Well, I don't know any of the specifics (it'll be province/state specific anyway), but in the interests of starting a discussion of it: you'd have to at the very least:
First, find out who owns everything involved: The trench, the land it's going through, the pipes, the trunk you want to join, etc. If all are small enough entities you may be able to deal with them directly in which case it may be as simple as hiring a lawyer to write up contracts and hammer on the details of service/etc.
You may need to start up a company/corporate entity to handle the ownership/etc of everything.. this might also help with your smoke-and-mirrors convincing of those involved.. if they're approached by "Waterloo broadband services" (or whatever you call your company) for permission to use their trench/backbone, they may react better than to your community council (which may well be a corporate entity, but still sounds.. well.. grass rootish;)
Anyone know specific details on any of the above steps?
Seriously though, I've always been kinda intregued by (warning, I'm exploring the mad-scientist in me) the pathalogical fear people have of human-machine hybrids or even fully artificial humans. We all know there's lots of Sci-fi on the subject, some good some bad.. but I'm curious if the geek culture (let's choose a horribly biased sample set.. hrm.. oh here's one.. Slashdot:) has less of a instinctive fear of "being replaced"..?
(Note, I'm not saying it's good or bad.. I'm just curious if the "average geek's" opinion is different from the average man's)
Choosing a tool is definately the important question, but it's an interesting question (assuming it doesn't degenerate into a war of tastes but rather a discussion of featuers or something)...
In support of Maya (disclaimer; I worked for Alias|Wavefront at one point), while it's expensive (for small-scale production use) and has a hella-learning-curve, it has become much easier/cheaper to learn lately, and once you get past those two points many people believe it's technically superior to most of the other solutions - at the very least because it's flexibility allows you to duplicate any techniques or effects from elsewhere.
Finally, refering back to the issue of file formats, it's pretty easy to get either one of the converters (the previous post mentions a good one.. psuedo-mod to them:), or write/download a Mel plugin/script to export whatever format you want.
Actually a D30, while not a platonic solid, does have sides with equilateral edge-lengths. What it doesn't have is sides with regular polygons, as they are (usually) 4-sided diamonds.. so they have two acute and two obtuse angles per side. Platonic solids have sides who's edges are the same length and angles are the same.
NTL, they _are_ balanced for all sides.. at least to within reasonable tolerances.:)
Sharper
Ps: The fact that there _is_ a largest-possible-platonic-solid is a kinda cool mathmatical proof;)
until you can measure the precise effect of a house fly beating its wings one way as opposed to another on global weather then you can't produce a truly accurate model,
Er.. for an over-simplified counterpoint.. I don't even know where most of the molecules in my baseball are, nor exactly how they affect each other... but I'm fairly sure if I drop a baseball most of it will go down at 9.81m/ss. Now, it'll wobble a bit (on a micrometre scale;).. but what you're saying only applies to a perfect model.. a model which is usefully likely[1] to be true can be derived from average starting conditions and average/aggregate expectations. You benefit from said models every day.. (stocks, traffic control algorithms, heck.. even your body's DNA is replicated on a probably-works basis.. with some error checking, of course)
Gavin
As an evolutionary biologist, I can say it's almost certainly not enough. For most high order creatures (like, say, mammals) the requisite gene pool is close to a thousand creatures, +/-.. (see: Grizzly bears in Alberta, Canada).
Now, there are some techniques under development to introduce genetic variety into a genome (mostly to prevent species from going extinct due to inbreeding).. so there's still hope:)
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you are), by accepting their EULA (and then fullfilling the conditions, ie: distributing your work), you've given them the right over ownership essentially.. they don't have to accept your EULA to use it as they've already got that right. This is how contract law works (in North America anyway).
Heh.. you should pseudo-contract to people to set this up for them.. if I didn't have cable available I'd pay you $100+cost to buy the parts and set it up for me (and yeah, I'd sign a piece of paper saying if whoever I've got it pointed at got mad, it's my problem not yours;)...hell, I'd pay 150$ if you let me watch and learn. Sounds like a beauty of a hack, and you could make a pretty penny doing it for people who don't have the time to pick up the know-how.
DMG
Obhack: Old Garage-Door opener innards+ screwdriver/soldering iron + coffee-pot = wireless wakeup self-bribe... god I hate mornings.
This seems like an appropriate place to ask a question that's been rattling around in my head for a while...
How would one go about setting up two connections from the same linux box, then specifying which one to use for which connections.. ie: A 14.4 modem for low-bandwidth, low-latency, plus a dish for high bandwith high latency. Unfortunately the best use of this would be browsing of course but that uses a bi-directional connection, which would make life a serious pain.
In essence, it'd be nice to 'telnet-eth0 machine.work.com' or 'ftp-eth1 games.downloads.org'.. obviously that's not the synatx, but how would you set it up.. it's got to be hackable SomeHow...
