If anyone's curious, here's the released footage of that 5000th car off the Assembly line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvW_PDkElho
Please go easy with the negative ratings. I hope to buy either a Model 3, Y or Pickup myself and even own approximately 2 shares of Tesla stock. So I'm no Tesla hater. This post should be marked as Funny!
It seems Chicago is getting a pretty good deal. The Loop is being privately financed. And if this follows in the path of previous Musk projects - everyone involved except short sellers will be rewarded handsomely.
But there are at least two important points to consider.
1. The $3 billion wouldn’t be a gift, as One Wisconsin Now calls it. That’s the maximum amount the state would pay Foxconn, and only if the company spends roughly $18 billion -- about $9 billion for payroll and $9 billion in capital investments.
The Telsa uses a variable frequency AC motor, which they have proved results in a simpler, more powerful drive train for vehicles of this size and class. Telsa invented the AC motor. Smaller less capable vehicles can arguably be made as efficient using DC motors but it now appears the future belongs to Tesla's design. At the time that Telsa Motors was formed pretty much every one doing electric cars were doing DC "Edison" motors. Tesla was doing everything different. Instead of ugly scaled up golf carts with DC motors, they made a high performance and beautiful sports car using Tesla's invention.
Someday, we may all be used to silent cars, but currently a person's brain processes a silent car as turned off and no danger. I had my first electric car in the mid '70's - one my dad and I built. After several incidents of pedestrians stepping in front of the car - just as I was about to start accelerating, we added a small buzzer to act as "engine noise" whenever the car was armed and dangerous. It was a simple fix and it worked. There may be other solutions, but this one does not require reprogramming people.
I checked on the full cost with the current currency conversion and it works out to be about $45 (32.17GBP) including shipping. (4-7 days Airmail). Not bad.
Thanks. I do see that. I was hoping for a US distributor, and put myself on a couple of waiting lists. I may need to see if the shipping from the Pimorini is reasonable.
Existed before digital computers. Still going strong - probably used somewhere along the supply chain for every product built in the last 75 years. Keeps the fresh water flowing in and *hit flowing out in the nation's infrastructure.
Did you know? (according to wikipedia) "...uses of Forth include the Open Firmware boot ROMs used by Apple, IBM, Sun, and OLPC XO-1; and the FICL-based first stage boot controller of the FreeBSD operating system."
I only vaguely remembered reading that somewhere, but I did know that are/were many Forth controlled Telescopes (which led to a better understanding of the cosmos.)
Personally, I used it back in the day to make very compact mission critical 24/7 programs.
Real Job, Real Experience, Real Place, with fire and smoke and occasional explosions. You would recognize the initials. We received a touch screen device. Very cool. Very expensive (money was not a problem). I was trying to get my point across to the operator, so I pointed (OK. I POKED) at the object on the screen.
It was not a good day. No one was killed. No equipment was damaged. I don't even think we really lost any data or too much schedule. But the implications of what could have happened were obvious. It was an often repeated story, that resulted in an un-official but institutional ban on all touch screens in the facility for the next 20 years.
Today I love multitouch, especially on tablets, phones and on my laptops and desktops when used with a horizontal trackpad or mouse with a touch surface.
Not sure I'll ever feel good about touching a vertical screen though.
Some people have commented you should try getting closer to the metal, meaning computer hardware. But take it to the extreme. Buy a small lathe, learn to use it and the jargon. Have some fun turning it into a CNC machine if you like. Spend time on the metal working forums. Then start talking to some small to midsize manufacturing companies about helping them compete by utilizing your programming skills. You'll get to pick the tools you use. But first you need a little bit of "real world" fabrication experience so you can at least carry on a conversation. Getting your hands literally dirty, lets the people who need you relate to you. Rub shoulders with some blue collar guys, listen to their ideas for making their company more competitive. The opportunity for software guys to be heros and rewarded, is out there, but frankly most of us are on another planet and separated from where we need to be to make it happen.
BTW. Yes, I'm taking my own advice, and having a blast. I can now do in an hour what a decent machinist can do in 15 minutes.:-)
Components Fail. Methods Fail. Programs Fail. Even Test Objectives Fail. But the product of rocket testing is data. Only when you loose the data is the test a failure. You might not like the answer or the cost of the test, or the inability to run more tests on the hardware, but if you have the data, you accomplished your mission.
