>Now, artists have less and less of a need to have a publisher since they can publish directly to itunes, amazon, etc.
or maybe putting their tunes on their own webpage and burning their own CDs. A local up and coming band was featured a few weeks ago in SJ Mercury News. These 20-somethings have become a sensation (though I'm an older guy so I never heard of them before, and forgot name of their band) and these artists talk about they are almost to a point where they can leave their day jobs. They mentioned about burning their own CDs on their personal computers, making their own copies and give them away for free to their fans (which increases their exposure). They also said it is a lot of work being a musician but they enjoy it. Reminds me of similar article of this here on/. and someone commented you need to search and look for the indies, lots of good music out there which you will never see from The Big Four [music publishers].
On subject of pirates, I went on a New England cruise, one of the stops in Boston is when leaving the ship, a photo opportunity with couple in swashbuckling pirate outfits. I asked, "What do you pirate? Ships or software?" They didn't answer.
I have to admit I have a yahoo email address, used for various mailing lists I don't want on my "real" email. I have a hotmail address but rarely use (keep it for in case someone from the distant past wants to contact me) after MS screwed up hotmail. I don't want a gmail address because there is something creepy with those guys archiving every email (I don't know if yahoo does the same). Yes, people have suggested I do this and that with various options but those suggestions are from computer gurus who spend 20 hours a day developing software.
I was thinking the same thing, probably other astronomers (not many then as now) probably saw something but did not document. Like the big supernova around 1000 AD, very little documentation from what I understand only a reference in Chinese writings. During this time everyone in Europe were too focused on religious stuff, wars, and torturing people.
Like we say nowadays, "pics or it didn't happen" and for scientists, "publish or perish."
>How likely is it that the Air Force already has this developed and is just bringing this out of the closet?
It is a common plot beginning with the 1969 movie "Marooned" and on through the Bruce Willis movie where him and his guys saved earth from a renegade asteroid. Both (and other movies) used same plot where NASA is in a pickle but the moment was saved because the USAF had a secret spaceship.
In some ways this is not new, Air Force been working on manned space planes before most of you/. were born. i.e. X-20 Dyna-Soar, and excellent book with lotsa technical stuff (and reprints of advertisements by Boeing, Grumman, etc) is "Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System" by Robert Godwin. It even comes with a DVD with various footage including public affairs of a general introducing the X20 astronauts and describing how the program will give USAF capabilities in space. http://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Soar-Hypersonic-Strategic-Weapons-System/dp/1896522955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318364033&sr=8-1
X-20 was cancelled in 1963, I wonder if the big barrier was reusable TPS? TPS of the Shuttle was a considerable success (other materials would have been heavy reducing payload capacity), see "Orbiter Structure + Thermal Protection System" by Tom Moser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2jN_26m8LM
> My collection 2998 LP'S, 492 real to real, 178 8-tracks, 574 cassettes and 3942 Cd's all music. 236 VHS,422 DVD'S and 14 laser-disc.
Maintain that collection, you may have tunes/movies may no longer available! I was able to snag a few VHS tapes that were 16mm transfers of some early Ed Sullivan shows. Yes, you can buy ES episodes on DVD but those don't include all shows. Episodes I have are not listed on the DVDs. These early versions are really interesting to watch, talented performers that have vanished from history and Ed Sullivan doing "commercials" for Mercury cars, and how the show is put together (their "videographers," directors, soundmen were going through the learning curves). I assume you don't move much, them LPs are heavy.
> All the remakes of bad dialogues, piss poor effects, and plot-less movies...
Yep, like you I haven't bought new movies or music as most are simply terrible remakes (or re-interpretations i.e. Star Wars that is more than three decades old).
>The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.
sometimes I wonder if we need more people like this but it's tough becoming one, most likely you will go broke. If not, you will probably be hated by many. Many new concepts looks like crap, many burn in at first contact with reality. If it doesn't violate the laws of physics, it then needs to run the gauntlet of legislative laws. There's other "Steve Jobs" kinds of people still out there (and some that went under).
