Why not an open source project to design the hardware & software? The actual hardware could be built under contract to the open source specifications. I'm not saying it would be a cakewalk, but it doesn't seem any harder than any other open source project. Since it concerns the future of the american democracy, I'm sure volunteers would appear. There are a lot of pro's for computer counting. It should be faster & more accurate, right? Before some smart aleck posts the "idea of a wooden box with a slot & paper ballots" for open source election hardware, I'll share this story. I voted early on election day, and brought my wife to the polls in the evening. We stuffed paper ballots (marked with a penciled X) into a wooden box with a slot. By the time she voted, the box was pretty darn full. Half an hour later, we were listening to the evening news report the election results. I felt like my vote wasn't even counted, since I knew the box had not been emptied & counted in the last half hour (polls were still open). The metropolitan areas of the state with electronic counting had reported in well before the boondocks and determined the outcome (statistically). As an engineer (ME), I think it would be a very cool project.
>>Remember: Kern = real good at math and science. >Just because he got a 43 on a physics final, don't think he's dumb. Oh no! It was the system. The bad >TAs. The ignorant teaching he got. He's quite smart, you see. Why? Well, because he says so right >there.
But he didn't fail...the class avg was a 38. Clearly, Kern is someone who could hack it, he just chose not too. Do you have to be a masochist to be an engineer?
From Niccolo Machiavelli's, The Prince
"There are three different kinds of brains, the one understands things unassisted, the other understands things when shown by others, and the third understands neither alone nor with the explanations of others. The first kind is most excellent, the second kind also excellent, but the third useless."
Presumably, the first kind of brain learns diffy q's by smell. The second kind, requires some explanation, which Kern did not seem to get at Smarty Pants U. When you are paying for tuition, you can reasonably expect some instruction. The third kind of mind may think Diffy Q is the new rap group.
My engineering classes were all taught by Ph.D's. Some were better than others. I was once warned away from a math class by a friend (Ph.D in the math program) just because the class was being taught by someone w/out teaching skills. I thankfully opted for a different topic! I had my share of difficult subjects taught by difficult professors. Who needs that?!
I find Ursula Le Guin's books to be either very good or very bad. Earthsea Trilogy, fantastic. City of Illusions, good. Malafrena..so bad I couldn't finish it. Tehanu, the 20 yr later followup to Earthsea, was an incredible disappointment. I got rid of it directly after reading (This from a collector!) I also have The Winds Twelve Quarters, with 2 nice Earthsea short stories. I haven't read all of her books. Usually when I find a good author I hunt down all their other books and add them to my collection. Le Guin simply isn't consistent enough to pursue that way.
I must wonder, why did she sell the rights if she didn't get a guarantee on the story? Did she need the money that badly? I've read the Earthsea Trilogy a dozen times or more, and the race thing is a subtle theme in the story. And there she is ranting about it...well, I'm sure I would be disappointed to see it for other reasons. Putting books in video format is a challenge.
-Bollux --- couldn't post, for lack of a clever comment
Seems NeonFrog mentioned my recent study:), that I joking titled "Electric Power Consumption at a Duplex". I was trying to figure out why I pay $65/month for electricity, for 2 people in a ~900 square foot duplex. I had a good idea why...
I used a borrowed power meter (neonfrog) to measure the consumption. I recorded 2 items, length of time the data was recorded, and kWh consumed during that time. I only went after my chief suspects. Other appliances in use but not measured for the curious: washer/dryer, stove, lamps. Propane heat/hot water.
Power Meter Info: KILL A WATT (tm) Model: P4400 KILL A WATT Http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4 400/P4400-CE.html
GE Refrigerator (old, not ancient, not huge) @118 hours: 32 kwh Computer, on all the time,Win95, Cyrix 166+ processor, 200W power supply. @98.5 hours: 7.24 kwh Monitor, 19" Princeton, on all the time. 25 hours: 1.5 kwh Estimated Usage/Month (30 day) Cost(Rate:11.74 cent/kWh) Refrigerator: 195.3 kwh/month $22.93/month Computer: 52.3 kwh/month $6.14/month Monitor: 43.2 kwh/month $5.07/month
I'm trying to figure out how to let my landlord know that replacing the refrigerator is a good idea. If my landlord spends $750 or more for a refrigerator, then I could save $15/month. Rent might rise, but my month costs will remain the same. The only motivation is environmental conscience...I will be leaving this duplex in 3 months. I have an idea that the electric company might have some program to motivate people to upgrade to new appliances. cheers, Bollux
Heh. Don't forget about loss by theft. How many pint glasses did you acquire from various drinking establishments in college? Not everybody knows where to find restaurant supply shops. But seriously, if the technology can't be made available cheaply, it just won't fly. (pause, scratch head) I suppose if the technology is adapted from a theft deterrent device, it could be used to keep glasses from straying..probably pay for itself right there!
