In related news: George Bush was found cowering in a spider hole while encouraging his army of infidels to commit suicide in Iraq.
Cubi-coaster
on
Cube House
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I love the cube creativity. I expressed such "creativity" twice at my previous employer...though the "previous-ness" has nothing to do with my cube creativity.
This is all true, as I have MPEG movies of both of these. If someone wants a copy, I'm happy to share, just email it to me at cubicoasters_on_slashdot@emailias.com. If anyone has some bandwidth and wants to host them, I'd be very happy to forward them to you, too.
Cubi-coaster 1997: Christmas 1997, I converted my cubicle into a "ball and gutter" kinetic energy machine. Basically, it's a small version of the contraptions you would find in a good science museum or in a progressive airport or mall (for entertaining the public). It started with a slingshot of a small plastic ball across the cubicle into a funnel made of paper that led to the other gutters (made of paper, tape, paperclips)...through a loop-the-loop, and down into a trashcan. But this was no ordinary trashcan. I had rigged it as a "triggered catapult" (I kid you not!) to throw the ball back up into the original funnel across the cube one more time. It only made two laps because I had to re-cock the trashcan catapult.
Cubi-coaster 1998: Christmas 1998, I created a motorized version using several pingpong balls. Using a desktop fan and removing the blade, I created a "chairlift" with fishing line and paperclips (for the "chairs"). The balls would be lifted out of a paper tube and dropped into a clear plastic funnel (made of overhead transparencies and tape) near the ceiling. It could then go one of two ways through clear plastic tubes, across highly-tensioned parallel "rails" of fishline, and over a couple of other pendulum-like devices. This was perpetual, thanks to the motor/fan.
...
This was a lot of fun and sure drew a lot of visitors. Friends commented that for the "next year" that I'd either have to expand to "outside the building" or would have to quit work...I chose the latter.
Happy to share...both then and now! Happy Holidays!
Yahoo recently implemented DEAs (disposable email addresses) for their premium (paid) service. It's supposed to protect you from spam by allowing you to keep from giving out your personal email address. Who keeps Yahoo from sending you spam?
Yahoo is seemingly as bad as the rest, and maybe worse. Do they eat their own dogfood and promise to contact you only via the DEA that you give them? (I doubt it.)
Who are these people that think this is really what the customer wants? Yeah, yeah, I know...it's what they want that really counts: money.
1. SSH w/MochaTelnet. I like it better than TopGunSSH. Demo is free and doesn't seem to expire.
2. PalmVNC Installed it last night and works pretty well.
3. SnapperMail (allows auto-polling every X minutes) Using it for a couple of months now and I like it very much (includes attachments, and allows installing Palm modules (.prc) via emailing to yourself as an attachment...as opposed to hot-synching to install new software). Cost is $34.95, and I think worth it.
The next software I want to try is PdaNet which will recognize the Treo 300 as an external USB modem to a normal computer. Using the unlimited monthly bandwidth usage of the SprintPCS plan, it will supposedly allow up to 144kbps surfing on my laptop. Cost is $34, with 15 day trial period.
I bought a Rooma a couple of weeks ago after the last article that mentioned about the cheap (money-wise and quality-wise) competitor. We have two cats, two dogs, and hardwood floors. We "set it free" each morning as we go out to work. We didn't do it yesterday, and I noticed it as I was lying on the floor...sand and hair. It really does a good job for us.
As far as having the ability to go back and recharge itself when it's done...yeah, it'd be nice, but it works fine for us how it is. Otherwise, we (i.e. my wife) would have to be dragging out the regular vaccuum every day. It does great in terms of just maintaining a sane level of cleanliness.
I can see a future of fleets of these things roaming a hotel cleaning all of the rooms. Sort of reminds me of the robots from Minority Report.
My then-girlfriend (now-wife) discussed this in the following way: Would we like to have a nice ring on her finger, or would we like to work toward a downpayment for a house? We chose the house option, and we now have a nice pair of wedding rings. And we're closing on our house in a couple of weeks.
