I saw one of these almost ten years ago in Key West, FL. If you win the lobster, the restaraunt would cook it up for you for free. Considering how hard it is to have a claw grab a light-weight, non-moving stuffed animal, I am sure they were still making money.

Pleae note that the link in this article does not work due to a the HTML "HREF" tag begin typed as "HREAF".

Actual link is:
http://consumerist.com/5008114/hp-denies-your-warranty-accuses-amazon-of-selling-you-a-fake-laptop

How well does it work with Linux?

Some people care about this.

Another easy way to protect your stuff. Not industrial-grade secure, but secure enough to easily fool a rent-a-cop with a tight schedule.

Take all of your sensitive files and put them into a ZIP archive (bonus points for encrypting it). Copy it into your windows/system directory, and re-name it to something.dll. Easy as pie!

This will not stop a real industrial-strength forensics search, but without any sort of suspicious activity, they will have no reason to keep your laptop.

Also, if you really do have something that is really terribly sensitive, I suggest getting some software that does multiple-writes of random data over the blank areas of your hard drive (too lazy to google one right now).

Tom, the schedule for Ubuntu release is planned out months ahead. 30 seconds on Google, and you can figure out when 8.10 will be released (assuming that they don't delay it).

Those pictures still look just like screws that I have been using for decades.

Great aricle for those that have not read it:

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2004/articles/0726sheep.html

Wow. I would not want those in my house. CRTs are full of lead shielding. This is one thing when the tubes are hidden safely away inside a cabinet. Quite another when the are left bare.

Also not that those things are heavy, just in case the attachment to the ceiling gives way.

Still, pretty cool, as long as it stays in somebody else's house.

#34,
So, how does it feel to have the political party that you support try to snuff out one of your favorite hobbies?

Just wondering...

What is the code for "can't spell 'nocurnal?'"

It could be that people who are in areas that allow gun ownership are, in general, happier that people living in areas that don't allow gun ownership.

I have several firearms, and I know that I would not be happy in any state that disallowed ownership, but only partially for the regulations themselves. Places like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco restrict firearm ownership the most. They also tend to have higher crime, higher real estate prices, higher taxes, and longer commutes than other places.

For an even better defensive light, try this:
http://www.tigerlight.net/
Blindingly-bright flashlight (rechargable too), combined with pepper spray. I have one of the early models. It is definately bright, and will light up the side of a house from three block away.

Please tell me how this is better than a real PLB? Admittedly, it is cheaper up-front, but the break-even point is in about 4 years, after which the PLB is cheaper.

A real PLB is also a LOT more reliable. Yes, this thing does have some cool features, but the only real feature that matters is: will is save your live when TSHTF.

Check out reviews from an expert in survival here:
http://www.equipped.org/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm

Update here:
http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=73

Just a carry-on for a multi-day trip? Impossible. You cannot take a Leatherman carry-on. I feel naked without my leatherman.

The constitution is dead, or at least parts of it. Coming this November, whoever wins, the constitution looses. You have to pick. One candidate will do all that they can to ignore/abolish the 4th and 5th amendments, and the other will do all they can to destory the 2nd amendment. If you believe, like me, that the ENTIRE constitution is worth defending, then you are out of luck.

The trouble is, that, even now, there is no civilized country that has the freedoms that America still allows you to have.

absimiliard said "I just want to know how I can make an acceptable personal attack. I'm really not sure how I could pull that off."

Well, of course you do, you dim-witted ninny. If you weren't such a jerk, you could pull this off. Remove you cranium from your posterior and see if that helps.

Sorry, couldn't resist :P

The reason that nobody thinks of using the cigarette lighter is that the little thing can't carry much current. Cigarette lighter plugs are connected to the battery through a fuse, probably in the 10-15 amp range. Clearly, using jumper cables that can easily carry 50 amps or more is going to result in getting your battery back in a state to start you car a lot faster.

Cool concept, but the device is too darned big. It needs to be the size of a USB drive.

Be cautions. This is NOT a "survival kit." This is a "feel like you have a survival kit until you need it and realize that you are screwed kit."

