I wasn't bitching. The point is that even getting worse mileage, I'd spend less than buying a new econo car.
BTW, our 30 mpg car, a Saturn, we bought new in 2000. Right after buying our "new" car this year, a 2002 Cadillac STS, we gave the old car to my mother in law since her old one died. She didn't have to spend anything, and we spent way less than the cheapest new car.
The same thing applies on houses. If I sold my house and moved closer to my job, I would never get back the difference in gas money it would cost me to buy a different residence. (daily commute is about $7 in gas at current rates.)
I like the fact they post that the more efficient mileage will save $3000 over the life of the car. So I should spend $15000 more than I just spent so I can save $3000. Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
BTW, I went from car that averaged 30 mpg to one that averages 20. I enjoy having 300hp vs 130hp, and not having car payments.
Any time a business or utility charges a fee for electronic payment, you can bet they are going to get a check from me..44 cents beats the $5 or so they charge for electronic payments. Same thing with efiling state taxes. If the state wants me to efile, make it cheaper than.44 cents. Right now, it's between $10 and $20 to efile depending on who does it.
Getting rid of IE7 is a noble thought, but it keeps me from using Win 7 for my desktop at work. The tools I need to support the new system I will manage will not run on anything higher than IE7. It's because they built that system using another vendor's database and have no control over that portion of their system. They are working on a new version using a different database, but it won't be out for a year.
Not only that, their client software doesn't work reliably on Win 7 64 bit.
We have had to delay implementation due to those issues.
Dr. Jonas Venture was pretty awesome. Shame that Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture tried to use those coat tails to make a name for himself. Albino computer scientist Pete White and hydrocephalic "boy genius" Master Billy Quizboy have more raw talent than "Rusty".
The Seville came with 2 different spring sets, the f45 and f55. When it used the old solenoid driven shocks, the solenoid active suspension just toggled between to valve settings in the shocks. The magnetic shocks are much more adjustable by the computer. The f45 springs were the softer set, which was for a plush ride and squishier handling. The f55 springs are what was used in all vehicles with the magnetic active suspension, and are pretty stiff.
I couldn't really tell from reading the article what methed they used for damping, other than is was electromagnetic. The Delphi system is electromagnetic in the sense that a coil around the tube of the shock creates a magnetic field that stiffens the the MRH fluid in the shock. It can do that within 1 millisecond, which I would think is sufficiently rapid. If the Eindhoven system is a free floating linear motor, it should be capable of a wider range if dampening though. I am not sure how it would work when failed. The Delphi system with no power applied acts as a normal shock with just one level of dampening. It does cost $700 a shock to replace though.
I have a 2002 Cadillac STS with magnetic ride control. Here is a 2002 press release.
GM's Magnetic Ride Control - The World's Fastest Reacting Suspension
Detroit, Mich. - General Motors took vehicle handling and comfort to a new level with the January introduction of Magnetic Ride Control on the 2002 Cadillac Seville STS, the world's first production car with this leading-edge active suspension.
GM's Magnetic Ride Control is a complete, stand-alone vehicle suspension control system that uses innovative magneto-rheological fluid-based actuators, four wheel-to-body displacement sensors, and an onboard computer to provide real-time, continuous control of vehicle suspension damping.
The system responds in one millisecond to provide superior ride, handling and control on even the roughest road surfaces. Magnetic Ride Control uses a simple combination of sensors, as well as steering wheel and braking inputs from the driver, to reduce noise, vibration and harshness for a smoother ride.
The system's onboard computer reacts to wheel inputs from the road-sensing suspension by sending an electronic signal to coils in each damper, changing the damping fluid's flow properties. This fluid contains randomly dispersed iron particles that, in the presence of a magnetic field, align themselves into structures adopting a near-plastic state. This action regulates the damping properties of the monotube struts, changing up to 1,000 times per second.
