"The horizon is a boundary defined by lightlike geodesics; it is those light rays that are just barely unable to escape."
"In particular, they would come to equilibrium with a thermal gas of photons. This means that black holes would not only absorb photons, but they would also have to emit them in the right amount to maintain detailed balance."
Where do the photons come from? Is it captured light or light emitted from within the horizon? Given the spacetime conditions and how black holes accrete, it sounds like the kind of light that would be high energy rather than low energy.
If you can explain to me how switching dimensions manages not to destroy you utterly and how all the gamma and other radiation running in geodesics around the shell of the event horizon doesn't blast you into your component energy, I'd like to hear it.
The event horizon can be thought of as a photon gas where the photons "orbit" at the speed of light. My philosophical position is that <hand-waving>all the matter is converted into energy at the event horizon due to the extreme physics going on</hand-waving>, so the black hole itself is just a photon gas and everything in it travels at c.
Pepsi out of a can tastes different than Pepsi out of a bottle. I prefer bottled because the canned version tastes like aluminum. Whether it's smell or not, it still means something is leeching from it (air leeching vs liquid leeching).
-l
P.s., yeah yeah I know everyone hates Pepsi. Stay on topic, folks.
Yeah, I emailed Kellogg about it (we have a baby so we are pretty damn paranoid). Here is what they wrote back:
Thank you for contacting us to inquire about the use of BPA. We understand your concern over the safety of the new edition to your family. We are happy to address your question.
BPA is in the lining of some Worthington cans. BPA can be found in the polycarbonate plastic or epoxy resin materials used to line some metal cans and some other packaging materials. The purpose of this lining is to protect foods and beverages from spoilage and other contamination.
We are aware of the reports that claim the potential of harmful affects when exposed to BPA. The FDA and other regulatory bodies worldwide have reviewed the large body of research on BPA and affirm that products made with polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins are safe for use in containers that come into contact with food. While we concur with the findings of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in this regard, we are working to eliminate the use of BPA in our can lining.
We appreciate your interest in our company and products.
If the main unit goes down, all 12 users are SOL, but with my RAIPC (Redundant Array of Inexpensive PCs) you can keep working until all 12 systems go down!
Heh, that made me think how unsuccessful RAID would have been if it had been called "RAIP".
Yeah, if you happen to know of a USB flash card reader that supports the erase cycle, aka "SD Secure API", I'd love to hear about it. Since the error was caused by turning off the camera (Panasonic DMC-ZS3k) while it was writing, you'd think a software solution (i.e., SD Formatter 3) might work with proper hardware support. Then, if it happens again, I don't have to worry -- I just erase it and use it like always.:)
Already tried that. In USB 1.0 mode it works perfectly. It just does not work at "full" speed (whatever that means). In practice, the camera that killed it won't recognize it and it locks up XP, Ubuntu, and Debian (unstable) except in USB 1.0 mode (i.e., stupid slow). How'd it die? Camera accidentally turned off while writing video.
FULL (Erase ON): This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the card. The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting. This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
It's that erase cycle support I'm looking for in a USB flash card reader. The card itself was killed by accidentally turning off my camera, a Panasonic DMC-ZS3K, during a write cycle. The weird thing is it still works fine in USB 1.0 mode. It just will not work at high speed so the camera won't recognize it. Given how it got that way, I thought maybe a full erase cycle would clear out some bad data that got written when it was powered off unexpectedly.
FULL (Erase ON): This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the card. The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting. This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
Since the failure was due to turning off the camera (Panasonic DMC-ZS3K) during a write cycle, I thought a software fix might work -- with the appropriate hardware. It's either that or RMA'ing it (again) or throwing it away.
FULL (Erase ON): This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the card. The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting. This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
I totally agree with you that it would have been nice to have had time to research the card in the first place. I have RMA'd it once already. At the time I bought it, I was in a hurry because our baby was on the way and I wanted space for a ton of pictures and video and didn't have time to do the proper research.
My Panasonic DMC-ZS3K camera nuked it... probably turned off the power to the flash card before the write cycle completed. You'd think this would be similar to a buffer underrun in CD burning, perhaps fixable by doing a full erase on the entire device and putting a fresh filesystem on it.
If the onboard USB hardware supports the Erase cycle, you might be able to make it fast again. But, you need something to tell it to do that. I doubt this tool will work for you, but if it's really bad it might be worth a stab...
That's still a high level operation when you're talking about flash cards (SDHC in this case). I want a USB flash card reader that supports the "erase" operation.
FULL (Erase ON): This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the card. The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting. This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
Sounds like the flash card version of "low level formatting" if ever there was one. Here's the back story on why I was hoping for a software solution (rather than a second round of RMA'ing).
Haha, no. I RMA'd the first one and managed to nuke the second one as well. I was in a hurry when I bought it the first time. Only later did I look up the Newegg reviews after the first one was toast. I am usually a RTFM kinda guy, but babies (or really, the wife wanting good pix/video of said baby) will make you hurry faster than you might otherwise want to!
