"Why would it not fall straight down?"
Think of it as being flung out into space and getting pulled by the anchor on earth. The part of the elevator below geosynchrynous orbit is moving slow enough to fall. The part *at* geosynchronous orbit is moving at just the right speed to not fall, and the part above geosynchronous orbit is moving fast enought to "want" to go to a higher orbit.
So in other words, the middle part of the elevator is getting pulled downward by the lower part of the elevator whereas the upper part would be pulling it back up (with greater force we would hope). This is why some proposals call for the elevator to equal or exceed double the distance to geosynchronous orbit (22,500 miles x2) others call for a modest increase past geosynchronous and a massive (asteroid sized) counterweight to be attached.
If you need a more interactive visualization just tie a rock to a rope and swing it around in a circle. Make sure your model asteroid doesn't crash into the side of an onlookers head though....
"If it comes down it will leave a path of destruction all the way around the Earth's circumference."
Actually, the designs I've seen call for the elevator structure to be made into the form of a ribbon (increadibly thin yet about 1 meter wide). The estimated weight of the ribbon is somewhere in the vincinity of 7.5 kg per km (been a while since I've seen the figures but I recall it was really ridiculously small).
In other words, if the space elevator came down it would have the same effect of having toilet paper fall from the sky! The aerodynamic properties of the ribbon would slow it down to a harmless speed. It would leave one heck of a mess though.
Also the proposals (at least the ones I've seen) have all called for it to be built at a spot along the equator, among other things this would give the benefit of a more benign climate.
Darkness is a new feature in Vista. If you're unable to work in the dark then it's your fault for not knowing how to fully use it, a new MS Certification training will remedy that.
Amen! For your money you do far better with almost any other brand. Many, many moons ago I worked at Circuit City and had the chance to closely compare all the speakers in the selection (Polk Audio Speakers sounded the best to *me*). The key is to compare different speakers (2 at a time) with music you're very familiar with and choose the ones that sound best to *you*. Also make sure the base, treble, and any other sound enhancement settings on the receiver you're using are set flat and that no Sub is engaged (unless it's part of the package you're gonna buy).
Bose knows that on a side by side comparison with some of the other audio brands they are likely to no come up on top, this is why the Wave Radio (and the "Acoustic" version) are direct mail purchase items - except in rare circumstances such as a Bose outlet store). They try to get you listen to their product in an environment where you won't have easy access to the competition (plus it would be a pain to return it in the mail, so you feel compelled to just keep it).
I'm not saying Bose is a bad brand overall (especially when compared to say cheap boombox speakers or tv speakers:) But they are way overpriced (and ok, some of their products are crap - like the bose center channel).
Back on topic, OSHA has guidelines as to what noise level is appropriate according to how long the noise is to be endured. A sound pressure level meter may be a good investement for some (or you can try to borrow one). Take it home and listen to some music and make a note on how far you can set the dial before you get into the dangerous 90db + zone (or 85 db according to some). In the case of portable players you can put your headphones next to the meter's mic (as close as your ears would be) and make a note of where the dial is set. Note that of course some music will by nature be softer or louder but this should give you a good basis to enjoy your music in a safe manner. (On a side note a SPL meter is a great way to balance out the sound levels of your speakers).
Actually I keep Knoppix 3.9 and 3.7 around for password recovery, wiping out windows restore points (and other places Win32 viruses and nuciances like to hide), and on ocassion I run F-Prot AV from the knoppix disk. Also the USB support allows me to easily use USB disks to get data on the drive that i'll need later (updated virs defs, anti-spyware progs, firefox:).
The reason I keep the older Knoppix 3.7 around is twofold, first it uses the 2.4 kernel (so if I can't get a system to boot with Knoppix 3.9 I fall back on 3.7) Also it's alot easier to enable NTFS read/write support in knoppix 3.7 - which I use again to manually pluck out infected files and archives.
