The only other thing to keep in mind is that nuclear power requires highly technical people and technologically advanced gear, and if it is mismanaged (Chernobyl anyone?) it can lead to disasters that a carbon fueled plant can only dream of.
Then there is the issue of waste disposal. If even the US can't get that sorted out what about poorer countries where corruption and other evil intent is the rule rather than the exception. We're currently flogging Iran for attempting to activate nuclear facilities...
Using the ideas set forth by others in order to bolster an argument in a paper is one thing - that's not plagiarism. What people get cheesed off at is taking whole paragraphs from another source and passing them off as their own.
I'll bet if one of this dude's co-workers presented an idea to their boss that he himself had worked hard on - effectively taking credit for another's ideas - said dude who is now ranting about all this plagiarism jive would have a fit.
Here's an idea - someone submit an article to a major publication with major bits of his work lifted word for word and see how long it takes for a lawyer to contact you;-)
It ends up admitting that the conventional, old-skool, way of creating a reference book was indeed correct, that we really do need a final, singular referee who can sign off on the text within. So we've come full circle. Congratulations.
The fact is that the way forward in this world is with the computer, so whilst pen an paper and text books are extremely important, they also need to be exposed to the concept of using a computer. And the fact that this can facilitate communication could possibly have beneficial political effects as it helps to promote free speech.
As for the device not having an interface similar to the most common we see today in the Mac and Windows, bear in mind that just because many of these kids may be non-European, believe it or not they may actually be intelligent enough to adapt once presented with the more mainstream environments.
I think that the "free will" that we should be concerned with is that of an individual being allowed to make a decision without being unwillingly influenced by other humans. And nothing else. Lots of physiological and psychological factors determine what decisions we make, but beyond that we should have no other human force us to make a decision of another.
3. The proposal to jail people who committed crimes is now entering (even if does not pass) the consiousness of the mainstream
Erm... I think there might just be a precedent for this going back, say several thousand years or so. In fact, I hear tell that there's a prison or two in the good ol' USA. Hmm...
Good luck with the hunt for LPs. You can try yard sales as a start, but stick to yard sales in the better parts of town. Also, when you do find a cache, ask about the gear they used to play it on. You may find they had some really decent equipment for that.
Since you are into DIY electronics, you may try Bottlehead tube amp kits. They make highly acclaimed kit gear and are very supportive of their product. They have a forum on the Audio Asylum site where you can interact with the owners. Loads of mods to be made on their gear as well.
If you want to contact me, you can get me on elbowgeek(at)gmail.com if you have further questions.
When choosing a turntable I'd avoid the cheapo plastic fantastic models like unto the plague. Look for a shop that sells the Project or Rega brands. And plug it into a decent phono preamp; my recommendation is to find an older (70s-era) integrated amp from Pioneer, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. and use it's phono preamp, or look at the Needle Doctor site for some good recommendations.
As for software, there's lots about, and the hunt is a lot of fun. Jazz records are supposed to be extremely rare, but I found a fellow (who has subsequently become a close friend) who owns just about every jazz record released since 1949!
For open reel, do be careful what you get, I agree. I lucked into a Pioneer RT-701 in working condition, but a good model in need of a refurbishment is a good investment. Check out http://www.audiokarma.org/ for some great people with a vast amount of knowledge on the subject, who are good people who won't talk down to you. Excellent resource.
Best of luck in your new audio journey, and like I said, any questions, I'll be glad to answer.
Its amazing how we've come to accept that vinyl is truly dead and that one can't find the hardware or software anywhere. Ever.
When in fact it's better than ever. New releases are pressed all the time, often with better sound quality than in the past. Heavy vinyl (180-200 grams), pure, quiet vinyl and all. You can get everything from Diana Krall to Britney Spears to modern punk to all analog rereleases of past greats. Also, don't forget that there's literally megatonnes of used vinyl. See the link below for the ultimate resource of which pressings are the best, how to take care of your vinyl, etc.
