Search results

  1. J

    I wish Hollywood was consistent in size...

    Nice pic of you two, and happy belated first anniversary! BTW, me and Groltz thought the same thing because some people are funny about pictures of them being posted online. To date I haven't posted a picture of myself anywhere, much less one of someone I know. Maybe one of these days when I...
  2. J

    I wish Hollywood was consistent in size...

    Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing but maybe SD asked his wife if it was OK. My sister for sure would put her husband in the hospital if he tried a stunt like that without her approval.
  3. J

    I wish Hollywood was consistent in size...

    Well, compared to Pamela Anderson or by Hollywood standards in general they are. ;) Point taken, though. I guess she falls into that other 10%. BTW, when did you get married? My point here is that what you see in movies is totally out of proportion to the people you encounter in everyday...
  4. J

    I wish Hollywood was consistent in size...

    More from the B-list actually, but the majority of A-list actresses look bigger today than they did 5 years ago. OK, they didn't get huge implants, but nevertheless it's obvious something was done. As for the masculine part, I'm just comparing them to some of the opposite sex I've known...
  5. J

    Where are the big 4:3 LCDs?

    My CRT cost me $0. I found it by the curb. The only CRT I did buy (also 15") cost me $180 in early 1999. I almost bought a 19" CRT which was $99 last year but decided to hold off until LCDs dropped in price some more. I really don't want another bulky CRT. Right now my price point is ~$200...
  6. J

    Where are the big 4:3 LCDs?

    Speaking of native resolution, I've been looking into purchasing a 19" LCD monitor but they all seem to be 1280x1024. I'd like 1600x1200 but that resolution only seems available for the much more expensive 21" and up displays. BTW, I'm currently using 1024x768 on a second-hand 15" monitor.
  7. J

    I wish Hollywood was consistent in size...

    I'm guessing then that probably 90% of Asian females remind you of guys, especially with short hair. I'm not big on short hair myself, but I can still tell the sexes apart easily even without huge headlights which scream "I'm a female!", or long hair. Merc hit it on the head. To add to his...
  8. J

    I wish Hollywood was consistent in size...

    It would be better if Hollywood just got over their juvenile obsession with breasts and stopped padding their actresses altogether. Believe it or not, some people actually like females with small or even flat chests. The balloons which pass for breasts these days are freakish to say the least.
  9. J

    What I'm not going to do tonight

    Let's put this way-FDR's New Deal was the start of the big government welfare state which exists today. Passing Social Security was the biggest deception ever done to the American people. The initial tax rate was only 1% so as to make the program politically palatable. In reality, that...
  10. J

    Hinderburg, strike II.

    Given a choice between getting on an aeroplane and getting on that thing, I'd choose the blimp in a heartbeat. At least if the engines fail it still has some inherent bouyancy. That being said, if there is that big of a market for 18-hour cross country trips instead of 6 to 7 hours via regular...
  11. J

    Something Random

    It got into the 50s today (~15°C for those who use metric), and I feel hot. I can certainly tolerate low temperatures but above about 70°F I prefer to just stay inside with the A/C on. Maybe I'm one of the few who is hoping the Gulf Stream shuts down so the temperatures in New York fall by 15...
  12. J

    Why must TV forsake me?

    I blame the movie stations like HBO on that for me personally but nevertheless I feel the same way. The problem is that commercial breaks have gotten more frequent and longer. Yes, commercials have also become a lot more irritating, especially those moronic car commercials where they try to...
  13. J

    Fan cabling in the case

    The only problem with soldering all the leads together is if one fan goes bad it's a pain to disconnect it and replace it. If you have the room in the case you mght try putting phono plugs on all the fans, and then wiring one of those panels with several phono jacks so that you can plug each fan...
  14. J

    Why must TV forsake me?

    I feel exactly the same way. It's been literally decades since the major networks have had anything I consider worth watching. Sure, there may be an occasional good show, but given the penchant of the networks for cancelling the shows I like all the time I can't be bothered wading through the...
  15. J

    NOAA trying to mute research on global warming.

    I too never understood the blind urge to procreate. When you think about it, it's really senseless. We can all have children, and then you'll have twice the number of people all living like crap, or most can not procreate, and everyone can live much better. I heard thanks to Mexico's...
  16. J

    NOAA trying to mute research on global warming.

