First of all, what I really meant was that terraforming the Sahara would be a lot cheaper than terraforming a whole planet, not that it would be cheaper than sending a spacecraft to Mars. Secondly, you might be right about my suggestion being extremely hard. However, I remember reading somewhere, that by simply planting the right kind of trees along the edges of the desert, you can hold the desert off without the need of extensive irrigation.
The trees would have to be fast-growing and have very deep roots that could reach sub-terranean water canals. They would bind the soil to the ground and create a wind-shield from sand storms. This also creates a shade and a more temperate (and stable!) climate on ground level, that can host a radically different eco-system than the one in the open desert. The soil itself would gradually turn into more fertile soil because of the decomposing biomass and create a larger area for which to plant even more of these (presumably bio-engineered) trees.
Voilá, a few years later you have a vast forest and can even start farming parts of it.
My point is, if we are talking about terraforming a whole planet in less than a 100 years, then why would it be impossible to get rid of a desert in say, 25 years? As I pointed out in my previous post, I think the biggest hurdles (as always) are political, not technical or economical.
I realize it's a somewhat different problem. But if we can introduce forests in the Sahara we will not only improve the life conditions of millions, perhaps even the whole African continent, we will also learn a great deal on how to do the same things on Mars.
I bet planting vegetation in the Sahara would be a lot cheaper than sending space-ships to Mars, but not as glorious and 'american'.
Listen to the second recording on that page (http://www.hpol.org/jfk/cuban/). At approximately 32.25 there is a lot of noise in the background and one of the generals is saying "...If we invade Russia NOW!".
Am I just imagining things or is this real? I started to listen really carefully to what he was saying during the noise because the noise made me extra curious. Then three minutes later they've removed 14 seconds of the tape.
I am starting to realize why a lot of americans are keen on conspirational theories...
I will give you some examples. These are actual quotes from GWB:
>"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of
>failure."
>.George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Republicans understand the importance of
>bondage between a mother and child."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Welcome to Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Mars is essentially in the same orbit...Mars is somewhat the
>same
>distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen
>pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there
>is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can
>breathe."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 8/11/94
>
>"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history.
>I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this
>century. I didn't live in this century."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/15/95
>
>"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom
>and democracy - but that could change."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/22/98
>
>"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor,
>and that one word is 'to be prepared'."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 12/6/93
>
>"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 11/30/96
>
>"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good
>judgments in the future."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"The future will be better tomorrow."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"We're going to have the best educated American people in the
>world."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/21/97
>
>"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive
> >positions
>and have a tremendous impact on history."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr. to Sam Donaldson, 8/17/93
>
>"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We
>have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Public speaking is very easy."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr. to reporters in 10/9
>
>"I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican"
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going
>to the polls."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr
>
>"When I have been asked who caused the
>riots and the killing in LA,my answer has been direct & simple:
>Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame.
>Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame.
>...George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of
>not having it."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/20/96
>
>"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not
>occur."
>.Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/22/9
>
>"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/5/93
>
>"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our
>children."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/18/95
>
>"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that
>George Bush may or may not make."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten
>you on the mistakes we may or may not have made."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the
>impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>________________________________
A lot of suggestions here seem to be made without any real consideration of what it would really mean to control a GUI with your eyes.
It's evident that using your eyes is not the best way to scroll or zoom or aim at quake. Think about how much you move your eyes in front of the screen for a second. You would get very jerky movements on screen if the computer tried to adapt to your eyes all the time OR you would get delays before every action, if the computer tried to filter out rapid movements.
Think about quake for example. In quake you want to look at the center of the screen at all times. You don't want to be looking at the _sides_ of your screen every time you need to turn around. What if you need to turn around real fast? Should you look away from the screen altogehter then? Brilliant.
And what about scrolling. How many times in a day do you look at the bottom of the screen without wanting it to start scrolling? And if it did, would you ever have time to read the last sentence? The interface would be annoying as hell!
These techniques are clearly better suited for wireless devices and other apps. And perhaps most of all for voice-recognition, because about 30% of our interpretation of what people say comes from subconscious lip-reading. Try listening to a conversation in another room without looking at the speakers, and then try again with eye-contact. Even if you are not looking directly at the speakers lips while making eye-contact, you will get a much clearer perception of what they are saying. Because you are lip-reading and decoding facial expressions to interpret words and meaning.
To sum it up: The voice and the eyes are extremely overrated as controlling devices. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is you need both these 'devices' for other things, they are much too important to you to be used exclusively on your computer. You need to be able to look around freely without thinking about how your computer will react, and you need to be able to speak freely. By comparison, your hands are crude unsophisticated tools that aren't needed at all times.
