Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hive

Say termites took over your mind...

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:28:38 -0800

Could an AI zombify another? I write a science fiction from time to time. My latest story is set in a Balkanized America circa 2060. It'll be about 5,000-6,000 words long, and I've got roughly 3500 words so far. My lead character has developed a self-contained termite colony for he hopes will be used by space travelers or in the "Third World" (it produces methane and edible adults). Individual bugs are networked by nanos, controlled by an AI. Figure several thousand member units.

The plot revolves around a chance encounter (in the field, essentially) with another AI-controlled group, an illegal slave force of perhaps twenty, thirty units. I want the termite AI to take over the slave AI. I'm not systems-savvy enough to contrive a convincing way for this to be accomplished. For the sake of the tale, the explanation should be short and sweet, but I don't mind lots of detail for my own edification. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what I could say?

Top 5 tips for a Google Adwords newbie?

avocade — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:04:18 -0800

I'm going to start offer my services in iPhone and Ruby on Rails development via online ads, and have pretty much decided on the Google AdWords program. Thought I'd ask the hive mind to come back to me with a few helpful tips.

Is raw honey from a beehive safe to eat?

afx114 — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:36:10 -0800

Can I eat raw honey from a fallen beehive? A beehive fell out of a palm tree in front of my apartment today. There are no more bees, except for a few caucuses laying around. The honeycomb is quite heavy and soaked with honey, but it's black and tar-like. Is it edible? If so, what's the best way of extracting the honey from the comb?

Dell 2450 can't boot - hive error

Lactoso — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 13:27:27 -0800

I have a Dell server running Win2K Server. Registry damaged and won't boot now. Returning 'Hive Error'. No viable backup available. Help recover/repair? I've got a Dell 2450 server (Service Tag: 9VHZ201). It's running Windows 2000 Server. The server froze up over the weekend and upon reboot, returned the following error:

--
-- STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}
-- The registry cannot load the hive (file):
-- \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE
-- or its log or alternate.
-- It is corrupt, absent, or not writable.
--
-- Beginning dump of physical memory
-- Dumping physical memory to disk: ##
--

Of course I don't have a good backup of the registry or the data and there's critical data on the server which I desperately need. I completely deserve all the bad stuff that's happening to me, but this sinner wants a second chance!!

While restoring the server to its former glory would be great, I would be more than happy just to be able to download the databases and Excel files I need and then reinstall Win2KServer (along with a big old honking backup unit).

Any help would be great appreciated!