I just bought a new house. Because it's our first house-house, I can't wait to finally build something I've been thinking of for a while.
A sentry gun.
Ever since playing Half-Life (oh hell, ever since watching Aliens) I've been intrigued by the idea of the sentry gun. With recent advances in electronics, it's easier than ever to build something like this.
Here's the plan, I'll use an electric actuator or pneumatic cylinder to pop it up out of the ground (when a motion sensor that covers the front sidewalk goes off) and unfold (using stepper motors or heavy duty servos controlled by an OOPIC programmable microprocessor) to aim a...
well...
I haven't figured out if it'll be a paintball gun (with human firing only, of course) or just something menacing that LOOKS like a machine gun) that'll use a CMUCam (which automatically tracks motion in one of its modes) to keep it pointed at anything moving in front of it.
I've done other robotics projects before, I really like the idea of all the neighborhood kids staying away from crazy 'old man Hallert' and his scary robo-house.
Part of being able to manage corporate computers is being able to secure them. Before everyone panics, note that this is a feature that they will make available to administrators, not something that will be enabled by default.
If I were a network admin, I'd definately want this power. There are situations where this type of inconvenience is definately warranted. Take a look at what happened at Sandia labs, for example, they documented plenty of examples of various workers transfering data between secured and unsecured systems. Everyone focused on the witch hunt regarding the scientist of chinese descent, but the problem was widespread and an audit in any modern lab could expose the same thing.
If anything, I'd be surprised that this isn't already available in the policy editor for 2K and XP.
For some PG-13 films, the use of English pushes them over the edge into R in Quebec.
Re:Nuclear fusion?
on
Odds-on Science
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
No, you can control and sustain nuclear fusion in a Farnsworth Fusor. The real problem is generating more power from the reaction then you invest into it. This is a threshold that various labs have been using exotic technology to approach (like Tokamak reactors).
These types of grids are part of a conspiracy by the battery companies to generate more sales.
Data: 1. A portable device that's part of a mesh or grid will participate in data transfer for other devices. 2. A portable device in said condition is consuming more power then a device that is waiting patiently for user input or a signal targeted for it. 3. As a result of items #1 and #2, the batteries are drained much faster and more often. 4. Each charge cycle shortens the length of your device.
Conclusion: You will need to buy more replacement batteries.
Somewhere in Vegas, the Energizer bunny is doing lines of Cocaine off the breasts of a dancer while Duracell the kangaroo (or whatever) is dancing behind him.
Based on observed trends, it seems to be a good move. As a manager, I rely on my team to give me direction on technological improvements. Decapitalization of key words is consistent with the observed behaviors 'in the wild'. For example, I recently received the following emails that suggest Wired's decision is accurate:
'im working on something alredy, so go stuff yourself and get back to browsing the internet'
'Hey ass, next time you can't get to your stupid Sims board, check whether your network cable is even plugged in before telling everyone that "the internet is down"'
'Jeesus, Ben, stop sending me that gd Bonzai Buddy trash! I don't care if it's cute, that little bastard screwed up my internet settings! I lost a weeks worth of work!'
If my team uses that type of capitalization, then I know it's just a matter of time before it catches on.
Actually, the last two space tourists have spent $20 million each to get to the international space station.
Where did you get the 'hundreds of millions of $$' figure?
Not a stretch, the Proton is made for this
on
Soyuz To The Moon?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
The Soviets planned on launching a Soyuz atop a Proton launcher (currently used as a heavy cargo launcher, roughly equivalent payload to the Space Shuttle) to put a Soyuz into a free-return trajectory around the moon.
The Proton was soviet man-rated in the 1960s, and the design has been extraordinarily succesful over the past 30+ years, so it's not unreasonable to imagine that this process could be completed again.
The economical way to do this would probably be to man-rate it as part of a commercial launch. It wouldn't be free, but it would certainly be cheaper then developing a new heavy lift rocket or buying Titan IVB, the only other rocket in use with equivalent throw. Of course, this is complicated by the Titan IVB assembly line shut down, so you'd probably want to look at the EELV, but that's not flying yet.
The Soyuz is built for the high-g reentry that a lunar return entails, they just need to pull their old heatshield design out of mothballs and modernize it.
I heard a rumor that people who lose their licenses are still physically able to turn on and operate vehicles. If that's true, then I suppose it's possible that an LCD projector could project an image against the intentions of the studios.
Or... they bypass the unecessarilly complex solar arrangement and use commonly available R/C parts in the US to do the same thing.
Of course, you can always depend on slashdot for: 1. Rube Goldberg type planning ('What's to stop Microsoft from using their monopoly position to force retailers to put robots in the stores that shine lights at people when they don't buy MS products, eventually herding them to the Microsoft aisle?')
