I'm over 50, have had an excellent life, and I've always wanted to go to Mars.
Knowing that I would die there doesn't faze me in the least. I've told my family for years that when I die, I don't want a funeral and all the drama...just drag my carcass to the curb.
If I actually went to Mars, I'd die happy and save them the cost of a large Glad bag.
I'm disappointed that TiVO has made some spectacularly bad decisions in their business dealings, but for me, they still make a better mousetrap.
I've done my own DVR, had a Cox (SciAtl 8300) DVR, and now, DirecTV's abortion of a solution. (Just bought a farm where cable is apparently unavailable FOREVER, due to the location and population density)
The device/service I still own and love is my TiVO HD. It just works SO much better and more reliably than anything else I've got or built. The NetFlix, Amazon, and YouTube on-demand stuff is nice and used a LOT. I live 10 miles from the closest video store, so those features have real value for me.
Plus, TiVO's customer service people and website are FAR superior to DirecTV and Cox.
Last night, we had a big rain come through. "Searching for satellite" was the only thing on DirecTV. My TiVO unit, connected to a Terk HD antenna, enabled us to watch local stations until the storms passed. Plus, my DSL stayed up (it's iffy out in the sticks on a GOOD day), so I watched part of a movie on NetFlix via the TiVO.
IF, and I'm doubting it a lot, TiVO and DirecTV actually release a TiVO'd satellite box this fall, I'm moving to that BECAUSE of the TiVO software/service.
My first "PC" was an IBM 360. Submitted jobs by batch and waited minutes or hours for the job to get queued and run.
I could go on, but will summarize and say I've used and abused everything from a Sinclair kit to large mainframes.
I can't remember ever NOT screwing around to get more available memory. Heck, I never met a UNIX kernel I liked...with default settings, at least.
At one point in my career, I knew more about things like QEMM (Quarterdeck Extended Memory Manager) than any human should.
One time, I edited "mploader", the script for Microsoft MultiPlan (Excel's grandad), on a Xenix system to increase the available memory from 32K to 96K. Could have gone higher, but the total system RAM was only 768K. The CFO had run out of resources on a spreadsheet he was building.
The point is this; finding ways to get more memory started Day One. TFA is old news at best and a waste of...wait for it....memory!
I hadn't seen the trailer until this article came up. Went to Apple and watched the HD version.
A couple of impressions from that:
1) It looks good. IMAX and 3D...could be amazing. Overcoming the palette dimming of 3D projection will be very important.
2) I gathered the story was a grunt got "embedded" with the native populace and was faced with fighting his own race. Gee, Hollywood's never done THAT story before! Still, it was clear there was a plot, a story, and stuff that blowed up real good, so this may do pretty well at the box office.
So, I don't feel it will be a flop. Maybe not Dark Knight successful, but it will probably turn a modest profit after foreign, DVD, and merchandise tie-in revenue is factored in.
I've had good experiences with AlterPoint. We did a very large network with it...> 10,000 devices. That was only the routers, switches, ASAs, and such. Server Support and PC Support used LanDesk.
Did some customization with PERL with no problems. Expensive, but rock solid.
I was divorced in 1998 after 18 years of marriage.
After a series of "fixups" and other misguided attempts by friends and family, I tried Match.com. I did the questions accurately and honestly. My profile text made it clear I was (a) highly intelligent, (b) looking for a permanent relationship, and (c) pretty particular about who I dated.
Within 72 hours of posting, I had over 400 "matches" in a 50 mile radius of me. WHAT? I don't live in NY or LA, so the statistics were mind-boggling. I imagined there must be a secret kingdom of single, middle-aged women in that 50 miles, just waiting for yours truly to show up on Match.com. The sad reality was that well over 99% of the so-called "matches" were train wrecks, literally and figuratively. I dated 10-12 women from Match and NONE were anything close to a "keeper".
So, one night, I waded through the eHarmony process, set the radius for 150 miles, and waited....and waited.....and waited. Finally, after 6-7 weeks, I got TWO matches. One was a "crossover" from Match that I actually kind of liked, but she declared we had no chemistry on the 2nd and final date. The other match and I spent some time in communicating via eHarmony and finally agreed to a real date in September of 2003.
We got engaged on the following Valentine's Day...lured her into a jewelry store that I'd enlisted to help, and surprised her with a diamond ring. Everyone applauded...it was a nice moment.
The wedding was a few months later in July, so we've just celebrated our 5th anniversary.
A couple of years ago, eHarmony tried to get us to appear in one of their commercials, but we declined.
I don't know about the "science", but we do get along really well, so I have no complaint.
I like the looks, the center "iCar" console screen, and it's unlikely I'll ever drive anywhere further than 300 miles. For any significant distance, I'm on a plane.
The price doesn't seem that bad, but I bet it's closer to $60K by launch. Even then, I will probably take a look at one.