1. Yes. Nothing full-speed works (camera, Wii, laptop MMC reader, USB flash reader in USB 2.0 mode) 2. The camera that nuked it (Panasonic DMC-ZS3K) says it's a bad card and won't even offer to format it. 3. Yep. If nothing turns up here that works, that's the next step: RMA round 2. Argh. 4. Debian unstable, Ubuntu (latest stable), and XP.
Agreed, and if I hadn't been in a hurry to get a big card as fast as possible since our baby was on the way, yadda, yadda, I would have researched it at Newegg first. But I didn't take the time and here I am.:)
I've already RMA'd it once. They sent me a brand new one. Then, it got nuked again.
Frankly, I'm tempted to say the camera, a Panasonic DMC-ZS3K, is at fault. I think it turned the flash card power off before the write cycle was complete. But because of this, you'd think a software solution should work...
Here is the back story: It was the camera that killed it. (Not blaming the wife because the camera should be smart enough to not turn the power off to the flash card before it has finished its write cycle...)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3K won't even read the thing anymore. It just says it is a bad card. Doesn't even offer to format it. However, since it will read/write at USB 1.0 speeds, I'm wondering if a software fix will work.
You can call it whatever you like, but the SD association tool calls it "full formatting" which is not much better a description. I was hoping to use the "Erase On" version.
FULL (Erase OFF): This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by overwriting meaningless data into the card. This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of the card.
FULL (Erase ON): This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the card. The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting. This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
Given the nature of the problem, I was hoping that a pure software fix would do the trick...
Slashdot Mirror
Wiki article that hints at why I'm thinking that
Some choice quotes:
"The horizon is a boundary defined by lightlike geodesics; it is those light rays that are just barely unable to escape."
"In particular, they would come to equilibrium with a thermal gas of photons. This means that black holes would not only absorb photons, but they would also have to emit them in the right amount to maintain detailed balance."
Where do the photons come from? Is it captured light or light emitted from within the horizon? Given the spacetime conditions and how black holes accrete, it sounds like the kind of light that would be high energy rather than low energy.
-l
If you can explain to me how switching dimensions manages not to destroy you utterly and how all the gamma and other radiation running in geodesics around the shell of the event horizon doesn't blast you into your component energy, I'd like to hear it.
-l
The event horizon can be thought of as a photon gas where the photons "orbit" at the speed of light. My philosophical position is that <hand-waving>all the matter is converted into energy at the event horizon due to the extreme physics going on</hand-waving>, so the black hole itself is just a photon gas and everything in it travels at c.
-l
Fark.com has been doing this forever, at least for the main links. I'm quite surprised they haven't done it for inline links, yet.
-l
Pepsi out of a can tastes different than Pepsi out of a bottle. I prefer bottled because the canned version tastes like aluminum. Whether it's smell or not, it still means something is leeching from it (air leeching vs liquid leeching).
-l
P.s., yeah yeah I know everyone hates Pepsi. Stay on topic, folks.
Yeah, I emailed Kellogg about it (we have a baby so we are pretty damn paranoid). Here is what they wrote back:
Thank you for contacting us to inquire about the use of BPA. We understand your concern over the safety of the new edition to your family. We are happy to address your question.
BPA is in the lining of some Worthington cans. BPA can be found in the polycarbonate plastic or epoxy resin materials used to line some metal cans and some other packaging materials. The purpose of this lining is to protect foods and beverages from spoilage and other contamination.
We are aware of the reports that claim the potential of harmful affects when exposed to BPA. The FDA and other regulatory bodies worldwide have reviewed the large body of research on BPA and affirm that products made with polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins are safe for use in containers that come into contact with food. While we concur with the findings of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in this regard, we are working to eliminate the use of BPA in our can lining.
We appreciate your interest in our company and products.
Sincerely,
Rachel Valdez
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs
If the main unit goes down, all 12 users are SOL, but with my RAIPC (Redundant Array of Inexpensive PCs) you can keep working until all 12 systems go down!
Heh, that made me think how unsuccessful RAID would have been if it had been called "RAIP".
-l
That's what the "Full" option does but it does not cause an erase cycle at the flash level.
-l
Yeah, if you happen to know of a USB flash card reader that supports the erase cycle, aka "SD Secure API", I'd love to hear about it. Since the error was caused by turning off the camera (Panasonic DMC-ZS3k) while it was writing, you'd think a software solution (i.e., SD Formatter 3) might work with proper hardware support. Then, if it happens again, I don't have to worry -- I just erase it and use it like always. :)
-l
Already tried that. In USB 1.0 mode it works perfectly. It just does not work at "full" speed (whatever that means). In practice, the camera that killed it won't recognize it and it locks up XP, Ubuntu, and Debian (unstable) except in USB 1.0 mode (i.e., stupid slow). How'd it die? Camera accidentally turned off while writing video.
