Glad I'm not a Californian anymore
on
Tinfoil Hat House
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I'm from Ventura, and am unsure exactly where "Sacromento" is, but I'm glad I moved to Alaska as soon as I turned 18. I could build a house out of aluminum foil ('tin' foil is hard to come by) in my neighborhood, and no one would care, even though the cheapest house just sold for $275,000. Of course, I don't live in Los Anchorage, but I still have DSL, indoor plumbing, and a fire department 6 blocks away.
Think about all the people that 'buy' a name for a star for their loved ones, or purchase a claim for land or minerals rights on the moon, Mars, or elsewhere? Yes, I have read the international conventions stating no one can own this or that, but is naming something a claim to ownership? Alfred Brooks (the late geologist and explorer for the U.S.G.S.), nor his decendants, lay any claim to ownership of the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska.
I might be inclined to give $100 to have a chunk of rock named after someone or something, especially if I knew the money was going to further scientific research.
I live in Bush Alaska, and but for moose, bear, fish, and other animals, I would starve. I don't live in Californicate or Worst Virgina, so I don't know what it is like there. But here, I can't run down to the grocery store for a piece of beef or chicken. I hunt for real, and to live, and leave my computer in the cabin. I also gather wild plant foods. The upside is that I know my food is hormone-and-drug-free.
When I was 15, and thought I was tough, an old man (must have been at least 40 or 50 years old), whom I beat in a weightlifting contest, said to me words which I will never forget: "My experience will untimately beat you-never underestimate your opponent". This old man took me down with not a single blow of mine landing upon him, and the 'fight' was over in less than three seconds. He was on top, and could have easily killed me.
I carried that lesson through many subsequent battles.
Although that may be meant as a joke, it is true in many ways.
I have seen significant changes in the climate in the last 20 years. In the last few years, it has been warm enough to grow corn, melons, peppers, and other stuff, and the shorts and bikinis are already out, even though the lakes are iced over. Having come here from El Paso, I welcome our Global Warming StringTop Wearing Overlords. I smell coconut.
Even the 'winters' are warmer, and the last few have had little snow that stayed, although it did dip to -20 for a few days. That's the view from south-central Alaska.
The downside is the growing pains from being the fastest-growing part of the U.S.
As a geologist, I see that just 9,500 years ago, this place that I have built my home upon (a glacial moraine) was buried by ice that was then over 1,000 feet thick. The climate changes, with or without human influence. Adapt or perish, I say. In the meantime, I'll code when I'm not digging.
According to this report, it's not as bad in Alaska: "Nationwide, high-tech employment in 2004 totaled 5.6 million, down by 25,000 jobs in 2003. The only states gaining tech jobs were Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming.
We have what I would call an emerging tech state. Even way out here in the Bush, we have DSL and wifi, and have had it for quite some time. We also have favorable government, and many other incentives. Heck, we get a check for about $1,000 just for filling out a form, and no state income taxes. Most places don't have a sales tax, either.
"US president George W. Bush, in a speech to Congress today said, "Now that the situation in Iraq is under control, and after we've overthrown the governments of North Korea, Cuba, New Zealand, Iran and Madagascar, I'll be asking you for a further $50 billion toward my administration's efforts to help liberate Alaska, and give freedom to the Alaski people."
The Alaskan governor, Frank H. Murkowski has long been a thorn in the side of the federal government by frustrating their plans to grab control of the entire world's oil reserves by the year 2010 to present to Dick Cheney as a birthday gift."
Just in time for ANWR: "US president George W. Bush, in a speech to Congress today said, "Now that the situation in Iraq is under control, and after we've overthrown the governments of North Korea, Cuba, New Zealand, Iran and Madagascar, I'll be asking you for a further $50 billion toward my administration's efforts to help liberate Alaska, and give freedom to the Alaski people."
The Alaskan governor, Frank H. Murkowski has long been a thorn in the side of the federal government by frustrating their plans to grab control of the entire world's oil reserves by the year 2010 to present to Dick Cheney as a birthday gift."
President Bush to Liberate Alaska
Dang! I just gave someone advise about setting up just such a thing. Hope they didn't install it on very many systems. Their ad was targeted at spouses and parents.
Human: What are you?
ALICE: I am the latest result in artificial intelligence, which can reproduce the capabilities of the human brain with greater speed and accuracy.
Human: The first part of your statement may be correct, but the second part is not.
ALICE: What was the second?
Human: What sayeth thee?
ALICE: Searching...Searching...Please stand by.
It's not like I asked it to define pi or anything.
This one is Spruce Tree sized.
on
Port-A-Nuke
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· Score: 1
"Military snooping comes in two forms: COMINT and ELINT. Avoiding COMINT observation might be easy, as all authorized users can synch-up encryption keys ahead of time (which only works until an enemy mugs one of your guys- but that's close enough).
"
One time we captured the commander of an enemy unit, complete with codebook. You'd think the first thing they'd do is issue new codebooks, but we got at least 4 crushing ambushes out of them over the next week or two.
