I'm so tired of quack science making it into the mainstream.
They say that they're 'surprised' that despite the small brain size, they appeared to be quite smart. This is contrary to what we know: brain size seems to have little correlation with intelligence amongst modern humans that are not defective, and there's strong fossil evidence for ancestoral species having fairly large brains as well.
Also, there's no accounting for the construction of the pyramids with modern man's intelligence/knowledge, so there must've been smart humans at that time as well. Maybe not technologically advanced as we'd see things, but certainly inventive and observant of the world around them.
It also sounds nuts to me that they'd claim this is an entirely different species. It seems to me that it's just as much a seperate species as blacks are a different species than whites, or what have you. They're still fundamentally human, and can co-populate with other humans. Granted, there's no direct evidence that this was possible, but it seems possible. There are plenty of 4-foot-tall humans today.
Well, given the trend over the last 20 years (or more, really), things have been in a fairly constant state of maturing. Hardware has changed, as has the needs of the hardware and the desired results. Granted, I can't think of anything in the last 5 or so years that has changed in much at all besides bigger, faster, and smaller, so maybe there's a chance for the current operating systems to reach a point of 'maturity'. At least some of them - it's pretty much a given that certain large software companies will push out larger, more complex operating systems that will never be truly 'done' (except for the "now abandoned" sense).
I imagine that in 20 years or so, computers will be small and cheap enough where a different network design paragidm will be necessary, to some degree, and where conventional operating system concerns will not really be concerns any longer - while things such as security take a forefront in OS design. It seems that trend may have already started, to some degree.
Dude, think about it for a second. Sure, Ash would make The Rock eat his own teeth for dinner, but side-by-side, they'd make pretty good allies. They've got similar acting styles, facial expressions, and the like, and - given the right script - I could imagine THe Rock getting the same kind of cult following.
Even though doom has a "bad" storyline, that doesn't mean it won't make a good movie. A good scriptwriter can resurrect even the blandest of plot outlines into an excellent, hillarious, action-packed film.
Take Indiana Jones, for example. It's one of my favorite films, and just came to mind, so I'll use it. How do you summarize the storyline (of, say, raiders of the lost ark) for that film? How about, "US archeologist battles nazis in egypt to try and regain ancient biblical artifacts" - now think of all the completely cheesed out films you've seen with similar plots. It's all in the presentation. Consider Beowulf - not much to that plot, really, in summary, but it evolved over time to become a wonderful epic.
Even if they were to use the basic plot laid out at the beginning of (and gradually throughout) Doom 3, they would have something to start with. Then give the mischelaneous people encountered throughout the game a larger role (or other people) in the character's quest. Add a lot of jokes (in the nature of films such as Shrek), and it would strike a cord with many of the people that played the original doom. (Well, with my group atl east. Remember the 'demon' - the red bull-like creature that charged? We called it a penis monster because it looked like a giant cock. I'm sure other sexual references could be made throughout the film... but maybe that's just my twisted sense of humor). Another action film that I'm reminded of that would have been bland and boring sci-fi without the humor is The 5th Element. Remember those damn pig creatures? The action was -cheesy-. But it was a pretty freakign good film, as there was a large amount of humor intertwined throughout it.
That said, I agree with you. It'll likely suck horribly. I think their best bet is to not try to make it a horror film, but to make it a film that appeals to what made Doom initially popular - to a large respect, just running around shooting things and having blood squirt everyhwere, making jokes at 4am while drinking mountain dew about the game characters, etc. etc. - I'm thinking along the lines of things like the "exploding wall of blood" scene in Evil Dead 2. That would Rock (and, now that I think about it, The Rock would probably be a pretty damn good "Ash" type character, as he's quite over the top with his acting... hrm. I'm starting to see a lot of (likely unfulfillable) potential here.
Still, there's no way it could be worse than tomb raider. (On second thought, at least TR had fleshy boobs...)
Reguardless of his irrelevance, it's good that he's making these statements. It provides an exchange of ideas and criticism, and allows others to create creative solutions to any potential flaws in the current mechanisms.
