Thermodynamic efficiency is all well and good, but power density is the important factor for vehicles.
Look at the mechanical power output per unit mass of any drive train relative to an internal combustion system, and you'll see why alternative power is so hard to do in cars.
Meh. The guy was being a tool, and I didn't feel the need to elucidate him. You're nicer than me today.
: )
Tethers are nifty indeed, but it's not something you can just take out of a crate somewhere, bolt to ISS, and raise its orbit. To suggest (as your grandparent's poster did) that the engineers involved are teh dumb because they didn't think of that is, well, rather teh dumb.
Why? Why have rocket motors built into the station, that you have to refuel? Would such a system be magically less prone to failure than the current system? Why not just use the partially-fueled rocket?
"And yes, things could be better if I were doing it"
" Why does the ISS need to be boosted by external rockets rather then doing it itself?"
Attaching the engines to the Station is easy. Refueling it is harder. It winds up being simpler to just use the partially-fueled rocket, and dispense with the engines on the space station.
"Shouldn't it have this type of stuff built in?"
Obviously, there are good reasons not to do this.
"Did they think about what would happen if we were unable to get into space?"
Yup. They probably thought they'd go ahead and send up another rocket, which is more or less exactly what's likely to happen if this rocket doesn't work.
"The simple fact that they had to go through all of this sounds pretty dumb to me"
Uh huh. I'm sure if YOU were in charge, the trains would run on time.
Look, I think the ISS is a waste of time and resources, but the people working on it are, in fact, pretty smart. Just as a wild guess, I'd venture that they know a little more than you or I do about how to operate space stations.
You said: "The Tahoe derivative is the H2,..." (this part is true) "...the "Hummer"" (Now you're conflating.)
Hummer is the name of a brand of cars, not the name of a model of car within that brand. It is also a common nickname for the military version of the vehicle. This wasn't a big deal when there was only one model being made by the GM division that's called Hummer, but now that they've got three vehicles, they have three different names.
This has obviously caused vast confusion for you.
*draws diagram*
You said: "It [I assume you are talking about the Hummer H2] is a civilian spinoff of the military design that is merely designed to resemble what AM General came up with as a result of the Army's needs."
That's also not true. If you're talking about the Hummer H2, it's not a spinoff at all. The design of the H2 has nothing whatsoever to do with the military version, or with the civilian-ized H1. If you're talking about something that shares a design heritage with the military version, you're talking about the Hummer H1.
I don't know WHY it's important to you to conflate the two models, because the only thing they've got in common is a nameplate.
Then again, I think I've fallen into the trap of arguing with a crazyperson, so I'm going to stop now.
"So basically you're saying it's ok for others to carry box cutters on to a flight"
Now you're getting it.
"t's none of your business"
Right.
"there is no conceivable use for box cutters on a flight"
So what? Is there some sort of body that gets to figure out all the uses are for every object, and make a list of which ones are OK and which ones are not? That's silly.
"I'm sure others, especially those that were on the flights during 9/11 if they could pass their thoughts on would say that it is a ludicrous idea after learning the events that transpired."
I'm equally sure that, had those passengers on the crashed aircraft been armed, those aircraft would not have crashed.
"blatantly doing things that would draw suspicion to yourself"
I need a list of these things so I can remember that they make you feel all squidgy.
" If the tensions were high after learning about the London bus bombings, why draw attention to yourself in the matter, regardless of how legal it may be."
So now you're saying that it doesn't even really matter what the law says, innocent people should get arrested just because some people feel a little tense? Did you see that story about the Brazilian guy who got shot in the head about lebenty million times because the London police got a little tetchy?
That's bad.
"You are afraid of having a police state?"
Yup.
"Why have police at all then?"
I absolutely agree that well-regulated police, with adequate checks and balances on their conduct, and a decent set of laws to enforce (let's get back to the Constitution as a good baseline) are necessary for the functioning of a civil society.
"but I feel that they should have some tools available to them if we ask them to protect us."
I want tools too. I want to be able to carry my freakin' Leatherman in my pocket and not be treated like a terrorist. I'd also like some tools available to me, in case I get into a situation I didn't anticipate. The overwhelming majority of humans are capable of remembering not to stab people when they get on airplanes.
