The company you think of as AT&T is really a re-branded SBC and has only been AT&T for 5 years.
The company you think of as a re-branded SBC are reassembled parts of the AT&T that the DOJ broke up in 1984. 4 of the 7 baby Bells and the AT&T long distance company. Bell Atlantic and NYNEX became part of Verizon, and USWest became part of Qwest.
Probably the only real obstacle to completely re-assembling the old AT&T would be Gov't objections to AT&T and Verizon combining wireless divisions. Even though they use different technologies, it didn't stop Sprint from buying Nextel.
You're comparing apples and oranges here. In your example you have a low rated wire with a higher rated circuit interrupt. A load that exceeds the capability of the wire will cause it to melt rather than tripping the breaker.
The generator in the parent is a power source, not a power draw, and the circuit interrupt is rated lower. If the power draw from the house is higher than 15 amps, the the circuit will trip disconnecting the draw from the source. Any reasonable generator will throttle back based on load. I don't see how this is different than your primary source, the transmission lines, being capable of considerably higher current than your house mains.
While I personally would want the wiring and transfer switch rated higher than the generator, I doubt it's the invitation to calamity that you imply.
Re:Despite this "Terminal Chaos"
on
Terminal Chaos
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· Score: 1
No drinks, mini pretzels, and the minimum number of flight attendants required by law.
Snacks aren't there for the convenience of the passengers. They are there to give the cattle something to do. Keep them busy so they don't have time to cause trouble.
Flight attendants would carry tasers....
You might be on to something there, a taser is nothing more than a cattle prod on steroids.
You are making too big of mountain out of changing the coding language.
If all your staff is trained in the original language, and only the consultants know Java, you'd be a fool to let them rewrite everything in Java. Language is absolutely important unless your plan is to fire your IT department and contract everything. And keep in mind, that 'blob of crud' is the opinion of consultants that wanted to rewrite in Java.
The reason the statement about 4200 lines of Java is so problematic is that isn't what they were hired to do. Could they have spent that time optimizing the 140,000 lines of existing code? Were they committed to the project, or to selling a Java rewrite? How much time did the consultants spend rewriting, and did they charge the client? Wouldn't a rewrite of the entire project signify a reboot of the whole project? If they were considering that, shouldn't the client have been consulted? If the statement had been "as we discussed, two consultants took a 140,000 line module and did a test rewrite in Java, and the result was 4200 lines of code that ran efficiently on a laptop....", I wouldn't have had a problem with that example.
And all this info comes from the consulting company, there's nothing from the business side. The Java example and the personal attacks makes the whole memo of questionable value.
Your assumption is that [original obscure language] is well supported and maintainable;
... would you not agree that porting it to a better-supported and more maintainable language would be critical for future success?
Not in the middle of a project. From what I read in the article, the consultants were brought in fairly late in the project. And the business already had a staff of programmers (too many from the perspective of the consultant). I'm assuming that the staff developers where already trained in the original language, that wouldn't necessarily be the case with Java. The staff will maintain the project and the consultant will move on.
I don't have a problem with a consultancy suggesting a language change. But taking a contract to modify a specific project, and then saying "well, it should have been done in Java" is a problem.
And you're calling them out on it? You think they did the wrong thing by eliminating 136,000 lines of bloat and significantly improving the performance?
Absolutely they were wrong to do it. First, the code they wrote did NOT lead to any production code, either in Java or it's original code base. The project was killed. Second, they weren't expected to manage the code, they were hired to HELP complete the project. Third, they were hired to modify the existing code base, not create a new one.
The last thing a company needs out of a consultant is for them to waste time on something outside the bounds of the project and completely incompatible. If they couldn't do it in the scope of the project, they either should not have accepted the contract or at least offered a project plan to restart in Java. The customer had a specific reasons for doing things the way they did. It's not the consultant's place to berate them on that choice. Would it be acceptable to you to hire consultants to help with a C# project and have them rewrite a ton of it in Java and tell you it smells like roses? Java was the wrong approach for that stage of the project.
And you're making assumptions on the complexity of the code and whether those 4200 lines of Java actually did produce an acceptable alternative.
There seems to be plenty of blame to go around, but I think it's rather disingenuous for consultants to be rewriting code in Java instead of [original obscure language]. The comparison has no value, and I hope they didn't bill their client for the time. Unless they were brought in to do a Java rewrite, and that doesn't appear to be the case, they should have been spending their time working in [original obscure language].
