Bad summary - TFA just says it is the _best_ warning system, and that it needs replacement. Of course TFA is just an OK summary of a formal report that came out months ago - which also says pretty much the same thing.
These are all wonderful inventions - and China should be proud of them. But remember that Zheng He's fleet and charts were burned after he died, and China turned its back on the world. What great inventions and innovations have come from China since the decline of the Ming?
The past 500 years have been an era of stagnation for China. Perhaps things are not as visibly bad as they were 100 years ago, but I see little proof that it is entering a new age of innovation.
Have you actually been out to Lake Mead in the past year? Its drying up - at the present rate (and there is no reason to think this will change, since its been steady for almost the whole decade), the water intakes will be above the waterline by 2010. But thats OK, they have a backup water system coming online in 2011. Oops.
Its tougher to project these out even further, but I've read that at present rates, Lake Mead will no longer be able to support power production at Hoover Dam (aka - all of Vegas's juice) by 2017, and the lake will be essentially dry by the early 2020's.
Did you even read my comment fully? Vegas is just one example - a favorite of mine since its a dry season away from being out of water - it won't even take anything dramatic to make life unpleasant there.
The rest of the major cities in the US and Europe are screwed without power and long long distance transport.
NY is actually better off than most in one regard - the potable water is gravity fed from upstate. Lots of potable untapped well water under Brooklyn and Queens as well. That means in a real crunch, it has more time than other areas - since the water is already drinkable without filtering and will flow with or without electricity.
Really? We're about to implement a system where we put more people than ever in the air, thanks to GPS systems and shorter distances between aircraft. When the grid and GPS go down at once, I'm sure they'll all get down safely.
As for the rest - you been to Vegas lately? Millions of people just waiting for a power outage or a water shortage to wipe them off the map. We've been stuffing millions of people into tiny areas across the globe over the past century, that are not friendly to human habitation - let alone high density habitation, that require long distance transportation of essentials - water, food, etc. Its not sustainable without modern technology (modern being, post electricity).
For the computers - a long event could be equivelant to dozens of lightning strikes over a short period of time, as power surges unpredictably - not just once, but many many times. Can modern equipment handle that (honest question - I have no idea)? Unless everyone takes the time to unplug from the grid during the event (which I doubt most businesses and homes would do), it'll all be vulnerable.
Are the milsats just as vulnerable to that type of flux damage? Aren't they supposed to be better shielded against higher levels of EM damage and incoming high energy particles (like say, from a nuke going off nearby)?
Why is the term inapropriate here? Just like Katrina, the authors are describing a serious, but forseeable weather event, that could be almost completely mitigated with better planning.
Plus Katrina was one of the bigger hurricanes you could expect to see, while the event they describe is one of the bigger CME's you could expect to see... seems like a good analogy all around (except one effects a small area and dunks a small city, and the other the entire world and will destroy civilization as we know it).
Think the report is kidding around? Go lookup what happened in Quebec on March 13th, 1989. The whole power system was knocked out in seconds. Then go read about the kind of storm they're worried about - the solar storm of 1859.
It actually caused telegraph wires to short out across Europe and the Americas - some even caught on fire. If that happened now, it would cause global power outages, fried computer equipment (including the ones that control your fancy electronic car), and everything except for milsats in orbit could be knocked out.
So will people be directly killed? No. But when the fly-by-wire planes fall out of the sky, your new car won't work, your cell phones are dead, power is dead, the internet is down, and landlines fried - I bet it won't take long for a lot of people to die anyway.
Great idea - cut everything except education, medical, and other essentials. And stop raising those high NY taxes. But when you look at the budget breakdown - where does the money come from? where do 2/3 of the budget go?
Basically just looking at our top 5 items, and 64% are going to essentials!
Its time to face the grim reality that our state leaders - particularly the "fiscally responsible" Republicans lead by Governor Pataki - have been adding on services and bloating the payroll for years, balanced on the back of the bubble economy. Now thats gone, and we're all going to pay.
Lost his marbles? Please - He's the only responsible one up there in Albany!
