But if these bots were sitting next to a huuuuge batch of those buildingblocks like in the movie, and they build an 'ueber-robot-plant-whateverbot' that is capable of actually manufacturing these blocks from raw materials? Not simple, but probably feasible if you have enough buildingblocks...
Heh. Thanks for explaining this. When you boot OSX in verbose mode, you get that regents of Whatever message. i always wondered what kind of sect that was;)
Can't help but feel a bit dissapointed. initially I thought it was the first *industrial* robot. Cool as this thing is, it is in fact only an expensive toy. It doesn't really robota, or work, heehee... And what about the mmuch older automata, that played chess etc... Different ballpark perhaps, not relating to RUR (Rostrum's Universal Robot)
If you can build something reusable +and+ use it a lot, costs go down significantly
Non-reusable has the drawback you have to re-build your hardware again and again... Shuttle is expensive because its not really reusable, more refurbishable, and it doesn't launch often. While down it still costs money, for keeping it operational, paying launchguys twiddling their fingers etc... Same with planes: cost +a lot+ to buy, but if you use them a lot, operation costs go down fast . A plane in a hangar is losing money, it's got to fly.
Cheap ways to purify water etc. The much-talked about global water-crisis in the making needs some attention.
Crazy ideas aplenty: Thinking of Dune: the big 'stills, that take moisture out of the air and cool it, so it condenses, comes to mind. But something like that would be possible to build with simple stuff... In 'underdeveloped' nations...
Laptops are not that easy to cobble together from off-the-shelves parts... And seeing the laptop market getting bigger and bigger, it might be a significant number...
So these scientists studied and worked all their lives for nothing? They'd better give up doing what they're good at, and search for another job in wellfare/environmental development etc.? Think about it, this is in essence what you are proposing. No use to be a scientist/engineer/whatever if you decide to use *all* your money for 'better' goals. For them these goals you propose ae equally valid, but it's just not *their* forte. And again and again and again: money 'wasted' on stuff like this doesn't disappear into thin air, it is an investment in jobs, material science, etc. You can't just go and kill sciencebudgets to use that money for the 'good cause.'
And this 'trying to compete with NASA' mantra is getting old. What's everyone not working for NASA supposed to do? let NASA run 100% of spaceflight business and bail out? That's like saying to Microsoft: "yea, you're the biggest, we (other OS'es,) quit, have fun."
That's not the point. The point is: you can *not* deny the current iTunes sound less than perfect... I'm a Mac-user myself, and I stand by it, but I'll never buy iTunes, not until they upgrade the quality.
And agreed: for casual listening it's ok. But IMHO it is an unreasonably hefty price to pay if you can't sit back and attentively listen to a piece of your favorite music w/o noticing the strange artifacts, the weird stereo-behaviour etc... compared to the original (CD, DAT or vinyl(!))
Most people don't agree, I know... But I love music, and I do not use my favorite music as a background. I tend to sit back and listen. Well Apple would be crazy to change their bitrate for a minorityguy like me of course. I can understand. Too bad. I can wait, too. But it's a pity to see this coming from a company that makes high-quality, premium hardware, you know...
"...Brought to the John St. Pumping Station, the water's cold will be extracted and used to lower the temperature in downtown buildings. The water will then be treated and enter the city's drinking supply...."
So might be a double whammy, the water isn't directly injected into the lake again.
And now he's building a rocketship, the Black Armadillo, to conquer the world, too!
Maybe his masterplan is to turn us all into psychopaths with his software, and then liff-off from this planet, to see the total carnage unfold from orbit?;)
I just started dabbling(sp?) with Blender, and the tutorials are a great help to get you up to speed real quick. If they have basic understandig about how to work with a computer (saving files, using the mouse etc.) I think, if you can get them over the initial learning curve, it might be very rewarding. Download the blender tutorials, they're esp. made to use in a classroom enviro (but you can do it on your own, of course) they cover the very basics, and get more complex during following 'sittings' you advance from basic things to stunning stuff (for kids, at least)
I suggest you take the 'course' yourself first, the basics take less than an hour. Then make something simple in Blender, to show the kids. Like the house example in the tutorial for instance... Then you ask them if they'd like to give it a try, etc etc...
A scanner or cheap digital camera could come in handy, for digitizing their hand-drawn artwork, so they can use it as textures, backgrounds etc.
Kids have an amazing fantasy, and if they'd be able to put their ideas into 3D, you may be quite impressed. And other people might be too. Originality is a big asset. And if they learn the skills young, they may grow up as real virtuoso's in their area.
Try it. It's free. You can't lose, that's the beauty of open sourse. Even kids in poor orphanages can use it, to make a better future for themselves. That's one good reason to make the fine people that contribute to this project happy.
Hardware doesn't seem to mind water too much, at least when unpowered
5-6 years ago i found an Apple ][+ atop a pile of demolition debris. Living in Belgium, it was of course raining cats and dog that day, so when i picked it up, the water literally poured out of the case. That velcroed toplid was dislodged, so water could come in very easily. The insides were a mess of muddied dirt.
