Less than zero! In theory I could create an anti-wave that would protect one small beach. However other beaches around the world would receive two tsunamis, one from the original, and one from my anti-wave. There may also be a couple beaches that receive a worse tsunami, which is the combined wave of the original, plus the anti-tsunami rolled into one because things add different!
When did this disaster happen? Seems to me it was less than a week ago. With no warning what so ever, we have already managed to find $35,000,000, and that is not counting private donations. Did I mention it is over the Christmas Holidays, most offices have less than half the normal staff around to make decisions!
One other point, at this point we don't even know what is needed. There is the obvious (blankets). There is a lot that is not obvious though. Clean water is required, but what does it take to get their current water supplies clean? I'm not sure, and until someone who knows water systems investigates each one we can't know. Then there is all the re-building, again, in a general sense we know that they need to re-build, but I would hope they don't just put up a bunch of quick cheap buildings and call it good. (though quick cheap temporary buildsings are required) It takes time to plan.
It will be years before this area is back to "normal". Don't start complaining yet, we haven't even seen what is needed in the long run.
Most companies donate money to charity. Big and Small, doesn't matter. However they only have so much money to work with. Microsoft may have billions on paper, but if they tried to turn that into cash today it would be worth a lot less.
Its about danger. Back in the last 1800s boilers exploded all the time. Every state with an industry at all could count on a few deaths from boiler explosions every year. Many were innocents who didn't even know there was a boiler operating in some other shop on the same block! (A big explosion could easily level a city block, though most weren't quite that bad).
Steam needs to be treated with care. Actually and gas under pressure needs to be treated with care, steam is worse because it is also hot, which adds a second set of problems.
Not only can it be done, many landfills are doing this already. Methane is a common by-product of landfills, and it is a unwanted greenhouse gas. They collect this in underground pipes, and then burn it. Commonly they burn it in a generator to generate some extra income
There are downsides though. The amount you get make doesn't really pay for the maintenance on the generators. If it wasn't for environmental concerns over methane they wouldn't do it at all. There just isn't that much to collect.
Much easier to use the garbage to power an incinerator, but incinerators are sensitive to the what you feed in. Landfills hold things you shouldn't toss like batteries without too many problems, while the tends to put the chemicals into the air. (modern landfills are lined so that the contamination doesn't escape - at least in theory)
By restricting your neighbors freedom of expression so you can get a neighborhood of houses that all look exactly alike you think your life is better.
Personally I'd like to live next door to someone who is creative enough to paint his house strange colors. I want nothing to do with the neighborhoods I've seen where every house looks the same, down to the flowers in the garden out front. To each his own I guess.
I don't know about Texas, but every state park I've been to offers outlets right at your campsite - for a fee of course. (about half the campsites only) This isn't backwoods camping, this is state park camping. RVs are everwhere.
I've never been in a state park remote enough that you could consider it a place to get away from civilization.
Sure you sleep in a tent, but your neighbor's tent is not more than 20 feet away. You might cook over an open fire, but only because you didn't bother to light the cookstove that everyone has on the picnic table. It is just a short walk to flush toilets and showers. You are not allowed to camp anyplace else.
Sure there are trails through the woods. Your going to meet a lot of other people using them, many of them will have "walkman" radios, walkie-talkies, and other devices. Many will have the dog with.
There are places where you can get away from it all, but they are hard to get to. You have to hike for several hours to get there.
Then don't bring your @#$%*& computer with you. If you don't have a computer, then wi-fi won't affect you at all. If you do, then you have already negated your intent to escape from the city life by bringing it with.
Personally, I go to the state parks because there is good fishing there. (other than just after sunrise and just before sunset fish don't bite) I need something to do. Normally that means talk to friends I'm camping with, but "a game of doom"[1] sounds like a good way to pass the time to me.
I'm not out there to get aware from it all. If I was I wouldn't be in a state park crowded next to other campers, I'd be someplace where you have to carry everything in a few miles. I've done both, and I like both styles of camping. There is no state park I've ever been in that allows you to get far enough from technology that it is worth considering it a break from technology. I happen to like technology, I'm not always trying to get away from it.
[1]I don't like doom actually, but you get the idea.
Hmm, sounds like your wal-mart as the same self-checkout my local home-depot has, while my local wal-mart has the same ones your Krogers has. (We don't have Krogers in my area so I can't compare).
