Monthly Archives: July 2006

Official CHM PDP-1 Restoration site is now online

Posted on July 20, 2006 by Eric

The Computer History Museum’s PDP-1 Restoration web site is now open to the public. Thanks go to the CHM staff for putting together a nice site, and to the rest of the team for their tireless efforts to make the … Continue reading →

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Things I’ve learned this week, episode II

Posted on July 20, 2006 by Eric

Smooth the surface of the sour cream left in the container before you return it to the refrigerator, and it will not separate as much. (Thanks to the printed information on the seal of a tub of Daisy brand sour … Continue reading →

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AC adapters for laptop from GetPartsOnline.com

Posted on July 20, 2006 by Eric

I wanted two extra AC adapters for an HP Pavilion dv5210us laptop computer. HP and all the usual places wanted around $70-80. But a Google search for the part number turned up GetPartsOnline.com, which has genuine HP adapters in stock … Continue reading →

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How to fight terrorism

Posted on July 19, 2006 by Eric

Several people have observed that I am opposed to nearly all of the supposed anti-terrorism measures taken by the Bush administration, and sometimes ask me if I have a better idea as to how to fight terrorism. A few people … Continue reading →

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Poor translation

Posted on July 19, 2006 by Eric

Seen in the list of warnings in an application note for a Futaba vacuum fluorescent display module: The module should be abolished as the factory waste. Geez, why do they bother making it if it should be abolished?

Posted in Humor | 1 Comment

First exams in Linear Algebra and American Government

Posted on July 19, 2006 by Eric

On the first Linear Algebra exam, I lost two points for an arithmetic error on one problem, and five points for completely misreading another problem. I read the problem as involving the sum of two matrices being equal to a … Continue reading →

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Trading freedom for security

Posted on July 17, 2006 by Eric

It would be nice if G.W. Bush (and the rest of the neocons) would take a lesson from President Ronald Reagan: There is no left or right. There’s only an up or down. Up to the ultimate in individual freedom, … Continue reading →

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“A” in Public Speaking

Posted on July 13, 2006 by Eric

I just received my grades from the instructor. 97% on the final exam, and an “A” for the semester. I expected that to do well, but it’s nice to be more certain. The official release date for the grades isn’t … Continue reading →

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Compute some Eigenvalues first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you all day.

Posted on July 13, 2006 by Eric

Actually it is fun, though a bit tedious. My HP-49G+ calculator, or Mathematica or Maple on my laptop, can of course determine Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors automatically, but the point of today’s Linear Algebra class (and Monday’s quiz) is to learn … Continue reading →

Posted in Calculators, Linear Algebra | Leave a comment

Visiting grandmother, and getting home again

Posted on July 12, 2006 by Eric

I visited my grandmother in Kansas City.  It was a year or two after my grandfather passed away (whereas in reality he outlived her by ten years).  Anyhow, I had a good visit, but started having problems when it was … Continue reading →

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