The VW TDI is indeed a good engine. My family has 2 New Beetles here, both powered by TDIs. (BTW, the acronym stands for Turbocharged Direct Injection.) People are often surprised when I mention that the car has a turbo-diesel engine in it, with one person going so far as to say there was something wrong with my Bug because it was idling too loud. It's really all worth it, since I can make it from here to LA and back (~600 miles) without having to stop for fuel. The torque curve is also beneficial as well, for putting small dents in the self-esteem of a number of street racers. Interestingly enough, I saw a VW ad the other day marketing the Golf TDI as a performance vehicle, showing one about to get stopped by a highway patrol officer. Maybe they intend to take advantage of the engine's performance potential?
In Europe, VW has a Lupo prototype made from lightweight materials that can do 130 MPG without a hybrid powerplant. I can't find a link offhand, but I believe I read that in Automobile magazine. With advances like these, I think these engines are a major force in the future of internal-combustion technology. (Interestingly enough, the state of California was offering tax breaks for people who bought TDIs, since they were considered a low-emissions vehicle. This was until VW stopped shipping TDIs into CA and NY state in 1999 due to more stringent environmental restrictions. Local dealerships have only begun to receive TDIs again in the past year or so...)
The guy's name was John Muir, IIRC. He died a few years back, but the book is continually reprinted. I believe I have a copy of the 25th anniversary edition somewhere around here, and it's on something like its 20th revision/printing.
BTW, if anyone ever offers you an old VW and you don't want it, send them my way. I can always use more additions to my collection/parts heap.:)
I got SimCity 3000 for Mac when it first came out, and it was slow even on a (at that time) state of the art iMac. Unfortunately, there weren't all that many gameplay improvements, and in some places the game was actually degraded, or so I thought. SC4 looks to be much better. I just can't wait to guide a rampaging fleet of UFOs through my city while they perform a little free-of-charge demolition.
In the picture, Langly is wearing the exact same shirt that he was wearing in the episode where they died. Of course, it's very possible that he just doesn't wash his clothes all that often, especially after being "dead" for a while.
First of all, I'd like to preface this moment of full-out mainstream sci-fi geekiness by saying this: Anybody who replies by saying I have no life will promptly be ignored. Thank God (or higher power of your choice) I don't live like you.
Anyway, at the end after Frohike pulls the fire alarm and they're all standing there with their hands against the glass talking to Jimmy, it really reminded me of the end of Star Trek II. I couldn't help but think of Kirk and Spock staring at each other across the glass as Spock faces his death. Of course, there are probably a number of similar scenes on film and in plays, but that one stuck out in my mind. The reference may or may not be intentional, but I also couldn't help but think that Scully has attended a premature funeral before. However, it's highly unlikely that they'll bring these guys back since these last five episodes are supposed to be all about tying up the myriad loose ends the scriptwriters left. As I said in my other comment, they've killed most of the good characters (Deep Throat, CSM, Krycek, and now TLG) and these last 4 episodes had better be really good.
I don't really mind the spoilage (I'm psycho like that), but the last 4 episodes had better be good to make up for this. They're killing all the cool characters...
Is it possible that most of the big distros like RH and Mandrake will compile this into their prerolled kernels? It's probably gonna be a while before the distros sold at retail outlets start using 2.5 (RH and Mandrake are still using kernels earlier than 2.4.10 due to the VM system), but would there be enough of an advantage in desktop responsivness for them to use this by default?
Is it possible right now to use an external 1394 CD-RW with Linux and cdrecord? IIRC, the cdrecord docs say it will send SCSI commands over FireWire, but the FireWire config options in the kernel don't have SCSI emulation support like the IDE config. Plus, my CD-RW is an IDE drive in an FW case (as are most other drives). How can this be accomplished?
DirecTV's program guide shows that CN is still airing 2 episodes of Cowboy Bebop tonight at the usual time (midnight EST). I didn't expect it to be canceled, since they showed last week's episodes again on Thursday, after the attacks occured. I heard that Mobile Suit Gundam was dropped because of low ratings, not because it was excessively violent. Besides, like other people are saying, if they're dropping violent shows, why aren't they getting rid of Dragonball Z and Outlaw Star? Those two are aimed at children, while CB isn't. (However, DBZ is Cartoon Network's biggest ratings grabber, sooo...)
...or maybe not. I started watching X-Files reruns on FX a couple of years ago and was hooked. The characters were good, and there was a rather consistent, interesting plotline. However, this last season pretty much destroyed the show. The beginning of the season showed some hope, but it went downhill quick. I actually found myself hoping Krycek would kill Mulder in the season finale, because it would be ORIGINAL and SURPRISING for a change. However, most of the 8th season episodes lacked those qualities. Next season, the show may have a chance for redemption with Doggett. At the same time, it seems to me that Scully's character will be pretty much redundant. The X-files were turned over to Doggett and Reyes, and Scully has a child to worry about, so what will she be there for? They could make it interesting if the death of Doggett's son was somehow linked to Smoking Man and the gigantic conspiracy that propelled the show forward for so long.
But wait. Smoking Man is dead along with (almost) everyone else behind the conspiracy. Oh well. Mulder proved that death means nothing on this show.
Guess we have another Star Trek on our hands...
