You might reconsider your requirement for being fully disconnected from the electric grid. Unless you're pretty well guaranteed full sun all year, you're going to have some days where your power draw is greater than your production. The banks of batteries required to run a house for a couple days without having input (or very little) would be huge and expensive. Furthermore, on days that you're producing an excess of electricity, you can sell it back into the grid if you're attached, but not if you aren't. How nice would it be to be getting a check from the power company instead of a bill?
I went through the home this weekend, and yes, it's small; about the size of the first one-bedroom apartment my wife and I had. The (two) bedrooms aren't very large, but they're big enough. The house is constructed on the back of a large lot. The people occupying the house are recent retirees, and either their son or daughter (I forget which) owns the home on the front of the property. They encouraged their parents to build a home on the property and move in BEFORE they were old and debilitated, which seemed to make sense to me.
Slashdotters will be happy to know that the "spare bedroom" has been converted to a home office, and is well stocked with computer gear. These folks aren't dottering old people, they're very active. No, the house doesn't have a formal dining room, a media room, an acre-sized kitchen or any of the other appointments common in the million-dollar, Street of Dreams homes on your average home tour, but it is comfortably sized for a retired couple who want to live life.
Home construction prices in Portland seem to run somewhere over $100 per square foot, but when you get down to smaller sizes, the price per square foot goes up, because you still have to have a kitchen and bathroom, no matter how large or numerous your rooms are.
One question: If a concert disallows cameras, but your phone has one on it, and you use the phone to redeem your ticket, isn't the venue in a sort of no-win situation when they actually observe that you are carrying a camera and are forced to let you in because that's your ticket, too?
I understand that venues have started looking the other way when it comes to checking for cameras and other recording devices since they're so prevalent and easily hidden. But some promoters or artists get kind of up tight about this sort of thing, and will refuse to hold a show if recording devices are let in at all.
We've got the same unit, completely stock, and are generally happy with it. I'd be interested in the hack docs, though. I suppose I can Google after them.
The double-fast-forward thing is great, for sure. I can tell you that it doesn't look for a black screen, because we've used it to scan for certain parts of a show to watch as well, and it does the same thing. I think they just polled people to find out what the average reaction time was and found it to be fairly consistent. I sure don't seem to be getting any better at it after six months of use, so there may be some consistency to it.
I don't suppose I need to point out to you that your link is to an RPG (read Role Playing Game) web site... Self-sustaining? Google for Biosphere II. It's tougher than one might think.
Give it time. An open beer that doesn't find a consumer quickly goes stale and people lose interest. Furthermore, IP no matter which kind of beer I consume.
Well, okay, but if it had any amount of friction, (the slider) would almost immediately ignite. And without friction, he'd never stop at the bottom. What's an imagineer to do?
Oh, I have an idea; everyone buy stuff from Altnet, therefore filling their coffers with enough money to lengthen out the IP fight between them and the RIAA. Maybe then both will be caught in an epic struggle that will eventually ruin them both, leaving the world free again...
Hey! HEY! Come back with that pipe! I've still got some hash left!!!
Space.com is carrying this story about the Genesis return capsule that returned to Earth today in a big way. I guess there won't be any trophies for the stunt pilots.
... the mistaken belief that everybodys opinion is worth the same is widespread.
Right. Ever try to submit a story to Slashdot? I'll wager that most people's opinions on what should be put on the front page are as worthless as they are varied to the people doing the "editing."
But then, you're not supposed to grumble about rejections. Somebody mod this post a troll, would you?
Re:Duplicate story....
on
Port-A-Nuke
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· Score: 1
So, can you make an RTG out of U-235, or does it not emit the right kind of radiation? It's infrared radiation that makes an RTG work, right?
I found this document on RTGs for the Gallileo probe in 1984. A few of the crunchy bits are as follows:
The Galileo orbiter will carry two 285-watt (electrical)* general purpose heat source (GPHS) radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs)
[from a link to a subpage] Two nuclear generators will power the Galileo spacecraft. Each is about 45 inches long, 16 inches in diameter, and weighs 122 pounds.
* The thermal power at the beginning of the mission will be 4,410 W per generator.
So, they're counting on 285 W per generator, but at the start they're going to be getting 4,410 W. I'm assuming the 285 is the output estimated for the tail end of the mission. Now, 4.4 kW isn't a lot of output, but it could easily power a house, even a wasteful American one. And, since the power output is continuous, it can be stored in batteries when not being used directly. Then there's the thermal output, which seems like it should be considerable. How many BTUs would something like this put out?
