Disqus - Latest Comments for dave

Re: Memory Dump @ Digital Brainwaves, Now, come on. Windows is like herpes. Or genital...

dave — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13:12 -0000

Define "stuck"? (as I write this from my Ubuntu Linux box) :)

Re: Google Street View car in Central London (last week)

dave — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:30:46 -0000

Looks like they used an Opel / Vauxhall / Saturn Astra!! Sweet!!

Re: Realization and Redefinition

dave — Tue, 23 May 2006 06:26:02 -0000

Welcome home, Pauley! :)

I wonder if there is such a thing as a "neo-liberterian" ... someone who respects the ideals of liberterianism but tempers them with practicality? For instance - I think a free market is great, but how do we deal with companies that employ predatory business practices, like Wal-Mart or Starbucks? Obviously product quality alone can't drive consumers to put them out of business - both of these behemoths are hugely successful despite the fact that they peddle crap.

Perhaps what it comes down to is a perfect match between a party's ideals and one's own system of values and beliefs is just plain rare! There will always be compromises, but in the end you choose the system that fits you best.

I'm glad you've chosen wisely, my friend!

Re: Can someone explain to me…

dave — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 07:10:10 -0000

I fear, after my experience with Budget Truck Rental this past weekend, and now hearing this, that "Customer Service" needs to be put on the endangered species list...

Re: Can someone explain to me…

dave — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 19:34:09 -0000

OK, what movie is that from?

Re: Can someone explain to me…

dave — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 19:35:01 -0000

Hey P-Dawg, what plug-in do you use for the comment threading? I need to blatantly rip off your functionality concept.

Re: FLICKR’D!

dave — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 14:47:52 -0000

Thanks for posting these! We're so glad you and Yvonne could make it... and especially thank you to her for making the trip to Rochester!

Re: Ask Me Weekend #3

dave — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 11:50:29 -0000

Why do you blog? (This is not rhetorical - I'm really genuinely interested, because I often ask myself the same question...)

Re: Ask Me Weekend #3

dave — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 00:53:27 -0000

WHAT...is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?!

Re: Ask Me Weekend #3

dave — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 01:19:35 -0000

Yeah, I admit it: I suck. :)

Re: Slow news night in Rochester

dave — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 23:23:58 -0000

Glad to see that Jay Capers is still shooting for the D&C...

Re: Halloween threatens animals?

dave — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 19:36:57 -0000

Our mothers always said bad things would happen if we ate all our candy on halloween night...

Re: Cool it, Tarzan

dave — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 07:08:20 -0000

Hey deh buddey...it's called a ROAD. There are CARS HERE.

Re: Godspeed, fast ferry

dave — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 10:06:09 -0000

Hrmm...lets see... It costs the city of Rochester about $3000 each day the ferry is docked here. If sending a group of people over to the ass-backwards UK to straighten things out will really get the job done - at a conservative cost of about $30,000 (if they all fly business class) - why didn't they do it MONTHS AGO?!!

After my pissyness at the city died down, all I could think of was Mayor Duffy reading Dennis Farina's line from Snatch saying "Yes, London. You know? Fish, chips, cup-o-tea... Bad food, worse weather, Mary Fuckin Poppins, London!"

Re: …

dave — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:26:59 -0000

HE HAS JOINED TEH DARK SYDE!

Re: …

dave — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:56:10 -0000

My guess would be the LiIon battery. Having witnessed plenty of controlled destructive tests of LiIons, I can say with certainty that (upon combustion) they definitely release enough energy to cause this result!

When a LiIon is catastrophically punctured by a conductor (in this case, presumably by the blender's metallic blade or some metallic portion of the phone's frame) it rapidly enters thermal avalanche. The reactants deliver a very large localized instantaneous current to the short, causing heating of both the cell material and the conductor causing the short. The rapid temperature rise results in combustion of the cell, starting at the puncture point and flash-expanding radially.

What amazed me was that the combustion appeared to consume all of the phone's materials except the metal frame - including the plastic shell, the LCD and glass, the components, copper traces, and the printed circuit board substrate!

