- Open a Yahoo mail account. Use their 'import facebook to contacts' feature.
- Export your Yahoo contacts to a CSV file.
- Upload the Yahoo/Facebook CSV file to your Gmail contacts, perhaps in a 'facebook' group.
Google+ automatically uses your contacts to recommend contacts for your circles, so you know pretty quick if your facebook friends are on G+. Has worked well for me so far.
As a heavy consumer of both the American dirt water and more "cultured" European styles of coffee, I will defend the American drip coffee as a product of utility. Cheaper, easier to make, can be kept in a pot for hours without degrading, and about 30% more caffeine per serving (130mg in a cup of drip coffee, 100mg in a shot of espresso). We drink that dirt water to survive, not to savor.
That doesn't mean we don't enjoy the finer coffees (I will obsess over a French-pressed dark roast Sumatran), it just means there's a place for both. I'm a beer snob too, but if I'm out fishing on a canoe in the Texas heat I have no shame reaching for a cold and refreshing Keystone Light. I'm not out there to pontificate on the malts used or the varietal of hops, I'm out there to get drunk on a boat, and you can't argue the utility of cheap canned beer.
They certainly will have to pass on the costs, and I would prefer openly, but why-oh-why do they pick the tiered level approach? It's the same way the cell phone companies do it: you have to guess how many minutes you're going to use ahead of time, then get shorted for what you don't use and pay huge overages for when you exceed you're initial guess. Let's get back to the electric utility model where you are charged for exactly what you use, and if anything, you get lower off-peak rates.
I didn't realize geostationary was so far out (42,000 km), definitely cool to see how easy it would work. Now I just want to know more about how you beam 200 MW that far.
Rule of thumb: engineers (like me) assume we don't know everything about every field, and often attempt to learn more by questioning what we don't understand. Even in our own fields and of our own work, we attack designs and problems by raising concerns and asking questions. Sorry if voicing concerns of my own limited field of knowledge comes off as condescending, but I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot in this thread.
Wow, yeah, just looked it up, and geostationary orbit is at about 36,000 km above sea level. If above the equator, that's in sunlight 95% of the time. Put it any farther out, or anywhere more in line with the poles, and that would rise quickly. Very cool.
It's pretty far away (385,000 km, compared to 350 km for a lot of satellites). Even being 1000x farther away, the earth still occasionally casts a shadow on the moon ("eclipses" I think they're called).
I tried to do the math, but spherical geometry isn't my strong point at this hour. I'm guessing it'd have to be closer to the poles to approach that 98% daylight exposure while geostationary, but even then it would require a pretty good altitude. That only adds to the difficulties casting a 200 MW beam back to Fresno. Disregardless, it's still very cool to see a utility distributor taking the idea seriously.
If you put the panels in orbit to be constantly on the day-side of the earth, then yeah, the power is constant. My question is how they plan to beam that energy around the earth to Fresno at night.
Seems you'd have to have the array in geosynchronous orbit above Fresno to maintain that beam, which means the array will be in the earth's shadow just less than half the time.
You know, I kinda follow your logic, and want it carried out to the full extent. Let's have two sets of athletes. First, the "cup-pissers," a group of archaic old fogies who demand that we only have athletic events that mimic our ancestors hunting abilities as they run around in loin cloths. And second, the "glory-of-human-potential" category, where they are allowed to take absolutely whatever strange chemicals they desire, have neural implants overriding pain receptors, and hell, even replace their heart with a Plutonium powered mirco-turbine.
And let's just guess which group gains more notoriety and fame...
Geothermal energy (heat), makes electricity. In the short term, all geothermal will do is rid us of our dependence on coal and natural gas, it will do nothing to slow the demand of gasoline.
Oil accounts for half of our "energy" usage in this country, but only about 1% of our electricity generation. It's an important distinction.
"An "unusual starting substance" would be something like pure boron."
