Indeed.
Sometimes there is a very good reason for including clever, non-intuitive code in a project. But that clever code needs to be very well documented because the next guy to touch it may not be that clever.
When in doubt, optimize code for future maintainability and legibility. Hardware gets faster. Programmers don't.
DG
You'd think... but that's not what I've found. Instead, I find I treat individual devices more like tools - pull the appropriate tool off the shelf for the task at hand.
And I've managed to find a little storage bag that will happily swallow all my devices and their power adapters for traveling. A "tool bag" if you will.
DG
The problem with convergence is that the more functionality you put into a given device, the more load you put on that device's battery.
No single device - yet - has the ability to power all the various sub-tasks that we use these devices for and still maintain an acceptable level of readiness.
My Palm Lifedrive (which was really ahead of its time) made a great ebook reader, GPS (using a bluetooth GPS receiver) PDA, music and audiobook listener, and a passable video device, gaming platform, and web browser. But all those functions drew on the same battery. And some of those functions (GPS and internet access) require radios to be active (Bluetooth and WiFi) and so they hammer the battery even harder than self-contained apps.
When it is out of charge, you're dead in the water for all those functions.
So now, I have an iPod for audio/visual. I have a Kindle for ebooks. I have an eeePC 901 for internet, general purpose computing, and gaming. I have a Garmin 765 for vehicle navigation and audiobooks. I have a PSP-Go for gaming (xmas present) And I have a phone for communications and emergency web access.
Yes, that is a hell of a lot more devices to manage, and there is a nontrivial amount of mass in power adapters. In some ways, this is a step backwards. But by spreading tasks amongst devices, I ensure that I always have enough battery charge to do whatever task it is I want, when I want it. Or put another way, because I spread the power consumption amongst several devices, the likelihood of
Another factor (which is related) is that device specialization means the device can be better tuned for the task at hand, and storage requirements aren't a zero-sum. I can have a lot of music and video in my iPod (it's a 160Gb) I can have a lot of books. I can have fully detailed maps of the world and a bunch of audiobooks. I can have lots of games. And I can have a workable keyboard! All this without having to rob Peter to pay Paul in a single device.
Eventually, this will all get worked out. The iPhone unquestionably trumps my LifeDrive as a convergence device. I fully expect the 5th or 6th gen iPhone will have sufficient storage space and mature applications to fully take over the media, ebook, and quite possibly gaming functions, as well as be a serviceable personal GPS. But it will also have to be able to power these functions for at least 24 hours of use without recharging before it can fully replace all the other devices, and I don't think it will ever replace the general computing function of the netbook.
DG
I personally owned 4 different Amigas - including installing Linux on an A3000. For a little while, I sold them. I belonged to CATS. I posted on comp.sys.amiga before the Big Split to all the subgroups. I jousted with -MB- and laughed my ass off at BLAZEMONGER! I even maintained the Amiga Netrek port for a year or so (not that I accomplished much with it)
I own an original copy of the Deathbed Vigil.
The Amiga is DEAD. Yes, there are still Amigas functioning and a tiny core of hobbyists who still get joy out of tinkering with them - and good on ya. But as a relevant component of modern computing... not a chance.
Seriously. Move on. Enjoy your retro-computing hobby, but it is really time to understand that the Amiga era is over.
DG
How would I remove all the other variables to the point where I can say, with certainty, that there really is something strange going on? It's just not possible. There's a hundred or so components that need to be aligned exactly, be totally clean, work perfectly, etc.
My concern isn't with the difficulty of predicting the dynamics, it's the TREMENDOUS difficulty of properly applying the force in the correct direction at the correct time and for the correct duration when you are trying to change those dynamics. I'm confident the Russian scientists can calculate what sort of force should be applied to get their desired result, but if Man's time in space has taught us anything, it's that getting everything exactly right in the extreme conditions of space is quite challenging. Maybe the risk of failure is small, but the cost of failure is unacceptably high. I think the odds of a collision would need to be similarly high before we should risk such a mission. As it stands now, we have a fairly good handle on what is going to happen and when...start mucking around, and who knows....
Errr yeah, £20 is "so much better" than £35!
What would be better is that the bank notified you and gave you 5 working days to clear it or a chance to avoid the charge. They used to many, many years ago but not now.
But instead you prefer to get financially-raped instead.
That's like saying "OK - you can F*** me up the arse but could you use a little more lube instead?"
