In the UK that's called a "Closed Shop" and it's illegal - one of the more enlightened reforms of the Thatcher era. Unions cope just fine. A good union (especially if the employer's management is moderate to poor) will be able to attract members on its merits.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in the United States. In the US, they are called "Union shops". It is where the companies enter into an agreement with the Union to hire only union employees in return for some sort of benefit. They are quite common in some areas, like Philadelphia. In some cases this can be a form of discrimination, because a union can simply deny membership to someone they don't want employed.
I will never work for a union shop, because I refuse to be forced into doing something that us suppose to be for "my own good" that is completely out of my control. I really wish it were against the law over here.
There are more than a few unions over here that have their own economic interests in mind, using extortion tactics to get their way and pushing companies that are on the verge into bankruptcy.
What is happening at EA is sick and twisted, and it seems like they NEED a union. I just hope that if that is what happens, that it truely is in the name of enlightened self-interest--unlike many unions in the US today.
I'm all for fast cool stuff, and technical gadgetry, but anyone know of any practical uses for this? I mean, wouldn't it run into the same sonic boom issues as the concorde? Perhaps even worse?
Or is this just a method for getting something to go fast enough to put it into orbit without a rocket? (which would be quite useful)
Lets hope that if that scenario turns out to be the case that it puts enough of a dent in disposable battery use to make it environmentally worthwhile. We are at least a few decades away from "hundreds of millions" of these things though.
Honestly, with the right fuel, these devices should operate quite cleanly--otherwise the market for them would be prohibitively small.
While civilian jets are presurized, the air supply is still being refreshed constantly from the air intake on the engines. The air inside of a plane is quite fresh--it's just that it's so dry that it tends to mess with people's noses and make them think otherwise.
Remember, a few decades ago people smoked cigarettes while these planes were in the air. Without proper air circulation, the smoke level in the cabin would have quickly become intolerable.
The use of these turbines to power electronics in an aircraft should have a imperceptible impact on the air quality in the cabin, especially when compared to cigarettes.
I believe that the poster you quoted was referring to the scenerio he quoted:
> The point is that I think your kids won't mind you > occasionally staying late at work (so long as it > doesn't happen frequently/regularly).
As far as I can tell, he was not suggesting that his presence has no impact on his child's development, only that an occasional absence due to workload might not make much of a difference.
You are pretty close about the trojan, but your virus/worm definition is a bit off.
The ONLY difference between a worm and a virus is that a worm actively spreads over a network. A virus needs a human to spread it, either by downloading infected files or swapping disks containing infected files. A worm can spread automaticly, requiring zero (or very little, in the case of viewing your mail) human contact. This is why they are so much more dangerous.
I see no need to confuse the matter with light cones.
A magnetic field fluctuation propagates at the speed of light. Thus a fluctuation of a magnetic field will not immediately affect anything, much less everything. This is locality, and it (theoretically) applies to all the forces.
However, All ferrous objects (and every other object for that matter) cannot go faster than the speed of light. Since the propagation of a magnetic fluctuation is inherently faster than any object could possibly go, it will eventually affect every object, everywhere. Granted, This will take an extremely long time--but it will happen.
...not that anyone a few light-years away from my refrigerator magnets would care...
I always thought that (decent) USB sound device would be better in terms of sound quality, because you get the A/D converter outside of your (electromagneticly) noisy PC. It might also help you avoid ground loops....
I'm really trying not to sound like an ass, but I would highly recommend that you challenge your own assertion that magnets can be used as a source of energy.
Take, for example, this scenerio:
You have one of these mythically efficient 100%+ motors. Since you agree that energy cannot just come from nowhere, you assert that the energy is coming from the magnets themselves.
Say we take this motor and hook it up to a (hypothetical) 99% efficient alternator. We spin up the motor, and then connect the alternator back up to the motor again. Since it is already spinning, the generator is already putting out 100%+ of the power back into the motor. Then disconnect the outside power.
What is this machine going to do? and when you answer this, consider the consequences of it as well. Is it just going to keep running?
If the concepts behind such a machine actually worked, it would be an amazing device. Magnets alone could be used as batteries in a wide range of applications.
There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't know where to start.
The kenetic energy that came from the ball bearing hitting the magnet DID NOT come from the magnet itself. You will use (nearly) the exact same amount of energy to remove the metal ball from the magnet. A magnet can no more be used up in this way than the earth can run out of gravity.
