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Fantasy » alt.fan.pratchett » Re: [I] Tenor of afp
| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #250594] |
Mi, 05 April 2006 19:20 |
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Stacie Hanes <house_damodred [at] yahoo.com> wrote:
> Julia Jones wrote:
>> In article <e0glpv$2eja$2 [at] mud.stack.nl>, esmi <esmi [at] lspace.org>
>> writes
>>> on 30/03/2006 00:15 Arthur Hagen said the following:
>>>
>>> <snip>
>>>> What we need is a news reader that can sort articles based on
>>>> mood.
>>>
>>> A mood ring with a USB port?
>>
>> I am feeling a very scary urge to tag this with "story idea".
>
> Would be cool. There are similar devices that work like that, short range,
> and there are USB vibrators . . . oh, please don't ask how I know. I swear I
> don't own one.
OK, I promis I won't ask how you know.
At the risk of making a fool out of myself:
<embarassed>
What /is/ an USB vibrator?
</embarassed>
> I'd need a hub anyway.
Like the disk world's? <blush/>
Schobi
P.S.: Oh, and, BTW, how come you know?^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
--
SpamTrap [at] gmx.de is never read
I'm Schobi at suespammers dot org
"The sarcasm is mightier than the sword."
Eric Jarvis
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #250596 ] |
Mi, 05 April 2006 19:47 |
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Hendrik Schober wrote:
> <embarassed>
> What /is/ an USB vibrator?
> </embarassed>
Oh, come on, don't act like you couldn't at least *guess*. Or google.
http://pdw.twoday.net/stories/534483/
(Warning: includes product photo. You may not want to click on that link
at work. Or with your kids lurking in the background, erupting into a
chorus of "Daddy, what is that? And how do you use it?")
> > I'd need a hub anyway.
>
> Like the disk world's? <blush/>
There's a better (or worse, depending on your POV) joke in there, along
the lines of hub and hubby... But even I won't go there.
Michael
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #250604 ] |
Mi, 05 April 2006 20:37 |
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In article <e10ue7$gkc$1 [at] murphy.mediascape.de>, Hendrik Schober
<SpamTrap [at] gmx.de> writes
>Stacie Hanes <house_damodred [at] yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Julia Jones wrote:
>>> In article <e0glpv$2eja$2 [at] mud.stack.nl>, esmi <esmi [at] lspace.org>
>>> writes
>>>> on 30/03/2006 00:15 Arthur Hagen said the following:
>>>>
>>>> <snip>
>>>>> What we need is a news reader that can sort articles based on
>>>>> mood.
>>>>
>>>> A mood ring with a USB port?
>>>
>>> I am feeling a very scary urge to tag this with "story idea".
>>
>> Would be cool. There are similar devices that work like that, short range,
>> and there are USB vibrators . . . oh, please don't ask how I know. I swear I
>> don't own one.
>
> OK, I promis I won't ask how you know.
> At the risk of making a fool out of myself:
> <embarassed>
> What /is/ an USB vibrator?
A vibrator that plugs into a USB port, for a power supply or so that it
can be programmed in different vibration patterns, or...
If you're asking what a *vibrator* is, OTOH... Well, I suppose there is
a remote chance that afpers whose native language is not English might
not have encountered the term before. :-)
--
Julia Jones
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #250611 ] |
Mi, 05 April 2006 21:13 |
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Michael J. Schülke <news0604 [at] mjschuelke.de> wrote:
> Hendrik Schober wrote:
>
>> <embarassed>
>> What /is/ an USB vibrator?
>> </embarassed>
>
> Oh, come on, don't act like you couldn't at least *guess*. Or google.
>
> http://pdw.twoday.net/stories/534483/
Ah, thanks. For power supply. How boring.
> (Warning: includes product photo. You may not want to click on that link
> at work. [...]
It's 9:10pm here. So what...
>> > I'd need a hub anyway.
>>
>> Like the disk world's? <blush/>
>
> There's a better (or worse, depending on your POV) joke in there, along
> the lines of hub and hubby... But even I won't go there.
Mhmm. I suppose I don't know enough English
slang for that one... :)
Schobi
--
SpamTrap [at] gmx.de is never read
I'm Schobi at suespammers dot org
"The sarcasm is mightier than the sword."
Eric Jarvis
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #250612 ] |
Mi, 05 April 2006 21:13 |
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Julia Jones <julia.jones [at] gmail.com> wrote:
> [...]
> If you're asking what a *vibrator* is, OTOH... Well, I suppose there is
> a remote chance that afpers whose native language is not English might
> not have encountered the term before. :-)
I knew that much, thank you... :o>
Schobi
--
SpamTrap [at] gmx.de is never read
I'm Schobi at suespammers dot org
"The sarcasm is mightier than the sword."
