Slashdot Mirror


User: Thelasko

Thelasko's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
2,910
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 2,910

  1. Re: Why on France Wants To Get Rid of Diesel Fuel · · Score: 1

    And modern diesel engines emit more NO2 than they used to.

    I believe you mean N2O. NO2 is broken down by SCR. Unfortunately, N2O can be formed as a side effect of the SCR reactions. However, N2O is regulated as a greenhouse gas.

  2. Re:Do we have 4G now? on How the Rollout of 5G Will Change Everything · · Score: 2

    I kind of got the impression most things being called 4G weren't even properly that.

    You are correct. The ITU defined 4G, and none of the carriers followed the standard. Instead, they strong armed the ITU to change the definition of 4G to fit the technology they had already deployed. I suspect the same will happen with 5G as well.

  3. Re:Aerial or underground ? on Ask Slashdot: Why Is the Power Grid So Crummy In So Many Places? · · Score: 1

    No - it's not even a question. Bury the lines and you will remove a large number of causes for power outages.

    My parents live in a neighborhood with buried power lines. Yeah, on average the power goes out less often. However, they've had a recent issue with the buried lines decaying after 30+ years underground. When that happens, it's a much longer, and more expensive repair.

    The thing that bothers me is well meaning landowners planting trees near power lines. Personally, I blame schools that hand out saplings to children without proper education. Yeah, they look nice when they are small. They don't stay small.

  4. Elon Musk's Opinion on Multiple Manufacturers Push Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars, But Can They Catch Tesla? · · Score: 1
    Elon Musk really hates hydrogen as a fuel. Not just for cars, but even for rockets.

    The energy cost of methane is the lowest and it has a slight Isp (specific impulse) advantage over kerosene...it does not have the pain-in-the-ass factor that hydrogen has

    I know hydrogen has a high "pain-in-the-ass" factor, but are electric cars that much better?

  5. US Navy Research on Scientists Turn Air Into Petrol · · Score: 2

    The U.S. Navy is doing similar research creating jet fuel from sea water. This would allow aircraft carriers to stay on location longer because they wouldn't have to worry about running out of fuel for aircraft. Basically the only things that would need to be delivered would be supplies for the crew (food, toilet paper, etc.).

  6. How is this different... on Texas Schools Using Electronic Chips To Track Students; Parents In Uproar · · Score: 1

    than what every major employer does in the United States? I know when I go to work, I have to wear and RFID badge that gets scanned when I enter the building. I also have to use it to access certain areas. The last three places I've worked had similar systems.

  7. Re:Rename it on Reiser4 File System Still In Development · · Score: 1

    If you can find any name that's not related to murdering your wife, go for it.

    Take a page out of the Android playbook only instead of naming the releases after something sweet, name them after a man convicted of murdering his wife.

  8. Cogito ergo sum on Physicists Devise Test For Whether the Universe Is a Simulation · · Score: 1

    I believe René Descartes already asked this question. His response was ultimately, "I think, therefore I am".

    Sounds like this area of physics is crossing into philosophy.

  9. Re:drafting... on Air Force Lab Test Out "Aircraft Surfing" Technique To Save Fuel · · Score: 4, Informative

    But I'm surprised someone didn't patent it and charge the military for doing it.

    The innovation isn't in the concept of "drafting" another plane. The innovation is in the autopilot system that does it safely and automatically. As shown on Mythbusters the concept is viable, but a human is not capable of keeping the plane in the "sweet spot" safely for an extended period of time.

  10. Re:Do you have a sign? on Ask Slashdot: Video Monitors For Areas That Are Off the Grid? · · Score: 1

    I'm seeing a lot of posts stating something like, "any idiot should know not to dump on your land" etc. However, in many states, under law, you have to post signage or build a fence to notify others of your property boundary. You may be able to prosecute without these things, but it will make your life easier if you clearly mark your property boundary. This usually corresponds to hunting regulation, but in this case I imagine it applies to dumping.

    I'm not aware of any States require a fence (although it is a good idea), some require a paint mark, or some signage. I'm not a lawyer, look up the law in your own area.

  11. Re:WTF is Sarah whatever ? on Singer Reportedly Outbids NASA for Space Tourist's Seat · · Score: 1

    I agree with your sentiments, but the sad reality is that there's zero chance that you will sell 50,000 tickets at $150 a pop to any science fair or astrophysics lecture.