Slashdot Mirror
The trees would have to be fast-growing and have very deep roots that could reach sub-terranean water canals. They would bind the soil to the ground and create a wind-shield from sand storms. This also creates a shade and a more temperate (and stable!) climate on ground level, that can host a radically different eco-system than the one in the open desert. The soil itself would gradually turn into more fertile soil because of the decomposing biomass and create a larger area for which to plant even more of these (presumably bio-engineered) trees.
Voilá, a few years later you have a vast forest and can even start farming parts of it.
My point is, if we are talking about terraforming a whole planet in less than a 100 years, then why would it be impossible to get rid of a desert in say, 25 years? As I pointed out in my previous post, I think the biggest hurdles (as always) are political, not technical or economical.
I realize it's a somewhat different problem. But if we can introduce forests in the Sahara we will not only improve the life conditions of millions, perhaps even the whole African continent, we will also learn a great deal on how to do the same things on Mars.
I bet planting vegetation in the Sahara would be a lot cheaper than sending space-ships to Mars, but not as glorious and 'american'.
If you read the Quake source, you will feel like God has stepped down from heaven to write software.
Well, just saturate that steak with some genetically engineered uric acid before you hand it to me then.
Am I just imagining things or is this real? I started to listen really carefully to what he was saying during the noise because the noise made me extra curious. Then three minutes later they've removed 14 seconds of the tape.
I am starting to realize why a lot of americans are keen on conspirational theories...
I will give you some examples. These are actual quotes from GWB:
>"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of
>failure."
>.George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Republicans understand the importance of
>bondage between a mother and child."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Welcome to Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Mars is essentially in the same orbit...Mars is somewhat the
>same
>distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen
>pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there
>is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can
>breathe."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 8/11/94
>
>"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history.
>I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this
>century. I didn't live in this century."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/15/95
>
>"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom
>and democracy - but that could change."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/22/98
>
>"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor,
>and that one word is 'to be prepared'."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 12/6/93
>
>"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 11/30/96
>
>"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good
>judgments in the future."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"The future will be better tomorrow."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"We're going to have the best educated American people in the
>world."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/21/97
>
>"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive
> >positions
>and have a tremendous impact on history."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr. to Sam Donaldson, 8/17/93
>
>"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We
>have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Public speaking is very easy."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr. to reporters in 10/9
>
>"I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican"
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going
>to the polls."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr
>
>"When I have been asked who caused the
>riots and the killing in LA,my answer has been direct & simple:
>Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame.
>Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame.
>...George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of
>not having it."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 5/20/96
>
>"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not
>occur."
>.Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/22/9
>
>"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/5/93
>
>"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our
>children."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 9/18/95
>
>"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that
>George Bush may or may not make."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten
>you on the mistakes we may or may not have made."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the
>impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>
>"[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system."
>...Governor George W. Bush, Jr.
>________________________________
Yes indeed, 640K is enough for everybody.
It's evident that using your eyes is not the best way to scroll or zoom or aim at quake. Think about how much you move your eyes in front of the screen for a second. You would get very jerky movements on screen if the computer tried to adapt to your eyes all the time OR you would get delays before every action, if the computer tried to filter out rapid movements.
Think about quake for example. In quake you want to look at the center of the screen at all times. You don't want to be looking at the _sides_ of your screen every time you need to turn around. What if you need to turn around real fast? Should you look away from the screen altogehter then? Brilliant.
And what about scrolling. How many times in a day do you look at the bottom of the screen without wanting it to start scrolling? And if it did, would you ever have time to read the last sentence? The interface would be annoying as hell!
These techniques are clearly better suited for wireless devices and other apps. And perhaps most of all for voice-recognition, because about 30% of our interpretation of what people say comes from subconscious lip-reading. Try listening to a conversation in another room without looking at the speakers, and then try again with eye-contact. Even if you are not looking directly at the speakers lips while making eye-contact, you will get a much clearer perception of what they are saying. Because you are lip-reading and decoding facial expressions to interpret words and meaning.
To sum it up: The voice and the eyes are extremely overrated as controlling devices. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is you need both these 'devices' for other things, they are much too important to you to be used exclusively on your computer. You need to be able to look around freely without thinking about how your computer will react, and you need to be able to speak freely. By comparison, your hands are crude unsophisticated tools that aren't needed at all times.
-Al Gore
Wouldn't that be nice...