It's about time someone looked to the sky and thought "I wonder if I could exploit that rock in space instead of ripping minerals from this planet? I wonder if I could generate energy there cheaper than on this rock?"
As far as I am concerned, China is doing on a 2 billion annual budget what the USA should have been continuing 30 years ago. I hope they succeed, and I hope the short-sighted politicians here in the US live long enough to regret China becoming the next big economic powerhouse.
We had our chance, and pissed it away. I am not going to criticize another nation for taking a less than myopic view. Space does solve problems at home, but you have to be able to see the connection.
Imagine the fun of crashing your own personal satellite at oribital velocities into a major American city. Imagine the fun you and your towel-wearing friends could have by watching the panic as Americans everywhere worry about death from above, even though it would likely burn up in the atmosphere. Call your local madras-supporting sheik today and ask for the money! Your own orbital death-star is waiting.
I can do better with a bass drum strapped to my ass and a harmonica in my mouth. It's one thing to use robots to say something, it's another to say it badly.
Why is it iFacism is present whenever an iProduct is criticized. iZealots can't stand to hear a single critical word without slobbering like a bunch of iMorons.
You know, it COULD be that there might be a better product out there than the iPod, but most of you Applephiles would never know it. OK...iFlame away!:)
The astronauts have about an 8 minute warning before the radiation for the flare gets to them. The actual plasma comes much later. NASA informs them, and they retreat to one of the Russian modules (Zveda I think) which has a small section that is densly shielded. Even there, I believe they receive about a 2 week dose of radiation (what we experience walking around on the planet on a daily basis for two weeks). Of course, that level is based on an X10 I think. I have no idea how much they receive from an X20, but obviously it's more. I don't think this will be a problem unless we get 4-5 more X20s in their stay. I am sure at some point, NASA would have to consider bringing them back early if the doses keep getting higher.
One thing to note, the Soyuze capsules are really bad at shielding cosmic radiation, so they aren't a very good refuge for that. So, if a big sucka (say an X30+) came off the Sun, the Astronauts would not be able to ditch till after the radiation pulse. They would have to endure it on the station, then leave for treatment back home. De-orbit with radiation sickness would probably suck.
As a publically (partially) traded company, you couldn't just shut down the company without explaining to the other investors why you are doing this. The SEC would probably have something to say, which is ironic considering they haven't investigated the FUD, or stock dumping currently happening within SCO's current board.
OK, everyone chill. This movie is not supposed to solve Pi or cure cancer. If your purpose for going to a movie is to be entertained, then you'll like it. If you like movies that don't have 100% happy endings (i.e. ALL Spielberg films) then you will like it.
I think most of the complaints are because there are no "new" special effects, but more of the same. They also hate that (plot spoiler) Neo doesn't save all of humanity from the bad guys, all the robots don't drop dead, and every human doesn't climb out of their little battery-pod to cheer Neo as he flies by victoriously doing a barrel roll. I hate that type of cheese, i hope you do too.
It is a good movie. Nothing is going to top the first one because it was ORIGINAL, but this is a decent ending for the trilogy, and I will probably buy the box set DVD when it comes out.
Go get entertained. Don't expect the movie to lead you from the promised land. You'll be just fine.
EM pulses do not affect humans, but I don't know if they would penetrate to a pacemaker. Water (i.e. 90% of a human) is a good general radiation shield, but I don't know how it would shield EMP. My guess is that it wouldn't be enough of a shield to protect it. If a microwave oven can knock out a PM, an EM pulse should do the same.
Most pacemaker patients don't need the PM 24/7. Even if it was affected, most would have time to get treated. Some would likely die, but not everyone with a pacemaker would drop dead.
he guy who grew it thinks the tomatos probably contain a lethal dose of nicotine in them. I don't see this going to market any time soon, but it sure is a fun little story. Now if we can just get Flavin's teleportation machine out of the garage sale and into my living room everything will be good in the world!
This is a hybrid. It was created by grafting the roots of a tobacco plant with the stem of a tomato plant. Both are in the nightshade genus, so they grafted OK. This is not a seeding, or reproducing plant. It's a single freak. Thereis no genetic engineering involved, just plain old grafting, a practice that has ben practiced safely for over 1500 years. Get a life freak!