2. Vaguely threatening situations like the 'flock of planes' doing something 'nasty'.
As someone who would like to hear the music soon, I'll be at home recording tracks of me singing 'yay, can't wait for itunes. C'mon bono, release it to itunes. La la la la!' for 4 and 5 minutes each, then name them after the album and use the songlist from Amazon.com.
Stage 2, post them to P2P programs but prevent anyone from succesfully downloading them.
Stage 3, wait until someone hired by the record agency finds them listed and assumes the worst. Presto! The songs are released to iTunes weeks early.
A great book on the subject of the importance of software usability is Set Phasers on Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error. The title sounds funny until you read that it comes from a story about the infamous Therac-25 where a victim (who was killed by the device) was quoted as saying 'Captain Kirk forgot to set his phaser to stun'.
It's a collection of 20 or so stories about where human factors problems caused injuries and, in many cases, death. Poor documentation, unclear designs, and poor handling of expected user situations (for instance, the reactor technician being pinned to the ceiling by a control rod because there wasn't a safety stop to prevent supercriticallity) is serious business.
There's more to usabillity and human factors then just 'that guy is too stupid to use linux', it can literally be the difference between life and death.
Sometimes you start small and expand once you've proven a concept as sound.
I recently read a book about the 1968 power outage in NY, and back then they had 6 lines w/ about 500 megawatts each (or thereabouts). I imagine it might be somewhat more now, but that gives you an idea.
Don't forget that he also stated many times that he was glad the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. He said it was a good thing and that their deaths were worth it because he was convinced that the Cassini space probe (now orbiting Saturn) might have released plutonium into the atmosphere if it had been on board.
Too bad for the families of the astronauts that he was able to seperate his politics from his humanity
A few: "You have 30 minutes to move your car" "You have 10 minutes" "Your car has been impounded" "Your car has been crushed into a cube" and finally: "You have 30 minutes to move your cube".
Slashdot Mirror
I just bought a new house. Because it's our first house-house, I can't wait to finally build something I've been thinking of for a while.
A sentry gun.
Ever since playing Half-Life (oh hell, ever since watching Aliens) I've been intrigued by the idea of the sentry gun. With recent advances in electronics, it's easier than ever to build something like this.
Here's the plan, I'll use an electric actuator or pneumatic cylinder to pop it up out of the ground (when a motion sensor that covers the front sidewalk goes off) and unfold (using stepper motors or heavy duty servos controlled by an OOPIC programmable microprocessor) to aim a...
well...
I haven't figured out if it'll be a paintball gun (with human firing only, of course) or just something menacing that LOOKS like a machine gun) that'll use a CMUCam (which automatically tracks motion in one of its modes) to keep it pointed at anything moving in front of it.
I've done other robotics projects before, I really like the idea of all the neighborhood kids staying away from crazy 'old man Hallert' and his scary robo-house.
Part of being able to manage corporate computers is being able to secure them. Before everyone panics, note that this is a feature that they will make available to administrators, not something that will be enabled by default.
If I were a network admin, I'd definately want this power. There are situations where this type of inconvenience is definately warranted. Take a look at what happened at Sandia labs, for example, they documented plenty of examples of various workers transfering data between secured and unsecured systems. Everyone focused on the witch hunt regarding the scientist of chinese descent, but the problem was widespread and an audit in any modern lab could expose the same thing.
If anything, I'd be surprised that this isn't already available in the policy editor for 2K and XP.
Give me that, and I can die happy.
Once you have that, you can die not just happy, but quickly as well.
For some PG-13 films, the use of English pushes them over the edge into R in Quebec.
No, you can control and sustain nuclear fusion in a Farnsworth Fusor. The real problem is generating more power from the reaction then you invest into it. This is a threshold that various labs have been using exotic technology to approach (like Tokamak reactors).
These types of grids are part of a conspiracy by the battery companies to generate more sales.
Data:
1. A portable device that's part of a mesh or grid will participate in data transfer for other devices.
2. A portable device in said condition is consuming more power then a device that is waiting patiently for user input or a signal targeted for it.
3. As a result of items #1 and #2, the batteries are drained much faster and more often.
4. Each charge cycle shortens the length of your device.
Conclusion: You will need to buy more replacement batteries.
Somewhere in Vegas, the Energizer bunny is doing lines of Cocaine off the breasts of a dancer while Duracell the kangaroo (or whatever) is dancing behind him.
Fight the (battery) power!