As for hardware, there's some amazing choices out there. Used classic turntables such as the Thorens TD124 are not at all expensive, and many new hifi firms such as Project and Rega and VPI are producing some extremely good units. Marantz, Yamaha, Denon and many other mid-fi producers are coming out with quality turntables again due to demand and many new surround sound receivers from those manufacturers are featuring phono preamps. Not to mention Technics still sells their SL-1200 for both the DJ and home markets.
And there's loads more. Check out the Vinyl Asylum first. If you have any questions, drop me an email and I'll be happy to answer.
Oh, just to ramble some more, but also consider how much fun I've had since collecting vinyl again. I've met a guy who was a DJ in London in the 60s who sold me his copy of Sgt. Peppers LHCB, which turns out to be a copy given him hot off the press with a sticker saying Promotional Copy, do not sell, in mint condition. His stories are incredible. I've found music and other recorded oddities which will never see the light of day in digital formats. I've also heard music sound so real that I get goosebumps; you won't get that with digital.
Sorry for the rambling, but I'm always astounded by the common refrain: They don't press vinyl and you can't get record players anymore. And yet all of that is right in front of our eyes...
That doesn't matter in the end - fact is that the RIAA is looking to cut down on paying those who work hard to bring us music. And for that, they are scum.
Damn, I wish I could frame this reply. It says everything I wanted to say in an earlier post - many thanks.
Just to add perspective to the observance that most music just too safe, I have read that the real decline came when the big labels' original owners, many of them moguls in the old sense, retired, died or stepped aside to let in the MBAs and accountants. The moguls were nutty and every bit as greedy, but were at least real human beings, as opposed to the coked out executrons minding the store today. The moguls at least gave the A&R people some freedom to develop real artists over time, and quality at least had a chance to bloom.
inferior quality of pirated copies sold to the public.
Now this is a laugh! The record companies have been consistently pushing worse and worse quality sounding recordings on the public for at least a decade now, with insane levels of compression and poor quality processing the norm nowadays.
I bought Heart's last effort, which was a welcome return to their rockin' roots, but it was utterly unlistenable due to the compression and resulting distortion. No dynamics to speak off. Awful!
you can have better sound capture, shaping, and playback equipment than Sam Phillips had for Elvis Presley, then Geoff Emerick had for the Beatles.
Hang about there... The rule of thumb is that sound quality reached a peak in the period 1958-62. Since then the only change has been in the size, cost, features and convenience of recording production and reproduction. If you listen to any of the Everest releases from that period, which were recorded on 35mm tape, on either (properly cleaned) vinyl or the commercially available, prerecorded open-reel tape, you will know what I mean. You'd probably also chuck out your digital music collection in disgust.
I guarantee if you could hear the original Sun tapes on period equipment you would be amazed at the clarity. What we hear of those tapes so many years later is an abomination and usually many generations of copying, etc.
For my part, I rarely listen to digital music - it's open reel or vinyl for me.
Erm, perhaps you, Mel Gibson and Michael Richards could also get together over coffee and debate when spewing racial hatred is acceptable or not.
Also to consider: Loss of life is bad when it involves innocent people. Hello. This is not up for debate. Then again, what if we decided that the loss of *your* life was acceptable? I think you'd stop even thinking of arguing this silliness.
What would be great is if we fought wars entirely with robot machinery which doesn't affect the ordinary citizen. Do it over military test ranges like a big ol' war game and the best killer robots win, kinda like that TV show with the robot wars in it. Then one day you wake up and the newspapers are written in Swahili.
Note to Americans: when you start noticing that your local newspaper is written in proper English and MacDonalds has started full tea service at around five o'clock you'll know that the Brits have finally retaken the New World for their own...
With webcams so cheap and light these days, would it be practical to mount one in an RC plane? Think of the fun you could have if you managed to mount a cam in the pilot's position with the guns as well. Of course, the practicalities of transmitting the cam signal back to base etc. is probably outside of the scope of most hobbyists.
