Posts by Scott Broukell
362 posts • joined Thursday 20th September 2007 15:24 GMT
Slightly OT
Remove all street signage, speeds signs and marker lines etc. Replace plastic dashboards with metal ones - with sharp edges. Replace plastic steering bosses with pointy metal ones. Remove all seat belts. Then - we might all drive with a little more care and consideration - for ourselves, our passengers and other road users.
Oh!, before I forget, include riding a bicycle for some 20-hours or more in a busy town / city center in the driver training, and include driving a car in same situation for those that wish to ride bicycles.
I believe the Dutch have experimented with 'shared' urban road space, were everybody, including folk who wish to cross the road (sorry, shared-space) needs to slow down and look out for each other more. I understand it has a calming effect on all forms of traffic. It's not the answer for every situation but its a brave start at re-thinking how we all use urban thoroughfares.
No, it's not really a joking matter ....
... but will peeps become scada flying.
Re: "returning to long term normality" (Primus Secundus Tertius)
I beg to differ, "normality", or rather the mean state of our planet is well forested and relatively wet equatorial regions with relatively extensive polar ice caps. But we must consider that ice is more than just 2 dimensional; it's depth and salinity being as important as area coverage. Right now it appears that polar coverage may not have diminished quite so dramatically as some would have us believe, but it would also appear that both thickness and salinity are far from satisfactory when compared with the record. Yes, ice ages are exceptional, it is estimated that more than 1km of ice covered Birmingham during the last glacial period and that was a relative tiddler as far as glacial periods go. I am also looking further back in time than the epochs you mention.
The degree of anthropological contribution to the current state of this is an on-going debate that does little to assist human kind to solve the bigger question of adaptability. We need to concern ourselves more with applying technological solutions to climate adaptation, rather than squabbling over who said what and with what kind of data.
I am optimistic that if our ancestors survived by successfully adapting to both glacial periods and the arrival of some pretty barren savannah on their doorsteps, then we can as well. Such research as is discussed in this article can only help.
"returning to long term normality" (Primus Secundus Tertius)
I think you will find that it is generally well understood the "normality" you speak of is, in fact, lots of ice capping both north and south poles. Quite the opposite of what we currently experience. The other "opposite" being glacial periods when those ice sheets extend further north and/or south.
What fun ...
Place a "Same Day" order for something with Google Express from an Amazon distribution center, then place another "Same Day" order with Amazon, for the same item, from a Google Express distribution center, get pop corn ready and sit back whilst you watch delivery vehicle carnage :)
But ......
Whose to know if the same machine(s) aren't being used at the same time by another dodgy geezer(s), and would it be worth hiring out a botnet in order to monitor who is using them for nefarious purposes. Could crims be found stealing information from other crims in this manner ? Surely there's an exploit to exploit the exploit there somewhere ?
Dig deeper !
Isn't there a mission planned, or perhaps completed, to unearth the remains/core of the lump that fell at Tunguska? The theory behind this being that the heat from the air-burst/core melted the permafrost below the surface and it's remains slipped, gracefully, down into the depths of an ancient marshland/swamp, where, after a time, the permafrost froze again and encapsulated it for posterity. Given the shallow angle of attack in this recent incident, one imagines that there should be a trail of debris, along with a still rather warn to the touch, core, resting at some depth, in, or below, the bottom of said lake/lakeside. Russian engineers are no slouches when it comes to drilling in sub-zero environs, but constructing a robust platform for that purpose might pose a problem. Good luck peeps.
Re: Am I missing something?
My thoughts exactly. Isn't there plenty at that scale that leaks out anyway, just wire it up across earth and neutral shirley ?
Perhaps in this instance RFID stands for ....
R - Really
F - Fed up
I - In
D - Dismal Land
Re: DIY Build policy
@Ole Juul - I suspect you may be correct, although, what with growing efforts to encourage younger generations to tinker with stuff like the Raspberry Pi etc and the economic climate where peeps might want to reduce costs with some DIY, the niche for those 'speciality products' may be fairly strong, if still small, compared to the mainstream.
It really all comes down to how much the markets can cram into the wide open beaks of the all consuming masses. It would appear that the lust for the newest 'shiny shiny' maybe waning as folk tire of such force feeding.
Perhaps we should all look harder at our habits of consumption for digital goodies, rare minerals and safe disposal methods, instead of just blindly ripping things out of their packaging, only to throw them away a year or so later in favour of the next must-have.
When I do have to retire a very old box that's still in working condition, it is either handed down to relatives or given to charities who recycle them to help less fortunate peeps experience computing. I am sure that I am not alone in this regard.
