Same here. I own a 2003 Civic Hybrid. I get on average 43-44 MPG driving in the congested streets and Interstates in and around Washington DC. On long highway only trips, I've hit over 50 MPG.
When I read stories of Hybrid owners getting only 30ish MPG - either their car must be messed up, or they are driving like maniacs with all of the economy features turned off. The Civic Hybrid only has a 1.3L engine. You really have to _try hard_ to make it use a lot of gas.
... tear the damn thing up into little pieces next time. Throw half of it away in one garbage can, the other half in a different one. That's what we do with all of those damn pre-approved credit card apps we get daily.
We bought a Honda Civic Hybrid last fall, to replace our 2 door Civic EX. (We were expecting a son, so 2 doors no longer cut it.) Well, about a year later now, we still have the car, and the kid to fit in the back.
Pros:
The milage is fantastic. We average about 45 mpg with mostly city driving. We have taken 475 mile trips without stopping for gas, and the tank is just about 11 gallons. With gas prices going up constantly, thats a nice thing.
Power is adequate. The change from the Civic EX to the Hybrid is virtually unnoticable. Acceleration is similar, although different since the Civic EX has a 4 speed auto, and the Civic Hybrid is a CVT automatic. CVT == Continuously Variable Transmission - it never shifts, or rather it always shifts, depending on how you look at it.
Handling is nice. Its not the same as my 95 Corvette, but neither is a regular Civic. It corners well, drives a straight line and handles bumps pretty well.
Interior is well designed and roomy.
Its quiet. Even at high revs, the engine is very quiet. No need to blast the radio to hear it, or yell at your passengers so they can hear you.
$2000 tax break
Most states/cities let you drive hybrids in the car pool lane with 1 person in it.
Cons:
Its small. Well, all Civics are. We have just 1 kid, and already I'm wishing for a Hybrid Accord.
No fold down seat in the back. The battery bank is right behind the rear bench, so you cannot drop down the seat.
Small trunk. Same reason as the item above. Batteries take up room.
Color selection sucks. Only 3 colors. White, Beige and Blue. Lame.
No sunroof option - not that I miss it much, but its not available.
Hope that's helpful to those considering the Hybrid. We definitely like ours, and should someday Honda do a Hybrid Accord, we'd be first in line for one.
Now, the issue of whether AOL runs a competent blacklist is another thing entirely. I do think that sometimes they act a bit irresponsible in deciding who to block.
Obviously you don't run a hosting company. We are getting blacklisted by AOL on and off all the time now. Great. Just what we need right.
We call their Postmaster folks, they run their checks in the AOL database. Of course, they can't tell us what checks they are running. The most we've heard is checking for a valud Reverse DNS entry, and for listings in SpamCop.
So far 9 times out of 10, the rep comes back on the phone and says "Sorry I don't know why you're being blocked. The system DOESN'T HAVE A REASON LISTED."
So we say WTF?!
They say: "Wait a couple of days and it should work again."
That to me is not reasonable. Am I missing something? I don't think so. Their policy has wasted my time and my people's time - which means it has cost us money. Plus we have lost several client's business because of their policy.
Not to mention they have wasted the time of hundreds of my client's - and no doubt cost them money too.
I can totally see a spam blocking policy being a smart thing for them to do. But when a legitamate ISP/Host calls them, they should at least be able to tell you why you've been blocked!
There are a lot of small ISP/web hosts out there like us that rely on our services to put food on the table. Its hard enough to do a good job without garbage like this wasting our time and costing us money.
The best NES Game ever is not SMB 3, it is:
on
NES PC
·
· Score: 1
The Legend of Zelda
In fact, even more than 15 years later, I still think that The Legend of Zelda is the best video game I've ever played. Bar none.
Nintendo, if you're listening, I would pay another $50 to see this game ported 100% exactly to my GBA or even PC - assuming I could get an authentic 2 button controller to go with it.:-)
(Yes, I've played it on Mame, and the sound and gameplay isn't quite the same.)
Thanks - Brian
-- CPanel Web Hosting
CPanel / WHM Bulk Reseller Hosting
CPanel / WHM Dedicated Servers
Its only a problem if your web host is a moron...
on
Shell Simulation Via CGI
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Speaking as a Web Host - I wouldn't mind this one bit. We run suEXEC on our servers, so any commands that they execute under this CGI-Shell would run under their own permissions anyhow.
They can do no worse running this script than they can already do on the command line. Since we use fairly tight permissions on the server, there isn't a lot they can do to disrupt things anyways.
A PHP Shell script has been around for a while - THAT version can cause some security issues since typically PHP runs as nobody. Then the trick is making sure nobody doesn't have any special permissions that could cause a server issue.
