@Porksandwich @MarineGunrock

http://inhabitat.com/2010/11/15/amazing-brick-machine-rolls-out-roads-like-carpet/

Says the bricks are held together by gravity...as in the pattern along with the weight of the bricks above keeps them together. I'd like to see how you get that started. I assume they finish the end bits by hand.

It also looked like they were driving the thing over slag sand, which is ideal for any kind of paving job. It didn't look like the machine was dispensing and compacting the sand, but I'm sure it could. I can only hope they've got several inches of crushed stone under there as well.

The biggest advancement of this thing is the ergonomics...and given that the video is from the Netherlands, it's not surprising. I've studied some ergonomics and Northern Europe seems rather obsessed with the topic. Not hard to see why once you've done the hands and knees version of the paving job you see here or sat at a computer desk all day. Once you realize your labor is much more effective when they aren't physically broken for life at age 30, you can see the benefits of actually providing a comfortable work environment.

For pure ergonomics reasons I would never play anything other than asymmetric v-shape guitars (think Randy Rhoads). Sit down, put it in your lap so that your thigh is between the spikes, and it just sits there nice and steady in the classical position. Good access to the whole fretboard, no need to hunch over the guitar at all, right shoulder is more relaxed. I can play for ages without a sore back or a stiff shoulder, and can just let go of it anytime needed, provided I don't lean too far forward.

That said they sure as heck aren't the prettiest guitars to look at, but them's the breaks.

BTW I think the ipad will not be a major success. I can see the early adopters and people with niche computing requirements getting it but the limitations of features, dodgy ergonomics and the fact is hasn't got a KEYBOARD doesn't help it.

Maybe if you could hang it up on a wall in the kitchen it would be of use as a drive-by device. Have an icon for the local weather, some reminders pushed from the pc etc. I suspect that would require a more joined up kind of software design that you're not going to get from MacOS though.

Those shoes must be ergonomic.

Americans think of medical insurance as end-to-end coverage because that is how the medical insurance industry markets itself to consumers. Blame your private market.

The private market didn't create that dynamic. That particular brand of odiousness exists because of Ted Kennedy's abominable HMO bill in 1973. Before that point, insurance very much WAS treated more like auto insurance. But in 1973, any company with more than 25 employees was REQUIRED to offer employees a federally certified HMO. The government of course forced companies to offer HMOs that were 'like' the federal one - which was a plan that covered (ta da!) all medical expenses and not just catastrophic ones.

You may try to pretend otherwise - but the current insurance environment is not the result of a private-sector initiative. No sane actuary or statistician would in a million years try to run health care that way. The improper perception that consumers have today of health insurance is a result of a government spawned intrusion into what was previously a perfectly functional and affordable private market.

But I bet you blame the government or the consumer for both issues.

Like most of these kinds of things I have a tri-pronged 'blame' that I assign. #1 (most important) is government for creating the legislative environment. #2. Private industries for not being more restrained and sensible. #3. Citizens who stupidly, or selfishly try to game the system created by government & industry. NONE of these issues would exist if the government kept its big bazoo out of everyone's business.

It makes sense to have end to end coverage because in the long run routine checks prevent problems from exacerbating, and thus becoming more expensive.

Bull. Doctor visits are not 'preventative' care. Doctors are extremely reluctant to 'prescribe' common sense lifestyles. Believe me - I know. Doctors don't order you to stop smoking, drinking, over-eating, or being a couch potato. They don't 'prescribe' that you eat vegetables and exercise 6 hours a week. They don't do checkups to test how many push ups you can do or do blood tests to see how much junk food you eat.

What keeps people healthy is NOT visits to the doctor. Good health is a result of common sense lifestyle choices. Good eating, regular exercise, and proper ergonomics. None of those require a doctor.

I don't want an epidemic to spread because some nativist barred a coughing migrant worker from a clinic.

How about you DEPORT 'em so they can't infect you in the first place?

When the dude picked up the chick I thought they were maybe going to have ergonomic Salli sex pretty soon

I think there is a lot of overlap between the two but I also find distinct diffrences between the two. The problem is more of a semantics issue then anything else. What I think is geeky some may see as normal or anything but. I think there are geek topics, like comic books, videogames, star wars obsession, electronic gadgets, dungeons and dragons.

Engineering however is more precise. Dealing with structure, ergonomics, design, creation. But to say that one is all inclusive of the other is a bit much. The two often overlap because both deal heavily with technology. On top of that the term "geek" means different things to different people.

Too simplistic? Yes
Making a mountain of a mole hill? Pretty much
Will Wayne and Sarah ever get back together? The polls are divided
If you could go back in time and kill hitler, would you? Well that one is for the philosophers.

