Looks right. The big square moat surrounds the Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square is just south of that. Here's an actual good map of Beijing: http://www.mapmatrix.com/tmhtm/htmtm/02101.html
I'll work on moving the images elsewhere, I didn't realize that CNCzone required registration.
I have fixed the link.
My homebuilt router
on
Fab
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· Score: 3, Interesting
This is a subject that has interested me for quite a while now. The biggest limitation at the moment seems to be the software that is needed in order to make complex objects.
I've designed and built a computer controled (CNC) 6-axis router using easily available parts. I estimate that the whole thing could be built for $500-$1500, depending upon how good you are at scrounging parts.
Xdmx allows you to use a spare computer as a secondary display. It even works with Xinerama. And it's even included in the latest releases of x.org, meaning that you likely already have it installed.
This is great for those of us who have laptops, but don't want to spring for a second monitor and video card.
I recently set up my Thinkpad to be a secondary display. It works well, though the video doesn't seem quite as snappy, and it's a little difficult to set up.
I'm a volunteer for FIRST as well as a builder of fighting robots. Both require a high degree of technical knowledge, building skill, and planning.
Watching robots fight each other has just as much or more crowd appeal than FIRST events. Therefore, it should inspire youngsters to participate in engineering just as much as FIRST.
Battlebots IQ is a program for teens that involves fighting robots. It doesn't cost $5000 just to get started, unlike FIRST.
The mail section of Jerry Pournelle's website is great. He takes on many topics including computers, technology, and education, not just politics. Yes, it's Jerry Pournelle of Byte's Chaos Manor and SF authordom.
Web site: http://www.jerrypournelle.com/mail/currentm ail.htm l
Emachineshop seems to be a bit limited in the parts they can make. I prefer to use the services of the fellow robot builders at Team Whyachi. They don't mind handling small quantities and have great prices.
Re:You also need about 10-20 months labor for ging
on
Build Your Robot Online
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· Score: 2, Informative
I'll second this. I bought this book series, and got as far as making the charcoal foundry. It's cool to be able to make my own aluminum castings, but it requires a lot of sweat and patience.
This robot appears to be designed for RoboOne, a form of competition that has been popular for a couple years in the Far East, but is just now catching on here in the States.
The Robolympics website has some great videos.
I used Fedora Core 2 to upgrade my Red Hat 9 machine yesterday. The machine still booted into my existing Linux 2.4 kernel after the install. Which, of course, doesn't work with many of the newly installed application libraries. After much messing with the rescue disc and attempting to rerun the upgrade, I finally got my machine to boot properly. Then I had to load all the hardware driver modules I need manually.
Applications seem a little more responsive, but that doesn't really make up for the hours I lost. Also, DDD no longer seems to come with the Python debugger, so I had to downgrade that package.
Computers are just too damned hard to use.
Re:Just coal alone is enough
on
Out of Gas
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· Score: 1
Check out this week's Forbes article about making liquid fuel from methane gas:
I should also point out that although I've spoken with Dale many times, and even visited his lovely home, this article was a bit of a revelation to me. I had no idea that he was connected to Hayes. When I asked him what he did before retiring, he simply told me that he was an electrical engineer.
I'm guessing that you're younger than I am and thus don't remember the stuff that was said in the 80's and 90's.
The promise I was thinking of is the cost of space access via the Shuttle. But others come to mind, too: ISS costs, DC-X/X-33.
And back on topic, after the Challenger accident they also promised that management would listen to the engineers when so that the Shuttle wouldn't kill any more people.
And all of NASA's R&D on cheap space launches in the last 30 years has paid off how, exactly?
You failed to mention a critical step in the process: NASA makes a budgetary request every year to Congress to tell them what they need. This year's Shuttle budget is about $3.8 billion, which they could use to run 10 Russian space programs or 380 X-Prizes.
Congress then cuts back from that, adds some pork, then approves the budget.
Eliminating the Shuttle would mean transfers, layoffs, re-training, firings, demotions, and the like. If you worked for NASA, would you want to be the one responsible for putting that in the budget?
Oh, and the parent was modded to a 5 because it makes sense.
My point was that there are clearly better ways of doing things, but NASA isn't doing them.
The Russians have stuck with a cheap spacecraft developed in the 1970's. The Americans have stuck with an expensive spacecraft developed in the 1970's.
I admit it: there isn't really any proof yet that X-Prize type bounties will work. But it looks likely that the X-Prize will be won within the next year. And that should help kill the NASA myth.
Consider that a big pile of taxpayer money is going to support NASA, Boeing, Lockheed, etc. This money could be more effectively spent via bounties like the X-Prize.
NASA has been doing what NASA does for the past 20 years with Shuttle. It hasn't gotten you or me any closer to leaving this rock. The Shuttle program is the biggest single expense for NASA. NASA hasn't really dealt with the cost issue at all.
For the price of a single Shuttle launch, the Russians can put 50 people in space. For $40 billion you could run 4000 X-Prize programs.
Government involvement in the form of X-Prize style programs might not be such a bad thing.
Slashdot Mirror
Looks right. The big square moat surrounds the Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square is just south of that. Here's an actual good map of Beijing:
http://www.mapmatrix.com/tmhtm/htmtm/02101.html
I'll work on moving the images elsewhere, I didn't realize that CNCzone required registration.
