What phone do you have, and what carrier provides your service? I'm looking for a new cell phone and service plan with features similar to those you described, specifically a keyboard-enabled phone with no camera and internet access for a reasonable monthly fee.
Are they for real? Those are the ugliest shoes I've ever seen! The "Classic Blackspot" looks just like Converse Chuck Taylors. The "Blacksopt Unswoosher" looks like the shoes you'd find on a homeless bum. I seriously doubt Nike would try to sell anything remotely resembling that shoe.
How to uncool a megacorporation
Can a renegade band of social marketers and anticorporation shareholders bring a megacorporation to its knees?
Umm, no.
We're going to cut into Nike's market share, unswoosh their tired old swoosh and give birth to a new kind of cool in the sneaker industry.
I'm sure everyone's going to buy these instead of Nike shoes!
I don't like air pollution, or government-sponsored terrorism, so I bought a Toyota Prius.
Your Prius still pollutes and still requires gasoline, though it's considerably better than most cars out there.
California's new law allowing Hybrid cars to drive in carpool lanes is not very good. Honda makes a hybrid Accord that pollutes more and gets worse fuel economy than several non-hybrid cars. GM is about to release a hybrid pickup truck that only gets 10% better fuel economy than a standard truck - 10% of 15MPG is only 1.5MPG more (partly because the hybrid setup is primarily designed to provide 120V AC power outlets throughout the truck for contractors). Imagine that owners of these hybrids get rewarded in CA by being allowed to drive in the carpool lane!
The same exact thing happened to my PowerShot A70. Luckily it happened ONE DAY before the one year warranty expired. I sent it off to Canon and supposedly they repaired it. They claimed it was a "loose wire on the image sensor".
About a week after I got it back it started to do the same thing. If I tapped it gently, I could get it working again however one time I was tapping it too hard and knocked it out of my hand. It took a nice three story fall onto concrete and shattered. I own a Canon SD300 now, and apparently they're not affected by this problem.
It's funny how our laws are written. I know a guy who built a Lamborghini Countach kit car out of some steel tubing, a pre-made fiberglass body, and an engine that isn't even close to passing federal emission laws. He had no problems getting it inspected, registered, and getting a license plate for it. Custom choppers are the same: It's easy to weld some tubing together and slap on wheels, an engine, and a transmission and you're out on the streets in no time!
I want to import a new Toyota Hilux diesel pickup because a compact diesel pickup truck isn't available in the USA. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to do this because it hasn't been tested against US crash standards and the engine isn't EPA certified (despite being less polluting than just about any diesel engine currently offered in the USA).
I don't know what the grand challenge course looked like, but I once went off roading with a Hummer H1 on the White Mountain Trail in Southern California (Hesperia to Big Bear). We encountered many difficult obstacles like extremely steep washed out rocky inclines. It was nearly impossible for manned drivers to travel on this trail, and I would bet that all of these Grand Challenge vehicles would fail miserably under any extreme conditions.
I realize that the Grand Challenge is an important step, however there's still a long way to go before we can drop an autonomous Hummer in Iraq or Afghanistan and give it GPS waypoints to follow.
There was another recent aircraft incident at Toronto (YYZ) where an Airbus A340-300 jet skidded past the end of the runway. While I'm not a big fan of Airbus myself, I don't blame that incident on the jet. A friend of mine is a 737 pilot and mentioned that just a week prior to that incident he landed at Toronto under similar rainy conditions and had a difficult time bringing the aircraft to a stop without skidding.
The JetBlue incident was amazing. I'm not a big fan of JetBlue either, but it was amazing that the pilots were able to land only 6 inches off the centerline of the runway with the nosewheel grinding down to a stub.
Why is it that whenever someone posts a reference to a movie, they always link to IMDB? I know IMDB provides a ton of information about movies, but it would be a heck of a lot easier to link the movie title as text rather than just linking the words "this movie" or "the same movie I saw". This way if I already know about the movie, I won't need to waste my time bringing up it's page on IMDB.
