There are a few circumstances I can see (jogging, maybe). This is the big one for me. I very much enjoy a bit of music or a thought-provoking podcast while I run, and not having to worry about a wire flapping around my neck would be lovely.
Considerable work is going into creating an atomic definition of the kilogram, the problem is that so far nobody has actually been able to measure atomic weights with high enough accuracy to actually beat the old definition. The problem mainly arises because there are so many atoms in a kilogram. It strikes me that we don't really need a kilogram to be the reference mass. Why not simply do it for a gram and bring the standard unit for mass into line with the rest of the metric units, instead of that annoying 10^3 measure we have now? Hell, why not make our reference mass a nanogram, or microgram, and then simply define our "standard mass" gram as x orders of magnitude above that?
Sorry, And yes, my ID isn't exactly low, but this is not my first account!;) There a lot of us in that boat, thus the user id number a person has is a poor indicator of how long they've been around. Hell, I've been reading Slashdot since '98, and have probably gone through six or seven different accounts because I'd lose interest for a while and promptly forget my login or password. Still, it is fun to see some low uids show up. The thread the other day in which people kept trumping each other with a progressively lower user number had me roaring with laughter. Silly stuff like that is most of why I come here.
My appreciation of literature started with "See Dick run." Which, for the record, I still believe was an inappropriate title for a Congressional report on the Vice-President.
Inertia is a property of matter. Is it? Or is it a property of the quantum environment in which matter resides? Yes, of course the latter idea isn't supported by the evidence, but when I read the suggestion in one of Alastair Reynolds' sci-fi novels, I was immediately struck by it. It so often seems that great scientific advances occur when someone takes what everyone "knows" and questions it. So what if inertia isn't a property of matter? This is the sort of thinking--that everything in science can be questioned--that got me excited about science!
No camera, either. That's a heck of a loss. Personally speaking, I'm delighted there's not a damned camera in it. Now if only I'm able to find a decently functional/attractive phone without a camera when I'm due up for a replacement, I'll be very happy. My irritation at the cold, dark eyes of the various camera lenses staring at me from every single phone around me is starting to border on the irrational. Truth be told, I'm not sure what side of the border I'm on...
Also the new iPod Nano looks a bit... retarded. After reading your comment, I went to take a look at it over on Apple's site. You're right. It looks...frumpy, somehow. Those proportions just don't do it for me. The iPod Touch looks the business though. Very sharp.
I tried Prince of Persia: Sands of Time a few days ago and just couldn't stomach the ads. The banners in the menus are tolerable but there's an animated McDonalds ad - ONE ad - that plays over and over. It's just obnoxious. I gave up after about 2 levels. If this is what I can expect in the future then I'd sooner replay a game I own than play a new ad-supported game. That's fair enough. I tried the Far Cry offering and had a similarly visceral reaction to the interstitial McDonalds ad when I first saw it. However, I've been meaning to play Far Cry for a long time now and this is an interesting opportunity to do so. Whether my desire to play the game to completion will outweigh my irritation at jarring interstitial advertisements remains to be seen. Nevertheless, if companies such as Ubi and their ilk are able to find a reasonable balance of intrusiveness versus value, I'd support the model as a way to play older games that are no longer easy to find. Like you, though, I have a low tolerance for advertising (I can't stand network television, for example) and definitely prefer to pay full price for an uninterrupted new game experience.
There might have been a time where they had a window to make it officially available, but I'm sure that there are plenty of ways to get it. Just be aware that it looks like the games and cutscenes have to be downloaded separately. Because is it a story-driven game, the cutscenes can make a difference. I recommend getting them. This is one time where you can download via BitTorrent and not worry about some Big Brother "Let's-Sue-Everyone" company coming after you.:) Yep, the game is definitely freeware and you have my thanks for letting me know that. Freespace 2 is one of those games (much like System Shock 2) that I've periodically had a strong desire to revisit, and I delighted to have the opportunity to play it again. It looks as though the upcoming Tarr Chronicles may give us a more up-to-date space-combat game. Hopefully they can pull it off. Thanks again for helping me out!