> Plastic bag on your head in event of fire is the last thing you want
these are not exactly plastic but hey I'm just posting what this person said. obvious in high heat then it is all over. but the bag will provide some protection against toxic fumes. OTOH, need to first think of the situation, if no smoke present, dont put the bag over your head!
he was an idea man (even if taken from PARC)
on
Steve Jobs Dead At 56
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Steve saw the future of computers from the mouse/windows concept those guys at Xerox PARC developed. He pushed to bring that kind of IO into the markets beginning with LISA. It bombed but he still had the vision so Steve wouldn't give up and brought out the Mac. Say what you want (many called him a AH) but like other visionaries they don't care what others think (good thing he didn't do a market survey of what computers should be, i.e. if Henry Ford did one, people would ask for a faster horse). If not for Steve (and others working 24/7/365) the IO many of us use on computers will probably still sitting in some building at an unknown address in Palo Alto. Then there's the iphone, etc....
I could not help but noticed the tagline on bottom of/. "Man's reach must exceed his grasp, for why else the heavens?"
Instructor at a physiological flight training course (i.e. "chamber ride") suggests carry one of those large bags for roasting turkeys in the oven, keep it folded inside your jacket pocket. After a rough landing (no, not one that plows in at hundreds mph), pull it over your head and tighten string. Bag should have enough breathing air but it will shield against toxic smoke and much of the heat. In the event of a cabin fire it will mostly be smoke that collapses other passengers, this bag over your head will give you considerable protection for you to quickly egress.
I agree with other comments that parachutes are not useful. Many crashes happen at takeoff and landing (too low for opening). If you bail at high altitude (and will pass out few seconds later at 30K), most likely land in rough terrain (can you survive it?) or in open ocean (will only live for 10 minutes in north atlantic). Probably need ejection seat (not practical for 200+ seats) though you may get an air or leg torn off at punch out. If aircraft goes into a wild spin or dive, you will feel a second or two of weightless then will be slammed and held against fuselage wall unable to move due to g-forces (many airmen could not escape from a falling B-17).
Step One: Make it so the airplane doesn't crash! (there aint no step 2)
What's wrong with demanding quality software particularly code that deals with encrypted information (i.e. purchasing with credit card)? I don't mind paying extra to someone in my own country instead of someone thousands of miles away. Dammit, what about security clearances database by NASA and military? These are done by private companies (no longer done by govt agencies such as FBI), they better not offshore this stuff simply based on costs and crap statements like, "we aren't the only smart people and we are a minority..."
I'm not sure about this, yes ebay is amazing success but for who? It is no longer an online garage sale where individuals can easily sell things, it is now dominated by dealers with buy-it-now. I used to do a lot shopping on ebay (unique items whether it be Gina Lollobrigida photos or 2-way radio and accessories) when many sellers were simply people with things they want to unload. Nowadays it's all fulltime sellers listing same ol' same ol' over and over again. It's a Walmart model with 3,000 listings of same things that are sold below cost out of China (kinda scary when they sell new video cameras for pennies on the dollar).
I miss the old ebay where unique one-of-a-kind items can be found. Maybe they still exist but swamped with too much crap.
Looking back at air to air missiles with 100 mile range (Phoenix missile launched from F-14), you really need that pilot to get visual confirmation it is either an enemy aircraft or friendly aircraft. And same with target on the ground. Two cases of mistaken targeting was in Iraq in 1990s when a USAF fighter shot down a UH60 carrying UN officials. And other case where a laser or GPS glided bomb was dropped on a group of Canadian troops.
In the 1980s there was the right way, the wrong way, and the HP way. A group of us from college made a field trip to HP (this was back when HP was really HP and made the ***best*** test equipment) and a few other Silicon Valley companies including a startup. Engineers at the startup were former HP, they said some engineers love the HP way and others hated it. You either had those at HP for more than 20 years or those less than 2. I did notice all were very good at what they did, it's just some of them didn't like the way HP operated. I also sensed they hire only fresh outs, no experienced engineers (cannot mold them to HP way) but the ones they do hire were top grads (high grades, good interactive skills, HKN, etc.).
