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  1. J

    IDE hell

    You didn't have the drive data cable connected with the Molex power plug pulled, did you? :o That's what it sounds like from your post, anyway. That could possibly kill the drive(s) depending upon how the inputs are designed. Because the machine works fine except when one of the WD drives...
  2. J

    Outsourcing rejection

    The truth is neither party really knows what they're doing as far as running the country or creating jobs. Democrats will bring the economy under with taxes, handouts which discourage working, and too many regulations. Republicans will bring it under with deficit spending, too little...
  3. J

    Addition wanted to the rules of conduct.

    I almost fell out my chair laughing when I read your response to that guy. However, I do agree with you about spreading misinformation. I think I'll vomit if I see one more RAID0 thread on SR. :puke-r: :puke-l:
  4. J

    Random Hard Drive Shutdowns

    Thanks, Howell. I was thinking of that and yesterday I took the 100GB drive of out the machine(it is in a removeable drive bay). The problem hasn't remanifested itself yet, even when I was playing MS Train Simulator for an hour. I'm going to just do what I normally do, leave the PC on 24/7...
  5. J

    Random Hard Drive Shutdowns

    The hard drives check out error-free with PowerMax, I fixed the pins to make better contact, and the problem still persists. At this point I think it is probably not hard drive related because it seems to occur whenever there's a lot of activity on any of my drives. I'm thinking my power...
  6. J

    MS-Word Footer Help

    Interestingly, I needed to do something like this a few days ago. I remembered this thread after I had figured out how to do it(which is exactly as you said). I had no header on the title page and the same header on all the other pages. Once I typed in the header it appeared on all the...
  7. J

    Goodbye (for now)

    Welcome back, Tony. The place just hasn't been the same without you and your simian friend. I look forward to reading about your adventures. Were you able to find Tea a mate in your travels? If so, are you going to be best man?
  8. J

    Outsourcing rejection

    I completely understand what you're going through, i. In fact, I've never really had a job which I enjoyed or wasn't underemployed. When I graduated college in 1985 I sent out over 100 resumes and didn't get a single interview. Maybe two dozen companies sent me back form letters. There just...
  9. J

    LA County bans use of "Master/Slave" in publicatio

    I tend to think something like device 0 and device 1 would be more appropriate given the way everything really works. With S-ATA the whole master/slave designation is out anyway. Wait a minute? Isn't motherboard a degrading, sexist term as well? Wouldn't mainboard be more politically...
  10. J

    It's now official : I'm old.

    I think it just has to do with what different age groups like to do. Keeping diaries has always been a big teenage thing, shopping for all sorts of junk a twenties thing, and research and news an older person's thing. Of course, that's just a generalization. I've never kept a diary and I...
  11. J

    I'm starting to think this is kinda ridiculous.

    Well it's good to know it'll work without that huge fan. That thing will make the adjoining slots useless if the cards are a bit too tall. The huge heat sink is good provided it doesn't interfere with anything nearby. You should be able to cool a video card(and also M/B chipset) passively...
  12. J

    Office 2003

    I think your experiences with both XP and Office 2003 show that upgrading makes no sense if you're happy with the way things work now. I'm still using Office 97. Would it ever make any sense for me to upgrade to 2000? Did you find that Office 2000 offered anything that Office 97 didn't...
  13. J

    Random Hard Drive Shutdowns

    Thanks for the ideas. I'll check the power connections and use the PowerMax utility. I think the drive may still be under warranty. I back up regularly so no worries there but I think I'll start using my 80 GB for my boot drive. I was planning to switch soon anyway as the 40 GB is getting a...
  14. J

    I'm starting to think this is kinda ridiculous.

    I thought the huge heat sinks needed on processors were bad enough. Now we're starting with graphics cards as well. :o Seriously, who in their right mind would buy that thing? The extra noise alone would be annoying, and I don't see why passive cooling wouldn't work either. We have lazy...
  15. J

