Yeah, maybe first program the transmission not to SUCK, eh Ford?
We had a 2011 F350 work truck that was almost comical (comical because in no way would we be financially responsible when it broke!)
Sometimes when accelerating hard (pulling onto the highway from a stop) it would stick between gears and kill the throttle for 2 seconds, then shift into gear.
Twice it revved up real high, then slammed itself into gear (pretty sure the wheels left the ground)
If you held the gas pedal just right it would stay in second gear right up to 110km/h. Well into red-line on the tacometer.
We took it into Ford for a weekend. They returned it and said that they cleared the setpoints and that we should drive it gently for the next few hundred Kms until the transmission has a chance to "learn" new shiftpoints.
All that work on a "smart" transmission and it still wouldn't get better than 21 liters per 100km.
New hobby... trolling the FBI / corporate security with innocent usage of suspicious phrases.
My new years resolution is now to use a minimum of one of these phrases in every email I send using the company email system for the year 2013. My employer is large enough that they most certainly use this sort of filtering.
Heck... they're probably tracking my Slashdot account... Hey guys... just kidding!
Our new company policy says that we have to pee in a cup any time the employer asks.
The unofficial opinion in our department is "I'll pee in the cup any time you want, but you're holding the cup!". It's the front line management that suffers the most I tell you.
I had a former co-worker a few years back that was looking for a new job. I found the perfect job for him and sent it to him via facebook.
Facebook gave me the ability to find his contact information via the town he was living in, his name, his profile picture, and some mutual friends. I was then able to start a conversation with him and have a few messages back and forth. Neither of us wanted the relationship to move beyond a few polite messages, and I probably would not have gone to the inconvenience of paying a dollar through facebook just to give him a job link that he may not have been interested in.
Facebook provides a convenient way for me to communicate with friends, family, and strangers spread across North America. As soon as this service becomes less convenient due to fees or advertising, I imagine that we will all migrate over to the next big thing. I had hoped that G+ was it, but apparently isn't.
To make the maths easier, lets assume you can improve your efficiency by 25% (that's huge) and assume you're loading it to 400 watts, (also huge) and assume you run it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with 2 weeks off a year (running at full capacity).
That's 100 watts of savings, 2000 hours a year... 0.1kw X 2000 = 200kWh per year.
I pay about $0.10/kWh
You could save up to $20/year.
Reality? You'd probably see a lot less savings then that.
I had previously found a website that had a good modeling program to show you the lobe of radiated power, but don't have time this morning to find it again.
I'm also not sure what frequency you want to build it for. Some sites say 700mhz, some 1800mhz.
Hopefully someone with more radio know-how can add to the discussion. If you're near south-east BC, bring it by and we'll test the antenna on my (absurdly expensive) service monitor. I'm wanting to build a long range wifi net connecting to several buddies in town, so I'll be watching and hoping for some insightful help on this thread.
Poor union workers are a sign of a manager without the balls to do his job properly!
My union contract (IBEW) has a lot of room to get yourself fired. Right now the big item is personal cell phone use. If I am caught using my personal cell phone at work, I can be fired. Simple as that. The union has even told us flat out that it cannot defend us if we break the corporate policy.
Useless middle managers who won't do their job are the problem. If a manager won't make the workers under him do their job, how is it the fault of the union?
Right. This is not the case. Every single concession given to consumers are provided the absence of digital locks. In other words as soon as a digital lock is applied, every single consumer right goes out the window..
Yeah so... I'm never going to buy anything that has a digital lock as now I can pirate for my personal use and not be worried about a ridiculous fine.
Worst case Ontario they come after me for (up to) $5000, I go to court and represent myself wasting as much of their time as I can asking dumb questions and I have sell my truck to pay for the fine.
It's worth the risk... but I'm not a lawyer so this should be a good laugh...
It's time to stop buying these game consoles that cannot be hacked and these DVD's they don't want us to watch.
I have resisted setting up the DVD player since we moved (4 months ago) because the restrictions placed on me (Macrovision!) by the manufacturer inconveniences me. If I could buy a DVD without previews that I could have playing within 10 seconds of loading into the drive, I might be interested in spending money, but it just annoys me and I would rather not support an industry that treats their customers this way.