I started a story about my iPhone 3GS experience Monday night after experiencing what I termed the "3GS Sleep (switch) Disorder".
The short version is that I purchased my first iPhone...a black 16GB 3GS last Saturday...from the local Apple Store. By Sunday, I was convinced I had a problem and opened a case with Apple on Monday. The AppleCare tech scheduled a Genius appointment at the local store for Thursday, 7/2. The phone could still make and receive calls at that point.
Yesterday morning (Tuesday, 6/30) the phone was toast...the screen was strobing between the Lock screen and the Power Off screen. The sleep switch no longer worked at all.
I called the local Apple store, explained the situation, cited the case number, was told to come in and get on STANDBY for a Genius. It took a little over an hour...mostly wait time...and I ended up with a new iPhone from the 5 they had in stock. Neither the original unit nor the new one have exhibited any heating issues, and I pretty much leave everything on as it's new and I can't put the damn thing down!
So, I may be OK. I will mention that several folks on the Apple Forums described the same issue I had. The AppleCare tech made a mention of "cracked circuit boards" but did not elaborate. The local Genius took the unit apart to check the ribbon cable to the sleep switch and found no visible cracks or damage to the phone. The phone would NOT complete a Restore,,,it hung during the Firmware install/verify. That's when the Genius said "I've lost faith in this phone...let's get you a new one."
Overall, I love the phone and the software. And, I can't be unhappy with Apple's response; I have a functioning unit that so far, seems trouble free.
Its worse than that, he just copied some Phds work off youtube:
From reading TFA, I'd say the kid did a little more than copy someone's work. A lot of work has been done with algae, so neither one should claim to have invented the idea of extracting fuel from it. What I see is that they invented scalable systems for doing it cheaply.
Of the two, the kid's is theoretically "better" IMO. His vision of intended use in the 3rd world is reason enough. Even if the real cost is more like $2000 instead of $200, it's good. Just get Sally Struthers to cry on TV to raise the money.
Of course, until he or someone actually builds a working model, it's just a neat idea. Certainly not the 2nd coming of Da Vinci or Einstein.
Umm... I think you will find we are making exactly the same point, just from different angles:)
Now, for a flamewar that makes the vi v emacs, win v mac etc flamewars seem like a tea party, let's fire up the good ol' live or internet players are better debate;)
Bob...absolutely.
The reply was to the thread in general; you're correct in everything you said!
I'm going to jump back into this and say several things....
1) Poker is a game of skill. While "doing the math" and some knowledge of game theory is helpful, good players "play the player", not the cards.
2) The psychological aspects are fascinating. And yes, physical tells are fairly important. I routinely utilize "reverse tells" to control the actions of other players. For example, if I want a free card on the turn, and I suspect a player in front of me may bet and make the pot too large to comfortably play (primarily in tournament play), I will "accidentally" twitch or otherwise make a move towards MY chips. Many players, even very good ones, will read this as "someone dying to bet" and check. This is a very, very basic play...and I succeed 8 of 10 times. No math, no random event...it's playing the player(s). As for reading other players, I'm not bad. Oh...wearing sunglasses or hats doesn't help against a good reader...the eyes and face are the LAST things I would trust for accurate information. Your FEET tell me more than whatever your face is or isn't doing.
3) Variance exists....and it is a bitch. From a purely statistical standpoint, you cannot win or lose every hand. It can certainly seem that way, but over a long enough interval, things tend to even out. The trick to making money is to exploit enough tiny equity situations into a profit. That's the skill portion of the game. As I mentioned in my initial post, I "died pushing an 18 outer" during a tournament. This translates to a 72% chance to win the hand (on the turn). I only have to succeed 1 of 3 times to show a profit. This particular instance, I did NOT catch any of the 18 cards I needed to beat a pair of 10's heads up. Knowing the math, I would make this play nearly 100% of the time.
OK...I charge for lessons, so take the free today and enjoy.:o)
I happen to be a better than average poker player. Just today, I played in the $60 Freezeout at a local casino (died pushing an 18 outer), came home, played some low-limit NLHE and Omaha H/L PL on PokerStars and Full Tilt.
Joined the PPA - Poker Players Alliance - when it formed and hoped the UIGEA would get some attention. Well, not the way we hoped!
Since I make the vast majority of my poker money from live games in brick and mortar casinos, this newest stupidity doesn't hurt my bankroll directly. It does however, limit what I use online poker for...practice. I can play 4-6 tables at one time online, so I can see many, many more hands per hour than live at a single table.
I do own poker simulation software, so I can use that for a similar purpose. The issue is that the software AI is nothing like a human opponent.
I don't know the numbers the PPA is telling Congress, but I recall reading that if internet poker were taxed, the annual nut was over $10 billion. That's not small change.
This is a prime example of solving a problem that doesn't exist in the most ignorant way possible. Give me a freaking break.
I'm OK with sequels as some do indeed surpass the original.