    Random Hard Drive Shutdowns

    The last few weeks I've noticed something strange going on. Generally, after my computer has been on for a few days straight, I 'll hear one of the hard drives shut down and restart. This totally freezes the system, and the drive won't recognize again until I power the system on and off...
  16. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    560 kph=348 mph=mach 0.458 :D I think the train has enough power stored on board to allow it to levitate long enough to come to a stop. The best maglev designs only require ~3W per ton of weight to levitate. For an average maglev this is not much more power than a PC takes. An onboard...
  17. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    I suppose incremental change is better than none, although I still think there is some truth to the statement that a revolution every now and then is a healthy thing. I think the world of transportation is seriously in need of a revolution after essentially stagnating for 30+ years. Consider...
  18. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    I've had patentable ideas as well, including one device I've made several working models of. In that case, I actually paid $5K to one of those invention places to market the idea and got nowhere with it. Nobody has come out with one yet, but I won't produce it myself until I get it patented...
  19. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    In that case you would need two conductors for the comm channel(even a serial channel still requires ground for reference, and using the charging ground is prone to interference), or some form of wireless communication. Other than that nitpicking on my part, your idea is feasible. I guess you...
  20. J

    Quiz: Coders or killers?

    6/10. You can usually tell the psychos by their cold stare. Unfortunately, I imagine programmers get the same stare from looking at code all day.
  21. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    Perhaps, but I'm kind of bothered that straight electrics are being largely overshadowed by hybrids or fuel cells, especially in light of ever improving battery technology and the fact that they would be an ideal car for urban areas. I can't for the life of me see why somebody who lives and...
  22. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    Actually, the current won't be carried thousands of miles but likely only tens of miles. The current distribution problems are similar to those faced by electrified railways(which is what my idea is similar in concept to), and those have largely been solved. You just use very high voltage(~25...
  23. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    Good idea except for one possible problem-the probes would have to be capable of taking a huge amperage, especially if 1 hour recharge was desired. Say you want to recharge at 25 KW input power. If the mat is, say 25V, you need 1000 amps! You can't have the mat any higher voltage because of...
  24. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    You could probably have transformer or microwave coupling. The big problem with either scheme is that you lose quite a bit of power(at least 10% or 20%) in the transmission process. Additionally, such a device wouldn't take the form of a mat or anything relatively compact that can use a wall...
  25. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    For what it's worth even if 100% of the electricity for electric cars were to be produced by fossil-fuel burning power plants, it would still be a good idea if everyone switched over. For starters the power plant produces useful energy from fuel more efficiently that a car can(~50% vs 20%)...
  26. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    Agreed, that's definitely a problem, and the only possible solution I see to it would be if roller crankshaft bearings were used. Maybe that's part of the reason hybrids cost more money. Anyone know more about this than I do? I agree that if most of your trips are maybe 50 miles or less(round...
  27. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    That's certainly good news. I remember feeling claustrophobically cramped in my friend's Mitsubishi Precis about 15 years ago and I'm only 5'9". I hate to think how a larger person would have felt in that shitbox. Simple physics, really. A conventional car gets worse mileage in the city...
  28. J

    IE to Suck Less

    Honestly, I haven't a clue but it's been an observation of mine that most of the better sites(at least to me) tend to be ad free. I don't mean that they're better because they don't have ads, but rather that the content is more relevant to my needs. This includes manufacturer's sites with...
  29. J

    IE to Suck Less

    Why must M$ wait literally years after everyone else to do this? I tend to think popup blocking should be an integral part of any browser unless you're somehow getting paid off by the advertisers. They should also include something like AdShield. It's been so long since I've seen a popup(or...
  30. J

    IDE Controller

    The master device must be on the end of the cable if the controller is ATA66 or better(which means it uses the special 80-pin cable). If it is an older machine(either ATA-33 or DMA-2) then it doesn't matter, although I still follow that practice out of habit. In fact, I even use 80-pin cables...
  31. J

    Figuring out the graphic card universe...need for a database

    I second the need for this, and I think it would be nice to include anything going back maybe three or four years so you can figure out whether some older card on eBay might be worth getting. Most important would be compatibility of various cards as it seems like a confusing mess to someone...
  32. J

    Power Efficiencies - batteries, wall warts etc.

    True that there are CAFE standards, but it's also true that those standards haven't been raised in years and that the automakers used the SUV loophole and clever advertising to sell the very types of unregulated vehicles that they make the most profit on. As a result, average fuel economy of...
  33. J

    The united states Economy

    If you think that's bad, my brother used to work in a pharmacy. It wasn't uncommon for him to see someone get a prescription paid for by Medicaid, and then get into a late model Cadillac or Lincoln. By and large the people he saw doing this were Russian Jews fresh off the boat(whom my father...
  34. J

    Power Efficiencies - batteries, wall warts etc.

