thanks for your rocketry story! i remember building model rockets when i was younger, and dealing with all sorts of details that went into the launch. my younger brother was into it, too, and i think some of these details were a little too much to bother with.
see, we were super competitive. i remember building a C power rocket one afternoon. my siblings and i were very competitive. the aforementioned brother HAD to build a rocket, too.
of course, he, being the youngest brother, ended up getting shafted in the dough-for-fun-fund. he wound up scrounging enough money to buy the Mosquito, a rocket that used A (AA? AAA? what's the smallest rocket?), and was no taller than a pencil.
launch time was nearing for me, so he set to work at a feverish pace. he soon came out with this hideously spray-painted, still-wet and dripping with paint yellow and black rocket that looked uber pizacrap.
we launched it in front of our house in the suburbs. neighborhood kids came out to watch. he threaded the rocket onto the launching pad, connected the fuse up, and started the countdown.
3... 2... 1... FWOOOOOOOSH!
sucker flew straight! straight up REAL FAST! all these kids were ooohing and ahhing. even the folks across the street were impressed! the rocket didn't get too high-- it was still very visible when it began to slow down and arc downward.
there's something terribly graceful about a rocket gliding in the air-- it was beautiful. not a peep was heard in the crowd.
so heavenly, so peaceful! we knew that any moment now, the tiny secondary charge would gently pop the nosecone off and unfurl the streamer which would let it fall gently to the ground...
so graceful!
then BOOM! the rocket BLASTED toward the earth at something akin to warp 10. kids were screaming and tried to run away, but it was just too fast! it impaled itself into the ground, several inches deep, still smoking, and then caught fire.
kids were crying. parents were yelling. we began to try to figure out what happened. he glued the nosecone, which is supposed to pop off, into place.
that secondary charge had nowhere to go but out the back of the rocket. and when the back of the rocket is facing up, the rocket's gonna go down. fast.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY:
NEVER GLUE THE NOSECONE IN PLACE. also, WET SPRAYPAINT IS A FIRE HAZARD.
one more thing, for those who think i didn't read the review and think that i'm off my rocker: read the review yourself.
for those who think the listening tests add any useful information to the review: read the article.
for chrissakes, it's written like a horoscope! every card sounds crisp/clean/warm/deep but also might be harsh/tinny/poopy/balls. even _I_ could write a review like that:
"a friend of mine can play the star spangled banner with his armpit. while it may be unconventional, this reviewer believes that the rendition was warm, with good deep tones. while it wasn't able to reproduce frequencies above 120hz, i do not believe this is of significant detriment, as most farts fall in the sub-120hz range. just for your information, bass tones that low are nearly 'omnidirectional.' that is why it is so difficult to determine who cut the cheese, and why it is best to go with the rule 'whoever smelt it, dealt it.'"
omg, evreyuone knows teh REAL BEST sound cards r the ones that overcl0kc teh BERST.
like, i oc'd my mediavision proaduiuospectrum16 (don't laff its teh BEST) and now i can hear sounds b 4 they happen!
like, omg. this guy was gonan shoot me with rocket launcher but i heard it before hje shooted then i was gonna shoot him first but tehn i heared my shotgun fire b 4 i even press the button!!1!!
HE WAS DEADRESTATED B 4 I EVEN SHOOTED HIM!
I R TEH S0 GLAD I READED THIS REVIEWS. MY SHOTGUN SOUNDS SO CLEAN AND CRISP AND CLEAR AND BECAUSE I R TEH AUDIOPHILz0RZ I KNOW IT SOUNDS AS BEST AS REALISTIC YES IS.
seriously, sound card reviews like this are a crock, providing little information above the specifications provided by the manufacturers themselves. as evidenced by the previous story about the s00per c00l vacuum t00b sound card, people can't be fooled into thinking these things will provide "audiophilez0rz" quality.
basically, there are T cells and B cells (i won't even get into the Mr. T-cells in this post-- though i've mentioned them in another post). the precursors for these are made very early in life, either in the fetal liver or yolk sac, or later in bone marrow.
these precursors differentiate, or "grow up" in the thymus. basically, they're "taught" how to work. hmn. i just re-read your post. i'll cut to the chase:
tons and tons of each type of cell precursor are made. the typical lifespan of T-cells is thought to be in the period of months to years. "memory" T cells, in particular, are thought to have very long lifespans in the range of "many" years.
it is important to note that production of precursors does _not_ halt: they are constantly produced in the bone marrow. also, the thymus doesn't poof entirely-- it maintains function, though it shrinks tremendously in size as we get older.
quote: "The thymus produces, educates and distributes special white cells called T lymphocytes (T-cells) which help to control the immune system and fight infection.
