...and it would be nice to know how strong such a solar flare would be by the time it reaches the ~150,000,000 kilometers distance that the Earth is from the Sun, and what kind of ramifications such a flare could have, now that we've actually seen one for real. I'm not looking for the gloom and doom worst-case type stuff either, rather I'd like to know the range of effects, including human-eye-observable effects, that such a discharge could have...
As far as I can tell, one of the main stumbling blocks in residential solar is regulation and storage. Most homes simply do not have the space to have a battery bank or a flywheel or some other way of storing up power during the day for use a night and don't really even have room for the transformers and inverters needed to use solar in the home.
The house my wife and I are trying to buy has a fully HVAC regulated utility room located off of the garage with no access from the living space portion of the house. I have plans for this room. This room would be the perfect server closet and equipment room for home electricity storage. It's also immediately behind the electrical mains panel and meter for the house, so hooking in to the home circuits would be easy. The hardest part will be convincing my darling wife to do it, as it will be expensive for the panels, the batteries, the transformers, the inverters, the monitoring systems, and everything else...
But at least the new house has room for all of this. The current house doesn't have enough room in the garage for much more than a small transformer and inverter, so I couldn't store up any excess power for use later at all. I'd have to build a shed, but that shed would have to meet fairly strict building requirements as an equipment room, and I'd have to heat and cool it to keep batteries safe, so it just isn't practical.
An old ham radio saying is all an amplifier does is amplify crap.
That may be true if the device is solely placed where the signal is poor, the tuner is inadequate, the antenna is bad, and the amplifier has nothing to work with, but the solutions that I've seen nullify many of these problems.
These devices have two parts. One part, located ideally outside, high up, talks to the cell company. the other part, located where the poorest signal is normally, talks to the cell phones. On top of that, these devices have much larger antennas than the phones do, and with more size they can also have better radio tuners. So, you're not amplifying crap, you're getting a better signal and forwarding it to another device that is in an area that can't get the original.
Dark Helmet and Sandurz come across an image of themselves viewing the screen. As they react, the screen mimics what they are doing]
Dark Helmet: What the hell am I looking at?! When does this happen in the movie?!
Colonel Sandurz: "Now". You're looking at "now", sir. Everything that happens now [indicates himself and Helmet] is happening "now". [Indicates the screen]
Dark Helmet: What happened to "then"?
Colonel Sandurz: We passed "then".
Dark Helmet: When!?
Colonel Sandurz: Just now. Were at "now," now.
Dark Helmet: Go back to "then"!
Colonel Sandurz: When?
Dark Helmet: Now!
Colonel Sandurz: "Now?"
Dark Helmet: Now!
Colonel Sandurz: I can't.
Dark Helmet: Why!?
Colonel Sandurz: We missed it.
Dark Helmet: When!?
Colonel Sandurz: Just now.
Dark Helmet:... When will "then" be "now"?
Colonel Sandurz: Soon.
Dark Helmet: [backpedals in shock] How soon?
[Corporal rewinds the tape back to scene showing protagonists wandering in desert.]
Corporal: Sir!
Dark Helmet: What?!
Corporal: We have identified their location.
Dark Helmet: Where?!
Corporal: It's the moon of Vega!
Colonel Sandurz: Good work, set a course and prepare for our arrival!
Dark Helmet: [increasingly panicked] When?!
Corporal: 1900 hours, sir!
Colonel Sandurz: By high noon tomorrow, they will be our prisoners!
Dark Helmet: Who?!! [mask falls down]
My biggest problem is my ham radio friends moved away (and before you make a joke about there being a device capable of long distance communication, I have a Tech-nocode license and a 2m HT and a not-complete 10m that I can only use half the band on anyway) and when I listen in on communications on 2m, I see what you mean about Elmers.
I'll probably renew my license when it comes up next year regardless, as many of these extremely high profile natural disasters over the last several years (Boxing-day Tsunami, Katrina, Haitian and now Chilean earthquakes) could be handled better with communication, and after these disasters sometimes low-power radio is the only thing that works. On top of that, since theoretically there's some accountability with ham due to the licensing, it's probably going to be more reliable than CB for accuracy.
At this point I'm certainly not doing it for the camaraderie...
There's no need for analogies for what the government did. They flatly [i]published[/i] something, didn't bother to tell anyone they published it or where they published it, and got mad when someone found their published work, read it, and presumably reported what they read and helped others to find that publication.