The system offers an expanded range of soft-to-firm damping capabilities for increased control over vehicle motions for a flat ride and precise handling. The active suspension helps maintain the maximum amount of tire patch in contact with the road, providing improved wheel control for a safer more secure ride. This new technology also helps reduce the traditional tradeoff between ride and handling.
Magnetic Ride Control is superior to the traditional suspensions and the real-time-damping systems found in other performance and luxury vehicles that use an electromechanical valve to control hydraulic pressure for shock damping.
Engineers at GM Research & Development laboratories, and later with experts at Delphi Automotive Systems, explored ways to reduce or even eliminate the inherent restrictions of valve-based damping systems. The result is GM's revolutionary system that eliminates electro-mechanical valves entirely.
Magnetic Selective Ride Control will debut as standard equipment in the 50th anniversary Chevrolet Corvette for the 2003 model year. That system will feature tour and sport suspension settings. The tour mode, with its extended range of damping capability, is so capable that it alone provides all the control an everyday driver needs. The sport mode, provides an extra measure of control and feel for performance enthusiasts who want to take their cars on track.
This technology yields greater levels of tuning precision and ride quality. Ride and handling engineers developing vehicles with Magnetic Ride Control can spend their time adjusting the algorithms that control the damping responses on a computer, and are enabled to fine-tune ride and handling characteristics to unprecedented levels of specificity. As a result, drivers will notice better ride quality, less body roll and improvements in overall handling.
General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2001, GM earned $1.5 billion on sales of $177.3 billion, excluding special items. It employs about 362,000 people globally.
###
Magnetic Ride Control: Fact Sheet
What is Magnetic Ride Control?
Magnetic Ride Control is a complete, stand-alone vehicle suspension control system that uses magneto-rheological fluid-based actuators, four wheel-to-body displacement sensors, and an on-board computer to provide real-time, continuous control of vehicle suspension damping.
How does it work?
Magnetic Ride Control is made possible by the developmen
Cellphones are always tied to identity, even more than Internet access. A cellphone is with you wherever you go and whatever you do.
I only carry a work supplied cell phone, that is tied to them, not me. The only personal cell phone we have at our house is a prepaid, with a bogus name/address attached to it.
From the article.. "Under the contract modification, the Soyuz flights will carry limited cargo associated with crew transportation to and from the station, and assist with the disposal of trash. The cargo provided per Soyuz seat is approximately 110 pounds (50 kilograms) launched to the station, approximately 37 pounds (17 kilograms) returned to Earth and trash disposal of approximately 66 pounds (30 kilograms). "
General Ashke-NAZI? Urban Dictionary:"1. Ashke Word meaning "beloved" in the language of the Tayledra people. The Tayledras are a silver haired race of people from Mercedes Lackey's fiction novels."
As an anti-social nerd, putting my lack of connections out into a public forum gives me the willies. I think the main reason is that I fear what some bureaucracy could do with that aggregated information. Don't agree with the government? Get put a a travel watch list. Also the fact that facebook continues to prove the fact that the only pay lip service to privacy.
I couldn't care less about advertising though, as I block just about everything.
Email will continue to work fine for me, since I can at least encrypt that if I feel the need to.
We currently have bastard red light/speeding cameras in our area. The registered owner, local or not, gets the ticket. It is not a criminal ticket. The only negative is that they throw it to a collection agency. No big deal for me as I don't borrow any money anyway. http://thegazette.com/cameras and you can peruse the database to see all the out of state tickets. It has been a gigantic moneymaker for the City, and for the company that does the cameras.
I recently drove a rented chevy cobalt, and I really didn't like the car that much. But turns out that when the exterior temperature is under about 37F, the car displays a message "Ice possible" on the dash.
That's the nice thing about how technology trickles down. I just bought a new to me '02 Cadillac STS that has that same feature, along with ABS, stability control, magnetic controlled suspension, tire pressure monitoring, etc.. $55,000 worth of technology that depreciated down to $6000.
