it sort of reminds me of when I learned about the grasshopper's nervous system. it has sensors (hairs) on its legs that feel air movement and when they are triggered, make the legs kick so that the grasshopper goes flying and doesn't have to waste all that time thinking about it, it just reacts....
so doesn't that mean one minute it is sitting there in its living room, watching tv, and then the wind blows or there is a little ground tremor, and then next thing they are in the nextdoor neigbors pool looking around going... "whoa..."
imagine this through the mind of the rat... you are cruising along, minding your own business, thinking how your back itches from that ear they have growing there, your muscles are tearing your apart b/c they have negated you mystatin (sp?) gene - and now all of the sudden, no matter where you think you want to go... your body is going some other way.
do you think they would fight it initially and then eventually just grow complacent to it - like... oh hey! cool, I was hoping we'd go over this way... hey, there's Mary! hmmm, can't wave...
I hear that, I have both here at work and at home a 21" sony trinitron running at 1600X1200 and would never run anything less. I want as much real estate on screen as possible. and I actually see things better small too, so I got that going for me.
I just recently bought a refurbished laptop off of ubid for myself and I made it a point to only look at ones that had 15" screens with the SXGA+ so that they can do 1400Xsomething - there is no way I'd be able to tolerate programming on the lower res ones - even the 1400xsomething will be a bit annoying - but it will be made up by the fact that I have a wireless net set up and can therefore program while taking a dump and while watching TV - neither of which require getting up from the couch.;)
I envy that. I'm in Boston now and it is expensive just to exist here. my main issue is my car and the insurance on it - but I need it in order to get to my job. probably should have gotten a crappier car, but I really wanted this one - nohting extravagant, but still could have gone cheaper. then did the credit card thing for too long - I make good money and if I made this most anywhere else in the country I'd be set - but here I am still barely getting by - largely due to cc debt. I'm gonna try to look into the credit consolodation that people are referring to - I assumed those were scams - but as long as they are legit (beyond that I pay more over time - but as long as I can get a rate lower than my cards now)....
hot damn.
I have a long list of companies I hate
on
Worst Buy
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· Score: 2
and bestbuy is one of them. one of my friends went through a two month ordeal with them over a large sony wega and finally got it all resolved and has vowed to never shop there again. I refuse to even go to the website and/or step foot in their store. although I do currently use netflix even though they sell their videos via a link to bestbuy, but I never buy them, just rent them. other bad companies on my list:
Sprint (PCS wireless - the worst cell phone service I've ever experienced, and truly the worst customer service ever)
AT&T (any division - they lie about bills - are getting sued over that know - they pad bills, then remove it later, they them randomly charge you for things - and then if you confront them on any of this, they deny it all and if you refuse to pay it, they send you to a collection agency - I had to "settle" it with them where instead of the $200 they wanted from me - even though I had three customer service people tell me that I was all paid up in the computer - they would just take $30 and call it even - I paid the $30 and now refuse to use anything they are invovled in... although mediaone getting bought out by them threw a wrench into that here in Cambridge/Somerville.)
buy.com (you would think I or they would have taken away some lesson from my 15 failed orders with them earlier on in the process - their customer service is incredibly stupid as well)
MBNA (credit card company - they repeatedly charge me for a service that I never signed up for and repeatedly specifically asked to be removed from - their shopper's advantage program at a $60 a year fee)
mindspring/earthlink/whatever-the-hell-they-are- no w - I had dsl through them that was so broken and so down that I smashed the modem to bits and called them up to tell them to stop billing me. I refuse to consider dsl from them ever again and am hesitant to ever use dsl again - it worked great for a few months, then broke heavily, and they refused to do anything about it (and had a min of 3 hour wait times for customer service - then when you spoke with them, they were too stupid to know what to do, so they would claim an issue on my end... right)
also - the patent office was my first time experiencing being around really weird smart people. there were all of these inventors there that had briefcases full of paper that would sneak around with the briefcase handcuffed to them, and then refuse to talk about what they were working on. I of course HAD to know what they were doing. one guy in particular was very strange and I know his idea had something to do with fake ducks...