And while I don't love every Pixar movie, their worst effort is still much better than everyone else. I will admit that Kung Fu Panda was a pleasant surprise from DreamWorks, but I trust them less with the sequel.
Monsters, Inc. is my 2nd favorite Pixar film behind The Incredibles, so I'm jazzed.
Nothing I've read or know from flying in the Air Force and working at the USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB indicates this was a collision....with a meteor or anything else.
I personally believe the aircraft encountered weather conditions that Airbus never tested against or thought possible. 100+ mph updrafts, as some have reported, would definitely cause control issues.
By that, if the plane was on autopilot or simply "in trim" and suddenly went nose up, it would have required immediate and CORRECT actions to handle. Having recently read the transcripts of the commuter crash, where the pilots were inattentive, then compounded a stall problem by pitching up, I think the real cause was a combination of events, including pilot error.
If a lightning strike caused electrical and control problems while the pilot(s) were trying to recover from a sudden attitude change, they were screwed. Going into a flat spin at 35000+ feet at 400 knots would have ripped the airframe to pieces. Given the reported debris field, and no apparent evidence of explosion, I'd bet that's what likely happened; unexpected event combined with control/system problems resulted in an unrecoverable spin and the aircraft came apart well before impact.
I've been fond of Hulu since Day One. There's stuff there I like, I send it to my 32 inch Sony HDTV in the living room via a 25' VGA cable to the RGB port. It's pretty good quality (at 480p), which the Sony upconverts to 1080p. I do get smearing from time to time, but it's infrequent enough not to bother me too much.
If Hulu wants my money, however, I'm done. They have advertising....they don't need subscription revenue. Of course, they may WANT more $$$, but I don't feel there's a compelling need to charge for watching old Speed Racer cartoons!
I'll see what they come up with, but right now, it's a non-starter for me.
I saw Star Trek TOS first run ...
on
Reviews: Star Trek
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
...so I may be the Senior here. (kudos to RAH!)
I fully admit to smoking the Trek crack since 1966. Hard habit to break!
And I know it led me to enlist in the Air Force and end up at Edwards AFB in 1976. My clearance and job allowed me to get up close and personal with the real first spacecraft to be named Enterprise.
So, TOS really meant a lot, especially at that time. The other cool thing was that my proximity to L.A. allowed me to see Star Wars 3 days after it premiered. Did not suck.
In spite of that, I am not fanatic about the Trek. Of the series, I prefer TOS and Voyager. Of the movies, I think I'm in the majority with 2, 4, 6, and 8. Everything else was not-so-good.
I'm going this weekend to see the new movie. I think it has a chance. I'd like to see 2 sequels that are even better. I think the first 3 Raiders movies were uniformly good, if for different reasons. There's no reason Abrams can't turn out 3 good movies. Hey, Judd Apatow hasn't really served up a turd yet, so this is doable.
As for a future TV series, I don't know. Might seem too much like Galaxy Quest. Then again, if this movie and possible sequels get giant box office numbers, it may be a foregone conclusion.
I was a medic in the USAF during Viet Nam. I had a strong technical background, so I worked on a medical records database project from 1975-77 at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Lab in the Mojave desert.
We hand coded, on punch cards, for a Control Data host, about 650 records. Took 6 months.
I thought at the time, "there's got to be a better way!"
In the late '80's, I was CEO of a medical software company that created a networked medical transcription application integrated to "ChartChecker", an expert system for ER physicians, that would analyze a patient record and tell the doctor if he had passed or failed the encounter and was therefore at risk of malpractice litigation. We got the chart through the network from the transcriptionist to the analysis engine and had a result in 30-40 SECONDS. With voice-to-text, we actually did near realtime analysis.
Massachusetts approved a statewide 25% malpractice premium reduction for any ER doctor that leased our system. At the time, the minimum annual premium was around $30,000 and our system leased for $5,000. The average ER doctor stood to net $2,500 a year and that doesn't factor in the reduced chance of litigation.
This was 20 years ago. We spent a LOT of time with the VA, BIA, DoD, CHAMPUS, the Navy and Air Force. I saw a WORKING digital dogtag in 1991.
And where have we gone in 2 decades?
Not far. Not far enough by ANY yardstick.
We have sufficient technology; what we need is a national standard medical record that is mandatory for all who deliver medical services in the U.S.
This is a problem that should have been solved 20-30 years ago.
Coincidentally, I just dropped the Cox Cable DVR (SciAtl 8300HD) in favor of TiVo HD and...NetFlix!
I don't "see" the issues reported, at all. What I do see is that most users...Windows or not...don't have an optimal network setup, and THAT will impact any player, SilverLight included.
We've gone crazy on the "Instant" stuff, both with the Video On Demand feature of TiVo and the "Instant To Your PC" on the NetFlix site.