- no built-in keyboard, unless it's a full 10-finger typeable keyboard, so as to save practical space - IrDA, PCMCIA, CF, and SD. - built-in WiFi - Linux supported (including support for xserver and/or opie) - given current hardware, Xscale 400, 64M RAM, and 64M of internal storage. - built-in omnidirectional microphone, similar to those on cell phones, which can pick up conversation across the room (provided nobody is talking nearby) - small speaker for alarms, etc. - at least 5 hours of "on" battery life without any peripherals - preferably a greyscale LCD, so as to save battery life, or a color LCD that uses low amounts of power and works well without the use of the backlight. 640x480 would be nice, but by no means required - sturdy, low-weight metal case - the face size of the device would be no larger than the LCD, and any 'space requirements' in the device would be made up by making it thicker (up to, say, 3/4" to 1")
Now, I realize having PCMCIA, CF, and SD all in the same device is a bit much, so I'd settle just for CF and SD, given it's a handheld. PCMCIA is mostly just a "wouldn't that be nice" feautre, due to the plethora of pcmcia devices that work in linux.
The difference between an athletic sport and poker is that poker can conceiveably played by anyone. It's a learned game (for the most part), not one that's precidented by inate physical ability. Anyone can conceiveably learn simple things like odds, and over time it's also possible for someone to learn the ins and outs of playing the table instead of the cards, etc.
Thus, it's conceiveable for the home viewer to look at the TV and "play at home", just like he would after going out with a buddy at a home game, and fantasize himself into a 1 million game much more easily than he could a 3 million/year football contract.
I've a little confusion about exactly what you'd need a heater for when you say the cost of running a generator during the summer cooling season is $300 for a week, but other than that, I'll try and adress some things...
You mention all those things for 'survival' and 'mininum comfort'. And then you list things like a 19" TV and a computer.
First off, that's not survival. That's luxury. Surely you've seen books before. They're quite entertaining, and generally a bit more enlightening than watching CBS (or whatever people watch these days). They also don't have the irritating feature that causes them to stop working when there's no electricity.
First off, an electric-ignition furnace doesn't need constant electricity to keep it running, just for ignition. Get your house warm, and turn the generator off for a couple hours. If it gets cool during those several hours, fire it up again and start the furnace, and turn off the generator. If it is indeed warm there, I don't see what you'd need a heater for at all, and air conditioning is a luxury as well. Drink some water - it's good for you, cleans your body, keeps you cool, and doesn't consume electricity to produce. But then, if you're one of those people that have a fit when they start to sweat, I can understand your need there - for "survival".
Second, if it's cold out, you don't need to power a fridge. Take the food, put it in boxes, and put it -outdoors-. Diary products and meats will be fine, for the most part. You could also try putting it in coolers, along with some ice you've grabbed from outdoors. Conceiveably, it wouldn't be too entirely difficult to do without a fridge at all - like your grandparents did when they were younger (and possibly your parents, if you're 35+).
It's also not necessary to power a water pump in most scenarios to keep water pressure up. (provided that's the kind of well you're talking about - if you're refering to a sump well pump, that's another matter entirely...) The pressure in a line will remain sufficient to flush the toilet several times, wash your hands, and perform basic tasks a time or two in most houses. If pressure goes dead, just turn the pump on to do your thing, and then turn it off once youre done and the pressure is high again. Realistically, you could easily get by on little and infrequent power to the water pump. (My wife and I did just fine for 3 days when we moved into our last place without running water. We'd just asked the neighbors if we could use their outdoor tap, and got a ten or so buckets a day for things like dishes, flushing the toilet, and bathing.)
I'm sure you'd probably be surprised, but people 100 years ago did just fine during the hot, sweltering evenings without electricity. Before all these modern trapings, people were able to entertain themselves through the employment of their mind and bodies. They might sing, read, write, dance, talk and socialize, play cards, or any number of other things. You look at things such as TV as a luxury, but really, it provides little satisfaction compared to a high-energy social gathering - particularly one where you have to go through a little 'hardship' in order to have a good time. Maybe your neighbors' beer is warm - that just makes the 12 pack that someone manages to find in a store's freezer after the 3rd day all the more enjoyable. Years down the line, will you look back on the event and think, "man, I'm glad I had that generator", because it made you comfortable? Will you look back more fondly on the event than those that got together with their neighbors, sat around, and had a break from the monotony of modern life? "Hey, Bill. Remember 4 years ago during Frances when John got that cold 12 pack of shitty Miller Lite, and how good it tasted all the same? That was a great time."
While it's true that humans have gotten by for tens of thousands of years without central heat, humans have only lived in the more inhospitable places of the world for less than 200, and even the few that braved those elements then had what might be termed 'central heating' (eskimos, etc.).