Basically, if your diligent, this script shouldn't cause any more problems than any other CGI script.
Oh, and all servers are actively monitored, so if anything should go wrong, they will be fixed automatically. Most providers, including Rackspace don't actively monitor servers. They just fix them when you call and tell them its crashed.:-)
I've noticed this too. I've got 4 cats myself: Tabby, Rocky Balboa, Sylvester and Fluffy.
All but the first one we adopted from local rescue agencies. I highly recommend this method of adoption if your considering getting a kitty. Rescue agencies often save cats that were "thrown away" or abandoned by their previous owners. They keep the cats socailized and they are generally much nicer/happier than cats bought from a pet store.
Look, you may not realize this is a total ripoff, but I installed a network, so I do.
These people are buying T1s for hundreds of dollars a month, then selling us a lousy 3Mbps for $80/mo. That's a rediculous amount of profit!
We need to contact our government representatives, and do something to prevent this sort of gouging now, before it's too late.
What the hell are you complaining about again??? DSL is a bargain - really. I know that everyone thinks they should get an ethernet drop to their house for $19.95 per month, but get real.
Sure you _could_ spend that much for each item individually if you really wanted to. But hell, you can get that and a lot more for just a few bucks a month with a good web hosting company.
You could definitely get more in the way of disk space for the same cost, and you'll be able to use your own domain name as well as things like PHP, CGI-BIN, etc that I'm sure your.Mac account won't have.
Apple should know better than this. Taking something that was free, adding no (real) value and then charging for it is NEVER a good idea.
Maybe now my shares of RHAT will actually gain some value!:-) Red Hat has been making a lot of critical partnerships like this recently.
Say what you will able Red Hat vs. other Linux distributions - it is the partnerships and support of other Enterprise-sized vendors that is going to make or break Linux. Being that Red Hat is smart enough to make these partnerships, my money is on them to be "the" premier Linux vendor for the corporate market.
I think Linux Journal needs to get some (more?) VC so they can upgrade their puny web servers. Or maybe we should all be buying the magazine if we read it online as someone here suggested.:-)
This IS one stupid patent that should get put into place. Once all the bonehead advertisers need to start paying a nickel for each pop under, we won't see them anymore. Happy day!
(Sure philosophically, its a stupid idea to let someone patent an absolutely obvious use of Javascript, but in this case, I'd let it slide.:-)
A holodeck is quite different from an online conference. Even if it is in 3D. I think we're a LONG way from having a holodeck like environment. We probably won't see such a thing in our lifetimes, or for that matter, our kids lifetimes.
Writing good comments can be accomplished by applying one very simple rule:
-> Write the comments before you write the code.
If your writing a sorting function, take the 5 minutes required and write the comments for what your going to do before you do it. You'll be amazed what a difference such a simple step can make. Plus, you'll see the holes in your logic form quickly if there are any.
Also when making changes to existing code, the same simple rule applies. Write out all of your code changes in the comments first. Then implement the changes. The same benefits apply in this case as in when writing new code. But there is an additional, very important benefit in this case: comments in code are kept up to date. How many times have you seen source code that has _incorrect_ comments? Plenty I'm sure - and in most cases that happens because someone fixes a problem or change logic without updating the comments. Very bad. So, by commenting first when working with existing code, you solve this problem as well.
... will spammers go to spam us with their Ads? I mean that is all that this spyware really is - is another form of spam. Visit and Support sites like:
http://www.scumware.com
They have a wealth of information on how to fight back against the Ad-ware, Spy-ware, Scum-ware or whatever we are calling it today!
Take care,
Brian
--
--
100% Linux based Web Hosting
Friendly Service and Knowledgeable support
... Now all we need is a REALLY, REALLY long extension cord, and we're good to go.
Brian
Unlimited Bandwidth? No.
Cheapest Prices on the Net? No.
Fantastic Customer Service? YES! Read what our clients are saying:
Quality Linux Based Web Hosting Solutions
The only reason we are reading about it on Slashdot is because Microsoft did it this time.
I can't tell you how many times I have visited web sites that promote this kind of behavior. Whether it be MacOS, Linux, Java, Quake, Unreal, or some other fan/portal site. It is not at all uncommon to see a note that tells its visitors, go here to vote for us, our platform, our programming language, favorite game, etc.
The only reason Slashdot finds it newsworthy is that Microsoft is the "culprit" this time. Big deal. This stuff happens all the time. Don't ever trust an online poll.
You cannot compress a truly random data set. Every compression algorithm relies on somelevel of data redundency in order to acheive the compression. Here is an excellent site about a $5000 data compression challenge that has yet to be won:
http://www.geocities.com/patchnpuki/other/compre ss ion.htm
Slashdot Mirror
Same here. I own a 2003 Civic Hybrid. I get on average 43-44 MPG driving in the congested streets and Interstates in and around Washington DC. On long highway only trips, I've hit over 50 MPG.
