but do so at your own risk Apparently, a little-known side-effect of tattoos is that you can no longer take an MRI scan. There is metal in the tattoo ink which heats up under MRI radiation and can severely burn yours skin.
When first skimming the headline, I read it as "Open Source Social Bookmaking Service" and though "wow, neat idea, a free distributed gambling service. Without the bookmaker/local native American tribe taking a cut, betting on sports events would become financially fair and interesting (as long as you manage to get around the taxman)"
A bunch of companies during the dot-boom were laying fiber like mad worldwide. It looked impressive on the press releases "We have laid 72-fiber bundles over a 5000 km ring yadda yadda yadda". Problem is, the equipment needed to "light-up" the fibres is fiendishly expensive - By the time the fiber rings were complete, there was no money left and the companies went bankrupt. Result? In Europe, about 90% of fiber in the ground is unused (*) and being sold off really cheap. It now makes good business sense for Datacenter-heavy companies (Google in this case, but I know of a major German bank also) to buy dozens of fibres between locations and to "light it up" with cheap optical equipment (instead of buying the expensive kit which can do TBytes/s over a single fiber, they just buy 50 fibers and use racks full of less state-of-the art equipment, the bandwidth is the same, it's still cheaper, and you're not paying for bleeding edge DWDM technology). I was in a node for such a now-defunct ring now: 72 fibers, 2500 km around the whole of Germany, squeaky-clean POPs with UPS, fire, Halon, Overhead fibre trays, secutity cameras, i.e. the works. Only 4 fibers had been rented over a year after the ring was finished, and the rest was sitting there costing maintenance...)
Maybe I haven't played it often enough, but Catan feels like "Civilization for Pre-schoolers on Valium". It seems to be about as far as you can go in the area of resource strategy games without losing the mainstream audience. If they translated the rules 1:1 (or near that) for MSN, I fear it may turn out too simlble/boring/slow for the internet crowd.
IIRC it's based on a good clean wholesome family board game with almost as many expansion packs as The Sims, and there just ain't enough good plain killing & warfare in the game:)
I recently stumbled across a Multiplayer network/internet Nethack variant called Mangband - details see www.mangband.org- play Nethack with/against other people (Playerkilling is possible by default)
Very few players online at the moment, but running your own server on Linux is very simple, and the UI is all text based.
It ain't Everquest, but fun nonetheless - no longer alone in the dungeon.
Similar story, over 10 years ago when Ireland went metric (apologies if my attemps at written brogue sound like talk-like-a-pirate-day):
My dad: Good morning, I'd like some quarter inch pipe please Hardware guy: Ah no surrr, we have the metric system now surr, it's all in millimeters. My dad: Ok fine, I need some 8mm pipe Hardware guy: Foine, foine! How many feet would you like?
Prolly too many comments out there for this to be read/modded:
Doeas anyone know of a hack to get lightguns to work with an overhead projector?
I had an idea but I suck at analog electronics: Point an analog camera at the screen, have it sync off the actual video signal (50/60 HZ x 525 lines or whatever the video standard is in your country). Equip guns with a laser pointer, the dot on the screen would be way bright compared to the projected image, pipe the signal back into the lightgun input...
I was chatting recently with aon old friend of my fathers, who's been working in the elctricity industry in Europe for 35+ years, including work on the pan-European electricity distribution grid
The anecdote I liked most was this: - This European grid spans several thousand kilometers, from the Atlantic ocean to Poland at least - This network can sometimes start to "swing" or oscillate, with Voltage/Amperage swinging back and forth accross the grid, with a period of several seconds - As we all know (cough) when a system swings like this, with the end points fixed (like one end on the Atlantic and the other in Poland) the maximum amplitude is reached in the middle, lets say at a major cross-border link between France and Germany (yes its not half-way but stay with me) - Assuming this cross-border link has the capacity to carry 1000 Googlewatts max, they can actually only use it to move 600 Googlewatts around, the other 400 GW have to be reserved to have room up the "swinging" of the whole grid. - If you were to load this link up to full capacity, and the grid began to swing, it would blow the link up immediately. - Try to explain this to a politician (or manager), who says "but the wire can take 1000 GW, why can we only transmit 600???"
He also mentioned that in many places, including the US, major grid interconnections are done in Direct Current (DC) to avoid exactly this kind of problem. Just imagine: Gigawatts of power being exchanged in DC - Edison would be proud, and Tesla must be spinning (or oscillating) in his grave:)
Personal recommendation (I am in no way affiliated): If you are looking for just a folding knife, with a single blade, check out these guys http://www.spyderco.com/. Forget the high-end military versions, look for the most basic low-end models, like the Delica or Endura. - Can be opened with one hand easily and quickly (no breaking of nails in the groove of Swiss Army knives) - Can be carried on belt with clip - Legal to carry depending on your local laws - its not a switchblade or butterfly, but opens just as fast - The steel of the blades is damn good, and stays sharp for a long time - Some versions have serrated blades, you can cut through a 1" branch in a single swipe (not joking either, its my favourite gardening tool)
WARNING: Knives are like guns, if you draw them in anger, be prepared to face the consequences (jail, death, dismemberment).
