I have heard it suggested that when Messier was compiling his list of things not to look at because they're not comets, the Crab Nebula was prominently in his list because it was significantly smaller and brighter in his day than it is now. It's far from conspicuous today...

...laura

What do you need to light up? Why?

I second the suggestion for full-cutoff lighting. If you need lighting at all.

...laura

If you didn't know the time scale had been messed with, the video looks like very thick oil or honey dripping. Some sort of invariant with liquids, I suppose. I thought it was kind of interesting.

I've done time-lapse videos of clouds and things. Haven't done one of paint drying or grass growing.

Yet. :-)

...laura

In Canada the fourth of July is a day like any other. Our day was the first.

I'm descended from Loyalists. My maternal ancestors settled in North Carolina, but went north, ending up in Nova Scotia.

...laura

The PDP-11 has always been one of those canonical architectures that everybody studies (or should, if they don't), even if they never actually see or use one. Very clean, very orthogonal.

I did an undergrad course in operating systems using XINU on an LSI-11. Great fun. I worked for DEC for a while in the early '90s, but only played with VAXen. It was the beginning of DEC's death spiral, so it wasn't a fun place to be.

I've sometimes thought it would be fun to own a real PDP-11, cool front panel and all. No idea what I'd do with it, but that's another matter. :-)

...laura

My employers' primary business has, until recently, been based on T1. We are now migrating to VoIP.

The customer experience is improved (if they notice the change at all), we're opening up new paths for future development, and we're getting away from obsolete legacy hardware that is no longer manufactured or supported. We're also saving the company oodles of money. What the telcos want for T1 these days just isn't pretty.

I'm 51, BTW. Old dogs can indeed learn new tricks.

...laura

Organized enough so I can find things when I need them.

Organization must be functional. Organization for the sake of organization is a waste of time and energy.

...lazy laura

The best perk for me has always been interesting work in a congenial environment. Everything else is secondary. It helps to be a senior person, so my tasks are usually along the lines of "Figure out $newtechnology. Find a way for the company to make money with it."

I've worked for a number of companies who did the "we pay less but we're such a great place to work!" thing. Someday I'd like to at least visit a "we pay lots but it sucks to work here" company, just to see what it's like.

...laura

I'm such a cheap drunk that I voluntarily observe a limit of zero when I'm driving. I remember one night when I was tired and hungry and managed to get completely blasted on one can of american beer. :-)

For flying the limit is zero as well, with the requirement of eight hours from the last drink to takeoff.

The real solution is social: make it utterly unfashionable to drink and drive.

...laura

For my immediate family my computer-savvy Mom does first-level tech support. I'm second-level support.

Most of us use Macs, so the tech support requriements are minimal. :-)

...laura

Customers have choice. If you make content available under reasonable terms, they may be your customer. If not, they won't. I decided a couple of years ago that the cable company's terms were unreasonable, so I cancelled my cable. With over the air HD, internet streaming and DVDs, I don't miss it.

While many tv shows people have mentioned are from U.S. cable tv networks, I've seen top-quality stuff from other sources. Recent faves include Borgen and Scott & Bailey, both from "regular" (albeit European) TV channels. Who would have thought Danish parliamentary democracy would make such gripping drama? And Janet and Rachel can arrest me any time they like. :-)

I've watched Borgen on DVD, and am currently streaming S&B on youtube. When ITV get around to releasing series 3 on DVD I'll buy it. Reasonable terms, remember.

...laura

While I think of it: a few years ago I was talking to people about some recent historical events, and the subject of 11 September 2001 came up. One person had an interesting response:

"Give me a break. I grew up in Northern Ireland."

...laura

The news coverage leaves a lot to be desired, IMNSHO.

Something terrible happened. People were hurt. People died. Not good.

The authorities are investigating. As they should.

They caught the pricks. They wasted one in the process. Good.

The hysterical saturation coverage of all of this, however, gives these sick fucks and their filthy ilk exactly what they want: free publicity, plus public fear.

I've tried to avoid the coverage. It's difficult at times...

...laura

I view the point as moot: almost all food already is genetically modified, through selective breeding. Many things we eat bear little resemblance to their wild ancestors.

I'm more concerned about companies asserting intellectual property rights to food.

I'm also concerned about the "oppose everything" mentality. Some day something will come along that really is worth opposing and people will tune out because the tinfoil hat brigade have cried wolf too many times.

...laura

In the universe, yes. On Earth, no. All the helium on Earth has been here from the beginning, and no process on Earth is creating more. Once it's released in to the atmosphere, it's gone.

I'm always envious of stuff like this. Where I live (southwestern British Columbia, Canada), it would be very difficult to retrieve a payload that came down 100 km away, in just about any direction. A steerable RC glider is an option I've thought about. Live video, GPS and telemetry would make me even more motivated to get the aircraft back.

...laura