I knew it too, and guess how? It's called the Internet, and I didn't pay $16 for it just to find that out.
Man, you strategy guide whores really got your panties in a bunch, didn't you?:-P
Go ahead, mod me down, -1 Flamebait; my life is more interesting than Slashdot's mod system.
Well, it looks like I managed to piss you off enough, want to share the drugs?
You had at least two choices, one of which was to realize that I don't know you from a hole in the wall, and ignore my post, or the other, which was to take personal offense to what I observed and reported at the local game shop and in the people I know, and pepper an otherwise thoughtful (insightful?) post with some bizarre references to medications.
I remember a few years back, I bought some PC game I don't recall right now. The salesclerk then proceeded to hawk the official strategy guide for the game. Told me I'd get 20% off if I bought it with the game. When I rejected their offer, he then proceeded to tell me that if I brought my receipt back within 7 days of purchase, he'd still give me 20% off the strategy guide if I bought it.
I couldn't believe that it had come to that: People are so unwilling to play a game and enjoy the experience, that they buy the strategy guide WITH THE FREAKIN' GAME. I could see after a month or so (hell, a few weeks even) and you're stuck, wanting to get some hints on how to proceed. I've had that happen a few times. Prince of Persia (1st one, Xbox) comes to mind - that stupid elevator fight that I never DID get past. However, to resign oneself that you were going to need it right from the moment you opened the box baffled me. And the fact that the retail outlets were encouraging that stunned me even more. Then, of course, it hit me - they probably make some large profit on the strategy guide, why else would they push them SO HARD.
I also realized that I know people who have caused this - a guy I know will not buy a game without also plunking down the extra $16 ($20 - 20%) for the strategy guide. It isn't even a conscious thought with him anymore. I guess the object is to blast through the game and do it as "perfectly" as possible as quickly as you can, so that you can go on to the next $50 game (+$16 strategy guide). I don't get it.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had 700 billion isk, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I had 700 billion isk I could hook that up, cause chicks dig a dude with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well the kind of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
One of my favorite movie scene dialogs ever, slightly bent to fit the occasion.
However, you should check into Lee Styron's "Sharkguard". It's an aftermarket riving knife and blade guard with dust collection, and the guard is easily removable. It costs about $100, and is very well-regarded. I plan on getting one soon. (Lee also makes versions for other saws.)
I will definitely check into that, thatnks for the tip. Always on the lookout for better tools.
Personally, I actually like my Ryobi. For $300 ($250 these days on closeout), I don't think any other saw in this range comes close to the BT3100's capabilities.
I do agree (and I have the same model - figured why not, if I'm spending $200, might as well spend $300 for all the extra features). I've gotten used to people snickering when I mention that I have some Ryobi tools, but honestly, for the price, there isn't any better brand for the hobbyist/DIY'er who doesn't have access to more professional grade tools (which I do, but work is 14 miles away, not always convenient at 9:00 at night - plus I hate carting stuff back and forth). They certainly beat Harbor Freight's crap hands down. I have an 18V combo kit that I bought about 3 years ago that includes a reciprocating saw, trim saw, screwgun, a mini-compound mitre saw (pretty nice, but really only good for molding), and a flashlight, and it's worked really well. I've beat the hell out of it, and every tool is still working fine.
Direct-drive? Doesn't that mean the motor is coupled directly to the blade, with no belts?
It does - and now I'm not sure if I lied to you or not. I've taken those machines apart (years ago though), and I don't remember any belts, I do remember a series of worm gears though, as well as a super heavy duty cast iron arbor whose teeth we've had to have repaired a couple of times when some newbie mucked them up. But they are smooth as silk, and eat wood for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'll have to take a look at them and see.
I work in a theatrical scene shop too, and I concur 100%, EVERYTHING is one-off cuts. Hell, I watched a couple of old grizzled theatrical carpenters from Greece cut circles - freehand - on a tablesaw. Yikes. They both appeared to have 10 fingers, so more power to them.