- Send 'em away from home for several weeks or longer at a time. - Send them to a place thats culturally different (North Dakota to South Dakota doesn't count, from the suburbs to inner city New York is better, any foreign country is best. Tip: IRELAND - They speak english - sort of, very open to kids, crap TV) - Do like my parents did, move to a different country every 2nd year
Downside: The kid loses the friends in the old places. Upside: He has to learn how to make new friends, how to break into existing social networks, to adapt to a different culture, how to depend upon himself.
This won't turn an introverted geek into a social lion, but you do learn the mechanics of meeting new people, building relationships, making friends - it helps to maximise whatever potential social IQ is present.
This is not just from personal experience: I have several friends with similar backgrounds, and they have maxed their potential in this field. If they'd grown up in one single place, they would have turned into carbon copies of Rain Man.
First impressions: - There's a technical term for people shaking their things in public. I believe the term is "w*nker" or "exhibitionist" - Cellphone etiquette has improved a bit at last, and we have grown used to people talking to themselves in public. With this innovation, we can expect guys in suits doing a weird St-Vitus-SHake-that-funky-booty-type dance in restaurants, airports, streets. - Looking at the problems my father used to have with his self-winding mechanical watch - i.e. Look, shake, hold to ear to see if its ticking, shake swear, hold to ear again, twiddle knob, shake, swear, swear - and this was in a time when people were still able to build GOOD mechanical devices, I cant see this thing lasting very long before it goes on the blink.
"If you wish to speak to an operator, put your hands on your hips, and stick your knees insiiiiiiide"
There was a Tom-Clancy-Type novel called "Full Disclosure" IIRC, where the basic idea of double speed audio was also included.
The plot was: US president gets into office, gets shot and injured, turns blind because of injury.
Nasty politicos around the VP try to have him declared "unfit for office" so that VP can become P.
One of the tricks the president used to overcome his handicap (on the advice of an experienced blind person) was to have documents read to tape, and then played back at 2x or 3x the speed, which approximated the reading speed of a normal adult.
Sorry, can't resist snide comment: If this technique were applied today, the president would probably increase his effective reading speed by 12 times, since he is rumored to read at slightly above 3rd grader speed. Maybe thats why his lips always look funny in the photos, they're constantly dry and cracked.
In a former company (dot.com that went dot.boom) our tech department included a bunch of hackers (gee, whadda surprise) who had played a lot of MUDs during their college days.
Since we were spread out across several floors & buildings, we had a telnet chat server running, basically doing IM functionality.
We got into the habit of holding tech-only meetings via this server, with following benefits:
- Less waffle, it's harder to digress on a keyboard
- People actually thinking before "saying" something
- Instant meeting minutes (a GREAT bonus)
Unfortunately, this only works if ppl can actually type more than 5 words per minute, hence I don't forsee this reaching the mainstream anytime soon.
Only very few of the managers understood the benefits, the natural assumptions was geeks+network+server = "this can't be work, they must be playing"
For those visitors working on a tight budget, this pub in Karlsruhe has several different dishes (for vegetarians and carnivores) every day for 5 Euros, ask for the "Studi-Essen".
http://www.die-kippe.de/
I am not affiliated with these guys, I used to live in the town, still visit occasionally and am often stuck for somewhere to eat which is != pizza/chinese/kebab/burger.
Slashdot Mirror
but do so at your own risk
Apparently, a little-known side-effect of tattoos is that you can no longer take an MRI scan. There is metal in the tattoo ink which heats up under MRI radiation and can severely burn yours skin.
Unfortunately the sentence has been postponed while the case is being appealed."
Not "Unfortunately" - the right to appeal is a Good Thing (TM).
The right not to be punished while the case is under appeal is also a Good Thing (TM)
When first skimming the headline, I read it as "Open Source Social Bookmaking Service" and though "wow, neat idea, a free distributed gambling service. Without the bookmaker/local native American tribe taking a cut, betting on sports events would become financially fair and interesting (as long as you manage to get around the taxman)"
Oh well, maybe someday...
some patients have experienced improvements such as not bumping into objects around the house, and being able to read the time on a clock.
/. editors. Maybe it will help them spot duplicate stories better.
I say these should be mandatory for
*ducks*
I do know that my spelling and grammar have a lot to be desired.
You mean that your spelling and grammar leave a lot to be desired.