You don't need to click on the first link to find out that I'm talking about Star Wars. If you already know about the movie Spaceballs and don't want to read all its details on IMDB, you wouldn't have to click on the second link if I linked "Spaceballs" instead of "this one".
I work in aerospace and I'm around a lot of military aircraft, but I only heard one sonic boom in my life. I was at the Edwards AFB Open House in 2003 when a B-1 Bomber did a high altitude supersonic run. It wasn't the sound of rolling thunder, just a loud and distinct boom. As soon as it hit, every car alarm in the parking lot went off and every child was crying!
If you have any interest in aircraft, I would recommend checking out the Edwards AFB Open House which is going on October 22-23, 2005.
I have Sirius and the voice channels are very annoying, to the point where I won't listen to them. AM radio sounds better. The music stations are better, but some of them just get irritating after a while. One of their selling points is that subscribers get to stream their channels free over the internet. I thought this would be nice as I'd get to listen to music at work, however the quality is so bad (highly compressed, low bandwidth)that it's not worth it.
I noticed that since Sirius rearranged their programming, the two stations reserved for Howard Stern are grouped with all the low-quality/low-bandwidth entertainment and talk stations. I wonder if Howard Stern is still going to get the higher bandwidth low compression that the music channels have? If not, then I'll have to cancel my Sirius subscription. The only thing that's playing on Howard Stern's channels right now are the farters, and it's hard to tell if it's a higher or lower bandwidth channel.
I wasn't implying that it's a BMW concept, rather the M3 is the only sub-$100,000 vehicle I know of that has it. Ferrari introduced it on the F355 in 1997, but a F355 is not as common as the M3 (at least in NY or LA, where I see several M3s every day). I wasn't aware of Daihatsu's offerings, but beause I live in the USA I'm not very familiar with Daihatsu at all, aside from the fact that it's owned by Toyota.
M3 erectile disfunction compensators.. hehe.. The funny thing is a friend of mine has a relatively new 330Ci which is quite similar to the M3 but not as pricey, and it's still has better handling and more power than I'd know what to do with. My mentality is that a car is just a method of transportation and should safely, quickly, and efficiently get you to where you need to go. If you only have one car and rely on that to get to work, don't be dumping money into performance and certainly don't race it. Your 'fun' toy should be something you don't rely on for daily use. I prefer motorcycles - the Price to Power ratio is very low. An $11,000 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 will outaccelerate just about any car.
I don't like iTunes either because a good portion of my music has bad tags or no tags at all (live recordings and things like that). I have spent well over 10 hours updating all the tags and I'm nowhere near complete.
I have my music sorted by folders. When my wife or I get new music, we move it to the appropriate folder. It is very difficult and confusing to add the new songs to the iTunes library - I have to manually go and find all the songs I just sorted and add them individually. If I add them to the iTunes library first and then move them, iTunes can't find them in their new location.
If I disabled autorun many years before I even knew about CD protection, am I still violating the DMCA?
This has happened several times to me. I've played CDs on my PC, then I'd take the CD to my brother's house only to learn that I have to install some silly application before I can listen to the CD.
If they ever do, however, and seize their records, all of us are in big trouble since they have our credit card numbers.
Citibank has a service where they'll issue a one-time-use credit card number and expiration date that is linked to your actual account. This may help a little and there's most certainly a log to trace it back to you, but it's one extra layer of security.
AllOfMP3 may be operating legallly in Russia, but is it legal for US citizens physically in the USA to use their service? I guess that falls under the same gray area as online casinos.
Is Top Gear available on DVD? I've seen it once or twice here in the US, though I don't remember if it was on TV or a copy of the show that I found online.
I noticed they used the Toyota Hilux. The new Hilux is a great vehicle, but unfortunately they're not available in the US. We get the Tacoma which is similar but it isn't available with a diesel engine. From the specs I've seen, the Hilux comes with a 2.5L or 3L diesel engine (turbo, direct injection) which would be ideal for a small pickup truck. I'd imagine you get decent fuel economy and plenty of torque when you're hauling or towing.