Knives, especially smaller ones (4" blade), are very useful for slashing, and it is effective. In a real fight, you might be wrestling. If my opponent is holding his knife forward, I can take it away easier (and not just because I can see it) than if he holds it back. And holding it against your arm prevents the other person from grabbing your wrist, and allows for slashing as well as stabbing. Plus the grip is better, and stabbing down gives you more power. Just sticking a knife in someones belly could have little effect, when it takes a moment to stick you back, or break you otherwise.
A few more tips: get a side of beef and see what it's like to actually stab something. If you have one of those big Rambo/Crocodile Dundee knives with the big serrations, you'll find they get hung up in bone and sinew. Dip your hand in a bucket of blood after the first stab, and see how slippery it is to keep a good grip on the second stab. In a real fight, you stab-stab-stab-stab-stab until they are down, just as with any other weapon, anatomical or not.
I almost forgot the first thing they told us in edged weapons class: Never Throw Away Your Knife. Then we were taught how to do that very thing, along with shovels, scissors, letter openers, nails, etc.
You pull the knife out, blade opposite the thumb, and use it. The whole thing, from identifying the threat to the 6th slash, should be about 5 seconds. Describing how is like describing color.
Agreed. If you're going to use a knife in a fight, it's best if the other person doesn't know you have a knife. Smart way is to hold it so the blade is hidden by your arm, rather than pointing out where the other person can see it And as the previous poster mentioned, you must be prepared to use it, not chat and hesitate. I've taken away quite a few knives because the person watched too much TV (I used to be a bouncer in a rough club, and had some previous training). Every one of them pulled out their knives and held it at waist level. They had forfeited their chance.
If you don't have any training or experience and someone pulls a knife on you, my advice is to run. Likewise, it's best to not use a knife if you have no training or experience. Someone may take it away from you and stick you with it.
To the best of my knowledge, I've never eaten human, but I have eaten bear. How is this relevant? Because the first time I skinned a black bear, I was suprised. Sans skin, head, and paws, it looks a lot like a human out of Grays Anatomy.
I built a large (think four tractor-trailers) machine to semi-autonomously extract precious metals and gemstones from gravel and loose rock. I looked at buying one, but they cost from $250,000 on up. So I did some research and decided to build my own. That's when I discovered salvage yards.
Not auto salvage yards, but places like the Governments DRMS (Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service) and other places where over orders or non-completion resulted in "I" beams, sheet metals, hydraulic pumps and motors, controllers, stuff I bought that I don't know what it does but looks cool, heavy, and expensive; and lots of other cool stuff, much of it never used and well cared for, could be found, sometimes for $60/ton! (A consideration on a 45 ton mobile machine). Seems it is cheaper for them to sell it than to store it or ship it out of Alaska. I built the drive from sprockets, chains, and drives of a cement mixer truck, and the primary scrubber is an extra piece of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, so it's got a little bit of history to it. Best part of all is that it requires maintenance or attendance only once per day, and cost less than $100,000 to build. The performance, after a little tweaking in the field, exceeded my expectations. My next target is to make it so it digs and feeds itself. Now accepting resumes and letters of interest.
"Both the result and answer can be seen above lol...:)"
Recently I was in the grocery store, and noticed that an employee had placed a hand written sign for the "potatoe" (sic) chips right in the middle of the rack of potato chips. The hard part to believe is that someone could not correctly spell the product even while surrounded by it. I also noticed chile for chili peppers, cucumbers-something for you-know-whats, and so on.
However, it seems that just as I am correcting someone for their spelling or grammer, I screw up, so I quit that bidness, barely.
"In the US, the jury box is still the one place that any common citizen is as powerful as the President of the US.....at least as I understand it."
You really do take your chances in front of a jury, or even a judge. You can make a solid argument, backed by the facts and the law, and still be ruled against. I know, I've seen it happen first hand. There are simply no assurances.
I believe the primary goal is to determine the composition of the asteroid, not have any expectations to destroy it. From the article: "We must know in detail the internal structure of asteroids, and how they respond to impacts before we can design effective mitigation methods."
Slashdot Mirror
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Alaska -- America's most tax-friendly state
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Alaska bear-mauling victim survives rare second attack
Think about all the people that 'buy' a name for a star for their loved ones, or purchase a claim for land or minerals rights on the moon, Mars, or elsewhere? Yes, I have read the international conventions stating no one can own this or that, but is naming something a claim to ownership? Alfred Brooks (the late geologist and explorer for the U.S.G.S.), nor his decendants, lay any claim to ownership of the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska.
I might be inclined to give $100 to have a chunk of rock named after someone or something, especially if I knew the money was going to further scientific research.
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Alaska bear-mauling victim survives rare second attack
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Alaska bear-mauling victim survives rare second attack
I carried that lesson through many subsequent battles.
-cp-
Alaska bear-mauling victim survives rare second attack
I have seen significant changes in the climate in the last 20 years. In the last few years, it has been warm enough to grow corn, melons, peppers, and other stuff, and the shorts and bikinis are already out, even though the lakes are iced over. Having come here from El Paso, I welcome our Global Warming StringTop Wearing Overlords. I smell coconut.
