You've got your judgement of Carmack's mentality exactly backwards. From the Armadillo site:
"A chamber with no contraction ratio at all will lose 20% of its thrust due to pressure losses from accelerating gasses in the straight section, but the Isp loss is only 1.5%."
You look like you're feeling pretty nostalgic, especially noting that you're using a spelling convention (small "i," capital "D") that id Software themselves have not used in more than 10 years;)
I thought he said the "original films" would not be released on VHS, and to my knowledge, those originals haven't. In fact, isn't the only place you can get the original, wide screen, theatrical release of the first three films on Laser Disc?
it's been 20 years or so since I've even seen a 50-cent piece.
Clearly you don't play blackjack (or don't hit blackjacks). I usually go to Vegas about once a year, and I always come home with 50 cent pieces after playing blackjack. Sometimes I wonder if Vegas is keeping them in circulation.
...Carmack is way over-estimating performance of most phones.
He's not estimating - over or otherwise - anything. Jamdat has told him that the file should be between 150 and 200k. Jamdat has made it clear that it's best to target the newest phones since the majority of games are bought on purchase (or just after) of the phone (according to them), and most of the newest phones can handle those file sizes (again, according to them).
And how many have innocents have been executed in the past, oh, say 50 years? (And, please - I'm not asking how many people have been set free from death row after being proven innocent, I'm asking how many were actually executed).
Now, in that same time, how many innocents have been murdered by murderers who got such-and-such many years in prison but then were released?
As a pro-death penalty person, I accept the reponsibility that someone (including myself), could end up executed as an innocent.
But it's high time anti-death penatly people start taking some responsibility for the innocents who are murdered when murderers who are eventually set free murder again.
It's really nothing so nefarious. By banding together as a federation, they're hoping they'll have some clout in helping the government draft that regulations that they'll have to abide by. Because if they don't, those regulations will not get written by NASA, as someone else seemed to imply, but by FAA bureaucrats who, while well-intentioned, might regulate this emerging industry into extinction.
All this federation wants to do is have some input into the regulations they'll have to abide by. Yes it's in their self-interest, but I also think it's going to help the situation because now the FAA folks will have direct input from a group that's actually trying to do the things being regulated.
Why Burt Rutan would offer his coattails to these other clowns I'll never know.
Actually, all you'd have to do is RTFAs to know. You'd find out that by actively working to establish safety guidelines along with the government, the federation is hoping to help keep the safety regulations meaningful and workable. Rutan does not want the government to mire his plans in misguided regulation, so he's joining other industry leaders in hopes of helping keep the regulations realistic. Simple.
The worst part is, they don't realize it and nobody in their family has "the heart" to say that it's dangerous for others when they're on the road.
I have a great uncle in his 80s who has some fused vertebrae in his neck so he can't turn his head well, and he doesn't have very good feeling in his feet. He still drives. The thing is, we - the family - have urged him to stop driving but he'll have none of it.
He recently ran his car into the interior wall of his garage and we were all very thankful that is all he hurt. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to keep him off the road, and I don't think there is anything we can do about it legally (maybe someone can enlighten me if I'm wrong on that point).
Back in September I was privileged to get to ride on Zero-G's plane, and I just thought I'd mention that it's called G-Force One, not Gravity One. What a kick, too! Definitely recommend it for anyone who can scratch up the $3,000 for some frivolous fun.
Come on! Where's Frink from the Simpsons? Nerdy scientist with Jerry Lewis gyrations... he gets my vote. Maybe the French would have rated him higher too.
The parachute landing has been abandoned for now because it makes it very much more difficult to get a launch license. If something goes wrong and the parachute pops out a very high altitude, the vehicle could drift very far down range, and this is what AST (the launch licensing body of FAA) does not like. If Armadillo wants a launch license any time soon, it has to abandon the parachute.
Not quite. It need not be a "spaceplane"... a simple rocket will do. And it needs to fly to 62 miles, or 100 kilometers. It needs to be able to carry three 198lb, 6'2" people to that height, but two of the three people can be represented by ballast - only one live body needs fly. That person needs to return in good health. And the vehicle needs to do it twice in two weeks, not three, between which no more than 10% of the mass mass of the vehicle (not including propellant) can be replaced.
Oh, and one other thing... the ten million dollars is only funded through the end of this year.
I don't find it bizarre at all, if it is the Viking orbiter. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the exposure was a full 15 seconds, during which time the object appears to have moved four degrees of an arc - hence the streak. So, we're not talking about an "instant" at all.
I don't much like overused or gratuitous computer effects either. But about your "foam rubber costumes and cheesy props" comment, I think it was an improvement in the Episode IV Special Edition to remove those ridiculous, "straight-off-the-shelf-halloween-mask-looking" aliens in the cantina. The purist side of me would still like to have access to the original version, but I didn't miss those badly dated aliens at all.
Well, it can, but just barely. To quote shuttle astronaut Jay Apt:
"We look for the Great Wall of China. Although we can see things as small as airport runways, the Great Wall seems to be made largely of materials that have the same color as the surrounding soil. Despite persistent stories that it can be seen from the moon, the Great Wall is almost invisible from only 180 miles up!"
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You've got your judgement of Carmack's mentality exactly backwards. From the Armadillo site:
"A chamber with no contraction ratio at all will lose 20% of its thrust due to pressure losses from accelerating gasses in the straight section, but the Isp loss is only 1.5%."
The very quote you post is regarding the work he does on his Sharnoa CNC mill. So even CNC won't necessarily prevent walking.
As to hiring a good machinist, Armadillo doesn't hire anyone - they're all volunteers.
