What should I do with it!? :)

[ATC]

Ah, no worries. I took no offense! Just didn't want you to think I was talking about/or participating in anything illegal/insane. I've never built anything as big as those in the video, but it would be fun. Just haven't been able to justify the cost and time to do that. I prefer cheaper zooms and bangs, since it's not something I do every week, or even every month. I guess you could say people do it for the same reason we make operating systems and software; "just" so we can click buttons and type. "Outsiders" who don't do it can't understand, but once you try it, you usually change your mind. And you're right, it's stunning to see things like that in person. One of the coolest things I've ever seen though was on a TV show called "Master Blasters" where they launched a freakin Mini-Cooper with some massive rockets! Yes, the car!

Good idea though. I've seen those articles about making lasers from burners, and making all sorts of cool stuff out of what most consider junk. Bound to be something about some interesting uses for an old junky keyboard! Tough to think of something, because it appears so useless, lol. Necessity is the mother of all invention though, so maybe that explains why I'm stumped for ideas; I don't really *need* it, lol!

I too loved GTA, and even Scarface and the Godfather ftw! lol... You just win very fast and they burn out. I've been able to enjoy IL-2 Sturmovik and other flight sims for years on end though. I have played games like CoD, but I just don't care for them. They last 2-6hrs at most, and they're incredibly Hollywood/Rambo-ish. To me, that's the last thing a virtual military/combat experience should be. It marginalizes the real thing and pumps up kids heads with nonsense and killing for the sake of killing. That's why you see those chubby 12 year-olds wearing real military units' insignias and uniforms and marching around with airsoft guns.



HAHAHA!!!

Guess that about sums it up, lol. I'm a major history enthusiast too, so I don't even care for anything involving modern combat; especially modern aircraft. It's all about lock-ons and computer systems doing the work for you. I prefer to take up a Bf-109, FW-190, Mustang, or Spitfire and blast things with machine guns and cannons. You actually have to FLY and manage your engine, energy state, etc. Nothing beats flying IRL though!

Of course, if it comes down to it, I can always try to emulate this sexy and dashing young devil:



HAHAHA!!!

[neato]

I have been playing the Sniper Elite Demo for PC lately. You are an American or German, dressed like a Russian soldier, killing Russians? It's weird, but I like it a lot. It provides three levels, that you must earn by beating the level before it, and the last level is the best imo. You start off behind enemy lines and you have to figure out how to kill everyone, before they kill you on this board (no other mission really). It's cool because if you get a head shot, you travel with the bullet all the way through the target's skull. My longest head shot was from 190-ish meters? I like that board most because there are at least two places that you have to go and you are very confined, so the combat is at close quarters. You really have to keep your stress levels down to keep your head straight or your dead real fast in that game. I just started making it through the entire board without saving the game on the hardest level, so I'm getting bored of it. I started tossing grenades in the air and trying to shoot them before they hit the ground, its very hard... lol... I need a new game.

HAHA, man if you went to war (now) in one of those planes, you'd get shot down from the ground by a BB gun.. lol. The amount of G-Force those pilots endure make it nearly impossible to control those machine manually. I don't know about fighter planes, but I have been wanting to get a single engine cessna just to fly around a bit. A major dream, that might never come true, but hey it don't hurt to dream. lol.. you sound like you like to fly or want to, do you have a license to fly or plan on getting one?

[ATC]

I'm working towards my VFR license bit by bit right now. My instructor (happens to be my 2nd cousin) is a commercial pilot though, so he's usually gone and too busy. It's ok though, because I'm in no hurry and usually busy myself. I'm not trying to go commercial; purely for fun and recreation. One of these days, when I finally do finish the VFR, I'm going to build a 1:1 replica WWII fighter. It will probably be a FW-190! I would honestly love a 109 (more), but I'm a bit scared of them. They are extremely light, and have that big heavy engine up front (too top heavy). Then the front wheels are FAR too close together. Makes for a dangerous plane to land. During the war, many a skilled pilot got hurt or even broke his back from trying to land one. It's a phenomenal aircraft, and was a spectacular warbird, but I think ol' Willy Messerschmitt basically forgot that the thing had to land until the design was done! The FockeWulf is much different. Has a wide undercarriage, strong and robust gear and it's very, very rugged. Plus it's faster and (generally) considered superior. So that's probably what I'll end up building. Plus I have the added benefit of accessing an airworthy resto to get it right. *drops coins in piggy bank*

You can get a Cessna or another light aircraft for pretty cheap, really. You can get a used one which needs a bit of work and fix it up for about the price of a used SUV/Cadillac ($20K-$50K). Not bad, when you think about it. Not long ago, I heard some guy near our Metro airport was selling a used 2000-ish Bonanza for about $12K. It wasn't fully airworthy, but you could put another $5-$10K in it and it would be like brand new. So you can get a fix'er-up and make it airworthy for about the price of a nice car if you scope out a good deal. So your dream definitely isn't unreasonable! I say go for it! You just better have somewhere to store it, or be prepared to pay for storage.