In reply to this comment by CaptWillard:
How about this simple analysis: All engineering is geek, but not all geek is engineering. That is, engineering is a subset of geek. Kind of like all rocknroll is music, but not all music is rocknroll. Too simplistic? Or am I making much ado about nothing?

Thanks, I'm not the worlds greatest speller by any means

In reply to this comment by my15minutes:
^ it is. big time.

masterpiece of engineering, really.
this, and the steyr aug (in the full assault rifle category) are both exceptional designs, with many of the same qualities.
like ambidextrous use, composite materials, ergonomics, and pathetically easy fieldstripping, with little or no tools.

but especially, both share a bullpup design.

ps. heap? it's spelled 't r u l y'.

^ it is. big time.

masterpiece of engineering, really.
this, and the steyr aug (in the full assault rifle category) are both exceptional designs, with many of the same qualities.
like ambidextrous use, composite materials, ergonomics, and pathetically easy fieldstripping, with little or no tools.

but especially, both share a bullpup design.

ps. heap? it's spelled 't r u l y'.

There is a part of me thinking WHY did I do this to myself?!? I too have over 20 years of experience with QWERTY, and am lightning fast and almost error-free at it. But I expect to be even faster on Dvorak fairly quickly.

One of the things that convinced me to switch was an an article by a guy who said that it only took him two weeks to get back up to speed. My experience seems to be bearing that out -- I'm only five days in and I'm fully touch-typing, if slowly.

Part of the reason it's quick to switch is that you already have the movements down. You don't have to relearn how to move your fingers, how to type spaces or how to shift. And the number keys (and their shifted characters) are in the same places -- which for me took the longest to learn.

And there are real benefits. I can already feel how much less my fingers need to move around. If that translates to a 20% increase in my typing speed, it will give me a big boost in productivity. It is also supposed to reduce the risk of carpal tunnel and RSI.

I'm also finding unexpected pleasures. The hyphen is within easy reach, instead of being way off in a corner. The comma, period and quote are easier as well. And some common words that were awkward before are now a delight -- I will never again type 'teh' instead of 'the'. Except when it comes to "teh cuteness", of course!

As far as portability goes, it's a snap to switch any modern operating system to Dvorak, so I'm not worried about it. Some say you can retain the ability to type in both; that remains to be seen in my case.

The first thing I did to switch over was to pop off all my keycaps. Then I discovered that my ergonomic keyboard has non-interchangeable keys, so I put them back and just wrote the letters in with permanent marker. Which promptly rubbed off. But that's ok, it's all about the touch-typing.

Thylan is right about the keyboard shortcuts. That definitely adds another layer to the learning curve. But while some are less convenient, others are more, so it probably balances out in the end.

As to whether I would recommend it to anyone else, I'll let you know in a week!

with a computers if you are a pawer user you dont care what it looks like so long as u get good specification for price. apple pcs r the typ of pc that i would expect to find in the work place or a sitting room of sumone who has more mony than sence ore happens to like the apple as a product rather than wanting a pc for the sake of a pc.

i think apple is far better at producing specific items that benefit from simplification and highly focused in one area ore subset of usability such as the ipod and i phone. its unfortunate for apple that you have companies like Nintendo who have done the same thing for hand held consoles as i think apple could do a good job at a portable games console. i don't think apples approach works for for desktop computers due to the nature of what a desctop computer is used for and what it needs to do. oh apple do do a fantastic job on laptops. i think in the end its down to the fact that when an item is portable the aesthetic and ergonomics become such a large priority that the actual specificatoins r not so important so long as it can achieve its designated task to its full potentail.

Wonder why that is??? Could it be that there are humans involved??Youv'e got the current paradigm to consider, as well as the cyclical aspect of the natural world, perception, and the ever-tightening exponetial spiral, lending to the possibility approaching of a singularity of sorts.....makes the inability of humans to abandon religious and ethnic bullshit feuds, regardless of the past, their parents, etc., seem pretty pathetic in light of what there is to gain from turning the rage on the purveyers and enablers, i.e., the beyond rich and powerful few.

We could have gone off-grid and had an efficient, ergonomic planet, if folks like Edison, had been ditched for folks like Tesla, and assholes like Harriman,and A.Hammer, etc., had been offered to Molock, and Buckminster Fuller's, ideas implemented......follow the trail of $$$$$

Yes, the idea of the choice is the framework for a challenge. To have the choice of playlists feature seeems appropriate, with less clutter onthe sidebar, with all-comers.

How-a-Bout, some advertising for personal services...HHAARRAh! ...KIdding, seriously,-

-Whatever is implemented new, and improved, keep it as close to the simple current ease of visual navigation, and ergonomics, with the standard never overshadowed, by the hoopla.

Look at google...y' got the right idea...

I dugged it-This was helpful banter as well, as I've got me a hankerin' to make some viddies meself. I'll have one soon-bout 2 weekies-cheers to ya'll for the ergonomic format