The McDonalds on 16th in Denver, CO used this technique. They play classical outside their street entrance. I guessed they had been having problems with loiterers, and well, the classical music seemed to've worked. It was clear when I was there.
Yes, if we could get a person to Mars fast enough (need undeveloped technology), cheap enough (need technology about 1000x cheaper than now), and keep him alive on the trip and on mars and on the trip back (need undeveloped technology), a human with a rover could outperform the robot we did send.
Also, you perhaps overestimate what a human can accomplish under those conditions. The human will need to tote around life support equipment. He will be in a pressure suit, which really drops mobility and productivity. Also, repairing equipment under those conditions mostly means clearing jams and swapping in spare parts.
And last, the human can't hang around for months and months while scientists back home digest data and decide the best place to send him next. Accumulated radiation dose will do him in first.
Question is, with all that technological development needed to send a human, couldn't we just send a better robot instead with the same resources? And wouldn't that better robot technology help us in 1000's of other ways?
All the software I and my team write is version controlled (CVS and SVN) and releasable (some of it with export restriction.) I do admit that our software engineering is not the best, but we also have a rule that code cannot be committed before an extensive suite of tests is run on the code (for our main scientific application--'helper' tools are not so tightly controlled.)
Our scientific colleagues, provided they can satisfy the export control restrictions, can get source code and poke around all they want. Some have even contributed back valuable changes, and most have contributed back valuable feedback.
In fact, we look down upon colleagues who do not release source code. Are you really doing serious science if others cannot delve into your methods?
I'm sorry, but until I can look at a minimum of 1600x1200 resolution display, and give input by hand gestures (data gloves), (and maybe voice), it isn't wearable computing.
I want to be sitting absolutely anywhere and wiggling my fingers in the data gloves and making gestures, looking at >=1600x1200, with reasonable speed & memory capacity. Or hell, even walking around so I don't get so damn fat.
With everyone "testing" their antisatellite weaponry and creating ever more orbital debris, pretty soon there'll be so much debris up there we won't be able to keep any satellites operational.
China's test of a year or two back may have already generated enough debris to start a chain reaction, any more and we may definitely go over the brink to where nothing is survivable in low earth orbit.
Somehow the Bt toxin makes its way through the bug's digestive system to kill it. Why is it so unbelievable that some of the toxin makes it through a human's digestive system?
I think polycrystalline diamond is insanely strong as well as being insanely hard. There's always sapphire, too, which can be made into very hard windows, but I don't know about their shatter resistance.
The story was pretty much formula. They blew all the money on effects, certainly not on writing.
Still, expect more of the same. Movie theaters have to find themselves a niche (so they think), and what movie theaters can do that home theaters cannot (cheaply) is provide a 3D hi-def effects-fest such as this one.
If production costs come down, they may actually be able to do some movies with good stories in this advanced medium, and your 10 regular films can be made and put out directly in DVD/BluRay.
I'd be much more willing to start paying a monthly fee for game access if the company were going bankrupt than to tolerate corruption of the game by allowing externalities like paying real money for game advantage.
Losing to someone not because you play worse or you have bad luck, but rather because that guy simply outspent you, is just completely demoralizing and I'd abandon any competitive game that allowed this.
A monthly access fee seems fair and equitable, though. They're providing you a valuable entertainment service and its only fair to shoulder a portion of the cost!!!
You must account also for the capital cost of the osmosis plant and the maintenance cost. If the capital costs or maintenance costs are too high, even in the perfect situation for this power, one might be better off just laying out solar cells.
Even if nuclear fusion is achieved, if it is required that a large $50e9 plant be put up to generate 1 GW, that is cost-prohibitive. Solar cells are cheaper. If the nuclear fusion plant cost $50e9 for 50GW, that might be competitive with solar. If it cost $5e9 for 50GW, then everyone will invest in nuclear fusion plants.
Seems like this could massively reduce the military usefulness of minefields. Isn't a huge minefield sitting on the border between North and South Korea helping keep the peace there, by deterring North Korean military aggression? What if the North Koreans can spot all the mines?
