As one who has lived thru more decades of automotive evolution than I care to reveal, let me say: hybrid cars are ugly. Appearance-wise, they're throwbacks to the sixties. When I was a kid I thought cars would be really cool-looking and flying by now. Instead they're ground-bound and looking like they were designed by R. Crumb. I shake my impotent fist while cursing at the universe.
What's dumber, a rookie ruining ice cream six times or you watching it happen? I'm going with the latter. Did the owner know you were in the habit of letting employees flush his profits?
If you're going to manufacturer 'memories' why bother starting with an actual photo? Just create CGI figures for everybody involved and stage the entire thing.
How do I just look up a license plate number, without the fancy gizmos? Just an app or webpage that I can query with the plate number. Or the VIN. To get the owner's name, and hopefully their address.
Do you really think it would be a good idea for a state to make license plate name and address data available to any random schmuck who happened to want it? For a project, I was given access to the Arizona Criminal Justice Information System, which has just that kind of data. One thing the training video showed was based on a real case in which a cop, seeing an attractive motorist, would look up her name and address and then show up on her doorstep after hours hoping for a 'date'. That was bad enough. Now multiply that by the number of non-cop would-be stalkers out there who'd love to do the same. For access to ACJIS, I was given a custom ID that would identify me and would be used to log whatever queries I made to the database, just to prevent exactly that kind of abuse.
I've grown increasingly cynical about government in recent years. I wonder, did the feds see that this guy knocked himself off and think, "Hey, here's a perfect target we can accuse and use to divert attention from the Hatfill mess and the fact that we haven't found anybody in 6 years."? Not saying that happened, but it's telling that it was the first thing that went through my mind when I heard this.
These devices would be deployed in groups of 20 or even more providing cheap electricity without harming our environment."
I think this underestimates the ability of someone, somewhere being able to find a problem with anything. Hydropower dams wild rivers. Windmills smack birds out of the air. Photovoltaics pave over entire deserts. Probably Anacondas will interfere with the lifecycle of some species or other. One day we'll realize that any energy system is going to have some ill effects and say, "Intercourse the penguins, I need to microwave my popcorn."
If I could use a rusty boxcutter to carve a new orifice in my body that's compatible with this link cable, I would already be doing it. I can just imagine the pure musical goodness that would flow through this cable into the wound and fill me completely -- like white, holy light. Holding this cable in my hands actually makes me feel that much closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. I only make $6.25/hr at Jack In The Box, but I saved up for three months so I could have this cable. It sits in a shrine I constructed next to my futon in Mother's basement.
I only gave it four stars in my review because I can't find music that is worthy enough to flow through this utterly perfect interconnect.
I was disappointed. I consider myself an audiophile - I regularly spend over $1000 on cables to get the ultimate sound. I keep my music-listening room in a Faraday cage to prevent any interference that could alter my music-listening experience. Sending any signal down ordinary copper can degrade the signal considerably. While ordinary listeners might not notice, to somebody with even a rudimentary knowledge of sound, the artifacts are glaring. Denon should have used silver wiring (hermetically sealed inside the rubber sheath to prevent any tarnishing, of course), which has a significantly higher conductivity than copper. Furthermore, Denon needs to treat the wires they use in the cable with a polarity inductor to ensure minimal phase variance.
Needless to say, I returned the cable and wrote an angry letter to the so-called engineers at Denon.
I'm writing this from my 7-year-old Aeron, and it's oh so comfortable. I'm frankly surprised, not at the comfort, but that the mesh fabric has held up. I thought for sure that it would wear out in a couple of years, but it's as good as it was when the chair was new, and at 6'1" and 200 lbs, I'm no lightweight. Man, I love this thing. The golden age to buy an Aeron was back when the dot-coms were going belly up and selling off the furniture, but the current economic downturn might offer new opportunities, so shop around.
1. The US air traffic control system is 1960s vintage and I'd bet that there's still code in it that is unchanged since it was written.
2. Some airline reservation systems are of equally antique origins. Although I'm sure the hardware has been updated in the ensuing years, I'd say there's probably a lot of code that hasn't been rewritten. Back in the '80s when I was doing some work with an airline and asked about that, I was told, "That code is older than you are."
3. Don't know if this is still the case, but back in the late '70s, Navy carriers had computers so old that they were having to scrounge up germanium transistors to keep them operating. They wanted to keep them operating because nobody wanted to pay to rewrite the gazillion lines of reliable and tested assembly-language code that ran on them. If any of those are still around, they'd be my top candidate for having unchanged code still in operation. I'd guess that, in general, military systems (of the non-COTS [commercial off-the-shelf] type) are the most likely "oldest code" candidates, because of the lengthy and expensive qualification process and the long service life of such systems.
I've attempted to read 10-year-old 3.5" floppies and had pretty bad luck. The magnetic media became unreadable, at least on my standard equipment (which I tested and works just fine with fresh media). Perhaps a sophisticated lab could get the data off, but I sure couldn't. You may find that your disks are unreadable by now, even if you had equipment capable of reading them.