When the metal ball is seperated from the magnet, the energy is stored as potential energy. You can use that potential energy by placing them closer together. However, once they are touching, the potential energy is gone. You can restore the potential energy by seperating the metal ball and the magnet, but you are not getting anything out of it--you are simply converting kinetic energy back into potential energy.
Magnets themselves are not batteries--you cannot store energy in them in the way that you describe.
I was under the impression that the reactor at Chernobyl did more than crack, it all out ruptured in a steam explosion. Given that you seem to be much more familiar with the incident than I, I would like to know more. If you have a link or anything that I can go to to learn more about the specifics of the reactor malfunction, I would appreciate it.
Well... I ended up paying about that much for building my own MythTV-based PVR. But I wouldn't have it any other way... I can play DVDs, rip CDs, watch videos from my pre-existing collection, play video game emulators, etc., all from a single, simple TV interface. Great stuff.
Plus I can hack it to my whims. I am very satisfied with my box. I can't say that other people would feel the same way though... If you aren't the kind of person who enjoys hacking around, then the TiVO is probably the better way to go.
I also run MythTV on my PVR... It is an Asus Pundit with 2 ATi TV-Wonder cards. I can be recording two different TV programs and watching a pre-recorded program all at the same time. Plus, I can run MythTV on my workstation in my office and watch TV as if my workstation had a TV adapter, all over the network. Same goes for the TV recordings. Excellent software, always getting better.
If you are comfortable mucking around Linux, then MythTV is definitely the way to go.
I am not aware of this treaty regarding space debris above a specific size. I'm sure that MIR was larger than Hubble.
I am quite sure that Hubble's fate is not going to be intact and in a museum--the risk involved of retrieving the observatory (both political and physical) is just too great. So I doubt that there will be any mission to retrieve the aging telescope.
While it is unfortunate that all of that money has been wasted, there will (eventually) be another space telescope. But I doubt that Hubble will last anywhere close to 2011 (when it's replacement goes into orbit) without a servicing mission. (which sucks)
I think it's worth noting that anyone attempting to vandalize a transformer has a good chance of becoming a crispy-critter. This could explain why people (for the most part) seem to leave them alone.
Your point still stands though. There is plenty of other much less dangerous electrical equipment that somehow avoids the vandals. (Traffic lights, for example, will phone home of their box is tampered with)
I too am an athiest... And, damnit, it's a christmas tree to me... That's what I've always called it, and that's what I am always going to continue to call it.
What I posted was off the top of my head. I usually consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable guy, but in this case it looks like I was a tad off in some areas.
After reading your post, I did a small amount of research myself. It seems that I have significantly overestimated the inefficiencies of reasonably-priced inverters(apparently upwards of 90%). Whether this means that all ATX DC/DC power supplies will fare worse than a good inverter, I donno. You've researched this, I haven't. I still think it's something worth looking into.
Cool solar setup, BTW. I want to see some pictures from outside.:)
I'm not sure if this will produce better power savings than a decent laptop, but it should save some 30% on power if you are going to use a PC.
I assume that you use solar power to charge up 12v batteries. Running that power through an inverter only for it to eventually get converted back to DC is hugely wasteful for a variety of reasons(A horrible power factor being one of them).
I just googled around, and found this page with a variety of DC/DC PC Power supplies, with a variety of supported voltages.
Now that I think about it, if you have the capability to supply the power supply more than 12 volts(ie: 24 or 48 volts), then that will probably improve your wattage even more(as well as improve your stability if your power is "dirty").
Pair this with a small, power-saving bare-bones PC, and I would imagine you would have a setup that would be comparable in wattage to a laptop. Perhaps even better, considering that you are still using gobs of power from the DC->AC->DC conversion when charging the laptop batteries.
Finding a DC LCD Monitor may be a bit harder, but I'm sure they are out there somewhere. If you are feeling adventurous, you could even modify a monitor for DC...
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Forget my first paragraph. Hell, just ignore that whole post for now. I apparently don't know shit.
http://www.unionreform.com/taft.htm
In the UK that's called a "Closed Shop" and it's illegal - one of the more enlightened reforms of the Thatcher era. Unions cope just fine. A good union (especially if the employer's management is moderate to poor) will be able to attract members on its merits.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in the United States. In the US, they are called "Union shops". It is where the companies enter into an agreement with the Union to hire only union employees in return for some sort of benefit. They are quite common in some areas, like Philadelphia. In some cases this can be a form of discrimination, because a union can simply deny membership to someone they don't want employed.