Eric Jarvis
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #251739 ] |
Di, 11 April 2006 00:32 |
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"Hendrik Schober" <SpamTrap [at] gmx.de> wrote:
> Michael J. Schülke <news0604 [at] mjschuelke.de> wrote:
> > Hendrik Schober wrote:
> >
> >> <embarassed>
> >> What /is/ an USB vibrator?
> >> </embarassed>
> >
> > Oh, come on, don't act like you couldn't at least *guess*. Or google.
> >
> > http://pdw.twoday.net/stories/534483/
>
> Ah, thanks. For power supply. How boring.
I'm sure that if you want something more... interactive, it can be built
using Lego Mindstorms.
No, I'm not volunteering. I've used Lego in anger, but I've never had
any Mindstorms. Besides, mine was Lego controlling a computer, not vice
versa.
Richard
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #251795 ] |
Di, 11 April 2006 11:43 |
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Hendrik Schober wrote:
> Michael J. Schülke <news0604 [at] mjschuelke.de> wrote:
>> Hendrik Schober wrote:
>>
>>> <embarassed>
>>> What /is/ an USB vibrator?
>>> </embarassed>
>>
>> Oh, come on, don't act like you couldn't at least *guess*. Or google.
>>
>> http://pdw.twoday.net/stories/534483/
>
> Ah, thanks. For power supply. How boring.
Ah, then you want to groove to a Je Joue.
http://www.jejoue.com/
Orjan
--
The Tale of Westala and Villtin
http://tale.cunobaros.com/
Fiction, Thoughts and Software
http://www.cunobaros.com/
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #251999 ] |
Mi, 12 April 2006 01:51 |
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Richard Bos wrote:
> No, I'm not volunteering. I've used Lego in anger, but I've never had
> any Mindstorms. Besides, mine was Lego controlling a computer, not vice
> versa.
Pray tell more.
Michael
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #252231 ] |
Do, 13 April 2006 00:33 |
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=?ISO-8859-15?Q?Michael_J=2E_Sch=FClke?= <news0604 [at] mjschuelke.de> wrote:
> Richard Bos wrote:
> > No, I'm not volunteering. I've used Lego in anger, but I've never had
> > any Mindstorms. Besides, mine was Lego controlling a computer, not vice
> > versa.
>
> Pray tell more.
It's basically just a case of me being too lazy to press Enter a couple
of thousand times.
It's like this. We (i.e., my employer; we publish local weeklies) were
migrating our page and advertisement layout software from an old,
proprietary, closed, once state-of-the-art but now outdated system to a
new system[1] based on InDesign. For this purpose, we had to export all
logos, all headers, all little columnists' photos, in fact, all our
fixed graphical material from the old database to a filesystem, and from
there into the new database.
I mentioned that the old system was proprietary and closed. It is also
ill-supported. In fact, support from our supplier on this system is just
barely acceptable; from the producer, less than that. So we can't get in
using a normal database tool such as Oracle, 'cause it isn't a normal
database. There is an SQL interface, but the database itself is badly
documented (these days), so good luck dumping a load of semi-
intelligible hex data into a window from a barely understood data set,
and then converting it into real files. And our supplier won't - can't -
write something to do it for us, except for Big Money.
I have no problem whatsoever getting graphics _into_ the system, as long
as it's TIFF or EPS - what limited functionality the thing ever had, it
still has, and it can't be blamed for efficiency. I have no problem
whatsoever getting output - whole pages, or whole ads, in EPS format.
But getting separate graphics out, by preference as the original TIFFs?
Forget it. Not automatically.
Except... there was this one tool. Well, two. One under Windows, but it
could export only a single file at a time, and you have to enter the
file name yourself. At that rate, we'd still be exporting graphics
today, and not be half done. Ok, I could write something to work with
it, but it would have to guess the name, guess the location - it would
be too fragile to trust.
And then there was the tool on the Mac. It, at least, could export a
series of graphics in one go. Ok, you'd have to select your graphics
basket; select your desired graphics; and choose export. But at least it
would fill in the file name for you, leaving you to only press Enter.
Aha - and there's _its_ rub. Press Enter. For. Every. Single. File. No
way. I value my joints, thanks very much.
This, too, I could have automated. There are desktop automation tools
for the Mac as well as for Windows. Except - another except, this whole
project is teeming with the buggers - that for networking reasons this
has to run on one of the OS X machines; but the program is a Mac Classic
program; and, as said before, _very_ proprietary. And all that had to be
automated was pressing Enter - but could I trust this program to capture
that Enter key the usual way? Like hell I could.
But... it _was_ the Enter key. It was just a mechanical, continuous
pressing of the Enter key, nothing more. Not only could it be done by a
robot, it could be done by a child's tumbler. In fact, I considered
getting one of those toys, but it'd probably not have had the required
force.