The state has a 12 billion dollar shortfall - and NY State is not the federal government - it can't print money to get out of it. This is all because Pataki, Spitzer, and the other previous idiots running this state kept thinking the good times would be around forever, and passed spending programs that reflected it. Well now they're gone, and its about time an actual adult took responsibility and proposed serious ways of closing the gap.
Patterson is proposing both service cuts across the board, and tax increases - not to mention cutting benefits for state employees. Meanwhile the state senate and the assembly blubber about nickle-and-dime crap. Personally, I think we should cut every new program added in the past 8 years, and see how much of the gap that closes.
People are running around and claiming that dual-citizenship makes you ineligible to be president.
It takes another sovereign nation granting you citizenship to make you a dual citizen. And they can grant that with or without your permission, for any reason they choose.
So by that logic, the UK, Iran, The Galactic Empire, etc, could sabotage our presidential elections by declaring all of us citizens (making us the dreaded dual-citizen). If you can't see the fatal flaw in the dual-citizen argument after that you, well... see my grandfather post...
I love the bat-shit crazies who think that dual-citizenship can bar someone from being president. With that logic, the UK can prevent everyone from being president, by declaring all US citizens are UK citizens as well. Idiots.
1) Technically all the questions to those in Kenya about Barrack Obama, have neglected to specify Jr or Sr. Since him and his father share an identical name, its impossible to know which one they are talking about.
2) Minors can not give up their citizenship. And parents can't give up their minor's citizenship.
One of the benefits of PC gaming is that, assuming you keep your mitts on all your bits, you can whip out old games and replay them years later. I did a full replay of CH:R about 10 years ago, and did a partial replay 2 years ago. I'm actually working my way though mechcomander 1/expansion/2 right now... great games. Always loved the whole idea of battlefield salvage as your primary resource, not to mention the fun in mixing-matching-and customizing mechs.
Also - you're right that its a shame about the real time. To this date the ONLY turn based AAA battletech title ever released was the Crescent Hawks Inception - a fantastic RPG/tactical wargame hybrid - one that I replay much more often than its sequel.
If I hadn't played that game, and hated the gameplay style when it first came out - I would have wasted hours and hours playing all its game-play clones.
The only RTSes that I've ever liked, were the ones that took cues for Dune 2's predecessor - Crescent Hawk Revenge... those being Mechcommander and Mechcommander 2. Real time play with no resources to worry about. Just units. And salvaged units between missions.
Actually scratch that - I did like Sins of a Solar Empire. But that one is dune 2 crossed with civ... and requires actual strategy... so does that count?
You counter with Ninjas, then they counter with Pirates. You think the Ninja's will stand a chance against Kung-Fu Pirates?
I shudder at the thought of what they will be stopped with.
Re:Halfway through the book, and ...
on
Anathem
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· Score: 1
But they weren't pointless - many of them describe concepts that don't have direct analogues to English.
In the other cases it is so the reader is put on the same playing field as the character. Its a lot easier to believe a characters inability to follow "modern" culture and technology, when you are just as mystified.
Re:This is Neal's Best Book Yet
on
Anathem
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· Score: 1
You just don't get it do you. 3 Digit Slashdot posters ARE that much better than the rest of us. I understand that double digit posters can levitate in mid air, and that single digit posters can move mountains with their minds. Or, at least that's what a poster in the mid 3000's told me... I'll have to take His word on it.
Anathem - first 120 pages posted by publisher
on
Anathem
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· Score: 2, Informative
If you're looking for something to read in the office... harper-collins posted the first 120 pages online, plus the glossary (for those too lazy to figure out the words in context... or have the memory of a fruit fly, like I do).
http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061474095
Why does it stop 120 pages in? Because the next page is where the plot starts. Everything up to then is just world building.
That makes sense. It was a little confusing this morning seeing the Keck/Gemini announcements out, covering the same ground as the expected (and previously announced) Hubble. Then the Keck got pulled for a few hours leaving just the Gemini. Guess those press/web guys at the observatories need more practice following embargoes:)
Anyway - its quiet exciting to see not just 1 but 4 objects that we can get spectra on (hopefully soon).
