I just spent a very frustrating 2 hours on the phone with various AT&T divisions. I finally got some resolution to a variety of issues.
Do you want to make more money than anyone? Here’s how…
Start a telecommunication company that actualy charges what you say you’re going to charge. You will drive every other telecommunications carrier out of business.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/kansas/kangaroo.html
I know this is old news (2005), but I just got around to reading the transcript (link above) today and I thought it very funny… and somewhat sad and pathetic. Of course, these kinds of things are still going on.
If you are really bored, you can read the complete transcript, but I’ll hit the highlights for you.
Witnesses for the anti-evolution committee of the Kansas Board of Education: Jonathon Wells, Mike Behe, Stephen Meyer, Mustafa Akyol (A Turkish Muslim, not a US citizen). There were about 20 or so total. Many with PhDs in Theology and Philosophy… a few science teachers (sigh).
Witnesses for the pro-science team: none.
Counsel (for lack of a better term): 3 or 4 members of the Kansas State Board of Education (each with an opportunity to question).
Counsel: 1 guy who knew what the hell he was doing.
Organization: Each Side would call their witnesses (experts?!?!?) and question for 40 minutes or so. The opposing side would then have half that time to cross-examine, then the calling side would have half of that time for redirect.
Funny Result: Even without calling any witnesses, and the deck full of anti-evolutionists, and the moderator obviously against him, and very hostile witnesses, the science team kicked ass. It wasn’t even close. Anyone with half a brain is able to see the religious motivation for changing the Kansas Science Standards.
It really is funny.
First, we finally got new phones (and carrier and phone numbers). If I haven’t contacted you with my info yet, then shoot me an e-mail and I’ll get it to you.
We bought the Samsung EPIX. This is a fantastic machine. Windows and AT&T together couldn’t destroy the power of the phone (and a little judicious hacking). The keyboard is firm and responsive, the touch screen doesn’t mind some abuse, the machine is tough, yet easy to carry. Windows mobile 6.1 is not a terrible OS. Windows Media Player Mobile is HORRIBLE.
First you need two programs to help with video playback. You could probably make do with one, but there’s a good reason for both.
YouTubePlay – This program lets you A) go to youtube.com and watch videos and B) plays any flv video files. The latter is actually more useful for me as I tend to download the flv from youtube to watch at my leisure. It’s also a small file and a pretty good player.
TCPMP – This is a very good media player. However, something to keep in mind is that because Microsoft is proprietary, any Windows Media File will play poorly on the EPIX. They will play with TCPMP, but TCPMP must use the Microsoft codex and it slows down and makes the playback jerky (too the point of unwatchable for me).
Amerisoft DVD Ripper and File Converter – These are the only pay programs I have, but they are freaking awesome. During the evaluation period, I ripped an episode of SG-1, downloaded to my EPIX, and watched it… smooth and beautiful. So I don’t have a problem paying for this one.
BTW: I have a 4g micro SD card and all the videos saved to that.
Regarding WiFi: I prefer having fast internet (especially at home), so I turned off the proxy (connections tab in settings folder). Unfortunately, if you do that, then you can’t use AT&T for SMS messaging. I think there is a way around that, but I haven’t gotten all the details yet.
My solution is actually pretty simple. GMail. Set up IMAP for Gmail and you can send almost anything you want that way. My wife sends me pictures via Gmail and then sends a quick text message to check the e-mail. It’s not quite as fast, but on the plus side, those pictures are now available on any internet connected PC and my home e-mail system as well.
I cannot wait for Fennec to come out. That’s the Firefox for mobile phones browser.
Anyway, I hope this helps some with the EPIX. Great phone… just some details that AT&T and Microsoft think that they are god’s gift to technology. Some of us actually prefer things that work though.
DON’T DO IT.
Please understand, I’m a recent transplant to Round Rock. However, I’ve come from an area that recently did the same thing that the city managers here are considering (in process of).
None of these projects have EVER made money for the city, county, region, etc. NEVER.