Another interesting thing about 'aneutronic' fusion is that you can do direct power conversion.
As the previous poster said, D-T fusion releases much of its energy in the form of fast neutrons. In order to convert this energy into electricity, you have to get the fast neutrons to heat up a fluid and then run a turbine or run some other thermal process.
If your energy is largely in fast He nuclei, these are charged, and you can convert the energy directly into electricity in several ways, like just running these charged nuclei up against a high voltage. (There are other better schemes).
That means you can get power with no expensive steam generation cycle--though since you probably need to cool the reactor anyway you may as well extract some power from the coolant as well. However, the whole cycle can be more efficient.
Interesting culture you've got there. Where I work the theorists/computational groups find the experimentalists indispensible and vice versa. The experimentalists provide the grounding in reality and provide the final fruition of all the theory/computer work. The theory+computation guides the experiments and increases the odds that the experiments'll work the first time out. Everyone's better off, and everyone knows it, with the exception of just one guy who's generally hard to deal with anyway (even the other experimentalists don't get on with him.)
If it DOES get really hot, sounds like a co-generation opportunity. Hot water and electricity from the same roof unit. How much energy would THAT save an average household??
Phishers try to get your data with these emails, how about people respond with false information? If 99.99% of the information given phishers is false, it'll protect the.01% of people who are dumb enough to give real information.
Furthermore, if phishers make a lot of attempts at fraud with incorrect/false information, they'll stick out like a sore thumb and perhaps get caught.
You could even imagine a volunteer-based "white" botnet which, when a bona-fide phishing attempt is found, phucks the phisher up by feeding him millions of instances of incorrect "identity" data.
It seems like we could make phishing a thing of the past by doing this.
BTW, as an aside, I am NOT in favor of laughing at the exploitation of foolish/stupid/careless people. First, not everyone is a domain expert in everything: can you save yourself from your own knowledge from being ripped off on your car? Your doctor? Your bank account? Your computer? The law? Second, being smart/knowledgeable is IN PART a function of being BORN with a GOOD BRAIN. That's pure luck. If you're lucky enough to be have a good brain, how about giving the less fortunate compassion, understanding, and help rather than scorn? And if you're smart now, you should realize that a stroke (or other medical problem) can take your intelligence from you in an instant. Last, who among us has NEVER had a moment of carelessness?
It's been some time since I graduated, but keeping my books is, to me anyway, an important part of keeping the skills I learned in school. A digital copy that I have perpetual rights to would be great, but a reserve copy in the library may not work at all after a while.
I usually can find stuff in my old textbooks really fast if I need to brush up on it or use it. Without my books I'm a bit handicapped.
Music training has been shown to enhance student's abilities in math by a significant margin. I think it may also offer advantage in other cognitive areas too. Music training definitely has its place in a GOOD academic program.
Physical education is also underrated. Your body supports your mind, and if your body is unfit and obese, your brain will similarly suffer. I do think the emphasis on HS sports is stupid, but fitness is key.
You're not getting Xeon FSB communication between any arbitrary two of the processors.
The machine's organized into boards with 2 CPU sockets on each, which can support a quad-core XEON. I suppose the two Xeons on the processor board could communicate at FSB speeds.
However, between boards, for interconnect you get either dual gigabit ethernet (2Gb/s) or QDR Infiniband (10Gb/s), a far cry below your claimed 170Gb/s.
In other words, the comparison to a cheaper network of workstations is really quite a fair one.
Joke though the parent may have been, in the particular case of music, music training enhances math and science abilities. It's sometimes odd how learning one discipline enhances your abilities for others.
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The McDonalds on 16th in Denver, CO used this technique. They play classical outside their street entrance. I guessed they had been having problems with loiterers, and well, the classical music seemed to've worked. It was clear when I was there.
--PM
I second this. I would rather not die for the right to eat a cow cheap. And not eating beef is better for you anyway.
--PM
Yes, if we could get a person to Mars fast enough (need undeveloped technology), cheap enough (need technology about 1000x cheaper than now), and keep him alive on the trip and on mars and on the trip back (need undeveloped technology), a human with a rover could outperform the robot we did send.