    That's why you charge $50,000 for 150 tickets!

  12. Re:Cooling on Ask Slashdot: What Would You Include In a New Building? · · Score: 2

    You have solvents, grease, lubricant, metal bits etc in that shop air.

    You have that stuff on the people too. Make sure you have some sort of buffer between the plant floor and the server room to clean yourself off. Like a mud room, but not as OCD as a full cleanroom. You don't want to bring metal shavings in with you if possible. It may be something as simple as making sure you have to pass through an office before you get to the server room.

    Also, a lot of people are mentioning HVAC. It might be a good idea to have a slightly higher (1psi) air pressure in the server room than the rest of the plant. This way contaminants will tend to flow away from the server room, instead of towards it.

  13. Re:Labelling on Light Bulb Ban Produces Hoarding In EU, FUD In U.S. · · Score: 1

    Is there yet a way to tell at time of purchase whether a CFL bulb is going to warm up in an acceptable time?

    This is why I subscribe to Consumer Reports. They do all of this testing for me so I don't have to do it myself.

    I've had excellent results with EcoSmart soft white bulbs (sold only at Home Depot). If you time it right you can get them for $1 for 4 bulbs in my area. That's cheaper than the old fashioned incandescent bulbs! Honestly, as long as I don't have them on a dimmer, I can't tell the difference.

  14. Re:Ban is dumb on Light Bulb Ban Produces Hoarding In EU, FUD In U.S. · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Agreed, cigarettes are harmful too, but it's still legal to sell them. They just get taxed into oblivion. The same should be true for incandescent light bulbs.

  15. My Requirements on Toyota Abandons Plans For All-Electric Vehicle Rollout · · Score: 1

    My requirements for an electric car are simple. I must be able to drive it at highway speeds for 4 hours before I need to recharge it. At that point I should be able to recharge the vehicle in under an hour.

    I choose these requirements because these are the same requirements of a typical human. We typically eat around every 4 hours, and while many of us scarf down our food in 20 minutes, a leisurely meal takes about an hour. This would require a slower pace of travel than we are used to these days, but it would enable the return of road side diners, which disappeared in an era of fast food.

    If I were in a position of power at Denny's corporation, I would look into installing 1 hour fast chargers at all of my restaurants. When electric cars do meet these requirements, (hint: one already comes close) I'd want to be the first to capture that market.

  16. Re:If you cuaght your mother stealing... on When the Hiring Boss Is an Algorithm · · Score: 1

    "Honesty tests" are always one of my favorite topics on Slashdot. I took a psychology class on hiring practices in college. The professor mentioned that he had a group of Catholic monks take one of those tests and they all failed. Why? There was a question that asked, "do you know anyone that has used illegal drugs recently?" The monks ran a drug rehabilitation center, so they all answered "yes" to that question.

    There are some "gotcha" questions on those tests. The one that comes to mind is, "what do you do if you find a quarter on the street?" There are some answers like, "take it to the police station," etc., but the correct answer is to keep it.

    As the article mentions, hiring practices can open a company up to some lawsuits. However, all a company has to do is show data that correlates hiring methods to employee performance. The study has to be double blind, this requires hiring employees that both pass or fail the criteria, and reviewing their work performance later. There is no requirement to show causation, etc., only a correlation is necessary. Most "honesty tests" don't meet that requirement.

  17. You're not going to like this... on Ask Slashdot: What Tech For a Sailing Ship? · · Score: 1

    but if you are sailing around the world, electricity is going to be hard to come by. Sure, you can start your engine and run the generator, but how much fuel can you carry? How much money is that going to cost? You will probably want to go old school. Things I would buy are:

    Wind Vane self steering - If you are traveling solo, who is going to steer the boat while you are in the head?

    Diesel Heater - It gets cold out at sea, you don't want to be lugging around propane and diesel, just get a heater that burns diesel and worry about one fuel. For that mater, get a diesel stove too!

    Solar cells/wind turbine - As a geek, I doubt you will be able to go without all of your toys, so make sure you can have some power without burning precious fuel.

    However, your most difficult problem is fresh food. Refrigerators use A LOT of power! Lack of fresh fruits and vegetables can cause diseases like scurvy. You may want to consider gas absorption refrigeration units, or some method of food preservation.

