"We've only been terraforming one planet (albeit for the worse) for a few hundred years."
"Worse"? At least we're not in the chill of the medieval Little Ice Age.
15,000 years, since the end of the last ice age. The ice age messed up the previous environment more than we could, but ever since then we've been the dominant form of life in ever-growing regions. Well... dominant except for how well cows, corn, and rice have trained us to care for them. (I said "dominant" as in "control". We don't outnumber other species -- we all can fit in Texas if we want to.)
Greenpeace needs the poles melted so there is enough of an ocean for their ships to float. Then they can complain about the creation of an environment. (Hmm.. is Greenpeace complaining about the steel and power plants which manufactured the steel for their ships?)
I thought the problem with Mars was that there wasn't enough gravity to keep enough atmosphere around it...the gases just leak away. Or that not enough ice hits the planet to renew what leaks away.
If the solar wind is the major problem, planetary-scale magnetic engineering would be interesting to see. I wonder whether polar magnets would be more influential than spinning the planet faster so as to enhance the effect of a field.
Well, we're about to get buried by studies about the Mars environment so we'll learn much more.
(Yes, biological activity can remove CO2 from the Venus atmosphere. It would probably produce a rather thick layer of calcium carbonate -- well, maybe something else until the sulphur is also reduced because calcium carbonate doesn't last long in sulphuric acid. But the big problem is actually the deep atmosphere. Look up the composition and you'll see that even if you remove all the CO2 most of it will still be there along with its crushing pressure. Does living under a balloon count as planetary living? It would be faster to drop an asteroid down to that orbit and use near misses to blast atmosphere away. Not that even that "deep" atmosphere is thick enough to easily hit edge-on.)
It can't be an air density problem, if it can operate at 1300 feet above sea level. So what's wrong with 600 feet above ground? Can't see a person from that height?
"It can stay in the air for about an hour, get as high as about 300 feet in the air..."
A 300 foot altitude limit? So it could only be used up the Mississippi River valley to Bethel Bridge (altitude 301 feet above sea level), in Ripley county, Missouri?
And where would it be useful in mountains in Afghanistan...to fly only inside caves...caves below 300 feet above sea level?
Instead of blowing up the robot, it would be cheaper for it to put an explosive on the mine and detonate it after moving away. Radio-controlled explosive is cheaper than a robot.
"If a Marine can use (Microsoft) Word, he can get this plane to fly."
I'd like to introduce that Marine to the Word document from the corporate office last year that crashed Word upon opening.
Can you tell the Dragon Eye to look for "Taliban" without additional windows to spell check it?
This device contains restricted encryption technology and is not for export.
The Dragon Eye can not be shot down because that is considered technology which can break a protection device. The J.A.G. is ready to prosecute violators.
"Sarge, I need your credit card so I can get Tech Support to tell me the workaround so I can land the Eye. They already said it's a known problem that will be fixed in the next major revision."
The Dragon Eye weighs five pounds. The Microsoft Field Control Interface Device weighs eighteen pounds and uses a gallon of gasoline an hour.
"Stenbit said he is unaware of any open-source software that has been tested."
He did not say that he is someone who should know anything about open-source software. He does have an interest in not knowing certain things.
Yes, the NSA Linux security patches are visible right on the front page of the NSA site. That does not mean it has been tested nor audited (not that auditing without source code is a useful exercise).
Re:Just read the Constitution, fer chrissakes.
on
Fair IP Laws?
·
· Score: 0, Redundant
Article I, Section 8: "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;"
Apparently the picture also shows which pieces of equipment are marking the runway, so when the plane arrives they will be able to quickly identify the runway. The picture and phone has let them avoid the delay of a recon flight, which would have taken its own pictures back to base, with the rescue crew then identifying (or confirming) a safe landing area.
"The real milestone is when tickets are listed on Travelocity. JFK->ISS, non-stop, no smoking, snack only."
