So called "childrens" chemistry and electronics sets are perfectly good for adult too.
I have to wonder whether they're even good for children.
Not long ago, I was inspired to romp thru the Edmund Scientifics catalog for the first time in [grfmbl] years. It was sad. The legal profession has clearly held more than a couple gang-bangs with ES as guest of honor. Chemistry sets without so much as an alcohol burner!? Chemicals (apparently) diluted to near-homeopathic levels!? My kiddie chem set (ca. 1966) included a vial of sodium cyanide - stick THAT in your pipe and...well, maybe that's a bad idea. And that's my point. Elementary chemistry is as much about laboratory safety as anything else, and how can you learn that with equipment & procedures that are about as hazardous as Play-Doh?
I'm with the earlier poster - build up your own lab (Daigger is a decent source of equipment & basic chemicals) and find a couple of good demonstration experiment texts that'll provide entertainment while you learn.
DDB (who may still have that old Heathkit catalog offering a build-it-yourself particle accelerator. *sigh*.)
Your girlfriend's name
on
Gingerbread Mac
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· Score: 2, Funny
By all means NASA should deal with the conspiracy nutz, but in a way that grants them, and their theories, no dignity. Perhaps they could work with the Snopes people to create an "Interplanetary Urban Legends" website. Present the crackpot charges, detail them, explain how they got started if possible, then with gentle affection, wit, and sarcasm, tear them to shreds. Feature Carl Sagan's "baloney detection" essay from The Demon-Haunted World; I suspect Ann Druyan would gladly give permission.
Transforming the theories' inherent silliness into laughter is the best way to get people to see that silliness. ..and, perhaps, to cause them to think a little more critically the next time they're confronted with an "urban legend."
As for the argument that "nothing will convince the crackpots": If the public can be educated to know they are crackpots, who cares?
Save your file. ..MD5 the file. ..[publish the digest]. ..
You beat me to it.:-) This works, but the poster should bear in mind that at some point he may have to convince a judge and jury that it works. Make your lawyer aware that you're doing this, and make sure s/he's familiar enough with the method to be able to validate it in court.
1) For small companies: Do pre-employment background checks and reference checks. Carry employee fidelity bonds, and make sure the co's other insurance is up to snuff. Keep an ear to the ground for the kind of discontent that can turn malevolent.
2) For medium co's: (1), plus have system management processes in place to prevent unauthorized / undocumented mods.
3) For large co's: (1) and (2), plus routine scheduled and unscheduled audits.
4) For all co's: Recognize that achieving 100% security is like achieving 100% lightspeed. You can push the limit as closely as you want and can afford, but you can't reach it.
...you can get back at least your $$$ or exchange for another show. Probably more.
Don't bother with the manager on duty, who probably has just enough authority to wipe his own ass. Write to the VP of operations or customer relations (big mega-chain), or general manager or president (regional / local chain).
The strategy is to make the reader believe that his theaters are about to get a liberal dose of bad PR, which no company in a highly-competitive service industry will risk. The tactic is to exhibit class, wit, and politeness to a fault (Patrick Stewart mode), in the course of making it explicitly clear that the company has done you wrong and owes you big-time for this affront. Subtle digs at the competence, intelligence, ancestry, etc. of staff and management are desirable as long as the aforementioned class, etc. is maintained.
Explain the circumstances in detail. State that the purchase of a theater ticket constitutes a contract (which it does), which is rendered no less valid or binding by their kiosk programmers' inability to distinguish noon from midnight, or by his staff's attempt to turn night into day with a disclaimer scrawled on a piece of cardboard (it probably was.) Mention the BBB, local TV news operations that love consumer-advocacy issues like this, the presence of a half-dozen competing theaters in the area (there usually are), etc. Close out by declaring that, while they have every right to maintain their no-refunds-etc. policy, your policy is to avoid like the plague businesses that rip people off through the biz's own incompetence, and you intend to apply same from this point forward unless reparations are forthcoming.
Oh, and, as an aside (especially if this is a national chain), note that you have already mentioned this incident on one of the Internet's most popular and respected tech forums, and that several hundred thousand avid movie-goers are interested in the outcome.