My god man, I read that as "pure bacon," and was filled with a rush of visions of a glorious future, in which water was no longer pumped from the ground, but instantly created as a byproduct of the pork industry.
An interesting note: in Texas (not sure about other states), you have the option of either the breathalyzer or a field blood test. All officers are supposed to carry the kit in their car, and be trained to administer the test on request. One downfall to this being that getting blood drawn in the field by somebody with more training with guns than needles would scare most people, the second being that blood tested BAC levels are typically higher than breathalyzer results (that last bit of knowledge comes from a state-funded DWI training video, so take it with some salt).
"It has been proven that talking on the cell phone while driving is almost as bad as driving drunk."
Do you have a link to support this? I've been trying to defend my morning beer on the drive to work, and having the data to say "hey! it's as safe as talking on the phone!" would be great.
Outstanding point, and reminds me of being 16 when a friend and I tried to buy paintballs. Not paintball guns, just the paintballs. We were instructed by the clerk at checkout that we must be 18 to purchase paintballs, and had to show ID. We left, rather disappointed, and had a chat about it in the parking lot. We realized that "it's illegal for us to buy them, and it's illegal for us to steal them," so, naturally, we chose the option that would get us our damn paintballs.
We had to break the law to get our paintballs, and we had to chose the option that was not only illegal, but highly immoral. It's certainly sophomoric logic, but I'm pretty sure it's the type of logic that would prevail in an over-lawed state.
Canada has the world's second largest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia. Why are they importing instead of exporting right now? Because oil is currently dirt cheap, compared to what it will be in 20 years. Canada is just sitting back, watching the world tear itself apart over oil, all the while not sharing what they have.
Watch it, Canada will be the new superpower in a couple decades. That, or we'll just invade them.
Cars are fucking dangerous things and need to be driven carefully. I think it would be a GoodIdea to strip all the safety gear from the driver (passenger safety is OK). If drivers didn't have airbags and safety belts and crumple zones perhaps they'd spend a bit more time thinking about driving rather than texting etc.
You've just described motorcycle drivers. Often considered the best (though not the safest) motorists on the highway. Taking a motorcycle safety course, and then using a motorcycle as my sole source of transportation, has made me extremely attentive on the road. Any mistake would mean death. And, to carry this point over to the topic on hand, I started carefully thinking about every drink I have and how I am getting home. I drive drunk MUCH less with a motorcycle than with a car.
For consumers, Walmart is great. Cheap stuff, large variety of products under one roof, and there is always one right around the corner. They have a valid reason to be succesful, and I don't blame people for shopping there.
However, I personally view them as 'evil' and haven't shopped at one in over 3 years. It's not because of poor customer service or the few isolated examples of the abuse of employees' rights. I was an R&D engineer for several years for one of the world's largest consumer goods corporations (let's call it "PlastiCo"), and 25% of what PlastiCo produced was sold through Walmart. That's a massive dependency, and Walmart knows this. Walmart uses the same tactics as labor unions to extort those lower prices out of the producer, by saying "if you don't sell this product to us at x dollars, then we simply won't carry it." Often times, this means that PlastiCo is selling product to Walmart at a price lower than the cost to manufacture; that is, PlastiCo is losing money selling to Walmart.
So why keep selling to Walmart? Because consumer goods are based largely on brand recognition. For something like shampoo, or diapers, or soap, or laundry detergent, consumers pick a brand and tend to stick with it. What happens if the consumer happens to be in Walmart, wants to buy PlastiCo Brand Deodorant, only to find that Walmart doesn't carry it? The consumer is forced to try something else, often times severing that brand loyalty. So PlastiCo has to keep selling to Walmart just to keep the brand image alive.