Out of print, but still available thru Amazon: "How to Build and Use Electronic Devices Without Frustration, Panic, Mountains of Money, or an Engineering Degree" by Stuart A. Hoenig and F. Leland Payne. It's mostly about designing using op amps, but goes into some basic theory in the process.
I've solved the security camera problem with a $50 webcam, but I was only monitoring a desk in a cubicle that had a bad habit of things going missing. Worked pretty well, though lighting wasn't an issue in that case.
Did the camera dissuade the thefts or did you catch somebody?
I recall when answering machines first appeared. People absolutely hated them. I had a number of friends who'd refuse to leave a message on one, yet, in 5 years, every one of them had an answering machine themselves. I think the tipping point came when people couldn't get thru and, annoyed, started asking them why they didn't have a machine.
When technologies like this hit a certain level of saturation, people adopt them or end up being cultural pariahs, and I think robots will be no different.
I once went to a presentation by one of the two main navigation map suppliers. The presenter made a big deal about their data being "fully qualified" by which he meant that it took into account things like one-way streets, overpasses (so that the nav software didn't think you could make a left turn from a bridge onto the street below), etc. I'm not sure what it takes to create such a database, but I came away with the impression that it's a lot more than just driving around the streets; it needs the active involvement of the driver. It would probably make a public-domain effort much more complex and error-prone.
Just took a look at iReport.com and saw the following in the "most viewed" category: BREAKING NEWS: Ketchup Yuck! The weather here in New York is absolutely *disgusting* Thursday Lunch Report: Omelete! Marcus Harun's Situation Room. [Book report done in CNN Situation Room style] Image. My village pictures
I just got back from a cruise. When we pulled into home port, out came the cell phones and Blackberries. The beeping and booping all around me nearly drove me mad. If the equivalent happens in the air -- in a confined space -- I'll give serious consideration to jumping.
I wirewrapped a computer together back when building your own hardware was about the only option, and it wasn't a fun experience. I can't imagine actually wanting to do it, but to each his own.
I remember Sputnik, and I remember that everybody in the US went apeshit when it was launched. Our technological superiority was suddenly in question and there was a big push to start cranking out more engineers and scientists. My own career choice was partially influenced by those events.
Good parsing of the Microsoft rep's statement, and I think you're right. However, from my point of view, the main problem is that the Vista user interface sucks, so the only way SP1 is going to improve things is if it offers a 'Vista Traditional' (i.e. XP) look and feel. The OS version of Coke Classic.
I guess everything comes back, but only for people who didn't experience it the first time. Calculators became affordable (barely) when I was in engineering school. I entered with a slide rule and graduated with an HP-45 calculator. While I still have my old slide rule (which was my dad's before me) for sentimental reasons, there's no way I'd ever want to use it again. I couldn't wait to get my hands on a calculator in school, and paid what would be over $1000 in today's dollars, which was an enormous amount of money for a poor college student. I think my monthly rent back then was $140 for the house I was living in.
Slashdot Mirror
As one who has lived thru more decades of automotive evolution than I care to reveal, let me say: hybrid cars are ugly. Appearance-wise, they're throwbacks to the sixties. When I was a kid I thought cars would be really cool-looking and flying by now. Instead they're ground-bound and looking like they were designed by R. Crumb. I shake my impotent fist while cursing at the universe.
What's dumber, a rookie ruining ice cream six times or you watching it happen? I'm going with the latter. Did the owner know you were in the habit of letting employees flush his profits?
If you're going to manufacturer 'memories' why bother starting with an actual photo? Just create CGI figures for everybody involved and stage the entire thing.
How do I just look up a license plate number, without the fancy gizmos? Just an app or webpage that I can query with the plate number. Or the VIN. To get the owner's name, and hopefully their address.
Do you really think it would be a good idea for a state to make license plate name and address data available to any random schmuck who happened to want it? For a project, I was given access to the Arizona Criminal Justice Information System, which has just that kind of data. One thing the training video showed was based on a real case in which a cop, seeing an attractive motorist, would look up her name and address and then show up on her doorstep after hours hoping for a 'date'. That was bad enough. Now multiply that by the number of non-cop would-be stalkers out there who'd love to do the same. For access to ACJIS, I was given a custom ID that would identify me and would be used to log whatever queries I made to the database, just to prevent exactly that kind of abuse.
I've grown increasingly cynical about government in recent years. I wonder, did the feds see that this guy knocked himself off and think, "Hey, here's a perfect target we can accuse and use to divert attention from the Hatfill mess and the fact that we haven't found anybody in 6 years."? Not saying that happened, but it's telling that it was the first thing that went through my mind when I heard this.
These devices would be deployed in groups of 20 or even more providing cheap electricity without harming our environment."
