Perhaps we should look to history for a solution to this problem - what happened when telegrams needed to be sent to a city/town that had had the track abandoned leading to the town (and consequently, the telegraph, which was invariably part of the rail system)?
I guess one could argue that without the rail line, the town turned to "dust" and "blew away"...
How did we get where we are now with phones? Is everything going through those fibers next to railroad tracks? What about when it was copper based long distance - same deal (buried copper next to the lines)?
Are there already people who got rid of the abandoned rails, cleared the land, built a sub-division over it all - only now, lurking beneath the surface is a tangle of copper cable carrying (some) phone conversations?
These people want to be paid because the fiber was laid alongside of tracks, in ditches - "subsurface" - which is not stated as part of the rights originally sold to the railroad companies by the owners, only "surface" rights.
Had the railroads and telcos thought of this originally, they could have laid the fiber in pipes along the track, or up on poles, or something similar - and been in the clear, legally.
But what constitutes "surface" vs. "subsurface"? Is an inch below the ground on the surface, or the subsurface? A foot? Three feet? Since the railroads laid the tracks, and needed to install telegraph/switching equipment, which meant putting in poles - they had to dig down several feet for those poles - is that "subsurface" use, and thus the owners of the land should be paid for poles put in the ground? Sure, the poles are many feet apart - but what if they were only a couple of feet apart - is that a "subsurface" ditch, or just many "holes"?
These people are just money hungry - the ditches are generally dug in the surface or between the service road for the railway and the track itself - and not very deep, either (2-4 feet, IIRC). If these property owners were smart, they would just do the "fiber to my house" plan in exchange for the new use of the property.
Plus, as a mind exercise, couldn't you just think of the fiber as a high speed mail train, with the packets of information being cars on the train and... Ah, nevermind...
Seriously - this is the cheapest solution you are going to find.
Don't try to do everything with one box, have multiple boxes - set up a file server, with lots of disk space, and maybe two or three CD-ROM drives (or, for fun, get a nice SCSI burner and two or three plextor 6 disk changers).
Then, build a media box - put the TV, MP3, DVD and firewire stuff in it - vid capture, etc. It doesn't need an insane size HD - unless you are doing a fair amount of vid capture, then you will want a local AV drive. Most of the data can be dumped to the file server.
For scanning/printing, set up a scan/print (and perhaps even DP) server.
Network all of this using 100BaseT and a hub (or, if you are real cheap like me, use 10BaseT - but spend the money on the cards for 100BaseT, then later get a fast hub). Hook up a KVM switch (I just got a 6 port Aten Master View off Ebay for $50.00 - so it is possible to do this el-cheapo!) to your monitor/mouse/keyboard - so you don't have scads of KVM around - unless you wish to place things so that you can have this (sometimes it is handy to have multiple monitors and such).
Get older motherboards for your ISA connectivity - and distribute everything else...
My experience started last October - I was working on a gocart, and while seated, turned my body to put the steering wheel back in place, and threw my back out - major pain. I couldn't even stand up properly.
What I realized prior to that moment was that there was a ton of warning signs - I would have a stiff back if I sat for long periods in that same position ("Indian-style" - no offence to NAs), etc - that I had ignored.
Well, I went to my doctor, and I was given Ibuprofen - 600mg - 3 a day. That made the pain go away, and I rested for a month - no hard work, etc. But then, I tried to ride the gocart, and fucked my back again. This time, I went back to using the IB, ran out - couldn't get another prescription, so I got some "south-o-the-border" IB, and took that. I ran out again, bought some over the counter 200mg, and took four (up to 800mg) - at one point I got to where I was up all night in pain, taking god-knows how much IB (I know at one point I was doing 1200-1400mg a couple of times a day - still prescript strength, but not for this), and it wasn't doing jack (oh, BTW - the side affect of IB causing constipation is true!).
At that point, not knowing how much I was really taking, wondering about the effects on my liver, and why my back pain wasn't going away, I figured "Fuck it, they ain't working - I don't need them" and I stopped the IB.
In less than two days my pain was majorly reduced - in a week, gone. I haven't tried riding my gocart in months (might go crazy sometime and try it again - who really knows). I get up out of my chair more often, and basically try to keep from being a desk spud. Stretching and exercise help as well.
I am still uncertain whether the IB was actually not working, or whether something else was going on, I don't know - but all I do know is that the pain went away when I stopped taking the meds...
Hard to find nowadays, but I am sure they are still produced somewhere, in some manner:
Parachute Pants!
Actually, I think they are called cargo pants now, but basically they are pants (and I actually have some shorts that are the same way - these are easy to find) that are big and "flowing", with a gazillion pockets (ok, maybe not that many, but I used to have a pair a long time ago, back when they were popular - around the time of break dancing - ouch, really dating myself there - that had 10 pockets)...
AFA the cargo shorts go - I have a couple pair that are long like bermudas, but have six pockets - four up front, two in back. The four up front can hold 2-3 cans of soda at once!!!
I am wondering if the parachute pants were called such because they were big, or if they make certain style cargo pants for parachutists, or something - look into mil-surplus clothing for similar gear - maybe aviator gear/pants - hmm...
Now, getting this past any kind of dress code you may have at your job might be hard...
When I first heard that there was going to be a "Lone Gunmen" spinoff - I thought "Great! It might be a fun show..." - then I saw the preview trailers, and thought "Gah! They made it a comedy!" - and I didn't bother to watch it.
Five weeks (and episodes) later, my SO brought home a tape she borrowed from a coworker - it had those five episodes on it - and I decided, "well, I will take a look"...
The following week I began archiving the episodes, figuring I would dump them to MPEG at some point - and get the tape from that guy again to dump and make an mpeg of that...
I love the show! It is campy - lot's of "in" jokes (esp in the pilot episode) that ONLY geeks would get. I hated when they brought in that "dumb guy" (Steve? Jeff?), but even he has his purpose, and I am beginning to see it. One of the recent episodes showed that their "base" of operations is a lot larger than x-files ever let on - it is warehouse size, with what seem to be apartments, or at least "sleepover" type rooms for those late nights.
Now it is all going away...figures.
Now I definitely have to get a copy of that tape, just so I can have all the episodes (I was hoping that after the season finali, provided they show it, that there was going to be re-runs, and I could catch the others that way - not a chance, now - and no chance for store tapes or anything).
"How do you read the PC joystick port for joysticks with more than four buttons?"
I then gave it a little thought, and realized it was possible to go up to 15 buttons by interpreting the buttons as four bits (value of 0 meaning "no buttons pressed") - but what about other sticks and controllers where things become even more complex? I had always wondered "Does force feedback and similar sticks use MIDI?"...
