Back in the 70s (I'm unusually old for a Slashdot reader) I had a paperback book from Mad that was filled with what they called "typetoons." These were cartoons made with typewriter characters, very much like the simpler forms of ASCII art. I haven't read the patent application (very much in the Slashdot mainstream there), but I think Alfred E. Newman can claim priority.
And getting bigger every day (Atkins? whodat?). If this item had been posted an hour or so earlier, I would have read it at one of my many local Panerae.
This may be shocking, but I am actually familiar with both this software and the process of giving expert testimony. PC-Crash is one of several *Crash* programs provided by different vendors that share a common lineage. It and its sister programs are used extensively in accident reconstruction and the results are presented to juries every day. The core of these *Crash* programs are a series of well-established (although certainly not perfect) algorithms and physical properties related to vehicle dynamics. The problem here was the extension to occupant dynamics, not the use of simulation programs in general.
You may now return to your regular uniformed ranting.
(treating the months as independent of each other which obviously isn't the case but shouldn't affect the outcome)
It is not the case, it should affect the outcome, and it does. Using your figures and ignoring fractional days of a lunation, the day of the month on which a full moon occurs regresses 1-3 days each month, so if a "blue" moon occurs this month (in days 29-31) one can't occur next month (in days 26-28).
Ten to fifteen years ago, the Church Universal and Triumphant, a cult run by Mark and Elizabeth Clare Prophet, built a series of underground living structures on its Montana property using sectional steel pipe. They were meant to house the faithful after the nuclear holocaust that the unaptly-named Mrs. Prophet predicted in the early 90s. They also had large underground structures for storing vehicles, food, and--it was believed--weapons. And they had a bunch of underground storage tanks for fuel (similar to what you'd find under your local gas station).
I was one of a handful of outsiders who got to go into the shelters. The corrugated steel plates were exposed, and the overall effect was more Das Boot than LOTR.
In their rush to beat the impending disaster, the Church did a poor job of preparing the soil and backfilling around these structures. The shelters ovalized a bit more than they should have, and a few of their fuel tanks broke open and leaked. Any hobbit-hole builders who want to avoid this kind of problem should check out the Handbook of Steel Drainage and Highway Construction Products for advice before you build.
This is the central conceit of a well-known science fiction book: Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys. A man is repeatedly "killed" during teleportation to the moon. It reads a little clunky today (back in 1960--when Rogue Moon was published--sf authors were still trying to figure out how to write about sex), but has some interesting themes. Out of print now, I believe, but you may find a copy in your local library.
Slashdot Mirror
Back in the 70s (I'm unusually old for a Slashdot reader) I had a paperback book from Mad that was filled with what they called "typetoons." These were cartoons made with typewriter characters, very much like the simpler forms of ASCII art. I haven't read the patent application (very much in the Slashdot mainstream there), but I think Alfred E. Newman can claim priority.
And getting bigger every day (Atkins? whodat?). If this item had been posted an hour or so earlier, I would have read it at one of my many local Panerae.
Messing up the closing tag and misspelling the word "uninformed" kind of takes the wind out of my rhetorical sails, doesn't it? Ah, well...
This may be shocking, but I am actually familiar with both this software and the process of giving expert testimony. PC-Crash is one of several *Crash* programs provided by different vendors that share a common lineage. It and its sister programs are used extensively in accident reconstruction and the results are presented to juries every day. The core of these *Crash* programs are a series of well-established (although certainly not perfect) algorithms and physical properties related to vehicle dynamics. The problem here was the extension to occupant dynamics, not the use of simulation programs in general.
You may now return to your regular uniformed ranting.
(treating the months as independent of each other which obviously isn't the case but shouldn't affect the outcome)
It is not the case, it should affect the outcome, and it does. Using your figures and ignoring fractional days of a lunation, the day of the month on which a full moon occurs regresses 1-3 days each month, so if a "blue" moon occurs this month (in days 29-31) one can't occur next month (in days 26-28).
I was one of a handful of outsiders who got to go into the shelters. The corrugated steel plates were exposed, and the overall effect was more Das Boot than LOTR.
In their rush to beat the impending disaster, the Church did a poor job of preparing the soil and backfilling around these structures. The shelters ovalized a bit more than they should have, and a few of their fuel tanks broke open and leaked. Any hobbit-hole builders who want to avoid this kind of problem should check out the Handbook of Steel Drainage and Highway Construction Products for advice before you build.
This is the central conceit of a well-known science fiction book: Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys. A man is repeatedly "killed" during teleportation to the moon. It reads a little clunky today (back in 1960--when Rogue Moon was published--sf authors were still trying to figure out how to write about sex), but has some interesting themes. Out of print now, I believe, but you may find a copy in your local library.