    Exactly. It's really annoyed me that environmentalists have fixated on global warming as the reason to stop burning fossil fuels. Honestly, I consider the pollution problem much more important. When 600,000 people die annually in the US alone from pollution-induced cancers, plus millions more...
  17. J

    Something Random

    There's a 10% or so slope a few miles from me. It's long enough that I have to slow to 10 or 11 mph in order to not be pooped out when I reach the top. Sadly, the downhill direction isn't enough fun to make up for the climb since the road ends at an intersection at the bottom of the hill. You...
  18. J

    Something Random

    Actually, I think anything much over the mid-50s is too hot. Winter is my favorite season by a mile. Summers? Well, I suppose it has to be warm some time so we can grow food but I generally hate summers with a purple passion. Heat, humidity, insects, polluted air, ozone alerts, etc. You can...
  19. J

    NOAA trying to mute research on global warming.

    If it's any solace there is a growing environmental movement on the right, so the days of environmentally irresponsible Republicans might be numbered. I consider myself a right-wing conservative in most things but I'm also an avid environmentalist and a big supporter of public transportation...
  20. J

    Something Random

    It'll take more than that to get around. Here's my house: And here's one of my street: I measured the accumulations at about 20" so far. BTW, I got plenty of good exercise clearing the sidewalks. :mrgrn:
  21. J

    Psychology qiestion that has always bothered me

    Sure, TV is one cause of the dumbing down of America but it's far from the only culprit. If you're selective about what you what TV can actually be a benefit. Problem is most people choose the path of least resistance and watch whatever crap is in at the moment. I'm often amazed when I have...
  22. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    I'm the same way. Even where I live now is less than ideal since I need to take a bus to the subway. At least the bus is only a few blocks away. I would never live someplace where public transportation wasn't within easy walking distance (say 1 mile or less), or wasn't frequent enough to be...
  23. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    That's about a 43 mph average speed, which is similar to what the electrified lines here offer. OK, so the problem definitely isn't that you don't have decent trains there. I guess that some areas are just too far from train stations to making commuting practical. We have that problem here as...
  24. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    Since we're doing comparisons here's what I used to do when I commuted from my house to college in Princeton: walk to 164th Street bus stop (0.2 miles): 2 minutes Q65A bus from 164th Street stop to Forest Hills subway station (2.7 miles): 15 minutes E train to Penn Station (10 miles): 25...
  25. J

    Hot Rod CPU

    You have to love marketing: All that means is you'll have less power per square mm of chip. If you have more area, you can still have more power than today's CPUs. Not that I mind, though. All these high-powered processors mean an assortment of nice, cheap, efficient heat sinks suited for my...
  26. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    Sure. I'll PM you with my address. The cards might have expired by now, but I can just have the money transferred to a fresh card at a token booth. Crowding is a downside when train travel is popular. That's one reason we need the Second Avenue subway. The trains in Manhattan especially are...
  27. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    That's the problem in a nutshell. The good news is that more people than ever are starting to ask for alternatives to the automobile. Eventually this will translate into increased subsidies and hopefully more public transit. NYC is hopefully finally going to build the long-talked about Second...
  28. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    I heard the same thing. One reason ridership has remained higher despite the decrease is gas prices is because roads are saturated in many places. I think what happened was that in some instances people taking mass transit to save money found out that it was no slower than their usual commute...
  29. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    Here is light rail data and heavy rail data by agency. Since commuter rail data is separate we can assume that heavy rail only includes subway. Bus data is also separate.
  30. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    I agree that the data is pretty complex since it's straight from the source (American Public Transit Association) in undigested form. It's basically up to a others to present the data in more usable format. Truth is it would be nice to see some US statistics such as total public transit...
  31. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    Here is a list by mass transit agency for the last quarter of 2004. Look in the column marked "Trips Thru Dec '04" for 2004 totals. Yes, the list is very long and complex, but at least it does separate urban and suburban transit. For example, in NYC there are separate statistics for the MTA...
  32. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    I found a list of per capita boardings for US cities. Not exactly what you're looking for, but you can figure ridership if you know the population of each city. I also found a nice list of 155 systems from around the world. The site the list is on is very interesting. No ridership...
  33. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    I think St. Louis also has a fairly decent system, and in Canada Montreal and Toronto both have nice systems. Admittedly, none compare to the MTA where you are literally within walking distance of a bus or subway nearly everywhere, they run 24 hours a day, and during most hours they come every...
  34. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    OK, but this is a hobby from which you derive a lot of enjoyment. I spend money I'll never get back on my hobbies as well. I can say most people who spend similar sums each year on cars aren't driving enthusiasts. Rather, they do so because they have little choice since real low-cost cars...
  35. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    OK, you have a business requiring car travel and that may well make the car pay for itself. The vast majority of people don't, and make a choice to live somewhere not subway-accessible. I agree gas doesn't cost enough but I don't base that conclusion on the fact that people spend a ridiculous...
  36. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    Blame GM et al for that. The US had a much better public transit system before GM bought up trolley lines for the express purpose of replacing them with buses (and eventually nothing). Also, the suburbanization of America at the same time didn't help either. It's a lot easier to build viable...
  37. J