also, in the patent office main search area - at least circa '95 - there are these large columns. there was one guy that would tiptoe along from column, and hide behind them - if he wanted to talk to you - you would hear "psst psst" very weird people.
and they coated the floor to ceiling windows with a film to reduce the amount of harsh light and heat coming in - but that blocked cell phones (which were a huge deal back them - the big kind that only rich important people had) - so the people that had them would sit by the window and then tear off the film on the window... so it produced all of these strange light patterns coming in.
also, they had security there, but in the entire summer that I was there, I just made up different names the whole time I was there and never showed real ID - just acted like I knew what I was doing and went everyday, dressed well, and they just ignored me. also got into a few patent inspector's offices that way - really needed a xerox of a few patents and they were hoarding them in their office - so I waited until lunchtime and snagged them and then put them back. I felt like james bond. only skinnier.
also - they have a VERY extensive magazine collection there. it was awesome - I would get my work done and then read every single back issue of all the car mags and Cinefex
I had to do all the patent searches at the actual patent office and through all the paper. that was 1995. I was wondering why they didn't just scan it all in and search it that way since I had just implemented that (on a smaller scale of course) in that law firm's office when I first started that summer. they told me that it was taking some time - but the early stages of IBMs thing were up - I was very impressed by it. they were running on pentiums! WOW!! hee hee.
I had to do many searches, mostly on weapons and fitness equipment - EVERYTHING that you've ever seen on late night tv - like the abdomizier and shit like that - all of that was patented in the late 1800s and early 1900s and then someone came along and searched through them all and made them in plastic and aluminum instead of iron and voila!
there were a series of strange patents that I can recall - one was a device that was basically underwear for women that would have a dildo of sorts on the inside that was made of radioactive material... I can only assume this was for medical treatment. then there was a dog carrier that would loop over their upper jaw and snout and then the other side went in the dog's ass. things in animals asses are always funny. but probably the best one was a "lottery ticket scraper" - it was just a flat peice of plastic and it was done up by a local patent lawyer there in DC - I just loved that it started out "Since the dawn of time man has..." and then I don't recall the rest. but it was amusing.
the best one being "googlyminotaur" which no longer exists (it was devoted soley to radiohead - as should everything else be ).
I've had smarterchild in my buddylist for about a year now - maybe more like 8 months. when I added them, it was already part of the activebuddy system. so this isn't really "new" news.
and it isn't like it seems out people - you have to make it your buddy and talk to it... so I don't really see the issue here. the interface is kind of annoying - but when I am bored I will try to tell it that I'm going to kill myself just to see how it reacts... so far it has always been either rude or ambivalent.
Can I please check the weather without monkeys talking to me and cartoon cars driving across the page now?
at first I was like, whoa, this guy is where its at - but after seeing your webpage, it sounds like the price of LSD has gone down in your area...
and besides - the sony logo is boring and it would be far cooler to get the nike swoosh etched onto your cornea... get it straight.
I thought part of the issue with pollution (at least in fresh water systems) was that as CO2 increased, the algae levels grew in a huge way and blocked out various things that were needed in the water - light being one - and effectively changed the ph of the water with their CO2 to O2 conversion and this was bad....
but you are talking of bg algae, which I am less familiar with (other than the health nuts think it is a source of much energy and other properties to eat), and also salt water systems... perhaps that makes all the difference.
Re:that would have ruled in college
on
Hospital Robots
·
· Score: 2
or "wimminz"
Re:What about the healing touch?
on
Hospital Robots
·
· Score: 2
I have two words for you: robot handjob.
"laying of nurses" is also particularly effective... at least in all them movies I seen. hot damn tamale. that's a spicy bean burger.
personally, what I would want.
on
Hospital Robots
·
· Score: 2
when I'm old and in a place like that, I hope they have the technology for talking, flying monkeys of doom. robots are boring.
