Posts by bombastic bob

Re: A smashing time

more like an X ray if you think about it, one that is unfortunately destructive. The thing is you kinda need a "something" that you can fire at it that is small enough to get any kind of resoloution, even if that just means a splat on the wall. But yeah, ball bearings shot through an egg. Or maybe 00 buck shot.

Re: It's a facinating field

actually it reminds me of resonance. This is the kind of thing that needs to be leveraged for fusion energy. A resonance at a particular energy could be used to make fusion happen more readily, or might prevent it. In either case it is important.

Yep. Energy resonance. Makes the most sense to me. Like an atomic tuned circuit of sorts. Now hit it with particles at THAT energy and see what it does. Might be interesting.

("resonance capture" of neutrons is a known phenomenon in nuclear physics, like with how fission works. At some neutron energies, generally during the thermalization (slowing down) of the neutrons, the neutron is captured but does not fission the nucleus of the fuel. It is considered to be a loss factor, like neutrons leaking out of the material. Making this 'slowing down' distance shorter helps to keep resonance capture from happening)

Re: WSA or ASW?

SImilar, Windows Subsystem for Linux.

From the perspective of Micros~1 it makes sense.

It's kind of like you are dealing with hardware that has serial comms and the docs get "upload" and "download" backwards. Seen that more than once. The people writing the docs see it from the perspective of their gear, not of the control program running on the PC, slab, or phone. So they will upload their file to your control program, rather than download it from the device.

make sure you apply it to the end that goes 'oink'

Re: Nice one but

no such animal on my farm.

animal. farm. Orwell. Heh.

On a related note, does THIS mean I can target Android as my ONLY development platform if I want to, and NOT EVEN BOTHER with Win-10-nic nor Win-II unless I write it for 7???

I still need to target Linux/BSD of course but who knows, maybe a proper 'droid subsystem for those as well,...?

[/me came up with a nice way of doing a 3D skeuomorphic button for Android using the 'droid SDK and Java - time to change the world!]

it would only work in the southern hemisphere

Re: No explosives in the tech support room

Student: Hey professor, what you get when you mix this Toluene with this Nitric acid?

Professor: You get an 'F'.

Re: Smaller buddies

your computer has bugs in it. Still an ENTIRE ANT COLONY is pretty impressive!

Similar kind of "bug" story,. working on systems that involve coin counters, one of the newer ones kept malfunctioning. Engineering setups and whatnot are all out in the warehouse area with the tools and mechanical things so occasionally insects fly in through a loading dock. One day boss is checking out coin counter operations and it keeps failing. After opening it up, he found an insect inside that was apparently causing the problems. It probably landed on the loading hopper and fell in and could not get out.

(silly insects)

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/worlds-first-computer-bug/

Re: Schooling

how did people in days of yore come to the conclusion that males would be better suited to shop vs home economics?

SImple: traditional roles at that time were more suited to success than non-traditional ones, though in modern times men and women do not rely on one another in "traditional roles" that way because we no longer seem to NEED that 'family model'. Sadly it probably made the divorce rate higher as people (in general) no longer seem to NEED a marriage for a family to have success.

100+ years ago food preparation was STILL a huge time consumer, and 'heavy labor' (ditch digging for example) was still done the hard way with shovels. So guess what the curriculum taught young boys and girls? SURVIVAL skills!

100 years later that has changed somewhat. Even when I was in Junior High (70's) there was occasionally a "boys cooking" class available [I left that district before I could go there, and I had signed up for it before we moved]. And both shop AND home economics were electives when I was in high school. Maybe it was not like that everywhere, but you have to understand that the world of 100 years ago was really NOT that long ago in terms of human history.

And traditional male/female roles existed because it was MORE SUCCESSFUL that way.

Re: Schooling

Starting with computers doesn't have to be as intimidating as STEM makes it sound, but it needs to start earlier than it does.

Right. All grammar schools should teach the basics of computer programming (procedural thinking, "if" statements, basic input and output in console mode) as early as 3rd or 4th grade, once the kids learn long division. It should be a mandatory part of the math curriculum, assuming that it is not already there. And for those who can do it already, an "advanced" track separate from the others (self-study with individualized goals).

Maybe Python for beginners (I learned BASIC in high school but I think Python would be better) and Javascript for the more advanced 3rd/4th graders (or languages like C++ if they can 'hack' it). Learning programming should be like learning Algebra, which should also start as early as 3rd or 4th grade [once basic arithmetic has been mastered].

Starting with a "hello world" type of programming assignment, to get used to the environment, and then quickly moving to asking for console input and then reacting to it. ("enter Y or N" "You pressed Y"). And so on.

Re: Change has to start the second they're born

I admit I only scanned through your post but got the gist. This "change from birth" idea has all been tried before, over and over, starting DECADES ago, and failed miserably every time.

