I may give away that I'm a liberal arts major here, but... why is a large millimeter smaller than a regular millimeter? I feel like I'm ordering drinks at the theatre. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT!!!
I find that the autopilot effect kicks in if I don't have any sort of associative memory while driving. If I have cues like listening to the radio, having a mild conversation with a passenger, or even driving an interesting route, I find that I pay more attention and can recall all the stoplights and intersections.
I had a pretty terrifying experience one evening when I drove home and didn't remember the last thirty minutes of driving at all. It culminated in me pulling over very suddenly to a rough shoulder and getting out and checking the vehicle and panicking because I thought I'd just run a light. Turned out I hadn't, I was just so out of it that when I snapped to and noticed a light in the rear view mirror, not recalling checking the light before I went through, I assumed the worst.
Not long later I fell asleep after a 2-hour drive home from an airsoft game in the middle of a summer afternoon. I'd had plenty of sleep the night before, was not in any way intoxicated, and was (according to witnesses, such as my cousin who was behind me when it happened) signalling properly, obeying the speed limit, etc. But because I'd been inattentive, combined with highway hypnosis and the hot day, I just zonked out relatively instantly, crossed the road, and bounced thirty feet through a ditch until my grandparent's driveway and mailbox stopped me. Fortunatley it was in a rural area and nobody was hurt. Somewhat ironically it was less than a block from my home.
That was three years ago now. I have not driven the same since. If I can't remember the last details of my drive, I stop and take some time to gather myself, catch a nap, and continue. Sometimes I'll listen to music, I pay a lot of attention to the cars around me to cement myself in a specific environment (the traffic around you chagnes a lot less than the scenery), in general I just make sure that (a) I experience my driving in context and (b) I am there for the whole thing (my mock-excuse for my narcoleptic episode is that "I wasn't driving when it happened";) )
Partly because I've built up much better multitaskign and understanding of the need to be continually aware of context by virtue of being a context, the last three years have gone without any more such incidents and I feel like a much safer driver by comparison. The idea of getting home by autopilot scares the hell out of me.
Those who hold these texts to be true go on to argue the reason scientific analysis reveals a much older Earth is to "test our faith."
Out of curiosity, have you ever met a Christian or read anything by a Christian that wasn't actually a satirical website that made that claim?
There are Christians who assert that the earth is, in some sense, only some handful of thousands of years old, or what-have-you. Some will point out that the human genes don't have enough variety for there to have been more than a handful of us about 145,000 years ago, and start claiming creation or the flood or something happened around then. However, very few Christians say that the reason the Earth appears older is to "test our faith."
Reasons I have heard stated: The purpose of Creation is to tell the story of human redemption, and hence in some sense the creative act focuses around humanity. Therefore we can see the "beginning" of humanity/the human story as the "creation." This goes hand in hand with the "Created with age" idea; God made the first humans in a world that, at the moment of creation, was a complete world. This does not cosmologically deny the big bang or any prehistory, just states that if a being who by definition is not bound by time is to create something, he is creating the whole thing at once anyway and trying to hunt down a start date is pedantic.
A recent e-mail from Mirecki to members of a student organization referred to Middle Easterners at large as "sand niggers" and said a course describing Islam as mythology would be a "nice slap in their big fat face." Mirecki apologized for those comments.
Does that clear the situation up a bit.
This guys an asshole, who called other people assholes. Some of these people actually were assholes, and they kicked his ass.
Just about the only aircraft that aren't aerodynamically stable are military aircraft, and they are designed specifically to be unstable so as the achieve higher speed and maneuverability, with the disadvantage that no human pilot can control them without human aid.
General aviation and commercial airplanes are, by and large, stable unless there is a good reason or a bad design involved.
Sort of the bottom half of a barrel roll. It's a training technique to teach new pilots coordination between the rudders and ailerons. You roll back and forth while keeping the nose on a specific point on the horizon -- no vertical or horizontal deviation. It's harder than it sounds, until you get used to it.
I don't know why it's called a dutch roll or if that's an appropriate name, just that that's what my instructors called it.
Re:There's actually some utility...
on
Rat Brains Fly Planes
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I'm failing to understand why it makes any sense to make a biologically-based self-levelling system when you can accomplish the same function with fully mechanical systems. If you add computers, you don't even need humans for the majority of the flight. Why put a rat brain on a plane if good aerodynamic design will accomplish the same purpose? Any relatively modern plane (as in the last 50 years) will tend to stay level on all axes if properly trimmed.
