Nah, Usama can just sneak across the US border from Mexico with a forged South American passport, get arrested by the US border patrol, get processed, and then released in the US because he is "persons other than Mexican" and then he can drive to Disney World. Then, while at Disney World, the Border patrol finally figures out that the fingerprints they obtained from the processing are Usama's. You see, persons other than Mexican are not deported immediatly due to costs. Mexicans are bussed back to Mexico, but Latin Americans are currently being released in the US with a future court date, at which time they will start the deportation process. I still don't understand how RFID in passports can make the US safer. It just seems to make US passports more difficult to forge. What happens when your RFID chip gets zapped or fails to work (passports are good for 10 years). Do they then detain you until they can confirm that you are who you say you are?
The StreamLight you're using is probably considerably brighter. It also probably uses a lot more current, but I'm guessing you've got a rechargable version. I am not a firefighter, but I would say that one distinct advantage of LEDs is their shock resistance and long life. If I was involved in situations that I absolutely needed a flashlight to work (caving comes to mind) I would at least have a backup LED light. If for nothing else, to provide enough light to change the bulb in my primary light. Having used a Surefire digital 2 ultra, which has a 5w luxeon LED, I am impressed by the current high end flashlights. But it is a very expensive flashlight at $250. I would still expect that a high end rechargeable halogen light to better it in terms of brightness, but not by much. A 5 watt luxeon should better a 5 watt halogen bulb, but pobably not a 7.5 watt, and definately not a 10 watt. But if you drop your 10 watt halogen bulbed flashlight and the filament breaks, depending on the situation, it might ruin your whole day. It is still a trade off in terms of brightness vs. reliablity.
Damn straight. That is true evolutionary thinking. Survival of the fittest indeed. Damn it, if you can't learn to evolve with increasing radiation, you don't deserve to live!
I'm not sure if I'm being serious or funny. Please, narl, don't take this as a flame.
nightmares are dreams too. It just makes the internet(s?) more exciting. I'm sure there are already "undergound" networks that are linked to the "internet". It will be like the BBS days, only better. One man's fractured net is another's opportunity. Psst, want a gateway connection to europe? Believe me, the cat is out of the bag. Long live the internet. But I'm sure it might go through a huge pile of steaming crap phase before it mutates. You just can't stop free porn.
For informing us that the bell(s) are beginning to see the light. One of the first things they could do to prevent migration to VoIP is to include all the extra features like caller ID and other value added features in with basic phone service. VoIP is the future of telecommunications. It runs on data networks, and we all know data networks aren't going away anytime soon.
because gosh darn, it has suffered irreparable damage. Other watches are scratch resistant, why not swatch? Wait, it still does tell time. And the scratches don't prohibit me from using it.
Does a scratched Nano still play music? Can you read the screen? I mean, It is a MUSIC player. It isn't advertised as a scratch proof lump of material. I agree, This potential class action suit is bullshit. Too many lawyers, not enough common sense. I mean, couldn't one just return the damn thing?
By way of latency. little more than 300milliseconds, and you can kiss VoIP goodbye. This is a problem I'm having using VoIP thru cable. I'm going to switch to DSL and see if it fixes the problem and delivers quality such that I don't get complaints.
If the cable companies introduce latency on purpose to disrupt VoIP I could see that it could result in a litigation, but what if it just happens to be inherent in the network? Or could be made inherent? With high latency, you don't break the internet, you just cripple time dependant communications.
Nice analysis. Looking at their website it says that it modular and can put out between 1kw and 50kw (with additional modules). Also can be augmented with generators and such. It really just looks like a standard shipping container with some solar panels on brackets and a wind generator. I'm sure it has a battery bank as well. It doesn't seem novel, just a nice ruggidized turn-key package. I wonder how much $$$ skybuilt has contributed to political campains or lobbyists. Then again, they may have just gotten started with the DoD wishbook and an SBIR program. You might be suprised at how much $$$ the DoD will put out if you submit a plausible proposal in response to their wishbook. But now I'm in tinfoil hat territory.
