The people who ensure that electric power is supplied constantly and consistently to the New York City subway get very little attention.
Track work somehow seems more honest -- the hoisting of heavy rails and traversing of dark tunnels. Water work seems more daring -- inflatable skiffs and scuba gear dispatched to save the system from sure inundation. Even motormen and conductors are figures of stoic romance, captaining their 400-ton trains above and below the city.
Advertisement
Try as you might, it is just not as easy to summon that kind of interest in a guy with a pair of alligator clips and an ohmmeter, poring over a schematic of a circuit breaker.
Then again, if it were not for that guy and the 650 volts of direct current that he knows how to dispatch through the third rail, miles of tracks and yards full of subway trains would amount to nothing more than ornamented chunks of steel.
So when an invitation was extended recently to visit a secluded stretch of land along Jamaica Bay, for a peek at what was described as "this incredible new gadget that the power guys are working on," a visit was dutifully paid.
The subway rarely conjures up images of high technology. But in a cinder-block barn near the jet path of Kennedy International Airport, the subway's chief electricians were presiding over something that looked like some kind of miniature mission control, much more rocket science than railroading.
On a desk sat a flat-panel computer screen, covered with numbers and graph patterns and colored lines. In front of the computer sat 10 whirring metal boxes slightly larger than refrigerators, a ping-pong ball levitating mysteriously in an updraft of air above one of them.
At the desk sat Robert W. Lobenstein -- Loby to his friends -- with a radio in his hand and a look of excitement on his face that only someone with an engineering degree can have.
"Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one," he called into his radio. "Full acceleration southbound!"
Despite the distant roar, Mr. Lobenstein, the general superintendent of power operations for the subway, was not launching a shuttle. He was launching a train -- one of the brand-new models starting to appear now on the L line -- along a 10,000-foot test track just outside the barn.
The train and the big metal boxes inside the barn were conspiring to do something that had never been done regularly in the subway. Since the subway first opened, trains have had a one-way relationship with the third rail: they take power from it. (During peak demand, in fact, subways and commuter trains use 600 million watts, enough energy to supply all the homes in Birmingham, Ala.)
But now, harnessing the mass and momentum of the new train cars, the subway's electricians are trying to strike up a better relationship between train and rail. In theory, it works like this: A moving train consumes power. When it stops, however, it can use its motor as a generator and pump some of that power back into the third rail, to be consumed by other trains around it.
The only problem is that when the power goes back into the rail, it is quickly eaten up by the resistance of the metal. So if other trains are not close by, to scoop up the power, the extra electricity dissipates like so many ripples in a pool.
Last summer, transit electricians and officials at the New York Power Authority, which supplies the third-rail, figured out a way to fix that. It was not a radically new idea, nor did it employ especially new technology. But finding anything to fix a problem in a place as huge as the subway is always a big job.
The solution: a battery.
A very, very big battery. Or, to be more accurate, 10 of them, each weighing as much as a Volkswagen Bug and together able to store up to a million watts of power.
A chemical battery, even the biggest around, could not handle this job. So the electricians harnessed a different kind, called a flywheel, which takes electrical energy and converts it to mechanical energy, using a rotating magnetic mass that spins up to 36,000 revolutions per minute.
For the last several weeks, through countless countdowns and test runs, the flywheels have been working like sponges, successfully absorbing the extra energy put out by a braking train. Or, as Robert Schmitt, another transit electrical official, put it, excitedly: "They're sitting here, saying: `Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!' "
And after taking, they have also been giving -- sensing that a train is accelerating and releasing the extra power to help it speed up.
Now, instead of a ragged green line on the computer screen, showing power dips and spikes, the lines have begun to smoothe out nicely. This makes electricians very happy.
Should the batteries be expanded to the whole subway system, they could also make accountants very happy, saving up to $20 million a year in electricity costs.
Before the visit ended the other day, a final question had to be asked: What is the purpose of the floating ping-pong ball?
"Oh, that?" Mr. Lobenstein smiled like a child. "That's just to amuse us. Sometimes, we got bored."
Okay, so the issue at hand *should* be on how to punish people who are "illegally distributing copyrighted material."
As much as I want to discuss that, enough people have already made their thoughts known on it.
My question is this. Let's say you have a CD collection that was stolen. Do you have the right to reclaim what was taken? Let's even assume you kept all the receipts, as well as the bill or proof of break-in from your insurance company.
Can you just trot over to Best Buy and say "Ok, my CDs are gone, load me up with new ones!"... I don't think so.
So should you be able to reclaim your losses? If not, what about keeping a MP3/WMA/OGG/RM copy of your CDs.