No offense, but that's about the first ten minutes of day one. Show me a rat that can hold a given altitude and heading from ATC, file and follow a flight plan, manage fuel and weight/balance, maintain an aircraft, do dutch rolls, turns about a point, S-turns, pattern flight, IFR, mountain flying, dead reckoning, use a GPS, and react intelligently to emergency situations, and THEN maybe I'll regret my year of pilot training.
I certainly didn't mean to imply that some computer-controlled override is a good idea, especially if it doesn't make allowances for emergencies or whatnot. Just that in the Northwest, volcanoes and tsunamis are pretty silly reasons to argue against speed limits. Pregnancies, heart attacks, passing, evasive driving, etc -- these are all much better reasons.
Here's what I'd think would make htis a much more reasonable idea: -First, if you are going to implement it, incorporate a big emergency override button that turns the system off instantly, no questions asked, and sends a little report to the local authorities that says you hit the button and records how fast, how far, how long you went. You are then required to file an emergency report in the next week or so explaining why you used the button. Assuming the report is reasonable and you don't do it too often, nothing else happens. -Second, incorporate some sort of passing toggle, automatic or manual, which allows you to override the system for short durations but doesn't send any report unless it passes a certain speed or certain duration. This wouldn't require you to toggle a report unless there are indications of abuse.
Basically, it should be more like flying. There are tons of rules, but if you are an aircraft in distress you own teh sky and can basically do whatever you want, provided you are willing to fill out the paperwork afterwards. As long as the system is designed in such a way that it's guaranteed not to be an impedence in emergencies, it seems like it could be pretty reasonable.
That said, my current car can't exceed about 65 without going into overdrive, so it's not hurting me. When I drive the family Suburban, though, I'd feel it:D
Yeah, I have to outrun volcanos and tsunamis ALL THE TIME in Washington. Thank god for my fast car. They never give you advance warning for those things, and even when they do, 70 isn't nearly enough to get out.
Having said that, I'm commited to Firefox and had nothing but great luck running Apache (on Windows, not Linux;-) - so OS is slicker than glossy marketing materials from M$ in many cases, but my experience with Operating Systems is to treat them like guys in suits carrying Bibles and ringing my doorbell.
You spray your operating system with mace and call the police?!?
Do any modern clients have the realtime messaging the ICQ (used to, at least) support? Where you could directly connect and see what the other user typed letter by letter?
I loved that feature. A lot of people hated it, but for me it was more like having a real conversation -- you could see where people were thinking, react to each other, etc.
Made saving histories difficult, but still.
I can't tell you how much I hate the TV noise. I'm only 19, so it probably explains it, but I work at Best Buy and every time I have to help someone out in the CRT aisles I feel like my brain is going to explode. Hundreds of crappy TVs all tuned to the exact resonant frequency of my BRAIN, FORCING IT TO SHATTER MY SKULL... YEEAAARGHHH.
So yeah. I hate the TV noise. If rock concerts will fix it, then to rock concerts I will go.
Based on what? With $399 I could build you a reasonably nice PC (without monitor) from off the shelf components at consumer prices. Microsoft has the advantage of bulk, and the fact that most of the components are off the shelf.
Yes, a reasonably nice PC.
Just for fun: ZipZoomFly currently lists a Athlon XP 3200+ at $259 (OEM). Let's say, for fun, that a three-core 3.2ghz power PC costs the same as a one-core 3.2ghz (equivalent) Athlon XP. Which of course it doesn't.
So in our fantasy, the retail for Xbox 360's GPU alone is $259. Say they get a killer bulk discount. Maybe it's all the way down to $159. Unlikely, but we're pretending all along. We're already above your "combined CPU + GPU" number.
Now consider that in order to be even remotely competetive, the card is going to have to be pretty modern. We know it's an ATI card. We know it's DX9 and Pixel Shader 2 at least. I'm too lazy to look up more, but at the least we're talking a $250 retail card, I'd think - probably more. Once again, let's pretend Microsoft can halve this by getting a killer bulk discount -- it's still enough to push them just about up to the $300 unit cost.
Throw in the power supply (the size of a large child), the case, the DVD, the controller (retails for almost $60 for the wired, btw), and the basic infrastructure for Xbox Live Silver (the free service). If they're getting the full deal, there's also the HDD, the headset, the wireless controller, the added costs for backwards compatibility development, yet more Live costs to recover, etc.
I don't see how you can honestly think that Microsoft can sell a three-core 3.2ghz PowerPC with a pretty modern ATI video card, 512 of RAM, an operating system, in all probability iPod and PSP royalties to pay off, and a controller and associated included accessories for $299. That's less than probable retail for the processor alone. I'm sure Microsoft gets bulk deals and has some slippery business going on with some manufacturers, but they are still buying all the parts, still paying someone to put them together, still paying to advertise, still paying to research and design the OS and the unit, etc. Will they, in theory, make dividends when people buy a few games and get a Live subscription? Probably. But no way $299 is above cost. Not even close.