Thank you for participating, but since this dog and pony show was really only designed to allow the top 20 big contractors (like Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed, Rockwell, Northrop, GE, GM, Ford, et al) get a chance at a lucrative contract, we must now admit that you don't have a chance in hell. As a matter of fact, we are so nervous that one of the other 80 participants may actually produce a better, more innovative vehicle, we are going to disqualify you all before you even get a chance. Sure, in the spirit of looking fair, we will come visit your site and see your vehicle. Don't get your hopes up. Do you really think we are going to give the vehicle you and your unemployed ex-aerospace friends built in a garage the same chance we are going to give the Boeing entry we get to see at a 40,000 sq ft plant with a clean room and a reception area filled with gnosh for us to eat? Hell, Lockheed is even providing champagne and a mariachi band! Thank you for playing, now go home and let the big boys play with their billion dollar contracts.
Sincerely,
DARPA (i.e. The Federal Appropriations Enabler)"
Who needs innovation when you can get free food and a goodie bag?
I have no problem with grouping on days when I have time (i.e. weekends) but I basically can not play on a weekday for an hour and have fun. This is a serious issue. I grok the whole multiplayer thing, and love guilds and groups, but that doesn't mean I should be penalized for not being unemployed or living with my parents does it? I don't need to level as fast, I just want to be able to go kill something and make forward progress without having to DEPEND on others. There needs to be a balance.
EQ, UO, AO, and SWG...I have played them all, and I think I know the problem. I don't want to bitch about them. I have enjoyed them all in some way, but have also found several major flaws that I think turn the genre into the boring grind so many hate after they get up a few levels.
1. How bout adding community us against them scenarios? Ultima had this for a while, and it was really great. An invasion of the town, everyone running to the city gates or bridge to help repel the AI enemy. Fighting and almost dying, only to realize suddenly that a complete stranger (who happens to be a healer) has just put you back into the battle when you were willing to sacrifice all. The problem is that this requires the programmers and GM's to be actively involved in thinking up these scenarios, and implementing campaigns. That requires paying people for extra work and shrinking that monthly profit margin.
2. Can I please play alone? Having a crippled class that can't go out and solo really stinks. In EQ, I have a very high level charachter. I never play him. Why? I have to actually work for a living. If I want to play, I have to get on, then hustle to find a group (10-20 minutes) then I have to get to where the group is going (another 20-30 minutes), then I have to wait while we all get ready (another 10 minutes). So I have been sitting for an hour just for the priveledge of of hitting some baddie. The solution is to offer solo-areas, and solo monsters that groups can't touch. Offer places where someone can spend a quick hour having fun, not "preparing for fun". The problem again is that this requires a great amount of programmer time and money to create. Why lower the profit margin?
Will I invest in EQ2 or Planet-Side? Nope. I am pretty much done with this genre. When my current subscriptions are up, I'm off the stuff like bad Thunderbird. I'll go back to playing a sniper on Arena or UI for free. MMORPG's are in their adolesence. I have contributed enough cash to their growing up. I'll be back when they finally settle down and get married.
Reality is relatively! I am convinced most UFO sightings are just government "projects" gone wrong. No one travels at the speed of light or faster to visit earth just to crash into the ground. "I can do light-speed but I can't figure out aerodynamic flight!" What a bunch of crap. There are no aliens except for the little brown men that keep crossing our border from Mexico. Get over it.
IF (a big if) there are LGM's visiting us, they obviously have done a good job of hiding it. Sci-Fi is not the paragon of virtue to sniff this one out.
1999 Feds: You broke a rule again, and put Netscape out of business. You won't do this again right?
Microsoft (in 2002) : Yes, now that we own the browser market and have killed Java and Netscape, we promise to never do it again!
2003 Feds: Dude! We talked to you about this!
Microsoft: Yes, but iTunes, Napster, and so many others are STILL in business! Oh, and we're NOT a monopoly! Give us a few years to sort this out will you?
EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE who consulted with Diebold recommend they add a simple thermal printer (ala gas station pumps) to allow the voter to walk out with a ballot confirmation that had a serial number and their votes. Some even recommended the ballot be paper, but created on the electronic machines. Confirmation on paper vis barcode AND the votes printed on the receipt (which would be then put in the ballot box to be scanned vis barcode later) Without this small bit of confirmation, the votes just go to the ether. No recount, no accountability, no accuracy.
