Doppelgänger

iTrader: (12)

I sometimes wonder if my NES and the God-knows-how-many-games is either in my brothers care or long gone... but this brings back memories...

Opti

I dont understand. 10.9 @ 127. There are bone stock C6Zs running that time (and quicker) with ONLY a set of drag radials, and the bolt on Zs have made it int the 9s. I know of a couple with 134+ trap speeds. I believe the record is 138.9.

Doesnt seem impressive in the least bit, also is he using GTO spare wheels are front runners on the vette?

Gryff

iTrader: (6)

I need that in my life. lol

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

The sounds of excitebike will forever be burned into my memory. I can hear every sound in my head right now, and it's been probably 15 years since I played it last.

icantthink4155

iTrader: (12)

Never played it.

Doppelgänger

iTrader: (12)

I don't even know how many hours I spent between Paperboy, Jaws, Excitebike and California Games...

Torkel

I have a theory on this one: In German, Sweden and I believe several other European countries, you have the option to go by public transporation when you, for example, go to and from the airport. This is perfectly safe, cheap and very common. Taxi is considered a bit more of an expensive method, used by those who have a bit more cash or those who are on a business trip for example. I only went by taxi once when I lived in NC, but my conclusion from that ride was that a different norm is applied there.
I fully agree on this one. I used to work for a large company with production in both Sweden (head quarter), Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and the US. The Italians did everything by a guess and a hunch, never planning anything and always ending up way late with products that didn't work, but with great sales material and powerpoints. The Germans where honest, telling not how perfect and assume their project/product was but the truth, which made selling the whole thing to the board quite difficult, even when the product was in fact very good. The Swiss never changed anything on their product, but had a unit that only fitted the very special kitchen standard that exists only in Switzerland. Their unit was by far (!!) the most expensive when it left the factory, since it was wildly over engineered, but they still made good money since the swiss are all rish. The Americans started every project with very high specs and ambitions, which they never fullfilled and always ended up firing the project manager 50% into the project. The polish guys never did anything that wasn't a direct order and since the Swedish people at the head guarted where very uncomfortable in giving direct orders, the synergy wasn't great.

Tekel

iTrader: (2)

Best. Ad. Ever.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Well, to take New York City as an example, taxis are definitely considered a luxury item by people who live there, but they are perhaps less so for people who are visiting from out of town. (Public transportation by rail is considered normal in NYC regardless of income or social status, but in most other US cities, it is viewed as being only for poor people who cannot afford cars or social misfits who, for instance, have lost their driver's license as a result of a drunk driving conviction.)

However, here's the thing. The subway system in NYC, while perfectly safe and reliable, is also hot, noisy, crowded, filthy, leaks when it is raining outside, and in winter, is usually filled with homeless people (and their urine / feces) who seek warmth and shelter there. Most stations are in very poor cosmetic condition (bad lighting, peeling paint, etc), and the same is true of the trains, many of which have been in service since the 1970s.

This does not seem to bother the locals. Frankly, I've gotten used to it, and nowadays it strikes me as unusual when I am in a station or on a train which is clean, cool, quiet and well-lit.

The same is true, to a lesser extent, in most other US cities I have been in which have comprehensive light-rail systems. The one exception is St. Louis, Missouri. I don't know why, but their train system, while small, is quite nice. I consider this an aberration.


Getting back to New York, if you fly into JFK airport and wish to go to Manhattan (a small island which, in reality, is only a tiny part of NYC, but which is what most people think of as being typical of NYC) you have two options. By train, the cost is $7.25. By Taxi, the cost is fixed at $45 plus tolls. Both methods take about the same length of time, except in the morning, when the taxis are considerably slower.

So you would think that there would be some incentive for the taxi operator to make their cab a more pleasant experience, such as having a clean, well-maintained car driven by someone who speaks English fluently. And yet this is not the case. Most NYC taxis are in poor cosmetic condition (both inside and out), the mechanics of the taxicab conversion are usually quite shoddy executed (lots of exposed wiring for lighting and fare control, poorly-fabricated mounting brackets for fare meter and privacy screen between driver and passengers, etc), and in general, they just aren't a very pretty thing to look at. Typically, the interior bears a strong resemblance to that of a police car, including the plastic rear bench seat.

This is in contrast to a German taxi, which more-or-less resembles a stock Mercedes sedan right down to the clean leather interior and alloy wheels.



I surmise the following: In the US, it is more important that something is cheap than that it be of perceived high quality. Ironically, if that thing ever fails in a way that causes harm, the aforementioned is completely forgotten by the public and the press, who then ask "Why was this thing not safer?" while ignoring the fact that they didn't want to pay to maintain it.

viperormiata

iTrader: (24)

......arghh

xturner

You should check out a Japanese taxi. When I was there(it's been a while) they were all diesel Toyota Crowns. They were almost operating-room clean, and the rear seats were covered with starched white linen. The drivers wore white gloves, and drove as carefully as if you were a visiting head of state.
They even had remote controls to open and close the rear doors, slowly.

But they were relatively expensive.

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

Anyone ever read about Conway's Game of Life?



Game of Life Java App

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

^Absolutely. I've been to Japan 3 times, and this is also my experience. Most of them speak enough engrish to say please/thank you appropriately, and are polite to the point of making you feel like an ------- by just being in their presence.

Being a taxi-driver is a fairly respected profession in Japan. They are honest to a fault. There is no tipping, and no haggling.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

So, have you been reading "Hackers" by Steven Levy, or did you come across this by another avenue?

These days, Life is not exactly well-known outside of the old-school minicomputer crowd.

blaen99

iTrader: (6)

I don't know about that, Joe.

I remember having to program Life during a class for a CS Bachelor's as a normal class assignment.

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

I was flipping through Stephen Hawking's "The Grand Design", and it's mentioned near the end of the book.

gearhead_318

iTrader: (1)

The NSX looks good in a picture, but 100x better in person. I will have one.
Saw this one today:

turotufas

iTrader: (7)

These dumb hoes talking about black people and my high school.

Y'all made it on WORLDSTARHIPHOP lol.

06:00-06:25 for the gist or jest.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Really?

There's hope for mankind after all.

(I assume your prof had grey hair and a beard.)

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)