I decided to do a little searching (via Google), and came across the motherlode of sites to answer my question:
It honestly covers it all - and I thought other/. readers might like to know more. I especially liked the writeup regarding how the MS Sidewinder 3D Pro communicates (in digital mode) by clocking the data out to the PC via the buttons, and relying on a trigger via the write to the joystick port (which resets the multivibrators in the interface, but also causes a current flow which can be detected - see this (under the question "Is there any way to get any output from joystick port?" for an explanation) to determine when to start clocking the data. I am already getting ideas on how I could apply a similar scheme for various uses...
I hope this helps anyone who may have been wondering about all of that - it seems like PC joystick interfacing and programming is still a very interesting, yet obscure art...
Side note: In all fairness, Tomi Engdahl's site is arguably one the best sites on the net for all electronics related information - visit the link if you don't believe me...
I remember a form of 3D without "goggles"...
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3D w/o Goggles
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More precisely, without "glasses".
Back in the mid-late 80's (perhaps earlier?) I remember watching an episode of "That's Incredible", about these two guys (may have been professors?) at a university or college (in California, I believe) who created a form of 3D that didn't require glasses.
In fact, it didn't require both eyes! That's right, you could close one eye while viewing it, and it would still look 3D!
They broadcasted a few video clips of the effect on the episode of "That's Incredible", and it really was amazing. The two dudes who came up with the system said they did it with some kind of "black box" device they had created, that could be inserted between a video source and the display, and it would "make" the image 3D. You could tape the clips, and it woud still look fine if you played them back.
At the time, I was stunned - still am - that such an effect could be produced. I remember that the images were kind of shakey (the inventors of the process admitted this on the broadcast), but not annoyingly so. I remember taping the episode, but I have since lost the tape. I remember trying to play it back, closing one eye - and yes, it all worked! There was depth to the image (this was the one "problem" with it - the depth went "into" the screen, not out of it - so it looked like you were looking through a window - but it was still nice).
Has anybody heard of these men, the episode, what the technique was, what happened to them, how it works, etc? I have seen many strange ways to get 3D - but this one has always taken the cake as the strangest, since it relies on a fundamental brain process to trick the brain into seeing 3D (even with one eye!!!)...
I have known it couldn't be all Bernoulli, and that it had to be mostly angle of attack - why?
I am sure some of you have played with paper airplanes, as well as balsa gliders. If not, go out and buy or build one - notice how on the "el-cheapo" balsa gliders the wing is just a flat piece of balsa? Not much of an airfoil - but it does fly! Paper airplanes are even worse - they are typically folded in such a way that they actually have an almost reverse airfoil, with a notch on the upper edge...
Speaking of paper planes - how many of you still play with them? I know I do - over the years I have managed to fold damn near every possibility. I have one design for a stunt plane that I actually have gotten to do both tail slides and flat spins (one time, the plane didn't recover, and hit the ground in a flat spin - amazed me to see that in a paper plane, something most people will never see with a full sized plane and live to tell the tale).
BTW - Does anyone remember the Kline/Folgeman (sp?) wing? This was a wing that had a notch on the bottom - they had an article in Omni Magazine in the 80's about it, with paper planes to cut out and fly. They also had a book - and they built full size flying mock ups (as well as RC models). Supposedly, the wing was impossible (or near impossible) to stall, and could handle very well at low speeds. What ever happened to them?
The studios argue that they would never have distributed movies in digital format without the DMCA.
I suppose the studios have never licensed the production, of oh, say - VCDs and CD-I disks - ever?
Both formats have existed for a long, long time prior to the DMCA (and the VCD/MPEG-1 format is still popular and produced in Asia, though I am not sure if it is still licensed legally, or what)...
1. Get a large bounce ball, to use as a mold for the hemispherical screen - stretch white musilin or similar white gauzy material over it, then starch the shit out of it to stiffen it up. You might even try a light white spray paint or similar. Or, put plaster of paris over the whole thing, smooth it out with sandpaper, then get a piece of acrylic soft in the oven, and "drape" it over the mold. Let it cool, cut, shape, then have it lightly sandblasted to "frost" it.
2. Use one of those lightweight folding lounge camping chairs for your "neutral posture" system. You can pick these up for $20.00 at Walmart.
3. Mount Aura Bass Shakers to the chair - you could even strip some out of el-cheapo interactive Aura vests from Ebay. Just remember, you will need an amp for these things - if you use the vests, they already have a matched amp, so use it. But if you buy the shakers seperately, get a cheap 50 watt Pyramid car amp to drive the things.
4. Get a cheap projector and hook it up to project onto the hood, mounted to the chair. I have a Fujix P401, that I got cheap ($250), you can find them sometime on Ebay - you might have to build your own projector from an LCD TV and slide projector system to keep the cost below $500. You will also need a VGA->TV converter (or TV output on the video card) to hook up to the projector, unless you get lucky and your projecter has VGA or RGB inputs.
5. Hook up the bass shakers to amp and PC, hook the projector to the PC, split the sound output to some headphones, sit down, and fire up Fisheye Quake!
It can be done cheap - in fact, the Flostation site used to have pictures of the original prototype system - the projector was propped up on a board placed between two ladders! So, it can be done cheap, cheap, cheap!!!
If you wanted a system on which you could "stand" in front of, or sit down in front of, try building a curved frame from wood/plywood (look up info on solar cooking to find out how to easily make parbolic mirrors, so you can get the parabola shape), and stretch a white shower curtain across it for the front/back projection screen, or, if you are doing front projection only, use a white pull-down shade for the material...
A hemispherical screen...
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"some people have mentioned using PanQuake to render onto hemispherical screen"
Actually, I wrote this guy when he released "Fisheye Quake", in asking whether it would work for such a system, like the Flostation - man, I want one of those baaad...
Actually, last night I got back my "el cheapo" Fujix P401 from Fuji (had to send it in to get it repaired) - anyhow, it works great (for the POS it is - but it was cheap enough, a video projector the size of a VHS tape, for $250!!!), and I have a VGA->TV converter, all I need now is to build the hemispherical hood, place it over me on one of those camp lounge chairs - cooool...
"One of the things we have not yet understood is the power and potential rascality of the Internet," said Spanish professor Gies, a former faculty senate president. "I don't think we've trained students yet about what is fair and not fair."
WTF?!
You mean to tell me that these individuals have gone through grade school, gone through middle school, gone through high school, and now are adults in a university, and yet they still don't know the difference between what is right and what is wrong? Betweeen what is accepted and what is forbidden?
