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User: Thelasko

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  1. I love my claw hammer. It works for anything I want to build, and I never need other tools. People who use ball-peen hammers or malletts obviously don't know how to use hammers properly. Anybody who uses screwdrivers or wrenches is obviously an idiot, who doesn't really understand how to build things.

    Clarkson, is that you?

  2. Re:Matlab is doing fine for now, but future uncert on GNU GPLv3 At the Heart of the Black Hole Image (www.tfir.io) · · Score: 2

    Everywhere around me, both scientists and engineers, were replacing (or trying to replace) Matlab and other commercial software with Python.

    How ironic! That's what I'm doing today. It would really be nice if scipy.io.loadmat would import nested MATLAB structures structures without a bunch of hacks.

  3. Is it still a cavity? on Immune Cells May Play a Role In Causing Cavities (newatlas.com) · · Score: 1

    If it's caused by the immune system is it still a cavity, or is it tooth resorption?

  4. Weight is a HUGE deal. Trucks are limited to 80,000lb on US roads. Every pound for batteries, is a pound less in money making cargo. While you can buy a truck with 300 gallon fuel tanks, not many are sold that way, because that's just more weight that isn't making money.

  5. Proposed Response Letter on EU Tells Internet Archive That Much Of Its Site Is 'Terrorist Content' (techdirt.com) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dear Government Authority,

    We have reviewed your request regarding the alleged "terrorist" content on our website, and found the request to be baseless and nonsensical. As a result, your agency has been placed on our "incompetent authority" list. All future requests from your organization will be ignored.

    If you believe your organization has been placed on the "incompetent authority" list in error, please send a certified letter stating your petition along with a 125 Euro processing fee to our legal department.

    Good Day,
    The Internet Archive

  6. Today I learned... on Black Hole Picture Captured For First Time in Space 'Breakthrough' (theguardian.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There is a 10 meter telescope at the South Pole that has been in operation since 2007.

  7. Illinois has had online filing for free for quite some time. Despite the website being "outdated" (I call it a clean design), it works quite well. It's saved me quite a bit of money over the years.

  8. Re:Solution looking for a problem? on Trump Administration Dims Rule On Energy Efficient Lightbulbs (npr.org) · · Score: 1

    Am I wrong to consider energy efficiency problem with light bulbs largely solved? LED bulb are affordable and efficient. Is there anything else left to do?

    Yup, LED bulbs are less than $2 each. Even if the old inefficient incandescent bulbs are legal again, I don't think they can compete.

  9. Re:This article doesn't feel quite right on First-of-Its-Kind US Nuclear Waste Dump Marks 20 Years (apnews.com) · · Score: 1

    Even worse, this is a "pilot plant". It's basically in beta testing. The production version was never completed.

    We're celebrating 20 years of perpetual beta.

  10. Re:I like them so far on Most Amazon Brands Are Duds, Not Disrupters, Study Finds (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 1

    Someone who buys an AmazonBasics Mice, Keyboard, Cables... Are not interested in getting the High End Fast Responce Mouse, The mechanical keyboard with clicky blue switches (or less clicky brown). Cables that are not coated in Gold because they think you will get a better result from it, or at least need to less worry about it corroding.

    However, for those of us that are in the market for gold plated high end fast response mice, Amazon Essentials has some awesome khaki pants.

    They've got you covered either way.

  11. Re:774-775 -- same year as that supernova on Radioactive Particles From Huge Solar Storm Found In Greenland (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1

    There is apparently debate whether that spike was caused by a solar flare or a supernova. Seems that the solar flare conclusion is popular at the moment.

  12. Re:Aircraft with four 9s reliability is bad on Chinese Carriers, Ethiopian Airlines Halt Use of Boeing 737 MAX 8 Aircraft After Crash (reuters.com) · · Score: 1

    The pilot should be the last line of defense against a failed sensor. I don't have a background in this particular sensor, but most controls algorithms I've worked with have some basic level of sensor diagnostics:
    1. Sensor out of range( value defies reason. e.g. temperature of absolute zero)
    2. Sensor stuck in range (the value doesn't change despite all other conditions changing.)

    If either of those diagnostics fails, the control strategy is forced to a safe condition. Seeing as this is a new and unessential feature for the 737, the strategy should have been turned off. Pilot training is minimal in that scenario.

    Where things get complex are sensor failures where the reading is simply inaccurate. The classic example is a gain or offset from the expected value. Those conditions are much harder to detect, but it is possible. These are the conditions a pilot needs to look out for.

    I could imagine an aircraft with a sensor gain or offset being forced into level flight while attempting to climb. However, being forced into a dive instead of a climb is a very gross sensor error. That leads me to believe the sensor failed in either scenario 1 or 2. A simple diagnostic should catch it.