All I know is with self checkout as Wal-mart I'm in and out, no waiting for the idiot in front of me. Now wondering if the checkout person can scan items with any speed. I only use a human line when the checkout girl is cute enough that it is worth the hassle of a line just to force her to speak to me. (If only the obligatory "did you find everything alright", and "your total is")
Home Depot by contrast has scanners that always are unable to scan something I'm getting. Combine that with the way it forces you to be slow about it. (That is scan one item, put it in bag then wait 5 seconds before it will even register the next item, instead of scanning with one hand bagging with the other)
It doesn't take long to learn how to tune the radio to the emergency channel and learn to land an airplane. Teach the wives to do this. It is much easier for an ambulance to meet you at an airport than someplace on the ground.
I'm not talking about a nice smooth landing, I'm talking about a landing that you walk away from, but the plane doesn't fly without some major work. Actually if you just know how to tune the radio to the emergency channel there is often someone that can talk you through a landing even though you have never done it before. But if nobody knows there is a problem nobody will help.
Like what? There are roads all over. Clearings in forests. Remember when the engine dies on the plane the insurance company just bought the airplane, you goal is to save the people. (though if you can save the plane that is a good idea)
The biggest danger is powerlines next to most roads. Roads with traffic are generally not far from back roads without. If there is traffic there is likely an airport not far away, which is an ideal situation (if you can reach it, which isn't a given).
There are procedures for ditching a plane at sea. Been done, and enough people have survived to call it useful. (those in all the cases I'm aware of someone as died too)
Emergencies are nothing to scoff at, but they aren't instant death.
And where can I find an affordable computer that fits in my pocket? My phone was free! (Okay, I signed a one year contract, but I was going to keep the same plan for a year anyway so that doesn't count)
Make sure this computer is small enough that I can use hold it to my ear like a phone, because I just want one gadget to carry around. Every simple computer (palm type device) I've seen is a lot larger than my phone.
I own a gameboy. I don't take it to work with me though, which means I don't have it on lunch break. I have a nice laptop computer, but it doesn't go with me everywhere. They are both too big, and not universal enough to want with me. Sure the phone features are all qualified with low quality, but it is good enough! My phone is with me everywhere. It is small enough to use everywhere. I'd like it to be better, but the constraints of size mean that something has to be sacrificed.
The mark of true journalists is they will not give in. Rather than revealing sources like this a good reporter will go to jail and have a comtempt of court record for the rest of his life!
This has been fought out in courts many times. I'm not sure where the law stands now (though some cases have come down in favor of the reporter in the past).
Ever notice that the media can somehow interview big names like Bin Laden (not him in particular, but others like him) that the government wants yet cannot find? Its because a reporter understands the sources are everything and if you turn on them you are sunk.
I have to disagree. My cell phone is more than my phone. It is a device that I carry with me for many purposes. Sure I get calls on it, but that isn't the most important thing I use it for.
My main use for it turns out to be a clock that isn't uncomfortable to wear (I hate things on my wrist).
It also has some simple games good for keeping me entertained while waiting for the waiter to bring my order. (this is slashdot, of course I don't know any girls to eat with)
It is a handy kitchen timer that I can hear even when I'm at the other end of the house. The phone is on me, not the stove.
There is a useful calender that reminds me when important events come up. (A pain to enter them)
There is a calculator for times when I need to deal with more digits than I can remember at one time. I wish it has hex and graphics functions, but it works.
There is a camera attachment. Sure the pictures are poor, but it works, and I'm more likely to have this with me than a fancy camera.
All this, rolled into one tiny 1.5x4x.75 (inch) device.
Sigh, someone else who doesn't understand economics. In short, your plan almost works, but it causes inflation and deflation when there is a situation like we have now: Baby Boomers who didn't have enough kids to keep the population up. As they retire money has to be introduced to give to them, and that causes inflation, while they are contributing there is more money than needed going in, causing deflation.
Economics is far more complex than the above, but in this case that is enough to poke holes in most plans.
It is both the cable companies and the telcos that are evil. Depending on where you live one might be worse, but both are pretty evil, they had a monopoly for too long, and never learned customer service or competition.
There is DirectTV and the like that is starting to push the Cable companies into line, and cell phones are doing the same to telcos. (Unfortunately the cell phones are mostly telcos too) However at this point both the cable companies and the telcos need to be taught a lession.