So far, only ONE movie has had issues and those traced back to my DSL router and ISP. Here's a good example of network "gotcha", by the way. My TiVO Desktop machine is a new build and the MTU was defaulted to 1500. That's cool UNLESS you're on a DSL link using PPPoE that supports 1492 as a max MTU. A video stream running in that setup is in packet fragmentation hell. Setting a correct MTU made NetFlix fly. End of problem.
Plus, I would NOT trade the MUCH better experience with TiVO/NetFlix compared to Cox. If nothing else, the equipment is better. The video scaler in the TiVO box is markedly better than the cheap chips in the SciAtl 8300HD. With component or HDMI, the TiVo provides a cleaner picture. HD is great, but the real test are OTA and basic cable analog signals; TiVO kicks ass. MUCH less noise and not as soft as the SciAtl box.
Oh, and another thing...MCards do exist and do work. I had Cox tell me they would be bringing 2 SCards for my TiVo HD. I insisted they bring ONE MCard, which they said "Tech Support has never heard of". The tech showed up with both, the MCard worked fine...after a 2nd poke from the Cox network...and it's great. I went back to the local Cox store and told the 2 CSRs there I had indeed received and installed the "non-existent" MCard.
In short, SilverLight works fine; most consumers...and their networks...do not.
Neat idea, but how do they get rid of the heat of 1000 suns? Does the IR escape because it isn't reflected the same way?
I would throw out the idea of a "Tri-brid" power solution.
1) Solar arrays using a design like the article.
2) Steam plant, using the heat byproduct of the arrays.
3) Wind turbines, married to the distribution system with the first two.
My thoughts on this were concerning the land use efficiency. The Southwest U.S. is ideal for all three in many areas. By co-locating and combining the technologies, you get a near 100% output cycle, assuming you don't get the magic trifecta of no sun, no wind, and insufficient IR through clouds to kill any heat input to the steam system on a regular basis.
Design and unit placement would be critical to success, but this is easily doable. Plus you upgrade as needed without losing all of the output during conversion to newer turbine blades or even more efficient PV cells, optics, and so on.
I sent this to T. Boone Pickens' wind power site, urging them to consider high-efficiency solar arrays at the wind turbine installations, where feasible. I've since thought about the waste heat component on the solar arrays, and now think some design consideration should be done about adding that to squeeze out some more juice.
I'd truly like the folks here to blast holes and/or offer suggestions to improve, augment, or modify a CETOS (Combined Energy Technology Output System) like I've described.
Feel free to rename it as well!
So, that's a REAL long answer to what to do with the heat!
I recently dumped Sirius on two car units. It was simply a value decision. For the price of a year of Sirius, I can buy another iPod.
My whole family has acquired new iPods/iPhones since I got the satellite radios. We just never listen to Sirius, and haven't for months.
When I called to cancel, I was kept on-hold for 26 minutes. After a 10 minute sales pitch to stay, I was on-hold ANOTHER 7 minutes to "verify the credit to my card" for the few weeks I had left.
Since then, I've gotten multiple e-mails per day asking me to sign up again and at least 6 phone calls, even though I was very clear about why I was canceling the service.
I don't feel it's an "either-or" situation. Certainly not in my own experience. My son, now 24, had PC and Mac access from age 3. We used WordPerfect to help reinforce language learning for him.
BUT, we also did soccer, martial arts, and he was on his high school's weightlifting team. As well as a "geek team" that wrote video games.
I think it's a balancing act that requires some thinking and planning on the part of the parents.
Today, my son shares a house with a Karate friend and fellow geek he grew up with. (they both work IT jobs) They play WoW, CounterStrike, etc. with a group of friends, cousins, etc. that are both old and "new"...people they've met at work or in the neighborhood. Both are in good physical shape and hardly the stereotype of a typical geek.
I think the possibility of my son ending up like the WoW player in the classic South Park episode was there, but we always found things that DIDN'T involve staying glued to a CRT to offset that.
My son is an only child and was quite shy when he was young. Learning to socialize online AND in person has made him an outgoing, funny young man. He can be the life-of-the-party, but doesn't NEED to be.
I truly believe trying many things, including online gaming (he was a capper on MY Tribes team, btw), helped make him a fairly well-rounded kid.
The problem I see today, all too frequently, is parents letting the HDTV, Xbox, PC, etc. become a silicon babysitter and teacher and that's just plain STUPID and LAZY.
If you're gonna lay claim to being a nerd, how can you not see this is just like Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"?
SERVICE = CITIZENSHIP
And you gotta admit that Afghanistan and Pakistan's terrain looks a lot like the bug planet Klendathu from the movies (all 3 of which I loathe, but that's another story).
Now all we need are some giant bugs, and we're good to go!
Slashdot Mirror
Seriously, I'd go in a skinny minute.
I'm over 50, have had an excellent life, and I've always wanted to go to Mars.
Knowing that I would die there doesn't faze me in the least. I've told my family for years that when I die, I don't want a funeral and all the drama...just drag my carcass to the curb.
If I actually went to Mars, I'd die happy and save them the cost of a large Glad bag.