But all that's back in the 20th century. Since Bill and Dave have passed on, it seems HP went off on different strategies (i.e. as Scott McNeally said, "they're a printer company!") and they've been floundering ever since. But damn back then the test equipment was the best, and the instrument controllers (what they called their desktop computers) on Rocky Mountain BASIC. Software ***never*** crashes, of course accessing an instrument with a bad GPIB address or divide by zero will halt the program. You could always do a basic reset and resume (even values in variables were still there!). When places like HSC (Halted) have old beatup HP voltmeters from the early eighties (non-working with lots of battle scars and cracks, HP stuff is not quite invincible I guess), it will carry a price tag in range of $250!!!! For working test equipment, people will keep it until they are dead of old age.
I thought they were more broke than we are (perhaps it is indeed the other way around for USA, USSR went broke after nearly 10 years in Afghanistan). This railway looks like a interesting challenge in civil engineering and in some ways, I'd like to see it built. Hope this is not a bunch grandstanding and PPT documents. Disclaimer: I did not RTFA.
OK, so I haven't RTFA... I read someplace this computer (was it called Colossus?) was first digital computer (processer, I/O, memory, etc) and not the USA's ENIAC. And that this was so ultra secret, Churchill ordered it destroyed and team members disbanded with orders to never talk about it. Thus ended the Britain's number one position in computer science and engineering. What if, this did not happen? IBM would never been regarded as the number one computer power, and we would have brought in computer people from England for the Apollo program (they would join the Germans from the V-2 program and the Canadians from the Avro Arrow and Avrocar program to help put US first to the moon). Image that!
I find it interesting is to listen to those still living (though Aaron Cohen died last year) who were major players in the Apollo program. Although Schmitt is among one of the speakers, I consider major players are those that stayed on the ground, it takes non-astronauts to make major decisions and get resources from Congress and the President. Though I myself have not watched this yet. I did watch some others about Shuttle by Dale Myers, Aaron Cohen, and Chris Kraft. Much of the history I knew but how these guys explained it connected all the dots together to what and why (NASA, Apollo, Shuttle) it happened.
Apollo: Reflections and Lessons
Moderator: Jeffrey Hoffman
Theodore Sorensen, Richard Battin, Aaron Cohen, Joseph Gavin, Harrison H. Schmitt, Christopher C. Kraft Jr.
June 11, 2009, Running Time: 2:35:37 http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/727
That about sums up the problem here. I've raised the issue in Republican political discussion forums thinking that maybe somebody might get a clue that Republican congressmen are two faced on this particular issue. Such discussion threads usually go like a lead balloon and die a premature death as nobody responds or even sees a problem... or worse yet defends Republican congressmen for their actions to support a central design bureau with a command economy structure because it benefits their own districts.
..."central design bureau" sounds like what they had in Soviet Russia. Since it is many Republicans pushing the SLS, Space Launch System or what some call "Senate Launch System." I say we call it the Socialist Launch System!
I was enjoying that story immensely right up until the point where I remembered the first law of thermodynamics.
Maybe sponsor a bill so congress can repeal this old law, too much guvmint regulation! Or just say, "don't let the facts spoil a good story."
My BS detector went off considering this is radioactive material which will never be used in cars or any other consumer use. But just think if you had your own reactor like on a nuclear submarine!
When I search for particular subjects, the Wikipedia and aggregates always dominate the results. Since information on Wikipedia is questionable then what material they have is "contaminated" meaning you have to spend extra time verifying it. "If it's on the internet, then it must be true!" but I like webpages that have the name and contact of the person that wrote the material. And like everything else you have to consider the source, i.e. govt websites, company websites (download useful troubleshoot manuals or simply marketing by dweebs), websites by nutzoid people, websites by reputable people. As we all know who it comes from makes a difference in credibility of information. But many sites I cannot quickly find because Wikipedia hijacks search results!
Wikipedia is useful if you want to find very basic information, i.e. is Gina Lollobrigida an actress, ESA astronaut or photographer? (she is only two of those three).
>please tell me how it is NO ONE got laid off last year? And that they all
>got raises when the private sector is getting pay cuts?