But T-cells are destroyed when cancer patients undergo chemotherapy and also by the AIDS virus. The cells are also suppressed in people who have had organ transplants."
this is a significant problem that is one of the biggest factors leading to disease in immunocompromised patients. the reason why they're also suppressed in patients with organ transplants is that they require immunosuppresant therapy, so that they own body doesn't reject the donor organ.
in a nutshell, your body doesn't like non-self things. if there's a non-self thing in your system, say, someone else's liver, your immune system will flip out and demonstrate Real Ultimate Power.
what's needed is some sort of component that can be introduced into the body that can aid the immune system intelligently. something that resists destruction by chemotherapy, and something that is "smart" enough to know what to attack, and what to leave alone. T-cells don't do this.
nanotechnology offers this. i know it's going to be years from now, but i hope that scientists will be able to shrink Mr. T into an injectable form. These Mr. T-cells will seek out and berate questionable cells and foreign bodies and beat them down, if necessary.
some genetic work may be needed to strengthen its intelligence such that the Mr. T-cells don't kill everything in sight.
"what's all this jibba-jabba bout chemo?" "i pity the immune system who ain't got no T."
i worked as a grunt in the archives of the library at the College of William & Mary (how's that for a crappy sentence?), and i ran into some really coooooool stuff, including boxes full of people's personal effects (professor's glasses, medals, etc.), and boxes full of student records, complete with pictures of them holding _PUNCH CARDS_!
my memory is a little hazy here, but they were holding them a la mugshot style, they were maybe 12"x6", and i believe they had their name written on them as well. but the really interesting thing that i noticed was that these were photos of students holding punch cards into the 80s (again, my memory is not great, but i think it was til '83).
no, seriously. it's amazing they got rid of the 9-camera system. i expect high-boobz0r-content-pr0n made for tv to become much more affordable in the coming years. i imagine that you'd need a new tv, like one with a 256:9 aspect just to fit those triple-Ds in any scene.
misread the title as "Augmented Reality Balls," realized that i was just making a word association, then thought about how useful big, realistic balls would--
but then i stopped thinking about it. so should you. now. 8D
NEW JERSEY - YOYODYNE LABS (NYSE: YO) has done it again! First they brought you watermelons that resist squashing, now they discover a visual technology that will allow humans to differentiate between many kinds of meat.
Using a special set of goggles, wearers are able to experience the part of the electromagnetic spectrum YO Labs is calling "visual light," or "V-light."
"It's amazing," says one test subject, "I've never been able to appreciate bacon for what it was. With these goggles, I can differentiate the fat layer from the meat layer!"
Scientists are saying that "V-light" technology will herald a new age. Perfect Tommy said, "It will effect a paradigm shift, the likes of which we've never seen! I know there are many concerns about privacy and stuff, but really, this technology is good. We only use our powers for good."
Privacy advocates are calling "V-light" immoral. "The ability for people to tell the difference between, say, bacon and corned beef, is a god-given right. But I don't want people to be able to just look into my windows and see me prance around naked with a bowl of jello," says Kent Torokvei.
But government officials are adamant: "Visual light is a new technology that will enable us to catch criminimables," President George W. Bush said. "With it, we can tell if a terrorist is wearing something trendy, or something not-so-trendy. If we pull back his shirt, we might even be able to see if he has a bomb strapped to his chest. My advisors tell me we might even be able to tell if criminals are black or white, which will aid our police officers in their policy of racial profiling!"
"I don't give a flying wahoo what the President says," Buckaroo Banzai, head of the Hong Kong Cavaliers, said in a recent interview. "The fact of the matter is, I'm sick of biting into a slice of bacon and finding it being mostly meat. I need my fat. We can give these goggles to the poor and the malnourished, and they can use it to find fat people to eat just by LOOKING at them!"
"Fat people are a delicious and nutritious meal. I realized that after seeing that unsquashable watermelons did nothing to do to rid the world of famine. They're easy to hunt, and they're easy to bait. This is much better than trying to smash open an unsquashable watermelon."
And what about T-waves?
"Terahertz waves? That thing sucks big donkey dong. The real genius is V-light. Not only can I see intimate details, but I believe the technology can be tuned to predict the future somewhat. Here. Take off your pants. Lemme tune my goggles. Ok, I can see your nuts, and I can also predict that you will never die of autoerotic asphyxiation."