I'm disappointed that TiVO has made some spectacularly bad decisions in their business dealings, but for me, they still make a better mousetrap.
I've done my own DVR, had a Cox (SciAtl 8300) DVR, and now, DirecTV's abortion of a solution. (Just bought a farm where cable is apparently unavailable FOREVER, due to the location and population density)
The device/service I still own and love is my TiVO HD. It just works SO much better and more reliably than anything else I've got or built. The NetFlix, Amazon, and YouTube on-demand stuff is nice and used a LOT. I live 10 miles from the closest video store, so those features have real value for me.
Plus, TiVO's customer service people and website are FAR superior to DirecTV and Cox.
Last night, we had a big rain come through. "Searching for satellite" was the only thing on DirecTV. My TiVO unit, connected to a Terk HD antenna, enabled us to watch local stations until the storms passed. Plus, my DSL stayed up (it's iffy out in the sticks on a GOOD day), so I watched part of a movie on NetFlix via the TiVO.
IF, and I'm doubting it a lot, TiVO and DirecTV actually release a TiVO'd satellite box this fall, I'm moving to that BECAUSE of the TiVO software/service.
FWIW.......
My first "PC" was an IBM 360. Submitted jobs by batch and waited minutes or hours for the job to get queued and run.
I could go on, but will summarize and say I've used and abused everything from a Sinclair kit to large mainframes.
I can't remember ever NOT screwing around to get more available memory. Heck, I never met a UNIX kernel I liked...with default settings, at least.
At one point in my career, I knew more about things like QEMM (Quarterdeck Extended Memory Manager) than any human should.
One time, I edited "mploader", the script for Microsoft MultiPlan (Excel's grandad), on a Xenix system to increase the available memory from 32K to 96K. Could have gone higher, but the total system RAM was only 768K. The CFO had run out of resources on a spreadsheet he was building.
The point is this; finding ways to get more memory started Day One. TFA is old news at best and a waste of...wait for it....memory!
I hadn't seen the trailer until this article came up. Went to Apple and watched the HD version.
A couple of impressions from that:
1) It looks good. IMAX and 3D...could be amazing. Overcoming the palette dimming of 3D projection will be very important.
2) I gathered the story was a grunt got "embedded" with the native populace and was faced with fighting his own race. Gee, Hollywood's never done THAT story before! Still, it was clear there was a plot, a story, and stuff that blowed up real good, so this may do pretty well at the box office.
So, I don't feel it will be a flop. Maybe not Dark Knight successful, but it will probably turn a modest profit after foreign, DVD, and merchandise tie-in revenue is factored in.
I've had good experiences with AlterPoint. We did a very large network with it...> 10,000 devices. That was only the routers, switches, ASAs, and such. Server Support and PC Support used LanDesk.
Did some customization with PERL with no problems. Expensive, but rock solid.
I was divorced in 1998 after 18 years of marriage.
After a series of "fixups" and other misguided attempts by friends and family, I tried Match.com. I did the questions accurately and honestly. My profile text made it clear I was (a) highly intelligent, (b) looking for a permanent relationship, and (c) pretty particular about who I dated.
Within 72 hours of posting, I had over 400 "matches" in a 50 mile radius of me. WHAT? I don't live in NY or LA, so the statistics were mind-boggling. I imagined there must be a secret kingdom of single, middle-aged women in that 50 miles, just waiting for yours truly to show up on Match.com. The sad reality was that well over 99% of the so-called "matches" were train wrecks, literally and figuratively. I dated 10-12 women from Match and NONE were anything close to a "keeper".
So, one night, I waded through the eHarmony process, set the radius for 150 miles, and waited. ...and waited. ....and waited. Finally, after 6-7 weeks, I got TWO matches. One was a "crossover" from Match that I actually kind of liked, but she declared we had no chemistry on the 2nd and final date. The other match and I spent some time in communicating via eHarmony and finally agreed to a real date in September of 2003.
We got engaged on the following Valentine's Day...lured her into a jewelry store that I'd enlisted to help, and surprised her with a diamond ring. Everyone applauded...it was a nice moment.
The wedding was a few months later in July, so we've just celebrated our 5th anniversary.
A couple of years ago, eHarmony tried to get us to appear in one of their commercials, but we declined.
I don't know about the "science", but we do get along really well, so I have no complaint.
I like the looks, the center "iCar" console screen, and it's unlikely I'll ever drive anywhere further than 300 miles. For any significant distance, I'm on a plane.
The price doesn't seem that bad, but I bet it's closer to $60K by launch. Even then, I will probably take a look at one.
I started a story about my iPhone 3GS experience Monday night after experiencing what I termed the "3GS Sleep (switch) Disorder".
The short version is that I purchased my first iPhone...a black 16GB 3GS last Saturday...from the local Apple Store. By Sunday, I was convinced I had a problem and opened a case with Apple on Monday. The AppleCare tech scheduled a Genius appointment at the local store for Thursday, 7/2. The phone could still make and receive calls at that point.