Lastly, though I'm trying to find a FOSS replacement for everything I use on it, the UBCD is increadibly helpful, has quite a few utilities I'm trying to find equivalents under Linux (i'm sure they're there, just haven't had the time to learn them all).
In my experience the ubuntu disk is a little too slow booting up to use it as a recovery disk... Knoppix seems so much faster and feature loaded.
Great points on all the embedded linux systems already in the market place (heh, I may even mention the fact they may be using linux already the next time someone asks about linux!) However I think to be really mainstream Linux needs more *advertising*. Such as a major brand computer manufacturer offering it as a choice on their new home user systems (and not just the el-cheapo wal-mart pc's). If the computer comes with the OS installed and brief instructions on how to use the package manager to get more *free* software then I can see more Joe sixpacks saying "well hell, sign me up!"
When people say how much better/easier Windows is because it's more popular I can only think about car factory stereos. Sure they suck ass, or some are adequate or maybe fairly good, but you know for your money you can get a helluva more bang for your buck with an aftermarket unit, but you have to go through the trouble of an *install* and slightly alien interface. Sound familiar?
We need to get a distro or two to put up a joint ad with a respectable pc manufacturer a la Firefox NYTimes ad. I'm sure quite a lot people saw the name Firefox for the first time with that one ad (or maybe just the buzz from the ad). Heck, maybe just an ad telling consumers they should demand OS choices from their pc manufacturers could get some to consider including the option (heck if the commercial distro takes care of the software support I could see this happening). I can see it, a nice ad along the lines of: "Tom spent his whole weekend cleaning out spyware out of his Windows(tm) machine. David learned how to use (insert distro name here) - with the security and power of Linux - and within a few hours he was on his way to surfing the internet, balancing the budget and at long last making that wedding album photo cd he promised his wife 2 years ago..." "Linux, get it, learn it, do more done with your time. What can you accomplish today?"
BTW, I used to think alot of Linux distro's were maybe too complicated for the average user, then I experienced the simplicity of the choices laid out in Ubuntu and the glory that is the control panel in Mandriva, now I believe the average person can handle Linux (if the applications they want to use fall within the choices available that is) with just some simple education. If you havn't seen the Mandriva control panel and you don't want to install it to see it, just try out PC Linux OS. It's based on Mandriva and has pretty much the same control panel (just a little hidden in the menu).
How does the current MS and big business catering, anti-choice, church peddling, gay intolerant, (and I'm sure other things that come to mind but will be construed as inflamatory)ing republican party make you feel? Do you feel grossly misrepresented or were some things (i'm guessing gun rights and SUV) worth the loss in your other values/rights?
Again, not inflamatory, just trying to understand my fellow American...
What is it that keeps you going back to the Republican party for more?
Have a deposit in addition to the patent application fee. If the patent is approved you get your deposit back (minus application fee). If it is denied... no deposit for you!
Then just add some sort of discout/exemption if you're an independent inventor and/or this is your first application in XX months. So if we have a system that has a built in fine for big corps trying to pass truckloads of BS patents while still being sensitive to the little guy. (Also increasing the deposit for each failed patent filed in that year can help too...)
if you did turn into mouse man in real life you would probably gain the abilities to have cats claw at your face , make stereotypical women shriek and have a 2 year life span
As a mouseman you would also have 8 nipples, I can't see a superhero having more than 2, it's just unsuper like...
We must no longer think of them as rats... They are furry trolls, and as such the new rat/troll trap should not only immobolize but also set the creature ablaze.
Only then can we be sure... (Wonder what PETA would have to say about THAT!)
And don't forget to do your spyware cleaning from safemode and with system restore *disabled*.
BTW, this (courtesy of these folks) is starting to make CoolWebSearch look like a joy by comparison. Comes in 3 parts (as far as I can tell) spyware - Abetterinternet; Trojan - nail.exe; and some fun registry keys (most with aurora in the name) and other things I have yet to discover that keep the damned thing installed.