Some of the things that stood out to me are things like "Even the current effort probably requires a year to get something into production, but the schedule says four months." They needed to refocus their energies on short term goals. I'm sure they have a list of things that need to be fixed or added to the project. When things started getting bogged down they should have looked at that list and said "what can we code/fix and test this week". Smaller milestones. It keeps the developers from getting beaten down, it gives management/users a deliverable, and it can change the tone of the project. If they have been working on this project for years with no success, anyone competent has left, or is looking for new employment.
And I have to wonder when the consultants say the staff developers don't have the expertise and are too numerous, are they taking into account business knowledge? I have worked with several consultants that were knowledgeable in the tools they were using, but couldn't translate their terminology into business terminology. Sometimes staff developers have to spend most of their time translating business requirements for consultants.
And finally, they were trying to change core methodology in the middle of a critical project? There is a lot to be said for Agile/RUP styles of development. They obviously weren't using that process before, and they obviously need some change. But it would be better to implement just a few of the more useful techniques (incremental releases, short term deliverables) rather than upsetting the whole development process at a critical time.
A fact of IT is that projects are rarely properly prepared. Missed requirements become feature creep. (Feature creep is blamed on users, missed requirements are IT's fault) If the benefits of Java (or some other language) over [original obscure language] is so high, maybe they should have considered changing languages at the start, but only if they are going to give proper training to the developers.
2) Don't optimize (unless you must), and even then, leave the unoptimized (readable) code commented out. And only optimize the code blocks than a profiler tells you to... there is no point optimizing a loop that runs once.
I generally agree, with one comment. Don't leave commented code unless it is well documented WHY you are leaving it. In this example I think I would prefer that a good explanation of the purpose of the section rather than leaving the unoptimized code. The reason is that over time there is a good chance that someone will modify the executing code, but not the commented code. I've worked on a number of projects where code was commented out with a note// fixing xxxx problem, or// removing yyyy option. When someone comes back to work on it later it really tells them nothing. A better solution is to remove the code and let the CVS do it's job.
There are fuel filters that can handle bio-diesel.
I'm just using Baldwin fuel filters. I changed to them because they have an integrated drain rather than using the ring under the filter. My personal truck is a 7.3 IDI turbo. And I haven't seen any signs of fuel filter degradation. I've been expecting a short service life on filters due to having 270,000 miles on the truck before changing to Bio, but so far there have been no ill effects at all. I think if I ran into a fuel filter that decayed the way you have described, I'd be changing to another brand.
You get about 10% less fuel economy and reduced power out of biodiesel then traditional petroleum diesel and that you need about 10-15% ethanol/methanol to make the fuel meaning more is being used.
I was going to just reply to this and point out the inaccuracy, but the more I read the more I started to wonder if you were just pulling all of this out of your ass.
The loss in fuel economy is more likely a difference in LSD versus ULSD. LSD has 140,000 BTUs, and the ULSD that the US changed to last year is 130,000 BTUs. I was sure that I had read that Bio was 138,000, but the article linked below says 130,000, the same as ULSD. The numbers that I have heard is about.5 to 1 mpg loss for OTR trucks running ULSD compared to LSD. Which is pretty significant when you are starting at 7 mpg.
Looking at their table, I suppose I could have confused Bio BTUs with the B20/LSD mix. Regardless, this article is a good primer for Biodiesel, taking into account that is hasn't been updated for ULSD. And for reference they should add #1 diesel.
There is also the problem with the bio-diesel contaminating the rubber bushing for fuel lines and such causing the need to replace them a lot more often along with some injector clogging.
Are the fuel system bushings next to the muffler bearings? Biodiesel attacks natural rubber. It will cause it to swell and start to leak. Nobody has used natural rubber in fuel systems since the mid 90s, and it's a reasonably inexpensive one time fix.
It seems to extract atmospheric moisture which causes a bunch of other hassles decreasing it's efficiency in use.
Pure bio is a good medium for growing algae. If you've been running a marine diesel you are familiar with biocides. If your car sits for long periods, it should be treated. (just like with gasoline) Diesel has always had moisture and algae concerns. Condensation in the fuel tank is a concern if the vehicle sits for long periods, and with water comes algae. It's no more of a concern, or hassle, than putting a fuel stabilizer in gasoline that is going to sit for several months.
Most warranties can be voided with it's use too.
You should check again, most are allowing B5 now in older engines now. Although the 2007 emission changes threw a wrench in that. 2007/2008 engines are NOT certified to run Bio due to the new emission equipment. I haven't researched it in depth, but I believe it is related to the new particulate traps.
Most OTR (long haul) trucking companies report around a 12% loss in power and around 10%-20% decreased fuel efficiency for B100 (pure bio). To compensate, they have ordered larger engines in newer trucks and turning some of the older engines up.