Yesterday morning (Tuesday, 6/30) the phone was toast...the screen was strobing between the Lock screen and the Power Off screen. The sleep switch no longer worked at all.
I called the local Apple store, explained the situation, cited the case number, was told to come in and get on STANDBY for a Genius. It took a little over an hour...mostly wait time...and I ended up with a new iPhone from the 5 they had in stock. Neither the original unit nor the new one have exhibited any heating issues, and I pretty much leave everything on as it's new and I can't put the damn thing down!
So, I may be OK. I will mention that several folks on the Apple Forums described the same issue I had. The AppleCare tech made a mention of "cracked circuit boards" but did not elaborate. The local Genius took the unit apart to check the ribbon cable to the sleep switch and found no visible cracks or damage to the phone. The phone would NOT complete a Restore,,,it hung during the Firmware install/verify. That's when the Genius said "I've lost faith in this phone...let's get you a new one."
Overall, I love the phone and the software. And, I can't be unhappy with Apple's response; I have a functioning unit that so far, seems trouble free.
My 2 cents, plus tip.
Its worse than that, he just copied some Phds work off youtube:
From reading TFA, I'd say the kid did a little more than copy someone's work. A lot of work has been done with algae, so neither one should claim to have invented the idea of extracting fuel from it. What I see is that they invented scalable systems for doing it cheaply.
Of the two, the kid's is theoretically "better" IMO. His vision of intended use in the 3rd world is reason enough. Even if the real cost is more like $2000 instead of $200, it's good. Just get Sally Struthers to cry on TV to raise the money.
Of course, until he or someone actually builds a working model, it's just a neat idea. Certainly not the 2nd coming of Da Vinci or Einstein.
Umm... I think you will find we are making exactly the same point, just from different angles :)
Now, for a flamewar that makes the vi v emacs, win v mac etc flamewars seem like a tea party, let's fire up the good ol' live or internet players are better debate ;)
Bob...absolutely.
The reply was to the thread in general; you're correct in everything you said!
I'm going to jump back into this and say several things....
1) Poker is a game of skill. While "doing the math" and some knowledge of game theory is helpful, good players "play the player", not the cards.
2) The psychological aspects are fascinating. And yes, physical tells are fairly important. I routinely utilize "reverse tells" to control the actions of other players. For example, if I want a free card on the turn, and I suspect a player in front of me may bet and make the pot too large to comfortably play (primarily in tournament play), I will "accidentally" twitch or otherwise make a move towards MY chips. Many players, even very good ones, will read this as "someone dying to bet" and check. This is a very, very basic play...and I succeed 8 of 10 times. No math, no random event...it's playing the player(s). As for reading other players, I'm not bad. Oh...wearing sunglasses or hats doesn't help against a good reader...the eyes and face are the LAST things I would trust for accurate information. Your FEET tell me more than whatever your face is or isn't doing.
3) Variance exists....and it is a bitch. From a purely statistical standpoint, you cannot win or lose every hand. It can certainly seem that way, but over a long enough interval, things tend to even out. The trick to making money is to exploit enough tiny equity situations into a profit. That's the skill portion of the game. As I mentioned in my initial post, I "died pushing an 18 outer" during a tournament. This translates to a 72% chance to win the hand (on the turn). I only have to succeed 1 of 3 times to show a profit. This particular instance, I did NOT catch any of the 18 cards I needed to beat a pair of 10's heads up. Knowing the math, I would make this play nearly 100% of the time.
OK...I charge for lessons, so take the free today and enjoy. :o)
I happen to be a better than average poker player. Just today, I played in the $60 Freezeout at a local casino (died pushing an 18 outer), came home, played some low-limit NLHE and Omaha H/L PL on PokerStars and Full Tilt.
Joined the PPA - Poker Players Alliance - when it formed and hoped the UIGEA would get some attention. Well, not the way we hoped!
Since I make the vast majority of my poker money from live games in brick and mortar casinos, this newest stupidity doesn't hurt my bankroll directly. It does however, limit what I use online poker for...practice. I can play 4-6 tables at one time online, so I can see many, many more hands per hour than live at a single table.
I do own poker simulation software, so I can use that for a similar purpose. The issue is that the software AI is nothing like a human opponent.
I don't know the numbers the PPA is telling Congress, but I recall reading that if internet poker were taxed, the annual nut was over $10 billion. That's not small change.
This is a prime example of solving a problem that doesn't exist in the most ignorant way possible. Give me a freaking break.
I'm OK with sequels as some do indeed surpass the original.
And while I don't love every Pixar movie, their worst effort is still much better than everyone else. I will admit that Kung Fu Panda was a pleasant surprise from DreamWorks, but I trust them less with the sequel.
Monsters, Inc. is my 2nd favorite Pixar film behind The Incredibles, so I'm jazzed.
