And we should extend the 72 hour pre-screening to include theme park rides, too -- those big wheels look pretty terrifying. And they have pirates in them. Pirates!!
I am absolutely sick of the jesusbots modding down anything critical of religion
Don't worry, I usually mod the critics back up in my own mind as having different opinions, often adding them as "friends" for nearly that reason alone.
Well, the question is how "independent" the source is. I've seen it more than once that it's been basically a circle-jerk.
And you think this doesn't happen in the Britannica? Paper just makes the article less collaborative. Science requires peer review, and has long been trustworthy as a result of it (also following the scientific process, of course). Now Wikipedia has offered universal peer-reviewed collaborative articles on just about everything, bringing out academic in-fighting into the world of the rest of us. I will not argue that we (or the Wiki) are any the worse for it.
The 's' in print looked a lot like an 'f' because it actually was an 'f'. It was a lot cheaper and easier than trying to get an 's' carved into a block
Wrongo!
It wasn't an 'f', it was a "long s". You'll notice the lack of significant crossbar. The top curve was drawn separately from the bottom stem of the letter, but there was no deliberate crossbar as introduced in the letter "f". Ref: any ductus of Carolingian Miniscule for the difference. Also, the long "s" and the short "s" were intermixed within sentences and sometimes words.
Just because he committed despicable acts doesn't justify others doing despicable acts as well. He should have been punished through the legal system, not through a criminal organization
I agree, but "should" doesn't have the force of law everywhere.
They used to hang horse thieves, I hear -- interruption of someone's only means of communication. And that was for just one horse. Property is defended by force, whether or not that force is legal, because people will react emotively, not always rationally, to things that affect them directly.
So -- is an attack on your bandwidth, your personal inbox, annoying? Say that it is, for a few million people. What percentage of those people are not merely annoyed, but enraged? And of those, who with the will and the means will carry out a vengeful act?
The point is if you annoy enough people, you can expect common justice, rough or smooth.
"I think we should stop targeting Cheyanne Mountain now."
"Why?"
"It isn't there any more"
-- "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", Robert A. Heinlein.
Yep, lots of energy up there, and you don't have to produce it, just sort of funnel it. Large concentrating reflectors are quite easy to maintain in microgravity, just lots of metallised mylar film with supporting struts made of alfoil. Oh, and a guidance system of some sort. Some time back there were a few designs for manufacturing these as they unrolled from stock in an orbiting space widget (I remember the photos, but not the reference -- sorry). I was thinking of these when I first thought of ice lasers, but Jerry Pournelle said I could do it just as easily with silicon. I still think ice would be easier, as the water supplies in the solar system (mostly Saturn's rings) would require less time overall in fusion purification, and the minor difference in melting points given the ambient shade temperature in space are probably negligible. Not as many interesting by-products, though.
just how do you propose to get the electricity back to earth from venus.
Interesting hard SF treatment of this in a fairly old set of novels. They were talking of communications, but the same rules apply. I recommend "The Complete Venus Equilateral" by George O. Smith.
It's not really a bad idea, provided there are no orange-bellied parrots in the way. The real fun is when you have to explain to greenies that yes, it's really solar power, and yes, it's also thermonuclear.
I like the idea of a separate organisation dedicated to this technology, as it's clear none of the existing organisations can do it. Set it in motion, get it done before the bloat sets in. Also like the idea of the solar-electric HEO ferry -- anyone have a link to an artist's perception of it (a real one I mean)?
Remember the days of free-to-air television? All those I Love Lucy productions -- it's all been paid for by ads since the mid 1950's. Nobody minded when they were only a few minutes per hour.
The critical metric, the fulcrum, the absolute measure of success or failure of ad-supported media, in any form, is the ratio of ads:content. If ads outweigh content in terms of user attention, you'll lose.
I could argue that ads are more effective when they're in the background, and don't capture your attention directly, as they're less likely to trigger your conscious censors.
Yes, but the moon has no EPA regs either; mine the away side and nobody will notice strip mines the size of a major western state. And whereas we might be a bit precious about such eyesores, I doubt if China would care. And as far as consumables go (air etc) well, if the enterprise is big enough that would become an unremarkable sunk cost. And if Chinese miners can feed their families by sending salary home from that far away, they'll take the risks and make the sacrifices.
I'm pretty sure a lot of westerners won't, though.
So I'm confident that man will conquer space, but I'm also pretty sure the dominant language will be Mandarin or Cantonese.
Re:Been there, done that
on
The New Moon Race
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I mean, why?
Well, I think I know why China is doing it. Their manufacturing sector has grown markedly in the last few years and they need materials. They're currently dropping a few billion $AU in our west coast up in the Pilbara region above Perth, just for iron ore. And I've seen research (from my own firm, a global engineering SI) that says there's more than He3 available. They're going to see what they can mine.
I see something, an algorithm, a piece of code in a language I've never seen before, whatever. I then say to myself, "WTF is that! I have to find out!" I then Google for it
Actually, as much as I like Google I'm finding that I prefer Wikipedia more and more when I have specific concepts to look up. The number of branching references from there can take me on a long journey, sometimes heading directly toward the thing I'm interested in and sometimes exposing gaps in knowledge that need to be filled. For pure raw search, I prefer Google (tames my misspelling demon) but for pure research, I start with Wiki. Take a look at Wiki on "Caffiene" for example. Didn't know it had links to asthma therapeutics (theophylline, not used much any more (which is good, the stuff made me ill)) but a few quick related clicks uncovered what I wanted to know. So now I generally go there first.
