I would love to see the assembly language source code for the version of BASIC that runs on the 8085 processor in the Tandy Model 100 (and 102 and 200). Supposedly this is some of the last code that Gates actually had a hand in writing himself. The code runs from a ROM in the laptop. People have disassembled the assembly code, so you can figure out WHAT it does, and HOW it does it, but the source code listing would have the comments that explain WHY it does things that particular way. This version of BASIC has a unique (in RAM) file system as well as SIM/RIM routines for cassette port I/O. As far as I know, the Tandy Model 100 BASIC source code has never been published. Anyone?
DeQueue

>Plus how else would we know that the last 99 trillion digits are all '9'?

There are, in fact, six nines in a row starting at the 762nd decimal place. Nobel laureate Richard Feynman supposedly was aware of this sequence and supposedly wanted to recite pi to this point, up to the six nines,[1] so that he could then say "and so on" implying that the nines continued ad infinitum. Douglas Hofstadter apparently had the same idea for the same joke.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_nines_in_pi

[1] Edit: Arrrrg. WTF! I can't write the digit nine six times in a row without Slashdot thinking I'm posting ASCII art....

There's a new minor mode for emacs Wordstar emulation (previously the Wordstar emulation was a major mode which meant that you could not run it at the same time as any other major mode, but now it is a minor mode, so you can run it with other major modes).

Otherwise, yeah, install joe and run jstar.

Yeah about that....

How do you read a license plate if you are getting the image from a satellite? If the photo is taken at a time near the closest possible approach, then the satellite is looking straight down. The satellite would not be able to see a license plate which is (normally) vertically mounted on the bumper of the car. The view straight down would show the roof, hood and windows...

Was the license plate in his car just thrown up on the dashboard or perhaps thrown under the rear window so that it was visible, but it was actually more horizontal than vertical?

Who has more details about this claim of license plate reading from satellites?

Dequeue

It should be e-space and n-space, at least if you're a Doctor Who fan.

And this is how cabin fever begins. Because now people suddenly find that they have WAY more free time than they ever wanted, but don't have an outlet to use it in the way that they want to (because almost every store or business or mall is closed) and they have, at this point, finished cleaning the garage, organizing their sock drawer and that drawer in the kitchen, and finished binge watching all the shows that they really wanted to see, so "there's nothing on" that they want to see and they have "nothing to do". And they don't want to FaceTime anyone because they haven't showered in three days or brushed their hair in four, so a voice-only plain old telephone call is a great way to use up a bunch of that free time without having to actually get ready.
Dequeue
"Oh, look, this device actually lets you TALK to other people, how cool is that?"

At one point it says that the ultrasound transducers are "off the shelf" parts. If so, does anyone have the Digikey (or Mouser or whoever) part numbers for these transducers? How much do they cost in quantities of, oh say 512? Are there plans out there yet for how to build your own acoustophoretic board?
Hmmm... looks like you will also need some FPGAs of some flavor... and based on the github code each board has to be calibrated.

Another interesting video is here:
https://www.15min.lt/mokslasit/video/a-volumetric-display-for-visual-tactile-and-audio-presentation-using-acoustic-trapping-171040
(or https://youtu.be/Tm8JRlJ1q50) that includes a time lapse (20 sec) globe projection

Closeup of the transducer is in the video at 34 seconds - part number needed!
https://youtu.be/Tm8JRlJ1q50?t=34

Closeup of the bead is at 1:56 (Haven't I seen these beads in some squishy toy or in one of those U-shaped neck pillows? I think I have.)
https://youtu.be/Tm8JRlJ1q50?t=116

Dequeue

No. I didn't get an "F" grade. TFA says that the restaurant chain that carries my monogrammed clothing line got an "F".
DeQueue

>Fifteen of America's favorites received an "F" for their lack of action in reducing the use of beef raised with antibiotics, including Burger King, DQ,

Whoa, wait. This is a case of mistaken identity. I'm not a favorite American restaurant and I had nothing to do with this.

DeQueue

How are your cats doing, and how do you keep them off of your keyboard?

The original RaspPi probably has just enough CPU horsepower to demodulate the signal and compose the appropriate replies in order to use the onboard BBS in real time. The RaspPi3 has a better chance of working. I haven't tried it yet, but it's on the bottom of the "to do" list.

The original RaspPi certainly has enough horsepower to record the signal during the pass (say, to an attached USB thumb drive), and then after the pass it can demodulate the 9600 baud data stream out of the recording. This is fine if all you wanted was the telemetry, since the telemetry isn't time sensitive. Be aware that SDR recordings tend to be huge.

If you wanted to use the satellite as a digipeater for a scheduled digital QSO, then you could have all your messages prepared ahead of time and just send the appropriate message at the appropriate time (that is, right after you see the digipeated packets from the other station) in order to complete the QSO.

See you on the birds!
DeQueue

HI Bruce

Hardware TNCs, or software modems taking the signal from a soundcard from the radio's discriminator (NOT from the speaker) or software modems getting a signal from software defined radio (a $15 RTLSDR USB dongle for example) -- any will work for the satellite's 9600 baud signal.

The satellite transmits what amateurs consider a "standard" 9600 baud packet radio signal -- G3RUH modulation, 9600 bits per second, bit scrambled, NRZI, HDLC with zero bit stuffing, AX.25 packets.

Dequeue

For more details, see "Fatal attraction in rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1690701/pdf/11007336.pdf

Although not directly a part of the above study, the paper includes this
interesting tidbit:

"Even naive laboratory rats that have not been in contact
with cats for several hundred generations still show
strong aversive reactions when confronted with cat odor."

So you say you have this technology that creates words that people never actually said.
But it sounds just like their voice.
Clearly this is how Skynet begins!

Sarah: "No, I can't tell you where I am mom. I was told not to say."
Mom: "Oh, but honey, I need to know where I can reach you. You tell me to hide out here in the cabin like some kind of fugitive and you won't tell me what's going on? I am worried sick dear."
Sarah: "Ok. Here's the number...."
Mom: "Ok. Go ahead.... Uh-huh. I've got it."
Sarah: "I love you mom."
Mom: "I love you too sweetheart."

And, this is just early days. Real terminators don't need to hear twenty minutes worth of a voice to duplicate it. Do you really think he sat down and spoke to Sarah's mom for twenty minutes?