DIY Build policy
I've always built my own system choosing components that are at least one, two or even three or more years old. In that time prices have normally fallen to something I find acceptable and the revisions / bugs have also been ironed out. I still get an "Upgrade" feeling, without the "must have the latest" hankering. I couldn't care less if my kit is seen as below par with the very latest, I'm more than content with my choices. So I'll consider tinkering with W8 and tablets when the time comes thank you very much. I understand that the market would look very different if we all did this. I wonder how many other Reggers follow a similar strategy ? Got to go, the cob webs need sand blasting of my wallet again ;)
My pink half of the worm hole
Jolly good, I'm glad to hear it. Obviously it is a true clone of earth. On the plus side, I am looking forward to potentially more exotic jams and cakes at the annual Universal Neighborhood Watch jamboree - there's only so much that can be done with quince and greengage you know. But, hang on a minute, as it's an annual jamboree, is it still our annual, or theirs, or somewhere in the middle ? Would this mean we get more than one jamboree a year ? I'll email the vicar and see if there's a conflict with the steam rally. TTFN.
Universal suburban neighborhood watch
I am rather concerned that such proximity will have a negative affect on the current market value of our home planet. Given the vastness of space this potentially makes us semi-detatched, or, at the very least, end of terrace. We should be very careful during the initial phase of contact with anybody who is in at the time and see just how many shiny new space stations they have parked in orbit first. Perhaps if we asked to borrow some sugar it would help to encourage harmonious neighborly relations. Close the curtains now!
Too much information
The image on the left in the Independent bears remarkable similarity to what I image my own inner and outer rings look like when too much hot gas arises in my own system. Which I personally attribute to way too much spicy food. Funny that, cos they say the universe is a chilli place init ;)
Alfven Safety Measures
<see title>
Mines the one with the safety goggles in the pocket.
It's called a PC you say ....
... so that stands for Play Console then?
Re: Carbon Neutral
Please can we use the term "Resource", rather than "Waste". Yet, so much of this resource goes to waste, so there you are. Nearly all the by-products resulting from biological or material consumption processes can be seen as a resource, as bio-mass or in material recycling. Whilst we all need to be thinking broadly about our energy provision and consumption, I advocate greater efforts to capture this resource. I'm not really looking forward to carefully separating out 100% of my unused food for collection and bio-digestion, but I will bloody well do it if I am guaranteed it will generate some more carbon-neutral energy and perhaps reduce the appalling amounts of chemical fertilizer that we tip onto the land etc. Same goes for all the paper, glass and metal that I already diligently recycle. I'm not convinced this resource is being re-used to the max. This goes hand in hand with minimizing unused food of course.
Re: Can I borrow it?
No need for such measures in my case I fear, but i knows your feel bro (or something wicked like that).
Is it only me
or does anybody else feel the irony of sea level / glacier melt stories washing up at the feet of science journalism with such regularity.
<Mines the one with the tide tables in the pocket.>
Re: The solution is ...
Phil, eerr ...my point exactly. You mean you didn't see that !?**!>?
Re: The solution is ...
Yes, but, there would probably be one of those plastic / foil stickers that said "Warranty invalidated if seal broken. No serviceable parts. Trained technicians only" to stop you doing that.
They also wished the inventors of gunpowder, explosives and other means of propelling munitions had thought the whole thing through really. With nano technology, graphene, advances in miniaturizing more powerful processors and power sources, the principle applications and technological drivers for future ultra-intelligent machines is, and will be henceforth, the arms industry. So I can't help but feel that whatever ethical debates are had they will be stomped on rough shod by some heavy armor that won't take "no" for an answer. I dare say that such advances might also, potentially, be our chance to adapt to future climatic alterations, (hot or cold) - by building self -repairing exoskeletons etc and merging our DNA ridden meat bag selves into such machinery. Meet the machumans, their ancestors used to crawl around in muddy swamps you know. Maybe dear old DNA will eventually be replaced and "mechanized", our digital souls hardened against radiation and a new journey will take us amongst the nearby galaxies and beyond. Question is, where will they put the restart button ?
maybe ..... just maybe ......
Send three and fourpence, we're going to a dance ?
Re: Back in the day - quite so
All that cloth and phenolic wax insulation warming up nicely. Love the, “impressively terrifying”, power supply, been near a few of those in my time. The third pic reminds me to look out those old spools, sadly I have no punched cards left. It's great to hear about such projects coming to fruition, 'sourcing spares' must have been in an interesting journey. Those were the days, by 'eck lad, youngens will just giggle at grandpa's funny old machines.
@Craig 2
Yes, improve by all means. Improve the approximation and your results will be finer still. But you will never be able to make two, three, four .... kilo blocks of alloy identical in every regard. So it just seems like a bit of an old waste of time when the differences are already comparable to a millionth of a gnats whisker and that's close enough for me, but thanks for asking.
FFS !
