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User: MercTech

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  1. Re:Like the nazi used to say on Bomb Squad Searches House Over Teenager's Chemistry Experiments · · Score: 1

    Oh yes.... if you do the things that were actually taught in middle school science class in the 1970s; they would be sending homeland security after you.

    More and more it seems like gestapo gonna get ya instead of an officer coming around and asking what you were working and and actually being able to understand if it is a hazard and if you are doing the right thing around hazards.

  2. Re:The reason is more simple on Why Electric Vehicles Aren't More Popular · · Score: 1

    That is only in California where you get state subsidies. And electric cars are, as yet, only available in mega-urban areas. What percentage of the country is that? Maybe 2% of the area?

    My personal objection to electric cars; besides the long charging time and limited range, is that they are inefficiency and cause more fossil fuel to be burned than with a gasoline powered vehicle. The fuel is just not burned where you are driving.

    The maximum efficiency for an electric generator is 28%. The efficiency of an electric motor is 28%. So you have two sets of conversion losses with an electric car. You have fewer conversion losses when you burn the fuel where you want the work done.

    The charging time depends on the vehicle, the capacity, and the energy handling capability of the charging system. Most people don't have 480vac 3-Phase available in their area for the really rapid charging. 220V for the four hour charge is more likely at home. Then you have a ten hour charge if you go visiting and they don't have a special charging port and you have to do 110vac single phase charging.

    For my money; I'll just go diesel and support bio-diesel. All in all, greener, more efficient, and the infrastructure is already here.

  3. Call at 4am... on Ask Slashdot: Dealing With Service Providers When You're an IT Pro? · · Score: 1

    One think I learned from a certain ISP was to never call in the evening. The tech support centers in Pakistan were singularly unhelpful and would often scream at you if you tried to get to Tier 2 support.

        When I called at 4am (United States CST) I would get an East German call center and would have a resolution to the problem within a half hour. And the half hour included discussing favorite types of schnapps.

  4. Re:You can't send electronics into that environmen on Robots Compete In Navigating Simulation Of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Plant · · Score: 1

    Vacuum tubes are more susceptible to radiation errors than solid state units. When you add additional ionization trails into the ions jumping from plate to plate the tube does not work as planned. You can test this yourself if you hold a decent gamma source up to the side of the photomultiplier tube in a scintillation detector. No, the sensing element in an alpha counter isn't effected by gama flux, but the gas in the photomultiplier sure is.

    I high gamma flux caused degradation in semiconductors. Satellites are hardened and shielded for gamma. The Van Allen Belts are a belt of high speed charged particles and not straight gamma. The semiconductor degradation over time is one of the reasons satellites wear out.

    When the circle bar W ranch hands (Westinghouse Nuclear Division if you prefer) wanted to automate eddy current testing of steam generators; one of the big problems was getting video cameras that would work in a 5-30 Rad/hr field. They tried all sorts of hardening but the end result was buying cheap CCD cameras, slapping in an easily decontaminated steel box, and just taking the hit of them burning out after a month of use.

    I know one health physicist that tells of trying to get the first pictures of the Elephant's foot at Chernobyl (Huge stalagmite of melted fuel)... then ended up dragging a cheap CCD camera mounted on a RC car from Radio Shack after all the high dollar custom robots failed short of mission from the radiation. I don't think the car made it back out but low tech worked long enough.

  5. Re:Fear of guns on Stormtrooper Arrested · · Score: 1

    So you are stating an intention to commit a crime, assault and battery, because you don't like a person's fashion accessory?

  6. Re:Yep, pretty much on What Happens To Our Musical Taste As We Age? · · Score: 1

    The late 90s were when the major music labels discovered that Rap is so much cheaper to produce than actual music. You don't actually have to pay studio musicians but get a chanter and some public domain samples and call it a hit.

    The late 90s did see a wonderful rediscovery of swing music. I'm thinking of Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and The Royal Crow Revue (the band in "The Mask") And there were some really bizzaro bands like The Rednex.

  7. Re:anon on UK Police Chief: Some Tech Companies Are 'Friendly To Terrorists' · · Score: 1

    Yes, a scary proposition if enforced by law. Especially since "terrorist" and "terrorism" has been re-defined so that every union organizer of the 30s or civil rights activist of the 60s would have been a "terrorist" under current law.

