The same guys who are making fun of them for waiting while they themselves are walking in to get 360 games are the ones who camped out for two weeks to get a 360 first.
Just post them right away. Bad, lazy students will be bad and lazy regardless of whether or not they attend class. If you hold off on putting the videos of lectures up you're punishing the students who actually care about the class(es) because of idiots who don't care.
Well the stamps on the frame are required. There are a handful of required VIN stamps on most cars because of theft. Thieves will change the plates in the window, so there are others to verify.
I have a feeling if you looked a little harder you'd find the VIN all over your vehicle. It may not be in blatently obvious places, but if you know where to look it's not hard to find.
While I agree destroying the thing is not an appropriate _FIRST_ action. I wonder if you have ever heard a 17 kHz tone? With the proper volume it can be downright painful.
Where? The VIN on my car is in the door jamb and in the trunk in the spare wheel well. The full VIN is not printed in the engine compartment, either on the block or on the hood labels. Any access to the VIN, aside from in the window (which might be unlawful to cover depending on where you live), requires a key or a physical break-in...
I did once have a Ford which had the VIN stamped into the engine block, but that's hardly "dozens" of places.
On many cars you can find the VIN on just about any part with a sticker on it. I built trucks for GM for a few years and the VIN is everywhere on GM trucks (passenger side of the frame just below the door is one easy place). I can't speak for anyone other than GM really as that is where the majority of my experience is, but I know for fact on the five GM vehicles I've owned the VIN is all over the place. On my Subaru it was in less places, but still fairly easily found.
Yep, I had a friend who drove a tow truck for awhile. He still had all his tools (slim jims, wedges, etc). One night we were mucking around at his place and he showed me how quickly you can get into some cars by breaking into his car and my car. He was also three years out of practice with the tools and he got in, in very little time. If he hadn't been three years out of practice he could have been in in under 30 seconds.
So far in NY, LA and soon to be NC, my luck has been very good with USAA, even if I could find coverage cheaper I can't see leaving them because I know their serviceis great. Who knows what you get with other companies? Sometimes it's not about knowing you're paying less, but knowing you'll get what you're paying for if something happens.
Except that the VIN in on dozens of places on every automobile. Go ahead and cover up the one in the windshield and they can get it in under a minute from another dozen places on the can that are easily accessable without having to get into the car.
Ironicly enough car companies put the VIN all over the car to help combat auto theft. It's pretty easy to change a vin plate in the windshield, but if it doesn't match all the other VIN's on the car. Hey stolen car!
To elaborate, cars nowadays have their engine computer-controlled by an Engine Control Unit (ECU). It often does everything from telling the spark plugs to fire to regulating the amount of fuel injected into the engine. When the key hasn't been properly authenticated, the ECU simply refuses to allow the engine to do anything.
Well this is only partially true. Most cars have at least two main computers, a PCM/ECU and what GM calls a BCM (Body Control Module, I'm not sure what other makers call it, but they have them too).
The PCM/ECU only controls the motor and transmission in most caes it does not have anything to do with the anti-theft devices, that would be handled by the BCM and probably a seperate module specifically for the RFID/whatever anti-theft system.
Key goes in, anti-theft modules sees the proper code, tells the BCM it's kosher and the BCM will then activate a certain lead on the PCM/ECU telling it it can go ahead and start with fuel and spark.
Of course all this means jack shit when a pro rolls up with a flat-bed. You'd be surprised how few people will even look twice at a car being put on a flat-bed in a parking lot in the middle of the afternoon. They probably assume the car is either broken and being taken to a shop.
My father used to have the magnets from an old 80 meg mainframe HD. One of the ones where the platters was about the size of the tires on your car. The friggin thign weighed about 30lbs and you could pull a car with it:)
Sounds like my auto insurance company. They've been nothing but helpful and have way better rates than any other company I've gotten quotes from, but they also don't deal with the general public only the US military and their families. Anyone who is serving or has served in the US armed forces should check out USAA. They _will_ give you crazy rates if you have a bad record, but if you have a good record they will take very good care of you.
When I moved from NY to Louisiana my premium went up $1,200/year for two cars. I thought that was a bit high, so I got quotes from other companies and the other insurance companies wanted as much every 6 months as my insurance company wanted every year! And they're not one of these, "oh boy I hope I never have to file a claim," companies either. I got in a small fender-bender about 4 years ago that was just expensive enough that it was cheaper to claim than pay out of pocket at the time and they had the check for the repair to me in 2 days.
For instance, got a convertable? Cost more. 6 cylinders? More. Double tail pipe? More. Car painted red? A lot more - as a matter of a fact, statistically, red cars get in the most accidents... so try to avoid red cars unless you want a sweet 10-20% bump in your premiums.