No one in the USA makes a compact diesel pickup truck anymore. The only diesel pickup trucks are full size trucks, which are too big for my needs. I'm in the minority as most truck buyers in the USA want a large 4WD truck with a gasoline V8 engine (probably the same people who voted for... oh nevermind).
Toyota, Honda, and Volvo comes pretty close though... I've seen some OLD cars by those manufacturers that have held up through pretty much anything. My father in law has an old Toyota pickup truck that looks like it's been through several wars with well over 500,000 miles on it, and the only thing that killed the engine was not changing the oil for the last 50,000+ miles.
As for the newer cars, they tend to be a little cheaper but time will tell. I'll let you know in 15 years if my Tacoma is still running. At the rate I'm driving I'll have well over half a million miles on it by then.
That one got a good chuckle out of me... For those of you who don't know, he's referring to one of the many famous quotes by our country's great and heroic leader.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms .htm
There are also a few books available that contain many more, however I'm going to wait until after 2008. There's a new one every day!
1. Create trendy 'new' mail service offering a ton of space
2. Make it "by invitation only" to generate interest
3. Sell invitations on eBay
4. PROFIT!
Contrary to typical slashdot business plans, this one has a defined technique to generate money.
I only wish I was back in California. I moved to New Jersey in the past year and the situation is far worse here. State income tax is high, property taxes are I-N-S-A-N-E, and you have to pay to drive on two of the major highways (not freeways because they're not free!).
Property taxes are insane in New Jersey. I'm paying less in rent than what many people pay just in property taxes. The roads are horrible too - you think that with so much local tax revenue the least they can do is fix up the roads, but corruption is so rampant here I believe most of that money fills up the pockets of the politicians and their buddies.
The toll roads are outrageous here. I pay $70 a month just to get to work and back (20 miles each way). I could live closer to work but the area where I work is run down and rent prices are higher. I wish they would just raise the gas tax to cover the cost of tolls. Toll booths also cause massive traffic congestion. Imagine four lanes expanding to 10 toll lanes and then compressing back into four lanes. You would think that with all the toll revenue the roads would be pristine? They're full of DEEP potholes that are sure to destroy your vehicle.
So don't compalin about California as there are much worse places to live. You can easily choose to work 6 hours a day and pay no taxes and get tons of government assistance, but I assure you that you won't have an 'easy life like all the people your taxes support.' The biggest thing that needs to be targeted is corruption.
I've seen my share as well. I regularly see a mid-90s Mercedes 300SD near my house that has a thick layer of black soot all over the back and whenever it accelerates, a big dark cloud comes out the tailpipe!
My understanding is that modern Diesel engines don't have this problem as much, though they still emit tiny particulates. The low-sulphur diesel fuel mandate in the US (2008?) should help with this.
I'm a big fan of diesel engines, though I don't need or like the models offered in the US. The Mercedes E300D is too expensive and any of the full-size pickup trucks are too large and have way more power than I need, which leaves the VW Beetle/Golf/Jetta TDI as only possible choices. Unfortunately I try to stay as far away from VW as I can because of it's questionable reliability (I owned one of it's cousins, the Audi A4, and would never get another VW/Audi product again).
Have you ever seen the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon? There's a character called Krang who is basically a brain suspended in a robotic contraption so he can get around.
This is the ideal setup for the Grand Challenge competitor! Get some neurosurgeons teamed up with biomedical, mechanical, and electrical engineers to embed a live brain into a Hummer or Oshkosh truck. They just have to be careful they don't use Abbey Normal's.
Slashdot Mirror
What phone do you have, and what carrier provides your service? I'm looking for a new cell phone and service plan with features similar to those you described, specifically a keyboard-enabled phone with no camera and internet access for a reasonable monthly fee.
If this question was actually used, were these possibilities left open or were the instructions more explicit?
My favorite answers: Peeking under the door, or chopping a hole in the door.