Bollux
-Ready to try some Guinness on his pancakes, thanks for the idea! Wait, maybe just throw some Guiness in the batter...Buckwheat Guinness pancakes...hmmm.
This conductive concrete has some interesting properties. The number one use that leaps to mind is EMI protection.
But for heating? Forget it! Two replies to this article mentioned something about how much energy it would require to melt ice. Now add the energy required to heat up the concrete. And know, that while electricity works quickly, it is just about the most expensive way to heat your home/whatever.
You might consider also, that while an abode of conductive material might be a great way to absorb stray radio signals coming your way, what are is your dwelling going to be emitting if you are hooking up AC voltage to it? If a micro-watt cell phone freaks you out, consider thousands of watts pumping through your house:) (I don't think anyone has proven that non-ionizing radiation causes cancer yet, so no worries...)
Radiant heating systems are the way to imbed a heat source in concrete. The technology is gaining in popularity all the time, as it deserves.
Read more about it for yourself at: http://www.radiantcompany.com/ They are for profit, but the prices seem reasonable. They advocate do-it-yourself and lots of good info on the website.
It would be great to hear from an HVAC engineer on this, but I don't think they will tell you much different.
In neighboring NH, the governor signed a bill allowing them into use on the streets & sidewalks. Not too surprising, since Dean Kamen/Segway is based in NH.
Here in VT, a Segway hireling has been demonstrating them to lawmakers--they show clips with various elected officials using them. The word is that no drivers license will be required, but you will have to be 16 to operate one.
It seems they will want to do this in a majority of the 50 states before they sell them to the public. The electric/gas scooter sales ran into a problem here in VT when the state started requiring helmets & a motorcycle license. Segway is being very smart about this.
RF is easy to block. 1/4" Hardware cloth will block most things, specifically any RF signal with a wavelength >.5 inches.
Just calculate the wavelength and use a wire mesh with a grid of half that size. Anything larger is a window that RF can use to escape.
The metal fingers mentioned in another post just reduce the "window" size of the gap between two metal edges. Uh, it is important that the mesh be conductive of course!
Think of a microwave window...notice the little black mesh that keeps those nasty signals from cooking your eyeballs as you peek in to watch your tomato sauce explode all over. Same thing.
While you are solving last weeks problems, don't forget about the others.
1) Fossil Fuel Dependency (World, but especially USA) It sure would be nice if SUV's had some minimum fuel economy requirement. As long as I'm wishing, it would be nice if bumpers could be standardized at ONE HEIGHT. It would save car owners a lot of money. Q: What would the USA do if the OPEC refused to sell oil to America anymore?
2) Science & Philosophy. The capabilities of science are beyond any common philosophical debate on the subject. We are allowing Capitalism to drive the world, for a profit. And the USA is determined to make sure everyone is on that page. The Taliban are backwards as hell, but at least they have a moral doctrine (wacked out as it may be). Q: Wouldn't it be better to iron out the moral issues before scientists drop the smelly pile onto our plates in the name of progress?
3) Education. Last year Bush seemed to be (rhetorically) determined to be the education president. It was pro-active at least. May it not be totally forgotten as USA gears up for "Good guys vs. Bad Guys". Q: "Won't somebody please think of the children?" -Mrs. Rev. Lovejoy, Simpsons.
4) USA Public Transportation. This would be a damned good time to think about installing a decent national rail system. You can't really drive a train into a building, can you? The French TGV is one SWEET ride, even if you do wonder what would happen if someone pushed a boulder onto the tracks.
5) Starving Children in Africa. Hell, probably 5,000 die everyday. Not to mention the raging AIDS epidemic over there. Unfortunately we don't know (as an American society) how to react well to others peoples weakness. We figure everyone should earn their own way. It's what makes us act weird around handicapped people. We could bail them out, at some great expense, but the chinese obligation could be worse. It's their mess--let them straighten it out, right?
