A government agency of any size will be able to afford radar to track our sattelites. These provide much more accurate and instantaneous data than what individual video observations can provide. Here's a report on the NOSS sattelites with a wealth of information about the sats that no amateur could ever get.
While individual terrorists probably don't have the resources (beyond heavens-above) to track sattelites, they probably aren't moving things obvious enough to matter anyway.
If the fact that the magnetic poles are moving is news, then this is news too. Google for Precession Nutation for more info. Maybe the original poster should have been more specific.
Busting the myth of the "trained scientist"?
on
Ask The Mythbusters
·
· Score: 1
How about busting the myth that employing a trained scientist will help you with the science in your show? This seems to be a recurring theme in the questions here. I guess these guys forget that on the show you often do interview experts in the field for the myth you're busting. And that a "scientist" can't be an expert in fluid mechanics, electronics, radio waves, and vaccume cleaners all at the same time.
[My applogies for the vaccume cleaner comment....]
I don't block web page advertisments, but I use Firefox's popup blocker. I have specifically purchased things through ads on web pages in order to help support the site (even if the product in a few bucks more than it is elsewhere).
I Tivo pretty much every show I watch, so I do skip TV comercials.
I do not subscribe to magazines specifically due to the number of ads. More specifically, the number of ads makes it nearly impossible to skim the magazine for interesting material.
If you've been having sleeping problems for several years, there's probably something seriously wrong. Dpression is one psychological possibility, but there are a multitude of physiological problems which cause insomnia.
You could use one of the fingerprint scanners, they're pretty cheap now. Also a while back I remember hearing about a system that used a webcam, and automatically recognized you when you walked up to the computer.
Depending on the level of security you need, you could just as easily not have any authentication at all, and just tell unauthorized users not to touch it.
There are several open source BIOSs floating around now (Google returns a plethora). If there is no BIOS upgrade for your system, you might try finding an open one which works with your system.
Personally I've never tried it, so I'd like to hear how it goes.
I don't think you'll be able to copy the "foam disk launcher" design as it uses a spring, and you have to pull the trigger to reset the spring for firing. Since a CD weighs much more than the little foam discs, you're going to need a spring you won't be able to set with your fingers.
Like everyone else, I'd recommend the use of an electric motor. The simplest design would be two rubber cylinders placed vertically, one powered, the other spinning only because it's touching the other. But the trajectory will be a bit unpredictable because the CD won't be spinning.
To get spin on the CD, you could use just one spinning cylinder, another cylinder placed the width of a CD horizantaly from the other.
I'd skip the idea of a loader for now, and just load them by hand. The loader will require very precise construction so that you can just grab one CD at a time. So, unless you know someone you just have to hurl 50 CDs at in 10 seconds, I'd just skip it.
For the motor, you could start with a small drill for prototyping, then move up to a router for more heavy duty stuff. But I don't see anyway to avoid the eventual need for the motor from a gas powered lawnmower (or a truck).
For every magazine article worth reading, there is a website which explains the same topic in much more detail, for free, and more up to date.
In most computer magazines, even the articles are ads. Then there's ads between every page in the article, and ads on every page with article text on it. Then there's ads between ads. Then there's two subscription cards for every page in the magazine which you have to tear out to keep them from turning the page for you.
Occationally I have a lapse of reasoning and subscript to Dr Dobbs Journal, but it's been a long, long time since I've seen anything usefull in there.
I built a Stiquito, it was pretty fun. There's also and "Advanced" version of the book which involves using a microcontroller (AVR 89c2313 IIRC). It's been a while since I messed with it, but it was interesting.
The Feynman lectures are nearly impossible to listen to with just audio. He goes over equations and diagrams as an integral part of the subject matter, and without them, you just can't understand what he's talking about.
If you want an entry level digital camera, you're going to have to stick with point and shoot type camera.
As everyone else has pointed out, the Digital Rebel is the cheapest digital SLR, but at $900 it's not exactly what you'd call entry level. I have the 10D, and I know several people that have the Rebel, and for the money, the Rebel wins hands down. So, if you're going to get one, get the Rebel, and put some money into some really nice lenses. Don't plan on upgrading any time soon, the Rebel hasn't dropped in price since it's been out, and the 10D has actually gone up in price. For a while the 10D couldn't be found anywhere, every place was out of stock.
