| Wednesday,
Jerry/Wade
The most likely cause of the failure is not a short
but and open circuit caused by chemical reaction between the battery
fluids and the tracks on the PCB. The best solution to this is to replace
the complete PCB with one from another unit. It may be possible to find
one with a cracked display as a donor. I'm sure stranger thing have been
requested on the newsgroups.
Repair might be possible but would require access to
fine soldering equipment, a good inspection microscope and if possible the
circuit diagrams for the unit under repair.
In general I wouldn't recommend using any sort of
acid on any modern electronic equipment. Just wash with small amounts of
deionised water then remove any excess water with pure alcohol (not
methylated spirits, too many impurities) and leave in a warm place for a
couple of hours (sorry if this is beginning to sound like a recipe).
Modern high density PCB's are precision made to
tight tolerances and are quite vulnerable to damage by chemical leakage.
Sorry this isn't very encouraging.
Regards
Ian Crowe
That would have been my guess, too, but it does
not harm to try a few heroic measures first. When they fail...
And some good news
Well, this certainly looks promising, and brightens
the morning! Let's hope they slam the jail doors on a few, soon, and word
gets around.
CNN.com - Virginia threatens spammers with
jail time - Apr. 30, 2003: http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/
internet/04/30/fighting.spam.ap/index.html
RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- Internet mavens
who clog computers with massive volumes of unsolicited e-mail pitches now
risk landing in prison and losing their riches under a tough Virginia law
signed Tuesday. Although about half the states have anti-spam laws, no
other allows authorities to seize the assets earned from spamming while
imposing up to five years in prison, said Gov. Mark R. Warner.
Thanks for all you do,
Jim Riticher
But where will they find an impartial jury?
I have a huge number of
links from Roland on many subjects:
Subject: Jacob Buckman, eat your heart out.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/
supernova_warning_030417.html
Roland Dobbins
Heh.
=====
Subject: " . . . it's sort of freaking me
out."
Surely the basic argument that most issues at the
intersection of the public/private spheres ought to be handled by the
several states could be made in in such a way as to avoid references to
bestiality?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
news/archive/2003/04/22/national1737EDT0668.DTL
And what's with this 'we' business? Is that the
royal 'we'?
Very odd.
Roland Dobbins
====
Subject: The Testimony of Mindy
Kleinberg.
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/
hearing1/witness_kleinberg.htm
Roland Dobbins
For Response see below.
=====
Subject: Details of empire.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/
default.asp?page=story_19-4-2003_pg3_5
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero042203.html
Roland Dobbins
Subject: Ah, but will they
listen?
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20030407/climate.html
Roland Dobbins
Very Probably not, of course. Little gets through
to the "environmentalists." I dislike the Access to Energy term
"enviros" but I find myself more inclined to use it all the
time.
Subject: Lewis.
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/05/lewis.htm
Roland Dobbins
This is Bernard Lewis, not C.S. Lewis. This essay
on tolerance deserves reading, but there are parts to disagree with.
Subject: Polar Night.
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/moon2002/pdf/3067.pdf
Roland Dobbins
Subject: Maintenance of empire.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/29/sprj.irq.main/index.html
Roland Dobbins
Roland has sent more -- I can't imagine how he
finds the time -- but those ought to be enough for the morning.
On North Korea
To: Dr. Jerry Pournelle From: Chris Morton - cmorton@newsguy.com
Subj: North Korea
Dear Dr. Pournelle:
The North Korea problem is an unpleasant, but not
particularly complex one. Kim Jong Il is the equivalent of an aggressive
panhandler. You just have to say "no", mean it, and make sure he
knows you mean it. After that, he charts his own future.
1. Tell them to build as many nuclear weapons as
they want... also tell them to learn to eat plutonium, because they won't
be getting any more food assistance from us. Tell them to stick their
hands in the casings to keep warm, because fuel assistance is over too.
