It starts younger. Place a small boy in an otherwise empty room with two bowling balls. Come back in half an hour. He will have broken one, and lost the other.
OK, I just re-read (or at least scanned) the original NYT article. Where did it say that Tesla flew an engineer out to fix it? From what I read, the only on-site assistance came from a tow truck driver - the only contact with Tesla was via phone.
Check out the review in the current (April) issue of Road & Track. Their test car had a (non-standard) top speed cap of 80 mph (presumably for 'average' reviewers). They called the Tesla hotline (available to all Tesla owners) and explained the problem to an actual person. She said she'd enter their bug into their system, with an 'urgent' flag. The vehicle software was updated within ten minutes.
And so, no, they wouldn't fly out an engineer to update your firmware. They'd do it remotely.
Their front page says that they'll take PCs up to 8 years old, but if you click on the 'Donate' button, you'll find that they will only accept machines that are under five years old.
"New" rotary engines are Wankels, which have no resemblance to the rotaries of old. The engines that look like the old ones, but which spin the crankshaft instead of the cylinders, are correctly called radials. In a rotary engine, the pistons actually travel in a rotary fashion (along with the cylinders). In a radial engine, the pistons travel strictly along a radial path.
"So when they went to the key pad, the phone engineers decided that since the 0 was besides the 9 on every phone they made, it should stay close to the 9 on the final phone layout. Hence 1-2-3 on top, 7-8-9 on the bottom, and *-0-# on the bottom. (Or on old keypads, 0 aligned with either the 8 or 9)."
Sorta, kinda inaccurate. The phone engineers did not make the decision, the behavioral engineers (led by Mr. Karlin) did. And they made their decision based on testing; people were simply faster with the 1-2-3 on top.
Those old registers reminded me of the first one that I used, an NCR (National Cash Register) that was already old for its time. The data plate called out the required power: Zero to 120 volts, zero to 60 cycles. And if the power failed, you could stick a crank in the side.
10-key adding machines were also mechanical. I pulled one apart once; it had a series of flexible springs held between two plastic plates which translated the keypress to a series of wheels. The plate would move sideways with each keypress in order to engage the wheel for the next digit.
I suspect that that the cash registers didn't change over as quickly for several reasons, including:
- A cash register didn't have as much need to be as compact as a desk calculator.
- The clerk could see the buttons that were pressed, confirming the price before hitting enter.
- An accounting clerk had more need for a 'heads down' entry system.
[I was such a clerk, I was once blazing fast on the 10-key, and I was always annoyed by the 'upside down' phone layout.]
I've been driving for 40 years, and I've been able to reliably make that decision for at least 39. Yes, you do see stories now and then where the yellow time was deliberately shortened - but those cases make the news because they are exceptions. But the vast majority of lights are timed such that a reasonably attentive driver, showing reasonable respect for the speed limit, will be able to either stop before the red or go through on the yellow.
The key is to have a mindset where your first reaction is to stop on yellow, going through only if you would need to do some sort of tire screeching panic stop otherwise. If it takes you two seconds to make that decision, then you're treating the light as an extended green.
Please don't think that I'm a super cautious driver. In fact, my general philosophy is "drive it like you stole it." I live in the mountains and treat the twisty roads as a race track; I regard speed limits as merely suggestions. If you habitually drive that way, you either learn to take extra precautions or you probably don't survive. I realized around 25 years ago that intersections were essentially for collisions, especially during the first few seconds following the change. Around that time I changed my behavior in two ways: I began making an effort to stop on yellows, and to approach fresh greens with caution. Nothing major, but the habits have served me well. I have been hit from behind, and also from the side when a car next to me changed lanes. But my insurance record is spotless, and I get a "good driver" discount.
The bagless concept - that is, using a vortex to separate the dirt - was used on our Sears whole house vacuum system back in the late '60s. Dyson didn't invent it, no more than Bose invented the folded transmission line or Apple invented the mouse. All three companies excel at being able to use and promote existing technology - in other words, marketing.
That is, of course, pure nonsense. There are situations where your wheels are short of the intersection, the light turns yellow, and it is physically impossible to stop "before the intersection." In fact, I'd wager that cars are in that situation every single time that the light changes at a busy intersection.