Also note, with the Rebel, it's a very popular camera. So when you have trouble figuring something out, there's a lot of people available to help. And then there's the firmware hacks, whi ch you should already know about.
http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist/index.htm Even if you're not going to go with PICs, there is still a lot of info and help available there. Even though it's called the PICList, it's divided up into several different categories including PIC, AVR, and Electrical Engineering.
Personally I don't like PICs, I use the Atmel *51 series normally. Specifically the AT89C2051. These are small, cheap, and have a lot of support. SDCC supports them very well, any any old Programmer you get on E-Bay supports them. But they're not high performance chips, so you still need to be familiar with other chips for specific needs.
You can get the AT89C4051 at Futurlec for $1.85 each when you buy 25. http://www.futurlec.com/Atmel/AT89C4051pr.sht ml
Also I recommend you buy a Programmer on E-Bay rather than try to make your own. My point being, if you screw up one little thing on your programmer, you don't know where the problem lies. After you've got your feet wet, you might try building your own more modern programmer.
Actually I hate this book. Most of it is a copy of the PIC Datasheet, and the programs are all assembly. This book might be a good, scratch the surface, type, but don't get this book thinking you're going to walk away knowing how to program PICs on your own.
The space station is visible many times throughout the year. This website gives very accurate times for spotting it, and many, many other satellites. http://www.heavens-above.com/
The solution isn't with the cables, it's with the desk. Just get a desk which has a back to it, and the cables are invisible. There are some desks which have a plastic hallow back which can be opened when you need to work on something.
Using zip ties doesn't really reduce the clutter, they just lump it all together. And it's also a PITA when you need to find out where a particular cable goes.
While actually pursuing legal action against them is expensive, just having a lawyer write them a letter asking to open channels of communication will normally scare them into submission. You know legal action is expensive, and they know that too, and if they know they'll loose they'll probably back off if they think you're willing to put up the cash.
Here's a good book that should be able to get you started: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3 D087985801 x/104-6799284-9159958
But be warned, that asking the question "How do I get to be a good photographer" is equilvelant to asking "How do I bench press 600lbs?". You really have to work at it.
Also check out the Amatuer Photography Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amateurphoto graphycl ub/
It's not a very high volume list, but they've got plenty of pictures you can look at.
-For Windows 9x and ME you could place a file called logo.sys in the C:\ dir and it would replace the "Windows is now starting screen". You can make all sorts of error screens to replace it, but my favorite was copying logos.sys from c:\windows\system which is the screen that says "It is Now Safe To Turn Off Your Computer".
-I wrote a program which would detect that the mouse had been sitting in one place for about 30 seconds, and then would make it slowly drift to the side of the screen.
-Replace someone's shell with a differnet application, like NotePad or Calculator.
-Rename some icons with very similar names. It will be a long time before they notice.
-Make a fake HTML page with says "Thank you [their name] for placing your order with [some porn web site]. Open it in the browser, change the URL in the location, but don't press enter so it goes to the site.
-Write a GUI that looks just like Nortons or Mcafee but always says every file is a positive for some random virus. Send out a notice that everyone scan their hard drives.
-Schedule a meeting using their ID with yourself, and ask them what it's about.
-Set their minimum password length to 128 characters and make them change it every time they log in. (OK, I've never done it).
-Put a Netware "Send" command in their startup notifying the entire office (or a small group of people) they have arrived.
-Wedge something between two rarely used keys on the keyboard to make them stick down, causing a BIOS error when they boot up.
-In the Mouse icon in the Control Panel, swap the left and right mouse buttons.
-Add a few random items to their startup.
-Change their password every day.
-Make their desktop wallpaper/screensaver a picture of their manger, and edit the Windows policy so they can't change it.
Something similar I did, though with considerably less effort, was to bring in a box of assorted Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. These are boxes of about 25 beans each of about 30 or so different flavours. Just swap the beans with those of similar color, people often ended up spitting them out.
I looked into this a while back. Unless you have the ability to make tiny springs and gears, mold your own plastic and metal, you're not going to be able to make one of these things for less than you can buy one (or three!).
The specs for the off-the-shelf printheads are unavailable. And the interface is designed to be difficult to reverse engineer to prevent 3rd party printheads from becoming available.
Slashdot Mirror
A government agency of any size will be able to afford radar to track our sattelites. These provide much more accurate and instantaneous data than what individual video observations can provide.
Here's a report on the NOSS sattelites with a wealth of information about the sats that no amateur could ever get.