--Paul.
"You'll be strung-up by your toenails...
on
Deep Algorithms?
·
· Score: 1
...if you do this on the school's mainframe!"
--A Serious Warning from my Freshmen Comp Sci Instructor (14 years ago).
I agree that spam will continue to baloon until a solution is found, but politics and policy won't be a solution. It can't.
If you take the United Nations as a real world example of trying to get the world into a single-file line, you'll see that not all of the countries agree. Further, there are many countries that don't even belong to the U.N. If we get the "U.N. of Email" to agree that there won't be any open servers, etc., in their countries, then the non-UNoE countries will always be a haven to the border-hopping spam problem.
The author of this article wrote another nice one on CNET a few weeks back that listed a few of the other technological solutions. None yet address all aspects of the problem of spam, but many start.
There's a problem in even defining spam. Is it:
Black Spam: Enhance your sexuality
Grey Spam: Here's our specials this season (since you bought from us before)
White Spam: Hey Joe, check out this joke...I'm sending it to my 1000 closest friends.
Each of these requires different types of solutions. Black/white lists can start to address Black Spam, but what about Grey Spam? For example, there are some stores/vendors that send from variable email addresses, and some that enlist third-parties to send email on their behalf.
There's a lot of work to be done to solve this problem, but it has to be done with technology.
Email technology must succeed where mere policy continues to fail.
First, why do we need studies for this kind of crap? I mean, who can't realize that.
Many people don't realize that the Internet is useful. Many people who are learned are older and subscribe to the print issue of the Christian Science Monitor, and probably don't realize that there is an online version.
My parents are older and have subscribed to the paper for decades--they also happen to be Christian Scientists. They are just starting to get online...they'll most likely read this article but won't say "wow, a study said so," but it'll continue to nudge them into thinking that the Net's useful. I'm sure that many others (including a lot of non Christian Scientists) will be nudged toward believing this, too. The more non-online sources of news saying "it's not just for fun anymore", the more it'll sink in to those not yet online.
Hopefully it'll keep lessening the tech gap, and hopefully it'll bring people like my parents into a better appreciation and understanding of what the heck it is that we all do "out there".
This sounds like an enhancement on C++ and Lint atop C, so why not "clint++". (I really am kidding...don't flame). As long as the unsafe "C" is around, many will be happy (so that we can play with the system). Otherwise, significant/robust applications should use these features to strive to be non-Microsoftian (i.e. buggy).
Perhaps Cyclone will be open. Can they at least allow for add-on modules so that we can increase the rules that it follows?
I've never started the coffee habit, though have had the occasional mountain dew/coke/pepsi to power my all-nighters.
I find that getting jogging for a little in the morning helps he feel pretty good for the day...of course, that 30-minute nap in the afternoon really helps out, too.
One article I read on a plane between US and Europe was praising the benefits of the nap, and was of course, encouraging the corporate-types to endorse the practices (instead of just work-work-work-work until you drop). There was something about a 30 minute nap making people much more productive than if they drank two cups of coffee.
The other point was that if you were taking a nap, that it should be in increments of 30-minutes (i.e. don't wake-up at 45-minutes or 75 minutes, etc.). This is due to the sleep cycles that the body goes through. You end-up waking in the middle of a deep cycle, and you just want to keep-on-sleeping.
I especially like the racquetball here--nice final taurus; how apropos for the CG-types!!!
I once saw a very nice picture of a jet figher with a shockwave behind it (sonic boom?)...another nice (vapor) taurus. Anybody know of a link to that one?
Slashdot Mirror
...sites variety of problems...
Like missing a good semantic checker to look over your shoulder and make sure you cite the problems correctly.
No, none of this is true.
In related news: George Bush was found cowering in a spider hole while encouraging his army of infidels to commit suicide in Iraq.
I love the cube creativity. I expressed such "creativity" twice at my previous employer...though the "previous-ness" has nothing to do with my cube creativity.
...