Also, you perhaps overestimate what a human can accomplish under those conditions. The human will need to tote around life support equipment. He will be in a pressure suit, which really drops mobility and productivity. Also, repairing equipment under those conditions mostly means clearing jams and swapping in spare parts.
And last, the human can't hang around for months and months while scientists back home digest data and decide the best place to send him next. Accumulated radiation dose will do him in first.
Question is, with all that technological development needed to send a human, couldn't we just send a better robot instead with the same resources? And wouldn't that better robot technology help us in 1000's of other ways?
--PM
All the software I and my team write is version controlled (CVS and SVN) and releasable (some of it with export restriction.) I do admit that our software engineering is not the best, but we also have a rule that code cannot be committed before an extensive suite of tests is run on the code (for our main scientific application--'helper' tools are not so tightly controlled.)
Our scientific colleagues, provided they can satisfy the export control restrictions, can get source code and poke around all they want. Some have even contributed back valuable changes, and most have contributed back valuable feedback.
In fact, we look down upon colleagues who do not release source code. Are you really doing serious science if others cannot delve into your methods?
--PeterM
I'm sorry, but until I can look at a minimum of 1600x1200 resolution display, and give input by hand gestures (data gloves), (and maybe voice), it isn't wearable computing.
I want to be sitting absolutely anywhere and wiggling my fingers in the data gloves and making gestures, looking at >=1600x1200, with reasonable speed & memory capacity. Or hell, even walking around so I don't get so damn fat.
--PM
With everyone "testing" their antisatellite weaponry and creating ever more orbital debris, pretty soon there'll be so much debris up there we won't be able to keep any satellites operational.
China's test of a year or two back may have already generated enough debris to start a chain reaction, any more and we may definitely go over the brink to where nothing is survivable in low earth orbit.
--PM
Hello,
Somehow the Bt toxin makes its way through the bug's digestive system to kill it. Why is it so unbelievable that some of the toxin makes it through a human's digestive system?
--PM
I think polycrystalline diamond is insanely strong as well as being insanely hard.
There's always sapphire, too, which can be made into very hard windows, but I don't know about their shatter resistance.
--PM
The story was pretty much formula. They blew all the money on effects, certainly not on writing.
Still, expect more of the same. Movie theaters have to find themselves a niche (so they think), and what movie theaters can do that home theaters cannot (cheaply) is provide a 3D hi-def effects-fest such as this one.
If production costs come down, they may actually be able to do some movies with good stories in this advanced medium, and your 10 regular films can be made and put out directly in DVD/BluRay.
--PM
Is there any real evidence that the earthquake wasn't a coincidence and not due to the drilling? The article was rather thin.
I'd be much more willing to start paying a monthly fee for game access if the company were going bankrupt than to tolerate corruption of the game by allowing externalities like paying real money for game advantage.
Losing to someone not because you play worse or you have bad luck, but rather because that guy simply outspent you, is just completely demoralizing and I'd abandon any competitive game that allowed this.
A monthly access fee seems fair and equitable, though. They're providing you a valuable entertainment service and its only fair to shoulder a portion of the cost!!!
--PeterM
You must account also for the capital cost of the osmosis plant and the maintenance cost. If the capital costs or maintenance costs are too high, even in the perfect situation for this power, one might be better off just laying out solar cells.
Even if nuclear fusion is achieved, if it is required that a large $50e9 plant be put up to generate 1 GW, that is cost-prohibitive. Solar cells are cheaper. If the nuclear fusion plant cost $50e9 for 50GW, that might be competitive with solar. If it cost $5e9 for 50GW, then everyone will invest in nuclear fusion plants.
--PM
Seems like this could massively reduce the military usefulness of minefields. Isn't a huge minefield sitting on the border between North and South Korea helping keep the peace there, by deterring North Korean military aggression? What if the North Koreans can spot all the mines?
--PM
Is it THAT hard to get Windows to use a larger font for everything? Wouldn't that address the issue?
Seems like Google could index the top 1000 sites whether they wanted Google to index them or not.