Now sure, I can see the MPAA/RIAA arguing against you if you are sharing these out. But where does it stop? If they see you trading LEGAL things, they may hack you anyway and see you have this "illicit collection of materials" on your computer. Then they may launch, worry-free, a DoS on you... even though you had originally owned the CDs they were ripped from.
So is anything like this going to be addressed? If not, it should be...
*siren goes off, lights spinning* Cop:"Sir, can I see your license and registration?" Driver:"Errr, why officer?" Cop:""Step out of the car please, sir." *car searched* Cop:""A-ha. What's this? A CD-R of Metallica tunes? And just where did you get this from?" Driver:""Er, I own the original... really." Cop:""Oh? I just bet you do. Damn Napster pansy." *insert cruel beating now*
Hmmm. Is this "Target the Bad Corporate Sponsor/Spokesperson" day? If so, can I lodge my vote against Jesse, the ex-VJ from MTV? It's like a young Ozzy, with no talent... just a stupid teenager who OD'd too much.:)
heh
... if I'm wrong. But aren't ALL cookbooks open source?!?! What is the point if they don't share the recipe with you?
Ok, today I'm going to be creating a fantastic chocolate cake with raspberry sauce... What? A recipe? Ha! You fool, why would I want YOU to learn how to make this?
I dunno, Captain Obvious, what do you think? Heh..
Your content offends us, the Government of Kumchatka. Therefore we have shut down your entire website and email, since it has been seen to carry non-Kumchatka supporting email.
I am very envious of the students there. I went to USC -- no, not Southern Cali... the other one.
We had such a horrifying network, it was really sad. Since I worked in a group in the CS Dept, all my friends and roommates would yell at me whenever the network went down. And did it go down... Ugh. Literally 2-5 times a week.
Unfortunately, it was not just the School Internet connection that went down, either. We lost connectivity even on our own network many times.
Since I was working on an Astronomy project at the time, I was working with data files that were over 500 MB a piece. I was not allowed to use the network to transmit. Get that... It would be "Wasting too much" bandwidth to use it that way, heh. So I would have killed for Gigabit connectivity.
On an unrelated side-note, I remember when the CS dept blocked Napster... and didn't tell anyone. Man, the papers went nuts when students complained. Then we had to backtrack and say it was a mistake of when the new proxies were installed. Heh.
If this thing relies almost solely (if not completely) on voice recognition, how accurate are the results? I have a mid-range priced phone by Verizon that supports voice recognition. The thing is ok, but it isn't very accurate... especially with multiple words.
For example, when I tried to call "Rob cell"... I got back:
Automated voice: "Did you say 'Rob Work'?" Me:"No" Automated voice: "Did you say 'Rob home'?" Me:"No" Automated voice: "Did you say 'Robert apartment'?" Me:"NO" Automated voice: "Did you say 'Robert cell'?" Me:"NO!!" Automated voice: "Calling: 'Robert cell'" Me:"GRRR!"
It's a different situation here, however.
Your mailman is not responsible for the content of mail that travels through his name.
An ISP, which is essentially what the person with the commercial account is becoming, is responsible for their users. So if his users hack something, people will come to him looking for answers.
Taking a "I'm not going to monitor you at all" approach is a very foolish thing and is just asking for trouble, if said users abuse their connection.
Yeah... this is a great idea. </end sarcasm> I can see it now...
*phone rings* "Hello?" "Joey, are you playing your PS3?" "Yeah, why?" "I'm trying to watch the cutscreen. Would you mind turning it off for a while? And call ___ (insert other names) and tell them to not play now either"
Good idea.
"PS3: A great game! Just play it in off-peak hours..."
There was a classic episode of The Critic (of Jon Lovitz fame) that explored this very topic.
One of the "revised" edits was Casablanca where Isla does not get on the plane.It's definitely a topic to think about, especially with directors' fetish for going back and "fixing" their movies, 20+ years later.
Maybe they should vote to stop all the hacks that culminate from that region (SE Asia) first, before deciding censorship is the way to go. But no, I guess they're right... limiting freedom is surely MUCH more important than stopping illegal practices which damage people much more than allowing knowledge to flow...
There are many reasons why this isn't really feasible. X and XConfigurator give real techies issues. If your mom has trouble with things like this:
'my computer is running out of virtual memory' or 'my email keeps beeping at me' or 'I can't read this document' or (the best one) 'my computer is -broken-'.
Is she really in a situation to be able to deal with configuring/installing her video card and monitor? Is she likely to know the correct firewall settings? And I'm sure if she needs to install a security patch that she'll be fine recompiling her kernel, right?
