Actually that is what I like JKR for. Her books are far from wonderful, but she can draw new readers in. Pratchett does that but also delivers at the adult level.
You are right the New Year honours come from the government (although the opposition is also allowed some input), the Queen does the birthday honours list although it does take input from the govt, it tends to be a bit less of the "gong for the supporter of/donor to the party" type of thing.
Yes, much like Tolkien copied from myth and legend, sometimes to the point that today he would be considered a plagiarist.
I believe he never claimed to be creating a world out of nothing, rather on the basis of the Norse, English and German tales on which he was an acknowledged expert. What he did try to avoid though was the attribution of LOTR to WW2 but some of th points about warfare in general from WW1 definitely influenced it.
With Buran, the Soviets used rather more Titanium. However aluminium alloys were also used for key components. The Soviets (now primarily the Russians and Ukrainians) have good experience with metallurgy so the production costs of Titanium alloys would not have been such a problem.
There is even a table showing the physical properties of the alloys used.
It should be emphasised that Buran did make it to and from orbit, but was unmanned for this test.
An interesting point. Formula-1 drivers are also protected by a special cockpit shell.
I know that flying back from space is now out of fashion for the foreseeable future, but it does raise the issue of what would happen if the fore and mid body were made to be able to separate without integrity issues for the crew module, allowing it continue ballistically.
Yep, it would still come down with one hell of a bumb, but if it is designed for some instability, that would allow it to slow down to the point where egress would be possible.
One of the Soyuz's had a problem leaving Mir. An O2 equalisation valve did not close properly so the air started venting immediately after undocking. The crew attempted to fix the situation and they were clearly aware for about half a minute and were trying to do something about the situation.
Unfortunately, they couldn't, so they passed out and died. On return to earth no problem was immediately observed when the capsule was opened so no ruptures (not even in the eye). Once medical personnel saw the crew, it was clear that they had asphyxiated.
Govt wages really aren't that good. Sure, you will get access to some cool toys, but the bureaucracy is stifling.
If you want to do cryptography and get paid, go work for credit card companies, banks or SWIFT.
As for foreigners, forget them. The FBI and NSA won't touch them as they can't be cleared. It is very difficult apparently to clear people who are citizens but have spent time abroad, which is one of the problems at the moment.
In Germany, most bars and restaurants don't take credit or debit cars because processing is too expensive (up to 6%) and they prefer cash anyway. Many bars and restaurants work in a grey area as far as tax is concerned.
The issue was that with access to the LEA (Law Enforcement Authority) keys, all your communications were interceptable. Although it was proposed that the LEA key would be partitioned, skeleton keys can always be copied. That is, the LEA key could/would leak.
In Germany, there are a lot of bars & restaurants that don't take credit or debit cards. Two reasons, first the card processing companies take up to 6% and second, they prefer cash.
How will this work with multiple frequencies? My phone speaks on the good old GSM band (800/900MHz) as well as 1.8GHz and 3G (2.1 I think). I would have thought this kind of coupling very sensitive to the wavelength needing either a narrowish range or multiples.
I seem to remember that there is a very large unfenced zone around the base which is considered enhanced-security, i.e., part of the base and it is patrolled as there are stories of people being either chased off or threatened.
Forgetting the Aliens thing, Groom Lake aka Dreamland is a flight test facility with sexy new aircraft, so I guess that's why they want to restrict people in the area, not just the base itself. There is a piece of public land with an accessible track, apparently where you can see a view of the base but you are so far away, you can't see much even with very long lenses.
I heard a rumour that trains and bridges are considered militarily significant and shouldn't be photographed. However the law isn't usually enforced. Is that true?
Because there's no (big) money on it. People still climb the Everest (and that's even truer for mountains with not such a big name) because the sake of it.
You still spend serious money climbing everest, add to that the gear so dropping an extra $10K-$20K on high-altitude adaptive treatments wouldn't be a problem..
This is a bit like saying that most old people die because their heart stops.
When you are fatigued, rope work becomes complicated - even at low (Alpine) altitudes. People can simply forget to belay properly or to clip that karabiner on. So add to this the problems of high-altitude sickness and the difficulty around the Cornice going up from the South Summit (easy, just don't fall either side or step on unsupported snow) and then Hillary Step as well as the cold. Now just add to this a sudden drop in visibility (some climbers have even been forced to use GPS) and you can see how easy it is to make a mistake, not have adequate safety and fall off the mountain.
It comes down to size and weight. Generally speaking a lawnmower can be rather larger/heavier than a vacuum cleaner a it has less manoeuvring to do and generally doesn't have to handle stairs.
We have three flights of stairs in our new house so when recently shopping for a new vacuum to replace a heavy upright, size/weight was a major issue as was the cable, but there was no rechargeable cleaner available with sufficient power.
When size/manoeuvrability isn't an issue then you can get rechargeable ride-on jobs like you see sometimes at airports or train stations.
Um, what about cherubs, being most definitely representations of child-like angels (some even show genitalia) ? If I photograph a cherub in the UK, say from a painting or a sculpture, would that also qualify me?
Like most netbooks, the eeePC is a low(er) spec machine than conventional laptops, saving money on processor, graphics and memory - consequently also using less power. The solid state machines have much smaller hard drives. This means that putting Vista on an eeePC would not be a good idea - even Microsoft realises it and has made a special XP license for these machines.
The Soviet Union in its early years looks like it did benefit the majority. It got worse as it went along.
My own feeling is that things came to pieces around the time that Bolsheviks seized power from the Mensheviks. Before there was the possibility of a democratic socialism but afterwards, all were equal, but some more equal than others!
Slashdot Mirror
Not really but she has the power to call an election.
Actually that is what I like JKR for. Her books are far from wonderful, but she can draw new readers in. Pratchett does that but also delivers at the adult level.
