From cate3@netcom.com Tue May 16 10:03:00 1995
From: cate3@netcom.com
Subject: Life D.Q
To: jwry.dli@netcom.com
Reply-to: cate3@netcom.com
---------------------------------------
Date: 27 May 94 09:33:29 PDT (Friday)
Subject: Life D.Q
The following selections are from the mailing list:
silent-tristero@world.std.com
----------------------------------------------------
From: dave mankins (dm@world.std.com, dm@hri.com)
From: Bob_Frankston@frankston.com
My son (11) confronted a dial phone this past weekend and couldn't figure out
how to use it. He tried pressing the "buttons" but nothing happened. We
finally had to show him the concept of turning the dial. It took a little
practice to get it smooth.
I guess we've reached a milestone. What if he were confronted by the
"anti-drug" pay phones with dials and had to dial 911? He'd be stuck.
In designing UI's we make assumptions about cultural norms or icons. Most
people see the phone dial as a very obvious interface. It isn't, it's just
something most of us learned at an early enough age to assume it is a part of
the natural world.
--------------------------
From: Harold Hubschman [haroldh@ksgbbs.harvard.edu]
] PS: Just a random thought, but considering that UPS didn't want to issue
] Newtons to their delivery people because they said their input devices must
] be capable of withstanding repeated drops onto concrete from 9 feet, why
] are we trusting our packages to these people?
]
Just to be fair, UPS is one *amazing* operation. I've often speculated that
it would be cheaper to move cross country with UPS than with an actual
moving company. The other day, I shipped a 40 pound box by ground to
providence RI from boston. It was deliverd in 12 hours (this was actually
their slow service) and cost less than $6, insured. A while back, I sent
four boxes, total of 150 pounds, from boston to Washington, also
ground, their slowest service. Delivered in 36 hours for a total of $25
dollars.
I wish computer networks were as efficient as UPS.
--------------------------
From: dan@copernicus.bbn.com (Dan Franklin)
]From the New England Journal of Medicine, March 24, 1994 letters section,
pp. 869-870:
To the editor: A 71-year-old man was recently referred to our
echocardiagraphy laboratory for a stress test with dobutamine. Initially,
he appeared to be a calm, soft-spoken man. His resting heart rate was 81
beats per minute. During the first dose of dobutamine (5 ug per kg of body
weight per minute), his baseline heart rate was 92 beats per minute. He
then engaged one of the physicians in a discussion about Hillary Clinton
and the Clinton Administration's proposed health care reform. It was clear
from the conversation that the patient was strongly opposed to it. While
he was talking about health care reform, his heart rate increased from 92
to 117 beats per minute. When he stopped, his heart rate rapidly decreased
to 94 beats per minute. With an increase in the dose of dobutamine to 10
ug/kg/min, the patient's baseline heart rate was 100 beats per minute.
When the discussion of health care reform resumed, his heart rate increased
to 124, and when the discussion stopped, his heart rate rapidly decreased
to 105. At a dose of 20 ug of dobutamine per kg per minute, the patient's
baseline heart rate was 117; it increased to 147 during the discussion of
the proposed reform. When the discussion ended, his heart rate decreased
to 124 (Fig. 1). The study was terminated at this point, since the target
heart rate had been achieved.
In this patient, the additional stress induced by conversation about
Hillary Clinton and the administration's proposal for health care reform
caused an average increase in the heart rate of 26.3 +- 3.2 beats per
minute as each dose of dobutamine was administered. The discussion
resulted in attainment of the target heart rate at a lower dose of
dobutamine than might otherwise have been possible.
When a stress test with dobutamine is conducted, the addition of
emotional stress induced by a discussion of health care reform may lower
the risk of untoward effects of high-dose dobutamine. With judicious
application of the discussion, we were able to complete the stress test in
a cost-efficient manner.
Further studies are needed to confirm these promising but preliminary
findings.
--------------------------
From: nelson@crynwr.com (Russell Nelson)
(i don't know what newsgroup this came from --- it was forwarded to me)
In article [94095.123531EHOZA@MIAMIU.BITNET], [EHOZA@MIAMIU.BITNET] writes:
] I am looking for imput on a subject concerning Barbie. I woul like to gain
] more information regarding her position in today's society despite her long
] controversial history. Tell me about your opinion surrounding her stereotyp-
] ical image, as well as where you think she will be in the future. Do you
] agree with what she represents? How influential is her image on the young
] girls playing with her? [ . . . ]
Speaking for myself, my niece can't get enough of Hacker Barbie's Dream
Basement Apartment! The pink Sun workstation in the corner, the little
containers of takeout Szechuan scattered across the floor, her "Don't
Blame Me, I Voted Libertarian" t-shirt -- it's on every little girl's
Xmas list!