Don't worry, layoffs will happen. Also benefits will be zeroed out. Those still working are expecting reduction in pay. There are agency wide emails kicking around about cuts though maybe the RIF word is not used. Also note that vast majority of people working federal government are contractors, including security guards and those working security clearances are contractors. And many contractors will be laid off (i.e. KSC Shuttle workers).
What burns me is this obsession to screw the commoners and working class. First with non-govt employees followed by govt. employees. And "we" continue to "admire" those with big salaries (take a look at all the grand publicity they get on mainstream TV and magazines). Of course don't be surprised in future where there is more corruption because lowlies need to steal/embezzle/accept bribes in order to make ends meet like in Mexico.
On one of MIT Open Course lectures, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/16-885j-aircraft-systems-engineering-fall-2005/lecture-notes/lecture-2/ where Aaron Cohen (orbiter project manager in 1972) discussed history of the Space Shuttle, professor Jeff Hoffman said on one launch with family members 3 miles from launch pad had to get in the busses to leave the area 5 minutes after launch. Hoffman's brother was a "space nut" and wanted to watch the vehicle go over the horizon (and he was not happy about leaving early). Reason they moved everyone because afternoon launch had smoke from the SRBs drifting toward the viewing site. There's all kinds of nasty stuff and they didn't want people to get exposed to the smoke.
Thanks to Tekfactory for bringing these MIT courses to my attention.
> If you really wanna use your brains when you see a movie, don't go to the cinema at the mall, go to the art-house cinema in the college district.
There are two kinds of people. Film lovers that sip fine wine and have intellectually stimulating discussions about the film. The others are those that eat popcorn and watch movies.
1. THE UNION PACIFIC STORY
2. THE RANCH STORY
3. THE EMPIRE STORY
4. THE REVENGE STORY
5. CUSTER'S LAST STAND
6. THE OUTLAW STORY
7. THE MARSHAL STORY
from another post I had of 1958 TV guide article, "Seven Ways to Plot a Western"
I haven't seen the movie, not planning to (I just don't go to movies anymore). Sounds interesting however (an 8th plot? maybe that's why they needed eight writers?)
Slashdot Mirror
>Now, artists have less and less of a need to have a publisher since they can publish directly to itunes, amazon, etc.
or maybe putting their tunes on their own webpage and burning their own CDs. A local up and coming band was featured a few weeks ago in SJ Mercury News. These 20-somethings have become a sensation (though I'm an older guy so I never heard of them before, and forgot name of their band) and these artists talk about they are almost to a point where they can leave their day jobs. They mentioned about burning their own CDs on their personal computers, making their own copies and give them away for free to their fans (which increases their exposure). They also said it is a lot of work being a musician but they enjoy it. Reminds me of similar article of this here on /. and someone commented you need to search and look for the indies, lots of good music out there which you will never see from The Big Four [music publishers].
On subject of pirates, I went on a New England cruise, one of the stops in Boston is when leaving the ship, a photo opportunity with couple in swashbuckling pirate outfits. I asked, "What do you pirate? Ships or software?" They didn't answer.
I have to admit I have a yahoo email address, used for various mailing lists I don't want on my "real" email. I have a hotmail address but rarely use (keep it for in case someone from the distant past wants to contact me) after MS screwed up hotmail. I don't want a gmail address because there is something creepy with those guys archiving every email (I don't know if yahoo does the same). Yes, people have suggested I do this and that with various options but those suggestions are from computer gurus who spend 20 hours a day developing software.
These devices have been around for thousands of years...
I was thinking the same thing, probably other astronomers (not many then as now) probably saw something but did not document. Like the big supernova around 1000 AD, very little documentation from what I understand only a reference in Chinese writings. During this time everyone in Europe were too focused on religious stuff, wars, and torturing people.
Like we say nowadays, "pics or it didn't happen" and for scientists, "publish or perish."
>How likely is it that the Air Force already has this developed and is just bringing this out of the closet?
It is a common plot beginning with the 1969 movie "Marooned" and on through the Bruce Willis movie where him and his guys saved earth from a renegade asteroid. Both (and other movies) used same plot where NASA is in a pickle but the moment was saved because the USAF had a secret spaceship.