You are right the New Year honours come from the government (although the opposition is also allowed some input), the Queen does the birthday honours list although it does take input from the govt, it tends to be a bit less of the "gong for the supporter of/donor to the party" type of thing.
I believe he never claimed to be creating a world out of nothing, rather on the basis of the Norse, English and German tales on which he was an acknowledged expert. What he did try to avoid though was the attribution of LOTR to WW2 but some of th points about warfare in general from WW1 definitely influenced it.
With Buran, the Soviets used rather more Titanium. However aluminium alloys were also used for key components. The Soviets (now primarily the Russians and Ukrainians) have good experience with metallurgy so the production costs of Titanium alloys would not have been such a problem.
There is even a table showing the physical properties of the alloys used.
It should be emphasised that Buran did make it to and from orbit, but was unmanned for this test.
An interesting point. Formula-1 drivers are also protected by a special cockpit shell.
I know that flying back from space is now out of fashion for the foreseeable future, but it does raise the issue of what would happen if the fore and mid body were made to be able to separate without integrity issues for the crew module, allowing it continue ballistically.
Yep, it would still come down with one hell of a bumb, but if it is designed for some instability, that would allow it to slow down to the point where egress would be possible.
One of the Soyuz's had a problem leaving Mir. An O2 equalisation valve did not close properly so the air started venting immediately after undocking. The crew attempted to fix the situation and they were clearly aware for about half a minute and were trying to do something about the situation.
Unfortunately, they couldn't, so they passed out and died. On return to earth no problem was immediately observed when the capsule was opened so no ruptures (not even in the eye). Once medical personnel saw the crew, it was clear that they had asphyxiated.
Govt wages really aren't that good. Sure, you will get access to some cool toys, but the bureaucracy is stifling.
If you want to do cryptography and get paid, go work for credit card companies, banks or SWIFT.
As for foreigners, forget them. The FBI and NSA won't touch them as they can't be cleared. It is very difficult apparently to clear people who are citizens but have spent time abroad, which is one of the problems at the moment.
In Germany, most bars and restaurants don't take credit or debit cars because processing is too expensive (up to 6%) and they prefer cash anyway. Many bars and restaurants work in a grey area as far as tax is concerned.
The issue was that with access to the LEA (Law Enforcement Authority) keys, all your communications were interceptable. Although it was proposed that the LEA key would be partitioned, skeleton keys can always be copied. That is, the LEA key could/would leak.
In Germany, there are a lot of bars & restaurants that don't take credit or debit cards. Two reasons, first the card processing companies take up to 6% and second, they prefer cash.
How will this work with multiple frequencies? My phone speaks on the good old GSM band (800/900MHz) as well as 1.8GHz and 3G (2.1 I think). I would have thought this kind of coupling very sensitive to the wavelength needing either a narrowish range or multiples.
I seem to remember that there is a very large unfenced zone around the base which is considered enhanced-security, i.e., part of the base and it is patrolled as there are stories of people being either chased off or threatened.
Forgetting the Aliens thing, Groom Lake aka Dreamland is a flight test facility with sexy new aircraft, so I guess that's why they want to restrict people in the area, not just the base itself. There is a piece of public land with an accessible track, apparently where you can see a view of the base but you are so far away, you can't see much even with very long lenses.
Actually, Groom Lake AFB (AKA Area 41) has this sign prominently displayed on the outside of a very large perimeter.
I heard a rumour that trains and bridges are considered militarily significant and shouldn't be photographed. However the law isn't usually enforced. Is that true?
You still spend serious money climbing everest, add to that the gear so dropping an extra $10K-$20K on high-altitude adaptive treatments wouldn't be a problem..
You would have to be careful not to over-thicken the blood. This can cause problems too at high altitude.
This is a bit like saying that most old people die because their heart stops.
When you are fatigued, rope work becomes complicated - even at low (Alpine) altitudes. People can simply forget to belay properly or to clip that karabiner on. So add to this the problems of high-altitude sickness and the difficulty around the Cornice going up from the South Summit (easy, just don't fall either side or step on unsupported snow) and then Hillary Step as well as the cold. Now just add to this a sudden drop in visibility (some climbers have even been forced to use GPS) and you can see how easy it is to make a mistake, not have adequate safety and fall off the mountain.
It comes down to size and weight. Generally speaking a lawnmower can be rather larger/heavier than a vacuum cleaner a it has less manoeuvring to do and generally doesn't have to handle stairs.
We have three flights of stairs in our new house so when recently shopping for a new vacuum to replace a heavy upright, size/weight was a major issue as was the cable, but there was no rechargeable cleaner available with sufficient power.
When size/manoeuvrability isn't an issue then you can get rechargeable ride-on jobs like you see sometimes at airports or train stations.
Problem is that a good vacuum cleaner burns about 1-2KW. That would be a lot of battery to hall around. Less isn't much good except for decrumbing.
After seeing what happened in Australia about "representations" of minors (who aren't real anyway), I must be a little concerned.
Um, what about cherubs, being most definitely representations of child-like angels (some even show genitalia) ? If I photograph a cherub in the UK, say from a painting or a sculpture, would that also qualify me?
Like most netbooks, the eeePC is a low(er) spec machine than conventional laptops, saving money on processor, graphics and memory - consequently also using less power. The solid state machines have much smaller hard drives. This means that putting Vista on an eeePC would not be a good idea - even Microsoft realises it and has made a special XP license for these machines.
No, Skynet is the name for some British military communications satellites first launched in 1969.
I think that predates Termainator.
My own feeling is that things came to pieces around the time that Bolsheviks seized power from the Mensheviks. Before there was the possibility of a democratic socialism but afterwards, all were equal, but some more equal than others!