A tape cartrage is more portable, it holds more data in a given amount of space. Generally they are cheaper too, though due to scale this isn't so true anymore. Tapes often are of better quality, or should I say known quality. When they say use a tape 1000 times, you can be reasonably sure of 1000 uses, while who knows when that harddrive will break. When a tape breaks it is easier for a professional to repair if you need it. (generally tape failures do not involve heads scraping the media)
When you are talking terabytes of data, nothing beats tape. When you want a good way to backup files, tape is part of any good solution.
Actually construction workers do care. In many residential areas they cannot start before 7am, which is fine in summer. Come fall though the clock changes, so they have light before they can work, but don't have light as they are finishing the day.
I worked construction for a while, it makes a large difference in your paycheck. Since I was trying to make a house payment on that income I needed all the overtime I could get, and suddenly the stupid clock changed and I couldn't get it!
What do you need us for, just hack away
on
A USB Typewriter?
·
· Score: 1
Serious, either you have the ability to do this or you don't.
If you do have the ability to do this, then you will buy some USB interface chips, there are several on the market, choose one with a good development kit. (You might even be able to get a free sample). Google can help you choose too. Then you disassemble your typewriter and toss some glue electronics between the output of your USB chips and the keyboard. The rest is just software. Dig in and do it! Be prepared to fry some chips in the early process of course.
Of course if you don't have the ability, they you don't. Leave hacking to those interested in learning.
Well for starters a.22 isn't a useful gun for killing people. It will do the job, but there is a good chance the guy will have long enough to tell the police who did it before he dies.
Then too, if it was used in a murder, the police generally keep it.
IANAL and all that, but I seem to recall that porn is not copyrighted. The US constitution allows copyright for "promotion of the science and useful arts". IIRC the supreme court as said that pron is not a useful art, therefore it is not copyrighted.
This was before the DMCA, and the like, so I don't know if it applies, but you might want to ask your lawyer if something goes to court.
You better get some facts than. There are more guns in the US than people. If most guns are used in crime, than that is a lot of crime. the US may have a large prison population, but that is nothing compared to the number of guns we have.
I personally own guns that are more than 100 years old, and I have reason to believe none have been used to commit a crime. I know many other guns owners, and have every reason to believe they do not use them to commit crimes.
Slashdot Mirror
Less than zero! In theory I could create an anti-wave that would protect one small beach. However other beaches around the world would receive two tsunamis, one from the original, and one from my anti-wave. There may also be a couple beaches that receive a worse tsunami, which is the combined wave of the original, plus the anti-tsunami rolled into one because things add different!
In short, you don't want to try.
When did this disaster happen? Seems to me it was less than a week ago. With no warning what so ever, we have already managed to find $35,000,000, and that is not counting private donations. Did I mention it is over the Christmas Holidays, most offices have less than half the normal staff around to make decisions!
One other point, at this point we don't even know what is needed. There is the obvious (blankets). There is a lot that is not obvious though. Clean water is required, but what does it take to get their current water supplies clean? I'm not sure, and until someone who knows water systems investigates each one we can't know. Then there is all the re-building, again, in a general sense we know that they need to re-build, but I would hope they don't just put up a bunch of quick cheap buildings and call it good. (though quick cheap temporary buildsings are required) It takes time to plan.
It will be years before this area is back to "normal". Don't start complaining yet, we haven't even seen what is needed in the long run.
Most companies donate money to charity. Big and Small, doesn't matter. However they only have so much money to work with. Microsoft may have billions on paper, but if they tried to turn that into cash today it would be worth a lot less.
Its about danger. Back in the last 1800s boilers exploded all the time. Every state with an industry at all could count on a few deaths from boiler explosions every year. Many were innocents who didn't even know there was a boiler operating in some other shop on the same block! (A big explosion could easily level a city block, though most weren't quite that bad).
Steam needs to be treated with care. Actually and gas under pressure needs to be treated with care, steam is worse because it is also hot, which adds a second set of problems.
Not only can it be done, many landfills are doing this already. Methane is a common by-product of landfills, and it is a unwanted greenhouse gas. They collect this in underground pipes, and then burn it. Commonly they burn it in a generator to generate some extra income
There are downsides though. The amount you get make doesn't really pay for the maintenance on the generators. If it wasn't for environmental concerns over methane they wouldn't do it at all. There just isn't that much to collect.
Much easier to use the garbage to power an incinerator, but incinerators are sensitive to the what you feed in. Landfills hold things you shouldn't toss like batteries without too many problems, while the tends to put the chemicals into the air. (modern landfills are lined so that the contamination doesn't escape - at least in theory)
By restricting your neighbors freedom of expression so you can get a neighborhood of houses that all look exactly alike you think your life is better.