In some ways this is not new, Air Force been working on manned space planes before most of you /. were born. i.e. X-20 Dyna-Soar, and excellent book with lotsa technical stuff (and reprints of advertisements by Boeing, Grumman, etc) is "Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System" by Robert Godwin. It even comes with a DVD with various footage including public affairs of a general introducing the X20 astronauts and describing how the program will give USAF capabilities in space. http://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Soar-Hypersonic-Strategic-Weapons-System/dp/1896522955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318364033&sr=8-1
X-20 was cancelled in 1963, I wonder if the big barrier was reusable TPS? TPS of the Shuttle was a considerable success (other materials would have been heavy reducing payload capacity), see "Orbiter Structure + Thermal Protection System" by Tom Moser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2jN_26m8LM
> My collection 2998 LP'S, 492 real to real, 178 8-tracks, 574 cassettes and 3942 Cd's all music. 236 VHS ,422 DVD'S and 14 laser-disc.
Maintain that collection, you may have tunes/movies may no longer available! I was able to snag a few VHS tapes that were 16mm transfers of some early Ed Sullivan shows. Yes, you can buy ES episodes on DVD but those don't include all shows. Episodes I have are not listed on the DVDs. These early versions are really interesting to watch, talented performers that have vanished from history and Ed Sullivan doing "commercials" for Mercury cars, and how the show is put together (their "videographers," directors, soundmen were going through the learning curves). I assume you don't move much, them LPs are heavy.
> All the remakes of bad dialogues, piss poor effects, and plot-less movies...
Yep, like you I haven't bought new movies or music as most are simply terrible remakes (or re-interpretations i.e. Star Wars that is more than three decades old).
sometimes I wonder if we need more people like this but it's tough becoming one, most likely you will go broke. If not, you will probably be hated by many. Many new concepts looks like crap, many burn in at first contact with reality. If it doesn't violate the laws of physics, it then needs to run the gauntlet of legislative laws. There's other "Steve Jobs" kinds of people still out there (and some that went under).
> Plastic bag on your head in event of fire is the last thing you want
these are not exactly plastic but hey I'm just posting what this person said. obvious in high heat then it is all over. but the bag will provide some protection against toxic fumes. OTOH, need to first think of the situation, if no smoke present, dont put the bag over your head!
Steve saw the future of computers from the mouse/windows concept those guys at Xerox PARC developed. He pushed to bring that kind of IO into the markets beginning with LISA. It bombed but he still had the vision so Steve wouldn't give up and brought out the Mac. Say what you want (many called him a AH) but like other visionaries they don't care what others think (good thing he didn't do a market survey of what computers should be, i.e. if Henry Ford did one, people would ask for a faster horse). If not for Steve (and others working 24/7/365) the IO many of us use on computers will probably still sitting in some building at an unknown address in Palo Alto. Then there's the iphone, etc....
I could not help but noticed the tagline on bottom of /. "Man's reach must exceed his grasp, for why else the heavens?"
Instructor at a physiological flight training course (i.e. "chamber ride") suggests carry one of those large bags for roasting turkeys in the oven, keep it folded inside your jacket pocket. After a rough landing (no, not one that plows in at hundreds mph), pull it over your head and tighten string. Bag should have enough breathing air but it will shield against toxic smoke and much of the heat. In the event of a cabin fire it will mostly be smoke that collapses other passengers, this bag over your head will give you considerable protection for you to quickly egress.
I agree with other comments that parachutes are not useful. Many crashes happen at takeoff and landing (too low for opening). If you bail at high altitude (and will pass out few seconds later at 30K), most likely land in rough terrain (can you survive it?) or in open ocean (will only live for 10 minutes in north atlantic). Probably need ejection seat (not practical for 200+ seats) though you may get an air or leg torn off at punch out. If aircraft goes into a wild spin or dive, you will feel a second or two of weightless then will be slammed and held against fuselage wall unable to move due to g-forces (many airmen could not escape from a falling B-17).
