"There are some zealots that think there should be no software jobs, that we should all, like, cut hair during the day and write code at night."
Either he just doesn't get it, or he's refusing to acknowledge what open source software (and the GPL) really is. Software development *is* services... It's professional services. Work you get paid for. Work you pay someone else to do. Open source spurs innovation because it both allows you to stand on someone elses shoulders and forces you to make your shoulders available to someone else.
That OSS developers cut hair for a living to support their "habit" is ridiculous. Would you let a slashdot member cut *your* hair?
Where do I begin? The whole thing seems like it was so long ago, that it was more like a dream than anything...
I was professionally involved in the Amiga industry for many years. I did a TV show on a local cable station when I was in highschool where we introduced the Amiga with our local Commodore rep. I published newsletters for local Amiga groups. I coded for the Amiga.
But I really started to get involved from a professional standpoint near the end of the Commodore's life. I took a job as the CTO for a small Ottawa-based firm doing Amiga sales. I hired a few developers, and we purchased some Amiga technology which we enhanced. We were responsible for the following titles (that I can remember):
DesignWorks 2.0 (Structured drawing package -- I used to work at Corel) We purchased the assets of New Horizons and DW was the product that we first worked at improving. We worked 80 hours a week for months on that product. It was *way* cool. KB-10 (a device that allowed you to use a PC keyboard with an Amiga) ?? - I don't even remeber what it was called. We added disk cacheing, DPMS screen blanking, HD spindown, and cool screen savers to the Amgia. What was that called? I can't remember... Ah, thank you google. It was called "PowerManager". Tsunami - We had turned the CD32 into a set-top box, WAY before they existed anywhere else. I still have the prototype in storage... A STB in 1994... Maybe the world's first?
Of everything, the KB-10 was the most popular, and it was our own from beginning to end. You know you've got a good product on your hands when a german company comes out with a copy called the KB-100... I saw one for sale on e-bay recently. I thought about buying it because I don't have any more of the originals.
Ah, memories...
You know, I still have schematics for all of the original Amiga computers up to the A3000 in storage (spirited away from Commodore's Toronto office while they were busy collapsing)... Every year I bump into them and think about throwing them out, but just can't bring myself to do it...
If you're going to throw it out, why not make the switch. You've got two problems on your hands the minute you bring that new PC home from BestBuy. Windows, and Internet Explorer. Get rid of them both and use OS X and either Safari or Firefox.
I was ordered to install this crappy software on the engineering workstations of a company several years ago. Shortly thereafter one-by-one all of the workstations the software was installed on failed to boot. The commonality, of course, was this software (which locates itself in your boot sector).
The company was absolutely no help in troubleshooting or fixing the problem as I recall, and I had engineers who didn't understand why their workstations were dropping like flies. After wiping their drives (including re-initializing their boot sectors), the problem went away and never came back.
Do not walk, RUN away from this software. And for that matter, you should *NEVER* install anything that messes with your boot sector unless it's a boot manager.
The Nintendo DS is the perfect platform for playing Nethack. It's dual screen means that all of the various nethack commands and options can be put on the bottom touch screen (perhaps even stats), while the top can be left exclusivly for the game display. That it is a portable platform means that you can play Nethack anywhere (important to the millions additcted to the game...)
I understand that simply having Linux on the DS doesn't mean Nethack would be trivial to port, but it is a step in the right direction IMHO. I'm holding my breath.
"This is likely aimed at preventing Linux from gaining market share where MS is currently alienating their customers."
No, this is aimed at selling a second copy of Windows to people who have been resisting such a practice. First you examine your potential market, calculate the development and marketing cost, and determine if/how much money you'll make on the deal.
This is all about what Microsoft does best -- make money.
Why haven't they done this before? Simply because they've done the calculations and determined that they've alienated enough people that there is now a sufficient market to make it worthwhile to reverse the practice.
Well younguns, sit down there by the fire, as I have a story to tell you.
Years ago, keyboards were big, heavy, and and made with buckling springs. I'm, in fact, typing on one right now and you may be able to find one of your own, but there pretty damn rare now.
Anyway, in the old days when some unfortuate lad poured coffee (or beer) into their keyboard you could just throw the entire keyboard into the bath with some mild detergent, swish it around, and hang it on the line to dry for a few days. You could use a hair dryer if you were in a hurry.
Well, let me tell you. We once had a whole batch of "dead" BS keyboards that we had been collecting over time (being busy and not having time to properly bath them as they came into the service area). One day the service manager was scratching his big bald head, wondering if he should just throw them all out when he was struck by an idea.
