They're attracted to a variety of things, not just carbon dioxide. Certain pheromones and the chemicals we secrete in our sweat attract them just as well if not better than breathing. The reason certain body sprays can work (to an extent) is because they clog pores rather badly. Scientists are still trying to figure out what exactly attracts mosquitos so they can figure out a way to repel them properly.
This all is also why you tend to get bit more if you're being active outdoors, because you're not only sweating more, you're breathing more too.
Maybe when they get farther in figuring out what exactly attracts mosquitos the most they can make a robot that eats mosquitos as well as flies. Until then, I'm perfectly content with there being a few less flies buzzing around (hey, it's not like it's difficult for them to reproduce, just slap a rotting carcass on the ground somewhere).
Didn't Bush just promise thousands of new jobs for the American working class if he were re-elected? How can he promise this while his administration is supporting the outsourcing of jobs to other countries?
Either I'm missing something (I hope I am) or this is the most blatant bit of double-speak I've seen in awhile. The sick part is he'll probably still be re-elected anyway. Le sigh.
...but not really viable for those of us that don't have a box that won't shudder and die if we tried to use it.
Poor nuvem is pushing 7 years old now, I don't think she could handle it. It doesn't even seem to be anything that really serves a practical purpose either. Just something you can point at so your friends will go 'ooooh'.
But if that's all you wanted to do anyway, there are other ways to do it without killing an older computer. So what practical use does something like this have?
For a long time (5+ years) I ran Windows 98 because I couldn't get online under any other operating system (and I tried a lot of them) and couldn't afford a $60 dialup modem that would allow me to do so.
For a large part of that time I ran no firewall, used an online remote virus scanner sporadically at best, and reinstalled only once. In all that time, my computer contracted only one virus (a non-serious one at that), and this was due to a less computer-savvy relation of mine browsing the internet using Internet Explorer while I was out of the house and unable to show her how to use Mozilla.
So what is my motivation to say all this? There is a point that justified bias crosses the line into unjustified bias. Going online in Windows 98 without iron-clad virus protection and 3 firewalls does not guarantee the crippling of your computer to the point of being unable to use it if you know what you are doing. Now, undoubtedly the rules change when it comes to your "average" user, but even then it takes a relatively small tutorial in what not to do to keep them rather safe. I know this because it took me about 10 minutes to teach my 63 year old grandmother the basic (and most important) rules of going online without getting viruses or malicious dialers and the like and a friendly reminder every now and then when she forgets or gets confused.
Of course now I use SuSE and I worry even less about that sort of thing now. I'm tempted to go back to using my Windows 98 partition to be honest, because I can't for the life of me get my HP scanner working (and as a quasi-professional artist this is a Bad Thing) and I've had several problems with keeping dialup working. Problems that I needless to say do not have in Windows.
In short, the Earth's magnetic field doesn't shield us from anything our atmosphere alone couldn't shield us from. I realize this doesn't address the main point of the post but it's worth throwing in.
...but in my experience has worked best in deterring people from stealing my crap. I live in a relatively small community though, so the rules are probably different in larger areas.
Do something to customize your stuff. Most any piece of electronic equipment I get that could be stolen (this mostly applies to stuff that leaves my room, like mp3 players and the like) I customize by painting it with everything from random anime characters to abstract geometric patterns. Just be sure to use acrylic paint and seal it. It's much cheaper than it sounds, as the only paints you need are red, blue, yellow, black, white, and (if you want) flesh tone, plus the cost of the sealer.
Why do this? People will be less willing to swipe your stuff if you can easily identify it as your own or if it looks so unique that it would be difficult for it to be fenced. This also has the added benefit of making your crap look that much more awesome.;)
You could go the opposite route and dress it up as something that isn't worth the risk of stealing. Make it look like a relic from the late 80s/early 90s and someone is less likely to swipe it for a few extra bucks in favor of something that looks like it's actually worth something to a fence or pawnshop.
Add this to all the other standard tips (lock your door, lock your case if you feel paranoid about your hardware [or at least make it hard to open], don't let things out of your sight for too long and don't loan your stuff to someone you don't know very well) and you should get through those good ol' college days with your hardware happy and relatively healthy. Just watch out for spilling beer/soda/bawls on keyboards, it's a real killer.
I keep wondering when the states are finally going to give Diebold the proverbial finger. This isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened with Diebold machines and it probably won't be the last. A quick search on The Register reveals that this sort of thing has been going on for quite some time. Among several concerning incidents from 2003:
The Oakland Tribune reported last week that several thousand voters in Alameda County used electronic voting machines made by Diebold that were never certified for use by state and county voting officials. Diebold altered the software running on the machines prior to the election, but never bothered to submit the software for testing
or even notify the state that the software update had been made.
Come on. Enough is enough, you know? This kind of thing is too important to leave it to people and/or technologies with a track record like this.