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thanks for your rocketry story! i remember building model rockets when i was younger, and dealing with all sorts of details that went into the launch. my younger brother was into it, too, and i think some of these details were a little too much to bother with.
see, we were super competitive. i remember building a C power rocket one afternoon. my siblings and i were very competitive. the aforementioned brother HAD to build a rocket, too.
of course, he, being the youngest brother, ended up getting shafted in the dough-for-fun-fund. he wound up scrounging enough money to buy the Mosquito, a rocket that used A (AA? AAA? what's the smallest rocket?), and was no taller than a pencil.
launch time was nearing for me, so he set to work at a feverish pace. he soon came out with this hideously spray-painted, still-wet and dripping with paint yellow and black rocket that looked uber pizacrap.
we launched it in front of our house in the suburbs. neighborhood kids came out to watch. he threaded the rocket onto the launching pad, connected the fuse up, and started the countdown.
3...
2...
1...
FWOOOOOOOSH!
sucker flew straight! straight up REAL FAST! all these kids were ooohing and ahhing. even the folks across the street were impressed! the rocket didn't get too high-- it was still very visible when it began to slow down and arc downward.
there's something terribly graceful about a rocket gliding in the air-- it was beautiful. not a peep was heard in the crowd.
so heavenly, so peaceful! we knew that any moment now, the tiny secondary charge would gently pop the nosecone off and unfurl the streamer which would let it fall gently to the ground...
so graceful!
then BOOM! the rocket BLASTED toward the earth at something akin to warp 10. kids were screaming and tried to run away, but it was just too fast! it impaled itself into the ground, several inches deep, still smoking, and then caught fire.
kids were crying. parents were yelling. we began to try to figure out what happened. he glued the nosecone, which is supposed to pop off, into place.
that secondary charge had nowhere to go but out the back of the rocket. and when the back of the rocket is facing up, the rocket's gonna go down. fast.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY:
NEVER GLUE THE NOSECONE IN PLACE.
also, WET SPRAYPAINT IS A FIRE HAZARD.
one more thing, for those who think i didn't read the review and think that i'm off my rocker: read the review yourself.
for those who think the listening tests add any useful information to the review: read the article.
for chrissakes, it's written like a horoscope! every card sounds crisp/clean/warm/deep but also might be harsh/tinny/poopy/balls. even _I_ could write a review like that:
"a friend of mine can play the star spangled banner with his armpit. while it may be unconventional, this reviewer believes that the rendition was warm, with good deep tones. while it wasn't able to reproduce frequencies above 120hz, i do not believe this is of significant detriment, as most farts fall in the sub-120hz range. just for your information, bass tones that low are nearly 'omnidirectional.' that is why it is so difficult to determine who cut the cheese, and why it is best to go with the rule 'whoever smelt it, dealt it.'"
omg, evreyuone knows teh REAL BEST sound cards r the ones that overcl0kc teh BERST.
like, i oc'd my mediavision proaduiuospectrum16 (don't laff its teh BEST) and now i can hear sounds b 4 they happen!
like, omg. this guy was gonan shoot me with rocket launcher but i heard it before hje shooted then i was gonna shoot him first but tehn i heared my shotgun fire b 4 i even press the button!!1!!
HE WAS DEADRESTATED B 4 I EVEN SHOOTED HIM!
I R TEH S0 GLAD I READED THIS REVIEWS.
MY SHOTGUN SOUNDS SO CLEAN AND CRISP AND CLEAR AND BECAUSE I R TEH AUDIOPHILz0RZ I KNOW IT SOUNDS AS BEST AS REALISTIC YES IS.
seriously, sound card reviews like this are a crock, providing little information above the specifications provided by the manufacturers themselves. as evidenced by the previous story about the s00per c00l vacuum t00b sound card, people can't be fooled into thinking these things will provide "audiophilez0rz" quality.
by grabthar's hammer... what an immune system!
basically, there are T cells and B cells (i won't even get into the Mr. T-cells in this post-- though i've mentioned them in another post). the precursors for these are made very early in life, either in the fetal liver or yolk sac, or later in bone marrow.
these precursors differentiate, or "grow up" in the thymus. basically, they're "taught" how to work. hmn. i just re-read your post. i'll cut to the chase:
tons and tons of each type of cell precursor are made. the typical lifespan of T-cells is thought to be in the period of months to years. "memory" T cells, in particular, are thought to have very long lifespans in the range of "many" years.
it is important to note that production of precursors does _not_ halt: they are constantly produced in the bone marrow. also, the thymus doesn't poof entirely-- it maintains function, though it shrinks tremendously in size as we get older.
quote:
"The thymus produces, educates and distributes special white cells called T lymphocytes (T-cells) which help to control the immune system and fight infection.