I've always looked at posting to a website as publishing in the loosest of senses. It's certainly vanity publishing in the vast, vast majority of cases, but the entire point of putting something on to the Internet without any sort of real security is so that people can find it. If a person or organization doesn't want something read potentially by all, they simply have to not upload it to a public server.
I think that the entire point of the stormtrooper uniform is to emphasize the mechanistic, monolithic nature of stormtroopers. It also makes sense in the context of stormtroopers all being clones.
If anything, it's masterful in the sense that if you kill them you don't see biological signs of having done so. They come at you like a horde and shooting one down only means that the next one in line is right there.
Remember, in the Star Wars universe, the people pretty much willingly gave themselves over to Palpatine. After the sham clone wars, the stormtroopers are a reminder of the government, a control, a deterrent. Their effectiveness as one's vanguard is shown to be mixed at best, with officers doing the decision making and fighting (in the mech walking units, on ships, etc), so they exist to remind the populace of the overarching presence of the empire, not to necessarily actually do a good job enforcing it when push comes to shove.
I have my other problems with the Star Wars universe, mind you, and I'm definitely no rabid fan, but it's an amusing series to watch if you ignore the recent three movies.
For some reason, I'm not too concerned with having a nuclear reactor on the Moon or on Mars. Sure, there are risks in launching it, but it's probably not going to be operating while it's being launched, so I'm not especially worried about that either.
Besides, in 90 years, when they've built up a huge moonbase and a large stockpile of spent nuclear material, it can explode and send the moon hurtling out of the solar system! It'll be Space: 19992099!
...other than that these are better documented. Take your clothes off for pictures on your web page, don't be surprised if that is weighed in a hiring process (might work your advantage:) Make strong, rude political statements, don't be surprised if a political organization that tries to be civil doesn't wish to have you representing them. Criticize your boss, especially if you are rude, unduly harsh, or anything other than factual, and you betchya they could terminate you for it, even in large organizations with separate HR departments. Demonstrate other behaviors that show that you're unsuited to something and they might just deny you that.
On the mold issue, I haven't seen enough to make a call. If there really is mold then I wouldn't find her in the wrong in the slightest, because Truth *should* win out even if it's not a happy truth. If there isn't a mold problem then I could see how there could be issues.
Consider what you've typed before submitting. It could come back to bite you if you're not careful.
I still have my MS-DOS 3.3 diskettes (and GWBasic 3.22), MS-DOS 5, MS-DOS 6.22, Windows 3.11 for Workgroups, Windows 95 upgrade, Windows 98 upgrade, Windows ME upgrade, and Windows 2000 upgrade.
Why do I keep all of this? So I can install XP upgrade and have a qualifying product... Sucks having to install WFW311 in order to get to XP, but hey...
I would be content with just having the psych treatment. Why this person decided to do this is kind of important. If they did it specifically to push the limits of the law, they need to be given a sentence of having to clean parking meters or something else tedious and annoying that makes the point that this isn't a good thing. If they did it for sexual purposes, they need to be ordered to treatment, and if treatment determines that they are a true danger then that needs to be referred back to the court, who should probably commit them rather than jail them.
What's to keep Russia from unilaterally taking over the Station? What, exactly, would we be able to do about it?
Uh, let it die a fairly quick death due to many systems of the station being built by countries other than Russia, to which Russia wouldn't have access to replacement parts or designs as quickly as needed?
Russia has experience with Mir (and part of ISS was even slated for Mir 2) but I wouldn't bet on them being able to maintain ISS by themselves.
This is not the first time the Russians, bankrupt, have pulled a stunt like this. Mir was full of junk because the Russians would lease space to whoever to run an experiment and would then refuse to bring the experiment's materials back to Earth. They kept them on board in order to continue charging the (exorbitant) rent for space aboard Mir. The cosmonauts complained about the piles of junk, though not publicly.
Aah, the Russians, Capitalists through and through...
Computer PDA screens with maps and other control devices that roll up into your screen.
E-book readers that fit in a pen.
The ability to apply a screen to any surface in any shape without having to pre-fab it into that shape.
Complete elimination of all of those imposed form factors that make devices take a certain size because the screen is fixed and rigid.
I got to tour the facility a year or so ago when they gave the MIT Club of Phoenix a tour. It was really cool. They had a pre-production model that was capable of showing a small image on about an inch by inch square ready to show off, and it was indeed flexible and could withstand being beaten on because of the lack of glass in it. Very cool stuff. I'm glad that they made progress.