You don't have a right to not feel uncomfortable and scared. You're allowed to have whatever irrational fears you want, and you shouldn't be allowed to abridge my rights in order to be a little less scared.
Because a) you won't be less scared, and b) we'll never get our freedoms back.
You're delusional. The HMMWV (also known as the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) is the military version. You go ahead and go to http://www.hummer.com/ and try to find a quote on something called a HMMWV.
Options on the HMMWV are automatic grenade launchers and a Kevlar shell on the back. The up-armor package is apparently really hard to come by. I'd love to see you try to spec those on Hummer's web site.
Uh huh. Yeah. I'll get right on that. I'm sure it will, like, totally work and stuff. Not like I'll be working against professional lobbyists whose hourly billing looks like my semimonthly paychecks or anything.
The Hummer H1 says Hummer on the tailgate. Many cars show the name of the car brand, and also the name of the model. Hummer is the brand. H1, H2 and (now) H3 are models.
Jeeps say Jeep on the grill. That doesn't mean there's not a Cherokee and a Liberty and a Wrangler and a Commander and a....
The court said that Microsoft illegally restrained trade. If you think that shouldn't be the case, get the law changed.
I happen to think that anti-trust laws are a good idea. I don't happen to think that Apple is restraining trade in any meaningful way. If anything, these peripheral makers should be delighted that Apple is changing their hardware designs, allowing them to have people re-purchase their gear.
10% for a marketing alliance, engineering support, and Seal of Approval status seems pretty cheap to me. For the companies that don't think it's pretty cheap, they can not pay it. Everybody is free to act according to their percieved interest.
(Including you, MP3 player buyer: There are dozens of mfrs that aren't Apple. Go pick one.)
"Even if you should be able to carry box cutters on to a flight, what reaction do you think other passengers will have?"
I don't care. It's none of their business.
"I certainly would be very suspicious of someone carrying one on to a flight. In fact, I would be sleeping with one eye open."
You sleep however you want. Your sleep habits are none of my business.
"remotely linked to something that people are paranoid about at the time"
I shouldn't have to keep track of the things that you're paranoid about. You, on the other hand, have a handy list of things that I have a right to do. (That is, loosely speaking, almost anything that doesn't cause direct harm to my fellow humans.).
"but how far are you willing to go to ignore behaviour like that?"
Very far. I am not afraid of terrorists. I am very concerned about police states. Historically, police states are much more dangerous than wackos with box cutters/sticks of dynamite/RPG's.
"How do you filter those people out at check in?"
You can't. You also can't be sure you won't get run over by a crazyperson on your way to work. Your odds of being killed by a terrorist are vanishingly small wrt the odds of you being killed by a distracted motorist.
The Hummer H1 is a civilian-ized HMMWV. It has slightly different engine choices, but it has almost identical (and formidable) off-road capabilities. It is a state-of-the-art off-road vehicle. Take a look at the offset drive shafts, four wheel independent suspension with astonishing ground clearance, and the central tire inflation system. This is NOT Chevrolet Suburban technology.
It's almost totally unsuitable for daily commutes.
The Hummer H2 is a Tahoe with a body kit. It's almost as unsuitable for daily commutes as the Hummer H1.
Slashdot Mirror
Good design sells. Articles about good design sell newspapers/magazines. It's not that complicated.
Uh, no, I'm not subscribing to the authoritarian police state. I'm talking about a liberal, democratic republic.
There are already plenty of laws. We need to not make more laws because people are scared of something that's very unlikely to happen to them.
Thermodynamic efficiency is all well and good, but power density is the important factor for vehicles.
Look at the mechanical power output per unit mass of any drive train relative to an internal combustion system, and you'll see why alternative power is so hard to do in cars.
OK, stop me when I go with the crazy talk.
How exactly do you plan to make wireless signals go through buildings? Increase transmission power?
What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
"creative content creation apps"
Wow, like you get from the Department of Redundancy Department?
Snark snark...
Meh. The guy was being a tool, and I didn't feel the need to elucidate him. You're nicer than me today.