That's all I care to mention. It's enough to paralyze you into inaction. It must be why people champion one cause.
I doubt the Palestinians could mount this type of
attack...it was surely sponsored by some Islamic
govt. If you want to go back far enough in history, you will find the Arabs pushed someone
off their land or killed them to get it.
Obviously, the Pope should nix his peace talk, and call for a new Crusade to rid the Holy Land of
the Muslims.
They want a Jihad? We'll give them a freakin' Jihad!
BTW--This is all just strong sarcasm. No need
to get upset.
My personal favorite game is Galaxy by
Russell Wallace. It has since been tweaked
to about 4-5 different flavors (the most
Darwinian by far is Blind..heh heh)
VGA Planets was (is?) also good. Diplomacy played
well over the net, though I didn't play it much.
Stomping on a computer is all well & good, but
nothing compares to outwitting a human opponent:)
Games seem to run the range from Reflex (all
action) to Cerebral (all thinking). Obviously,
PBEM is more suited to those cerebral leisures.
(could you argue that battle.net is just a
real-time pbem?)
I always wanted to play in an Empire game marathons...one of those updated every 5 or
10 minutes for 24 hours.
Free. Did I mention free? Some of them
are (like Galaxy).
There is a short story you should read. "The Climbing Wave" by Marion Zimmer Bradley. When I first read the story, I felt anger & dismay. The same sort of idea had popped into my head and I thought about writing something like it, but she did it 30-40 years earlier and much better. I thought about the story some more, and the point she makes is well grounded. What planet could be better for humans to live than Earth? Are we as a race mature enough to leave the planet? (I would say we are like 13 year olds who want to travel the USA, w/out a car or drivers license even) Bollux
Was it as tiring to write as it was to read? Let's see him make it work. I'm almost convinced that good designs are accidents, despite all the science of design. Some day there will be the right kind of accident, and most people will be happy. -Bollux Everyone's a critic, including me!
Slashdot Mirror
I like how the author converts 7m x 7m into 75ft by 75ft. Is that how flies see the world?
Why not an open source project to design the hardware & software? The actual hardware could be built under contract to the open source specifications. I'm not saying it would be a cakewalk, but it doesn't seem any harder than any other open source project. Since it concerns the future of the american democracy, I'm sure volunteers would appear. There are a lot of pro's for computer counting. It should be faster & more accurate, right? Before some smart aleck posts the "idea of a wooden box with a slot & paper ballots" for open source election hardware, I'll share this story. I voted early on election day, and brought my wife to the polls in the evening. We stuffed paper ballots (marked with a penciled X) into a wooden box with a slot. By the time she voted, the box was pretty darn full. Half an hour later, we were listening to the evening news report the election results. I felt like my vote wasn't even counted, since I knew the box had not been emptied & counted in the last half hour (polls were still open). The metropolitan areas of the state with electronic counting had reported in well before the boondocks and determined the outcome (statistically). As an engineer (ME), I think it would be a very cool project.
>>Remember: Kern = real good at math and science.
>Just because he got a 43 on a physics final, don't think he's dumb. Oh no! It was the system. The bad >TAs. The ignorant teaching he got. He's quite smart, you see. Why? Well, because he says so right >there.
But he didn't fail...the class avg was a 38. Clearly, Kern is someone who could hack it, he just chose not too. Do you have to be a masochist to be an engineer?
From Niccolo Machiavelli's, The Prince
"There are three different kinds of brains, the one understands things unassisted, the other understands things when shown by others, and the third understands neither alone nor with the explanations of others. The first kind is most excellent, the second kind also excellent, but the third useless."
Presumably, the first kind of brain learns diffy q's by smell. The second kind, requires some explanation, which Kern did not seem to get at Smarty Pants U. When you are paying for tuition, you can reasonably expect some instruction. The third kind of mind may think Diffy Q is the new rap group.
My engineering classes were all taught by Ph.D's. Some were better than others. I was once warned away from a math class by a friend (Ph.D in the math program) just because the class was being taught by someone w/out teaching skills. I thankfully opted for a different topic! I had my share of difficult subjects taught by difficult professors. Who needs that?!
-Bollux
I find Ursula Le Guin's books to be either very good or very bad. Earthsea Trilogy, fantastic. City of Illusions, good. Malafrena..so bad I couldn't finish it. Tehanu, the 20 yr later followup to Earthsea, was an incredible disappointment. I got rid of it directly after reading (This from a collector!) I also have The Winds Twelve Quarters, with 2 nice Earthsea short stories. I haven't read all of her books. Usually when I find a good author I hunt down all their other books and add them to my collection. Le Guin simply isn't consistent enough to pursue that way.
