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Geek Speak / Anyone Web Surf with a Kindle?
« on: 04/01/2012 03:24:00 »
The Kindle Touch can browse. Either through a local WiFi or through your cell tower at no charge. I just don't know if it is practical to do so.
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Geek Speak / Re: Anyone still using a ten year old PC?
« on: 04/01/2012 03:07:48 »
Pepper
High density floppies! I actually forgot about that. One point two megs on the five inchers? Back in about 1970 my cousin took me to his UC Irvine IT lab. He proudly showed me an early version of Space invaders. Not very much more then Pong, really.
PS I still have my original AOL account from when it was strictly DOS. Had a four digit password. No WWW but a fair number of publications were available. I remember reading The Atlantic.
High density floppies! I actually forgot about that. One point two megs on the five inchers? Back in about 1970 my cousin took me to his UC Irvine IT lab. He proudly showed me an early version of Space invaders. Not very much more then Pong, really.
PS I still have my original AOL account from when it was strictly DOS. Had a four digit password. No WWW but a fair number of publications were available. I remember reading The Atlantic.
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Geek Speak / Re: Anyone still using a ten year old PC?
« on: 04/01/2012 02:55:11 »
I regularly use my old PIII Compaq Armada E500 at 800 mhz. It was designed for Windows 2000 but it came used with XP.
Down in the basement I cached an 8088 that probably still works. Two large floppies and no hard drive. DOS 2.6 at best. Word Perfect 4.0. Has an add-on board for memory. Might total 1 meg. Could use it for word processing and even have a carbon ribbon daisy wheel printer for high quality stuff. Thirteen characters per second.....and until very recently I also had one of those HP LaserJet 4s. Lightning finally fried it. It might have worked on the 8088.
I am probably the only person on the planet who ever surfed the WWW with an 8088. It had a 10 meg hard drive and I ran a DOS browser called Arachne. Took about ten minutes to load a single page. But I did it!!!!!
Down in the basement I cached an 8088 that probably still works. Two large floppies and no hard drive. DOS 2.6 at best. Word Perfect 4.0. Has an add-on board for memory. Might total 1 meg. Could use it for word processing and even have a carbon ribbon daisy wheel printer for high quality stuff. Thirteen characters per second.....and until very recently I also had one of those HP LaserJet 4s. Lightning finally fried it. It might have worked on the 8088.
I am probably the only person on the planet who ever surfed the WWW with an 8088. It had a 10 meg hard drive and I ran a DOS browser called Arachne. Took about ten minutes to load a single page. But I did it!!!!!
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General Science / Re: Fluffy yet not insulating?
« on: 04/01/2012 02:34:34 »
I believe the issue is not so much with the material as it is with the weave. Years ago a lady friend of mine knitted a small comforter with a relatively coarse weave. I can easily work my index finger through the weave with a little twisting. But it sort of looks to be solid fabric from a distance.
Think of a thick knitted sweater, for instance. Cozy, not hot, and not humid.
Think of a thick knitted sweater, for instance. Cozy, not hot, and not humid.
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General Science / Re: What is the principle of a space elevator?
« on: 04/01/2012 02:05:16 »
cliff - Re dropping a satellite from GS to LEO. That sounds about right. And certainly it is an engineering problem that might have a better solution. For instance launch from a very large lighter then air vehicle at very high altitude.
But my original question still stands. Assuming the elevator exists, how do you solve the problem of conservation of angular momentum. I see no other option but to provide the payload with right angle thrust to the elevator cable.
But my original question still stands. Assuming the elevator exists, how do you solve the problem of conservation of angular momentum. I see no other option but to provide the payload with right angle thrust to the elevator cable.
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General Science / Re: In A Falling Lift/Elevator What is The Best Position To Assume ?
« on: 04/01/2012 01:56:48 »
I do not believe a sheep can lie on a hard flat surface with its legs straight up in the air. However, that would be the best position. I am also unaware that a sheep can go all spread eagle with all four legs out to the side.
Basically, a sheep in a free falling elevator will simply become mutton in short order.
Basically, a sheep in a free falling elevator will simply become mutton in short order.
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General Science / Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
« on: 04/01/2012 01:47:32 »
Geez - You wrote: "If there was no reduction in engine speed when you took your foot off the gas, the lockup clutch was still engaged."