*I gotta learn to type slower, this fucking timeout on slashdot posts is annyoing with a capital suck-my-balls-taco-boy!
that would have ruled in college
on
Hospital Robots
·
· Score: 1
bring me the bed pan! and more beer! lazy robots.
Re:oh, my first chance at seeing the dumb Katz
on
Review: Panic Room
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· Score: 2
oh my bad - not the Ikea catalog scene (much of which was CG if you watch the DVD commentary) - but the pan through when it shows gas filling the apt and then it blowing up in slow mo.
Re:oh, my first chance at seeing the dumb Katz
on
Review: Panic Room
·
· Score: 1
I have that cell phone actually - it is the Nokia 8890 - it is a year or two old in the states and a bit more than that. I agree that the movie is set in recent times - but when was the room built? could have been build 20 years prior...
Re:oh, my first chance at seeing the dumb Katz
on
Review: Panic Room
·
· Score: 1
I'd be curious to see how that list compares to the full Fight Club list - I know that Digital Domain did many of the big things in FC like the intro and the plane destruciton scene - but it could be they had nothing to do with the scene scanning stuff (like the trash can and the apartment pans) - also curious if Kevin Scott Mack is still at DD or one of those places.
thanks for pointing it out...
Re:oh, my first chance at seeing the dumb Katz
on
Review: Panic Room
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
actually it was almost assuredly Digital Domain which are some of the best in the industry.
I used to hunt for CG stuff in movies all the time and then sit back and say "BAH! that is poorly done!" - then I interned at a special effects house and saw that many things that look fake are the normal things - and the CG stuff is there and you don't notice it...
so while I appreciate what you are saying - I thought I'd add that. and ILM aren't as great as they used to be - that business involves a lot of the same people bouncing around from one company to another and back again - very incestuous (sp?).
Slashdot Mirror
that the first real use for this will be for porn - and then on to the efficient toy killing machines of death that will plague our future....
I've learned so much from movies.
is there a known list of stores that use this wireless - or is there an easy way to tell?
it sort of reminds me of when I learned about the grasshopper's nervous system.
it has sensors (hairs) on its legs that feel air movement and when they are triggered, make the legs kick so that the grasshopper goes flying and doesn't have to waste all that time thinking about it, it just reacts....
so doesn't that mean one minute it is sitting there in its living room, watching tv, and then the wind blows or there is a little ground tremor, and then next thing they are in the nextdoor neigbors pool looking around going... "whoa..."
imagine this through the mind of the rat... you are cruising along, minding your own business, thinking how your back itches from that ear they have growing there, your muscles are tearing your apart b/c they have negated you mystatin (sp?) gene - and now all of the sudden, no matter where you think you want to go... your body is going some other way.
do you think they would fight it initially and then eventually just grow complacent to it - like... oh hey! cool, I was hoping we'd go over this way... hey, there's Mary! hmmm, can't wave...
I hear that, I have both here at work and at home a 21" sony trinitron running at 1600X1200 and would never run anything less.
;)
I want as much real estate on screen as possible.
and I actually see things better small too, so I got that going for me.
I just recently bought a refurbished laptop off of ubid for myself and I made it a point to only look at ones that had 15" screens with the SXGA+ so that they can do 1400Xsomething - there is no way I'd be able to tolerate programming on the lower res ones - even the 1400xsomething will be a bit annoying - but it will be made up by the fact that I have a wireless net set up and can therefore program while taking a dump and while watching TV - neither of which require getting up from the couch.
I can't wait - I read The Diamond Age and I learned that inhalable nanotechnology leads to getting lots of action... underwater at that.
A Demon Haunted World
I envy that.