Mars should not be the next expected goal. Capability should be the next goal. Human spaceflight capability for the US hasn't changed since 1982. The Shuttle and ISS are very old designs, and the ISS is arguably just a replacement for the MIR which worked just fine till it exceeded life-expectancy. We need a spacecraft that can actually leave LEO (the Shuttle can't). We need a lunar transfer vehicle that can go from the ISS to the moon. We need landing craft for the moon. Wee need modules for the moon. THEN (and only then) should we look at expanding that capability ro Mars. If we can live in a vacuume on the Moon, we will be able to handle the low pressure and radiation we will face at 3AU's on Mars. Most of this technology is derivative of current technology, not new technology. It is far cheaper to do it in increments than all at once (the 50 billion Mars price-tag) but we need NASA to have a vision and a road map to get there. We currently have neither.
Even if the hardware costs the same, I happen to think it probably does, you are still looking at a huge performance difference.
My guess is that Dell (a Texas company) is being favored on this project to cut it's teeth in the SC world. They sought out Cray's help in putting this all together. Chances are they will get better at this as time goes by, but the performance difference is still pretty awesome.
In the SC world, performance is everything, Apple has done a good job of it at VT. Let's not get all partisan on defending Mac's (as the Apple wonks are into) or mindlessly defending Dell's offering simply because it uses Linux (as a lot of otherwise level-headed coders are doing).
Apple did a good job. Dell will get better. Accept and move on.
Yes, they magically use a 3-wheel cart as a magical internet kiosk. Let's just ignore the 6 ton equipment truck they had nearby with the actual uplink and all the real equipment.
They need to do this. I live in LA, and every friend I know in the MP Industry has loads of free movies they get from screeners. They often have them before it's released in theatres. You can't bitch about people bootlegging your material when you send out a buttload of copies before it's even released just to get votes for an awards show.
It's good discipline on the part of the MPAA. They need a little.
MS and Yahoo are going all corporate cuthroat on IM. This is a product that will never generate real revenue. This is smallhead corporate thinking.
"We have the largest market share in the widget market! Too bad no one BUYS this particular type of widget."
All they are doing is inconviencing (or dare I say nerfing) an added feature of their offering that will only piss off their own clients. They can't talk to Auntie Cybersalot, who uses a different IM, anymore.
Slashdot Mirror
It's about time someone looked to the sky and thought "I wonder if I could exploit that rock in space instead of ripping minerals from this planet? I wonder if I could generate energy there cheaper than on this rock?"
As far as I am concerned, China is doing on a 2 billion annual budget what the USA should have been continuing 30 years ago. I hope they succeed, and I hope the short-sighted politicians here in the US live long enough to regret China becoming the next big economic powerhouse.
We had our chance, and pissed it away. I am not going to criticize another nation for taking a less than myopic view. Space does solve problems at home, but you have to be able to see the connection.
Imagine the fun of crashing your own personal satellite at oribital velocities into a major American city. Imagine the fun you and your towel-wearing friends could have by watching the panic as Americans everywhere worry about death from above, even though it would likely burn up in the atmosphere. Call your local madras-supporting sheik today and ask for the money! Your own orbital death-star is waiting.
I can do better with a bass drum strapped to my ass and a harmonica in my mouth. It's one thing to use robots to say something, it's another to say it badly.
Why is it iFacism is present whenever an iProduct is criticized. iZealots can't stand to hear a single critical word without slobbering like a bunch of iMorons.
:)
You know, it COULD be that there might be a better product out there than the iPod, but most of you Applephiles would never know it. OK...iFlame away!
The astronauts have about an 8 minute warning before the radiation for the flare gets to them. The actual plasma comes much later. NASA informs them, and they retreat to one of the Russian modules (Zveda I think) which has a small section that is densly shielded. Even there, I believe they receive about a 2 week dose of radiation (what we experience walking around on the planet on a daily basis for two weeks). Of course, that level is based on an X10 I think. I have no idea how much they receive from an X20, but obviously it's more. I don't think this will be a problem unless we get 4-5 more X20s in their stay. I am sure at some point, NASA would have to consider bringing them back early if the doses keep getting higher.
One thing to note, the Soyuze capsules are really bad at shielding cosmic radiation, so they aren't a very good refuge for that. So, if a big sucka (say an X30+) came off the Sun, the Astronauts would not be able to ditch till after the radiation pulse. They would have to endure it on the station, then leave for treatment back home. De-orbit with radiation sickness would probably suck.
As a publically (partially) traded company, you couldn't just shut down the company without explaining to the other investors why you are doing this. The SEC would probably have something to say, which is ironic considering they haven't investigated the FUD, or stock dumping currently happening within SCO's current board.
OK, everyone chill. This movie is not supposed to solve Pi or cure cancer. If your purpose for going to a movie is to be entertained, then you'll like it. If you like movies that don't have 100% happy endings (i.e. ALL Spielberg films) then you will like it.