2. Tell them there will be NO selling, giving or
loaning of nuclear weapons or material to anyone else. If they try, they
will get a spanking. See Tariq Aziz for details.
3. Remind Kim Jong Il that we've misplaced more
nuclear weapons and material than they'll ever have. One of my favorite childhood
films was the John Wayne movie "Big Jake". To paraphrase the
hero, "Don't go getting any foolish ideas about using any nuclear
weapons. If you do, your fault, our fault, nobody's fault at all, North
Korea will be in the same zipcode as Carthage."
4. After that Comrade Kim, as we used to say in the
2nd Infantry Division, "Let your conscience be your guide".
Chris Morton
Well it is certainly a more interesting approach
than what we seem to be taking.
On Media Player
Jerry,
Kind of hilarious. Just
as a refresher:
"- As of Feb. 14, 2002, the Microsoft
privacy policy for WMP version 8 does not disclose that the fact that WMP
"phones home" to get DVD title information, what kind of
tracking Microsoft does of which movies consumers are watching, and how
cookies are used by the WMP software and the Microsoft servers.
- There does not appear to be any option in
WMP to stop it from phoning home when a DVD movie is viewed. In addition,
there does not appear any easy method of clearing out the DVD movie
database on the local hard drive."
For someone who went to all trouble to check things
like network packets sent its kind of interesting Mr. Smith missed menu
entries. I'm guessing Mr. Smith has never used Windows Media Player.
Windows Media Player 8 File.Work Offline (covered by
another of your readers) Tools.Options Player tab page
[] Download codecs automatically
[] Allow internet sites to uniquely identify your Player.
[] Add items to Media Library when played.
Windows Media Player 9 File.Work Offline (covered by
another of your readers) Tools.Options Player tab page
[] Download codecs automatically
[] Connect to the internet (overrides other commands)
[] Add items to Media Library when played. Media Library tab page
[] Update my music files from the internet. Privacy tab page
[] Retrieve media info for CDs and DVDs off the net.
[] Update my music files from the internet.
[] Send unique player ID to content providers
[] Send usage data to MSFT
[] Save URL and usage history locally (Clear History) button (Clear
CD/DVD) button
WMP 9 also puts up a dialog box on install allowing
for the user to change several of these settings.
All this took about five minutes to find.
Paul
Interesting. I fear that those who fear Microsoft
do not always do all their homework.
I just found your website (Chaos
Manor) tonight, and I'm impressed! I actually saw intelligent, reasonable
discussions! I'm quite possibly still in a state of shock. I thought I'd
share a thought that hadn't been brought up yet as far as I could tell.
I've a point to share about the current protests in Iraq, largely blown
out of proportion by the media. I think they're missing the big picture.
The practice of viewing nation-states in personal
terms is quite an ancient one, albeit a simplistic one I admit. Still, as
we know from demonstrations and movements throughout history, masses of
people tend to act as small parts of larger organisms. How does the aging
of the populations in the Western World relate to the high birthrates (and
corresponding lower mean ages) in the Developing World? Think about this
from a personal perspective for a moment. According to the CIA World
Factbook 2003 (a source I highly recommend for its veracity!), the US and
population breaks down by age as follows:
US UK
West Bank Iraq
Iran
0-14
21% 19%
44% 41%
32%
15-64
66% 66%
52% 56%
64%
65+
13% 16%
4% 3%
5%
See anything unusual? Add the unemployment and lack
of secular authority in most of the Developing countries, a familiar
scenario asserts itself.
The average resident of Gaza or the West Bank is
YOUNG! About half of them are 14 or under. The Median Age as of 1995 in
the West Bank was 17. In Gaza, it was 14! http://www.pcbs.org/english/populati/pop2.htm
Young, Unemployed, living with someone else...
sounds like most teenagers!