This article is more generally informative, but it seems that the overarching concern for terrestrial use is leakage. There's some note that the material could be used for a "dirty bomb," which is a concern in this age of terrorism, but people who are determined to do something nasty to other people will use whatever is at their disposal (airplanes, boxcutters, armies, lies to the public, whatever), so I don't think a pile of hot rocks is going to make a huge difference.
Am I way off here? Is there some critical issue that I'm missing? I'm open to being called stupid, just back it up with facts, please.
Re:Duplicate story....
on
Port-A-Nuke
·
· Score: 1
I think the Toshiba design was RTG-like. Does anyone here have any clue why RTGs aren't distributed as localized power plants? If my understanding is correct, one little lunchbox-sized bundle would provide enough energy to keep the lights on for a dozen small houses. Even if you had to sink it in a bucket of lead to make it play nice with the neighbors, you could still move the thing around with a hand cart. If you put it in some sort of cask made of a high-strength alloy, you'd keep all but the most serious out of it, and you're not going to keep them out no matter what you do.
Of course, I've been known to misunderstand some things...
I seem to remember learning that "data" was compiled into "information" by giving it structure. Is this contrary to "information theory" (which in itself seems to be an odd term)?
I don't think you're missing anything. The only things these guys have in common with Google are a) they made a small leap in technology with an existing paradigm, and b) they used to work down the hall from the Google founders.
AFAIK, Google only cleaned up the look of web searching and started inserting search-specific ads into results pages. Not rocket science, just a good idea. It turned out that they had the right recipie, and they're on top for the foreseeable future.
We've got Caller ID with Anonymous Call Blocking on our phone line, and if someone with Caller ID Blocking calls us, they're asked by a voice prompt to enter the number they're dialing from. They can enter any number they want, but since they're usually lazy and only ever enter "111-111-1111," then we can tell it's someone we don't want to talk to. Friends and family call our cell phones.
Slashdot Mirror
Not to mention a ring of telepathy and armor of protection vs. environment.
This is the open source world we're talking about. You should say, "I'll bet this software does something Kwiki doesn't currently do."
Right. Texas is, however, known for trailer parks. Plenty of those have average homes that are pretty small. They're tornado-portable, too.
The less square feet you have, the higher the cost per square foot. That pretty much goes for anywhere you build.
You might reconsider your requirement for being fully disconnected from the electric grid. Unless you're pretty well guaranteed full sun all year, you're going to have some days where your power draw is greater than your production. The banks of batteries required to run a house for a couple days without having input (or very little) would be huge and expensive. Furthermore, on days that you're producing an excess of electricity, you can sell it back into the grid if you're attached, but not if you aren't. How nice would it be to be getting a check from the power company instead of a bill?
I went through the home this weekend, and yes, it's small; about the size of the first one-bedroom apartment my wife and I had. The (two) bedrooms aren't very large, but they're big enough. The house is constructed on the back of a large lot. The people occupying the house are recent retirees, and either their son or daughter (I forget which) owns the home on the front of the property. They encouraged their parents to build a home on the property and move in BEFORE they were old and debilitated, which seemed to make sense to me.
Slashdotters will be happy to know that the "spare bedroom" has been converted to a home office, and is well stocked with computer gear. These folks aren't dottering old people, they're very active. No, the house doesn't have a formal dining room, a media room, an acre-sized kitchen or any of the other appointments common in the million-dollar, Street of Dreams homes on your average home tour, but it is comfortably sized for a retired couple who want to live life.
Home construction prices in Portland seem to run somewhere over $100 per square foot, but when you get down to smaller sizes, the price per square foot goes up, because you still have to have a kitchen and bathroom, no matter how large or numerous your rooms are.
I think (he?) meant "A/C" for "alternating current" and not "AC" for air conditioning.
One question: If a concert disallows cameras, but your phone has one on it, and you use the phone to redeem your ticket, isn't the venue in a sort of no-win situation when they actually observe that you are carrying a camera and are forced to let you in because that's your ticket, too?
I understand that venues have started looking the other way when it comes to checking for cameras and other recording devices since they're so prevalent and easily hidden. But some promoters or artists get kind of up tight about this sort of thing, and will refuse to hold a show if recording devices are let in at all.
