00:00:00 --- log: started retro/11.02.06 11:16:42 howdy folks 11:34:53 hi docl 11:35:49 hi crc 11:37:42 what's new? 11:39:14 * docl has been thinking about mass beams similar to the space fountain idea 11:39:24 http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/478838bfb7f74 11:39:50 basically it seems to me that you could create a building as big as you like with this. 11:40:30 you could support the floors with a set of parabolic loops of high speed pellets. 11:40:55 https://docs.google.com/drawings/edit?id=1K-BXKU6BtVu39TZHBiAKy6EpL5RE0ZS7BZ_EIWxgQIg&hl=en&authkey=CIHEh-8H 11:43:59 interesting, though long-term wear&tear between the pellets and the structures at either end could be an issue 11:45:29 Yeah, the pellets would need to be magnetically suspended in a vacuum, I think 11:51:31 It might be possible to use a non-frictionless system for small scales. As you get to bigger amounts of force the speeds and the total amount of surface area would probably make it harder. A frictionless system seems like it would be safer. 11:53:34 well, maybe I'm being premature in attempting to decide whether it should be frictionless or not at this point. 11:56:58 perhaps you could get enough force out of a set of rolling ball bearings. 12:20:47 hi docl 12:25:04 hi cfa 13:05:38 rfc: take a look at https://gist.github.com/813732 and let me know which behavior of /mod you prefer 13:09:39 what do the duplicated operands mean? that you can get both behaviours in that vm? 13:10:21 sorry, the duplicate line should be -5 -2 /mod 13:11:19 (the code ran -5 -2, but I mistyped in the paste) 13:13:21 i personally prefer the behaviour of the c/perl/go/c#/java vms 13:13:37 (which behave identically if i'm reading this right) 13:15:30 ok 13:15:41 i might as well restate for the record that factor and hs-forth behave this way while f83, fpc and gforth (indeed, ANS) behave like the python vm 13:16:08 i didn't check the /mod of two negatives there though 13:17:25 this would make for an interesting post to c.l.f actually 13:21:54 I'll post there as well 13:23:52 great 13:26:06 which do you find preferable? 13:29:02 I'd prefer the C/C#/Java/Go forms 13:37:51 incidentally: -5 2 / in gforth yields -3 13:37:57 similarly, python returns -3 for -5 / 2 13:38:02 as does ruby 13:42:59 I've posted the question to c.l.f. 13:43:18 also, push/pop are visible again now 13:44:25 good stuff on both counts 13:45:11 it seems part of the answer to this question lies in how negative division is rounded 13:46:28 well, the full answer i suppose; given that gforth returns -3 for -5 2 /, the different is now positive (-3*2=-6 -6+1=-5) 13:46:46 s/different/difference (meaning remainder) 13:51:50 okay; formally, rounding to zero or to negative infinity are both correct answers to this division 15:06:15 --- join: Mat2 (5b4085ac@gateway/web/freenode/ip.91.64.133.172) joined #retro 15:06:22 hello 15:13:58 --- quit: Mat2 (Quit: Page closed) 19:01:09 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/paulmason/2011/02/twenty_reasons_why_its_kicking.html 19:01:40 ' 11.To amplify: I can't find the quote but one of the historians of the French Revolution of 1789 wrote that it was not the product of poor people but of poor lawyers. You can have political/economic setups that disappoint the poor for generations - but if lawyers, teachers and doctors are sitting in their garrets freezing and starving you get revolution. Now, in their garrets, they have a laptop and broadband connection.' 19:16:33 * crc thinks the python, lua, and ruby vm implementations will work correctly now 23:59:59 --- log: ended retro/11.02.06