An elegant solution.

I love the parts of Star Wars I love, and that's it.

I'm too old to waste time breathing deeply the exhaled smoke of someone else's dreams, no matter how elegant or profitable.

Nah, its clearly Seige Tanks and Science Vessel

Ok, so they use different frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum to select different robots. I was doing that when I was 12 years old. My brother and
I both had remote control cars. If we wanted to use them at the same time we had to use different frequency crystals. Planes are equipped with a transponder which broadcasts an identification and sometimes altitude so ground radar can tag them more effectively. Couldn't you basically do the same thing with these robots, or just use the same process as in this video only instead of using the visible spectrum just use a lower frequency wave and all its advantages.

Or, you could actually use the advantages of high frequency and "point" at the robots you wanted to select rather than broadcasting to all of them and selecting through a process of elimination (which could take a while if you wanted to select multiple robots out of a large group).

So yah, I agree with everybody else. Unless they have some very specific design contraints this doesn't seem like a very elegant solution (although it does utilise the hardware they already have - cameras and lights).>> ^Payback:

Seige Tanks and a Banshee? Better hope you're playing against a total noob Zerg.

Application for Research Funding

Amount: $2.5m

Research topic: Frogs in Space

Research question: Do Frogs Go Spastic in Space Or Do They Swim Around Elegantly?>> ^cosmovitelli:

Well now we know.

After using a Windows Phone for a little more than a year, I can actually say that I don't like the Metro design language. I was all about it, back when I got the phone (Proof: http://braindonut.com/2010/11/20/windows-phone-7-thoughts/) and not many people can believe that I ever liked "Modern UI" or Metro, because I so very much dislike it nowadays.

I think I was just hungry for anything that was different and new. The problem was that it was like living in a dreary, international modernism, concrete building. At first, I appreciated the clean lines, the simple forms... No decoration. "Purely digital." But after a while, it started getting really boring. REALLY dreary.

Microsoft designed a set of design patterns that are made for getting in and out of your phone, quickly. They made it no nonsense - and it's elegant in that objective. But I don't want to get in and out of my phone. I want to live in that little thing. It's an extension of my daily life. And when I live somewhere, I don't want the walls all painted white and everything to be stark rectangles.

There's a big movement right now in design. Microsoft and Apple are kind of leading the opposing charges. Having existed in both worlds for a long while, I can honestly say I'd rather live in Apple's ecosystem. Sure, they could do things to make the iPhone more efficient within certain tasks, but on the whole, iPhone offers a superior experience. A lot of that is due to how much their OS is designed for an App ecosystem, while Microsoft struggles in this area. Even Windows 8 makes installed apps a pain in the ass to deal with.

So yeah, "Modern UI" is neat, different, ballsy. But I can't wait for the inevitable "Postmodern UI" response.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

What a train wreck. Steve Ballmer said that Windows 8 would be an OS "without compromises" meaning that it would have all of the elegance and conservation of a tablet OS with the standard work horse features of regular Windows. In practice - this doesn't work.

I like the Metro UI - works great on phones - and I expect that the Surface (RT edition) will also be great - for standard desktops though, this will be a bigger fiasco than Vista.

Microsoft has people who care about design (see Metro on phones) but unfortunately, they're not calling the shots - never let the sales guys make your product decisions.

Hmm. Never really thought about it before. The english way always made more sense to me, because it's what I was taught so anything else would seem wonky. But this video has changed my mind. I'm a big fan of mathematical elegance and this video has now ruined my interactions with large numbers

I recall seeing a film in school that had eagles swimming. Apparently it's somewhat common. I seem to recall they lack the oil glands of water birds, and so when they swim they can't dry off very quickly. Looks like this one had a meal to keep it busy, however.

I like how this one swam. It looked really elegant - sort of like rowing.

Kite Flying Society - Mark Mothersbaugh - Rushmore

OK, so this message is either about lack of productivity or the need to reduce stress in my life.

The Visor - Bernard Herrmann - The Day the Earth Stood Still

Definitely productivity, as I've been putting off making an arrangement of this score for a large ensemble so that I can play some theremin in public.

Mahler: Symphony #4 in G: 3rd movement.

Beautiful inspiring music from a composer that greatly influences me. This is meant as motivation. Write from the heart. Write elegant music that will move people.

Do-Lo-Do-Llo - Doom! Gone, Man, Gone! - Harry Partch

Harry Partch wrote strange, inaccessible and highly original music. This is meant to tell me to be true to my own voice and to not try too hard to please others.