We've got the same unit, completely stock, and are generally happy with it. I'd be interested in the hack docs, though. I suppose I can Google after them. The double-fast-forward thing is great, for sure. I can tell you that it doesn't look for a black screen, because we've used it to scan for certain parts of a show to watch as well, and it does the same thing. I think they just polled people to find out what the average reaction time was and found it to be fairly consistent. I sure don't seem to be getting any better at it after six months of use, so there may be some consistency to it.
I don't suppose I need to point out to you that your link is to an RPG (read Role Playing Game) web site... Self-sustaining? Google for Biosphere II. It's tougher than one might think.
Yeah, but it's smaller; less chance of getting hit.
Give it time. An open beer that doesn't find a consumer quickly goes stale and people lose interest. Furthermore, IP no matter which kind of beer I consume.
So everyone should stop carrying Bic pens?
Well, okay, but if it had any amount of friction, (the slider) would almost immediately ignite. And without friction, he'd never stop at the bottom. What's an imagineer to do?
Oh, I have an idea; everyone buy stuff from Altnet, therefore filling their coffers with enough money to lengthen out the IP fight between them and the RIAA. Maybe then both will be caught in an epic struggle that will eventually ruin them both, leaving the world free again...
Hey! HEY! Come back with that pipe! I've still got some hash left!!!
I did RTFA, thank you very much. What did I say that was incorrect?
Space.com is carrying this story about the Genesis return capsule that returned to Earth today in a big way. I guess there won't be any trophies for the stunt pilots.
Right. Ever try to submit a story to Slashdot? I'll wager that most people's opinions on what should be put on the front page are as worthless as they are varied to the people doing the "editing."
But then, you're not supposed to grumble about rejections. Somebody mod this post a troll, would you?
I found this document on RTGs for the Gallileo probe in 1984. A few of the crunchy bits are as follows:
The Galileo orbiter will carry two 285-watt (electrical)* general purpose heat source (GPHS) radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs)
[from a link to a subpage] Two nuclear generators will power the Galileo spacecraft. Each is about 45 inches long, 16 inches in diameter, and weighs 122 pounds.
* The thermal power at the beginning of the mission will be 4,410 W per generator.
So, they're counting on 285 W per generator, but at the start they're going to be getting 4,410 W. I'm assuming the 285 is the output estimated for the tail end of the mission. Now, 4.4 kW isn't a lot of output, but it could easily power a house, even a wasteful American one. And, since the power output is continuous, it can be stored in batteries when not being used directly. Then there's the thermal output, which seems like it should be considerable. How many BTUs would something like this put out?
This article is more generally informative, but it seems that the overarching concern for terrestrial use is leakage. There's some note that the material could be used for a "dirty bomb," which is a concern in this age of terrorism, but people who are determined to do something nasty to other people will use whatever is at their disposal (airplanes, boxcutters, armies, lies to the public, whatever), so I don't think a pile of hot rocks is going to make a huge difference.
Am I way off here? Is there some critical issue that I'm missing? I'm open to being called stupid, just back it up with facts, please.
I think the Toshiba design was RTG-like. Does anyone here have any clue why RTGs aren't distributed as localized power plants? If my understanding is correct, one little lunchbox-sized bundle would provide enough energy to keep the lights on for a dozen small houses. Even if you had to sink it in a bucket of lead to make it play nice with the neighbors, you could still move the thing around with a hand cart. If you put it in some sort of cask made of a high-strength alloy, you'd keep all but the most serious out of it, and you're not going to keep them out no matter what you do.
Of course, I've been known to misunderstand some things...
I seem to remember learning that "data" was compiled into "information" by giving it structure. Is this contrary to "information theory" (which in itself seems to be an odd term)?
data (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions.
Computer Science. Numerical or other information represented in a form suitable for processing by computer.
Values derived from scientific experiments.
Plural of datum.
Um... No it's not.
I don't think you're missing anything. The only things these guys have in common with Google are a) they made a small leap in technology with an existing paradigm, and b) they used to work down the hall from the Google founders.
AFAIK, Google only cleaned up the look of web searching and started inserting search-specific ads into results pages. Not rocket science, just a good idea. It turned out that they had the right recipie, and they're on top for the foreseeable future.
But, then, maybe I'm just a curmudgeon...
We've got Caller ID with Anonymous Call Blocking on our phone line, and if someone with Caller ID Blocking calls us, they're asked by a voice prompt to enter the number they're dialing from. They can enter any number they want, but since they're usually lazy and only ever enter "111-111-1111," then we can tell it's someone we don't want to talk to. Friends and family call our cell phones.
Waitaminute.... Wasn't this what got Enron in trouble?