Re: No, the whole thing.

dave — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 11:25:56 -0000

Nice to hear stories like this once in a while. Maybe customer service isn't extinct?

Re: The Politics of Parsing

dave — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 11:32:58 -0000

Must not be a fan of Michael Moore's movies either...

I wish there were more videos of alpha-geeks exclaiming that "200x will be the year of the Linux Desktop!" so that someone could put together a montage of them... I'm almost as sick of hearing that as I am of politicians!

Re: Is it supposed to bulge like that?

dave — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:47:48 -0000

"A, times B, times C equals X."
[flash pan to Pauley sitting at the MGEF 430MHz station]
"If X is less than the cost of a recall... we don't do one."

Re: Is it supposed to bulge like that?

dave — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:48:46 -0000

"Which VHF multiop station do you work for?"
"A major one."

(sorry, couldn't help myself)

Re: Why stop with just a tax on estates?

dave — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:06:51 -0000

Funny, I only seem to get 63% of mine. How'd you work that gig out?

Re: Why stop with just a tax on estates?

dave — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:59:26 -0000

:) You said you earn your paycheck fair and square... I wish I could say the same! Apparently I earn all but 37% of it fair and square!

Just being facetious... *grin*

Re: The 2007 Mix

dave — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:47:51 -0000

If I formed a hardcore band with a bunch of other engineers, could we call it Geeksmack?

Re: Pardon the dust…

dave — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 07:40:24 -0000

Lookin' good!

Re: Only two Rochester Starbucks closing

dave — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:02:58 -0000

As long as "Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters" doesn't appear on the list, then my fave will stay intact. Oh wait - indie roasters don't have to worry about lists from corporate, do they? :)

Re: Video Game Nostolgia

dave — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:40:46 -0000

My vote would have to go to "F1 Race" for GameBoy (pretty sure that was the title - I should go dig that out and look)... I entertained myself for many a car trip or plane ride playing that one!

Re: Late-harvest Merlot

dave — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:44:42 -0000

I don't usually go for the sweeter wines with meals, but for dessert - hard to beat! Kelly and I first tried icewine on a visit to Niagara on the Lake in 2004, and we've tried several Finger Lakes variants since then that are also quite good. Like K4, I also dig the Ports and Port-style wines (technically, true Port only comes from Portugal) - Sandeman's reserve is one of my favorites. Also enjoy drizzling a little icewine over some sliced peaches or mixed berries...

Re: Happy Thought for the Day

dave — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:09:30 -0000

I'll take "participate in a self-defense shooting anywhere in the commonwealth of Massachusetts" for $1000 Alex!

Re: Stolen Glance

dave — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:27:28 -0000

Read The Photograher's Right, a one-page PDF that sums up where you can and can't take photos in the US. I'm not sure if there's a Canadian analogue to this guide. It appears this couple is in a public place, so any expectation that they cannot be photographed would be unreasonable South of the border.

Re: Beware of Kal Durak

dave — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:49:16 -0000

OH SNAP!

Re: Memory Dump @ Digital Brainwaves, Henrietta welcome sign goes missing | Democrat and Chronicle

dave — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:32:10 -0000

They should start combing all the local steakhouses...

Re: Memory Dump @ Digital Brainwaves, “I did not sign up for this… I wanted to be...

dave — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:52:06 -0000

Hey, if he doesn't want to continue doing a crappy job as the governor of our state, he's welcome to stop attempting (poorly) to do so. Maybe then we could bring in a little fiscal conservatism and get NY out of the financial tank...

Re: Memory Dump @ Digital Brainwaves, Membership Has Its Privileges - Big Hollywood

dave — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:02:15 -0000

When I was a kid, I always thought the Nobel Prize was intended to recognize outstanding achievement ... now I'm sure this isn't the first time the Nobel Prize has been given to someone who - within the scope of the prize, namely "peace" - has demonstrated zero actual achievement. But awarding it to a sitting president for whom foreign policy has taken a consistent back seat to socializing America definitely seems to be a new low when it comes to "cheapening" the Nobel brand.