Two ideas which spring to mind are use of a package-splitting protocol (ATM springs to mind, but I know zilch about it, it just sounds familiar) and/or a friendly remote server on a high-bandwidth line which has a intermediary-server (this could theoretically solve the http-send/recv dilemma, I think)..
Ok, enough rambling.. anyone actually know what they're talking about re: this?;)
Unfortunately the slashdot crowd has, in knee-jerk fashion, completely missed the point of the original post.
Try answering the following question instead: "Given that the industry is going to get SOME law put on the books to protect their interests, what form of law would be preferable".
Think of it as a multiple-choice question on an exam folks.. having to answer it may suck, but choosing an answer which doesn't exist (ie: "No Such Law!" or "Make it _easier_ to pirate software!") is just ignored, and hence a non-answer.
And if you can't come up with a good answer.. just.. don't:)
Biased Question. Uninformed too.
on
Eco-Terrorism
·
· Score: 1
If one of the companies developing bio-engineered plants/animals messes up, the consequences to the rest of the world could be extreme
If one of the companies developing GMOs gets it right, the effects could help make the world a _noticeably_ better place, in many way.
Given that we have a system which greatly slants the chances away from the former (ever actually READ the GM/GE research restrictions? Didn't think so), any kind of extreme action seems uninformed. My opinion? Watchdogs are good... extreme action is uncalled for in this case.
I can't say that extreme activism is never called for.. there are cases it might be. But this isn't one of them, neither is people driving SUVs.
Sharper
Ps: Just for irony's sake... there's a GM alge under development which consumes greenhouse gasses.
Actually, if I remember from our Human Genetics class a couple of terms back, what they did was to add a centromere and proper replication sequences to the chromosome such that when a new cell is formed with one copy of each of the 23 normal chromosomes, plus this one, it duplicates a second copy of all 24.. ensuring that the genes on C24 are carried down along the germ line. That's the essence of their new development, previously you could inject a new chromosome into a cell, but only one of it's progeny would contain the inserted DNA, and usually it would be degraded by the cell (avoiding this is a slightly older innovation). Don't quote me on any of this, it was a while ago, but HTH.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I don't know any of the specifics (it'll be province/state specific anyway), but in the interests of starting a discussion of it: you'd have to at the very least:
;)
First, find out who owns everything involved: The trench, the land it's going through, the pipes, the trunk you want to join, etc. If all are small enough entities you may be able to deal with them directly in which case it may be as simple as hiring a lawyer to write up contracts and hammer on the details of service/etc.
You may need to start up a company/corporate entity to handle the ownership/etc of everything.. this might also help with your smoke-and-mirrors convincing of those involved.. if they're approached by "Waterloo broadband services" (or whatever you call your company) for permission to use their trench/backbone, they may react better than to your community council (which may well be a corporate entity, but still sounds.. well.. grass rootish
Anyone know specific details on any of the above steps?
Rofl..ok, I dont' have the points to mod this up or I would ;)
;)
NTL, I'd say this could actually make a great _intentional_ betting scheme.. everyone brings a half dozen disks of pron and the betting begins..
G
Heh, it's kinda neat eh?
:) has less of a instinctive fear of "being replaced"..?
Seriously though, I've always been kinda intregued by (warning, I'm exploring the mad-scientist in me) the pathalogical fear people have of human-machine hybrids or even fully artificial humans. We all know there's lots of Sci-fi on the subject, some good some bad.. but I'm curious if the geek culture (let's choose a horribly biased sample set.. hrm.. oh here's one.. Slashdot
(Note, I'm not saying it's good or bad.. I'm just curious if the "average geek's" opinion is different from the average man's)
Sharper
No-no silly, 1D x 2D = 3D ;)
Choosing a tool is definately the important question, but it's an interesting question (assuming it doesn't degenerate into a war of tastes but rather a discussion of featuers or something)...
:), or write/download a Mel plugin/script to export whatever format you want.
In support of Maya (disclaimer; I worked for Alias|Wavefront at one point), while it's expensive (for small-scale production use) and has a hella-learning-curve, it has become much easier/cheaper to learn lately, and once you get past those two points many people believe it's technically superior to most of the other solutions - at the very least because it's flexibility allows you to duplicate any techniques or effects from elsewhere.
Finally, refering back to the issue of file formats, it's pretty easy to get either one of the converters (the previous post mentions a good one.. psuedo-mod to them
Gavin
Actually a D30, while not a platonic solid, does have sides with equilateral edge-lengths. What it doesn't have is sides with regular polygons, as they are (usually) 4-sided diamonds.. so they have two acute and two obtuse angles per side. Platonic solids have sides who's edges are the same length and angles are the same.