Tim Exile - Microsolutions to megaproblems vol 1

Tim helped develop some music software I just installed in my computer that I haven't used yet. This means get busy, lazy!

Who sent this message? My subconscious mind of course.

I've got the rest of the day free other than a dinner date with my gorgeous wife, so... off to work I go.

>> ^Jinx:

I did a little Ju Jitsu. I'd expect the throws would be completely useless in a confined space. The knowledge of how to escape a choke hold or how to effectively disarm an opponent would probably be quite useful though, as would arm locks etc. Even comprehensive martial arts training can only do so much and I imagine when you have no room to move then brute force and weight advantage matters more.
The fact they chose Wing Chun seems to me to have more to do with PR than safety. Its a elegant martial art and it fits the image, but I wonder if there are simple more effective techniques that would probably give them better self defence.


Maybe Krav Maga? Bruce Lee did ok with his take on Wing Chun.

I did a little Ju Jitsu. I'd expect the throws would be completely useless in a confined space. The knowledge of how to escape a choke hold or how to effectively disarm an opponent would probably be quite useful though, as would arm locks etc. Even comprehensive martial arts training can only do so much and I imagine when you have no room to move then brute force and weight advantage matters more.

The fact they chose Wing Chun seems to me to have more to do with PR than safety. Its a elegant martial art and it fits the image, but I wonder if there are simple more effective techniques that would probably give them better self defence.

>> ^kceaton1:

You don't see this very much in the NBA for a few reasons. One, the defense is tighter, BUT there are still players that can still most definitely pull this off no problems. The reason said players do not pull off said play is because your coach will rip off your head and shit down your throat...as Duke Nukem so elegantly puts it.
It is a play of pure showboating extreme and not meant for professional play. Your number one goal set by your coach (and to be honest the owners as well) in a professional league is to make sure the ball goes in first, showboating is your secondary consideration to pump up the crowd. If you're ahead by 30 points with six minutes left in the fourth quarter maybe they will give you some leeway on doing such things.
I know the number of times I've seen it done are very few and far in between; much like behind the backboard shots (which require you to be VERY careful with your aim if you want it to count).


I kinda think it made it easier for him to score, if he's proficient at it such that he trusts the move. I hope you're just being a bit negative. I'm not into basketball, but the supreme confidence in one's abilities to the point where you can perform indefensible moves or sleight of hand is what made michael jordan exciting whether you like basketball or not. More like that is not a bad thing.

You don't see this very much in the NBA for a few reasons. One, the defense is tighter, BUT there are still players that can still most definitely pull this off no problems. The reason said players do not pull off said play is because your coach will rip off your head and shit down your throat...as Duke Nukem so elegantly puts it.

It is a play of pure showboating extreme and not meant for professional play. Your number one goal set by your coach (and to be honest the owners as well) in a professional league is to make sure the ball goes in first, showboating is your secondary consideration to pump up the crowd. If you're ahead by 30 points with six minutes left in the fourth quarter maybe they will give you some leeway on doing such things.

I know the number of times I've seen it done are very few and far in between; much like behind the backboard shots (which require you to be VERY careful with your aim if you want it to count).

Indented threads? Is that how to say it? Anyway, I think it's more elegant to thread like that, however it does lead to more silly shenanigans.

"How was that a suggestion, Rottenseed? You're not supposed to make a suggestion then shoot it down"

>> ^messenger:

Several people have already risen to your challenge to define fascism. Googling it reveals many dictionary and encyclopaedic definitions (unless you've got a thing against truthiness). None bear any resemblance to Obama. Your move.
I agree with what you're saying and I'm trying to show that you're not telling us anything the average adult doesn't already know about American presidents. It's like telling everyone that alcohol gets you drunk. If you did, someone would probably say, "Yes, and what's your point?" Get it now?

Who here has been able to define their terms? Apart from one moron who copy-pasted the dictionary, shit which would not even fly in grade school, only me. So, my work must frame the discussion.

My narrow definition, which is a distillation of the work of experts, is both more elegant and more comprehensive than any you'll find in a dictionary. However, even those blunt instruments, except where they make amateur mistakes like placing dictatorship as an essential tenet of fascist ideology, closely describe modern US political conditions. Where do you see a deviation?

These observations are important. The POTUS is an immensely influential and historically significant individual. His supporters have to be confronted with the character of the man they're empowering.

I'm not here to tell you alcohol gets you drunk. I'm here to tell you to stop drinking while operating heavy machinery.