Well, I did say that I am not a professional photographer. I agree with the expense of glass. I was just saying that there are niches that the digital format has yet to cover. My 15mm superwide is not a fisheye, and was quite expensive, even used. I will agree that the longer telephoto lenses cost even more. I like to take pictures in cramped interiors, often with available light. I have a 15 because an 18 or 20 wasn't wide enough. So far, a digital SLR will not meet my desires at a cost that I can afford, so I still use film. I am glad that image factor works to your advantage. For me, it is a disadvantage. Of course, I'm sure that my desires are a small minority in the larger photography market. Therefore, I won't be using digital for my niche photography. I will be using digital, but mostly for snapshots and the like. Like I said, digital has its place, it just isn't all things to all photographers -yet. And in honing my skills, I have burned through a lot of film, but back in my learning days, digital was not an option. I do believe that digital photography is the future, but it hasn't encroached on all needs yet. I do like the ability to keep all your photos on a hard drive, just back it up.
I agree.
Nothing like a good rig from the '80s or '90s using film. I'm just glad now that I stuck with 35mm instead of moving up to medium format. I am not a professional, so I don't have to deal with sending pictures across the globe instantly like a photojournalist. The closest digital camera that would allow me to take full advantage of my 15mm superwide is the Canon with the full frame sensor (due to "lens factor"). It costs more than my lens. And it is a different lens mount. Most digital cameras are good as polaroid point and shoots. If I was a pro Nikon user, I'd be pissed because Nikon has yet to make a digital SLR that will use existing Nikon lenses at their focal length. Most people don't want to spend money on a 15mm or 20mm lens to get an 18 or 24 out of it. Nikon is using this as a way to sell smaller lenses (we'll just call them "DX" lenses). Used to be, Nikon would brag that its lens mount is still compatible with older lenses. They still technically are, but you loose a portion of the frame. I mean, if your going to a smaller sensor area, and you are going to make a new set of lenses for this area, you might as well make a smaller lens mount. Because now you cannot use your new "DX" lenses with your 35mm film camera and you cannot use them if they ever make a "full frame" digital camera, so why are you making a new lens line with an old lens mount when they are practically incompatible? I really don't care, because I don't use Nikon. I think that they are losing the pro market anyway. Which is a shame, because Nikon really did make some good equipment. But I'm not here to start a Nikon/Canon/Olympus/etc. penis length match. Digital cameras are useful, they are handy, but they are not yet all things to all photographers. Long live chemistry.
Lets see, I haven't actually watched COPS in years, but when I did the "criminals" fell into these categories:
1. traffic violation, often accompanied with drug possession or previous warrant
2. domestic violence, usually accompanied with drinking alcohol
3. raid on a drug dealer/producer, usually tipped off or ratted out
4. some crazy shit like a suicidal person, also associated with drugs or alcohol
5. mardi gras
I don't believe anything that I saw on COPS was the result of a wiretap. I would say that COPS is a bad example. I wonder how many hours of mundane shit the cameramen had to endure verses hours of actual programming.
"500 or 1000 years you say? Why wait that long? The technology is available TODAY, so why leave it to future generations?"
I'm hedging my bets when I say 500 to 1000 years. Sure we could do it now, from a technological standpoint, but we need to quit fighting stupid wars which cost money and resources. I once had an engineering professor who gave the class the whole "when an engineer screws up, people die" speech. He is right, but he also forgot to mention that also when engineers do their job right, people also die, i.e. weapon designers. I believe we will go to Mars much sooner than 500 years. Humanity also has developed the tools to set us back for long periods of time, and some countries are still working to develop such tools (nuclear weapons). Because of this, I don't have much faith in humanity to get their act togeather in my lifetime. I hope I'm wrong. So it may make your blood boil, but I've already gotten past that stage. Now I'm just sad. Sad for humanity. It is hard to be an optimist, when you live long enough to see phoney reasons for war get enough credibility and a compliant media rubber stamp it and then watch it all unfold before your eyes. My grandfather worked for Von Braun, when Von Braun was still working for the Nazi government. I believe it must have been amazing for Von Braun to live at such a time when the tools to actually make it to the moon were a realility and not just a dream. We have to tools to go to Mars, but for me, it is just a distant dream, and I'm afraid that I'm living in a daydream nightmare. So yes, my blood is beyond boiling. I just don't know what to do. And I positively hate MTV. So please, don't patronize me. And please, use your time and influence wisely. And lets try to get along and make some real progress, instead of fighting wars.