Which brings to mind the OS/2 vs. Windows debate..
on
Why Vista Took So Long
·
· Score: 1
Around the time Windows was achieving dominance over OS/2, there were vicious debates over which was superior, as we now do with the likes of Linux vs. Windows. However, one of the biggest debates was not over the more useful technical aspects, but over how long it took to boot each operating system!
Seriously, geeks would expend so much hot air on the issue that it got ridiculous - as if they spent their whole day rebooting their computers, as opposed to actual useful work.
What I can say about XP is that it allows me to record the music that makes me money, and it's been extremely reliable in that. It also allows me to do the accounting for the business very reliably, as I guess any good OS should. No real complaints, except for the obvious security issues which are well documented. Although its the security issue which *isn't* documented which gets ya.
As for game machines, I poke and prod at the games on 'em, but I usually get bored after I realise that, after oohing and ahhing over the wonderful new generation of graphics, they've basically not changed since the 80's and get bored easily. And I don't need one more thing gathering dust round here, thank you *grin*.
Ya know, you've got a point. I often wonder if that man is not just a little unhinged, which is what makes him so entertaining - you never know what he's going to do next *grin*.
In all seriousness, there's lots of instances in which Ballmer and MS could have truly taken the high road in discussion of issues which impact their business. For instance, instead of making reasonable and sane representations to their customers about the advantages of their closed-source software over open-source, they immediately react by foaming at the mouth, throw chairs and resort to subterfuge and sabotage in order to destroy the OSS menace. Which, at the end of the day, only makes them look all the less trustworthy and, well, sane.
It's clear that Ballmer is in the business for the thrill and game of conquering business enemies and much less meeting the needs of his customers. It is at this point that one can truly say that MS has lost it's way as a computer solution provider and has begun the process of self-destruction. Sad, really.
Actually my sig is merely a way to whore mod points with the locals here. I actually use XP for most tasks, and I don't think it sucks once you tame it.
As for gaming, I don't have the attention span to play games of any kind, but I'm sure that the XBox is pretty good. Hmm, now if someone were to come up with an open-source game machine: A version of Linux optimized for graphics performance running on a PC box that's stripped down to just a CPU and a GPU. Hmmm...
Slashdot Mirror
The only other thing to keep in mind is that nuclear power requires highly technical people and technologically advanced gear, and if it is mismanaged (Chernobyl anyone?) it can lead to disasters that a carbon fueled plant can only dream of.
Then there is the issue of waste disposal. If even the US can't get that sorted out what about poorer countries where corruption and other evil intent is the rule rather than the exception. We're currently flogging Iran for attempting to activate nuclear facilities...
Using the ideas set forth by others in order to bolster an argument in a paper is one thing - that's not plagiarism. What people get cheesed off at is taking whole paragraphs from another source and passing them off as their own.
;-)
I'll bet if one of this dude's co-workers presented an idea to their boss that he himself had worked hard on - effectively taking credit for another's ideas - said dude who is now ranting about all this plagiarism jive would have a fit.
Here's an idea - someone submit an article to a major publication with major bits of his work lifted word for word and see how long it takes for a lawyer to contact you
It ends up admitting that the conventional, old-skool, way of creating a reference book was indeed correct, that we really do need a final, singular referee who can sign off on the text within. So we've come full circle. Congratulations.
The fact is that the way forward in this world is with the computer, so whilst pen an paper and text books are extremely important, they also need to be exposed to the concept of using a computer. And the fact that this can facilitate communication could possibly have beneficial political effects as it helps to promote free speech.
As for the device not having an interface similar to the most common we see today in the Mac and Windows, bear in mind that just because many of these kids may be non-European, believe it or not they may actually be intelligent enough to adapt once presented with the more mainstream environments.
Cheers
Thanks
I think that the "free will" that we should be concerned with is that of an individual being allowed to make a decision without being unwillingly influenced by other humans. And nothing else. Lots of physiological and psychological factors determine what decisions we make, but beyond that we should have no other human force us to make a decision of another.
Erm... I think there might just be a precedent for this going back, say several thousand years or so. In fact, I hear tell that there's a prison or two in the good ol' USA. Hmm...