To me, the most realistic thing is how if you put in her in the chair
in front of the monitor, she'll stare at it for hours without blinking
or taking her hands off the keyboard.
--------------------------
From: Michael Hawley [mike@whammo.media.mit.edu]
My Gateway 2000 66E came with an Intel EtherExpress board,
but the damn network wouldn't come up under NeXTSTEP.
After much swapping of boards, diddling with DOS, and sniffing
at boot sequence gibberish, we figured out that although the
*physical* card had a BNC connector, the EPROM made it think
it had an RJ-45 connector instead. The card would wake up,
tell the system it had an RJ-45 connector, and fool the heck
out of the device driver. So, we tinkered with the Intel
SOFTSET configuration utility to no avail -- it gave us all
the wrong connectors as options.
Armed to the teeth with new knowledge, we phoned Gateway
tech support and instantly got the answer. To whack the
board into shape, it must be configured with an undocumented
option:
SOFTSET /BART
which, sure enough, convinced it that it did indeed have that
bona-fide BNC jack. The companion command, to bollux things up,
is (you guessed it)
SOFTSET /LISA
The things we do to support networked DOOM.
--------------------------
From: Joel B Levin [levin@bbn.com]
But if anyone else wants to vote on this newsgroup, I suppose they
can.
/JBL
------- Forwarded Message
To: Ron Dippold Voting Alias [voting@qualcomm.com]
Subject: CFV: soc.apathy
I vote ABSTAIN on soc.apathy
------- End of Forwarded Message
--------------------------
From: Leonard N.Foner [foner@media.mit.edu]
]From a .sig I just saw:
I may look lazy, but on a cellular level I'm really busy.
--------------------------
From: dafoien@math.uio.no
Sometimes it's nice to get a confirmation that it's not only computers
that all those dead-end users out there don't understand... They actually
don't understand anything!
That was the case for a northern Norwegian football (soccer) team which
were to put new grass on their football field. They were allowed to borrow
the local farmer's sowing machine, but unfortunatly they didn't remove
the seed the farmer had used the last time before they filled it up with
grass seed. So after some time, the football field was full of thick,
nice and green cabbage!!!
--------------------------
From: mturyn@world.std.com
In _Gravity 's Rainbow_ there is some comment to the effect that it 's
hard to know who the good guys are, but one of their characteristics
is that they are on the side of memory.
--------------------------
From: "Elizabeth R. Stone" [estone@bbn.com]
all his/her marbles have jumped ship
found his/her marbles, but is trying to play jacks with 'em
--------------------------
From: ericg@enif.astro.indiana.edu (Eric Chris Garrison)
Subject: See the Solar Eclipse in realtime!
On Tuesday, May 10th, 1994 between 11am and 1pm EST (600-800 UT), the
Indiana University Astronomy Department will be presenting real-time
observations of the annular solar eclipse from our Bloomington,
Indiana solar telescope, on top of Kirkwood Observatory.
You can view images from the comfort of your favorite workstation
through the World Wide Web at the following URL:
http://astrowww.astro.indiana.edu/solar/
...or in the Gopher (address enif.astro.indiana.edu port 70) under the
Solar subdirectory.
...or via anonymous FTP to enif.astro.indiana.edu in "/pub/latest-solar.gif".
Images will be updated once a minute for each.
Of course, the eclipse will only be visible if the Sun is not behind
clouds in our area.
If you have questions about this event, please send mail to
request@astro.indiana.edu.
--------------------------
From: dan@copernicus.bbn.com (Dan Franklin)
[This was in reference about the CS graduate who tried to fix the King's
toaster so it could do everything]
In the version of this tale that Franklin Davis sent to silent-tristero in
June 1990, the king had the CS advisor thrown in the moat. Now he's being
beheaded. I guess the moat got too full of CS graduates...