Went to get the 1st Gen iPhone 2 years ago and came home with a Samsung A727.instead.
My "upgrade fee" is $18 for an iPhone 3GS now.
I have no complaint!
Nothing I've read or know from flying in the Air Force and working at the USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB indicates this was a collision....with a meteor or anything else.
I personally believe the aircraft encountered weather conditions that Airbus never tested against or thought possible. 100+ mph updrafts, as some have reported, would definitely cause control issues.
By that, if the plane was on autopilot or simply "in trim" and suddenly went nose up, it would have required immediate and CORRECT actions to handle. Having recently read the transcripts of the commuter crash, where the pilots were inattentive, then compounded a stall problem by pitching up, I think the real cause was a combination of events, including pilot error.
If a lightning strike caused electrical and control problems while the pilot(s) were trying to recover from a sudden attitude change, they were screwed. Going into a flat spin at 35000+ feet at 400 knots would have ripped the airframe to pieces. Given the reported debris field, and no apparent evidence of explosion, I'd bet that's what likely happened; unexpected event combined with control/system problems resulted in an unrecoverable spin and the aircraft came apart well before impact.
I've been fond of Hulu since Day One. There's stuff there I like, I send it to my 32 inch Sony HDTV in the living room via a 25' VGA cable to the RGB port. It's pretty good quality (at 480p), which the Sony upconverts to 1080p. I do get smearing from time to time, but it's infrequent enough not to bother me too much.
If Hulu wants my money, however, I'm done. They have advertising....they don't need subscription revenue. Of course, they may WANT more $$$, but I don't feel there's a compelling need to charge for watching old Speed Racer cartoons!
I'll see what they come up with, but right now, it's a non-starter for me.
...so I may be the Senior here. (kudos to RAH!)
I fully admit to smoking the Trek crack since 1966. Hard habit to break!
And I know it led me to enlist in the Air Force and end up at Edwards AFB in 1976. My clearance and job allowed me to get up close and personal with the real first spacecraft to be named Enterprise.
So, TOS really meant a lot, especially at that time. The other cool thing was that my proximity to L.A. allowed me to see Star Wars 3 days after it premiered. Did not suck.
In spite of that, I am not fanatic about the Trek. Of the series, I prefer TOS and Voyager. Of the movies, I think I'm in the majority with 2, 4, 6, and 8. Everything else was not-so-good.
I'm going this weekend to see the new movie. I think it has a chance. I'd like to see 2 sequels that are even better. I think the first 3 Raiders movies were uniformly good, if for different reasons. There's no reason Abrams can't turn out 3 good movies. Hey, Judd Apatow hasn't really served up a turd yet, so this is doable.
As for a future TV series, I don't know. Might seem too much like Galaxy Quest. Then again, if this movie and possible sequels get giant box office numbers, it may be a foregone conclusion.
I was a medic in the USAF during Viet Nam. I had a strong technical background, so I worked on a medical records database project from 1975-77 at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Lab in the Mojave desert.
We hand coded, on punch cards, for a Control Data host, about 650 records. Took 6 months.
I thought at the time, "there's got to be a better way!"
In the late '80's, I was CEO of a medical software company that created a networked medical transcription application integrated to "ChartChecker", an expert system for ER physicians, that would analyze a patient record and tell the doctor if he had passed or failed the encounter and was therefore at risk of malpractice litigation. We got the chart through the network from the transcriptionist to the analysis engine and had a result in 30-40 SECONDS. With voice-to-text, we actually did near realtime analysis.
Massachusetts approved a statewide 25% malpractice premium reduction for any ER doctor that leased our system. At the time, the minimum annual premium was around $30,000 and our system leased for $5,000. The average ER doctor stood to net $2,500 a year and that doesn't factor in the reduced chance of litigation.
This was 20 years ago. We spent a LOT of time with the VA, BIA, DoD, CHAMPUS, the Navy and Air Force. I saw a WORKING digital dogtag in 1991.
And where have we gone in 2 decades?
Not far. Not far enough by ANY yardstick.
We have sufficient technology; what we need is a national standard medical record that is mandatory for all who deliver medical services in the U.S.
This is a problem that should have been solved 20-30 years ago.
I like trains!
Seriously, I can take an Amtrak train to Dallas/Ft.Worth for $25 now. Driving would cost slightly more.
The problem is speed; the train stops a dozen times and rarely exceeds 55mph. The trip takes longer than by car.
A high speed rail line with 120mph trains would be awesome.
Coincidentally, I just dropped the Cox Cable DVR (SciAtl 8300HD) in favor of TiVo HD and...NetFlix!
I don't "see" the issues reported, at all. What I do see is that most users...Windows or not...don't have an optimal network setup, and THAT will impact any player, SilverLight included.
We've gone crazy on the "Instant" stuff, both with the Video On Demand feature of TiVo and the "Instant To Your PC" on the NetFlix site.