It IS a violation to enter the intersection after the light turns red. But that's why the yellow is there: to warn you of the pending red. It is up to you to gauge how much time is left on the yellow and whether to stop or not.
Not being an AC, I feel somewhat obliged to back up my comments: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traff_lgts_sgns.htm
Not to nit pick, but the ban is on cruel AND unusual punishment. A punishment may be cruel (most are) OR unusual (e.g., requiring a DUI convictee to wok in a morgue), but not both.
RFID in credit cards is uncommon in the US, but much more prevalent in Europe. RFID in cell phones is more likely to be found in Android phones, but is spreading to other platforms. Actual cases of consumers being exploited by this "major security hole" are essentially nil - snopes.com as a good recap: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/identity/pickpocket.asp
"Technology to cut wood" has nothing to do with it. The dimensions are what the raw wood was cut to. The raw wood is then dried (which shrinks it down somewhat) before being planed to the finished size. I suspect that using the 'raw' dimensions is a hold-over from the lumber mill, who would naturally do their initial cutting in convenient units.
And let's throw in a good word for the classic IBM Model M, with its buckling spring action. Now being built in the US by http://www.pckeyboard.com/, where you can also pick up spare parts or a keyboard with your own customized layout. I own several vintage Ms, hate to use anything else. (BTW, their pricing is quite reasonable - around $80 and up).
Slashdot Mirror
And my brother had a gallon sized bleach jug explode in his hands. We drilled a small hole in the cap, just set it on top, and held a match to it.
Nothing. The acetylene wasn't coming out on its own.
And so my brother gave the plastic jug a light squeeze - and kerpow! - a split open jug and tingling fingertips.
I don't know how much it echo'd, but it did happen in the Hudson Valley (town of Poughkeepsie, early 70s).
It starts younger. Place a small boy in an otherwise empty room with two bowling balls. Come back in half an hour. He will have broken one, and lost the other.
OK, I just re-read (or at least scanned) the original NYT article. Where did it say that Tesla flew an engineer out to fix it? From what I read, the only on-site assistance came from a tow truck driver - the only contact with Tesla was via phone.
Check out the review in the current (April) issue of Road & Track. Their test car had a (non-standard) top speed cap of 80 mph (presumably for 'average' reviewers). They called the Tesla hotline (available to all Tesla owners) and explained the problem to an actual person. She said she'd enter their bug into their system, with an 'urgent' flag. The vehicle software was updated within ten minutes.
And so, no, they wouldn't fly out an engineer to update your firmware. They'd do it remotely.
Their front page says that they'll take PCs up to 8 years old, but if you click on the 'Donate' button, you'll find that they will only accept machines that are under five years old.
And you can add a positively glowing review from the latest (April '13) issue of Road & Track.
In all fairness, it's a badly fitting suit, featuring a stripped shirt and a paisley shirt [...]
Did he strip off one shirt before donning the paisley one?
Do you mean this ball gag?
What did Cinderella say when she got to the ball?
"Ack-argh-ack-aghh...."
"New" rotary engines are Wankels, which have no resemblance to the rotaries of old. The engines that look like the old ones, but which spin the crankshaft instead of the cylinders, are correctly called radials. In a rotary engine, the pistons actually travel in a rotary fashion (along with the cylinders). In a radial engine, the pistons travel strictly along a radial path.
Now you know.
I'm not much of a parser, and I couldn't tell you what a gerund is, but shouldn't it be "something as?"
Sounds dubious, insurance companies generally require the goods to be stuck in a safe when the store is closed (or they aren't covered).
"So when they went to the key pad, the phone engineers decided that since the 0 was besides the 9 on every phone they made, it should stay close to the 9 on the final phone layout. Hence 1-2-3 on top, 7-8-9 on the bottom, and *-0-# on the bottom. (Or on old keypads, 0 aligned with either the 8 or 9)."
Sorta, kinda inaccurate. The phone engineers did not make the decision, the behavioral engineers (led by Mr. Karlin) did. And they made their decision based on testing; people were simply faster with the 1-2-3 on top.
