I'd rather have a scope that could detect and targed a) the asshole that likes to kick the back of my seat b) the lady 5 rows behind me that likes to snap her gum... constantly c) people who think it's a bright idea to take their temperamental/hungry/sleep-deprived 0-5 year old kids to loud, scary movies not at all intended for kids.
Now, maybe I'm just sick, but I'd be entertained if there were a short flick about a madman that lost his last nerve, robbed the concessions booth and loaded malted milk balls, junior mints, gummy bears, stale popcorn, etc. into a machine junk-food launcher, and hunted these people down. It'd definitely get a laugh out of me.
It's called Autopano, and IIRC it also uses the SIFT algorithm. Try Hugin (Windows, Linux, OS X), it's able to call it autopano, and automatically get tons of stitching points, and it does quite a good job without tweaking... Especially if you took care in taking the pictures.
I could certianly see how that would be quite a difficult requirement. If there were 2 or more rebates to be had, you'd have to have just as many UPCs to send in.
I just dread that I'll ever have to actually move onto something other than 2k on the Windows box.
Me too. I've kinda resolved to myself that Win2k will be the last version of Windows that I ever install on one of my own machines... If the software that I use eventually requires me to upgrade to Win2.01k or whatever, then I guess I'll have to... If it's available for Mac or Linux/whatever, I'll be all over it.
Even looking at anything>XP just pisses me off on a subconscious level.
VAG (Volkswagen Audi Group) recycles lots and lots of their engineering, from the chassis to electronics, engines blocks, and misc. parts.
Every chassis they make spans multiple makes and often model years. The VAG MK4(3..2.. etc) chassis fits Golf, Jetta, Beetle, Audi TT, A3, S3. There's also chassis that is for use with their VR6 engine, aptly called the VR6 MK4.
The VW Beetle, Jetta, Audi A3, S3, TT all basically have the same guts, with minor changes in engine (displacement and cylinder heads) powertrain, the rest is cosmetic and features.
Regardless, why should we base our own domestic policy decisions on what the rest of the world is doing?
*cough* We do this ALL the time, and rightfully so. We're a big nation, but we're not big enough to tell the world to go screw themeslves because we're happier playing with ourself.
Basing policy on what's going on in the world is great, and totally sane. Basing the ideals of an entire country on the ideals of the leading majority is dangerous, at best.
Moreover, many of the people that voted for Kerry did so becaus "he wasn't Bush" I fall into this category. He wasn't convincing, and worst of all he was pushing what mostly seemed to be a twist on Bush's rhetoric, though more comprehendable. And even though Bush appears to have speaking problems, and act like a buffoon sometimes, I'm 99% sure that it's a play to the public. Certianly didn't help that they were both members of their secret little club, and both likely related to dracula. Not only were they on the same coin but Bush is the tail and Kerry's somewhere on the edge (but where nobody knows).
Had the shoes been on Dean, or Clark or a half dozen other (more convincing) candidates, well, I think history may have been different. The moment Kerry was elected by the dems, I knew he had little more than a snowball's chance.
I watched the show (season 1) because some friends said it was good... And I continued watching to the end mostly for conclusion. The idea was intriguing and all of that, but at the end of it, I said "meh." I'll be the first to say it, I don't like TV dramas, and I think to me this was a soap opera with guns and terrorists.
Too bad all of my ancestors were cheap bastards and couldn't afford an 8mm 'corder--if for nothing else, I'd honestly like some insight into why my family is so screwy.
Free speech to me means that if I'm out walking on the sidewalk (public property), any drunken/crazy/zealous asshole can talk at me and/or attempt to hand me his printed idiotic banterings.
Walking down the sidewalk, it costs a few calories to put my hands over my ears and yell "Nannana I can't HEAR YOU"--and that effectively stops 99.9% of whatever bullshit they happen to be spouting, though it denies me the use of my ears... Whereas spam has an real financial impact (upon me, my host(s), etc.)
Spam is like walking down The Strip in Las Vegas when there's a large convention going on... There's tons of people out there soliciting for brothels, boobie clubs, and every other activity you could expect to find in a place referred to as Sin City... Except you've got to pay for the card and the printing, and the delivery and for them to offer it to you.
