Hurricanes generally don't know what they're going to do more than a few hours/days beforehand; how can we know, let alone control them?
Look at Ophelia, for instance. It's sitting there off the Carolinas, and still doesn't know what it wants to do with itself. Maybe it'll go towards Myrtle Beach. Or maybe it'll go towards Hatteras (some days I think the Wright Brothers memorial is really a hurricane magnet.) Or maybe it'll loop-the-loop like Hurricane Jeanne did last year, and swing back just when everyone thinks it's headed out to sea to die.
I'm sure we could make one do *something* different, but I doubt anyone could ever say with definite precision whether the something was better or worse than what it would have done in the first place. It'd be like shuffling a deck of cards again. You'll get different results, but wouldn't be able to ever say whether different == better.
Then again, if we put money into this, we won't be able to say that it's *not* working, either -- and politically (especially after Katrina) it might be hard to cut funding for this sort of thing.
I hope we see more interesting online content like this. I think eventually on-demand content will be the way to go, once bandwidth becomes even cheaper. Maybe niche shows like these will finally eliminate the "500-channels-and-nothing-good-on" problem.
True. Contraception, and not offworld colonies, is the answer to the population problem. (I didn't advocate colonization as a solution to the population problem in my post.) I would disagree that there is "enough room" for hundreds of billions of people, however. The world is already IMHO too crowded for comfort as it is. Hundreds of billions (I.E. a population density roughly 100x what it is today) could possibly be feasable, but at what cost?
I was referring to the ability, once a small (mostly automated) infrastructure is in place, of creating semi-autonomous (and possibly nearly self-replicating) factories in space, which could mine iron, aluminum, silicon etc from asteroids without humanity having to dig any more large holes in a fragile life world.
FWIW, yes, I'm a tree-hugging environmentalist liberal. I also do believe in limited capitalism, too -- and don't see any fundamental conflict between these views.
It's time we started getting serious about space exploration and developing an infrastructure to expand. Earth is getting more crowded every year, and while colonization of other worlds may not be a practical answer, industrialization of, say, the Asteroid Belt may provide a lot of resources. Space-based solar power, constructed with the plentiful materials available in space, might help make life down here easier.
Capitalism isn't the answer to everything, but I'm hoping SpaceX, Scaled Composites, and the rest are right that it's the answer to getting a real space development industry going.
...So we lose one of the few companies to produce interesting games that don't involve shooting anything that moves. Yes, perhaps the plot and/or interface of some of their games could have stood a bit of work. But Cyan was one of the few companies producing games that appeal to the intellect and sense of adventure -- rather than to the players' adrenaline levels. Somewhat like complaining that the only sushi bar in town got only mediocre reviews -- when the alternative is the local greasy spoon.
...Voice-over-IP subscribes to *YOU*!
Seriously, I think VoIP is just another step towards convergence -- where all anyone will need for communications is a TCP/IP feed in your choice of broadband flavors, for everything from telephone service to surfing to music and TV entertainment. All on-demand and customizable. (The only hitch is making sure some semblance of privacy remains.)
Really -- for most people, 5wpm code is really quite easy. It just takes a bit of practice. The former 13 and 20wpm elements took quite a bit more skill, but at 5wpm, you have plenty of time between each letter to think of what it is. There's a real plateau at about 7-8wpm, which is overcome with quite a bit of practice. That's why the initial test was set at 5wpm, which just demonstrates knowledge, not proficiency.
I'm gonna get modded down for this for sure, but the code requirement is basically just there to keep out the radio equivalent of the AOLiens. Amateur Radio, by and large, is a lot more civilized than Usenet or most Web-based forums. (Even Slashdot, with the benefit of its moderation.)
I haven't used Morse in years. (Then again, I've hardly been on the air in years. But I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts I could still pass a 5wpm Morse "test" easily. It's just not that difficult, people.
de KB4QPV
Perhaps what Linux needs to become competitive with Windows in the desktop-OS market is for several Red-Hat-like companies to come out with competing Linux desktop products. Once the way is paved (keeping it Open Source, of course), I think a critical mass will eventually make Linux or a similar Open Source project a no-brainer choice for the desktop.
For those that don't use it for games (yeah, I know, but my dad actually does use his PC for work only), XP really doesn't have a lot of reasons to inspire an upgrade from 2K. It still runs a reasonably modern version of Office, seems fairly secure, and is actually more reliable than any of the XP boxes on their or my networks.
