Comment Re:English did not draw from other languages ... (Score 1) 535
I don't recall who said this, but my favorite explanation for the English language is "It's the bastard offspring of Norman raiders trying to pick up Saxon barmaids."
Comment Re:Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying & Love T (Score 1) 608
The premier's birthday, IIRC.
He loves surprises...
Comment Re:Mach 8 to Orbit? (Score 1) 440
I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be the guy up in orbit holding the catcher's mitt...
If the targeting is off just a weeeincy bit, bang, zoom, straight to the moon!
Comment Re:Xbox 360 vs. Wii and original Xbox (Score 1) 285
Every time one of his dorm-mates uses Call of Duty as a coaster...
One can barely begin to imagine the destructive power of a gaggle of college boys...
Comment Re:I'm surprised. (Score 1) 429
"Who will rid me of this turbulent wikileaks?", eh?
Comment Re:Hm (Score 1) 383
How can you make 10 incorrect password guesses with no battery?
Comment Re:I'm not worried about those hacks (Score 1) 360
Bingo!
Every modern Jeep that runs on larger than stock tires either has had the speedometer output modified electronically, or is displaying an incorrect speed. You can buy a handheld programmer that plugs in and allows adjustment for wheel size, differential gearing, etc.
The same probably applies to every jacked up 42" tire rig-rocket pickup on the road.
PS, how can you tell that I live in an oil bearing province?
Comment Re:Nice (Score 1) 347
Opening the back is handy for cleaning the sensor which from time to time gets a bit grungy during lens changes and such.
It's a simple function which is woefully missing on most DSLRs.
Most modern DSLRs have a "cleaning mode" that is essentially a mirror-lock-up mode, where the mirror is swung up and the shutter curtain drawn to expose the CCD. Then you hit it with a blast of air from a bulb (not canned air!!), an Arctic Butterfly / cleaning swab, or a greasy digit, and voila, clean CCD! Just don't grind the sand that you're trying to remove into the CCD; I hear that sucks
Comment Re:In color? (Score 1) 347
Not only that, but the pro photo labs make sure that their chemical baths are all within tolerance. I've worked in the industry before, and lemme tell ya, most of the bargain store photolabs don't spend nearly as much time and effort making sure that their chemicals are as close to perfect as possible. There's nothing quite like paying for processing, only to discover that today was the unlucky day and some minimum-wage labmonkey accidentally added a little bit of stop bath to the developer...
Professionals (those who shoot medium format and spend upwards of $10k just for a sensor) are willing to pay $6 - $10 / roll for developing by a lab that is willing to close for a few hours and tweak their chemicals to get DMAX back within spec. The beauty of a digital back for a medium format camera is that the uncertainty / occasional lost or mangled roll, etc. can be completely avoided (plus all the other juicy benefits of shooting digital)
When they come out with an affordable 6x7 back for my RB67, I'll probably have to mortgage my cats...
Comment Re:Designed to Fail (Score 1) 278
And conversely, the fake "social" bullshit they do when trying to market their products and being cool and edgy. As if buying a Microsoft product will suddenly transport you to wild parties where everyone is having the time of their lives.
Beer companies have been doing this for years... It seems to have worked well so far! (not that beer really needs advertising to begin with...)
An Animal That Lives Without Oxygen 166
Julie188 writes "Scientists have found the first multicellular animals that apparently live entirely without oxygen. The creatures reside deep in one of the harshest environments on earth: the Mediterranean Ocean's L'Atalante basin, which contains salt brine so dense that it doesn't mix with the oxygen-containing waters above."
Home-Built Turing Machine 123
stronghawk writes "The creator of the Nickel-O-Matic is back at it and has now built a Turing Machine from a Parallax Propeller chip-based controller, motors, a dry-erase marker and a non-infinite supply of shiny 35mm leader film. From his FAQ: 'While thinking about Turing machines I found that no one had ever actually built one, at least not one that looked like Turing's original concept (if someone does know of one, please let me know). There have been a few other physical Turing machines like the Logo of Doom, but none were immediately recognizable as Turing machines. As I am always looking for a new challenge, I set out to build what you see here.'"
Comment Re:Smells like bullshit (Score 1) 307
I think that's what http://scroogle.org/ is all about.
Comment Re:Maintaince Access? (Score 1) 147
If the external cooling for the oil failed, you might end up with some mighty crispy techs...
Just in case, have them roll in breading before going in; then you could at least salvage the meat
Mmm... Country Fried Tech...
LG Launches Watch Phone In India 109
roh2cool writes "If you are a watch freak and also happen to be a fan of ultra rare (and expensive) gadgets, this might just interest you. The LG GD910 watch phone looks like a normal watch – except for the fact that it can double up as your mobile phone when needed. 'It is quite thin at just 13.9mm and packs in 3G and Video Calling capabilities as well. The phone is quite stylish and the front fascia is covered by scratch-proof tempered glass. It comes with a Bluetooth headset so you don’t have to keep talking like David Hasselhoff talked to his super-car KITT in the “Knight Rider” series.'"
