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1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

chrisfenton.com

51–60 of 79 posts

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#51
post #13

This would be a great prop for time travel scifi movie. Protagonist travels to 1991 and tries to convince scientist to help him. When asked for a proof, shows Gray C90 Wristwatch. "Our real computers are different, but I show you this because it does not pollute the timeline."

My premise for a time travel movie is very simple. 1. Buy a book on probability. Work through the practice exercises. 2. Time travel back to a time before the laws of probability were invented or taken seriously. Pre-1600's would be a good guess. 3. Become a gambler. 4. With the riches that will soon be pouring into your pockets, acquire resources and transform history.

Travel to May 22, 2010.

Buy two large pizzas, cheese and 'supreme'.

Be earlier than that guy.

Credits.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#52
post #46
post #4

The round displays are so cool Uses an FPGA lol damn that's hardcore

FPGAs were an odd experience of learning for me. I started thinking they were hard to program. Then once I got halfway decent at simple things, I realized just how powerful they can be. So many things just run faster if not instantaneously if you optimize for FPGA. It's incredible. And with modern cheapy low end boards, I hope they get more popular in projects.

It is on my list of things to learn/have one (Orange Crab). I just haven't had a specific use yet. I know they use them for video out/camera for example. One day... so many things to learn/need time.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#53
post #13

This would be a great prop for time travel scifi movie. Protagonist travels to 1991 and tries to convince scientist to help him. When asked for a proof, shows Gray C90 Wristwatch. "Our real computers are different, but I show you this because it does not pollute the timeline."

My premise for a time travel movie is very simple. 1. Buy a book on probability. Work through the practice exercises. 2. Time travel back to a time before the laws of probability were invented or taken seriously. Pre-1600's would be a good guess. 3. Become a gambler. 4. With the riches that will soon be pouring into your pockets, acquire resources and transform history.

Gambling is not the way to get rich.

To get really rich you need to aquire people, their time and productivity. Instead of probability you need means to get people's minds so with them you can conquer territories and establish kingdom to be really rich.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#54
post #13

This would be a great prop for time travel scifi movie. Protagonist travels to 1991 and tries to convince scientist to help him. When asked for a proof, shows Gray C90 Wristwatch. "Our real computers are different, but I show you this because it does not pollute the timeline."

My premise for a time travel movie is very simple. 1. Buy a book on probability. Work through the practice exercises. 2. Time travel back to a time before the laws of probability were invented or taken seriously. Pre-1600's would be a good guess. 3. Become a gambler. 4. With the riches that will soon be pouring into your pockets, acquire resources and transform history.

The issue with getting rich gambling is not knowing the probability, it's getting other people to continue paying you when you win large amounts and/or consistently.

Even in today's professional gambling establishments (financial markets) big winners are often cut off in the name of stability.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#55
post #46
post #4

The round displays are so cool Uses an FPGA lol damn that's hardcore

FPGAs were an odd experience of learning for me. I started thinking they were hard to program. Then once I got halfway decent at simple things, I realized just how powerful they can be. So many things just run faster if not instantaneously if you optimize for FPGA. It's incredible. And with modern cheapy low end boards, I hope they get more popular in projects.

FPGA is the only thing where I haven't seen any progress in my understanding after trying to get anywhere for hours and hours.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#56
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My premise for a time travel movie is very simple. 1. Buy a book on probability. Work through the practice exercises. 2. Time travel back to a time before the laws of probability were invented or taken seriously. Pre-1600's would be a good guess. 3. Become a gambler. 4. With the riches that will soon be pouring into your pockets, acquire resources and transform history.

The issue with getting rich gambling is not knowing the probability, it's getting other people to continue paying you when you win large amounts and/or consistently. Even in today's professional gambling establishments (financial markets) big winners are often cut off in the name of stability.

If you know the exact results (like Biff in Back to the Future), winning things like lotteries or horse race results multiple times will draw attention.

Actually, any kind of money hoarding - moreso than anyone else - will draw the attention. Which might be OK, of course, but if you make waves that are too big, you'll affect global policy and the course of (economic) history, and all your predictions may be off.

But, getting significant but non-controlling stakes in various successful stocks might work. You'd be like Warren Buffet, who I consider to be rich, but otherwise anonymous.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#57
post #13

This would be a great prop for time travel scifi movie. Protagonist travels to 1991 and tries to convince scientist to help him. When asked for a proof, shows Gray C90 Wristwatch. "Our real computers are different, but I show you this because it does not pollute the timeline."

My premise for a time travel movie is very simple. 1. Buy a book on probability. Work through the practice exercises. 2. Time travel back to a time before the laws of probability were invented or taken seriously. Pre-1600's would be a good guess. 3. Become a gambler. 4. With the riches that will soon be pouring into your pockets, acquire resources and transform history.

3. Become a bookmaker/start a casino.

It's like being a gambler, but you get to stack the odds in your favour, deliberately, tell people you've done so, and have everyone be fine with that. If you use any knowledge of future events to stack a few odds a little more in your favor, no-one's going to know any different, and they'll attribute any weird variances in your income to the punters who all made poor bets, rather than to your mad odds-setting skills.

If you're going to gamble, always be the house. Only a complete moron can lose money that way.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#58
post #13

This would be a great prop for time travel scifi movie. Protagonist travels to 1991 and tries to convince scientist to help him. When asked for a proof, shows Gray C90 Wristwatch. "Our real computers are different, but I show you this because it does not pollute the timeline."

My premise for a time travel movie is very simple. 1. Buy a book on probability. Work through the practice exercises. 2. Time travel back to a time before the laws of probability were invented or taken seriously. Pre-1600's would be a good guess. 3. Become a gambler. 4. With the riches that will soon be pouring into your pockets, acquire resources and transform history.

5. Eventually get bludgeoned to death in a moist alleyway.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#59
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FPGAs were an odd experience of learning for me. I started thinking they were hard to program. Then once I got halfway decent at simple things, I realized just how powerful they can be. So many things just run faster if not instantaneously if you optimize for FPGA. It's incredible. And with modern cheapy low end boards, I hope they get more popular in projects.

FPGA is the only thing where I haven't seen any progress in my understanding after trying to get anywhere for hours and hours.

I get that. I think it took me a full semester in uni, and a summer internship, and maybe a few more months after that. It's hard to really break through. But once I did, it got a lot easier.

Re: 1/25-scale Cray C90 wristwatch

#60
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FPGAs were an odd experience of learning for me. I started thinking they were hard to program. Then once I got halfway decent at simple things, I realized just how powerful they can be. So many things just run faster if not instantaneously if you optimize for FPGA. It's incredible. And with modern cheapy low end boards, I hope they get more popular in projects.

It is on my list of things to learn/have one (Orange Crab). I just haven't had a specific use yet. I know they use them for video out/camera for example. One day... so many things to learn/need time.

The orange crab looks nifty. My recommendation is to start very very simple. I'm not sure how this board integrates with the tools with their DFU mode and all that, but hopefully it allows the same quick iteration as JTAG. I think the next time if any you feel like using a microcontroller, try using the FPGA instead.
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