Hopefully the tech will filter down sooner than later.
I don't see much of a military need for this tech, however, when we've had military launch capability that could reach any location on earth well within a day, including the time it takes for authorization, for close to half a century.
Short of a massive nuclear response to a nuclear attack, there simply isn't any application where it's necessary, and where time to better consider other options is a bad thing.
But then again, we are probably on the verge of global resource wars amongst nations that have not.
What a sad state our greed and short sightedness has brought us to. Our capabilities as a species have changed enormously in the last century or so, but our insight into ourselves has not.
And if the money runs out, hell, sell the BP execs houses, cars, Learjets and everything else they own
No, that's where the government should *start* taking the fines. There is no rational reason that the taxpayers should pay for corporate fuckups, when the corporate executives responsible walk away with their "golden parachutes", and many of the politicians responsible for creating regulations to curb that sort of thievery continue to accept their silver with no consequences.
I own my own small business. If I ran it the way many of these people do, I'd be in prison.
Plus, they begin by taking the fine out of the top execs net worth. It is ultimately their responsibility to ensure their company follows proper safety procedures and is in compliance with regulations.
Yes, she is, and that is exactly how many of the drillers talk. I know a few, both platform and land workers. She isn't lying about their after work habits, either.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not generalizing - there are many of them who are very dedicated and professional. But if we're honest about it, it's a hellishly difficult, demanding and strenuous job, there's high turnover, and with platform workers they often don't have much else to do in their offtime but party - it's difficult to maintain any sort of real home life when you are away for long periods.
I agree with the GP about her swearing - she was using it to make a point - because if you listen to how she was talking before that she obviously is versed enough in language to speak clearly.
On that note I'd bet good money that the fucking executives probably swear just about as much when there's nobody around but their buddies in the club;-)
There's a lot of things I'm not happy with Obama about, either, but in all fairness to the man he did inherit a disaster and is fighting against an entrenched system that's been getting worse for decades.
I have no partisan leanings, but so far he is in my opinion a helluva lot better than the last prez. Please keep in mind that he has to at least work with the oil companies, he can't just order them around. If he tried to they would tie his administration up in court for long enough to make even an executive order useless. This is our modern system at work.
I agree with your points about BP, tho - and they should be slapped around as hard as is possible within the law. Oil companies should have measures in place to deal with spills like this; that they don't says volumes about both their irresponsibility and how much federal regulation regarding such has been stymied and essentially gutted of any meaningful power since Valdez.
I sense a great disturbance in the food. As if millions of diners salivated in ecstasy, then were suddenly tasteless. I fear something terrible has happened.
I imagine they are relying on the private companies who have been developing this technology - such as Bigelow with inflatable habitats, and the numerous work on solar electric propulsion, etc. After all, it has already been stated that NASA will be relying on private companies a lot more.
When it comes to space flight, the public is awfully ignorant. Perhaps we should stop worrying about public opinion so damned much and start doing real work. The astronauts and other people in the programs who put their lives on the line for it understand what the risks are and what they are doing. This is too important to be left to public opinion.
The irony here is that private space companies are more likely to succeed because they don't have to answer to the public as much as government funded programs do. Yet.
(Most of the public has no idea what the term "risk assessment" even means, especially involving spaceflight, let alone how to evaluate risk)
Oh, yeah. Huge nostalgia for me, back in the early-mid 80s I made a small living fixing them. Still do, once in a while... cheap soldering irons still have their uses;)
I'd give much to sit in that class you took. We are all getting older, nostalgia lost;-\
PS - Belated thanks on your sig, got the book and read it. Great read, nostalgia maxed. Whether my post led to my PS or my PS led to my post I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.
Back in the mid 90s, I worked for one of those slick, cool, handsome and nattily dressed business owners who embezzled over four million dollars from several businesses including the one I was employed at.
It only came to light when his pyramid investment schemes crashed and our paychecks bounced.
He's one of the fortunate ones - he's only doing about twenty years in a fedpen. I say fortunate because there were many people on his payroll who would gladly have terminated his existence, including me.
One of my cousins works in DC as a political correspondent; she says it's still incredibly easy not only to get access to the tarmac, but to baggage areas as well, if you push hard enough. A few years after 9/11 she was part of a group that walked thru security and placed a stuffed animal into a bag on the baggage line after it'd cleared security. Wish I still had the link, the article was hilarious. Anyone remember it?
Indeed; if these exposures are safe - even for frequent flyers, then why have we been repeatedly warned over the last thirty+ years about cumulative exposure to xrays in dentist and doctors offices?
Maybe they should start working with the hospitals.