Unfortunately, it's not common practice for housing to be built with a wood furnace, fireplace, or other such heating element unless it's main purpose is decorative. Thus, other remedies must be made.
In some parts of the country, there are places where your house would get -quite- cold within 8 hours without heat. South Dakota is one of them. The effect is obviously less in a town or city, of course, due to wind barriers and snow pile-up (providing an insulative/windbreaker effect).
Out in the country, however, is another matter entirely. Out here, we're just as likely to have power outages due to down lines as we might be to insufficient supply this year. With winds that are normally 30MPH or more, and gusts as high as 80, we'll get massive drifts. If the power goes out during a storm, it's likely you won't be able to get out, or get power, for a week. That's not an acceptable situation, and thus a generator is necessary.
Even if the power is only out for a day, or 8 hours, that's usually long enough for the wind to chill a house down to the point where there's a real danger of pipes breaking. And then there's the matter of actually being warm enough at night to sleep, so that you can get up in the morning and work.
However, how long until until someone combines this payload with the propigation engine of a win32 worm and an OS X security exploit or 3? That's how these things start. One part at a time.
What attributes cause this turbidity of the glacial runoff? Is it due to the fact that the glacier in question was slowly formed (allowing for dust and other matter to form with it), or is there a property of the glacial ice (high levels of nitrogen, whatever) that results in the coloration?
affirmative action for Malays, which forms the MAJORITY of the population in Malaysia, meaning minorities(Chinese, Indians) are discriminated against!!!!).
That's something I've never gotten - affirmative action. How is it that affirmative action for the minorities is acceptable (as is the case in the US and elsewhere, I'd imagine), but affirmative action for the majority is not?
Discrimination is discrimination. Period. It's not just.
From what I gather, the astronauts on IIS have been doing that for a while already as it is. To some degree.
I believe I heard that their solid wastes are packaged for shipment back to earth, and then the liquid wastes are purified and provided for consumption again. On a limited scale, the liquid waste purification isn't that complex. It's more than feasable to create something in your own house which would do the same, to a limited degree (reverse osmosis being a large component of that).
Might I also add that I personally don't think there's a market for an entry 3D card maker right now, and that option 2) as stated above is fairly unlikely to happen, particularly when you can get a nvidia card for $50 that can play new games about as well as a console can.
I'd say the future market for graphics hardware in linux is on laptops, and that you'd be much better off doing that, if you could figure out how to get into the market.
1) The card also manages to be a top-performer, and can rival Nvidia and ATI in 3d performance for games, at least price-for-price. If someone has the choice of a card that can play their games in Linux (or on a dualboot system) decently, for the same price as a card that is significantly lower in performance, they'll probably pick the one that performs. 2) The card is dirt cheap, and any performance inadequacies can be overlooked (provided it at least does basic OGL stuff). 3) They somehow manage to get it to be used by large laptop manufacturers (are you listening, IBM?), so that Linux laptops can reliably suspend, etc. (which isn't currently the case).
If the upcoming Superman film is anything like the X-Men film, It Will Suck. Here's why:
The X-men films were modeled after the comics, and from what I could see, the cartoon series that was on television. The actual X-Men comics don't tend to be too big on drama from what I recall (while comics like Wolverine and the other individual hero comics do). Superman, on the other hand, has always been about the drama and social situations, from what I recall. Reeves did an incredible job portraying that element in the original Superman movies.
I just can't see them handling it in such a fashion, however. It'll likely be a glitzy Superman vs. Doomsday, Brainiac or such, and will only give lip service to Superman as anything but the Man of Steel, ignoring the oh-so-important Clark Kent side.
Well, they could do any of the following: - Superman vs. Doomsday - Superman vs. The Eradicator (ie, "post death" so Superman wouldn't be at full strength") - Superman vs. Bizzaro
Whatever the plot, it should weigh his struggle with being half human and half superman (metaphrically speaking), with the pinnings of responsibility in both worlds. Maybe make him lose his powers. Maybe make him have a conflict that comes down to revealing who he really is.
Granted, those were all done in the original trilogy, but they could be done again. Just hope the actor doesn't suck and is up to the task of rivaling Reeve's ability with Superman/Clark Kent.
You're raving mad, man. Bloody nuts. Superman was -not- a limp franchise. For the day, the films were quite good - at least better than their peers by quite a bit. Today, they look dated and cheesy, but the Superman films were good action with a strong, likeable hero, an atypical heroine (somewhat), and an awesome arch nemesis (Gene Hackman!).