What if the light is on prior to entering the room?
Your Prius still pollutes and still requires gasoline, though it's considerably better than most cars out there.
California's new law allowing Hybrid cars to drive in carpool lanes is not very good. Honda makes a hybrid Accord that pollutes more and gets worse fuel economy than several non-hybrid cars. GM is about to release a hybrid pickup truck that only gets 10% better fuel economy than a standard truck - 10% of 15MPG is only 1.5MPG more (partly because the hybrid setup is primarily designed to provide 120V AC power outlets throughout the truck for contractors). Imagine that owners of these hybrids get rewarded in CA by being allowed to drive in the carpool lane!
About a week after I got it back it started to do the same thing. If I tapped it gently, I could get it working again however one time I was tapping it too hard and knocked it out of my hand. It took a nice three story fall onto concrete and shattered. I own a Canon SD300 now, and apparently they're not affected by this problem.
It's funny how our laws are written. I know a guy who built a Lamborghini Countach kit car out of some steel tubing, a pre-made fiberglass body, and an engine that isn't even close to passing federal emission laws. He had no problems getting it inspected, registered, and getting a license plate for it. Custom choppers are the same: It's easy to weld some tubing together and slap on wheels, an engine, and a transmission and you're out on the streets in no time!
I want to import a new Toyota Hilux diesel pickup because a compact diesel pickup truck isn't available in the USA. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to do this because it hasn't been tested against US crash standards and the engine isn't EPA certified (despite being less polluting than just about any diesel engine currently offered in the USA).
I realize that the Grand Challenge is an important step, however there's still a long way to go before we can drop an autonomous Hummer in Iraq or Afghanistan and give it GPS waypoints to follow.
What happens to Zeppelins in Thunderstorms?
The JetBlue incident was amazing. I'm not a big fan of JetBlue either, but it was amazing that the pilots were able to land only 6 inches off the centerline of the runway with the nosewheel grinding down to a stub.
Star Wars was a great movie, but this one is better!
You don't need to click on the first link to find out that I'm talking about Star Wars. If you already know about the movie Spaceballs and don't want to read all its details on IMDB, you wouldn't have to click on the second link if I linked "Spaceballs" instead of "this one".
If you have any interest in aircraft, I would recommend checking out the Edwards AFB Open House which is going on October 22-23, 2005.
I noticed that since Sirius rearranged their programming, the two stations reserved for Howard Stern are grouped with all the low-quality/low-bandwidth entertainment and talk stations. I wonder if Howard Stern is still going to get the higher bandwidth low compression that the music channels have? If not, then I'll have to cancel my Sirius subscription. The only thing that's playing on Howard Stern's channels right now are the farters, and it's hard to tell if it's a higher or lower bandwidth channel.
Ha! I like that one! So true...
I wasn't implying that it's a BMW concept, rather the M3 is the only sub-$100,000 vehicle I know of that has it. Ferrari introduced it on the F355 in 1997, but a F355 is not as common as the M3 (at least in NY or LA, where I see several M3s every day). I wasn't aware of Daihatsu's offerings, but beause I live in the USA I'm not very familiar with Daihatsu at all, aside from the fact that it's owned by Toyota.
M3 erectile disfunction compensators.. hehe.. The funny thing is a friend of mine has a relatively new 330Ci which is quite similar to the M3 but not as pricey, and it's still has better handling and more power than I'd know what to do with. My mentality is that a car is just a method of transportation and should safely, quickly, and efficiently get you to where you need to go. If you only have one car and rely on that to get to work, don't be dumping money into performance and certainly don't race it. Your 'fun' toy should be something you don't rely on for daily use. I prefer motorcycles - the Price to Power ratio is very low. An $11,000 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 will outaccelerate just about any car.
I have my music sorted by folders. When my wife or I get new music, we move it to the appropriate folder. It is very difficult and confusing to add the new songs to the iTunes library - I have to manually go and find all the songs I just sorted and add them individually. If I add them to the iTunes library first and then move them, iTunes can't find them in their new location.
