No you can't because it hasn't been done yet... we need to walk before we run.
Zubrin't table of delta-V's has a fundamental error in it... it doesn't include the fuel required to launch an vehicle from Earth to parking orbit, the fuel for the transfer orbit to Mars, the fuel for Mars capture or the fuel required for landing at Mars. Don't forget you aren't just moving the spacecraft to Mars but all the ground support equipment, mining equipment and fuel refining equipment as well.
Don't get me wrong, Zubrin has some excellent ideas and I would never question his conviction, but we still must walk before we run.
I wish people would stop blaming NASA. Place your blame with the politicians who allocate where the money is to be spent. The engineers at NASA are phenomenal and have chosen to work for far less than they could make in the private sector because they share our dream of furthering our exploration of space.
Here is a link the famous Buzz Aldrin "punch" video wherein he punches some moron who calls him a liar about having ever been to the moon. Posted for your enjoyment:)
You've got to be kidding... here are the stories on the their site today:
-"Uncovered: The whole truth about the Iraq War"
-"Bush in 30 seconds." (A contest to make an anti-Bush ad that will be judged by Michael Moore, Donna Brazile, Jack Black, Janeane Garofalo, Margaret Cho and Gus Van Sant... all extreme right winger's, right?)
-"Fire Rumsfield and Change Course"
-"Investigate the White House"
You are right.. this site is not liberally biased. It is fanatically anti-Bush. To say that it is only biased would be like saying you smoked pot but didn't inhale.
The above links do not contain any information about weapon systems that have been sold to Iraq. The first link just lists a story that quotes a the leftist German daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung, reporting of a list of companies from several nations that supplied equipment to Iraq. Assuming this information is accurate, I am sure that most if not all of this equipment was dual-use, the US government and the companies themselves may have been lied to or deceived as to the purpose of the equipment. Even the germs were dual-use in that the second article says that they were sold as vaccines.
for the third time... the US never supported the Taliban at any time. The Taliban did not exist when the US was supporting the Afghan rebellion. The closest you can come is that the remnants of the rebelion eventually formed the Taliban... but that is quite a stretch.
The nuts you are referring to was a one-time parts exchange. One cargo-container worth of repair parts for US hardware that had been sold to Iran before the revolution. This exchange was part of a deal to free American hostages. The really screwed up part of the deal was that the profits from the sale were diverted to fund the Contras (Nicaraguan rebels).
I have no ill will toward the French,.. I actually just came back from two weeks there and have nothing but positive things to say (other than the fact that they all are chain-smokers and they have extremely liberal buisness hours). I was merely pointing out that the US is actually quite restrained in who they sell weapons to compared to other (France/FSU) countries. Now, military aid in the form of money is an entirely different matter.
With regard to the Bosnian war, are you actually acknowledging that the US stood up for an oppressed people? I thought the mantra was that the US only supported despots...
With regard to Al Qaeda... that is just insane. The oldest 9/11 hijackers would have been less than 5 years old when the US was supporting the Afghan rebels, which is as close as you can get to associating US support for Al Qaeda... pretty weak if you ask me.
hardly. The US provided Singer missiles to the Afghan rebels. This was the limit of the hardware support. The remnants of this movement ended up founding the Taliban government. Saying that the US armed the Taliban is a ridiculous stretch by an means. Fact is, the Taliban's order of battle is (was) almost entirely captured Soviet era gear.
well...the problem is that when you "tell" a guidend bomb to land on the corner of park avenue and broadway, it simply won't get there. GPS weapons are designed to overcome the large terminal phase guidance errors inherent in any unguided weapon. Of course, visual processing is getting much more accurate, and may soon be accurate enough to find a terrain contexted target on the battlefield in the near future...obviating the need for GPS guidance.
note also, this feature would now allow other EU countries to jam GPS while leaving Galileo unaltered.
I don't understand what the deal is... so it is ok for everyone in the world to have GPS-jamming capability but the US should not be able to jam Galileo in time of war?
wait... are we talking about the US or the French here? I'm trying to think of a country that has abused US military hardware... I suppose some would say Israel, but can you name any others... On the other hand, lets look who has French and Russian hardware: Iraq, Iran, Lybia, Yuogoslavia...
bullshit... calculators do not belong in school either. They just teach children that do no not need to understand math. While in grad school, I used to tutor high school students. Most of them were actually above average in ability and just had parents who forced them to go to weekend tutoring sessions. You would be amazed at how dependent these people are on their calculators. No kidding, you could ask them a simple question, like 1000/10 and no kidding they would reach for their calculator. They wouldn't even try to solve such simple problems in their head. These were HIGH SCHOOL students. IMHO, calculators should only be allowed in classes where math is recognized as a tool such as high school physics or chemistry.