Based on observed trends, it seems to be a good move. As a manager, I rely on my team to give me direction on technological improvements. Decapitalization of key words is consistent with the observed behaviors 'in the wild'. For example, I recently received the following emails that suggest Wired's decision is accurate:
'im working on something alredy, so go stuff yourself and get back to browsing the internet'
'Hey ass, next time you can't get to your stupid Sims board, check whether your network cable is even plugged in before telling everyone that "the internet is down"'
'Jeesus, Ben, stop sending me that gd Bonzai Buddy trash! I don't care if it's cute, that little bastard screwed up my internet settings! I lost a weeks worth of work!'
If my team uses that type of capitalization, then I know it's just a matter of time before it catches on.
Regards,
PHB
Dude, finish the italics tag before posting. That's way more annoying then a math error.
Actually, the last two space tourists have spent $20 million each to get to the international space station.
Where did you get the 'hundreds of millions of $$' figure?
The Soviets planned on launching a Soyuz atop a Proton launcher (currently used as a heavy cargo launcher, roughly equivalent payload to the Space Shuttle) to put a Soyuz into a free-return trajectory around the moon.
The Proton was soviet man-rated in the 1960s, and the design has been extraordinarily succesful over the past 30+ years, so it's not unreasonable to imagine that this process could be completed again.
The economical way to do this would probably be to man-rate it as part of a commercial launch. It wouldn't be free, but it would certainly be cheaper then developing a new heavy lift rocket or buying Titan IVB, the only other rocket in use with equivalent throw. Of course, this is complicated by the Titan IVB assembly line shut down, so you'd probably want to look at the EELV, but that's not flying yet.
The Soyuz is built for the high-g reentry that a lunar return entails, they just need to pull their old heatshield design out of mothballs and modernize it.
I heard a rumor that people who lose their licenses are still physically able to turn on and operate vehicles. If that's true, then I suppose it's possible that an LCD projector could project an image against the intentions of the studios.
BitTorrent and Freenet aren't as good at distributing non-electronic media as you might think. The paper tends to clog the network cables.
Or... they bypass the unecessarilly complex solar arrangement and use commonly available R/C parts in the US to do the same thing.
Of course, you can always depend on slashdot for:
1. Rube Goldberg type planning ('What's to stop Microsoft from using their monopoly position to force retailers to put robots in the stores that shine lights at people when they don't buy MS products, eventually herding them to the Microsoft aisle?')
2. Vaguely threatening situations like the 'flock of planes' doing something 'nasty'.
As someone who would like to hear the music soon, I'll be at home recording tracks of me singing 'yay, can't wait for itunes. C'mon bono, release it to itunes. La la la la!' for 4 and 5 minutes each, then name them after the album and use the songlist from Amazon.com.
Stage 2, post them to P2P programs but prevent anyone from succesfully downloading them.
Stage 3, wait until someone hired by the record agency finds them listed and assumes the worst. Presto! The songs are released to iTunes weeks early.
Mission accomplished.
Backwards compatibility. Ever view a site that uses PNG on a 4.X generation browser?
It's a collection of 20 or so stories about where human factors problems caused injuries and, in many cases, death. Poor documentation, unclear designs, and poor handling of expected user situations (for instance, the reactor technician being pinned to the ceiling by a control rod because there wasn't a safety stop to prevent supercriticallity) is serious business.
There's more to usabillity and human factors then just 'that guy is too stupid to use linux', it can literally be the difference between life and death.
> the Ka-band technology
As a side effect, all radar detectors in North America will spontaneously go off and keep doing so until thrown away.
It's as if millions of speeders suddenly cried out in rage, then were suddenly silenced.
Just inhale once in a while.
Sometimes you start small and expand once you've proven a concept as sound.
I recently read a book about the 1968 power outage in NY, and back then they had 6 lines w/ about 500 megawatts each (or thereabouts). I imagine it might be somewhat more now, but that gives you an idea.
Does anyone else find it ironic that a project named 'Entropy' has come apart?
Don't forget that he also stated many times that he was glad the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. He said it was a good thing and that their deaths were worth it because he was convinced that the Cassini space probe (now orbiting Saturn) might have released plutonium into the atmosphere if it had been on board.
Too bad for the families of the astronauts that he was able to seperate his politics from his humanity
A few:
"You have 30 minutes to move your car"
"You have 10 minutes"
"Your car has been impounded"
"Your car has been crushed into a cube"
and finally:
"You have 30 minutes to move your cube".
Hi there,
1975 called. They want their computer headlines back.
Best regards,
Chairboy
If you can't spot it, then it probably isn't a problem, right?
Whoops. Maybe the lameness filter should be 80 chars?
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N246317A8