On the other hand, the average American is 41. http://www.immigra.org/documenti/doc_006.pdf
Who's 41? The Parents! While it's not PC to
speak of things in that fashion, is there not a usefulness to looking at
actions in the Developing World with these facts in view? How do many
teenagers relate to their parents? See any parallels in our relations with
Developing Countries? The United States is expected to act responsibly,
securing the welfare of so many other countries that cannot or will not
support themselves.
If they don't get what they assume they are entitled
to? They throw a tantrum of course. Who says to leave Iraq? The young. Who
cautions the US to stay for awhile? The few elders in the country. I'm not
claiming that the Third-World folks are not educated. (I DO refuse to
believe they are intrinsically more educated than Americans, however, as
many of my liberal friends seem to assume) I am saying that the cumulative
experience and wisdom of a million 14-year-olds is less than that of a
million 41-year-olds. That's nearly TRIPLE the average personal life
experience for each American compared to a youth from the Gaza
Strip.
If you doubt the value of this experience, think of
who teaches most of what we learn about life. Who historically passes on
the real cultural and wisdom, morals, and life skills? No, I'm not talking
about Algebra. I'm talking about right and wrong; about work ethic; about
what's "normal" and civilized about life. I'm talking about the
elderly! With approximately four times the number of grandparents able to
advise us, we're damn lucky to have that knowledge in our midst!
We have veterans who can remember how things were
before the current situation. They remember how we got here, regardless
the particular situation at hand. The average American can remember as far
back as the 1960s from personal experience. The average resident of Gaza
can remember as far back as maybe the mid-1990s. They don't remember a
world before the Infitada. Few Iranians can remember life before the Shah.
Hell, hardly any can remember the 1980-1988 War with Iraq! Perhaps more
importantly, they have virtually no one to TELL them either!
The world right now is all they know. Everything
concern is immediate and of paramount importance. On the negative side,
they lack relevance and context for the world in which they live. A juvenile
backlash against any authority at any opportunity is still likely. We are
the ultimate in global authority (like it or not). We are target #1 as
long as that is the case. On the positive side, they're young enough to
learn new things. There's still time to
One last note: We'll never be "cool" again
as long as we're the "World's Parent". We can try all we want,
but we'll never "get it." It's inherent in the rebellious juvenile
mindset that we never "get it." They need something against
which to rebel after all.
While tongue-in-cheek to a point, I do believe there
are lessons we need to learn in conducting our foreign policy. Think of
how much Iraq (under Saddam) appeared to be a wayward youth, grounded (No
Fly Zone) and on an allowance (Oil for Food). Did we find Saddam's stash
of Pot he'd hidden in that shoebox in his closet? Nope. We weren't fast
enough. It got flushed. But were we right in laying down the law? Of
course! We still found the loaded gun under his bed.
Like many Baby Boomers, we want to be everyone's
friend. We're loathe to punish or lay down rules. We want to be our kids'
friend, not a disciplinarian. Sometimes the rules must be enforced,
however. Look at the results with other countries. An ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure, as they say. We need to remember that, provided
we keep on the straight course and do right by what IS right, instead of
what the talking heads think, we'll be ok. We can't give them everything.
They'll grow up spoiled. Likewise, we need to provide them the means with
which to learn and grow into their own upstanding members of the
community.
Remember: Every teen says "I HATE YOU!"
The Parent must reply: "I know.... but I still love you"
Just a thought or three...thanks for your time!
Jim Russell Sodus, NY
We are in agreement, except that I want a
Republic that minds its own business, not a nanny state. But I am unlikely
to see the Republic again, so perhaps we ought to prepare t0 be the
world's nanny...
I got a lot of mail on this, but didn't post it,
and it ought to be recorded:
Hello Dr. Pournelle,
I happened to see this brief notice I thought you
might find interesting.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58563,00.html
Sci-Fi Museum Slated for Seattle
“Instead of congregating at conventions, book
fairs and on the Internet, science fiction fans will get their own museum
dedicated to the art, literature and film of science entertainment,
courtesy of billionaire Paul Allen.”