    GM Pulls Ads From L.A. Times

    Your $1500 a year difference is not an insignificant amount to many people. Given that many households are already living on borrowed money, any increase in fuel prices means less spending elsewhere which in turn hurts the economy. I'll also add that from my perspective spending $1500 total a...
  38. J

    Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

    LEDs need to have junction temperatures less than 100°C. This means the heat sink they're mounted to needs to be way cooler than that, probably 60°C tops, preferably way less. In short, there's no part of an LED that can get hot enough to start a fire. The LED would be dead long before then...
  39. J

    Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

    Compact fluorescents last 6,000 to 10,000 hours. Typical T8 or T12 linear fluorescents last a bit longer-from about 15,000 hours up to about 35,000. Present-day power LEDs with silicon encapsulant maintain 70% of their initial brightness after operating for 50,000 hours. Future ones may well...
  40. J

    Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

    The early fluorescents, meaning the linear ones found in most offices and the kitchens of some homes, had poor color rendering plus flicker from the magnetic ballasts. Later fluorescents overcame these difficulties but nevertheless many people did and do continue to associate fluorescent with...
  41. J

    Psychology qiestion that has always bothered me

    That really brings us to another problem with present society-namely that people are getting lazier (and/or maybe more distracted) so that they do just the minimum needed to get by. I rarely see anyone taking the time to learn a new skill unless they absolutely need it. As a result, we have a...
  42. J

    Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

    Thanks for posting that, mubs. I saw it a few days ago and was going to add it to the thread. 113 lumens per watt is well into HID territory. We are way ahead of where we thought we would be now. Remember that less than three years ago 60 lumens per watt existed only in the lab and 20 to 25...
  43. J

    Psychology qiestion that has always bothered me

    It's actually more common in the suburbs here than the city, but yes we do unfortunately have that. Unlike preschool which might be beneficial academically if something useful was actually taught, as far as I know these are mostly babysitting services where those in charge just give the kids...
  44. J

    Psychology qiestion that has always bothered me

    On top of that you increasingly have taxpayer-funded day care masquerading as pre-kindergarten. The schools should get entirely out of the babysitting business. If you can't be home with your children until they start school don't have them. If you can't be home when your kids get home from...
  45. J

    Psychology qiestion that has always bothered me

    Is there anything a Mac does that much better than a PC? Seriously, I don't understand why people even buy Macs or use them nowadays. Basically, you're paying more for a machine which is slower and which requires expensive proprietary everything when something breaks. On top of that, 90% of...
  46. J

    Something Random

    So the problem was noise emanating from the power supply. :wink:
  47. J

    Psychology qiestion that has always bothered me

    Because most of them are teachers. The education field seems to be the last stronghold of Apples. I'm guessing teachers originally embraced Apples because due to their relative rarity they felt there was a certain elitism using them. As we all know, teachers love anything that makes them...
  48. J

    Something Random

    Here's a few things I found: Page 8 (part in bold should be one sentence): The DOWNLOAD Window will open up and show you what is, and has been downloaded. When it is done. It will say so. You can close this window down now or at any time without affecting your download. Page 17 (spelling)...
  49. J

    Something Random

    Yeah, I know that, and it uses cold-cathode fluorescent tubes to backlight it. BTW, I think the problem might be related to the tubes wearing out and changing characteristics. That can cause noise where none existed before. I wonder how many hours of use the display has had? The tubes should...
  50. J

    Something Random

    RFI from the cold cathode tube driver circuit no doubt. Bypass capacitors in a few key places on both the display and speaker circuit boards might help. Too bad I'm 3000 miles away or I could help with that. You might try moving the power and signal wires for your speakers as far away from...
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