A 90% launch success rate for a rocket is often considered acceptable. Man-rated vehicles are up in the 98-99% success rate range. Can you imagine the uproar if one out of ten, or one out of a hundred, 747 flights ended up as a blazing pile of wreckage? Rockets are flying bombs, operated at the very edge of their limits. Some of them use extremely toxic chemicals for their fuel and oxidizer. Range safety is mandatory. Nobody gives a shit if you blow yourself up, but they will lynch you if you drop a rocket on an elementary school.
The problem with lamp cord or zip cord is that it isn't shielded. It makes a great radio antenna. The RF can get into the final stage of the audio amplifier, get detected and amplified, resulting in very audible interference. It's the same thing that happens when you hold a GSM phone near a computer.
Digital wont save you if the ionosphere gets hit by a solar flare. I've seen signals from satellites that were strong, but hopeleesly scrambled, when the signal path went through a stormy section of the ionosphere.
They've been putting fiberglass bodies on cars like the Chevrolet Corvette for many years. Has it been a significant problem? A Corvette owner told me that the body would just disintegrate in any serious accident.
I thought that was why the military version of GPS used two frequencies. From what I've read, it allows them to measure the actual propagation delay through the ionosphere, instead of relying on the static delay prediction model used in the single frequency mode used by civilians and those without a crypto-keyed military GPS receiver.
I think there is still confusion over the differences between refusing to show a driver's license or other identity document, not carrying a driver's license or other identity document, and refusing to answer questions about your identity.
The Apple II was ideal for copy protection. Due to the design of the floppy drives and controller, the programmer had low-level access to the guts of the drive. You could directly manipulate the stepper motor used for head positioning and do all sorts of bizarre data encoding and track formatting tricks.
How much of that vegetation is going to end up in bogs or other places where the CO2 is not released? Think of all the trees and plants that became today's coal deposits.
Biodiversity is overrated. If a species is so weak or specialized that it can't survive changing circumstances or new competitors, why shouldn't it go extinct? While humans may accelerate the process, every ecosystem has to deal with change. What is bad news for one species may be an opportunity for others.
It has nothing to do with partisan politics. Contrary to some people's beliefs, the Republican Party is not the source of all evil.
Where I live, the cable company obtained its monopoly by showering county government officials, and their relatives, with money and jobs. They were all Democrats. Not that it would have been any different if they were all Republicans.
The Communications Act of 1934, which created the FCC, specifically prohibits the president from packing the commission with members of one political party. There are other parts of the law that were designed to keep the commission independent and balanced. In any event, the commission's powers are limited to what has been delegated to them by the legislature. If you read the law, as amended, the FCC has very limited power to set policy. Most of those decisions were made by the legislature, and given to the FCC to implement.
I've see photo-realistic paintings in art galleries that will leave many people wondering whether they are looking at a painting or at a photographic print.
No children need to be involved for the state to prosecute and destroy the life of someone who is in possession of thought-crime material. From what I've read, much or most of the "child pornography" that is in circulation is decades old, much of it from commercial publications that predate the current hysteria and draconian laws about child pornography. You never have to touch a child, just be in possession of some 30-year-old Danish porn magazine that shows naked teenagers. When do we start burning witches and heretics? How did we end up in a world where it is a major crime to possess books or art that have been deemed dangerous or obscene?
Someone once told me that IBM used head-per-track disks for VM paging on some of their early mainframes. That was a performance hot spot that could addressed by spending money on a very fast storage device.
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A 90% launch success rate for a rocket is often considered acceptable. Man-rated vehicles are up in the 98-99% success rate range. Can you imagine the uproar if one out of ten, or one out of a hundred, 747 flights ended up as a blazing pile of wreckage? Rockets are flying bombs, operated at the very edge of their limits. Some of them use extremely toxic chemicals for their fuel and oxidizer. Range safety is mandatory. Nobody gives a shit if you blow yourself up, but they will lynch you if you drop a rocket on an elementary school.