I don't think I said there was no reduction when I took my foot off. I only observed what the rpms were after I did that, and what they were when I move the shifter into N. I will take your advice and test for both next time I am out.
However, you, your very own self, said you could push start an automatic at about 35 mph. I am unaware of any automatic that entirely disconnects the drive wheels from the engine at any speed.
With the possible exception of my 2007 CTS which would not creep forward at idle. I came to hate that car for a variety of reasons, including that one. It would produce a driveline snatch every time I started from a dead stop.
I don't think I said there was no reduction when I took my foot off. I only observed what the rpms were after I did that, and what they were when I move the shifter into N. I will take your advice and test for both next time I am out.
However, you, your very own self, said you could push start an automatic at about 35 mph. I am unaware of any automatic that entirely disconnects the drive wheels from the engine at any speed.
With the possible exception of my 2007 CTS which would not creep forward at idle. I came to hate that car for a variety of reasons, including that one. It would produce a driveline snatch every time I started from a dead stop.
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General Science / Re: GM food - Good or bad?
« on: 04/01/2012 01:32:35 »
Cliff
Populations of almost all prosperous nations are already below replacement level of fertility rate 2.1. China's is WAY below that at 1.7. I have not looked up India. The United States is the only prosperous nation that seems to be approaching a stasis.
Food will only become a problem if the Goofy GW People manage in some way to cool down the planet. Warm is good. Cold is bad. Ask the Vikings who do not now live in Greenland, or half the dead population of Europe who perished in a cooler climate due to The Plague.
Populations of almost all prosperous nations are already below replacement level of fertility rate 2.1. China's is WAY below that at 1.7. I have not looked up India. The United States is the only prosperous nation that seems to be approaching a stasis.
Food will only become a problem if the Goofy GW People manage in some way to cool down the planet. Warm is good. Cold is bad. Ask the Vikings who do not now live in Greenland, or half the dead population of Europe who perished in a cooler climate due to The Plague.
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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: The end of everything?
« on: 04/01/2012 01:24:41 »
Cliff and Soul
Soul - You wrote: "Both of the death of our sun and our universe are things that are clearly predicted totally logical and inevitable."
I agree our sun will die and become a white dwarf. And I agree with Soul that humans can survive even the end of the sun. However, there is absolutely nothing that predicts the universe will end. I will give you two reasons.
First, current theory has space expanding at ever increasing velocities to the point of near absolute zero. I will even stipulate quarks will evaporate into photons. I am even willing to entertain the idea photons themselves could evaporate. But the universe does not end. It is simply never ending in this scenario.
On the other hand, we do not know that acceleration in the expansion of space is not in itself a scalar force that will suddenly stop. Just like inflation suddenly stopped.
Soul - You wrote: "Both of the death of our sun and our universe are things that are clearly predicted totally logical and inevitable."
I agree our sun will die and become a white dwarf. And I agree with Soul that humans can survive even the end of the sun. However, there is absolutely nothing that predicts the universe will end. I will give you two reasons.
First, current theory has space expanding at ever increasing velocities to the point of near absolute zero. I will even stipulate quarks will evaporate into photons. I am even willing to entertain the idea photons themselves could evaporate. But the universe does not end. It is simply never ending in this scenario.
On the other hand, we do not know that acceleration in the expansion of space is not in itself a scalar force that will suddenly stop. Just like inflation suddenly stopped.
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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Are we at the edge of the Universe?
« on: 04/01/2012 01:14:01 »
PS
I believe Susskind postulate the universe could be something like a holograph. He's the guy who won the argument against Hawking radiation that Hawking proposed would evaporate black holes.
Specifically, we can not observe anything actually passing the event horizon of the BH because general relativity slows the time of the object approaching the event horizon to effectively zero. I don't know how this accommodates the fact event horizons expand.
However I have always believed Black Holes are hollow due to conservation of angular momentum. Michio Kaku [?] recently surmised Black Holes include matter in a sort of donut shape near the event horizon for the same reason.
I believe Susskind postulate the universe could be something like a holograph. He's the guy who won the argument against Hawking radiation that Hawking proposed would evaporate black holes.
Specifically, we can not observe anything actually passing the event horizon of the BH because general relativity slows the time of the object approaching the event horizon to effectively zero. I don't know how this accommodates the fact event horizons expand.
However I have always believed Black Holes are hollow due to conservation of angular momentum. Michio Kaku [?] recently surmised Black Holes include matter in a sort of donut shape near the event horizon for the same reason.
