Andrew Dalke's Comments

The "on line" example is a bit more complicated. It had several meanings, including "interactive"; the two styles of computer use were "online" or "batch"/"offline". Batch processing is cheaper because online processing requires that updates occur quickly. For example, http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=AD0645438 says "The online condition was the normal mode of operation for the SDC Time-Sharing System; the offline condition was a simulated closed-shop with a two-hour turn-around time." In this case, "by requiring the programmer to submit a work request to a member of the experimental staff to have his program operated."

That use of "online" is still present in phrases like "Online Transaction Processing" (OLTP), where "workloads are characterized by small, interactive transactions that generally require sub-second response times", or in "online algorithm", which is "one that can process its input piece-by-piece in a serial fashion ... without having the entire input available from the start."
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But it is fun to calculate! 5 cubic meters (5000 kg) of water at 20C, 20kg of steel at 1,400C. The specific heat of water is about 8x that of steel. (5000*8*20+20*1400)/(5000*8+20) = 20.7C, if it were evenly mixed. Also, that's a wood-powered hot tub, so they already aren't spending a dime (or a Euro) on electricity.
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For #4, what do truckers say if there's an actual alligator in the middle of the road? While I want very much for them to say "Watch out for the Alligator mississippiensis on the zipper", I suspect it's more like "Watch out for the 'gator on the zipper."
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A friend of mine tried to pull off a shot with the ISS crossing the crescent moon. He had it all planned, went to the spot in Colorado ... and didn't get it. He forgot to include the elevation, which changed the viewing angle too much.
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How odd to see a completely different crew with that music. And the ships - I remember them as being huge, but now they are, what, 1/4th the size of the current largest cruise ships?
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Huh. I don't always rinse my mouth out after brushing. I didn't realize that was gauche. I now can't look at that Psycho shower scene without doing a little cringe as I think of the blast of initial cold water.
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Is there a difference in this case between "correct" and "politically correct"? I mean, all of the statements are correct, including the long-time discrimination against black people using public swimming pools. When the Supreme Court ended "separate but equal", many cities shut down their public pools to avoid having to integrate them. As a result, many blacks never had the chance to swim, leading to the false stereotype that "blacks can't swim", and higher drowning rates for black children. Once you know the history of the topic it's hard to look at that poster and not go "not cool."
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I know it was meant in humor, but that doesn't look like a "top of the line television set", even for that era. It looks like a relatively inexpensive color television set. (This feels like it's from the early 1980s, but I might be off by a few years.)
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Profile for Andrew Dalke

  • Member Since 2012/08/04


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