Apparently the facility will be housed in a vacated
portion of the Experience Music Project building, which, if anyone who has
seen the place might agree, sure looks like something out of
science-fiction.
Terry Dee Losansky
terry@nerva.com
www.nerva.com
I don't know what Nerva.com is, but I sure worked
hard (futilely) to save NERVA...
I got this next a long time ago. As you can see I
am cleaning up old mail. Sigh.
Jerry HAPPY TAX DAY!!!!
The article about the TIS-1 personal laser weapon
program compels me to comment.
As has been posted to you, a gas dynamic laser
presents some serious recoil control problems. My guess is that this could
be surmounted without much difficulty with a device akin to the muzzle
brake which makes my .50 BMG anti-elk cannon manageable. (I can vividly
recall how bitterly my hunting partners complained when I bagged an elk
from 950 meters. They argued that my weapon of choice would be more
appropriate for Jurassic park and I really can't disagree with them. You
can imagine how much I enjoyed your use of the Peltast, 20 mm rifle in
"Prince of Sparta." but I digress.)
Aside from issues such as power sources which might
be solvable, a fundamental limitation of laser weapons are the relatively
inefficient damage modes combined with beam spread that results from
diffraction. Because the momentum to energy ratio of a laser is so low
(remember our discussion of fusion powered photon drives), any damage to a
target would be caused by thermal effects such as vaporizing human tissue
or impulse loading. While the venerable .45 ACP can achieve devastating
terminal effects by delivering an energy density of only a few hundred
joules per square centimeter and battle rifles achieve energy densities of
about a kilojoule per square centimeter, a laser weapon would have to
deliver hundreds of kilojoues per square centimeter to inflict a
comparable wound. Impulse loading effects that induce a hydrodynamic shock
in the target might reduce the energy requirements somewhat, but contrary
to the propaganda that has been published regarding so called
"assault weapons," most tissues are too elastic to be damaged by
hydrodynamic shock.
Given the extremely high energy densities that a
laser weapon would require to be effective, beam spread would be a
critical issue. The same Rayliegh-Jeans (spelling?) criteria which limits
the resolution of optical instruments also limits the performance of laser
weapons by causing the beam to spread. By common convention, the
divergence angle is given as 2.44 x wavelength / aperture diameter. In
other words, the smaller the laser optical system is, the more the bean
spreads. If we postulate a laser weapon with an aperture diameter of 1 cm,
then the beam diameter at 1km will be about a quarter of a meter.
Achieving an energy density of 10 kilojoules per square centimter would
then require about 5 megajoules per pulse. The energy requirement of such
a laser weapon would then be thousands of times greater than a
conventional firearm. The only way to reduce the energy requirements of
such a laser weapon would be to equip it with a large diameter, adaptive
optical system that is smart enough to focus the beam to optimize the beam
spread for a given range. A laser weapon with an effective optical
diameter of twenty centimeters might require a pulse energy of only 10
kilojoules to achieve a kill.
Please don't misunderstand this discussion to be a
criticism of the concept of using laser weapons for strategic defense. The
most effective missile defense would require a boost phase intercept and
space based lasers are the most effective approach to this task because
they are speed of light weapons. While an optical diameter of tens of
centimeters would make a personal laser extremely cumbersome for a foot
soldier, a space based laser could reasonably utilize an optical system
that is several meters in diameter. I recall some of the SDI critics
claiming that building optically precise mirrors of such size is beyond
our technology. My reply to this argument is to point out that the 200
inch Mt Palomar telescope was built half a century ago. Another approach
would be to use large numbers of smaller, laser emmitters that are
electronically slaved together in much the same was as the antennae
elements in a phased array radar are. Would we call such a system a PHased
Array laSER or PHASER? Mayby Star Trek got at least one thing right?
