Most sailors don't even dream of witnessing something like this, it's so far out there. Hell man, you just gotta inspect that thing up-close, you take as many precautions as possible, but some safety will get thrown to the winds. Chalk another one up for curiosity.
A true sailor would rail against nature like a madman, with wild eyes and a raised fist silhouetted against the sky dramatically. Probably something along the lines of :
"Damn you, nature! That patch of ocean was mine to sail, MINE I say! And now you've taken that from me! Damn you to HELL! But I'll have my revenge yet! Global warming will bury this island before the century is out - mark my words! The game is not yet over, Nature, not by a long shot!"
Basically, slacking off now on long computer/tech projects means you can take advantage of newer, faster, tech down the track to finish the job quicker, thus winding up finishing at the same time as you would have in the first place.
"He uses a nano-toymaker to fabricate toys grown atom by atom inside the children's homes. "
Are toy manufacturers aware of Santa's gross disregard of their intellectual property? I smell a massive lawsuit with a settlement in the order of (pinky to mouth) a BRAZILLIAN DOLLARS!
Santa cannot be allowed to continue this flagrant violation of the law. Millions of gainfully employed people in toy factories stand to lose their jobs, due to the selfish actions of this one criminal. Action must be taken, now, so that those good people - whose creativity and hard work provide happiness to untold millions - can continue to work, be paid and thus are able to buy the things to make their life complete.
So, release the hounds! Apply the full force of the law on his ass. For great justice!!
What was the name of that short story about a guy that was driving his car round a particular mountain bend and accidentally finds a tiny pocket universe?
Anyone remember?
I've been reminded of it by this story and now I NEED TO KNOW, dammit.
On a "loose" surface such as snow or gravel, maximum braking force (and shortest stopping distance) occurs when you lock up the tires. This is because on a loose surface a wedge of whatever is loose builds up in front of the tires providing additional friction. Without that wedge stopping distances go up significantly and it is not uncommon to have a car require 50% longer or more to stop on a gravel surface with ABS engaged than with the wheels locked. Of course, you do give up most steering control with the wheels locked.
Most ABS software these days will briefly lock the wheels (or come very close to it) initially to bite through a layer of gravel/snow, to avoid the "trying to brake on marbles" effect. Early versions of ABS in Australian cars didn't have this and they were extremely disconcerting to use on gravel. Later models are much better at it.
It's quite possible that the guys in the movie at area 51 - who have had the alien spacecraft since the dawn of the computer age - managed to construct a compatibility layer to alien computer tech.
This would allow Jeff Goldblum's character to simply link it in, call a few functions creatively and ta-da! world saved.
I figured they just sorta split into two teams with rival pieces of legislation on opposite goal posts and played some sort of mad max rugby with no pads to determine what passes.
Yeah, that's pretty much what they do - it's called parliament. Oh, don't act all shocked! It works most of the time.
My advice is to watch a wall full of different brands of TV's with content that rapidly changes scenes. You'll soon be able to pick the ones with the slow image processors - they're the ones that are perceptibly behind the rest.
Of course, this doesn't show the fact that they're *all* behind a little bit, but it does help weed out the crap ones.
I use public health services, specifically, medicare in Australia. It costs 1.5% of my taxable income and I don't really have any choice in the matter. Yes, I'm happy to be 'forced' into paying for it. It pays for the poor sods who otherwise could not afford health services. Things are fine for me now , but for all I know, one day I might be one of them, so I'm happy to pay. For that 1.5%, minor stuff - setting bones, stitches, emergency visits, overnight stays,etc, it's pretty much free. For 'serious' visits to the hospital (surgery,etc) , you generally end up having to pay. But it's certainly not "sell the house, and the car, and the kids" kind of pay.
What? Your country doesn't really do public health schemes anymore? Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
From what I can see of the American system from this side of the pond, it's one giant complex ripoff.
Thought about emigrating to somewhere with decent public health services?
You poor bastard. And that goes for the rest of you serfs too.
I work in an underground mine as an Auto Electrician, fixing heavy mining equipment. Everything is trending towards electronic control - engine and transmission controls, payload systems, CANbus vehicle control, loader remote (wireless) control systems and fully-autonomous, no-one's-driving, loaders. This kind of work satisfies the geek in me nicely. Pay is double the Australian average, job is challenging and not a fixed routine and I enjoy what I do.
