The Shakespeare quotes article was humor, not fact. Or maybe wishful thinking...;)
But in any case, Deep Fritz is not clever enough (or blessed with a complex enough *ahem* 'chatter file') to actually use Shakespeare to such great effect... It did not really happen.
Actually, it would not be that difficult to have it speak the lines based on the game play. If the programmers merely took the quotes and spent a bit of time assigning them to categories (e.g., king moves, knight moves, knight taken) as well as some short sequences and an eye to who was winning and by how much. It would be a fairly small table of possibilities and it could select an appropriate line to say.
And whistleing midsummers night dream could just be a WAV.
First, one year a good friend of mine, while attending a party, dressed as a Christmas Tree. He basically wore a green hooded pullover, and wrapped lights from his head all the way down, and added a few ornaments and tinsel... he would walk around the room, from outlet to outlet, plug himself in and talk to people... then move to another outlet. He one top prize.
Second idea... go as a Hollywood Special Effect. Here's how to do this. Obtain an inexpensive color lcd (like a portable color LCD tv, or digital camera viewfinder). Obtain an inexpensive color micro-camera. Take a jean jacket and mount the camera in the back (under the jacket) so that it sees out a small hole out of the back of the jacket. Mount the LCD on the front of the jacket so that you only see the LCD (I'd cut a large hole that is just a bit smaller than the LCD itself). Turn it on. Now... what is behind you will be shown on the LCD - it SHOULD look like you have a gaping hole in your body (think Terminator 2 here).
Third idea... this is actually a pretty standard magic trick (spoiler included). The trick is basically to make it look like you have needles and pins sticking through your body (think horror film, or punk rocker, etc...). It requires large needles and safety pins, a little vegetable oil and rubber cement.
Let's do it on the inner wrist for our first example. Take a large needle and lightly coat it in vegitable oil. Take a bit of rubber cements and brush it in about a 2 inch square area on the inside of your wrist. Wait a few seconds for the rubber cement to begin to get dry. Lay the needle in the middle of the rubber cements and with one finger, push down on the needle and with your other fingers fold your skin OVER the needle so that the rubber cement on either side of the needle, on your skin, stick together. Hold your skin pinced in this way for about a minute. When you release your skin, the rubber cement will form a *new skin* that is over the needle. The effect is that the needle is going through your arm. With the vegi oil, you can actually twist (carefully) the needle and remove it from the hole, that means you can thread it, and reinsert it (really gross). Don't forget ketchup to complete the effect. The same effect can be applied to any *faty* portion of your body where your not too taunt that you can't pinch your skin (e.g, pins in the face etc). I almost made a VP of a company pass out with this one (another VP started dialing 911 to get me emergency help and I had to yell... it's just a joke it's just a joke).
I'm sure that when you helped to shape the early internet that you didn't anticipate current use, or even the explosion of use.
And, I'm sure you find some issues troubling. I would be interested in your views of SPAM. Did you anticipate it? What do you think about it? And do you have any ideas on how it can be managed or controlled (or, better yet, stopped)?
I have been a part of a number of patents while working for various corporations. I would personally suggest against pursuing a patent on your own.
There are so many little getchas in the process, and knowing the langauge and how to dot the i's and cross the t's is extremely important, if you want to have a robust patent.
Additionally, while you can use the patent search systems to see about patents that are issued - patent lawyers have their own mechanisms and can often do a much better job of the process.
Remember, this is about protecting your intellectual property and idea - you don't want to have a mistake or it will possible be thrown out or challenged (which can be very very costly). If you spend a bit more money upfront to get the job done correctly, and then something happens, you have additional fall-back to pursue.
All patent attorneys I have ever dealt with have always told us what they wanted in the way of write-ups, which we provide. Then they came back to us with EXTREMELY DETAILED questions. It's quite extrodinary to see a non-technical person do it - but they do. And I think that's the point... because the patent process is LESS about what your patenting and MORE about making sure it's patented CORRECTLY. So they seek definitions, and they use those definitions to ensure that your unique, and if your not unique, they get you to redefine it until you are. A pretty valuable service if you ask me.
Remember too, it's all about the CLAIMS. And every patent I've ever read are VERY VERY difficult to read and understand. Usually patents take many readings, and pouring over the claims to understand what they mean in relation to each other. I seriously doubt if you have the ability to read the claims in the same way a patent attorney does - since it's in their language, not yours (unless your a lawyer;).
One final thought... because you are the inventor I submit to you that you are too close to your invention to be impartial about what it takes to describe your invention properly so that it is protected. What you would tend to fluff off as not be competiting or infringing, others may differ with you. It should be invaluable to you to have a professional second opinion from someone who knows how to do it.
And don't go for the cheapest one you can find either;)
I'm responding here to a number of reader comments that appear in response to the Lava Cooking question that I posted....
Water boils at 212F (sea level, but I suspect if he's on a volcano, he may be cooking way above sea level).
Just for the record... we are at nearly sea-level when we do this. The Pu'u O'o vent where the lava is currently coming out is at about 3000 ft above sealevel... but the lava pours down the lavatubes towards the ocean where occasionally it breaks out to the surface. It's these surface flows, at sealevel, that we do the cooking in.
For those of you who point out that the pictures on the website don't show us using the gloves we talk about. First, the person with the shovel doesn't need gloves, because he's a few feet from the ultra hot. Second... we can't just use any surface outbreak of lava... it has to be fluid enough and accessable enough, or our bodies, regardless of gloves, won't let us get close enough. Thirdly, it is the person that has to push the hen onto the first blob of lava that should be wearing the gloves - especially when the second blob is poured on top (the gloves we use, btw, can withstand 2000 degrees for 20 seconds of direct contact without breaching... but after 20 or so seconds, it gets very hot very quick - however, we have actually lifted fairly taffy-like flows right off the ground with the gloves - an awe-inspireing trick.
For those of you that commented about wanting to cook in lava when you visit the big island... first, let me point out that it is illegal to do this in the Volcano National Park. However, some of the time the lava is actually outside of park boundries, and near 4-wheel roads on the Puna (Kalapana) side. When that's the case we simply 4-wheel to the lava and can play to our hearts content - no rangers involved and no laws broken. (right now, however, it's totally inside park boundries and has been for about 6 or 7 months - hope it swings back soon, the rangers are no fun:).
Finally... to those of you who answered my original post before Alton responded... I think your right. Lava does lose it's heat quickly. In fact... a surface flow that has stopped forward motion will cool from 2000 degrees to walkable temperature (with boots) in 10 minutes (granted, your boots are smoking, but you can make it over and across). Additionally, I think your supicions on the steam from the leaves and hen are also correct. The inside of the oven probably drops like a rock (pun intended) while the outside is venting... so my pyrometer (which is reading the outside) is probably recording a higher-than-internal temperature. The person who suggested that I rig an internal thermometer had a good idea... but I have to look into the feasibility of doing that without damage to the cords, etc.