I don't have a university diploma/degree - but I damn well know and learned how to write a paper in high school, what was considered right and wrong, what was plagiarism and what was quoting a source, footnotes and a bibliography. You know, it is all part of the "standing on the shoulders of giants" (Newton) thing!
Those that have stooped to this level should be expelled: They have demonstrated a lack of disregard and respect for thier fellow man. They are still children, not worthy of attending university, nor a degree.
I can't see any justification - especially for the class in which it occurred. I understand that it is a common thing in all classes, but in this class - damn! - can you say bone-head physics? Not that it wouldn't be educational (heck, it sounds like a fun class, actually), but with that kind of class one should be able to easily describe the physics and such of common devices, off the top of thier head, with few if any references (now, of course, getting it to 1500 words could be a chore, but just have a few cited examples - key word "cited")...
1. Text-based POS system 2. Written in PowerBasic 3. Want a free version under Linux
You say you want to redo it in C - are you sure? Do you have anything to gain by porting it? Perhaps speed - but does it need it? Maybe a re-write - but does it need it?
It doesn't sound like you will gain much, other than a learning experience. I would say if you are going to have to rewrite it, and you want to make it free, you might as well go all out, and do it in style:
Perl/PHP and Apache, with some MySQL or similar free DB on the backend (if needed). You could even provide a web interface if needed.
If not this, why not just leave it as BASIC code? Download a copy of XBasic, and compile - a little will have to be changed (if you use any inline assembler, that might need tweaking), but not as much as doing a complete rewrite in another language...
Work on VR (actually, today it is termed Virtual Environments, and even that term is dropping out - use whatever is convenient) still continues. In fact, the majority and best work on it you already mentioned, kinda obliquely: 3D games (like QA3 and like).
There are a few people doing homebrew VR (see my site link), and others doing projects for military and commercial use.
I think what happenned is it got hyped too fast, too soon, before there was equipment to really do what people wanted to do on a cheap enough scale. Today, it is a lot easier for a homebrewer to get started (a lot of the equipment still has to be built - though a portion can be bought used), 3D engines that would have popped my eyes out in 1994 are free and fast, computers are powerful and cheap.
The other issue is applications - so far for most people that has been games, but fully immersive games even died out, at least in the US for the most part (W Industries was the leader - they still exist, actually - changed to Virtuality, Inc - now known as CyberVision Entertainment - still UK based, and release new products quite often, for those that can afford them). Don't know why (prices? liability issues? too much exercise?)...
In short, development still continues, but it is done very "under the radar", at least the work that is geared toward the whole "goggles and gloves" type full-immersion...
Few things terrified me as much as installing a new ceiling fan for my wife.
Respect electricity, and you won't have problems:
1. Turn the power off at the breaker and the switch. 2. Before touching bare wires, test them with a voltmeter or other tester. 3. If you can do it (and especially when working around high voltage), place one hand in your pocket when working - don't let a path be across the heart. 4. If this isn't possible, and you are only working with low voltage, wear a pair of dishwashing gloves, one size smaller than normal (to still have good "feel").
Typically, if you do 1 and 2, you will be pretty safe. Do number 3 if you are paranoid, or working with high voltage projects (ie, Tesla coils and such). Do number 4 if you want to be perfectly safe (however, only do number 4 if you are _not_ working on high voltage projects - dishwasher gloves will not help).
But that's the thing - they cap the bandwidth, so you can't use more than your allowed amount, yet when you do use it, in the only way possible (via a server app or vpn), they don't like it - it is against the rules of the AUP. Actually, there is one way, what if you set up automatic FTP upload of a file (say a large file that changes on your client system every day) to your web site - say it is 50 meg, and you upload it several times an hour. Say you are at home when this happens - now, what is the difference between a) you doing this by hand - ie PUT largefile.exe, b) doing it via a script, c) a client pulling it from your FTP server? Absolutely none! Except in two cases it is automated - automation is BAAAD!!!
Security - just because you say you're an honest knowledgeable system adminstrator doesn't mean that you are.
Good point - but a counterpoint can be made that if you hand over $BIGNUM dollars, suddenly you can be trusted to run a server? What kind of logic is that? I agree that it is possible to hose a system with misconfigured servers, and that IP problems can crop up depending on what is being hosted (or other legal issues). But why, if these same people pay the money to do this, does it suddenly become "OK"? Please note that I am not saying that you shouldn't pay more - I can see where it might cost more support and legal-wise to allow it - but I cannot see the huge rampup in price:
@Home - Free install in most cases, $40.00/month @Work - Big $$$ install, approx $100/month
They will even charge this install rate after you have @Home - even though nothing else changes!!! You already have the line, the modem, and the software, they just have to edit a file on their side to uncap you a bit, and give you a new contract, maybe assign some IPs - and this cost how much? No thank you! I don't have much problem with the per month charge though (though I do think it is a bit high - but really not that much, considering everything)...
Don't ever say you can't afford it: I know it is possible, and yes, you will go into debt, but it can be done. Case in point:
Three years ago my friend started a protracted court battle, over all things, the rights regarding an easement to get to a house he bought. The case was long and complicated, and basically boiled down to one asshole thinking he could change the rules, and with enough money, overcome my friend.
Now, my friend is a truck driver - not rich by any means, but one of the best individuals you could ever know. He would truely give you the shirt off his back - both figuratively, and literally. I have seen him do things and help people, strangers even, just because it was the right thing to do. Anyhow - he didn't have a lot of money, but he knew he wasn't going to let this guy cave him in over a simple road (because that is what it boiled down to - a road to the top of the mountain upon which the house sits).
He went into debt - HUGE DEBT. He had the family supporting him, in every way - food, friendship, housing (he has lived under his mother-in-law's house, in the basement apartment, for those years), even money in those times when we could get him to take a little (he is very proud, and will not take handouts - ya gotta sneak em in). He worked every day, and weekends (still does, gotta pay the lawyers), sometime pulling 24 hour shifts for a couple of days - most of the time working 12-16 hour days. Sometimes I would ride with him - to talk to him, keep him awake on the weekends, tell him something to keep his spirits up.
In the end, he is coming out of it winning - he has spent a lot of money, but his hard work and perseverence has paid off, and he will have a very nice house to retire in, indeed. He deserves it, more than I can ever convey.
So, it is possible - if you think you are right, you should pursue it. You may have to work yourself to death, maybe take a second job, who knows what else - but defending your rights and what you believe in is never an easy job - if it were, far fewer people would have died throughout history defending those ideals...