Yes, I've been getting more robo-calls as well. My answering machine will have them on there. When I call the number that shows up in the caller-id (if there is one), all I get is a busy signal. When I am home, I've gotten the robo-call with the greeting "do not hang up" to which I usually hang up. On one occasion, from robo-call from Direct-TV, I punched thru to get an operator/salesperson. As soon as a human answered, I said "put me on your no call list" and I was hung up on. Telemarketers are finding there own way to get around the no-call list. So am I, I'm using VoIP now and can set up a "white list" so I no longer get the robo-calls. Screw the telemarketers.
I believe that having the capability of orbiting the moon is significant in that it shows that significant cargo can be sent into orbits that far from earth. Right now, no one currently has the capability of sending people that far away. The Saturn V is long retired and Energia's largest booster hasn't been used to full capability. If you can send a manned craft to the moon, you could probably send a future lander there. I won't say that getting back to the moon is important or necessary, but I would say that it is an inevitable destination for humans on the way to further destinations, provided we can learn to live togeather long enough to make it that far. Outer space: maybe not the final frontier, but the next one. I mean, does anyone doubt that 500 or 1000 years from now, humans will have not set foot on Mars? I'm sure I'll be long dead by that time [that humans set foot on mars] but I'd like to think that I'll see it in my lifetime.
Yes, there has been an article on the homepower website on a solar powered ammonia based ice maker. The one in the article was constructed in Alabama, and would use solar heat to drive the ammonia into an absorbant, then at night, it would freeze water to make ice. Very scalable, the only nasty part about it is the ammonia. And that is fine as long as it is in a sealed system (which this was). No moving parts, very simple construction (if I recall correctly). If only knowledge was shared (and easy to find) more often.
I used to wonder what would happen if you nuked a hurricane. I was wondering if they would be intensified if you set off a nuke in one, seeing as how they are heat driven. Even in the eye wall, it may only disrupt it for a little while, then intensify with the added heat energy. It would have to be a clean device, or I'd hate to see the fallout pattern.
Slashdot Mirror
Nah, Usama can just sneak across the US border from Mexico with a forged South American passport, get arrested by the US border patrol, get processed, and then released in the US because he is "persons other than Mexican" and then he can drive to Disney World. Then, while at Disney World, the Border patrol finally figures out that the fingerprints they obtained from the processing are Usama's. You see, persons other than Mexican are not deported immediatly due to costs. Mexicans are bussed back to Mexico, but Latin Americans are currently being released in the US with a future court date, at which time they will start the deportation process. I still don't understand how RFID in passports can make the US safer. It just seems to make US passports more difficult to forge. What happens when your RFID chip gets zapped or fails to work (passports are good for 10 years). Do they then detain you until they can confirm that you are who you say you are?
oops, missed it the first time.
The StreamLight you're using is probably considerably brighter. It also probably uses a lot more current, but I'm guessing you've got a rechargable version. I am not a firefighter, but I would say that one distinct advantage of LEDs is their shock resistance and long life. If I was involved in situations that I absolutely needed a flashlight to work (caving comes to mind) I would at least have a backup LED light. If for nothing else, to provide enough light to change the bulb in my primary light. Having used a Surefire digital 2 ultra, which has a 5w luxeon LED, I am impressed by the current high end flashlights. But it is a very expensive flashlight at $250. I would still expect that a high end rechargeable halogen light to better it in terms of brightness, but not by much. A 5 watt luxeon should better a 5 watt halogen bulb, but pobably not a 7.5 watt, and definately not a 10 watt. But if you drop your 10 watt halogen bulbed flashlight and the filament breaks, depending on the situation, it might ruin your whole day. It is still a trade off in terms of brightness vs. reliablity.
Damn straight. That is true evolutionary thinking. Survival of the fittest indeed. Damn it, if you can't learn to evolve with increasing radiation, you don't deserve to live!
I'm not sure if I'm being serious or funny. Please, narl, don't take this as a flame.
nightmares are dreams too. It just makes the internet(s?) more exciting. I'm sure there are already "undergound" networks that are linked to the "internet". It will be like the BBS days, only better. One man's fractured net is another's opportunity. Psst, want a gateway connection to europe? Believe me, the cat is out of the bag. Long live the internet. But I'm sure it might go through a huge pile of steaming crap phase before it mutates. You just can't stop free porn.
Online chess would not be affected. Turn based games would still work. FPS, yes, you would be a dead man.
Nth post!