Those old registers reminded me of the first one that I used, an NCR (National Cash Register) that was already old for its time. The data plate called out the required power: Zero to 120 volts, zero to 60 cycles. And if the power failed, you could stick a crank in the side.
10-key adding machines were also mechanical. I pulled one apart once; it had a series of flexible springs held between two plastic plates which translated the keypress to a series of wheels. The plate would move sideways with each keypress in order to engage the wheel for the next digit.
I suspect that that the cash registers didn't change over as quickly for several reasons, including:
- A cash register didn't have as much need to be as compact as a desk calculator.
- The clerk could see the buttons that were pressed, confirming the price before hitting enter.
- An accounting clerk had more need for a 'heads down' entry system.
[I was such a clerk, I was once blazing fast on the 10-key, and I was always annoyed by the 'upside down' phone layout.]
So, where are those bagless Sears vacuums, then?
Here are a few: http://tinyurl.com/a5hb39k
"This is impossible to do reliably,[...]"
I've been driving for 40 years, and I've been able to reliably make that decision for at least 39. Yes, you do see stories now and then where the yellow time was deliberately shortened - but those cases make the news because they are exceptions. But the vast majority of lights are timed such that a reasonably attentive driver, showing reasonable respect for the speed limit, will be able to either stop before the red or go through on the yellow.
The key is to have a mindset where your first reaction is to stop on yellow, going through only if you would need to do some sort of tire screeching panic stop otherwise. If it takes you two seconds to make that decision, then you're treating the light as an extended green.
Please don't think that I'm a super cautious driver. In fact, my general philosophy is "drive it like you stole it." I live in the mountains and treat the twisty roads as a race track; I regard speed limits as merely suggestions. If you habitually drive that way, you either learn to take extra precautions or you probably don't survive. I realized around 25 years ago that intersections were essentially for collisions, especially during the first few seconds following the change. Around that time I changed my behavior in two ways: I began making an effort to stop on yellows, and to approach fresh greens with caution. Nothing major, but the habits have served me well. I have been hit from behind, and also from the side when a car next to me changed lanes. But my insurance record is spotless, and I get a "good driver" discount.
The bagless concept - that is, using a vortex to separate the dirt - was used on our Sears whole house vacuum system back in the late '60s. Dyson didn't invent it, no more than Bose invented the folded transmission line or Apple invented the mouse. All three companies excel at being able to use and promote existing technology - in other words, marketing.
That is, of course, pure nonsense. There are situations where your wheels are short of the intersection, the light turns yellow, and it is physically impossible to stop "before the intersection." In fact, I'd wager that cars are in that situation every single time that the light changes at a busy intersection. It IS a violation to enter the intersection after the light turns red. But that's why the yellow is there: to warn you of the pending red. It is up to you to gauge how much time is left on the yellow and whether to stop or not. Not being an AC, I feel somewhat obliged to back up my comments: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traff_lgts_sgns.htm
It was the info link from the warning page that I got when I clicked on the maglaunch link.
Chrome didn't like the site - warned me of likely malware: http://tinyurl.com/9wcoqrh
Not to nit pick, but the ban is on cruel AND unusual punishment. A punishment may be cruel (most are) OR unusual (e.g., requiring a DUI convictee to wok in a morgue), but not both.
RFID in credit cards is uncommon in the US, but much more prevalent in Europe. RFID in cell phones is more likely to be found in Android phones, but is spreading to other platforms. Actual cases of consumers being exploited by this "major security hole" are essentially nil - snopes.com as a good recap: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/identity/pickpocket.asp
"Technology to cut wood" has nothing to do with it. The dimensions are what the raw wood was cut to. The raw wood is then dried (which shrinks it down somewhat) before being planed to the finished size. I suspect that using the 'raw' dimensions is a hold-over from the lumber mill, who would naturally do their initial cutting in convenient units.
And let's throw in a good word for the classic IBM Model M, with its buckling spring action. Now being built in the US by http://www.pckeyboard.com/, where you can also pick up spare parts or a keyboard with your own customized layout. I own several vintage Ms, hate to use anything else. (BTW, their pricing is quite reasonable - around $80 and up).
It was probably a typo.