Step One: Make it so the airplane doesn't crash! (there aint no step 2)
What's wrong with demanding quality software particularly code that deals with encrypted information (i.e. purchasing with credit card)? I don't mind paying extra to someone in my own country instead of someone thousands of miles away. Dammit, what about security clearances database by NASA and military? These are done by private companies (no longer done by govt agencies such as FBI), they better not offshore this stuff simply based on costs and crap statements like, "we aren't the only smart people and we are a minority..."
> and she directed eBay to some amazing success.
I'm not sure about this, yes ebay is amazing success but for who? It is no longer an online garage sale where individuals can easily sell things, it is now dominated by dealers with buy-it-now. I used to do a lot shopping on ebay (unique items whether it be Gina Lollobrigida photos or 2-way radio and accessories) when many sellers were simply people with things they want to unload. Nowadays it's all fulltime sellers listing same ol' same ol' over and over again. It's a Walmart model with 3,000 listings of same things that are sold below cost out of China (kinda scary when they sell new video cameras for pennies on the dollar).
I miss the old ebay where unique one-of-a-kind items can be found. Maybe they still exist but swamped with too much crap.
Looking back at air to air missiles with 100 mile range (Phoenix missile launched from F-14), you really need that pilot to get visual confirmation it is either an enemy aircraft or friendly aircraft. And same with target on the ground. Two cases of mistaken targeting was in Iraq in 1990s when a USAF fighter shot down a UH60 carrying UN officials. And other case where a laser or GPS glided bomb was dropped on a group of Canadian troops.
In the 1980s there was the right way, the wrong way, and the HP way. A group of us from college made a field trip to HP (this was back when HP was really HP and made the ***best*** test equipment) and a few other Silicon Valley companies including a startup. Engineers at the startup were former HP, they said some engineers love the HP way and others hated it. You either had those at HP for more than 20 years or those less than 2. I did notice all were very good at what they did, it's just some of them didn't like the way HP operated. I also sensed they hire only fresh outs, no experienced engineers (cannot mold them to HP way) but the ones they do hire were top grads (high grades, good interactive skills, HKN, etc.).
But all that's back in the 20th century. Since Bill and Dave have passed on, it seems HP went off on different strategies (i.e. as Scott McNeally said, "they're a printer company!") and they've been floundering ever since. But damn back then the test equipment was the best, and the instrument controllers (what they called their desktop computers) on Rocky Mountain BASIC. Software ***never*** crashes, of course accessing an instrument with a bad GPIB address or divide by zero will halt the program. You could always do a basic reset and resume (even values in variables were still there!). When places like HSC (Halted) have old beatup HP voltmeters from the early eighties (non-working with lots of battle scars and cracks, HP stuff is not quite invincible I guess), it will carry a price tag in range of $250!!!! For working test equipment, people will keep it until they are dead of old age.
nice tag lines
I thought they were more broke than we are (perhaps it is indeed the other way around for USA, USSR went broke after nearly 10 years in Afghanistan). This railway looks like a interesting challenge in civil engineering and in some ways, I'd like to see it built. Hope this is not a bunch grandstanding and PPT documents. Disclaimer: I did not RTFA.
OK, so I haven't RTFA... I read someplace this computer (was it called Colossus?) was first digital computer (processer, I/O, memory, etc) and not the USA's ENIAC. And that this was so ultra secret, Churchill ordered it destroyed and team members disbanded with orders to never talk about it. Thus ended the Britain's number one position in computer science and engineering. What if, this did not happen? IBM would never been regarded as the number one computer power, and we would have brought in computer people from England for the Apollo program (they would join the Germans from the V-2 program and the Canadians from the Avro Arrow and Avrocar program to help put US first to the moon). Image that!
I find it interesting is to listen to those still living (though Aaron Cohen died last year) who were major players in the Apollo program. Although Schmitt is among one of the speakers, I consider major players are those that stayed on the ground, it takes non-astronauts to make major decisions and get resources from Congress and the President. Though I myself have not watched this yet. I did watch some others about Shuttle by Dale Myers, Aaron Cohen, and Chris Kraft. Much of the history I knew but how these guys explained it connected all the dots together to what and why (NASA, Apollo, Shuttle) it happened.