I get 6 weeks holiday and 5 days paid sick leave a year , which accrues for as long as I like. I'm a bit let down by the 5 days sick leave, but, hey, what can you do?
I also work a 4 day on,4 day off roster with 12 hour shifts, which means that whenever I want 12 days off all I need to do is take 4 days of annual leave. So that 6 weeks leave translates into about 3 months leave if I take it wisely, and lets not forget the half of the year that I'm not at work due to my roster. I did work it out once that I only turn up for work just over a third of the year.
So well, what can I say. The jobs are out there - go looking.
Microsoft: "One of the biggest challenges... is to fight that perception that old versions of software are good enough"
Behold, the difference between open and closed source software.
From http://www.linuxhq.com/kernel/ Version 2.6 * Current: 2.6.18, 20-Sep-2006 Version 2.4 * Current: 2.4.33, 11-Aug-2006 Version 2.2 * Current: 2.2.26, 25-Feb-2004 Version 2.0 * Current: 2.0.40, 08-Feb-2004
So, 2.6 and 2.4 are actively maintained, with 2.2 released in '99 with updates to '04, and 2.0 being updated for over 8 years, since 1996. And I'll wager that there's been no more updates since then for those two kernels simply because it *is* good enough.
Need I also mention the little bit of text that is present in almost *any* F/OSS software update that pretty much says "Hey, if you're current version's working fine for you, that's great. Don't think we're forcing this on you."
Never used laplink? You could use a serial cable and keyboard redirect command (using MODE, if I recall correctly) and it could transfer a small bootstrap loader, then copy itself over to the other PC.
Used to do it all the time - it was easier than copying laplink to a floppy.
Of course, if you're on some sort of exotic hardware, the same principle applies - pipe data out a port somewhere, even if you're just toggling a data line, then import on the other PC using a serial interface (or some such) to keep an eye on the transitions on that line.
Because you can make it look like an accident. That is, if you can cover up a billion dollar project to divert it to the right spot. You would probably have to make a few small course corrections en-route, and a final one relatively close to impact. And if you're using nukes to do that, well, it's probably going to be noticeable to some alert astronomer.
But if you can keep it quiet - and you'd really want to do that - then you've got the world by the balls, and they wouldn't even know it.
"Well, damn! We were only just trying to negotiate a tricky deal with country X just yesterday, and we decided to bring everyone home for a couple of days to, you know, think things over, and what happens? A God-Damned as-ter-oid lands on their capital! Can you believe that? We'll give them a few weeks and then we'll go back to continue negotiations. Oh yeah, we'll offer to help alright. I mean, we've got differences, but we're not *monsters*"
Somewhere, some company lobbied for "tough penalties for data theft". This made their security somewhat easier to implement - as opposed to actually, you know, doing something credible to mitigate security risks - but you end up with crap like this. You can bet it's not homeowners lobbying for these laws.
So, you can kill a man and get off in 3 years, but annoy a corporation and they will cripple you for life.
mr2cents - it's been done before and while the timing is no doubt a bitch, it's quite possible.
linky One Mars Orbiter Takes First Photos of Other Orbiters
Photographs from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft released today are the first pictures of any spacecraft orbiting Mars ever taken by another spacecraft orbiting Mars.
Probably he'd be a little surprised, then make sure that you disposed of the empty bottle correctly, but that's about it really. And likely he'd wander back that way in about half-an-hour to make sure you weren't making a drunken ass of yourself.
Slashdot Mirror
Why does Nasa refer to this as "revised flight software" these rovers don't fly
They're flying right now - in an orbit that matches mars very closely.
Are doomed to repeat it.
http://www.expita.com/howto1.html
Most sailors don't even dream of witnessing something like this, it's so far out there. Hell man, you just gotta inspect that thing up-close, you take as many precautions as possible, but some safety will get thrown to the winds. Chalk another one up for curiosity.
A true sailor would rail against nature like a madman, with wild eyes and a raised fist silhouetted against the sky dramatically. Probably something along the lines of :
"Damn you, nature! That patch of ocean was mine to sail, MINE I say! And now you've taken that from me! Damn you to HELL! But I'll have my revenge yet! Global warming will bury this island before the century is out - mark my words! The game is not yet over, Nature, not by a long shot!"