And yes, the irony of their CRAPWARE being called a better internet is nauseating.
if I had to choose which one to erradicate, it would be the physical variety.
Just tell the post office you want to discontinue your mail service. If that doesn't work just get a fireplace and enjoy an endless supply of free fuel delivered to your door!
(Oh, and be wary of the fumes from the pretty catalogs...)
You're assuming that people will pay for the OS, instead of pirating it.
Hmm... could Apple not simply re-instate mac clones with good quality control and limited hardware? Then we could see HP and Dell macs with OS X already included (and paid for). Could be a wise move, especially if they allow the current PC vendors to only produce lower price point macs while they (apple) manufactures the mid and high end OS X Intel and PPC boxes - thus retaining their HW profits.
I think that this is a step in the right direction. We need an viable alternative for those who cannot afford to either commute, pay for tuition (or more expensive online courses), and/or take the time off their current jobs to go to a regular college yet have the motivation to work with an online program and educate themselves. A necessity for an alternative educational system to work would be a way for it's student's coursework to be recognized by industry (perhaps by using some form of paid (yet still affordable) standardized testing or securing accreditation. Gotta get a job once you get that degree and most places demand (with reason) that your college be accredited for your degree to be recognized.
Heck, this could be a boon for private industry since they could help shape the education their prospective employees get or even go as far as create modules or options they require new or current employees to take to be qualified for their job.
I know that when my SO was attending the University of Phoenix they were charging all students for the e-books for their courses. So wether you end up using the book or not you still pay for it, or in the case of the crap that passes for texbooks there, you overpay, every time.
The big question would be what this (somewhat strong I'd guess) ceramic cloth is attached to and how much force will it exert on the structure(s) that it is attached to. What is worse is that this force will be exerted in a direction the tiles *may* not have been designed to withstand (to a great degree).
Though the other concern regarding the creation of turbulent airflow where laminar airflow is expected and it's effect on surface temperature and flight charectaristics may be quite valid.
Oh my god.... Thank you for reminging me of my first Uni job. Yes you are quite correct, your paperwork is in your hands and your hands alone. Oh and never assume the person in charge of sumbitting your hours to payroll will always do so before the deadline... I once was skipped over 3 paychecks (2 week paychecks) because of errors (happened over the christmas break so it had a snowball effect). To make it worse when they finally acknowledged the mistake they told me they could only issue two paychecks per pay period (so it took another 2 weeks before I was caught up on pay again).
But the lax atmosphere, nice toys, and sometimes great funding (omg my dept's funding ruled...) can make the job both worthwhile and expose you equipment and experiences you didnt' have. Just remember the guy in charge of the HR work is probably just as lax...
Oh and make sure your extra hours working on the project overview count as your work hours and you should be fine. Be candid with it with your boss and I'm sure they'll see it your way. I know most uni's would have the sense to not have their employees work extra unpaid hours (think lawsuit exposure).
BTW find out about any and all perks available as a university employee. There some odd ones out there (like reduced fee parking for carpoolers), dibs on "old" equipment that would be otherwise discarded, credit unions, etc.
Only a machine could not determine the difference between an I or a 1 with a line through it! Hmm... Maybe they need to add a question for each post instead of the images:
"Which of the following would you prefer: a puppy, a flower from your sweetie, or a large, properly formatted data disk."
Slashdot Mirror
"(and comming down from space gently is one of the best (most overlooked) features of a space elevator"
You obviously haven't heard of it's sister project: The Space Fun Slide.