For informing us that the bell(s) are beginning to see the light. One of the first things they could do to prevent migration to VoIP is to include all the extra features like caller ID and other value added features in with basic phone service. VoIP is the future of telecommunications. It runs on data networks, and we all know data networks aren't going away anytime soon.
Good point, I don't participate in online games. Unless you count slashdot as a game of sorts.
because gosh darn, it has suffered irreparable damage. Other watches are scratch resistant, why not swatch? Wait, it still does tell time. And the scratches don't prohibit me from using it. Does a scratched Nano still play music? Can you read the screen? I mean, It is a MUSIC player. It isn't advertised as a scratch proof lump of material. I agree, This potential class action suit is bullshit. Too many lawyers, not enough common sense. I mean, couldn't one just return the damn thing?
By way of latency. little more than 300milliseconds, and you can kiss VoIP goodbye. This is a problem I'm having using VoIP thru cable. I'm going to switch to DSL and see if it fixes the problem and delivers quality such that I don't get complaints.
If the cable companies introduce latency on purpose to disrupt VoIP I could see that it could result in a litigation, but what if it just happens to be inherent in the network? Or could be made inherent? With high latency, you don't break the internet, you just cripple time dependant communications.
Because it has a "Pentium 4" and "Designed for Microsoft Windows XP" stickers on it. Oh, wait. oops. nevermind.
Nice analysis. Looking at their website it says that it modular and can put out between 1kw and 50kw (with additional modules). Also can be augmented with generators and such. It really just looks like a standard shipping container with some solar panels on brackets and a wind generator. I'm sure it has a battery bank as well. It doesn't seem novel, just a nice ruggidized turn-key package. I wonder how much $$$ skybuilt has contributed to political campains or lobbyists. Then again, they may have just gotten started with the DoD wishbook and an SBIR program. You might be suprised at how much $$$ the DoD will put out if you submit a plausible proposal in response to their wishbook. But now I'm in tinfoil hat territory.
Well, I did say that I am not a professional photographer. I agree with the expense of glass. I was just saying that there are niches that the digital format has yet to cover. My 15mm superwide is not a fisheye, and was quite expensive, even used. I will agree that the longer telephoto lenses cost even more. I like to take pictures in cramped interiors, often with available light. I have a 15 because an 18 or 20 wasn't wide enough. So far, a digital SLR will not meet my desires at a cost that I can afford, so I still use film. I am glad that image factor works to your advantage. For me, it is a disadvantage. Of course, I'm sure that my desires are a small minority in the larger photography market. Therefore, I won't be using digital for my niche photography. I will be using digital, but mostly for snapshots and the like. Like I said, digital has its place, it just isn't all things to all photographers -yet. And in honing my skills, I have burned through a lot of film, but back in my learning days, digital was not an option. I do believe that digital photography is the future, but it hasn't encroached on all needs yet. I do like the ability to keep all your photos on a hard drive, just back it up.
I agree. Nothing like a good rig from the '80s or '90s using film. I'm just glad now that I stuck with 35mm instead of moving up to medium format. I am not a professional, so I don't have to deal with sending pictures across the globe instantly like a photojournalist. The closest digital camera that would allow me to take full advantage of my 15mm superwide is the Canon with the full frame sensor (due to "lens factor"). It costs more than my lens. And it is a different lens mount. Most digital cameras are good as polaroid point and shoots. If I was a pro Nikon user, I'd be pissed because Nikon has yet to make a digital SLR that will use existing Nikon lenses at their focal length. Most people don't want to spend money on a 15mm or 20mm lens to get an 18 or 24 out of it. Nikon is using this as a way to sell smaller lenses (we'll just call them "DX" lenses). Used to be, Nikon would brag that its lens mount is still compatible with older lenses. They still technically are, but you loose a portion of the frame. I mean, if your going to a smaller sensor area, and you are going to make a new set of lenses for this area, you might as well make a smaller lens mount. Because now you cannot use your new "DX" lenses with your 35mm film camera and you cannot use them if they ever make a "full frame" digital camera, so why are you making a new lens line with an old lens mount when they are practically incompatible? I really don't care, because I don't use Nikon. I think that they are losing the pro market anyway. Which is a shame, because Nikon really did make some good equipment. But I'm not here to start a Nikon/Canon/Olympus/etc. penis length match. Digital cameras are useful, they are handy, but they are not yet all things to all photographers. Long live chemistry.