And then the thought struck me. I'd been playing with Lego with my niece
the weekend before. One of the bits we didn't use then (she's only four)
was the Technics, but I'd been handling the old-style gears. What if I
made a machine using my old battery-powered Technics electro-motor? All
I'd have to do was attach a pushrod to the axle, and insert enough gears
to a. make the thing turn slower than the too-many RPM of the motor
itself, and b. give it enough force to depress the key.
So I did. And it performed its job admirably, albeit not without making
a fuss - it rattled and whined rather, the thing hadn't run for years
and my assembly was likely less than exact. But it worked, and it saved
me a large amount of dumb manual labour.
Photos and videos, of execrable quality because taken with a first-
generation second-hand digital camera by a very inexpert photographer -
me - can be found at <http://www.xs4all.nl/~rlbos/entermachine/>. That
Enter key is still slightly yellow, btw...
Richard
[1] Pair of systems, in fact, but that's not material here
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #252352 ] |
Do, 13 April 2006 12:30 |
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on 12/04/2006 23:33 Richard Bos said the following:
<snip>
> And then the thought struck me. I'd been playing with Lego with my niece
> the weekend before. One of the bits we didn't use then (she's only four)
> was the Technics, but I'd been handling the old-style gears. What if I
> made a machine using my old battery-powered Technics electro-motor?
So that would be Richard "Hacker Extraordinaire" Bos, then?
I'm impressed.
esmi
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #252471 ] |
Do, 13 April 2006 23:26 |
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Richard Bos wrote:
> It's basically just a case of me being too lazy to press Enter a couple
> of thousand times. [...]
Nice. Very nice. Thanks for telling that story.
Michael
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #252713 ] |
Fr, 14 April 2006 23:46 |
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esmi <esmi [at] lspace.org> wrote:
> on 12/04/2006 23:33 Richard Bos said the following:
> <snip>
> > And then the thought struck me. I'd been playing with Lego with my niece
> > the weekend before. One of the bits we didn't use then (she's only four)
> > was the Technics, but I'd been handling the old-style gears. What if I
> > made a machine using my old battery-powered Technics electro-motor?
>
> So that would be Richard "Hacker Extraordinaire" Bos, then?
Well, no. That would be rather too much honour. It's a simple machine,
really; just an electromotor, a gear case, a rotary-to-linear converter,
and a pushrod. Hacking, perhaps; but hardly extraordinaire. Even so...
> I'm impressed.
....Thank you. I _was_ pleased by how well it worked, for a hack this
simple.
Richard
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #257112 ] |
Sa, 15 April 2006 20:01 |
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Richard Bos <raltbos [at] xs4all.nl> wrote:
> "Hendrik Schober" <SpamTrap [at] gmx.de> wrote:
>
> > Michael J. Schülke <news0604 [at] mjschuelke.de> wrote:
> > > Hendrik Schober wrote:
> > >
> > > > <embarassed>
> > > > What /is/ an USB vibrator?
> > > > </embarassed>
> > >
> > > Oh, come on, don't act like you couldn't at least *guess*. Or google.
> > >
> > > http://pdw.twoday.net/stories/534483/
> >
> > Ah, thanks. For power supply. How boring.
>
> I'm sure that if you want something more... interactive, it can be built
> using Lego Mindstorms.
I am one of those backwards people still believing that
them 2x4 bricks were the greatest things LEGO ever came
out with.
My two older kids love us three sitting together on the
kid room's floor and building.
> [...]
Schobi
--
SpamTrap [at] gmx.de is never read
I'm Schobi at suespammers dot org
"The sarcasm is mightier than the sword."
Eric Jarvis
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| Re: [I] Tenor of afp [message #257147 ] |
Sa, 15 April 2006 21:26 |
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Hendrik Schober wrote:
> Richard Bos <raltbos [at] xs4all.nl> wrote:
>
>>"Hendrik Schober" <SpamTrap [at] gmx.de> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Michael J. Schülke <news0604 [at] mjschuelke.de> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Hendrik Schober wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> <embarassed>
>>>>> What /is/ an USB vibrator?
>>>>> </embarassed>
>>>>
>>>>Oh, come on, don't act like you couldn't at least *guess*. Or google.
>>>>
>>>>http://pdw.twoday.net/stories/534483/
>>>
>>> Ah, thanks. For power supply. How boring.
>>
>>I'm sure that if you want something more... interactive, it can be built
>>using Lego Mindstorms.
>
>
> I am one of those backwards people still believing that
> them 2x4 bricks were the greatest things LEGO ever came
> out with.
> My two older kids love us three sitting together on the
> kid room's floor and building.
I always used the 1x4 more, but I was also a big fan of those big
battery boxes with the blues and twos...
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