Even the 'winters' are warmer, and the last few have had little snow that stayed, although it did dip to -20 for a few days. That's the view from south-central Alaska.
The downside is the growing pains from being the fastest-growing part of the U.S.
As a geologist, I see that just 9,500 years ago, this place that I have built my home upon (a glacial moraine) was buried by ice that was then over 1,000 feet thick. The climate changes, with or without human influence. Adapt or perish, I say. In the meantime, I'll code when I'm not digging.
-cp-
Alaska bear-mauling victim survives rare second attack
We have what I would call an emerging tech state. Even way out here in the Bush, we have DSL and wifi, and have had it for quite some time. We also have favorable government, and many other incentives. Heck, we get a check for about $1,000 just for filling out a form, and no state income taxes. Most places don't have a sales tax, either.
-cp-
President Bush to Liberate Alaska
"US president George W. Bush, in a speech to Congress today said, "Now that the situation in Iraq is under control, and after we've overthrown the governments of North Korea, Cuba, New Zealand, Iran and Madagascar, I'll be asking you for a further $50 billion toward my administration's efforts to help liberate Alaska, and give freedom to the Alaski people."
The Alaskan governor, Frank H. Murkowski has long been a thorn in the side of the federal government by frustrating their plans to grab control of the entire world's oil reserves by the year 2010 to present to Dick Cheney as a birthday gift."
US to float giant missile defence radar to Alaska
The Alaskan governor, Frank H. Murkowski has long been a thorn in the side of the federal government by frustrating their plans to grab control of the entire world's oil reserves by the year 2010 to present to Dick Cheney as a birthday gift." President Bush to Liberate Alaska
President Bush to Liberate Alaska
Dang! I just gave someone advise about setting up just such a thing. Hope they didn't install it on very many systems. Their ad was targeted at spouses and parents.
Human: What are you?
ALICE: I am the latest result in artificial intelligence, which can reproduce the capabilities of the human brain with greater speed and accuracy.
Human: The first part of your statement may be correct, but the second part is not.
ALICE: What was the second?
Human: What sayeth thee?
ALICE: Searching...Searching...Please stand by.
It's not like I asked it to define pi or anything.
This was posted some time ago, only it was Toshiba inviting Alaska villages to try out the spruce-tree sized reactor: "Toshiba Pushes Safe, Small Nuclear Reactor Design Tuesday October 21"
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One time we captured the commander of an enemy unit, complete with codebook. You'd think the first thing they'd do is issue new codebooks, but we got at least 4 crushing ambushes out of them over the next week or two.
-cp-
A few more tips: get a side of beef and see what it's like to actually stab something. If you have one of those big Rambo/Crocodile Dundee knives with the big serrations, you'll find they get hung up in bone and sinew. Dip your hand in a bucket of blood after the first stab, and see how slippery it is to keep a good grip on the second stab. In a real fight, you stab-stab-stab-stab-stab until they are down, just as with any other weapon, anatomical or not.
I almost forgot the first thing they told us in edged weapons class: Never Throw Away Your Knife. Then we were taught how to do that very thing, along with shovels, scissors, letter openers, nails, etc.
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If you don't have any training or experience and someone pulls a knife on you, my advice is to run. Likewise, it's best to not use a knife if you have no training or experience. Someone may take it away from you and stick you with it.
-cp-
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In Nome, Women More Precious than Gold
Not auto salvage yards, but places like the Governments DRMS (Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service) and other places where over orders or non-completion resulted in "I" beams, sheet metals, hydraulic pumps and motors, controllers, stuff I bought that I don't know what it does but looks cool, heavy, and expensive; and lots of other cool stuff, much of it never used and well cared for, could be found, sometimes for $60/ton! (A consideration on a 45 ton mobile machine). Seems it is cheaper for them to sell it than to store it or ship it out of Alaska. I built the drive from sprockets, chains, and drives of a cement mixer truck, and the primary scrubber is an extra piece of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, so it's got a little bit of history to it. Best part of all is that it requires maintenance or attendance only once per day, and cost less than $100,000 to build. The performance, after a little tweaking in the field, exceeded my expectations. My next target is to make it so it digs and feeds itself. Now accepting resumes and letters of interest.
-cp-
-cp-
Alaska Bugs Sweat Gold Nuggets
Recently I was in the grocery store, and noticed that an employee had placed a hand written sign for the "potatoe" (sic) chips right in the middle of the rack of potato chips. The hard part to believe is that someone could not correctly spell the product even while surrounded by it. I also noticed chile for chili peppers, cucumbers-something for you-know-whats, and so on.
However, it seems that just as I am correcting someone for their spelling or grammer, I screw up, so I quit that bidness, barely.
-cp-
You really do take your chances in front of a jury, or even a judge. You can make a solid argument, backed by the facts and the law, and still be ruled against. I know, I've seen it happen first hand. There are simply no assurances.
-cp-
Alaska Bugs Sweat Gold Nuggets
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Alaska Bugs Sweat Gold Nuggets