NASA had a dependable spacecraft. Couldn't they have improved the Space Shuttle?
The Space Shuttle was far from dependable. Worst of all, when it failed, it failed catastrophically. The issues were due to its very basic design. One example being solid rocket boosters operating along side the crewed spacecraft. Once the boosters are lit, there is no turning back. They can't be turned off, and they can't be jettisoned.
The issues were much worse prior to Challenger. Structural changes were made to the stack to allow the spacecraft to continue to fly with main engine failures. From my understanding, the shuttles' main engines were capable of propelling the craft to orbit, but not the fuel. The solid rocket boosters were needed to lift that big orange fuel tank. If the shuttle's engines went out, the connections between the shuttle, tank, and solid rockets were not strong enough, and the whole thing would break apart.
Right up until the point you said "baseball." In the title.
It's actually more interesting than you might think. The Houston Astro's have been a poor performing team up until very recently. They hired a new manager that uses data driven techniques similar to those used in the book/movie Moneyball. Since they hired him, the team's performance has improved. There is talk of him having some "proprietary information" that has boosted the team's performance.
The game of baseball has evolved more rapidly in the past ten years than it has in the previous 100. It is more data driven than ever. I wouldn't be surprised if teams are building computer models of performance that they then try to optimize.
... you'd think the A400M engine software would have a *baked in* "go home without crashing" dataset.
From how I read the article, it does have a default dataset that it switches to when it detects a problem. From TFA:
The automatic response is to hunker down and prevent what would usually be a single engine problem causing more damage.
Limiting the speed of a ground vehicle is safe. However, limiting the speed of an aircraft causes a crash. It sounds like they need to reevaluate their "limp home" calibration, as we call it in the industry.
Lithium batteries aren't good for smoke detectors because their voltage drops off much more quickly than alkaline batteries. That means the low battery chirping sound will only last a short amount of time before the battery dies.
But in order to hire H1Bs, I thought a company needs to demonstrate that they have advertised locally for the positions and can't find any sufficiently qualified people to take them.
Companies often get around this requirement by writing the position's requirements to specifically match the H1B candidate's resume. The odds of getting another candidate with the exact same skill set are astronomical. I have witnessed this practice in person.
There's a poster downthread who talks about how legal laws will bow to economic forces and that this cannot be stopped. That poster is right--this process CANNOT be stopped.
I can't disagree with this statement more. Business is about competition. Companies play these games because if they don't, their competitors will. If you make it illegal, and enforce it, the competitive landscape remains level. Everyone's costs go up. Sure, the costs will get passed on to the consumer. However, the company won't lose business, or market share won't be impacted.
The only downside is the risk of imported "goods" (I use this term loosely as it could be a service as well) from a competitor based overseas. We saw this in the manufacturing sector in the past. However, I'm not sure that would apply to other fields.
Then I would build a green house for hydroponics and grow my own food and weed.
That reminds me, houses don't have solariums anymore. Not one of those crappy things they used to attach to Burger Kings. A proper room to put plants. I want one of those.
I'm against burglar alarms. They just alert you that your stuff has been stolen. I want closed circuit television cameras so I can get a picture of those bastards to give to the police!
Toilets belong in an entirely separate room, protected by a door. Two doors would be better - one going to the hallway, another to the shower/bath/sink.
Because whatever idiot came up with the idea of having your toothbrush, comb, shaving gear exposed to the same air as your toilet had never heard of germs or fluid dynamics.
There should be a name for this room. I know! A water closet!
I don't know why it hasn't been commercialized yet (they've been stewing on it for years, and some places in Europe already have it), but it sure seems like a good way to make use of the latent heat of wax.
I believe it isn't approved in the US over concerns with fire safety. Something about lining your walls with hydrocarbons doesn't sit well with some people...
They probably just have to do some demonstrations that prove it isn't more flammable than traditional drywall.
I would try to get my heating and cooling costs as low as possible. Something similar to the Passivhaus standard. I might not be strict to the standard if the cost benefit becomes too extreme. I would probably also use some sort of geothermal system as well.
When the power goes out, it would be nice to have some sort of battery backup and/or renewable source of electricity on hand. I also like the EPA certified wood stoves that are now available, like those made by Quadra-fire. They're much more efficient than old fashioned stoves, and don't require electricity. However, their output is likely too high for a house that meets the Passivhaus standard.
What can I say, I work in the energy field. Saving energy is fun to me.
Verizon is forcing Lollipop on me in the US. I know I'm mad about it. Maybe some middle ground would be to offer a disclaimer like, "this software is buggy, update at your own risk." Of course, no one reads those anyway. People just click "Ok".
