Posts by Bill Michaelson

Re: Defacement

"Below"? Congratulations on your recognition of the theoretical Z-axis. But my screen is two-dimensional, and someone has been screwing around with the rendering here.

Re: Prior art problem....

And "prior art" is a term of art applied to patents. So the conflation is broad indeed.

Re: Ours

Would ASML be the shovels in your analogy? Where is ASML?

Re: Speed up shutdowns?

Downtime could be defined as the period during which production stops, not the period during which particular systems reboot. Reboot all day with zero downtime.

Priority

Eliminating the breeding pool for mutation, before the mutation that is resistant to current vax appears should be everyone's goal. That means all mitigations, from masks to vax to ventilation must be deployed as widely as possible, as soon as possible and as persistently as possible. The firefighters don't leave the seen while it is still smoking. They suffocate the embers. Speculation about the spectrum of risk factors has been used too many times to rationalize atrocious public policy decisions. An especially egregious example: "Kids don't get very sick from COVID so open schools." Every risk factor that is reduced multiplies into the risk product and the time factor brings exponents into play.

Public health. Your health IS my health. There is no space for individualism here. You want extreme freedom? Go live in the woods and stay there. Alone.

Re: security by obscurity

I used to leave my car unlocked so that they wouldn't have to break the window.

Re: I've never been so happy to be wrong

Presumably by combining multiple mechanisms and cross-checking. But even onsumer drones have optical flow capabilities. IMUs use accelerometers and gyros. Perhaps the ground rover can also provide a supplemental navigational beacon. Astronomical references can aid in orientation in combination with time. All integrated.

Re: Snow

Exception (Fatal): Road not present. Correct and resubmit.

Careful with that PR axe...

It should always be called sophisticated - out of an abundance of caution - because the safety and security of our users is our highest priority. Think of the children.

Driver awareness

Underinflated tires were blamed for a rash of accidents involved Ford SUVs that rolled over. Since then, TPMS is mandatory in US.

I like the system, although it tends to make me obsessive about keeping all the tires properly inflated. I particularly like the ability to flip on the pressure display if I roll over some debris at high speed. This once gave me early warning to exit an Interstate before losing too much pressure in one tire.

My biggest beef is with mechanics who swapped the sensors about carelessly, with subsequent ensuing hilarity as I try to adjust tire pressures.

Re: Vertical space rules

"Get a proper 43" 16:9 3840x2160 screen. Trust me."

Yes.

My $800 43" LG is this. It's like having 4 monitors I typically used in a 2x2 matrix - without the seams. It also leaves desk space for a sidecar or two of 1920x1080 for $100-200 a pop if desired.

The vertical space is good for code, horizontal for the occasional SQL table perusal. The combo for flexible image sizing placement and/or window arrangement. Huge fonts for when the eyes get tired or viewing by a group at some distance.

That thing is way too costly for the utility.

Re: Bias....

Have we tried categorizing dogs walking on Wall Street? Say, in front of the NYSE?

Re: Flat Earth

"For barometric altimiters don't they set 0' to correspond to the pressure reading at the airport?"

They do. In the US, the first part of an airport condition report such as ATIS contains the phrase "altimeter XX.YY (in/Hg)" so that a pilot can appropriately calibrate the pressure altimeter via the Kollsman window prior to approach.

But the pilot is typically quite relaxed anyway because they have another window in front of them that they can look through to see the runway. As long as the altimeter is calibrated reasonably, there will be adequate error margin for a precision approach with 200' AGL minimum to be clear of clouds, and a precision approach supplements vertical guidance via continuous glide slope indication. A non-precision approach will like have 500' minimums or higher. That's about a half inch of Hg slop.

Re: Dead naming?

"The indictment against Assange simply opens with 'Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning..'"

Yes. If the indictment opened with that assertion, perhaps for the sake of legal precision to dispel any potential confusion about identity, then referring to Chelsea Manning in the remainder of the document is sufficient and unambiguous.

Re: What's the problem....