I think that laser technology will become
indispensible to the common foot soldier. Hard core gun nuts such as
myself already use laser range finders for calculating bullet drop and
windage for long range shots. I understand that optical sights that
incorporate a laser range finder that automatically adjusts the targeting
reticle are already in development. Special operations troops are already
using laser designators on the battle field to guide laser guided bombs to
their targets. I suspect that in the not to distant future, every
artillery and mortar shell will have a combination GPS and laser guidance
system. Imagine the reduced logistical requirements that will result from
being able to reliably destroy targets using only a single round rather
than a barrage. Rather than using aircraft to deliver the projectiles, we
could launch large numbers of small, orbital platforms into orbit that
could release "smart crow bars" on command. Lasers might also
provide a data link for projectiles fired from automatic cannon. This
would greatly extend the effective range of relatively small caliber
weapons against aircraft, making the demise of aircraft that you presumed
for your Falkenberg novels not at all unreasonable.
Finally, someone wrote to you about biodiesel. I
seem to recall that you debunked the biomass myth along with other
idiocies such as garbage gas in "A Step Further Out." The simple
fact is that the earth simply doesn't produce enough biomass to meet the
energy needs of the human race without having a drastic impact on the
environment. Of course biomass could work if we reduced the earth's
population level down to a more manageable level of say, 500 million, but
only people as arrogant or inhumane as Saurons or Draka would choose that
path.
James Crawford
Richard Pournelle on Reason Magazine:
I am surprised they would allow such blasphemous
views in at least their web pages:
http://www.reason.com/links/links041403.shtml
America has slowly (since at least the
Spanish-American War) been killing that which was most lovely, unique, and
irreplaceable about itself: a limited, representative government dedicated
to protecting its citizens' life, liberty, and ability to pursue
happiness. It was meant to be a nation where the government's mission was
tightly prescribed and the people's liberty and property were theirs, a
nation that could successfully live in peace—a coiled snake, yes, as per
the Gadsden flag, but one that struck only when stepped on.
Indeed.
From Trent Telenko
Jerry,
We were playing with the lives of millions of
Americans endangered by Saddam's WMD in the hands of Al Qaeda. Tom's point
was taking more chances with American servicemen's lives at the beginning
was the only way to lower the threat to the American people later.
In retrospect, the Turkish option combined with a UN
resolution could have been enough to make the Iraqi regime go down at the
first blow. Preempting any possibility of a Saddam/Al-Qaeda WMD hand over.
We were denied both by France and the muddle headed Turks.
If we take a WMD hit, it will be remembered.
Indeed
The Mindy Kleinberg affair
As a former controller in the NORAD system, let me
make a few comments regarding her testimony. I understand her feelings,
though I cannot feel them myself. I have been bombed by terrorists (in
1981 -- there is nothing new under the sun) for wearing an American
uniform. How the military and civilian command and control work is not
quite what Hollywood has led the public to expect.
1. NORAD has stood ready to assist in civil flight
emergencies since at least 1974, when I had to know how as a Ground
Controlled Intercept (GCI) controller -- sort of like air traffic control,
but we ran fighters toward each other in carefully controlled parameters
to optimize the mission, whether identification or weapons engagement.
Civil aviation authorities are *busy* handling the emergency, vectoring
other aircraft out of the way, readying support on the ground, etc. They
never wanted, or really needed, our help, yet we offered it every time,
per procedure. Nothing like 9/11 had ever happened before; one of al
Qaeda's strengths has been its willingness to do that which has not been
thought of by civilized people.
2. The fighters which can respond to an alert (a
"scramble") are not every fighter in the air or on the ground.
In peacetime, armed aircraft are a rarity, as they should be. They are
available only at certain bases, and an hour of their flight time (they
fly in pairs, normally) is expensive; when they recover, they must be
turned (refueled, maintained, etc.). They are not scrambled lightly, and
it takes certain authorizations to do so. The locations where you will
find alert aircraft are (pork barrel considerations aside) where they can
intercept incoming aircraft, not aircraft which took off inside the US,
and which are flying a domestic route.
