First of all, that was meant to be humor. Second of all, I do race my modified '97 porsche 911 in SCCA and PCA club events on a regular basis. I'll send you web links to my race results if you'd like. And yes, I have seen 170 mph in my car, albeit not for 500 miles (more like
I'm probably biased against nascar simply because I don't like rednecks, country music, pickup-trucks, etc. FYI My girlfriend comes from a redneck family and I don't like a single one of those ignorant bastards.
At first I was like okay this is at least as exciting as soccer.
First off, soccer (or football, as everyone else on earth calls it) is by far the most popular sport on earth. There are more humans who enjoy soccer than any other sport. Just because americans with MTV attention spans don't like (or don't understand) soccer, that doesn't make it less exciting. I personally find american football horribly boring. 45 seconds of game play followed by 3 minutes of waiting.
I actually began to pay real attention
as opposed to counterfeit or virtual attention?
NASCAR is a hell of a lot smarter than I was giving it credit for.
Compared to whom?
Races play out a lot like a chess game, there is an immense amount of strategy involved.
Dare I ask... do you even know how to play chess?
Then I watched some more and the wrecks were fricken awesome.
Watching any race just to see the wrecks is like drinking alcohol for the express purpose of vomiting.
Hell there is a concerted effort going on with everyone at very high rates of reaction times... one fuckup and bam they all go down.
Is there some other type of racing where this is not the case? Seems like Touring Cup, Formula 1, and LeMans racing all have similar (and higher) speeds involved and MUCH more difficult tracks, yet there are not nearly as many accidents as there are in a typical nascar "race". Is this just due to lack of skill of the nascar drivers, or is it poor rules and regulation of acceptable track behavior?
But for techies and people willing to look past it's somewhat boring motif there is a somewhat rewarding experience there.
I'd be willing to wager that most techs would (hopefully) see through the farcical buffoonery which is nascar. The technological innovation of the machines and the higher level of driver skill required for Touring Car, Formula 1, and LeMans racing would be more likely to attract the techie.
Perhaps one too many hours of Gran Tourismo broked my brain.
Perhaps so.
Re:Hard to explain to CS people...
on
Game Theory at 190mph
·
· Score: 4, Informative
European racing grew out of an entirely different concept. There the idea was the "test." Pitting the machines of different manufacturers against each other to see which one could best negotiate its way between two points over the road. The driver was considered largely incidental. There merely because someone had to be there to operate the machine.
This is incorrect. While european auto racing did stem from testing the superior vehicles that europe produces, the driver has always been a celebrated element. The "checkered flag" which nascar fans seem to enjoy so much was first used by the Germans.
My largest (technology oriented) complaints with nascar are the ancient technology used in the engines (pushrod V8's, what is this the 1950's?) and the fact that it's called "stock car" racing. There is not one single part in common between the nascar ford taurus and the ford taurus you get at the ford dealer. nascar is not stock car racing. Real stock car racing is called "Touring Car" racing, where the cars are basically showroom stock, as they are at any dealership.
This young specimen fits neatly into my previous post regarding the overwhelming presence of rednecks and the unsurprising lack of intelligence among the nascar demographic.
Dwane, Bubba, and Randy go to a NASCAR race on Saturday afternoon. The beer vendor will only sell two beers at a time and each redneck can only carry three beers at a time. One of the good ole' boys must stay in the bleachers to save seats for the other two. What is the minimum number trips from the stands to the beer vendor to get all the boys liqored up before the race?
I believe this "math problem" sums up nascar quite nicely.
Earlier this the year it was widely believed that NASCAR racing could be used as a tool for studying game theory. New findings indicate that NASCAR is infact nothing more than study in redneck behavior. Details at 11.
You know (shaking the finger of logic and wisdom), if they (MS) sold such a product for the GNU environment for a couple hundred bucks...I would buy it.
Too bad it'll never happen. I'm sure if such a project began within MS, Bill (or some exec) would scream "Heresy!". Remember, a win for GNU = a loss for MS in most cirsumstances.
Providing, of course, it didn't totally suck!
MS Sales Rep: "Well Sir, "doesn't suck" wasn't listed as one of your product requirements... Sorry, no refunds!"