The theme for Superman? Composed by John Williams.
Every trilogy (or multology) that John Williams has been involved with has done excellent, and has been quite popular. Star Wars. Indiana Jones. Jurassic Park. Jaws, Home Alone. Hell, even many of the "standalone" films he's worked on have been incredible in their own respect, such as ET, AI (say what you will for the deviation from Asimov's work, it was still a good film), The Patriot, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Born on the 4th of July, These aren't just "movies", mind you, these are epics that have become a part of our culture, played over and over, and tirelessly parodied. "Dun dun dun dun" (jaws). "Dun dun da! da da dum da!" (superman). Et cetera! Hell, he even composed the theme for Gilligan's Island! Damn near every one of the tunes from those films and show can be recalled and hummed by anyone from the age of 18 to 30. Granted, the fact that Williams composed for the Superman films doesn't automatically give creedence to the films, but there was a multology, and the films are widely remembered for the character of Clark Kent as well.
Just because you're not creative enough to suspend your disbelief doesn't mean the movies suck. I saw these films as a child (8? 10?), and even then they were kind of cheesy to me. Yet I still was able to see the hero that was Clark Kent. I was still able to see strength of positive character that he portrayed, the honesty, and the humility - all in spite of his tremendous power. There's absolutely nothing wrong with stereotypes being used in film when they're well done. I still think Superman is a good film.
how is it that mass media gets their balls twisted in a knot over something they don't understand when it involves an up-and-coming company with good practices, but when it comes to international politics, they like to walk on by the heinous deeds?
It must be expensive hardware than doing it, there's no othere explanation. I mean, the price of the hardware necessary to build a new top-of-the-line system is maybe a full hundred dollars more expensive than the OEM costs of MS Windows an Office, combined! That's a rediculous amount of money!
What next, automakers blaming accidents on migrating pigeons?
Re:Now if hackers could just learn to hack the gov
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Am I common when I don't eat excessively packaged foods? Am I common when I eat naturally grown, genetically-unaltered fruits, vegitables, and grains? Am I common when I don't even have the TV hooked up to anything besides a VCR? Am I common when I would rather read a good book than drink? Am I common when I would rather ride a bike than drive an SUV? Am I common when I would rather learn something new, or discuss an idea, than make a baseless assertion as you just have?
As an American, I am, on all counts, not common. Please look up "common" in the dictionary. I think you'd be surprised by what you'll find.
Not saying all dietary suppliments are good, but the ones that are properly made and don't contain large amounts of filler are good for you and will make you look younger.
My mom is about 46 years old. She's been told quite a few times that she looks as young as 20 years younger than she is.
To complicate things, she's got Crohn's disease, which is known to cause the body/intestines to not absorb as many nutrients (calories, vitamins, protiens) as would normally be the case. She's done regimented treatments (nothing too crazy, just specific types of pills, no wheat grass, etc.) and has been told by doctors that there's no evidence of her ever having Crohn's disease (which isn't something that conventional medicine has a cure for, or even really understands).
Furthermore, I've seen Hepititis B, lime's disease, and many a severe cold/flu completely obliterated by high doses of vitamin C (3000+mg/day) and other such malodies. In the cases of lime's disease and hepatitis B, there was no evidence that the person had ever had the diseases, and it didn't take long for them to get better. The person that had both hepititis B and lime's disease was over 60 at the time, and is currently 75. He still spends a good portion of his day walking through the woods, fishing, and various other phyiscal things, and has absolutely no problem keeping up with people 1/3rd his age. He's taken vitamin and herb suppliments for the last 30 years or so, and doesn't look to have aged much since then.
I think it would certainly stagnate. Linus is, in quite a few ways, the largest driving force: philosophically, technically, organizationally, nice-person-figurehead....ly, etc.:) Who would replace him? I can't seem to think of anyone that would fit all those roles nearly as well as he does.
I'd say that, by far, his strongest point is his ability to colaborate with thousands upon thousands of people, balance personalities and egos that are typically more excentric than your average geek (let alone average person), and still manage to piss off a minimal number of people, all while cultivating a thriving heirarchy of kernel development culture. It's utterly amazing, and blows my mind utterly and completely. Very few people on earth, if anyone else, could do such a thing and have a coherrent piece of software at the end of the day.
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I'm so tired of quack science making it into the mainstream.