Of course, I have since gained it all back, but it did work, and I wouldn't doubt that it would work again...
First off, I lowered my fat and carb intake - it is tough, to find foods that have low fat and low carbs (for instance, many times when you see a "low fat" food, look on the back, and see how many carbs there are - bet there are tons in many foods - but the sugar will quickly turn to fat, so you want low carbs as well). I wanted foods that tasted good, were easy to make, and were cheap - not an easy thing to do. Most of the stuff I did tended to be homemade - what little I could find pre-made tended to be vegetarian in nature, and expensive (comparitively).
Walk - or do some exercise. I walked about a mile each day after work, not quickly, no power walking - just normal walking.
Cut out soda - I started drinking a lot of water, and also flavored water, that used artificial sweeteners (instead of sugar - no carbs)...
Need potatoe chips? Lays makes a brand of potatoe chips that are cooked with olestra, rather than vegetable oil - much lower fat, and they taste great (but be easy on them - olestra is a "fake" fat, and your body with flush it out via number 2, if you get what I mean, and can be nasty if you eats too many).
Finally, don't deprive yourself - at the end of the "week" on a Friday or Saturday, I would go to Jack in the Box and have a burger or chicken sandwitch, coke, fries, as a "treat" - then it was back to the regemin for another week.
I did this for about a month and a half - the first month I lost 20 lbs, then plateaued. What happened to knock me off the diet was not walking anymore. It wasn't because I got lazy, it was summer came around in Phoenix, temperatures soared above 100 in the evening, and I would be damned if I went out into that crap.
But now I am thinking about trying it again, and maybe do something different for exercize in the summer months - I really need to get rid of this weight myself (as I too am an aging geek, approaching 30 - want to live to see 60 and beyond, certainly)...
...know why broadband providers (mostly cable, from what I understand) don't want anyone running servers?
The provide you with bandwidth - most of the time an ungodly amount "down", and a piddly 128/256 up (256 if you are real lucky on cable). Anyhow, even this paltry amount up would be good enough for basic server tasks, things that would be nice from a personal standpoint (in my case, I want to set up a bookmark list serving system for my personal use).
However, they won't allow it by their AUP! Why? Why is it like this? What is the difference between a server, and me actually sitting there, and for whatever manner, actually using up the full "up" bandwidth? I mean, I know physically it can't be done, not without some automatic process (which is a no-no, because it looks like a server) - but say it could be done. Why not just say you can have unlimited down, but only 14.4K up, because we only need it for mouse clicks anyhow?
I can understand the broadband providers not wanting people to set up warez/pr0n/mp3/you-name-it-quasi-legal/illegal wares site - but what about those of us who want to use it to better our overall access (like my bookmark server example - but it extends to other things like VPN use, etc)?
Don't tell me to go ahead and try it - I have heard that argument before, and also anecdotal stories of "I'm doing it, no probs, go for it!" - I am certain you can do it, just be hush about it, run on a funky "high" port, and don't consume bandwidth, and things will be generally fine.
I just want to know what they are so paranoid about - or why they won't let us pay a little extra to get that functionality (and when I mean a little extra, I mean a little extra - not the TON extra for "business" class service - which is the same a residential, just better phone service, should you need it, and maybe a higher "up" speed, but not enough to justify the insane prices)?
I knew those old lists I was keeping would come in handy some day...
I started BBS'ing in 1986/87, with my first modem, a DC something or other (it was from Radio Shack, 300 baud, no auto answer, just the basics - you basically dialed, waited for the carrier, then hit this red button on top - I still have it, and it still works) hooked up to my CoCo 3, running UltimaTerm.
I noticed that he doesn't have many of the BBS's I visited during that time in the 805 area listed, so I am going to have to dig out some lists (in some cases, I will have to fire up my old CoCo and pray that the disks hold up). There were also a few BBS's in the 602 area he didn't have listed that I am going to have to dig out (one was Smash the State - great message BBS, rumored to have been run off a C=64 on a hacked phone line).
I remember doing a report in highschool for my economics class, where we had to interview a "businessman" of the area (805), and while most of my classmates did friends parents, or people their dads/moms knew - I went out and actually got an interview with one of the founders of Mustang Software - visited the place (was in awe of the setup for the system - at the time, only having a simple CoCo 3 with 128K of memory, and here were rows and rows of machines and phone lines, some answering, connecting), and did a taped interview - I still have the tape, I should MP3 it. Anyhow, got him invited to the school, and he actually came to the class and described his business and how it started from nothing and grew (I only wish I had the postmortem, now). I don't think any of my classmates at the time realized what they had seen...
Anyhow - the list brings back memories, certainly - I have one list I doubt he has much info about, a friend of mine was big into the hacker boards of the 80's, calling long distance on "obtained" phone lines (yeah, he was lucky enough to have the phone junction box for his neighborhood right outside his bedroom window!) to various BBSs across the country, and he would print out these "anarchy" and "boxing" text files for me, which I just loved to devour...
True, but these rely on concussive "shock wave" force to do the damage - I am thinking more on the order of a bomb, that explodes under a ship in a huge "wave" of bubbles, lowering the density of the water to the point where the ship almost instantly drops from sight, and is swallowed by the ocean (if it is even possible)...
The images are stunning - what I found most beautiful about the images is the perspective they put on the time. I have always enjoyed looking at older B/W photographs, but for some reason, for me, most of the people in them don't look happy - I don't know if it is the B/W nature, or if it is the long lengths of time they had to stay still, or if they truely are unhappy, or what - the drearyness just gets to me.
But here, even when it is plain the people have a hard life (like the "riverboat" guy), they still seem like they are more - I don't know - real/alive/(happy?). The quality of this work, even if it has been touched up, is more in the composition and subject selection - but the color brings it all together.
It is a shame we don't have more color work from this era and before - I noticed aside from clothing style, not much seperated those people from me or any other individual.
On a different note...
The Amiga (and later, the Tandy Color Computer 3) had systems for digitizing images using black and white camera systems with filters, then combining the images to produce "full color" images (on the Amiga, via HAM mode, and on the CoCo 3, via a rapid assembler routine coupled to the vertical blank, rapidly showing each image in succession while updating the palette - very tricky work with the GIME chip there!)...
Slashdot Mirror
Something I forgot to think about...
Perhaps we should look to history for a solution to this problem - what happened when telegrams needed to be sent to a city/town that had had the track abandoned leading to the town (and consequently, the telegraph, which was invariably part of the rail system)?
I guess one could argue that without the rail line, the town turned to "dust" and "blew away"...