It's two W8's mated together at the crank, plus quad turbos. The W8 is available in the current VW passat. The beauty of the W8 engine is that it is so compact - it's smaller than most standard V6's. The cylinder banks in the W8 are only 15 degrees apart, and they share common heads. It's a very unique design that no one else is working with.
If you can put a v8 in the front & a v8 in the back, both working perfectly syncronized at all speeds, then yes, you're an engineering talent.
Actually there's a guy who has put two 16v VW engines into his Golf. One in front and one in back with all the proper linkages so that they are synchronised. I don't remember the link, but that took some serious engineering talent!!
Where's the innovation? It may be an impressive example of what existing car technologies are capable of, but what's new about it?
Perhaps the fact that no one has achieved such a mechanical marvel before? Or the extreme amount of engineering talent and resources that it requires to develop something of that magnitude? Think outside "the box" a little buddy...
I don't want a car that's cool from a geek perspective. I want a car that's cool from a motorhead perspective.
Asking for a car that is cool from a geek perspective is like asking for a computer that's cool from a motor-head perspective.
I personally dislike all the electronic gadgets and doo-dads. I drive a Porsche 911, special ordered to have NO sunroof, NO power locks, NO heated seats, NO power windows, and yes folks... NO stereo. I absolutely love it. It is the best car in the world. Powerful, reliable, clean... And no wacky electronic gadgets standing between me, and the most ultimate driving experience available to a human.
1.) Smokey Diesels.
Diesels do not have a history of being smokey. 1 diesel engine, the 70s GM diesel V-8. It was an America only engine. EU doesn't have a problem with diesels.
Agreed. Whoever said that needs to check out the VW/Audi TDI engines. Very high tech with their direct-injection and turbos, very economical with 50 miles per gallon, quite powerful with 150 ft/lbs of torque from a 1.9l engine, and QUIET and CLEAN. No clatter and black smoke here.
1. Start going to the gym you lazy bastard. And put down the cheetos. Or you'll end up a flabby out-of-shape wimp in about 10 years. (did I just say that??)
2. Work harder in school! Study dammit! Or you'll be pretty dissappointed in about 10 years.
3. Get laid at every chance you get. Seize the day! Or you'll be pretty dissappointed with yourself in about 10 years.
1. Buy lots of stock in Qualcomm in 1999 for $50/share and sell it all in 2000 for $600/share.
2. Don't have sex with the weird chick with the really short hair.
3. DO have sex with the blonde that drives an Audi
4. Learn to do calculus before the calc midterm.
5. Don't drive through a certain intersection on May 4th 2001.
6. Get in lots of trouble with the cops before you turn 18 so that it stays on your juvenile record. Remember kids - after 18, it stays on your rap sheet for life.
An 11 year old snuck into his classroom during lunch and changed some of his grades on his teacher's computer. He was caught and is now facing FELONY computer fraud charges. Tell me that's not a bit ridiculous.
In this case, it's the teacher who should be charged with criminal neglegance for not securing her PC.
So that's why my Windows XP machine at work is always crashing! Because bugs are cool! A-ha!
Seriously though... I have every single update applied from the windows update and I still get Internet Explorer crashing regularly. (I have NO additional plugins or anything else installed - this machine is brand new as of last wednesday!). Also, I frequently get "Windows has encountered a serious error. Sumbit report? blah blah blah. If anyone knows how to fix this, please reply!!! The IT "experts" at work have no clue how to fix it. They keep telling me to go to windows update but I've already applied it all. I hope Billy is reading this! Throw me a bone here Bill! Help me out! Your crap dont work!
Obviously this is another ploy to charge absurd amounts of money for a JAWV (Just Another Windows Version).
If your goal is run many OS instances on the same hardware (in a production server environment), why don't you just get an IBM mainframe? They are MUCH more reliable than tinker-toy x86 servers, and IBM has made a name for themselves lately selling Linux on their mainframes.
Integrating virtual machine software with the Windows OS sounds like an answer to the wrong question.
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First of all, that was meant to be humor. Second of all, I do race my modified '97 porsche 911 in SCCA and PCA club events on a regular basis. I'll send you web links to my race results if you'd like. And yes, I have seen 170 mph in my car, albeit not for 500 miles (more like
I'm probably biased against nascar simply because I don't like rednecks, country music, pickup-trucks, etc. FYI My girlfriend comes from a redneck family and I don't like a single one of those ignorant bastards.