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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Are we at the edge of the Universe?
« on: 04/01/2012 00:50:42 »
Are we at the edge of the universe?
This might actually be the case, IMHO. The universe might very well be expanding INWARD. In all directions we see back to about 350 million years after the big bang when the universe became transparent. We are looking back at a shell that surrounds us on all sides.
My understanding is that inflation expanded the universe to something like the size of our own galaxy in just a few Plank Times. Thats when most, if not all of the four forces of nature precipitated into existence. Accordingly, it looks like all the matter in the universe was in existence in less then one billion years.
So. How in the hell did our material galaxy get 15 BILLION light years ahead of any of it? If all material already existed at one billion years, and nothing moved faster then light after that.
This might actually be the case, IMHO. The universe might very well be expanding INWARD. In all directions we see back to about 350 million years after the big bang when the universe became transparent. We are looking back at a shell that surrounds us on all sides.
My understanding is that inflation expanded the universe to something like the size of our own galaxy in just a few Plank Times. Thats when most, if not all of the four forces of nature precipitated into existence. Accordingly, it looks like all the matter in the universe was in existence in less then one billion years.
So. How in the hell did our material galaxy get 15 BILLION light years ahead of any of it? If all material already existed at one billion years, and nothing moved faster then light after that.
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Just Chat! / Re: Our Ignorance is no Accident
« on: 04/01/2012 00:26:37 »
cob - You wrote: "I suspect the depth of ignorance within the American population today is, likewise, no accident."
Certainly not. In fact the ignorance of the left seems deliberate and proud.
Certainly not. In fact the ignorance of the left seems deliberate and proud.
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General Science / Re: Has There Been Any Significant Evolution in Humanity?
« on: 04/01/2012 00:17:58 »
Cliff
Almost all labor now goes towards non essential products. For instance, I believe one single farmer now feeds one or two hundred fellow citizens. In addition, we now have more housing then people who can afford it; even though almost no one goes without a roof over their head.
The single most serious health problem for 'the poor' in America is morbid obesity. Fat people on food stamps. Sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit. The best thing we could do for poor people is to replace food stamps with very large bags of rice and soy beans. Fat Chance. Pardon the humor.
As for Chinese slave labor? Its SORT of analogous to the weaving mills of New England two hundred years ago. Farm girls move to dormitories with long hours in difficult surroundings. No one seems to notice they had left isolated farming communities with long hours and difficult surroundings.
Someplace I have actual correspondence where one such young woman wrote home about the wonderful experience of having Sunday off in the big town of Lowell, lots of friends, and the prospective joy of being promoted to bobbin girl at age 16.
Chinese girls, of course, do not have Christian Social Organizations to look over them. The Chinese girls seem to have more difficult lives. Apparently they have an embarrassing high level of suicide. Probably the result, somehow, of American Social Imperialism.
Almost all labor now goes towards non essential products. For instance, I believe one single farmer now feeds one or two hundred fellow citizens. In addition, we now have more housing then people who can afford it; even though almost no one goes without a roof over their head.
The single most serious health problem for 'the poor' in America is morbid obesity. Fat people on food stamps. Sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit. The best thing we could do for poor people is to replace food stamps with very large bags of rice and soy beans. Fat Chance. Pardon the humor.
As for Chinese slave labor? Its SORT of analogous to the weaving mills of New England two hundred years ago. Farm girls move to dormitories with long hours in difficult surroundings. No one seems to notice they had left isolated farming communities with long hours and difficult surroundings.
Someplace I have actual correspondence where one such young woman wrote home about the wonderful experience of having Sunday off in the big town of Lowell, lots of friends, and the prospective joy of being promoted to bobbin girl at age 16.
Chinese girls, of course, do not have Christian Social Organizations to look over them. The Chinese girls seem to have more difficult lives. Apparently they have an embarrassing high level of suicide. Probably the result, somehow, of American Social Imperialism.
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General Science / Re: GM food - Good or bad?
« on: 03/01/2012 23:53:19 »
1) The chemical characteristics of GM food are as easy to describe as traditional cross breed varietals. Grind them up, vaporize them and pass the gas through a Mass Spectrometer. Parts per billion I believe is the current capability. So no, they are not dangerous to eat.
