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User: confused+one

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  1. The topic is about high school level classes.

  2. Doesn't know Fortran on Douglas Crockford Envisions A Post-JavaScript World (infoworld.com) · · Score: 0

    Guy might know Javascript; but, he doesn't know Fortran very well. Fortran 90 or 95 added a lot of modern programming features, including pointers and dynamic data structures. Fortran 2003 added object oriented programming structures. It also improved interoperability with C and the like. Fortran 2008 explicitly added parallelism and multiprocessing capability. Fortran is not a dead language, is not the FORTRAN 77 people use as a reference when they try to make a point about "old languages". It is still used widely in engineering and science applications. That code running the simulation on the big supercomputer: good chance it's Fortran.

  3. Those were the days... on After 19 Years, DMOZ Will Close, Announces AOL · · Score: 1

    I remember the internet in the early '90s. You could go out and find an index that listed almost every site that existed, by category. DMOZ is a classic example of this. Mosaic browser on Unix machines... That brings back memories.

  4. Re:Why not land on the moon? on NASA Is Studying A Manned Trip Around The Moon On A $23 Billion Rocket (buzzfeed.com) · · Score: 1

    Because the lunar descent and landing hardware was cancelled with Constellation. In other words, there is no lunar landing module that fits on SLS -- they'd have to design and build it. Oh, but there's no money for that. So, we do a dog and pony show by flying around the moon.

  5. Wow. OK, And you're modded "insightful" Toshiba (Westinghouse) has decades of experience in the nuclear industry. Their Westinghouse division is one of the oldest players. I'm certain they understand the costs quite well. What you're seeing here is something else (accounting or engineering controls issues at the company they purchased, perhaps) Reactors only go down for months at a time when something major needs to be replaced. Steam generators. Turbines. entire cooling towers. Same is true of any coal, petroleum, gas, or biomass fired steam boiler. So, to be clear, if you have to overhaul the turbine(s) on your gas fired plant, it's going to be down for a couple of months. Refueling a reactor takes a couple of weeks, a significant chunk of which is waiting for the core to cool off due to decay heat, and bringing the core safely back up to operating temperature afterwards. Uh, uninhabitable for thousands of years? I think you're exaggerating a bit.

  6. Now, lets solve... on Aging Process May Be Reversable, Scientists Claim (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1

    Cool. Now lets see if we can solve that pesky cancer problem.

  7. rough landing on World's Largest Aircraft Crashes Its Second Flight (theverge.com) · · Score: 0

    It wasn't a crash, it was just a rough landing. They walked away. I've been in rougher landings in conventional commercial aircraft. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing."

  8. Time to invest on Earth's Resources Used Up at Quickest Rate Ever in 2016 (france24.com) · · Score: 1

    Well, it sounds like it's time to invest in asteroid mining. Yep. There's gold in them there rocks.

  9. Re:Reminds me of this car I sold. on Tesla Suspension Breakage: It's Not The Crime, It's The Coverup (dailykanban.com) · · Score: 1

    Guy is talking about a rebadged Chevy Cavalier from 24 years ago. Cavalier was never a very good car... built as cheaply as possible using the cheapest materials and processes available. Back then, the big U.S. manufacturers believed the typical economy car should be trouble free for 3 years and have an average life expectancy of about 7 years. Hell, if you had the V-6 you had to unbolt the engine from the chassis and tilt it forward to change the rear spark plugs. Quality and fuel economy are what allowed the Japanese manufacturers to grab a substantial share of the market. It caused everyone to step up their game. Your now benefiting from this, and from efforts to meet continuously improving fuel economy and safety targets. Now get off my lawn.

  10. Re:Cue up Elon's fanbois on Tesla Suspension Breakage: It's Not The Crime, It's The Coverup (dailykanban.com) · · Score: 1

    Kia and Hyundai offers 100,000 mile 7 year warranties because their early products were SO bad that they typically were scrap by 100,000 miles. Catastrophic CV joint failures between 70-90k miles were a common problem in first generation Hyundai cars. They had to offer this warranty to attract people back to the brand, to convince them they might have fixed their problems and would stand behind their product. Once they offered the 100,000 mile warranty, it was impossible to reduce it for risk of a perception that their quality had dropped. Having had to diagnose and repair a number of them in the '90s, I still won't go near the brand.