Oh! just get on with it, nothing in this universe is perfect, no matter how many bell jars are involved, it's all relative to the observer anyways. You just can't make two things identical, it's all approximation. Why do we insist on believing we are the custodians of perfection in the universe, cos we can chat about it over a latte!. The close proximity of an over-weight IPK botherer would have some bearing on relative mass wouldn't it ? The affect being lessened if a scrawny student of International Kilomass took it home for his/her homework project.
Blimey guv'ner, for a second there I thought I was reading The Onion front page. Would you adam and eve it.
Shouldn't these be re-named the "Leonids Nimoy", or would that spok controversy.
What the beeb has been excellent at producing over the years is very good news, documentaries and info-media. I would much rather it promptly ditched all the dancing on ice, soaps and costume drama, slimmed down to something more easily afforded via somewhat reduced public funding and left the commercial channels to do all the 'Entertainment'. I mean it's not like there aren't enough other channels to cope with all the dross. Cuts to World Service could be reversed and we could have wall to wall Horizon and David Attenborough-like content.
Beer, cos I could afford a few more with a lower license fee :)
If the jet stream meander persists, then the proposition of much colder weather, in and around the UK, could be further compounded if the north Atlantic oscillation/conveyor system weakens or breaks down (due to increased sea water temps and reduction in salinity from northern ice sheet melt) - a very chilling prospect indeed. However, it is worth pointing out that the planets natural state is global aridity without snow caps at either pole. As has been said, global time for these systems, is, relatively, very, very slow indeed. But, then again, we are apparently due another glacial period in northern Europe and such periods are heralded by warming spells. So, are we adding to global warming with our industry/consumption, in such a way as to postpone the arrival of glaciation, or, are we in a period of pre-glacial warming ? It's scary either way for the generations to come and I hope their adaptability enables sufficient numbers to survive and prosper in a sustainable manner. Either way, human population is probably about to peak in the next 100-200 years. A combination of global systems, our own perverse behavior, towards each other and the planet, disease, famine, water shortages and war, will almost certainly then be major causes of a dramatic decline in human population. Perhaps we we will take all this amassed date with us and no one will be the wiser. Or perhaps we might struggle on and learn that even if our foot hold on this rocky place is at best tenuous, it's worth indulging in some good house keeping while we are here. I mean, even if you are only going to sit down for a picnic for a short time, it's jolly good practice to tidy up when you leave the beauty spot and go home.
Bang the rocks together guys
Whilst the particular items in question here are not strictly percussive in use, banging rocks together, and looking at the results, is the basis from which all our technology has sprung. I find it amusing to consider that we are still very much engaged in the very same activity some 500,000 years later, albeit with much, much, smaller 'rocks' (protons in accelerators), but the actual process remains the same. One can even see the very same, 'smashing things together' process, driving the universe and the production of matter from it's very beginning, well since 10e−32 seconds after the point of origin perhaps. Just saying.
All very well but .....
... they got into space before human apes. We men failed to notice the subtle and ingenious ways by which we were unwittingly coerced into developing space flight and then before you know it we launched apes into space first*. Naturally the sole purpose was just to see the lovely view from up there and once that was done we (men) continued tinkering in the space-age garden shed of bliss unabated. Go ape-women of the world !
*(well dogs and cats and some mice as well probably but you get the gist)
Forerunner of the brain ?
Would it be plausible to imagine that some of the cells that responded to light in very early eyes such as those discussed then went on to develop into brains?
I mean in the sense that such cells would be the earliest in our ancestral lineage to operate neurologically and a ganglion or cluster of such cells might act as a simple brain. I think I read something postulating such an idea some time back.
Posted in They've only gone and HACKED the WEATHER
Presumably .....
The data they snitched was from cloud-based storage. <groan>
Part of a ........
Spent shot gun cartridge maybe.
Queue sounds of another round going into the breach of a pump-action, and ...
"Ere! Get orf of my land!" in a gruff Martian accent.
Posted in Humanity facing GLOBAL BACON SHORTAGE
Petri dish ahoy!
I am actually looking forward to victim less, lab-meat. In-vitro bio-tech is fast approaching the stage when commercial production can begin to be considered. Imagine ordering your own customized prime cut of Saddleback and Old Spot bacon. Charolais rump at possibly as little as half of today's market price mmmm ..... and no animals died in the process (yeah!). I'm drooling at the very thought. It's the future you know and I can't stay silent (or do I mean soylent?), about it any longer.
Flames cos it's frying right now and I'm anticipating some down votes, just saying.