Finally, for those of you who actually intend on visiting the lava on the Big Island... I suggest staying at the Dolphin Bay Hotel. The owner, John Alexander, is a lava nut (and the one in the picture on the website cooking in the lava). His hotel is nice, inexpensive, and he has the low-down on all the great lava (and other) things to do on the island. For those of you who still disbelieve that we actually cook on lava, his website shows the pictures of us doing it (www.dolphinbayhotel.com -- click on Kilauea Volcano and then on Cooking In Lava at the top).
And finally to you Alton... while I didn't agree with your answer (and no... we were not taking mushrooms - but would gladly try if your supplying:))... if you ever want to visit the Big Island and the volcano - and try your hand at cooking in lava... look us up. You can get ahold of myself or John by calling the Dolphin Bay Hotel.
Just my.05 cents (if that)
I used to work for GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center). It was wonderful... many years ago.
Anywho... they had *shitloads of unbelievable equipment... ages old... *name that piece of hardware*. We could wander from building to building, and look/view/see the equipment.
Lots were there because they were running projects that took many many years to see results, thus they could not upgrade *in-the-field* because it would stop the project.
Indeed, part of GSFC when I was there was to backup Houston on launches. When they upgraded they built a totally new floor above the existing backup, and on a *grand* day they transfered power, with one big switch, from one floor to the next - why? because they had to. It had to be well tested and well checked before it could be put in live production, yet the existing systems had to be on-line to backup Houston.
It was fantastic walking through the various buildings and rooms... I've seen equipment I've no idea what it did. For example, one room had these rather large, circular platforms with clear plastic or glass domes. Inside the domes where flat plates - think silicon... but BIG.. 1 1/2 ft octogon. Stacked with about 2 inches spacing, about 10 of them. I'd say, looking at the room, some very old old old type of RAM.
In order to read the walls and depth of your record better... I'd suggest using a highly focused laser at a slightly off-perpendicular axis to the record. Three sensitive photodetctors should be able to read depth and both sides fine, and the resulting data should be more useable than other scanning techniques.
Finally, someone did one of these. Great. I had this idea many many many years ago - though slightly different.
In my version fiber optic was carefully woven so that each strands start point was directly opposite it's exit point on all sides of the object.
The device they've generated uses a similar approach but probably works much better because instead of using a passive fiber optic system, it replicates the light. Probably much easier to build and walk in - though undoubtly hotter and power hungry.
If you think about what something like this would look like... it would resemble the alien from the movie Predator. Why? Because of refraction issues. Specifically - in the fabric you will be bringing the light that is behind you, to in front of you, while the light that is flowing around you will pass through more air. The result will be that the refractive index of the reproduced light will be missing about 5 inches of air, thus it will shimmer slightly like a heat wave.
I actually came up with 3 methods of invisibility... here they are:
1) Fiber optic suit, just described.
2) This one is great for holloween... get a tiny tiny color digital camera on a chip, a jean jacket, and a tiny LCD color TV. Put a hole through the back of the jean jacket and mount the camera inside so that it sees out the back of your jacket. Mount the LCD panel on the front of the jacket, preferable behind a similar sized hole you cut in the material so that it hides all but the LCD screen itself... turn it on, and it should look like you have a Terminator 2 style bullet hole going right through your body.
3) Drugs:) In the 60's thorough 80's wonderful experiments were done to determine how the eye sees. Our eyes see by constantly twiching very very quickly. The twitch causes the cells in our eyes to move in and out of what they are looking at. Cells that are looking at edges with contract will thus cycle in and out of contrast and trigger - so we see the edges. Researches took two approaches... first, they placed a red square on a white card and using photosensors, watched the twich of the eyes and moved the red square in sequence with the twitches. This means that the eye could not see the edges since it kept them in the same position with the twitch... the result? The red square immediatly became invisible (the user only saw white) because of over saturation of the cells and no edge visible. The second method was to induce a drug that caused the rapid movement of the eyes to be suppressed... once administered - as long as the head is still your basically blind. An interesting theory on cats (though I don't believe proven yet) is that they don't have the natural twitch and use this for hunting. Sitting very still, anything that moves is instantly very very visible while the rest is virtually invisible. Additional speculation is that purring is a natural mechanism for producing a twitch in the animal as well.
All the posts about how such a move might alienate apple from it's customers and vendors...
There is one use of X86 hardware that would not alienate customers and vendors... embedded systems. Similar to the iPod (but probably more capable... such as iPhones, or iWear etc...) X86 port might make very much sense. The hardware is faster, cheaper and better supported from the chip makers. If programming is not an option from the user/developer view than that will not alienate very many people.
The one thing Apple is king of is packaging and beautiful designs.... closed system owners won't care what processor is under the hood, and it might allow Apple to create systems with more choices (chip wise) and potentially at less cost.
I wonder how they keep problems like a sudden cloud... or worse yet, a roosting pigeon, from suddenly blocking the light.
I'd hate to be *under the knife* when a bird suddenly cuts off my source of light.
I'd also like to be assured, before they put me under, that they can complete the operation while the sun is still up. "I'm sorry sir... but there was this bird... and, well... and then the sun went down... and... well... oh well.".
First... IANATA (I Am Not A Tax Attorney)... but...
I am part owner of a Software / Internet development house. It is headquartered in Indiana and the main office is there... however I am in Hawaii and run the Pacific Rim office.
Being a resident of Hawaii, I must pay Hawaii taxes on my earnings. Also, since Hawaii has a gross corporate tax, the company must pay that tax on any business that I get the company from Hawaii.
I do not believe (though I could be wrong) that I pay taxes to Hawaii on money made by the corporation outside of Hawaii, with the exception of my salary.
I think, however, that this is dependent on state laws of both where you work and where you live (eg., Ohio may, or may not have tax laws governing this, or additional taxes, etc... Hawaii does).
What we did, and what you should probably do, is find an accountant who is knowledgable in both Indiana and Ohio tax law... since they are neighbors, that should be pretty easy to do (especially if you look for accountants that are positioned near the border). For Hawaii / Indiana, it was a bit more difficult and we actually have two accounting firms, one here and one in Indiana who communicate back and forth to figure out what I and the company owe in regards to the various earnings and payments.
Exercise boils down to one thing... ya gotta keep doing it and doing it. That brings in motivation - and I've found that having someone to work out with is the #1 BEST motivator on the planet - because if one of you feels not like working out, the other usually convinces you to do it.
Most people buy equipment and let it rot in the closet. I had done this a number of times in the past myself. However, a year ago I decided I was sick and tired of the situation - and I had been watching Bowflex ads. I did some research on the Bowflex and most magazines and reviews spoke well... so I broke down and bought their least expensive model.
Does it work? YES! When my partner and I started to use the Bowflex... at the most I could press and curl was 15 pounds (per arm) - pretty pathetic. Now I'm up to curling 80 lbs per arm (160 lbs total weight) and rowing 90 lbs per arm. This after about 9 months of use where we use it every other day for about 20 minutes.