Be realistic here. While Linux may not have some of the "annoying" features that she complains to you about, I'd personally rather explain why her email beeps at her than try to walk my mom through a kernel install on Linux.
You really can't get much easier than WindowsUpdate for that.
I'm not trying to start a Windows vs. Linux/Unix war, obviously, since that debate has raged for years. And probably will continue to. I am definitely not underrating Linux either. I am just saying as far as "Ease of use" goes, I don't think a rational argument can be made for Linux vs. Windows.
If your mom lives near (read: you still live with her, heh) you, then maybe. But if you do NOT live at home, chances are Windows will be much easier for her to work with.
ComedyCentral predicting the future? If BattleBots is a sign of things to come, I shudder to think of what South Park forbodes for us. TrapperKeepers that take over the world a la Akira?? I'm scared...
Okay, let me get this straight. Cable companies have already shown their disapproval of sharing of WiFi networks.
So now they're just adding insult to injury by saying "Hey, not only can you NOT share this... but we'll provide it, so you don't even have the rationalization of 'Well, I guess I won't spend the money on that nice equipment' anymore"
Does anyone else want to kick someone right about now?
I guess that's why they call it An Army Of One. Because if the goal is to go out and try to fight a hoarde of maniacal robots, you're the only One who is stupid enough to do so. =P
Or we could make some comment about "Be All That You Can Be [Engineered to Be]";)
Re:Gah. I can see it now...
on
Robot Wars
·
· Score: 1
It isn't a question of whether it is Microsoft's intention to stimulate commerce or not. Commerce comes from business. I.E. If Microsoft does well, makes more money, hires more people... then it does help commerce. Sure, some people lose out, but that's business... it's not like it's different from any other companies.
Slashdot Mirror
de plane, de plane.... de really, really small plane!
The people who ensure that electric power is supplied constantly and consistently to the New York City subway get very little attention. Track work somehow seems more honest -- the hoisting of heavy rails and traversing of dark tunnels. Water work seems more daring -- inflatable skiffs and scuba gear dispatched to save the system from sure inundation. Even motormen and conductors are figures of stoic romance, captaining their 400-ton trains above and below the city. Advertisement Try as you might, it is just not as easy to summon that kind of interest in a guy with a pair of alligator clips and an ohmmeter, poring over a schematic of a circuit breaker. Then again, if it were not for that guy and the 650 volts of direct current that he knows how to dispatch through the third rail, miles of tracks and yards full of subway trains would amount to nothing more than ornamented chunks of steel. So when an invitation was extended recently to visit a secluded stretch of land along Jamaica Bay, for a peek at what was described as "this incredible new gadget that the power guys are working on," a visit was dutifully paid. The subway rarely conjures up images of high technology. But in a cinder-block barn near the jet path of Kennedy International Airport, the subway's chief electricians were presiding over something that looked like some kind of miniature mission control, much more rocket science than railroading. On a desk sat a flat-panel computer screen, covered with numbers and graph patterns and colored lines. In front of the computer sat 10 whirring metal boxes slightly larger than refrigerators, a ping-pong ball levitating mysteriously in an updraft of air above one of them. At the desk sat Robert W. Lobenstein -- Loby to his friends -- with a radio in his hand and a look of excitement on his face that only someone with an engineering degree can have. "Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one," he called into his radio. "Full acceleration southbound!" Despite the distant roar, Mr. Lobenstein, the general superintendent of power operations for the subway, was not launching a shuttle. He was launching a train -- one of the brand-new models starting to appear now on the L line -- along a 10,000-foot test track just outside the barn. The train and the big metal boxes inside the barn were conspiring to do something that had never been done regularly in the subway. Since the subway first opened, trains have had a one-way relationship with the third rail: they take power from it. (During peak demand, in fact, subways and commuter trains use 600 million watts, enough energy to supply all the homes in Birmingham, Ala.) But now, harnessing the mass and momentum of the new train cars, the subway's electricians are trying to strike up a better relationship between train and rail. In theory, it works like this: A moving train consumes power. When it stops, however, it can use its motor as a generator and pump some of that power back into the third rail, to be consumed by other trains around it. The only problem is that when the power goes back into the rail, it is quickly eaten up by the resistance of the metal. So if other trains are not close by, to scoop up the power, the extra electricity dissipates like so many ripples in a pool. Last summer, transit electricians and officials at the New York Power Authority, which supplies the third-rail, figured out a way to fix that. It was not a radically new idea, nor did it employ especially new technology. But finding anything to fix a problem in a place as huge as the subway is always a big job. The solution: a battery. A very, very big battery. Or, to be more accurate, 10 of them, each weighing as much as a Volkswagen Bug and together able to store up to a million watts of power. A chemical battery, even the biggest around, could not handle this job. So the electricians harnessed a different kind, called a flywheel, which takes electrical energy and converts it to mechanical energy, using a rotating magnetic mass that spins up to 36,000 revolutions per minute. For the last several weeks, through countless countdowns and test runs, the flywheels have been working like sponges, successfully absorbing the extra energy put out by a braking train. Or, as Robert Schmitt, another transit electrical official, put it, excitedly: "They're sitting here, saying: `Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!' " And after taking, they have also been giving -- sensing that a train is accelerating and releasing the extra power to help it speed up. Now, instead of a ragged green line on the computer screen, showing power dips and spikes, the lines have begun to smoothe out nicely. This makes electricians very happy. Should the batteries be expanded to the whole subway system, they could also make accountants very happy, saving up to $20 million a year in electricity costs. Before the visit ended the other day, a final question had to be asked: What is the purpose of the floating ping-pong ball? "Oh, that?" Mr. Lobenstein smiled like a child. "That's just to amuse us. Sometimes, we got bored."
