I dunno about you, but I get the distinct impression that this thing isn't designed for hauling a boatload of kids to soccer practice. What you're saying is a bit like complaining that a dinghy isn't much use for shipping 40,000 tonnes of containerised freight from Okaland to Taipai.
For spaceflight I was thinking more in terms of flying boats where bouyancy is provided by the shape of the craft itself. And I was thinking about landing only.
As for the problems you indicate with floatplanes, I would have though that if these were insurmountable then floatplanes wouldn't exist.
I thought that very same thing when watching Cowboy Bebop. There's a spaceship that lands on water, no need to worry about getting the approach to the runway right first time, you just land at your leisure. A totally sensible proposal, and the Mercury and Apollo missions did likewise, albeit in the vertical rather than hosrizontal fashion.
I've also thought the same thing about atmospheric travel. I was up in Vancouver last year and was intrigued by the floatplanes. I was thinking, 'why aren't there more of these things elsewhere in the world?' All you need is a reasonably calm body of water, a cheap little jetty, a small terminal building, and presto! Instant airport for personalised air travel for small groups of people running at flexible schedules. Of course in Vancouver it's a bit busier and requires an air-traffic control tower, located at the top of EA Sports' building in a wonderful example of efficient use of urban space.
The article has an artist's impression of Muses-C doing its thing. Takes me back to the old books I used to read that were full of airbrush pictures - artist's impressions of futuristic space missions. There's something inspiring about that style that computer graphics have never been able to replicate.
When faced with a similar problem, the European Rosetta mission alternatively will harpoon the surface to hang on while also touching down on another small-mass asteroid
He beckons! Follow him, men! Death to the white asteroid!
I think this is why anti-GM food protesters are so outspoken in their criticism. This is like a genie that would be very difficult to put back into the bottle if it turns out that GM food is unhealthy.
For the record, I'm still undecided on the issue.
As an example he spend 3 chapters talking about St. Augustin of Hippo juxtaposed to St. Patrick. What came out of it could be summarized in a few paragraphs.
I found that about his book about the Irish too. He went into minute detail on a lot of poetry and literature that was a bit unecessary IMHO.
The drip is the design of American cities (particularly in the West) that force people to drive to meet basic daily needs. The bigger bucket is measures like this to increase the production of oil. Fixing the drip is building cities like they do back East, in Europe and in Asia. The anti-urbanist streak that runs through American society is one of the root causes of this problem. See my journal, I've written quite a bit about this.
Actually, I was surprised when I discovered that the name of our national game was used in the US to refer to vomiting. Elsewhere it is just used to mean 'throwing' something with great force.
Check out Hurling. A player running on a large grass pitch has to be able to catch a small ball in his weak hand (no big mitt to help him), sprint like a 100 metres champion, avoid getting shoulder-charged into the ground, twist and turn like a basketball player, and strike the ball in mid-air whilst on the move and be able to do so with a forehanded or backhanded swing of his stick. If he wants to take more than three steps while in posession of the ball, he has to balance it on the end of his stick, and he can't have the ball in his hand more than twice while in posession of it. And he has to be able to hit it on the ground as well. And he can't pick it up off the ground by hand, he has to scoop it up with his stick. And if someone blocks his stick then it'll shatter. And if someone gets in his way while he's swinging then they'll get their head taken off. See also here.
Wal Mart is okay! They're so generous that they hand out info on how to get food-stamps along with their pay packets that are kept light in weight so that their workers can carry them more easily!
Quite right. Let's go back to the sweatshop economy that Wal Mart is taking us to. Workers' rights? Ha! Who need em? Sure workers in the US have never had it so good, all this stuff about the working poor is just leftist propaganda broadcast on our TV every night by the liberal media. Enough of this class warfare, it's time to show these good-for-nothing blue-collar workers who's boss. In fact I think we should just bring back slavery while we're at it.
It's heartwarming to know there are still people who believe that anything a Union does must be good.
It's equally heartening to know that there are people who can't read what's there in black and white in front of them. If you can show me exactly where I said "everything a Union does must be good" then I'll be happy to withdraw the remark.
No, it's the abounding ignorance of people who think that anyone in a country where the people have dark skin must be living in the middle of a famine. I'm sick of reading this crap on Slashdot and I wish people would get a fucking clue that the developing world also has people who wear suits, drive cars, and work 9 o 5 in an office.