I don't see how they could possibly stop Google from indexing information that these sites put into public view.
-PM
Another interesting thing about 'aneutronic' fusion is that you can do direct power conversion.
As the previous poster said, D-T fusion releases much of its energy in the form of fast neutrons. In order to convert this energy into electricity, you have to get the fast neutrons to heat up a fluid and then run a turbine or run some other thermal process.
If your energy is largely in fast He nuclei, these are charged, and you can convert the energy directly into electricity in several ways, like just running these charged nuclei up against a high voltage. (There are other better schemes).
That means you can get power with no expensive steam generation cycle--though since you probably need to cool the reactor anyway you may as well extract some power from the coolant as well. However, the whole cycle can be more efficient.
--PeterM
Interesting culture you've got there. Where I work the theorists/computational groups find the experimentalists indispensible and vice versa. The experimentalists provide the grounding in reality and provide the final fruition of all the theory/computer work. The theory+computation guides the experiments and increases the odds that the experiments'll work the first time out. Everyone's better off, and everyone knows it, with the exception of just one guy who's generally hard to deal with anyway (even the other experimentalists don't get on with him.)
--PM
If it DOES get really hot, sounds like a co-generation opportunity. Hot water and electricity from the same roof unit.
How much energy would THAT save an average household??
--PM
Phishers try to get your data with these emails, how about people respond with false information? If 99.99% of the information given phishers is false, it'll protect the .01% of people who are dumb enough to give real information.
Furthermore, if phishers make a lot of attempts at fraud with incorrect/false information, they'll stick out like a sore thumb and perhaps get caught.
You could even imagine a volunteer-based "white" botnet which, when a bona-fide phishing attempt is found, phucks the phisher up by feeding him millions of instances of incorrect "identity" data.
It seems like we could make phishing a thing of the past by doing this.
BTW, as an aside, I am NOT in favor of laughing at the exploitation of foolish/stupid/careless people. First, not everyone is a domain expert in everything: can you save yourself from your own knowledge from being ripped off on your car? Your doctor? Your bank account? Your computer? The law? Second, being smart/knowledgeable is IN PART a function of being BORN with a GOOD BRAIN. That's pure luck. If you're lucky enough to be have a good brain, how about giving the less fortunate compassion, understanding, and help rather than scorn? And if you're smart now, you should realize that a stroke (or other medical problem) can take your intelligence from you in an instant. Last, who among us has NEVER had a moment of carelessness?
Best,
--PeterM
It's been some time since I graduated, but keeping my books is, to me anyway, an important part of keeping the skills I learned in school. A digital copy that I have perpetual rights to would be great, but a reserve copy in the library may not work at all after a while.
I usually can find stuff in my old textbooks really fast if I need to brush up on it or use it. Without my books I'm a bit handicapped.
--PeterM
Hello,
Music training has been shown to enhance student's abilities in math by a significant margin. I think it may also offer advantage in other cognitive areas too. Music training definitely has its place in a GOOD academic program.
Physical education is also underrated. Your body supports your mind, and if your body is unfit and obese, your brain will similarly suffer. I do think the emphasis on HS sports is stupid, but fitness is key.
--PeterM
You're not getting Xeon FSB communication between any arbitrary two of the processors.
The machine's organized into boards with 2 CPU sockets on each, which can support a quad-core XEON. I suppose the two Xeons on the processor board could communicate at FSB speeds.
However, between boards, for interconnect you get either dual gigabit ethernet (2Gb/s) or QDR Infiniband (10Gb/s), a far cry below your claimed 170Gb/s.
In other words, the comparison to a cheaper network of workstations is really quite a fair one.
--PeterM
I think the Chinese are pursuing exactly this policy, except not just against Russia, but also against the USA.
They keep giving USA little pushes now and again and they also give the USA all the rope it needs to hang itself.
For evidence, you need look no further than that the yuan is pegged to the dollar.
Joke though the parent may have been, in the particular case of music, music training enhances math and science abilities. It's sometimes odd how learning one discipline enhances your abilities for others.
--PM
Recent advances in the production of titanium may bring this metal into wide use in airframes. And everything else.