Yep, he put them all into one of the company's dishwashers. Added a little dishwasher detergent and put it on the normal cycle.
Well, those keyboards came out just like they was brand spankin new. And they worked just fine (after they had dried off, that is).
Perhaps those hospitals could try that. Personally, I wouldn't unless they are still using old BS keyboards as I doubt that these modern high-tech flimsy things would stand up to the ordeal.
'Our response to being bored and rich is not to discard our possessions and live more simply, but to buy more stuff to reduce the space in which we might contemplate our shame.'
Shame? Nah, that's why we all have our very own Electric Monk!
"It's cool to see a product prepare for market that actually uses it."
For unintelligible statements in a story description like the one above, CowboyNeal should be sent to:
KinderCare's Hooked on Phonics Class
Jail -- Do Not Pass Go...
Iraq -- To work as a translator for Baath
Also, as neet as you may find this "blue light" optical device, it's unique in that it is "Blue-Violet" not just blue. Prototypes of blue laser devices have been out for almost a year at least.
1. No capabilities to repair a tile while in orbit. No capability to check for a damaged or failed tile while in orbit. No Canadarm on board. No EVAs, or attempt to check condition of tiles.
2. Temperature sensors in left wing (inboard and outboard elevons) and in left main wheel well went dead (off-line low) during re-entry. Sensors are not connected or related by a single point of failure (box). NASA recognized that there was no comonality between them, and that this signaled a problem.
3. Foam that broke off during launch struck the left wing. NASA not sure if it was the leading edge, underneath, etc. Curiously while they didn't know where it actually hit, they did determine that there was no danger to the crew or craft.
4. They had taken a film of the external tank as it broke away from the orbiter during launch and were anxious to examine it when the shuttle got home. They didn't (or couldn't?) transmit it while in orbit (typically this is done when the shuttle gets back).
5. Question from press: Did you use telescopes or any equipment to examine the impact point on the wing while in orbit. NASA: We have tried before, but were not successful (drag chute door came off in earlier mission). We elected not to take any pictures this time because we couldn't do anything about it anyway.
Bad bad bad. I don't know what to say. Let me summarize:
- Foam breaks off fuel tank and strikes left wing of orbiter. - NASA examines video of lanuch and gives it the a-okay. - NASA has film on the shuttle of the tank where the foam came off, but doesn't transmit it to mission control for examination. - No attempt during 16 days to re-examine or re-asses the damage to the wing. - Final failures before terminal condition occurs in left wing of orbiter. - Failure occurs during maximum heat and stress on wing.
Over the next few days I think the press is going to kill them. It's going to become obvious that they didn't take seriously enough a key event which occurred during launch.
Lit up with anticipation We arrive at the launching site The sky is still dark, nearing dawn On the Florida coastline
Circling choppers slash the night With roving searchlight beams This magic day when super-science Mingles with the bright stuff of dreams
Floodlit in the hazy distance The star of this unearthly show Venting vapours, like the breath Of a sleeping white dragon
Crackling speakers, voices tense Resume the final count All systems check, T minus nine As the sun and the drama start to mount
The air is charged --- a humid, motionless mass The crowds and the cameras, The cars full of spectators pass Excitement so thick --- you could cut it with a knife Technology --- high, on the leading edge of life
The earth beneath us starts to tremble With the spreading of a low black cloud A thunderous roar shakes the air Like the whole world exploding
Scorching blast of golden fire As it slowly leaves the ground Tears away with a mighty force The air is shattered by the awesome sound
Like a pillar of cloud, the smoke lingers High in the air In fascination --- with the eyes of the world We stare...
This is interesting, but I doubt in the way that you are thinking. The clue can be found in the press release where they mention "Cross Platform capabilities".
This is ASP (not Active Server Pages), Application Service Providing. How do you make a cheap box that can run zillions of programs cheaper than everyone else (but requires broadband to work?). Easy. You run the program somewhere else, and build a kick-ass terminal services client.
Build a server farm with all manner of tweaked, specialized game-running servers, attach them all to a SAN (Storage Area Network), and then just point this console at them.
I'll bet you a Guinness that's what they are about. You wouldn't even have to sell the client hardware at a profit because you'd make up your money from the subscription end. You could probably turn out clients for $100 or less.
The movie is a futuristic thriller in which a detective investigates a crime that might have been perpetrated by a robot, even though that seems an impossibility given those three prevailing rules.