I'm going to have to disagree with some of your points.
Being part of a subculture (goth, emo, punk, etc) is fine when you're associating with others in that subculture or with others who are attracted to that subculture. I was a goth and I met most of my girlfriends at goth clubs or at Rocky Horror.
Tact is less important than it may seem, as there are plenty of assholes who do well with the ladies because their behavior is seen as being strong, edgy, or cool. This usually doesn't last long, but it lasts long enough for that particular guy to get what he wants.
The art of the pickup line is misunderstood. The entire point of the first minute or two that you speak to a new person is to convey that initial impression. What you say very much matters. Now, traditional, oft repeated lines are hackneyed to the point that they're useless unless she's already looking for sex, but something clever that matches the rest of your personality might serve to distinguish you from all of the other guys who are all attempting to do the exact same thing.
there's a difference between being Nerdy, Dorky, and Geeky. Geeks have technical, obsessive interests, but also have social skills above a minimum threshold. Nerds have technical interests and abilities but don't meet the minimum threshold for social skills and general self-maintenance. Dorks have the same rough social skills and self-maintenance as Nerds, but generally lack the technical abilities. They're the AOLers, the me-too-ers, the guys who are "so into science fiction" because they like Star Wars and have watched it over and over and over, and the like.
I will agree with you on bathing though. Shower daily (preferably morning) and as preparation before going out.
I will also agree that most women generally do not care about what speed of microprocessor is in your PC, or how much RAM you have, or what kind it is, or what video card you have. If women care about your computer at all, it's because it functions for them the way they want it to. You'll only find out if it functions the way they want it to if you manage to get them home, so it's generally not worth trying to go that route until after you've already been successful. Same with gearheads. Women don't really care about the dual-quad intake with 1600cfm airflow into the 440 with headers with 2" primaries into 3.5" collectors and a race cam; they care that the car looks cool, sounds good, and that they'll look good riding in it. It can be a six cylinder for all they know, so long as it looks and sounds good. When I would go to meet women, I'd talk about other hobbies that I had, like my movie collection, music, and the like.
It's all about giving them what they want, really. It may be a bit of a facade, but that's okay, really, if they're in it only for the short term too.
1) Because it will make much more sense to live in free space (IE on an asteroid or space colony) where you avoid the huge energy cost of going up and down a gravity well.
3) The environment of Mars is actually MUCH harsher than the environment in space, and probably much harsher than the environment of the Moon. So why exactly would we so desire to live there?
Wouldn't that gravity well be better on the biology of those living there than the microgravity associated with smaller rocky bodies?
Plus, wouldn't even a thin atmosphere be better for protection and help reduce the need for vacuum-proof structures than near-vacuum conditions?
Wouldn't Mars also be more desirable because it has mostly cleared the neighborhood of other heavenly objects such that the risk of one's home being smashed into by another particularly large rock is massively diminshed?
Wouldn't the fact of working in an environment with an up, a down, and other gravity-based rules like that which we have on Earth be easier for workers who have to do things like maintenance, construction, and the like be better than attempting to work in microgravity where accidently losing a tool means that it's probably gone forever instead of being able to just bend down and pick it up off the ground?
Wouldn't it be fairly practical to bore down into Mars to construct a habitat with significantly less materials (like basically a cap at the top of the bore hole) such that materials from Earth aren't depleted nearly as much for space?
Wouldn't it be fairly easy to distill elements from an atmosphere to come up with that which we need to survive as compared to attempting to find them in the vacuum of space?
There are many good reasons for looking at Mars too, beyond the adventuring spirit.
In the UK some are taking tires, hanging them on the speed cameras, filling the inside with gasoline, and lighting it. The gasoline burns long enough to get the tire burning, and as the tire burns, the steel belts keep it from burning itself off of the camera housing before it's been there for a considerable amount of time.
I wouldn't advocate doing this with tires that you bought new if you registered the warranty on them, but tires on wheels can sometimes be bought for $8.00 on half-price day at the junk yard, and dismounting them isn't that difficult if they're not those low-profile or large rim types. I'd imagine that you'd put the gasoline into the tire while it's on the ground, then lift it up and on, then toss a match or two into it.