Back in the day, I was the lead instrumentation engineer on one of NASA's test stands. Loosing the test article, and sometimes a portion of the test stand was just part of a day's work. But have a key instrument fail (and its back up) or have a recorder not work... well lets just say I don't remember those particular days fondly. But one of my best memories was the day I was the first to hit the "pickle switch" as a rocket motor began to consume itself. I may have saved the facility. (Except several other people hit their's a fraction of a second later.) The owner of the rocket, on the other hand, wished for a few more seconds of data, rather than a more intact motor.
Or then again, maybe you are just casting a wide net.:) A counter intuitive example comes to mind of someone who moves around a lot (though not as much as you.) He is the best networker I know. My son is making a good living in the TV/Movie business, working his way up from skate videos to a steady job on a popular long running show. (Has also worked on a couple of feature films, and actually turned down a gig on the Academy Awards.) Sorry proud dad syndrome. You would think he built his network in LA, but actually only passed through a couple of times. It was the contacts he made in New Orleans, Denver, Jackson (MS) and now Northern CA, that helped his career. Not exactly the centers of the industry. Maybe being a colorful fish in one or a number of small ponds, beats staying in one place if there is lots of competition. (Sorry for the mixed metaphors.)
But I think in general I agree with you. I stayed in one place, and I'm definitely in a small pond, so maybe it takes a lot of the work or tension (if you are aware of it) out of networking.
I hope the missus appreciates you (for handling the invoices). I love delegating that worry.
Very true. I wouldn't cross a bridge unless I had faith in it that it would hold me up. People put their faith in different things all the time, including themselves, usually with good results, but also many times irrationally leading to disaster. (Driving while intoxicated as an example.) And most people I meet think faith in Jesus falls into that category, it doesn't hurt most of the time to have faith in some of his teachings, but under certain circumstances or situations, plain stupid.
But many rational people, including agnostics, atheists and others from various religious backgrounds, come to the conclusion that putting one's faith in the claims and promises of Jesus, is a logical thing to do after some investigation.
If you value your software as I do, (your soul in Bible terms) it is very rational to look seriously at how it might be protected, and not assume that people who claim there is no hope, that all biologically hosted software must die, are the rational ones. But that is what most people do. They assume there is no hope, and decide not to think about it. They have faith that they are doomed, and will not investigate the claims that there is hope. I recommend "The Case for Jesus" written by an investigative reporter and former atheist (or agnostic I forget which) for people interested.
Thank you for the kind words. I did have faith in myself, that as you said, I could walk off into the unknown. For me, alone it would be quite an adventure. For me, living out of my car would not be a very big deal, I've slept in worse places. But I did not have enough faith in myself to step out in the unknown and drag my family with me. So, one of the things I prayed about was that my wife in particular, would get the same vision and I wouldn't be dragging her along. That was one of the confirmations to me that God was involved. Nothing I could have said or done would have ever convinced her to get on board, so I didn't try.
I don't find God unknowable. You know He has had quite a few books written about Him, right.:-) Through the Bible He has actually revealed quite a lot about himself. In fact much more than most people want to know. They know a little, and they don't like where that little bit knowledge is headed. Introspection, seeing themselves for who they truly are, and where their future is headed not pleasant for many people. That is where Jesus comes in. He brings people to God under conditions that both people and God can live with.
Actually, I can agree with the first part from a financial stand point. Satan and I have at times wanted to be much more successful. But it is my belief that God has intervened and killed some plans that may have been great financially, but stood a good chance of making me unsuccessful where it really matters. So I'll praise God for my success and lack of success so long as it comes from Him.
Thanks for the comment. It was funny and a concise statement of a life lesson I think.
Slashdot Mirror
If anyone's curious, here's the released footage of that 5000th car off the Assembly line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvW_PDkElho
Please go easy with the negative ratings. I hope to buy either a Model 3, Y or Pickup myself and even own approximately 2 shares of Tesla stock. So I'm no Tesla hater. This post should be marked as Funny!