I have fixed the link.
This is a subject that has interested me for quite a while now. The biggest limitation at the moment seems to be the software that is needed in order to make complex objects.
I've designed and built a computer controled (CNC) 6-axis router using easily available parts. I estimate that the whole thing could be built for $500-$1500, depending upon how good you are at scrounging parts.
I have a gallery of photos at CNCZone, as well as a site for the control software at SourceForge.
Xdmx allows you to use a spare computer as a secondary display. It even works with Xinerama. And it's even included in the latest releases of x.org, meaning that you likely already have it installed.
This is great for those of us who have laptops, but don't want to spring for a second monitor and video card.
I recently set up my Thinkpad to be a secondary display. It works well, though the video doesn't seem quite as snappy, and it's a little difficult to set up.
Web page for Xdmx:
http://dmx.sourceforge.net/
>Open standards are fine, but don't believe the
> exponential growth potential for anything but >software.
There's a saying about robots:
"Robots are mostly software."
The big limiting factor is money to pay for the robots and the venue.
A quick looks at Builder'sDB shows that there's an event in texas, Robot Rebellion.
I'm a volunteer for FIRST as well as a builder of fighting robots. Both require a high degree of technical knowledge, building skill, and planning.
Watching robots fight each other has just as much or more crowd appeal than FIRST events. Therefore, it should inspire youngsters to participate in engineering just as much as FIRST.
Battlebots IQ is a program for teens that involves fighting robots. It doesn't cost $5000 just to get started, unlike FIRST.
I wonder which of these would win in a fight?
The mail section of Jerry Pournelle's website is great. He takes on many topics including computers, technology, and education, not just politics. Yes, it's Jerry Pournelle of Byte's Chaos Manor and SF authordom.
m ail.htm l
Web site:
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/mail/current
Emachineshop seems to be a bit limited in the parts they can make. I prefer to use the services of the fellow robot builders at Team Whyachi. They don't mind handling small quantities and have great prices.
I'll second this. I bought this book series, and got as far as making the charcoal foundry. It's cool to be able to make my own aluminum castings, but it requires a lot of sweat and patience.
This robot appears to be designed for RoboOne, a form of competition that has been popular for a couple years in the Far East, but is just now catching on here in the States. The Robolympics website has some great videos.
Oddly enough, the Tivo remote can make my RoboSapien turn and walk.
A different problem, but a warning:
I used Fedora Core 2 to upgrade my Red Hat 9 machine yesterday. The machine still booted into my existing Linux 2.4 kernel after the install. Which, of course, doesn't work with many of the newly installed application libraries. After much messing with the rescue disc and attempting to rerun the upgrade, I finally got my machine to boot properly. Then I had to load all the hardware driver modules I need manually.
Applications seem a little more responsive, but that doesn't really make up for the hours I lost. Also, DDD no longer seems to come with the Python debugger, so I had to downgrade that package.
Computers are just too damned hard to use.
Quote:
I should also point out that although I've spoken with Dale many times, and even visited his lovely home, this article was a bit of a revelation to me. I had no idea that he was connected to Hayes. When I asked him what he did before retiring, he simply told me that he was an electrical engineer.
That glider is pointing downward and will eventually crawl off the bottom right corner of the screen.
The glider should be going up, to symbolize progress.
I'm guessing that you're younger than I am and thus don't remember the stuff that was said in the 80's and 90's.
The promise I was thinking of is the cost of space access via the Shuttle. But others come to mind, too: ISS costs, DC-X/X-33.
And back on topic, after the Challenger accident they also promised that management would listen to the engineers when so that the Shuttle wouldn't kill any more people.
And all of NASA's R&D on cheap space launches in the last 30 years has paid off how, exactly?
You failed to mention a critical step in the process: NASA makes a budgetary request every year to Congress to tell them what they need. This year's Shuttle budget is about $3.8 billion, which they could use to run 10 Russian space programs or 380 X-Prizes.
Congress then cuts back from that, adds some pork, then approves the budget.
Eliminating the Shuttle would mean transfers, layoffs, re-training, firings, demotions, and the like. If you worked for NASA, would you want to be the one responsible for putting that in the budget?
Oh, and the parent was modded to a 5 because it makes sense.
This is a good point and should be modded up.
My point was that there are clearly better ways of doing things, but NASA isn't doing them.
The Russians have stuck with a cheap spacecraft developed in the 1970's. The Americans have stuck with an expensive spacecraft developed in the 1970's.
I admit it: there isn't really any proof yet that X-Prize type bounties will work. But it looks likely that the X-Prize will be won within the next year. And that should help kill the NASA myth.
Consider that a big pile of taxpayer money is going to support NASA, Boeing, Lockheed, etc. This money could be more effectively spent via bounties like the X-Prize.
NASA has not delived on their promises in the area of human spaceflight for the past 25 years.
NASA has been doing what NASA does for the past 20 years with Shuttle. It hasn't gotten you or me any closer to leaving this rock. The Shuttle program is the biggest single expense for NASA. NASA hasn't really dealt with the cost issue at all.
For the price of a single Shuttle launch, the Russians can put 50 people in space. For $40 billion you could run 4000 X-Prize programs.
Government involvement in the form of X-Prize style programs might not be such a bad thing.