Social September 2001

social@lists.alug.org.uk

9 participants
17 discussions

Off topic 2.5 GHz Microwave ovens and computers
by oms101＠freeuk.com 30 Sep '01

30 Sep '01

I have been getting increasingly concerned at the speed of modern computers, they seem to be approaching that of microwave ovens and so with my long turm exposire becomes worrying I looked up the freequancy of a microwave oven, only 2.5 GHz now does this mean that we will be getting cooked slowly with when we upgrade computers. Regards Owen Synge <quote ref="http://www.howstuffworks.com/microwave.htm"> The microwave oven is one of the great inventions of the 20th century - millions of homes in America have one. Microwave ovens are popular because they cook food incredibly quickly. They are also extremely efficient in their use of electricity because a microwave oven heats only the food - nothing else. A microwave oven uses microwaves to heat food. Microwaves are <A href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/radio-spectrum.htm">radio waves</A>. In the case of microwave ovens, the commonly used radio wave frequency is roughly 2,500 megahertz (2.5 gigahertz). Radio waves in this frequency range have an interesting property: they are absorbed by water, fats and sugars. When they are absorbed they are converted directly into atomic motion - heat. Microwaves in this frequency range have another interesting property: they are not absorbed by most plastics, glass or ceramics. Metal reflects microwaves, which is why metal pans do not work well in a microwave oven. How Microwave Ovens Cook Food You often hear that microwave ovens cook food "From the inside out." What does that mean? Here's an explanation to help make sense of microwave cooking. Let's say you want to bake a cake in a conventional oven. Normally you would bake a cake at 350 degrees F or so, but let's say you accidentally set the oven at 600 degrees instead of 350. What is going to happen is that the outside of the cake will burn before the inside even gets warm. In a conventional oven, the heat has to migrate (by conduction) from the outside of the food toward the middle <snip/> In microwave cooking, the radio waves penetrate the food and excite water and fat molecules pretty much evenly throughout the food. There is no "heat having to migrate toward the interior by conduction". There is heat everywhere all at once because the molecules are all excited together. There are limits of course. Radio waves penetrate unevenly in thick pieces of food (they don't make it all the way to the middle), and there are also "hot spots" caused by wave interference, but you get the idea. The whole heating process is different because you are "exciting atoms" rather than "conducting heat". In a microwave oven, the air in the oven is at room temperture, so there is no way to form a crust. That is why foods like "Hot Pockets" come with a little cardboard/foil sleeve. You put the food in the sleeve and then microwave it. The sleeve reacts to microwave evergy by becoming very hot. This exterior heat lets the crust become crispy as it would in a conventional oven. Microwave ovens are described by several interesting links on the web. Try these: For an excellent discussion of the different parts of a microwave oven and how they work together, http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/how_work.html For a great collection of in-depth questions and answers about microwaves, http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW//microwave_ovens.html </quote> Date: 30-Sep-01 Time: 13:33:54

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Shocking happenings!!!
by Adam Bower 28 Sep '01

28 Sep '01

Hmmm, I just got back online yesterday since going offline on Tuesday evening, when lightning struck about ~200m away from my house, it affected a telegraph pole which of course was the telecoms to my house. The lightning also thought it would be a good idea to ground itself through *MY* modem which was rather interesting :-) as when I came and sat down near the computer I noticed that it was in two rather distinctive parts, and all the magic smoke that made it work had escaped! Anyway after counting the cost (luckily I am insured) It cost me 2 modems, two motherboards (it blew a serial port and parallel port in both!), two telephone handsets and a fan heater! (I don't knowhow it got the last but it appeared to jump through a powered phone and back into the electric supply in the house). Anyway when I get the photos developed I will put them online, all the phone sockets in the house were blown and the wet string that connected us to the telegraph pole was also hosed as the cable had burst in 3 seperate places! BTW the BT engineer also told me that you can now use the BT diagnosis phone no. to work out how far away you are from the exchange, so you can work out if you will be able to get ADSL. You will get warned that you have to be authorised to do this but it never gets checked so don't worry. To get this info dial 17070 then (dial) 3 (you have to listen to this message) then dial 1 and finally 2 Adam -- This message is Copyleft - all rights reversed Adam