3. The occurrence during an exercise would not have
made it easier to conduct the intercept, but harder. The bulk of the force
structure would have been a) looking at a totally different (simulated)
radar picture, focused on incoming threats from outside our airspace, b)
in the middle of any number of activities which poised the forces
elsewhere (like in those scraps of airspace where they will not interfere
with civil traffic, often out over the ocean), and c) knowing there was an
exercise going on, would have had to revert to reality -- remember in the
war movies, the emphasis on "this is not a drill." That does
have to be said; in the middle of an exercise, you assume that every input
you receive is exercise-related. A small team is kept monitoring the
real-world situation, but they are not the focus of command attention.
4. Had the aircraft flown at their maximum speed --
which I will not cite, but we can say is between Mach 1 and Mach 2, *not*
Mach 12, they still would not have arrived in time. And what would they
have done? Shot down a nearly fully-fueled heavy aircraft over populated
areas? That would have caused exactly the kind of horrific nightmare that
occurred anyway, and it would have been blamed on the trigger-happy
military. Monday morning quarterbacking, when you know the real outcomes,
makes dubious alternatives look better than they were when real-time
decisions were made on incomplete (and often contradictory) data.
5. The President, SecDef, and Chairman of the JCS
are not notified of everything that happens, especially as it happens.
Their time is incredibly precious, and furthermore, they are not the
people who are current on what capabilities are available to respond
*right now* -- those people are the ones manning the NMCC, the various
control centers/ops centers, etc. They are senior enlisted and mid-ranking
officers, mostly, with some senior officers and a flag officer available,
though not necessarily immediately present. Those folks have checklists
and authorities, based on current conditions (alert level, etc.) and their
actions are practiced. They respond faster than most people can imagine.
6.The USAF says to train the way you will fight (and
the other services say much the same thing) -- and we do: witness the
results in modern Mesopotamia. Disrupting an attack by terrorists inside
the CONUS has not been a military responsibility, but a civil law
enforcement one. The armed forces are constrained by law and custom, and
it's good that we are. We take great care that the military will not
become the oppressors of our people. Ms. Kleinberg may find that
unacceptable today, but I stand by it. The time to evaluate whether we
want that to change is not during a crisis, but after, when we can think
about the implications, since we cede to government almost all of the
means of exercising legal violence.
Ms. Kleinberg is right that we were a soft and easy
target on 9/11, but not through systematic incompetence, I would say, but
rather through our past choices regarding which competencies to have.
Those were not in accord with the reality foisted upon us by barbarians;
had we chosen others, they would have targeted our other weaknesses. We
will always have weaknesses, but I would say the lesson of being in a war
with barbarians is to choose which weaknesses to have. And understand why
we choose them and not others.
Annlee Hines
Excellent. Thank you.
One of the most valuable
reference tools has just been released - CensusCD 2000 Long Form.
Anyone who needs demographic, housing, economic or
population Information About the US will want CensusCD 2000 Long Form. It
includes such variables as income, housing value, employment, education,
poverty, ancestry, commute to work, etc. For a complete list of variables
go to
http://www.us-census.biz/
census2000/lf_variables.htm (SEE BELOW FIRST!!!).
The data is available from the Nation down to Tract, Zip code and
the Block Group level. There are 5,500 variables available at the Block
Group level, and An additional 11,000 are available at the Tract level and
above.
Jerry, it seems the link published on your site yesterday for the
census CD should be: http://www.uscensus.info/census2000/lf_variables.htm
the link published (us-census.biz) seems an Indian Internet service
company. Don't know your source, but looks like someone tried to slip in
something, or else they got hacked. Thanks for all the recent comments and
opinions, but I'm getting really worried might be delaying Burning
Tower... Thanks just the same, and keep up the wonderfully appreciated
work. Best regards, James Siddall jr
Thanks for the correction.
And other readers have reported problems with
the original link.
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