Anyway, I did mean a riving knife, not a splitter, and I'd agree with you that it's a lot safer than the pin splitter I mentioned. No tablesaw I use (with the exception of the POS Ryobi that I personally own - mounted ~1/8" behind the blade as you mentioned, and goes up and down with the blade) uses either, however. Not my choice, it's how the shop has them set up. I haven't felt a need to put anything of the sort on them, however. The Ryobi I mentioned has the knife built into the bladeguard, so if I need to make a super narrow cut, I have to lose both the bladeguard and the riving knife. The Ryobi is junky enough that the bladeguard is a real hindrance to getting a remotely accurate cut, so I leave it off most of the time and subscribe to the aforementioned "it's dangerous, be careful" policy.
That said, the Ryobi saw is decent for home use, I wouldn't think about using it for any serious daily usage however.
We have an older Powermatic at work, and a couple of Rockwell Unisaws. The Unisaw with 12" blade will eat through just about anything, but interestingly enough, so will the Powermatic with the 10" blade. I also use a Jet, which is decent, but not as nice as the Powermatic or the Unisaw. Both of those saws are probably at least 10 years old, heavy as hell with direct-drive and cast iron bases. Nice for building furniture.
Of course, no knife/splitter is necessary if you buy only the nicest, truest wood, right?;-)
We actually have one of those saws (Sawstop - I assume that's what we're talking about, the link times out for me) at work. It's $65 for the "cartridge" and the cost of the blade. So about $150 - $200. Seems cheap insurance compared to the $35,000 lawsuit some guy brought against us a few years ago for cutting his hand up in a regular 10" tablesaw, which was entirely his fault anyway. And it's a hell of a lot less than "a new tablesaw", which for a good one (not even a Sawstop brand) will cost you $1000 - $2000. Not trying to be a dick or anything, but they've come down a LOT in the last couple of years.
That said, personally, I'd rather take your suggestion of "it's dangerous, be careful". There are plenty of safety devices for tablesaws that work, most notably a pushstick and a bladeguard with a vacuum attachment. They jury's still out on splitters, though, I run into about 50/50 when I ask people their opinion on them. I can't say as I've ever used a saw that actually had one on it, though, so maybe that's saying something.
1. So internet gambling is illegal in the USA, great, so that no effect on this guy's company that's based in Costa Rica, and incorporated in England.
What worries me about this, is that it could be the first steps towards the government regulating and controlling content on what has been, up to this point, a relatively free and open Internet here in the United States.
And the beautiful thing about it is that you can affect the "sketchiness" of the drawing, with extension lines, jitter, etc. Makes it look almost hand drawn.
Check out the Gallery portion of the forums, there's some amazing stuff being done with this program.
And the cool thing is that it's *3D*, not just a simple drawing tool - it exports nicely (well, mostly nicely) into AutoCAD - but then again, I own the Pro version.;-)
Essentially you spray this stuff on the foam, it smells a bit like oranges. Within seconds, it "dissolves" the foam, and can actually be used over again, so what we do is spray the foam, then put it in a bucket and keep feeding pieces into the bucket. It makes a sticky "slime". I'm honestly not sure what we do with the substance once we're done, but I think that we just keep using it in the bucket, it keeps eating foam. I imagine that at some point it reaches some sort of "equilibrium" where it doesn't dissolve any more. The MSDS http://visualpollution.com/PDF/Meltdown.pdf/ says it is accepted by most sewage plants.
I suppose the advantage of the article's subject is that it actually turns the foam into something usable, rather than just d-Limonene sludge.
I'm an idiot - I had written a whole bunch of stuff that WERE book spoilers, but cut it at the last minute. However, I forgot to update the subject. *sheesh*
I was about to post that as well. I actually got into the Rama books via the PC game of the late 90's. It's the only sci-fi series I've read the whole way through. We've been hearing about the Morgan Freeman-headed movie for YEARS now, and it keeps popping up every year or so. It's like the project that won't die.
IMDB has something listed as 2007, but there is another, short film made at the Tisch School for the Arts - http://www.joemiale.com/vid/rama01.mov It's kind of "green-screeny", but well done and I think captures the essence of the first time they enter Rama.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, a closer definition would be psychopath. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopath/
That should make everyone feel better. O_o
Uhh... are you sure you're connected to the airport's wi-fi? ;-)
I knew it too, and guess how? It's called the Internet, and I didn't pay $16 for it just to find that out. Man, you strategy guide whores really got your panties in a bunch, didn't you? :-P
Go ahead, mod me down, -1 Flamebait; my life is more interesting than Slashdot's mod system.