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1 free cinema ticket to see Enigma tomorrow evening in Norwich
by Adam Bower 25 Sep '01

25 Sep '01

Hi people, I just managed to get hold of two tickets for the preview screening of the film Enigma tomorrow evening in Norwich. As it is such short notice I can't find anyone to go with! (or maybe I am just unpopular ;-)) anyway if you want to come (and maybe go for beers after?) then drop me a mail. Adam PS the film starts at 6:30 Riverside, -- This message is Copyleft - all rights reversed Adam

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Linux world Ireland
by Adam Bower 18 Sep '01

18 Sep '01

Hi people, anyone planning to go to the linux world Ireland in November? the home page is here http://www.linuxworld.ie/ I figured it would be fun to go and get rather drunk in Ireland on the pretence of going to a linux conference :-) I better have a job by then so I can actually afford this..... Adam -- This message is Copyleft - all rights reversed Adam

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that vax fridge-freezer
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 18 Sep '01

18 Sep '01

David's vax is: "...... a Microvax3100M20e and a Microvax 3400." if this settles any arguments there were on IRC last night. Claimed by the previous owner to run OpenBSD. David? Jen

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Re: [Alug] CS students vs Engineers
by MJ Ray 15 Sep '01

15 Sep '01

[moved to social] Mills <planet14(a)boyznow.net> writes: > who have. Mr Mankin flames all CS students by calling them "pig > ignorant" in a self styled flamewar. Mr Mankin tells CS students they Please can we stop using the word "pig" as it sets off content filters ;-) I kid you not: I've booted someone from the list for sending automated "please don't send abusive emails" replies. Bad MTA. > do not know about grammar, while in the same email he wrongly calls > university lecturers, "teachers". This helps to show the small > knowledge of universities the writers have. I was a university lecturer. I am happy to be described as a teacher. If we do not teach, why lecture? > Hiring English or Philosophy graduates instead of CS is wrong, and > disgusting. CS students are interested in computers and therefore their > work. They also have more knowledge about computers and have a > personality profile that is better for doing programming. The also generally think that they know it all and some of the candidates who are brightest on paper have no social or personal skills. [1] As a result of bad experiences when recruiting, I now far prefer to hire technically adept graduates from other disciplines, or preferably computing students with a minor in another subject. > Please apologize or action may be taken. See above at [1]. What exactly do you think you're going to do to Raph? If it's an empty threat, you've demonstrated my point. If you're going to DoS or haxor him, you've demonstrated my point still. Making such threats is generally a lose-lose situation. Took me years to learn that. -- MJR Thesis watch: 27% This is my personal web site =-> http://mjr.towers.org.uk/ http://www.alug.org.uk/ <-- This is the LUG I go to I work for this clever internet developer ==> http://www.luminas.co.uk/

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Re: [alug social] Re: [Alug] CS students vs Engineers
by MJ Ray 15 Sep '01

15 Sep '01

David Freeman <david_freeman(a)alug.org.uk> writes: > This explains why you didn't want to employ me :o) When we've got 300 people and can hide skilled ninja koderz in a back room, ask me again ;-) -- MJR Thesis watch: 27% This is my personal web site =-> http://mjr.towers.org.uk/ http://www.alug.org.uk/ <-- This is the LUG I go to I work for this clever internet developer ==> http://www.luminas.co.uk/

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Re: [Alug] CS students vs Engineers
by MJ Ray 15 Sep '01

15 Sep '01

Adam Bower <abower(a)thebowery.co.uk> writes: > I am not an authority on this either and could someone please correct > me if I am wrong but I think people should only be using the > main(a)lists.alug.org.uk address as the uea one is no longer supported? Indeed. I found out yesterday that stu.uea.ac.uk will cease to be before the end of the year. UEA's computing service has changed its position on a number of issues, so removing the need for it. > Anyway on with my reply :) No. Please reply twice. The reply to main should just say that you are replying to social and people should follow the discussion over there. This is now wildly off-topic for main. -- MJR Thesis watch: 27% This is my personal web site =-> http://mjr.towers.org.uk/ http://www.alug.org.uk/ <-- This is the LUG I go to I work for this clever internet developer ==> http://www.luminas.co.uk/

