User: pen-helm

astronaut played this game

On: Python Developer Builds Moon Lander Game As an Alexa Skill (amazon.com)

In 1980 the Apollo 13 astronauts visited Louisville. One of them played a similar game at the science museum, but he was unsuccessful and crashed!

Re:Nearly useless

On: UK Police Begins Deployment of 22,000 Police Body Cameras (thestack.com)

An in-depth article about when cop cams work and when they make things worse:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/consu...
("... the problem seems to arise mainly when officers are allowed to turn cameras on at times of their own choosing.")

minus

On: Ask Slashdot: What Features Would You Like In a Search Engine?

I would like to be able to indicate that a search term should not produce a hit, but should not disqualify the page either.

Re:wiring up your own cable

On: Ask Slashdot: Old PC File Transfer Problem

I once wired up my own cable. It was 95% reliable. (A disaster.) I buy cables now.

file transfer

On: Ask Slashdot: Old PC File Transfer Problem

There used to be a program called Laplink that would transfer between machines over a cable. You could get special parallel "Laplink cables," but perhaps a null-modem serial cable would also work. (Light googling suggests you can use a 7-wire, null-modem serial cable.)

I see there is a laplink.com web site.

Wikipedia says, in MS-DOS 6.0 (and PC DOS 5.02) there was something like it included: INTERSVR and INTERLNK. But it looks harder to use.

wisdom

On: Ask Slashdot: Terminally Ill - What Wisdom Should I Pass On To My Geek Daughter?

I have been seeking wisdom recently, and the best I've heard is:

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his justice, and all these [other, necessary] things [like food and clothing] shall be added unto you."

Nerd Camp

On: Fond Memories of Nerd Camp

Computer camp was good, TIP better, and the Governor's Scholars Program was the high point of my life. Ordinary camp was bad.