Isn't this the plot of Robots of Dawn (part of the Robot series)? Perhaps the strategy is to license cheaper, more encompassing material (a collection of short stories that represent the important 3 laws and their implications) and then do whatever you want with it...
For those of you who are interested in the artwork of many of Asimov's books, the fellow responsible is Michael Whelan.
My opinion on doing a movie on an Asimov book (short story collection) is that it probably has to be better than Starship Troopers and probably not as good as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Who knows; maybe it will be as good as Contact! I'll keep my fingers crossed.
This message is a carefully constructed plug for the sci-fi author Robert L. Forward.
If you really like "hard" science fiction -- that is sci-fi that is deeply technical, believable, and thought-provoking, you should check out Forward. He is mostly a scientist, and thus isn't as prolific as other authors and is often forgotten. But how many sci-fi authors do you know who have received funding from NASA for ideas they are working on?
His books will keep you up at night wondering just how possible what you just read might be. And astonishingly, he is also a very good storyteller! Think Asimov meets Hawking here...
Odd that you should mention that. Forth was one of the few language options for my 1K (yes, that's 1024 bytes kids) Sinclair ZX81 after the BASIC interpreter it came with and, of course, native assembly.
So I began to learn Forth. I don't recall much of the details, although I do remember finding it to be a very interesting language.
I wonder, considering its history, why it never became the preferred language of embedded devices or PDAs?
"It seems more fitting to bring something back that we destroyed by our own ignorance or greed."
Like Elvis. You know, bringing Elvis back would just fix everything (not that he's dead now of course)...
In the sci-fi book Nature's End by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka, they describe a computer called the "IBM AXE" which has a roll-up display. I always find it interesting the way time has a habit of proving the sci-fi authors correct. The book was written in 1986 and is set in the year 2025.
If IBM comes out with a computer with a roll-up display in or around 2025, I think they should call it the IBM AXE.
Why not? Pat Beirne did. Pat is the former Chief Engineer at Corel, and when he got tired of polluting, he bought himself a Mazda Miata and converted it. PEN has a brief article about it as well.
Yes I know, not related except that these events are close together and if you can't see the eclipse you might want to check this out:
If you live in Ontario tomorrow night (2002-06-11) at 21:57 the ISS with docked shuttle will show up in the NorthWest near the horizon and make it's way across the sky in 5 minutes to set in the SouthEast. It will show up near Venus which will also be in the NorthWest. Apparently the shuttle docked with the ISS makes for quite a bright celestial object (twice as luminous as the ISS normally is). According to the editor of Sky News who was speaking about this (and the eclipse) on CBC this afternoon it will be unmistakable (not only due to its movement but also its brightness).
A good tool for tracking the ISS can be found at liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov for those who are interested.
OBEclipse: The moon is in space -- so is the ISS:-)
If everyone had a constructive attitude like that, think what a society we'd have.
One which I would try to get myself away from as fast as possible.
A "local" fellow attempted the same sort of thing where I live, but didn't have the same number of brain cells as this fellow seems to have been born with. We'll call him Joe.
Joe decided that the passing markers on the highway near his home town were not quite right -- in fact they were downright unsafe (in his expert opinion). So Joe headed over to his local hardware store and bought himself some yellow paint. Yep, Joe was going to modify the yellow lines on the highway...
On a dark and stormy night (yes, it was raining) Joe drove his pickup out to the highway in the early hours of the morning (so as there would be no traffic you understand), got out his brush and his fresh yellow paint and modified the yellow lines to indicate that it was, in fact, not safe to pass at that spot.
Then Joe got back into his pickup and drove home. When he got there he immediately picked up the phone, called the police and confessed to his crime. The idea, I suppose was to call attention to the unsafe passing markers, and possibly embarass the local traffic authority (sound familiar?) The police, fearing that a nutcase had seriously fscked up a major highway sped off to the scene of the crime. Fortunately for the population at large, Joe had used a water-based paint, and all the poice found was runny yellow paint rapidly being washed off the road...
Joe, I believe the poice finally concluded, was too stupid to charge with anything. The roadway has not been changed, and Joe never managed to get his antics published anywhere that would get noticed.
I don't *want* Joe making decisions on matters of public safety. Joe is not qualified.
Slashdot Mirror
"There are some zealots that think there should be no software jobs, that we should all, like, cut hair during the day and write code at night."