Myself, I'm an avid Flight Simmer, so XP Pro it is for me -- but for business machines, I'd still say 2K is the way to go. I used to work in a call center, and we almost never had any problems with our 20 or so 2K boxes. Updates rolled on their own -- no real admin duties worse than keeping the fileservers backed up.
Contemplating stealing a holy text should lower the prospective thief's Karma enough that all you'd have to do would be to filter the entrance to the synagogue, yes? Easy enough to do on the forums!
Lukla (ICAO code VNLK) is an airport with a runway, designed for small planes. It can also, of course, support helicopters, and made a convenient base. It's one of the highest airports in the world, although it's not *the* highest.
Fun airport to fly in to, in Flight Simulator. Not all that challenging in the right plane, but in larger aircraft that would never go there in reality (say, a 737), it's fun to drop off the end of the cliff, as the plane picks up enough speed to fly while dropping towards the valley floor.
How about "get rid of the middleman?"
If movies and music were distributed electronically, and available online as soon as they were released in the theaters, you could do away with a lot of the packaging / marketing / middlemen that drive up the cost. Sell albums for $3-$5 apiece online (more if you need a CD shipped), with no DRM, and I think piracy will go down. Make DVD-quality movies available via download for $5-$10 -- or less for older, less-popular movies -- and people won't bother to pirate those, either.
Unfortnately, groups like the one doing the survey will be the big losers. Such a scheme benefits artists, actors, and the public -- none of whom have near as good representation and lobbyists as the big recording and movie companies.
Slashdot Mirror
Peer-to-peer-traded DVDs pirate *YOU*!
That might have been funny, except any movie that can be crammed down a dialup line in 20min would be no more than 6meg, and hardly worth watching...
Five Geek Points for remembering "NO CARRIER" from the text-BBS days -- but negative ten for forgetting the bandwidth calculation. 8-)
Hurricanes generally don't know what they're going to do more than a few hours/days beforehand; how can we know, let alone control them?
Look at Ophelia, for instance. It's sitting there off the Carolinas, and still doesn't know what it wants to do with itself. Maybe it'll go towards Myrtle Beach. Or maybe it'll go towards Hatteras (some days I think the Wright Brothers memorial is really a hurricane magnet.) Or maybe it'll loop-the-loop like Hurricane Jeanne did last year, and swing back just when everyone thinks it's headed out to sea to die.
I'm sure we could make one do *something* different, but I doubt anyone could ever say with definite precision whether the something was better or worse than what it would have done in the first place. It'd be like shuffling a deck of cards again. You'll get different results, but wouldn't be able to ever say whether different == better.
Then again, if we put money into this, we won't be able to say that it's *not* working, either -- and politically (especially after Katrina) it might be hard to cut funding for this sort of thing.
I hope we see more interesting online content like this. I think eventually on-demand content will be the way to go, once bandwidth becomes even cheaper. Maybe niche shows like these will finally eliminate the "500-channels-and-nothing-good-on" problem.
True. Contraception, and not offworld colonies, is the answer to the population problem. (I didn't advocate colonization as a solution to the population problem in my post.) I would disagree that there is "enough room" for hundreds of billions of people, however. The world is already IMHO too crowded for comfort as it is. Hundreds of billions (I.E. a population density roughly 100x what it is today) could possibly be feasable, but at what cost?
I was referring to the ability, once a small (mostly automated) infrastructure is in place, of creating semi-autonomous (and possibly nearly self-replicating) factories in space, which could mine iron, aluminum, silicon etc from asteroids without humanity having to dig any more large holes in a fragile life world.
FWIW, yes, I'm a tree-hugging environmentalist liberal. I also do believe in limited capitalism, too -- and don't see any fundamental conflict between these views.
It's time we started getting serious about space exploration and developing an infrastructure to expand. Earth is getting more crowded every year, and while colonization of other worlds may not be a practical answer, industrialization of, say, the Asteroid Belt may provide a lot of resources. Space-based solar power, constructed with the plentiful materials available in space, might help make life down here easier.
Capitalism isn't the answer to everything, but I'm hoping SpaceX, Scaled Composites, and the rest are right that it's the answer to getting a real space development industry going.
...DNA and RNA code *you*!
No, wait. That can't be right...