Skylab was also waiting for the shuttle to boost its orbit. The shuttle never made it.
And sometimes, when a engineer does everything right, bunches of people die. Just ask the military.
Lets see, I haven't actually watched COPS in years, but when I did the "criminals" fell into these categories:
1. traffic violation, often accompanied with drug possession or previous warrant
2. domestic violence, usually accompanied with drinking alcohol
3. raid on a drug dealer/producer, usually tipped off or ratted out
4. some crazy shit like a suicidal person, also associated with drugs or alcohol
5. mardi gras
I don't believe anything that I saw on COPS was the result of a wiretap. I would say that COPS is a bad example. I wonder how many hours of mundane shit the cameramen had to endure verses hours of actual programming.
Anonymous wrote:
"500 or 1000 years you say? Why wait that long? The technology is available TODAY, so why leave it to future generations?"
I'm hedging my bets when I say 500 to 1000 years. Sure we could do it now, from a technological standpoint, but we need to quit fighting stupid wars which cost money and resources. I once had an engineering professor who gave the class the whole "when an engineer screws up, people die" speech. He is right, but he also forgot to mention that also when engineers do their job right, people also die, i.e. weapon designers. I believe we will go to Mars much sooner than 500 years. Humanity also has developed the tools to set us back for long periods of time, and some countries are still working to develop such tools (nuclear weapons). Because of this, I don't have much faith in humanity to get their act togeather in my lifetime. I hope I'm wrong. So it may make your blood boil, but I've already gotten past that stage. Now I'm just sad. Sad for humanity. It is hard to be an optimist, when you live long enough to see phoney reasons for war get enough credibility and a compliant media rubber stamp it and then watch it all unfold before your eyes. My grandfather worked for Von Braun, when Von Braun was still working for the Nazi government. I believe it must have been amazing for Von Braun to live at such a time when the tools to actually make it to the moon were a realility and not just a dream. We have to tools to go to Mars, but for me, it is just a distant dream, and I'm afraid that I'm living in a daydream nightmare. So yes, my blood is beyond boiling. I just don't know what to do. And I positively hate MTV. So please, don't patronize me. And please, use your time and influence wisely. And lets try to get along and make some real progress, instead of fighting wars.
Yes, I've been getting more robo-calls as well. My answering machine will have them on there. When I call the number that shows up in the caller-id (if there is one), all I get is a busy signal. When I am home, I've gotten the robo-call with the greeting "do not hang up" to which I usually hang up. On one occasion, from robo-call from Direct-TV, I punched thru to get an operator/salesperson. As soon as a human answered, I said "put me on your no call list" and I was hung up on. Telemarketers are finding there own way to get around the no-call list. So am I, I'm using VoIP now and can set up a "white list" so I no longer get the robo-calls. Screw the telemarketers.
I believe that having the capability of orbiting the moon is significant in that it shows that significant cargo can be sent into orbits that far from earth. Right now, no one currently has the capability of sending people that far away. The Saturn V is long retired and Energia's largest booster hasn't been used to full capability. If you can send a manned craft to the moon, you could probably send a future lander there. I won't say that getting back to the moon is important or necessary, but I would say that it is an inevitable destination for humans on the way to further destinations, provided we can learn to live togeather long enough to make it that far. Outer space: maybe not the final frontier, but the next one. I mean, does anyone doubt that 500 or 1000 years from now, humans will have not set foot on Mars? I'm sure I'll be long dead by that time [that humans set foot on mars] but I'd like to think that I'll see it in my lifetime.
Could this also notify the flight crew of impending airline bankruptcy?
Oops, the heat would drive it out of an absorbant. here is the link: http://homepower.com/files/solarice.pdf
Yes, there has been an article on the homepower website on a solar powered ammonia based ice maker. The one in the article was constructed in Alabama, and would use solar heat to drive the ammonia into an absorbant, then at night, it would freeze water to make ice. Very scalable, the only nasty part about it is the ammonia. And that is fine as long as it is in a sealed system (which this was). No moving parts, very simple construction (if I recall correctly). If only knowledge was shared (and easy to find) more often.
I used to wonder what would happen if you nuked a hurricane. I was wondering if they would be intensified if you set off a nuke in one, seeing as how they are heat driven. Even in the eye wall, it may only disrupt it for a little while, then intensify with the added heat energy. It would have to be a clean device, or I'd hate to see the fallout pattern.