  11. Re:Verrry Interesting... on China Plans Massive Sea Lab 10,000 Feet Underwater In the South China Sea (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 2

    Or precious metals. My Precious...

  12. I'm not saying it was aliens; but... Aliens.

  13. Nothing new to see here folks, just move along... on Windows 10 Forced Update Resets Default Apps To Microsoft Products (theinquirer.net) · · Score: 1

    This happened (happens) all the time. Not new to Windows 10. Happened with Windows 8 updates. Windows 7 updates. Vista updates. Windows XP updates... I think you should be seeing the trend now. They make this mistake from time to time. Every time it happens, the same story comes out Then they either apologize or say it was done for security reasons. So, please, just ignore this non-story and move along.

  14. Re:Because physics and engineering. on Camless Internal Combustion and the Digital Age (hackaday.com) · · Score: 2

    This. It is not uncommon for valve springs to put just shy of 100 lbs of force on the seat, holding the spring closed; and, 300-400 lbs of force on the spring when the valve is open in order to guarantee that the valve closure acceleration is high enough during high RPM operation. These are the kinds of forces you have to replicate with your hypothetical actuator. It can be done; but, it is so energy intensive that the current generation of engines using roller cams and VVT are the more efficient solution.

  15. Re:"peak efficiency"? ya right.. on Camless Internal Combustion and the Digital Age (hackaday.com) · · Score: 1

    Because the new car is heavier.

  16. Duck Tape on Should a Mars Colony Be Independent? (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    They can't be independent. They will be too dependent on the supply chain back at Earth to be independent. Until they have basic industry, including bulk mineral and chemical processing, metal smelting, and plastics manufacturing all up and running reliably on the Mars surface, they're dependent on supplies from Earth. So, basically, until they can make their own Duck Tape... No independence for them!

  17. Re:Confusing all-around on Ethics: A Good Reason To Sit Further Away From Your Boss (telegraph.co.uk) · · Score: 1

    If they're abusing people, they're doing their job WRONG.

  18. Re:Bullshit on Tesla's NOx Problem: Model X Delay Explained? (dailykanban.com) · · Score: 1

    other way around. NOx formation occurs at higher temperatures.

  19. Re:The Root Problem on The Quest For the Ultimate Vacuum Tube (ieee.org) · · Score: 1

    This is like reading the reviews on the guitar sites... Is the Ruby tube better than the JJ? Is the Electro Harmonix better or is the Tung-Sol? What about the Mullard? How good is the JAN Sylvania? How do those compare to a NOS RCA? What tube sounds best for clean tone? What is best for overdrive?

    Disclosure: I own two tube based guitar amps, one of which is an old kit I just gutted and am in the process of re-designing...

  20. Re:Yeah, but he REAL test!!! on The Quest For the Ultimate Vacuum Tube (ieee.org) · · Score: 1

    You just need to build a REALLY big one...

  21. Re:Yeah, but he REAL test!!! on The Quest For the Ultimate Vacuum Tube (ieee.org) · · Score: 5, Funny

    Punchy lows. Solid mids. But where it really excels is highs. They're crisp and clear all the way to 200GHz and beyond. Of course you'll have to use our superflex cable with gold plated oxygen free copper conductors to really hear the difference!

  22. Re:FUD at least sort of. on Green Light Or No, Nest Cam Never Stops Watching (securityledger.com) · · Score: 1

    It's a poor analogy. If the processor stops running, you will no longer be able to control the device using the UI.

  23. Re:Twin Ion Engines? on NASA Contracting Development of New Ion/Nuclear Engines (nasaspaceflight.com) · · Score: 1

    First rule in government spending: Why build one when you can have two for twice the price.

    Seriously though, it's called redundancy.

  24. Re:Please don't bring it back on MST3K Is Kickstarting Back To Life · · Score: 1

    Dude, that's like saying "Rocky Horror Picture Show' is a bad movie. Well, it is. But if you're not enjoying it, you're doing it all wrong... You can't watch MST3K sober, and in a serious frame of mind, and expect it to be funny.

  25. third race in progress on The Two Modern Space Races (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 2

    There is a third race starting. It's moving very slowly but there has been investment in it. The race to mine asteroids. It will be a long while before we see any results and I expect a couple of failures. Perhaps spectacular ones. It'll be fun to watch anyway.