I think if people realized the real costs of spam, we'd have a few murders of spammers (and that's not like a gaggle of geese).
D'oh, yeah I totally forgot about the gasmask guys in Mario 64, probably because I never really got to play it (aside from at my cousin's house--and he always hogged it). I do now remember the cactus in 64 and mario world now that my memory is sparked. Good times.
Wow, I never knew that... I thought SMB2 was a great game. I've always found it odd that they never followed through in the later games with any of Wart's minions/return/whatever, and that it pretty much seemed completely unrelated to anything Mario. I guess I now understand why there was sand, magic carpets, buzzards, snakes, pots, and stuff. I'm still confused about the little gas-mask ball shooter guys. Are they iranian terrorist insurgents or something? (chuckle)
Heh, it'd probably be faster to do your manderbrot mural idea in a bunch of tiny tiles (mosaic style, that is), the same way they did the renderings of renaissance paintings on cathedral walls so they could be cleaned of soot.
Wind turbines are already pretty darn efficient, somehow I doubt putting a bunch of smaller turbines on the leding edge of a larger turbine would be any more efficient or cost effective...
I could easily see Apple doing to DVRs as they've done to MP3 players--and if they pickup TiVo it would be all the more easy; the hard work is done, all they need to do is spiff it up and put that special Apple twist on it (make it purdy), and more importantly, make it marketable. IMHO, this is the one area TiVo has always been shy in.
Meh, I'm confident that the super-religious people that I've encountered would explain it away with something like "God created the universe in 7 days, you don't think he could create some microbes on Mars?", or "We must have faith that God created these Martian Microbes for us to discover, just like he created dinosaur bones so he could fool the unworthy non-beliver heathens!"
Then again... NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
That's kind of like saying that a prostitute will do whatever makes her a profit... Including working at a hamburger stand on slow days. A whore's a whore--unless she becomes a nun or something.
Wow... That's pretty crazy. The day is at hand where people don't know what to do unless the computer tells them. Cashiers can't make change, and Tellers are better off automatic.
Someday soon, I suspect someone will jump from a bridge because their computer had a grudge on 'em. (eek)
Oh yeah, I did miss that small bit of your point. If one of your banks' sites dosen't support IE you're SOL in doing transfers electronically.
What I'm wondering is if the bank was simply rejecting non-IE user-agents, my understanding is that most of the IE only bank sites will actually work with a Mozilla that reports itself as IE. Thankfully my banks work fine with Moz:D With Firefox going so big, I certianly can see that banks will be forced to ditch the IE only crap, as you note.
You're absolutely right regarding the bank number+routing number, and everything else... Anything is only secure as it's weakest link. Banks are pretty weak, but at least they do try and help in the event that you get frauded. I'd only use this method with someone that I implicitly trust, and or I know where to find them/their orginazation so I can recover the value, or at the very least I know what to burn down:)
Regarding depositing money in an account from another bank in the event that my bank didn't have a local branch... I think I'd get a free account from a bank wherever I was (almost all banks have 'em anymore.. I'd keep whatever minimum I needed in that account and use it to transfer funds to my main account. I do basically the same with my business account.
I got a pretty good deal on my merchant account. It's $8 monthly, 3.4% for visa+MC, 3.7% for Discover and American Express (IIRC) + $0.32 per transaction... Miles above and beyond what the banks offer, in terms of price and service. All I had to do was buy the machine for a slightly inflated price ($450, 50 of that went to another person as a referrral), and pass the credit stuff. I'm a registered business, but I'd bet an individual could get one just as easily. All you need is a checking account and good credit, the guy tells me. Obviously, it's not a deal for someone who only deals with such things every now and then. However, since I've been able to process cards, my sales have gone up quite a bit (impulse buyers I'd imagine). I've got bitten on an international deal, so I won't be accepting credit internationally from now on, you've got practically no recourse. It dosen't help that there's a covert band of gypsies in Italy buying everything they can find with stolen cards and information...
PayPal is a great thing, in thoery, I think. Lots of people have had problems with them, fortunately, I've faired much better, but I haven't dealt with them as much as some people. I honestly can't say I've got a personal problem against them, the only time I've had a problem was when my verified account was barfed all over and forgotten by their system. It didn't do anything to my account, but I spent a 45 minutes on the phone trying to get it resolved so I could get my money deposited. Honestly, if they got their banking credentials and operated like a bank I'd be much more confident to deal with them. Even if it meant that I had to pay more.