Umm you're in a bit of a dreamland there. I'd like you to find an insurance company that even asks what color your car is for determining a premium. Of the six cars I've owned in the past 8 years my insurance company has never asked the color. I would recheck your statistics here. From what I can find earth tone cars (black, brown, green, etc...) are involved in more crashes statistically.
They care about the statistics of the vehicle itself, the driver and the location. With the same exact coverages my insurance went up $1,200/year when I moved from western New York to Louisiana (lots of car theft in Louisiana and the drivers here are HORRIBLE). If you have a clean record, but the car is a "high risk" car (ie. lots of them get wrecked) then you're going to pay more in premiums (usually collision). If you're a shite driver and your record shows it you'll pay more in liability and possibly collision.
Answer me this, which do you think costs more for a 27 year old with a clean driving record to insure, a 2007 Corvette or a 2002 Firebird Formula?
I just quoted and compared a brand new 2007 Corvette Z06 (70k car, with a 505hp 7.0 litre V8) to my 2002 Firebird Formula (24k new, 310hp 5.7 litre V8). Guess what? They didn't inquire about color and the difference was the Z06 cost $30 more every 6 months to insure. I also just got a quote for a normal 2007 Corvette (I quoted the 50k model, 400hp 6.0 litre V8), it's $100 less every 6 months than my Firebird.
Hmm, two cars that are faster, more expensive and more powerful than my car yet they're either similar premium or less! If your insurance company is asking about paint color you need to find a new insurance company.
Exactly. I guess the Insurance company has never heard of a flatbed. Flatbeds, not keys are the weapon of choice when a professional steals a vehicle. I guess they've watched too much of the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds.
What I'm tryign to figure out is why people immediately assume that more expensive contractors would do better work? Anyone who has dealt with any sort of contractor knows this is total rubbish. Ignore price and look at the work that someone has actually done.
Plenty of people have decided to have their kitchen remodeled and chose to go with the mid-priced contractor, thinking they would use that extra money on better materials or maybe have better quality workmanship. They often find out that the job they paid an extra 20% for is no better than the cheaper contractor would have done.
I had a Ford Escape rental once, and I was disgusted by the mileage. It was supposed to get 22mpg, but the best I ever saw was 20. (pure highway driving) In heavy traffic, it was 12mpg at the worst.
I take mileage figures with a lot of skepticism now. This was supposed to be a "small, efficient" SUV.
You should read window stickers a bit more carefully next time. Take for example my old WRX, the window stiker says 20 city, 27 highway in big bold numbers. If you read under that is also clearly states:
Actual mileage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle's condition. Results reported to EPA indicate that the majority of vehicles with these estimates will achieve between 16 and 24 mpg in the city and 22 and 32 mpg on the highway.
I'm willing to bet money the mileage you saw was well within what Ford said it would get. Please remember that small does not mean efficient. This is a mistake many people make.
Rather than give a small bonus to people who buy SUVs, I'd like to see a massive penalty charged to people who don't.
Are hybrids the answer? Not to the final exam, but they are for the mid-term. The answer to the final exam will need to be electric vehicles with locally generated wind/solar electricity.
Leave oil to the 18 wheelers that keep the country moving, that would drop the price to the point that the small operators can still move equipment around the country while a better way to make a fully electric 18 wheeler hits.
Yes, hybrids. Ask a group of hybrid owners the actual gas mileage they're seeing and let the chaos ensue.
A much better choice for vehicles of that size if actually what GM calls Displacement on Demand, I forget what Chrysler calls it, but they use it also. At part throttle the motor will only run on 4 of 8 cylinders, stomp on the gas and it fires up all 8. The see a decent gas mileage increase.
Hybrids are more fluff than anything. While they're a neat idea on the whole they don't really deliver.
Say what? Maybe if they've got a 1400hp 600ci V8 in them. Granted it's still not great but many of the new mid and large SUV's are now getting 20mpg or better now. Yes it's not great, but it's a far cry from your over-exaggerated 3mpg crap.
Sadly if this does take off and companies start saving money by doing this the oil companies will just raise the cost of fuel sold for large ships to make up the difference.
Slashdot Mirror
The same guys who are making fun of them for waiting while they themselves are walking in to get 360 games are the ones who camped out for two weeks to get a 360 first.
Didn't I read this same story about two years ago? right down to the lifting patients out of bed bit. Hmmm.
Ugg they did that for Red Dwarf and ruined it :/ Some thigns are supposed to be cheesey
Just post them right away. Bad, lazy students will be bad and lazy regardless of whether or not they attend class. If you hold off on putting the videos of lectures up you're punishing the students who actually care about the class(es) because of idiots who don't care.