I must wonder, why did she sell the rights if she didn't get a guarantee on the story? Did she need the money that badly? I've read the Earthsea Trilogy a dozen times or more, and the race thing is a subtle theme in the story. And there she is ranting about it...well, I'm sure I would be disappointed to see it for other reasons. Putting books in video format is a challenge.
-Bollux
---
couldn't post, for lack of a clever comment
Seems NeonFrog mentioned my recent study :), that I joking titled "Electric Power Consumption at a Duplex". I was trying to figure out why I pay $65/month for electricity, for 2 people in a ~900 square foot duplex. I had a good idea why...
4 400/P4400-CE.html
I used a borrowed power meter (neonfrog) to measure the consumption. I recorded 2 items, length of time the data was recorded, and kWh consumed during that time. I only went after my chief suspects. Other appliances in use but not measured for the curious: washer/dryer, stove, lamps. Propane heat/hot water.
Power Meter Info: KILL A WATT (tm) Model: P4400 KILL A WATT Http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P
GE Refrigerator (old, not ancient, not huge) @118 hours: 32 kwh
Computer, on all the time,Win95, Cyrix 166+ processor, 200W power supply. @98.5 hours: 7.24 kwh
Monitor, 19" Princeton, on all the time. 25 hours: 1.5 kwh
Estimated Usage/Month (30 day) Cost(Rate:11.74 cent/kWh)
Refrigerator: 195.3 kwh/month $22.93/month
Computer: 52.3 kwh/month $6.14/month
Monitor: 43.2 kwh/month $5.07/month
I'm trying to figure out how to let my landlord know that replacing the refrigerator is a good idea. If my landlord spends $750 or more for a refrigerator, then I could save $15/month. Rent might rise, but my month costs will remain the same. The only motivation is environmental conscience...I will be leaving this duplex in 3 months. I have an idea that the electric company might have some program to motivate people to upgrade to new appliances. cheers, Bollux
"Don't lie to me Gustav, you stinkin' Mac User"
-laugh or flame on
Heh. Don't forget about loss by theft. How many pint glasses did you acquire from various drinking establishments in college? Not everybody knows where to find restaurant supply shops. But seriously, if the technology can't be made available cheaply, it just won't fly. (pause, scratch head) I suppose if the technology is adapted from a theft deterrent device, it could be used to keep glasses from straying..probably pay for itself right there!
Bollux
-Ready to try some Guinness on his pancakes, thanks for the idea! Wait, maybe just throw
some Guiness in the batter...Buckwheat Guinness pancakes...hmmm.
This conductive concrete has some interesting properties. The number one use that leaps to mind is EMI protection.
:) (I don't think anyone has proven that non-ionizing radiation causes cancer yet, so no worries...)
But for heating? Forget it! Two replies to this article mentioned something about how much energy it would require to melt ice. Now add the energy required to heat up the concrete. And know, that while electricity works quickly, it is just about the most expensive way to heat your home/whatever.
You might consider also, that while an abode of conductive material might be a great way to absorb stray radio signals coming your way, what are is your dwelling going to be emitting if you are hooking up AC voltage to it? If a micro-watt cell phone freaks you out, consider thousands of watts pumping through your house
Radiant heating systems are the way to imbed a heat source in concrete. The technology is gaining in popularity all the time, as it deserves.
Read more about it for yourself at: http://www.radiantcompany.com/ They are for profit, but the prices seem reasonable. They advocate do-it-yourself and lots of good info on the website.
It would be great to hear from an HVAC engineer on this, but I don't think they will tell you much different.
Bollux (a BSME)
Hear hear! That's telling them. I just hit "Back" and "Stop" quickly (lucky there was some
latency
Bollux
In neighboring NH, the governor signed a bill allowing them into use on the streets & sidewalks. Not too surprising, since Dean Kamen/Segway is based in NH.
Here in VT, a Segway hireling has been demonstrating them to lawmakers--they show clips with various elected officials using them. The word is that no drivers license will be required, but you will have to be 16 to operate one.
It seems they will want to do this in a majority of the 50 states before they sell them to the public. The electric/gas scooter sales ran into a problem here in VT when the state started requiring helmets & a motorcycle license. Segway is being very smart about this.