You look like you're feeling pretty nostalgic, especially noting that you're using a spelling convention (small "i," capital "D") that id Software themselves have not used in more than 10 years ;)
I thought he said the "original films" would not be released on VHS, and to my knowledge, those originals haven't. In fact, isn't the only place you can get the original, wide screen, theatrical release of the first three films on Laser Disc?
So you can't walk into Best Buy and sue because they won't take your two dollar bills.
Of course you can. You can pretty much sue anyone for any reason. Doesn't mean you'll win, of course.
I agree with the rest of your post, though.
it's been 20 years or so since I've even seen a 50-cent piece.
Clearly you don't play blackjack (or don't hit blackjacks). I usually go to Vegas about once a year, and I always come home with 50 cent pieces after playing blackjack. Sometimes I wonder if Vegas is keeping them in circulation.
...Carmack is way over-estimating performance of most phones.
He's not estimating - over or otherwise - anything. Jamdat has told him that the file should be between 150 and 200k. Jamdat has made it clear that it's best to target the newest phones since the majority of games are bought on purchase (or just after) of the phone (according to them), and most of the newest phones can handle those file sizes (again, according to them).
And how many have innocents have been executed in the past, oh, say 50 years? (And, please - I'm not asking how many people have been set free from death row after being proven innocent, I'm asking how many were actually executed).
Now, in that same time, how many innocents have been murdered by murderers who got such-and-such many years in prison but then were released?
As a pro-death penalty person, I accept the reponsibility that someone (including myself), could end up executed as an innocent.
But it's high time anti-death penatly people start taking some responsibility for the innocents who are murdered when murderers who are eventually set free murder again.
It's really nothing so nefarious. By banding together as a federation, they're hoping they'll have some clout in helping the government draft that regulations that they'll have to abide by. Because if they don't, those regulations will not get written by NASA, as someone else seemed to imply, but by FAA bureaucrats who, while well-intentioned, might regulate this emerging industry into extinction.
All this federation wants to do is have some input into the regulations they'll have to abide by. Yes it's in their self-interest, but I also think it's going to help the situation because now the FAA folks will have direct input from a group that's actually trying to do the things being regulated.
Why Burt Rutan would offer his coattails to these other clowns I'll never know.
Actually, all you'd have to do is RTFAs to know. You'd find out that by actively working to establish safety guidelines along with the government, the federation is hoping to help keep the safety regulations meaningful and workable. Rutan does not want the government to mire his plans in misguided regulation, so he's joining other industry leaders in hopes of helping keep the regulations realistic. Simple.
The worst part is, they don't realize it and nobody in their family has "the heart" to say that it's dangerous for others when they're on the road.
I have a great uncle in his 80s who has some fused vertebrae in his neck so he can't turn his head well, and he doesn't have very good feeling in his feet. He still drives. The thing is, we - the family - have urged him to stop driving but he'll have none of it.
He recently ran his car into the interior wall of his garage and we were all very thankful that is all he hurt. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to keep him off the road, and I don't think there is anything we can do about it legally (maybe someone can enlighten me if I'm wrong on that point).
"Frank Oz's hand up my ass, I need."
Mentioned in his .plan file, seen here, for example, on Webdog.com:
http://www.webdog.org/cgi-bin/finger.plm?id=1/
When bigotry is modded as insightful, I know I can safely ignore the mod scores.
Back in September I was privileged to get to ride on Zero-G's plane, and I just thought I'd mention that it's called G-Force One, not Gravity One. What a kick, too! Definitely recommend it for anyone who can scratch up the $3,000 for some frivolous fun.
Come on! Where's Frink from the Simpsons? Nerdy scientist with Jerry Lewis gyrations... he gets my vote. Maybe the French would have rated him higher too.
Sadly, it seems they have yet to learn from history. Or, perhaps, their bandwidth costs are being spent on new rocket parts.
Actually, the media are hosted on id Software's servers. They have lots of bandwidth, but just choose to cap it.
The parachute landing has been abandoned for now because it makes it very much more difficult to get a launch license. If something goes wrong and the parachute pops out a very high altitude, the vehicle could drift very far down range, and this is what AST (the launch licensing body of FAA) does not like. If Armadillo wants a launch license any time soon, it has to abandon the parachute.
Despite what the main post says, XCOR is not now, nor have they ever been an entrant in the X-Prize.
Not quite. It need not be a "spaceplane"... a simple rocket will do. And it needs to fly to 62 miles, or 100 kilometers. It needs to be able to carry three 198lb, 6'2" people to that height, but two of the three people can be represented by ballast - only one live body needs fly. That person needs to return in good health. And the vehicle needs to do it twice in two weeks, not three, between which no more than 10% of the mass mass of the vehicle (not including propellant) can be replaced.
Oh, and one other thing... the ten million dollars is only funded through the end of this year.
I don't find it bizarre at all, if it is the Viking orbiter. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the exposure was a full 15 seconds, during which time the object appears to have moved four degrees of an arc - hence the streak. So, we're not talking about an "instant" at all.
I don't much like overused or gratuitous computer effects either. But about your "foam rubber costumes and cheesy props" comment, I think it was an improvement in the Episode IV Special Edition to remove those ridiculous, "straight-off-the-shelf-halloween-mask-looking" aliens in the cantina. The purist side of me would still like to have access to the original version, but I didn't miss those badly dated aliens at all.
The Cult Awareness Network being taken over by Scientology.
Well, it can, but just barely. To quote shuttle astronaut Jay Apt:
"We look for the Great Wall of China. Although we can see things as small as airport runways, the Great Wall seems to be made largely of materials that have the same color as the surrounding soil. Despite persistent stories that it can be seen from the moon, the Great Wall is almost invisible from only 180 miles up!"
Many of the sound effects in DOOM can be found in Sound Ideas' "The General" 6000 series sound effects library, copyright 1992.