: )
Tethers are nifty indeed, but it's not something you can just take out of a crate somewhere, bolt to ISS, and raise its orbit. To suggest (as your grandparent's poster did) that the engineers involved are teh dumb because they didn't think of that is, well, rather teh dumb.
Why? Why have rocket motors built into the station, that you have to refuel? Would such a system be magically less prone to failure than the current system? Why not just use the partially-fueled rocket?
"And yes, things could be better if I were doing it"
Uh huh. Here's a nickel, kid.
" Why does the ISS need to be boosted by external rockets rather then doing it itself?"
Attaching the engines to the Station is easy. Refueling it is harder. It winds up being simpler to just use the partially-fueled rocket, and dispense with the engines on the space station.
"Shouldn't it have this type of stuff built in?"
Obviously, there are good reasons not to do this.
"Did they think about what would happen if we were unable to get into space?"
Yup. They probably thought they'd go ahead and send up another rocket, which is more or less exactly what's likely to happen if this rocket doesn't work.
"The simple fact that they had to go through all of this sounds pretty dumb to me"
Uh huh. I'm sure if YOU were in charge, the trains would run on time.
Look, I think the ISS is a waste of time and resources, but the people working on it are, in fact, pretty smart. Just as a wild guess, I'd venture that they know a little more than you or I do about how to operate space stations.
Ummmm...perhaps because it's not as simple as you make it out to be?
Is there something about the image that doesn't work if you say "teacup" instead of "teapot"?
You know how itchy fiberglass is? Carbon fiber is WAY worse.
So you'd be itchy all the time, on your bones. Guess that's one way to get your crazy on...
You said: "The Tahoe derivative is the H2,..." (this part is true) "...the "Hummer"" (Now you're conflating.)
Hummer is the name of a brand of cars, not the name of a model of car within that brand. It is also a common nickname for the military version of the vehicle. This wasn't a big deal when there was only one model being made by the GM division that's called Hummer, but now that they've got three vehicles, they have three different names.
This has obviously caused vast confusion for you.
*draws diagram*
You said: "It [I assume you are talking about the Hummer H2] is a civilian spinoff of the military design that is merely designed to resemble what AM General came up with as a result of the Army's needs."
That's also not true. If you're talking about the Hummer H2, it's not a spinoff at all. The design of the H2 has nothing whatsoever to do with the military version, or with the civilian-ized H1. If you're talking about something that shares a design heritage with the military version, you're talking about the Hummer H1.
I don't know WHY it's important to you to conflate the two models, because the only thing they've got in common is a nameplate.
Then again, I think I've fallen into the trap of arguing with a crazyperson, so I'm going to stop now.
Have a nice day!
"So basically you're saying it's ok for others to carry box cutters on to a flight"
Now you're getting it.
"t's none of your business"
Right.
"there is no conceivable use for box cutters on a flight"
So what? Is there some sort of body that gets to figure out all the uses are for every object, and make a list of which ones are OK and which ones are not? That's silly.
"I'm sure others, especially those that were on the flights during 9/11 if they could pass their thoughts on would say that it is a ludicrous idea after learning the events that transpired."
I'm equally sure that, had those passengers on the crashed aircraft been armed, those aircraft would not have crashed.
"blatantly doing things that would draw suspicion to yourself"
I need a list of these things so I can remember that they make you feel all squidgy.
" If the tensions were high after learning about the London bus bombings, why draw attention to yourself in the matter, regardless of how legal it may be."
So now you're saying that it doesn't even really matter what the law says, innocent people should get arrested just because some people feel a little tense? Did you see that story about the Brazilian guy who got shot in the head about lebenty million times because the London police got a little tetchy?
That's bad.
"You are afraid of having a police state?"
Yup.
"Why have police at all then?"
I absolutely agree that well-regulated police, with adequate checks and balances on their conduct, and a decent set of laws to enforce (let's get back to the Constitution as a good baseline) are necessary for the functioning of a civil society.
"but I feel that they should have some tools available to them if we ask them to protect us."