You have a reference for this? OTR firms are not using Biodiesel because of availability and quality control issues. If Flying J and Pilot would start carrying it, the OTR companies would start using it. They're just looking for a guarantee of consistency. They don't want to buy Bio that Bubba has brewed in his garage, they have a $100k plus asset that needs to roll everyday to hit it's 100-150k miles per year.
"Under no circumstances run this vehicle with biodiesel or vegetable oil."
The manufacturer doesn't want to warranty an engine that has been modified, has been running WVO, or had some home brew biodiesel run through it. Most engine manufacturers are allowing B5 now.
And a diesel engine can run pure vegetable oil. You could go to the grocery store and buy a brand new bottle and pour it in your tank. Veggie systems work around limitations in engines that were designed for petroleum fuel. Vegetable oil requires a higher head temperature than diesel, so the hybrid systems start with diesel and switch to vegetable oil once the engine reaches operating temperature. And of course, vegetable oil gels at a higher temperature.
For myself, I would never consider using WVO or buy a car that had been using it. It's a personal preference, I don't trust the particulate filtration that home brewers are using.
Of course, my F350 has 270,000 miles on it, I'm not really worrying about warranties.
Your probably also seeing around a 2-5% decrease in fuel econemy which means if your getting 40 MPG on regular diesel, your probably only getting 38 now.
Not really. Biodiesel is roughly equivalent to LSD (Low Sulfur Diesel) in energy. (unlike ethanol, which is 20% lower than gasoline) Biodiesel is considerably better than the ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) that is now required in the US. Biodiesel also has better lubricity and cetane numbers that ULSD, so even if fuel economy decreased, you'd make up for it by not needing fuel supplements.
Thats a conservative approach too, if you start having fuel pump and filter problems or even moisture problems, that fuel economy will drop fast until you get it fixed.
I doubt you'll see any fuel pump problems, at least I've never heard of any. Biodiesel can cause problems if you have an engine with an injector pump. (like my older 7.3l) I wouldn't want to go north of B20 in the winter due to gelling and possible IP damage. During the summer it's not a problem though.
For one thing, most diesel engines can't run on biodiesel unmodified.
Please, don't tell my 1994 F350, it's running quite happily on B20. I had planned to check/replace all the fuel lines to make sure none of them were natural rubber (due to it's age), but I got lazy and it hasn't been a problem. I also bought a couple extra fuel filters because I had heard that Bio would clean all the Dino deposits out of my fuel system, and so far I haven't had to change them either.
The only modifications that I am aware of for ANY diesel engine to run Biodiesel is the removal of any natural rubber components in the fuel system. Biodiesel has improved lubricity over ULSD, as well as having more BTUs per gallon. Giving me an added benefit that I no longer use Power Service in the summer. (will still need the anti gel in the winter) The downsides are temporary increased maintenance on the fuel filter while cleaning the petroleum deposits out of the fuel system, lack of availability, and if the vehicle sits for long periods of time you might need to use a biocide to keep the fuel clean.
I wouldn't hesitate to put B100 in my truck, it runs better with Biodiesel. But I was lucky to find B20 locally.
BTW, Bio also smells better at both the pump and the tailpipe.
It was an undocumented feature. You had to log into the lobby of a specific world, which most people did anyway. Each world server only checked for activity in it's own domain. It may have changed when Turbine rolled onto their own authentication servers. I only heard about it when people started complaining that they would have to buy subscriptions for every member of their family, and that may have been when they were announcing the changes as they cuts the ties from Microsoft.
I'd like to go back but apparently they will only let me have my mega high level account back if I can remember the CC number I used to create it in 1999.
I doubt that I could recover my accounts either. I have the same e-mail addresses (assuming I didn't use my Yahoo account), but I doubt I could find the password for my accounts and there's no way I could remember the CC# that I used. But knowing the game you could jump through the first 40 levels pretty quickly, so the only real loss is all the pyreal I had and it would be a pain to level up trade mules again.
All other servers allowed players to PvP through a special quest, but the default was non-PK or "carebear".
And Darktiders never considered PKing on carebear servers true PVP. You rarely saw people go red on a white server. Occasionally between allegiance members around the House or between two feuding allegiances.
I really don't understand why so many people are frowning over the number of patches.
My only complaint is that you'd think by now they would have figured out how to add content to the game without needing to update the client and taking the servers down for several hours a month. But they designed the same type of system with LOTRO too.
DT was extremely affected, and a huge proportion of DT accounts were cancelled, along with a substantial number of white server accounts,
Just so no one gets confused, there was no such thing as a Dark Tide (DT/PVP) account and a white server account (non-pvp). Your account gave you access to ALL AC servers. And one thing unique about AC is that you could play on one server at the same time another member of your family played on another server using the same account. As far as DT having a huge effect on Turbine policy, I think it says a lot that there are 9 servers and only 1 is PVP.