*sigh*
Replace "," with "for". Happy?
Well, it looks like I managed to piss you off enough, want to share the drugs?
You had at least two choices, one of which was to realize that I don't know you from a hole in the wall, and ignore my post, or the other, which was to take personal offense to what I observed and reported at the local game shop and in the people I know, and pepper an otherwise thoughtful (insightful?) post with some bizarre references to medications.
I remember a few years back, I bought some PC game I don't recall right now. The salesclerk then proceeded to hawk the official strategy guide for the game. Told me I'd get 20% off if I bought it with the game. When I rejected their offer, he then proceeded to tell me that if I brought my receipt back within 7 days of purchase, he'd still give me 20% off the strategy guide if I bought it.
I couldn't believe that it had come to that: People are so unwilling to play a game and enjoy the experience, that they buy the strategy guide WITH THE FREAKIN' GAME. I could see after a month or so (hell, a few weeks even) and you're stuck, wanting to get some hints on how to proceed. I've had that happen a few times. Prince of Persia (1st one, Xbox) comes to mind - that stupid elevator fight that I never DID get past. However, to resign oneself that you were going to need it right from the moment you opened the box baffled me. And the fact that the retail outlets were encouraging that stunned me even more. Then, of course, it hit me - they probably make some large profit on the strategy guide, why else would they push them SO HARD.
I also realized that I know people who have caused this - a guy I know will not buy a game without also plunking down the extra $16 ($20 - 20%) for the strategy guide. It isn't even a conscious thought with him anymore. I guess the object is to blast through the game and do it as "perfectly" as possible as quickly as you can, so that you can go on to the next $50 game (+$16 strategy guide). I don't get it.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had 700 billion isk, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I had 700 billion isk I could hook that up, cause chicks dig a dude with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well the kind of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
One of my favorite movie scene dialogs ever, slightly bent to fit the occasion.
Oh, ok, then.
I will definitely check into that, thatnks for the tip. Always on the lookout for better tools.
I do agree (and I have the same model - figured why not, if I'm spending $200, might as well spend $300 for all the extra features). I've gotten used to people snickering when I mention that I have some Ryobi tools, but honestly, for the price, there isn't any better brand for the hobbyist/DIY'er who doesn't have access to more professional grade tools (which I do, but work is 14 miles away, not always convenient at 9:00 at night - plus I hate carting stuff back and forth). They certainly beat Harbor Freight's crap hands down. I have an 18V combo kit that I bought about 3 years ago that includes a reciprocating saw, trim saw, screwgun, a mini-compound mitre saw (pretty nice, but really only good for molding), and a flashlight, and it's worked really well. I've beat the hell out of it, and every tool is still working fine.
It does - and now I'm not sure if I lied to you or not. I've taken those machines apart (years ago though), and I don't remember any belts, I do remember a series of worm gears though, as well as a super heavy duty cast iron arbor whose teeth we've had to have repaired a couple of times when some newbie mucked them up. But they are smooth as silk, and eat wood for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'll have to take a look at them and see.
I always make sure to wear my necktie when I'm using the tablesaw, however. ;-)
I work in a theatrical scene shop too, and I concur 100%, EVERYTHING is one-off cuts. Hell, I watched a couple of old grizzled theatrical carpenters from Greece cut circles - freehand - on a tablesaw. Yikes. They both appeared to have 10 fingers, so more power to them.
Wow, you're grumpy.
;-)
Anyway, I did mean a riving knife, not a splitter, and I'd agree with you that it's a lot safer than the pin splitter I mentioned. No tablesaw I use (with the exception of the POS Ryobi that I personally own - mounted ~1/8" behind the blade as you mentioned, and goes up and down with the blade) uses either, however. Not my choice, it's how the shop has them set up. I haven't felt a need to put anything of the sort on them, however. The Ryobi I mentioned has the knife built into the bladeguard, so if I need to make a super narrow cut, I have to lose both the bladeguard and the riving knife. The Ryobi is junky enough that the bladeguard is a real hindrance to getting a remotely accurate cut, so I leave it off most of the time and subscribe to the aforementioned "it's dangerous, be careful" policy.