I suspect you won't have to wait long for an answer. A friend's S.O. wrote such a letter addressing a similar situation (dual literature / psych major; well-qualified to write complaint letters!) and ended up with a dozen passes, a letter of apology from the theater manager, and flowers!
You may or may not get (or want) flowers, but you'll probably be comped pretty well for your trouble. Not to mention the satisfaction of being able to redeem a bunch of freebies to the manager you know (and he probably suspects) was thoroughly bitch-slapped by his bosses at your instigation not long before.
For: Widescreen sets are almost affordable now, and don't have DRMified in/out ports.
Against: Prices are going to tumble in the next few years as the industry ramps up cheap big/flat screen tech; e.g. organic LEDs.
You make the call. I'm hoping for a window of opportunity between the advent of cheap flat-panels and that of mandatory DRM.
3) blowing a vent thruster in the side of a methane-rich asteroid and engineering a collision
...and carry the impact live on pay-per-view. Might even make a profit.
Re:I wonder how much of this is quality . . .
on
Critics Pan Nemesis
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· Score: 1
...and then I ask them "Have you read Asimov, Heinlein, Bear, Benford, Brin, Adams, Niven, Pournelle?". ..Sad. So much more out there.
How true. It's a shame that Hollywood can't seem to find a way to bring SF classics to the screen that preserve the spirit and sense of wonder of the originals. Or even the freakin' plot for that matter. (Yeah, I know, it has happened. ..sort of. But for every arguablesuccess, there are dozens they just plain screw up. ..and a couple that go light-years beyond horrendous.)
As a de gustibus reference point, my concept of print-to-big-screen SF nirvana: Niven & Pournelle's Footfall; screenplay by J. Michael Strazynski; directed by James Cameron; cast TBD. (I keep picturing John Goodman as Harry Reddington, but. ..nah.) 'Twould probably be the first half-billion-$ movie but that's OK, I'd see it five times to compensate.:)
His reason for this is that he doesn't understand pthreads (by his own admission). Hence, he is limiting us to using methods and techniques that he understands.
Is your manager's name Mowgli, perchance? If he really were reasonable about these things, the answer would have been "Set up a couple of benchmarks; we'll beat on them awhile and use the method that yields the best result." And then, if the pthreaded model proved superior, he would study it until he did understand.
DDB (who's had to deal with entirely too many managers whose concept of "appropriate" or "proven" tech == "what I know & am comfortable with")
I don't know anything about contract work, but I don't see why you can't have a written agreement. If it's something that worries you, just have them fedex you a contract, you sign it, save a copy, and send it back.
He can, should, and probably will have a written contract. The problem is, contract or no, if the client is intent on ripping him off he'll be in a situation where he has to pursue legal action overseas, under laws and in courts that frequently aren't enthusiastic about upholding rights of non-citizens. Far better to negotiate a payment schedule that minimizes the chance of being screwed this way.
Third worst: The IT manager with an MBA but no technical skillset (of which entirely too many exist), who meets with the customer, agrees to a raft full of cutting-edge functionality that isn't supported on your five-year-old server, then tells you to "find a way to make it work; I've already promised this to the customer and set the budget."
Dumb question for the physicists out there
on
Tetraneutron Discovered
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· Score: 3, Insightful
[restoring 7-track 150bpi high-school physics backup] Neutrons' function in a nucleus is supposedly to provide strong nuclear force to help counteract the protons' mutual repulsion. Seems to me that, without protons, neutrons should stick together even more readily. So why aren't we finding small (or sometimes not-so-small) clumps of neutrons all over the place?
Even worse, tape drive formats keep changing - and since tape drives are guaranteed to wear out, where are you going to get a working tape drive to restore data 5, 10, 15 years from now?
The same issue applies to hard drives - will anyone be supporting IDE 15 years from now?
Imho DVD-R would be more durable and cost-effective than a bunch of big hot-swappable HDs.
A cover of "Peppermint Twist" recieved from a point near Epsilon Eridani, played on what sounds like oil drums and unlubricated condoms using a 68-tone scale. Great beat and you can dance to it if you have five legs.