I really don't need to get involved in another log(UID)-based pissing match. (But hey, isn't that what posting on Slashdot at 2:30AM is all about?
:-P
STFU, noob.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.....
If his light bill is 80 pounds, I shudder to think how much his heavy bill is.
(skims through comments)
What, no-one's mentioned slacktitude yet?
Basically, slacking off now on long computer/tech projects means you can take advantage of newer, faster, tech down the track to finish the job quicker, thus winding up finishing at the same time as you would have in the first place.
It's been done already with Bigelow Aerospace - http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/fly_stuff/
o tos.php
You can see the crap floating about in Genesis I in this link to pics :
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/out_there/view_ph
"He uses a nano-toymaker to fabricate toys grown atom by atom inside the children's homes. "
Are toy manufacturers aware of Santa's gross disregard of their intellectual property?
I smell a massive lawsuit with a settlement in the order of (pinky to mouth) a BRAZILLIAN DOLLARS!
Santa cannot be allowed to continue this flagrant violation of the law. Millions of gainfully employed people in toy factories stand to lose their jobs, due to the selfish actions of this one criminal. Action must be taken, now, so that those good people - whose creativity and hard work provide happiness to untold millions - can continue to work, be paid and thus are able to buy the things to make their life complete.
So, release the hounds! Apply the full force of the law on his ass. For great justice!!
Merry Christmas.
Hey.
What was the name of that short story about a guy that was driving his car round a particular mountain bend and accidentally finds a tiny pocket universe?
Anyone remember?
I've been reminded of it by this story and now I NEED TO KNOW, dammit.
Sure you can! Just partition it into two 250Gb drives, then RAID that.
On a "loose" surface such as snow or gravel, maximum braking force (and shortest stopping distance) occurs when you lock up the tires. This is because on a loose surface a wedge of whatever is loose builds up in front of the tires providing additional friction. Without that wedge stopping distances go up significantly and it is not uncommon to have a car require 50% longer or more to stop on a gravel surface with ABS engaged than with the wheels locked. Of course, you do give up most steering control with the wheels locked.
Most ABS software these days will briefly lock the wheels (or come very close to it) initially to bite through a layer of gravel/snow, to avoid the "trying to brake on marbles" effect. Early versions of ABS in Australian cars didn't have this and they were extremely disconcerting to use on gravel. Later models are much better at it.
It's quite possible that the guys in the movie at area 51 - who have had the alien spacecraft since the dawn of the computer age - managed to construct a compatibility layer to alien computer tech.
This would allow Jeff Goldblum's character to simply link it in, call a few functions creatively and ta-da! world saved.
I figured they just sorta split into two teams with rival pieces of legislation on opposite goal posts and played some sort of mad max rugby with no pads to determine what passes.
Yeah, that's pretty much what they do - it's called parliament.
Oh, don't act all shocked! It works most of the time.
My advice is to watch a wall full of different brands of TV's with content that rapidly changes scenes.
You'll soon be able to pick the ones with the slow image processors - they're the ones that are perceptibly behind the rest.
Of course, this doesn't show the fact that they're *all* behind a little bit, but it does help weed out the crap ones.
The fire trucks are just going to have to crash through the doors in an emergency.
or (gasp!) someone will actually have to go and manually open the door!
Oh, the humanity!
I use public health services, specifically, medicare in Australia. It costs 1.5% of my taxable income and I don't really have any choice in the matter. Yes, I'm happy to be 'forced' into paying for it. It pays for the poor sods who otherwise could not afford health services. Things are fine for me now , but for all I know, one day I might be one of them, so I'm happy to pay. For that 1.5%, minor stuff - setting bones, stitches, emergency visits, overnight stays,etc, it's pretty much free. For 'serious' visits to the hospital (surgery,etc) , you generally end up having to pay. But it's certainly not "sell the house, and the car, and the kids" kind of pay.
What? Your country doesn't really do public health schemes anymore? Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
From what I can see of the American system from this side of the pond, it's one giant complex ripoff.
Thought about emigrating to somewhere with decent public health services?
You poor bastard. And that goes for the rest of you serfs too.
I work in an underground mine as an Auto Electrician, fixing heavy mining equipment. Everything is trending towards electronic control - engine and transmission controls, payload systems, CANbus vehicle control, loader remote (wireless) control systems and fully-autonomous, no-one's-driving, loaders. This kind of work satisfies the geek in me nicely. Pay is double the Australian average, job is challenging and not a fixed routine and I enjoy what I do.