I want tools too. I want to be able to carry my freakin' Leatherman in my pocket and not be treated like a terrorist. I'd also like some tools available to me, in case I get into a situation I didn't anticipate. The overwhelming majority of humans are capable of remembering not to stab people when they get on airplanes.
You don't have a right to not feel uncomfortable and scared. You're allowed to have whatever irrational fears you want, and you shouldn't be allowed to abridge my rights in order to be a little less scared.
Because a) you won't be less scared, and b) we'll never get our freedoms back.
Moving to another planet is the only way to fix this one.
The reason I'm an engineer, and not a political activist, is because engineers address problems that have solutions.
You're delusional. The HMMWV (also known as the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) is the military version. You go ahead and go to http://www.hummer.com/ and try to find a quote on something called a HMMWV.
Options on the HMMWV are automatic grenade launchers and a Kevlar shell on the back. The up-armor package is apparently really hard to come by. I'd love to see you try to spec those on Hummer's web site.
Uh huh. Yeah. I'll get right on that. I'm sure it will, like, totally work and stuff. Not like I'll be working against professional lobbyists whose hourly billing looks like my semimonthly paychecks or anything.
Whee! Tilting at windmills is FUN!
The scary thing is, this is one of the more productive discussions I've had today. Whee.
One of us is definitely confused. It ain't me.
The Hummer H1 says Hummer on the tailgate. Many cars show the name of the car brand, and also the name of the model. Hummer is the brand. H1, H2 and (now) H3 are models.
Jeeps say Jeep on the grill. That doesn't mean there's not a Cherokee and a Liberty and a Wrangler and a Commander and a....
The court said that Microsoft illegally restrained trade. If you think that shouldn't be the case, get the law changed.
I happen to think that anti-trust laws are a good idea. I don't happen to think that Apple is restraining trade in any meaningful way. If anything, these peripheral makers should be delighted that Apple is changing their hardware designs, allowing them to have people re-purchase their gear.
10% for a marketing alliance, engineering support, and Seal of Approval status seems pretty cheap to me. For the companies that don't think it's pretty cheap, they can not pay it. Everybody is free to act according to their percieved interest.
(Including you, MP3 player buyer: There are dozens of mfrs that aren't Apple. Go pick one.)
What do unions and social welfare have to do with broadband prices?
Well gee, thanks for that germane and on-point correction. I suppose I could get that with a pretty pretty pink pony to ride to Lollipop Land.
Back in the real world, however, fibre is not available to mere mortals.
"Even if you should be able to carry box cutters on to a flight, what reaction do you think other passengers will have?"
I don't care. It's none of their business.
"I certainly would be very suspicious of someone carrying one on to a flight. In fact, I would be sleeping with one eye open."
You sleep however you want. Your sleep habits are none of my business.
"remotely linked to something that people are paranoid about at the time"
I shouldn't have to keep track of the things that you're paranoid about. You, on the other hand, have a handy list of things that I have a right to do. (That is, loosely speaking, almost anything that doesn't cause direct harm to my fellow humans.).
"but how far are you willing to go to ignore behaviour like that?"
Very far. I am not afraid of terrorists. I am very concerned about police states. Historically, police states are much more dangerous than wackos with box cutters/sticks of dynamite/RPG's.
"How do you filter those people out at check in?"
You can't. You also can't be sure you won't get run over by a crazyperson on your way to work. Your odds of being killed by a terrorist are vanishingly small wrt the odds of you being killed by a distracted motorist.
You don't have an inalienable right to safety.
Utterly false.
The Hummer H1 is a civilian-ized HMMWV. It has slightly different engine choices, but it has almost identical (and formidable) off-road capabilities. It is a state-of-the-art off-road vehicle. Take a look at the offset drive shafts, four wheel independent suspension with astonishing ground clearance, and the central tire inflation system. This is NOT Chevrolet Suburban technology.
It's almost totally unsuitable for daily commutes.
The Hummer H2 is a Tahoe with a body kit. It's almost as unsuitable for daily commutes as the Hummer H1.
On behalf of white people everywhere, you're welcome.
(with deep pockets)
Aha. I think we've found the key determinant. I don't have deep pockets, therefore my political power is zero.