...and if we landed on the moon, why aren't we there now? Well, look no further than the mirror in the bathroom to see the person responsible for that. The current "Space Program" is nothing more than a make-work program for scientists and engineers, combined with the pork-barrel benefits therein. If you want to go to the moon, and beyond, then invent some method of propulsion that doesn't throw mass out the ass end. That's the only way we'll ever have a REAL SPACE PROGRAM!
Philly has terrible schools because the teachers unions have killed off every reform. Edison went in to fix the thing and they did everything they could to cause it to fail. The schools are bad because the people running them are corrupt and inept.
FYI, Washington, DC, schools spend by far the most money per student of any schools in the nation and have the worst results, all because of corruption.
Right now the automated call answering systems are still primitive. I know because I still write them. However, with a system that could actually do voice recognition well, I could write a system people would use because it would be like talking to a live person. The current problem is, and will remain for the near future, voice recognition. Once that hurdle is overcome, then look out!
The EU just required that VAT taxes be paid on everything purchased on the Web, including from oversease, so I suspect that rather than go through all the war and whipass in dealing with the EU they just flip you off as a customer. So, call up Brussels and bitch! But don't expect anything to change, unless you expect it to get worse, then it will change.
Tennessee has the most corrupt of the state legislatures in the entire United States. They keep no public records of who buys who and have stopped all bills to open these records for decades. The MPAA/RIAA has already bought them, so the hearing is just a formality. Consider it a done deal!
First, as to the current Space Shuttle, the only trip it should make is atop the 747 on it's way to a museum. Any engineer (I'm one, BTW) can look at the Space Shuttle and tell that the thing is just an accident looking for a place to happen. The amazing thing is that they've managed to launch it 107 times and only have it self-destruct on two occasions. Anything that is dropping pieces off it, either intentionally or or accidently, is not something that defines the word "Reliable." And the fact that it takes $500M to launch it is way beyond the pale.
Right now they keep throwing money at something new, only to decide it won't work for some reason, and then they go off on something else new. I think that the reason this keeps getting shot down is that it is getting rolled over by the Perpetual Pork Barrel of the current Space Shuttle contractors. After all, $500M/launch is nothing to sneeze at, unless you're paying the bill.
If it were my decision I would stop all manned launching, mothball the Space Station and go balls to the wall developing the second generation space vehicle. The first criteria for it is that it not drop pieces along the way.
And where is the real breakthrough propulsion system? Something totally revolutionary, something like the "impulse drive" of Star Trek? It's bound to be out there somewhere, so where is the money to spend on it? The stuff we're using now isn't any more advanced than a gunpowder rocket. And here's an interesting point: What if you invented the "impulse drive?" What happens when you go to patent it? Does it get classified "Top Secret" because of it's military applications? I wonder if someone has actually invented something revolutionary but is afraid to attempt to patent it? Considering the current climate in Washington it's something that I would seriously consider! And I suspect that I'd decide to just put my hands in my pockets and walk away.
I noticed that one of the electronic retailers had JVC S-VHS recorders for $89 last week. A S-VHS recorder with S-VHS tape is pretty close to the standard digitized stuff. The only trick to using four of them is to figure out how to make the remote control only one at a time. You could probably spend less than $100 to rig up something that would work. So, for around $500 you've got four machines that will record six hours of stuff each. Of course the individual VCR's won't record and playback at the same time, but nothing is perfect.
Yes it is. We've been selling the stuff for over a year. There are about 3000+ systems in the field running in an in-skin system, i.e. a board that plugs directly into the switch (PBX). There is also a stand-alone system available.
http://www.1cti.com/index.asp
Slashdot Mirror
...It screamed "Get Off ME, you fat turd!" Yeah, just what I need after a long day at the office.
Philly has terrible schools because the teachers unions have killed off every reform. Edison went in to fix the thing and they did everything they could to cause it to fail. The schools are bad because the people running them are corrupt and inept. FYI, Washington, DC, schools spend by far the most money per student of any schools in the nation and have the worst results, all because of corruption.
The phone company still charges for touch-tone service.
God, don't give them fools at the RIAA any ideas!
Right now the automated call answering systems are still primitive. I know because I still write them. However, with a system that could actually do voice recognition well, I could write a system people would use because it would be like talking to a live person. The current problem is, and will remain for the near future, voice recognition. Once that hurdle is overcome, then look out!
The EU just required that VAT taxes be paid on everything purchased on the Web, including from oversease, so I suspect that rather than go through all the war and whipass in dealing with the EU they just flip you off as a customer. So, call up Brussels and bitch! But don't expect anything to change, unless you expect it to get worse, then it will change.
The short story was called "We Purchased People."
Tennessee has the most corrupt of the state legislatures in the entire United States. They keep no public records of who buys who and have stopped all bills to open these records for decades. The MPAA/RIAA has already bought them, so the hearing is just a formality. Consider it a done deal!
First, as to the current Space Shuttle, the only trip it should make is atop the 747 on it's way to a museum. Any engineer (I'm one, BTW) can look at the Space Shuttle and tell that the thing is just an accident looking for a place to happen. The amazing thing is that they've managed to launch it 107 times and only have it self-destruct on two occasions. Anything that is dropping pieces off it, either intentionally or or accidently, is not something that defines the word "Reliable." And the fact that it takes $500M to launch it is way beyond the pale. Right now they keep throwing money at something new, only to decide it won't work for some reason, and then they go off on something else new. I think that the reason this keeps getting shot down is that it is getting rolled over by the Perpetual Pork Barrel of the current Space Shuttle contractors. After all, $500M/launch is nothing to sneeze at, unless you're paying the bill. If it were my decision I would stop all manned launching, mothball the Space Station and go balls to the wall developing the second generation space vehicle. The first criteria for it is that it not drop pieces along the way. And where is the real breakthrough propulsion system? Something totally revolutionary, something like the "impulse drive" of Star Trek? It's bound to be out there somewhere, so where is the money to spend on it? The stuff we're using now isn't any more advanced than a gunpowder rocket. And here's an interesting point: What if you invented the "impulse drive?" What happens when you go to patent it? Does it get classified "Top Secret" because of it's military applications? I wonder if someone has actually invented something revolutionary but is afraid to attempt to patent it? Considering the current climate in Washington it's something that I would seriously consider! And I suspect that I'd decide to just put my hands in my pockets and walk away.
I noticed that one of the electronic retailers had JVC S-VHS recorders for $89 last week. A S-VHS recorder with S-VHS tape is pretty close to the standard digitized stuff. The only trick to using four of them is to figure out how to make the remote control only one at a time. You could probably spend less than $100 to rig up something that would work. So, for around $500 you've got four machines that will record six hours of stuff each. Of course the individual VCR's won't record and playback at the same time, but nothing is perfect.
Yes it is. We've been selling the stuff for over a year. There are about 3000+ systems in the field running in an in-skin system, i.e. a board that plugs directly into the switch (PBX). There is also a stand-alone system available. http://www.1cti.com/index.asp