Close your eyes, can't happen here Big Bro' on white horse is near The hippies won't come back you say Mellow out or you will pay Mellow out or you will pay!
Which brings to mind the current catch-22 I am stuck in. My driver's license expired on my birthday about 3 weeks ago. You have 60 days grace period to get it renewed. I went down to the office to get it renewed, but was rejected because the date of birth didn't match Social Security's. I actually noticed that several years ago, when I first e-filed my income taxes. It wasn't hard to figure out what they wanted. They either transcribed a 1 as a 7 or their OCR software did. I just remember to make that change when I file and everything was fine.
I had to take off work an hour an a half early to go down to Social Security with my certified birth certificate and wait around for a drone to make the change. I give them the birth certificate and then the ask for my drivers license. They say, we can't use that, it's expired! We need a passport instead. Being like most Americans, I don't have one. So here I am, I can't get my license renewed because of Social Security, and I can't get Social Security renewed because of my drivers license. Eventually the drone shuffled off to sector 7G for a long time and returned with a piece of paper saying that I have to get a signed medical record from my doctor. What that has to do with my identity, I have no idea.
The 3d was completely un-needed and I wish the theater I saw it at had a non-3d version.
Isn't that a bit like saying of The Wizard of Oz that "the color was completely un-needed and I wish the theater I saw it at had a black-and-white version"?
Not really. The movie would not have had any less impact in 2d. The Wizard of Oz, however, was the original Starwars or original Tron if you will, of it's time.
Agreed with all of the above. I will add that I liked the hand drawn glowing effect of the original better, but the script and acting in this one are much better. I also missed the bits and the tanks (only in background not doing anything.). The 3d was completely un-needed and I wish the theater I saw it at had a non-3d version.
Slashdot Mirror
I wasn't bitching. The point is that even getting worse mileage, I'd spend less than buying a new econo car.
BTW, our 30 mpg car, a Saturn, we bought new in 2000. Right after buying our "new" car this year, a 2002 Cadillac STS, we gave the old car to my mother in law since her old one died. She didn't have to spend anything, and we spent way less than the cheapest new car.
The same thing applies on houses. If I sold my house and moved closer to my job, I would never get back the difference in gas money it would cost me to buy a different residence. (daily commute is about $7 in gas at current rates.)
I like the fact they post that the more efficient mileage will save $3000 over the life of the car. So I should spend $15000 more than I just spent so I can save $3000. Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
BTW, I went from car that averaged 30 mpg to one that averages 20. I enjoy having 300hp vs 130hp, and not having car payments.
Could be. National Guard Chinooks fly over my house every once in a while, and you can hear them long before they go over. They are very loud.
Any time a business or utility charges a fee for electronic payment, you can bet they are going to get a check from me. .44 cents beats the $5 or so they charge for electronic payments. Same thing with efiling state taxes. If the state wants me to efile, make it cheaper than .44 cents. Right now, it's between $10 and $20 to efile depending on who does it.
Getting rid of IE7 is a noble thought, but it keeps me from using Win 7 for my desktop at work. The tools I need to support the new system I will manage will not run on anything higher than IE7. It's because they built that system using another vendor's database and have no control over that portion of their system. They are working on a new version using a different database, but it won't be out for a year.
Not only that, their client software doesn't work reliably on Win 7 64 bit.
We have had to delay implementation due to those issues.
Dr. Jonas Venture was pretty awesome. Shame that Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture tried to use those coat tails to make a name for himself. Albino computer scientist Pete White and hydrocephalic "boy genius" Master Billy Quizboy have more raw talent than "Rusty".
The Seville came with 2 different spring sets, the f45 and f55. When it used the old solenoid driven shocks, the solenoid active suspension just toggled between to valve settings in the shocks. The magnetic shocks are much more adjustable by the computer. The f45 springs were the softer set, which was for a plush ride and squishier handling. The f55 springs are what was used in all vehicles with the magnetic active suspension, and are pretty stiff.