Either he just doesn't get it, or he's refusing to acknowledge what open source software (and the GPL) really is. Software development *is* services... It's professional services. Work you get paid for. Work you pay someone else to do. Open source spurs innovation because it both allows you to stand on someone elses shoulders and forces you to make your shoulders available to someone else.
That OSS developers cut hair for a living to support their "habit" is ridiculous. Would you let a slashdot member cut *your* hair?
Where do I begin? The whole thing seems like it was so long ago, that it was more like a dream than anything...
I was professionally involved in the Amiga industry for many years. I did a TV show on a local cable station when I was in highschool where we introduced the Amiga with our local Commodore rep. I published newsletters for local Amiga groups. I coded for the Amiga.
But I really started to get involved from a professional standpoint near the end of the Commodore's life. I took a job as the CTO for a small Ottawa-based firm doing Amiga sales. I hired a few developers, and we purchased some Amiga technology which we enhanced. We were responsible for the following titles (that I can remember):
DesignWorks 2.0 (Structured drawing package -- I used to work at Corel) We purchased the assets of New Horizons and DW was the product that we first worked at improving. We worked 80 hours a week for months on that product. It was *way* cool.
KB-10 (a device that allowed you to use a PC keyboard with an Amiga)
?? - I don't even remeber what it was called. We added disk cacheing, DPMS screen blanking, HD spindown, and cool screen savers to the Amgia. What was that called? I can't remember... Ah, thank you google. It was called "PowerManager".
Tsunami - We had turned the CD32 into a set-top box, WAY before they existed anywhere else. I still have the prototype in storage... A STB in 1994... Maybe the world's first?
Of everything, the KB-10 was the most popular, and it was our own from beginning to end. You know you've got a good product on your hands when a german company comes out with a copy called the KB-100... I saw one for sale on e-bay recently. I thought about buying it because I don't have any more of the originals.
Ah, memories...
You know, I still have schematics for all of the original Amiga computers up to the A3000 in storage (spirited away from Commodore's Toronto office while they were busy collapsing)... Every year I bump into them and think about throwing them out, but just can't bring myself to do it...
If you're going to throw it out, why not make the switch. You've got two problems on your hands the minute you bring that new PC home from BestBuy. Windows, and Internet Explorer. Get rid of them both and use OS X and either Safari or Firefox.
I was ordered to install this crappy software on the engineering workstations of a company several years ago. Shortly thereafter one-by-one all of the workstations the software was installed on failed to boot. The commonality, of course, was this software (which locates itself in your boot sector).
The company was absolutely no help in troubleshooting or fixing the problem as I recall, and I had engineers who didn't understand why their workstations were dropping like flies. After wiping their drives (including re-initializing their boot sectors), the problem went away and never came back.
Do not walk, RUN away from this software. And for that matter, you should *NEVER* install anything that messes with your boot sector unless it's a boot manager.
The Nintendo DS is the perfect platform for playing Nethack. It's dual screen means that all of the various nethack commands and options can be put on the bottom touch screen (perhaps even stats), while the top can be left exclusivly for the game display. That it is a portable platform means that you can play Nethack anywhere (important to the millions additcted to the game...)
I understand that simply having Linux on the DS doesn't mean Nethack would be trivial to port, but it is a step in the right direction IMHO. I'm holding my breath.
According to this court document, the infrigments concern:
- Claims 15, 32, 34 of #5,436,960
- Claim 8 of #5,625,670
- Claim 199 of #5,819,172
- Claims 28, 248, 309, 313, 317 of #6,067,451
- Claims 40, 150, 278, 653, 654 of #6,317,592
These patents can be found here:5,436,960
5,625,670
5,819,172
6,067,451
6,317,592
These patents look to me like they would cover just about every PDA and cell phone on the planet today. Is RIM a target because of their popularity?
No, this is aimed at selling a second copy of Windows to people who have been resisting such a practice. First you examine your potential market, calculate the development and marketing cost, and determine if/how much money you'll make on the deal.
This is all about what Microsoft does best -- make money.
Why haven't they done this before? Simply because they've done the calculations and determined that they've alienated enough people that there is now a sufficient market to make it worthwhile to reverse the practice.
These two technologies together might constitue a concrete used for roads that is both very flexible and also featured automatic snow and ice removal!
Well younguns, sit down there by the fire, as I have a story to tell you.
Years ago, keyboards were big, heavy, and and made with buckling springs. I'm, in fact, typing on one right now and you may be able to find one of your own, but there pretty damn rare now.