I just paid $80 to change a rim on my truck because it was rusty and leaking. ($40 for the rim from a junk yard, $40 to mount and balance). 35 years old, 25% failure rate. Not too bad.
My truck is old-school. New, problematic, overly complicated technology is unwelcome. This new technology sounds new, overly complicated, and problematic.
I just wish there was an AM station to listen to on the way to work...
A few (dozen?) years back a chemistry prof was writing the lab manuals and wanted to change "protective gloves" to "protective clothing". He did a find and replace gloves with clothing.
Various lab instructions included the phrase "It is not necessary to wear clothing in this lab".
I have a '77 Chevy truck. What I love about it is the simplicity. Minimal plastic (upholstery), AM radio, simplicity of service.
What I don't like is that it's old and everything needs to be replaced.
My wife has an '05 Xterra, and work just gave me a 2012 F150. I appreciate the smooth suspension and handling of the newer vehicles, but I prefer the lack of complexity in my old truck.
I guess my dream vehicle would be a small SUV, 4X4, solid front axle, exposed metal interior. Something like the old Samurai. Diesel would be a nice option. Perhaps I should go buy a jeep.
If I could buy a car today with no features, minimal upholstery, nothing more than a chassis, powertrain, and seat... available in flat black paint... I'd buy one so fast your head would spin.
I picked up an Acer Revo a while back because it had a fiber optic audio connection to the amp, and sat nice and quiet next to the TV.
Fast forward a year, and now I'm surfing the web reclined on the couch.
I could go 6 feet that way and sit at a more powerful computer on a desk, or sit up and use a more powerful laptop, but... I'm sitting at the lowest powered machine in the house whining when it chokes on something. Sucks to be lazy...
If I didn't know any better, I'd guess Microsoft is trying to realize their dream of owning a closed platform. The only thing they're missing now is an "office" package.
I'm jealous. That'd be so much easier and cooler than finishing my renovations and selling my house. My insurance policy says I'm covered for "acts of God". As long as nobody's hurt of course.
Today I did a perfect banana peel toss! It landed in the middle of the lane, point up! Tossing banana peels is an art form.
My work truck is an F350 loaded down so much that a fat co-worker and a full tank of gas would put you over the legal GVWR. The back window is blocked by the tool box, and so the rearview mirror is harmlessly pointed to the roof. We had a spring safety meeting where the focus was on driving safety, and how it is company policy that if there is a passenger present, he must get out and direct you back. After the meeting we all jumped in the trucks and took off. Not one guy directed the truck out. We got to lunch and the boss had a big vein sticking out of his neck while he yelled at us. We all hung our heads in shame appropriately. Still don't do that though. If you have situational awareness, and back in to a spot, it's no problem.
Totally agree! I saw one of these on a $65M USD world class yacht that I was installing a navigation camera on. Beautiful system that is almost as convenient as ripping the bloody movies, but goes to GREAT length to accommodate the "law" as it stands.
Who wants to be the lucky dog to tell the billionaire owner of the yacht that he has to now switch DVDs like the rest of us because he isn't "allowed" to have the disks pre-loaded on his Kaleidescape that he paid $40,000 to $80,000 for? While I was working on the yacht, I remember the Captain getting a box of DVD's from a crew member to catalog and put into the cargo hold. It was understood that if the movie is loaded into the system, the disk has to stay on board. I was shocked that they'd even care, but I guess if you have deep pockets you become a big target? Funny way to treat your customers, especially seeing as these are the guys who'd sign a blank cheque to just buy one of every movie in case they ever get the urge to watch it.
I returned an un-opened set of sockets to Canadian Tire once. The sockets were still in the original shrink wrap, and the clerk cut it open in front of me before she gave me a refund. When I asked her why, she said that they've had people return socket sets full of rocks.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, maybe first program the transmission not to SUCK, eh Ford?
We had a 2011 F350 work truck that was almost comical (comical because in no way would we be financially responsible when it broke!)
Sometimes when accelerating hard (pulling onto the highway from a stop) it would stick between gears and kill the throttle for 2 seconds, then shift into gear.
Twice it revved up real high, then slammed itself into gear (pretty sure the wheels left the ground)
If you held the gas pedal just right it would stay in second gear right up to 110km/h. Well into red-line on the tacometer.