Sir, I believe it is you who should "Seek professional advice".
Worth mentioning is that the smarter liberal arts types aren't like this at all. For instance, smart English majors can point out the structures of literature that make it all tick, or exactly how a sentence can be better phrased. Smart history majors can provide all the major sources for a historical event, explain what biases each source had and how that affected their description of the event, piece together what probably actually happened, and are probably some of the best BS detectors out there.
Of course, a smart person with a technical degree (math, science, engineering) can reduce literary structures and historic events to numbers and explain such things, mathematically.
Seriously, though. My observation has been that the smart ones of any field are pretty good at "faking" cross discipline competence. That is, they're still as good in other fields as the mediocre types who specialize in said field. You know, the CS student who reads a lot of literature, or the English major who reads climate studies (not the abstracts, the studies). Generally, I think these people are probably just well-balanced individuals.
Of course, the mediocre people in the fields who aren't flipping mad are likely also cross-disciplined, just not to such great extents.
Absolutely correct!
After I get off work I make many esters at home, Fischer Esterification is the name of the process. I make rum, cherry and banana flavors regularly. I purify them via vacuum distillation. I make more exotic ones such as pineapple, honey and various other fruits/flavors.
All you need is a copy of Vogel's 3rd Edition Practical Organic Synthesis (written in plain english), the webpage on wikipedia about esterification and the reagents (ingredients you buy in a walmart) plus a little sulfuric acid drain cleaner as a catalyst (gets things started). Only a few eye drops worth are required.
Its safe, simple, harmless fun with chemistry and a great way to get kids into science by having them make pleasant smells. (Use supervision)
It beats the stuffing out of those so called chemistry sets that are sold and for a fraction of the price.
Good point, I tend to think that most people look for a drug like this as an alternative (or "quick fix") to a healthy lifestyle. But assuming that isn't the case, I presume your question is one of chronic or long term use.
In that regard I would be cautious about taking any pharmacological agent. Very few drugs are tested for long term effect, especially not neuro drugs. You really have no idea what effect prolonged use of Adderall might have on your neurochemistry. Plenty of studies by the military have shown deleterious effects of the use of amphetamines, and more to the point, have shown them ineffective in general for improving cognitive function (although they increase perceived cognitive performance). They aren't routinely given to pilots as they were in WWI for example.
(The use of stimulants in treatment of what appear to be neurochemical disorders is another matter, which I don't get into here. In those cases the long term side effects, if any, may outweigh the risks of non treatment).
If you want a long-term neurostimulant, really only one has had any serious longitudinal study: Nicotine. It is well known for its beneficial cognitive effects; its pharmacodynamics have been studied for decades. Unfortunately it has some serious side effects, but in general is believed by many to be a wonder drug for both healthy and unhealthy users.
These long term studies are very complicated and expensive by the way, so don't expect a lot of them to be done. I say this as an former pharma guy myself, although I never worked on a drug intended to be used like Adderall. And I am not an M.D so take all this with a grain of salt.
Put on your body armour, helmet, 10 mags of ammo, your tac vest stuffed full of first aid supplies, a couple of frags, a smoke or two, plus your sidearm and it's ammo, and of course the PRR, your compass, and binos... and you're looking at 60-80lbs of gear on you.
You cannot just go hippty-hopping all over the map geared up like that. 200m of running, and you are TIRED.
Man am I glad to be Armoured.
DG
Canadian Army: two deep breaths, exhale half a breath, hold breath, shoot.
DG
...is not quality, but immediacy.
I don't always have my camera on me, but I ALWAYS have my phone. The ability to grab a quick snapshot or video clip when something unexpected happens is priceless.
And the further ability to get that shot out on the network, before it can be censored... I've never had to rely on that, but it has done great things for other people.
And while it will never compete with a SLR bodied, pro camera, I've been pleasantly surprised by just how good a RAZR V9 can be. "Cell phone quality" need not mean "horrific".
And it works through the daysight on a TLAV 1m turret. That has proven useful.
DG
In case you were genuinely interested:
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/northwest-bomb-plot-planned-al-qaeda-yemen/story?id=9426085
After his confession, there's very little doubt that this guy's intention was to commit an act of terrorism. It was no "firecracker." Fortunately, all it did was burn the guy's nuts.
I tell them to turn to the study of mathematics, for it is only there that they might escape the lusts of the flesh. -- Thomas Mann, "The Magic Mountain"