Good luck with the hunt for LPs. You can try yard sales as a start, but stick to yard sales in the better parts of town. Also, when you do find a cache, ask about the gear they used to play it on. You may find they had some really decent equipment for that.
Since you are into DIY electronics, you may try Bottlehead tube amp kits. They make highly acclaimed kit gear and are very supportive of their product. They have a forum on the Audio Asylum site where you can interact with the owners. Loads of mods to be made on their gear as well.
If you want to contact me, you can get me on elbowgeek(at)gmail.com if you have further questions.
Cheers
When choosing a turntable I'd avoid the cheapo plastic fantastic models like unto the plague. Look for a shop that sells the Project or Rega brands. And plug it into a decent phono preamp; my recommendation is to find an older (70s-era) integrated amp from Pioneer, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. and use it's phono preamp, or look at the Needle Doctor site for some good recommendations.
As for software, there's lots about, and the hunt is a lot of fun. Jazz records are supposed to be extremely rare, but I found a fellow (who has subsequently become a close friend) who owns just about every jazz record released since 1949!
For open reel, do be careful what you get, I agree. I lucked into a Pioneer RT-701 in working condition, but a good model in need of a refurbishment is a good investment. Check out http://www.audiokarma.org/ for some great people with a vast amount of knowledge on the subject, who are good people who won't talk down to you. Excellent resource.
Best of luck in your new audio journey, and like I said, any questions, I'll be glad to answer.
Cheers
Ah, allow me to illuminate :-)
Its amazing how we've come to accept that vinyl is truly dead and that one can't find the hardware or software anywhere. Ever.
When in fact it's better than ever. New releases are pressed all the time, often with better sound quality than in the past. Heavy vinyl (180-200 grams), pure, quiet vinyl and all. You can get everything from Diana Krall to Britney Spears to modern punk to all analog rereleases of past greats. Also, don't forget that there's literally megatonnes of used vinyl. See the link below for the ultimate resource of which pressings are the best, how to take care of your vinyl, etc.
As for hardware, there's some amazing choices out there. Used classic turntables such as the Thorens TD124 are not at all expensive, and many new hifi firms such as Project and Rega and VPI are producing some extremely good units. Marantz, Yamaha, Denon and many other mid-fi producers are coming out with quality turntables again due to demand and many new surround sound receivers from those manufacturers are featuring phono preamps. Not to mention Technics still sells their SL-1200 for both the DJ and home markets.
Here's some resources:
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/bbs.html - discussion of all things vinyl.
http://www.classicrecs.com/ - new vinyl releases, many rereleases on high quality vinyl
http://www.needledoctor.com/ - Vinyl hardware
And there's loads more. Check out the Vinyl Asylum first. If you have any questions, drop me an email and I'll be happy to answer.
Oh, just to ramble some more, but also consider how much fun I've had since collecting vinyl again. I've met a guy who was a DJ in London in the 60s who sold me his copy of Sgt. Peppers LHCB, which turns out to be a copy given him hot off the press with a sticker saying Promotional Copy, do not sell, in mint condition. His stories are incredible. I've found music and other recorded oddities which will never see the light of day in digital formats. I've also heard music sound so real that I get goosebumps; you won't get that with digital.
Sorry for the rambling, but I'm always astounded by the common refrain: They don't press vinyl and you can't get record players anymore. And yet all of that is right in front of our eyes...
Cheers
Cheers
Just to add perspective to the observance that most music just too safe, I have read that the real decline came when the big labels' original owners, many of them moguls in the old sense, retired, died or stepped aside to let in the MBAs and accountants. The moguls were nutty and every bit as greedy, but were at least real human beings, as opposed to the coked out executrons minding the store today. The moguls at least gave the A&R people some freedom to develop real artists over time, and quality at least had a chance to bloom.
Not so now...
Damn, I wish I could frame this reply. It says everything I wanted to say in an earlier post - many thanks. Not so now...
Now this is a laugh! The record companies have been consistently pushing worse and worse quality sounding recordings on the public for at least a decade now, with insane levels of compression and poor quality processing the norm nowadays.