Anyway, in the old days when some unfortuate lad poured coffee (or beer) into their keyboard you could just throw the entire keyboard into the bath with some mild detergent, swish it around, and hang it on the line to dry for a few days. You could use a hair dryer if you were in a hurry.
Well, let me tell you. We once had a whole batch of "dead" BS keyboards that we had been collecting over time (being busy and not having time to properly bath them as they came into the service area). One day the service manager was scratching his big bald head, wondering if he should just throw them all out when he was struck by an idea.
Yep, he put them all into one of the company's dishwashers. Added a little dishwasher detergent and put it on the normal cycle.
Well, those keyboards came out just like they was brand spankin new. And they worked just fine (after they had dried off, that is).
Perhaps those hospitals could try that. Personally, I wouldn't unless they are still using old BS keyboards as I doubt that these modern high-tech flimsy things would stand up to the ordeal.
Shame? Nah, that's why we all have our very own Electric Monk!
For unintelligible statements in a story description like the one above, CowboyNeal should be sent to:
- KinderCare's Hooked on Phonics Class
- Jail -- Do Not Pass Go...
- Iraq -- To work as a translator for Baath
Also, as neet as you may find this "blue light" optical device, it's unique in that it is "Blue-Violet" not just blue. Prototypes of blue laser devices have been out for almost a year at least.According to NASA:
1. No capabilities to repair a tile while in orbit. No capability to check for a damaged or failed tile while in orbit. No Canadarm on board. No EVAs, or attempt to check condition of tiles.
2. Temperature sensors in left wing (inboard and outboard elevons) and in left main wheel well went dead (off-line low) during re-entry. Sensors are not connected or related by a single point of failure (box). NASA recognized that there was no comonality between them, and that this signaled a problem.
3. Foam that broke off during launch struck the left wing. NASA not sure if it was the leading edge, underneath, etc. Curiously while they didn't know where it actually hit, they did determine that there was no danger to the crew or craft.
4. They had taken a film of the external tank as it broke away from the orbiter during launch and were anxious to examine it when the shuttle got home. They didn't (or couldn't?) transmit it while in orbit (typically this is done when the shuttle gets back).
5. Question from press: Did you use telescopes or any equipment to examine the impact point on the wing while in orbit. NASA: We have tried before, but were not successful (drag chute door came off in earlier mission). We elected not to take any pictures this time because we couldn't do anything about it anyway.
Bad bad bad. I don't know what to say. Let me summarize:
- Foam breaks off fuel tank and strikes left wing of orbiter.
- NASA examines video of lanuch and gives it the a-okay.
- NASA has film on the shuttle of the tank where the foam came off, but doesn't transmit it to mission control for examination.
- No attempt during 16 days to re-examine or re-asses the damage to the wing.
- Final failures before terminal condition occurs in left wing of orbiter.
- Failure occurs during maximum heat and stress on wing.
Over the next few days I think the press is going to kill them. It's going to become obvious that they didn't take seriously enough a key event which occurred during launch.
Countdown -- Rush (Signals)
Lit up with anticipation
We arrive at the launching site
The sky is still dark, nearing dawn
On the Florida coastline
Circling choppers slash the night
With roving searchlight beams
This magic day when super-science
Mingles with the bright stuff of dreams
Floodlit in the hazy distance
The star of this unearthly show
Venting vapours, like the breath
Of a sleeping white dragon
Crackling speakers, voices tense
Resume the final count
All systems check, T minus nine
As the sun and the drama start to mount
The air is charged --- a humid, motionless mass
The crowds and the cameras,
The cars full of spectators pass
Excitement so thick --- you could cut it with a knife
Technology --- high, on the leading edge of life
The earth beneath us starts to tremble
With the spreading of a low black cloud
A thunderous roar shakes the air
Like the whole world exploding
Scorching blast of golden fire
As it slowly leaves the ground
Tears away with a mighty force
The air is shattered by the awesome sound
Like a pillar of cloud, the smoke lingers
High in the air
In fascination --- with the eyes of the world
We stare...
Okay, so it's not sappy...
This is interesting, but I doubt in the way that you are thinking. The clue can be found in the press release where they mention "Cross Platform capabilities".
This is ASP (not Active Server Pages), Application Service Providing. How do you make a cheap box that can run zillions of programs cheaper than everyone else (but requires broadband to work?). Easy. You run the program somewhere else, and build a kick-ass terminal services client.
Build a server farm with all manner of tweaked, specialized game-running servers, attach them all to a SAN (Storage Area Network), and then just point this console at them.