They say that they're 'surprised' that despite the small brain size, they appeared to be quite smart. This is contrary to what we know: brain size seems to have little correlation with intelligence amongst modern humans that are not defective, and there's strong fossil evidence for ancestoral species having fairly large brains as well.
Also, there's no accounting for the construction of the pyramids with modern man's intelligence/knowledge, so there must've been smart humans at that time as well. Maybe not technologically advanced as we'd see things, but certainly inventive and observant of the world around them.
It also sounds nuts to me that they'd claim this is an entirely different species. It seems to me that it's just as much a seperate species as blacks are a different species than whites, or what have you. They're still fundamentally human, and can co-populate with other humans. Granted, there's no direct evidence that this was possible, but it seems possible. There are plenty of 4-foot-tall humans today.
I have a Zaurus; it's not what I want.
I explicitly said I wanted something without the waste that is those goddamn thumbads.
Well, given the trend over the last 20 years (or more, really), things have been in a fairly constant state of maturing. Hardware has changed, as has the needs of the hardware and the desired results. Granted, I can't think of anything in the last 5 or so years that has changed in much at all besides bigger, faster, and smaller, so maybe there's a chance for the current operating systems to reach a point of 'maturity'. At least some of them - it's pretty much a given that certain large software companies will push out larger, more complex operating systems that will never be truly 'done' (except for the "now abandoned" sense).
I imagine that in 20 years or so, computers will be small and cheap enough where a different network design paragidm will be necessary, to some degree, and where conventional operating system concerns will not really be concerns any longer - while things such as security take a forefront in OS design. It seems that trend may have already started, to some degree.
Dude, think about it for a second. Sure, Ash would make The Rock eat his own teeth for dinner, but side-by-side, they'd make pretty good allies. They've got similar acting styles, facial expressions, and the like, and - given the right script - I could imagine THe Rock getting the same kind of cult following.
Even though doom has a "bad" storyline, that doesn't mean it won't make a good movie. A good scriptwriter can resurrect even the blandest of plot outlines into an excellent, hillarious, action-packed film.
Take Indiana Jones, for example. It's one of my favorite films, and just came to mind, so I'll use it. How do you summarize the storyline (of, say, raiders of the lost ark) for that film? How about, "US archeologist battles nazis in egypt to try and regain ancient biblical artifacts" - now think of all the completely cheesed out films you've seen with similar plots. It's all in the presentation. Consider Beowulf - not much to that plot, really, in summary, but it evolved over time to become a wonderful epic.
Even if they were to use the basic plot laid out at the beginning of (and gradually throughout) Doom 3, they would have something to start with. Then give the mischelaneous people encountered throughout the game a larger role (or other people) in the character's quest. Add a lot of jokes (in the nature of films such as Shrek), and it would strike a cord with many of the people that played the original doom. (Well, with my group atl east. Remember the 'demon' - the red bull-like creature that charged? We called it a penis monster because it looked like a giant cock. I'm sure other sexual references could be made throughout the film... but maybe that's just my twisted sense of humor). Another action film that I'm reminded of that would have been bland and boring sci-fi without the humor is The 5th Element. Remember those damn pig creatures? The action was -cheesy-. But it was a pretty freakign good film, as there was a large amount of humor intertwined throughout it.
That said, I agree with you. It'll likely suck horribly. I think their best bet is to not try to make it a horror film, but to make it a film that appeals to what made Doom initially popular - to a large respect, just running around shooting things and having blood squirt everyhwere, making jokes at 4am while drinking mountain dew about the game characters, etc. etc. - I'm thinking along the lines of things like the "exploding wall of blood" scene in Evil Dead 2. That would Rock (and, now that I think about it, The Rock would probably be a pretty damn good "Ash" type character, as he's quite over the top with his acting... hrm. I'm starting to see a lot of (likely unfulfillable) potential here.
Still, there's no way it could be worse than tomb raider. (On second thought, at least TR had fleshy boobs...)
Reguardless of his irrelevance, it's good that he's making these statements. It provides an exchange of ideas and criticism, and allows others to create creative solutions to any potential flaws in the current mechanisms.
- no built-in keyboard, unless it's a full 10-finger typeable keyboard, so as to save practical space
- IrDA, PCMCIA, CF, and SD.
- built-in WiFi
- Linux supported (including support for xserver and/or opie)
- given current hardware, Xscale 400, 64M RAM, and 64M of internal storage.
- built-in omnidirectional microphone, similar to those on cell phones, which can pick up conversation across the room (provided nobody is talking nearby)
- small speaker for alarms, etc.