-l
Heh, I actually did RTFM when I first had the problem...
SD Formatter Manual (PDF)
FULL (Erase ON):
This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by
overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the
card.
The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface
device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting.
This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
It's that erase cycle support I'm looking for in a USB flash card reader. The card itself was killed by accidentally turning off my camera, a Panasonic DMC-ZS3K, during a write cycle. The weird thing is it still works fine in USB 1.0 mode. It just will not work at high speed so the camera won't recognize it. Given how it got that way, I thought maybe a full erase cycle would clear out some bad data that got written when it was powered off unexpectedly.
-l
Indeed, I was looking for something that supported this:
SD Formatter manual (PDF)
FULL (Erase ON):
This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by
overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the
card.
The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface
device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting.
This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
Since the failure was due to turning off the camera (Panasonic DMC-ZS3K) during a write cycle, I thought a software fix might work -- with the appropriate hardware. It's either that or RMA'ing it (again) or throwing it away.
-l
Basically, I was looking for a USB card reader that supports this:
SD Formatter manual (PDF)
FULL (Erase ON):
This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by
overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the
card.
The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface
device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting.
This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
I totally agree with you that it would have been nice to have had time to research the card in the first place. I have RMA'd it once already. At the time I bought it, I was in a hurry because our baby was on the way and I wanted space for a ton of pictures and video and didn't have time to do the proper research.
My Panasonic DMC-ZS3K camera nuked it... probably turned off the power to the flash card before the write cycle completed. You'd think this would be similar to a buffer underrun in CD burning, perhaps fixable by doing a full erase on the entire device and putting a fresh filesystem on it.
Thoughts?
-l
If the onboard USB hardware supports the Erase cycle, you might be able to make it fast again. But, you need something to tell it to do that. I doubt this tool will work for you, but if it's really bad it might be worth a stab...
-l
That's still a high level operation when you're talking about flash cards (SDHC in this case). I want a USB flash card reader that supports the "erase" operation.
-l
According the the SD Association PDF manual for SD Formatter, this is what Full (Erase ON) means:
FULL (Erase ON):
This option initializes the file system parameters and completely deletes all user data area by
overwriting meaningless data into the card. Furthermore, this option erases all user data area in the
card.
The erase operation is available if the "SD Secure API" function is implemented in your SD interface
device, otherwise the erase operation will be skipped during formatting.
This option may take long period for formatting depending on the capacity of card.
Sounds like the flash card version of "low level formatting" if ever there was one. Here's the back story on why I was hoping for a software solution (rather than a second round of RMA'ing).
-l
Haha, no. I RMA'd the first one and managed to nuke the second one as well. I was in a hurry when I bought it the first time. Only later did I look up the Newegg reviews after the first one was toast. I am usually a RTFM kinda guy, but babies (or really, the wife wanting good pix/video of said baby) will make you hurry faster than you might otherwise want to!
-l
I just bought the stupid thing at Fry's because I was in a hurry. Babies -- and wives wanting high quality video of them -- do that to you!
-l
USB Flash drives and cards can be brought back to as-new performance by performing a write-erase pass over the entire drive.
Care to suggest a USB flash card reader that you know supports the Erase cycle? According to the SD Assoc.'s tool, mine doesn't.
-l
1. Yes. Nothing full-speed works (camera, Wii, laptop MMC reader, USB flash reader in USB 2.0 mode)
2. The camera that nuked it (Panasonic DMC-ZS3K) says it's a bad card and won't even offer to format it.
3. Yep. If nothing turns up here that works, that's the next step: RMA round 2. Argh.
4. Debian unstable, Ubuntu (latest stable), and XP.
What Happened to nuke it.
-l
Agreed, and if I hadn't been in a hurry to get a big card as fast as possible since our baby was on the way, yadda, yadda, I would have researched it at Newegg first. But I didn't take the time and here I am. :)
I've already RMA'd it once. They sent me a brand new one. Then, it got nuked again.
Frankly, I'm tempted to say the camera, a Panasonic DMC-ZS3K, is at fault. I think it turned the flash card power off before the write cycle was complete. But because of this, you'd think a software solution should work...
-l
Here is the back story: It was the camera that killed it. (Not blaming the wife because the camera should be smart enough to not turn the power off to the flash card before it has finished its write cycle...)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3K won't even read the thing anymore. It just says it is a bad card. Doesn't even offer to format it. However, since it will read/write at USB 1.0 speeds, I'm wondering if a software fix will work.
-l
Huh, I'll give that a try. It will be dog slow in USB 1.0 mode but what the heck...
-l
P.s., thanks for the email.
You can call it whatever you like, but the SD association tool calls it "full formatting" which is not much better a description. I was hoping to use the "Erase On" version.
Given the nature of the problem, I was hoping that a pure software fix would do the trick...
-l
I hope not, but the temperature thing sounds like a "maybe". Here's the background to the failure.
-l