How did we get where we are now with phones? Is everything going through those fibers next to railroad tracks? What about when it was copper based long distance - same deal (buried copper next to the lines)?
Are there already people who got rid of the abandoned rails, cleared the land, built a sub-division over it all - only now, lurking beneath the surface is a tangle of copper cable carrying (some) phone conversations?
Interesting, indeed...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
These people want to be paid because the fiber was laid alongside of tracks, in ditches - "subsurface" - which is not stated as part of the rights originally sold to the railroad companies by the owners, only "surface" rights.
Had the railroads and telcos thought of this originally, they could have laid the fiber in pipes along the track, or up on poles, or something similar - and been in the clear, legally.
But what constitutes "surface" vs. "subsurface"? Is an inch below the ground on the surface, or the subsurface? A foot? Three feet? Since the railroads laid the tracks, and needed to install telegraph/switching equipment, which meant putting in poles - they had to dig down several feet for those poles - is that "subsurface" use, and thus the owners of the land should be paid for poles put in the ground? Sure, the poles are many feet apart - but what if they were only a couple of feet apart - is that a "subsurface" ditch, or just many "holes"?
These people are just money hungry - the ditches are generally dug in the surface or between the service road for the railway and the track itself - and not very deep, either (2-4 feet, IIRC). If these property owners were smart, they would just do the "fiber to my house" plan in exchange for the new use of the property.
Plus, as a mind exercise, couldn't you just think of the fiber as a high speed mail train, with the packets of information being cars on the train and... Ah, nevermind...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Have more than one computer...
Seriously - this is the cheapest solution you are going to find.
Don't try to do everything with one box, have multiple boxes - set up a file server, with lots of disk space, and maybe two or three CD-ROM drives (or, for fun, get a nice SCSI burner and two or three plextor 6 disk changers).
Then, build a media box - put the TV, MP3, DVD and firewire stuff in it - vid capture, etc. It doesn't need an insane size HD - unless you are doing a fair amount of vid capture, then you will want a local AV drive. Most of the data can be dumped to the file server.
For scanning/printing, set up a scan/print (and perhaps even DP) server.
Network all of this using 100BaseT and a hub (or, if you are real cheap like me, use 10BaseT - but spend the money on the cards for 100BaseT, then later get a fast hub). Hook up a KVM switch (I just got a 6 port Aten Master View off Ebay for $50.00 - so it is possible to do this el-cheapo!) to your monitor/mouse/keyboard - so you don't have scads of KVM around - unless you wish to place things so that you can have this (sometimes it is handy to have multiple monitors and such).
Get older motherboards for your ISA connectivity - and distribute everything else...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
First off, get to a doctor, and go from there.
However...
My experience started last October - I was working on a gocart, and while seated, turned my body to put the steering wheel back in place, and threw my back out - major pain. I couldn't even stand up properly.
What I realized prior to that moment was that there was a ton of warning signs - I would have a stiff back if I sat for long periods in that same position ("Indian-style" - no offence to NAs), etc - that I had ignored.
Well, I went to my doctor, and I was given Ibuprofen - 600mg - 3 a day. That made the pain go away, and I rested for a month - no hard work, etc. But then, I tried to ride the gocart, and fucked my back again. This time, I went back to using the IB, ran out - couldn't get another prescription, so I got some "south-o-the-border" IB, and took that. I ran out again, bought some over the counter 200mg, and took four (up to 800mg) - at one point I got to where I was up all night in pain, taking god-knows how much IB (I know at one point I was doing 1200-1400mg a couple of times a day - still prescript strength, but not for this), and it wasn't doing jack (oh, BTW - the side affect of IB causing constipation is true!).
At that point, not knowing how much I was really taking, wondering about the effects on my liver, and why my back pain wasn't going away, I figured "Fuck it, they ain't working - I don't need them" and I stopped the IB.
In less than two days my pain was majorly reduced - in a week, gone. I haven't tried riding my gocart in months (might go crazy sometime and try it again - who really knows). I get up out of my chair more often, and basically try to keep from being a desk spud. Stretching and exercise help as well.
I am still uncertain whether the IB was actually not working, or whether something else was going on, I don't know - but all I do know is that the pain went away when I stopped taking the meds...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Hard to find nowadays, but I am sure they are still produced somewhere, in some manner:
Parachute Pants!
Actually, I think they are called cargo pants now, but basically they are pants (and I actually have some shorts that are the same way - these are easy to find) that are big and "flowing", with a gazillion pockets (ok, maybe not that many, but I used to have a pair a long time ago, back when they were popular - around the time of break dancing - ouch, really dating myself there - that had 10 pockets)...
AFA the cargo shorts go - I have a couple pair that are long like bermudas, but have six pockets - four up front, two in back. The four up front can hold 2-3 cans of soda at once!!!
I am wondering if the parachute pants were called such because they were big, or if they make certain style cargo pants for parachutists, or something - look into mil-surplus clothing for similar gear - maybe aviator gear/pants - hmm...
Now, getting this past any kind of dress code you may have at your job might be hard...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
There is - it is called VCD.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
When I first heard that there was going to be a "Lone Gunmen" spinoff - I thought "Great! It might be a fun show..." - then I saw the preview trailers, and thought "Gah! They made it a comedy!" - and I didn't bother to watch it.
Five weeks (and episodes) later, my SO brought home a tape she borrowed from a coworker - it had those five episodes on it - and I decided, "well, I will take a look"...
The following week I began archiving the episodes, figuring I would dump them to MPEG at some point - and get the tape from that guy again to dump and make an mpeg of that...
I love the show! It is campy - lot's of "in" jokes (esp in the pilot episode) that ONLY geeks would get. I hated when they brought in that "dumb guy" (Steve? Jeff?), but even he has his purpose, and I am beginning to see it. One of the recent episodes showed that their "base" of operations is a lot larger than x-files ever let on - it is warehouse size, with what seem to be apartments, or at least "sleepover" type rooms for those late nights.
Now it is all going away...figures.
Now I definitely have to get a copy of that tape, just so I can have all the episodes (I was hoping that after the season finali, provided they show it, that there was going to be re-runs, and I could catch the others that way - not a chance, now - and no chance for store tapes or anything).
Damn!
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
...post the following question:
/. readers might like to know more. I especially liked the writeup regarding how the MS Sidewinder 3D Pro communicates (in digital mode) by clocking the data out to the PC via the buttons, and relying on a trigger via the write to the joystick port (which resets the multivibrators in the interface, but also causes a current flow which can be detected - see this (under the question "Is there any way to get any output from joystick port?" for an explanation) to determine when to start clocking the data. I am already getting ideas on how I could apply a similar scheme for various uses...