The Delixus e-Governance Platform addresses the needs of millions of rural poor citizens in India who receive widow or pension checks through services provided by local government offices.
Sure it's not helping the poor? Don't you think the question of Joe Average using linux is a tad irrelevant to the article posted? The article is about software used by the Indian _government_, not the Indian consumer. If the government uses it, the people benefit.
I can't believe that people still keep moderating this stuff as 'insightful!' When oh when is the Slashdot crew going to get it into their heads that the western world isn't the only place where a middle class exists? Sheesh!
Slashdot Mirror
I dunno about you, but I get the distinct impression that this thing isn't designed for hauling a boatload of kids to soccer practice. What you're saying is a bit like complaining that a dinghy isn't much use for shipping 40,000 tonnes of containerised freight from Okaland to Taipai.
For spaceflight I was thinking more in terms of flying boats where bouyancy is provided by the shape of the craft itself. And I was thinking about landing only. As for the problems you indicate with floatplanes, I would have though that if these were insurmountable then floatplanes wouldn't exist.
I've also thought the same thing about atmospheric travel. I was up in Vancouver last year and was intrigued by the floatplanes. I was thinking, 'why aren't there more of these things elsewhere in the world?' All you need is a reasonably calm body of water, a cheap little jetty, a small terminal building, and presto! Instant airport for personalised air travel for small groups of people running at flexible schedules. Of course in Vancouver it's a bit busier and requires an air-traffic control tower, located at the top of EA Sports' building in a wonderful example of efficient use of urban space.
"Mojave Spaceport. Nowhere else will you find such a wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
People in the UK should refuse to carry these things. They are an abomination.
Either it's been slashdotted or our proxy is up the left.
The article has an artist's impression of Muses-C doing its thing. Takes me back to the old books I used to read that were full of airbrush pictures - artist's impressions of futuristic space missions. There's something inspiring about that style that computer graphics have never been able to replicate.
By 'for the record' I meant 'please don't bombard me with a load of flames about how safe GM food really is.' Dick.
I think this is why anti-GM food protesters are so outspoken in their criticism. This is like a genie that would be very difficult to put back into the bottle if it turns out that GM food is unhealthy. For the record, I'm still undecided on the issue.
The drip is the design of American cities (particularly in the West) that force people to drive to meet basic daily needs. The bigger bucket is measures like this to increase the production of oil. Fixing the drip is building cities like they do back East, in Europe and in Asia. The anti-urbanist streak that runs through American society is one of the root causes of this problem. See my journal, I've written quite a bit about this.
Actually, I was surprised when I discovered that the name of our national game was used in the US to refer to vomiting. Elsewhere it is just used to mean 'throwing' something with great force.
Check out Hurling. A player running on a large grass pitch has to be able to catch a small ball in his weak hand (no big mitt to help him), sprint like a 100 metres champion, avoid getting shoulder-charged into the ground, twist and turn like a basketball player, and strike the ball in mid-air whilst on the move and be able to do so with a forehanded or backhanded swing of his stick. If he wants to take more than three steps while in posession of the ball, he has to balance it on the end of his stick, and he can't have the ball in his hand more than twice while in posession of it. And he has to be able to hit it on the ground as well. And he can't pick it up off the ground by hand, he has to scoop it up with his stick. And if someone blocks his stick then it'll shatter. And if someone gets in his way while he's swinging then they'll get their head taken off. See also here.
Wal Mart is okay! They're so generous that they hand out info on how to get food-stamps along with their pay packets that are kept light in weight so that their workers can carry them more easily!
Note - This post is sarcastic.
Up the workers! Up the revolution! It's good to see that people still have the right to down tools and demand a better deal from their fat-cat bosses.
No, it's the abounding ignorance of people who think that anyone in a country where the people have dark skin must be living in the middle of a famine. I'm sick of reading this crap on Slashdot and I wish people would get a fucking clue that the developing world also has people who wear suits, drive cars, and work 9 o 5 in an office.
I can't believe that people still keep moderating this stuff as 'insightful!' When oh when is the Slashdot crew going to get it into their heads that the western world isn't the only place where a middle class exists? Sheesh!
+2 Troll? Is that the best you conservative agenda-pushing mods can do? Pathetic!