I love reading the enforcement actions section of the FCC Web site. Sure, most of it is boring--power companies causing RFI, CBers with linears causing interference on 10 meters, repeater issues--but sometimes there's some really juicy stuff.
Don't get me started on the crappy signals they send out, either.....
Or all the QRM they cause on 10 meters. I'm both a ham and a truck driver and have been known to give my fellow drivers some serious shit if I find out they're "freebanding" or using linears on their CB transceivers.
As far as I am concerned, anything we can do to encourage the younger generation to explore any hobbies in the scientific world the better.
I agree with you completely. Not only would it be a good thing for ham radio, which right now is largely comprised of old graybeards like me, it would be good for the country in general. We're falling behind much of the rest of the world in science education. If getting a young person interested in ham radio spurs a career in the sciences, that's a win-win situation.
According to the ARRL, there was a significant increase in the number of new amateur radio licenses issued in 2009. That's very encouraging.
What is the draw and use of this stuff? Not in a snarky sense, just that I'm half-way curious and ready to be pulled in.
How about sending a message from my shack here in southern California to a guy located in the Azores without wires or fiber optics connection using a radio connected to a 12V car battery and less power than it takes to light up a typical light bulb? If that ain't geeky-cool, I don't know what is.
If you enjoy electronic gadgets and building things with your own two hands*, ham radio is a great hobby.
Just because you don't know a joke when you see one doesn't make it childish. Get a sense of humor--computers are just tools, not a religion.
Just to reinforce my point, I currently own computers that run Windows XP, Fedora and Mac OS X. I'm about as platform-agnostic a person there is. Whatever OS works best for a given task is the one I use.
None of them were exactly bet-the-company-big risks, but pretty risky.
While I agree with your post almost entirely, I think that the introduction of the original Bondi Blue iMac was indeed a bet-the-company-big risk. The company was at a very low ebb with relatively little capital and a shrinking market share at that time. Many people were predicting it's imminent demise. If the iMac gambit had failed, there would be no Apple, Inc. now.
I've never been able to draw worth shit. I probably could learn if I really wanted to, but even as a kid my skills were mediocre at best.
If I really wanted to. That's the key right there when it comes to learning anything, not just drawing.
It's not magic, it's just how our brains are wired.
You're right, it's not magic at all. When I started to draw, I was also mediocre at best. I became pretty decent at it--although no one would have ever mistaken me for a Great Artiste--because I wanted to learn. The point I was trying to make is that you or anyone else could have become at least as good as I am at drawing if you'd been willing to put in the time to learn the skill. You weren't interested in doing that, which is fine, but my experience has led me to believe that almost everyone has a certain level of drawing ability hardwired in and they just need the training to develop it. However, that training requires commitment and a lot of tedious work, which was the part I was proud of and why I'd get ticked off when people suggested it was some sort of mystical craft that came without effort.
Of course, just as in any field, there are people who do excel, seemingly without effort, but people like Picasso only come around once a century and, besides, you don't have to be able to work at that level to make art worth doing.
Re:If you can't handle calculus, science isnt for
on
Help Me Get My Math Back?
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· Score: 2, Interesting
It's the same deal as people who say others can't learn to do art.
Speaking as a former art major (which is why I'm a truck driver now, BTW), people who say that really used to piss me off. Sure, some folks have a huge natural artistic talent but the rest of us have to learn how to do art. When someone suggested my skills were due to a magical innate ability, I'd get ticked off and tell them no, everybody has the innate ability. My skills, in fact, came from many hours of tedious practice, doing the same thing over and over until I got it right.
But still no Flash, so 99% of the websites out there won't display correctly.
Oh, I don't know about that. I use ClickToFlash on my computer and find that I don't miss out on much. Well, actually, I do miss out on having Flash crash my browser, which it used to do with some regularity.
biggest open secret in the whole affair is that Vaughn Walker is himself homosexual.
It's not a secret at all, he's openly gay but according to this San Francisco Chronicle article "Walker [...] has never taken pains to disguise - or advertise - his orientation."
Sounds like you're making something out of nothing. I have mod points and briefly considered modding you troll but decided that a reply was more fair.