I think most of the complaints are because there are no "new" special effects, but more of the same. They also hate that (plot spoiler) Neo doesn't save all of humanity from the bad guys, all the robots don't drop dead, and every human doesn't climb out of their little battery-pod to cheer Neo as he flies by victoriously doing a barrel roll. I hate that type of cheese, i hope you do too.
It is a good movie. Nothing is going to top the first one because it was ORIGINAL, but this is a decent ending for the trilogy, and I will probably buy the box set DVD when it comes out.
Go get entertained. Don't expect the movie to lead you from the promised land. You'll be just fine.
EM pulses do not affect humans, but I don't know if they would penetrate to a pacemaker. Water (i.e. 90% of a human) is a good general radiation shield, but I don't know how it would shield EMP. My guess is that it wouldn't be enough of a shield to protect it. If a microwave oven can knock out a PM, an EM pulse should do the same.
Most pacemaker patients don't need the PM 24/7. Even if it was affected, most would have time to get treated. Some would likely die, but not everyone with a pacemaker would drop dead.
he guy who grew it thinks the tomatos probably contain a lethal dose of nicotine in them. I don't see this going to market any time soon, but it sure is a fun little story. Now if we can just get Flavin's teleportation machine out of the garage sale and into my living room everything will be good in the world!
This is a hybrid. It was created by grafting the roots of a tobacco plant with the stem of a tomato plant. Both are in the nightshade genus, so they grafted OK. This is not a seeding, or reproducing plant. It's a single freak. Thereis no genetic engineering involved, just plain old grafting, a practice that has ben practiced safely for over 1500 years. Get a life freak!
Reading between the lines of DARPA's letter...
"
Dear Mr. Insignificant
Thank you for participating, but since this dog and pony show was really only designed to allow the top 20 big contractors (like Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed, Rockwell, Northrop, GE, GM, Ford, et al) get a chance at a lucrative contract, we must now admit that you don't have a chance in hell. As a matter of fact, we are so nervous that one of the other 80 participants may actually produce a better, more innovative vehicle, we are going to disqualify you all before you even get a chance. Sure, in the spirit of looking fair, we will come visit your site and see your vehicle. Don't get your hopes up. Do you really think we are going to give the vehicle you and your unemployed ex-aerospace friends built in a garage the same chance we are going to give the Boeing entry we get to see at a 40,000 sq ft plant with a clean room and a reception area filled with gnosh for us to eat? Hell, Lockheed is even providing champagne and a mariachi band! Thank you for playing, now go home and let the big boys play with their billion dollar contracts.
Sincerely,
DARPA (i.e. The Federal Appropriations Enabler)"
Who needs innovation when you can get free food and a goodie bag?
2 is better than 1, 3 is better than 2, etc. etc. etc.
Frankly, I don't mind paying so long as quality is good and the selection doesn't suck.
I have no problem with grouping on days when I have time (i.e. weekends) but I basically can not play on a weekday for an hour and have fun. This is a serious issue. I grok the whole multiplayer thing, and love guilds and groups, but that doesn't mean I should be penalized for not being unemployed or living with my parents does it? I don't need to level as fast, I just want to be able to go kill something and make forward progress without having to DEPEND on others. There needs to be a balance.
EQ, UO, AO, and SWG...I have played them all, and I think I know the problem. I don't want to bitch about them. I have enjoyed them all in some way, but have also found several major flaws that I think turn the genre into the boring grind so many hate after they get up a few levels.
1. How bout adding community us against them scenarios? Ultima had this for a while, and it was really great. An invasion of the town, everyone running to the city gates or bridge to help repel the AI enemy. Fighting and almost dying, only to realize suddenly that a complete stranger (who happens to be a healer) has just put you back into the battle when you were willing to sacrifice all. The problem is that this requires the programmers and GM's to be actively involved in thinking up these scenarios, and implementing campaigns. That requires paying people for extra work and shrinking that monthly profit margin.
2. Can I please play alone? Having a crippled class that can't go out and solo really stinks. In EQ, I have a very high level charachter. I never play him. Why? I have to actually work for a living. If I want to play, I have to get on, then hustle to find a group (10-20 minutes) then I have to get to where the group is going (another 20-30 minutes), then I have to wait while we all get ready (another 10 minutes). So I have been sitting for an hour just for the priveledge of of hitting some baddie. The solution is to offer solo-areas, and solo monsters that groups can't touch. Offer places where someone can spend a quick hour having fun, not "preparing for fun". The problem again is that this requires a great amount of programmer time and money to create. Why lower the profit margin?