  8. Re:They should be doing the opposite on The Great Canadian Copyright Giveaway: Copyright Extension For Sound Recordings · · Score: 1

    Harumph, how about making it 5 years after last publication or five years after death of the creators. (Old copyright duration from when only printed material had copyright)

    Ever wonder why Sony/BME releases all those "best song of some decade" compilations? To keep them in copyright when the original release is about to become public domain.

  9. Re:Progressive Fix 101 on Cheap Gas Fuels Switch From Electric Cars To SUVs · · Score: 1

    Actually, putting the fuel at the end use is much greener than electric. The fuel to make the electricity is just burned away from your neighborhood.
    With 28% efficient generators and 28% efficient electric motors; you burn more fossil fuel for an electric care than you would in a gasoline engine.

    Going diesel is much greener as you can grow fuel for making diesel. And, the process for turning vegetable based oil to cetane fuel is so simple you can do small batches in your garage.

  10. Why spend more public money to prop up an oversize municipality built in a desert? Southern California doesn't have a water problem but an overpopulation and overbuilding problem.

        If you read some Mark Twain; you can get an idea of what California was like before it was overpopulated and overbuilt. "A squirrel could go from Angel's Camp to San Francisco Bay without ever touching the ground." Now, all you have between Angel's Camp and San Fran Bay is cheat grass dotted with small towns and a few vineyards.

  11. Re:And the almond trees die. on How 'Virtual Water' Can Help Ease California's Drought · · Score: 1

    Only in California could this amount of stupidity be taken seriously. Most of California is a friggin' desert that can only support cities by robbing the water from other regions. It isn't a "drought" when it is simply too high a population density for the climate.

  12. Re:Regulation Strikes again on Farmers Struggling With High-Tech Farm Equipment · · Score: 1

    Actually, it can be a violation of federal statutes.
    Use of personal reprogramming devices can be construed as modifying the exhaust system of a vehicle which is a violation of EPA and NHTSA rulings. That is the law you can be fined under if you take out your catalytic converter. I know, it is a stretch, but some states will fail you on your safety check if there is evidence in the on-board computer of reprogramming.

    I have a feeling that the lock out of owners being able to access engine control computers on farm equipment is more driven by insurance companies and liability laws. A bit like the stickers ubiquitous on electronics; "breaking this seal voids your warrantee". And industrial machinery companies spend huge amounts of money on litigation insurance as they can be held liable if their machine is "easily capable of being modified to an unsafe operation condition".

  13. Storage capabilities on The US Navy Wants More Railguns and Lasers, Less Gunpowder · · Score: 1

    A Naval vessel has limited storage capability. You cannot count on timely resupply at will in a wartime scenario. Given this; it makes huge amounts of sense to go with rail guns and laser close in defenses.

    Taking the propellant for large guns with use of rail guns drops the space needed for munitions by about 2/3s (based on a battleship cannon or 5 inch gun shell for the smaller ships) Laser firing close in defenses for incoming missiles or craft does away with maintaining massive armament lockers for the 20mm ammunition used in the Phalanx system. (The tech from when I was active duty. about 2000 rounds per second with liquid cooled multiple barreled cannon with radar targeting)

    It comes down to a trade off. Ability to haul more munitions vs needing EMF hardening and an extremely robust electric power generating capability.

    As to nuclear; nuclear allows for much longer times between needed refueling. Nuclear ships are limited not by how much fuel they can carry but the amount of groceries they can carry to feed the crew.

    As to the hazards of nuclear ships. Having worked in Naval Nuclear Propulsion as well as commercial nuclear power generation I'll just say that the design criteria of nuclear propulsion plants is so radically more hardened from damage and possibility of release of radioactive material to the environment that a danger to the general public can be called "extremely farfetched". The old USSR designs are a different story. (shuddering at the thought of being on a BWR submarine)

    Ex Navy Nuclear, Current radiation protection tech.

  14. 6 months on Testosterone supplement.... on Testosterone Increasingly Being Used To Fight Aging In Men · · Score: 1

    I'm over 50 and plagued by some osteoarthritis from some serious injuries in my younger days.
    I read some of the studies of testosterone use and discussed with my primary care physician. My thought that was if hormone therapy helped women cope with effects of aging, would it help for a man to take such. I had my testosterone levels checked and was prescribed androgel to increase my testosterone levels.

    After six months of using Androgel I've halved the pain and anti-inflammatory medication taken for old knee and rotator cuff injuries. Yep, I think it helps with the effects of aging. Not turning me into a chippendale wannabe but making keeping up an exercise regimen much much easier.

    A 50 something still going....

