A couiple years ago, I got a keyboard that had blue EL backlit keys, for typing in poorly-lit areas. The keyboard was great, EXCEPT for the 3 blue LEDs the manufacturer used for Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock indicators. Those things were distractingly bright, even when they were over to one side of my peripheral vision.
I ended up opening the keyboard and changing the values of the ballast resistors to get the brightness down to more reasonable levels.
Systems like that are found in nearly every multistory building with a fire sprinkler system.
The pump that pressurizes the sprinkler piping is installed contrary to most standard provisions of the electrical code, in that it has very little overcurrent protection, no overtemperature protection, and power for it is tapped off ahead of the main building disconnect.
The reasoning here is that you want that pump motor to run itself to complete failure if need be in event of a fire. No shutting off because the motor starts to overheat, or because the FD pulls the main power switch.
[quote]Wait, so it's karma-neutral to indirectly support the mass murder of people? What?![/quote]
Who brought the concept of "karma" into anything? Certainly wasn't me....
At any rate, there are actually TWO conscientious objector classifications available. A "1-A-O" classification means that the person is willing to serve as a non-combatant, whereas a "1-O" classification precludes ANY military service. The choice of what applies in each case is up to the individual and his draft board. The individual's own personal beliefs would dictate whether he could accept non-combatant service or not.
[quote]And you think the other inmates are going to treat him kindly after they figure out what he's in for?[/quote]
That would depend on the popularity of the war in question, no? Many Vietnam era draft resisters successfully used their prison time to organize prison strikes, act as "jailhouse lawyers" for the wrongly accused, and agitate for prisoner's rights.
[quote]More likely, they'll treat him as bad as or even worse than a child molester, and he'll get PTSD from those experiences.[/quote]
That is quite possible. But if the person's moral code required such action as opposed to military service, they would accept that risk. The whole idea of resisting conscription would be to withhold support from the war machine, not to make it easy on one's self.
[quote]Is that an example of karma, too?[/quote]
Again, I ask who the hell brought karma into this. It wasn't me.
[quote]What's your next suggestion? That he could have chosen to commit suicide?[/quote]
I wouldn't suggest it, but it isn't without precedent...
Alas, the black paper loop isn't as effective a weapon against junk faxers as it once was. Nowadays, the best you can hope for is to use up their toner cartridge. Back in the days when fax machines used thermal printing, attempting to print a continuous black sheet could actually overheat and destroy the expensive printhead.
The standby power consumption of a TV set is the power needed to keep the REMOTE CONTROL receiver and associated microcontroller running all the time. If this wasn't done, then your remote wouldn't be able to turn the set on, because the circuitry that receives the signals from it would be dead.
The "instant on" story goes back to when TVs contained vacuum tubes, and required a minute or more to produce a picture from a cold start. Manufacturers discovered that if you kept the tube filaments warm all the time, startup time was greatly reduced. The fact that such circuits wasted gobs of electricity and burned down more than a few homes didn't matter much....
"Fly Me to the Moon" is a 3D animated film covering the Apollo 11 moon mission, told from the perspective of 3 flies who manage to get aboard the command module prior to launch. The stills and short video clips look really impressive:
I'm sure this film won't get the attention of a Disney release, but my space-obsessed 5 year-old son can't wait. I just hope it gets into a FEW theaters outside of science museums and the like...
[quote]So every once in a while Google regains a little bit of my trust.[/quote]
Why?
This is a shareholder resolution, not something drawn up by Google itself. In fact, if you look at the end of the statement, you will see the the Google BoD is recommending a vote AGAINST this resolution, presumably because it will cost the company money...
>Finally, does Kucinich this this will help him get elected President?
Well, it makes me a lot more likely to work to support him in the primary, and if by some miracle he got the nomination (and didn't get assassinated before the election), his candidacy might be enough to make me vote Democratic rather than Green in 2008.