Do a google search on “Ford Park, Jefferson County, Texas”. Jefferson county built Ford Park without consulting the voters. It cost about 20 million once everything was said and done… then it cost 1 million to 1.5 million per year. That was what the county gave to Ford Park every year to keep it solvent. It was billed as the greatest entertainment center in Southeast Texas.
We had two concerts per year that may have been half filled. We had the Regional Softball tournament and a rodeo. That’s it. The entertainment complex was empty the rest of the time.
It will not work.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/043009/loc_434865629.shtml
I just read this article about Texas comptrollers ‘visiting’ a Lubbock gun show. The statements in the article got me curious so I visted the following sites regarding Texas Sales Tax Law
http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/sales/faq_collect.html – Texas Sales Tax FAQ
http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx94_153.html – Gun Shows and Texas Sales Tax
http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx94_108.html – Engaged in Business
http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx94_171.html – Internet and Texas Tax Law
If you read these carefully, you will find something very interesting.
By Texas Law, if you sell more than 2 items of any value within a 12 month period, you are breaking the law if you do not have a sales tax permit and collect sales tax.
Yep, if you do any of the following, you are breaking Texas law:
So all you people that do any of the following… BEWARE! The comptrollers are apparently trolling for you now.
BTW: Getting the Sales Tax permit is free, you just have to charge (in most places) 8.25% and send that to the state… to avoid breaking the law.
Well, I didn’t get the Mazda 6… oh well.
We looked at the Hyundai Sonata and it’s a fine machine. It’s quiet, pretty peppy. Nice big 6 engine and plenty of truck room. The back seats were a little tight though.
Then we drove to look at the Mazda and Lexie made me stop in a Subaru dealership along the way. We looked at an ‘09 WRX and, God, was it fast. I think the salesman peed his pants. He took us to the winding back road and said, “go ahead and open it up.” I said, “really!??!” Then he said, “Keep it under 80.”
80 mph took about 7 seconds and it stayed there. When the salesman slid from one side of the backseat to the other, he said, “OK, that’s enough!”
It was actually too fast. The transmission was pretty rough. There is actually more room in the back seat than in the Hyundai though. The sticker was a little over 26k. Which was out of our range, by a not a little bit.
As we’re walking around, Lexie says, “what’s the deal on those?” Two WRXs, side-by-side, both are selling for under 21k. One’s a red sedan and the other’s a grey wagon.
“Oh, those are last year’s demos. They have about 6k miles on them.”
I asked, “Doesn’t last year’s model have less power?”
“Oh yeah,” he says, “A little bit. They might be perfect for you.”
He goes to get the keys and I see that the red sedan has a short throw Momo shifter. I was sold.
It’s perfect. The clutch and transmission are VERY smooth. The power is there, but not psychopathic (hey, I have a two-year-old and I’m not even close to 30 anymore). The ride is nice. The clutch is a little stiff and the car is a little noisy above 80, but, God, is it fun.
So we go get the boy in it, come back after some heartfelt discussion along the way and buy it.
Oh, did I mention that the dealership gave me free maintenance for 36,000 miles? Oh, and a 7/100,000 comprehensive warranty. LIke, when I fry the clutch at 95k miles, I get a new one for $100.
The car sold me, the extras (like the free loaner car even for an oil-change) just made it really worth my while.
Pictures as soon as it’s detailed.
I have several blog items relating to the Science TAKS test.
By special request…
Math Check
First a quick math check:
5 divided by 5 = ?
1 – correct
248423/248423 = ?
1 – correct
meters / meters = ?
meters? WRONG!!!!
it equals 1. The units go away.
Remember this always.
Anything you do to numbers, you also do to units.
Units can be multiplied, divided, squared, etc. Everything!!! I cannot stress this enough.
First you need to know the basic units of the metric system. More here Actually, you only need to know 3 of them for physics and another for chemistry. A fourth is required, but only rarely. (Headings link to the wiki article, but don’t go there unless you really really want to… you’ve been warned… on the other hand, learning can be fun.)