:)
;)
NTL, they _are_ balanced for all sides.. at least to within reasonable tolerances.
Sharper
Ps: The fact that there _is_ a largest-possible-platonic-solid is a kinda cool mathmatical proof
until you can measure the precise effect of a house fly beating its wings one way as opposed to another on global weather then you can't produce a truly accurate model,
;).. but what you're saying only applies to a perfect model.. a model which is usefully likely[1] to be true can be derived from average starting conditions and average/aggregate expectations.
Er.. for an over-simplified counterpoint.. I don't even know where most of the molecules in my baseball are, nor exactly how they affect each other... but I'm fairly sure if I drop a baseball most of it will go down at 9.81m/ss. Now, it'll wobble a bit (on a micrometre scale
You benefit from said models every day.. (stocks, traffic control algorithms, heck.. even your body's DNA is replicated on a probably-works basis.. with some error checking, of course) Gavin
As an evolutionary biologist, I can say it's almost certainly not enough. For most high order creatures (like, say, mammals) the requisite gene pool is close to a thousand creatures, +/-.. (see: Grizzly bears in Alberta, Canada).
:)
Now, there are some techniques under development to introduce genetic variety into a genome (mostly to prevent species from going extinct due to inbreeding).. so there's still hope
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you are), by accepting their EULA (and then fullfilling the conditions, ie: distributing your work), you've given them the right over ownership essentially.. they don't have to accept your EULA to use it as they've already got that right. This is how contract law works (in North America anyway).
Sharper
Heh.. you should pseudo-contract to people to set this up for them.. if I didn't have cable available I'd pay you $100+cost to buy the parts and set it up for me (and yeah, I'd sign a piece of paper saying if whoever I've got it pointed at got mad, it's my problem not yours ;)...hell, I'd pay 150$ if you let me watch and learn. Sounds like a beauty of a hack, and you could make a pretty penny doing it for people who don't have the time to pick up the know-how.
DMG
Obhack: Old Garage-Door opener innards+ screwdriver/soldering iron + coffee-pot = wireless wakeup self-bribe... god I hate mornings.
This seems like an appropriate place to ask a question that's been rattling around in my head for a while...
;)
How would one go about setting up two connections from the same linux box, then specifying which one to use for which connections.. ie: A 14.4 modem for low-bandwidth, low-latency, plus a dish for high bandwith high latency. Unfortunately the best use of this would be browsing of course but that uses a bi-directional connection, which would make life a serious pain.
In essence, it'd be nice to 'telnet-eth0 machine.work.com' or 'ftp-eth1 games.downloads.org'.. obviously that's not the synatx, but how would you set it up.. it's got to be hackable SomeHow...
Two ideas which spring to mind are use of a package-splitting protocol (ATM springs to mind, but I know zilch about it, it just sounds familiar) and/or a friendly remote server on a high-bandwidth line which has a intermediary-server (this could theoretically solve the http-send/recv dilemma, I think)..
Ok, enough rambling.. anyone actually know what they're talking about re: this?
Cheers,
DMG
Unfortunately the slashdot crowd has, in knee-jerk fashion, completely missed the point of the original post.
:)
Try answering the following question instead: "Given that the industry is going to get SOME law put on the books to protect their interests, what form of law would be preferable".
Think of it as a multiple-choice question on an exam folks.. having to answer it may suck, but choosing an answer which doesn't exist (ie: "No Such Law!" or "Make it _easier_ to pirate software!") is just ignored, and hence a non-answer.
And if you can't come up with a good answer.. just.. don't
If one of the companies developing bio-engineered plants/animals messes up, the consequences to the rest of the world could be extreme
If one of the companies developing GMOs gets it right, the effects could help make the world a _noticeably_ better place, in many way.
Given that we have a system which greatly slants the chances away from the former (ever actually READ the GM/GE research restrictions? Didn't think so), any kind of extreme action seems uninformed. My opinion? Watchdogs are good... extreme action is uncalled for in this case.
I can't say that extreme activism is never called for.. there are cases it might be. But this isn't one of them, neither is people driving SUVs.
SharperPs: Just for irony's sake... there's a GM alge under development which consumes greenhouse gasses.
Actually, if I remember from our Human Genetics class a couple of terms back, what they did was to add a centromere and proper replication sequences to the chromosome such that when a new cell is formed with one copy of each of the 23 normal chromosomes, plus this one, it duplicates a second copy of all 24.. ensuring that the genes on C24 are carried down along the germ line. That's the essence of their new development, previously you could inject a new chromosome into a cell, but only one of it's progeny would contain the inserted DNA, and usually it would be degraded by the cell (avoiding this is a slightly older innovation). Don't quote me on any of this, it was a while ago, but HTH.