But T-cells are destroyed when cancer patients undergo chemotherapy and also by the AIDS virus. The cells are also suppressed in people who have had organ transplants."
this is a significant problem that is one of the biggest factors leading to disease in immunocompromised patients. the reason why they're also suppressed in patients with organ transplants is that they require immunosuppresant therapy, so that they own body doesn't reject the donor organ.
in a nutshell, your body doesn't like non-self things. if there's a non-self thing in your system, say, someone else's liver, your immune system will flip out and demonstrate Real Ultimate Power.
what's needed is some sort of component that can be introduced into the body that can aid the immune system intelligently. something that resists destruction by chemotherapy, and something that is "smart" enough to know what to attack, and what to leave alone. T-cells don't do this.
nanotechnology offers this. i know it's going to be years from now, but i hope that scientists will be able to shrink Mr. T into an injectable form. These Mr. T-cells will seek out and berate questionable cells and foreign bodies and beat them down, if necessary.
some genetic work may be needed to strengthen its intelligence such that the Mr. T-cells don't kill everything in sight.
"what's all this jibba-jabba bout chemo?"
"i pity the immune system who ain't got no T."
i worked as a grunt in the archives of the library at the College of William & Mary (how's that for a crappy sentence?), and i ran into some really coooooool stuff, including boxes full of people's personal effects (professor's glasses, medals, etc.), and boxes full of student records, complete with pictures of them holding _PUNCH CARDS_!
my memory is a little hazy here, but they were holding them a la mugshot style, they were maybe 12"x6", and i believe they had their name written on them as well. but the really interesting thing that i noticed was that these were photos of students holding punch cards into the 80s (again, my memory is not great, but i think it was til '83).
3D on tv?
i can barely handle double Ds on tv.
girls with 3D. how do they _walk_?
no, seriously. it's amazing they got rid of the 9-camera system. i expect high-boobz0r-content-pr0n made for tv to become much more affordable in the coming years. i imagine that you'd need a new tv, like one with a 256:9 aspect just to fit those triple-Ds in any scene.
misread the title as "Augmented Reality Balls," realized that i was just making a word association, then thought about how useful big, realistic balls would--
but then i stopped thinking about it.
so should you.
now.
8D
at first i thought that "seeing and tuning social networks" would help me meet REALY HAWT chix0rz! but then i realized it was something else entirely.
damn.
my green shoot hasn't erupted from this still-bleak landscape in a lonnng time.
NEW JERSEY - YOYODYNE LABS (NYSE: YO) has done it again! First they brought you watermelons that resist squashing, now they discover a visual technology that will allow humans to differentiate between many kinds of meat.
Using a special set of goggles, wearers are able to experience the part of the electromagnetic spectrum YO Labs is calling "visual light," or "V-light."
"It's amazing," says one test subject, "I've never been able to appreciate bacon for what it was. With these goggles, I can differentiate the fat layer from the meat layer!"
Scientists are saying that "V-light" technology will herald a new age. Perfect Tommy said, "It will effect a paradigm shift, the likes of which we've never seen! I know there are many concerns about privacy and stuff, but really, this technology is good. We only use our powers for good."
Privacy advocates are calling "V-light" immoral. "The ability for people to tell the difference between, say, bacon and corned beef, is a god-given right. But I don't want people to be able to just look into my windows and see me prance around naked with a bowl of jello," says Kent Torokvei.
But government officials are adamant: "Visual light is a new technology that will enable us to catch criminimables," President George W. Bush said. "With it, we can tell if a terrorist is wearing something trendy, or something not-so-trendy. If we pull back his shirt, we might even be able to see if he has a bomb strapped to his chest. My advisors tell me we might even be able to tell if criminals are black or white, which will aid our police officers in their policy of racial profiling!"
"I don't give a flying wahoo what the President says," Buckaroo Banzai, head of the Hong Kong Cavaliers, said in a recent interview. "The fact of the matter is, I'm sick of biting into a slice of bacon and finding it being mostly meat. I need my fat. We can give these goggles to the poor and the malnourished, and they can use it to find fat people to eat just by LOOKING at them!"
"Fat people are a delicious and nutritious meal. I realized that after seeing that unsquashable watermelons did nothing to do to rid the world of famine. They're easy to hunt, and they're easy to bait. This is much better than trying to smash open an unsquashable watermelon."
And what about T-waves?
"Terahertz waves? That thing sucks big donkey dong. The real genius is V-light. Not only can I see intimate details, but I believe the technology can be tuned to predict the future somewhat. Here. Take off your pants. Lemme tune my goggles. Ok, I can see your nuts, and I can also predict that you will never die of autoerotic asphyxiation."