When I read stories of Hybrid owners getting only 30ish MPG - either their car must be messed up, or they are driving like maniacs with all of the economy features turned off. The Civic Hybrid only has a 1.3L engine. You really have to _try hard_ to make it use a lot of gas.
Take care,
Brian
--
Linux Web Hosting -> Linux Web Hosting
... tear the damn thing up into little pieces next time. Throw half of it away in one garbage can, the other half in a different one. That's what we do with all of those damn pre-approved credit card apps we get daily.
There you go, Problem solved, your welcome.
Take care,
Brian
--
http://www.assortedinternet.com
Pros:
Cons:
Hope that's helpful to those considering the Hybrid. We definitely like ours, and should someday Honda do a Hybrid Accord, we'd be first in line for one.
Take care,
Brian
--
http://www.assortedinternet.com - CPanel Web Hosting running on Red Hat Linux
Obviously you don't run a hosting company. We are getting blacklisted by AOL on and off all the time now. Great. Just what we need right.
We call their Postmaster folks, they run their checks in the AOL database. Of course, they can't tell us what checks they are running. The most we've heard is checking for a valud Reverse DNS entry, and for listings in SpamCop.
So far 9 times out of 10, the rep comes back on the phone and says "Sorry I don't know why you're being blocked. The system DOESN'T HAVE A REASON LISTED."
So we say WTF?!
They say: "Wait a couple of days and it should work again."
That to me is not reasonable. Am I missing something? I don't think so. Their policy has wasted my time and my people's time - which means it has cost us money. Plus we have lost several client's business because of their policy.
Not to mention they have wasted the time of hundreds of my client's - and no doubt cost them money too.
I can totally see a spam blocking policy being a smart thing for them to do. But when a legitamate ISP/Host calls them, they should at least be able to tell you why you've been blocked!
There are a lot of small ISP/web hosts out there like us that rely on our services to put food on the table. Its hard enough to do a good job without garbage like this wasting our time and costing us money.
Thanks - Brian
--
http://www.assortedinternet.com/
Mod Funny +1
Hey, I don't have any points, but damn it I think its funny!
Take care,
Brian
--
http://www.assortedinternet.com
Anybody got a mirror??
Thanks - Brian
--
Linux Web Hosting/Dedicated Servers
The Legend of Zelda
In fact, even more than 15 years later, I still think that The Legend of Zelda is the best video game I've ever played. Bar none.
Nintendo, if you're listening, I would pay another $50 to see this game ported 100% exactly to my GBA or even PC - assuming I could get an authentic 2 button controller to go with it. :-)
(Yes, I've played it on Mame, and the sound and gameplay isn't quite the same.)
Thanks - Brian
--
CPanel Web Hosting
CPanel / WHM Bulk Reseller Hosting
CPanel / WHM Dedicated Servers
Speaking as a Web Host - I wouldn't mind this one bit. We run suEXEC on our servers, so any commands that they execute under this CGI-Shell would run under their own permissions anyhow.
They can do no worse running this script than they can already do on the command line. Since we use fairly tight permissions on the server, there isn't a lot they can do to disrupt things anyways.
A PHP Shell script has been around for a while - THAT version can cause some security issues since typically PHP runs as nobody. Then the trick is making sure nobody doesn't have any special permissions that could cause a server issue.
Basically, if your diligent, this script shouldn't cause any more problems than any other CGI script.
Take care,
Brian
--
http://www.assortedinternet.com/
How about $249/month for a more powerful server with 300 GB/month?
http://www.assortedinternet.com/hosting/economy-de dicated.jsp
Or perhaps $349/month for the same server with CPanel and Web Hosting Manager installed.
http://www.assortedinternet.com/hosting/silver-ded icated.jsp
Oh, and all servers are actively monitored, so if anything should go wrong, they will be fixed automatically. Most providers, including Rackspace don't actively monitor servers. They just fix them when you call and tell them its crashed. :-)
Take care,
Brian
I've noticed this too. I've got 4 cats myself: Tabby, Rocky Balboa, Sylvester and Fluffy.
All but the first one we adopted from local rescue agencies. I highly recommend this method of adoption if your considering getting a kitty. Rescue agencies often save cats that were "thrown away" or abandoned by their previous owners. They keep the cats socailized and they are generally much nicer/happier than cats bought from a pet store.
Take care,
Brian
Hmmm...
T1 = 1.54 Mbps = approx $500/month
DSL = 3 Mbps = approx $100/month
What the hell are you complaining about again??? DSL is a bargain - really. I know that everyone thinks they should get an ethernet drop to their house for $19.95 per month, but get real.