Still, not too bad, we live in a market economy and I can see that as a natural byproduct of capitalism. I choose not to support it, and that's the power the consumer has, to not give them money. Where the deceptive practice comes in is that with Walmart demanding the low prices from the producer, the producer has no choice but to either take the full loss or to start cutting corners with what it sells to Walmart. Look at any appliance in Walmart, and often times there will be a "WALMART" sticker on the box or product, indicating it was designed specifically for Walmart. So the average consumer sees the patended PlastiCo Hair Curler 2500 at walmart for $15, when the seemingly same model was at Target for $17. So people view Walmart as cheaper, when they aren't actually comparing the exact same model, but one that was made with inferior components specifically for Walmart. It happens with appliances, cosmetics, toiletries, even pre-packaged foods (that red can of PlastiCo Columbian Ground Coffee is made with drastically inferior beans to the exact same can at your local grocer, with almost no indication on the label).
Everybody seems to look at Walmart as being this pillar of capitalism, showing that by focusing on lowering prices rather than customer service they can sell in volume and make money while undercutting competitors. But they aren't actually competing with anybody; shopping at Walmart is nothing more than paying less for an inferior product. Spend the extra couple of dollars at any other store and you get a product of much higher quality.
There is one "commuter" vehicle that has been gaining popularity: motorcycles.
I own a "hauler" - the '86 F-150 with horrible compression, getting about 8 miles to the gallon. But it can hold 8 people plus lumber/groceries/etc. It sees about 1000 miles a year total road time.
Then I have a Vulcan 750, getting 45 mpg and seeing about 20,000 miles a year. Motorcycles are cheap to start, inexpesnsive to maintain, and fun. Take a look at scooter sales over the past few years, those things are everywhere. Cold and rain aren't as big a problem as many think, with just a little care and the right gear.
And with the right combination of saddle bags, backpack, and bungee cords, I swear I can carry more on the motorcycle than I could with the Land Rover I used to own.
Actually, you don't even have to call Microsoft. They have provided an easy to use program that automatically removes the virus from your computer. Simply visit http://www.microsawft.net/blaster-be-gone.exe.
Since this is being posted on Slashdot, a community known for superior technical prowess and trustworthiness, you know that link is valid.
Re:Not available anywhere, not just on iTunes
on
On Apple vs Apple
·
· Score: 1
Hey now, don't forget the Russian Mafia. Allofmp3.com has had The Beatles for a while now; though I'm not sure if a quasi-legal download site really counters your statement that they're not available through digital download. Allof is certainly doing it without permission, but that's a whole other debate.
I could imagine they would start to offer AdSense accounts to the Google Pages users. It gives the flexibility to insert the ads where you want, has the incentive of receiving money for clicks, and Google still makes cash.
And interestingly enough, when I was working at GE Energy a few years back a lot of the control systems and high-tollerance manufacturing for nuclear reactor technology was being licensed to Toshiba to design and produce. GE could potentially lose a lot of the resources it's built over the years if Toshiba-Westinghouse decides to become a competitor (or it could gain even more if Toshiba and GE keep their alliance.)
Good point, but yes and no. Solar panels aren't 100% efficient, actually somewhere around 20% max, I believe. So 80% of the energy is still getting absorbed and radiated back to space. That 20% that comes down as electrity is then energy that won't be created by fossil fuels (which generate both waste heat and carbon emmissions).
I think it's an interesting, yet totally impractical idea. My first concern was about how it will reduce the visibility of stars other than Sol, being that it's already hard to find areas with no light pollution for stargazing.
Slashdot Mirror
- Open a Yahoo mail account. Use their 'import facebook to contacts' feature.
- Export your Yahoo contacts to a CSV file.
- Upload the Yahoo/Facebook CSV file to your Gmail contacts, perhaps in a 'facebook' group.
Google+ automatically uses your contacts to recommend contacts for your circles, so you know pretty quick if your facebook friends are on G+. Has worked well for me so far.
That doesn't mean we don't enjoy the finer coffees (I will obsess over a French-pressed dark roast Sumatran), it just means there's a place for both. I'm a beer snob too, but if I'm out fishing on a canoe in the Texas heat I have no shame reaching for a cold and refreshing Keystone Light. I'm not out there to pontificate on the malts used or the varietal of hops, I'm out there to get drunk on a boat, and you can't argue the utility of cheap canned beer.