How is this different than marketing studies where they have people push buttons based on their like or dislike of a product?
It's different because they're tapping peoples' subconscious reaction to ads, something you can't (reliably) discover with the usual focus-group methods. The advertiser's Holy Grail is the means to persuade people to buy reflexively; i.e., without actually thinking about whether or not they actually need the product. I can understand their interest in neuromarketing.
An aircraft can handle a landing a a downward rate of as high as 10-15 fps easily.
My first solo landing provided experimental proof of this.:) I think a dead fall from a height is much nastier than a stall from the same height. Last month's Private Pilot had a short article on development of CAPS. The Cirrus people dropped an SR20 airframe from 10 feet to simulate touchdown under the chute. Quoting from memory: "The nosegear was shattered, and the mains bent upward to impact the underside of the wings." I've made my share of bad landings, but nothing like that! At any rate, a bent airplane is a small price for getting the occupants down in one piece.
Disabled how? If you lose your engine in a single engine plane, and you have somewhere reasonably flat to land, you're probably better of just making a normal (emergency, dead-stick) landing.
Quote from last month's Private Pilot:
When would it be advisable to fire the CAPS? As the Cirrus instructors told us, that decision is up to the pilot's judgement, but it should be reserved for situations where it is the least hazardous option. In other words, a power-off forced landing into an open field might present less hazard to the aircraft and passengers.
Cirrus claims the "landing" under chute is the equivalent of a 10-foot freefall. I have to wonder whether any plane that takes that kind of impact would be salvagable. Then again, this is the first generation of the technology; future chutes and airframes may well be designed for a gentler & less damaging touchdown. At any rate, I suspect the insurers are more concerned with lawsuits from passengers' & unlucky bystanders' next of kin. Replacing an aircraft is pocket change next to what courts have been awarding crash victims. I wonder what it costs to insure a Cirrus SR20 vs. a Skyhawk or Archer.
Slashdot Mirror
DDB (who sees no need to migrate from the all-plastic 20-oz form factor)
Not long ago, I was inspired to romp thru the Edmund Scientifics catalog for the first time in [grfmbl] years. It was sad. The legal profession has clearly held more than a couple gang-bangs with ES as guest of honor. Chemistry sets without so much as an alcohol burner!? Chemicals (apparently) diluted to near-homeopathic levels!? My kiddie chem set (ca. 1966) included a vial of sodium cyanide - stick THAT in your pipe and...well, maybe that's a bad idea. And that's my point. Elementary chemistry is as much about laboratory safety as anything else, and how can you learn that with equipment & procedures that are about as hazardous as Play-Doh?
I'm with the earlier poster - build up your own lab (Daigger is a decent source of equipment & basic chemicals) and find a couple of good demonstration experiment texts that'll provide entertainment while you learn.
DDB (who may still have that old Heathkit catalog offering a build-it-yourself particle accelerator. *sigh*.)
is Lisa, right?
Transforming the theories' inherent silliness into laughter is the best way to get people to see that silliness. . .and, perhaps, to cause them to think a little more critically the next time they're confronted with an "urban legend."
As for the argument that "nothing will convince the crackpots": If the public can be educated to know they are crackpots, who cares?
DDB (live from the mothership)
This works, but the poster should bear in mind that at some point he may have to convince a judge and jury that it works. Make your lawyer aware that you're doing this, and make sure s/he's familiar enough with the method to be able to validate it in court.
2) For medium co's: (1), plus have system management processes in place to prevent unauthorized / undocumented mods.
3) For large co's: (1) and (2), plus routine scheduled and unscheduled audits.
4) For all co's: Recognize that achieving 100% security is like achieving 100% lightspeed. You can push the limit as closely as you want and can afford, but you can't reach it.
Don't bother with the manager on duty, who probably has just enough authority to wipe his own ass. Write to the VP of operations or customer relations (big mega-chain), or general manager or president (regional / local chain).