It seems Chicago is getting a pretty good deal. The Loop is being privately financed. And if this follows in the path of previous Musk projects - everyone involved except short sellers will be rewarded handsomely.
But there are at least two important points to consider. 1. The $3 billion wouldn’t be a gift, as One Wisconsin Now calls it. That’s the maximum amount the state would pay Foxconn, and only if the company spends roughly $18 billion -- about $9 billion for payroll and $9 billion in capital investments.
Legally, that is.
The Telsa uses a variable frequency AC motor, which they have proved results in a simpler, more powerful drive train for vehicles of this size and class. Telsa invented the AC motor. Smaller less capable vehicles can arguably be made as efficient using DC motors but it now appears the future belongs to Tesla's design. At the time that Telsa Motors was formed pretty much every one doing electric cars were doing DC "Edison" motors. Tesla was doing everything different. Instead of ugly scaled up golf carts with DC motors, they made a high performance and beautiful sports car using Tesla's invention.
Steve Jobs eating humble pie? You must be talking about another Steve Jobs.
Someday, we may all be used to silent cars, but currently a person's brain processes a silent car as turned off and no danger. I had my first electric car in the mid '70's - one my dad and I built. After several incidents of pedestrians stepping in front of the car - just as I was about to start accelerating, we added a small buzzer to act as "engine noise" whenever the car was armed and dangerous. It was a simple fix and it worked. There may be other solutions, but this one does not require reprogramming people.
(1) ... Apple made a phone with no mechanical keyboard.
(2) ... Apple gave up trying to get Flash to run on iPhone.
(3) ... Microsoft killed off XP.
(4) ... Oracle bought Sun and took over Java.
(add your own thoughts)
It should include things like this: Interactive Art using FlipBits. Full Disclosure: Yes, it may be a shameless plug. But you asked for my opinion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I checked on the full cost with the current currency conversion and it works out to be about $45 (32.17GBP) including shipping. (4-7 days Airmail). Not bad.
Thanks. I do see that. I was hoping for a US distributor, and put myself on a couple of waiting lists. I may need to see if the shipping from the Pimorini is reasonable.
Once again demand outstrips supply.
Existed before digital computers. Still going strong - probably used somewhere along the supply chain for every product built in the last 75 years. Keeps the fresh water flowing in and *hit flowing out in the nation's infrastructure.
Did you know? (according to wikipedia) "...uses of Forth include the Open Firmware boot ROMs used by Apple, IBM, Sun, and OLPC XO-1; and the FICL-based first stage boot controller of the FreeBSD operating system."
I only vaguely remembered reading that somewhere, but I did know that are/were many Forth controlled Telescopes (which led to a better understanding of the cosmos.)
Personally, I used it back in the day to make very compact mission critical 24/7 programs.
Real Job, Real Experience, Real Place, with fire and smoke and occasional explosions. You would recognize the initials. We received a touch screen device. Very cool. Very expensive (money was not a problem). I was trying to get my point across to the operator, so I pointed (OK. I POKED) at the object on the screen.
It was not a good day. No one was killed. No equipment was damaged. I don't even think we really lost any data or too much schedule. But the implications of what could have happened were obvious. It was an often repeated story, that resulted in an un-official but institutional ban on all touch screens in the facility for the next 20 years.
Today I love multitouch, especially on tablets, phones and on my laptops and desktops when used with a horizontal trackpad or mouse with a touch surface.
Not sure I'll ever feel good about touching a vertical screen though.
Ah Americans.
+1
Some people have commented you should try getting closer to the metal, meaning computer hardware. But take it to the extreme. Buy a small lathe, learn to use it and the jargon. Have some fun turning it into a CNC machine if you like. Spend time on the metal working forums. Then start talking to some small to midsize manufacturing companies about helping them compete by utilizing your programming skills. You'll get to pick the tools you use. But first you need a little bit of "real world" fabrication experience so you can at least carry on a conversation. Getting your hands literally dirty, lets the people who need you relate to you. Rub shoulders with some blue collar guys, listen to their ideas for making their company more competitive. The opportunity for software guys to be heros and rewarded, is out there, but frankly most of us are on another planet and separated from where we need to be to make it happen.