You cannot deny the genetic programming associated with X and Y chromosomes. Boy and girl babies generally act and prefer things as boys and girls always do. Boys given barbies will treat them like toy soldiers, etc.. It's just part of "the difference" which I am _SO_ glad is there! So giving them "opposite" toys does NOT change their nature. [insert lame man vs woman joke] "a SEXIST would say...!" (could not resist, GG is HILARIOUS)

As a general rule women seem to want certain 'different things' from their careers than men do. Not as a specific, but as a generality. As such, women (apparently) often accept things from a job that men do not, INCLUDING lower pay, although in my opinion a manager who observes that a female employee is being UNDER paid should step in and correct it, because, RETENTION. So maybe THAT is "a fix", of sorts. (OK some labor law out there might already require it, but still).

So, like always,. you cannot up-front claim "discrimination" or "anti-diversity" or "we need more women" etc. until all of the facts are clear. Not that it is not worth pointing out, just not worth an overkill overreaction.

Re: apt-get is infected as well

Devuan maybe? (It's all I use these days whenever i can avoid something infected with systemd)

Re: Why not just do it above board?

some flavors cost money but you get something for that (like support)

Most linux distros cost nothing in money. but occasionally I have fixed bugs and submitted those fixes to OSS developers. That is also a "cost" if you think about it.

In principle I agree as everything has a cost of some kind. But the truth is, a monetary cost only exists for SOME flavors of Linux.

And Canonical is BLOWING it, big time.

From the article: you get an unsolicited ad for the scheme – and some users are not happy about it.

Only SOME users? (I think most who are angry are a silent angry majority)

Re: Managers beware

That's possibly true. Those with a sense of "entitlement" are probably more likely to "quiet quit" than those who are "achievers" with a strong work ethic.

It's a turning point in your career when you suddenly realize that you are a VENDOR and the company you do work for is YOUR CUSTOMER, rather than "a job" being somewhat entitled to you, justifying a LOT of blame and complaints and the willingness to stir up trouble because "wrong pronoun" or "boss yelled at you".

And pay scales are based on how profitable YOUR job is compared to how much it costs to have you in that position, If you make what YOU do more valuable, by hard work, experience, or efficiency, then promotions and raises SHOULD follow... and if not, keep your resume/CV up to date and spread it around.

"Quit Quit" is likely to follow you around. It can NOT be good for your career,. Co-workers are often good sources for new positions (especially if you are a contractor),. But if they know that you get lazy to protest things, they may not recommend you so readily...

Re: Wake me up

I actually got scolded and even ridiculed once back in 1997 when I was doing remote work and I was e-mailed a document "in the new format". I asked very nicely if I could get documents in RTF format, got the scolding and ridicule, and ended up paying $$$ for the NEWER Office 97, which had CLIPPY in it. WORST. PURCHASE. EVAR!

Re: Orifice at work Libre at home

ACK on 1900 not a leap year. Occasionally I need to dredge up my old date to days algorithm and that one 'if' statement about leap years being divisible by 4 and either NOT divisible by 100 (1900), or divisible by 400 (2000), but that may not work with non-Gregorian calendars or the various times in which a calendar correction was made. Still ok for anything after the 18th century.

(last time I used it was re-writing some bloatware web page calendar javascript data entry thingy for picking a date, for which the old one was some canned BS-ware that used, of all things, JQUERY - when I got done with it, NATIVE JS ONLY - and the adaptation of 30 year old C code was pretty straightforward)

Re: Lipstick: meet pig

by all indications, including the overall shape of the logo,. they failed to put the lipstick on the end that goes "oink"

Re: If you simply never sign up, that problem solves itself!

part of the online identity, timesharing, and cloudy storage model is the ability for 3rd parties and gummints to see where you are and what you're up to... (where exactly in the world is that server located?)

Re: Pass me the incense and put the whale song up to 11.

must've calculated it with a Pentium-1

there's still bugs in there that I reported in Word 2.0c

After an unspecified amount of time they become *features*

Re: #@$Drivers

I will not purchase any printer that is not CUPS-capable, nor a scanner that is "not SANE". As for the rest, it is true that SOME hardware vendors play the windows-only game, but nowadays [with some exceptions] even cheap garbage from China seems to have Linux support, particularly when it comes to bluetooth and network things.

as for older gear, you are probably right. There are industrial systems out there that have Windows 98 control software (and no path for upgrade)

I agree on the "life is probably everywhere". Even with the idea of intelligent design, why would a god NOT create life on multiple planets?

I do have some trouble with their assumptions, an H2 + CO2 atmosphere. Earth had a high CO2 atmosphere early on, which most likely favored plant life until the CO2 was consumed (this was CO2 from volcanic activity).

Atmospheric gasses usually accumulate because of volcanos. Gasses and compounds formed in the mantle end up in the atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere is ALSO being sustained this way, as I understand it.

Elements exist in a predictble percentage based on isotopes and so you can expect x% nitrogen, y% oxygen, etc. whether as compounds or as elemental gasses. Example, Jupiter has a lot of ammonia (all that nitrogen) and H2+He in "solar proportions" due to its near sun-like gravity, as well as some water and maybe ice at the core, whereas earth has N2 gas and lots of water and probably lost most of the H2 and He from the relatively low gravity and solar winds. Oxygen will quickly form water from hydrogen, depleting the remaining atmospheric hydrogen and raining onto the surface, and so CO2 + H2 without even N2 (let alone O2) on a smaller planet like Mars seems very strange to me...