I'm in Boston now and it is expensive just to exist here.
my main issue is my car and the insurance on it - but I need it in order to get to my job. probably should have gotten a crappier car, but I really wanted this one - nohting extravagant, but still could have gone cheaper.
then did the credit card thing for too long - I make good money and if I made this most anywhere else in the country I'd be set - but here I am still barely getting by - largely due to cc debt.
I'm gonna try to look into the credit consolodation that people are referring to - I assumed those were scams - but as long as they are legit (beyond that I pay more over time - but as long as I can get a rate lower than my cards now)....
hot damn.
and bestbuy is one of them.
- no w - I had dsl through them that was so broken and so down that I smashed the modem to bits and called them up to tell them to stop billing me. I refuse to consider dsl from them ever again and am hesitant to ever use dsl again - it worked great for a few months, then broke heavily, and they refused to do anything about it (and had a min of 3 hour wait times for customer service - then when you spoke with them, they were too stupid to know what to do, so they would claim an issue on my end... right)
one of my friends went through a two month ordeal with them over a large sony wega and finally got it all resolved and has vowed to never shop there again. I refuse to even go to the website and/or step foot in their store. although I do currently use netflix even though they sell their videos via a link to bestbuy, but I never buy them, just rent them.
other bad companies on my list:
Sprint (PCS wireless - the worst cell phone service I've ever experienced, and truly the worst customer service ever)
AT&T (any division - they lie about bills - are getting sued over that know - they pad bills, then remove it later, they them randomly charge you for things - and then if you confront them on any of this, they deny it all and if you refuse to pay it, they send you to a collection agency - I had to "settle" it with them where instead of the $200 they wanted from me - even though I had three customer service people tell me that I was all paid up in the computer - they would just take $30 and call it even - I paid the $30 and now refuse to use anything they are invovled in... although mediaone getting bought out by them threw a wrench into that here in Cambridge/Somerville.)
buy.com (you would think I or they would have taken away some lesson from my 15 failed orders with them earlier on in the process - their customer service is incredibly stupid as well)
MBNA (credit card company - they repeatedly charge me for a service that I never signed up for and repeatedly specifically asked to be removed from - their shopper's advantage program at a $60 a year fee)
mindspring/earthlink/whatever-the-hell-they-are
also - the patent office was my first time experiencing being around really weird smart people. there were all of these inventors there that had briefcases full of paper that would sneak around with the briefcase handcuffed to them, and then refuse to talk about what they were working on. I of course HAD to know what they were doing. one guy in particular was very strange and I know his idea had something to do with fake ducks...
also, in the patent office main search area - at least circa '95 - there are these large columns. there was one guy that would tiptoe along from column, and hide behind them - if he wanted to talk to you - you would hear "psst psst"
very weird people.
and they coated the floor to ceiling windows with a film to reduce the amount of harsh light and heat coming in - but that blocked cell phones (which were a huge deal back them - the big kind that only rich important people had) - so the people that had them would sit by the window and then tear off the film on the window... so it produced all of these strange light patterns coming in.
also, they had security there, but in the entire summer that I was there, I just made up different names the whole time I was there and never showed real ID - just acted like I knew what I was doing and went everyday, dressed well, and they just ignored me. also got into a few patent inspector's offices that way - really needed a xerox of a few patents and they were hoarding them in their office - so I waited until lunchtime and snagged them and then put them back.
I felt like james bond. only skinnier.
also - they have a VERY extensive magazine collection there. it was awesome - I would get my work done and then read every single back issue of all the car mags and Cinefex
I had to do all the patent searches at the actual patent office and through all the paper. that was 1995. I was wondering why they didn't just scan it all in and search it that way since I had just implemented that (on a smaller scale of course) in that law firm's office when I first started that summer. they told me that it was taking some time - but the early stages of IBMs thing were up - I was very impressed by it. they were running on pentiums! WOW!! hee hee.