My arms have muscles now... and I feel much better and want to keep going. (my partner actually has abs showing now... but I need to lose more weight before mine start to pop out)
The other important thing is to try to get outside and hike/swim etc... as well. Being in Hawaii, this is easy year round, but for those of you in other climates you will have to substitute other activities during the nasty months.
As per bulking up... avoid all the mixes/drinks/drugs that aid you in doing this. Build your muscles the natural way.
Bottom line? The equipment doesn't matter... what DOES matter is that you STICK WITH IT. To do that... get a partner who has the same goals in mind (it doesn't hurt either, if your partner is in better physical condition than you... since it gives you more motiviation to reach their body).
Oh yeah... and put a picture of a big fat man on your fridge:)
As you are probably aware, the diamond market is fixed. Diamonds are not a rare stone and thus, in order to get prices, the price range is fixed according to grade.
Never buy a diamond as an investment. The only exception to this is antique diamonds. The signature of the diamond and any inclusions or flaws it has can point to the mine it came from. Some mines no longer produce diamonds and thus antique diamonds from such places are worth much more, on the collector market.
Another exception to diamonds, and a really beautiful alternative, is to try colored diamonds. Yellow, Red and Blue/BlueGreen diamonds are SPECTACULAR. Super bright and super colorful. Additionally, their rariety is greater thus it puts it out of the normal diamond market and into collector stones (but be prepared to pay alot more).
The basic premise I'm going by here is that, regardless of your love intent etc... you also want the purchase to get more valuable over time (much as your love will grow), as opposed to being a loss as soon as you leave the store.
Another possibility is that you use minimal diamonds, for their sparkle, along with other rarer gemstones. Alexandrite is one of the rarest now (especially color changing alexandrite which shifts from red to green depending on whether your in natural or artifical light). Most of the mines are completely mined out - and the remaining mine only produces smaller and smaller stones, so any alexandrite would probably be a great investment (until, that is, a huge undiscovered alexandrite mine is found). Likewise for tanzanite - which has a horrid series of stories about brutality in the mine industry (though you can say that about all gemstones, including diamonds).
Finally, consider not using stones at all. When I got married we found a metalsmith that took gold and crafted it into mobius strip wedding rings (one-sided one-edged rings)... they were outstanding, and rather comfortable as well. No stones, but certainly one-of-a-kind and chock full of all sorts of hidden meanings (and the two rings together cost a paltry $90 - in the early 80's).
Liar!! I can see you in the picture there, no gloves!!
Actually, the person in the picture is not myself. That is John Alexander, owner of the Dolphin Bay Hotel, and the person who introduced me to cooking in lava (also my hiking partner).
You are right of course, that he does not have the gloves on in that photo. However, the person with the gloves on is myself so that I can hold the hen against the first blob of lava while he drops the second blob on. (you only get to see me in the last picture, where my hand is reaching greedly for a piece of the meat).
We tend to use the gloves only when the surface flow is positioned such that it is too hot to stand to get that close. But that's only because we've hiked in lava flows, done sculptures in lava (we take a kitchen wisk and dip it into the lava to make *art* - you must use the gloves for that)... so we're used to it:)
Also, on the picture link, you will notice that I also have hyperlinks to the gloves that we use.
Isn't there a problem with heavy metals in the lava getting into the food?
We were initially worried about this as well. But when the food is done there are still at least 2 or 3 Ti leaves completely enclosing the hen that have not burned (the rest are pure charcoal at this point).
Actually, we were more worried about small shards of lava glass exploding inwards into the hen, but this doesn't happen as well.
One way we feel pretty confident that the gasses arn't making it into the bird is dues to the fact that the bird tastes correct - with no taste of sulphur, etc... that you would expect.
One explanation MIGHT be that the moisture and steam in the bird forces the gases out, not in (remember, we keep a steam escape hole, since we had one bird blow up on us, not a pretty site... Bird and volcanic glass everywhere:).
Mr Brown. First, thank you for a wonderful television show and an excellant book. I enjoy both continually and look forward to all your new work.
Now... on to, perhaps, one of the more unusual questions you might receive. This question deals directly with how heat affects food.
Specifically... I live on the slopes of an active volcano. One of the things we like to do for fun is cook game hen and pork loins in the hot lava itself. First, let me describe our process, and then our question.
To cook a game hen we first season and then wrap the hen in about 10 Ti (or banana) leaves. These protect the hen from actually burning.
Next we find an active surface breakout of lava. We use a shovel (we also are wearing kevlar gloves that can withstand 2000 degrees of heat) and get a good shovel full of red lava. We place this on the ground a distance from the flow. We then position the Ti-wrapped hen in the middle of the blob of lava and cover it with another shovel full of lava. We try to leave a small opening to the Ti leaves, for steam to escape (or we can potentially have a steam explosion).
Now, the question. The lava is initially at 2000 degrees when we start cooking. After about 15 minutes it has cooled to around 850 degrees (outside of the rock - we read this using an infrared pyrometer). After about 45 minutes the outside is about 450 degrees. At that point we hit the rock with the shovel to open it. Only a few of the Ti leaves will remain uncharred. We remove those and the hen is then very moist and delicious.
How is it possible, using a heat source at 2000 degrees (that granted, gets cooler over time) that it still takes 45 minutes to cook the game hen? We would have thought that the cooking would have been near instantanous - but repeated experiments at various lengths of time reveal that it takes exactly as long in the lava, as in an oven.
If you would like to view pictures of this process... click here.
"Consider the fact that the majority of lawyers in Washington DC work for Microsoft..."
Do you have a citation for this? Considering just how thick DC is with lawyers, I'd be very surprised if this statement were accurate. Microsoft may have many lawyers working for them, but more than the utilities, the military contractors, the pharmaceuticals, the rest of the Fortune 500 combined?
It is hard to find the original article that outlined the specific numbers... but in searching Google I came up with this link which is pretty much what I read before, minus a few numbers. The article is a DOJ (US Department of Justice) article - and it is VERY VERY VERY good at pointing out just how corrupt and just how much control Microsoft asserts on Washington and Washington policies. I think it will at least get my point across that this is a very very corrupt company who stops at nothing to try to control other corporations and even governments.
Unlike Intel, the U.S. Government clearly did have a choice.
Probably not. Consider the fact that the majority of lawyers in Washington DC work for Microsoft - they have a HUGE lobby effect on our government. Combine that with their cash flow - they can pretty much buy whatever vote, or avoid whatever damages in court, they care to. We have seen this over and over again.
In order to effectivly release microsoft's strangle hold on the industry we need to do several things:
Stop handing out patents for software and algorithms. This is simply BAD BAD BAD. I remember when XOR was patented by some sleazy lawyers in the late 80's. The patent was specifically for using XOR to draw anything to any display device, including display memory. The lawyers would then simply go from trade show to trade show and at every booth, they'd ask the developers *Wow, how did you make your cursor do that?*. When the developers proudly stated that they used XOR so that the drawing was nondestructive, BAM, they got slapped with a suit. The lawyers then also said "we will lesson the damages IF you turn in other companies you also know are doing this". The company I was working for at the time (Truevision) had to pony up just to use XOR in their graphic engines. (BTW, that patent is dead now jim).