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The VW TDI is indeed a good engine. My family has 2 New Beetles here, both powered by TDIs. (BTW, the acronym stands for Turbocharged Direct Injection.) People are often surprised when I mention that the car has a turbo-diesel engine in it, with one person going so far as to say there was something wrong with my Bug because it was idling too loud. It's really all worth it, since I can make it from here to LA and back (~600 miles) without having to stop for fuel. The torque curve is also beneficial as well, for putting small dents in the self-esteem of a number of street racers. Interestingly enough, I saw a VW ad the other day marketing the Golf TDI as a performance vehicle, showing one about to get stopped by a highway patrol officer. Maybe they intend to take advantage of the engine's performance potential?
In Europe, VW has a Lupo prototype made from lightweight materials that can do 130 MPG without a hybrid powerplant. I can't find a link offhand, but I believe I read that in Automobile magazine. With advances like these, I think these engines are a major force in the future of internal-combustion technology. (Interestingly enough, the state of California was offering tax breaks for people who bought TDIs, since they were considered a low-emissions vehicle. This was until VW stopped shipping TDIs into CA and NY state in 1999 due to more stringent environmental restrictions. Local dealerships have only begun to receive TDIs again in the past year or so...)
The guy's name was John Muir, IIRC. He died a few years back, but the book is continually reprinted. I believe I have a copy of the 25th anniversary edition somewhere around here, and it's on something like its 20th revision/printing.
:)
BTW, if anyone ever offers you an old VW and you don't want it, send them my way. I can always use more additions to my collection/parts heap.
I got SimCity 3000 for Mac when it first came out, and it was slow even on a (at that time) state of the art iMac. Unfortunately, there weren't all that many gameplay improvements, and in some places the game was actually degraded, or so I thought. SC4 looks to be much better. I just can't wait to guide a rampaging fleet of UFOs through my city while they perform a little free-of-charge demolition.
In the picture, Langly is wearing the exact same shirt that he was wearing in the episode where they died. Of course, it's very possible that he just doesn't wash his clothes all that often, especially after being "dead" for a while.
First of all, I'd like to preface this moment of full-out mainstream sci-fi geekiness by saying this: Anybody who replies by saying I have no life will promptly be ignored. Thank God (or higher power of your choice) I don't live like you.
Anyway, at the end after Frohike pulls the fire alarm and they're all standing there with their hands against the glass talking to Jimmy, it really reminded me of the end of Star Trek II. I couldn't help but think of Kirk and Spock staring at each other across the glass as Spock faces his death. Of course, there are probably a number of similar scenes on film and in plays, but that one stuck out in my mind. The reference may or may not be intentional, but I also couldn't help but think that Scully has attended a premature funeral before. However, it's highly unlikely that they'll bring these guys back since these last five episodes are supposed to be all about tying up the myriad loose ends the scriptwriters left. As I said in my other comment, they've killed most of the good characters (Deep Throat, CSM, Krycek, and now TLG) and these last 4 episodes had better be really good.
I don't really mind the spoilage (I'm psycho like that), but the last 4 episodes had better be good to make up for this. They're killing all the cool characters...
Other than cussing at it, I decided to try something a little different. I got this...
IStewart12: all your base are belong to us
SmarterChild: What you say!!
It seems to me that there are a large number of bored programmers in the universe.
Is it possible that most of the big distros like RH and Mandrake will compile this into their prerolled kernels? It's probably gonna be a while before the distros sold at retail outlets start using 2.5 (RH and Mandrake are still using kernels earlier than 2.4.10 due to the VM system), but would there be enough of an advantage in desktop responsivness for them to use this by default?
I have an idea to apply for a patent on "all your base" and see if they grant it.
Is it possible right now to use an external 1394 CD-RW with Linux and cdrecord? IIRC, the cdrecord docs say it will send SCSI commands over FireWire, but the FireWire config options in the kernel don't have SCSI emulation support like the IDE config. Plus, my CD-RW is an IDE drive in an FW case (as are most other drives). How can this be accomplished?
DirecTV's program guide shows that CN is still airing 2 episodes of Cowboy Bebop tonight at the usual time (midnight EST). I didn't expect it to be canceled, since they showed last week's episodes again on Thursday, after the attacks occured. I heard that Mobile Suit Gundam was dropped because of low ratings, not because it was excessively violent. Besides, like other people are saying, if they're dropping violent shows, why aren't they getting rid of Dragonball Z and Outlaw Star? Those two are aimed at children, while CB isn't. (However, DBZ is Cartoon Network's biggest ratings grabber, sooo...)
...or maybe not. I started watching X-Files reruns on FX a couple of years ago and was hooked. The characters were good, and there was a rather consistent, interesting plotline. However, this last season pretty much destroyed the show. The beginning of the season showed some hope, but it went downhill quick. I actually found myself hoping Krycek would kill Mulder in the season finale, because it would be ORIGINAL and SURPRISING for a change. However, most of the 8th season episodes lacked those qualities. Next season, the show may have a chance for redemption with Doggett. At the same time, it seems to me that Scully's character will be pretty much redundant. The X-files were turned over to Doggett and Reyes, and Scully has a child to worry about, so what will she be there for? They could make it interesting if the death of Doggett's son was somehow linked to Smoking Man and the gigantic conspiracy that propelled the show forward for so long. But wait. Smoking Man is dead along with (almost) everyone else behind the conspiracy. Oh well. Mulder proved that death means nothing on this show. Guess we have another Star Trek on our hands...