Seriously. Check out this review:
http://www.equipped.org/lifepackit.htm
Note that the review is a few years old, and the whistle appears to have changed a little, but otherwise the same kit.

The tin is sealed. If they forgot to include the matches, you won't know until you need it -- then, it's too late.

You would do much better with this:
http://www.equipped.org/psp/index.htm
It is under $30 from any REI, Sportsman's Warehouse, or Dicks Sporting Goods (and probably many others).

Keep waiting for the LED's.

Have you seen an LED that can replace even a 100W household bulb? Yes, they exist, but they are terribly expensive. Some of those bulbs in projectors are 200W or more, so you need even MORE expensive LED's. Plus, there is the fact that one LED die is not going to do it, so you now have multiple dies, so multiple sources of light. This will greatly complicate the optics needed in order to get a nice-looking image.

Also, old-fashioned bulbs generate a lot of heat, but they thow it out as infra-red light, which heats up everything around them. So the heat is not concentrated in one tiny spot, and is easier to remove. LED's, on the other hand, generate waste heat that stays in the LED itself, so you need a giant honkin' heat sink on there, and you probably still need the fans. While bulbs work BECAUSE of heat, LED's tend to die if overheated.

I have no doubt that LED projectors will happen, but I would not expect it in the next couple of years.

This thing seems awesome (he said, even though he can't see any flash videos using 64-bit linux). Please post again when they become available in the US.

#9 mentioned the skin effect. That is complete BS for any audio application. At audio frequencies, the "skin" is thick enough to easily cover even the largest of wires.

For those that don't know, AC signals tend to restrict themselves to the outside of a circular cable. At the hundreds-of-MHz range, this can be significant. At audio frequencies, no effect whatsoever.

As far as using zip cord (lamp cord), there is a matter of quality. Bare copper will eventually corrode. If you plug in the speakers and then leave them for a decade or two, and the environment is just wrong (say, a house near the beach), then you might find that the wire has corroded itself to the connector. Better cables tend to have thicker, tougher jackets, gold-plated connectors (which resist corrosion), shielding (not important for speakers, but can be for almost everything else) and generally better quality. I have also seen the insulation on some old, cheap cable crack and break away. Also, if you are running speakers in the middle-to-high three digit wattages, you might want thicker cables to reduce the I^2/R losses. Quality is definately worth paying for, up to a point.

Here is the fundamental problem with banning things. Bad guys (criminals) want an advantage over the good guys (honest citizens). They will take any advantage that they can get. Take the UK for example. Bad guys get guns, so guns are banned to make the people safer. Eventually is becomes hard to get a gun (and now only the super-rich can afford to go hunting). So, criminals use knives, which are then eventually banned. Next come cricket bats, banned. Apparently some criminals have even been using swords, so some localities tried to ban those. The ones that are hurt the most are the citizens who get caught in the cross-fire of all of this terrible legislation that is supposedly done to help them. People improvise weapons in prison! Unless we want to make our streets worse than prison, we need to accept the fact that bad guys will have weapons of some sort. Look up "Millwall Brick" on Wikipedia. The only obvious solution is to allow honest citizens to have weapons so that the criminals fear for their lives.

One more thing: As somebody else mentioned, if this bullet fragment really was dangerous, a DVD would barely slow it down. Here is some fun reading about how many books it would take to stop a bullet:

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot31.htm

The sad truth is that, unless you were carrying at least a dozen translations of the bible stacked together in your pocket, they are unlikely to do much.

#7, would the bible thing really be a problem?

One of the commandments specicifically forbids murder, so if a person REALLY followed the bible, then everybody around them is safe.

This is not the worst food. I would rather be forced to eat this than fugu. ONE bad dish of fugu and you are dead.

One thing that annoys me about "green" cars is the constant drive towards smaller. I could never use one of these. I am about 6'2" tall. Every day, I am taking two kids to school. On the weekend, my car may be packed with four or five people. And, if we want to go on a weekend outing, the trunk will be full of stuff.

Why can't there be an affordably hybrid car that is sized for a real family? I know tha Ford is taking steps in that direction, but I have my doubts about Ford's quality.