I will never work for a union shop, because I refuse to be forced into doing something that us suppose to be for "my own good" that is completely out of my control. I really wish it were against the law over here.
There are more than a few unions over here that have their own economic interests in mind, using extortion tactics to get their way and pushing companies that are on the verge into bankruptcy.
What is happening at EA is sick and twisted, and it seems like they NEED a union. I just hope that if that is what happens, that it truely is in the name of enlightened self-interest--unlike many unions in the US today.
I'm all for fast cool stuff, and technical gadgetry, but anyone know of any practical uses for this? I mean, wouldn't it run into the same sonic boom issues as the concorde? Perhaps even worse?
Or is this just a method for getting something to go fast enough to put it into orbit without a rocket? (which would be quite useful)
Lets hope that if that scenario turns out to be the case that it puts enough of a dent in disposable battery use to make it environmentally worthwhile. We are at least a few decades away from "hundreds of millions" of these things though.
Honestly, with the right fuel, these devices should operate quite cleanly--otherwise the market for them would be prohibitively small.
While civilian jets are presurized, the air supply is still being refreshed constantly from the air intake on the engines. The air inside of a plane is quite fresh--it's just that it's so dry that it tends to mess with people's noses and make them think otherwise.
Remember, a few decades ago people smoked cigarettes while these planes were in the air. Without proper air circulation, the smoke level in the cabin would have quickly become intolerable.
The use of these turbines to power electronics in an aircraft should have a imperceptible impact on the air quality in the cabin, especially when compared to cigarettes.
Try. ...
It's not as simple as you make it out to be.
I believe that the poster you quoted was referring to the scenerio he quoted:
> The point is that I think your kids won't mind you
> occasionally staying late at work (so long as it
> doesn't happen frequently/regularly).
As far as I can tell, he was not suggesting that his presence has no impact on his child's development, only that an occasional absence due to workload might not make much of a difference.
While I stand behind my definition, I shoulda hit Wikipedia first.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
You are pretty close about the trojan, but your virus/worm definition is a bit off.
The ONLY difference between a worm and a virus is that a worm actively spreads over a network. A virus needs a human to spread it, either by downloading infected files or swapping disks containing infected files. A worm can spread automaticly, requiring zero (or very little, in the case of viewing your mail) human contact. This is why they are so much more dangerous.
I see no need to confuse the matter with light cones.
...not that anyone a few light-years away from my refrigerator magnets would care...
A magnetic field fluctuation propagates at the speed of light. Thus a fluctuation of a magnetic field will not immediately affect anything, much less everything. This is locality, and it (theoretically) applies to all the forces.
However, All ferrous objects (and every other object for that matter) cannot go faster than the speed of light. Since the propagation of a magnetic fluctuation is inherently faster than any object could possibly go, it will eventually affect every object, everywhere. Granted, This will take an extremely long time--but it will happen.
I always thought that (decent) USB sound device would be better in terms of sound quality, because you get the A/D converter outside of your (electromagneticly) noisy PC. It might also help you avoid ground loops....
Latency might be a problem though...
I'm really trying not to sound like an ass, but I would highly recommend that you challenge your own assertion that magnets can be used as a source of energy.
Take, for example, this scenerio:
You have one of these mythically efficient 100%+ motors. Since you agree that energy cannot just come from nowhere, you assert that the energy is coming from the magnets themselves.
Say we take this motor and hook it up to a (hypothetical) 99% efficient alternator. We spin up the motor, and then connect the alternator back up to the motor again. Since it is already spinning, the generator is already putting out 100%+ of the power back into the motor. Then disconnect the outside power.
What is this machine going to do? and when you answer this, consider the consequences of it as well. Is it just going to keep running?
If the concepts behind such a machine actually worked, it would be an amazing device. Magnets alone could be used as batteries in a wide range of applications.
For some reason, RTG's come to mind.
His statement in no way contradicts the fact that energy cannot propagate faster than the speed of light.
A magnetic fluctuation travels at the speed of light. Indeed, they are both lumped together into the same category: Electromagnetic forces.
There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't know where to start.