  18. Once again... on The Motivated Rejection of Science · · Score: 4, Interesting

    correlation is not causation.

    This "study" is heavily polluted by republican propaganda. Did these test subjects come to these conclusions under their own accord, or were they influenced by right leaning media (Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc.).

    People feel the need to identify with social groups, and therefore may be influenced by others in their social group. In my opinion, it's why people align along party lines. In other words, I suspect the cause is social, not neurological, as implied above.

  19. Re:Comparisons on Wood Pulp Extract Stronger Than Carbon Fiber Or Kevlar · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but elastic modulus usually isn't a big consideration, unless the structure has to be extremely rigid for some reason. Otherwise, you might as well let them flap in the breeze like airplane wings.

    The best way to compare materials is a plot of density vs. tensile strength.(Java warning!) In this plot, the materials in the upper left corner are ideal. TFA states the material's density as 1.6g/cc (or 1600kg/m^3) and the tensile strength of 7.5GPa (or 7500 MPa) which would make it the best material on the graph.

  20. Re:Efficiency on IDT and Intel Join Forces For Wireless Charging · · Score: 1

    Also direct connect isn't completely direct connect either. Inside that wall-wart is a step-down transformer which is basically a small inductive power transfer (wireless power), which has its own power efficiency issues.

    The "more or less" I put in parenthesis was referring to this wall wart issue you mention. However, many people, including the U.S. Government, have identified these devices as a potential way to increase energy efficiency. It just seems to me that wireless power technology would negate all of this hard work.
    Thanks for your reply!

  21. Re:I've developed for the PS3. on Bethesda: We Can't Make Dawnguard Work On the PS3 · · Score: 1

    Translation: "We would like to release this game on the PS3, but the cost benefit analysis showed we would never make our money back from all of the development work required to make it work on the PS3's crazy architecture."

  22. Efficiency on IDT and Intel Join Forces For Wireless Charging · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Forgive me, but every time I hear about wireless power, I think about how inefficient that sounds. Wouldn't a (more or less) direct connection to the power source be more efficient? Aren't we trying to conserve energy, and improve energy efficiency?

  23. Re:This story comes up every now and then.. on Tata Intends To Sell Air-Powered Car In India · · Score: 1

    ..so when are they going to do it, like, for real?

    Judging by the picture in the article, it's going to be a while. Notice the vehicle in the article doesn't resemble a car as we know it. A car has a certain form factor for a variety of reasons. Until they get their heads out of the clouds and put this thing into a practical chassis, this thing is going nowhere.

  24. Let's see on Ask Slashdot: What Would Your 'I've Got To Disappear' Plan Look Like? · · Score: 1

    1. You need liquid money. Go to the bank and get some cash. $20 bills are preferable as they are most common. An ATM would be simple, but they usually only allow you to take out $500 per day for security reasons. So, you may want to go to the counter.

    You have more assets than just what's in the bank. Jewelry, TV, Computer, etc. Pawn it. Yes, they will likely want ID, but you haven't lost your tail yet.

    2. Lose your tail. Buy some airline tickets on a credit card. Drive to the airport and park in long term parking. Walk into the airport and through a crowd. However, you probably don't want to go through security. Leave the airport. I used to say, get on a train and catch as many transfers as possible. Most cities don't check your ticket at each station or when you leave the system, so you become very difficult to locate. However, cities such as Washington D.C. aren't like that, be careful. Also note that light rail surveillance systems have become much more complex in the last decade and they may have facial recognition that will ruin this plan.

    I personally like the Borne Identity approach of finding a shitty old car, and giving the owner a wad of cash for it. Yeah, the car may break down, but no one knows it's yours, and it most likely won't be reported stolen. It'll be very hard to track.

    3. Keep on the move, and keep a low profile. Try to travel in a direction other than the one you bought airline tickets for. You've bought yourself some time to come up with a plan from here. Weather permits, you can sleep in the car/camp. Truck stops have showers, etc. to keep you civilized. If it's cold, you may need to hide out in homeless shelters. Traveling on foot in the wilderness has advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage is you won't cover enough ground. It'll give the people after you a very small area to search. If you decide to ditch the car and travel on foot, be sure to hide the car well. Once your car is found abandoned, they will figure you are near by.

  25. Who's Lifetime... on Joyent Drops Lifetime Account Holders · · Score: 1

    yours, or their business model's?