That said, there is no single good solution for accepting funds, electronically or not. I sure wish there were, because it would make life a helluva lot easier. You can get screwed over with checks, cashiers checks (there's some good forged and stolen checks running around from various banks), credit cards, cash, PayPal, and pretty much anything just the same.
If there's one thing that I've learned since I got into all this money stuff it's that if there's money or anything of value to be had, someone's gonna try and get it no matter what--and that your best defenses are your instincts and common sense.
They can send it to my bank account number, give me a check, send me US Postal money orders, give me a credit card number (and appropriate data) that I may use, or give me cash.
None of the above require that I divulge a name to my bank and credit card user accounts... And frankly, there's nothing that they could do with said names that would allow them to send money. The only account that I should ever need anyone to know to send me money is my PayPal account... Frankly, I'm no more trusting of PayPal with my money than I am of a random bum on the street.
Actually, I write my user names and passwords down. Then I put them in my depleted uranium and lead lined concrete and hardened steel reinforced vault with biometric and timed locks. Then I kick the pair of radioactive lava spewing mutant doberman pinschers that guard the door to wake them up.
It's hell trying to figure out what my balance is.
Because it's kind of like a car crash on the other side of the highway. Morons can't help but to slow down and look. Even if they cost more to make, it would simply be a bigger and more spectacular crash... There's a point of diminishing returns. Presumably because as IQ goes to infinity, it requires a bigger and bigger fireball (or llama nipples, or whatever) to facinate the subject. They're content to captivate only the lowest common denominator.
Personally, I'd probably sit down and watch a bit if they were eating giant mutant llama nipples... Especially if they were at least the size one's head.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh boy, I so like that idea...
I'd rather have a scope that could detect and targed a) the asshole that likes to kick the back of my seat b) the lady 5 rows behind me that likes to snap her gum... constantly c) people who think it's a bright idea to take their temperamental/hungry/sleep-deprived 0-5 year old kids to loud, scary movies not at all intended for kids.
Now, maybe I'm just sick, but I'd be entertained if there were a short flick about a madman that lost his last nerve, robbed the concessions booth and loaded malted milk balls, junior mints, gummy bears, stale popcorn, etc. into a machine junk-food launcher, and hunted these people down. It'd definitely get a laugh out of me.
There is an open source equivalent.
It's called Autopano, and IIRC it also uses the SIFT algorithm. Try Hugin (Windows, Linux, OS X), it's able to call it autopano, and automatically get tons of stitching points, and it does quite a good job without tweaking... Especially if you took care in taking the pictures.
I could certianly see how that would be quite a difficult requirement. If there were 2 or more rebates to be had, you'd have to have just as many UPCs to send in.
Hrm..
Usually you can't return the product because they make you mail in the origional UPC, and the store won't take a package with the UPC cut out.
If BB dosen't require this, then they're stupid.
I just dread that I'll ever have to actually move onto something other than 2k on the Windows box.
Me too. I've kinda resolved to myself that Win2k will be the last version of Windows that I ever install on one of my own machines... If the software that I use eventually requires me to upgrade to Win2.01k or whatever, then I guess I'll have to... If it's available for Mac or Linux/whatever, I'll be all over it.
Even looking at anything>XP just pisses me off on a subconscious level.
VAG (Volkswagen Audi Group) recycles lots and lots of their engineering, from the chassis to electronics, engines blocks, and misc. parts.
Every chassis they make spans multiple makes and often model years. The VAG MK4(3..2.. etc) chassis fits Golf, Jetta, Beetle, Audi TT, A3, S3. There's also chassis that is for use with their VR6 engine, aptly called the VR6 MK4.
The VW Beetle, Jetta, Audi A3, S3, TT all basically have the same guts, with minor changes in engine (displacement and cylinder heads) powertrain, the rest is cosmetic and features.
Regardless, why should we base our own domestic policy decisions on what the rest of the world is doing?
*cough* We do this ALL the time, and rightfully so. We're a big nation, but we're not big enough to tell the world to go screw themeslves because we're happier playing with ourself.