>The actual quote is "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security"
...which seems to apply surprisingly well here, considering he spoke those words over 200 years ago!
Cartoons are a lot more interesting (and more intellectually stimulating) than most of what's on TV these days.
...Voice-Over-IP blocks *you*!
... the secrets keep *YOU*!
...So we lose one of the few companies to produce interesting games that don't involve shooting anything that moves. Yes, perhaps the plot and/or interface of some of their games could have stood a bit of work. But Cyan was one of the few companies producing games that appeal to the intellect and sense of adventure -- rather than to the players' adrenaline levels. Somewhat like complaining that the only sushi bar in town got only mediocre reviews -- when the alternative is the local greasy spoon.
Who's next, Microids??
This won't help out when surfing Slashdotted sites...
...how about an improved stall-onset-warning device that hits the pilot upside the head and yells "AIRSPEED, YA FOOL!" in his/her ear?
...Voice-over-IP subscribes to *YOU*! Seriously, I think VoIP is just another step towards convergence -- where all anyone will need for communications is a TCP/IP feed in your choice of broadband flavors, for everything from telephone service to surfing to music and TV entertainment. All on-demand and customizable. (The only hitch is making sure some semblance of privacy remains.)
Really -- for most people, 5wpm code is really quite easy. It just takes a bit of practice. The former 13 and 20wpm elements took quite a bit more skill, but at 5wpm, you have plenty of time between each letter to think of what it is. There's a real plateau at about 7-8wpm, which is overcome with quite a bit of practice. That's why the initial test was set at 5wpm, which just demonstrates knowledge, not proficiency.
I'm gonna get modded down for this for sure, but the code requirement is basically just there to keep out the radio equivalent of the AOLiens. Amateur Radio, by and large, is a lot more civilized than Usenet or most Web-based forums. (Even Slashdot, with the benefit of its moderation.)
I haven't used Morse in years. (Then again, I've hardly been on the air in years. But I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts I could still pass a 5wpm Morse "test" easily. It's just not that difficult, people.
de KB4QPV
An AOL client? For LINUX?!? ...Talk about a disturbance in the Force!
Perhaps what Linux needs to become competitive with Windows in the desktop-OS market is for several Red-Hat-like companies to come out with competing Linux desktop products. Once the way is paved (keeping it Open Source, of course), I think a critical mass will eventually make Linux or a similar Open Source project a no-brainer choice for the desktop.
I'd strongly recommend 98 over 95. It's essentially a bug fix.
For those that don't use it for games (yeah, I know, but my dad actually does use his PC for work only), XP really doesn't have a lot of reasons to inspire an upgrade from 2K. It still runs a reasonably modern version of Office, seems fairly secure, and is actually more reliable than any of the XP boxes on their or my networks. Myself, I'm an avid Flight Simmer, so XP Pro it is for me -- but for business machines, I'd still say 2K is the way to go. I used to work in a call center, and we almost never had any problems with our 20 or so 2K boxes. Updates rolled on their own -- no real admin duties worse than keeping the fileservers backed up.
"Most double-plus-ungood."
Contemplating stealing a holy text should lower the prospective thief's Karma enough that all you'd have to do would be to filter the entrance to the synagogue, yes? Easy enough to do on the forums!
Lukla (ICAO code VNLK) is an airport with a runway, designed for small planes. It can also, of course, support helicopters, and made a convenient base. It's one of the highest airports in the world, although it's not *the* highest.
Fun airport to fly in to, in Flight Simulator. Not all that challenging in the right plane, but in larger aircraft that would never go there in reality (say, a 737), it's fun to drop off the end of the cliff, as the plane picks up enough speed to fly while dropping towards the valley floor.
Well, if they're accepting text-only, maybe it's time to brush off our ASCII-art skills!
How about "get rid of the middleman?" If movies and music were distributed electronically, and available online as soon as they were released in the theaters, you could do away with a lot of the packaging / marketing / middlemen that drive up the cost. Sell albums for $3-$5 apiece online (more if you need a CD shipped), with no DRM, and I think piracy will go down. Make DVD-quality movies available via download for $5-$10 -- or less for older, less-popular movies -- and people won't bother to pirate those, either.
Unfortnately, groups like the one doing the survey will be the big losers. Such a scheme benefits artists, actors, and the public -- none of whom have near as good representation and lobbyists as the big recording and movie companies.