While individual terrorists probably don't have the resources (beyond heavens-above) to track sattelites, they probably aren't moving things obvious enough to matter anyway.
If the fact that the magnetic poles are moving is news, then this is news too. Google for Precession Nutation for more info. Maybe the original poster should have been more specific.
How about busting the myth that employing a trained scientist will help you with the science in your show? This seems to be a recurring theme in the questions here. I guess these guys forget that on the show you often do interview experts in the field for the myth you're busting. And that a "scientist" can't be an expert in fluid mechanics, electronics, radio waves, and vaccume cleaners all at the same time.
[My applogies for the vaccume cleaner comment....]
If the testing involves Kari, then the result will be "Myth Confirmed".
Slacker Astronomy
s t.rss
http://www.slackerastronomy.org/slack-live.xml
Science @ NASA
http://science.nasa.gov/podcast.xml
Universe Today
http://www.universetoday.com/audio.xml
Berkeley Groks
http://www.groks.net/groks.rss
Regulus
http://www.regulusastro.com/regulus/whatsup/podca
I don't block web page advertisments, but I use Firefox's popup blocker. I have specifically purchased things through ads on web pages in order to help support the site (even if the product in a few bucks more than it is elsewhere).
I Tivo pretty much every show I watch, so I do skip TV comercials.
I do not subscribe to magazines specifically due to the number of ads. More specifically, the number of ads makes it nearly impossible to skim the magazine for interesting material.
Of course there is no software available that compares to Windows. That's the definition of a monopoly!
If you've been having sleeping problems for several years, there's probably something seriously wrong. Dpression is one psychological possibility, but there are a multitude of physiological problems which cause insomnia.
You could use one of the fingerprint scanners, they're pretty cheap now. Also a while back I remember hearing about a system that used a webcam, and automatically recognized you when you walked up to the computer.
Depending on the level of security you need, you could just as easily not have any authentication at all, and just tell unauthorized users not to touch it.
There are several open source BIOSs floating around now (Google returns a plethora). If there is no BIOS upgrade for your system, you might try finding an open one which works with your system.
Personally I've never tried it, so I'd like to hear how it goes.
I don't think you'll be able to copy the "foam disk launcher" design as it uses a spring, and you have to pull the trigger to reset the spring for firing. Since a CD weighs much more than the little foam discs, you're going to need a spring you won't be able to set with your fingers.
Like everyone else, I'd recommend the use of an electric motor. The simplest design would be two rubber cylinders placed vertically, one powered, the other spinning only because it's touching the other. But the trajectory will be a bit unpredictable because the CD won't be spinning.
To get spin on the CD, you could use just one spinning cylinder, another cylinder placed the width of a CD horizantaly from the other.
I'd skip the idea of a loader for now, and just load them by hand. The loader will require very precise construction so that you can just grab one CD at a time. So, unless you know someone you just have to hurl 50 CDs at in 10 seconds, I'd just skip it.
For the motor, you could start with a small drill for prototyping, then move up to a router for more heavy duty stuff. But I don't see anyway to avoid the eventual need for the motor from a gas powered lawnmower (or a truck).
For every magazine article worth reading, there is a website which explains the same topic in much more detail, for free, and more up to date.
In most computer magazines, even the articles are ads. Then there's ads between every page in the article, and ads on every page with article text on it. Then there's ads between ads. Then there's two subscription cards for every page in the magazine which you have to tear out to keep them from turning the page for you.
Occationally I have a lapse of reasoning and subscript to Dr Dobbs Journal, but it's been a long, long time since I've seen anything usefull in there.
I built a Stiquito, it was pretty fun. There's also and "Advanced" version of the book which involves using a microcontroller (AVR 89c2313 IIRC). It's been a while since I messed with it, but it was interesting.
The Feynman lectures are nearly impossible to listen to with just audio. He goes over equations and diagrams as an integral part of the subject matter, and without them, you just can't understand what he's talking about.
If you want an entry level digital camera, you're going to have to stick with point and shoot type camera.
As everyone else has pointed out, the Digital Rebel is the cheapest digital SLR, but at $900 it's not exactly what you'd call entry level. I have the 10D, and I know several people that have the Rebel, and for the money, the Rebel wins hands down. So, if you're going to get one, get the Rebel, and put some money into some really nice lenses. Don't plan on upgrading any time soon, the Rebel hasn't dropped in price since it's been out, and the 10D has actually gone up in price. For a while the 10D couldn't be found anywhere, every place was out of stock.