At first I was like okay this is at least as exciting as soccer.
First off, soccer (or football, as everyone else on earth calls it) is by far the most popular sport on earth. There are more humans who enjoy soccer than any other sport. Just because americans with MTV attention spans don't like (or don't understand) soccer, that doesn't make it less exciting. I personally find american football horribly boring. 45 seconds of game play followed by 3 minutes of waiting.
I actually began to pay real attention
as opposed to counterfeit or virtual attention?
NASCAR is a hell of a lot smarter than I was giving it credit for.
Compared to whom?
Races play out a lot like a chess game, there is an immense amount of strategy involved.
Dare I ask... do you even know how to play chess?
Then I watched some more and the wrecks were fricken awesome.
Watching any race just to see the wrecks is like drinking alcohol for the express purpose of vomiting.
Hell there is a concerted effort going on with everyone at very high rates of reaction times... one fuckup and bam they all go down.
Is there some other type of racing where this is not the case? Seems like Touring Cup, Formula 1, and LeMans racing all have similar (and higher) speeds involved and MUCH more difficult tracks, yet there are not nearly as many accidents as there are in a typical nascar "race". Is this just due to lack of skill of the nascar drivers, or is it poor rules and regulation of acceptable track behavior?
But for techies and people willing to look past it's somewhat boring motif there is a somewhat rewarding experience there.
I'd be willing to wager that most techs would (hopefully) see through the farcical buffoonery which is nascar. The technological innovation of the machines and the higher level of driver skill required for Touring Car, Formula 1, and LeMans racing would be more likely to attract the techie.
Perhaps one too many hours of Gran Tourismo broked my brain.
Perhaps so.
European racing grew out of an entirely different concept. There the idea was the "test." Pitting the machines of different manufacturers against each other to see which one could best negotiate its way between two points over the road. The driver was considered largely incidental. There merely because someone had to be there to operate the machine.
This is incorrect. While european auto racing did stem from testing the superior vehicles that europe produces, the driver has always been a celebrated element. The "checkered flag" which nascar fans seem to enjoy so much was first used by the Germans.
My largest (technology oriented) complaints with nascar are the ancient technology used in the engines (pushrod V8's, what is this the 1950's?) and the fact that it's called "stock car" racing. There is not one single part in common between the nascar ford taurus and the ford taurus you get at the ford dealer. nascar is not stock car racing. Real stock car racing is called "Touring Car" racing, where the cars are basically showroom stock, as they are at any dealership.
Or fans without mullets. Or intelligence.
+1 insiteful!@ ps nascar rulez!!!
This young specimen fits neatly into my previous post regarding the overwhelming presence of rednecks and the unsurprising lack of intelligence among the nascar demographic.
Amen brother. Mod parent up. And add Bud-lite and Wal-mart to that list.
To quote an AC:
Dwane, Bubba, and Randy go to a NASCAR race on Saturday afternoon. The beer vendor will only sell two beers at a time and each redneck can only carry three beers at a time. One of the good ole' boys must stay in the bleachers to save seats for the other two. What is the minimum number trips from the stands to the beer vendor to get all the boys liqored up before the race?
I believe this "math problem" sums up nascar quite nicely.
August 2003 News Flash!
Earlier this the year it was widely believed that NASCAR racing could be used as a tool for studying game theory. New findings indicate that NASCAR is infact nothing more than study in redneck behavior. Details at 11.
but you always need a target machine for testing!
Either that or VMware...
You know (shaking the finger of logic and wisdom), if they (MS) sold such a product for the GNU environment for a couple hundred bucks...I would buy it.
Too bad it'll never happen. I'm sure if such a project began within MS, Bill (or some exec) would scream "Heresy!". Remember, a win for GNU = a loss for MS in most cirsumstances.
Providing, of course, it didn't totally suck!
MS Sales Rep: "Well Sir, "doesn't suck" wasn't listed as one of your product requirements... Sorry, no refunds!"
That's just it - it isn't "just two V8's".
It's two W8's mated together at the crank, plus quad turbos. The W8 is available in the current VW passat. The beauty of the W8 engine is that it is so compact - it's smaller than most standard V6's. The cylinder banks in the W8 are only 15 degrees apart, and they share common heads. It's a very unique design that no one else is working with.