CPU/GPU/Case/mobo/DVD/RAM = probably close to $300 at least +manufacturing costs (facilities, labor, shipping to assembly centers) +advertising +development
Microsoft is losing money any way you slice it, unless everyone goes out and buys a bunch of games and accessories with it at launch (which most stores require you to do.)
Slashdot Mirror
Between Capitol Hill Blue and Rense, I think you've successfully undermined yourself.
A dead mouse?
I may give away that I'm a liberal arts major here, but... why is a large millimeter smaller than a regular millimeter? I feel like I'm ordering drinks at the theatre. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT!!!
I find that the autopilot effect kicks in if I don't have any sort of associative memory while driving. If I have cues like listening to the radio, having a mild conversation with a passenger, or even driving an interesting route, I find that I pay more attention and can recall all the stoplights and intersections.
;) )
I had a pretty terrifying experience one evening when I drove home and didn't remember the last thirty minutes of driving at all. It culminated in me pulling over very suddenly to a rough shoulder and getting out and checking the vehicle and panicking because I thought I'd just run a light. Turned out I hadn't, I was just so out of it that when I snapped to and noticed a light in the rear view mirror, not recalling checking the light before I went through, I assumed the worst.
Not long later I fell asleep after a 2-hour drive home from an airsoft game in the middle of a summer afternoon. I'd had plenty of sleep the night before, was not in any way intoxicated, and was (according to witnesses, such as my cousin who was behind me when it happened) signalling properly, obeying the speed limit, etc. But because I'd been inattentive, combined with highway hypnosis and the hot day, I just zonked out relatively instantly, crossed the road, and bounced thirty feet through a ditch until my grandparent's driveway and mailbox stopped me. Fortunatley it was in a rural area and nobody was hurt. Somewhat ironically it was less than a block from my home.
That was three years ago now. I have not driven the same since. If I can't remember the last details of my drive, I stop and take some time to gather myself, catch a nap, and continue. Sometimes I'll listen to music, I pay a lot of attention to the cars around me to cement myself in a specific environment (the traffic around you chagnes a lot less than the scenery), in general I just make sure that (a) I experience my driving in context and (b) I am there for the whole thing (my mock-excuse for my narcoleptic episode is that "I wasn't driving when it happened"
Partly because I've built up much better multitaskign and understanding of the need to be continually aware of context by virtue of being a context, the last three years have gone without any more such incidents and I feel like a much safer driver by comparison. The idea of getting home by autopilot scares the hell out of me.
On the internet? Not really, no.
Reasons I have heard stated: The purpose of Creation is to tell the story of human redemption, and hence in some sense the creative act focuses around humanity. Therefore we can see the "beginning" of humanity/the human story as the "creation." This goes hand in hand with the "Created with age" idea; God made the first humans in a world that, at the moment of creation, was a complete world. This does not cosmologically deny the big bang or any prehistory, just states that if a being who by definition is not bound by time is to create something, he is creating the whole thing at once anyway and trying to hunt down a start date is pedantic.
Does that clear the situation up a bit.
This guys an asshole, who called other people assholes. Some of these people actually were assholes, and they kicked his ass.
Just about the only aircraft that aren't aerodynamically stable are military aircraft, and they are designed specifically to be unstable so as the achieve higher speed and maneuverability, with the disadvantage that no human pilot can control them without human aid.
General aviation and commercial airplanes are, by and large, stable unless there is a good reason or a bad design involved.
Wow, a pre-emptive counter-flame.
Sort of the bottom half of a barrel roll. It's a training technique to teach new pilots coordination between the rudders and ailerons. You roll back and forth while keeping the nose on a specific point on the horizon -- no vertical or horizontal deviation. It's harder than it sounds, until you get used to it.
I don't know why it's called a dutch roll or if that's an appropriate name, just that that's what my instructors called it.
I'm failing to understand why it makes any sense to make a biologically-based self-levelling system when you can accomplish the same function with fully mechanical systems. If you add computers, you don't even need humans for the majority of the flight. Why put a rat brain on a plane if good aerodynamic design will accomplish the same purpose? Any relatively modern plane (as in the last 50 years) will tend to stay level on all axes if properly trimmed.
Yes. I spent two years learning level flight...
No offense, but that's about the first ten minutes of day one. Show me a rat that can hold a given altitude and heading from ATC, file and follow a flight plan, manage fuel and weight/balance, maintain an aircraft, do dutch rolls, turns about a point, S-turns, pattern flight, IFR, mountain flying, dead reckoning, use a GPS, and react intelligently to emergency situations, and THEN maybe I'll regret my year of pilot training.