    It's a shame that the average person can't be made to understand that, and even more of a shame that our government does little in this regard. I can't just blame the Bush administration. No administration in my memory has ever gone up against big oil and the big three automakers. It seems...
  35. J

    Power Efficiencies - batteries, wall warts etc.

    Very interesting-indium gallium arsenide is the same stuff they make some LEDs out of.
  36. J

    The united states Economy

    My point is that obesity can cause heart disease and diabetes to occur in people for whom there is no family history at all. Same with asthma, which is appearing in record numbers thanks to air pollution. Environment combined with lifestyle has a huge effect on whether a person gets sick or...
  37. J

    The united states Economy

    Yes, there are conditions that can cause a person to be chronically overweight but these are a minority. Being slightly overweight is not a big cause for concern, but being obese, and sometimes twice your proper weight, is. This is what causes me concern. People are heavier than ever, and...
  38. J

    The united states Economy

    This isn't something I think the majority of the public would be overly sympathetic to, especially given that these gang members call innocent bystanders who happen to get in the way of their bullets "mushrooms". As far as I'm concerned the public saved the cost of a trial and incarceration...
  39. J

    Power Efficiencies - batteries, wall warts etc.

    I also meant to add that all areas in which lights are on a good portion of the time are fluorescent. We have linear T-12 tubes in the entire finished basement, garage, and my bedroom, and T-8s in the kitchen. I can't convince my mother to part with the incandescent chandeliers in the living...
  40. J

    Power Efficiencies - batteries, wall warts etc.

    Since I still live with my parents I don't pay the bill directly, but it generally tends to run $200 to $300 per month in the summer(higher usage for A/C combined with a higher base rate during the summer). In cooler months it can be between $100 and $150. Don't forget this is for three people...
  41. J

    Power Efficiencies - batteries, wall warts etc.

    Devices that are off but on "standy" may only draw a fraction of a watt, or they may draw up to a few watts. Add it up nationwide and you have the equivalent of a few power plants producing electricity for...nothing. A terrible waste, and one that has caused the EU to mandate a maximum current...
  42. J

    The united states Economy

    The problem with the second model is that it has already been tried and failed miserably. Just ask our friends in the former USSR how wonderful life was when the individual's only purpose was to serve the collective. This failure wasn't necessarily due to any fundamental flaw in Marxism but...
  43. J

    Power Efficiencies - batteries, wall warts etc.

    Switching power supplies are nothing new, but it's only within the last decade that the electronics have gotten cheap enough to enable such supplies to be incorporated into low-cost consumer equipment. Besides saving energy(which is inarguably a good thing), there is less waste heat to get rid...
  44. J

    The united states Economy

    How about giving CEOs ridiculous pay packages and golden parachutes? This is what I think is mainly wrong with businesses in this country-the huge gap between the lowest paid worker and the CEO. If jobs are being moved overseas, and costs cut in other ways, then the money saved should not go...
  45. J

    Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

    Those seem cool but also $$$, and not as fun as making it yourself. The driving circuit for my headlight was built from spare parts not worth more than $1. I modified this circuit to drive 20 LEDs(in two series strings of 10) off of 5V(4 AA NiMH cells) instead of 1.5V. I used a 100 uH...
  46. J

    Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

    Candlepower forums is a good place to look for different types of lighting projects. They mostly modify flashlights but bike lights aren't much different. If you lived nearby I'd be happy to do this for you. Besides the headlight, I also put 5 red LEDs and a blinker circuit on a standard rear...
  47. J

    Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

    Looks like there's a new efficiency champ in town. 8) Good enough reason to resurrect this thread in my book. :mrgrn: 65 lm/W using industry standard packages and 74 lm/W using special laboratory packages! Better than compact flurorescent, and starting to approach T-8 linear tube...
  48. J

    Breakthrough in Quantum Computing

    Just like fusion-it's the power of the future and always will be.
  49. J

    Sad...my dogs really sick

    I'm glad to hear the (relatively) good news. Now the big questions are can you nurse her back to health, and what exactly caused this problem so you can prevent it from happening again? I've never had anything quite like this happen to any of my cats, so much as I might wish to I can't draw on...
  50. J

    Review of new Toyota Prius

    No mention of 0 to 60 time. I guess you have to keep the brakes on until the engine spools up for the best times(same as they do for airliners). Must be noisy as all hell, too.
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