"How do you read the PC joystick port for joysticks with more than four buttons?"
I then gave it a little thought, and realized it was possible to go up to 15 buttons by interpreting the buttons as four bits (value of 0 meaning "no buttons pressed") - but what about other sticks and controllers where things become even more complex? I had always wondered "Does force feedback and similar sticks use MIDI?"...
I decided to do a little searching (via Google), and came across the motherlode of sites to answer my question:
Tomi Engdahl's Joystick Interfacing FAQ
It honestly covers it all - and I thought other
I hope this helps anyone who may have been wondering about all of that - it seems like PC joystick interfacing and programming is still a very interesting, yet obscure art...
Side note: In all fairness, Tomi Engdahl's site is arguably one the best sites on the net for all electronics related information - visit the link if you don't believe me...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
More precisely, without "glasses".
Back in the mid-late 80's (perhaps earlier?) I remember watching an episode of "That's Incredible", about these two guys (may have been professors?) at a university or college (in California, I believe) who created a form of 3D that didn't require glasses.
In fact, it didn't require both eyes! That's right, you could close one eye while viewing it, and it would still look 3D!
They broadcasted a few video clips of the effect on the episode of "That's Incredible", and it really was amazing. The two dudes who came up with the system said they did it with some kind of "black box" device they had created, that could be inserted between a video source and the display, and it would "make" the image 3D. You could tape the clips, and it woud still look fine if you played them back.
At the time, I was stunned - still am - that such an effect could be produced. I remember that the images were kind of shakey (the inventors of the process admitted this on the broadcast), but not annoyingly so. I remember taping the episode, but I have since lost the tape. I remember trying to play it back, closing one eye - and yes, it all worked! There was depth to the image (this was the one "problem" with it - the depth went "into" the screen, not out of it - so it looked like you were looking through a window - but it was still nice).
Has anybody heard of these men, the episode, what the technique was, what happened to them, how it works, etc? I have seen many strange ways to get 3D - but this one has always taken the cake as the strangest, since it relies on a fundamental brain process to trick the brain into seeing 3D (even with one eye!!!)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I have known it couldn't be all Bernoulli, and that it had to be mostly angle of attack - why?
I am sure some of you have played with paper airplanes, as well as balsa gliders. If not, go out and buy or build one - notice how on the "el-cheapo" balsa gliders the wing is just a flat piece of balsa? Not much of an airfoil - but it does fly! Paper airplanes are even worse - they are typically folded in such a way that they actually have an almost reverse airfoil, with a notch on the upper edge...
Speaking of paper planes - how many of you still play with them? I know I do - over the years I have managed to fold damn near every possibility. I have one design for a stunt plane that I actually have gotten to do both tail slides and flat spins (one time, the plane didn't recover, and hit the ground in a flat spin - amazed me to see that in a paper plane, something most people will never see with a full sized plane and live to tell the tale).
BTW - Does anyone remember the Kline/Folgeman (sp?) wing? This was a wing that had a notch on the bottom - they had an article in Omni Magazine in the 80's about it, with paper planes to cut out and fly. They also had a book - and they built full size flying mock ups (as well as RC models). Supposedly, the wing was impossible (or near impossible) to stall, and could handle very well at low speeds. What ever happened to them?
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
The studios argue that they would never have distributed movies in digital format without the DMCA.
I suppose the studios have never licensed the production, of oh, say - VCDs and CD-I disks - ever?
Both formats have existed for a long, long time prior to the DMCA (and the VCD/MPEG-1 format is still popular and produced in Asia, though I am not sure if it is still licensed legally, or what)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
...this, then think how you can do it dirt cheap:
1. Get a large bounce ball, to use as a mold for the hemispherical screen - stretch white musilin or similar white gauzy material over it, then starch the shit out of it to stiffen it up. You might even try a light white spray paint or similar. Or, put plaster of paris over the whole thing, smooth it out with sandpaper, then get a piece of acrylic soft in the oven, and "drape" it over the mold. Let it cool, cut, shape, then have it lightly sandblasted to "frost" it.
2. Use one of those lightweight folding lounge camping chairs for your "neutral posture" system. You can pick these up for $20.00 at Walmart.
3. Mount Aura Bass Shakers to the chair - you could even strip some out of el-cheapo interactive Aura vests from Ebay. Just remember, you will need an amp for these things - if you use the vests, they already have a matched amp, so use it. But if you buy the shakers seperately, get a cheap 50 watt Pyramid car amp to drive the things.
4. Get a cheap projector and hook it up to project onto the hood, mounted to the chair. I have a Fujix P401, that I got cheap ($250), you can find them sometime on Ebay - you might have to build your own projector from an LCD TV and slide projector system to keep the cost below $500. You will also need a VGA->TV converter (or TV output on the video card) to hook up to the projector, unless you get lucky and your projecter has VGA or RGB inputs.
5. Hook up the bass shakers to amp and PC, hook the projector to the PC, split the sound output to some headphones, sit down, and fire up Fisheye Quake!
It can be done cheap - in fact, the Flostation site used to have pictures of the original prototype system - the projector was propped up on a board placed between two ladders! So, it can be done cheap, cheap, cheap!!!
If you wanted a system on which you could "stand" in front of, or sit down in front of, try building a curved frame from wood/plywood (look up info on solar cooking to find out how to easily make parbolic mirrors, so you can get the parabola shape), and stretch a white shower curtain across it for the front/back projection screen, or, if you are doing front projection only, use a white pull-down shade for the material...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
"some people have mentioned using PanQuake to render onto hemispherical screen"
Actually, I wrote this guy when he released "Fisheye Quake", in asking whether it would work for such a system, like the Flostation - man, I want one of those baaad...
Actually, last night I got back my "el cheapo" Fujix P401 from Fuji (had to send it in to get it repaired) - anyhow, it works great (for the POS it is - but it was cheap enough, a video projector the size of a VHS tape, for $250!!!), and I have a VGA->TV converter, all I need now is to build the hemispherical hood, place it over me on one of those camp lounge chairs - cooool...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
"One of the things we have not yet understood is the power and potential rascality of the Internet," said Spanish professor Gies, a former faculty senate president. "I don't think we've trained students yet about what is fair and not fair."
WTF?!
You mean to tell me that these individuals have gone through grade school, gone through middle school, gone through high school, and now are adults in a university, and yet they still don't know the difference between what is right and what is wrong? Betweeen what is accepted and what is forbidden?