And you talk about having 1000-1500 pops being big, when I first started it wasn't uncommon for servers to have 1800-2000 on white servers. When it started dropping below 1500 things started getting a little dead. Particularly since by that time there were quite a few trade bots, buff bots, and portal bots. From the looks of things they'd have a hard time breaking 2000 now with all the servers combined.
Maybe for the 100th patch they should give free access to AC for anyone who subscribes to either of their other games.
AC2 got a bad reception because it seriously sucked. And it never made any sense for them to create it. Why invest all that time and money into a new game that is going to steal from the user base of your existing game? They should have invested that time into AC fixing problems and putting out an updated graphics engine. I don't believe there was anything so broke in AC that it required a whole new game. For the people most concerned with living with the sins of the past they could, and did, create fresh start worlds.
If you need to create a new game, create one in a new genre. Space games are under served, and I know a few people who would love to see something along the lines of a fallout MMO. Yet Turbine does AC, AC2, D&D Online, and LOTRO? For me, that meant I stayed with AC until WoW was released, and only came back for LOTRO.
A large spike in demand could make it cost-effective again
You obviously haven't been watching the news lately. There is already a spike in demand that is causing copper to be very expensive. For example, I bought copper pipe for my house ~5 years ago for a little over $3 for a 10' section. Current price is $15. And recyclers are paying so well that people are risking electrocution to steal copper wires.
A company of any size doesn't want preloads on anything, because like you, they don't want the OEM image. License management is also a huge pain when you're dealing with individual purchases, so they end up in a Select agreement with Microsoft. Since they generally can't get a bare machine they end up paying for desktop licenses twice. But it's cheaper than a BSA audit.
Nobody should install Windows "by Hand". Home users get their OEM Preload, and companies roll their own images.
Some home users are best with a preload. Which is why I said "with an option to install Windows (since it's such a pain to install) or their standard OS". For instance, I recently helped my mom purchase a new PC. Windows XP was the best choice for her. (Although we ordered on my business account and got a Vostro without all the trialware) As a home user I would prefer the same option that businesses prefer (but don't get either), a bare PC with no OS. I'm sure there are many here that feel the same way.
This ruling basically just gave everyone open access to the MLS. Now licensed realtors are stuck paying big bucks for services that everyone has free access to. This ruling will, basically, make real estate agents obsolete, since you have complete access to the MLS now.
If all a realtor did was find listings for you on MLS, then I might agree with you. When I bought my house I used Realtor.com and found most of the houses I looked at before my realtor did. At one point she even asked me how I found them so quickly. But a realtor does a whole lot more than that; they contact the selling agent and find out details about the house, set up the showing, help with negotiating a price, and walk you through the closing. I'd definitely prefer to walk thru a prospective house with my buyers agent than the seller's agent.
Rather than seeing realtors disappear, I suspect what will happen is MLS will go to a pure listing fee model. Open access to their listings actually increases the value of their service to the sellers.
The cheaper they get the house for you, the more % commission they get of the final amount.
You don't normally negotiate commissions with a buyers agent. As a buyer, your agent will split the commission negotiated by the seller. That's why the seller's agent will prefer to sell to someone who doesn't have their own agent. And of course because that buyer is probably a fool.
What always seems to be lost in this is that many people buying a Linux box are pretty likely to end up re-installing anyway.
I purchased three of Dell's 400SC servers using the Linux option. Which meant they came with no OS installed. If they had come with one the chances are pretty good that I would have changed it. At that time most servers were coming with Red Hat, and I had already left Red Hat for Mandrake, and have since moved to Debian derivatives. If I bought one of Dell's current desktops with Ubuntu, I'd probably replace that too since I have settled on Kubuntu. On my eeePC OTOH, I have left Xandros. I changed it to advanced mode and it uses Debian packages, so with the limited use it gets it is not worth the work to change.
My preference would be that all the systems I buy come with no OS, with an option to install Windows (since it's such a pain to install) or their standard OS (like in the case of the eeePC).
Not with "piggybacks". They're the large cargo containers that are stacked on rail cars and container ships, and fit onto a wheeled frame for trucking.
Actually, the origin of "piggyback" is putting a full, normal semi trailer on a train. The complete trailer is lifted or driven on/off of the rail car.
What you are describing is simply the cargo containers that were built for sea transport. With the rail container cars and truck container chassis, it allows them to go from China to your local Walmart without breaking the seal.
Slashdot Mirror
The company you think of as AT&T is really a re-branded SBC and has only been AT&T for 5 years.
