I'm a Kansan, and our state really was once a bastion of liberalism, and tolerance and quality education. We had William Allen White, and Eugene V. Debs. We were a leader in the woman suffrage movement and a preferred destination of freed slaves following the Civil War. We had an extremetly progressinve education system, with quality, affordable schools and colleges for all.
Now the state has fallen under the control of a few redneck pastors and their evangelical megachurches like Jerry Jones, and real nutjobs like Phred Phelps and his band of fruitcakes.
Kansas actually has a three party system now. The Republican Party here has split in two, with one side representing the Republicans of old (like Lincoln), and the conservatives on the other side. The conservatives are the defectors from the Democrat Party who couldn't abide Lyndon Johnson's stand on civil rights.
I choose to stay and fight the rednecks, and take back my state for the cause of reason.
Got a letter last week from American Century that 2 PCs had been physically stolen form the American Century office containing account information -- names addresses, balances, but no SSNs.
Perhaps you're being a little too literal. According to children, Easter eggs are hidden by the mythical Easter Bunny. From the point of view of the seeker, it doesn't matter that the Easter Bunny is real or just Mom and Dad. Likewise, from the point of view of the seeker, interesting things "hidden" in satellite images are just as fun to find whether hidden by Mom, Google, the Easter Bunny or just by chance.
When I first heard of Terraserver, I spent several hours looking for stadiums full of people. I considered it an Easter Egg hunt. BTW, I never found any.
Re:I've had this in my office for years
on
Sunlight in a Tube
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· Score: 1
Not the center of the earth -- the center of the U.S. According to the BBC and other news sources, the Cental U.S. was chosen as the start/finish line so that if he came up a few thousand miles short on fuel, he could land at a Western U.S. airport rather than ditch in the Pacific (if he had launched from the West Coast). Salina (the Salzburg of Kansas) was chosen for its nice long runway for takeoff.
I think one project that got delayed by World War II (in America) was television. Had WWII not occurred, then we might have seen broadcast TV in 1942-43 rather then 1946-47, which perhaps means that Survivor and American Idol would have come on the air 4 years earlier.
There is something to be said for putting your archival device in the chassis, PC style. It really helps with the power supply and interconnect cable tangles and saves on desktop real estate.
Back in the 90s, I had an Amiga. Great computer, but precious little room in the box for peripherals. External equipment in my setup included: high-density floppy drive, CD-ROM, Zip Drive, Video I/O box, MIDI interface, Modem (with switchbox), and printer switchbox. Most of these required a wall wart of their own, with corresponding power strips plugged into other power strips. The collection turned into a pile, with the largest items on the bottom. Transporting the whole collection was also a real chore.
So there are advantages to the all-in-one-case approach.
I really don't think they're in the same market niche. Bluetooth is aimed at replacing cables in computer and portable electronics areas, e.g. the keyboard cable, headphone cable, serial cable.
ZigBee looks like it's aimed at being more of a control systems network: that implies much lower bandwidth, infrequent communications, and usually a fixed installation. Bluetooth hardware would probably be overkill for an application where ZigBee would be appropriate, much like how WiFi would be overkill as a keyboard cable replacement.
Putting the gas pedal on the right and the brake on the left is a standard
Actually, I think I'd call that sort of thing a "convention".
But it doesn't really matter what we think. IEEE "standards" are called such because they are released by the IEEE Standards Association. If you implement it, then you are complying with that "standard".
I don't know about all DRE voting machines, but I am familiar with ES&S touchscreen systems. I worked for the contractor that designed and produced the iVotronic system. The "iVo" actually has a rather old-school processor, the Intel 386EX -- that's the embedded version of the venerable 80386. Memory was modest, only a few hundred kilobytes of RAM. The votes were recorded on flash RAM.
The main reason that the machines were costly was the requirement that they be able to run 12 hours+ on batteries. The touchscreen itself was not especially expensive. The system does not have an O/S.
I was working on an embedded Linux version (in 2003), but that effort was scrapped when the expected HAVA (Help America Vote Act) funding was not forthcoming. The additional RAM and more powerful processor needed for running under an O/S were offset by the ability to use off-the-shelf components for RAM and CF (compact flash cards) for storage. The processor in the Linux iVo was a 586 clone. I was working on ballot-scaling for low-vision voters -- this was particularly cool and wouldn't have been possible with a text display. For the really blind voter, we had audio prompts (through headphones) and physical buttons with Braile labeling.