I don't have a university diploma/degree - but I damn well know and learned how to write a paper in high school, what was considered right and wrong, what was plagiarism and what was quoting a source, footnotes and a bibliography. You know, it is all part of the "standing on the shoulders of giants" (Newton) thing!
Those that have stooped to this level should be expelled: They have demonstrated a lack of disregard and respect for thier fellow man. They are still children, not worthy of attending university, nor a degree.
I can't see any justification - especially for the class in which it occurred. I understand that it is a common thing in all classes, but in this class - damn! - can you say bone-head physics? Not that it wouldn't be educational (heck, it sounds like a fun class, actually), but with that kind of class one should be able to easily describe the physics and such of common devices, off the top of thier head, with few if any references (now, of course, getting it to 1500 words could be a chore, but just have a few cited examples - key word "cited")...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Here are your requirements/what you got:
1. Text-based POS system
2. Written in PowerBasic
3. Want a free version under Linux
You say you want to redo it in C - are you sure? Do you have anything to gain by porting it? Perhaps speed - but does it need it? Maybe a re-write - but does it need it?
It doesn't sound like you will gain much, other than a learning experience. I would say if you are going to have to rewrite it, and you want to make it free, you might as well go all out, and do it in style:
Perl/PHP and Apache, with some MySQL or similar free DB on the backend (if needed). You could even provide a web interface if needed.
If not this, why not just leave it as BASIC code? Download a copy of XBasic, and compile - a little will have to be changed (if you use any inline assembler, that might need tweaking), but not as much as doing a complete rewrite in another language...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Work on VR (actually, today it is termed Virtual Environments, and even that term is dropping out - use whatever is convenient) still continues. In fact, the majority and best work on it you already mentioned, kinda obliquely: 3D games (like QA3 and like).
There are a few people doing homebrew VR (see my site link), and others doing projects for military and commercial use.
I think what happenned is it got hyped too fast, too soon, before there was equipment to really do what people wanted to do on a cheap enough scale. Today, it is a lot easier for a homebrewer to get started (a lot of the equipment still has to be built - though a portion can be bought used), 3D engines that would have popped my eyes out in 1994 are free and fast, computers are powerful and cheap.
The other issue is applications - so far for most people that has been games, but fully immersive games even died out, at least in the US for the most part (W Industries was the leader - they still exist, actually - changed to Virtuality, Inc - now known as CyberVision Entertainment - still UK based, and release new products quite often, for those that can afford them). Don't know why (prices? liability issues? too much exercise?)...
In short, development still continues, but it is done very "under the radar", at least the work that is geared toward the whole "goggles and gloves" type full-immersion...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Few things terrified me as much as installing a new ceiling fan for my wife.
Respect electricity, and you won't have problems:
1. Turn the power off at the breaker and the switch.
2. Before touching bare wires, test them with a voltmeter or other tester.
3. If you can do it (and especially when working around high voltage), place one hand in your pocket when working - don't let a path be across the heart.
4. If this isn't possible, and you are only working with low voltage, wear a pair of dishwashing gloves, one size smaller than normal (to still have good "feel").
Typically, if you do 1 and 2, you will be pretty safe. Do number 3 if you are paranoid, or working with high voltage projects (ie, Tesla coils and such). Do number 4 if you want to be perfectly safe (however, only do number 4 if you are _not_ working on high voltage projects - dishwasher gloves will not help).
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
The obvious reason is bandwidth.
But that's the thing - they cap the bandwidth, so you can't use more than your allowed amount, yet when you do use it, in the only way possible (via a server app or vpn), they don't like it - it is against the rules of the AUP. Actually, there is one way, what if you set up automatic FTP upload of a file (say a large file that changes on your client system every day) to your web site - say it is 50 meg, and you upload it several times an hour. Say you are at home when this happens - now, what is the difference between a) you doing this by hand - ie PUT largefile.exe, b) doing it via a script, c) a client pulling it from your FTP server? Absolutely none! Except in two cases it is automated - automation is BAAAD!!!
Security - just because you say you're an honest knowledgeable system adminstrator doesn't mean that you are.
Good point - but a counterpoint can be made that if you hand over $BIGNUM dollars, suddenly you can be trusted to run a server? What kind of logic is that? I agree that it is possible to hose a system with misconfigured servers, and that IP problems can crop up depending on what is being hosted (or other legal issues). But why, if these same people pay the money to do this, does it suddenly become "OK"? Please note that I am not saying that you shouldn't pay more - I can see where it might cost more support and legal-wise to allow it - but I cannot see the huge rampup in price:
@Home - Free install in most cases, $40.00/month
@Work - Big $$$ install, approx $100/month
They will even charge this install rate after you have @Home - even though nothing else changes!!! You already have the line, the modem, and the software, they just have to edit a file on their side to uncap you a bit, and give you a new contract, maybe assign some IPs - and this cost how much? No thank you! I don't have much problem with the per month charge though (though I do think it is a bit high - but really not that much, considering everything)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Don't ever say you can't afford it: I know it is possible, and yes, you will go into debt, but it can be done. Case in point:
Three years ago my friend started a protracted court battle, over all things, the rights regarding an easement to get to a house he bought. The case was long and complicated, and basically boiled down to one asshole thinking he could change the rules, and with enough money, overcome my friend.
Now, my friend is a truck driver - not rich by any means, but one of the best individuals you could ever know. He would truely give you the shirt off his back - both figuratively, and literally. I have seen him do things and help people, strangers even, just because it was the right thing to do. Anyhow - he didn't have a lot of money, but he knew he wasn't going to let this guy cave him in over a simple road (because that is what it boiled down to - a road to the top of the mountain upon which the house sits).
He went into debt - HUGE DEBT. He had the family supporting him, in every way - food, friendship, housing (he has lived under his mother-in-law's house, in the basement apartment, for those years), even money in those times when we could get him to take a little (he is very proud, and will not take handouts - ya gotta sneak em in). He worked every day, and weekends (still does, gotta pay the lawyers), sometime pulling 24 hour shifts for a couple of days - most of the time working 12-16 hour days. Sometimes I would ride with him - to talk to him, keep him awake on the weekends, tell him something to keep his spirits up.
In the end, he is coming out of it winning - he has spent a lot of money, but his hard work and perseverence has paid off, and he will have a very nice house to retire in, indeed. He deserves it, more than I can ever convey.
So, it is possible - if you think you are right, you should pursue it. You may have to work yourself to death, maybe take a second job, who knows what else - but defending your rights and what you believe in is never an easy job - if it were, far fewer people would have died throughout history defending those ideals...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Of course, I have since gained it all back, but it did work, and I wouldn't doubt that it would work again...