It's these kind of sleazy tactics that microsoft likes to use as well... case in point... NOW SUDDENLY they think they have a patent on portions of openGL - why? because SGI sold them certain IP rights (which is probably illegal to begin with to something that is open source).
Patents and IP rights on software and algorithms simply don't make sense, and as we have seen over and over again, only result in someone trying to lock the industry and drain money from everyone and everycompany.
Push the government on two fronts... first... we need to outlaw corporate contributions to campaign parties. Think about it... if a congressman, or president elect, receives large sums from a company, you can BET they're gonna be buddies. That should be illegal because it is NOT government for the people... it is government for itself.
Secondly... outlaw, or EXTREMELY CURTAIL lobbies. While lobbies *might* be important, they are too dangerous. There are much better ways for the government to receive information (e.g., hauling up experts in front of congressional hearings, etc). Lobbies are funded by people who DO NOT represent te rest of us. They have self-interests at heart only, and they swing deals with government that do not help the people. This includes MICROSOFT, which has a HUGE lobby effort in DC.
Investigate Microsofts books. With Enron / Worldcom / etal... there is no way in HELL that Microsoft is clean. Consider the fact that they have NEVER paid a dividend to ANY shareholder in their entire history (which I believe, is illegal). Consider that they time and time again use illegal practices to stiffle competition and to strongarm the industry. Let's crack those books open and let's haul BILLY GOATS to jail where he belongs. Perhaps he can teach his fellow inmates (such as Martha Stewart) how to program in Visual Basic.
Do NOT allow a single company (such as Microshit) to dictate government policy. ESPECIALLY on things such as what software to use and security. Who are they to say what is secure and what is not. They have been unable to provide anything secure yet, so why do we expect them to now. Likewise, why should we look to Microsoft for some stupid statement on their new *open source* policy. Again, all lies so they can control the industry and kick the rest of us out. It won't be long folks, before you will have to pony up some serious cash to Microsoft JUST to be able to write your own software and get it published. Governments should be very very afraid of any corporation that wants to control them.
Additionally, why would ANY government (especially foreign ones) in their right mind go with Microsoft. Microsoft is a US company. If I was a foreign government I would DEFINATLY want to have control over the source code so that I could be sure that Redmond isn't reading my sensitive government email. Again... think about it folks. I'm sure the US is RIGHT BEHIND microsoft in pusing their software to other countries - why? cause Bunny Pants Bush would have his ear to classified communications planet wide. I wonder who is REALLY behind the microsoft push into other countires (I can hear the meeting right now... BILLYGOATS: Say Bushie Boy... we can let you eavesdrop on russia, brittan, afganistan, but ONLY if you look the other way, forgive us our wrongs, and help us push our standards on the rest of the world. BUNNYPANTS: Sounds good... say, watch me drive this golf ball).
It's unfortunate, but the giants such as Microsoft have virtually ruined our industry. From their crap software to their crap policies and lies and their holy-bug-ridden-virus-prone *secure* software - it is all crap and they need to be slapped down seriously for trying to fuck with every industry and government out there.
Can this really be a good biometric? First, I would wonder what the differences were say, between twins or triplets? Do their skins reflect the same (e.g., could one twin use the other twins gun)? Likewise for genetic offspring - to what degree are, say, 12 children of the same parents going to have vastly different signatures? Perhaps they do.
It also strikes me odd that they say it would be very difficult to foil. If the device is merely monitoring the response to a flash of light, one would think it would be fairly easy to create a *fuzz buster* (as it were) that sends out a false signal. Or even a *gummy bear* that just absorbs correctly.
Also, if a *living* person is required (e.g., it senses blood flow or something like that) than on would wonder how hard it would be to add a filter over your own skin that would change your index to that of someone else. Or how about injecting your skin with a material that changes your index.... or merely soaking your skin in water until it prunes (does that affect things?).
I can't imagine that this is at all foolproof. And I can cetainly bet that if crimes are committed using a gun that utilizes this technology, sooner or later someone will be framed by faking the technology out.
As other posters have pointed out, quality is dependent on where you happen to be at the moment.
I live in a place that varies from sea level to 13,500 ft in 20 to 40 mile jumps... so reception is very spotty. Of the three carriers here, none could provide coverage for the entire area.
I searched the internet and finally found this 3 watt cell phone booster. It came a week ago. It still doesn't give me full area coverage, but it has helped alot. My cell phone was unuseable at my house, and with the unit I get 4 (out of 5) bars now. Similar results in many other places around here. Driving with two cellphones, one plugged through the unit and one not (same carrier) provided at least 2 to 3 bars better performance on the 3-watt boosted cellphone.
I live near the city deemed to be the most wet in the US (Hilo Hawaii). We get over 150 to 200 inches of rain a year - with horrors like 34 inches in one day.
We are also surrounded by 2,500 miles of ocean in all directions.
So yes... we get more moisture, salt air and humidity than just about any other place in the nation. To top it off, our houses are designed to allow for massive amounts of air flow (we don't use air conditioning in Hawaii because of our wonderful trade winds) so that means our houses are very very open to the elements.
My computer room has windows open on all sides, and the computers sit near the window. So far... not much in failures in the computers themselves. I've had one floppy drive go out due to corrosion... and one hard drive due to corrosion. But the insides of the computers appear corrosion free for the most part. What we HAVE lost is lots and lots and lots of monitors. I was blowing out at least one monitor a year (brand new ones). So after the last one went, I replaced it with LCD and will see how it holds up (I suspect it will hold up very very well, it has so far).
I understand from the local DELL service rep, that houses ON THE OCEAN have a HUGE hard drive failure rate, versus houses a bit off the ocean.
So my take on it is this... first... ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS leave your computers turned on - the internal heat helps prevent moisture inside the case. Component add-ons, and monitors, seem to be the most prone to problems (I chalk this up to them being near the holes in the front of the case, so less exposure to dry heat and more exposure to the elements) - so go as solid state as possible and think about cases/connectors that avoid corrosion (e.g.,plastic/stainless etc). BTW... My MACs (apple) seem to handle the elements a bit better than the PC's. That may have to do with the plastic enclosure and perhaps a bit better design of the internals as far as air flow and heat.
On the good side... I gave a Sparc 1 box to a friend of mine, with monitor, that had not been turned on in 5 years. He powered it up and said... smoke came out of the monitor... but everything came up and the monitor turned on. So it can't be THAT bad:)
It is difficult to ask the question you are asking... because efficient hashing depends totally on the TYPE of data you are hashing. In general, TYPE comes down to issues such as length of data... and what the data can be composed of.
For example, if your data is composed primairly of upper case squences of A T G C (e.g., genetic code) you would tend to have long elements of highly repeatable letters.
If, on the other hand, you were memorizing, say, a binary image for uniqueness (such as in a virus scanner) you would have large files with binary data.
Thus... each data type possible can be *tuned* to be more efficient when hashed, based on what you know of the incoming data. To ask for a *generic* algorithm that works well on all data will automatically result in less efficiency.