At home, I rinsed it thouroughly, using the shower-head and let it dry. Sometime later, just for kicks, I tried to start it up, not expecting too muck except for a bit op pyrotechnics, but it worked fine.
Had similar experiences with audiohardware, recovered from a rehearsal-room that got inundated by water from the fire-fighters trying to prevent a fire in the adjacent lot from spreading. Same result. Just rinse and dry.
I thought so... At least, I read about it in several places... It was to be a short hop, so there was no need to worry about this, so it was thought, but the countdown got interrupted several times, and time dragged on... So after a while Shep felt the pressure in his bladder mount... He asked permission to urinate in his suit, but ground control was initially afraid it (the liquid, heh) could short-circuit several sensors in his suit, so they said 'no.'
But the countdown kept getting interrupted, and he again contacted ground, almost begging them to give the green light... Eventually they did.
My favorite: Melvill: ""Man!" Melvill said, shaking his fists together as he climbed from SpaceShipOne. "I went pretty high, though. When I got to the top, I released a bag of M&Ms in the cockpit. It was absolutely amazing. M&Ms were going all around. It was so cool! We have got to have video of that because I did it in front of one of the video cameras. I haven't ate them. They are in the cockpit."
Imagine a NASA astronaut doing that on a maiden flight...
Getting this on BBC is bound to be more important to spread the word to the 'laymen' than on Ars Technica.
BBC seems to be very in favor of Linux, lately. They keep mentioning it, mostly in their Technology section of course, but I'd guess it's a lot more mainstream than Ars Technica, so this namedropping of Linux in relation to professional/big events stuff must have its psychological impact on *a lot* of peeps.
Them going from thinking "Linux is for nerds," to "Hmmm... Linux has become professional stuff, check it out!"
Slashdot Mirror
But if these bots were sitting next to a huuuuge batch of those buildingblocks like in the movie, and they build an 'ueber-robot-plant-whateverbot' that is capable of actually manufacturing these blocks from raw materials? Not simple, but probably feasible if you have enough buildingblocks...
Heh. Thanks for explaining this. ;)
When you boot OSX in verbose mode, you get that regents of Whatever message. i always wondered what kind of sect that was
Can't help but feel a bit dissapointed.
initially I thought it was the first *industrial* robot. Cool as this thing is, it is in fact only an expensive toy. It doesn't really robota, or work, heehee...
And what about the mmuch older automata, that played chess etc... Different ballpark perhaps, not relating to RUR (Rostrum's Universal Robot)
If you can build something reusable +and+ use it a lot, costs go down significantly
Non-reusable has the drawback you have to re-build your hardware again and again...
Shuttle is expensive because its not really reusable, more refurbishable, and it doesn't launch often. While down it still costs money, for keeping it operational, paying launchguys twiddling their fingers etc...
Same with planes: cost +a lot+ to buy, but if you use them a lot, operation costs go down fast . A plane in a hangar is losing money, it's got to fly.
My bet is Bigelow wants lots of launches, heehee
Cheap ways to purify water etc.
The much-talked about global water-crisis in the making needs some attention.
Crazy ideas aplenty: Thinking of Dune: the big 'stills, that take moisture out of the air and cool it, so it condenses, comes to mind. But something like that would be possible to build with simple stuff... In 'underdeveloped' nations...
Laptops are not that easy to cobble together from off-the-shelves parts... And seeing the laptop market getting bigger and bigger, it might be a significant number...
That's cool, but nothing compared to ...
l ow /
... SpaceHotels, Yeah!
'America Space Prize' $50 mil.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0409/27bige
for the first one that comes up with an orbital thingy to visit Bigelows
So these scientists studied and worked all their lives for nothing? They'd better give up doing what they're good at, and search for another job in wellfare/environmental development etc.?
Think about it, this is in essence what you are proposing.
No use to be a scientist/engineer/whatever if you decide to use *all* your money for 'better' goals. For them these goals you propose ae equally valid, but it's just not *their* forte. And again and again and again: money 'wasted' on stuff like this doesn't disappear into thin air, it is an investment in jobs, material science, etc.
You can't just go and kill sciencebudgets to use that money for the 'good cause.'
And this 'trying to compete with NASA' mantra is getting old. What's everyone not working for NASA supposed to do? let NASA run 100% of spaceflight business and bail out?
That's like saying to Microsoft: "yea, you're the biggest, we (other OS'es,) quit, have fun."
And to the band Kong? http://www.kong.nl/bio.html
Fortunately for youthey stopped. Great band though.
>These guys are extremely powerful and will cause injury to fingers if >careless handling two of them at the same time.
Heh. Kind of glad I'm not the only one who's had his flesh mangled by these monsters...
Sigh. Forget it, I'm a jerk, didn't even RTFH (headline)....
Not again, please.... Macrumors had this too, and a gazillion other messageboards, I'd bet.
Everytime Apple hires someone, people want to think it has to do something with the iPod.
They make pretty good computers too, you know?
But that's the point of memorising.. You *can't* look up pi faster than recalling it if you memorized it.
Also having a good amount of readily available knowledge *in your head* makes it easier for you to decide or do a lot of things instantaneously, etc.