Huh? I remember hearing a while ago that Freespace 2 was released as freeware. Thanks for the info! Unfortunately I was unable to find a single working link to a copy of FS2. It appears that I missed the window on getting a free copy of the game. In some ways, though, this illustrates my point. Instead of hunting around old freeware sites for.iso files or source code on the off-chance of finding an old classic, I'd be perfectly happy to get my classic gaming fix via an ad-supported service that delivers the content in a non-flaky fashion. I'm afraid the days when I could spend hours trying to hack config files to get something to run are rapidly disappearing into the past. Now, with my time at a premium, I'm horrified to find myself in that group of end-users who need something to run without too much time investment on my part.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but unless the Bellanca needs to be hand-propped to start it, it will have a battery and alternator aboard for the electric starter. If you've got that, you might as well have the alternator power radios and instruments.
I'd be surprised if any Bellanca's old or big enough to have a windmill generator aboard. Even assuming a complete electrical failure, GPP is correct in that the mags would keep the prop turning and I think a windmill generator is an unusual bit of kit for most small birds. Most of the aviators I know (including myself) carry a back-up handheld radio for basic communications if the radios go down. Losing radios is hardly an emergency, however, and a pilot of Fossett's experience would doubtless have seen the alternator fail on his gauges long before his battery was exhausted.
Here's hoping that he got down in one piece. His ELT should have activated if he had a hard landing (or of course can be manually activated) but the rugged terrain would screw up the signal. Presumably airliner crews are listening to 121.5 in the area to see if they can catch a signal from him. Good luck to 'em.
I can actually get behind this policy. While I have a problem with advertisements in games for which I've paid full price, I have absolutely no problem putting up with reasonably placed McDonald's interstitial ads or menu banners if I know it's allowing me to play the game for free. An ad-supported, digitally-distributed model for older games is a recipe for success in my book and I'd support the model enthusiastically. I don't want to see it become the primary model for games, as I'm quite happy to shell out full price for a quality game with no advertisements at all. However, if someone were to make Freespace 2 (or hell, even the old Wing Commander games) available with this model, I'd sign up immediately.
Between the DRM, the DirectX 10 incompatibilities, the high cost, the extreme hardware requirements, the inability to play multimedia and download at the same time, and now this, I just don't understand why anyone would still be using Windows. And it's not like there aren't alternatives. Between even just OS X and Ubuntu, there are systems that don't have such inherent flaws. Games and school software requirements are primarily my reason for using XP. I'm hoping to hold out long enough to either see Vista finally get fixed or until it goes the way of ME. I've got Ubuntu on a laptop to play around with, but it gathers dust most of the time. Games are my primary hobby, so I'm not willing to sacrifice them on the altar of open source. As far as basic OS, office programs, web-browsing, and so on, I'm happy to move entirely to open source, but until Windows isn't the defacto gaming standard for PC, I won't give it up.
So, I ask you Slashdotters - do you know of any way I can help here? Can I donate money to this cause somehow? What can _I_ do? Well, it's probably not feasible for you to single-handedly contribute significant funding to such a cause, and I believe organisations already exist to solicit charitable donations to help those afflicted with Alzheimer's. If you feel as strongly about eradicating such biological horrors as Alzheimer's as you seem to, might I suggest you take a somewhat longer view and volunteer your time trying to get the next generation of students excited about science? Work is already in full swing on many of our current diseases but doubtless further problems will arise. An investment of your time towards getting some younger folks interested in science as a career could pay future dividends well in excess of a monetary donation now.
For the record, I very much empathise with your sentiments. I also had something of an epiphany concerning the misery inflicted upon humanity as a result of disease and injury. I chose to switch careers, started volunteering for events like Cool Science and other such pro-science activities, and I'm halfway through the application process for medical school. I realised that discussing the world's problems on Slashdot was all well and good, but it was far better to stand up and actually try to help fix some of them. Good luck.
My last purchase was a 4GB RAM 3.1GHz (2.5GHz overclocked) Core2 Quad PC with Vista U x64 / Ubuntu Feisty x64 on separate 500GB drives, and an 8600GTS; I have no regrets... For the record, if you should wake up one morning in the near future suddenly feeling a sense of regret over your purchase, I'd be happy to remove the source of your anguish!