I get 6 weeks holiday and 5 days paid sick leave a year , which accrues for as long as I like. I'm a bit let down by the 5 days sick leave, but, hey, what can you do?
I also work a 4 day on,4 day off roster with 12 hour shifts, which means that whenever I want 12 days off all I need to do is take 4 days of annual leave. So that 6 weeks leave translates into about 3 months leave if I take it wisely, and lets not forget the half of the year that I'm not at work due to my roster. I did work it out once that I only turn up for work just over a third of the year.
So well, what can I say. The jobs are out there - go looking.
Microsoft: "One of the biggest challenges... is to fight that perception that old versions of software are good enough"
Behold, the difference between open and closed source software.
From http://www.linuxhq.com/kernel/
Version 2.6 * Current: 2.6.18, 20-Sep-2006
Version 2.4 * Current: 2.4.33, 11-Aug-2006
Version 2.2 * Current: 2.2.26, 25-Feb-2004
Version 2.0 * Current: 2.0.40, 08-Feb-2004
So, 2.6 and 2.4 are actively maintained, with 2.2 released in '99 with updates to '04, and 2.0 being updated for over 8 years, since 1996. And I'll wager that there's been no more updates since then for those two kernels simply because it *is* good enough.
Need I also mention the little bit of text that is present in almost *any* F/OSS software update that pretty much says "Hey, if you're current version's working fine for you, that's great. Don't think we're forcing this on you."
Never used laplink? You could use a serial cable and keyboard redirect command (using MODE, if I recall correctly) and it could transfer a small bootstrap loader, then copy itself over to the other PC.
Used to do it all the time - it was easier than copying laplink to a floppy.
Of course, if you're on some sort of exotic hardware, the same principle applies - pipe data out a port somewhere, even if you're just toggling a data line, then import on the other PC using a serial interface (or some such) to keep an eye on the transitions on that line.
The doug anthony all-stars cover with Barry Crocker was not too bad.
Barry: "ooooooo, and it makes me wonder."
DAAS (aussie bloke chorus voice): "and it makes Barry wonder."
Because you can make it look like an accident. That is, if you can cover up a billion dollar project to divert it to the right spot. You would probably have to make a few small course corrections en-route, and a final one relatively close to impact. And if you're using nukes to do that, well, it's probably going to be noticeable to some alert astronomer.
But if you can keep it quiet - and you'd really want to do that - then you've got the world by the balls, and they wouldn't even know it.
"Well, damn! We were only just trying to negotiate a tricky deal with country X just yesterday, and we decided to bring everyone home for a couple of days to, you know, think things over, and what happens? A God-Damned as-ter-oid lands on their capital! Can you believe that? We'll give them a few weeks and then we'll go back to continue negotiations. Oh yeah, we'll offer to help alright. I mean, we've got differences, but we're not *monsters*"
Welcome to the world of Big Business.
Somewhere, some company lobbied for "tough penalties for data theft".
This made their security somewhat easier to implement - as opposed to actually, you know, doing something credible to mitigate security risks - but you end up with crap like this. You can bet it's not homeowners lobbying for these laws.
So, you can kill a man and get off in 3 years, but annoy a corporation and they will cripple you for life.
Hey ho, it's a funny old world, eh?
mr2cents - it's been done before and while the timing is no doubt a bitch, it's quite possible.
g s-images.html and from Malin Space Science Systems, the San Diego company that built and operates the camera, at http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/19/ind ex.html .
linky
One Mars Orbiter Takes First Photos of Other Orbiters
Photographs from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft released today are the first pictures of any spacecraft orbiting Mars ever taken by another spacecraft orbiting Mars.
The new images of the European Space Agency's Mars Express and NASA's Mars Odyssey are available on the Internet from NASA at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/m
Of course, if all they see is a smear of debris, well I guess they know they won't be getting any more data.
Probably he'd be a little surprised, then make sure that you disposed of the empty bottle correctly, but that's about it really. And likely he'd wander back that way in about half-an-hour to make sure you weren't making a drunken ass of yourself.
Try that on the street here and you'll get a "finish it now or bin it" response from your friendly local law enforcement officer.