"Why would it not fall straight down?" Think of it as being flung out into space and getting pulled by the anchor on earth. The part of the elevator below geosynchrynous orbit is moving slow enough to fall. The part *at* geosynchronous orbit is moving at just the right speed to not fall, and the part above geosynchronous orbit is moving fast enought to "want" to go to a higher orbit. So in other words, the middle part of the elevator is getting pulled downward by the lower part of the elevator whereas the upper part would be pulling it back up (with greater force we would hope). This is why some proposals call for the elevator to equal or exceed double the distance to geosynchronous orbit (22,500 miles x2) others call for a modest increase past geosynchronous and a massive (asteroid sized) counterweight to be attached. If you need a more interactive visualization just tie a rock to a rope and swing it around in a circle. Make sure your model asteroid doesn't crash into the side of an onlookers head though....
"If it comes down it will leave a path of destruction all the way around the Earth's circumference."
Actually, the designs I've seen call for the elevator structure to be made into the form of a ribbon (increadibly thin yet about 1 meter wide). The estimated weight of the ribbon is somewhere in the vincinity of 7.5 kg per km (been a while since I've seen the figures but I recall it was really ridiculously small).
In other words, if the space elevator came down it would have the same effect of having toilet paper fall from the sky! The aerodynamic properties of the ribbon would slow it down to a harmless speed. It would leave one heck of a mess though.
Also the proposals (at least the ones I've seen) have all called for it to be built at a spot along the equator, among other things this would give the benefit of a more benign climate.
"the lightbulb actually hasn't been changed."
Darkness is a new feature in Vista. If you're unable to work in the dark then it's your fault for not knowing how to fully use it, a new MS Certification training will remedy that.
--
Your ad here
Amen! For your money you do far better with almost any other brand. Many, many moons ago I worked at Circuit City and had the chance to closely compare all the speakers in the selection (Polk Audio Speakers sounded the best to *me*). The key is to compare different speakers (2 at a time) with music you're very familiar with and choose the ones that sound best to *you*. Also make sure the base, treble, and any other sound enhancement settings on the receiver you're using are set flat and that no Sub is engaged (unless it's part of the package you're gonna buy).
:) But they are way overpriced (and ok, some of their products are crap - like the bose center channel).
Bose knows that on a side by side comparison with some of the other audio brands they are likely to no come up on top, this is why the Wave Radio (and the "Acoustic" version) are direct mail purchase items - except in rare circumstances such as a Bose outlet store). They try to get you listen to their product in an environment where you won't have easy access to the competition (plus it would be a pain to return it in the mail, so you feel compelled to just keep it).
I'm not saying Bose is a bad brand overall (especially when compared to say cheap boombox speakers or tv speakers
Back on topic, OSHA has guidelines as to what noise level is appropriate according to how long the noise is to be endured. A sound pressure level meter may be a good investement for some (or you can try to borrow one). Take it home and listen to some music and make a note on how far you can set the dial before you get into the dangerous 90db + zone (or 85 db according to some). In the case of portable players you can put your headphones next to the meter's mic (as close as your ears would be) and make a note of where the dial is set. Note that of course some music will by nature be softer or louder but this should give you a good basis to enjoy your music in a safe manner. (On a side note a SPL meter is a great way to balance out the sound levels of your speakers).
I'd like to apologize for the above post, It's too early in the morning and I neglected a few line breaks :/
Actually I keep Knoppix 3.9 and 3.7 around for password recovery, wiping out windows restore points (and other places Win32 viruses and nuciances like to hide), and on ocassion I run F-Prot AV from the knoppix disk. Also the USB support allows me to easily use USB disks to get data on the drive that i'll need later (updated virs defs, anti-spyware progs, firefox :).
The reason I keep the older Knoppix 3.7 around is twofold, first it uses the 2.4 kernel (so if I can't get a system to boot with Knoppix 3.9 I fall back on 3.7) Also it's alot easier to enable NTFS read/write support in knoppix 3.7 - which I use again to manually pluck out infected files and archives.
Lastly, though I'm trying to find a FOSS replacement for everything I use on it, the UBCD is increadibly helpful, has quite a few utilities I'm trying to find equivalents under Linux (i'm sure they're there, just haven't had the time to learn them all).