I'll grant you that the code wasn't perfect. And our source control was "roll-your-own". This scared the crap out of me when I learned about it. And don't get me started on the effort to make the code "auditable". That was a cluster. I'd be surprised if we didn't break something in the frenzied effort to get it ready for the testing authority without testing the changes. But it was a fun experience since I was a contractor for the contractor and thus had no real personal stake in the outcome.
If a cop or a stranger can legally observe you from somewhere, then it doesn't matter if you replace a human with a camera.
I think it does matter, since the camera "footage" can be reproduced and diseminated quite widely but not easilly questioned. A person witnessing something must tell the story of what he saw, and is therefore subject to cross-examination which could reveal motives for exaggeration or outright lying, among other things. So no, it is not quite the same thing.
I think you're confusing 'old' with 'too tired to care about anything'.
Plenty of folks of all ages can understand both sides of an argument. You, on the other hand seem to interpret 'respect' and 'tolerate' as 'agree completely with'.
An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman each order a Guiness in a pub. Upon being served, each finds a fly in their beer. Repulsed, the Englishman sends his back. The Scotsman gently flicks the fly out of his mug and begins drinking. The Irishman, carefully lifts the fly up by its wings and screams, "Spit it out! Spit it out!"
I love this joke. I had to explain it (actually, the whisky version of the joke) on a newsgroup, i.e. the stereotypes of the Scotsman as thrifty and the Irishman as a drinker, and I was at a loss to concisely describe the stereotypical Englishman. Fortunately an actual Englishman responded to my post, chiding me for misspelling "whisky".
Theoretically, parents can rent the child-tracker bracelets and use cell phones or kiosks to track and page the kids. Various companies (e.g.: http://www.blipsystems.com/) are developing this sort of thing, taking advantage of Bluetooth's limited range to quickly get a rough fix on someone's position in the covered area. I don't know if it's in practice anywhere . ..
Some friends of mine have 'em in key fobs required for office access. I'm pretty sure they track all their coming and going if for no other reason than "because we can".
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Now the state has fallen under the control of a few redneck pastors and their evangelical megachurches like Jerry Jones, and real nutjobs like Phred Phelps and his band of fruitcakes.
Kansas actually has a three party system now. The Republican Party here has split in two, with one side representing the Republicans of old (like Lincoln), and the conservatives on the other side. The conservatives are the defectors from the Democrat Party who couldn't abide Lyndon Johnson's stand on civil rights.
I choose to stay and fight the rednecks, and take back my state for the cause of reason.
Got a letter last week from American Century that 2 PCs had been physically stolen form the American Century office containing account information -- names addresses, balances, but no SSNs.
Kind of arrives suddenly in these parts!
When I first heard of Terraserver, I spent several hours looking for stadiums full of people. I considered it an Easter Egg hunt. BTW, I never found any.
I work in a cave, you insensitive clod.
Not the center of the earth -- the center of the U.S. According to the BBC and other news sources, the Cental U.S. was chosen as the start/finish line so that if he came up a few thousand miles short on fuel, he could land at a Western U.S. airport rather than ditch in the Pacific (if he had launched from the West Coast). Salina (the Salzburg of Kansas) was chosen for its nice long runway for takeoff.
I think one project that got delayed by World War II (in America) was television. Had WWII not occurred, then we might have seen broadcast TV in 1942-43 rather then 1946-47, which perhaps means that Survivor and American Idol would have come on the air 4 years earlier.
There is something to be said for putting your archival device in the chassis, PC style. It really helps with the power supply and interconnect cable tangles and saves on desktop real estate.
Back in the 90s, I had an Amiga. Great computer, but precious little room in the box for peripherals. External equipment in my setup included: high-density floppy drive, CD-ROM, Zip Drive, Video I/O box, MIDI interface, Modem (with switchbox), and printer switchbox. Most of these required a wall wart of their own, with corresponding power strips plugged into other power strips. The collection turned into a pile, with the largest items on the bottom. Transporting the whole collection was also a real chore.
So there are advantages to the all-in-one-case approach.
Got any pics of that?
I really don't think they're in the same market niche. Bluetooth is aimed at replacing cables in computer and portable electronics areas, e.g. the keyboard cable, headphone cable, serial cable.