...some of the creepiest sections were those where nothing actually happened at all. I heartily second this sentiment. When I was playing F.E.A.R. (which I never finished and should go back to), the sections in which I was creeping along an empty corridor with flickering lights would sometimes actually give me that strange lightheaded fight-or-flight sensation. It probably helps that I play very tactically, rather than blasting through levels at a full sprint. A slow, methodical movement through a level in a crouching position allows plenty of time for tension to build!
Last week I left the farm and went to the mountains to escape. Even the summit of Pike's Peak is now covered in high-bandwidth cellphone antennas from every carrier. Sheesh. There are some lovely dead-spots near Garden of the Gods if you'd like to bring a tent.:)
The second reason why your statement is scary, is that it implies that you (and religious people like you) are somehow only restrained by an imaginary god. Only a fear of punishment keeps you in line. If you were 6, that wouldn't be a problem. Adults however, may aspire to more than that. Well said.
"I have gained this by philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law." -- Aristotle
I guess you don't play a healing class. We get enough "Healplz!!!" while in PUGs, none of us would go to capital cities until it was over. Actually, a dwarvern priest was my very first character and is still played (when I have an active subscription). My other (arguably main) character is a warlock that I levelled in tandem with him. I have a lot of affection for my 'lock, as he was around back when 'locks were utterly broken and gimped. The meteoric rise to power of well-played 'locks is, in his view, merely the appropriate swing of the pendulum!
I rather enjoy the mental dichotomy of switching back and forth between a warlock and a priest. It feels a very yin-yang combination!
Slashdot Mirror
cheers.
cheers.
Actually, I'll shut up. It still doesn't work.
You'll need to "Accept HIT" and log in before you can select anything, I've found.
cheers.
I just downloaded everything last Saturday and I've been having a blast with it. Nice! Many thanks for that link.
cheers.
I'd be surprised if any Bellanca's old or big enough to have a windmill generator aboard. Even assuming a complete electrical failure, GPP is correct in that the mags would keep the prop turning and I think a windmill generator is an unusual bit of kit for most small birds. Most of the aviators I know (including myself) carry a back-up handheld radio for basic communications if the radios go down. Losing radios is hardly an emergency, however, and a pilot of Fossett's experience would doubtless have seen the alternator fail on his gauges long before his battery was exhausted.
Here's hoping that he got down in one piece. His ELT should have activated if he had a hard landing (or of course can be manually activated) but the rugged terrain would screw up the signal. Presumably airliner crews are listening to 121.5 in the area to see if they can catch a signal from him. Good luck to 'em.
I can actually get behind this policy. While I have a problem with advertisements in games for which I've paid full price, I have absolutely no problem putting up with reasonably placed McDonald's interstitial ads or menu banners if I know it's allowing me to play the game for free. An ad-supported, digitally-distributed model for older games is a recipe for success in my book and I'd support the model enthusiastically. I don't want to see it become the primary model for games, as I'm quite happy to shell out full price for a quality game with no advertisements at all. However, if someone were to make Freespace 2 (or hell, even the old Wing Commander games) available with this model, I'd sign up immediately.
For the record, I very much empathise with your sentiments. I also had something of an epiphany concerning the misery inflicted upon humanity as a result of disease and injury. I chose to switch careers, started volunteering for events like Cool Science and other such pro-science activities, and I'm halfway through the application process for medical school. I realised that discussing the world's problems on Slashdot was all well and good, but it was far better to stand up and actually try to help fix some of them. Good luck.
...some of the creepiest sections were those where nothing actually happened at all. I heartily second this sentiment. When I was playing F.E.A.R. (which I never finished and should go back to), the sections in which I was creeping along an empty corridor with flickering lights would sometimes actually give me that strange lightheaded fight-or-flight sensation. It probably helps that I play very tactically, rather than blasting through levels at a full sprint. A slow, methodical movement through a level in a crouching position allows plenty of time for tension to build!I rather enjoy the mental dichotomy of switching back and forth between a warlock and a priest. It feels a very yin-yang combination!