- at least 5 hours of "on" battery life without any peripherals
- preferably a greyscale LCD, so as to save battery life, or a color LCD that uses low amounts of power and works well without the use of the backlight. 640x480 would be nice, but by no means required
- sturdy, low-weight metal case
- the face size of the device would be no larger than the LCD, and any 'space requirements' in the device would be made up by making it thicker (up to, say, 3/4" to 1")
Now, I realize having PCMCIA, CF, and SD all in the same device is a bit much, so I'd settle just for CF and SD, given it's a handheld. PCMCIA is mostly just a "wouldn't that be nice" feautre, due to the plethora of pcmcia devices that work in linux.
The difference between an athletic sport and poker is that poker can conceiveably played by anyone. It's a learned game (for the most part), not one that's precidented by inate physical ability. Anyone can conceiveably learn simple things like odds, and over time it's also possible for someone to learn the ins and outs of playing the table instead of the cards, etc.
Thus, it's conceiveable for the home viewer to look at the TV and "play at home", just like he would after going out with a buddy at a home game, and fantasize himself into a 1 million game much more easily than he could a 3 million/year football contract.
I've a little confusion about exactly what you'd need a heater for when you say the cost of running a generator during the summer cooling season is $300 for a week, but other than that, I'll try and adress some things...
You mention all those things for 'survival' and 'mininum comfort'. And then you list things like a 19" TV and a computer.
First off, that's not survival. That's luxury. Surely you've seen books before. They're quite entertaining, and generally a bit more enlightening than watching CBS (or whatever people watch these days). They also don't have the irritating feature that causes them to stop working when there's no electricity.
First off, an electric-ignition furnace doesn't need constant electricity to keep it running, just for ignition. Get your house warm, and turn the generator off for a couple hours. If it gets cool during those several hours, fire it up again and start the furnace, and turn off the generator. If it is indeed warm there, I don't see what you'd need a heater for at all, and air conditioning is a luxury as well. Drink some water - it's good for you, cleans your body, keeps you cool, and doesn't consume electricity to produce. But then, if you're one of those people that have a fit when they start to sweat, I can understand your need there - for "survival".
Second, if it's cold out, you don't need to power a fridge. Take the food, put it in boxes, and put it -outdoors-. Diary products and meats will be fine, for the most part. You could also try putting it in coolers, along with some ice you've grabbed from outdoors. Conceiveably, it wouldn't be too entirely difficult to do without a fridge at all - like your grandparents did when they were younger (and possibly your parents, if you're 35+).
It's also not necessary to power a water pump in most scenarios to keep water pressure up. (provided that's the kind of well you're talking about - if you're refering to a sump well pump, that's another matter entirely...) The pressure in a line will remain sufficient to flush the toilet several times, wash your hands, and perform basic tasks a time or two in most houses. If pressure goes dead, just turn the pump on to do your thing, and then turn it off once youre done and the pressure is high again. Realistically, you could easily get by on little and infrequent power to the water pump. (My wife and I did just fine for 3 days when we moved into our last place without running water. We'd just asked the neighbors if we could use their outdoor tap, and got a ten or so buckets a day for things like dishes, flushing the toilet, and bathing.)
I'm sure you'd probably be surprised, but people 100 years ago did just fine during the hot, sweltering evenings without electricity. Before all these modern trapings, people were able to entertain themselves through the employment of their mind and bodies. They might sing, read, write, dance, talk and socialize, play cards, or any number of other things. You look at things such as TV as a luxury, but really, it provides little satisfaction compared to a high-energy social gathering - particularly one where you have to go through a little 'hardship' in order to have a good time. Maybe your neighbors' beer is warm - that just makes the 12 pack that someone manages to find in a store's freezer after the 3rd day all the more enjoyable. Years down the line, will you look back on the event and think, "man, I'm glad I had that generator", because it made you comfortable? Will you look back more fondly on the event than those that got together with their neighbors, sat around, and had a break from the monotony of modern life? "Hey, Bill. Remember 4 years ago during Frances when John got that cold 12 pack of shitty Miller Lite, and how good it tasted all the same? That was a great time."
While it's true that humans have gotten by for tens of thousands of years without central heat, humans have only lived in the more inhospitable places of the world for less than 200, and even the few that braved those elements then had what might be termed 'central heating' (eskimos, etc.).