The company you think of as a re-branded SBC are reassembled parts of the AT&T that the DOJ broke up in 1984. 4 of the 7 baby Bells and the AT&T long distance company. Bell Atlantic and NYNEX became part of Verizon, and USWest became part of Qwest.
Bell_System_divestiture
Probably the only real obstacle to completely re-assembling the old AT&T would be Gov't objections to AT&T and Verizon combining wireless divisions. Even though they use different technologies, it didn't stop Sprint from buying Nextel.
You're comparing apples and oranges here. In your example you have a low rated wire with a higher rated circuit interrupt. A load that exceeds the capability of the wire will cause it to melt rather than tripping the breaker.
The generator in the parent is a power source, not a power draw, and the circuit interrupt is rated lower. If the power draw from the house is higher than 15 amps, the the circuit will trip disconnecting the draw from the source. Any reasonable generator will throttle back based on load. I don't see how this is different than your primary source, the transmission lines, being capable of considerably higher current than your house mains.
While I personally would want the wiring and transfer switch rated higher than the generator, I doubt it's the invitation to calamity that you imply.
How old is your Pidgin?
Mine says it is 2.0.2, and appears to be working.
No drinks, mini pretzels, and the minimum number of flight attendants required by law.
Snacks aren't there for the convenience of the passengers. They are there to give the cattle something to do. Keep them busy so they don't have time to cause trouble.
Flight attendants would carry tasers....
You might be on to something there, a taser is nothing more than a cattle prod on steroids.
You are making too big of mountain out of changing the coding language.
If all your staff is trained in the original language, and only the consultants know Java, you'd be a fool to let them rewrite everything in Java. Language is absolutely important unless your plan is to fire your IT department and contract everything. And keep in mind, that 'blob of crud' is the opinion of consultants that wanted to rewrite in Java.
The reason the statement about 4200 lines of Java is so problematic is that isn't what they were hired to do. Could they have spent that time optimizing the 140,000 lines of existing code? Were they committed to the project, or to selling a Java rewrite? How much time did the consultants spend rewriting, and did they charge the client? Wouldn't a rewrite of the entire project signify a reboot of the whole project? If they were considering that, shouldn't the client have been consulted? If the statement had been "as we discussed, two consultants took a 140,000 line module and did a test rewrite in Java, and the result was 4200 lines of code that ran efficiently on a laptop....", I wouldn't have had a problem with that example.
And all this info comes from the consulting company, there's nothing from the business side. The Java example and the personal attacks makes the whole memo of questionable value.
...
would you not agree that porting it to a better-supported and more maintainable language would be critical for future success?
Not in the middle of a project. From what I read in the article, the consultants were brought in fairly late in the project. And the business already had a staff of programmers (too many from the perspective of the consultant). I'm assuming that the staff developers where already trained in the original language, that wouldn't necessarily be the case with Java. The staff will maintain the project and the consultant will move on.
I don't have a problem with a consultancy suggesting a language change. But taking a contract to modify a specific project, and then saying "well, it should have been done in Java" is a problem.
And you're calling them out on it? You think they did the wrong thing by eliminating 136,000 lines of bloat and significantly improving the performance?
Absolutely they were wrong to do it. First, the code they wrote did NOT lead to any production code, either in Java or it's original code base. The project was killed. Second, they weren't expected to manage the code, they were hired to HELP complete the project. Third, they were hired to modify the existing code base, not create a new one.
The last thing a company needs out of a consultant is for them to waste time on something outside the bounds of the project and completely incompatible. If they couldn't do it in the scope of the project, they either should not have accepted the contract or at least offered a project plan to restart in Java. The customer had a specific reasons for doing things the way they did. It's not the consultant's place to berate them on that choice. Would it be acceptable to you to hire consultants to help with a C# project and have them rewrite a ton of it in Java and tell you it smells like roses? Java was the wrong approach for that stage of the project.
And you're making assumptions on the complexity of the code and whether those 4200 lines of Java actually did produce an acceptable alternative.
There seems to be plenty of blame to go around, but I think it's rather disingenuous for consultants to be rewriting code in Java instead of [original obscure language]. The comparison has no value, and I hope they didn't bill their client for the time. Unless they were brought in to do a Java rewrite, and that doesn't appear to be the case, they should have been spending their time working in [original obscure language].
Some of the things that stood out to me are things like "Even the current effort probably requires a year to get something into production, but the schedule says four months." They needed to refocus their energies on short term goals. I'm sure they have a list of things that need to be fixed or added to the project. When things started getting bogged down they should have looked at that list and said "what can we code/fix and test this week". Smaller milestones. It keeps the developers from getting beaten down, it gives management/users a deliverable, and it can change the tone of the project. If they have been working on this project for years with no success, anyone competent has left, or is looking for new employment.