He would never find time in my truck. You need both hands, feet and plenty of concentration to double-declutch through the ratios on an 18-speed Eaton Fuller gearbox while keeping the rig moving in the right direction.
Sorry, but every experienced truck driver I've ever known doesn't use the clutch except when starting and stopping. The rest of the time they do what's called floating--shifting gears without using the clutch. If you time your upshifts properly and match engine and tranny speeds on downshifts, it's a piece of cake. I do it all the time, even in my personal vehicle.
You're absolutely right about needing plenty of concentration, though. Keeping one of those fuckers on the road can be challenging in the best of times. Add in traffic or wet roads or wind or ice and snow and it's white-knuckle time. Most of the companies I've driven for have policies forbidding the use of cell phones while driving, period, and for good reason.
Ah, but they will pass through the infinite number of bugs stage and onto perfection. Eventually. Maybe even before the sun burns out, although I wouldn't bet on it.
Slashdot Mirror
I love reading the enforcement actions section of the FCC Web site. Sure, most of it is boring--power companies causing RFI, CBers with linears causing interference on 10 meters, repeater issues--but sometimes there's some really juicy stuff.
Don't get me started on the crappy signals they send out, either.....
Or all the QRM they cause on 10 meters. I'm both a ham and a truck driver and have been known to give my fellow drivers some serious shit if I find out they're "freebanding" or using linears on their CB transceivers.
73 de KJ6BSO
Thanks! I've already had some fun with my little HT on 2 meters. Saving up for an HF and studying for General.
Congratulations, and welcome. You're in for a good time.
Saving up for an HF and studying for General.
HF is way cool, and the General test is easy. Go for it! I'm working on my Extra and learning code. I've always been fascinated by CW.
73 KD0KYW de KJ6BSO
As far as I am concerned, anything we can do to encourage the younger generation to explore any hobbies in the scientific world the better.
I agree with you completely. Not only would it be a good thing for ham radio, which right now is largely comprised of old graybeards like me, it would be good for the country in general. We're falling behind much of the rest of the world in science education. If getting a young person interested in ham radio spurs a career in the sciences, that's a win-win situation.
According to the ARRL, there was a significant increase in the number of new amateur radio licenses issued in 2009. That's very encouraging.
73 de KJ6BSO
KJ6BSO.. Hey Carl, You're 5-9 in Nebraska.
KB0HAW
Okay, Bart thanks for the QSO--I'll send you a QSL card!
73
KB0HAW de KJ6BSO sk
I thought at 23 I'd be the youngest guy in my local radio club.. Turned out that the youngest was a 17 year old Girl.
We've got a 10 year old girl in our local club!
What is the draw and use of this stuff? Not in a snarky sense, just that I'm half-way curious and ready to be pulled in.
How about sending a message from my shack here in southern California to a guy located in the Azores without wires or fiber optics connection using a radio connected to a 12V car battery and less power than it takes to light up a typical light bulb? If that ain't geeky-cool, I don't know what is.
If you enjoy electronic gadgets and building things with your own two hands*, ham radio is a great hobby.
KJ6BSO. Look for me on 20 meters PSK31.
* No offense intended to amputees
KB0HAW de KJ6BSO k
Just because you don't know a joke when you see one doesn't make it childish. Get a sense of humor--computers are just tools, not a religion.
Just to reinforce my point, I currently own computers that run Windows XP, Fedora and Mac OS X. I'm about as platform-agnostic a person there is. Whatever OS works best for a given task is the one I use.
my netbook runs Windows
Score:
iPad 1, Netbook 0
Seriously, I'm typing this on a demo iPad at an Apple Store right now and Taco is right about the weight. It does get a little heavy after a while.
Or perhaps we could say that buying NeXT to get Steve Jobs back was a bet the company risk.
I was thinking more along the lines of product releases but you're absolutely right, buying NeXT was a risk--a very big one.
None of them were exactly bet-the-company-big risks, but pretty risky.
While I agree with your post almost entirely, I think that the introduction of the original Bondi Blue iMac was indeed a bet-the-company-big risk. The company was at a very low ebb with relatively little capital and a shrinking market share at that time. Many people were predicting it's imminent demise. If the iMac gambit had failed, there would be no Apple, Inc. now.