Basing policy on what's going on in the world is great, and totally sane. Basing the ideals of an entire country on the ideals of the leading majority is dangerous, at best.
Moreover, many of the people that voted for Kerry did so becaus "he wasn't Bush" I fall into this category. He wasn't convincing, and worst of all he was pushing what mostly seemed to be a twist on Bush's rhetoric, though more comprehendable. And even though Bush appears to have speaking problems, and act like a buffoon sometimes, I'm 99% sure that it's a play to the public. Certianly didn't help that they were both members of their secret little club, and both likely related to dracula. Not only were they on the same coin but Bush is the tail and Kerry's somewhere on the edge (but where nobody knows).
Had the shoes been on Dean, or Clark or a half dozen other (more convincing) candidates, well, I think history may have been different. The moment Kerry was elected by the dems, I knew he had little more than a snowball's chance.
Am I the only one that didn't like 24 that much?
I watched the show (season 1) because some friends said it was good... And I continued watching to the end mostly for conclusion. The idea was intriguing and all of that, but at the end of it, I said "meh." I'll be the first to say it, I don't like TV dramas, and I think to me this was a soap opera with guns and terrorists.
That's a totally cool idea.
Too bad all of my ancestors were cheap bastards and couldn't afford an 8mm 'corder--if for nothing else, I'd honestly like some insight into why my family is so screwy.
Avoid Teh Gay!
That would so make a great T-Shirt... Especially if it had a little dude with floppy ears, an evil snarl... and a special friend.
That's the way I look at it.
Free speech to me means that if I'm out walking on the sidewalk (public property), any drunken/crazy/zealous asshole can talk at me and/or attempt to hand me his printed idiotic banterings.
Walking down the sidewalk, it costs a few calories to put my hands over my ears and yell "Nannana I can't HEAR YOU"--and that effectively stops 99.9% of whatever bullshit they happen to be spouting, though it denies me the use of my ears... Whereas spam has an real financial impact (upon me, my host(s), etc.)
Spam is like walking down The Strip in Las Vegas when there's a large convention going on... There's tons of people out there soliciting for brothels, boobie clubs, and every other activity you could expect to find in a place referred to as Sin City... Except you've got to pay for the card and the printing, and the delivery and for them to offer it to you.
I think if people realized the real costs of spam, we'd have a few murders of spammers (and that's not like a gaggle of geese).
I'm not entirely sure that's a good idea... Around my place there's hawks and eagles, and I've seen them pluck a pigeon out of the air on occasion.
There go your photos!
D'oh, yeah I totally forgot about the gasmask guys in Mario 64, probably because I never really got to play it (aside from at my cousin's house--and he always hogged it). I do now remember the cactus in 64 and mario world now that my memory is sparked. Good times.
Wow, I never knew that... I thought SMB2 was a great game. I've always found it odd that they never followed through in the later games with any of Wart's minions/return/whatever, and that it pretty much seemed completely unrelated to anything Mario. I guess I now understand why there was sand, magic carpets, buzzards, snakes, pots, and stuff. I'm still confused about the little gas-mask ball shooter guys. Are they iranian terrorist insurgents or something? (chuckle)
Heh, it'd probably be faster to do your manderbrot mural idea in a bunch of tiny tiles (mosaic style, that is), the same way they did the renderings of renaissance paintings on cathedral walls so they could be cleaned of soot.
That would actually be pretty cool.
Wind turbines are already pretty darn efficient, somehow I doubt putting a bunch of smaller turbines on the leding edge of a larger turbine would be any more efficient or cost effective...
I could easily see Apple doing to DVRs as they've done to MP3 players--and if they pickup TiVo it would be all the more easy; the hard work is done, all they need to do is spiff it up and put that special Apple twist on it (make it purdy), and more importantly, make it marketable. IMHO, this is the one area TiVo has always been shy in.
Meh, I'm confident that the super-religious people that I've encountered would explain it away with something like "God created the universe in 7 days, you don't think he could create some microbes on Mars?", or "We must have faith that God created these Martian Microbes for us to discover, just like he created dinosaur bones so he could fool the unworthy non-beliver heathens!"
Then again... NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
That's kind of like saying that a prostitute will do whatever makes her a profit... Including working at a hamburger stand on slow days. A whore's a whore--unless she becomes a nun or something.