ZigBee looks like it's aimed at being more of a control systems network: that implies much lower bandwidth, infrequent communications, and usually a fixed installation. Bluetooth hardware would probably be overkill for an application where ZigBee would be appropriate, much like how WiFi would be overkill as a keyboard cable replacement.
Putting the gas pedal on the right and the brake on the left is a standard
Actually, I think I'd call that sort of thing a "convention".
But it doesn't really matter what we think. IEEE "standards" are called such because they are released by the IEEE Standards Association. If you implement it, then you are complying with that "standard".
Well, I do fix PCs for friends and family, of course, but they have to feed me.
One evening, after fixing a computer, my friends were taking me to restaurant and we passed a homeless man with a "Will work for food" sign . . .
He shoulda been an underemployed software guy.
I don't know about all DRE voting machines, but I am familiar with ES&S touchscreen systems. I worked for the contractor that designed and produced the iVotronic system. The "iVo" actually has a rather old-school processor, the Intel 386EX -- that's the embedded version of the venerable 80386. Memory was modest, only a few hundred kilobytes of RAM. The votes were recorded on flash RAM.
The main reason that the machines were costly was the requirement that they be able to run 12 hours+ on batteries. The touchscreen itself was not especially expensive. The system does not have an O/S.
I was working on an embedded Linux version (in 2003), but that effort was scrapped when the expected HAVA (Help America Vote Act) funding was not forthcoming. The additional RAM and more powerful processor needed for running under an O/S were offset by the ability to use off-the-shelf components for RAM and CF (compact flash cards) for storage. The processor in the Linux iVo was a 586 clone. I was working on ballot-scaling for low-vision voters -- this was particularly cool and wouldn't have been possible with a text display. For the really blind voter, we had audio prompts (through headphones) and physical buttons with Braile labeling.
I'll grant you that the code wasn't perfect. And our source control was "roll-your-own". This scared the crap out of me when I learned about it. And don't get me started on the effort to make the code "auditable". That was a cluster. I'd be surprised if we didn't break something in the frenzied effort to get it ready for the testing authority without testing the changes. But it was a fun experience since I was a contractor for the contractor and thus had no real personal stake in the outcome.
What he said.
I just wish the Engligh language had stronger words for special occasions like this. Fuck off and die, rednecks!
Hell, last time I bought a rose bush for my lady it had a warning on it that it was illegal to propigate without permissions.
That's giving up quite a lot for a freakin' rosebush!
If a cop or a stranger can legally observe you from somewhere, then it doesn't matter if you replace a human with a camera.
I think it does matter, since the camera "footage" can be reproduced and diseminated quite widely but not easilly questioned. A person witnessing something must tell the story of what he saw, and is therefore subject to cross-examination which could reveal motives for exaggeration or outright lying, among other things. So no, it is not quite the same thing.
I think you're confusing 'old' with 'too tired to care about anything'.
Plenty of folks of all ages can understand both sides of an argument. You, on the other hand seem to interpret 'respect' and 'tolerate' as 'agree completely with'.
At least now CS will have room to finally bring back the Amiga section.
I think "Yellow Crazy Ant" beats "Rattus Rattus" any day.
You gotta give him credit for leaving the bad grammer intact for authenticity!
Down with the man, dude!
Down with the dude, man!
Learn how to spell!
I think "learn how to cut-n-paste" would be the appropriate admonition.
An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman each order a Guiness in a pub. Upon being served, each finds a fly in their beer. Repulsed, the Englishman sends his back. The Scotsman gently flicks the fly out of his mug and begins drinking. The Irishman, carefully lifts the fly up by its wings and screams, "Spit it out! Spit it out!"
I love this joke. I had to explain it (actually, the whisky version of the joke) on a newsgroup, i.e. the stereotypes of the Scotsman as thrifty and the Irishman as a drinker, and I was at a loss to concisely describe the stereotypical Englishman. Fortunately an actual Englishman responded to my post, chiding me for misspelling "whisky".
Theoretically, parents can rent the child-tracker bracelets and use cell phones or kiosks to track and page the kids. Various companies (e.g.: http://www.blipsystems.com/) are developing this sort of thing, taking advantage of Bluetooth's limited range to quickly get a rough fix on someone's position in the covered area. I don't know if it's in practice anywhere . . .
Some friends of mine have 'em in key fobs required for office access. I'm pretty sure they track all their coming and going if for no other reason than "because we can".