Wrong. I had an ATI All-In-Wonder before tivo was around.
Well the stamps on the frame are required. There are a handful of required VIN stamps on most cars because of theft. Thieves will change the plates in the window, so there are others to verify.
I have a feeling if you looked a little harder you'd find the VIN all over your vehicle. It may not be in blatently obvious places, but if you know where to look it's not hard to find.
While I agree destroying the thing is not an appropriate _FIRST_ action. I wonder if you have ever heard a 17 kHz tone? With the proper volume it can be downright painful.
Where? The VIN on my car is in the door jamb and in the trunk in the spare wheel well. The full VIN is not printed in the engine compartment, either on the block or on the hood labels. Any access to the VIN, aside from in the window (which might be unlawful to cover depending on where you live), requires a key or a physical break-in...
I did once have a Ford which had the VIN stamped into the engine block, but that's hardly "dozens" of places.
On many cars you can find the VIN on just about any part with a sticker on it. I built trucks for GM for a few years and the VIN is everywhere on GM trucks (passenger side of the frame just below the door is one easy place). I can't speak for anyone other than GM really as that is where the majority of my experience is, but I know for fact on the five GM vehicles I've owned the VIN is all over the place. On my Subaru it was in less places, but still fairly easily found.
Yep, I had a friend who drove a tow truck for awhile. He still had all his tools (slim jims, wedges, etc). One night we were mucking around at his place and he showed me how quickly you can get into some cars by breaking into his car and my car. He was also three years out of practice with the tools and he got in, in very little time. If he hadn't been three years out of practice he could have been in in under 30 seconds.
So far in NY, LA and soon to be NC, my luck has been very good with USAA, even if I could find coverage cheaper I can't see leaving them because I know their serviceis great. Who knows what you get with other companies? Sometimes it's not about knowing you're paying less, but knowing you'll get what you're paying for if something happens.
Except that the VIN in on dozens of places on every automobile. Go ahead and cover up the one in the windshield and they can get it in under a minute from another dozen places on the can that are easily accessable without having to get into the car.
Ironicly enough car companies put the VIN all over the car to help combat auto theft. It's pretty easy to change a vin plate in the windshield, but if it doesn't match all the other VIN's on the car. Hey stolen car!
To elaborate, cars nowadays have their engine computer-controlled by an Engine Control Unit (ECU). It often does everything from telling the spark plugs to fire to regulating the amount of fuel injected into the engine. When the key hasn't been properly authenticated, the ECU simply refuses to allow the engine to do anything.
Well this is only partially true. Most cars have at least two main computers, a PCM/ECU and what GM calls a BCM (Body Control Module, I'm not sure what other makers call it, but they have them too).
The PCM/ECU only controls the motor and transmission in most caes it does not have anything to do with the anti-theft devices, that would be handled by the BCM and probably a seperate module specifically for the RFID/whatever anti-theft system.
Key goes in, anti-theft modules sees the proper code, tells the BCM it's kosher and the BCM will then activate a certain lead on the PCM/ECU telling it it can go ahead and start with fuel and spark.
Of course all this means jack shit when a pro rolls up with a flat-bed. You'd be surprised how few people will even look twice at a car being put on a flat-bed in a parking lot in the middle of the afternoon. They probably assume the car is either broken and being taken to a shop.
My father used to have the magnets from an old 80 meg mainframe HD. One of the ones where the platters was about the size of the tires on your car. The friggin thign weighed about 30lbs and you could pull a car with it :)
Sounds like my auto insurance company. They've been nothing but helpful and have way better rates than any other company I've gotten quotes from, but they also don't deal with the general public only the US military and their families. Anyone who is serving or has served in the US armed forces should check out USAA. They _will_ give you crazy rates if you have a bad record, but if you have a good record they will take very good care of you.
When I moved from NY to Louisiana my premium went up $1,200/year for two cars. I thought that was a bit high, so I got quotes from other companies and the other insurance companies wanted as much every 6 months as my insurance company wanted every year! And they're not one of these, "oh boy I hope I never have to file a claim," companies either. I got in a small fender-bender about 4 years ago that was just expensive enough that it was cheaper to claim than pay out of pocket at the time and they had the check for the repair to me in 2 days.
For instance, got a convertable? Cost more. 6 cylinders? More. Double tail pipe? More. Car painted red? A lot more - as a matter of a fact, statistically, red cars get in the most accidents... so try to avoid red cars unless you want a sweet 10-20% bump in your premiums.