The kenetic energy that came from the ball bearing hitting the magnet DID NOT come from the magnet itself. You will use (nearly) the exact same amount of energy to remove the metal ball from the magnet. A magnet can no more be used up in this way than the earth can run out of gravity.
When the metal ball is seperated from the magnet, the energy is stored as potential energy. You can use that potential energy by placing them closer together. However, once they are touching, the potential energy is gone. You can restore the potential energy by seperating the metal ball and the magnet, but you are not getting anything out of it--you are simply converting kinetic energy back into potential energy.
Magnets themselves are not batteries--you cannot store energy in them in the way that you describe.
I was under the impression that the reactor at Chernobyl did more than crack, it all out ruptured in a steam explosion. Given that you seem to be much more familiar with the incident than I, I would like to know more. If you have a link or anything that I can go to to learn more about the specifics of the reactor malfunction, I would appreciate it.
Why blame the editors?
...Seems to work fine on my box...
Well... I ended up paying about that much for building my own MythTV-based PVR. But I wouldn't have it any other way... I can play DVDs, rip CDs, watch videos from my pre-existing collection, play video game emulators, etc., all from a single, simple TV interface. Great stuff.
Plus I can hack it to my whims. I am very satisfied with my box. I can't say that other people would feel the same way though... If you aren't the kind of person who enjoys hacking around, then the TiVO is probably the better way to go.
I also run MythTV on my PVR... It is an Asus Pundit with 2 ATi TV-Wonder cards. I can be recording two different TV programs and watching a pre-recorded program all at the same time. Plus, I can run MythTV on my workstation in my office and watch TV as if my workstation had a TV adapter, all over the network. Same goes for the TV recordings. Excellent software, always getting better.
If you are comfortable mucking around Linux, then MythTV is definitely the way to go.
I am not aware of this treaty regarding space debris above a specific size. I'm sure that MIR was larger than Hubble.
I am quite sure that Hubble's fate is not going to be intact and in a museum--the risk involved of retrieving the observatory (both political and physical) is just too great. So I doubt that there will be any mission to retrieve the aging telescope.
While it is unfortunate that all of that money has been wasted, there will (eventually) be another space telescope. But I doubt that Hubble will last anywhere close to 2011 (when it's replacement goes into orbit) without a servicing mission. (which sucks)
I think it's worth noting that anyone attempting to vandalize a transformer has a good chance of becoming a crispy-critter. This could explain why people (for the most part) seem to leave them alone.
Your point still stands though. There is plenty of other much less dangerous electrical equipment that somehow avoids the vandals. (Traffic lights, for example, will phone home of their box is tampered with)
I too am an athiest... And, damnit, it's a christmas tree to me... That's what I've always called it, and that's what I am always going to continue to call it.
Holiday tree... Peh...
I'm pretty sure he's referring to a 12-volt DC/DC ATX Power-supply. The power supply you linked to is a 90-250V AC/DC power-supply.
What I posted was off the top of my head. I usually consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable guy, but in this case it looks like I was a tad off in some areas.
:)
After reading your post, I did a small amount of research myself. It seems that I have significantly overestimated the inefficiencies of reasonably-priced inverters(apparently upwards of 90%). Whether this means that all ATX DC/DC power supplies will fare worse than a good inverter, I donno. You've researched this, I haven't. I still think it's something worth looking into.
Cool solar setup, BTW. I want to see some pictures from outside.
I'm not sure if this will produce better power savings than a decent laptop, but it should save some 30% on power if you are going to use a PC.
I assume that you use solar power to charge up 12v batteries. Running that power through an inverter only for it to eventually get converted back to DC is hugely wasteful for a variety of reasons(A horrible power factor being one of them).
I just googled around, and found this page with a variety of DC/DC PC Power supplies, with a variety of supported voltages.
Now that I think about it, if you have the capability to supply the power supply more than 12 volts(ie: 24 or 48 volts), then that will probably improve your wattage even more(as well as improve your stability if your power is "dirty").
Pair this with a small, power-saving bare-bones PC, and I would imagine you would have a setup that would be comparable in wattage to a laptop. Perhaps even better, considering that you are still using gobs of power from the DC->AC->DC conversion when charging the laptop batteries.
Finding a DC LCD Monitor may be a bit harder, but I'm sure they are out there somewhere. If you are feeling adventurous, you could even modify a monitor for DC...