The problems I saw with the "Bifurcated Boat" myth:
The viscosity of air is MUCH less than that of water. With the boat in air, on a trailer, you wouldn't develop the tremendous side forces that you would if the boat was in water. When the boat hit the pole, not only would the boat have to be pushed away from the pole, but all the WATER against the opposite side of the boat would need to be displaced, as well. Water is HEAVY. The effect of the hull and keel design below the waterline would also provide additional damping in yaw, preventing the boat from suddenly veering away with a glancing impact.
The boat was missing the engines (typically 2 big-block V8s), the running gear/props, a large load of fuel, and passengers. Perhaps 2500-3000 pounds underweight compared to typical conditions in water. That translates into a LOT less kinetic energy available at impact.
The MB team REALLY missed the mark on that myth, I'm afraid.
Or bring all the I/O lines out of the oil tank through hermetically-sealed connectors. Admittedly, most of the connector types commonly used on computer gear aren't available in hermetic variants. But the good old D-subminiature series is, along with a wide range of circular types.
Hermetic connectors use glass/metal seals around the individual pins, and either an O-ring and screws or solder flange for attachment to the chassis. Common on military/aircraft/industrial gear exposed to extreme environmental conditions.
[quote]Couldn't some variant of this technology be used, where the actual PCB's don't get near the liquid, but the heat sinks are immersed in it?[/quote]
Such things already exist. They're called "cold plates" or "liquid-cooled heat sinks". And no, they aren't as efficient at removing heat as directly immersing the components in the coolant would be. But they make maintenance and input/output connections a lot easier to accomplish.
Everything in engineering involves tradeoffs. If you want the highest cooling efficiency, ease of maintenance takes a hit.
Oil IS an accepted dielectric fluid! Highly refined mineral oils are widely used for cooling and insulating electrical equipment (like the transformer that feeds power to your house), and relatively cheap, even given current petroleum prices.
Specialty fluids like Fluorinert are less messy when you need to work on the submerged parts, but that stuff is EXPENSIVE. How about over $300 per LITER?
Unfortunately, many elements of the broader left/progressive movement have a deep anti-technology bias, that would prevent them from advocating for F/OSS or anything else of a technological nature. Perhaps not so much the labor movement, but environmentalists, antiwar groups, anti-globalization activists, etc. Many otherwise well-meaning folks I have met see computers and the internet as a necessary evil at BEST, and part of a corporate/government plot to enslave us all at the worst.
It all gets to be frustrating after many years of trying to encourage various local peace and social justice groups to take advantage of the new technologies as they become available, only to be ignored or even accused of trying to subvert their aims by introducing "artificial" technology.
Things are finally starting to change, but it has been a long, hard road...
Highly purified water is actually fairly reactive chemically, and it will slowly dissolve tiny amounts of material from the tubing, waterblocks, pumps, etc. Unless your system incorporates some type of water purification element, the water in it will be no better than tap water in a few weeks.
Water cooling has been used for decades in high powered radio and TV transmitters, but such systems incorporate water conductivity monitors to check for dissolved impurities, and some means of removing them (distiller or reverse osmosis system).
If you don't want to deal with the potential problems of water as a coolant in a PC, use silicone oil or ethylene glycol (antifreeze).
Slashdot Mirror
A couiple years ago, I got a keyboard that had blue EL backlit keys, for typing in poorly-lit areas. The keyboard was great, EXCEPT for the 3 blue LEDs the manufacturer used for Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock indicators. Those things were distractingly bright, even when they were over to one side of my peripheral vision.
I ended up opening the keyboard and changing the values of the ballast resistors to get the brightness down to more reasonable levels.
Actually, the first TWO launches had white painted tanks. Then NASA realized that the paint added a lot of additional weight for zero benefit...
Systems like that are found in nearly every multistory building with a fire sprinkler system.
The pump that pressurizes the sprinkler piping is installed contrary to most standard provisions of the electrical code, in that it has very little overcurrent protection, no overtemperature protection, and power for it is tapped off ahead of the main building disconnect.