One(1) new or good condition fuzzy mascot. Will accept Tux or CowboyNeal figures (only if you haven't chewed on them, though!).
Okay, so the issue at hand *should* be on how to punish people who are "illegally distributing copyrighted material."
As much as I want to discuss that, enough people have already made their thoughts known on it.
My question is this. Let's say you have a CD collection that was stolen. Do you have the right to reclaim what was taken? Let's even assume you kept all the receipts, as well as the bill or proof of break-in from your insurance company.
Can you just trot over to Best Buy and say "Ok, my CDs are gone, load me up with new ones!"... I don't think so.
So should you be able to reclaim your losses?
If not, what about keeping a MP3/WMA/OGG/RM copy of your CDs.
Now sure, I can see the MPAA/RIAA arguing against you if you are sharing these out. But where does it stop? If they see you trading LEGAL things, they may hack you anyway and see you have this "illicit collection of materials" on your computer. Then they may launch, worry-free, a DoS on you... even though you had originally owned the CDs they were ripped from.
So is anything like this going to be addressed?
If not, it should be...
All your hi-res video are belong to us.
Hmm.. I just imagine the rage when people get telemarketing calls with that phone...
"You made me crank my phone for this crap?! You better tell me something interesting and fast, or I'm going to let you wind down!"
On an unrelated sidenote, 72.4% of all statistical figures are made up.
*siren goes off, lights spinning*
Cop:"Sir, can I see your license and registration?"
Driver:"Errr, why officer?"
Cop:""Step out of the car please, sir."
*car searched*
Cop:""A-ha. What's this? A CD-R of Metallica tunes? And just where did you get this from?"
Driver:""Er, I own the original... really."
Cop:""Oh? I just bet you do. Damn Napster pansy."
*insert cruel beating now*
Viva la Revolution!
Hmmm. Is this "Target the Bad Corporate Sponsor/Spokesperson" day? If so, can I lodge my vote against Jesse, the ex-VJ from MTV? It's like a young Ozzy, with no talent... just a stupid teenager who OD'd too much. :)
heh
... if I'm wrong. But aren't ALL cookbooks open source?!?! What is the point if they don't share the recipe with you?
Ok, today I'm going to be creating a fantastic chocolate cake with raspberry sauce... What? A recipe? Ha! You fool, why would I want YOU to learn how to make this?
I dunno, Captain Obvious, what do you think?
Heh..
Your content offends us, the Government of Kumchatka. Therefore we have shut down your entire website and email, since it has been seen to carry non-Kumchatka supporting email.
Viva whoever!
</end oppression possibility>
I am very envious of the students there. I went to USC -- no, not Southern Cali... the other one.
We had such a horrifying network, it was really sad. Since I worked in a group in the CS Dept, all my friends and roommates would yell at me whenever the network went down. And did it go down... Ugh. Literally 2-5 times a week.
Unfortunately, it was not just the School Internet connection that went down, either. We lost connectivity even on our own network many times.
Since I was working on an Astronomy project at the time, I was working with data files that were over 500 MB a piece. I was not allowed to use the network to transmit. Get that... It would be "Wasting too much" bandwidth to use it that way, heh. So I would have killed for Gigabit connectivity.
On an unrelated side-note, I remember when the CS dept blocked Napster... and didn't tell anyone. Man, the papers went nuts when students complained. Then we had to backtrack and say it was a mistake of when the new proxies were installed. Heh.