Personally I'd like to live next door to someone who is creative enough to paint his house strange colors. I want nothing to do with the neighborhoods I've seen where every house looks the same, down to the flowers in the garden out front. To each his own I guess.
I don't know about Texas, but every state park I've been to offers outlets right at your campsite - for a fee of course. (about half the campsites only) This isn't backwoods camping, this is state park camping. RVs are everwhere.
I've never been in a state park remote enough that you could consider it a place to get away from civilization.
Sure you sleep in a tent, but your neighbor's tent is not more than 20 feet away. You might cook over an open fire, but only because you didn't bother to light the cookstove that everyone has on the picnic table. It is just a short walk to flush toilets and showers. You are not allowed to camp anyplace else.
Sure there are trails through the woods. Your going to meet a lot of other people using them, many of them will have "walkman" radios, walkie-talkies, and other devices. Many will have the dog with.
There are places where you can get away from it all, but they are hard to get to. You have to hike for several hours to get there.
Then don't bring your @#$%*& computer with you. If you don't have a computer, then wi-fi won't affect you at all. If you do, then you have already negated your intent to escape from the city life by bringing it with.
Personally, I go to the state parks because there is good fishing there. (other than just after sunrise and just before sunset fish don't bite) I need something to do. Normally that means talk to friends I'm camping with, but "a game of doom"[1] sounds like a good way to pass the time to me.
I'm not out there to get aware from it all. If I was I wouldn't be in a state park crowded next to other campers, I'd be someplace where you have to carry everything in a few miles. I've done both, and I like both styles of camping. There is no state park I've ever been in that allows you to get far enough from technology that it is worth considering it a break from technology. I happen to like technology, I'm not always trying to get away from it.
[1]I don't like doom actually, but you get the idea.
Hmm, sounds like your wal-mart as the same self-checkout my local home-depot has, while my local wal-mart has the same ones your Krogers has. (We don't have Krogers in my area so I can't compare).
All I know is with self checkout as Wal-mart I'm in and out, no waiting for the idiot in front of me. Now wondering if the checkout person can scan items with any speed. I only use a human line when the checkout girl is cute enough that it is worth the hassle of a line just to force her to speak to me. (If only the obligatory "did you find everything alright", and "your total is")
Home Depot by contrast has scanners that always are unable to scan something I'm getting. Combine that with the way it forces you to be slow about it. (That is scan one item, put it in bag then wait 5 seconds before it will even register the next item, instead of scanning with one hand bagging with the other)
It doesn't take long to learn how to tune the radio to the emergency channel and learn to land an airplane. Teach the wives to do this. It is much easier for an ambulance to meet you at an airport than someplace on the ground.
I'm not talking about a nice smooth landing, I'm talking about a landing that you walk away from, but the plane doesn't fly without some major work. Actually if you just know how to tune the radio to the emergency channel there is often someone that can talk you through a landing even though you have never done it before. But if nobody knows there is a problem nobody will help.
Like what? There are roads all over. Clearings in forests. Remember when the engine dies on the plane the insurance company just bought the airplane, you goal is to save the people. (though if you can save the plane that is a good idea)
The biggest danger is powerlines next to most roads. Roads with traffic are generally not far from back roads without. If there is traffic there is likely an airport not far away, which is an ideal situation (if you can reach it, which isn't a given).
There are procedures for ditching a plane at sea. Been done, and enough people have survived to call it useful. (those in all the cases I'm aware of someone as died too)
Emergencies are nothing to scoff at, but they aren't instant death.
And where can I find an affordable computer that fits in my pocket? My phone was free! (Okay, I signed a one year contract, but I was going to keep the same plan for a year anyway so that doesn't count)
Make sure this computer is small enough that I can use hold it to my ear like a phone, because I just want one gadget to carry around. Every simple computer (palm type device) I've seen is a lot larger than my phone.
I own a gameboy. I don't take it to work with me though, which means I don't have it on lunch break. I have a nice laptop computer, but it doesn't go with me everywhere. They are both too big, and not universal enough to want with me. Sure the phone features are all qualified with low quality, but it is good enough! My phone is with me everywhere. It is small enough to use everywhere. I'd like it to be better, but the constraints of size mean that something has to be sacrificed.