This is all true, as I have MPEG movies of both of these. If someone wants a copy, I'm happy to share, just email it to me at cubicoasters_on_slashdot@emailias.com. If anyone has some bandwidth and wants to host them, I'd be very happy to forward them to you, too.
Cubi-coaster 1997: Christmas 1997, I converted my cubicle into a "ball and gutter" kinetic energy machine. Basically, it's a small version of the contraptions you would find in a good science museum or in a progressive airport or mall (for entertaining the public). It started with a slingshot of a small plastic ball across the cubicle into a funnel made of paper that led to the other gutters (made of paper, tape, paperclips)...through a loop-the-loop, and down into a trashcan. But this was no ordinary trashcan. I had rigged it as a "triggered catapult" (I kid you not!) to throw the ball back up into the original funnel across the cube one more time. It only made two laps because I had to re-cock the trashcan catapult.
Cubi-coaster 1998: Christmas 1998, I created a motorized version using several pingpong balls. Using a desktop fan and removing the blade, I created a "chairlift" with fishing line and paperclips (for the "chairs"). The balls would be lifted out of a paper tube and dropped into a clear plastic funnel (made of overhead transparencies and tape) near the ceiling. It could then go one of two ways through clear plastic tubes, across highly-tensioned parallel "rails" of fishline, and over a couple of other pendulum-like devices. This was perpetual, thanks to the motor/fan.
This was a lot of fun and sure drew a lot of visitors. Friends commented that for the "next year" that I'd either have to expand to "outside the building" or would have to quit work...I chose the latter.
Happy to share...both then and now! Happy Holidays!
Ah yes...USA, China, and South Korea...the REAL Axis of Evil!!! <pinky to mouth>
Yahoo recently implemented DEAs (disposable email addresses) for their premium (paid) service. It's supposed to protect you from spam by allowing you to keep from giving out your personal email address. Who keeps Yahoo from sending you spam?
Yahoo is seemingly as bad as the rest, and maybe worse. Do they eat their own dogfood and promise to contact you only via the DEA that you give them? (I doubt it.)
Who are these people that think this is really what the customer wants? Yeah, yeah, I know...it's what they want that really counts: money.
Maybe?
Dignitary: I'd shake your hand, but I just made a phone call with my finger in my ear.
Bush: Oh, that's okay, the last three years I've had my thumb up my @$$.
Doesn't anybody at MS think of these things before they're finalized?
Perhaps it's the "security-by-obscurity" mentality that dictates "oh, nobody will ever think of that!"
Bozos!
1. SSH w/MochaTelnet. I like it better than TopGunSSH. Demo is free and doesn't seem to expire.
2. PalmVNC Installed it last night and works pretty well.
3. SnapperMail (allows auto-polling every X minutes) Using it for a couple of months now and I like it very much (includes attachments, and allows installing Palm modules (.prc) via emailing to yourself as an attachment...as opposed to hot-synching to install new software). Cost is $34.95, and I think worth it.
The next software I want to try is PdaNet which will recognize the Treo 300 as an external USB modem to a normal computer. Using the unlimited monthly bandwidth usage of the SprintPCS plan, it will supposedly allow up to 144kbps surfing on my laptop. Cost is $34, with 15 day trial period.
As long as it can still effectively displace 17,973.965 gallons of water, it won't sink.
(17,973.965 = 150,000 pounds / 8.345404)
8.345404 pounds per gallon of water
...but in a good way!
I bought a Rooma a couple of weeks ago after the last article that mentioned about the cheap (money-wise and quality-wise) competitor. We have two cats, two dogs, and hardwood floors. We "set it free" each morning as we go out to work. We didn't do it yesterday, and I noticed it as I was lying on the floor...sand and hair. It really does a good job for us.
As far as having the ability to go back and recharge itself when it's done...yeah, it'd be nice, but it works fine for us how it is. Otherwise, we (i.e. my wife) would have to be dragging out the regular vaccuum every day. It does great in terms of just maintaining a sane level of cleanliness.