Apollo: Reflections and Lessons
Moderator: Jeffrey Hoffman
Theodore Sorensen, Richard Battin, Aaron Cohen, Joseph Gavin, Harrison H. Schmitt, Christopher C. Kraft Jr.
June 11, 2009, Running Time: 2:35:37
http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/727
That about sums up the problem here. I've raised the issue in Republican political discussion forums thinking that maybe somebody might get a clue that Republican congressmen are two faced on this particular issue. Such discussion threads usually go like a lead balloon and die a premature death as nobody responds or even sees a problem... or worse yet defends Republican congressmen for their actions to support a central design bureau with a command economy structure because it benefits their own districts.
I was enjoying that story immensely right up until the point where I remembered the first law of thermodynamics.
Maybe sponsor a bill so congress can repeal this old law, too much guvmint regulation! Or just say, "don't let the facts spoil a good story."
My BS detector went off considering this is radioactive material which will never be used in cars or any other consumer use. But just think if you had your own reactor like on a nuclear submarine!
When I search for particular subjects, the Wikipedia and aggregates always dominate the results. Since information on Wikipedia is questionable then what material they have is "contaminated" meaning you have to spend extra time verifying it. "If it's on the internet, then it must be true!" but I like webpages that have the name and contact of the person that wrote the material. And like everything else you have to consider the source, i.e. govt websites, company websites (download useful troubleshoot manuals or simply marketing by dweebs), websites by nutzoid people, websites by reputable people. As we all know who it comes from makes a difference in credibility of information. But many sites I cannot quickly find because Wikipedia hijacks search results!
Wikipedia is useful if you want to find very basic information, i.e. is Gina Lollobrigida an actress, ESA astronaut or photographer? (she is only two of those three).
>please tell me how it is NO ONE got laid off last year? And that they all
>got raises when the private sector is getting pay cuts?
Don't worry, layoffs will happen. Also benefits will be zeroed out. Those still working are expecting reduction in pay. There are agency wide emails kicking around about cuts though maybe the RIF word is not used. Also note that vast majority of people working federal government are contractors, including security guards and those working security clearances are contractors. And many contractors will be laid off (i.e. KSC Shuttle workers).
What burns me is this obsession to screw the commoners and working class. First with non-govt employees followed by govt. employees. And "we" continue to "admire" those with big salaries (take a look at all the grand publicity they get on mainstream TV and magazines). Of course don't be surprised in future where there is more corruption because lowlies need to steal/embezzle/accept bribes in order to make ends meet like in Mexico.
On one of MIT Open Course lectures, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/16-885j-aircraft-systems-engineering-fall-2005/lecture-notes/lecture-2/ where Aaron Cohen (orbiter project manager in 1972) discussed history of the Space Shuttle, professor Jeff Hoffman said on one launch with family members 3 miles from launch pad had to get in the busses to leave the area 5 minutes after launch. Hoffman's brother was a "space nut" and wanted to watch the vehicle go over the horizon (and he was not happy about leaving early). Reason they moved everyone because afternoon launch had smoke from the SRBs drifting toward the viewing site. There's all kinds of nasty stuff and they didn't want people to get exposed to the smoke.
Thanks to Tekfactory for bringing these MIT courses to my attention.
> If you really wanna use your brains when you see a movie, don't go to the cinema at the mall, go to the art-house cinema in the college district.
There are two kinds of people. Film lovers that sip fine wine and have intellectually stimulating discussions about the film. The others are those that eat popcorn and watch movies.
1. THE UNION PACIFIC STORY
2. THE RANCH STORY
3. THE EMPIRE STORY
4. THE REVENGE STORY
5. CUSTER'S LAST STAND
6. THE OUTLAW STORY
7. THE MARSHAL STORY
from another post I had of 1958 TV guide article, "Seven Ways to Plot a Western"
I haven't seen the movie, not planning to (I just don't go to movies anymore). Sounds interesting however (an 8th plot? maybe that's why they needed eight writers?)