That said, the Ryobi saw is decent for home use, I wouldn't think about using it for any serious daily usage however.
We have an older Powermatic at work, and a couple of Rockwell Unisaws. The Unisaw with 12" blade will eat through just about anything, but interestingly enough, so will the Powermatic with the 10" blade. I also use a Jet, which is decent, but not as nice as the Powermatic or the Unisaw. Both of those saws are probably at least 10 years old, heavy as hell with direct-drive and cast iron bases. Nice for building furniture.
Of course, no knife/splitter is necessary if you buy only the nicest, truest wood, right?
We actually have one of those saws (Sawstop - I assume that's what we're talking about, the link times out for me) at work. It's $65 for the "cartridge" and the cost of the blade. So about $150 - $200. Seems cheap insurance compared to the $35,000 lawsuit some guy brought against us a few years ago for cutting his hand up in a regular 10" tablesaw, which was entirely his fault anyway. And it's a hell of a lot less than "a new tablesaw", which for a good one (not even a Sawstop brand) will cost you $1000 - $2000. Not trying to be a dick or anything, but they've come down a LOT in the last couple of years.
That said, personally, I'd rather take your suggestion of "it's dangerous, be careful". There are plenty of safety devices for tablesaws that work, most notably a pushstick and a bladeguard with a vacuum attachment. They jury's still out on splitters, though, I run into about 50/50 when I ask people their opinion on them. I can't say as I've ever used a saw that actually had one on it, though, so maybe that's saying something.
It's not as powerful as it may seem. Legal briefs/motions/proceedings are often worded that way. Standard legalese, in other words.
" 'ow 'bout a wedding ring for my finger, eh?"
What worries me about this, is that it could be the first steps towards the government regulating and controlling content on what has been, up to this point, a relatively free and open Internet here in the United States.
*ahem*
o .games.surgery.reut/index.html/
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/05/24/vide
And the beautiful thing about it is that you can affect the "sketchiness" of the drawing, with extension lines, jitter, etc. Makes it look almost hand drawn.
;-)
Check out the Gallery portion of the forums, there's some amazing stuff being done with this program.
http://forum.sketchup.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9
And the cool thing is that it's *3D*, not just a simple drawing tool - it exports nicely (well, mostly nicely) into AutoCAD - but then again, I own the Pro version.
http://visualpollution.com/Construction/meltdown.h tm
Wierd, dunno 'bout that link formatting... maybe I just suck at teh Intarweb.
We use a lot of EPS and styrofoam where I work (theatre, we make a lot of scenery with it), and we use a product called "Meltdown".
h tm/.
http://visualpollution.com/Construction/meltdown.
Essentially you spray this stuff on the foam, it smells a bit like oranges. Within seconds, it "dissolves" the foam, and can actually be used over again, so what we do is spray the foam, then put it in a bucket and keep feeding pieces into the bucket. It makes a sticky "slime". I'm honestly not sure what we do with the substance once we're done, but I think that we just keep using it in the bucket, it keeps eating foam. I imagine that at some point it reaches some sort of "equilibrium" where it doesn't dissolve any more. The MSDS http://visualpollution.com/PDF/Meltdown.pdf/ says it is accepted by most sewage plants.
I suppose the advantage of the article's subject is that it actually turns the foam into something usable, rather than just d-Limonene sludge.
... and had actual BMX bike handlebars as the controller, IIRC (complete with squishy rubber grips and everything!)
Ok... but my TV still *has* them, which was my only point.
My 32" Sony Wega (non-HD) has component video inputs...
I dunno, I really liked MDK (never played MDK2), and I seem to remember it getting pretty favorable reviews at the time.
I'm an idiot - I had written a whole bunch of stuff that WERE book spoilers, but cut it at the last minute. However, I forgot to update the subject. *sheesh*
I was about to post that as well. I actually got into the Rama books via the PC game of the late 90's. It's the only sci-fi series I've read the whole way through. We've been hearing about the Morgan Freeman-headed movie for YEARS now, and it keeps popping up every year or so. It's like the project that won't die.
IMDB has something listed as 2007, but there is another, short film made at the Tisch School for the Arts - http://www.joemiale.com/vid/rama01.mov It's kind of "green-screeny", but well done and I think captures the essence of the first time they enter Rama.