Umm you're in a bit of a dreamland there. I'd like you to find an insurance company that even asks what color your car is for determining a premium. Of the six cars I've owned in the past 8 years my insurance company has never asked the color. I would recheck your statistics here. From what I can find earth tone cars (black, brown, green, etc...) are involved in more crashes statistically.
They care about the statistics of the vehicle itself, the driver and the location. With the same exact coverages my insurance went up $1,200/year when I moved from western New York to Louisiana (lots of car theft in Louisiana and the drivers here are HORRIBLE). If you have a clean record, but the car is a "high risk" car (ie. lots of them get wrecked) then you're going to pay more in premiums (usually collision). If you're a shite driver and your record shows it you'll pay more in liability and possibly collision.
Answer me this, which do you think costs more for a 27 year old with a clean driving record to insure, a 2007 Corvette or a 2002 Firebird Formula?
I just quoted and compared a brand new 2007 Corvette Z06 (70k car, with a 505hp 7.0 litre V8) to my 2002 Firebird Formula (24k new, 310hp 5.7 litre V8). Guess what? They didn't inquire about color and the difference was the Z06 cost $30 more every 6 months to insure. I also just got a quote for a normal 2007 Corvette (I quoted the 50k model, 400hp 6.0 litre V8), it's $100 less every 6 months than my Firebird.
Hmm, two cars that are faster, more expensive and more powerful than my car yet they're either similar premium or less! If your insurance company is asking about paint color you need to find a new insurance company.
Exactly. I guess the Insurance company has never heard of a flatbed. Flatbeds, not keys are the weapon of choice when a professional steals a vehicle. I guess they've watched too much of the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds.
What I'm tryign to figure out is why people immediately assume that more expensive contractors would do better work? Anyone who has dealt with any sort of contractor knows this is total rubbish. Ignore price and look at the work that someone has actually done.
Plenty of people have decided to have their kitchen remodeled and chose to go with the mid-priced contractor, thinking they would use that extra money on better materials or maybe have better quality workmanship. They often find out that the job they paid an extra 20% for is no better than the cheaper contractor would have done.
I had a Ford Escape rental once, and I was disgusted by the mileage. It was supposed to get 22mpg, but the best I ever saw was 20. (pure highway driving) In heavy traffic, it was 12mpg at the worst.
I take mileage figures with a lot of skepticism now. This was supposed to be a "small, efficient" SUV.
You should read window stickers a bit more carefully next time. Take for example my old WRX, the window stiker says 20 city, 27 highway in big bold numbers. If you read under that is also clearly states:
Actual mileage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle's condition. Results reported to EPA indicate that the majority of vehicles with these estimates will achieve between 16 and 24 mpg in the city and 22 and 32 mpg on the highway.
I'm willing to bet money the mileage you saw was well within what Ford said it would get. Please remember that small does not mean efficient. This is a mistake many people make.
And we could tie the accelerator to Volume control,
Amusingly enough this *IS* an option on some cars. As you increase in speed (and therefore road and wind noise) the volume will increase.
Rather than give a small bonus to people who buy SUVs, I'd like to see a massive penalty charged to people who don't.
Are hybrids the answer? Not to the final exam, but they are for the mid-term. The answer to the final exam will need to be electric vehicles with locally generated wind/solar electricity.
Leave oil to the 18 wheelers that keep the country moving, that would drop the price to the point that the small operators can still move equipment around the country while a better way to make a fully electric 18 wheeler hits.
Yes, hybrids. Ask a group of hybrid owners the actual gas mileage they're seeing and let the chaos ensue.
A much better choice for vehicles of that size if actually what GM calls Displacement on Demand, I forget what Chrysler calls it, but they use it also. At part throttle the motor will only run on 4 of 8 cylinders, stomp on the gas and it fires up all 8. The see a decent gas mileage increase.
Hybrids are more fluff than anything. While they're a neat idea on the whole they don't really deliver.
Meanwhile, while they guzzle fuel at 3mpg
Say what? Maybe if they've got a 1400hp 600ci V8 in them. Granted it's still not great but many of the new mid and large SUV's are now getting 20mpg or better now. Yes it's not great, but it's a far cry from your over-exaggerated 3mpg crap.
Not entirely, but I guess you've never heard of OPEC? That group comes pretty close to making a monopoly.
Yeah. *smacks forehead*
Just like they bought up the patents for that 100 mile per gallon carbuerator and hid it away in their 'secret idea warehouse' in Area 51.
Sadly they would just raise prices. The oil companies have stated they will charge as much as they possibly can.
Sadly if this does take off and companies start saving money by doing this the oil companies will just raise the cost of fuel sold for large ships to make up the difference.
From what I've read they only use the sails to supplement the normal proppulsion system, not to replace it.