I certainly didn't mean to imply that some computer-controlled override is a good idea, especially if it doesn't make allowances for emergencies or whatnot. Just that in the Northwest, volcanoes and tsunamis are pretty silly reasons to argue against speed limits. Pregnancies, heart attacks, passing, evasive driving, etc -- these are all much better reasons.
:D
Here's what I'd think would make htis a much more reasonable idea:
-First, if you are going to implement it, incorporate a big emergency override button that turns the system off instantly, no questions asked, and sends a little report to the local authorities that says you hit the button and records how fast, how far, how long you went. You are then required to file an emergency report in the next week or so explaining why you used the button. Assuming the report is reasonable and you don't do it too often, nothing else happens.
-Second, incorporate some sort of passing toggle, automatic or manual, which allows you to override the system for short durations but doesn't send any report unless it passes a certain speed or certain duration. This wouldn't require you to toggle a report unless there are indications of abuse.
Basically, it should be more like flying. There are tons of rules, but if you are an aircraft in distress you own teh sky and can basically do whatever you want, provided you are willing to fill out the paperwork afterwards. As long as the system is designed in such a way that it's guaranteed not to be an impedence in emergencies, it seems like it could be pretty reasonable.
That said, my current car can't exceed about 65 without going into overdrive, so it's not hurting me. When I drive the family Suburban, though, I'd feel it
Yeah, I have to outrun volcanos and tsunamis ALL THE TIME in Washington. Thank god for my fast car. They never give you advance warning for those things, and even when they do, 70 isn't nearly enough to get out.
Do any modern clients have the realtime messaging the ICQ (used to, at least) support? Where you could directly connect and see what the other user typed letter by letter? I loved that feature. A lot of people hated it, but for me it was more like having a real conversation -- you could see where people were thinking, react to each other, etc. Made saving histories difficult, but still.
Stop sticking your nose in other people's business.
I can't tell you how much I hate the TV noise. I'm only 19, so it probably explains it, but I work at Best Buy and every time I have to help someone out in the CRT aisles I feel like my brain is going to explode. Hundreds of crappy TVs all tuned to the exact resonant frequency of my BRAIN, FORCING IT TO SHATTER MY SKULL... YEEAAARGHHH.
So yeah. I hate the TV noise. If rock concerts will fix it, then to rock concerts I will go.
If only you'd ask... I'm afraid to start the conversation...
Just for fun: ZipZoomFly currently lists a Athlon XP 3200+ at $259 (OEM). Let's say, for fun, that a three-core 3.2ghz power PC costs the same as a one-core 3.2ghz (equivalent) Athlon XP. Which of course it doesn't.
So in our fantasy, the retail for Xbox 360's GPU alone is $259. Say they get a killer bulk discount. Maybe it's all the way down to $159. Unlikely, but we're pretending all along. We're already above your "combined CPU + GPU" number.
Now consider that in order to be even remotely competetive, the card is going to have to be pretty modern. We know it's an ATI card. We know it's DX9 and Pixel Shader 2 at least. I'm too lazy to look up more, but at the least we're talking a $250 retail card, I'd think - probably more. Once again, let's pretend Microsoft can halve this by getting a killer bulk discount -- it's still enough to push them just about up to the $300 unit cost.
Throw in the power supply (the size of a large child), the case, the DVD, the controller (retails for almost $60 for the wired, btw), and the basic infrastructure for Xbox Live Silver (the free service). If they're getting the full deal, there's also the HDD, the headset, the wireless controller, the added costs for backwards compatibility development, yet more Live costs to recover, etc.
I don't see how you can honestly think that Microsoft can sell a three-core 3.2ghz PowerPC with a pretty modern ATI video card, 512 of RAM, an operating system, in all probability iPod and PSP royalties to pay off, and a controller and associated included accessories for $299. That's less than probable retail for the processor alone. I'm sure Microsoft gets bulk deals and has some slippery business going on with some manufacturers, but they are still buying all the parts, still paying someone to put them together, still paying to advertise, still paying to research and design the OS and the unit, etc. Will they, in theory, make dividends when people buy a few games and get a Live subscription? Probably. But no way $299 is above cost. Not even close.
Core unit: $299
CPU/GPU/Case/mobo/DVD/RAM = probably close to $300 at least
+manufacturing costs (facilities, labor, shipping to assembly centers)
+advertising
+development
Microsoft is losing money any way you slice it, unless everyone goes out and buys a bunch of games and accessories with it at launch (which most stores require you to do.)
No, see, that's your job.
Most states require at least temporary plates for new cars, which I believe need to be replaced with permanent plates within a certain time period.