*duck*
Mayhap thou hast hitteth ye naile en ye head:
A bunch of companies during the dot-boom were laying fiber like mad worldwide.
It looked impressive on the press releases "We have laid 72-fiber bundles over a 5000 km ring yadda yadda yadda".
Problem is, the equipment needed to "light-up" the fibres is fiendishly expensive - By the time the fiber rings were complete, there was no money left and the companies went bankrupt.
Result? In Europe, about 90% of fiber in the ground is unused (*) and being sold off really cheap.
It now makes good business sense for Datacenter-heavy companies (Google in this case, but I know of a major German bank also) to buy dozens of fibres between locations and to "light it up" with cheap optical equipment (instead of buying the expensive kit which can do TBytes/s over a single fiber, they just buy 50 fibers and use racks full of less state-of-the art equipment, the bandwidth is the same, it's still cheaper, and you're not paying for bleeding edge DWDM technology).
I was in a node for such a now-defunct ring now: 72 fibers, 2500 km around the whole of Germany, squeaky-clean POPs with UPS, fire, Halon, Overhead fibre trays, secutity cameras, i.e. the works. Only 4 fibers had been rented over a year after the ring was finished, and the rest was sitting there costing maintenance...)
Maybe I haven't played it often enough, but Catan feels like "Civilization for Pre-schoolers on Valium".
:)
It seems to be about as far as you can go in the area of resource strategy games without losing the mainstream audience.
If they translated the rules 1:1 (or near that) for MSN, I fear it may turn out too simlble/boring/slow for the internet crowd.
IIRC it's based on a good clean wholesome family board game with almost as many expansion packs as The Sims, and there just ain't enough good plain killing & warfare in the game
Not a rat, the agent was a top hat, with a pair of shoes and a cigar poking out from underneath.
s /s eason1/22_merman.shtml
http://www.muppetcentral.com/guides/episodes/tm
Another quote "an agent is a vampire with a telephone". Could be re-written for SCO if necessary.
You can build something like it using MythTV, see various links in this story http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/06/09/004 7207&tid=186&tid=137&tid=106.
at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine
BWAAAAHAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Ahem, sorry about that.
I recently stumbled across a Multiplayer network/internet Nethack variant called Mangband - details see www.mangband.org- play Nethack with/against other people (Playerkilling is possible by default)
Very few players online at the moment, but running your own server on Linux is very simple, and the UI is all text based.
It ain't Everquest, but fun nonetheless - no longer alone in the dungeon.
Similar story, over 10 years ago when Ireland went metric (apologies if my attemps at written brogue sound like talk-like-a-pirate-day):
My dad: Good morning, I'd like some quarter inch pipe please
Hardware guy: Ah no surrr, we have the metric system now surr, it's all in millimeters.
My dad: Ok fine, I need some 8mm pipe
Hardware guy: Foine, foine! How many feet would you like?
"Both companies will be vying for the hearts and minds of gamers..."
I find it absolutely mindbendingly surreal that someone was able use his phrase in this context, apparently in earnest.
Based on recent less-than-totally-successful attempts to win the "hearts and minds" other market segments, gamers are in for a rough time
Prolly too many comments out there for this to be read/modded:
Doeas anyone know of a hack to get lightguns to work with an overhead projector?
I had an idea but I suck at analog electronics:
Point an analog camera at the screen, have it sync off the actual video signal (50/60 HZ x 525 lines or whatever the video standard is in your country).
Equip guns with a laser pointer, the dot on the screen would be way bright compared to the projected image, pipe the signal back into the lightgun input...
Anyone know if this could/could not work??
I was chatting recently with aon old friend of my fathers, who's been working in the elctricity industry in Europe for 35+ years, including work on the pan-European electricity distribution grid
:)
The anecdote I liked most was this:
- This European grid spans several thousand kilometers, from the Atlantic ocean to Poland at least
- This network can sometimes start to "swing" or oscillate, with Voltage/Amperage swinging back and forth accross the grid, with a period of several seconds
- As we all know (cough) when a system swings like this, with the end points fixed (like one end on the Atlantic and the other in Poland) the maximum amplitude is reached in the middle, lets say at a major cross-border link between France and Germany (yes its not half-way but stay with me)
- Assuming this cross-border link has the capacity to carry 1000 Googlewatts max, they can actually only use it to move 600 Googlewatts around, the other 400 GW have to be reserved to have room up the "swinging" of the whole grid.
- If you were to load this link up to full capacity, and the grid began to swing, it would blow the link up immediately.
- Try to explain this to a politician (or manager), who says "but the wire can take 1000 GW, why can we only transmit 600???"