I bought Heart's last effort, which was a welcome return to their rockin' roots, but it was utterly unlistenable due to the compression and resulting distortion. No dynamics to speak off. Awful!
Hang about there... The rule of thumb is that sound quality reached a peak in the period 1958-62. Since then the only change has been in the size, cost, features and convenience of recording production and reproduction. If you listen to any of the Everest releases from that period, which were recorded on 35mm tape, on either (properly cleaned) vinyl or the commercially available, prerecorded open-reel tape, you will know what I mean. You'd probably also chuck out your digital music collection in disgust.
I guarantee if you could hear the original Sun tapes on period equipment you would be amazed at the clarity. What we hear of those tapes so many years later is an abomination and usually many generations of copying, etc.
For my part, I rarely listen to digital music - it's open reel or vinyl for me.
Cheers
Erm, perhaps you, Mel Gibson and Michael Richards could also get together over coffee and debate when spewing racial hatred is acceptable or not.
Also to consider: Loss of life is bad when it involves innocent people. Hello. This is not up for debate. Then again, what if we decided that the loss of *your* life was acceptable? I think you'd stop even thinking of arguing this silliness.
Oy.
There's gonna be some serious mooning goin' on...
What would be great is if we fought wars entirely with robot machinery which doesn't affect the ordinary citizen. Do it over military test ranges like a big ol' war game and the best killer robots win, kinda like that TV show with the robot wars in it. Then one day you wake up and the newspapers are written in Swahili.
Note to Americans: when you start noticing that your local newspaper is written in proper English and MacDonalds has started full tea service at around five o'clock you'll know that the Brits have finally retaken the New World for their own...
With webcams so cheap and light these days, would it be practical to mount one in an RC plane? Think of the fun you could have if you managed to mount a cam in the pilot's position with the guns as well. Of course, the practicalities of transmitting the cam signal back to base etc. is probably outside of the scope of most hobbyists.
Around the time Windows was achieving dominance over OS/2, there were vicious debates over which was superior, as we now do with the likes of Linux vs. Windows. However, one of the biggest debates was not over the more useful technical aspects, but over how long it took to boot each operating system!
Seriously, geeks would expend so much hot air on the issue that it got ridiculous - as if they spent their whole day rebooting their computers, as opposed to actual useful work.
Truly bizarre...
What I can say about XP is that it allows me to record the music that makes me money, and it's been extremely reliable in that. It also allows me to do the accounting for the business very reliably, as I guess any good OS should. No real complaints, except for the obvious security issues which are well documented. Although its the security issue which *isn't* documented which gets ya.
As for game machines, I poke and prod at the games on 'em, but I usually get bored after I realise that, after oohing and ahhing over the wonderful new generation of graphics, they've basically not changed since the 80's and get bored easily. And I don't need one more thing gathering dust round here, thank you *grin*.
Cheers
Ya know, you've got a point. I often wonder if that man is not just a little unhinged, which is what makes him so entertaining - you never know what he's going to do next *grin*.
In all seriousness, there's lots of instances in which Ballmer and MS could have truly taken the high road in discussion of issues which impact their business. For instance, instead of making reasonable and sane representations to their customers about the advantages of their closed-source software over open-source, they immediately react by foaming at the mouth, throw chairs and resort to subterfuge and sabotage in order to destroy the OSS menace. Which, at the end of the day, only makes them look all the less trustworthy and, well, sane.
It's clear that Ballmer is in the business for the thrill and game of conquering business enemies and much less meeting the needs of his customers. It is at this point that one can truly say that MS has lost it's way as a computer solution provider and has begun the process of self-destruction. Sad, really.
Cheers
Actually my sig is merely a way to whore mod points with the locals here. I actually use XP for most tasks, and I don't think it sucks once you tame it.
As for gaming, I don't have the attention span to play games of any kind, but I'm sure that the XBox is pretty good. Hmm, now if someone were to come up with an open-source game machine: A version of Linux optimized for graphics performance running on a PC box that's stripped down to just a CPU and a GPU. Hmmm...