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X-Ray Satellite Coming Down Tonight
An anonymous reader writes "New Scientist reports that the
1400-kilogram BeppoSAX satellite is coming down to earth tonight (29th April),
showering the area below with chunks of metal."
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word
Unless you live here near this x.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
I for one, am going to catch it on my tongue for sure!
*runs off*
"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
The statement that your probability of being hit is 1 in 2000 can't be right!? The means that, out of 2000 people, one is likely to be hit?? Out of millions of people ( that DO live in the path ) thousands WILL be hit? The number must be a mistake.
[ed. note: in the following text, former FreeBSD developer Mike Smith gives his reasons for abandoning FreeBSD]
When I stood for election to the FreeBSD core team nearly two years ago, many of you will recall that it was after a long series of debates during which I maintained that too much organisation, too many rules and too much formality would be a bad thing for the project.
Today, as I read the latest discussions on the future of the FreeBSD project, I see the same problem; a few new faces and many of the old going over the same tired arguments and suggesting variations on the same worthless schemes. Frankly I'm sick of it.
FreeBSD used to be fun. It used to be about doing things the right way. It used to be something that you could sink your teeth into when the mundane chores of programming for a living got you down. It was something cool and exciting; a way to spend your spare time on an endeavour you loved that was at the same time wholesome and worthwhile.
It's not anymore. It's about bylaws and committees and reports and milestones, telling others what to do and doing what you're told. It's about who can rant the longest or shout the loudest or mislead the most people into a bloc in order to legitimise doing what they think is best. Individuals notwithstanding, the project as a whole has lost track of where it's going, and has instead become obsessed with process and mechanics.
So I'm leaving core. I don't want to feel like I should be "doing something" about a project that has lost interest in having something done for it. I don't have the energy to fight what has clearly become a losing battle; I have a life to live and a job to keep, and I won't achieve any of the goals I personally consider worthwhile if I remain obligated to care for the project.
Discussion
I'm sure that I've offended some people already; I'm sure that by the time I'm done here, I'll have offended more. If you feel a need to play to the crowd in your replies rather than make a sincere effort to address the problems I'm discussing here, please do us the courtesy of playing your politics openly.
From a technical perspective, the project faces a set of challenges that significantly outstrips our ability to deliver. Some of the resources that we need to address these challenges are tied up in the fruitless metadiscussions that have raged since we made the mistake of electing officers. Others have left in disgust, or been driven out by the culture of abuse and distraction that has grown up since then. More may well remain available to recruitment, but while the project is busy infighting our chances for successful outreach are sorely diminished.
There's no simple solution to this. For the project to move forward, one or the other of the warring philosophies must win out; either the project returns to its laid-back roots and gets on with the work, or it transforms into a super-organised engineering project and executes a brilliant plan to deliver what, ultimately, we all know we want.
Whatever path is chosen, whatever balance is struck, the choosing and the striking are the important parts. The current indecision and endless conflict are incompatible with any sort of progress.
Trying to dissect the above is far beyond the scope of any parting shot, no matter how distended. All I can really ask of you all is to let go of the minutiae for a moment and take a look at the big picture. What is the ultimate goal here? How can we get there with as little overhead as possible? How would you like to be treated by your fellow travellers?
Shouts
To the Slashdot "BSD is dying" crowd - big deal. Death is part of the cycle; take a look at your soft, pallid bodies and consider that right this very moment, parts of you are dying. See? It's not so bad.
To the bulk of the FreeBSD committerbase and the developer community at large - keep your eyes on the real goals. It'
she was walking all alone
down the street in the alley
her name was sally
she never saw it
when she was hit by space junk
in new york miami beach
heavy metal fell in cuba
angola saudi arabia
on xmas eve said norad
a soviet sputnik hit africa
india venezuela (in texas
kansas)
it's falling fast peru too
it keeps coming
and now i'm mad about space junk
i'm all burned out about space junk
oooh walk & talk about space junk
it smashed my baby's head
and now my sally's dead
Devo, Space Junk.
www.eFax.com are spammers
TOo many of my posts were modded into oblivion because the moderator didnt think they were funny, or didnt think they related to the subject. Obvously, there can be some difference of opinon on this, but there is no reason to mod a post down to -1 just because you disagree with it. DOnt mod it up, if you want, fine. Call me an asshole in the reply, fine. But why are they modding my post down, when there mod points could be mch better used modding someone else up?
YEah, its stupid, and im sure people will disagree, but id just like people to think before they do something destructive, rather than constructive.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
When does the party start?
From the article:
After the satellite was switched off it became impossible to communicate with the spacecraft.
Is this supposed to come as a surprise to anyone?
Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
Ailor points out that up to 200 large objects re-enter the atmosphere every year. But there is only one recorded incidence of a person being hit by falling space debris - and the lady was unharmed. "I wouldn't think there is anything to be worried about," he told New Scientist.
Sweet I always wanted to buy parts off an x-ray telescope!