You know, combine it all. Do full MRI/Xray etc, have doctors look those over alongside the security "experts", that would surely save money on hospital visits, wouldn't it?
Then they could combine the special back room treatment with breast cancer exams, rectal exams, etc, etc...
They could even make recommendations, such as jeezuz, you're still using head and shoulders shampoo? There's much better out there now...
Yeah, it's silly. But so is much of the crap they force people to do in airports. I certainly won't go thru it for any reason. I was born in the US, raised here, been paying taxes since I was 14, have had numerous background checks including the two I get every year at my current job, clean criminal record, good credit, registered gun owner, hell, one of my jobs is working with one of the biggest and oldest charitable organizations in the world whose level of background checks would make the FBI blush, so why can't I get a Pass To Fly without going thru all this bullshit?
Because it's not about terrorism anymore. If my government thinks I may become a terrorist - and I am an outspoken critic, as any patriotic citizen should be - perhaps my government should put it's house in order.
I agree with most of what you said, but I would like to point out that there are many people who are proficient in more than one field, or specialize in more than one sub-field across disciplines.
People who have the ability to specialize in one field are generally smart enough to understand many aspects of science across other fields. A good solid grounding in the basics of science - which is the idea behind multiple class requirements in college - generally gives one enough background to go further, if they have the time and ambition to do so.
The easier access to information, knowledge and education nowadays makes such skill diversity a lot easier than it used to be.
It's a shame that so many bright kids are using that access to become proficient lawyers, real estate agents, and stock brokers;-)
Slashdot Mirror
So little for civilian.
Hopefully the tech will filter down sooner than later.
I don't see much of a military need for this tech, however, when we've had military launch capability that could reach any location on earth well within a day, including the time it takes for authorization, for close to half a century.
Short of a massive nuclear response to a nuclear attack, there simply isn't any application where it's necessary, and where time to better consider other options is a bad thing.
But then again, we are probably on the verge of global resource wars amongst nations that have not.
What a sad state our greed and short sightedness has brought us to. Our capabilities as a species have changed enormously in the last century or so, but our insight into ourselves has not.
SB
And if the money runs out, hell, sell the BP execs houses, cars, Learjets and everything else they own
No, that's where the government should *start* taking the fines. There is no rational reason that the taxpayers should pay for corporate fuckups, when the corporate executives responsible walk away with their "golden parachutes", and many of the politicians responsible for creating regulations to curb that sort of thievery continue to accept their silver with no consequences.
I own my own small business. If I ran it the way many of these people do, I'd be in prison.
SB
In addition, if they don't share that data, then nobody else can use it to try and find better solutions.
SB
Plus, they begin by taking the fine out of the top execs net worth. It is ultimately their responsibility to ensure their company follows proper safety procedures and is in compliance with regulations.
I doubt that it will happen that way, however.
SB
Yes, she is, and that is exactly how many of the drillers talk. I know a few, both platform and land workers. She isn't lying about their after work habits, either.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not generalizing - there are many of them who are very dedicated and professional. But if we're honest about it, it's a hellishly difficult, demanding and strenuous job, there's high turnover, and with platform workers they often don't have much else to do in their offtime but party - it's difficult to maintain any sort of real home life when you are away for long periods.
I agree with the GP about her swearing - she was using it to make a point - because if you listen to how she was talking before that she obviously is versed enough in language to speak clearly.
On that note I'd bet good money that the fucking executives probably swear just about as much when there's nobody around but their buddies in the club ;-)
SB
There's a lot of things I'm not happy with Obama about, either, but in all fairness to the man he did inherit a disaster and is fighting against an entrenched system that's been getting worse for decades.
I have no partisan leanings, but so far he is in my opinion a helluva lot better than the last prez. Please keep in mind that he has to at least work with the oil companies, he can't just order them around. If he tried to they would tie his administration up in court for long enough to make even an executive order useless. This is our modern system at work.
I agree with your points about BP, tho - and they should be slapped around as hard as is possible within the law. Oil companies should have measures in place to deal with spills like this; that they don't says volumes about both their irresponsibility and how much federal regulation regarding such has been stymied and essentially gutted of any meaningful power since Valdez.
SB
[Elsewhere]
I sense a great disturbance in the food. As if millions of diners salivated in ecstasy, then were suddenly tasteless. I fear something terrible has happened.
I imagine they are relying on the private companies who have been developing this technology - such as Bigelow with inflatable habitats, and the numerous work on solar electric propulsion, etc. After all, it has already been stated that NASA will be relying on private companies a lot more.
SB
When it comes to space flight, the public is awfully ignorant. Perhaps we should stop worrying about public opinion so damned much and start doing real work. The astronauts and other people in the programs who put their lives on the line for it understand what the risks are and what they are doing. This is too important to be left to public opinion.