The reasoning here is that you want that pump motor to run itself to complete failure if need be in event of a fire. No shutting off because the motor starts to overheat, or because the FD pulls the main power switch.
I don't normally reply to AC trolls, but....
[quote]Wait, so it's karma-neutral to indirectly support the mass murder of people? What?![/quote]
Who brought the concept of "karma" into anything? Certainly wasn't me....
At any rate, there are actually TWO conscientious objector classifications available. A "1-A-O" classification means that the person is willing to serve as a non-combatant, whereas a "1-O" classification precludes ANY military service. The choice of what applies in each case is up to the individual and his draft board. The individual's own personal beliefs would dictate whether he could accept non-combatant service or not.
[quote]And you think the other inmates are going to treat him kindly after they figure out what he's in for?[/quote]
That would depend on the popularity of the war in question, no? Many Vietnam era draft resisters successfully used their prison time to organize prison strikes, act as "jailhouse lawyers" for the wrongly accused, and agitate for prisoner's rights.
[quote]More likely, they'll treat him as bad as or even worse than a child molester, and he'll get PTSD from those experiences.[/quote]
That is quite possible. But if the person's moral code required such action as opposed to military service, they would accept that risk. The whole idea of resisting conscription would be to withhold support from the war machine, not to make it easy on one's self.
[quote]Is that an example of karma, too?[/quote]
Again, I ask who the hell brought karma into this. It wasn't me.
[quote]What's your next suggestion? That he could have chosen to commit suicide?[/quote]
I wouldn't suggest it, but it isn't without precedent...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation
Could put Love Canal to shame....
They could have claimed conscientious objector status (and serve as a non-combatant), or simply refused to go (and end up in prison).
Yes, that would be a DIFFICULT choice, but the choice was still available to them.
Alas, the black paper loop isn't as effective a weapon against junk faxers as it once was. Nowadays, the best you can hope for is to use up their toner cartridge. Back in the days when fax machines used thermal printing, attempting to print a continuous black sheet could actually overheat and destroy the expensive printhead.
Yes, one hardly needed a rocket the size of a Saturn V (or the Russian N-1) in order to deliver nukes to the other side of the globe...
"Hey, Wally, are you a Turtle?", and if he will give the proper response? :)
RIP, Jolly Wally.
The standby power consumption of a TV set is the power needed to keep the REMOTE CONTROL receiver and associated microcontroller running all the time. If this wasn't done, then your remote wouldn't be able to turn the set on, because the circuitry that receives the signals from it would be dead.
The "instant on" story goes back to when TVs contained vacuum tubes, and required a minute or more to produce a picture from a cold start. Manufacturers discovered that if you kept the tube filaments warm all the time, startup time was greatly reduced. The fact that such circuits wasted gobs of electricity and burned down more than a few homes didn't matter much....
http://www.flymetothemoonthemovie.com/
"Fly Me to the Moon" is a 3D animated film covering the Apollo 11 moon mission, told from the perspective of 3 flies who manage to get aboard the command module prior to launch. The stills and short video clips look really impressive:
http://www.flymetothemoonmovie.com/
I'm sure this film won't get the attention of a Disney release, but my space-obsessed 5 year-old son can't wait. I just hope it gets into a FEW theaters outside of science museums and the like...
[quote]So every once in a while Google regains a little bit of my trust.[/quote]
Why?
This is a shareholder resolution, not something drawn up by Google itself. In fact, if you look at the end of the statement, you will see the the Google BoD is recommending a vote AGAINST this resolution, presumably because it will cost the company money...
>We need a 3rd party...
Hell, I'd settle for a SECOND.
>Finally, does Kucinich this this will help him get elected President?
Well, it makes me a lot more likely to work to support him in the primary, and if by some miracle he got the nomination (and didn't get assassinated before the election), his candidacy might be enough to make me vote Democratic rather than Green in 2008.