The mark of true journalists is they will not give in. Rather than revealing sources like this a good reporter will go to jail and have a comtempt of court record for the rest of his life!
This has been fought out in courts many times. I'm not sure where the law stands now (though some cases have come down in favor of the reporter in the past).
Ever notice that the media can somehow interview big names like Bin Laden (not him in particular, but others like him) that the government wants yet cannot find? Its because a reporter understands the sources are everything and if you turn on them you are sunk.
I have to disagree. My cell phone is more than my phone. It is a device that I carry with me for many purposes. Sure I get calls on it, but that isn't the most important thing I use it for.
My main use for it turns out to be a clock that isn't uncomfortable to wear (I hate things on my wrist).
It also has some simple games good for keeping me entertained while waiting for the waiter to bring my order. (this is slashdot, of course I don't know any girls to eat with)
It is a handy kitchen timer that I can hear even when I'm at the other end of the house. The phone is on me, not the stove.
There is a useful calender that reminds me when important events come up. (A pain to enter them)
There is a calculator for times when I need to deal with more digits than I can remember at one time. I wish it has hex and graphics functions, but it works.
There is a camera attachment. Sure the pictures are poor, but it works, and I'm more likely to have this with me than a fancy camera.
All this, rolled into one tiny 1.5x4x.75 (inch) device.
Sigh, someone else who doesn't understand economics. In short, your plan almost works, but it causes inflation and deflation when there is a situation like we have now: Baby Boomers who didn't have enough kids to keep the population up. As they retire money has to be introduced to give to them, and that causes inflation, while they are contributing there is more money than needed going in, causing deflation.
Economics is far more complex than the above, but in this case that is enough to poke holes in most plans.
It is both the cable companies and the telcos that are evil. Depending on where you live one might be worse, but both are pretty evil, they had a monopoly for too long, and never learned customer service or competition.
There is DirectTV and the like that is starting to push the Cable companies into line, and cell phones are doing the same to telcos. (Unfortunately the cell phones are mostly telcos too) However at this point both the cable companies and the telcos need to be taught a lession.
A tape cartrage is more portable, it holds more data in a given amount of space. Generally they are cheaper too, though due to scale this isn't so true anymore. Tapes often are of better quality, or should I say known quality. When they say use a tape 1000 times, you can be reasonably sure of 1000 uses, while who knows when that harddrive will break. When a tape breaks it is easier for a professional to repair if you need it. (generally tape failures do not involve heads scraping the media)
When you are talking terabytes of data, nothing beats tape. When you want a good way to backup files, tape is part of any good solution.
Actually construction workers do care. In many residential areas they cannot start before 7am, which is fine in summer. Come fall though the clock changes, so they have light before they can work, but don't have light as they are finishing the day.
I worked construction for a while, it makes a large difference in your paycheck. Since I was trying to make a house payment on that income I needed all the overtime I could get, and suddenly the stupid clock changed and I couldn't get it!
Serious, either you have the ability to do this or you don't.
If you do have the ability to do this, then you will buy some USB interface chips, there are several on the market, choose one with a good development kit. (You might even be able to get a free sample). Google can help you choose too. Then you disassemble your typewriter and toss some glue electronics between the output of your USB chips and the keyboard. The rest is just software. Dig in and do it! Be prepared to fry some chips in the early process of course.
Of course if you don't have the ability, they you don't. Leave hacking to those interested in learning.
Okay, here is a reason: Most guns are not used in crime. My guns have been used for hunting and target practice, and latter collecting.
Well for starters a .22 isn't a useful gun for killing people. It will do the job, but there is a good chance the guy will have long enough to tell the police who did it before he dies.
Then too, if it was used in a murder, the police generally keep it.
IANAL and all that, but I seem to recall that porn is not copyrighted. The US constitution allows copyright for "promotion of the science and useful arts". IIRC the supreme court as said that pron is not a useful art, therefore it is not copyrighted.
This was before the DMCA, and the like, so I don't know if it applies, but you might want to ask your lawyer if something goes to court.
No they are not. Assult rifles are designed to LOOK like what the military uses. Nothing more.
You better get some facts than. There are more guns in the US than people. If most guns are used in crime, than that is a lot of crime. the US may have a large prison population, but that is nothing compared to the number of guns we have.
I personally own guns that are more than 100 years old, and I have reason to believe none have been used to commit a crime. I know many other guns owners, and have every reason to believe they do not use them to commit crimes.