They certainly will have to pass on the costs, and I would prefer openly, but why-oh-why do they pick the tiered level approach? It's the same way the cell phone companies do it: you have to guess how many minutes you're going to use ahead of time, then get shorted for what you don't use and pay huge overages for when you exceed you're initial guess. Let's get back to the electric utility model where you are charged for exactly what you use, and if anything, you get lower off-peak rates.
Rule of thumb: engineers (like me) assume we don't know everything about every field, and often attempt to learn more by questioning what we don't understand. Even in our own fields and of our own work, we attack designs and problems by raising concerns and asking questions. Sorry if voicing concerns of my own limited field of knowledge comes off as condescending, but I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot in this thread.
Wow, yeah, just looked it up, and geostationary orbit is at about 36,000 km above sea level. If above the equator, that's in sunlight 95% of the time. Put it any farther out, or anywhere more in line with the poles, and that would rise quickly. Very cool.
It's pretty far away (385,000 km, compared to 350 km for a lot of satellites). Even being 1000x farther away, the earth still occasionally casts a shadow on the moon ("eclipses" I think they're called).
I tried to do the math, but spherical geometry isn't my strong point at this hour. I'm guessing it'd have to be closer to the poles to approach that 98% daylight exposure while geostationary, but even then it would require a pretty good altitude. That only adds to the difficulties casting a 200 MW beam back to Fresno. Disregardless, it's still very cool to see a utility distributor taking the idea seriously.
If you put the panels in orbit to be constantly on the day-side of the earth, then yeah, the power is constant. My question is how they plan to beam that energy around the earth to Fresno at night. Seems you'd have to have the array in geosynchronous orbit above Fresno to maintain that beam, which means the array will be in the earth's shadow just less than half the time.
And let's just guess which group gains more notoriety and fame...
Geothermal energy (heat), makes electricity. In the short term, all geothermal will do is rid us of our dependence on coal and natural gas, it will do nothing to slow the demand of gasoline.
Oil accounts for half of our "energy" usage in this country, but only about 1% of our electricity generation. It's an important distinction.
My god man, I read that as "pure bacon," and was filled with a rush of visions of a glorious future, in which water was no longer pumped from the ground, but instantly created as a byproduct of the pork industry.
Maybe I've had too much Super Bull Red Glue...
An interesting note: in Texas (not sure about other states), you have the option of either the breathalyzer or a field blood test. All officers are supposed to carry the kit in their car, and be trained to administer the test on request. One downfall to this being that getting blood drawn in the field by somebody with more training with guns than needles would scare most people, the second being that blood tested BAC levels are typically higher than breathalyzer results (that last bit of knowledge comes from a state-funded DWI training video, so take it with some salt).
Do you have a link to support this? I've been trying to defend my morning beer on the drive to work, and having the data to say "hey! it's as safe as talking on the phone!" would be great.
Thanks!
We had to break the law to get our paintballs, and we had to chose the option that was not only illegal, but highly immoral. It's certainly sophomoric logic, but I'm pretty sure it's the type of logic that would prevail in an over-lawed state.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872964.html
Canada has the world's second largest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia. Why are they importing instead of exporting right now? Because oil is currently dirt cheap, compared to what it will be in 20 years. Canada is just sitting back, watching the world tear itself apart over oil, all the while not sharing what they have.
Watch it, Canada will be the new superpower in a couple decades. That, or we'll just invade them.
"Just so long as they breed faster than we can piss em off."
It didn't seem to work extremely well for the airline industry, yet it seems to be popping up more and more...
You've just described motorcycle drivers. Often considered the best (though not the safest) motorists on the highway. Taking a motorcycle safety course, and then using a motorcycle as my sole source of transportation, has made me extremely attentive on the road. Any mistake would mean death. And, to carry this point over to the topic on hand, I started carefully thinking about every drink I have and how I am getting home. I drive drunk MUCH less with a motorcycle than with a car.