I think this underestimates the ability of someone, somewhere being able to find a problem with anything. Hydropower dams wild rivers. Windmills smack birds out of the air. Photovoltaics pave over entire deserts. Probably Anacondas will interfere with the lifecycle of some species or other. One day we'll realize that any energy system is going to have some ill effects and say, "Intercourse the penguins, I need to microwave my popcorn."
Disappointing quality
I'm writing this from my 7-year-old Aeron, and it's oh so comfortable. I'm frankly surprised, not at the comfort, but that the mesh fabric has held up. I thought for sure that it would wear out in a couple of years, but it's as good as it was when the chair was new, and at 6'1" and 200 lbs, I'm no lightweight. Man, I love this thing. The golden age to buy an Aeron was back when the dot-coms were going belly up and selling off the furniture, but the current economic downturn might offer new opportunities, so shop around.
1. The US air traffic control system is 1960s vintage and I'd bet that there's still code in it that is unchanged since it was written.
2. Some airline reservation systems are of equally antique origins. Although I'm sure the hardware has been updated in the ensuing years, I'd say there's probably a lot of code that hasn't been rewritten. Back in the '80s when I was doing some work with an airline and asked about that, I was told, "That code is older than you are."
3. Don't know if this is still the case, but back in the late '70s, Navy carriers had computers so old that they were having to scrounge up germanium transistors to keep them operating. They wanted to keep them operating because nobody wanted to pay to rewrite the gazillion lines of reliable and tested assembly-language code that ran on them. If any of those are still around, they'd be my top candidate for having unchanged code still in operation. I'd guess that, in general, military systems (of the non-COTS [commercial off-the-shelf] type) are the most likely "oldest code" candidates, because of the lengthy and expensive qualification process and the long service life of such systems.
Danger Will Robinson! Danger!
I've attempted to read 10-year-old 3.5" floppies and had pretty bad luck. The magnetic media became unreadable, at least on my standard equipment (which I tested and works just fine with fresh media). Perhaps a sophisticated lab could get the data off, but I sure couldn't. You may find that your disks are unreadable by now, even if you had equipment capable of reading them.
Out of print, but still available thru Amazon: "How to Build and Use Electronic Devices Without Frustration, Panic, Mountains of Money, or an Engineering Degree" by Stuart A. Hoenig and F. Leland Payne. It's mostly about designing using op amps, but goes into some basic theory in the process.
Did the camera dissuade the thefts or did you catch somebody?
And it'll take care of those unwanted pets, too.
I recall when answering machines first appeared. People absolutely hated them. I had a number of friends who'd refuse to leave a message on one, yet, in 5 years, every one of them had an answering machine themselves. I think the tipping point came when people couldn't get thru and, annoyed, started asking them why they didn't have a machine.
When technologies like this hit a certain level of saturation, people adopt them or end up being cultural pariahs, and I think robots will be no different.
I once went to a presentation by one of the two main navigation map suppliers. The presenter made a big deal about their data being "fully qualified" by which he meant that it took into account things like one-way streets, overpasses (so that the nav software didn't think you could make a left turn from a bridge onto the street below), etc. I'm not sure what it takes to create such a database, but I came away with the impression that it's a lot more than just driving around the streets; it needs the active involvement of the driver. It would probably make a public-domain effort much more complex and error-prone.
Just wondering. I'd like to write a personal app, but I'm not willing to pay big bucks for the SDK just for that purpose.
Just took a look at iReport.com and saw the following in the "most viewed" category:
BREAKING NEWS: Ketchup
Yuck! The weather here in New York is absolutely *disgusting*
Thursday Lunch Report: Omelete!
Marcus Harun's Situation Room. [Book report done in CNN Situation Room style]
Image. My village pictures
it makes us look more like the Borg.
I just got back from a cruise. When we pulled into home port, out came the cell phones and Blackberries. The beeping and booping all around me nearly drove me mad. If the equivalent happens in the air -- in a confined space -- I'll give serious consideration to jumping.
I wirewrapped a computer together back when building your own hardware was about the only option, and it wasn't a fun experience. I can't imagine actually wanting to do it, but to each his own.
Guess some people have to be told what should have been obvious.
I remember Sputnik, and I remember that everybody in the US went apeshit when it was launched. Our technological superiority was suddenly in question and there was a big push to start cranking out more engineers and scientists. My own career choice was partially influenced by those events.
Good parsing of the Microsoft rep's statement, and I think you're right. However, from my point of view, the main problem is that the Vista user interface sucks, so the only way SP1 is going to improve things is if it offers a 'Vista Traditional' (i.e. XP) look and feel. The OS version of Coke Classic.
I guess everything comes back, but only for people who didn't experience it the first time. Calculators became affordable (barely) when I was in engineering school. I entered with a slide rule and graduated with an HP-45 calculator. While I still have my old slide rule (which was my dad's before me) for sentimental reasons, there's no way I'd ever want to use it again. I couldn't wait to get my hands on a calculator in school, and paid what would be over $1000 in today's dollars, which was an enormous amount of money for a poor college student. I think my monthly rent back then was $140 for the house I was living in.
Get off my lawn you kids.