Either I drive faster than you, or you go when there's actually traffic. I think the sign after you get on 22/322 from 81 says it's 80 miles to State College.

Probably a little of both. I usually manage to hit traffic in the 83->81->322 mess. Even with smooth sailing, I stay around 75 in 65mph zones and 65 in 55mph zones, since I've got some points on my license already and don't want any more.

When I got it I used the turnpike between Irwin and New Stanton (50 cents), about once a month. I got it for the "toy value", and on May 15 when the system was supposed to be deployed I waited around at midnight, and nothing happened. So I came back in the morning and it was operational.

If only they'd get it working on their various extensions, I'd be happy. It would be nice to use it to jump from US22 Delmont to PA130 Jeannette while the portion of US22 closer to Pittsburgh is, um, screwed, for the next several years.

Actually I don't go much faster than that, usually. Must just have been a lucky night

and feed my cow orkers.

Perfect typo!

Perfect typo!

I think he meant it deliberately. Surely you've read "The Dilbert Principle"?

Surely you've read "The Dilbert Principle"?

Surely, but I last read it back in '96 or '97 when it first came out, so the reference wasn't fresh in my mind.

MA, P, NTSH...

Too perfect, if you ask me.

I find it interesting that the Cow Orker entry contains a cross reference to Filk. I think they cross reference it because the term Filk was originally a typo of "Folk" that stuck (like their other cross references such as Newsfroup).

Haha.. google is great. From dbrashear's link:

cow orker n. [Usenet] n. fortuitous typo for co-worker, widely used in Usenet, with perhaps a hint that orking cows is illegal. This term was popularized by Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert) but already appears in the January 1996 version of the scary devil monastery FAQ. There are plausible reports that it was in use on talk.bizarre as early as 1992. Compare hing, grilf, filk, newsfroup.

A quick Google search turned up a post from 1989.

Yeah, I don't think Scott Adams ever claimed to have invented the word, but he did popularize it. Quite likely someon suggested it to him as a word similar to induhvidual.

Seeing this now, even in the light of current events and insider knowledge, makes me pretty sad.

May I say guys (and you all know who you are), no matter how it all comes out in the end, I really hope that it all comes out OK. To see one of the most effective, efficiently grown, and efficiently managed software teams it has ever been my priviledge to be associated with broken up for business reasons, or infighting between warring market opponents would break my heart.



"Is there no truth in beauty?"

PS. The milk floats behind you are for sale, along with batteries and chargers. HINT: Off peak electricity, no road tax, low insurance, 20m range.

PPS Who took the photo? David?

"Is there no truth in beauty?"

Perhaps. At the very least, there's usually beauty in truth. But the sign and its times beg a different question: is there no money in beauty? The question's still a bit over my head though, so I'll just say that, to me, achieving 4,500 car player sales and failing as a business would still be more fun than achieving 4,500,000 sales of something crap but staying in business. Not that we particularly did fail as a business this time: Sonicblue was crushed by the debts of a dot-com hubris that had little to do with Empeg, or even Rio.

PS. The milk floats behind you are for sale, along with batteries and chargers. HINT: Off peak electricity, no road tax, low insurance, 20m range.

What, the Dairy Crest ones? Sadly, the only people at Empeg who buy vehicles on a whim are Rob and Hugo, neither of whom, I suspect, would be happy with the performance of a milk-float. Although I guess John might buy one if he thought he could overclock it.

PPS Who took the photo? David?

We borrowed some bloke from the company downstairs. What with giant lorries with loads of recycled paper belting down Swann's Road far too fast, and lunatic motorcyclists belting the wrong way up Swann's Road far too fast, he nearly paid the ultimate price to bring you that image. It's the only photo there is of all thirteen current Sonicblue Cambridge employees.

I really hope that it all comes out OK.

Well, we're all hoping the same about all your woes of the moment, too...

Peter

Sadly, the only people at Empeg who buy vehicles on a whim are Rob and Hugo

Sadly in the sense that none of the rest of you are that "liquid"?

(Neither am I. My brother, who makes less but doesn't squander it like I do, is.)

Sadly in the sense that none of the rest of you are that "liquid"?

Sadly for Dairy Crest, in the sense that if the rest of us had money burning holes in our pockets, we wouldn't be so likely to spend it on random vehicles: I'd spend it on my house, Roger'd buy gadgets... actually, we'd all buy gadgets.

And I guess I'd better add, just in case D&M read that last post, that selling 4,500,000 of something as good as the car-player and making a pigging fortune would of course be best of all...

Peter

Speaking of buying gadgets, I can't say enough good about this.

Do you own one or do you just like the concept?

I bought one this weekend.

I've been very skeptical of these, so let us know how it works out in the long run.

I know someone who's had 1 for over a year, and got a second about 6 months ago. So far he's had no problems. At what I was paying to have my yard dealt with it will pay for itself in 2 years. If it lasts no longer, I'll salvage parts and get a new one.

So far, it works.

This one looked cuter:

http://www.mowbot.co.uk/

...in that it can find its "hutch" to recharge itself, and you can program a timer so it'll just nip out and mow the lawn when necessary. There's even a rain sensor option so it'll automatically go inside when it rains

Hugo

I don't believe that that one's available in the US, unfortunately. The Husqvarna one is, and is auto-recharging. The Toro one appears to be a rebadged Robomower.

I don't believe that that one's available in the US, unfortunately. The Husqvarna one is, and is auto-recharging. The Toro one appears to be a rebadged Robomower.

I'm SURE one of out Empeg friends on the other side of the pond would pick one up and mail it to us.. It *DOES* say it's for 110/220, so they must have thought ahead at some point. (Not that we use 220, but..)

Me.

The Toro is a rebadged Robomower, there's a press release on the Friendly Robotics site about it.