2) In the recent past they have, however, caused starvation in Africa. This is because the dip-shits would not feed starving Africans the same GM corn meal already being eaten by Americans. I suspect this error has been corrected.
3) GM simply turns already domesticated crops into higher production through selecting for drought resistance, shorter stems [more energy used to grow the kernals and less susceptible to flattening down by rain storms, etc. and less requirement - I think - for chemical fertilizers].
4) One controversial example is rice genetically engineered to include beta carotene [vitamin A]. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem in both high rice and maize consumption societies.
Third world advocates are still at their wits end on this one. "In 2005 a new variety called Golden Rice 2 was announced which produces up to 23 times more beta-carotene than the original variety of golden rice.[3] Neither variety is currently available for human consumption.
Although golden rice was developed as a humanitarian tool, it has met with significant opposition from environmental and anti-globalization activists." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice
I am waiting for the upcoming movie "Jackass III - Attack Of The Golden Rice"
2) In the recent past they have, however, caused starvation in Africa. This is because the dip-shits would not feed starving Africans the same GM corn meal already being eaten by Americans. I suspect this error has been corrected.
3) GM simply turns already domesticated crops into higher production through selecting for drought resistance, shorter stems [more energy used to grow the kernals and less susceptible to flattening down by rain storms, etc. and less requirement - I think - for chemical fertilizers].
4) One controversial example is rice genetically engineered to include beta carotene [vitamin A]. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem in both high rice and maize consumption societies.
Third world advocates are still at their wits end on this one. "In 2005 a new variety called Golden Rice 2 was announced which produces up to 23 times more beta-carotene than the original variety of golden rice.[3] Neither variety is currently available for human consumption.
Although golden rice was developed as a humanitarian tool, it has met with significant opposition from environmental and anti-globalization activists." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice
I am waiting for the upcoming movie "Jackass III - Attack Of The Golden Rice"
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General Science / Re: Has There Been Any Significant Evolution in Humanity?
« on: 03/01/2012 23:28:44 »
PS
The planet is in the most peaceful and prosperous era in its entire human history. Read "Better Angles of Our Nature". http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0670022950/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link
In this book Plinker points out that violent deaths per 100,000 population today could not even be shown on his timescale chart since it is less then one pixel. In some hunter/gatherer societies it sometimes approached one third of all deaths.
The planet is in the most peaceful and prosperous era in its entire human history. Read "Better Angles of Our Nature". http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0670022950/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link
In this book Plinker points out that violent deaths per 100,000 population today could not even be shown on his timescale chart since it is less then one pixel. In some hunter/gatherer societies it sometimes approached one third of all deaths.
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General Science / Re: Has There Been Any Significant Evolution in Humanity?
« on: 03/01/2012 23:23:36 »
Cliff - You wrote: "...In a sense, I think we still do that with racial discrimination..." I really wish people would get off this hobby horse. Half the entire Democrat Party proclaimed The Tea Party to be racist. Until Herman Cain became their darling. Cain is three times as black in every way then is Obama.
Jezzua Cliff. I was trained to fix typewriters by a black guy back in 1967. I then became a congressional investigator and BOTH my immediate supervisors were black. I NEVER had a black guy work for me.
However, the Huxley hierarchy of Alphas etc does not need to be engineered since already it exists in nature. One problem is WAY too many people believe raw IQ somehow justly confers a linear Alpha/Zeta status. I can just about guarantee Marx, Engels, and Lenin ALL had really really high IQ.
So high in fact, that some of them seem to believe anyone who expressed an inferior thought should simply be killed. The Alphas will do all the thinking and the rest should simply become members in 'The Dictatorship of the Proletariate'. THE STATE simply whithering away as the proper order of society took its natural and just end. Scientific Materialism.
Jezzua Cliff. I was trained to fix typewriters by a black guy back in 1967. I then became a congressional investigator and BOTH my immediate supervisors were black. I NEVER had a black guy work for me.
However, the Huxley hierarchy of Alphas etc does not need to be engineered since already it exists in nature. One problem is WAY too many people believe raw IQ somehow justly confers a linear Alpha/Zeta status. I can just about guarantee Marx, Engels, and Lenin ALL had really really high IQ.
So high in fact, that some of them seem to believe anyone who expressed an inferior thought should simply be killed. The Alphas will do all the thinking and the rest should simply become members in 'The Dictatorship of the Proletariate'. THE STATE simply whithering away as the proper order of society took its natural and just end. Scientific Materialism.