The physics units you need:
Mass – kilogram
Length – meter
Time – second
That’s it. Now for the fun stuff. We combine them.
Velocity – Let’s say you go 5 meters in 1 second. That 5 meters per second or 5m/s. Velocity (well, speed, add a direction to be velocity). What if you go 5 meters in 2 seconds? Well, you put 5 meters over 2 seconds and simplify. 5 meters / 2 seconds = 2.5 m/s
Easy right?
Acceleration – Let’s say your velocity is changing. You hit the gas in the car. Your velocity increases by 2 meters per second (2m/s) every second. So at the end of the 1st second, you’re going 2m/s. At the end of the next second, you’re going 4m/s. Follow?
Basically, you’re changing the distance you go each second. You can find this by taking the final speed subtracting the initial speed and dividing by how long you accelerated. If you start at zero, things are easy. Let’s say you start from rest and take 6 seconds to accelerate to 24 m/s. So your formula is:
(24m/s – 0m/s) / 6 seconds = 4 m/s^2
In math, since you’re divinding by seconds twice, you square it. So you’re acceleration is 4 meters per second squared or 4 m/s^2
Still basic right… now things get fun
Let’s say that you have to accelerate a block that masses 2 kilograms to 15 m/s and you have 3 seconds to do so. You must apply a force to the object to make it change. How much force you ask? That’s a good question, let’s find out.
First, let’s find out how fast we must accelerate the object (see above). (15 m/s – 0m/s) / 3 seconds = 5m/s^2.
So we have to accelerate it by 5 meters per second squared for 3 seconds to get the object to 15m/s. Now, if we multiply the acceleration by the mass (trust me here). 5m/s^2 * 2kg = 10 kgm/s^2
What the heck is that you ask? kgm/s^2. That is one kilogram meter per second squared. It’s a measure of the force you apply to an object. A force of 1 kgm/s^2 will accelerate a 1 kilogram object to 1 m/s in 1 second. Still with me?
This unit has a special name since ‘kilogram meter per second squared’ is long. It’s called a Newton. 1N is 1kgm/s^2.
That’s what we mean when we say derive the unit. If you see Newton, you can replace it with kgm/s^2. That way, you can do math on Newtons.
Work is the amount of energy transferred by a force. Work is always energy. It can be mechanical (push, pull) or thermal (heat) or electricity. The actual derivation is a little beyond IPC, but we can say this:
Work is the amount of energy gained by an object as force is applied to the object over a distance. So if we apply the 10 Newton force (above) to the object over a distance of 10 meters… 2kgm/s^2 * 10m = 20 kgm^2/s^2. Wow? What does that mean?
First let’s simplify it a bit. Instead of kgm/s^2, let’s replace all that with N. So 20Nm. 20 Newton meters. This is a measure of the this distance an object moved by the force applied to it. Further on, you will learn that this changed the energy of the object. We added energy, so a Newton meter is a measure of energy.
Newton meter is still pretty long, so we call this a Joule. A joule is a Newton meter or a kilogram meter^2 per second ^2. See how all these begin to look familier?
Next we have power. Power is how long it takes us to transfer a certain amount of energy. Let’s say the lead linebacker for the football team and the head of the chess club both have to lift 200 kilograms. Which one will lift it faster (you may be surprised)? The one that lifts faster has more power. Makes sense right?
Power is measured in Joules/second. That is energy delivered per second. This Joule per second has a special name too… you know this one. It’s called a Watt. Yep, like the light bulbs.
Consider if you have a short lunch break and need to heat your frozen dinner. Would you rather use a 200W microwave or a 1000W microwave. The 1000 Watt microwave has way more power, so use that one.
Potential and Kinetic Energy
Last, but not least… these are forms of energy, so what units do we use? Yes, Joules… or kgm^2/s^2.
Now, you know everything you need to know. Remember, if you can do it to numbers, then you can do it to units.