Not that I'd advocate such a simple, destructive, and highly self-contained method of destroying speed cameras, but here are some results: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm
People have been clinically dead (no pulse, no breathing, would not continue to live without specific processes of intervention) and have been successfully revived. Many have gone on to live perfectly normal lives, while others have been left dead too long and their tissues suffered for it, leaving them with reduced faculties. I wouldn't call it quite as cut and dried as dead or not. We can tell when someone is really, truly alive, and we can identify conditions when someone is really, truly dead, but there are plenty of conditions where one could be potentially alive or dead (with apologies to SchrÃdinger) and that further actions will determine what state a person goes into.
Okay, a windshield wiper? Sure, it might start scratching, and it might eventually wear out or get brittle, but if it parked where the wiper blade wasn't under pressure it might last long enough for emergency use like this...
Wouldn't sixteenth century technology like a simple bellows with a directable nozzle fix this problem? It doesn't have to be a very powerful or strong bellows, just something good enough to help displace the worst of the dust and fines buildup...
So while I'd like to be able to buy bulk packs of pieces (which I've done via bricklink for some years now) at cheap prices (at an average approaching $0.10 piece for a little piece of molded plastic?), I certainly wouldn't accept lower quality just to get cheaper pieces.
I'm all for competition, though. If Lego reduces prices (I know they whine they are barely making it... which is just baffling to me), then I'll be all over it. I mean, go ahead and charge $50 for a 400 piece Star Wars set... but let me buy bulk bricks to build my mega (no pun intended) structures, and I'll be a happy guy.
Well, the real problem here is that, as Walmart has proved, people are willing to sacrifice quality and the legacy of a good product from good people in favor of cheap plastic crap made overseas in bad conditions, with materials that will possibly harm them, in a factory that pollutes like crazy, in order to save themselves a couple of dollars. So, consumers will go into Walmart or other big-box stores, see Lego at X price, and see "Fully compatible with Lego!!!!" at 65% of X price, and go, "I can save money!" even if their purchase pollutes, is made in sweatshop conditions, and will wear out with use.
In a couple of ways I'm lucky. First, I don't have time to play with Legos anymore even though I still have a couple of rubbermaid tubs full of 'em (and with most of my vehicles still assembled from 20 years ago), and second, we're probably going to be able to afford to buy the real thing, rather than the knockoff, when we do finally have kids, as we'll compromise where it doesn't matter and hold to our principles where it does. The very few legos that I broke as a kid were pretty much all intentional; even leaving them out in the weather, in the mud, or the sand box, or on hot concrete or asphalt didn't really cause problems.
Lego needs to start selling bulk pieces cheaply. By all means, continue to sell kits and directions and special things for a premium, but I think that it's an easy decision to buy a bunch of Lego when expansion sets are reasonable.
Slashdot Mirror
...and it would be nice to know how strong such a solar flare would be by the time it reaches the ~150,000,000 kilometers distance that the Earth is from the Sun, and what kind of ramifications such a flare could have, now that we've actually seen one for real. I'm not looking for the gloom and doom worst-case type stuff either, rather I'd like to know the range of effects, including human-eye-observable effects, that such a discharge could have...
As far as I can tell, one of the main stumbling blocks in residential solar is regulation and storage. Most homes simply do not have the space to have a battery bank or a flywheel or some other way of storing up power during the day for use a night and don't really even have room for the transformers and inverters needed to use solar in the home.
The house my wife and I are trying to buy has a fully HVAC regulated utility room located off of the garage with no access from the living space portion of the house. I have plans for this room. This room would be the perfect server closet and equipment room for home electricity storage. It's also immediately behind the electrical mains panel and meter for the house, so hooking in to the home circuits would be easy. The hardest part will be convincing my darling wife to do it, as it will be expensive for the panels, the batteries, the transformers, the inverters, the monitoring systems, and everything else...
But at least the new house has room for all of this. The current house doesn't have enough room in the garage for much more than a small transformer and inverter, so I couldn't store up any excess power for use later at all. I'd have to build a shed, but that shed would have to meet fairly strict building requirements as an equipment room, and I'd have to heat and cool it to keep batteries safe, so it just isn't practical.
That may be true if the device is solely placed where the signal is poor, the tuner is inadequate, the antenna is bad, and the amplifier has nothing to work with, but the solutions that I've seen nullify many of these problems.