Memorizng stuff will always have its value.
That's not the point. The point is: you can *not* deny the current iTunes sound less than perfect...
I'm a Mac-user myself, and I stand by it, but I'll never buy iTunes, not until they upgrade the quality.
And agreed: for casual listening it's ok. But IMHO it is an unreasonably hefty price to pay if you can't sit back and attentively listen to a piece of your favorite music w/o noticing the strange artifacts, the weird stereo-behaviour etc... compared to the original (CD, DAT or vinyl(!))
Most people don't agree, I know... But I love music, and I do not use my favorite music as a background. I tend to sit back and listen. Well Apple would be crazy to change their bitrate for a minorityguy like me of course. I can understand.
Too bad. I can wait, too. But it's a pity to see this coming from a company that makes high-quality, premium hardware, you know...
From the article:
"...Brought to the John St. Pumping Station, the water's cold will be extracted and used to lower the temperature in downtown buildings. The water will then be treated and enter the city's drinking supply...."
So might be a double whammy, the water isn't directly injected into the lake again.
... Belgian cartoonist, to be pedantic ;)
And now he's building a rocketship, the Black Armadillo, to conquer the world, too!
;)
Maybe his masterplan is to turn us all into psychopaths with his software, and then liff-off from this planet, to see the total carnage unfold from orbit?
I just started dabbling(sp?) with Blender, and the tutorials are a great help to get you up to speed real quick.
If they have basic understandig about how to work with a computer (saving files, using the mouse etc.) I think, if you can get them over the initial learning curve, it might be very rewarding.
Download the blender tutorials, they're esp. made to use in a classroom enviro (but you can do it on your own, of course) they cover the very basics, and get more complex during following 'sittings' you advance from basic things to stunning stuff (for kids, at least)
I suggest you take the 'course' yourself first, the basics take less than an hour.
Then make something simple in Blender, to show the kids. Like the house example in the tutorial for instance... Then you ask them if they'd like to give it a try, etc etc...
A scanner or cheap digital camera could come in handy, for digitizing their hand-drawn artwork, so they can use it as textures, backgrounds etc.
Kids have an amazing fantasy, and if they'd be able to put their ideas into 3D, you may be quite impressed. And other people might be too.
Originality is a big asset. And if they learn the skills young, they may grow up as real virtuoso's in their area.
Try it. It's free. You can't lose, that's the beauty of open sourse. Even kids in poor orphanages can use it, to make a better future for themselves. That's one good reason to make the fine people that contribute to this project happy.
Hardware doesn't seem to mind water too much, at least when unpowered
5-6 years ago i found an Apple ][+ atop a pile of demolition debris. Living in Belgium, it was of course raining cats and dog that day, so when i picked it up, the water literally poured out of the case. That velcroed toplid was dislodged, so water could come in very easily. The insides were a mess of muddied dirt.
At home, I rinsed it thouroughly, using the shower-head and let it dry. Sometime later, just for kicks, I tried to start it up, not expecting too muck except for a bit op pyrotechnics, but it worked fine.
Had similar experiences with audiohardware, recovered from a rehearsal-room that got inundated by water from the fire-fighters trying to prevent a fire in the adjacent lot from spreading. Same result. Just rinse and dry.
Heh, good one, I'm a sucker, though: can you believe i was almost clicking through to my watchlist to see wich article you cleaned up???
Every single person on the planet. Does that mean couples can forget about it? ;)
Seriously. IMHO he is pure Nobel-prize material. Spreading knowledge is of the utmost importance to improve the situation on this blue speck.
I thought so... At least, I read about it in several places... It was to be a short hop, so there was no need to worry about this, so it was thought, but the countdown got interrupted several times, and time dragged on... So after a while Shep felt the pressure in his bladder mount... He asked permission to urinate in his suit, but ground control was initially afraid it (the liquid, heh) could short-circuit several sensors in his suit, so they said 'no.'
But the countdown kept getting interrupted, and he again contacted ground, almost begging them to give the green light... Eventually they did.
My favorite:
Melvill: ""Man!" Melvill said, shaking his fists together as he climbed from SpaceShipOne. "I went pretty high, though. When I got to the top, I released a bag of M&Ms in the cockpit. It was absolutely amazing. M&Ms were going all around. It was so cool! We have got to have video of that because I did it in front of one of the video cameras. I haven't ate them. They are in the cockpit."
Imagine a NASA astronaut doing that on a maiden flight...
I like this. A lot.
Getting this on BBC is bound to be more important to spread the word to the 'laymen' than on Ars Technica.
BBC seems to be very in favor of Linux, lately. They keep mentioning it, mostly in their Technology section of course, but I'd guess it's a lot more mainstream than Ars Technica, so this namedropping of Linux in relation to professional/big events stuff must have its psychological impact on *a lot* of peeps.
Them going from thinking "Linux is for nerds," to "Hmmm... Linux has become professional stuff, check it out!"
Heehee... All of a sudden i feel totally "elite"!
As a student i worked in that Antwerp museum almost every week, this year!
(The huge camera *is* impressive, to be sure..)