The irony here is that private space companies are more likely to succeed because they don't have to answer to the public as much as government funded programs do. Yet.
(Most of the public has no idea what the term "risk assessment" even means, especially involving spaceflight, let alone how to evaluate risk)
SB
Oh, yeah. Huge nostalgia for me, back in the early-mid 80s I made a small living fixing them. Still do, once in a while... cheap soldering irons still have their uses ;)
I'd give much to sit in that class you took. We are all getting older, nostalgia lost ;-\
Cheers,
SB
we'll have to accept the fact that anything that is created by a human being can be reproduced, copied and distributed by a human being.
Technology just makes it easier, that's all. The printing press certainly did.
Boo hoo, whine, whine, whine.
And yes, I've produced copyrighted works that I've made money off of. I don't get in a fluff if I don't get rich off of them, tho.
0.0
SB
That's human convention, not the universe's. The universe doesn't respect human notation ;-)
SB
Occasionally, even wisdom ;-)
SB
PS - Belated thanks on your sig, got the book and read it. Great read, nostalgia maxed. Whether my post led to my PS or my PS led to my post I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.
Back in the mid 90s, I worked for one of those slick, cool, handsome and nattily dressed business owners who embezzled over four million dollars from several businesses including the one I was employed at.
It only came to light when his pyramid investment schemes crashed and our paychecks bounced.
He's one of the fortunate ones - he's only doing about twenty years in a fedpen. I say fortunate because there were many people on his payroll who would gladly have terminated his existence, including me.
TANJ.
SB
1) Yeah, as societal hookers. Our cultural bias towards certain body types and appearance is just a little bit decadent.
2) That's what the media thrives on. ...
4) Profit.
Amendment to your sig: Any thread can be twisted into a bash of [insert current political administration here]
Yes, I'm an asshole today. My oldest living relative is being screwed over by Medicare. I'm angry.
SB
In other words, it's basically meaningless.
Makes good headlines, however.
SB
white trash
Define term, please.
Much of the latest economic meltdown can be traced back to people who I apply that same term to.
thieves, prostitutes, and murderers
Indeed.
SB
Sure you can.
It involves government contracts with no overspending oversight.
SB
AP: Experts Disagree.
(was listening to NPR at work and heard that one as well, it was the best laugh I've had in weeks, thanks for the reminder)
SB
Macbeth, perchance? ;-)
SB
Press badge.
One of my cousins works in DC as a political correspondent; she says it's still incredibly easy not only to get access to the tarmac, but to baggage areas as well, if you push hard enough. A few years after 9/11 she was part of a group that walked thru security and placed a stuffed animal into a bag on the baggage line after it'd cleared security. Wish I still had the link, the article was hilarious. Anyone remember it?
SB
That would destroy both the political and legal professions in this country, along with many others...
Think of their children! I assure you that they do ;-)
SB
Indeed; if these exposures are safe - even for frequent flyers, then why have we been repeatedly warned over the last thirty+ years about cumulative exposure to xrays in dentist and doctors offices?
SB
Maybe they should start working with the hospitals.
You know, combine it all. Do full MRI/Xray etc, have doctors look those over alongside the security "experts", that would surely save money on hospital visits, wouldn't it?
Then they could combine the special back room treatment with breast cancer exams, rectal exams, etc, etc...
They could even make recommendations, such as jeezuz, you're still using head and shoulders shampoo? There's much better out there now...
Yeah, it's silly. But so is much of the crap they force people to do in airports. I certainly won't go thru it for any reason. I was born in the US, raised here, been paying taxes since I was 14, have had numerous background checks including the two I get every year at my current job, clean criminal record, good credit, registered gun owner, hell, one of my jobs is working with one of the biggest and oldest charitable organizations in the world whose level of background checks would make the FBI blush, so why can't I get a Pass To Fly without going thru all this bullshit?
Because it's not about terrorism anymore. If my government thinks I may become a terrorist - and I am an outspoken critic, as any patriotic citizen should be - perhaps my government should put it's house in order.
SB
I agree with most of what you said, but I would like to point out that there are many people who are proficient in more than one field, or specialize in more than one sub-field across disciplines.
People who have the ability to specialize in one field are generally smart enough to understand many aspects of science across other fields. A good solid grounding in the basics of science - which is the idea behind multiple class requirements in college - generally gives one enough background to go further, if they have the time and ambition to do so.
The easier access to information, knowledge and education nowadays makes such skill diversity a lot easier than it used to be.
It's a shame that so many bright kids are using that access to become proficient lawyers, real estate agents, and stock brokers ;-)
SB