Randy Yates wrote: ...> These other media sources dilute the quantity and quality of posters > and readers available here on comp.dsp.I'm not convinced of that. It could provide a place for the clowns to retreat to, leaving the less frilly posters here. I'm not sure I like the implication of that if it's the case. Could it be that the old timers have been around the course too often? When I first chimed in here, everything was new. I came to learn, but found that I was able to help with basic EE questions and a few general insights not strictly digital. We get the same basic DSP questions over and over because new people keep arriving with them. I find the lack of basic engineering background among the newer questioners distressing. "Where can I get code to ..." instead of "How can I ..." makes me worry that most of the future practitioners will be pill dispensers like modern pharmacists. Can one even find a compounding pharmacy nowadays? If to doesn't come in a bottle, it isn't to be had. The equivalent in our field is that if there isn't a chip or packaged code for it, it can't be done. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
comp.dsp audio podcast of select threads
Started by ●February 9, 2007
Reply by ●February 13, 20072007-02-13
Reply by ●February 13, 20072007-02-13
On 13 Feb., 17:29, Jerry Avins <j...@ieee.org> wrote:> Randy Yates wrote: > > ... > > > These other media sources dilute the quantity and quality of posters > > and readers available here on comp.dsp. > > I'm not convinced of that. It could provide a place for the clowns to > retreat to, leaving the less frilly posters here. I'm not sure I like > the implication of that if it's the case. > > Could it be that the old timers have been around the course too often? > When I first chimed in here, everything was new. I came to learn, but > found that I was able to help with basic EE questions and a few general > insights not strictly digital. We get the same basic DSP questions over > and over because new people keep arriving with them. I find the lack of > basic engineering background among the newer questioners distressing. > "Where can I get code to ..." instead of "How can I ..." makes me worry > that most of the future practitioners will be pill dispensers like > modern pharmacists. Can one even find a compounding pharmacy nowadays? > If to doesn't come in a bottle, it isn't to be had. The equivalent in > our field is that if there isn't a chip or packaged code for it, it > can't be done.I tend to agree with that. This would imply that my feelings about comp.dsp stem from a mixture of socio-internet development and getting too old. Oh man...
Reply by ●February 13, 20072007-02-13
Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org> writes:> I'm not sure I like the implication of that if it's the case.Which would be?> Could it be that the old timers have been around the course too > often? When I first chimed in here, everything was new. I came to > learn, but found that I was able to help with basic EE questions and > a few general insights not strictly digital. We get the same basic > DSP questions over and over because new people keep arriving with > them.If they're repeated often, they should be in the FAQ. Are they?> I find the lack of basic engineering background among the newer > questioners distressing. "Where can I get code to ..." instead of > "How can I ..." makes me worry that most of the future practitioners > will be pill dispensers like modern pharmacists.Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.> Can one even find a compounding pharmacy nowadays?I don't remember ever hearing the term "compounding pharmacy." I presume it's a pharmacy that can synthesize its own drugs?> If to doesn't come in a bottle, it isn't to be had. The equivalent > in our field is that if there isn't a chip or packaged code for it, > it can't be done."I want it all and I want it now." -- % Randy Yates % "How's life on earth? %% Fuquay-Varina, NC % ... What is it worth?" %%% 919-577-9882 % 'Mission (A World Record)', %%%% <yates@ieee.org> % *A New World Record*, ELO http://home.earthlink.net/~yatescr
Reply by ●February 13, 20072007-02-13
Randy Yates wrote:> Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org> writes: > >> I'm not sure I like the implication of that if it's the case. > > Which would be?That the SNR is deteriorating despite the higher concentration of [ahem] serious practitioners.>> Could it be that the old timers have been around the course too >> often? When I first chimed in here, everything was new. I came to >> learn, but found that I was able to help with basic EE questions and >> a few general insights not strictly digital. We get the same basic >> DSP questions over and over because new people keep arriving with >> them. > > If they're repeated often, they should be in the FAQ. Are they? > >> I find the lack of basic engineering background among the newer >> questioners distressing. "Where can I get code to ..." instead of >> "How can I ..." makes me worry that most of the future practitioners >> will be pill dispensers like modern pharmacists. > > Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. > >> Can one even find a compounding pharmacy nowadays? > > I don't remember ever hearing the term "compounding pharmacy." > I presume it's a pharmacy that can synthesize its own drugs?Not the ingredients, just the nostrum. "One ounce of zinc oxide in half an ounce of petrolatum USP, scented with two minims of oil of wintergreen." Nowadays, if zinc ointment doesn't come in a one-pound jar, it's not available.>> If to doesn't come in a bottle, it isn't to be had. The equivalent >> in our field is that if there isn't a chip or packaged code for it, >> it can't be done. > > "I want it all and I want it now.""And I don't want to be bothered with why it works." Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Reply by ●February 13, 20072007-02-13
Jerry Avins wrote. P.S. The traditional pharmacy symbol is a mortar-and-pestle. When do you suppose is the last time a pharmacist actually used one at work? Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Reply by ●February 13, 20072007-02-13