If this thing relies almost solely (if not completely) on voice recognition, how accurate are the results?
I have a mid-range priced phone by Verizon that supports voice recognition. The thing is ok, but it isn't very accurate... especially with multiple words.
For example, when I tried to call "Rob cell"... I got back:
Automated voice: "Did you say 'Rob Work'?"
Me:"No"
Automated voice: "Did you say 'Rob home'?"
Me:"No"
Automated voice: "Did you say 'Robert apartment'?"
Me:"NO"
Automated voice: "Did you say 'Robert cell'?"
Me:"NO!!"
Automated voice: "Calling: 'Robert cell'"
Me:"GRRR!"
It's a different situation here, however. Your mailman is not responsible for the content of mail that travels through his name.
An ISP, which is essentially what the person with the commercial account is becoming, is responsible for their users. So if his users hack something, people will come to him looking for answers.
Taking a "I'm not going to monitor you at all" approach is a very foolish thing and is just asking for trouble, if said users abuse their connection.
Yeah... this is a great idea. </end sarcasm>
I can see it now...
*phone rings*
"Hello?"
"Joey, are you playing your PS3?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I'm trying to watch the cutscreen. Would you mind turning it off for a while? And call ___ (insert other names) and tell them to not play now either"
Good idea.
"PS3: A great game! Just play it in off-peak hours..."
There was a classic episode of The Critic (of Jon Lovitz fame) that explored this very topic.
One of the "revised" edits was Casablanca where Isla does not get on the plane.It's definitely a topic to think about, especially with directors' fetish for going back and "fixing" their movies, 20+ years later.
To check out the Critic episodes, go here
hmmmm.... Apple started their own stores? If it's Gateway Country stores... are the Apple ones Apple Orchards? ;)
Maybe they should vote to stop all the hacks that culminate from that region (SE Asia) first, before deciding censorship is the way to go. But no, I guess they're right... limiting freedom is surely MUCH more important than stopping illegal practices which damage people much more than allowing knowledge to flow...
There are many reasons why this isn't really feasible. X and XConfigurator give real techies issues. If your mom has trouble with things like this:
'my computer is running out of virtual memory' or 'my email keeps beeping at me' or 'I can't read this document' or (the best one) 'my computer is -broken-'.
Is she really in a situation to be able to deal with configuring/installing her video card and monitor? Is she likely to know the correct firewall settings? And I'm sure if she needs to install a security patch that she'll be fine recompiling her kernel, right?
Be realistic here. While Linux may not have some of the "annoying" features that she complains to you about, I'd personally rather explain why her email beeps at her than try to walk my mom through a kernel install on Linux.
You really can't get much easier than WindowsUpdate for that.
And with Linux attacks on the rise more than Windows, isn't giving a relatively technologically-unknowing person a Linux box just asking for trouble?
I'm not trying to start a Windows vs. Linux/Unix war, obviously, since that debate has raged for years. And probably will continue to. I am definitely not underrating Linux either. I am just saying as far as "Ease of use" goes, I don't think a rational argument can be made for Linux vs. Windows.
If your mom lives near (read: you still live with her, heh) you, then maybe. But if you do NOT live at home, chances are Windows will be much easier for her to work with.
ComedyCentral predicting the future? If BattleBots is a sign of things to come, I shudder to think of what South Park forbodes for us. TrapperKeepers that take over the world a la Akira?? I'm scared...
Okay, let me get this straight. Cable companies have already shown their disapproval of sharing of WiFi networks.
So now they're just adding insult to injury by saying "Hey, not only can you NOT share this... but we'll provide it, so you don't even have the rationalization of 'Well, I guess I won't spend the money on that nice equipment' anymore"
Does anyone else want to kick someone right about now?
I guess that's why they call it An Army Of One. Because if the goal is to go out and try to fight a hoarde of maniacal robots, you're the only One who is stupid enough to do so. =P
;)
Or we could make some comment about "Be All That You Can Be [Engineered to Be]"
Hmmm.
;)
Shouldn't it be:
if (target.headgear == "turban")
{
FireDeathRay(target);
} else {
GlowerMenacingly(target);
}
Gotta be careful.
It isn't a question of whether it is Microsoft's intention to stimulate commerce or not. Commerce comes from business. I.E. If Microsoft does well, makes more money, hires more people... then it does help commerce. Sure, some people lose out, but that's business... it's not like it's different from any other companies.
Well evidently it doesn't take a rocket scientist to... make a rocket. Hmm, I forsee doom. :P