Slashdot Mirror
Well - there's someone cast as Christopher Pike...
Bad summary - TFA just says it is the _best_ warning system, and that it needs replacement. Of course TFA is just an OK summary of a formal report that came out months ago - which also says pretty much the same thing.
These are all wonderful inventions - and China should be proud of them. But remember that Zheng He's fleet and charts were burned after he died, and China turned its back on the world. What great inventions and innovations have come from China since the decline of the Ming?
The past 500 years have been an era of stagnation for China. Perhaps things are not as visibly bad as they were 100 years ago, but I see little proof that it is entering a new age of innovation.
Have you actually been out to Lake Mead in the past year? Its drying up - at the present rate (and there is no reason to think this will change, since its been steady for almost the whole decade), the water intakes will be above the waterline by 2010. But thats OK, they have a backup water system coming online in 2011. Oops.
Its tougher to project these out even further, but I've read that at present rates, Lake Mead will no longer be able to support power production at Hoover Dam (aka - all of Vegas's juice) by 2017, and the lake will be essentially dry by the early 2020's.
Did you even read my comment fully? Vegas is just one example - a favorite of mine since its a dry season away from being out of water - it won't even take anything dramatic to make life unpleasant there.
The rest of the major cities in the US and Europe are screwed without power and long long distance transport.
NY is actually better off than most in one regard - the potable water is gravity fed from upstate. Lots of potable untapped well water under Brooklyn and Queens as well. That means in a real crunch, it has more time than other areas - since the water is already drinkable without filtering and will flow with or without electricity.
Really? We're about to implement a system where we put more people than ever in the air, thanks to GPS systems and shorter distances between aircraft. When the grid and GPS go down at once, I'm sure they'll all get down safely.
As for the rest - you been to Vegas lately? Millions of people just waiting for a power outage or a water shortage to wipe them off the map. We've been stuffing millions of people into tiny areas across the globe over the past century, that are not friendly to human habitation - let alone high density habitation, that require long distance transportation of essentials - water, food, etc. Its not sustainable without modern technology (modern being, post electricity).
For the computers - a long event could be equivelant to dozens of lightning strikes over a short period of time, as power surges unpredictably - not just once, but many many times. Can modern equipment handle that (honest question - I have no idea)? Unless everyone takes the time to unplug from the grid during the event (which I doubt most businesses and homes would do), it'll all be vulnerable.
Are the milsats just as vulnerable to that type of flux damage? Aren't they supposed to be better shielded against higher levels of EM damage and incoming high energy particles (like say, from a nuke going off nearby)?
Why is the term inapropriate here? Just like Katrina, the authors are describing a serious, but forseeable weather event, that could be almost completely mitigated with better planning.
Plus Katrina was one of the bigger hurricanes you could expect to see, while the event they describe is one of the bigger CME's you could expect to see... seems like a good analogy all around (except one effects a small area and dunks a small city, and the other the entire world and will destroy civilization as we know it).
Did I mention cars? Forget that - I was getting over excited there...
Think the report is kidding around? Go lookup what happened in Quebec on March 13th, 1989. The whole power system was knocked out in seconds. Then go read about the kind of storm they're worried about - the solar storm of 1859.
It actually caused telegraph wires to short out across Europe and the Americas - some even caught on fire. If that happened now, it would cause global power outages, fried computer equipment (including the ones that control your fancy electronic car), and everything except for milsats in orbit could be knocked out.
So will people be directly killed? No. But when the fly-by-wire planes fall out of the sky, your new car won't work, your cell phones are dead, power is dead, the internet is down, and landlines fried - I bet it won't take long for a lot of people to die anyway.
Great idea - cut everything except education, medical, and other essentials. And stop raising those high NY taxes. But when you look at the budget breakdown - where does the money come from? where do 2/3 of the budget go?
http://publications.budget.state.ny.us/eBudget0910/fy0910littlebook/AllFunds.html
Medicaid (medical) - 31%
School aid (education) - 19%
SUNY (education)- 7.6%
Transportation - 6%
Fringe Benefits (state employee benefits) - 4.5%
Basically just looking at our top 5 items, and 64% are going to essentials!