The real secret to good hashing is to allow two things... first, allow the algorithm (usually hash length and table size) to be modifyable by the code. Second, allow simple statistics to be kept on collision rate and maximum child length - these two statistics can be calculated very very quickly at the key-add phase of the hashing, and only add a few instructions to the process.
Now... throw a good deal of data at your hash table... all sorts of data that represent the type you EXPECT to get. Tune the hash table algorithm (using the exposed algorithm hooks) until your statistics see a collision of between 2 and 5 for all positions in the table (in general, our hashers, and we use LOTS of hashers, rarely go beyond 3 to 5 children).
The tradeoff is obviously memory (table size) versus efficiency of the hash algorithm.
One of my favorite hash algorithms for trivial hashing (say, hashing of a label or variable name) is simply incremental add and xor. Very quick and usually generates a good spread (this is only for simple hashing).
MORE IMPORTANTLY (to me at least) is how you STORE your hashing and data info. We *always* store the data as a (void *) pointer. By doing so we can store ANY type of element, be it a structure, a function pointer, a pointer to text data, a LONG or a INT or a DOUBLE, doesn't matter, because we always store the POINTER to the data, not the data itself. This is an extremely powerful concept.
One last thought... one of the more interesting things you can do with hash tables is to use them as on-the-fly indexed arrays that can grow to any length. In this case, the hash code becomes the index you want to store in. This is an interesting concept because it means you can create an array that grows in real-time. For example, you can store in hash_array[1] and hash_array[5923] and it will not take 5924 positions, it will only take two positions. And reading the two items only takes 2 instances of the loop, not 5924 instances. The array grows at will, taking only as much memory as what you require. Obviously, for this to work, you are hashing a small structure that contains the real data AND the real index, thus during a collision you then do a compare for the real index down that childs tree. But this is extremely quick and low overhead and solves an infinite array with gusto.
Slashdot Mirror
- For those who don't seem to get it:
Actually, it would not be that difficult to have it speak the lines based on the game play. If the programmers merely took the quotes and spent a bit of time assigning them to categories (e.g., king moves, knight moves, knight taken) as well as some short sequences and an eye to who was winning and by how much. It would be a fairly small table of possibilities and it could select an appropriate line to say.The Shakespeare quotes article was humor, not fact. Or maybe wishful thinking... ;)
But in any case, Deep Fritz is not clever enough (or blessed with a complex enough *ahem* 'chatter file') to actually use Shakespeare to such great effect... It did not really happen.
And whistleing midsummers night dream could just be a WAV.
NURSE: I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do.
OWNER: But my laptop was just fine a few minutes ago? What happened?
NURSE: Your organic batteries have food poisoning.
OWNER: Oh my lord... what can I do!?!?
NURSE: Nothing... he's dead now Jim.
First, one year a good friend of mine, while attending a party, dressed as a Christmas Tree. He basically wore a green hooded pullover, and wrapped lights from his head all the way down, and added a few ornaments and tinsel... he would walk around the room, from outlet to outlet, plug himself in and talk to people... then move to another outlet. He one top prize.
Second idea... go as a Hollywood Special Effect. Here's how to do this. Obtain an inexpensive color lcd (like a portable color LCD tv, or digital camera viewfinder). Obtain an inexpensive color micro-camera. Take a jean jacket and mount the camera in the back (under the jacket) so that it sees out a small hole out of the back of the jacket. Mount the LCD on the front of the jacket so that you only see the LCD (I'd cut a large hole that is just a bit smaller than the LCD itself). Turn it on. Now... what is behind you will be shown on the LCD - it SHOULD look like you have a gaping hole in your body (think Terminator 2 here).
Third idea... this is actually a pretty standard magic trick (spoiler included). The trick is basically to make it look like you have needles and pins sticking through your body (think horror film, or punk rocker, etc...). It requires large needles and safety pins, a little vegetable oil and rubber cement.
Let's do it on the inner wrist for our first example. Take a large needle and lightly coat it in vegitable oil. Take a bit of rubber cements and brush it in about a 2 inch square area on the inside of your wrist. Wait a few seconds for the rubber cement to begin to get dry. Lay the needle in the middle of the rubber cements and with one finger, push down on the needle and with your other fingers fold your skin OVER the needle so that the rubber cement on either side of the needle, on your skin, stick together. Hold your skin pinced in this way for about a minute. When you release your skin, the rubber cement will form a *new skin* that is over the needle. The effect is that the needle is going through your arm. With the vegi oil, you can actually twist (carefully) the needle and remove it from the hole, that means you can thread it, and reinsert it (really gross). Don't forget ketchup to complete the effect. The same effect can be applied to any *faty* portion of your body where your not too taunt that you can't pinch your skin (e.g, pins in the face etc). I almost made a VP of a company pass out with this one (another VP started dialing 911 to get me emergency help and I had to yell... it's just a joke it's just a joke).
And, I'm sure you find some issues troubling. I would be interested in your views of SPAM. Did you anticipate it? What do you think about it? And do you have any ideas on how it can be managed or controlled (or, better yet, stopped)?
I stand corrected :)
There are so many little getchas in the process, and knowing the langauge and how to dot the i's and cross the t's is extremely important, if you want to have a robust patent.
Additionally, while you can use the patent search systems to see about patents that are issued - patent lawyers have their own mechanisms and can often do a much better job of the process.
Remember, this is about protecting your intellectual property and idea - you don't want to have a mistake or it will possible be thrown out or challenged (which can be very very costly). If you spend a bit more money upfront to get the job done correctly, and then something happens, you have additional fall-back to pursue.
All patent attorneys I have ever dealt with have always told us what they wanted in the way of write-ups, which we provide. Then they came back to us with EXTREMELY DETAILED questions. It's quite extrodinary to see a non-technical person do it - but they do. And I think that's the point... because the patent process is LESS about what your patenting and MORE about making sure it's patented CORRECTLY. So they seek definitions, and they use those definitions to ensure that your unique, and if your not unique, they get you to redefine it until you are. A pretty valuable service if you ask me.
Remember too, it's all about the CLAIMS. And every patent I've ever read are VERY VERY difficult to read and understand. Usually patents take many readings, and pouring over the claims to understand what they mean in relation to each other. I seriously doubt if you have the ability to read the claims in the same way a patent attorney does - since it's in their language, not yours (unless your a lawyer ;).
One final thought... because you are the inventor I submit to you that you are too close to your invention to be impartial about what it takes to describe your invention properly so that it is protected. What you would tend to fluff off as not be competiting or infringing, others may differ with you. It should be invaluable to you to have a professional second opinion from someone who knows how to do it.
And don't go for the cheapest one you can find either ;)
Aloha
Water boils at 212F (sea level, but I suspect if he's on a volcano, he may be cooking way above sea level).
Just for the record... we are at nearly sea-level when we do this. The Pu'u O'o vent where the lava is currently coming out is at about 3000 ft above sealevel... but the lava pours down the lavatubes towards the ocean where occasionally it breaks out to the surface. It's these surface flows, at sealevel, that we do the cooking in.