The strategy is to make the reader believe that his theaters are about to get a liberal dose of bad PR, which no company in a highly-competitive service industry will risk. The tactic is to exhibit class, wit, and politeness to a fault (Patrick Stewart mode), in the course of making it explicitly clear that the company has done you wrong and owes you big-time for this affront. Subtle digs at the competence, intelligence, ancestry, etc. of staff and management are desirable as long as the aforementioned class, etc. is maintained.
Explain the circumstances in detail. State that the purchase of a theater ticket constitutes a contract (which it does), which is rendered no less valid or binding by their kiosk programmers' inability to distinguish noon from midnight, or by his staff's attempt to turn night into day with a disclaimer scrawled on a piece of cardboard (it probably was.) Mention the BBB, local TV news operations that love consumer-advocacy issues like this, the presence of a half-dozen competing theaters in the area (there usually are), etc. Close out by declaring that, while they have every right to maintain their no-refunds-etc. policy, your policy is to avoid like the plague businesses that rip people off through the biz's own incompetence, and you intend to apply same from this point forward unless reparations are forthcoming.
Oh, and, as an aside (especially if this is a national chain), note that you have already mentioned this incident on one of the Internet's most popular and respected tech forums, and that several hundred thousand avid movie-goers are interested in the outcome.
I suspect you won't have to wait long for an answer. A friend's S.O. wrote such a letter addressing a similar situation (dual literature / psych major; well-qualified to write complaint letters!) and ended up with a dozen passes, a letter of apology from the theater manager, and flowers!
You may or may not get (or want) flowers, but you'll probably be comped pretty well for your trouble. Not to mention the satisfaction of being able to redeem a bunch of freebies to the manager you know (and he probably suspects) was thoroughly bitch-slapped by his bosses at your instigation not long before.
Against: Prices are going to tumble in the next few years as the industry ramps up cheap big/flat screen tech; e.g. organic LEDs.
You make the call. I'm hoping for a window of opportunity between the advent of cheap flat-panels and that of mandatory DRM.
(Yeah, I know, it has happened. .
As a de gustibus reference point, my concept of print-to-big-screen SF nirvana: Niven & Pournelle's Footfall; screenplay by J. Michael Strazynski; directed by James Cameron; cast TBD. (I keep picturing John Goodman as Harry Reddington, but. . .nah.) 'Twould probably be the first half-billion-$ movie but that's OK, I'd see it five times to compensate. :)
DDB (who's had to deal with entirely too many managers whose concept of "appropriate" or "proven" tech == "what I know & am comfortable with")
Payment by major milestone is good practice for any development contract.
Third worst: The IT manager with an MBA but no technical skillset (of which entirely too many exist), who meets with the customer, agrees to a raft full of cutting-edge functionality that isn't supported on your five-year-old server, then tells you to "find a way to make it work; I've already promised this to the customer and set the budget."
[restoring 7-track 150bpi high-school physics backup]
Neutrons' function in a nucleus is supposedly to provide strong nuclear force to help counteract the protons' mutual repulsion. Seems to me that, without protons, neutrons should stick together even more readily.
So why aren't we finding small (or sometimes not-so-small) clumps of neutrons all over the place?
Imho DVD-R would be more durable and cost-effective than a bunch of big hot-swappable HDs.
DDB (using CD-RW and 4mm tape [for now])
A cover of "Peppermint Twist" recieved from a point near Epsilon Eridani, played on what sounds like oil drums and unlubricated condoms using a 68-tone scale. Great beat and you can dance to it if you have five legs.
The world of The Space Merchants draws nearer every day.
DDB
DDB
I think a dead fall from a height is much nastier than a stall from the same height. Last month's Private Pilot had a short article on development of CAPS. The Cirrus people dropped an SR20 airframe from 10 feet to simulate touchdown under the chute. Quoting from memory: "The nosegear was shattered, and the mains bent upward to impact the underside of the wings." I've made my share of bad landings, but nothing like that! At any rate, a bent airplane is a small price for getting the occupants down in one piece.
DDB
At any rate, I suspect the insurers are more concerned with lawsuits from passengers' & unlucky bystanders' next of kin. Replacing an aircraft is pocket change next to what courts have been awarding crash victims. I wonder what it costs to insure a Cirrus SR20 vs. a Skyhawk or Archer.
DDB