BTW. Yes, I'm taking my own advice, and having a blast. I can now do in an hour what a decent machinist can do in 15 minutes. :-)
Components Fail. Methods Fail. Programs Fail. Even Test Objectives Fail.
But the product of rocket testing is data. Only when you loose the data is the test a failure.
You might not like the answer or the cost of the test, or the inability to run more tests on the hardware, but if you have the data, you accomplished your mission.
Back in the day, I was the lead instrumentation engineer on one of NASA's test stands. Loosing the test article, and sometimes a portion of the test stand was just part of a day's work. But have a key instrument fail (and its back up) or have a recorder not work... well lets just say I don't remember those particular days fondly.
But one of my best memories was the day I was the first to hit the "pickle switch" as a rocket motor began to consume itself. I may have saved the facility. (Except several other people hit their's a fraction of a second later.) The owner of the rocket, on the other hand, wished for a few more seconds of data, rather than a more intact motor.
Or then again, maybe you are just casting a wide net. :) A counter intuitive example comes to mind of someone who moves around a lot (though not as much as you.) He is the best networker I know. My son is making a good living in the TV/Movie business, working his way up from skate videos to a steady job on a popular long running show. (Has also worked on a couple of feature films, and actually turned down a gig on the Academy Awards.) Sorry proud dad syndrome. You would think he built his network in LA, but actually only passed through a couple of times. It was the contacts he made in New Orleans, Denver, Jackson (MS) and now Northern CA, that helped his career. Not exactly the centers of the industry. Maybe being a colorful fish in one or a number of small ponds, beats staying in one place if there is lots of competition. (Sorry for the mixed metaphors.)
But I think in general I agree with you. I stayed in one place, and I'm definitely in a small pond, so maybe it takes a lot of the work or tension (if you are aware of it) out of networking.
I hope the missus appreciates you (for handling the invoices). I love delegating that worry.
Thank you for the encouragement. I am surprised and grateful it survived the sometimes heavy hand of the moderators.
Here is another as a comic.
https://vimeo.com/41038445
Very true. I wouldn't cross a bridge unless I had faith in it that it would hold me up. People put their faith in different things all the time, including themselves, usually with good results, but also many times irrationally leading to disaster. (Driving while intoxicated as an example.) And most people I meet think faith in Jesus falls into that category, it doesn't hurt most of the time to have faith in some of his teachings, but under certain circumstances or situations, plain stupid.
But many rational people, including agnostics, atheists and others from various religious backgrounds, come to the conclusion that putting one's faith in the claims and promises of Jesus, is a logical thing to do after some investigation.
If you value your software as I do, (your soul in Bible terms) it is very rational to look seriously at how it might be protected, and not assume that people who claim there is no hope, that all biologically hosted software must die, are the rational ones. But that is what most people do. They assume there is no hope, and decide not to think about it. They have faith that they are doomed, and will not investigate the claims that there is hope. I recommend "The Case for Jesus" written by an investigative reporter and former atheist (or agnostic I forget which) for people interested.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Thank you for the kind words. I did have faith in myself, that as you said, I could walk off into the unknown. For me, alone it would be quite an adventure. For me, living out of my car would not be a very big deal, I've slept in worse places. But I did not have enough faith in myself to step out in the unknown and drag my family with me. So, one of the things I prayed about was that my wife in particular, would get the same vision and I wouldn't be dragging her along. That was one of the confirmations to me that God was involved. Nothing I could have said or done would have ever convinced her to get on board, so I didn't try.
I don't find God unknowable. You know He has had quite a few books written about Him, right. :-) Through the Bible He has actually revealed quite a lot about himself. In fact much more than most people want to know. They know a little, and they don't like where that little bit knowledge is headed. Introspection, seeing themselves for who they truly are, and where their future is headed not pleasant for many people. That is where Jesus comes in. He brings people to God under conditions that both people and God can live with.
Actually, I can agree with the first part from a financial stand point. Satan and I have at times wanted to be much more successful. But it is my belief that God has intervened and killed some plans that may have been great financially, but stood a good chance of making me unsuccessful where it really matters. So I'll praise God for my success and lack of success so long as it comes from Him.
Thanks for the comment. It was funny and a concise statement of a life lesson I think.