In my experience the ubuntu disk is a little too slow booting up to use it as a recovery disk... Knoppix seems so much faster and feature loaded.
Great points on all the embedded linux systems already in the market place (heh, I may even mention the fact they may be using linux already the next time someone asks about linux!) However I think to be really mainstream Linux needs more *advertising*. Such as a major brand computer manufacturer offering it as a choice on their new home user systems (and not just the el-cheapo wal-mart pc's). If the computer comes with the OS installed and brief instructions on how to use the package manager to get more *free* software then I can see more Joe sixpacks saying "well hell, sign me up!"
When people say how much better/easier Windows is because it's more popular I can only think about car factory stereos. Sure they suck ass, or some are adequate or maybe fairly good, but you know for your money you can get a helluva more bang for your buck with an aftermarket unit, but you have to go through the trouble of an *install* and slightly alien interface. Sound familiar?
We need to get a distro or two to put up a joint ad with a respectable pc manufacturer a la Firefox NYTimes ad. I'm sure quite a lot people saw the name Firefox for the first time with that one ad (or maybe just the buzz from the ad). Heck, maybe just an ad telling consumers they should demand OS choices from their pc manufacturers could get some to consider including the option (heck if the commercial distro takes care of the software support I could see this happening). I can see it, a nice ad along the lines of: "Tom spent his whole weekend cleaning out spyware out of his Windows(tm) machine. David learned how to use (insert distro name here) - with the security and power of Linux - and within a few hours he was on his way to surfing the internet, balancing the budget and at long last making that wedding album photo cd he promised his wife 2 years ago..." "Linux, get it, learn it, do more done with your time. What can you accomplish today?"
BTW, I used to think alot of Linux distro's were maybe too complicated for the average user, then I experienced the simplicity of the choices laid out in Ubuntu and the glory that is the control panel in Mandriva, now I believe the average person can handle Linux (if the applications they want to use fall within the choices available that is) with just some simple education. If you havn't seen the Mandriva control panel and you don't want to install it to see it, just try out PC Linux OS. It's based on Mandriva and has pretty much the same control panel (just a little hidden in the menu).
Just curious, (and this is an honest question):
How does the current MS and big business catering, anti-choice, church peddling, gay intolerant, (and I'm sure other things that come to mind but will be construed as inflamatory)ing republican party make you feel? Do you feel grossly misrepresented or were some things (i'm guessing gun rights and SUV) worth the loss in your other values/rights?
Again, not inflamatory, just trying to understand my fellow American...
What is it that keeps you going back to the Republican party for more?
Heh, he didn't take the highground, then again he didn't change the link to tubgirl or the goatse guy.
I know I would have been tempted...
Have a deposit in addition to the patent application fee. If the patent is approved you get your deposit back (minus application fee). If it is denied... no deposit for you!
Then just add some sort of discout/exemption if you're an independent inventor and/or this is your first application in XX months. So if we have a system that has a built in fine for big corps trying to pass truckloads of BS patents while still being sensitive to the little guy. (Also increasing the deposit for each failed patent filed in that year can help too...)
if you did turn into mouse man in real life you would probably gain the abilities to have cats claw at your face , make stereotypical women shriek and have a 2 year life span
As a mouseman you would also have 8 nipples, I can't see a superhero having more than 2, it's just unsuper like...
We must no longer think of them as rats... They are furry trolls, and as such the new rat/troll trap should not only immobolize but also set the creature ablaze.
Only then can we be sure...
(Wonder what PETA would have to say about THAT!)
And don't forget to do your spyware cleaning from safemode and with system restore *disabled*. BTW, this (courtesy of these folks) is starting to make CoolWebSearch look like a joy by comparison. Comes in 3 parts (as far as I can tell) spyware - Abetterinternet; Trojan - nail.exe; and some fun registry keys (most with aurora in the name) and other things I have yet to discover that keep the damned thing installed.
And yes, the irony of their CRAPWARE being called a better internet is nauseating.