Its time to face the grim reality that our state leaders - particularly the "fiscally responsible" Republicans lead by Governor Pataki - have been adding on services and bloating the payroll for years, balanced on the back of the bubble economy. Now thats gone, and we're all going to pay.
Lost his marbles? Please - He's the only responsible one up there in Albany!
The state has a 12 billion dollar shortfall - and NY State is not the federal government - it can't print money to get out of it. This is all because Pataki, Spitzer, and the other previous idiots running this state kept thinking the good times would be around forever, and passed spending programs that reflected it. Well now they're gone, and its about time an actual adult took responsibility and proposed serious ways of closing the gap.
Patterson is proposing both service cuts across the board, and tax increases - not to mention cutting benefits for state employees. Meanwhile the state senate and the assembly blubber about nickle-and-dime crap. Personally, I think we should cut every new program added in the past 8 years, and see how much of the gap that closes.
Missing the point.
People are running around and claiming that dual-citizenship makes you ineligible to be president.
It takes another sovereign nation granting you citizenship to make you a dual citizen. And they can grant that with or without your permission, for any reason they choose.
So by that logic, the UK, Iran, The Galactic Empire, etc, could sabotage our presidential elections by declaring all of us citizens (making us the dreaded dual-citizen). If you can't see the fatal flaw in the dual-citizen argument after that you, well... see my grandfather post...
I love the bat-shit crazies who think that dual-citizenship can bar someone from being president. With that logic, the UK can prevent everyone from being president, by declaring all US citizens are UK citizens as well. Idiots.
1) Technically all the questions to those in Kenya about Barrack Obama, have neglected to specify Jr or Sr. Since him and his father share an identical name, its impossible to know which one they are talking about.
2) Minors can not give up their citizenship. And parents can't give up their minor's citizenship.
Why? This article wasn't being sarcastic... was it?
Utopia came out long before that on the Intellivision console. And Ancient Art of War (plus its sequels) came out soon afterwards on the PC.
One of the benefits of PC gaming is that, assuming you keep your mitts on all your bits, you can whip out old games and replay them years later. I did a full replay of CH:R about 10 years ago, and did a partial replay 2 years ago. I'm actually working my way though mechcomander 1/expansion/2 right now... great games. Always loved the whole idea of battlefield salvage as your primary resource, not to mention the fun in mixing-matching-and customizing mechs.
Also - you're right that its a shame about the real time. To this date the ONLY turn based AAA battletech title ever released was the Crescent Hawks Inception - a fantastic RPG/tactical wargame hybrid - one that I replay much more often than its sequel.
If I hadn't played that game, and hated the gameplay style when it first came out - I would have wasted hours and hours playing all its game-play clones.
The only RTSes that I've ever liked, were the ones that took cues for Dune 2's predecessor - Crescent Hawk Revenge... those being Mechcommander and Mechcommander 2. Real time play with no resources to worry about. Just units. And salvaged units between missions.
Actually scratch that - I did like Sins of a Solar Empire. But that one is dune 2 crossed with civ... and requires actual strategy... so does that count?
On a Plane? Seems far-fetched to me.
You counter with Ninjas, then they counter with Pirates. You think the Ninja's will stand a chance against Kung-Fu Pirates? I shudder at the thought of what they will be stopped with.
But they weren't pointless - many of them describe concepts that don't have direct analogues to English.
In the other cases it is so the reader is put on the same playing field as the character. Its a lot easier to believe a characters inability to follow "modern" culture and technology, when you are just as mystified.
You just don't get it do you. 3 Digit Slashdot posters ARE that much better than the rest of us. I understand that double digit posters can levitate in mid air, and that single digit posters can move mountains with their minds. Or, at least that's what a poster in the mid 3000's told me... I'll have to take His word on it.
Why does it stop 120 pages in? Because the next page is where the plot starts. Everything up to then is just world building.
Anyway - its quiet exciting to see not just 1 but 4 objects that we can get spectra on (hopefully soon).