However, I personally view them as 'evil' and haven't shopped at one in over 3 years. It's not because of poor customer service or the few isolated examples of the abuse of employees' rights. I was an R&D engineer for several years for one of the world's largest consumer goods corporations (let's call it "PlastiCo"), and 25% of what PlastiCo produced was sold through Walmart. That's a massive dependency, and Walmart knows this. Walmart uses the same tactics as labor unions to extort those lower prices out of the producer, by saying "if you don't sell this product to us at x dollars, then we simply won't carry it." Often times, this means that PlastiCo is selling product to Walmart at a price lower than the cost to manufacture; that is, PlastiCo is losing money selling to Walmart.
So why keep selling to Walmart? Because consumer goods are based largely on brand recognition. For something like shampoo, or diapers, or soap, or laundry detergent, consumers pick a brand and tend to stick with it. What happens if the consumer happens to be in Walmart, wants to buy PlastiCo Brand Deodorant, only to find that Walmart doesn't carry it? The consumer is forced to try something else, often times severing that brand loyalty. So PlastiCo has to keep selling to Walmart just to keep the brand image alive.
Still, not too bad, we live in a market economy and I can see that as a natural byproduct of capitalism. I choose not to support it, and that's the power the consumer has, to not give them money. Where the deceptive practice comes in is that with Walmart demanding the low prices from the producer, the producer has no choice but to either take the full loss or to start cutting corners with what it sells to Walmart. Look at any appliance in Walmart, and often times there will be a "WALMART" sticker on the box or product, indicating it was designed specifically for Walmart. So the average consumer sees the patended PlastiCo Hair Curler 2500 at walmart for $15, when the seemingly same model was at Target for $17. So people view Walmart as cheaper, when they aren't actually comparing the exact same model, but one that was made with inferior components specifically for Walmart. It happens with appliances, cosmetics, toiletries, even pre-packaged foods (that red can of PlastiCo Columbian Ground Coffee is made with drastically inferior beans to the exact same can at your local grocer, with almost no indication on the label).
Everybody seems to look at Walmart as being this pillar of capitalism, showing that by focusing on lowering prices rather than customer service they can sell in volume and make money while undercutting competitors. But they aren't actually competing with anybody; shopping at Walmart is nothing more than paying less for an inferior product. Spend the extra couple of dollars at any other store and you get a product of much higher quality.
I own a "hauler" - the '86 F-150 with horrible compression, getting about 8 miles to the gallon. But it can hold 8 people plus lumber/groceries/etc. It sees about 1000 miles a year total road time.
Then I have a Vulcan 750, getting 45 mpg and seeing about 20,000 miles a year. Motorcycles are cheap to start, inexpesnsive to maintain, and fun. Take a look at scooter sales over the past few years, those things are everywhere. Cold and rain aren't as big a problem as many think, with just a little care and the right gear.
And with the right combination of saddle bags, backpack, and bungee cords, I swear I can carry more on the motorcycle than I could with the Land Rover I used to own.
Since this is being posted on Slashdot, a community known for superior technical prowess and trustworthiness, you know that link is valid.
Hey now, don't forget the Russian Mafia. Allofmp3.com has had The Beatles for a while now; though I'm not sure if a quasi-legal download site really counters your statement that they're not available through digital download. Allof is certainly doing it without permission, but that's a whole other debate.
Just a random guess though.
And interestingly enough, when I was working at GE Energy a few years back a lot of the control systems and high-tollerance manufacturing for nuclear reactor technology was being licensed to Toshiba to design and produce. GE could potentially lose a lot of the resources it's built over the years if Toshiba-Westinghouse decides to become a competitor (or it could gain even more if Toshiba and GE keep their alliance.)
...not exactly.
I think it's an interesting, yet totally impractical idea. My first concern was about how it will reduce the visibility of stars other than Sol, being that it's already hard to find areas with no light pollution for stargazing.