So far, only ONE movie has had issues and those traced back to my DSL router and ISP. Here's a good example of network "gotcha", by the way. My TiVO Desktop machine is a new build and the MTU was defaulted to 1500. That's cool UNLESS you're on a DSL link using PPPoE that supports 1492 as a max MTU. A video stream running in that setup is in packet fragmentation hell. Setting a correct MTU made NetFlix fly. End of problem.
Plus, I would NOT trade the MUCH better experience with TiVO/NetFlix compared to Cox. If nothing else, the equipment is better. The video scaler in the TiVO box is markedly better than the cheap chips in the SciAtl 8300HD. With component or HDMI, the TiVo provides a cleaner picture. HD is great, but the real test are OTA and basic cable analog signals; TiVO kicks ass. MUCH less noise and not as soft as the SciAtl box.
Oh, and another thing...MCards do exist and do work. I had Cox tell me they would be bringing 2 SCards for my TiVo HD. I insisted they bring ONE MCard, which they said "Tech Support has never heard of". The tech showed up with both, the MCard worked fine...after a 2nd poke from the Cox network...and it's great. I went back to the local Cox store and told the 2 CSRs there I had indeed received and installed the "non-existent" MCard.
In short, SilverLight works fine; most consumers...and their networks...do not.
Neat idea, but how do they get rid of the heat of 1000 suns? Does the IR escape because it isn't reflected the same way?
I would throw out the idea of a "Tri-brid" power solution.
1) Solar arrays using a design like the article.
2) Steam plant, using the heat byproduct of the arrays.
3) Wind turbines, married to the distribution system with the first two.
My thoughts on this were concerning the land use efficiency. The Southwest U.S. is ideal for all three in many areas. By co-locating and combining the technologies, you get a near 100% output cycle, assuming you don't get the magic trifecta of no sun, no wind, and insufficient IR through clouds to kill any heat input to the steam system on a regular basis.
Design and unit placement would be critical to success, but this is easily doable. Plus you upgrade as needed without losing all of the output during conversion to newer turbine blades or even more efficient PV cells, optics, and so on.
I sent this to T. Boone Pickens' wind power site, urging them to consider high-efficiency solar arrays at the wind turbine installations, where feasible. I've since thought about the waste heat component on the solar arrays, and now think some design consideration should be done about adding that to squeeze out some more juice.
I'd truly like the folks here to blast holes and/or offer suggestions to improve, augment, or modify a CETOS (Combined Energy Technology Output System) like I've described.
Feel free to rename it as well!
So, that's a REAL long answer to what to do with the heat!
I recently dumped Sirius on two car units. It was simply a value decision. For the price of a year of Sirius, I can buy another iPod.
My whole family has acquired new iPods/iPhones since I got the satellite radios. We just never listen to Sirius, and haven't for months.
When I called to cancel, I was kept on-hold for 26 minutes. After a 10 minute sales pitch to stay, I was on-hold ANOTHER 7 minutes to "verify the credit to my card" for the few weeks I had left.
Since then, I've gotten multiple e-mails per day asking me to sign up again and at least 6 phone calls, even though I was very clear about why I was canceling the service.
Because of the "features" of a memristor, we might see very 'smart' robots someday.
I, for one, will welcome our new memristor-powered robot overlords.
Especially if they look like Gort or Robbie.
I don't feel it's an "either-or" situation. Certainly not in my own experience. My son, now 24, had PC and Mac access from age 3. We used WordPerfect to help reinforce language learning for him.
BUT, we also did soccer, martial arts, and he was on his high school's weightlifting team. As well as a "geek team" that wrote video games.
I think it's a balancing act that requires some thinking and planning on the part of the parents.
Today, my son shares a house with a Karate friend and fellow geek he grew up with. (they both work IT jobs) They play WoW, CounterStrike, etc. with a group of friends, cousins, etc. that are both old and "new"...people they've met at work or in the neighborhood. Both are in good physical shape and hardly the stereotype of a typical geek.
I think the possibility of my son ending up like the WoW player in the classic South Park episode was there, but we always found things that DIDN'T involve staying glued to a CRT to offset that.
My son is an only child and was quite shy when he was young. Learning to socialize online AND in person has made him an outgoing, funny young man. He can be the life-of-the-party, but doesn't NEED to be.
I truly believe trying many things, including online gaming (he was a capper on MY Tribes team, btw), helped make him a fairly well-rounded kid.
The problem I see today, all too frequently, is parents letting the HDTV, Xbox, PC, etc. become a silicon babysitter and teacher and that's just plain STUPID and LAZY.
Oh HELL!
If you're gonna lay claim to being a nerd, how can you not see this is just like Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"?
SERVICE = CITIZENSHIP
And you gotta admit that Afghanistan and Pakistan's terrain looks a lot like the bug planet Klendathu from the movies (all 3 of which I loathe, but that's another story).
Now all we need are some giant bugs, and we're good to go!