First off, I lowered my fat and carb intake - it is tough, to find foods that have low fat and low carbs (for instance, many times when you see a "low fat" food, look on the back, and see how many carbs there are - bet there are tons in many foods - but the sugar will quickly turn to fat, so you want low carbs as well). I wanted foods that tasted good, were easy to make, and were cheap - not an easy thing to do. Most of the stuff I did tended to be homemade - what little I could find pre-made tended to be vegetarian in nature, and expensive (comparitively).
Walk - or do some exercise. I walked about a mile each day after work, not quickly, no power walking - just normal walking.
Cut out soda - I started drinking a lot of water, and also flavored water, that used artificial sweeteners (instead of sugar - no carbs)...
Need potatoe chips? Lays makes a brand of potatoe chips that are cooked with olestra, rather than vegetable oil - much lower fat, and they taste great (but be easy on them - olestra is a "fake" fat, and your body with flush it out via number 2, if you get what I mean, and can be nasty if you eats too many).
Finally, don't deprive yourself - at the end of the "week" on a Friday or Saturday, I would go to Jack in the Box and have a burger or chicken sandwitch, coke, fries, as a "treat" - then it was back to the regemin for another week.
I did this for about a month and a half - the first month I lost 20 lbs, then plateaued. What happened to knock me off the diet was not walking anymore. It wasn't because I got lazy, it was summer came around in Phoenix, temperatures soared above 100 in the evening, and I would be damned if I went out into that crap.
But now I am thinking about trying it again, and maybe do something different for exercize in the summer months - I really need to get rid of this weight myself (as I too am an aging geek, approaching 30 - want to live to see 60 and beyond, certainly)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
...know why broadband providers (mostly cable, from what I understand) don't want anyone running servers?
The provide you with bandwidth - most of the time an ungodly amount "down", and a piddly 128/256 up (256 if you are real lucky on cable). Anyhow, even this paltry amount up would be good enough for basic server tasks, things that would be nice from a personal standpoint (in my case, I want to set up a bookmark list serving system for my personal use).
However, they won't allow it by their AUP! Why? Why is it like this? What is the difference between a server, and me actually sitting there, and for whatever manner, actually using up the full "up" bandwidth? I mean, I know physically it can't be done, not without some automatic process (which is a no-no, because it looks like a server) - but say it could be done. Why not just say you can have unlimited down, but only 14.4K up, because we only need it for mouse clicks anyhow?
I can understand the broadband providers not wanting people to set up warez/pr0n/mp3/you-name-it-quasi-legal/illegal wares site - but what about those of us who want to use it to better our overall access (like my bookmark server example - but it extends to other things like VPN use, etc)?
Don't tell me to go ahead and try it - I have heard that argument before, and also anecdotal stories of "I'm doing it, no probs, go for it!" - I am certain you can do it, just be hush about it, run on a funky "high" port, and don't consume bandwidth, and things will be generally fine.
I just want to know what they are so paranoid about - or why they won't let us pay a little extra to get that functionality (and when I mean a little extra, I mean a little extra - not the TON extra for "business" class service - which is the same a residential, just better phone service, should you need it, and maybe a higher "up" speed, but not enough to justify the insane prices)?
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I knew those old lists I was keeping would come in handy some day...
I started BBS'ing in 1986/87, with my first modem, a DC something or other (it was from Radio Shack, 300 baud, no auto answer, just the basics - you basically dialed, waited for the carrier, then hit this red button on top - I still have it, and it still works) hooked up to my CoCo 3, running UltimaTerm.
I noticed that he doesn't have many of the BBS's I visited during that time in the 805 area listed, so I am going to have to dig out some lists (in some cases, I will have to fire up my old CoCo and pray that the disks hold up). There were also a few BBS's in the 602 area he didn't have listed that I am going to have to dig out (one was Smash the State - great message BBS, rumored to have been run off a C=64 on a hacked phone line).
I remember doing a report in highschool for my economics class, where we had to interview a "businessman" of the area (805), and while most of my classmates did friends parents, or people their dads/moms knew - I went out and actually got an interview with one of the founders of Mustang Software - visited the place (was in awe of the setup for the system - at the time, only having a simple CoCo 3 with 128K of memory, and here were rows and rows of machines and phone lines, some answering, connecting), and did a taped interview - I still have the tape, I should MP3 it. Anyhow, got him invited to the school, and he actually came to the class and described his business and how it started from nothing and grew (I only wish I had the postmortem, now). I don't think any of my classmates at the time realized what they had seen...
Anyhow - the list brings back memories, certainly - I have one list I doubt he has much info about, a friend of mine was big into the hacker boards of the 80's, calling long distance on "obtained" phone lines (yeah, he was lucky enough to have the phone junction box for his neighborhood right outside his bedroom window!) to various BBSs across the country, and he would print out these "anarchy" and "boxing" text files for me, which I just loved to devour...
[maudelin music in the background]
Memories...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I know it was mentioned on the older article:
This guy would do well to look over this web page, and understand why rockets are inverted, rather than hanging, pendulums.
If he continues with his current plan, about all he'll end up doing is making a nice crater in the lake bed...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
True, but these rely on concussive "shock wave" force to do the damage - I am thinking more on the order of a bomb, that explodes under a ship in a huge "wave" of bubbles, lowering the density of the water to the point where the ship almost instantly drops from sight, and is swallowed by the ocean (if it is even possible)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
...wonderful!
The images are stunning - what I found most beautiful about the images is the perspective they put on the time. I have always enjoyed looking at older B/W photographs, but for some reason, for me, most of the people in them don't look happy - I don't know if it is the B/W nature, or if it is the long lengths of time they had to stay still, or if they truely are unhappy, or what - the drearyness just gets to me.
But here, even when it is plain the people have a hard life (like the "riverboat" guy), they still seem like they are more - I don't know - real/alive/(happy?). The quality of this work, even if it has been touched up, is more in the composition and subject selection - but the color brings it all together.
It is a shame we don't have more color work from this era and before - I noticed aside from clothing style, not much seperated those people from me or any other individual.
On a different note...
The Amiga (and later, the Tandy Color Computer 3) had systems for digitizing images using black and white camera systems with filters, then combining the images to produce "full color" images (on the Amiga, via HAM mode, and on the CoCo 3, via a rapid assembler routine coupled to the vertical blank, rapidly showing each image in succession while updating the palette - very tricky work with the GIME chip there!)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!