Thanks for reminding me how damned old I'm getting.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I mean, I can only wish I was "rumbling" into 35 years old again. That was some time back for this old fossil.
Halo - developed by Bungie, another company that made awesome products until MS bought them.
And don't forget that Halo was originally written for the Mac.
Better make sure the accelerator won't get stuck though!
Are you kidding?! That would be the best part!
I've never been able to draw worth shit. I probably could learn if I really wanted to, but even as a kid my skills were mediocre at best.
If I really wanted to. That's the key right there when it comes to learning anything, not just drawing.
It's not magic, it's just how our brains are wired.
You're right, it's not magic at all. When I started to draw, I was also mediocre at best. I became pretty decent at it--although no one would have ever mistaken me for a Great Artiste--because I wanted to learn. The point I was trying to make is that you or anyone else could have become at least as good as I am at drawing if you'd been willing to put in the time to learn the skill. You weren't interested in doing that, which is fine, but my experience has led me to believe that almost everyone has a certain level of drawing ability hardwired in and they just need the training to develop it. However, that training requires commitment and a lot of tedious work, which was the part I was proud of and why I'd get ticked off when people suggested it was some sort of mystical craft that came without effort.
Of course, just as in any field, there are people who do excel, seemingly without effort, but people like Picasso only come around once a century and, besides, you don't have to be able to work at that level to make art worth doing.
It's the same deal as people who say others can't learn to do art.
Speaking as a former art major (which is why I'm a truck driver now, BTW), people who say that really used to piss me off. Sure, some folks have a huge natural artistic talent but the rest of us have to learn how to do art. When someone suggested my skills were due to a magical innate ability, I'd get ticked off and tell them no, everybody has the innate ability. My skills, in fact, came from many hours of tedious practice, doing the same thing over and over until I got it right.
But still no Flash, so 99% of the websites out there won't display correctly.
Oh, I don't know about that. I use ClickToFlash on my computer and find that I don't miss out on much. Well, actually, I do miss out on having Flash crash my browser, which it used to do with some regularity.
biggest open secret in the whole affair is that Vaughn Walker is himself homosexual.
It's not a secret at all, he's openly gay but according to this San Francisco Chronicle article "Walker [...] has never taken pains to disguise - or advertise - his orientation."
Sounds like you're making something out of nothing. I have mod points and briefly considered modding you troll but decided that a reply was more fair.
He would never find time in my truck. You need both hands, feet and plenty of concentration to double-declutch through the ratios on an 18-speed Eaton Fuller gearbox while keeping the rig moving in the right direction.
Sorry, but every experienced truck driver I've ever known doesn't use the clutch except when starting and stopping. The rest of the time they do what's called floating--shifting gears without using the clutch. If you time your upshifts properly and match engine and tranny speeds on downshifts, it's a piece of cake. I do it all the time, even in my personal vehicle.
You're absolutely right about needing plenty of concentration, though. Keeping one of those fuckers on the road can be challenging in the best of times. Add in traffic or wet roads or wind or ice and snow and it's white-knuckle time. Most of the companies I've driven for have policies forbidding the use of cell phones while driving, period, and for good reason.
As of 22:19 UCT, that one is down too.
It wont be microsoft...too many antitrust issues.
It might be IBM [...]
Of course theres always google, owning the unix code would give it some nice defensive ground.
Pure speculation here but how about Apple? Since OS X is Unix-based, it might make sense for them. And they have a boatload of cash on hand.
God damn it, how do you say a guy is a pansy.. no, a pussy... no, a simpering milquetoast... fuck! How do you say it without insulting women or gays?
Asshole works for me...
he (they) went on to a great career as a downsizing consultants. If you ever hear about a "meeting with the Bobs", better get your resume ready.
Although in this case, the project manager of Bob was Melinda French--now known as Mrs. Bill Gates.
Ah, but they will pass through the infinite number of bugs stage and onto perfection. Eventually. Maybe even before the sun burns out, although I wouldn't bet on it.