I'll bet you a Guinness that's what they are about. You wouldn't even have to sell the client hardware at a profit because you'd make up your money from the subscription end. You could probably turn out clients for $100 or less.
Isn't this the plot of Robots of Dawn (part of the Robot series)? Perhaps the strategy is to license cheaper, more encompassing material (a collection of short stories that represent the important 3 laws and their implications) and then do whatever you want with it...
For those of you who are interested in the artwork of many of Asimov's books, the fellow responsible is Michael Whelan.
My opinion on doing a movie on an Asimov book (short story collection) is that it probably has to be better than Starship Troopers and probably not as good as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Who knows; maybe it will be as good as Contact! I'll keep my fingers crossed.
If you really like "hard" science fiction -- that is sci-fi that is deeply technical, believable, and thought-provoking, you should check out Forward. He is mostly a scientist, and thus isn't as prolific as other authors and is often forgotten. But how many sci-fi authors do you know who have received funding from NASA for ideas they are working on?
His books will keep you up at night wondering just how possible what you just read might be. And astonishingly, he is also a very good storyteller! Think Asimov meets Hawking here...
Odd that you should mention that. Forth was one of the few language options for my 1K (yes, that's 1024 bytes kids) Sinclair ZX81 after the BASIC interpreter it came with and, of course, native assembly.
So I began to learn Forth. I don't recall much of the details, although I do remember finding it to be a very interesting language.
I wonder, considering its history, why it never became the preferred language of embedded devices or PDAs?
"It seems more fitting to bring something back that we destroyed by our own ignorance or greed."
Like Elvis. You know, bringing Elvis back would just fix everything (not that he's dead now of course)...
The impact on the Earth of NT4 and NT5 was bad enough...
If IBM comes out with a computer with a roll-up display in or around 2025, I think they should call it the IBM AXE.
Why not? Pat Beirne did. Pat is the former Chief Engineer at Corel, and when he got tired of polluting, he bought himself a Mazda Miata and converted it. PEN has a brief article about it as well.
Think of it! I wonder how long it'll be before their entire booth is running Linux...
I'll bet their machines will be on a network... Bwahahaha...
If you live in Ontario tomorrow night (2002-06-11) at 21:57 the ISS with docked shuttle will show up in the NorthWest near the horizon and make it's way across the sky in 5 minutes to set in the SouthEast. It will show up near Venus which will also be in the NorthWest. Apparently the shuttle docked with the ISS makes for quite a bright celestial object (twice as luminous as the ISS normally is). According to the editor of Sky News who was speaking about this (and the eclipse) on CBC this afternoon it will be unmistakable (not only due to its movement but also its brightness).
A good tool for tracking the ISS can be found at liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov for those who are interested.
OBEclipse: The moon is in space -- so is the ISS :-)
If everyone had a constructive attitude like that, think what a society we'd have.
One which I would try to get myself away from as fast as possible.
A "local" fellow attempted the same sort of thing where I live, but didn't have the same number of brain cells as this fellow seems to have been born with. We'll call him Joe.
Joe decided that the passing markers on the highway near his home town were not quite right -- in fact they were downright unsafe (in his expert opinion). So Joe headed over to his local hardware store and bought himself some yellow paint. Yep, Joe was going to modify the yellow lines on the highway...
On a dark and stormy night (yes, it was raining) Joe drove his pickup out to the highway in the early hours of the morning (so as there would be no traffic you understand), got out his brush and his fresh yellow paint and modified the yellow lines to indicate that it was, in fact, not safe to pass at that spot.
Then Joe got back into his pickup and drove home. When he got there he immediately picked up the phone, called the police and confessed to his crime. The idea, I suppose was to call attention to the unsafe passing markers, and possibly embarass the local traffic authority (sound familiar?) The police, fearing that a nutcase had seriously fscked up a major highway sped off to the scene of the crime. Fortunately for the population at large, Joe had used a water-based paint, and all the poice found was runny yellow paint rapidly being washed off the road...
Joe, I believe the poice finally concluded, was too stupid to charge with anything. The roadway has not been changed, and Joe never managed to get his antics published anywhere that would get noticed.
I don't *want* Joe making decisions on matters of public safety. Joe is not qualified.
Q.E.D.
Wozniak will create "another offering as ubiquitous and useful as the personal computer," said Tim Draper
B: Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?
P: I think so Brain, but hasn't the salad shooter already been invented?