And I have to wonder when the consultants say the staff developers don't have the expertise and are too numerous, are they taking into account business knowledge? I have worked with several consultants that were knowledgeable in the tools they were using, but couldn't translate their terminology into business terminology. Sometimes staff developers have to spend most of their time translating business requirements for consultants.
And finally, they were trying to change core methodology in the middle of a critical project? There is a lot to be said for Agile/RUP styles of development. They obviously weren't using that process before, and they obviously need some change. But it would be better to implement just a few of the more useful techniques (incremental releases, short term deliverables) rather than upsetting the whole development process at a critical time.
A fact of IT is that projects are rarely properly prepared. Missed requirements become feature creep. (Feature creep is blamed on users, missed requirements are IT's fault) If the benefits of Java (or some other language) over [original obscure language] is so high, maybe they should have considered changing languages at the start, but only if they are going to give proper training to the developers.
2) Don't optimize (unless you must), and even then, leave the unoptimized (readable) code commented out. And only optimize the code blocks than a profiler tells you to... there is no point optimizing a loop that runs once.
// fixing xxxx problem, or // removing yyyy option. When someone comes back to work on it later it really tells them nothing. A better solution is to remove the code and let the CVS do it's job.
I generally agree, with one comment. Don't leave commented code unless it is well documented WHY you are leaving it. In this example I think I would prefer that a good explanation of the purpose of the section rather than leaving the unoptimized code. The reason is that over time there is a good chance that someone will modify the executing code, but not the commented code. I've worked on a number of projects where code was commented out with a note
There are fuel filters that can handle bio-diesel.
I'm just using Baldwin fuel filters. I changed to them because they have an integrated drain rather than using the ring under the filter. My personal truck is a 7.3 IDI turbo. And I haven't seen any signs of fuel filter degradation. I've been expecting a short service life on filters due to having 270,000 miles on the truck before changing to Bio, but so far there have been no ill effects at all. I think if I ran into a fuel filter that decayed the way you have described, I'd be changing to another brand.
You get about 10% less fuel economy and reduced power out of biodiesel then traditional petroleum diesel and that you need about 10-15% ethanol/methanol to make the fuel meaning more is being used.
.5 to 1 mpg loss for OTR trucks running ULSD compared to LSD. Which is pretty significant when you are starting at 7 mpg.
I was going to just reply to this and point out the inaccuracy, but the more I read the more I started to wonder if you were just pulling all of this out of your ass.
The loss in fuel economy is more likely a difference in LSD versus ULSD. LSD has 140,000 BTUs, and the ULSD that the US changed to last year is 130,000 BTUs. I was sure that I had read that Bio was 138,000, but the article linked below says 130,000, the same as ULSD. The numbers that I have heard is about
Ref:
Pre ULSD numbers
Looking at their table, I suppose I could have confused Bio BTUs with the B20/LSD mix. Regardless, this article is a good primer for Biodiesel, taking into account that is hasn't been updated for ULSD. And for reference they should add #1 diesel.
Note that #2 diesel is now 130,000 BTU, as opposed to the prior 140,000
There is also the problem with the bio-diesel contaminating the rubber bushing for fuel lines and such causing the need to replace them a lot more often along with some injector clogging.
Are the fuel system bushings next to the muffler bearings? Biodiesel attacks natural rubber. It will cause it to swell and start to leak. Nobody has used natural rubber in fuel systems since the mid 90s, and it's a reasonably inexpensive one time fix.
It seems to extract atmospheric moisture which causes a bunch of other hassles decreasing it's efficiency in use.
Pure bio is a good medium for growing algae. If you've been running a marine diesel you are familiar with biocides. If your car sits for long periods, it should be treated. (just like with gasoline) Diesel has always had moisture and algae concerns. Condensation in the fuel tank is a concern if the vehicle sits for long periods, and with water comes algae. It's no more of a concern, or hassle, than putting a fuel stabilizer in gasoline that is going to sit for several months.
Most warranties can be voided with it's use too.
You should check again, most are allowing B5 now in older engines now. Although the 2007 emission changes threw a wrench in that. 2007/2008 engines are NOT certified to run Bio due to the new emission equipment. I haven't researched it in depth, but I believe it is related to the new particulate traps.
Most OTR (long haul) trucking companies report around a 12% loss in power and around 10%-20% decreased fuel efficiency for B100 (pure bio). To compensate, they have ordered larger engines in newer trucks and turning some of the older engines up.
