
Just asking, as always.
Graham.
(SETI user of the day 19 September 2011 - Every Little Helps!)
Oh, yes - people still looking for a fast startup can relate to core memory. You switch the machine on, set the switches to the base address, hit 'reset', hit 'run' and you are up and running the last loaded program (CPU next instruction address registers etc.. are volatile, so can't be used) So, for example, set 0019, Res, Run, and you are up and running (CIL System 90, and others) Not too shoddy, eh?
:-))
Oh, er, when can we get a 5 channel paper tape reader, 8 cps (characters per second) teletype, 800bpi (bits per inch - cute, eh?) mag tape, and punch cards, please
Oh, for the days of spicing an edit into a bit of blank paper tape and taping it into the right place, !syad dlo doog eht erew esoht as we used to say.
Although not pre-dating Bunsen, my favorite, and explicit anti-patent inventor is Jagdish Chandra Bose, benefactor to us all in so many ways. He even proved that plant and animal tissues are have parallels to one another.
And they are intending to use it to 'erect' antennas in space... Only? I can think of another use for an erecting mechanism.