--------------------------
From: Sean Colbath [sean@think.com]
[Forwards deleted -- a discussion about intelligence in species and rights]
Today's Wall Street Journal had an article about the difficulties of
keeping orangutangs in zoos--orugutangs are persistent, strong, and
intelligent. Not only do they periodically check electrified fences
to see if they've stopped working, but one of them picked a padlock
with a piece of wire. Does the ability to invent lock-picking entitle
one to rights?
[and...]
I must add a joke related by a friend of mine who had a job in a primate lab
as an undergraduate. He said that you can characterize the intelligence of
different large primates by giving them a simple puzzle to solve -- a banana
in an enclosed box that can be opened by removing a single screw, with a
screwdriver being present in the cage. He said that chimpanzees will bang
on the box with the screwdriver handle, try to pry the box open with the
blade, toss the box around in frustration, then finally -- perhaps at random
-- insert the blade into the screw slot and open the box.
Gorillas, he said, will stare contemplatively at the box for a long time,
then gaze with great intensity at the screwdriver for an equally long time,
then finally, with great deliberation, insert screwdriver into screw and open
the box.
But, says my friend, you don't want to try this experiment with an
orangutang -- for if you give an orangutang a screwdriver, it will take the
zoo apart.
Only a joke, but I think it reflects the perception that Nancy reported.
And I don't remember whether it was here or in an article I read, that I
encountered a description of an orangutang in its native land climbing aboard
a small boat and pulling at the starter cord of the outboard motor. No doubt
a getaway vehicle for its partner who was cracking the safe at the local bank.
--------------------------
From: dave mankins (dm@world.std.com, dm@hri.com)
Really, these two things were side by side in my mailbox this morning.
MONKEY BUSINESS
The National Zoo is breaking new ground with innovative primate
exhibit. The zoo's orangutans will travel an aerial path via cables
suspended from 45-foot towers to the Think Tank, where they'll show off
their smarts using computers and other learning devices. (Wall Street
Journal 5/16/94 A1)
POLL SAYS INFO HIGHWAY'S GREAT, BUT WHAT IS IT?
Thirty-four percent of adults polled by Louis Harris and Associates
have seen, heard or read something about the information superhighway.
Sixty percent of those think it sounds like an excellent or pretty good
idea -- but admit that they have little understanding of what it actually
is. (St. Petersburg Times 5/16/94 Business p.10)
[Does anyone have the URL for the National Zoo's Think Tank? From all
the orang-utang stories we've seen, maybe it's time to change your
password...]
--------------------------
From: "Peter Capek (TL-863-6721)" [capek@watson.ibm.com]
This retelling of an (apocryphal?) event may amuse this audience....
In the late 1950's, IBM built a few copies of a large computer system
called Stretch, also known as the 7030. It literally filled a large
room, and, unlike today's systems, was mostly electronics rather than
disks. The system was used for scientific computation such as bomb
design and weather forecasting. One system which was built had a
large "coprocessor" attached to it known as Harvest. Only one of
these was built, and it was installed at the NSA, where it ran until
about 1976. I leave it to your creativity to decide what it may have
been used for.
Before the system was delivered, IBM provided a (software) functional
simulator which ran on earlier hardware. NSA used this to develop an
application for Harvest, and to do such testing as the very slow
simulated performance allowed.
When the real system was installed, in early 1961, it was checked out
with some hardware tests which had been used at the factory, and then
turned over to the customer, who proceeded to try their one
application.
Now, noone really expected it to work the first time, but hope springs
eternal. It ground for a few minutes, and the programmers assembled
around the 1403 printer, expectantly waiting to see the results. The
printer started to go, and what came out what sheer gobbledygook...
not just wrong answers, but total nonsense.
All were crestfallen, save for one fellow who had a smile on his face
as soon as the printer started. The smile was replaced by a grin and
shouts of "It's working... it's working perfectly."
Well, it took a few minutes to calm him down and figure out why he
thought everything was working, when all could see it clearly wasn't.
But he was right: it *was* working perfectly. The problem was that
the chain in the printer had not been installed correctly, resulting
in the intended output being translated by a simple substitution
cypher. Our hero had realized that, solved the cipher, and was
applying the solution at 600 lines a minute. Because that's the kind
of people they hire at NSA.
--
Henry Cate III [cate3@netcom.com]
The Life collection maintainer, selections of humor from the internet
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in
overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison
Back to my Life Humor Page
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