You have a reference for this? OTR firms are not using Biodiesel because of availability and quality control issues. If Flying J and Pilot would start carrying it, the OTR companies would start using it. They're just looking for a guarantee of consistency. They don't want to buy Bio that Bubba has brewed in his garage, they have a $100k plus asset that needs to roll everyday to hit it's 100-150k miles per year.
"Under no circumstances run this vehicle with biodiesel or vegetable oil."
The manufacturer doesn't want to warranty an engine that has been modified, has been running WVO, or had some home brew biodiesel run through it. Most engine manufacturers are allowing B5 now.
And a diesel engine can run pure vegetable oil. You could go to the grocery store and buy a brand new bottle and pour it in your tank. Veggie systems work around limitations in engines that were designed for petroleum fuel. Vegetable oil requires a higher head temperature than diesel, so the hybrid systems start with diesel and switch to vegetable oil once the engine reaches operating temperature. And of course, vegetable oil gels at a higher temperature.
For myself, I would never consider using WVO or buy a car that had been using it. It's a personal preference, I don't trust the particulate filtration that home brewers are using.
Of course, my F350 has 270,000 miles on it, I'm not really worrying about warranties.
Your probably also seeing around a 2-5% decrease in fuel econemy which means if your getting 40 MPG on regular diesel, your probably only getting 38 now.
Not really. Biodiesel is roughly equivalent to LSD (Low Sulfur Diesel) in energy. (unlike ethanol, which is 20% lower than gasoline) Biodiesel is considerably better than the ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) that is now required in the US. Biodiesel also has better lubricity and cetane numbers that ULSD, so even if fuel economy decreased, you'd make up for it by not needing fuel supplements.
Thats a conservative approach too, if you start having fuel pump and filter problems or even moisture problems, that fuel economy will drop fast until you get it fixed.
I doubt you'll see any fuel pump problems, at least I've never heard of any. Biodiesel can cause problems if you have an engine with an injector pump. (like my older 7.3l) I wouldn't want to go north of B20 in the winter due to gelling and possible IP damage. During the summer it's not a problem though.
For one thing, most diesel engines can't run on biodiesel unmodified.
Please, don't tell my 1994 F350, it's running quite happily on B20. I had planned to check/replace all the fuel lines to make sure none of them were natural rubber (due to it's age), but I got lazy and it hasn't been a problem. I also bought a couple extra fuel filters because I had heard that Bio would clean all the Dino deposits out of my fuel system, and so far I haven't had to change them either.
The only modifications that I am aware of for ANY diesel engine to run Biodiesel is the removal of any natural rubber components in the fuel system. Biodiesel has improved lubricity over ULSD, as well as having more BTUs per gallon. Giving me an added benefit that I no longer use Power Service in the summer. (will still need the anti gel in the winter) The downsides are temporary increased maintenance on the fuel filter while cleaning the petroleum deposits out of the fuel system, lack of availability, and if the vehicle sits for long periods of time you might need to use a biocide to keep the fuel clean.
I wouldn't hesitate to put B100 in my truck, it runs better with Biodiesel. But I was lucky to find B20 locally.
BTW, Bio also smells better at both the pump and the tailpipe.
It was an undocumented feature. You had to log into the lobby of a specific world, which most people did anyway. Each world server only checked for activity in it's own domain. It may have changed when Turbine rolled onto their own authentication servers. I only heard about it when people started complaining that they would have to buy subscriptions for every member of their family, and that may have been when they were announcing the changes as they cuts the ties from Microsoft.
I'd like to go back but apparently they will only let me have my mega high level account back if I can remember the CC number I used to create it in 1999.
I doubt that I could recover my accounts either. I have the same e-mail addresses (assuming I didn't use my Yahoo account), but I doubt I could find the password for my accounts and there's no way I could remember the CC# that I used. But knowing the game you could jump through the first 40 levels pretty quickly, so the only real loss is all the pyreal I had and it would be a pain to level up trade mules again.
All other servers allowed players to PvP through a special quest, but the default was non-PK or "carebear".
And Darktiders never considered PKing on carebear servers true PVP. You rarely saw people go red on a white server. Occasionally between allegiance members around the House or between two feuding allegiances.
I really don't understand why so many people are frowning over the number of patches.
My only complaint is that you'd think by now they would have figured out how to add content to the game without needing to update the client and taking the servers down for several hours a month. But they designed the same type of system with LOTRO too.
DT was extremely affected, and a huge proportion of DT accounts were cancelled, along with a substantial number of white server accounts,
Just so no one gets confused, there was no such thing as a Dark Tide (DT/PVP) account and a white server account (non-pvp). Your account gave you access to ALL AC servers. And one thing unique about AC is that you could play on one server at the same time another member of your family played on another server using the same account. As far as DT having a huge effect on Turbine policy, I think it says a lot that there are 9 servers and only 1 is PVP.