I can see a future of fleets of these things roaming a hotel cleaning all of the rooms. Sort of reminds me of the robots from Minority Report.
My then-girlfriend (now-wife) discussed this in the following way: Would we like to have a nice ring on her finger, or would we like to work toward a downpayment for a house? We chose the house option, and we now have a nice pair of wedding rings. And we're closing on our house in a couple of weeks.
--Paul.
...if you do this on the school's mainframe!"
--A Serious Warning from my Freshmen Comp Sci Instructor (14 years ago).
main() {
while(1)
fork();
}
If you take the United Nations as a real world example of trying to get the world into a single-file line, you'll see that not all of the countries agree. Further, there are many countries that don't even belong to the U.N. If we get the "U.N. of Email" to agree that there won't be any open servers, etc., in their countries, then the non-UNoE countries will always be a haven to the border-hopping spam problem.
The author of this article wrote another nice one on CNET a few weeks back that listed a few of the other technological solutions. None yet address all aspects of the problem of spam, but many start.
There's a problem in even defining spam. Is it:
- Black Spam: Enhance your sexuality
- Grey Spam: Here's our specials this season (since you bought from us before)
- White Spam: Hey Joe, check out this joke...I'm sending it to my 1000 closest friends.
Each of these requires different types of solutions. Black/white lists can start to address Black Spam, but what about Grey Spam? For example, there are some stores/vendors that send from variable email addresses, and some that enlist third-parties to send email on their behalf.There's a lot of work to be done to solve this problem, but it has to be done with technology.
Email technology must succeed where mere policy continues to fail.
Good day!
First, why do we need studies for this kind of crap? I mean, who can't realize that.
Many people don't realize that the Internet is useful. Many people who are learned are older and subscribe to the print issue of the Christian Science Monitor, and probably don't realize that there is an online version.
My parents are older and have subscribed to the paper for decades--they also happen to be Christian Scientists. They are just starting to get online...they'll most likely read this article but won't say "wow, a study said so," but it'll continue to nudge them into thinking that the Net's useful. I'm sure that many others (including a lot of non Christian Scientists) will be nudged toward believing this, too. The more non-online sources of news saying "it's not just for fun anymore", the more it'll sink in to those not yet online.
Hopefully it'll keep lessening the tech gap, and hopefully it'll bring people like my parents into a better appreciation and understanding of what the heck it is that we all do "out there".
I read an interesting about this earlier this week in Discover Magazine, an article by Neil Savage, which just happens to be also available online.
This sounds like an enhancement on C++ and Lint atop C, so why not "clint++". (I really am kidding...don't flame). As long as the unsafe "C" is around, many will be happy (so that we can play with the system). Otherwise, significant/robust applications should use these features to strive to be non-Microsoftian (i.e. buggy).
Perhaps Cyclone will be open. Can they at least allow for add-on modules so that we can increase the rules that it follows?
I've never started the coffee habit, though have had the occasional mountain dew/coke/pepsi to power my all-nighters.
I find that getting jogging for a little in the morning helps he feel pretty good for the day...of course, that 30-minute nap in the afternoon really helps out, too.
One article I read on a plane between US and Europe was praising the benefits of the nap, and was of course, encouraging the corporate-types to endorse the practices (instead of just work-work-work-work until you drop). There was something about a 30 minute nap making people much more productive than if they drank two cups of coffee.
The other point was that if you were taking a nap, that it should be in increments of 30-minutes (i.e. don't wake-up at 45-minutes or 75 minutes, etc.). This is due to the sleep cycles that the body goes through. You end-up waking in the middle of a deep cycle, and you just want to keep-on-sleeping.
Geez, I love naps....
It's a sad time when 75% of the posts are just crap posts! Knock it off, guys! Sheesh!!!
I especially like the racquetball here--nice final taurus; how apropos for the CG-types!!!
I once saw a very nice picture of a jet figher with a shockwave behind it (sonic boom?)...another nice (vapor) taurus. Anybody know of a link to that one?