8. NEVER use an investment advisor. Read a book instead. (Common Sense on Mutual Funds by Bogle is an excellent start. If you want something simpler, The Boglehead Guide To Investing)
Low cost index funds are the way to go. "Financial adviser" is just a fancy term for salesman. They don't act in your best interest, they are getting a commission on what they sell you. Your chances of beating the market are very slim, your best bet is to keep costs down. Read Bogleheads.org They are a great resource!
Actually, there are professional engineering licenses in many US states. They are only really only valuable in the civil engineering field. As an ME, I sat for the "Fundamentals of Engineering" (FE) exam. Passing that exam allowed me to register as an "engineer in training". However, I've found that certification carries little to no value in my field, and so I never went on to get my PE.
I suspect most H1-B candidates went to school in the US under student visas. They likely have taken the FE exam as well, so I doubt it would have much impact.
Absolutely, this doesn't just apply to software engineers in Silicon Valley. Looking through the data, I see the same thing for all kinds of engineers in the Midwest. There are "Senior Engineer Design" people making $93k ($73k prevailing), while a "Technical Specialist Advanced Systems Design" makes $80k ($66k prevailing). These are arguably the same position, but the "Engineer" title makes more money.
Unfortunately, PowerPoint has become the de facto standard for documentation in many companies. Forget about it being used in presentations. Most times PowerPoint files are sent throughout the company without any accompaniment. Presentations are expected to be readable as reports instead of visual aids! It's terrible!
From what I understand, the benefit of autonomous truck driving is not eliminating the drivers, it's fuel economy. By having a convoy of trucks spaced optimally apart, the trailing trucks can benefit from the aerodynamic "draft" created by the first truck. Humans simply aren't capable of maintaining those gaps safely.
about this technology, and he mentioned that this process allows combustor shapes not possible through traditional manufacturing methods. This means new opportunities for jet engine performance and emissions.
This is the same technology used by SpaceX on their engines.
Slashdot Mirror
NASA had a dependable spacecraft. Couldn't they have improved the Space Shuttle?
The Space Shuttle was far from dependable. Worst of all, when it failed, it failed catastrophically. The issues were due to its very basic design. One example being solid rocket boosters operating along side the crewed spacecraft. Once the boosters are lit, there is no turning back. They can't be turned off, and they can't be jettisoned.
The issues were much worse prior to Challenger. Structural changes were made to the stack to allow the spacecraft to continue to fly with main engine failures. From my understanding, the shuttles' main engines were capable of propelling the craft to orbit, but not the fuel. The solid rocket boosters were needed to lift that big orange fuel tank. If the shuttle's engines went out, the connections between the shuttle, tank, and solid rockets were not strong enough, and the whole thing would break apart.
Right up until the point you said "baseball." In the title.
It's actually more interesting than you might think. The Houston Astro's have been a poor performing team up until very recently. They hired a new manager that uses data driven techniques similar to those used in the book/movie Moneyball. Since they hired him, the team's performance has improved. There is talk of him having some "proprietary information" that has boosted the team's performance.
The game of baseball has evolved more rapidly in the past ten years than it has in the previous 100. It is more data driven than ever. I wouldn't be surprised if teams are building computer models of performance that they then try to optimize.
... you'd think the A400M engine software would have a *baked in* "go home without crashing" dataset.
From how I read the article, it does have a default dataset that it switches to when it detects a problem. From TFA:
Limiting the speed of a ground vehicle is safe. However, limiting the speed of an aircraft causes a crash. It sounds like they need to reevaluate their "limp home" calibration, as we call it in the industry.
...computers are banned from the classroom in a popular preschool.
I don't think Google has actually given up on this project. They have just realized SpaceX is more capable. That's likely the reason Google invested a large sum of money in SpaceX.
Lithium batteries aren't good for smoke detectors because their voltage drops off much more quickly than alkaline batteries. That means the low battery chirping sound will only last a short amount of time before the battery dies.
But in order to hire H1Bs, I thought a company needs to demonstrate that they have advertised locally for the positions and can't find any sufficiently qualified people to take them.
Companies often get around this requirement by writing the position's requirements to specifically match the H1B candidate's resume. The odds of getting another candidate with the exact same skill set are astronomical. I have witnessed this practice in person.
There's a poster downthread who talks about how legal laws will bow to economic forces and that this cannot be stopped. That poster is right--this process CANNOT be stopped.
I can't disagree with this statement more. Business is about competition. Companies play these games because if they don't, their competitors will. If you make it illegal, and enforce it, the competitive landscape remains level. Everyone's costs go up. Sure, the costs will get passed on to the consumer. However, the company won't lose business, or market share won't be impacted.