Brian
--
100% Linux Web Hosting Solutions:
http://www.assortedinternet.com/hosting/
--
Sure you _could_ spend that much for each item individually if you really wanted to. But hell, you can get that and a lot more for just a few bucks a month with a good web hosting company.
You could definitely get more in the way of disk space for the same cost, and you'll be able to use your own domain name as well as things like PHP, CGI-BIN, etc that I'm sure your .Mac account won't have.
Apple should know better than this. Taking something that was free, adding no (real) value and then charging for it is NEVER a good idea.
Brian
Maybe now my shares of RHAT will actually gain some value! :-) Red Hat has been making a lot of critical partnerships like this recently.
Say what you will able Red Hat vs. other Linux distributions - it is the partnerships and support of other Enterprise-sized vendors that is going to make or break Linux. Being that Red Hat is smart enough to make these partnerships, my money is on them to be "the" premier Linux vendor for the corporate market.
Take care,
Brian
--
100% Linux Web Hosting Solutions
--
If it was hosted on one of our beefy web servers, it wouldn't have died so easily.
I think Linux Journal needs to get some (more?) VC so they can upgrade their puny web servers. Or maybe we should all be buying the magazine if we read it online as someone here suggested. :-)
Take care,
Brian
Brian
--
Search for a New Web Host
A holodeck is quite different from an online conference. Even if it is in 3D. I think we're a LONG way from having a holodeck like environment. We probably won't see such a thing in our lifetimes, or for that matter, our kids lifetimes.
Brian
--
Search for a New Web Host
--
Writing good comments can be accomplished by applying one very simple rule:
-> Write the comments before you write the code.
If your writing a sorting function, take the 5 minutes required and write the comments for what your going to do before you do it. You'll be amazed what a difference such a simple step can make. Plus, you'll see the holes in your logic form quickly if there are any.
Also when making changes to existing code, the same simple rule applies. Write out all of your code changes in the comments first. Then implement the changes. The same benefits apply in this case as in when writing new code. But there is an additional, very important benefit in this case: comments in code are kept up to date. How many times have you seen source code that has _incorrect_ comments? Plenty I'm sure - and in most cases that happens because someone fixes a problem or change logic without updating the comments. Very bad. So, by commenting first when working with existing code, you solve this problem as well.
Take care,
Brian
--
--
http://www.assortedinternet.com/hosting/
... will spammers go to spam us with their Ads? I mean that is all that this spyware really is - is another form of spam. Visit and Support sites like: http://www.scumware.com
They have a wealth of information on how to fight back against the Ad-ware, Spy-ware, Scum-ware or whatever we are calling it today!
Take care,
Brian
--
--
100% Linux based Web Hosting
Friendly Service and Knowledgeable support
... Now all we need is a REALLY, REALLY long extension cord, and we're good to go.
Brian
Unlimited Bandwidth? No.
Cheapest Prices on the Net? No.
Fantastic Customer Service? YES! Read what our clients are saying:
Quality Linux Based Web Hosting Solutions
Lame. Real Lame. At least in previous years, the Joke story was somewhat unpredictable... Come on guys, you used to be much more clever!
Brian
--
Killer Linux Web Hosting Solutions, by geeks, for geeks...
--
... but then again, I'm smart enough not to use it either! :-)
Brian
--
100% Linux Web Hosting for Geeks, by Geeks
--
Brian
--
Linux Web Hosting, By Geeks, For Geeks
--
The only reason we are reading about it on Slashdot is because Microsoft did it this time.
I can't tell you how many times I have visited web sites that promote this kind of behavior. Whether it be MacOS, Linux, Java, Quake, Unreal, or some other fan/portal site. It is not at all uncommon to see a note that tells its visitors, go here to vote for us, our platform, our programming language, favorite game, etc.
The only reason Slashdot finds it newsworthy is that Microsoft is the "culprit" this time. Big deal. This stuff happens all the time. Don't ever trust an online poll.
Take care,
Brian
--
Need Web Hosting? Search for your host on WebHostingSearch.net
--
You cannot compress a truly random data set. Every compression algorithm relies on somelevel of data redundency in order to acheive the compression. Here is an excellent site about a $5000 data compression challenge that has yet to be won:
http://www.geocities.com/patchnpuki/other/compre ss ion.htm
Take care,
Brian
--
100% Linux Web Hosting Services - We Don't Do Windows!
--
Its been VERY good. I now have an excellent, stable and fast browser on my desktop. Internet Explorer.
Netscape's failure had much more to do with their product being lousy than it did with Microsoft giving theirs away.
Take care,
Brian
--
Last 2 Days to get a Free Palm m100...
--