  15. Avoid inventory tax... on Local Motors Looks To Disrupt the Auto Industry With 3D-Printed Car Bodies · · Score: 1

    Being an old fart; I remember when finding after market parts for vehicles more than a few years old was easy. Then it became fashionable in the 1990s to have a quarterly inventory tax (implemented by many states). Having a recurring inventory tax made it prohibitively expensive to keep ready stocks of repair parts. Even the utility industry went to "just in time" ordering as they were being taxed on their warehouses full of spare pumps, motors, valves.

        3D printing looks like an easy way to get a new quarter panel for that 1978 toyota you want to restore. The auto makers no longer stock parts for vehicles over about 5 years old, Custom printing of parts sounds like a wonderful way to supply parts without having to keep an inventory on had and be taxed for it. Wait a minute; that would be a reason for regulators trying to legislate such a business out of the picture.

  16. Re:Why diesel fuel? on Short-Term Exposure To Diesel Fumes Causes Changes In Gene Expression · · Score: 1

    True, the burning of cetane in diesel fuel results in soot.. fine carbon which settles out. Whereas gasoline engines produce carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides that become nitric acid upon combining with the water in the air.

    It is the colorless stuff that is more of a hazard than the soot from accelerating diesel engines.

  17. Computer glasses... on Ask Slashdot: Are Progressive Glasses a Mistake For Computer Users? · · Score: 1

    Check your optician.
    I opted to ask my Optometrist for a prescription optimized for 3 feet for when I use the computer extensively. Wearing bifocals leaves me straining to keep the screen in focus on the distance prescription or getting a cramp in my neck tilting the head back to look through the close vision portion.

    Check your optician. Many places run specials where you get one frame free with purchase. A second set of single vision lenses for the computer glasses with no coatings or extras doesn't run very high.

    I tossed the progressive lenses for a totally different reason. When on horseback or riding a motorcycle and wearing progressive lenses' anything passing you appears to be veering right in front of you. Also, I found having only small areas truly in focus was a major PITA. Lined bifocals may not be as fashionable as progressive lenses but lined bifocals are much more functional.

    Remember, no one requires you to buy spectacles from your optometrist or ophthalmologist. Shop the opticians and find what you want at the best price you can.

  18. Re:Wrong conclusion on Apple's iPod Classic Refuses To Die · · Score: 1

    Or is it the iPod classic hit the proper niche spot on and everything tried as a replacement is found lacking.
    O travel a lot for work and can carry my whole music collection, a few audiobooks, and a movie or two on a 160 gig iPod classic. Touch screen would make it harder to navigate. Wifi is for the laptop. I need the iPod for areas, like the vehicle, where streaming is ineffective.
    The iPod classic will be remembered along side things like the VW Beetle and 1966 Mustang; perfect for their market and only messed up by attempts to change.

  19. Re:The real question is . . . on Montana Lawmakers Propose 85 Mph Speed Limit On Interstates · · Score: 1

    The old speed limits were never a DOT issue but a NHTSA issue. Back in the 1970s Joan Claybrook was head of the NHTSA during the Carter Administration. Claybrook crammed the 55 mph speed limit down the throat of most states by witholding NHTSA funds for highway contruction and maintenance if they did not comply with Claybrook's agenda. (mandatory seat belts on "murdercycles" were part of that agenda too). This was sold as a temporary conservation measure due to the fuel crisis of 1973 despite data to the contrary.

        So highways with the design specification of being capable of safe, sustained, non urban speeds of 95 miles per hour were re-labeled as maximum 55 mph speed limits.
        BTW, DOT is safety regulations. NHTSA is matching funds for highway maintenance and construction.

        We now have many adults that were raised on the concept that any speed above 55 mph is deadly. Umm, if you look at other countries you find that driving safely for the conditions can be done at much higher speeds.

  20. Whovian flashback impression... on Here's What Your Car Could Look Like In 2030 · · Score: 1

    When I saw that Ideo concept vehicle the first thing that popped to mind was the Dr. Who episode where the whole planet was stuck in vehicle gridlock with decades in the car...

  21. What is it? on Cameron Accuses Internet Companies Of Giving Terrorists Safe Haven · · Score: 1

    Ok, now what is an "internet company"? Sounds like a "business"... terms so vague as to give no clue as to what they do. Someone needs to give that politician a lesson in technical English as he obviously couldn't catch a clue with a clue bat.

    What "internet company" is he talking about that provides terrorists a safe haven; Amazon?