Yes, but that's only a milestone. I'd prefer a 3-week cruise with transfer at Goddard Station, view of ISS Museum, 1950 DA mining facility and stop at Disney L-5 enroute to Tycho City Hilton. If I were younger I'd make reservations at Tycho Flight School, but instead I'll play with Hub Wings at DL5.
There have been many court cases about trash, but I think that generally the police are allowed to look through your trash when you leave it at the curb based on one of:
When you put it at the curb to be disposed of following city rules, you've given it to the city. It is legally trivial for a city police officer to be allowed to look at city property.
When you leave it outside your house, particularly on the city-owned boulevard, it no longer is protected by the search restrictions around your home.
The situation can be different for non-city police, regulated investigators, or private citizens looking at the trash. For that matter, citizens do get prosecuted for stealing trash or recyclables based on their value to the city (even the worst trash can be of value when the city has a compost heap or requirement to incinerate a certain percentage of waste).
The government doesn't make many commodities, although maps come to mind, but is very influential on electric, telephone, and radio/TV industries, as well as all the subsidized farming industries. (Speaking of maps, without government maps we'd have much more difficulty creating GPS devices, outdoor sports maps, population trends...would your fishing be more efficient if you had to pay $5,000 for a USGS topological map instead of a few dollars?)
Government agencies and researchers are constantly doing things which can put companies out of business. Let's see current stories on CNN...
Genetic research may help anthrax mystery. That's bad for the drug industry, hospitals and cleaning services.NSF funding, using results of research from 3 US and a UK government agency.
Judge orders VeriSign to stop ad campaign. That sounds a little restrictive on business.
Wearable computers enhance the world. Threatening tour guides, makers of sprinkler system maps, pipeline markers, and jet engine mechanics.
ISPs seek to void ruling on police searches. ISPs are complaining that a dozen police hanging around each day could be bad for business.
House set to renew welfare program. Bad for lawyers, companies that need cheap unskilled labor, companies that pay taxes used for welfare, competitors of companies which print welfare forms, the extinct creditor's prison industry.
GOP leader skips Bush meeting over Crusader. Millions of dollars cut off from companies working on Crusader, and competitors who weren't getting those millions.
White House won't defer import duties. Anyone need explanation of how imports or duties affect businesses?
Many of the conflicts are because many researchers are looking for solutions to what they perceive as problems but companies are dependent upon. Higher car fuel efficiency reduces amount of gas sold, fewer visitors to gas station convenience stores, less work for the drivers of fuel trucks...
Uh... If the government produces software which is better than what your company has, your competitors can buy it for a few thousand dollars. Government does want research and side effects made available (the term is "technology transfer) because otherwise it is wasted. [insert favorite NASA tech examples such as moon buggy rubber allowing winter radial tires]
Any of your competitors will have it. Your company should also buy a copy, so you can use its improvements in your product and keep ahead of the competition.
Making the software available free just means that many small businesses and freelancers can browse and get inspiration from it. And most businesses are small businesses, with the occasional big company arising from them.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh, good, that's just what I wanted to make. Let's see... I'll need a hammer, chisel, Bowie knife, file...
...and whether they took into account the volume of the holes at the poles when the water ice was removed.
Greenpeace needs the poles melted so there is enough of an ocean for their ships to float. Then they can complain about the creation of an environment. (Hmm.. is Greenpeace complaining about the steel and power plants which manufactured the steel for their ships?)
If the solar wind is the major problem, planetary-scale magnetic engineering would be interesting to see. I wonder whether polar magnets would be more influential than spinning the planet faster so as to enhance the effect of a field.
Well, we're about to get buried by studies about the Mars environment so we'll learn much more.
(Yes, biological activity can remove CO2 from the Venus atmosphere. It would probably produce a rather thick layer of calcium carbonate -- well, maybe something else until the sulphur is also reduced because calcium carbonate doesn't last long in sulphuric acid. But the big problem is actually the deep atmosphere. Look up the composition and you'll see that even if you remove all the CO2 most of it will still be there along with its crushing pressure. Does living under a balloon count as planetary living? It would be faster to drop an asteroid down to that orbit and use near misses to blast atmosphere away. Not that even that "deep" atmosphere is thick enough to easily hit edge-on.)