The problems I saw with the "Bifurcated Boat" myth:
The viscosity of air is MUCH less than that of water. With the boat in air, on a trailer, you wouldn't develop the tremendous side forces that you would if the boat was in water. When the boat hit the pole, not only would the boat have to be pushed away from the pole, but all the WATER against the opposite side of the boat would need to be displaced, as well. Water is HEAVY. The effect of the hull and keel design below the waterline would also provide additional damping in yaw, preventing the boat from suddenly veering away with a glancing impact.
The boat was missing the engines (typically 2 big-block V8s), the running gear/props, a large load of fuel, and passengers. Perhaps 2500-3000 pounds underweight compared to typical conditions in water. That translates into a LOT less kinetic energy available at impact.
The MB team REALLY missed the mark on that myth, I'm afraid.
And the damascus barrel DID split, although not as dramatically as in the cartoons.
Obviously, the finger in the barrel was also completely obliterated, unlike the cartoons.
Said multinational corporations would also be obliged not to use sweatshop labor. Cause we all know that THAT doesn't happen in China, right?
Or bring all the I/O lines out of the oil tank through hermetically-sealed connectors. Admittedly, most of the connector types commonly used on computer gear aren't available in hermetic variants. But the good old D-subminiature series is, along with a wide range of circular types.
Hermetic connectors use glass/metal seals around the individual pins, and either an O-ring and screws or solder flange for attachment to the chassis. Common on military/aircraft/industrial gear exposed to extreme environmental conditions.
[quote]Couldn't some variant of this technology be used, where the actual PCB's don't get near the liquid, but the heat sinks are immersed in it?[/quote]
Such things already exist. They're called "cold plates" or "liquid-cooled heat sinks". And no, they aren't as efficient at removing heat as directly immersing the components in the coolant would be. But they make maintenance and input/output connections a lot easier to accomplish.
Everything in engineering involves tradeoffs. If you want the highest cooling efficiency, ease of maintenance takes a hit.
Oil IS an accepted dielectric fluid! Highly refined mineral oils are widely used for cooling and insulating electrical equipment (like the transformer that feeds power to your house), and relatively cheap, even given current petroleum prices.
Specialty fluids like Fluorinert are less messy when you need to work on the submerged parts, but that stuff is EXPENSIVE. How about over $300 per LITER?
http://www.parallax-tech.com/fluorine.htm
Or you are the VP, on a hunting trip...
, but "turdsicles" falling from aircraft toilets are more common than you might think.
r uary/12/local/stories/02local.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_ice_(aircraft)
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2003/Feb
ALL states of consciousness are, at the root level, chemically induced. Google "neurotransmitters".
As far as "happiness" goes, google "serotonin" and "anandamide".
Unfortunately, many elements of the broader left/progressive movement have a deep anti-technology bias, that would prevent them from advocating for F/OSS or anything else of a technological nature. Perhaps not so much the labor movement, but environmentalists, antiwar groups, anti-globalization activists, etc. Many otherwise well-meaning folks I have met see computers and the internet as a necessary evil at BEST, and part of a corporate/government plot to enslave us all at the worst.
It all gets to be frustrating after many years of trying to encourage various local peace and social justice groups to take advantage of the new technologies as they become available, only to be ignored or even accused of trying to subvert their aims by introducing "artificial" technology.
Things are finally starting to change, but it has been a long, hard road...
Highly purified water is actually fairly reactive chemically, and it will slowly dissolve tiny amounts of material from the tubing, waterblocks, pumps, etc. Unless your system incorporates some type of water purification element, the water in it will be no better than tap water in a few weeks.
Water cooling has been used for decades in high powered radio and TV transmitters, but such systems incorporate water conductivity monitors to check for dissolved impurities, and some means of removing them (distiller or reverse osmosis system).
If you don't want to deal with the potential problems of water as a coolant in a PC, use silicone oil or ethylene glycol (antifreeze).