    And ISP (Internet Service Provider) gives a last mile connection to the internet. They usually provide some additional perks like an email server, NNTP server, personal web space, or free firewall and antivirus software; yet what you are paying for is primarily a pipe to the net. An ISP doesn't monitor what goes through the pipe but how much you push through your pipes. If they are monitoring; they are data mining and selling the information as Comcast is infamous for.

    As to the "safe haven for terrorists"... Who hosts the server where the safe haven is located?

    Lee Rigby seems to espouse a logic that would prosecute the cashier at the gas station because you filled your vehicle then got into an accident that killed people.

    Minor rant over the clueless... Just like that VP that invented the internet since he voted funding for the original DARPA project.

  22. Resurrecting a zombie project... on New Trial Brings Skype to (Some) Browsers · · Score: 1

    I remember the beta test of a browser based Skype application about six years ago.... FUBAR!
    It worked about as well as java based real time chat applications, poorly if at all.
    If you have tried the Win8 version of Skype and had to tunnel through layers of M$ non-help screens to find out how to get rid of the "App" and bring back the Skype application client; you have my commiseration.

    I've had a Skype account for a decade now. Including an incoming number for a side business of mine. It was reliable, inexpensive, and it integrated with web browsers, contact lists in email programs, and even web based faxing.

    Since M$ bought Skype; the integration with web browsers no longer works reliably. Their is no integration with contact lists in email programs that works reliably. It even quit integrating with Microsoft Outlook which it had since Office XP days.

    Sorry Mickey$oft... you lost your core concept chasing eye candy.. ooohhh, shiney new code!!!

  23. Re:caesium 137 bioaccumulates on Fukushima Radiation Nears California Coast, Judged Harmless · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but the level of ignorance is expecting one chemical to behave exactly like another when chemistry shows us that they don't.

    Cesium is a Potassium analog in the body and seeks muscle mass as the main potassium channel. It has a biological half life from 30-110 days depending on which study you read.

    Iodine131 is taken up in the thyroid. Even with no KI treatment, 30-40 days later it has all gone away from radioactive decay.

    The microgram quantity for Pu-239 being lethal is due to the fact it is an energetic alpha emitter, has a long radiological half life, and it is a calcium analog so it seeks the bones and stays in a body for 50 years.

        The safe concentrations of various nuclides depends on their half life, the energy of the radiation they give off, and whether they retain in the body (does your body use this chemical).
    Cobalt-60, the most common radionuclide hazard in operating light water reactor power plants has a radiological half life around 5 years... but it isn't retained in the body well at all and will be eliminated in 7-10 days.

    If anyone wants to tell you different, check to see if they can put the title "Health Physicist" beside their name. That is who you go to for a complete and factual answer. (Often with more math than you really needed)

  24. Re:Units. on Fukushima Radiation Nears California Coast, Judged Harmless · · Score: 1

    Actually, you only find the ISO units for radiation in legal documents. Most of the detection equipment reads out in CPM (counts per minute) so it is much easier to report contamination as DPM (decays per minute)
        Dose rate instruments often are switchable between Sieverts/hr and Rad/hr. And most still use Rems and Rads and Curies. Then, for final reports you apply conversion factors to get to the Grays and Sieverts.
        When you are posting an area as a radiation area... do you write it as 5 mr/hr or the cumbersome 0.0005 Gray?
        A gray is such a large unit it isn't amenable to personnel protection levels of measurement but is fine when dealing with talk about the lethal dose from a criticality event.
        The push from the PhD community to use units that aren't tied to the ionization of air when almost all dose rate meters are based on measuring ionization of gas rather fell on deaf ears. The fellows in the field taking readings use the units the meters report.

  25. Digital vs Analog... pros and cons on Liking Analog Meters Doesn't Make You a Luddite (Video) · · Score: 1

    Pro:
    >Digital display can display more information than a single signal.
    >The display isn't affected by ambient magnetic fields or positional errors (the needle reading differently when placed vertical, sideways, etc)
    >Easier to quantify when used as a scalar.... counts per unit time measurements.
    >No precision parts that can break with a shock

    Con:
    >Environmental disablement. In extreme cold; the display becomes to faint to read. In extreme heat; it goes totally black. This is a huge concern if you take measurements out in the environment and not in a lab.
    >You either get "bouncing betty" readings or have to have an averaging circuit to get readable data from a digital display. i.e. radiation counters and field strength meters trying to read a PCM transmission.

    For the type work I do, my personal preference is for an analog meter with an inset digital readout. That gives you the best of both.