Oh yeah... Surprisingly, a WWII-era aircraft could indeed survive on today's battlefield is employed correctly. You're forgetting, we still use prop-driven aircraft and even slower helicopters! The C-130 Transport, for one, flies about 350 | 370-ish mph. The 190 could fly flat at 422 mph. With the massive armaments the Germans slapped in those things, you could feasibly use one to knock out C-130s! P-51 Mustangs were employed in both Korea and Vietnam, right next to jets, missiles and the beginnings of modern aviation technology, and did very well. The military also uses Cessnas and other very slow prop-driven aircraft regularly. So they could work. It would just be silly to risk losing aircraft of historical value or spending EXTRA money to build them to WWII-era standards when modern manufacturing techniques could be cheaper and more productive. Otherwise, they could make some decent gun platforms for special roles, like strafing enemy fortifications/vehicles/soldiers or even knocking out slow flying planes and choppers. But money talks and "cool" walks.

[neato]

There is a lot to learn about flying. I was looking over a few sites about it and looks like it will be what a 10 week course? Then you have to buy the plane and house it as you said, and if I store it myself, I'll need my own runway, so its a rich mans sport for sure. Might take this poor guy a few decades to save up, so I'll be right up there with you when I'm about 50. lol Shouldn't be hard to pick you out though, you'll probably be the only WWII plane in the sky.

[ATC]

The time it takes you to get your license is totally dependent on you; your time, dedication, etc. It's sort of like saying it takes X amount of time to write a program, when in fact, that can be different for everyone. But some instructors will pretty much obligate you to intensive study and completing it in a certain time frame. I'm glad I don't have to do that, or I wouldn't have a chance to do anything at all! So if you ever do it, pick a place and an instructor you can deal with and will have time to actually attend. To a certain extent, it can take as long or be as fast as you and the classes are able and willing to go.

And sure, you can fly with me if your Cessna can keep up with my FW-190D! Just never try to approach from 6-o'clock in a Spitfire or Mustang! Lol! I have some pictures of a real resto' FW-190 that belongs to my instructor/cousin's friend if you're interested in them. Last pics I took of it, it was about 70-80% reassembled and wasn't far off from being airworthy. They were working on the avionics, safety specs, etc. I've been told conflicting stories about the history of the airframe. Some say it is THE plane which belonged to Luftwaffe Ace Hans Dortenmann. Others say it really served as White 14 with I./JG 11 (that's 1st Jagdgeschwader 11th Gruppe). Me dunno. I just know it's freakin awesome! There were lots of downed planes from all sides after the war, so it's difficult to know for sure. Salvagers and collectors mixed things up a lot too. But the wreck was sent off to FlugWerk in Germany, and all of the parts were restored to factory specification. FlugWerk's work is actually considered a continuation of the original series! Yeah, you might have noticed by now that I'm a Luftwaffe "wing-nut"! Lol!

[neato]

I saw a picture of one just now, they are extremely visually appealing (minus the Swastika). I might be a little worried taking an actual FW-190 that was flown during WW2 and shot down? I'd take it the Antiques Roadshow instead. It's like just starting out playing the guitar and your first guitar is like Jimi Hendrix's guitar, the one he set on fire! Yeah, post those pics man, I wanna see it. Thanks

[Brynet-Inc]

You never actually mention the specifications of this "old" laptop, could you show the Linux dmesg with lspci output?

Or better yet, install OpenBSD and show THAT dmesg along with the output of pcidump?

[eddyb]

You never actually mention the specifications of this "old" laptop, could you show the Linux dmesg with lspci output?

Or better yet, install OpenBSD and show THAT dmesg along with the output of pcidump?

Why not boot pedigree and give the serial log (F12 and then "log" works, too) ?

[Brynet-Inc]

Why not boot pedigree and give the serial log (F12 and then "log" works, too) ?

Because [email protected] is not allowed to have an opinion.

[eddyb]

Why not boot pedigree and give the serial log (F12 and then "log" works, too) ?

Because [email protected] is not allowed to have an opinion.

Prove it .
Ah, and you think you're funny/intimidating by posting something you found on the first page of results for "eddyb pedigree" ?

[Brynet-Inc]

Prove it .

Prove what? was simply poking fun at your VCS client misconfiguration.. it's spammed in a few IRC rooms.

Ah, and you think you're funny/intimidating by posting something you found on the first page of results for "eddyb pedigree" ?

I'm hilarious, wasn't trying to be in any way intimidating... but it's nice to know I come off as such.

[eddyb]

Prove it .

Prove what? was simply poking fun at your VCS client misconfiguration.. it's spammed in a few IRC rooms.

You mean Git and CIA? Last time i committed it said eddyb, and CIA outputs them only in #pedigree(does it?).
EDIT: nevermind, but the git email was the last thing I'd blame for that... Had no idea it could use that as my email .