I had to do many searches, mostly on weapons and fitness equipment - EVERYTHING that you've ever seen on late night tv - like the abdomizier and shit like that - all of that was patented in the late 1800s and early 1900s and then someone came along and searched through them all and made them in plastic and aluminum instead of iron and voila!
there were a series of strange patents that I can recall - one was a device that was basically underwear for women that would have a dildo of sorts on the inside that was made of radioactive material... I can only assume this was for medical treatment.
then there was a dog carrier that would loop over their upper jaw and snout and then the other side went in the dog's ass. things in animals asses are always funny.
but probably the best one was a "lottery ticket scraper" - it was just a flat peice of plastic and it was done up by a local patent lawyer there in DC - I just loved that it started out "Since the dawn of time man has..." and then I don't recall the rest. but it was amusing.
the end.
ahhh - one, my spelling was way off, and two - I was right. hot damn.
and that stuff claims that you can be up for days and then after 8 hours sleep be fine again.
yet they always seem to gloss over the fact that rats that were kept on it, if awake long enough without sleep - ALWAYS died of blood infections.
your body needs sleep.
the best one being "googlyminotaur" which no longer exists (it was devoted soley to radiohead - as should everything else be ).
I've had smarterchild in my buddylist for about a year now - maybe more like 8 months. when I added them, it was already part of the activebuddy system. so this isn't really "new" news.
and it isn't like it seems out people - you have to make it your buddy and talk to it... so I don't really see the issue here. the interface is kind of annoying - but when I am bored I will try to tell it that I'm going to kill myself just to see how it reacts... so far it has always been either rude or ambivalent.
he is a scary looking man, and his pages are even scarier.
he might know all about usability - but he makes some ugly-ass pages.
Can I please check the weather without monkeys talking to me and cartoon cars driving across the page now? at first I was like, whoa, this guy is where its at - but after seeing your webpage, it sounds like the price of LSD has gone down in your area... and besides - the sony logo is boring and it would be far cooler to get the nike swoosh etched onto your cornea... get it straight.
I thought part of the issue with pollution (at least in fresh water systems) was that as CO2 increased, the algae levels grew in a huge way and blocked out various things that were needed in the water - light being one - and effectively changed the ph of the water with their CO2 to O2 conversion and this was bad....
but you are talking of bg algae, which I am less familiar with (other than the health nuts think it is a source of much energy and other properties to eat), and also salt water systems... perhaps that makes all the difference.
or "wimminz"
I have two words for you:
robot handjob.
"laying of nurses" is also particularly effective... at least in all them movies I seen. hot damn tamale. that's a spicy bean burger.
when I'm old and in a place like that, I hope they have the technology for talking, flying monkeys of doom.
robots are boring.
*I gotta learn to type slower, this fucking timeout on slashdot posts is annyoing with a capital suck-my-balls-taco-boy!
bring me the bed pan! and more beer!
lazy robots.
oh my bad - not the Ikea catalog scene (much of which was CG if you watch the DVD commentary) - but the pan through when it shows gas filling the apt and then it blowing up in slow mo.
I have that cell phone actually - it is the Nokia 8890 - it is a year or two old in the states and a bit more than that.
I agree that the movie is set in recent times - but when was the room built? could have been build 20 years prior...
I'd be curious to see how that list compares to the full Fight Club list - I know that Digital Domain did many of the big things in FC like the intro and the plane destruciton scene - but it could be they had nothing to do with the scene scanning stuff (like the trash can and the apartment pans) - also curious if Kevin Scott Mack is still at DD or one of those places.
thanks for pointing it out...
actually it was almost assuredly Digital Domain which are some of the best in the industry.
I used to hunt for CG stuff in movies all the time and then sit back and say "BAH! that is poorly done!" - then I interned at a special effects house and saw that many things that look fake are the normal things - and the CG stuff is there and you don't notice it...
so while I appreciate what you are saying - I thought I'd add that. and ILM aren't as great as they used to be - that business involves a lot of the same people bouncing around from one company to another and back again - very incestuous (sp?).