I couldn't really tell from reading the article what methed they used for damping, other than is was electromagnetic. The Delphi system is electromagnetic in the sense that a coil around the tube of the shock creates a magnetic field that stiffens the the MRH fluid in the shock. It can do that within 1 millisecond, which I would think is sufficiently rapid. If the Eindhoven system is a free floating linear motor, it should be capable of a wider range if dampening though. I am not sure how it would work when failed. The Delphi system with no power applied acts as a normal shock with just one level of dampening. It does cost $700 a shock to replace though.
I have a 2002 Cadillac STS with magnetic ride control. Here is a 2002 press release.
GM's Magnetic Ride Control - The World's Fastest Reacting Suspension
Detroit, Mich. - General Motors took vehicle handling and comfort to a new level with the January introduction of Magnetic Ride Control on the 2002 Cadillac Seville STS, the world's first production car with this leading-edge active suspension.
GM's Magnetic Ride Control is a complete, stand-alone vehicle suspension control system that uses innovative magneto-rheological fluid-based actuators, four wheel-to-body displacement sensors, and an onboard computer to provide real-time, continuous control of vehicle suspension damping.
The system responds in one millisecond to provide superior ride, handling and control on even the roughest road surfaces. Magnetic Ride Control uses a simple combination of sensors, as well as steering wheel and braking inputs from the driver, to reduce noise, vibration and harshness for a smoother ride.
The system's onboard computer reacts to wheel inputs from the road-sensing suspension by sending an electronic signal to coils in each damper, changing the damping fluid's flow properties. This fluid contains randomly dispersed iron particles that, in the presence of a magnetic field, align themselves into structures adopting a near-plastic state. This action regulates the damping properties of the monotube struts, changing up to 1,000 times per second.
The system offers an expanded range of soft-to-firm damping capabilities for increased control over vehicle motions for a flat ride and precise handling. The active suspension helps maintain the maximum amount of tire patch in contact with the road, providing improved wheel control for a safer more secure ride. This new technology also helps reduce the traditional tradeoff between ride and handling.
Magnetic Ride Control is superior to the traditional suspensions and the real-time-damping systems found in other performance and luxury vehicles that use an electromechanical valve to control hydraulic pressure for shock damping.
Engineers at GM Research & Development laboratories, and later with experts at Delphi Automotive Systems, explored ways to reduce or even eliminate the inherent restrictions of valve-based damping systems. The result is GM's revolutionary system that eliminates electro-mechanical valves entirely.
Magnetic Selective Ride Control will debut as standard equipment in the 50th anniversary Chevrolet Corvette for the 2003 model year. That system will feature tour and sport suspension settings. The tour mode, with its extended range of damping capability, is so capable that it alone provides all the control an everyday driver needs. The sport mode, provides an extra measure of control and feel for performance enthusiasts who want to take their cars on track.
This technology yields greater levels of tuning precision and ride quality. Ride and handling engineers developing vehicles with Magnetic Ride Control can spend their time adjusting the algorithms that control the damping responses on a computer, and are enabled to fine-tune ride and handling characteristics to unprecedented levels of specificity. As a result, drivers will notice better ride quality, less body roll and improvements in overall handling.
General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2001, GM earned $1.5 billion on sales of $177.3 billion, excluding special items. It employs about 362,000 people globally.
###
Magnetic Ride Control: Fact Sheet
What is Magnetic Ride Control?
Magnetic Ride Control is a complete, stand-alone vehicle suspension control system that uses magneto-rheological fluid-based actuators, four wheel-to-body displacement sensors, and an on-board computer to provide real-time, continuous control of vehicle suspension damping.
How does it work?
Magnetic Ride Control is made possible by the developmen
Cellphones are always tied to identity, even more than Internet access. A cellphone is with you wherever you go and whatever you do.
I only carry a work supplied cell phone, that is tied to them, not me. The only personal cell phone we have at our house is a prepaid, with a bogus name/address attached to it.