For those of you who point out that the pictures on the website don't show us using the gloves we talk about. First, the person with the shovel doesn't need gloves, because he's a few feet from the ultra hot. Second... we can't just use any surface outbreak of lava... it has to be fluid enough and accessable enough, or our bodies, regardless of gloves, won't let us get close enough. Thirdly, it is the person that has to push the hen onto the first blob of lava that should be wearing the gloves - especially when the second blob is poured on top (the gloves we use, btw, can withstand 2000 degrees for 20 seconds of direct contact without breaching... but after 20 or so seconds, it gets very hot very quick - however, we have actually lifted fairly taffy-like flows right off the ground with the gloves - an awe-inspireing trick.
For those of you that commented about wanting to cook in lava when you visit the big island... first, let me point out that it is illegal to do this in the Volcano National Park. However, some of the time the lava is actually outside of park boundries, and near 4-wheel roads on the Puna (Kalapana) side. When that's the case we simply 4-wheel to the lava and can play to our hearts content - no rangers involved and no laws broken. (right now, however, it's totally inside park boundries and has been for about 6 or 7 months - hope it swings back soon, the rangers are no fun :).
Finally... to those of you who answered my original post before Alton responded... I think your right. Lava does lose it's heat quickly. In fact... a surface flow that has stopped forward motion will cool from 2000 degrees to walkable temperature (with boots) in 10 minutes (granted, your boots are smoking, but you can make it over and across). Additionally, I think your supicions on the steam from the leaves and hen are also correct. The inside of the oven probably drops like a rock (pun intended) while the outside is venting... so my pyrometer (which is reading the outside) is probably recording a higher-than-internal temperature. The person who suggested that I rig an internal thermometer had a good idea... but I have to look into the feasibility of doing that without damage to the cords, etc.
Finally, for those of you who actually intend on visiting the lava on the Big Island... I suggest staying at the Dolphin Bay Hotel. The owner, John Alexander, is a lava nut (and the one in the picture on the website cooking in the lava). His hotel is nice, inexpensive, and he has the low-down on all the great lava (and other) things to do on the island. For those of you who still disbelieve that we actually cook on lava, his website shows the pictures of us doing it (www.dolphinbayhotel.com -- click on Kilauea Volcano and then on Cooking In Lava at the top).
And finally to you Alton... while I didn't agree with your answer (and no... we were not taking mushrooms - but would gladly try if your supplying :))... if you ever want to visit the Big Island and the volcano - and try your hand at cooking in lava... look us up. You can get ahold of myself or John by calling the Dolphin Bay Hotel.
Aloha!!
I used to work for GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center). It was wonderful... many years ago.
Anywho... they had *shitloads of unbelievable equipment... ages old... *name that piece of hardware*. We could wander from building to building, and look/view/see the equipment.
Lots were there because they were running projects that took many many years to see results, thus they could not upgrade *in-the-field* because it would stop the project.
Indeed, part of GSFC when I was there was to backup Houston on launches. When they upgraded they built a totally new floor above the existing backup, and on a *grand* day they transfered power, with one big switch, from one floor to the next - why? because they had to. It had to be well tested and well checked before it could be put in live production, yet the existing systems had to be on-line to backup Houston.
It was fantastic walking through the various buildings and rooms... I've seen equipment I've no idea what it did. For example, one room had these rather large, circular platforms with clear plastic or glass domes. Inside the domes where flat plates - think silicon... but BIG.. 1 1/2 ft octogon. Stacked with about 2 inches spacing, about 10 of them. I'd say, looking at the room, some very old old old type of RAM.
That's the wonder of NASA :)
In my version fiber optic was carefully woven so that each strands start point was directly opposite it's exit point on all sides of the object.
The device they've generated uses a similar approach but probably works much better because instead of using a passive fiber optic system, it replicates the light. Probably much easier to build and walk in - though undoubtly hotter and power hungry.
If you think about what something like this would look like... it would resemble the alien from the movie Predator. Why? Because of refraction issues. Specifically - in the fabric you will be bringing the light that is behind you, to in front of you, while the light that is flowing around you will pass through more air. The result will be that the refractive index of the reproduced light will be missing about 5 inches of air, thus it will shimmer slightly like a heat wave.
I actually came up with 3 methods of invisibility... here they are:
1) Fiber optic suit, just described.
2) This one is great for holloween... get a tiny tiny color digital camera on a chip, a jean jacket, and a tiny LCD color TV. Put a hole through the back of the jean jacket and mount the camera inside so that it sees out the back of your jacket. Mount the LCD panel on the front of the jacket, preferable behind a similar sized hole you cut in the material so that it hides all but the LCD screen itself... turn it on, and it should look like you have a Terminator 2 style bullet hole going right through your body.
3) Drugs :) In the 60's thorough 80's wonderful experiments were done to determine how the eye sees. Our eyes see by constantly twiching very very quickly. The twitch causes the cells in our eyes to move in and out of what they are looking at. Cells that are looking at edges with contract will thus cycle in and out of contrast and trigger - so we see the edges. Researches took two approaches... first, they placed a red square on a white card and using photosensors, watched the twich of the eyes and moved the red square in sequence with the twitches. This means that the eye could not see the edges since it kept them in the same position with the twitch... the result? The red square immediatly became invisible (the user only saw white) because of over saturation of the cells and no edge visible. The second method was to induce a drug that caused the rapid movement of the eyes to be suppressed... once administered - as long as the head is still your basically blind. An interesting theory on cats (though I don't believe proven yet) is that they don't have the natural twitch and use this for hunting. Sitting very still, anything that moves is instantly very very visible while the rest is virtually invisible. Additional speculation is that purring is a natural mechanism for producing a twitch in the animal as well.
Whatever... invisibility is fun ;))
There is one use of X86 hardware that would not alienate customers and vendors... embedded systems. Similar to the iPod (but probably more capable... such as iPhones, or iWear etc...) X86 port might make very much sense. The hardware is faster, cheaper and better supported from the chip makers. If programming is not an option from the user/developer view than that will not alienate very many people.
The one thing Apple is king of is packaging and beautiful designs.... closed system owners won't care what processor is under the hood, and it might allow Apple to create systems with more choices (chip wise) and potentially at less cost.
I'd hate to be *under the knife* when a bird suddenly cuts off my source of light.
I'd also like to be assured, before they put me under, that they can complete the operation while the sun is still up. "I'm sorry sir... but there was this bird... and, well... and then the sun went down... and... well... oh well.".
I am part owner of a Software / Internet development house. It is headquartered in Indiana and the main office is there... however I am in Hawaii and run the Pacific Rim office.
Being a resident of Hawaii, I must pay Hawaii taxes on my earnings. Also, since Hawaii has a gross corporate tax, the company must pay that tax on any business that I get the company from Hawaii.
I do not believe (though I could be wrong) that I pay taxes to Hawaii on money made by the corporation outside of Hawaii, with the exception of my salary.
