Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bits

Not so fast.

StopMakingSense — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:44:50 -0800

Everybody who knows the origin of this gag, take one step forward... Not so fast, internet. Where has this gag been used/what are it's origins?

I remember initially hearing it (seeing it?) as something like a military setting where the general(?) says , "Everybody whose mother is still alive, take one step forward...Not so fast, [name of soldier]."

Or alternately, "Everyone who's still a member of [organization], step over the line...Not so fast, [ousted member]."

Spicy Squid Bits? YUM?

Ambrosia Voyeur — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:52:27 -0800

Filipino food filter: What do I do with my Spicy Squid Bits? Bought two cans of Saba Sisig Spicy Squid Bits (last item on page). What can I do with them? I understand what Sisig means, basically, it's like chopped fatty innards, kinda like chitterlings, and usually not squid-based. What do you eat sisig, especially of a squid variety, accompanied with? How do you prepare it? Recipes please! Salamat!

Why can't we get 1 b/s/Hz?

PuGZ — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 04:47:57 -0800

Why, in wireless transmissions of data, can we not achieve 1.0 bits per second per Hertz? (Or have we already done it?) I've been reading that the effectiveness of radio transmission is measured in bits/s/Hz and I realised that we can only get 2.25% effectiveness (54mbit over 2.4GHz) on consumer-level equipment. I hope these calculations are correct and I haven't horribly misunderstood the nomenclature. If I have, please let me know! If I haven't, can someone explain why we can't get closer to 100% efficiency?

What are the words?

31d1 — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 10:55:08 -0800

Given an integer like this: 2916352 I'm told this is a 32 bit integer, where the "upper word" represents the whole number part of a value, and the "lower word" represents the decimal part. What is the mathematical formula to extract these words?