-Bollux
RF is easy to block. 1/4" Hardware cloth will block most things, specifically any RF signal with a wavelength > .5 inches.
Just calculate the wavelength and use a wire mesh with a grid of half that size. Anything larger is a window that RF can use to escape.
The metal fingers mentioned in another post just reduce the "window" size of the gap between two metal edges. Uh, it is important that the mesh be conductive of course!
Think of a microwave window...notice the little black mesh that keeps those nasty signals from cooking your eyeballs as you peek in to watch your tomato sauce explode all over. Same thing.
-Bollux
"Code monkeys aren't engineers!"
While you are solving last weeks problems, don't forget about the others.
1) Fossil Fuel Dependency (World, but especially USA) It sure would be nice if SUV's had some minimum fuel economy requirement. As long as I'm wishing, it would be nice if bumpers could be standardized at ONE HEIGHT. It would save car owners a lot of money. Q: What would the USA do if the OPEC refused to sell oil to America anymore?
2) Science & Philosophy. The capabilities of science are beyond any common philosophical debate on the subject. We are allowing Capitalism to drive the world, for a profit. And the USA is determined to make sure everyone is on that page. The Taliban are backwards as hell, but at least they have a moral doctrine (wacked out as it may be). Q: Wouldn't it be better to iron out the moral issues before scientists drop the smelly pile onto our plates in the name of progress?
3) Education. Last year Bush seemed to be (rhetorically) determined to be the education president. It was pro-active at least. May it not be totally forgotten as USA gears up for "Good guys vs. Bad Guys". Q: "Won't somebody please think of the children?" -Mrs. Rev. Lovejoy, Simpsons.
4) USA Public Transportation. This would be a damned good time to think about installing a decent national rail system. You can't really drive a train into a building, can you? The French TGV is one SWEET ride, even if you do wonder what would happen if someone pushed a boulder onto the tracks.
5) Starving Children in Africa. Hell, probably 5,000 die everyday. Not to mention the raging AIDS epidemic over there. Unfortunately we don't know (as an American society) how to react well to others peoples weakness. We figure everyone should earn their own way. It's what makes us act weird around handicapped people. We could bail them out, at some great expense, but the chinese obligation could be worse. It's their mess--let them straighten it out, right?
That's all I care to mention. It's enough to paralyze you into inaction. It must be why people champion one cause.
Bollux
You idiot.
Yes, all those innocent americans had it coming.
I doubt the Palestinians could mount this type of
attack...it was surely sponsored by some Islamic
govt. If you want to go back far enough in history, you will find the Arabs pushed someone
off their land or killed them to get it.
Obviously, the Pope should nix his peace talk, and call for a new Crusade to rid the Holy Land of
the Muslims.
They want a Jihad? We'll give them a freakin' Jihad!
BTW--This is all just strong sarcasm. No need
to get upset.
Forget not those forerunners of Battle.net
:)
My personal favorite game is Galaxy by
Russell Wallace. It has since been tweaked
to about 4-5 different flavors (the most
Darwinian by far is Blind..heh heh)
VGA Planets was (is?) also good. Diplomacy played
well over the net, though I didn't play it much.
Stomping on a computer is all well & good, but
nothing compares to outwitting a human opponent
Games seem to run the range from Reflex (all
action) to Cerebral (all thinking). Obviously,
PBEM is more suited to those cerebral leisures.
(could you argue that battle.net is just a
real-time pbem?)
I always wanted to play in an Empire game marathons...one of those updated every 5 or
10 minutes for 24 hours.
Free. Did I mention free? Some of them
are (like Galaxy).
so long,
Bollux
-"alas poor Yorick..."
There is a short story you should read. "The Climbing Wave" by Marion Zimmer Bradley. When I first read the story, I felt anger & dismay. The same sort of idea had popped into my head and I thought about writing something like it, but she did it 30-40 years earlier and much better. I thought about the story some more, and the point she makes is well grounded. What planet could be better for humans to live than Earth? Are we as a race mature enough to leave the planet? (I would say we are like 13 year olds who want to travel the USA, w/out a car or drivers license even) Bollux
Was it as tiring to write as it was to read? Let's see him make it work. I'm almost convinced that good designs are accidents, despite all the science of design. Some day there will be the right kind of accident, and most people will be happy. -Bollux Everyone's a critic, including me!