Brad Ideas - Best Of Blog - Comments

clone it

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:35:21 -0800

Just get CDMA workshop and clone it yourself, fluck the cell phone company.

I got a new tv last christmas

TV fix — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:12:31 -0700

I got a new tv last christmas, and and wait to see all the channels I wanted to watch. But when I turned it on, there was something off, the whole thing was streched and the sides are cropped off(the shows are 16:9 but thinks my screen is 4:3) and the only person that can help is my dad. He did not know about the problem and 6 months went by until I showed him the sports channels and he notices that he hates it because its wierd(In other words, "Streched") and fixes it. You know what, show some people their favourite channel, the ones that they watch all day, that are either 4:3 or think your tv is 4:3 and they will not love it.

Problem is

brad — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:54:08 -0700

It’s only 96% coverage for the annular. So you need a solar filter to photograph the sun, and there will be no background visible. Unless you can line something up to do an outline. Like the ring of sun over the crown of Shasta. Should be possible to map where you would see that. If you go to west texas or NM it is a different story, through the thick atmosphere you can see and photograph it though I would not stare at it for too long.

Cassaval Ridge ...

Bethie Anne Eclipse Chaser — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 17:19:57 -0700

16 degrees ... that suggests Cassaval Ridge might be in the way.

And that north of Lassen Peak, if that's the alternative, possibly somewhere on the south side of the road at the Devastated Area.

Shasta is close

brad — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:20:20 -0700

Shasta is a tempting location. The eclipse will be 16 degrees up which may allow some interesting photos, but you would have to play exposure tricks for some of them. There is a temptation to go to west texas like Lubbock where it takes place at sunset, and you can observe it with the naked eye. Or Albuquerque where it’s a little higher but would still get some of that. Greater cloud risk though.

If you want to see from Shata, the azumith is 279, which means 9 degrees north of due west. So from Bunny Flats you would be looking above and to the right of Black Butte. To get Shasta in your view you have to go east of it.

2012 Annular Eclipse over Mount Shasta - sightlines?

Bethie Anne Eclipse Chaser — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:00:37 -0700

Brad, have you figured out whether the annular eclipse will be visible from Shasta in the west, or behind the Trinity Alps? It's going to be late in the afternoon.

It's possible to drive to 6800' (Bunny Flats). Depending on what kind of optical gear you're bringing, there's a good trail up to the Sierra Club Horse Camp stone cabin area at 8000'.

I haven't been able to locate contact info for any local astronomy club to get their thoughts.

Shasta, of course, will be really magical ... but if the logistics are bad, there should be many good spots for viewing at Lassen Volcanic National Park (another wonderful place).

Need to know

Shiv prakash — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:16:33 -0700

The RoboCars are really the victory of science ie artificial intelligence and robotics. I also know my question may occur foolish if, but I need to know can the car will be able to take decision when something would be moving fastly above car say. something huge dropping above it. I know this is not checked by any individual driving the car but, i would be great if It can take decision when any action like this happens. if these module are included then I say its great and more inspiring.

thanks

Yes, especially with

Jon — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:07:17 -0700

Yes, especially with animated shows. Apparently it's okay to stretch out cartoons. Nope, sorry, even animated people look like football heads when stretched out.

At the moment I'm stuck with a hotel TV that not only stretches out the 4:3 signal, but it's zoomed in past 16:9 so it's painful to watch.

Enewetak Atoll

Kevin Zwicker — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:12:14 -0700

Hi Brad, supper pictures of the atoll! I miss that place like no place I’ve been. I was one of the Navy folks who helped clean up Enewetak in 1977 and back again in 1979. I was a small boat operator the first trip where I carried people, both Military and civilian from island to island. The second trip I operated a 75' landing craft hauling trucks, equipment and fuel. The times there are imbedded in my memory for ever. Saw a 16' Shark while diving on the tower pinnacle off the coast of Runit. Huge fish! By the way, not trying to be putz but the debris in the covered crater on Runit is from the islands up north near Engebi. The debris from Bikini was stored elsewhere. I spent many a night on Lojwa, Engebi, Medren, Japtan and Enewetak. Lived thru tropical storm Nadine too. That was something else! Coral and sand was blown clear across the wide spot on Enewetak. There was a Typhoon the first trip and the Military evacuated us to Guam for a day for safety. Anyway thanks for the beautiful pictures, very nice.