Will I invest in EQ2 or Planet-Side? Nope. I am pretty much done with this genre. When my current subscriptions are up, I'm off the stuff like bad Thunderbird. I'll go back to playing a sniper on Arena or UI for free. MMORPG's are in their adolesence. I have contributed enough cash to their growing up. I'll be back when they finally settle down and get married.
Little Brown Men was a spoof on Little Green Men you dolt. The point was that they were "aliens". Lighten up Francis.
Reality is relatively! I am convinced most UFO sightings are just government "projects" gone wrong. No one travels at the speed of light or faster to visit earth just to crash into the ground. "I can do light-speed but I can't figure out aerodynamic flight!" What a bunch of crap. There are no aliens except for the little brown men that keep crossing our border from Mexico. Get over it.
IF (a big if) there are LGM's visiting us, they obviously have done a good job of hiding it. Sci-Fi is not the paragon of virtue to sniff this one out.
Whatever happened to the three strike rule?
1996
Feds: You agree not to bundle anymore right?
Microsoft: Yes
1999
Feds: You broke a rule again, and put Netscape out of business. You won't do this again right?
Microsoft (in 2002) : Yes, now that we own the browser market and have killed Java and Netscape, we promise to never do it again!
2003
Feds: Dude! We talked to you about this!
Microsoft: Yes, but iTunes, Napster, and so many others are STILL in business! Oh, and we're NOT a monopoly! Give us a few years to sort this out will you?
At least the files will be MP3. I don't have to buy a friggin $500 player to hear them mobile!
EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE who consulted with Diebold recommend they add a simple thermal printer (ala gas station pumps) to allow the voter to walk out with a ballot confirmation that had a serial number and their votes. Some even recommended the ballot be paper, but created on the electronic machines. Confirmation on paper vis barcode AND the votes printed on the receipt (which would be then put in the ballot box to be scanned vis barcode later) Without this small bit of confirmation, the votes just go to the ether. No recount, no accountability, no accuracy.
Mars should not be the next expected goal. Capability should be the next goal. Human spaceflight capability for the US hasn't changed since 1982. The Shuttle and ISS are very old designs, and the ISS is arguably just a replacement for the MIR which worked just fine till it exceeded life-expectancy. We need a spacecraft that can actually leave LEO (the Shuttle can't). We need a lunar transfer vehicle that can go from the ISS to the moon. We need landing craft for the moon. Wee need modules for the moon. THEN (and only then) should we look at expanding that capability ro Mars. If we can live in a vacuume on the Moon, we will be able to handle the low pressure and radiation we will face at 3AU's on Mars. Most of this technology is derivative of current technology, not new technology. It is far cheaper to do it in increments than all at once (the 50 billion Mars price-tag) but we need NASA to have a vision and a road map to get there. We currently have neither.
Even if the hardware costs the same, I happen to think it probably does, you are still looking at a huge performance difference.
My guess is that Dell (a Texas company) is being favored on this project to cut it's teeth in the SC world. They sought out Cray's help in putting this all together. Chances are they will get better at this as time goes by, but the performance difference is still pretty awesome.
In the SC world, performance is everything, Apple has done a good job of it at VT. Let's not get all partisan on defending Mac's (as the Apple wonks are into) or mindlessly defending Dell's offering simply because it uses Linux (as a lot of otherwise level-headed coders are doing).
Apple did a good job. Dell will get better. Accept and move on.
Yes, they magically use a 3-wheel cart as a magical internet kiosk. Let's just ignore the 6 ton equipment truck they had nearby with the actual uplink and all the real equipment.
That sound you hear is the price of SCO shares plummeting.
They need to do this. I live in LA, and every friend I know in the MP Industry has loads of free movies they get from screeners. They often have them before it's released in theatres. You can't bitch about people bootlegging your material when you send out a buttload of copies before it's even released just to get votes for an awards show.
It's good discipline on the part of the MPAA. They need a little.
MS and Yahoo are going all corporate cuthroat on IM. This is a product that will never generate real revenue. This is smallhead corporate thinking.
"We have the largest market share in the widget market! Too bad no one BUYS this particular type of widget."
All they are doing is inconviencing (or dare I say nerfing) an added feature of their offering that will only piss off their own clients. They can't talk to Auntie Cybersalot, who uses a different IM, anymore.