The term "Linux hardware" is as non-sensical as "Windows hardware" (something I've never heard or seen either). Hardware has nothing to do with an operating system
What about that wooden-spoon winner at the Indy 500? Wasn't that Linux hardware?
Which crashed, sadly. It's so hard to get good drivers...
Slashdot Mirror
Oh where are you, FSM, when we so badly need you?
Don't worry, I usually mod the critics back up in my own mind as having different opinions, often adding them as "friends" for nearly that reason alone.
And you think this doesn't happen in the Britannica? Paper just makes the article less collaborative. Science requires peer review, and has long been trustworthy as a result of it (also following the scientific process, of course). Now Wikipedia has offered universal peer-reviewed collaborative articles on just about everything, bringing out academic in-fighting into the world of the rest of us. I will not argue that we (or the Wiki) are any the worse for it.
Wrongo!
It wasn't an 'f', it was a "long s". You'll notice the lack of significant crossbar. The top curve was drawn separately from the bottom stem of the letter, but there was no deliberate crossbar as introduced in the letter "f". Ref: any ductus of Carolingian Miniscule for the difference. Also, the long "s" and the short "s" were intermixed within sentences and sometimes words.
Report to the SCA for your whipping, please.
I agree, but "should" doesn't have the force of law everywhere.
They used to hang horse thieves, I hear -- interruption of someone's only means of communication. And that was for just one horse. Property is defended by force, whether or not that force is legal, because people will react emotively, not always rationally, to things that affect them directly.
So -- is an attack on your bandwidth, your personal inbox, annoying? Say that it is, for a few million people. What percentage of those people are not merely annoyed, but enraged? And of those, who with the will and the means will carry out a vengeful act?
The point is if you annoy enough people, you can expect common justice, rough or smooth.
We don't have a problem with shrinking available land mass, increasing dependency on oil?
It's not that complex, the cost can be amortised easily enough, we do need clean energy, and you ended your sentence with a bl**dy preposition!
Not a maser?
"Why?"
"It isn't there any more"
-- "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", Robert A. Heinlein.
Yep, lots of energy up there, and you don't have to produce it, just sort of funnel it. Large concentrating reflectors are quite easy to maintain in microgravity, just lots of metallised mylar film with supporting struts made of alfoil. Oh, and a guidance system of some sort. Some time back there were a few designs for manufacturing these as they unrolled from stock in an orbiting space widget (I remember the photos, but not the reference -- sorry). I was thinking of these when I first thought of ice lasers, but Jerry Pournelle said I could do it just as easily with silicon. I still think ice would be easier, as the water supplies in the solar system (mostly Saturn's rings) would require less time overall in fusion purification, and the minor difference in melting points given the ambient shade temperature in space are probably negligible. Not as many interesting by-products, though.
Interesting hard SF treatment of this in a fairly old set of novels. They were talking of communications, but the same rules apply. I recommend "The Complete Venus Equilateral" by George O. Smith.
I like the idea of a separate organisation dedicated to this technology, as it's clear none of the existing organisations can do it. Set it in motion, get it done before the bloat sets in. Also like the idea of the solar-electric HEO ferry -- anyone have a link to an artist's perception of it (a real one I mean)?
With the rest, presumably, as freight.
http://www.egyptgiftshop.com/images/papyrus/paintings/horus3_large.jpg/
Naw, they'd be too busy clawing the curtains.
The critical metric, the fulcrum, the absolute measure of success or failure of ad-supported media, in any form, is the ratio of ads:content. If ads outweigh content in terms of user attention, you'll lose.
I could argue that ads are more effective when they're in the background, and don't capture your attention directly, as they're less likely to trigger your conscious censors.
I will continue to use it even if it never changes again. I like it. Maybe it's just *that* stable?
God spoke to Darwin and explained it all...
I'm pretty sure a lot of westerners won't, though.
So I'm confident that man will conquer space, but I'm also pretty sure the dominant language will be Mandarin or Cantonese.
Well, I think I know why China is doing it. Their manufacturing sector has grown markedly in the last few years and they need materials. They're currently dropping a few billion $AU in our west coast up in the Pilbara region above Perth, just for iron ore. And I've seen research (from my own firm, a global engineering SI) that says there's more than He3 available. They're going to see what they can mine.
Sorry, should have mentioned that the caffiene-theophylline link was actually via "guarana"
Actually, as much as I like Google I'm finding that I prefer Wikipedia more and more when I have specific concepts to look up. The number of branching references from there can take me on a long journey, sometimes heading directly toward the thing I'm interested in and sometimes exposing gaps in knowledge that need to be filled. For pure raw search, I prefer Google (tames my misspelling demon) but for pure research, I start with Wiki. Take a look at Wiki on "Caffiene" for example. Didn't know it had links to asthma therapeutics (theophylline, not used much any more (which is good, the stuff made me ill)) but a few quick related clicks uncovered what I wanted to know. So now I generally go there first.
Remember the lecture hall full of tape recorders recording what the lecturer's tape recorder dictated?
What about that wooden-spoon winner at the Indy 500? Wasn't that Linux hardware?
Which crashed, sadly. It's so hard to get good drivers...
Damn, that's funny.
Another keyboard gone, and my sinuses hurt.
Oh, to have had the ability and foresight to break the tablets, thus to save the world from the tyranny of yet another religion. What? He did? Oh...
Don't you get a rather large electrical field when a magnetic field like that collapses? Should be an amazing radio source.