Also note, with the Rebel, it's a very popular camera. So when you have trouble figuring something out, there's a lot of people available to help. And then there's the firmware hacks, whi ch you should already know about.
http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist/index.htm
t ml
Even if you're not going to go with PICs, there is still a lot of info and help available there. Even though it's called the PICList, it's divided up into several different categories including PIC, AVR, and Electrical Engineering.
Personally I don't like PICs, I use the Atmel *51 series normally. Specifically the AT89C2051. These are small, cheap, and have a lot of support. SDCC supports them very well, any any old Programmer you get on E-Bay supports them. But they're not high performance chips, so you still need to be familiar with other chips for specific needs.
You can get the AT89C4051 at Futurlec for $1.85 each when you buy 25.
http://www.futurlec.com/Atmel/AT89C4051pr.sh
Also I recommend you buy a Programmer on E-Bay rather than try to make your own. My point being, if you screw up one little thing on your programmer, you don't know where the problem lies. After you've got your feet wet, you might try building your own more modern programmer.
Actually I hate this book. Most of it is a copy of the PIC Datasheet, and the programs are all assembly. This book might be a good, scratch the surface, type, but don't get this book thinking you're going to walk away knowing how to program PICs on your own.
The space station is visible many times throughout the year. This website gives very accurate times for spotting it, and many, many other satellites.
http://www.heavens-above.com/
The solution isn't with the cables, it's with the desk. Just get a desk which has a back to it, and the cables are invisible. There are some desks which have a plastic hallow back which can be opened when you need to work on something.
Using zip ties doesn't really reduce the clutter, they just lump it all together. And it's also a PITA when you need to find out where a particular cable goes.
While actually pursuing legal action against them is expensive, just having a lawyer write them a letter asking to open channels of communication will normally scare them into submission. You know legal action is expensive, and they know that too, and if they know they'll loose they'll probably back off if they think you're willing to put up the cash.
Here's a good book that should be able to get you started:3 D087985801 x/104-6799284-9159958
o graphycl ub/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%
But be warned, that asking the question "How do I get to be a good photographer" is equilvelant to asking "How do I bench press 600lbs?". You really have to work at it.
Also check out the Amatuer Photography Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amateurphot
It's not a very high volume list, but they've got plenty of pictures you can look at.
-For Windows 9x and ME you could place a file called logo.sys in the C:\ dir and it would replace the "Windows is now starting screen". You can make all sorts of error screens to replace it, but my favorite was copying logos.sys from c:\windows\system which is the screen that says "It is Now Safe To Turn Off Your Computer".
-I wrote a program which would detect that the mouse had been sitting in one place for about 30 seconds, and then would make it slowly drift to the side of the screen.
-Replace someone's shell with a differnet application, like NotePad or Calculator.
-Rename some icons with very similar names. It will be a long time before they notice.
-Make a fake HTML page with says "Thank you [their name] for placing your order with [some porn web site]. Open it in the browser, change the URL in the location, but don't press enter so it goes to the site.
-Write a GUI that looks just like Nortons or Mcafee but always says every file is a positive for some random virus. Send out a notice that everyone scan their hard drives.
-Schedule a meeting using their ID with yourself, and ask them what it's about.
-Set their minimum password length to 128 characters and make them change it every time they log in. (OK, I've never done it).
-Put a Netware "Send" command in their startup notifying the entire office (or a small group of people) they have arrived.
-Wedge something between two rarely used keys on the keyboard to make them stick down, causing a BIOS error when they boot up.
-In the Mouse icon in the Control Panel, swap the left and right mouse buttons.
-Add a few random items to their startup.
-Change their password every day.
-Make their desktop wallpaper/screensaver a picture of their manger, and edit the Windows policy so they can't change it.
Something similar I did, though with considerably less effort, was to bring in a box of assorted Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. These are boxes of about 25 beans each of about 30 or so different flavours. Just swap the beans with those of similar color, people often ended up spitting them out.
Don't open it in PhotoShop. Make it the Windows background image, so he gets it back when he reboots.
I looked into this a while back. Unless you have the ability to make tiny springs and gears, mold your own plastic and metal, you're not going to be able to make one of these things for less than you can buy one (or three!).
The specs for the off-the-shelf printheads are unavailable. And the interface is designed to be difficult to reverse engineer to prevent 3rd party printheads from becoming available.