This reminds me of a railbike. For those of you who haven't heard of this, you can modify a bike to ride on a traditional railroad track, using any bike that you happen to have, and some materials from your local hardware store.

Of course, you life expectancy is much longer if you stick to unused railroad tracks.

His bike looks cooler in that there is a better view many feet off of the ground.

The people who need a blender should just bring a power inverter to plug in a 120V blender. This is one of the most useless things that I have ever seen.

Now this is awesomely cool. Waaaaay to expensive, but cool.

The problem is that most towns have laws about discharging firearms within city limits, which this contraption will definately cause you to do. (if you live in the middle of the country, you can probably go shooting outside in your back yard, if you are smart about it). Of course, if you use "primer only" loads, or load with 1/3 the poweder, the odds of getting caught are almost nill. But, if the police ever search your house for any other reason and find this, that will be something that they could choose to charge you with.

I like the game because it is fun even with only two people. Fun two-player games can be hard to find.

He should join right now: http://www.kniferights.org/

It is sad that knives have been demonized so much. I carry my old Leatherman Wave absolutely everyplace. It is not a weapon, it is a tool. Ask any cavemen (well, except those in the television commercials) and they will tell you that the two most important tools for survival are fire and a knife.

As soon as my son is old enough, he will get is first real Leatherman. I even took a cheap multi-tool and, using my Dremel, blunted the knife blades beyond dull (my son is six). But he still has working pliers, saw, and screwdrivers.

To #2...

Yes, I partially agree. It is rather boring -- to me. But others enjoy it. The point is that stamp collecting is also boring, but I sure would be angry if the police wasted time and money to raid a stamp collector for no good reason. The these really were just guys getting together to play poker and loose $5 per night, good for them.

Back when I was young, I remember when visiting my relatives, my father would stay up all night playing poker with my uncle and cousins. I sure would be pissed if the police felt that they need to raid a nickle-ante poker game.

I live in Colorado Springs, and we really do have a stargate! Near downtown, in a public park, there is a giant ring that looks rather similar to the stargate, and is easily visible from I-24. It rotates once every 10-15 minutes, and drops a sheet of wate from the top. It is not really a circle, but looks like little over one loop from a really big spring (helical in shape), but it still looks like the design was inspired by the TV show. Too bad I couldn't find a picture on GIS. On summer days you can find loads of children playing in the water there.

A lot of people do not realize that hunters provide a valuable environmental service. A certain piece of land can only handle so many animals of a certain type. If the hunters were not out there taking deer and elk, soon those animals would overpopulate the area. Then, instead of having deer & elk die by a bullet (over in moments), you have them die by disease, starvation, and predators. Yes, death by disease and starvation is more "natural," but a whole lot less pleasant than a bullet.

A lot of people do not realize that hunters provide a valuable environmental service. A certain piece of land can only handle so many animals of a certain type. If the hunters were not out there taking deer and elk, soon those animals would overpopulate the area. Then, instead of having deer & elk die by a bullet (over in moments), you have them die by disease, starvation, and predators. Yes, death by disease and starvation is more "natural," but a whole lot less pleasant than a bullet.

I dunno. I kind of like the look. I would certainly never pay more than $50 for something like this, but it still has a certain cool factor. If Darth Vader wore a watch, it would look like this.

This appears to be a copy (rip-off) of the John-E handwarmers that have been around for decades. These things are safe (assuming that they work exactly like the John-E versions), and you can even tuck one in an inside pocket of your jacket to keep your innards heated.

Unfortunately, John-E is rather behind the times and does not appear to even have a web site, but you can buy their stuff from places like Sportsmans Warehouse and Cabelas.

That should be "12 gauge" and not ".12 gauge" Technically, I think that 0.12 gauge would be about equivalent to a large cannon on a battleship.

Bzzzzt. Wrong. Thank you for playing.

Real commercial PLB's (which cost in the neighborhood of $500 to $700), do NOT require a recurring charge. Well, they do, but that is in the form of income taxes that all Americans pay. The PLB sattelites are run by the US government, and are free for all to use.

Once you get past the initial sticker shock, the only recurring charge is replacing the battery every few years.