Hanford produced Pu-239. Oak Ridge produced U-235. The industrial processes are completely different.
It was intentionally made that heavy as a way of enforcing the "two-man rule". It could have been much lighter and smaller.
The typical RTG uses Pu-238, which is an alpha source and easy to shield.
That's the job of ASCAP and BMI, another group of evil bastards.
Much more than $3000. I've heard lawyers say that it would cost $50,000 to win a simple case in federal court, and that was years ago.
One solution that I've heard of is to use a powered USB hub, not connected to a computer. It makes a handy charging station for multiple devices.
The problem with lamp cord or zip cord is that it isn't shielded. It makes a great radio antenna. The RF can get into the final stage of the audio amplifier, get detected and amplified, resulting in very audible interference. It's the same thing that happens when you hold a GSM phone near a computer.
-- Ian Fleming
Digital wont save you if the ionosphere gets hit by a solar flare. I've seen signals from satellites that were strong, but hopeleesly scrambled, when the signal path went through a stormy section of the ionosphere.
I thought that monocoque body designs had eliminated the frame in modern cars.
They've been putting fiberglass bodies on cars like the Chevrolet Corvette for many years. Has it been a significant problem? A Corvette owner told me that the body would just disintegrate in any serious accident.
I thought that was why the military version of GPS used two frequencies. From what I've read, it allows them to measure the actual propagation delay through the ionosphere, instead of relying on the static delay prediction model used in the single frequency mode used by civilians and those without a crypto-keyed military GPS receiver.
I think there is still confusion over the differences between refusing to show a driver's license or other identity document, not carrying a driver's license or other identity document, and refusing to answer questions about your identity.
The Apple II was ideal for copy protection. Due to the design of the floppy drives and controller, the programmer had low-level access to the guts of the drive. You could directly manipulate the stepper motor used for head positioning and do all sorts of bizarre data encoding and track formatting tricks.
How much of that vegetation is going to end up in bogs or other places where the CO2 is not released? Think of all the trees and plants that became today's coal deposits.
Biodiversity is overrated. If a species is so weak or specialized that it can't survive changing circumstances or new competitors, why shouldn't it go extinct? While humans may accelerate the process, every ecosystem has to deal with change. What is bad news for one species may be an opportunity for others.
Where I live, the cable company obtained its monopoly by showering county government officials, and their relatives, with money and jobs. They were all Democrats. Not that it would have been any different if they were all Republicans.
The Communications Act of 1934, which created the FCC, specifically prohibits the president from packing the commission with members of one political party. There are other parts of the law that were designed to keep the commission independent and balanced. In any event, the commission's powers are limited to what has been delegated to them by the legislature. If you read the law, as amended, the FCC has very limited power to set policy. Most of those decisions were made by the legislature, and given to the FCC to implement.
Communications Act of 1934: as amended by the Telecom Act of 1996
Where can I get my free Mumia?
I don't understand why the thought of it is expected to terrify me.
I've see photo-realistic paintings in art galleries that will leave many people wondering whether they are looking at a painting or at a photographic print.
No children need to be involved for the state to prosecute and destroy the life of someone who is in possession of thought-crime material. From what I've read, much or most of the "child pornography" that is in circulation is decades old, much of it from commercial publications that predate the current hysteria and draconian laws about child pornography. You never have to touch a child, just be in possession of some 30-year-old Danish porn magazine that shows naked teenagers. When do we start burning witches and heretics? How did we end up in a world where it is a major crime to possess books or art that have been deemed dangerous or obscene?
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Candygram"
"You're not a self-replicating cybernetic organism?"
"No, ma'am"
Someone once told me that IBM used head-per-track disks for VM paging on some of their early mainframes. That was a performance hot spot that could addressed by spending money on a very fast storage device.
A great deal of advertising is directed at health care professionals, not consumers. Ask any physician or pharmacist.