Uncertian, Complex...
Think Apollo Moon project.
Sometimes it can be done. It takes time.
3058 publicly visible posts • joined 14 Dec 2007
They work just fine on sliced bread, but at one hotel I stayed at had one of these devices, and they found out that unfortunately thick bagel slices just don't work too well. Well, they get jammed up in the works, and stall the conveyor. Then the heating element gets in contact with said bagel, and after a short while the organic material decides to turn itself into global warming gasses and other combustion products. Usually this isn't bad, but the smoke detector was positioned right above said toaster.
No, the alarm didn't sound while I was there, but there was a hurried scramble to release the burning bagel of shame.
Back when I first got a microwave oven (late 1970's) it had 3 controls. First one was a small power level know, that usually was at 100%. The second was a nice logarithmic time control (the first minute was about as much space as the distance from 30-35 minutes) that was a nice round dial linked to a mechanical timer. The third was a nice button that basically started the whole process, that ended with a nice 'ding' at the end.
I have been looking for a microwave oven that has similar simple controls ever since. I haven't seen any, as somehow marketing droids have seen fit to encumber the panels with more and more buttons and displays ever since.
The only saving grace is the "Easy Minute" button on my current microwave oven that you can thankfully press multiple times to get nice even minute increments on cook time. I consider all the other buttons a big waste of time and effort.
Yes, I long for simpler days.
That is the main problem. With different processes you get different results. For all its faults, SysV init and RC scripts was understandable to some extent. My (cursory) understanding of systemd is that it appears more complicated to UNDERSTAND than the init stuff.
The init scripts are nice text scripts which are executed by a nice well documented shell (bash mostly). Systemd has all sorts of blobs that somehow do things and are totally confusing to me. It suffers from "anti-kiss"
Perhaps a nice book could be written WITH example to show what is going on.
Now let's see does audio come before or after networking (or at the same time)?
It is people like this (who pay their people little) that cause loons like Nancy Pelosi cause to celebrate with silly comments. I also note that he supports such causes all while keeping the $$$.
Well in some cases, yes crumbs (*SIGH*).
Of course, one might try using a Raspberry Pi for the computing, as it has close to the same power as an original VAX.
The prices for computing power have come down a bit over the years.....
As for data, good old nine track tape in 2400 foot reels works on just about any reader that can mount the tape.
1) RTFM
2) Have you tried a search engine
3) Think about it for a day or so.
4) Did you look at old answers in Stack Overflow?
5) You might have a reasonable question, so ask it. Please be brief and concise. Check your spelling grammar as well.
You're Welcome.
I wonder what the proper procedure for elevator phones is. My parents house has a small (two story) elevator, and it has a nice phone inside the elevator car. There is NO WAY I'm going to have anything other that a proper POTS line serving the phone. If power goes out (the elevator gets stuck), you will need to summon help to get "rescued". My 99 year old mom can easily reach for the phone and call for help. A VoIP phone WILL NOT DO! I refuse to put one in for this service. I have my doubts about others in this circumstance would wither.
Elon Musk needs to start a Broadway Play. Given his hype he might even make money if it fails. Or not.
I'm a bit surprised that H&S hasn't invaded. They might limit the speed to 80 kph for the entire track just to be "safe".
On the other hand, if you want to go "full computer", just give all the drivers an Xbox/Playstation and let it go from there. Animate for TV coverage.
Probably not, but it could happen. Lots of reasons one might be "for the environment" or something as silly.
This is a general comment about lessons learned. If the "cost" of the failure is large, it is a lesson learned quite thoroughly. If the "cost" is minimal, you gloss over it and learn it many times before it sinks in. When it comes to backups, the initial "cost" is quite small and the lesson isn't learned, but when it becomes "large" it is like being hit on the head with a 2x4.
So goes human nature (*SIGH*).
Has me thinking of people comparing their anatomy to each other, or at least bragging about it. Sure my monitor isn't that big, but for most things it really doesn't need to be.
My last job, I used a very nice iMac that allowed me to have a nice 50 lines with 80 characters on each nicely displayed on the monitor. For programming that is pretty good, and a long way from the 24x80 CRT terminals I used many moons ago.
I guess for the most part it is all relative. Lots of people want "bigger" even if they don't use it. In fact those that want it the most are usually the ones who don't actually use the big expanses of screen real estate (like many PHB's).
Wonderful.
As for a BOFH production, wouldn't there be a different "boss" each episode. Kinda like _The Prisoner_ with interchangeable #2's.