If you can put a v8 in the front & a v8 in the back, both working perfectly syncronized at all speeds, then yes, you're an engineering talent.
Actually there's a guy who has put two 16v VW engines into his Golf. One in front and one in back with all the proper linkages so that they are synchronised. I don't remember the link, but that took some serious engineering talent!!
That was a factor in my decision ;-)
The German's aren't quite as good at the electronics as they think they are.
But not nearly as bad as the British.
The Germans make some damn good lighting products (Hella) though...
Where's the innovation? It may be an impressive example of what existing car technologies are capable of, but what's new about it?
Perhaps the fact that no one has achieved such a mechanical marvel before? Or the extreme amount of engineering talent and resources that it requires to develop something of that magnitude? Think outside "the box" a little buddy...
Yes... Manual transmission is the only way to drive.
And the new Cooper S isa sexy beast! Especially at that price... mmmmm.
I don't want a car that's cool from a geek perspective. I want a car that's cool from a motorhead perspective.
Asking for a car that is cool from a geek perspective is like asking for a computer that's cool from a motor-head perspective.
I personally dislike all the electronic gadgets and doo-dads. I drive a Porsche 911, special ordered to have NO sunroof, NO power locks, NO heated seats, NO power windows, and yes folks... NO stereo. I absolutely love it. It is the best car in the world. Powerful, reliable, clean... And no wacky electronic gadgets standing between me, and the most ultimate driving experience available to a human.
Save the gadgets for your cubicle.
1.) Smokey Diesels. Diesels do not have a history of being smokey. 1 diesel engine, the 70s GM diesel V-8. It was an America only engine. EU doesn't have a problem with diesels.
Agreed. Whoever said that needs to check out the VW/Audi TDI engines. Very high tech with their direct-injection and turbos, very economical with 50 miles per gallon, quite powerful with 150 ft/lbs of torque from a 1.9l engine, and QUIET and CLEAN. No clatter and black smoke here.
1. Start going to the gym you lazy bastard. And put down the cheetos. Or you'll end up a flabby out-of-shape wimp in about 10 years. (did I just say that??)
2. Work harder in school! Study dammit! Or you'll be pretty dissappointed in about 10 years.
3. Get laid at every chance you get. Seize the day! Or you'll be pretty dissappointed with yourself in about 10 years.
Am I sensing a theme here??
Oh yeah... and Don't get that stupid tattoo!!
1. Buy lots of stock in Qualcomm in 1999 for $50/share and sell it all in 2000 for $600/share.
2. Don't have sex with the weird chick with the really short hair.
3. DO have sex with the blonde that drives an Audi
4. Learn to do calculus before the calc midterm.
5. Don't drive through a certain intersection on May 4th 2001.
6. Get in lots of trouble with the cops before you turn 18 so that it stays on your juvenile record. Remember kids - after 18, it stays on your rap sheet for life.
The word "cracker" is a "TASTY TREAT"
It is also a caucasian, when being spoken to by an elderly african-american gentleman.
An 11 year old snuck into his classroom during lunch and changed some of his grades on his teacher's computer. He was caught and is now facing FELONY computer fraud charges. Tell me that's not a bit ridiculous.
In this case, it's the teacher who should be charged with criminal neglegance for not securing her PC.
So that's why my Windows XP machine at work is always crashing! Because bugs are cool! A-ha!
Seriously though... I have every single update applied from the windows update and I still get Internet Explorer crashing regularly. (I have NO additional plugins or anything else installed - this machine is brand new as of last wednesday!). Also, I frequently get "Windows has encountered a serious error. Sumbit report? blah blah blah. If anyone knows how to fix this, please reply!!! The IT "experts" at work have no clue how to fix it. They keep telling me to go to windows update but I've already applied it all. I hope Billy is reading this! Throw me a bone here Bill! Help me out! Your crap dont work!
...It's an undocumented feature!
Obviously this is another ploy to charge absurd amounts of money for a JAWV (Just Another Windows Version).
If your goal is run many OS instances on the same hardware (in a production server environment), why don't you just get an IBM mainframe? They are MUCH more reliable than tinker-toy x86 servers, and IBM has made a name for themselves lately selling Linux on their mainframes.
Integrating virtual machine software with the Windows OS sounds like an answer to the wrong question.