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General Science / Re: Entropy?
« on: 03/01/2012 22:59:27 »
First, the speed of light is NOT constant. It varies according to the medium through which it travels. The maximum speed of light seems to be its speed through a vacuum. However, pass it through a prism and its speed slows a bit according to wave length. Hence the spectrum. Bose Einstein condensate is not a vacuum. It is simply an extreme form of 'medium'.
As for entropy I am a bit baffled myself. However, it seems to be an isolated phenomena of thermodynamics in a closed system. Specifically, 'It determines that thermal energy always flows spontaneously from regions of higher temperature to regions of lower temperature, in the form of heat.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy
This clearly is not what happens when gravity collapses a cloud of hydrogen into a star. Gravity compresses the cloud increasing its temperature until the ultimate exothermic reaction takes place: nuclear fusion.
If space continues to expand at an ever increasing state, then it could eventually become more powerful then gravity and the whole thing moves towards absolute zero. I suppose this could even overcome the strong nuclear force. If so, the universe might conceivably be reduced to no matter at all.
For instance, if spacial expansion can overcome the strong nuclear force, then it seems logical the resultant quarks could also be 'evaporated' into to electromagnetic radiation.
I have seen no speculation on whether spacial expansion could also evaporate photons.
As for entropy I am a bit baffled myself. However, it seems to be an isolated phenomena of thermodynamics in a closed system. Specifically, 'It determines that thermal energy always flows spontaneously from regions of higher temperature to regions of lower temperature, in the form of heat.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy
This clearly is not what happens when gravity collapses a cloud of hydrogen into a star. Gravity compresses the cloud increasing its temperature until the ultimate exothermic reaction takes place: nuclear fusion.
If space continues to expand at an ever increasing state, then it could eventually become more powerful then gravity and the whole thing moves towards absolute zero. I suppose this could even overcome the strong nuclear force. If so, the universe might conceivably be reduced to no matter at all.
For instance, if spacial expansion can overcome the strong nuclear force, then it seems logical the resultant quarks could also be 'evaporated' into to electromagnetic radiation.
I have seen no speculation on whether spacial expansion could also evaporate photons.
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General Science / Re: Are men and women different?
« on: 03/01/2012 22:15:19 »
Geezer - Regarding Claymores
I spent a year in Vietnam and have a certain 'intimacy' with said claymores. We only had one size. It was about the size of a large paper back book with a curve to it and several spikes on the bottom to push into the ground. On the outside of the curve it said something like 'This Side Towards The Enemy'.
Do not detonate a claymore you are carrying with you, even if pointed in the proper direction. You think a three inch twelve gage field magnum shotgun has a kick?
I spent a year in Vietnam and have a certain 'intimacy' with said claymores. We only had one size. It was about the size of a large paper back book with a curve to it and several spikes on the bottom to push into the ground. On the outside of the curve it said something like 'This Side Towards The Enemy'.
Do not detonate a claymore you are carrying with you, even if pointed in the proper direction. You think a three inch twelve gage field magnum shotgun has a kick?
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General Science / Re: do i wanna burn a banana peel for heat?
« on: 03/01/2012 22:07:36 »
Burning a dry banana peel will produce an exothermic reaction [heat]. However, throwing a wet banana peel into a fire will first create an endothermic reaction [absorb heat] as the moisture is boiled off.
It would be a fun exercise to find out how much moisture exists in a fresh peel and how many BTUs are used to convert the moisture to steam. And then determine how many BTUs are created by burning the dry peel.
Incidentally, this is why you let firewood age [dry out] before using it.
It would be a fun exercise to find out how much moisture exists in a fresh peel and how many BTUs are used to convert the moisture to steam. And then determine how many BTUs are created by burning the dry peel.
Incidentally, this is why you let firewood age [dry out] before using it.
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General Science / Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
« on: 03/01/2012 21:56:42 »
Geezer
Just today I tested my four speed auto with lockup converter on a steep hill. At 60 mph in drive and zero throttle the tach showed 2000 rpm. In neutral it showed 1000 rpm. Clearly it was not free wheeling.
Just today I tested my four speed auto with lockup converter on a steep hill. At 60 mph in drive and zero throttle the tach showed 2000 rpm. In neutral it showed 1000 rpm. Clearly it was not free wheeling.
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