Unfortunately, it's not common practice for housing to be built with a wood furnace, fireplace, or other such heating element unless it's main purpose is decorative. Thus, other remedies must be made.
In some parts of the country, there are places where your house would get -quite- cold within 8 hours without heat. South Dakota is one of them. The effect is obviously less in a town or city, of course, due to wind barriers and snow pile-up (providing an insulative/windbreaker effect).
Out in the country, however, is another matter entirely. Out here, we're just as likely to have power outages due to down lines as we might be to insufficient supply this year. With winds that are normally 30MPH or more, and gusts as high as 80, we'll get massive drifts. If the power goes out during a storm, it's likely you won't be able to get out, or get power, for a week. That's not an acceptable situation, and thus a generator is necessary.
Even if the power is only out for a day, or 8 hours, that's usually long enough for the wind to chill a house down to the point where there's a real danger of pipes breaking. And then there's the matter of actually being warm enough at night to sleep, so that you can get up in the morning and work.
All that you say is true.
However, how long until until someone combines this payload with the propigation engine of a win32 worm and an OS X security exploit or 3? That's how these things start. One part at a time.
What attributes cause this turbidity of the glacial runoff? Is it due to the fact that the glacier in question was slowly formed (allowing for dust and other matter to form with it), or is there a property of the glacial ice (high levels of nitrogen, whatever) that results in the coloration?
affirmative action for Malays, which forms the MAJORITY of the population in Malaysia, meaning minorities(Chinese, Indians) are discriminated against!!!!).
That's something I've never gotten - affirmative action. How is it that affirmative action for the minorities is acceptable (as is the case in the US and elsewhere, I'd imagine), but affirmative action for the majority is not?
Discrimination is discrimination. Period. It's not just.
From what I gather, the astronauts on IIS have been doing that for a while already as it is. To some degree.
I believe I heard that their solid wastes are packaged for shipment back to earth, and then the liquid wastes are purified and provided for consumption again. On a limited scale, the liquid waste purification isn't that complex. It's more than feasable to create something in your own house which would do the same, to a limited degree (reverse osmosis being a large component of that).
Might I also add that I personally don't think there's a market for an entry 3D card maker right now, and that option 2) as stated above is fairly unlikely to happen, particularly when you can get a nvidia card for $50 that can play new games about as well as a console can.
I'd say the future market for graphics hardware in linux is on laptops, and that you'd be much better off doing that, if you could figure out how to get into the market.
1) The card also manages to be a top-performer, and can rival Nvidia and ATI in 3d performance for games, at least price-for-price. If someone has the choice of a card that can play their games in Linux (or on a dualboot system) decently, for the same price as a card that is significantly lower in performance, they'll probably pick the one that performs.
2) The card is dirt cheap, and any performance inadequacies can be overlooked (provided it at least does basic OGL stuff).
3) They somehow manage to get it to be used by large laptop manufacturers (are you listening, IBM?), so that Linux laptops can reliably suspend, etc. (which isn't currently the case).
Slight problem here, though.
If the upcoming Superman film is anything like the X-Men film, It Will Suck. Here's why:
The X-men films were modeled after the comics, and from what I could see, the cartoon series that was on television. The actual X-Men comics don't tend to be too big on drama from what I recall (while comics like Wolverine and the other individual hero comics do). Superman, on the other hand, has always been about the drama and social situations, from what I recall. Reeves did an incredible job portraying that element in the original Superman movies.
I just can't see them handling it in such a fashion, however. It'll likely be a glitzy Superman vs. Doomsday, Brainiac or such, and will only give lip service to Superman as anything but the Man of Steel, ignoring the oh-so-important Clark Kent side.
Well, they could do any of the following:
- Superman vs. Doomsday
- Superman vs. The Eradicator (ie, "post death" so Superman wouldn't be at full strength")
- Superman vs. Bizzaro
Whatever the plot, it should weigh his struggle with being half human and half superman (metaphrically speaking), with the pinnings of responsibility in both worlds. Maybe make him lose his powers. Maybe make him have a conflict that comes down to revealing who he really is.
Granted, those were all done in the original trilogy, but they could be done again. Just hope the actor doesn't suck and is up to the task of rivaling Reeve's ability with Superman/Clark Kent.
You're raving mad, man. Bloody nuts. Superman was -not- a limp franchise. For the day, the films were quite good - at least better than their peers by quite a bit. Today, they look dated and cheesy, but the Superman films were good action with a strong, likeable hero, an atypical heroine (somewhat), and an awesome arch nemesis (Gene Hackman!).
