I'm a nerd, and this does not matter to me. Nor is it news. Nor is it that outlandish. I've seen phone bills longer than that, and with far less whitespace and fancy, full-paged graphics introducing each one-page section.

I don't care that this is idle. I just don't care.

Seriously, what the hell

HOW DOES TAKING AWAY THE CAPS LOCK PREVENT LEAVING COMMENTS IN ALL CAPS?

(WRITTEN WITHOUT USING THE CAPS LOCK KEY> (damn))

However, I can see how using an auto-caps mechanism would improve the quality of comments. Perhaps an auto-grammar and auto-don't-be-an-ass mechanism too while they're at it.

(Again, written without using the caps lock key.)

Since we're not all in steno-pools using typewriters to create paper-based forms anymore, perhaps it is time to retire the Caps Lock.

At my parents house, after years of erosion, a small plastic toy figure started to show itself embedded in the concrete step of the front door. I used to poke at it as a kid, trying to expose more of it. It obviously got scooped up in the gravel that was used to make the step. Or was it...

My god, I could have been sitting on a bomb all these years!

*hysterically calls 911*

I noticed my office was getting a little cold, and the thermostat didn't seem to have any say about the actual temperature in the room, so I did a little investigating and found that the hot water lines to the air heater boxes were shut off. Not wanting to just turn the valves open again (maybe they're off for a reason, maybe because of the corrosion around the drain valves), I mentioned it to maintenance.

A couple months later they started a $21 million refit project of the building's heating and air system. When they came 'round to my room I figured, "Finally, I'll have some heat." They came, they went, and now I have two bundles green wires sticking out of the wall where the thermostat used to be.

So now, even if I were to open up the water lines, I'd still have no heat, since the vacuum lines were disconnected, and the control valve is stuck in place. And there's still air flowing through the ducts. Nice, unheated outdoor air, which I can't shut off. So the system is not only not heating the room, but it's actually cooling it.

But at least I have a window. A nice large, barely insulated window. Go November.

Thanks a lot. I just spent the past HOUR watching videos of experimental engine designs on YouTube, instead of doing actual work. All thanks to your one link.

Now I'm gonna have to stay an hour late today.

I should really stop reading /. while on coffee break.

Did you check the really big one at the top of your circuit panel? I'm sure it's a lot more. You house does actually have 240V service, that what powers electric heaters, ranges, and dryers. The 240V runs over two wires, each running at 120V opposite phases. So when you take a voltage across the two lines, the difference is 240V. Wall sockets and light fixtures use one of the two wires, and the neutral, which causes it to have a voltage of 120V.

Just called my power company, and they said that a 200A service is common these days in newer homes. But you're right, and it's still not 3750A. Assuming (from an earlier post) that the battery can store 56.25kWh of energy, and a typical house can have a maximum draw of 240V * 200A = 48kW, it would take 1 hour 10 minutes to charge your car. Assuming that you have everything else in your house turned off :) They also have a 400A service in my area, so you could reserve 200A for your home, and 200A for a charging system. It's doable.

Actually, the ~600km range car was from Japan. The car in question now has a range of 375km. So 15kWh/100km would mean a battery capacity of 56.25kWh, or 202.5MJ as you put it. My current energy rate is 11.796 cents per kWh, so that's ~$6.64 to 'fill the tank'. Not bad.

Still assuming the 15kWh/100km, it would cost me $1.76/100km.

My first vehicle was a 1990 Ford Aerostar minivan (god I loved that thing). It had a 79L tank, and would get a maximum 600km of all highway driving, if I went easy on it. So roughly 13L/100Km *cough*. Noticed gas was sitting at $1.068/Litre this morning, so that would be $14.06/100km to drive it today.

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Probably from all those Gummi Bears.

Sooo... without the Internet it isn't possible to stick a bomb in a car and drive it through Times Square?

Not exactly. Before you actually read the article, it simultaneously does and does not explain quantum computing.

They were behind the couch the whole time?

I tried living in a virtualized home once, but I found the insulation to be quite insubstantial. Made for some particularly chilly winters.

Now chili winters on the other hand, those are nice.

Seriously? Yes, they should.

I've worked at an ISP for 10 years, and we cut people off the second we find out that they're infected with a bot and trying to infect others. When they call and ask why their Internet connection isn't working, we tell them strait up what the issue is and that the'll have to clean off their computer (have it done 'professionally' if they can't do it themselves) and then report back to us to get their connection reinstated.

It's a hard lesson to learn, but I think it's necessary.

To use the obligatory car metaphor; if your car starts to leak gasoline while driving down the road, you can't just keep driving it like that since it's 'not your fault' that you gas line ruptured. Even if you do all the preventative maintenance that is recommended, stuff can still happen and it's up to you to get it fixed, even if that means taking it to a professional to fix it.

Serves you right for leaving the basement!

If it didn't have any impact, then what would be the point?

Let's say we have competitive services A and B. Their traffic travels over a connection with 10 units of bandwidth (the actual units are unimportant). For the sake of argument let's say that the services in equal demand, and both use 4 units of bandwidth so the connection is not saturated. If company A pays the telco money, what exactly do they get for their money? They're not going to get more bandwidth, because they could have used more before and their demand has not gone up.

Now let's say that service A and service B would each use, if available, 6 units of bandwidth. With only 10 available, the connection is now saturated. Treated equally, that means they each get 5 units. But then company A pays out money, their traffic gets prioritized, and now runs at 6 units of bandwidth. That only leaves 4 for company B.

If no bottleneck exists, then there's no point in companies paying for priority. If a bottleneck does exist, then someone's gotta lose when someone else gets priority.