I think, however, that this is dependent on state laws of both where you work and where you live (eg., Ohio may, or may not have tax laws governing this, or additional taxes, etc... Hawaii does).
What we did, and what you should probably do, is find an accountant who is knowledgable in both Indiana and Ohio tax law... since they are neighbors, that should be pretty easy to do (especially if you look for accountants that are positioned near the border). For Hawaii / Indiana, it was a bit more difficult and we actually have two accounting firms, one here and one in Indiana who communicate back and forth to figure out what I and the company owe in regards to the various earnings and payments.
Most people buy equipment and let it rot in the closet. I had done this a number of times in the past myself. However, a year ago I decided I was sick and tired of the situation - and I had been watching Bowflex ads. I did some research on the Bowflex and most magazines and reviews spoke well... so I broke down and bought their least expensive model.
Does it work? YES! When my partner and I started to use the Bowflex... at the most I could press and curl was 15 pounds (per arm) - pretty pathetic. Now I'm up to curling 80 lbs per arm (160 lbs total weight) and rowing 90 lbs per arm. This after about 9 months of use where we use it every other day for about 20 minutes.
My arms have muscles now... and I feel much better and want to keep going. (my partner actually has abs showing now... but I need to lose more weight before mine start to pop out)
The other important thing is to try to get outside and hike/swim etc... as well. Being in Hawaii, this is easy year round, but for those of you in other climates you will have to substitute other activities during the nasty months.
As per bulking up... avoid all the mixes/drinks/drugs that aid you in doing this. Build your muscles the natural way.
Bottom line? The equipment doesn't matter... what DOES matter is that you STICK WITH IT. To do that... get a partner who has the same goals in mind (it doesn't hurt either, if your partner is in better physical condition than you... since it gives you more motiviation to reach their body).
Oh yeah... and put a picture of a big fat man on your fridge :)
Never buy a diamond as an investment. The only exception to this is antique diamonds. The signature of the diamond and any inclusions or flaws it has can point to the mine it came from. Some mines no longer produce diamonds and thus antique diamonds from such places are worth much more, on the collector market.
Another exception to diamonds, and a really beautiful alternative, is to try colored diamonds. Yellow, Red and Blue/BlueGreen diamonds are SPECTACULAR. Super bright and super colorful. Additionally, their rariety is greater thus it puts it out of the normal diamond market and into collector stones (but be prepared to pay alot more).
The basic premise I'm going by here is that, regardless of your love intent etc... you also want the purchase to get more valuable over time (much as your love will grow), as opposed to being a loss as soon as you leave the store.
Another possibility is that you use minimal diamonds, for their sparkle, along with other rarer gemstones. Alexandrite is one of the rarest now (especially color changing alexandrite which shifts from red to green depending on whether your in natural or artifical light). Most of the mines are completely mined out - and the remaining mine only produces smaller and smaller stones, so any alexandrite would probably be a great investment (until, that is, a huge undiscovered alexandrite mine is found). Likewise for tanzanite - which has a horrid series of stories about brutality in the mine industry (though you can say that about all gemstones, including diamonds).
Finally, consider not using stones at all. When I got married we found a metalsmith that took gold and crafted it into mobius strip wedding rings (one-sided one-edged rings)... they were outstanding, and rather comfortable as well. No stones, but certainly one-of-a-kind and chock full of all sorts of hidden meanings (and the two rings together cost a paltry $90 - in the early 80's).
Actually, the person in the picture is not myself. That is John Alexander, owner of the Dolphin Bay Hotel, and the person who introduced me to cooking in lava (also my hiking partner).
You are right of course, that he does not have the gloves on in that photo. However, the person with the gloves on is myself so that I can hold the hen against the first blob of lava while he drops the second blob on. (you only get to see me in the last picture, where my hand is reaching greedly for a piece of the meat).
We tend to use the gloves only when the surface flow is positioned such that it is too hot to stand to get that close. But that's only because we've hiked in lava flows, done sculptures in lava (we take a kitchen wisk and dip it into the lava to make *art* - you must use the gloves for that)... so we're used to it :)
Also, on the picture link, you will notice that I also have hyperlinks to the gloves that we use.
We were initially worried about this as well. But when the food is done there are still at least 2 or 3 Ti leaves completely enclosing the hen that have not burned (the rest are pure charcoal at this point).
Actually, we were more worried about small shards of lava glass exploding inwards into the hen, but this doesn't happen as well.
One way we feel pretty confident that the gasses arn't making it into the bird is dues to the fact that the bird tastes correct - with no taste of sulphur, etc... that you would expect.
One explanation MIGHT be that the moisture and steam in the bird forces the gases out, not in (remember, we keep a steam escape hole, since we had one bird blow up on us, not a pretty site... Bird and volcanic glass everywhere :).
Aloha
Now... on to, perhaps, one of the more unusual questions you might receive. This question deals directly with how heat affects food.
Specifically... I live on the slopes of an active volcano. One of the things we like to do for fun is cook game hen and pork loins in the hot lava itself. First, let me describe our process, and then our question.
To cook a game hen we first season and then wrap the hen in about 10 Ti (or banana) leaves. These protect the hen from actually burning.
Next we find an active surface breakout of lava. We use a shovel (we also are wearing kevlar gloves that can withstand 2000 degrees of heat) and get a good shovel full of red lava. We place this on the ground a distance from the flow. We then position the Ti-wrapped hen in the middle of the blob of lava and cover it with another shovel full of lava. We try to leave a small opening to the Ti leaves, for steam to escape (or we can potentially have a steam explosion).
Now, the question. The lava is initially at 2000 degrees when we start cooking. After about 15 minutes it has cooled to around 850 degrees (outside of the rock - we read this using an infrared pyrometer). After about 45 minutes the outside is about 450 degrees. At that point we hit the rock with the shovel to open it. Only a few of the Ti leaves will remain uncharred. We remove those and the hen is then very moist and delicious.
How is it possible, using a heat source at 2000 degrees (that granted, gets cooler over time) that it still takes 45 minutes to cook the game hen? We would have thought that the cooking would have been near instantanous - but repeated experiments at various lengths of time reveal that it takes exactly as long in the lava, as in an oven.
If you would like to view pictures of this process... click here.
Aloha
It is hard to find the original article that outlined the specific numbers... but in searching Google I came up with this link which is pretty much what I read before, minus a few numbers. The article is a DOJ (US Department of Justice) article - and it is VERY VERY VERY good at pointing out just how corrupt and just how much control Microsoft asserts on Washington and Washington policies. I think it will at least get my point across that this is a very very corrupt company who stops at nothing to try to control other corporations and even governments.
Probably not. Consider the fact that the majority of lawyers in Washington DC work for Microsoft - they have a HUGE lobby effect on our government. Combine that with their cash flow - they can pretty much buy whatever vote, or avoid whatever damages in court, they care to. We have seen this over and over again.
In order to effectivly release microsoft's strangle hold on the industry we need to do several things:
It's these kind of sleazy tactics that microsoft likes to use as well... case in point... NOW SUDDENLY they think they have a patent on portions of openGL - why? because SGI sold them certain IP rights (which is probably illegal to begin with to something that is open source).