Similiarly, computers can be useful in elementry school in a learning center environment (as a tool)... but spending time actually learning to use one is time that is not being spent on more fundamental subjects. In junior-high, maybe start introducing computers as the subject of study itself (i.e. programming and technology classes).
I have a better idea... teach them the English (or any other) language first. Once they have mastered reading, writing, math, science and history,... then move on to computers.
How many times can Bill get on stage, claim that "Microsoft is refocusing its effors into security", and be believable?
Don't know but I know it will be exactly the same number of times Linux fanatics will stand up in unison and say Linux is better because it is [*****].
Hmmm.... development on the B-2 began in 1981, the first test aircraft rolled out in 1988 and the first operational B-2 was in 1991. To my knowledge, we haven't bought any since the late 90's. How is this Bush's doing? Personally I think having expensive/modern aircraft is a good thing at least with regard to having more accurate weaponry to minimize civilian casualties. Or perhaps you would prefer B-17s with 5 nm CEPs like in WW2?
Actually, CNN just reported that this has nothing to do with the DNC registery but existing laws that were in place previously that ordered companies to maintain their own lists (and in this case violating by calling people who told AT&T not to call).
One my favorite course in college was History of Science. Granted, it was taught by a "western white male" and taught to the same, so of course there is a bias there. I would also like to point out that I know very little about eastern religions other that what was taught in this course, so take everything with a grain of salt. However, we looked hard at the issues that drive scientific development. I can recall two very significant contributors to scientific development:
First, of course was religion. IIRC, the argument was that the eastern religions had a common theme of cyclic time. That is, that humans relate to their world in cyclic terms, evident is such beliefs as reincarnation. There typically is not a beginning or end to the world... the universe is more or less static. On the other hand, western religions have a common theme of linear time. By linear time, it means that time is considered to have a beginning and an end. In addition, Judeo-Christian (anyone have any insight into Islam in this case?) beliefs have the concept of a "savior" or "messiah" in one form or another. This is interesting and differs from cyclic time in that there are now reasons for the followers to prepare the Earth for "the end times" or "the savior" as the case may be. IOW, progress is not considered a waste of energy.
The other gem I took from the course was on the relationship between labor resources (read: slaves) and technological development. Something to the effect that although the Greeks made remarkable advances in the sciences, the Romans' great military successes provided a near endless supply of slave labor. Many great Roman achievements were only great in terms of scale (aquaducts, colosseums). (One could throw the Egyptian pyramids in here as well). Rather than inventing new technologies to build these structures, they were simply brute force. I leave it to the readers to consider the extend these thoughts to 19th century America.
What proof do you have that Microsoft is behind the SCO situation? Do you not believe it is possible that there exist TWO greedy corporate entities in the world?
Slashdot Mirror
Oh...and very nice Mars-related nick!
No you can't because it hasn't been done yet... we need to walk before we run.
Zubrin't table of delta-V's has a fundamental error in it... it doesn't include the fuel required to launch an vehicle from Earth to parking orbit, the fuel for the transfer orbit to Mars, the fuel for Mars capture or the fuel required for landing at Mars. Don't forget you aren't just moving the spacecraft to Mars but all the ground support equipment, mining equipment and fuel refining equipment as well.
Don't get me wrong, Zubrin has some excellent ideas and I would never question his conviction, but we still must walk before we run.
I wish people would stop blaming NASA. Place your blame with the politicians who allocate where the money is to be spent. The engineers at NASA are phenomenal and have chosen to work for far less than they could make in the private sector because they share our dream of furthering our exploration of space.
Here is a link the famous Buzz Aldrin "punch" video wherein he punches some moron who calls him a liar about having ever been to the moon. Posted for your enjoyment :)
-"Uncovered: The whole truth about the Iraq War"
-"Bush in 30 seconds." (A contest to make an anti-Bush ad that will be judged by Michael Moore, Donna Brazile, Jack Black, Janeane Garofalo, Margaret Cho and Gus Van Sant... all extreme right winger's, right?)
-"Fire Rumsfield and Change Course"
-"Investigate the White House"
You are right.. this site is not liberally biased. It is fanatically anti-Bush. To say that it is only biased would be like saying you smoked pot but didn't inhale.
The above links do not contain any information about weapon systems that have been sold to Iraq. The first link just lists a story that quotes a the leftist German daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung, reporting of a list of companies from several nations that supplied equipment to Iraq. Assuming this information is accurate, I am sure that most if not all of this equipment was dual-use, the US government and the companies themselves may have been lied to or deceived as to the purpose of the equipment. Even the germs were dual-use in that the second article says that they were sold as vaccines.