  13. If I recall, the previous crash has been linked to a bad angle of attack sensor. This sensor is only used by a new stall protection feature in the 737 Max. When it fails, the stall protection algorithm thinks the plane is stuck in a nose up orientation, and tries to force the nose down... into the ground.

    There are several things that should happen:

    1. Interim corrective action. Disable stall protection on all 737 Max aircraft.
    2. Quality control investigation into the angle of attack sensor reliability.
    3. Implement diagnostic algorithms into the control strategy to detect failed angle of attack sensors automatically. A failed sensor should disable the stall protection feature automatically, and alert the pilot.

  14. This is a nice opportunity to by up as many cheap Disney DVDs and BluRay's as possible to sell on E-bay and Amazon at a later date.

  15. This is more a tech demonstration than anything. Those translucent walls filled with aerogel are pretty neat, and I could see them finding some specialized niche.

    I think the aerogel is the secret to the energy efficiency. It has incredibly low thermal conductivity, but it's also very expensive. Aerogel windows could be much more than a specialized niche if they were less expensive.

    From what I can tell, the robots just allowed them to make complex structures out of concrete that would be very difficult with traditional construction. While that concrete adds thermal mass, I don't see the robotics being a huge game changer in energy efficiency.

  16. I haven't seen any reports of a repeat of the South Australian Blackout of 2016. I guess there has been some sort of technological improvement since then.

  17. Re:Next step... on Tesla Will Close Most of Its Stores, Only Sell Cars Online · · Score: 1

    ....to further reduce costs, Telsa will sell cars only in kit, to be assemled by the user.

    Model 3 production rates have increased dramatically since the beginning of 2019. I suspect that has made a significant impact on production costs.

  18. It helps to RTFA.

    "Because the rocks are from the north side of Preseli Hills, the researchers think it's more likely the massive stones were dragged over land from Wales to England, rather than transported on river tributaries located near the south side."

  19. The Preseli Quarry is only 5 miles from the coast of the Irish Sea (all downhill). From there, they could be moved by barge up the Bristol Channel. Then across 40 miles of flat ground to the Salisbury Plain.

    Disclaimer: I use miles instead of kilometers because Britain wasn't metric yet in 3000 BC.

    If you are going to assume the use of barges, ship it around to Christchurch, and up River Avon. It's a much longer distance, but the route almost completely eliminates moving the stones over land.

    Disclaimer: I know almost nothing about UK geography, I just looked at a map.

  20. ...but most of the damage is done in the weeks leading up to the election. Shutting them down on election day is too late.

  21. Since this is a podcast, it should be noted that the cryptocurrency question is asked around the 25:40 mark.

  22. Re:Wide swings in value is not a "con" on Elon Musk: Bitcoin Structure is Brilliant, But Has Its Cons; Paper Money is Going Away (ark-invest.com) · · Score: 1

    Wide swings in value is not a "con" - it's a non-starter for the general public. Ask the Weimar or anyone unfortunate enough to live in Venezuela.

    ...or anyone that used gold for that matter. People want a currency that has stable value, and that means the currency supply must expand with demand for said currency. Bitcoin's creators assumed rising demand for Bitcoin would spur more mining activity. However, they made it too costly to mine, and the supply dried up. New currencies can learn from this and make mining less expensive to stabilize prices.

    Solving this money supply issue would be a very useful and novel invention. This is currently a task that's performed by humans, and far from perfect.

  23. Re:Expert in something != Expert in the other thin on Elon Musk: Bitcoin Structure is Brilliant, But Has Its Cons; Paper Money is Going Away (ark-invest.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He has two bachelor's degrees. One in economics and one in physics. His experience with PayPal aside, Bitcoin is firmly within his areas of expertise.

  24. Re:It's Safe on FDA Warns Against Using Young Blood As Medical Treatment (cnn.com) · · Score: 1

    Don't worry Keith, you can keep buying your blood from Switzerland. The FDA only has authority in the United States.

  25. Re:The Back Button is Already Broken on Android Q May Change the Back Button To a Gesture (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    Think of it this way- if you hit the notification for a message, read it, and hit back, do you expect to go to the list of messages? No you expect it to go back to where you were previously, usually another app. This is what's happening. If you changed this, then notifications and similar flows would feel broken.

    That scenario would be fine. However, that's not what's happening. When I open the app, it takes me to my last message. Perhaps that's the issue. It should take me to the home screen when I open the app. Since I want the home screen for the app, I hit the back button, for lack of a better option. In previous versions of Android, it took me to the app's home screen. In Oreo, it takes me to the OS home screen.

    Basically, I can't figure out how to get to my list of text message conversations. It feels like other apps have this problem, but I might be mistaken. It might be a problem with the app.