(PS : spectators have never like "uber-champions" that win everything, simply because there is no surprise... they always win and control the race from the 1sec to the last one. No passion = less interrest for viewers).
Domestic to the States, OLN viewership was down 52%. In Germany, after Ullrich got das boot (har har), ratings were down 43%. Even in France there were 23% fewer people watching on TV. (Source: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=421 4)
Personally, I'm psyched that it was wide open - the drama was a blast, and last Thursday when Landis cranked the dial to eleven was a beautiful thing to watch... but if the majority of Murrikins can't watch Texas-boy dominate again, they'd rather watch something else.:(
I've got a BoA checking-only account for when I absolutely need nationwide access - to walk into a local branch and deal with something, or to withdraw from a commonly-available ATM without fee. My company direct-deposits 35% of each paycheck to that account, so BoA doesn't charge any fees to keep it up (...yet).
I've got the best credit union on Earth for all of my business-doing needs. Car loan, Visa card, bill-paying. While vacationing in Albuquerque last month, I discovered to my surprise that there's a network of related CU ATMs that allows no-fee transactions... so I'll be using it more for that, too, whenever the chance comes up.
As long as I direct as little business through Bank of America as I possibly can, and take full advantage of the lower fees & better rates available through my CU, I figure I'm doing pretty well. If you have access to any sort of CU, I highly recommend a similar arrangement.
They are smaller, they are lighter, energy density is pretty good, and the devices they are meant to power (predominantly cameras & cell phones) tend to be replaced every two to four years by consumers anyway when Newer! Faster! Better! appears on the scene for about what was paid in the first place.
My DSC-U30 takes NiMH AAA batteries and I'm thrilled with it. My DSC-F707 takes a proprietary Li-Ion but I found a newly manufactured copy on eBay for like sixteen bucks shipped to replace the 4-year-old used thing that I purchased it with, so I'm happy.
More fun battery rant info can be found here.
I read this a few weeks ago and realized that I really, really want to see Snow Crash on the big screen. It wouldn't require the typical overload of crazy description that the book uses (cf. Cryptonomicon's Captain Crunch dissertation) - just hire incredibly good visual effects folks to nail the details and you've got a gritty believable near-future in which we can sit back and watch Hiro whup up. Please, world, someday.
Of course I'm sure it'll still be better in my head.:\
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of--wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor even eagle flew--
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
High Flight John Gillespie Magee, Jr. June 9, 1922 - December 11, 1941 (age 19)
Plus, it's incredibly geeky. What's not to love? We've even been able to fit a lot of stuff in it for weekend trips (suitcase, assorted other bags, cameras, etc., plus a stroller, pack-and-play, and, of course, the baby), even leaving the back seat pretty much free of extra boxes or bags. You'd never think there was so much space to look at it from the outside.
I could say the same thing about the Elantra hatchback I purchased last year for $13K out the door. It gets 36-37mpg on long highway trips. It is not a hybrid, but makes good sense for those of us who only make twelve bucks an hour. Am glad that your Prius does the trick, though. I'd love to own one myself.
Also, CAFE is crap and desperately needs to be overhauled, which will not happen.:( US tax policies have never ever made it cost-effective for either consumer or manufacturer to work with cars that are better for the environment.
Several semesters of music theory in college - three hours a week analyzing and two hours a week singing - did amazing things for my sightsinging ability. Go to your local university music department and audit a class, if that's an option. You will learn far more than you thought you would. Before that class, I couldn't find middle C on a piano. Now, I can sing just about any interval you like, up to and including twelve-tone stuff. It ain't just me.
Also in my case, playin' French horn tends to make one need to know this stuff, since the intervals are too close to just mash the keys and hope the right note comes out.:P Singing isn't really too much farther off.
Slashdot Mirror
...and you've convinced me. As soon as my Sprint contract expires in March, I'll be an ex-Sprint customer.
Thanks for the tip!
I'm a pope. I've got the laminated card to prove it. You can have one too.
(PS : spectators have never like "uber-champions" that win everything, simply because there is no surprise ... they always win and control the race from the 1sec to the last one. No passion = less interrest for viewers).