This has happened several times to me. I've played CDs on my PC, then I'd take the CD to my brother's house only to learn that I have to install some silly application before I can listen to the CD.
Citibank has a service where they'll issue a one-time-use credit card number and expiration date that is linked to your actual account. This may help a little and there's most certainly a log to trace it back to you, but it's one extra layer of security.
AllOfMP3 may be operating legallly in Russia, but is it legal for US citizens physically in the USA to use their service? I guess that falls under the same gray area as online casinos.
I noticed they used the Toyota Hilux. The new Hilux is a great vehicle, but unfortunately they're not available in the US. We get the Tacoma which is similar but it isn't available with a diesel engine. From the specs I've seen, the Hilux comes with a 2.5L or 3L diesel engine (turbo, direct injection) which would be ideal for a small pickup truck. I'd imagine you get decent fuel economy and plenty of torque when you're hauling or towing.
No one in the USA makes a compact diesel pickup truck anymore. The only diesel pickup trucks are full size trucks, which are too big for my needs. I'm in the minority as most truck buyers in the USA want a large 4WD truck with a gasoline V8 engine (probably the same people who voted for... oh nevermind).
As for the newer cars, they tend to be a little cheaper but time will tell. I'll let you know in 15 years if my Tacoma is still running. At the rate I'm driving I'll have well over half a million miles on it by then.
That one got a good chuckle out of me... For those of you who don't know, he's referring to one of the many famous quotes by our country's great and heroic leader. http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms .htm
There are also a few books available that contain many more, however I'm going to wait until after 2008. There's a new one every day!
Contrary to typical slashdot business plans, this one has a defined technique to generate money.
Property taxes are insane in New Jersey. I'm paying less in rent than what many people pay just in property taxes. The roads are horrible too - you think that with so much local tax revenue the least they can do is fix up the roads, but corruption is so rampant here I believe most of that money fills up the pockets of the politicians and their buddies.
The toll roads are outrageous here. I pay $70 a month just to get to work and back (20 miles each way). I could live closer to work but the area where I work is run down and rent prices are higher. I wish they would just raise the gas tax to cover the cost of tolls. Toll booths also cause massive traffic congestion. Imagine four lanes expanding to 10 toll lanes and then compressing back into four lanes. You would think that with all the toll revenue the roads would be pristine? They're full of DEEP potholes that are sure to destroy your vehicle.
So don't compalin about California as there are much worse places to live. You can easily choose to work 6 hours a day and pay no taxes and get tons of government assistance, but I assure you that you won't have an 'easy life like all the people your taxes support.' The biggest thing that needs to be targeted is corruption.
My understanding is that modern Diesel engines don't have this problem as much, though they still emit tiny particulates. The low-sulphur diesel fuel mandate in the US (2008?) should help with this.
I'm a big fan of diesel engines, though I don't need or like the models offered in the US. The Mercedes E300D is too expensive and any of the full-size pickup trucks are too large and have way more power than I need, which leaves the VW Beetle/Golf/Jetta TDI as only possible choices. Unfortunately I try to stay as far away from VW as I can because of it's questionable reliability (I owned one of it's cousins, the Audi A4, and would never get another VW/Audi product again).
The ideal vehicle for my family: A 2005 Toyota Hilux with a 2.5L 4 cylinder direct-injection turbodiesel. It's avaiable with a 3.0L 4 cylinder diesel that produces a lot of power, but I don't need that much. I need a light duty truck and I'd like to have the added torque and fuel efficiency of a diesel engine. Unfortunately there's nothing like that in the US. I wonder if it's possible to do a gray-market import into the US?
This is the ideal setup for the Grand Challenge competitor! Get some neurosurgeons teamed up with biomedical, mechanical, and electrical engineers to embed a live brain into a Hummer or Oshkosh truck. They just have to be careful they don't use Abbey Normal's.
How is a modern diesel engine more difficult to maintain than a comparable gasoline engine?