Slashdot Mirror
They're attracted to a variety of things, not just carbon dioxide. Certain pheromones and the chemicals we secrete in our sweat attract them just as well if not better than breathing. The reason certain body sprays can work (to an extent) is because they clog pores rather badly. Scientists are still trying to figure out what exactly attracts mosquitos so they can figure out a way to repel them properly.
This all is also why you tend to get bit more if you're being active outdoors, because you're not only sweating more, you're breathing more too.
Maybe when they get farther in figuring out what exactly attracts mosquitos the most they can make a robot that eats mosquitos as well as flies. Until then, I'm perfectly content with there being a few less flies buzzing around (hey, it's not like it's difficult for them to reproduce, just slap a rotting carcass on the ground somewhere).
It's about freaking time.
(okay, so I'm a little biased.)
Didn't Bush just promise thousands of new jobs for the American working class if he were re-elected? How can he promise this while his administration is supporting the outsourcing of jobs to other countries?
Either I'm missing something (I hope I am) or this is the most blatant bit of double-speak I've seen in awhile. The sick part is he'll probably still be re-elected anyway. Le sigh.
My mistake. This isn't really my area of study, so I hope you'll pardon my ignorance.
Still very, very beautiful. Makes for a nice and simple but pretty background too (something I have a great difficulty in finding sometimes).
Even better on an intergalactic level.
I'm kind of disappointed though. I was hoping it would be background worthy.
...but not really viable for those of us that don't have a box that won't shudder and die if we tried to use it.
Poor nuvem is pushing 7 years old now, I don't think she could handle it. It doesn't even seem to be anything that really serves a practical purpose either. Just something you can point at so your friends will go 'ooooh'.
But if that's all you wanted to do anyway, there are other ways to do it without killing an older computer. So what practical use does something like this have?
For a long time (5+ years) I ran Windows 98 because I couldn't get online under any other operating system (and I tried a lot of them) and couldn't afford a $60 dialup modem that would allow me to do so.
For a large part of that time I ran no firewall, used an online remote virus scanner sporadically at best, and reinstalled only once. In all that time, my computer contracted only one virus (a non-serious one at that), and this was due to a less computer-savvy relation of mine browsing the internet using Internet Explorer while I was out of the house and unable to show her how to use Mozilla.
So what is my motivation to say all this? There is a point that justified bias crosses the line into unjustified bias. Going online in Windows 98 without iron-clad virus protection and 3 firewalls does not guarantee the crippling of your computer to the point of being unable to use it if you know what you are doing. Now, undoubtedly the rules change when it comes to your "average" user, but even then it takes a relatively small tutorial in what not to do to keep them rather safe. I know this because it took me about 10 minutes to teach my 63 year old grandmother the basic (and most important) rules of going online without getting viruses or malicious dialers and the like and a friendly reminder every now and then when she forgets or gets confused.
Of course now I use SuSE and I worry even less about that sort of thing now. I'm tempted to go back to using my Windows 98 partition to be honest, because I can't for the life of me get my HP scanner working (and as a quasi-professional artist this is a Bad Thing) and I've had several problems with keeping dialup working. Problems that I needless to say do not have in Windows.
In short, the Earth's magnetic field doesn't shield us from anything our atmosphere alone couldn't shield us from. I realize this doesn't address the main point of the post but it's worth throwing in.
I was this --> ||
Oh well, not like I really need one anyway.
...but in my experience has worked best in deterring people from stealing my crap. I live in a relatively small community though, so the rules are probably different in larger areas.
;)
Do something to customize your stuff. Most any piece of electronic equipment I get that could be stolen (this mostly applies to stuff that leaves my room, like mp3 players and the like) I customize by painting it with everything from random anime characters to abstract geometric patterns. Just be sure to use acrylic paint and seal it. It's much cheaper than it sounds, as the only paints you need are red, blue, yellow, black, white, and (if you want) flesh tone, plus the cost of the sealer.
Why do this? People will be less willing to swipe your stuff if you can easily identify it as your own or if it looks so unique that it would be difficult for it to be fenced. This also has the added benefit of making your crap look that much more awesome.
You could go the opposite route and dress it up as something that isn't worth the risk of stealing. Make it look like a relic from the late 80s/early 90s and someone is less likely to swipe it for a few extra bucks in favor of something that looks like it's actually worth something to a fence or pawnshop.
Add this to all the other standard tips (lock your door, lock your case if you feel paranoid about your hardware [or at least make it hard to open], don't let things out of your sight for too long and don't loan your stuff to someone you don't know very well) and you should get through those good ol' college days with your hardware happy and relatively healthy. Just watch out for spilling beer/soda/bawls on keyboards, it's a real killer.
That would depend entirely on who you ask. Though it appears that even your ATM machines aren't safe.