They probably wouldn't do this, to maintain backwards compatibility.
Or they could just release a patch for all "supported" versions of windows which upgrades the filesharing to be compatible with the new Windows Vista?
I vaguely remember something like this happening before...
From TFA: "more than a dozen federal charges "
Woot he doesn't get busted for merely spamming and goes to white collar resort prision. He's going to federal pond me in the ass prision!
I wonder what they do to spammers in prision...
if I had to choose which one to erradicate, it would be the physical variety.
Just tell the post office you want to discontinue your mail service. If that doesn't work just get a fireplace and enjoy an endless supply of free fuel delivered to your door!
(Oh, and be wary of the fumes from the pretty catalogs...)
You're assuming that people will pay for the OS, instead of pirating it.
Hmm... could Apple not simply re-instate mac clones with good quality control and limited hardware? Then we could see HP and Dell macs with OS X already included (and paid for). Could be a wise move, especially if they allow the current PC vendors to only produce lower price point macs while they (apple) manufactures the mid and high end OS X Intel and PPC boxes - thus retaining their HW profits.
I think that this is a step in the right direction. We need an viable alternative for those who cannot afford to either commute, pay for tuition (or more expensive online courses), and/or take the time off their current jobs to go to a regular college yet have the motivation to work with an online program and educate themselves. A necessity for an alternative educational system to work would be a way for it's student's coursework to be recognized by industry (perhaps by using some form of paid (yet still affordable) standardized testing or securing accreditation. Gotta get a job once you get that degree and most places demand (with reason) that your college be accredited for your degree to be recognized.
Heck, this could be a boon for private industry since they could help shape the education their prospective employees get or even go as far as create modules or options they require new or current employees to take to be qualified for their job.
I know that when my SO was attending the University of Phoenix they were charging all students for the e-books for their courses. So wether you end up using the book or not you still pay for it, or in the case of the crap that passes for texbooks there, you overpay, every time.
Heh, you can also just keep it simple and tell them you're intested however you have asthma. They'll leave you alone after that (worked for me!).
The big question would be what this (somewhat strong I'd guess) ceramic cloth is attached to and how much force will it exert on the structure(s) that it is attached to. What is worse is that this force will be exerted in a direction the tiles *may* not have been designed to withstand (to a great degree).
Though the other concern regarding the creation of turbulent airflow where laminar airflow is expected and it's effect on surface temperature and flight charectaristics may be quite valid.
Cool. Then we can create a beow...
You mean like DR. Octupus? Always wondered what OS he used to control his arms. Makes sense now!
Oh my god.... Thank you for reminging me of my first Uni job. Yes you are quite correct, your paperwork is in your hands and your hands alone. Oh and never assume the person in charge of sumbitting your hours to payroll will always do so before the deadline... I once was skipped over 3 paychecks (2 week paychecks) because of errors (happened over the christmas break so it had a snowball effect). To make it worse when they finally acknowledged the mistake they told me they could only issue two paychecks per pay period (so it took another 2 weeks before I was caught up on pay again).
But the lax atmosphere, nice toys, and sometimes great funding (omg my dept's funding ruled...) can make the job both worthwhile and expose you equipment and experiences you didnt' have. Just remember the guy in charge of the HR work is probably just as lax...
Oh and make sure your extra hours working on the project overview count as your work hours and you should be fine. Be candid with it with your boss and I'm sure they'll see it your way. I know most uni's would have the sense to not have their employees work extra unpaid hours (think lawsuit exposure).
BTW find out about any and all perks available as a university employee. There some odd ones out there (like reduced fee parking for carpoolers), dibs on "old" equipment that would be otherwise discarded, credit unions, etc.
Only a machine could not determine the difference between an I or a 1 with a line through it! Hmm... Maybe they need to add a question for each post instead of the images:
"Which of the following would you prefer: a puppy, a flower from your sweetie, or a large, properly formatted data disk."