The theme for Superman? Composed by John Williams.
Every trilogy (or multology) that John Williams has been involved with has done excellent, and has been quite popular. Star Wars. Indiana Jones. Jurassic Park. Jaws, Home Alone. Hell, even many of the "standalone" films he's worked on have been incredible in their own respect, such as ET, AI (say what you will for the deviation from Asimov's work, it was still a good film), The Patriot, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Born on the 4th of July, These aren't just "movies", mind you, these are epics that have become a part of our culture, played over and over, and tirelessly parodied. "Dun dun dun dun" (jaws). "Dun dun da! da da dum da!" (superman). Et cetera! Hell, he even composed the theme for Gilligan's Island! Damn near every one of the tunes from those films and show can be recalled and hummed by anyone from the age of 18 to 30. Granted, the fact that Williams composed for the Superman films doesn't automatically give creedence to the films, but there was a multology, and the films are widely remembered for the character of Clark Kent as well.
Just because you're not creative enough to suspend your disbelief doesn't mean the movies suck. I saw these films as a child (8? 10?), and even then they were kind of cheesy to me. Yet I still was able to see the hero that was Clark Kent. I was still able to see strength of positive character that he portrayed, the honesty, and the humility - all in spite of his tremendous power. There's absolutely nothing wrong with stereotypes being used in film when they're well done. I still think Superman is a good film.
how is it that mass media gets their balls twisted in a knot over something they don't understand when it involves an up-and-coming company with good practices, but when it comes to international politics, they like to walk on by the heinous deeds?
It must be expensive hardware than doing it, there's no othere explanation. I mean, the price of the hardware necessary to build a new top-of-the-line system is maybe a full hundred dollars more expensive than the OEM costs of MS Windows an Office, combined! That's a rediculous amount of money!
What next, automakers blaming accidents on migrating pigeons?
Am I common when I don't eat excessively packaged foods?
Am I common when I eat naturally grown, genetically-unaltered fruits, vegitables, and grains?
Am I common when I don't even have the TV hooked up to anything besides a VCR?
Am I common when I would rather read a good book than drink?
Am I common when I would rather ride a bike than drive an SUV?
Am I common when I would rather learn something new, or discuss an idea, than make a baseless assertion as you just have?
As an American, I am, on all counts, not common. Please look up "common" in the dictionary. I think you'd be surprised by what you'll find.
Oh, so what you were really saying was, "computer users are stupid, but let's blame it on the developers".
Not saying all dietary suppliments are good, but the ones that are properly made and don't contain large amounts of filler are good for you and will make you look younger.
My mom is about 46 years old. She's been told quite a few times that she looks as young as 20 years younger than she is.
To complicate things, she's got Crohn's disease, which is known to cause the body/intestines to not absorb as many nutrients (calories, vitamins, protiens) as would normally be the case. She's done regimented treatments (nothing too crazy, just specific types of pills, no wheat grass, etc.) and has been told by doctors that there's no evidence of her ever having Crohn's disease (which isn't something that conventional medicine has a cure for, or even really understands).
Furthermore, I've seen Hepititis B, lime's disease, and many a severe cold/flu completely obliterated by high doses of vitamin C (3000+mg/day) and other such malodies. In the cases of lime's disease and hepatitis B, there was no evidence that the person had ever had the diseases, and it didn't take long for them to get better. The person that had both hepititis B and lime's disease was over 60 at the time, and is currently 75. He still spends a good portion of his day walking through the woods, fishing, and various other phyiscal things, and has absolutely no problem keeping up with people 1/3rd his age. He's taken vitamin and herb suppliments for the last 30 years or so, and doesn't look to have aged much since then.
That's something I've thought as well.
:) Who would replace him? I can't seem to think of anyone that would fit all those roles nearly as well as he does.
I think it would certainly stagnate. Linus is, in quite a few ways, the largest driving force: philosophically, technically, organizationally, nice-person-figurehead....ly, etc.
I'd say that, by far, his strongest point is his ability to colaborate with thousands upon thousands of people, balance personalities and egos that are typically more excentric than your average geek (let alone average person), and still manage to piss off a minimal number of people, all while cultivating a thriving heirarchy of kernel development culture. It's utterly amazing, and blows my mind utterly and completely. Very few people on earth, if anyone else, could do such a thing and have a coherrent piece of software at the end of the day.