The only downside is the risk of imported "goods" (I use this term loosely as it could be a service as well) from a competitor based overseas. We saw this in the manufacturing sector in the past. However, I'm not sure that would apply to other fields.
Then I would build a green house for hydroponics and grow my own food and weed.
That reminds me, houses don't have solariums anymore. Not one of those crappy things they used to attach to Burger Kings. A proper room to put plants. I want one of those.
I'm against burglar alarms. They just alert you that your stuff has been stolen. I want closed circuit television cameras so I can get a picture of those bastards to give to the police!
Toilets belong in an entirely separate room, protected by a door. Two doors would be better - one going to the hallway, another to the shower/bath/sink.
Because whatever idiot came up with the idea of having your toothbrush, comb, shaving gear exposed to the same air as your toilet had never heard of germs or fluid dynamics.
There should be a name for this room. I know! A water closet!
Phase change drywall. Like this stuff, called "ThermalCore" from National Gypsum:
http://www.technologyreview.co...
I don't know why it hasn't been commercialized yet (they've been stewing on it for years, and some places in Europe already have it), but it sure seems like a good way to make use of the latent heat of wax.
I believe it isn't approved in the US over concerns with fire safety. Something about lining your walls with hydrocarbons doesn't sit well with some people...
They probably just have to do some demonstrations that prove it isn't more flammable than traditional drywall.
I would try to get my heating and cooling costs as low as possible. Something similar to the Passivhaus standard. I might not be strict to the standard if the cost benefit becomes too extreme. I would probably also use some sort of geothermal system as well.
When the power goes out, it would be nice to have some sort of battery backup and/or renewable source of electricity on hand. I also like the EPA certified wood stoves that are now available, like those made by Quadra-fire. They're much more efficient than old fashioned stoves, and don't require electricity. However, their output is likely too high for a house that meets the Passivhaus standard.
What can I say, I work in the energy field. Saving energy is fun to me.
Stingray phone tracking has been going on in secret for a while now. Even by some local police departments.
Verizon is forcing Lollipop on me in the US. I know I'm mad about it. Maybe some middle ground would be to offer a disclaimer like, "this software is buggy, update at your own risk." Of course, no one reads those anyway. People just click "Ok".
8. NEVER use an investment advisor. Read a book instead. (Common Sense on Mutual Funds by Bogle is an excellent start. If you want something simpler, The Boglehead Guide To Investing)
Yes! and go to Bogleheads.org
Low cost index funds are the way to go. "Financial adviser" is just a fancy term for salesman. They don't act in your best interest, they are getting a commission on what they sell you. Your chances of beating the market are very slim, your best bet is to keep costs down. Read Bogleheads.org They are a great resource!
I don't know, the University of Chicago doesn't have much experience with nuclear reactors.
Actually, there are professional engineering licenses in many US states. They are only really only valuable in the civil engineering field. As an ME, I sat for the "Fundamentals of Engineering" (FE) exam. Passing that exam allowed me to register as an "engineer in training". However, I've found that certification carries little to no value in my field, and so I never went on to get my PE.
I suspect most H1-B candidates went to school in the US under student visas. They likely have taken the FE exam as well, so I doubt it would have much impact.
These are all companies based in cities with astronomically high costs of living.
Here is a link to the data Go compare salaries somewhere with a lower cost of living.
Absolutely, this doesn't just apply to software engineers in Silicon Valley. Looking through the data, I see the same thing for all kinds of engineers in the Midwest. There are "Senior Engineer Design" people making $93k ($73k prevailing), while a "Technical Specialist Advanced Systems Design" makes $80k ($66k prevailing). These are arguably the same position, but the "Engineer" title makes more money.
Obama has promised again and again to safeguard our liberties. Now he has morphed into George Bush. What did I miss?
You missed Obama voting for FISA in 2008.
Unfortunately, PowerPoint has become the de facto standard for documentation in many companies. Forget about it being used in presentations. Most times PowerPoint files are sent throughout the company without any accompaniment. Presentations are expected to be readable as reports instead of visual aids! It's terrible!
From what I understand, the benefit of autonomous truck driving is not eliminating the drivers, it's fuel economy. By having a convoy of trucks spaced optimally apart, the trailing trucks can benefit from the aerodynamic "draft" created by the first truck. Humans simply aren't capable of maintaining those gaps safely.
about this technology, and he mentioned that this process allows combustor shapes not possible through traditional manufacturing methods. This means new opportunities for jet engine performance and emissions.
This is the same technology used by SpaceX on their engines.