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Re: [Alug] CS students vs Engineers
by Adam Bower 15 Sep '01

15 Sep '01

Can we continue this discussion in the Social list now please, I would set the reply to header but pine is being a POS today (another reason to go back to mutt) I am not an authority on this either and could someone please correct me if I am wrong but I think people should only be using the main(a)lists.alug.org.uk address as the uea one is no longer supported? Anyway on with my reply :) On Sat, 15 Sep 2001, Mills wrote: > Hiring English or Philosophy graduates instead of CS is wrong, and > disgusting. CS students are interested in computers and therefore their > work. They also have more knowledge about computers and have a > personality profile that is better for doing programming. It sounds as No, you don't choose who you employ just because they have a degree in that subject, you employ the best person for the job. I have met people who can do things with computers far better than most of those with a CS degree, just having a degree does not necessarily make you the best person for the job, getting a degree in CS obviously helps though if you want to work in computing. > skills. Mr Mankin attacks universities but uses Linux, a clone of UNIX > which is an OS made popular by it's use in universities. Linus was a > CS student himself. So what happens to CS students who have worked at > zero pay for several years including weeks of 50+ hours, they are, in > your view, supposed to accept the dole queue. Universities are great places for people to go and study and learn, I am sure Mr Mankin does accept that universities can be good for learning. Also your comment about Linus and Linux shows you know very little about the early days of Linux. Linus had many arguments with his course teacher about OS design and also had a flame war (resolved a long time ago) with Andrew Tanenbaum (if you don't know who he is then google is your friend) which shows that elements of the academic community were actually against Linux at one point, indeed many parts of the academic world of OS design are still against the Linux approach to doing things. I also know of people who have gone to university who are really good programmers etc. but they have gone there to study subjects such as art or law or some unrelated discipline. The reasoning being that if they already know the subject really well then they would be better off becoming multi-talented. I know that if i was to go to university in the future (a distinct probability) that there would be no way I would consider studying computing, I already know enough about computing I would want to learn something different that I could put my computing knowledge into to enhance. > Please apologize or action may be taken. ? Adam -- This message is Copyleft - all rights reversed Adam

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Re: [Alug] CS students vs Engineers
by Adam Bower 15 Sep '01

15 Sep '01

On Fri, 14 Sep 2001, Mills wrote: > Raphael Mankin wrote: > ><flamewar> > >As an employer of programmers of some 30 years experience I find that > >CS graduates are generally a dead loss. I would much rather employ > >English or Philosophy graduates: at least they know that they don't > >know. They also tend to have some knowledge of the world outside > >computers, unlike the CS graduates who can best be described as pig > >ignorant. > ></flamewar> > Please apologize for these comments. Why the hell should anyone apologize for that!! It is an opinion, of which others don't agree, anyway here is my take on this I wasn't going to reply as I didn't want to generate any flamebait but however..... My experience is that CS grads can be very good however most are only about average. If you do get a programmer who has a degree in some other subject then usually they are better than the CS student as they are thinking "out of the box" whereas CS students are quite often all taught to be sheep (as in they all learn more or less the same thing). I am not saying that if you are a CS student (or grad) that you are crap, just that getting a degree in CS doesn't automatically make you an expert. I have plenty of experience of people who never did a degree being absolutley s***hot when it comes to coding but this is probably as they are gifted in the art of programming, and I also think that if they had done a degree in CS then they could of learnt many bad habits or been taught to not be original. Anyway I am just using my right to free speech... feel free to flame me or discuss futher PS the reply-to on this mail was set incorrectly, I have changed it back to the main address and to the social list where this may be better discussed from now as it could degenerate! Adam -- This message is Copyleft - all rights reversed Adam

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Social September 2001