Patents and IP rights on software and algorithms simply don't make sense, and as we have seen over and over again, only result in someone trying to lock the industry and drain money from everyone and everycompany.
Secondly... outlaw, or EXTREMELY CURTAIL lobbies. While lobbies *might* be important, they are too dangerous. There are much better ways for the government to receive information (e.g., hauling up experts in front of congressional hearings, etc). Lobbies are funded by people who DO NOT represent te rest of us. They have self-interests at heart only, and they swing deals with government that do not help the people. This includes MICROSOFT, which has a HUGE lobby effort in DC.
Additionally, why would ANY government (especially foreign ones) in their right mind go with Microsoft. Microsoft is a US company. If I was a foreign government I would DEFINATLY want to have control over the source code so that I could be sure that Redmond isn't reading my sensitive government email. Again... think about it folks. I'm sure the US is RIGHT BEHIND microsoft in pusing their software to other countries - why? cause Bunny Pants Bush would have his ear to classified communications planet wide. I wonder who is REALLY behind the microsoft push into other countires (I can hear the meeting right now... BILLYGOATS: Say Bushie Boy... we can let you eavesdrop on russia, brittan, afganistan, but ONLY if you look the other way, forgive us our wrongs, and help us push our standards on the rest of the world. BUNNYPANTS: Sounds good... say, watch me drive this golf ball).
It's unfortunate, but the giants such as Microsoft have virtually ruined our industry. From their crap software to their crap policies and lies and their holy-bug-ridden-virus-prone *secure* software - it is all crap and they need to be slapped down seriously for trying to fuck with every industry and government out there.
It also strikes me odd that they say it would be very difficult to foil. If the device is merely monitoring the response to a flash of light, one would think it would be fairly easy to create a *fuzz buster* (as it were) that sends out a false signal. Or even a *gummy bear* that just absorbs correctly.
Also, if a *living* person is required (e.g., it senses blood flow or something like that) than on would wonder how hard it would be to add a filter over your own skin that would change your index to that of someone else. Or how about injecting your skin with a material that changes your index.... or merely soaking your skin in water until it prunes (does that affect things?).
I can't imagine that this is at all foolproof. And I can cetainly bet that if crimes are committed using a gun that utilizes this technology, sooner or later someone will be framed by faking the technology out.
I live in a place that varies from sea level to 13,500 ft in 20 to 40 mile jumps... so reception is very spotty. Of the three carriers here, none could provide coverage for the entire area.
I searched the internet and finally found this 3 watt cell phone booster. It came a week ago. It still doesn't give me full area coverage, but it has helped alot. My cell phone was unuseable at my house, and with the unit I get 4 (out of 5) bars now. Similar results in many other places around here. Driving with two cellphones, one plugged through the unit and one not (same carrier) provided at least 2 to 3 bars better performance on the 3-watt boosted cellphone.
BTW, the package came from Trinidad (?!?).
Just don't stick the antenna near your head :)
We are also surrounded by 2,500 miles of ocean in all directions.
So yes... we get more moisture, salt air and humidity than just about any other place in the nation. To top it off, our houses are designed to allow for massive amounts of air flow (we don't use air conditioning in Hawaii because of our wonderful trade winds) so that means our houses are very very open to the elements.
My computer room has windows open on all sides, and the computers sit near the window. So far... not much in failures in the computers themselves. I've had one floppy drive go out due to corrosion... and one hard drive due to corrosion. But the insides of the computers appear corrosion free for the most part. What we HAVE lost is lots and lots and lots of monitors. I was blowing out at least one monitor a year (brand new ones). So after the last one went, I replaced it with LCD and will see how it holds up (I suspect it will hold up very very well, it has so far).
I understand from the local DELL service rep, that houses ON THE OCEAN have a HUGE hard drive failure rate, versus houses a bit off the ocean.
So my take on it is this... first... ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS leave your computers turned on - the internal heat helps prevent moisture inside the case. Component add-ons, and monitors, seem to be the most prone to problems (I chalk this up to them being near the holes in the front of the case, so less exposure to dry heat and more exposure to the elements) - so go as solid state as possible and think about cases/connectors that avoid corrosion (e.g. ,plastic/stainless etc). BTW... My MACs (apple) seem to handle the elements a bit better than the PC's. That may have to do with the plastic enclosure and perhaps a bit better design of the internals as far as air flow and heat.
On the good side... I gave a Sparc 1 box to a friend of mine, with monitor, that had not been turned on in 5 years. He powered it up and said... smoke came out of the monitor... but everything came up and the monitor turned on. So it can't be THAT bad :)
Aloha
For example, if your data is composed primairly of upper case squences of A T G C (e.g., genetic code) you would tend to have long elements of highly repeatable letters.
If, on the other hand, you were memorizing, say, a binary image for uniqueness (such as in a virus scanner) you would have large files with binary data.
Thus... each data type possible can be *tuned* to be more efficient when hashed, based on what you know of the incoming data. To ask for a *generic* algorithm that works well on all data will automatically result in less efficiency.
The real secret to good hashing is to allow two things... first, allow the algorithm (usually hash length and table size) to be modifyable by the code. Second, allow simple statistics to be kept on collision rate and maximum child length - these two statistics can be calculated very very quickly at the key-add phase of the hashing, and only add a few instructions to the process.
Now... throw a good deal of data at your hash table... all sorts of data that represent the type you EXPECT to get. Tune the hash table algorithm (using the exposed algorithm hooks) until your statistics see a collision of between 2 and 5 for all positions in the table (in general, our hashers, and we use LOTS of hashers, rarely go beyond 3 to 5 children).
The tradeoff is obviously memory (table size) versus efficiency of the hash algorithm.
One of my favorite hash algorithms for trivial hashing (say, hashing of a label or variable name) is simply incremental add and xor. Very quick and usually generates a good spread (this is only for simple hashing).
MORE IMPORTANTLY (to me at least) is how you STORE your hashing and data info. We *always* store the data as a (void *) pointer. By doing so we can store ANY type of element, be it a structure, a function pointer, a pointer to text data, a LONG or a INT or a DOUBLE, doesn't matter, because we always store the POINTER to the data, not the data itself. This is an extremely powerful concept.
One last thought... one of the more interesting things you can do with hash tables is to use them as on-the-fly indexed arrays that can grow to any length. In this case, the hash code becomes the index you want to store in. This is an interesting concept because it means you can create an array that grows in real-time. For example, you can store in hash_array[1] and hash_array[5923] and it will not take 5924 positions, it will only take two positions. And reading the two items only takes 2 instances of the loop, not 5924 instances. The array grows at will, taking only as much memory as what you require. Obviously, for this to work, you are hashing a small structure that contains the real data AND the real index, thus during a collision you then do a compare for the real index down that childs tree. But this is extremely quick and low overhead and solves an infinite array with gusto.
Aloha
In a nutshell, they pointed a camera at a lava lamp and used an algorithm to reduce the image into random numbers.