And you talk about having 1000-1500 pops being big, when I first started it wasn't uncommon for servers to have 1800-2000 on white servers. When it started dropping below 1500 things started getting a little dead. Particularly since by that time there were quite a few trade bots, buff bots, and portal bots. From the looks of things they'd have a hard time breaking 2000 now with all the servers combined.
Maybe for the 100th patch they should give free access to AC for anyone who subscribes to either of their other games.
Too bad AC2 got such a negative reception.
AC2 got a bad reception because it seriously sucked. And it never made any sense for them to create it. Why invest all that time and money into a new game that is going to steal from the user base of your existing game? They should have invested that time into AC fixing problems and putting out an updated graphics engine. I don't believe there was anything so broke in AC that it required a whole new game. For the people most concerned with living with the sins of the past they could, and did, create fresh start worlds.
If you need to create a new game, create one in a new genre. Space games are under served, and I know a few people who would love to see something along the lines of a fallout MMO. Yet Turbine does AC, AC2, D&D Online, and LOTRO? For me, that meant I stayed with AC until WoW was released, and only came back for LOTRO.
A large spike in demand could make it cost-effective again
You obviously haven't been watching the news lately. There is already a spike in demand that is causing copper to be very expensive. For example, I bought copper pipe for my house ~5 years ago for a little over $3 for a 10' section. Current price is $15. And recyclers are paying so well that people are risking electrocution to steal copper wires.
Well, for companies things are different.
A company of any size doesn't want preloads on anything, because like you, they don't want the OEM image. License management is also a huge pain when you're dealing with individual purchases, so they end up in a Select agreement with Microsoft. Since they generally can't get a bare machine they end up paying for desktop licenses twice. But it's cheaper than a BSA audit.
Nobody should install Windows "by Hand". Home users get their OEM Preload, and companies roll their own images.
Some home users are best with a preload. Which is why I said "with an option to install Windows (since it's such a pain to install) or their standard OS". For instance, I recently helped my mom purchase a new PC. Windows XP was the best choice for her. (Although we ordered on my business account and got a Vostro without all the trialware) As a home user I would prefer the same option that businesses prefer (but don't get either), a bare PC with no OS. I'm sure there are many here that feel the same way.
This ruling basically just gave everyone open access to the MLS. Now licensed realtors are stuck paying big bucks for services that everyone has free access to. This ruling will, basically, make real estate agents obsolete, since you have complete access to the MLS now.
If all a realtor did was find listings for you on MLS, then I might agree with you. When I bought my house I used Realtor.com and found most of the houses I looked at before my realtor did. At one point she even asked me how I found them so quickly. But a realtor does a whole lot more than that; they contact the selling agent and find out details about the house, set up the showing, help with negotiating a price, and walk you through the closing. I'd definitely prefer to walk thru a prospective house with my buyers agent than the seller's agent.
Rather than seeing realtors disappear, I suspect what will happen is MLS will go to a pure listing fee model. Open access to their listings actually increases the value of their service to the sellers.
The cheaper they get the house for you, the more % commission they get of the final amount.
You don't normally negotiate commissions with a buyers agent. As a buyer, your agent will split the commission negotiated by the seller. That's why the seller's agent will prefer to sell to someone who doesn't have their own agent. And of course because that buyer is probably a fool.
What always seems to be lost in this is that many people buying a Linux box are pretty likely to end up re-installing anyway.
I purchased three of Dell's 400SC servers using the Linux option. Which meant they came with no OS installed. If they had come with one the chances are pretty good that I would have changed it. At that time most servers were coming with Red Hat, and I had already left Red Hat for Mandrake, and have since moved to Debian derivatives. If I bought one of Dell's current desktops with Ubuntu, I'd probably replace that too since I have settled on Kubuntu. On my eeePC OTOH, I have left Xandros. I changed it to advanced mode and it uses Debian packages, so with the limited use it gets it is not worth the work to change.
My preference would be that all the systems I buy come with no OS, with an option to install Windows (since it's such a pain to install) or their standard OS (like in the case of the eeePC).
Not with "piggybacks". They're the large cargo containers that are stacked on rail cars and container ships, and fit onto a wheeled frame for trucking.
Actually, the origin of "piggyback" is putting a full, normal semi trailer on a train. The complete trailer is lifted or driven on/off of the rail car.
What you are describing is simply the cargo containers that were built for sea transport. With the rail container cars and truck container chassis, it allows them to go from China to your local Walmart without breaking the seal.