I don't suppose you are familiar with the options available to consumers in the old days of Ma Bell? You could rent an "extension phone" for a few bucks each month. Ever heard of Carterfone? Restrictions were rationalized in the name of protecting the network from damage. Plus ça change...

Re: Incredible

And the other is my own state of NJ where I pump my own gas and have evaded arrest. But we are making progress on the braiding front...

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/nj-gov-murphy-hair-braiders-veto-african-american-immigrants-trade-20180827.html

Perhaps I can call myself an (e)ngineer, so long as I don't capitalize it. Or capitalize on it?

Re: Far left, far right and other labels that damage discourse

To the extent that there is ever a spectrum, referring to such is only meaningful within very limited context and even at that, not very useful.

Political stances of individuals are multi-dimensional. We would do well to remember this always.

Libertarianism gets a bad rap because it has come to be defined by various types of indiscriminate anti-government extremism. That's unfortunate, because one might think that some core beliefs of so-called libertarianism are compatible with social justice as characterized by those whom we might label as "left."

Re: OlaM

AirLINER autopilot (flight management) systems typically do all that good stuff. Aircraft autopilot systems of earlier vintage and lower grades can be as simple as a wing-leveler or a heading or altitude hold device and can indeed direct the airplane into a mountain or other obstacle. It is the pilot's responsibility to know well the capabilities and limitations of the specific system and supervise the operation appropriately at all times. It is also worth noting that the more capable systems require the most complex and nuanced supervision, thus requiring the most training and experience to do safely.

Yet even the simplest of such aviation mechanisms are called autopilots.

There is a distinction between the level of training, experience and certification required to operate airplanes as compared to automobiles, owing to several factors. That is a core issue. The other core issue is the regulatory environment that has allowed the deployment of these tools to insufficiently prepared drivers.

Who needs 280 characters...

...when you've got hieroglyphics?

Re: Even in the extremely unlikely event that fully autonomous vehicles ever become viable

In my admittedly optimistic view there is room for a happier alternative - wherein the increasing disparity between human frailty and robotic reliability leads to higher certification standards for human drivers. Still, I might not be able to afford the insurance as a human driver.

Re: I agree with Chase bank too

Interesting thought. On the other hand, I would argue that only the initial purchase is covered, and some time beyond that Coinbase has fulfilled its sale obligation by crediting the customer's custodial account with the appropriate amount of cryptocurrency. If the customer does not transfer the crypto out after some reasonable period, Chase should be off the hook with regard to any protections associated with the transaction.

Also, you should be careful with your adjectives.

Re: These people have made cryptocurrencies too annoying to use

You don't need the blockchain. You join a mining pool.

Re: I'm smiling today.

But aren't you kicking yourself for not buying 100 more?

Re: Reverse discrimination is now political correctness.

Michael Young would find the down voting, at this date, interesting.

Re: I am surprised its taken so long

Yeah, this is puzzling. It's been several years since brokerages have been required to record and report basis info too. But as recently as three years ago, CC were unclassified as assets for the IRS. I guess that was the "first they ignore you stage." Now we are even beyond "then they laugh."

Re: High-frequency trading companies = parasites

Which illustrates the problem of context for the definition of value and highlights the perverse incentives inherent to capitalism.

Re: All vehicles within 4 years?

Pretty much, I suppose.

Ask airplane pilots how ADS-B is working out. I don't think you will hear many complaints.

Re: Tulips again

"You missed other reasons it could become a bubble - if people stop using it, either because of governments cracking down against it (which is already happening) or because of a loss of confidence due to exchanges or wallets being hacked (which has happened before, and will surely continue to happen)

"Bitcoin has first mover advantage but there are no barriers to entry for similar "currencies" to exist, as Litecoin, Dogecoin and so forth have demonstrated. A crisis in confidence in those will impact Bitcoin as well, though the specific circumstances would dictate whether that leads to more or less confidence in Bitcoin."

This seem accurate. Bitcoin, interestingly, has no pretense of underlying value. Its value is purely based on abstraction, that of people's faith in its value. Ironically, that might be its greatest strength as compared to other stores of value.