These devices have two parts. One part, located ideally outside, high up, talks to the cell company. the other part, located where the poorest signal is normally, talks to the cell phones. On top of that, these devices have much larger antennas than the phones do, and with more size they can also have better radio tuners. So, you're not amplifying crap, you're getting a better signal and forwarding it to another device that is in an area that can't get the original.
Dark Helmet and Sandurz come across an image of themselves viewing the screen. As they react, the screen mimics what they are doing] ... When will "then" be "now"?
Dark Helmet: What the hell am I looking at?! When does this happen in the movie?!
Colonel Sandurz: "Now". You're looking at "now", sir. Everything that happens now [indicates himself and Helmet] is happening "now". [Indicates the screen]
Dark Helmet: What happened to "then"?
Colonel Sandurz: We passed "then".
Dark Helmet: When!?
Colonel Sandurz: Just now. Were at "now," now.
Dark Helmet: Go back to "then"!
Colonel Sandurz: When?
Dark Helmet: Now!
Colonel Sandurz: "Now?"
Dark Helmet: Now!
Colonel Sandurz: I can't.
Dark Helmet: Why!?
Colonel Sandurz: We missed it.
Dark Helmet: When!?
Colonel Sandurz: Just now.
Dark Helmet:
Colonel Sandurz: Soon.
Dark Helmet: [backpedals in shock] How soon?
[Corporal rewinds the tape back to scene showing protagonists wandering in desert.]
Corporal: Sir!
Dark Helmet: What?!
Corporal: We have identified their location.
Dark Helmet: Where?!
Corporal: It's the moon of Vega!
Colonel Sandurz: Good work, set a course and prepare for our arrival!
Dark Helmet: [increasingly panicked] When?!
Corporal: 1900 hours, sir!
Colonel Sandurz: By high noon tomorrow, they will be our prisoners!
Dark Helmet: Who?!! [mask falls down]
So, now we have to worry about Fuddites too?
My biggest problem is my ham radio friends moved away (and before you make a joke about there being a device capable of long distance communication, I have a Tech-nocode license and a 2m HT and a not-complete 10m that I can only use half the band on anyway) and when I listen in on communications on 2m, I see what you mean about Elmers.
I'll probably renew my license when it comes up next year regardless, as many of these extremely high profile natural disasters over the last several years (Boxing-day Tsunami, Katrina, Haitian and now Chilean earthquakes) could be handled better with communication, and after these disasters sometimes low-power radio is the only thing that works. On top of that, since theoretically there's some accountability with ham due to the licensing, it's probably going to be more reliable than CB for accuracy.
At this point I'm certainly not doing it for the camaraderie...
There's no need for analogies for what the government did. They flatly [i]published[/i] something, didn't bother to tell anyone they published it or where they published it, and got mad when someone found their published work, read it, and presumably reported what they read and helped others to find that publication. I've always looked at posting to a website as publishing in the loosest of senses. It's certainly vanity publishing in the vast, vast majority of cases, but the entire point of putting something on to the Internet without any sort of real security is so that people can find it. If a person or organization doesn't want something read potentially by all, they simply have to not upload it to a public server.
I think that the entire point of the stormtrooper uniform is to emphasize the mechanistic, monolithic nature of stormtroopers. It also makes sense in the context of stormtroopers all being clones.
If anything, it's masterful in the sense that if you kill them you don't see biological signs of having done so. They come at you like a horde and shooting one down only means that the next one in line is right there.
Remember, in the Star Wars universe, the people pretty much willingly gave themselves over to Palpatine. After the sham clone wars, the stormtroopers are a reminder of the government, a control, a deterrent. Their effectiveness as one's vanguard is shown to be mixed at best, with officers doing the decision making and fighting (in the mech walking units, on ships, etc), so they exist to remind the populace of the overarching presence of the empire, not to necessarily actually do a good job enforcing it when push comes to shove.
I have my other problems with the Star Wars universe, mind you, and I'm definitely no rabid fan, but it's an amusing series to watch if you ignore the recent three movies.
Damn "s" for strikethrough didn't work :(
For some reason, I'm not too concerned with having a nuclear reactor on the Moon or on Mars. Sure, there are risks in launching it, but it's probably not going to be operating while it's being launched, so I'm not especially worried about that either.
Besides, in 90 years, when they've built up a huge moonbase and a large stockpile of spent nuclear material, it can explode and send the moon hurtling out of the solar system! It'll be Space: 19992099!
It's only been used that way for at least 20 years, probably more than that...