>Andor wrote:..>Frankly, I have a feeling that comp.dsp is on the decline. The large >part of the threads is turning in circles, beating dead horses, >repeating the same trivialities or concerns extracts of code that >someone wants us to debug for them. Many once-regulars have >disappeared, and their input is sorely missing.I was reveling in the thought that the reference was to my absence here in this group over the past year. ie until i read this:>Jerry Avins wrote:..>I'm not convinced of that. It could provide a place for the clowns to >retreat to, leaving the less frilly posters here.How many more balloons, Jerry? --Bhooshan
Reply by ●February 13, 20072007-02-13
Jerry Avins wrote: (snip)> I'm not convinced of that. It could provide a place for the clowns to > retreat to, leaving the less frilly posters here. I'm not sure I like > the implication of that if it's the case.Some years ago the comp.sys.powerpc newsgroup split. The purpose was to discuss the powerpc processor architecture, but most of the questions related to Apple computers but were unrelated to the processor. (How to eject a floppy disk, for example.) It might be that this group could split into subgroups, though I won't suggest a beginner and advanced group. Maybe one toward algorithms and one toward computing hardware. (Sometimes called computer science and computer engineering.) (snip)> I find the lack of > basic engineering background among the newer questioners distressing. > "Where can I get code to ..." instead of "How can I ..." makes me worry > that most of the future practitioners will be pill dispensers like > modern pharmacists. Can one even find a compounding pharmacy nowadays?I know where some are because they have a big sign out front, knowing how rare they are. Now, find a doctor to prescribe something requiring one. -- glen
Reply by ●February 14, 20072007-02-14
On 13 Feb, 15:47, "Andor" <andor.bari...@gmail.com> wrote:> Rick Lyons wrote: > > Andor wrote: > > > >Mark Borgerding wrote: > > >... > > >> The text format of usenet lends itself well to both written and spoken > > >> media. The contributors of comp.dsp do a fantastic job of describing > > >> solutions to complicated problems succinctly in plain English. > > > >Frankly, I have a feeling that comp.dsp is on the decline. The large > > >part of the threads is turning in circles, beating dead horses, > > >repeating the same trivialities or concerns extracts of code that > > >someone wants us to debug for them. Many once-regulars have > > >disappeared, and their input is sorely missing. Spam and noise is on > > >the increase. Sometimes, I wish back for E-Bob (now who remembers > > >him?) - at least he unifed comp.dsp into a compact group with common > > >group-geist. The general tone has dropped over the years from friendly > > >comradeship onto a level that would not seem very inviting to me, were > > >I to visit this group for the first time. > > > >Is this a syndrome of the state of the industry, some socio-internet > > >development or am i just geting old? > > > >Regards, > > >Andor > > > Hi Andor, > > I don't think the value of comp.dsp > > has degraded. It's still the place where > > I go when I need help. And I think we > > still have a truly fantastic group of > > very highly-skilled guys here that are > > ready to help those who post questions. > > I think from the last couple of your posts, a large chunk was just > triggered by your homework detector. It's just another syndrome of the > disease ...People looking for canned answers for homework is one symptome, insane go-nowhere projects another. Academics who don't know squat about what goes on in the hands-on engineering world don't help... says I who sit half-way between the academic and engineering chairs.> > Maybe you're just gettin' old Andor. :-) > > Perhaps. > > > But don't worry. I'll bet you're not as old, > > and as cranky, as me.What about not-very-old (<40) but ridiculously cranky? Rune
Reply by ●February 14, 20072007-02-14
On 9 Feb, 16:54, Mark Borgerding <m...@3db-labs.com> wrote:> A particularly interesting thread would be edited and pared down to > something that can be spoken in about 5 to 15 minutes. This would then > be narrated and published.I don't think this would work. In my experience, different languages -- even different formats (speech, written text) of the same anguage -- differ significantly in what one can convey with them. As for me, I have five diffrenet languages in everyday use: Spoken Norwegian, two dfferent written Norwegian forms (Bokm=E5l and nynorsk), as well as one written and one spoken form of English. In additon to those I have at one time or another touched onto German and Italian; not counting reading abilities in Swedish and Danish. Believe me, you can say or communicate stuff in one language which is all but impossible in another. Writing DSP material in text-only form is the key, as far as I am concerned, to why comp.dsp works. I am able to say and formulate stuff in writing that might get a point across, which wwould be imossible in any other format, including reading the post aloud. Maybe it says more about me than any language, but I am not able to discuss DSP issues in Norwegian. I have to at least include the English technical terms; I even feel more comfortable formulating whole (technical) discussions in English. Not very practical when working solely with Norwegians... Nah, leave comp.dsp as it is. You might be interested in the new cell phones. My Nokia E50 lets me browse comp.dsp posts online or download posts for offline enjoyment whenever I can get a call through to a 3G network. Right now I use it as a modem writing this on my PC. A whole new world. Rune
Reply by ●February 14, 20072007-02-14
Mark Borgerding <markb@3db-labs.com> wrote in news:45cc9933$0$24499$4c368faf@roadrunner.com:> ### Licensing: > I suggest a license that allows free copying and distribution for > all > purposes, even commercial. CreativeCommons.org is a great place to > look for licensing options. >I think you'd have opposition to commercial use of information that was freely offered. -- Scott Reverse name to reply