We might be mutant Martian bacteria, and we're a little more radioactive than we used to be.
Living well is the best revenge. Live well.
Why didn't you include a link to an Ewok?
That is good.
But why?
It can't be an air density problem, if it can operate at 1300 feet above sea level. So what's wrong with 600 feet above ground? Can't see a person from that height?
A 300 foot altitude limit? So it could only be used up the Mississippi River valley to Bethel Bridge (altitude 301 feet above sea level), in Ripley county, Missouri?
And where would it be useful in mountains in Afghanistan...to fly only inside caves...caves below 300 feet above sea level?
Instead of blowing up the robot, it would be cheaper for it to put an explosive on the mine and detonate it after moving away. Radio-controlled explosive is cheaper than a robot.
I wonder what device the author was trying to describe. The Moller Aerobot is round, but taller than a toilet seat and has no wings.
First write the rules: Is the plane "dead" when a paintball hits it anywhere, or only when it is blinded?
Yes, the NSA Linux security patches are visible right on the front page of the NSA site. That does not mean it has been tested nor audited (not that auditing without source code is a useful exercise).
Congress's Copyright Giveaway
Apparently the picture also shows which pieces of equipment are marking the runway, so when the plane arrives they will be able to quickly identify the runway. The picture and phone has let them avoid the delay of a recon flight, which would have taken its own pictures back to base, with the rescue crew then identifying (or confirming) a safe landing area.
Because you found that Zork was better than Adventure?
[ducks to avoid a rusty axe]
It certainly was nice to provice a link to a full discussion of the topic, so there won't be 150 comments to it on Slashdot.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/2832884.ht
There are a lot of people working on such problems. ThinkCycle or something like that might help them coordinate more.
Of course, the classic popular reading for this field is the "The Ugly American".
- When you put it at the curb to be disposed of following city rules, you've given it to the city. It is legally trivial for a city police officer to be allowed to look at city property.
- When you leave it outside your house, particularly on the city-owned boulevard, it no longer is protected by the search restrictions around your home.
The situation can be different for non-city police, regulated investigators, or private citizens looking at the trash. For that matter, citizens do get prosecuted for stealing trash or recyclables based on their value to the city (even the worst trash can be of value when the city has a compost heap or requirement to incinerate a certain percentage of waste).Gee, I really should file an RFC about that one of these days...
Government agencies and researchers are constantly doing things which can put companies out of business. Let's see current stories on CNN...
- Genetic research may help anthrax mystery. That's bad for the drug industry, hospitals and cleaning services.NSF funding, using results of research from 3 US and a UK government agency.
- Judge orders VeriSign to stop ad campaign. That sounds a little restrictive on business.
- Wearable computers enhance the world. Threatening tour guides, makers of sprinkler system maps, pipeline markers, and jet engine mechanics.
- ISPs seek to void ruling on police searches. ISPs are complaining that a dozen police hanging around each day could be bad for business.
- House set to renew welfare program. Bad for lawyers, companies that need cheap unskilled labor, companies that pay taxes used for welfare, competitors of companies which print welfare forms, the extinct creditor's prison industry.
- GOP leader skips Bush meeting over Crusader. Millions of dollars cut off from companies working on Crusader, and competitors who weren't getting those millions.
- White House won't defer import duties. Anyone need explanation of how imports or duties affect businesses?
Many of the conflicts are because many researchers are looking for solutions to what they perceive as problems but companies are dependent upon. Higher car fuel efficiency reduces amount of gas sold, fewer visitors to gas station convenience stores, less work for the drivers of fuel trucks...Any of your competitors will have it. Your company should also buy a copy, so you can use its improvements in your product and keep ahead of the competition.
Making the software available free just means that many small businesses and freelancers can browse and get inspiration from it. And most businesses are small businesses, with the occasional big company arising from them.