...other than that these are better documented. Take your clothes off for pictures on your web page, don't be surprised if that is weighed in a hiring process (might work your advantage :) Make strong, rude political statements, don't be surprised if a political organization that tries to be civil doesn't wish to have you representing them. Criticize your boss, especially if you are rude, unduly harsh, or anything other than factual, and you betchya they could terminate you for it, even in large organizations with separate HR departments. Demonstrate other behaviors that show that you're unsuited to something and they might just deny you that.
On the mold issue, I haven't seen enough to make a call. If there really is mold then I wouldn't find her in the wrong in the slightest, because Truth *should* win out even if it's not a happy truth. If there isn't a mold problem then I could see how there could be issues.
Consider what you've typed before submitting. It could come back to bite you if you're not careful.
I still have my MS-DOS 3.3 diskettes (and GWBasic 3.22), MS-DOS 5, MS-DOS 6.22, Windows 3.11 for Workgroups, Windows 95 upgrade, Windows 98 upgrade, Windows ME upgrade, and Windows 2000 upgrade.
Why do I keep all of this? So I can install XP upgrade and have a qualifying product... Sucks having to install WFW311 in order to get to XP, but hey...
I would be content with just having the psych treatment. Why this person decided to do this is kind of important. If they did it specifically to push the limits of the law, they need to be given a sentence of having to clean parking meters or something else tedious and annoying that makes the point that this isn't a good thing. If they did it for sexual purposes, they need to be ordered to treatment, and if treatment determines that they are a true danger then that needs to be referred back to the court, who should probably commit them rather than jail them.
Make the punishment fit the crime.
Uh, let it die a fairly quick death due to many systems of the station being built by countries other than Russia, to which Russia wouldn't have access to replacement parts or designs as quickly as needed? Russia has experience with Mir (and part of ISS was even slated for Mir 2) but I wouldn't bet on them being able to maintain ISS by themselves.
No No No! That wasn't what we meant when we expressed interest in shooting him into space!
For no reason in particular, a quote from The Wizard of Speed and Time:
Aah, the Russians, Capitalists through and through...
Computer PDA screens with maps and other control devices that roll up into your screen.
E-book readers that fit in a pen.
The ability to apply a screen to any surface in any shape without having to pre-fab it into that shape.
Complete elimination of all of those imposed form factors that make devices take a certain size because the screen is fixed and rigid.
I got to tour the facility a year or so ago when they gave the MIT Club of Phoenix a tour. It was really cool. They had a pre-production model that was capable of showing a small image on about an inch by inch square ready to show off, and it was indeed flexible and could withstand being beaten on because of the lack of glass in it. Very cool stuff. I'm glad that they made progress.
I'm going to have to disagree with some of your points.
Being part of a subculture (goth, emo, punk, etc) is fine when you're associating with others in that subculture or with others who are attracted to that subculture. I was a goth and I met most of my girlfriends at goth clubs or at Rocky Horror.
Tact is less important than it may seem, as there are plenty of assholes who do well with the ladies because their behavior is seen as being strong, edgy, or cool. This usually doesn't last long, but it lasts long enough for that particular guy to get what he wants.
The art of the pickup line is misunderstood. The entire point of the first minute or two that you speak to a new person is to convey that initial impression. What you say very much matters. Now, traditional, oft repeated lines are hackneyed to the point that they're useless unless she's already looking for sex, but something clever that matches the rest of your personality might serve to distinguish you from all of the other guys who are all attempting to do the exact same thing.
there's a difference between being Nerdy, Dorky, and Geeky. Geeks have technical, obsessive interests, but also have social skills above a minimum threshold. Nerds have technical interests and abilities but don't meet the minimum threshold for social skills and general self-maintenance. Dorks have the same rough social skills and self-maintenance as Nerds, but generally lack the technical abilities. They're the AOLers, the me-too-ers, the guys who are "so into science fiction" because they like Star Wars and have watched it over and over and over, and the like.
I will agree with you on bathing though. Shower daily (preferably morning) and as preparation before going out.
I will also agree that most women generally do not care about what speed of microprocessor is in your PC, or how much RAM you have, or what kind it is, or what video card you have. If women care about your computer at all, it's because it functions for them the way they want it to. You'll only find out if it functions the way they want it to if you manage to get them home, so it's generally not worth trying to go that route until after you've already been successful. Same with gearheads. Women don't really care about the dual-quad intake with 1600cfm airflow into the 440 with headers with 2" primaries into 3.5" collectors and a race cam; they care that the car looks cool, sounds good, and that they'll look good riding in it. It can be a six cylinder for all they know, so long as it looks and sounds good. When I would go to meet women, I'd talk about other hobbies that I had, like my movie collection, music, and the like.