We took it into Ford for a weekend. They returned it and said that they cleared the setpoints and that we should drive it gently for the next few hundred Kms until the transmission has a chance to "learn" new shiftpoints.
All that work on a "smart" transmission and it still wouldn't get better than 21 liters per 100km.
Yeah... I won't be buying a new Ford, thanks.
Watch the youtube video posted at http://tracking-point.com/
Pretty sure that's a Gnu at 0:17...
New hobby... trolling the FBI / corporate security with innocent usage of suspicious phrases.
My new years resolution is now to use a minimum of one of these phrases in every email I send using the company email system for the year 2013. My employer is large enough that they most certainly use this sort of filtering.
Heck... they're probably tracking my Slashdot account... Hey guys... just kidding!
Our new company policy says that we have to pee in a cup any time the employer asks.
The unofficial opinion in our department is "I'll pee in the cup any time you want, but you're holding the cup!". It's the front line management that suffers the most I tell you.
I had a former co-worker a few years back that was looking for a new job. I found the perfect job for him and sent it to him via facebook.
Facebook gave me the ability to find his contact information via the town he was living in, his name, his profile picture, and some mutual friends. I was then able to start a conversation with him and have a few messages back and forth. Neither of us wanted the relationship to move beyond a few polite messages, and I probably would not have gone to the inconvenience of paying a dollar through facebook just to give him a job link that he may not have been interested in.
Facebook provides a convenient way for me to communicate with friends, family, and strangers spread across North America. As soon as this service becomes less convenient due to fees or advertising, I imagine that we will all migrate over to the next big thing. I had hoped that G+ was it, but apparently isn't.
To make the maths easier, lets assume you can improve your efficiency by 25% (that's huge) and assume you're loading it to 400 watts, (also huge) and assume you run it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with 2 weeks off a year (running at full capacity).
That's 100 watts of savings, 2000 hours a year... 0.1kw X 2000 = 200kWh per year.
I pay about $0.10/kWh
You could save up to $20/year.
Reality? You'd probably see a lot less savings then that.
Myself, I'm a newb radio technician, so I know where you're coming from.
What you want is a "Yagi" antenna. Very directional and therefore, longer range.
Search for "Cantenna"
Also try: http://www.skyscan.ca/Antennas.htm
I had previously found a website that had a good modeling program to show you the lobe of radiated power, but don't have time this morning to find it again.
I'm also not sure what frequency you want to build it for. Some sites say 700mhz, some 1800mhz.
Hopefully someone with more radio know-how can add to the discussion. If you're near south-east BC, bring it by and we'll test the antenna on my (absurdly expensive) service monitor. I'm wanting to build a long range wifi net connecting to several buddies in town, so I'll be watching and hoping for some insightful help on this thread.
Poor union workers are a sign of a manager without the balls to do his job properly!
My union contract (IBEW) has a lot of room to get yourself fired. Right now the big item is personal cell phone use. If I am caught using my personal cell phone at work, I can be fired. Simple as that. The union has even told us flat out that it cannot defend us if we break the corporate policy.
Useless middle managers who won't do their job are the problem. If a manager won't make the workers under him do their job, how is it the fault of the union?
And that is why instead of Google Drive, I'm looking for an alternative that encrypts my family photo's rather than analyzes them.
I don't THINK I have anything illegal in my photo drive, but you never know what may be spotted by a robot looking through my thousands of photos.
Gimme a break. Unions are the only thing that defends the middle class from the rich shareholders that demand ever increasing dividends.
Should have called it "Sauronsaur".
Right. This is not the case. Every single concession given to consumers are provided the absence of digital locks. In other words as soon as a digital lock is applied, every single consumer right goes out the window..
Yeah so... I'm never going to buy anything that has a digital lock as now I can pirate for my personal use and not be worried about a ridiculous fine.
Worst case Ontario they come after me for (up to) $5000, I go to court and represent myself wasting as much of their time as I can asking dumb questions and I have sell my truck to pay for the fine.
It's worth the risk... but I'm not a lawyer so this should be a good laugh...
It's time to stop buying these game consoles that cannot be hacked and these DVD's they don't want us to watch.