From the article..
"Under the contract modification, the Soyuz flights will carry limited cargo associated with crew transportation to and from the station, and assist with the disposal of trash. The cargo provided per Soyuz seat is approximately 110 pounds (50 kilograms) launched to the station, approximately 37 pounds (17 kilograms) returned to Earth and trash disposal of approximately 66 pounds (30 kilograms). "
I support the right to arm bears!
What is the Science Channel? I never heard of it before this Slashdot reference. The only thing I do know is that I don't have it.
General Ashke-NAZI?
Urban Dictionary:"1. Ashke
Word meaning "beloved" in the language of the Tayledra people. The Tayledras are a silver haired race of people from Mercedes Lackey's fiction novels."
Motives included unlawful financial gain? That's amusing!
As an anti-social nerd, putting my lack of connections out into a public forum gives me the willies. I think the main reason is that I fear what some bureaucracy could do with that aggregated information. Don't agree with the government? Get put a a travel watch list. Also the fact that facebook continues to prove the fact that the only pay lip service to privacy.
I couldn't care less about advertising though, as I block just about everything.
Email will continue to work fine for me, since I can at least encrypt that if I feel the need to.
We currently have bastard red light/speeding cameras in our area. The registered owner, local or not, gets the ticket. It is not a criminal ticket. The only negative is that they throw it to a collection agency. No big deal for me as I don't borrow any money anyway.
http://thegazette.com/cameras and you can peruse the database to see all the out of state tickets. It has been a gigantic moneymaker for the City, and for the company that does the cameras.
I recently drove a rented chevy cobalt, and I really didn't like the car that much. But turns out that when the exterior temperature is under about 37F, the car displays a message "Ice possible" on the dash.
That's the nice thing about how technology trickles down. I just bought a new to me '02 Cadillac STS that has that same feature, along with ABS, stability control, magnetic controlled suspension, tire pressure monitoring, etc.. $55,000 worth of technology that depreciated down to $6000.
Hipsters don't use e-readers, they use I-Pads..
Close your eyes, can't happen here
Big Bro' on white horse is near
The hippies won't come back you say
Mellow out or you will pay
Mellow out or you will pay!
Which brings to mind the current catch-22 I am stuck in. My driver's license expired on my birthday about 3 weeks ago. You have 60 days grace period to get it renewed. I went down to the office to get it renewed, but was rejected because the date of birth didn't match Social Security's. I actually noticed that several years ago, when I first e-filed my income taxes. It wasn't hard to figure out what they wanted. They either transcribed a 1 as a 7 or their OCR software did. I just remember to make that change when I file and everything was fine.
I had to take off work an hour an a half early to go down to Social Security with my certified birth certificate and wait around for a drone to make the change. I give them the birth certificate and then the ask for my drivers license. They say, we can't use that, it's expired! We need a passport instead. Being like most Americans, I don't have one. So here I am, I can't get my license renewed because of Social Security, and I can't get Social Security renewed because of my drivers license. Eventually the drone shuffled off to sector 7G for a long time and returned with a piece of paper saying that I have to get a signed medical record from my doctor. What that has to do with my identity, I have no idea.
UNLIMITED RICE PUDDING!
The 3d was completely un-needed and I wish the theater I saw it at had a non-3d version.
Isn't that a bit like saying of The Wizard of Oz that "the color was completely un-needed and I wish the theater I saw it at had a black-and-white version"?
Not really. The movie would not have had any less impact in 2d. The Wizard of Oz, however, was the original Starwars or original Tron if you will, of it's time.
I can go with them on the Solaris as the workstation is supposed to be circa 1989, not 1983.
Agreed with all of the above. I will add that I liked the hand drawn glowing effect of the original better, but the script and acting in this one are much better. I also missed the bits and the tanks (only in background not doing anything.). The 3d was completely un-needed and I wish the theater I saw it at had a non-3d version.