Is it just me
Or is this just a consequence of Governments who want dumbed down masses, who can't really think for themselves, or be bothered to use their vote etc, yet find themselves in the position of having to play nanny more and more to the same masses. I think they have put the blinkers, cart and horse not only in the wrong order but in the wrong field again. Banning all this stuff is like trying to un-invent gun powder. Pornography has been around for ages and ages before the advent of the inter-webs along with abuse of all kinds and the worst kinds of human behaviour imaginable. Pulling the plug on the internet isn't going to magic it all away. If coming across this sort of material whilst browsing the webs causes peeps to become unstable, suicidal, sex freaks then the problem might have more to do with the level of educational achievement those folk were able to attain in their lives. The web is a mirror to most of human society, reflecting what has been there all along. The vast majority of which is fine and wholesome, with some cranks thrown in. A minority of it is utterly appalling - live with it! It isn't going to go away because you put your hands over your eyes, learn to ignore it if you wish but don't imagine you can actually stop those who want to access it getting there in the end. I am aware bull fighting exists, think it is barbaric, and have never felt inclined towards seeking bull fighting material on the web for that reason. I was able to do that all by myself, wow!
BBC
Whilst I agree with your comments on relative independence etc, I find that the BBC has for some time become slanted with a growing bias towards the US, something that I am not inclined towards personally. There seems, imho, an unhealthy and unbalanced volume of coverage devoted to US elections, culture and opinion. So I takes me pinch of salt more and more with the beeb and it doesn't taste as good as it did some years ago.
Everything with a pinch of salt
Whilst I find myself in general agreement with the sentiments expressed above, don't forget the importance of a modest pinch of salt for all such material. I read it that both of you left that unsaid, but felt compelled, even in this reasonably erudite arena, to remind ourselves of its balancing qualities.
In a mans world.
Why shouldn't a woman in any part of the world be able to follow and develop a career, if she chooses to, balance that with having children if she chooses to and why shouldn't men be comfortable mutually supporting the choice of their partners in this and take on the principle role of looking after the children - why, because of stupid, outdated ideologies, religious and ethnic 'traditions', very little social advancement since the neolithic and male-led political self perpetuation that's why.
People will only self-manage their immediate populations if they have; no political / religious intervention, access to education, knowledge, transparency of information about family planning and sufficient earnings such that they no longer need to rely on the age old practice of sending the kids out to work rather than into education.
So, whilst China's solution hasn't worked very well at all, in part because the 'traditional value' of the male child still holds sway over females, but what were they meant to do when none of the above applied to the vast majority of their population.
There will always be richer and poorer in the world, but this gap can be narrowed for the benefit of all, by giving women and girls equal chances in education, greater self worth and self determination over reproduction.
So maybe any global business 'players' who want a piece of the action should espouse enhancing the lot of their female workers and think long-term for once.
Wake me up ......
... when the restaurant comes into view on the scanners will you.
Nurse, nurse ........
more tablets nurse ...... it's the future .... of ....... what? ... who are you?
On another note, I wonder about the results of an activity survey of older generation users and if it might be determined that they indulge in more constructive computational activities than the majority of younger generations. By which I mean less angry birds and more 'garden shed', getting things done, sort of a thing. By which I mean treating the computer as a tool and not a play thing. By which I mean ...errm, ..... now, what did I come in here for again ?
PINT - because I can't find my pipe and slippers (?!)
It seems to me ...
A great(ish) idea to begin with, sucked loads of users into the vortex, but the generations that come along soon afterwards find it not so "kool" to sign up to a network that their parents are so fond of. Move along a few more generations and you reach saturation point don't you ? Maybe that was the point of the flotation, they figured that they had reached, of even gone past, that point. Now they have to milk the punters they have for all their worth. That's my impression any way. I don't even know or care how long it's been going but these things can't be ageless can they ? Thinking about it, it would be frightening if they were!
Octagonal
After the careful application with a miniature disc cutter hobby tool and some very fine sanding my Samsung is now very much octagonal - does that mean I can keep it please Mr Apples. (I've also been along to the local patent office, so there)
Logo - cos i was wearin me safety goggles wern it.
Posted in UK ISPs crippled by undersea cable snap
urm ....... cable theft ?
<this part of the post was removed unlawfully by thieves>
Re: Correction
I read it as "Dim Wit Romney"
How about ...
Cloud Cover (tm)
With offices in Rayne, near Braintree perhaps.
Ballast
I understand that during the descent they dumped, at just the right intervals, several 25kg blocks of Tungsten. Whilst not wishing to detract from a spectacular science/ engineering achievement, the use of such 'ballast' in order to adjust the crafts position in flight / descent makes me chuckle somewhat and I am reminded of the art of ballooning. Its those simple Newtonian principles of engineering / science and their correct application that make this, as well as the LOHAN project of course, such blooming good fun to follow. Beer all round chaps.
Warning!
Permit Holders Only
Wheel Clamping Zone
Re: Geo-engineering
That would be Arctic Hare Gel would it ?