I have resisted setting up the DVD player since we moved (4 months ago) because the restrictions placed on me (Macrovision!) by the manufacturer inconveniences me. If I could buy a DVD without previews that I could have playing within 10 seconds of loading into the drive, I might be interested in spending money, but it just annoys me and I would rather not support an industry that treats their customers this way.
I just paid $80 to change a rim on my truck because it was rusty and leaking. ($40 for the rim from a junk yard, $40 to mount and balance). 35 years old, 25% failure rate. Not too bad.
My truck is old-school. New, problematic, overly complicated technology is unwelcome. This new technology sounds new, overly complicated, and problematic.
I just wish there was an AM station to listen to on the way to work...
Thanks! Up... er... Downgraded.
Are you telling me to expect problems with SAP?
A few (dozen?) years back a chemistry prof was writing the lab manuals and wanted to change "protective gloves" to "protective clothing". He did a find and replace gloves with clothing.
Various lab instructions included the phrase "It is not necessary to wear clothing in this lab".
Hilarity ensued.
Thanks for your pleasant vote of confidence...
I have a '77 Chevy truck. What I love about it is the simplicity. Minimal plastic (upholstery), AM radio, simplicity of service.
What I don't like is that it's old and everything needs to be replaced.
My wife has an '05 Xterra, and work just gave me a 2012 F150. I appreciate the smooth suspension and handling of the newer vehicles, but I prefer the lack of complexity in my old truck.
I guess my dream vehicle would be a small SUV, 4X4, solid front axle, exposed metal interior. Something like the old Samurai. Diesel would be a nice option. Perhaps I should go buy a jeep.
If I could buy a car today with no features, minimal upholstery, nothing more than a chassis, powertrain, and seat... available in flat black paint... I'd buy one so fast your head would spin.
I picked up an Acer Revo a while back because it had a fiber optic audio connection to the amp, and sat nice and quiet next to the TV.
Fast forward a year, and now I'm surfing the web reclined on the couch.
I could go 6 feet that way and sit at a more powerful computer on a desk, or sit up and use a more powerful laptop, but... I'm sitting at the lowest powered machine in the house whining when it chokes on something. Sucks to be lazy...
If I didn't know any better, I'd guess Microsoft is trying to realize their dream of owning a closed platform. The only thing they're missing now is an "office" package.
Do it. That will make it a whole lot easier to drum up some outrage at the next election.
I'm jealous. That'd be so much easier and cooler than finishing my renovations and selling my house. My insurance policy says I'm covered for "acts of God". As long as nobody's hurt of course.
Today I did a perfect banana peel toss! It landed in the middle of the lane, point up! Tossing banana peels is an art form.
My work truck is an F350 loaded down so much that a fat co-worker and a full tank of gas would put you over the legal GVWR. The back window is blocked by the tool box, and so the rearview mirror is harmlessly pointed to the roof. We had a spring safety meeting where the focus was on driving safety, and how it is company policy that if there is a passenger present, he must get out and direct you back. After the meeting we all jumped in the trucks and took off. Not one guy directed the truck out. We got to lunch and the boss had a big vein sticking out of his neck while he yelled at us. We all hung our heads in shame appropriately. Still don't do that though. If you have situational awareness, and back in to a spot, it's no problem.
Totally agree! I saw one of these on a $65M USD world class yacht that I was installing a navigation camera on. Beautiful system that is almost as convenient as ripping the bloody movies, but goes to GREAT length to accommodate the "law" as it stands.
Who wants to be the lucky dog to tell the billionaire owner of the yacht that he has to now switch DVDs like the rest of us because he isn't "allowed" to have the disks pre-loaded on his Kaleidescape that he paid $40,000 to $80,000 for? While I was working on the yacht, I remember the Captain getting a box of DVD's from a crew member to catalog and put into the cargo hold. It was understood that if the movie is loaded into the system, the disk has to stay on board. I was shocked that they'd even care, but I guess if you have deep pockets you become a big target? Funny way to treat your customers, especially seeing as these are the guys who'd sign a blank cheque to just buy one of every movie in case they ever get the urge to watch it.
I returned an un-opened set of sockets to Canadian Tire once. The sockets were still in the original shrink wrap, and the clerk cut it open in front of me before she gave me a refund. When I asked her why, she said that they've had people return socket sets full of rocks.
Not surprised really.