If you apply 15 Watts of power for 20 seconds, how much energy have you used?
15 W = 15 J/s
15 J/s * 20s = 300J
the seconds cancel out here because one is on top and one is on bottom.
OK, if you apply the 300 Joules to an object over a distance of 10 meters? Then how much force was applied?
300 J = 300 kgm^2/s^2
300 kgm^2/s^2 / 10m = 30 kgm/s^2 = 30N
The meters divide out here. How did I know to multiple in the first example and divide in this one? Because the units told me to. I was going from Joules to Newtons (energy to force). The only way to get there is to divide by a distance in meters. THIS IS THE TRICK. By knowing where the units are, you can get the right answer, even if you don’t know the formulas!!!!
You apply 30N of force to object that masses 2 kilos . What was the acceleration of the object?
30N = 30kgm/s^2
30kgm/s^2 / 2 kg = 15 m/s^2
Again, kilograms on top, so I had to divide by kilograms. kilos/kilos = 1
If you accelerate an object at 15m/s^2 for 10 seconds. What is the final speed?
15m/s^2 * 10s = 150m/s
I’ll stop there, you can figure out the rest.
I hope that helps.
So the Austin area experienced a pretty major hail storm about 3 weeks ago. Only my car was damaged so we were at the end of the line for insurance adjustment.
Anyway, I have 1996 Mustang convertible. 5-speed thank you. Unfortunately, the soft-top has a hole in the canvas thanks to the hail storm, not to mention a variety of contusions and dings. Last Friday, when it rained so much, I got a shower every time I turned a corner because the top had filled with water and would slosh out onto me.
So I take to my insurance carrier and they look at it. They call around because replacement of a top is not a normal thing. They call me over and to repair the car will take more money than the car is worth, so they total it. Now, I get a new car. It will be the first new car I’ve ever bought (my wife’s Santa Fe doesn’t count, it’s hers).
Now for the restrictions:
I want: fun, power, a decent stereo, a quiet ride, a good handling car
My wife wants: 4 doors, a decent stereo, room for everyone for a medium to long trip, comfort
So, pending a test drive, I’ve settled on the Mazda 6.
Pretty huh? 272 horse V-6 with a 6-speed auto. I know, it’s not a mustang, but I looked and my mustang only had a 150 horse V6. Oooh… now you have my attention.
Lots of legroom, front and back, large trunk, MP3 player jack. I can’t wait to go drive it.
The whole point of The Matrix Trilogy is Neo is ‘The One’ destined to save mankind from the machines. I recently got the Matrix Trilogy and Animatrix and realized that Neo isn’t the one that could control the matrix. He was good in the matrix, but he still followed the physical laws of the matrix.
1) Fighting – if he could remake the matrix as he saw fit, why fight? Why not just remake the bad guy into a roach and step on him? Oh, he’s got free-will too (sort of, I guess) and can resist Neo’s abilities. OK, then, why not make a 20,000 lbs anvil over his head… ah la Wile E. Coyote (super-genius).
2) Superman Flight – why? Dude, ever heard of teleportation? Even electrons travel at the speed of light (or near enough through a CPU, and don’t you think the matrix mainframe is running something a little hotter than Intel’s quads) so something a little quicker might be in order?
3) Guns (attacking) – increase the mass of the bullet say 5000 times just as it impacts the target. Heh, skip that and just increase the inertia. If you’re gonna use a gun and can remake the matrix as you see fit, then why not use a handheld 50 terrawatt gamma ray laser?
4) Guns (defending) – wouldn’t it be easier to just cause gunpowder’s rate of chemical reaction to slow down within say 1000 yards? Or even cause metal fatigue in the firing pins?
5) Trinity – yeah, Moss is OK looking, but if you’re Neo couldn’t you make her look like (insert favorite super-model here)?
6) Agent Smith – why fight him? Just force hime to type out his moves on a virtual keypad connected to the matrix supercomputer at 600 baud.