He also mentioned that in many places, including the US, major grid interconnections are done in Direct Current (DC) to avoid exactly this kind of problem. Just imagine: Gigawatts of power being exchanged in DC - Edison would be proud, and Tesla must be spinning (or oscillating) in his grave
Personal recommendation (I am in no way affiliated):
If you are looking for just a folding knife, with a single blade, check out these guys http://www.spyderco.com/.
Forget the high-end military versions, look for the most basic low-end models, like the Delica or Endura.
- Can be opened with one hand easily and quickly (no breaking of nails in the groove of Swiss Army knives)
- Can be carried on belt with clip
- Legal to carry depending on your local laws - its not a switchblade or butterfly, but opens just as fast
- The steel of the blades is damn good, and stays sharp for a long time
- Some versions have serrated blades, you can cut through a 1" branch in a single swipe (not joking either, its my favourite gardening tool)
WARNING: Knives are like guns, if you draw them in anger, be prepared to face the consequences (jail, death, dismemberment).
- Send 'em away from home for several weeks or longer at a time.
- Send them to a place thats culturally different (North Dakota to South Dakota doesn't count, from the suburbs to inner city New York is better, any foreign country is best. Tip: IRELAND - They speak english - sort of, very open to kids, crap TV)
- Do like my parents did, move to a different country every 2nd year
Downside: The kid loses the friends in the old places.
Upside: He has to learn how to make new friends, how to break into existing social networks, to adapt to a different culture, how to depend upon himself.
This won't turn an introverted geek into a social lion, but you do learn the mechanics of meeting new people, building relationships, making friends - it helps to maximise whatever potential social IQ is present.
This is not just from personal experience: I have several friends with similar backgrounds, and they have maxed their potential in this field. If they'd grown up in one single place, they would have turned into carbon copies of Rain Man.
First impressions:
- There's a technical term for people shaking their things in public. I believe the term is "w*nker" or "exhibitionist"
- Cellphone etiquette has improved a bit at last, and we have grown used to people talking to themselves in public. With this innovation, we can expect guys in suits doing a weird St-Vitus-SHake-that-funky-booty-type dance in restaurants, airports, streets.
- Looking at the problems my father used to have with his self-winding mechanical watch - i.e. Look, shake, hold to ear to see if its ticking, shake swear, hold to ear again, twiddle knob, shake, swear, swear - and this was in a time when people were still able to build GOOD mechanical devices, I cant see this thing lasting very long before it goes on the blink.
"If you wish to speak to an operator, put your hands on your hips, and stick your knees insiiiiiiide"
Did anyone else read that headline as "Orbdev files Us federal suit over Asteroid CLAM"?!?
There was a Tom-Clancy-Type novel called "Full Disclosure" IIRC, where the basic idea of double speed audio was also included.
The plot was: US president gets into office, gets shot and injured, turns blind because of injury.
Nasty politicos around the VP try to have him declared "unfit for office" so that VP can become P.
One of the tricks the president used to overcome his handicap (on the advice of an experienced blind person) was to have documents read to tape, and then played back at 2x or 3x the speed, which approximated the reading speed of a normal adult.
Sorry, can't resist snide comment: If this technique were applied today, the president would probably increase his effective reading speed by 12 times, since he is rumored to read at slightly above 3rd grader speed. Maybe thats why his lips always look funny in the photos, they're constantly dry and cracked.
Either Nintendo or some 3rd party hackers should implement a VNC client for this.
I can just see the sysadmins in the coffee room, feet on the table, busily tapping on their GBAs
Boss: What the hellare you doing ?!?!
Admin: Working, what does it look like?
I remember tons of these "X ate my balls" webpages in the early days of free webhosting.
I thought it was dead but I guess not: 7 of 9 ate my Balls
In a former company (dot.com that went dot.boom) our tech department included a bunch of hackers (gee, whadda surprise) who had played a lot of MUDs during their college days.
Since we were spread out across several floors & buildings, we had a telnet chat server running, basically doing IM functionality.
We got into the habit of holding tech-only meetings via this server, with following benefits:
- Less waffle, it's harder to digress on a keyboard
- People actually thinking before "saying" something
- Instant meeting minutes (a GREAT bonus)
Unfortunately, this only works if ppl can actually type more than 5 words per minute, hence I don't forsee this reaching the mainstream anytime soon.
Only very few of the managers understood the benefits, the natural assumptions was geeks+network+server = "this can't be work, they must be playing"
From the GDC Pictures link:
"*This game uses only the right analog joystick for control."
If you're gonna make a game you can play with one hand, put some naked chicks in it for chrissake!
For those visitors working on a tight budget, this pub in Karlsruhe has several different dishes (for vegetarians and carnivores) every day for 5 Euros, ask for the "Studi-Essen".
http://www.die-kippe.de/
I am not affiliated with these guys, I used to live in the town, still visit occasionally and am often stuck for somewhere to eat which is != pizza/chinese/kebab/burger.