Wow... That's pretty crazy. The day is at hand where people don't know what to do unless the computer tells them. Cashiers can't make change, and Tellers are better off automatic.
Someday soon, I suspect someone will jump from a bridge because their computer had a grudge on 'em. (eek)
Oh yeah, I did miss that small bit of your point. If one of your banks' sites dosen't support IE you're SOL in doing transfers electronically.
:D With Firefox going so big, I certianly can see that banks will be forced to ditch the IE only crap, as you note.
What I'm wondering is if the bank was simply rejecting non-IE user-agents, my understanding is that most of the IE only bank sites will actually work with a Mozilla that reports itself as IE. Thankfully my banks work fine with Moz
You're absolutely right regarding the bank number+routing number, and everything else... Anything is only secure as it's weakest link. Banks are pretty weak, but at least they do try and help in the event that you get frauded. I'd only use this method with someone that I implicitly trust, and or I know where to find them/their orginazation so I can recover the value, or at the very least I know what to burn down :)
Regarding depositing money in an account from another bank in the event that my bank didn't have a local branch... I think I'd get a free account from a bank wherever I was (almost all banks have 'em anymore.. I'd keep whatever minimum I needed in that account and use it to transfer funds to my main account. I do basically the same with my business account.
I got a pretty good deal on my merchant account. It's $8 monthly, 3.4% for visa+MC, 3.7% for Discover and American Express (IIRC) + $0.32 per transaction... Miles above and beyond what the banks offer, in terms of price and service. All I had to do was buy the machine for a slightly inflated price ($450, 50 of that went to another person as a referrral), and pass the credit stuff. I'm a registered business, but I'd bet an individual could get one just as easily. All you need is a checking account and good credit, the guy tells me. Obviously, it's not a deal for someone who only deals with such things every now and then. However, since I've been able to process cards, my sales have gone up quite a bit (impulse buyers I'd imagine). I've got bitten on an international deal, so I won't be accepting credit internationally from now on, you've got practically no recourse. It dosen't help that there's a covert band of gypsies in Italy buying everything they can find with stolen cards and information...
PayPal is a great thing, in thoery, I think. Lots of people have had problems with them, fortunately, I've faired much better, but I haven't dealt with them as much as some people. I honestly can't say I've got a personal problem against them, the only time I've had a problem was when my verified account was barfed all over and forgotten by their system. It didn't do anything to my account, but I spent a 45 minutes on the phone trying to get it resolved so I could get my money deposited. Honestly, if they got their banking credentials and operated like a bank I'd be much more confident to deal with them. Even if it meant that I had to pay more.
That said, there is no single good solution for accepting funds, electronically or not. I sure wish there were, because it would make life a helluva lot easier. You can get screwed over with checks, cashiers checks (there's some good forged and stolen checks running around from various banks), credit cards, cash, PayPal, and pretty much anything just the same.
If there's one thing that I've learned since I got into all this money stuff it's that if there's money or anything of value to be had, someone's gonna try and get it no matter what--and that your best defenses are your instincts and common sense.
They can send it to my bank account number, give me a check, send me US Postal money orders, give me a credit card number (and appropriate data) that I may use, or give me cash.
None of the above require that I divulge a name to my bank and credit card user accounts... And frankly, there's nothing that they could do with said names that would allow them to send money. The only account that I should ever need anyone to know to send me money is my PayPal account... Frankly, I'm no more trusting of PayPal with my money than I am of a random bum on the street.
Actually, I write my user names and passwords down. Then I put them in my depleted uranium and lead lined concrete and hardened steel reinforced vault with biometric and timed locks. Then I kick the pair of radioactive lava spewing mutant doberman pinschers that guard the door to wake them up.
It's hell trying to figure out what my balance is.
Because it's kind of like a car crash on the other side of the highway. Morons can't help but to slow down and look. Even if they cost more to make, it would simply be a bigger and more spectacular crash... There's a point of diminishing returns. Presumably because as IQ goes to infinity, it requires a bigger and bigger fireball (or llama nipples, or whatever) to facinate the subject. They're content to captivate only the lowest common denominator.
Personally, I'd probably sit down and watch a bit if they were eating giant mutant llama nipples... Especially if they were at least the size one's head.