It's all about giving them what they want, really. It may be a bit of a facade, but that's okay, really, if they're in it only for the short term too.
Wouldn't that gravity well be better on the biology of those living there than the microgravity associated with smaller rocky bodies?
Plus, wouldn't even a thin atmosphere be better for protection and help reduce the need for vacuum-proof structures than near-vacuum conditions?
Wouldn't Mars also be more desirable because it has mostly cleared the neighborhood of other heavenly objects such that the risk of one's home being smashed into by another particularly large rock is massively diminshed?
Wouldn't the fact of working in an environment with an up, a down, and other gravity-based rules like that which we have on Earth be easier for workers who have to do things like maintenance, construction, and the like be better than attempting to work in microgravity where accidently losing a tool means that it's probably gone forever instead of being able to just bend down and pick it up off the ground?
Wouldn't it be fairly practical to bore down into Mars to construct a habitat with significantly less materials (like basically a cap at the top of the bore hole) such that materials from Earth aren't depleted nearly as much for space?
Wouldn't it be fairly easy to distill elements from an atmosphere to come up with that which we need to survive as compared to attempting to find them in the vacuum of space?
There are many good reasons for looking at Mars too, beyond the adventuring spirit.
In the UK some are taking tires, hanging them on the speed cameras, filling the inside with gasoline, and lighting it. The gasoline burns long enough to get the tire burning, and as the tire burns, the steel belts keep it from burning itself off of the camera housing before it's been there for a considerable amount of time.
I wouldn't advocate doing this with tires that you bought new if you registered the warranty on them, but tires on wheels can sometimes be bought for $8.00 on half-price day at the junk yard, and dismounting them isn't that difficult if they're not those low-profile or large rim types. I'd imagine that you'd put the gasoline into the tire while it's on the ground, then lift it up and on, then toss a match or two into it.
Not that I'd advocate such a simple, destructive, and highly self-contained method of destroying speed cameras, but here are some results: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm
damn misinterpretation of characters...
People have been clinically dead (no pulse, no breathing, would not continue to live without specific processes of intervention) and have been successfully revived. Many have gone on to live perfectly normal lives, while others have been left dead too long and their tissues suffered for it, leaving them with reduced faculties. I wouldn't call it quite as cut and dried as dead or not. We can tell when someone is really, truly alive, and we can identify conditions when someone is really, truly dead, but there are plenty of conditions where one could be potentially alive or dead (with apologies to SchrÃdinger) and that further actions will determine what state a person goes into.
Okay, a windshield wiper? Sure, it might start scratching, and it might eventually wear out or get brittle, but if it parked where the wiper blade wasn't under pressure it might last long enough for emergency use like this...
Wouldn't sixteenth century technology like a simple bellows with a directable nozzle fix this problem? It doesn't have to be a very powerful or strong bellows, just something good enough to help displace the worst of the dust and fines buildup...
Well, the real problem here is that, as Walmart has proved, people are willing to sacrifice quality and the legacy of a good product from good people in favor of cheap plastic crap made overseas in bad conditions, with materials that will possibly harm them, in a factory that pollutes like crazy, in order to save themselves a couple of dollars. So, consumers will go into Walmart or other big-box stores, see Lego at X price, and see "Fully compatible with Lego!!!!" at 65% of X price, and go, "I can save money!" even if their purchase pollutes, is made in sweatshop conditions, and will wear out with use.
In a couple of ways I'm lucky. First, I don't have time to play with Legos anymore even though I still have a couple of rubbermaid tubs full of 'em (and with most of my vehicles still assembled from 20 years ago), and second, we're probably going to be able to afford to buy the real thing, rather than the knockoff, when we do finally have kids, as we'll compromise where it doesn't matter and hold to our principles where it does. The very few legos that I broke as a kid were pretty much all intentional; even leaving them out in the weather, in the mud, or the sand box, or on hot concrete or asphalt didn't really cause problems.
Lego needs to start selling bulk pieces cheaply. By all means, continue to sell kits and directions and special things for a premium, but I think that it's an easy decision to buy a bunch of Lego when expansion sets are reasonable.