Amex Baggage Insurance Scam

Vince — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:29:49 -0700

What a joke. They state you are covered for lost baggage as long as you pay for your ticket with the amex card. Well, there are loopholes they dont tell you.

Like you have to buy a full fare ticket not offset by any frequent flyer miles in whole or in part. You would not know this until you file a claim. I was told its clearly stated in its policy AX0400.

To date, I still cannot find that policy on the net.

Total Scam.

Now I wonder if I am really covered when I rent a car and waive the insurance at the rental counter.

It would be nice if we could

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:32:29 -0700

It would be nice if we could just arrest and lock up people who have their TVs displayed incorrectly. It would definitely cut down on the amount of stupid people in the world. Pretty much everyone who pays for cable should be locked up too.

Keep away the humans

brad — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 10:07:44 -0700

Actually, it is indeed a flaw in this interpretation that Eywa did not simply use techniques to keep the humans away from the primitive reserve created fro the Na’vi. One could argue that it didn’t do this until it became clear the humans would interfere so greatly, knowing it could find a subtle way to resolve things. We can’t truly understand the planning of god-like beings. But it certainly seems the simplest situation would be to just not let the humans land in the first place. It seems hard to imagine it would not have the capability to stop them.

Perhaps, one might speculate, it felt some need to shake up the Na’vi society with an external threat. Even at a cost in lives.

Frankly, this idea makes more sense, plot-wise.

Q42 — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:53:39 -0700

Given that James Cameron is planning two sequels, and that the gun-toting humans will probably be returning to retake Pandora in the near future, all I can say is: the Na’vi are going to need that fancy, world-bending, post-singularity tech pretty quickly! Unless Eywa can telekinetically repel starships, landing craft and/or space-to-surface weaponry (unlikely, given that humans have been landing safely there for decades), I don’t see how else the Na’vi could possibly survive a full-on invasion.

While I’m more than happy to see where Mr. Cameron actually takes the sequels, I would love to see a story arc in which Jake and company have to unlock the secrets of Pandora and its builders. As the humans rally for a military invasion, it would make sense that Eywa would see a need to reactivate some of Her makers’ powerful technology. And who better to make use of it than Jake and the Avatar team, who at least have some grasp of technology beyond the Neolithic level? Thus begins an all new globe-trotting adventure, in which our heroes must journey across Pandora – giving us, the audience, some awesome scenic eye candy along the way – on an epic quest, searching for the clues that will awaken Pandora’s hidden power. If they fail, Pandora will become Earth’s conquered, dying twin. If they succeed, the revelations they uncover may save Pandora – and possibly Earth, as well.

Besides being beautiful, maybe the Na’vi’s white, star-like biolights are a hidden message from their ancestors. Perhaps the People once traveled the stars … and are destined to return there one day.

The plot might not be terribly original, but then, that didn't bother too many people about Avatar (least of all me!)

Sprawl costs money, robocars will make cities cheaper.

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:29:45 -0700

One nice thing about robocars is it should be practical to meter usage and toll streets. We might even end up with privatized roadway systems. Right now everyone just pays taxes and highways get built where planners and politicians figure they'd make sense. Sprawl is in many ways being subsidized.

In the future, the consumer pays directly and even if energy and infrastructure are marginal costs, human psychology dictates we'll be cheapskates. Also, just because highways will be narrower and lighter because of smaller robocars, there's the more unavoidable cost of earthworks, land acquisition, and more road to maintain and monitor.

I see the reduced need for parking lots and super highways or expensive mass transit infrastructure making urban density cheaper. Or conventional suburbs where people have nice yards and free standing homes slightly more compact. Robotaxi and deliverbot service may be better(shorter wait times) and cheaper in denser environments as well(more units nearby at any given time).

I think you are right that maybe people won't pay huge premiums for sub-optimal housing in very dense locales like central San Francisco if you can get there in no time flat.

But if you can have a yard and space in a conventional suburb, and robocars end up making it even more quiet and safer than it was before, would you pay extra money to get some acreage in the countryside? I wouldn't. Also I guess there are some economic benefits to building multi-unit apartment buildings, hospital and hotels as high-rises, etc. Not everyone will live and work in places like this, but they will stick around.

phone at bm

Anonymous — Tue, 24 May 2011 18:49:40 -0700

this is my first yeargoing to bm, and i am not bringing my 3 yearold son. I was wondering if you would have this phone set up again. I am looking for a way to call and talk to him while I am away.