The article appears to mostly be self-indulgent/elitist crap, but there is a kernel of reality in it.
What some of my colleagues and I have done to avoid the "obscure features" problem of "expert coders" is to ban their use. A particular language we use permits many fairly obscure features that lend themselves to writing mystery code. We simply don't use them unless absolutely necessary. This is embedded spacecraft code, we only need basic relational statements, math functions, and minimal pointer use. So we don't use some of the more obscure features (doubly-defining tables, unnecessarily complex data structures, the more bizarre capabilities of pointers, etc). The code is still maintainable 30 years later, people can pick it up and read it from cold, and modify it with ease and safety.
I haven't paid any attention to the calculator market recently, but TI is still around? When I was in high school the TI-30 came out, and almost everyone had one, because it was $2 cheaper than a National Semiconductor equivalent and $20 cheaper than an HP. So that's what everybody's mom bought them. They were/are such crap that I have seen more than one of them thrown across the room into a cinder block wall because the keys didn't register correctly, either missing keystrokes or repeating keys. A guy at work had one - a new one that looked like it was made by Fisher-Price, I tried using it the other day, and it *still* frequently missed keystrokes and repeating. He had another, bigger one that may have been some model of the TI-84, and it did the same damn thing. And it's still fucking algebraic, for God's sake, you have to write out equations like you are still in elementary school.
Just get an HP like a grown-up and move on with your life.
While it is still unconfirmed as to whether or not North Korea actually put a satellite into orbit, it seems clean that sanctions have failed to curb North Korea's quest for more powerful weaponry."
No kidding? Because I figured that cutting them off would strangle their weapons programs and starve out the current government. Why, it almost seems as of the economic sanctions only hurt the hoi polloi, and that the leaders kept what little resources there were for themselves and let the rest of the country go hungry. What a completely odd and unpredictable event!
Certainly, because when a company goes to buy heavy construction equipment, environmental and and "social responsibility" (code for leftist values) is certainly high on their list.
I almost think your post is a parody of a effete worthless ignoramus, if it were not posted here.
They are hyper-leftists. The only reason that they got re-elected was that the press covered that fact up. The same press you get all your information from.
Pigeons work very well for some tasks. Lockheed Sunnyvale used pigeons for some communitcation between Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, and Santa Cruz well into the 80's. They would carry microfilm with documents on it, far faster than it would be to send a car or other courier, and far more practical than electronic means at the time.
I also publish/produce/review/approve *many* papers and other documents, just not in public. But I see the uninteresting papers are mostly pencil-whipped, and the interesting papers are picked to pieces, and go back through the cycle many times before approval. I expect the same dynamic is in play for the unclassified world.
I haven't done a lot of publishing in open literature, but many times, the papers that fly through the vetting process with little effort are are on topics that are somewhat straightforward/trivial. And would thus not be as likely to be useful as a citation. The interesting topic raises many more questions and is more likely to require multiple tries to get through the review, but ultimately is more useful and more likely to get a citation.
Pedantic, but we are among geeks - a rocket engine gives *NO* horsepower in a static test, because there is no work being done. The power is a product of the thrust and the speed times some constant to get it in the desired units. No speed = no power.
They claim to get 80,000 hp at 1000 mph - that's about 30,000 lbs of thrust, which is reasonably consistent with the claimed final thrust. They could have just said that.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know if he is "Go!" but he is certainly not F.A.B.
The interstate highway system is a brilliant economic success. Passenger trains haven't be financially viable for 100+ years.
I've used it, its not any crazier or complex than anything else.
The article appears to mostly be self-indulgent/elitist crap, but there is a kernel of reality in it.
What some of my colleagues and I have done to avoid the "obscure features" problem of "expert coders" is to ban their use. A particular language we use permits many fairly obscure features that lend themselves to writing mystery code. We simply don't use them unless absolutely necessary. This is embedded spacecraft code, we only need basic relational statements, math functions, and minimal pointer use. So we don't use some of the more obscure features (doubly-defining tables, unnecessarily complex data structures, the more bizarre capabilities of pointers, etc). The code is still maintainable 30 years later, people can pick it up and read it from cold, and modify it with ease and safety.
I haven't paid any attention to the calculator market recently, but TI is still around? When I was in high school the TI-30 came out, and almost everyone had one, because it was $2 cheaper than a National Semiconductor equivalent and $20 cheaper than an HP. So that's what everybody's mom bought them. They were/are such crap that I have seen more than one of them thrown across the room into a cinder block wall because the keys didn't register correctly, either missing keystrokes or repeating keys. A guy at work had one - a new one that looked like it was made by Fisher-Price, I tried using it the other day, and it *still* frequently missed keystrokes and repeating. He had another, bigger one that may have been some model of the TI-84, and it did the same damn thing. And it's still fucking algebraic, for God's sake, you have to write out equations like you are still in elementary school.
Just get an HP like a grown-up and move on with your life.
No kidding? Because I figured that cutting them off would strangle their weapons programs and starve out the current government. Why, it almost seems as of the economic sanctions only hurt the hoi polloi, and that the leaders kept what little resources there were for themselves and let the rest of the country go hungry. What a completely odd and unpredictable event!
Certainly, because when a company goes to buy heavy construction equipment, environmental and and "social responsibility" (code for leftist values) is certainly high on their list.
I almost think your post is a parody of a effete worthless ignoramus, if it were not posted here.
Some fuels. Not the fuels used in the descent thrusters.
Now they have done it! 5-party negotiations, the world community, that they can ignore. Disney lawyers, however, are not to be trifled with.
Brett
The SEC will likely be interested in this topic as well. Maybe whoever did it can get the cell next to Martha Stewart.
They are hyper-leftists. The only reason that they got re-elected was that the press covered that fact up. The same press you get all your information from.
Canada, tooi? I thought only Belgium was imaginary.
Someone needs to check the units on this article!
Not a chance my Hindu friend!
You might find shooting pigeons in flight with any rifle a bit more difficult than you imply. .
Pigeons work very well for some tasks. Lockheed Sunnyvale used pigeons for some communitcation between Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, and Santa Cruz well into the 80's. They would carry microfilm with documents on it, far faster than it would be to send a car or other courier, and far more practical than electronic means at the time.
Well, of course the Cut/Copy/Paste were all chosen as they were BECAUSE it was on a QWERTY....
Hey, waitaminnit! Say, you almost got me there!
I also publish/produce/review/approve *many* papers and other documents, just not in public. But I see the uninteresting papers are mostly pencil-whipped, and the interesting papers are picked to pieces, and go back through the cycle many times before approval. I expect the same dynamic is in play for the unclassified world.
I haven't done a lot of publishing in open literature, but many times, the papers that fly through the vetting process with little effort are are on topics that are somewhat straightforward/trivial. And would thus not be as likely to be useful as a citation. The interesting topic raises many more questions and is more likely to require multiple tries to get through the review, but ultimately is more useful and more likely to get a citation.
Brett
Horsepower is a measure of the rate of work, NOT energy.
Brett
Pedantic, but we are among geeks - a rocket engine gives *NO* horsepower in a static test, because there is no work being done. The power is a product of the thrust and the speed times some constant to get it in the desired units. No speed = no power.
They claim to get 80,000 hp at 1000 mph - that's about 30,000 lbs of thrust, which is reasonably consistent with the claimed final thrust. They could have just said that.
Brett
Jerry is still finding new ways to spend my money!
hellokittium
When you put a rover on Mars, you can pick whatever units you want.
IANAL, but I think this represents restraint of trade. So not only is it (arguably) evil (TM) it likely also illegal.
Brett