Ah...Moveon.org... now there is a great source of non-biased information.
for the third time... the US never supported the Taliban at any time. The Taliban did not exist when the US was supporting the Afghan rebellion. The closest you can come is that the remnants of the rebelion eventually formed the Taliban... but that is quite a stretch.
The nuts you are referring to was a one-time parts exchange. One cargo-container worth of repair parts for US hardware that had been sold to Iran before the revolution. This exchange was part of a deal to free American hostages. The really screwed up part of the deal was that the profits from the sale were diverted to fund the Contras (Nicaraguan rebels).
I have no ill will toward the French,.. I actually just came back from two weeks there and have nothing but positive things to say (other than the fact that they all are chain-smokers and they have extremely liberal buisness hours). I was merely pointing out that the US is actually quite restrained in who they sell weapons to compared to other (France/FSU) countries. Now, military aid in the form of money is an entirely different matter.
With regard to the Bosnian war, are you actually acknowledging that the US stood up for an oppressed people? I thought the mantra was that the US only supported despots...
With regard to Al Qaeda... that is just insane. The oldest 9/11 hijackers would have been less than 5 years old when the US was supporting the Afghan rebels, which is as close as you can get to associating US support for Al Qaeda... pretty weak if you ask me.
hardly. The US provided Singer missiles to the Afghan rebels. This was the limit of the hardware support. The remnants of this movement ended up founding the Taliban government. Saying that the US armed the Taliban is a ridiculous stretch by an means. Fact is, the Taliban's order of battle is (was) almost entirely captured Soviet era gear.
um...wrong. name one piece of gear in the Iraq order of battle that is US.
well...the problem is that when you "tell" a guidend bomb to land on the corner of park avenue and broadway, it simply won't get there. GPS weapons are designed to overcome the large terminal phase guidance errors inherent in any unguided weapon. Of course, visual processing is getting much more accurate, and may soon be accurate enough to find a terrain contexted target on the battlefield in the near future...obviating the need for GPS guidance.
I don't understand what the deal is... so it is ok for everyone in the world to have GPS-jamming capability but the US should not be able to jam Galileo in time of war?
wait... are we talking about the US or the French here? I'm trying to think of a country that has abused US military hardware... I suppose some would say Israel, but can you name any others... On the other hand, lets look who has French and Russian hardware: Iraq, Iran, Lybia, Yuogoslavia...
Similiarly, computers can be useful in elementry school in a learning center environment (as a tool) ... but spending time actually learning to use one is time that is not being spent on more fundamental subjects. In junior-high, maybe start introducing computers as the subject of study itself (i.e. programming and technology classes).
I have a better idea... teach them the English (or any other) language first. Once they have mastered reading, writing, math, science and history,... then move on to computers.
Don't know but I know it will be exactly the same number of times Linux fanatics will stand up in unison and say Linux is better because it is [*****].
Hmmm.... development on the B-2 began in 1981, the first test aircraft rolled out in 1988 and the first operational B-2 was in 1991. To my knowledge, we haven't bought any since the late 90's. How is this Bush's doing? Personally I think having expensive/modern aircraft is a good thing at least with regard to having more accurate weaponry to minimize civilian casualties. Or perhaps you would prefer B-17s with 5 nm CEPs like in WW2?
Actually, CNN just reported that this has nothing to do with the DNC registery but existing laws that were in place previously that ordered companies to maintain their own lists (and in this case violating by calling people who told AT&T not to call).
A year from the election and it looks like some people are already maneuvering to challenge the results.
First, of course was religion. IIRC, the argument was that the eastern religions had a common theme of cyclic time. That is, that humans relate to their world in cyclic terms, evident is such beliefs as reincarnation. There typically is not a beginning or end to the world... the universe is more or less static. On the other hand, western religions have a common theme of linear time. By linear time, it means that time is considered to have a beginning and an end. In addition, Judeo-Christian (anyone have any insight into Islam in this case?) beliefs have the concept of a "savior" or "messiah" in one form or another. This is interesting and differs from cyclic time in that there are now reasons for the followers to prepare the Earth for "the end times" or "the savior" as the case may be. IOW, progress is not considered a waste of energy.
The other gem I took from the course was on the relationship between labor resources (read: slaves) and technological development. Something to the effect that although the Greeks made remarkable advances in the sciences, the Romans' great military successes provided a near endless supply of slave labor. Many great Roman achievements were only great in terms of scale (aquaducts, colosseums). (One could throw the Egyptian pyramids in here as well). Rather than inventing new technologies to build these structures, they were simply brute force. I leave it to the readers to consider the extend these thoughts to 19th century America.
How dare you inject common sense into this argument! Next you will likely deny the existence of the NSA backdoor!
What proof do you have that Microsoft is behind the SCO situation? Do you not believe it is possible that there exist TWO greedy corporate entities in the world?