As for beer, I remember a lunch break where four of us went to the local road house and we went through 3 pitchers of beer. I remember that I was the one that drank the least, and my head was spinning and the others "appeared" to be sober. Thankfully for all of us said road house (which is no longer there) was walking distance and they don't give WUI's (Walking under the influence) out.
Sure Radio Shack (Tandy) has all but disappeared, but we do have Fry's Electronics (they also sell refrigerators) and a couple of surplus stores that actually sell components.
Many moons ago, we did have Zack electronics (Palo Alto), but they went away in the early 80's just when Fry's was taking off. Sadly with the way things are built these days, we all strive for "instant gratification", and it is never soon enough. We buy and discard on a daily basis, and don't have time for the act of putting something together. That knowledge is hidden in the macro items we buy.
Such a shame.
I'm surprised that anyone here in the USA has an attention span that long. Perhaps that is why news stories (and commercials) are short. I remember back in my youth that commercials were ONE minute long, and we could take breaks from TV watching to use the facilities. Now we have five second intros to YouTube videos that are all pretty short.
Yes, our minds are turning to mush.
Voltages on microphones...
Well unless you are using phantom voltage, the voltages in a microphone are usually VERY minimal (less than a volt most of the time). The typical mic has a small dynamic element and not much else. Yes, the phantom circuit is 48 volts (sometimes less) that provides bias to electret microphones need biasing and amplification.
Yes there is a problem around water, and I wouldn't go near it with audio equipment.
Many moons ago, I was traveling (for work actually) with a work companion in of all places Tyler Texas, where the motel rooms had occupancy sensors on the thermostats to "economize". Of course this was totally unacceptable as we wanted to return from our outings to a reasonably cool room rather than sweat it out while the AC attempted to cool things down in glacial time.
Our solution was to open up the thermostat and "bypass" (I believe it involved a screwdriver adjustment) the motion sensor. This meant that we slept comfortably at night and came back to a nicely cool room after the days outing. When we did come back, we noticed that the condensate which drained from the AC onto the exterior walkway looked like a river for our room, but the other rooms had barely a trickle. We just smiled and carried on.
Yes, Tyler Texas in the summer is both hot and humid.
No need to be part of the gunpowder plot, this was back in the 80's and the company is long gone.
Soon parted. To me it seems that fools are the ones who dabble in Bitcoin. Given a chance, it can be rigged, and the mining is mostly a zero sum game when you consider energy costs (at least in the USA).
Sorry, I'm not using my machine to heat the house, especially since it is a nice balmy 65 degrees (F) outside. Winter is over.
Maybe that is the reason the value tanked. Winter is over (mostly) and nicer weather is around the corner, and soon we switch on the air conditioning. Sounds as good as any other excuse for the value of Bitcoin.
"I doubt ground stations would need to be *rebuilt* they just need to tune in to the correct frequency and position..."
This depends... Sometimes the receivers need special hardware to receive the data. If said hardware is lost/scrapped you need to re-create it.
Also the deep space network can get pretty busy looking after things, as there are bunches of satellites outside of earth orbit (quite a few in or about Mars).
For one of the fondleslabs to go "total inability to perform usual service" right in the middle of next Sunday's Super Bowl. You will see a vivid demonstration of frustration with said device. If this happens, the words "extreme prejudice" will be the least of the problems.
If it happens to more than one on the sideline something close to a volcanic eruption will take place.
To mitigate this I strongly suspect that the fondleslabs will be very well tested. Then again, you never know.
I recently got a nice email that said that the people sending it have my keylogging and know that I have surfed porn. They won't tell if I send some bitcoin.
Thankfully I just ignored it as I knew it was untrue. On the other hand I suspect there are people out there who have fallen for it. At least there are no infections to deal with. Of course given the amount of infected email I come across (and ignore), it is but a small blessing.
El Reg is really on top of things. Be well advised to monitor it closely.
Look, if Vulture Central is being noted in the WSJ, it must be doing something right.
Can't say much for Chipzilla Intel or others. Some genetic diversity in chip designs might be something to strive for. Of course I long for 68k processors, but that is another story.
Where's my car...
Not far off, as one might think. We will soon have autonomous vehicles, and after you "park" and go into the pub, you whip out your smartphone app and ask the vehicle to meet you at the front door. I see all sorts of problems here, including getting the wrong car (probably the same make).
Of course if it is the boss's car, there are all sorts of BOFH scenarios available (sorry about that cliff/river).