Additionally lighter gasses tend to get blown off by solar winds, especially when a planet's magnetic field gets weak. Mars has little or no volcanic activity and a nearly solid core that generates little or no magnetic field. It is smaller than earth and farther away from the sun, and that is probably why. So solar wind would eventually strip away everything lighter than CO2, leaving CO2 behind. That is what we see now. CO2 is one of the heavier gasses in the atmosphere and that is why you still find it n Mars.

If Mars had an atmosphere more like Earth's (O2 N2 H2O etc) with the same CO2 partial pressure as it has now, it would be VERY earth-like. I ran the numbers once on this just to be sure.

So although this model is interesting (somewhat), it has (as far as I can tell) NO evidence that it actually happened. So no biological climate change for Mars, either.

Re: All-Electric Homes

"Medalion Homes" - I remember those, advertising on TV even. I lived in one in the 1960's, but it had gas central heat and gas water heat at my mother's insistence. They actually HAD IT BUILT at the time. It's worth over $1M now, but neither my mother nor myself nor my siblings saw ANYTHING out of it... the side effect of (mostly bio-dad) parents making VERY bad decisions.

Re: Ridiculous

It's those laws of physics, getting in the way again...

And now another shoutout for Arthur C. Clarke's "Superiority"

NOTE: there is potential with things like peltier devices; however I do not know how large a peltiere-based heat pump would have to be to provide adequate energy transfer. A much better way would be to sink pipes 50 or so feet into the earth, where the temperature tends to be above freezing in most places, and use that as a heat sink/source for a heat pump. The question is whether or not the extra expense and maint costs are worth the benefit...

Re: Scrubbers for fireplaces?

the very bill this article is writing about is banning gas grills too!

You KNOW that there will be people driving their SUVs and pickup trucks to Nevada and Arizona to get a propane grill and plenty of fuel for it, right? Or, sending someone ELSE to do it.

Those with money do NOT have to obey these "laws".. "THEY" will ALWAYS have "nice things" - UNLIKE the rest of us!!!

2 words - the name of a restaurant: "French Laundry" - a perfect example of this 2-tiered snobbery. During somewhat recent lockdowns, Gavin Newsome took his family to a restaurant when NOBODY ELSE COULD GO TO ONE, and they DID NOT WEAR MASKS (the ones they demanded US to wear). SImilarly Nancy Pelosi got a hair cut in San Francisco and was photographed doing so without a mask, when ALL of the hair salons were in lockdown [except for servicing HER]. THIS is who these people ARE. Without arguing the moraiity of shutdowns and lockdowns and masks, it is OBVIOUS that for THEM, it is "ONE LAW FOR ME and ANOTHER for THEE..." [they must view us as plebes, mooks, and serfs]

Re: Scrubbers for fireplaces?

If I must have a scrubber on my fireplace

THEN CIGARETTE SMOKERS NEED SCRUBBERS TOO!!!

(there. I said it)

Re: Not "Half the Power"

that's kinda true.

Often the 220/240 outlet is split phase, depending. I am not sure if my 220 outlets are or not.

am pretty sure the electric stove is on a 220 circuit, and there's a 220 outlet for an electric clothes dryer. But I use gas for that. Also the water heater and central heating (gas). I'd rather keep it like that.

Re: Wishful thinking

If my bedroom gets to cold at night *I* *AM* *SICK* *ALL* *OF* *THE* *TIME*

My thermostat stays where it is, with supplementary portable heaters as needed. Since I am limited to 15A on that circuit, they can't be very powerful, either. It gets amazingly cold sometimes, even in Southern Cali-Forn-You, along the coast.

Re: Are they mandating the replacement tech?

Have you run the numbers and a cost analysis to prove your claims? "Because I *FEEL*" is not good enough to make long term plans, you know...

Re: Nukin' it J-Style

oh it shut down just fine. the emergency cooling did not run, though, because the tsunami flooded the diesel generators. If it had NOT been for the flooded diesel generators, no leakage would have ocurred, and no meltdowns either.

decay heat is as high as 8% of operating power immediately after shutdown (which exponentially drops over several days to something more manageable), and nuclear waste (stored in the buildings) constantly emits heat. The inability to cool them resulted in melted containment and radiation leakage.

Re: Are they mandating the replacement tech?

electric heat in Cali-Forn-You is MORE EXPENSIVE, regardless.

I own a GAS CLOTHES DRYER, which I purchased DECADES AGO because they are WAY cheaper to operate. Same basic idea as gas heat. I also prefer a gas stove (but have not had one of these in a long time) because they are faster responding and easier to control the level of heat, among other things.

The ONLY effect this is going to have is to drive anyone who is NOT a "rich snob" out of the state!

(I will be quite old by then - Texas is looking a LOT better!)