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User: technosaurus

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  1. Re: It will cost a lot more than they expect on Massachusetts Gains Foothold in Offshore Wind Power, Long Ignored in US (nytimes.com) · · Score: 0

    I doubt they redid the motor windings, other electrical component and metal parts with copper-nickel or other alloys and composites that resist seawater exposure. More likely, they use off the shelf components that will begin to fail en masse before it starts to pay off.

  2. Hope to never see cauliflower labia.

  3. They also fear... on UK Military Fears Robots Learning War From Video Games (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    Revolutions in masonry construction via Tetris.
    Innovation in planetary defense through Missile Command.
    Solution to the traveling salesman problem from Adventures of Lolo.
    Am I the only one who gets the feeling that certain video games are recruitment tools, like that 80s movie...The Last Starfighter (IIRC)

  4. Fixes should be called Melter and SpecDown on Google and Microsoft Disclose New CPU Flaw, and the Fix Can Slow Machines Down (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    Planned obsolescence at its best.

  5. Re:Seasteading.org is a joke. on Floating Pacific Island Is In the Works With Its Own Government, Cryptocurrency (cnbc.com) · · Score: 1

    The great Pacific Garbage Patch seems to generally stay away from sovereign nations, provides a steady supply of plastic for expansion using semi-rigid tethered rafts/barges. It could make for a great R&D platform for plastic recycling, 3d printing, aquaponics, hydroponics, fish farming, algae farming, bio-fuel production, sea based poultry production and all types of other scientific and commercial endeavors. Just having a decent port for fuel and supplies could open up tourism to more areas. If it were properly planned, it could be a succesful, profitable venture in science and commerce, exploiting previously unused or wasted resources.

  6. They invested considerable resources upfront in order to become profitable in the future based on existing regulation. Changing the rules mid-game seems like something Trump has probably been doing since Chutes & Ladders.

  7. Re:AR = not Assault Rifle on Google Is Making An AR Headset With New Qualcomm Chips (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    Or Armalite Rifle ... the AR in AR-15

  8. Re: Another example on 'Yanny vs. Laurel' Reveals Flaws In How We Listen To Audio (theproaudiofiles.com) · · Score: 1

    At first I hear both at the same time. Then my brain automatically fills in "Ell"-"A"-" You"-"Are"-"E"-"Ell"---"laurel".
    I think CMU has a JavaScript implementation of their text to speech engine that resembles the Speak'N Spell.

  9. Phase conjugate target tracking system on Google Employees Resign in Protest Against Pentagon Contract (gizmodo.com) · · Score: 1

    Reminds me of the movie Real Genius. Its all fun and lasers until someone brings out the phase conjugate target tracking system.

  10. This could be ubiquitous. on Wi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi EasyMesh Certification Aims To Standardize Mesh Networks (pcworld.com) · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they don't screw it up with ghost patents, this could be in every vehicle, phone and IOT dohickey. Making the net more open.

  11. Re: The true importance of this battery pack on Tesla's Giant Battery In Australia Reduced Grid Service Cost By 90 Percent (electrek.co) · · Score: 1

    Problem solved 100 years ago. Nickel-Iron battery. They last decades and are orders of magnitude safer in every way. Lithium is only lighter which does make it useful in mobile platforms, but stupid for fixed installation. Of course Tesla is going to propose using the type of battery they have in production, but that does not make it the best solution. The battery chemistry and tolerance for overcharge in NiFe batteries, makes them suitable for combination with supercaps and hydrogen fuel cells... I can verify that it works because I used my old fuel cell as current collectors and a mix of graphene and activated carbon for conductivity because I didn't have any flake nickel. Then an off by one error caused me to overvolt it until the carbon capacitance and fuel cell kicked in... The discharge curve was insanely long with 3 distinct sections. Unfortunately my choice of binder caused decreased performance over time as it delaminated (Edison's NiFe battery didn't use a binder)

  12. Re: No big deal... on In Blocking Autoplay Videos, Chrome Is Breaking Many Web-Based Games (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except bandwidth, it sounds like they just mute it. I vote for no autoplay anything without user permission. Same for popups, new tabs, redirects and control overrides.

  13. Re: Half the noise of a truck on Uber Shows Its Flying Car Prototype (cnbc.com) · · Score: 1

    Half the noise means its not even 1 decibel lower.

  14. Re: The Best Minds of our Generation... on Uber Shows Its Flying Car Prototype (cnbc.com) · · Score: 1

    ...destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical. I should be allowed to glue my poster. I should be allowed to think.

  15. Re:Finally someone using one of Nicola Tesla's Pat on Uber Shows Its Flying Car Prototype (cnbc.com) · · Score: 1
  16. Finally someone using one of Nicola Tesla's Patent on Uber Shows Its Flying Car Prototype (cnbc.com) · · Score: 1

    This looks very similar to Tesla's renderings of a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.
    Now if they both control it autonomously AND power it wirelessly as he envisioned.
    If you ever think you have a new invention, Tesla probably already invented it... who knows what stuff he had in his 80 trunks full of notebooks.

  17. Re:Not after "first to file" from America Invents on Ask Slashdot: Do Citizen Science Platforms Exist? (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 1

    As soon as you file, you can talk about it though, right?

  18. Re:I wonder on Ask Slashdot: Do Citizen Science Platforms Exist? (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 1

    I have been meaning to do a github page for battery experimentation (code + data)... though I would call the practice "kitchen chemistry" and "redneck engineering".
    I would love to see a git-journal where pull requests are reviewed by peers for submission.

  19. If they have all the equipment to allow them to disconnect from the grid, its fine. The just cant stay connected to the grid during an outage to prevent utility workers from being electrocuted. The equipment and batteries for that are not cheap like panels are these days, so most suburban houses dont have it. In off grid situations, that doesnt apply.

  20. Re:Unintended Consequences? Higher Home Costs on California To Become First US State Mandating Solar On New Homes (ocregister.com) · · Score: 1

    Or perhaps lower cost of ownership.

  21. Link to depression on The Rise of the Pointless Job (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1

    There is a theory that this is the underlying cause of the rise in depression. It surmises that the human need to be useful causes the drop in seratonin when it is not met. Antidepressants only treat the symptom, not the underlying cause.

  22. Real world version by Robert Murray Smith on Graphene Makes Concrete Twice As Strong While Reducing Carbon Emissions (inhabitat.com) · · Score: 3, Informative

    Rob and the guys at FWG have been doing tons of research on graphene and graphene oxide. The big difference is they have an open lab and have published many videos for the kitchen chemist to be able to produce graphene with common tools. Though most of their recent work is with all carbon battery-supercap hybrid, they did post a video on graphetized concrete here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...
    If you think graphene is a unicorn, try one of Rob's experiments.

  23. Improvement on FCC Commissioner Broke the Law By Advocating for Trump, Officials Find (theverge.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Everyone talks about "change". Nobody wants change for change sake. What we want is improvement. Even on volatile topics like pro-choice/life there is middleground that gets left off the table because it doesn't invoke an emotional response in their demographic ... making adoption easier comes to mind.
    Stop talking about "change", its meaningless since it can be good or bad ... or it could mean whats left in our pockets after taxes.

  24. They forget how the company was built. A Model T was $300 in 1925 => $4,268.42 in 2018. You can't buy a new car for triple that now.

  25. They had a sedan that sold well and businesses bought in mass, but cancelled it. Bring back the Crown Vic, I can't tell todays cop cars and taxis from an uber.