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emptybits
6,418karma·1,004submissions·November 20, 2012
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Darren Stone, Vancouver, BC, Canada
"Once men turned their thinking over to
machines in the hope that this would
set them free. But that only permitted
other men with machines to enslave
them." - Frank P. Herbert, Jr., 1965
"The programmer, like the poet, works
only slightly removed from pure
thought-stuff. He builds his castles
in the air, from air, creating by
exertion of the imagination."
- Fred P. Brooks, Jr., 1975recent activity (1,004 total)
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> Are there use cases where we must burn propane because we can’t replace that process with electricity? "Must", no. But hundreds millions of cars and trucks on the road right now can be …
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Back in the day, when not everyone felt the need yet to be on the world wide web, I knew at least a couple of mechanics and builders who would explain they'd heard of this Sheldon Brown guy and…
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Definitely not a joke. My friend from Singapore introduced me to butter-roasted beans. He enjoys western style roasts also but apparently craves a regular taste of home as well. I’m not a fan. Nor was…
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Maybe rare and unpopular to think about, but a one-time check allowing less scrutiny for future boarding is a gift to radicals who may not care about living beyond One Big Act. Also, agreeing with GP,…
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> The interested always find a way Yes, I agree, those who are already interested or motivated need less help. But to educate most people, and young developing minds especially, brief browsy exposu…
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Recirculating ball steering also probably won't allow for new fangled features like active lane-keep assist, collision avoidance steering, self-parking, etc. (Which is probably not missed anyways…
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“the annual average dose per person from all sources is about 620 mrem” That’s the mrem of 62 chest x-rays. From food and drink annually. Should we be alarmed? Or just more comfortable with lots of di…
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Well "required" is not exactly right. You can accept funds manually that way if you prefer. But if you set your account up once to auto receive and deposit then any funds anyone transfers …
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Ha. Interesting. I do a lot of e-transfers but I don't think I've ever needed instant, on-the-spot confirmation so I've never noticed that! Noted!
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For all of Canada's chartered banking bureaucracy and lack of customer empathy ... I have to say that our e-transfer system is pretty amazing. For business or personal, one-off or regular transfe…
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Interesting stuff, I bet! And I feel like it's much easier to justify high power carve-outs on public spectrum for the purpose of defending lives or country than for no purpose but to lower alrea…
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Thanks. Direct link to submit an Express Comment on the petition: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express?proceeding[name]=RM... …
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> People want to be able to text each other in the woods, send coordinates, etc. Small amounts of digital have been allowed in FRS for a while. But only one second, every 30 seconds. Creating a me…
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20,000 watts!? The industry's petition is here: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1042840187330/1 The petition requests "maximum transmitter power is 20,000 w…
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Novices don't appreciate nuance that trained experts focus on ... yes, that makes sense. But children do actually have more papillae (taste buds) than adults. As we age, we may gain skill in desc…
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Or maybe such water-intensive food production should require consumption of the planet's nearly unlimited seawater. Pass the greater expense to the cattle producers and/or consumers. Leave…
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Musk made the same "absurdly cheap" claim in a recent interview with Bill Maher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO8w6XcXJUs [skip to 14:45] I don't think he gave any …
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"Turning sea water into clean, drinkable water costs $2 to $5 for 1000 gallons. Less than half a penny per gallon is obviously absurdly cheap." - Elon Musk, 2023-05-07 https://tw…
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To Whom It May Concern, By reading this, you have confirmed your membership in the Five Percenters Club. Welcome.
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In Vancouver we have a mural festival and walking tours of murals with backgrounds on the works and artists. This happens in several neighbourhoods. https://vanmuralfest.ca/mural-tours…
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> "Now an officer was at her house, waiting to take her son to school." How or why would police be deployed? Is it a crime (for child or parent) if the child skips a lot of school?
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Chessbase and the Stockfish developers came to an agreement after that public court hearing.[1] I don't think it changes the landscape at all and it doesn't help MacOS or Linux users, so I a…
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The Ineos Grenadier (available now in Australia and Europe and apparently within the year in North America) has a buttonful dash and also cockpit-style switches above. With additional knockouts above …
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Canadian perspective here. The median wage of an electrician in Canada is CAD$30/hr (approx €20/hr or USD$22/hr).[1] Not great. That requires a four to five year apprenticeship and the …
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The author laments a long walk, passing so many neighbours and potentially unmet friends along the way. Looking for close friends who aren't around anymore. We probably chanced across our close f…
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LittleFreeLibrary.org applied for trademark control of “wooden boxes with a storage area for books”. Additionally, LittleFreeLibrary.org now stakes claim to word variations beyond their trademarked n…