1 4)
:(
Domestic to the States, OLN viewership was down 52%. In Germany, after Ullrich got das boot (har har), ratings were down 43%. Even in France there were 23% fewer people watching on TV. (Source: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=42
Personally, I'm psyched that it was wide open - the drama was a blast, and last Thursday when Landis cranked the dial to eleven was a beautiful thing to watch... but if the majority of Murrikins can't watch Texas-boy dominate again, they'd rather watch something else.
It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.
Yeah, I get the feeling that it looks vaguely familiar. My parents bought me one fifteen years ago...
I've got the best credit union on Earth for all of my business-doing needs. Car loan, Visa card, bill-paying. While vacationing in Albuquerque last month, I discovered to my surprise that there's a network of related CU ATMs that allows no-fee transactions... so I'll be using it more for that, too, whenever the chance comes up.
As long as I direct as little business through Bank of America as I possibly can, and take full advantage of the lower fees & better rates available through my CU, I figure I'm doing pretty well. If you have access to any sort of CU, I highly recommend a similar arrangement.
Ahh, the lovely ironies of the world.
They are smaller, they are lighter, energy density is pretty good, and the devices they are meant to power (predominantly cameras & cell phones) tend to be replaced every two to four years by consumers anyway when Newer! Faster! Better! appears on the scene for about what was paid in the first place. My DSC-U30 takes NiMH AAA batteries and I'm thrilled with it. My DSC-F707 takes a proprietary Li-Ion but I found a newly manufactured copy on eBay for like sixteen bucks shipped to replace the 4-year-old used thing that I purchased it with, so I'm happy. More fun battery rant info can be found here.
QQO was groovy-lookin' but unfortunately had a price tag in the $1500-2000 range if I recall correctly.
Active browsing time via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is up to 3 hours. Stand-by time of the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is up to 7 days. from Nokia.
...before planes had GPS, they dropped out of the sky all the damned time.
Of course I'm sure it'll still be better in my head. :\
My dad got an Apple ][+ on January 23, 1981.
:) Thanks for the nostalgia!
It was the day I turned 1 year old. I started playing with BASIC at the age of four.
entire poem located here...
The arching sky is calling
Spacemen back to their trade.
ALL HANDS! STAND BY! FREE FALLING!
And the lights below us fade.
Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet --
We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the friendly skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.
-- Robert A. Heinlein
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of--wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor even eagle flew--
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
High Flight
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
June 9, 1922 - December 11, 1941 (age 19)
I could say the same thing about the Elantra hatchback I purchased last year for $13K out the door. It gets 36-37mpg on long highway trips. It is not a hybrid, but makes good sense for those of us who only make twelve bucks an hour. Am glad that your Prius does the trick, though. I'd love to own one myself.
Also, CAFE is crap and desperately needs to be overhauled, which will not happen. :( US tax policies have never ever made it cost-effective for either consumer or manufacturer to work with cars that are better for the environment.
...posting from my office where I wholesale bike parts to shops. ;)
that was my first thought, too.
That, and Keanu Reeves goin' "whoa."
Several semesters of music theory in college - three hours a week analyzing and two hours a week singing - did amazing things for my sightsinging ability. Go to your local university music department and audit a class, if that's an option. You will learn far more than you thought you would. Before that class, I couldn't find middle C on a piano. Now, I can sing just about any interval you like, up to and including twelve-tone stuff. It ain't just me.
:P Singing isn't really too much farther off.
Also in my case, playin' French horn tends to make one need to know this stuff, since the intervals are too close to just mash the keys and hope the right note comes out.
...four years ago, and look how well that turned out. I for one would be more affected by an iPhone than I have been by that silly overpriced gizmo.
ED-209 'bout to thoroughly shred some office schmuck
Man invented fire for a reason. Bingo. Walk the cow past the fire first. Then slice & serve. mmmm, tasty.
Science@Nasa Shuttle Tracking. very slick link. Also check out the J-Track 3D for most every unclassified item up there in realtime 3D.
Quite the action-packed trailer.
can someone more familiar with the comic explain some premise for the rest of us?
Great., NASA is run by PHBs.
Nah, NASA is run by some capable people... but the directives they're given by the administration sometimes don't make much sense.