Some of the variants of video poker have rules that reward perfect play with a very small positive return.
The figures I've seen are that with the largest available bet, and the fastest feasible play, the player's advantage is so small that he couldn't expect to make minimum wage.
It does allow the casinos to advertise that their machines offer 100%+ payout, which should be a marketing advantage. That is, if enough people believe them.
This assumes the machines are fair, which is pretty difficult to be sure of.
Still, my experience is that if you play well, and enjoy it, video poker on the right machine can be cheap entertainment.
According to the articles, Rumsfeld says he won't ask for a draft. As long as he feels that way, there won't be a draft.
I'd bet that if Bush wins re-election, he will suddenly find a critical need for a draft. Amazing how the need to get win an election keeps officials from supporting unpopular issues.
Scattering by dust won't preserve the spectral lines used to measure red shift.
Light losing energy as it travels would appear to violate conservation of energy, but that doesn't bother cosmologists as much as it would other physicists. We can tell that distant galaxies are moving away from us by observing the time dilation effect on distant supernova explosions. They brighten slower and fade slower as would be expected from special relativity. This is an independent check that distant objects really are receding.
Frodo was 33 at the party, but didn't leave the Shire for many years.
But at 33 a hobbit has just come of age, so he should look young. Since he was carrying the ring, which more or less stops aging, he should continue to look young throughout the story.
A lunar space elevator would be different than one for Earth. It would be about 60,000 kilometers long and go through the Lagrange point between the Earth and the Moon.
See http://www.treitel.org/Richard/rass/stalk05.html
Ok, a movie based on books beloved by technophiles sweeps. Makes you wonder if someone managed to hack into PriceWaterhouseCooper. Not that I think that's what really happened.
Not that I would mind if someone did: It would be the stuff of legend.
I'm mostly just happy a movie I liked won a lot of awards. That's never happened before.
Larger balls have larger free spaces, fewer of them.
If the balls are segregated the average density is the same.
A mixture of large and small balls is denser than either alone, so if density is the controlling factor a few large balls in among small ones should sink to the bottom. Similarly, a few small balls should sink to the bottom of a bunch of large balls.
So the questions is: Why do a few large balls in mass of small ones actually rise to the top?
Hubbert's peak for plutonium? We make plutonium in reactors, and I think Hubbert's peak should mostly be applied to raw materials (like oil and uranium).
As far as running out of uranium, we could switch to breeder reactors and have plenty for a long, long time.
It's more like a few tens of thousands of square miles. Still, if we can agree to cover half the desert of Arizona with solar cells we'll be there, if we can afford it.
The large balls floating to the top of a shaken mixture has been the subject of quite a bit of research lately. Since it is one of the rare areas of inquiry where the problem is easily explained, it has been covered a lot in the popular science press.
Firstly, all the balls are the same density. Also, the large balls are a small fraction of the volume, so it's not a matter of the small balls filling up the cracks. Finally, the large balls stick up a bit after the mix has been shaken for a while, so we are getting a higher than minimum energy result.
The most convincing explanation I have seen suggests that friction of the balls against the walls of the container causes the balls to circulate down the edges of the box and up the center. The large balls go along with the flow up the center, but have trouble moving down the sides. This leaves the large balls on top, mostly near the edges.
Why does the circulation pattern develop? As the walls of the container go down, gravity pulls the balls the same way, and there is enough friction with the walls to keep them moving together. When the walls start to move up, the inertia of the balls and gravity combined are enough to overcome the friction and keep the balls moving down. This is the same principle that lets you move a penny on a CD case just by moving the case back and forth (fast one way and slow the other).
Why do the large balls have trouble moving down the sides? One reason might be that the downward flow is strongest right at the walls, and the center of a large ball can't get as close to a wall as the center of a small ball. I'm not certain that this is the reason put forth in the article I read, though.
The point of #69 is not that the scene is not in the movie, but that it takes place in a different location. In the book, it take place while Frodo stops off in Rivendell on the way back to the Shire. In the movie, he claims it happens on the way to the Grey Havens.
This is one of those necessary changes that almost no one complains about. I guess he gets some credit for even noticing.
I would like to see some top Oscars for LOTR, but I am not very optimistic. What was the last fantasy to win best picture?
Re:The Militarization Of Space
on
The Future of NASA
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Knocking out satellites may not require access to space.
Back in the 80s, the USSR is thought to have tested a laser system designed to blind the US spy sats.
An operational laser system would not be easy or cheap, but it might be within the resources of smaller countries than space launches are. It would probably be much easier to conceal this type of satellite killing capability from outsiders, too.
Slashdot Mirror
Some of the variants of video poker have rules that reward perfect play with a very small positive return.
The figures I've seen are that with the largest available bet, and the fastest feasible play, the player's advantage is so small that he couldn't expect to make minimum wage.
It does allow the casinos to advertise that their machines offer 100%+ payout, which should be a marketing advantage. That is, if enough people believe them.
This assumes the machines are fair, which is pretty difficult to be sure of.
Still, my experience is that if you play well, and enjoy it, video poker on the right machine can be cheap entertainment.
Casinos love card counters, most of them that is.
Counting cards is hard, and a lot harder when you are actually in the casino than when you are practicing at home.
Most card counters are easily spotted, but only the few who are able to win get banned.
The surface gravity of Mars is 0.38g. Its ability to hold an atmosphere is more closely related to its mass, which is only one ninth that of Earth.
If you're too fat, at some level I'm sure the military won't bother with you.
But is 100 pounds overweight enough? Maybe you should start eating harder, add on one or two hundred pounds.
According to the articles, Rumsfeld says he won't ask for a draft. As long as he feels that way, there won't be a draft.
I'd bet that if Bush wins re-election, he will suddenly find a critical need for a draft. Amazing how the need to get win an election keeps officials from supporting unpopular issues.
Scattering by dust won't preserve the spectral lines used to measure red shift.
Light losing energy as it travels would appear to violate conservation of energy, but that doesn't bother cosmologists as much as it would other physicists. We can tell that distant galaxies are moving away from us by observing the time dilation effect on distant supernova explosions. They brighten slower and fade slower as would be expected from special relativity. This is an independent check that distant objects really are receding.
Ever had coffee ice cream? If you don't like that, don't even bother with the drink.
If you put enough cream and sugar into coffee you can make it taste close to hot coffee ice cream.
Mind you, I drink my coffee black.
Mmmm... white tea.
Local specialty store (Trader Joe's, SW USA) just started carrying white tea. I'd never heard of it before, and I think I'm already hooked.
Frodo was 33 at the party, but didn't leave the Shire for many years.
But at 33 a hobbit has just come of age, so he should look young. Since he was carrying the ring,
which more or less stops aging, he should continue to look young throughout the story.
A lunar space elevator would be different than one for Earth. It would be about 60,000 kilometers long and go through the Lagrange point between the Earth and the Moon.
See http://www.treitel.org/Richard/rass/stalk05.html
But how can you produce steam using acetone, boiling point 56.2 degrees Celsius? Once the acetone boils, no more bubbles collapsing.
Perhaps the neutrons or other exotic particles produced could be captured outside the liquid to produce energy, but that seems very difficult to me.
It's not likely to be a useful energy source unless we can find a liquid with a higher boiling point than acetone or water to make the bubbles in.
I'd bet it doesn't work near the boiling point either. Too much vapor pressure to allow the bubbles to collapse hard enough.
Oops, submitted parent accidently.
Ok, a movie based on books beloved by technophiles sweeps. Makes you wonder if someone managed to hack into PriceWaterhouseCooper. Not that I think that's what really happened.
Not that I would mind if someone did: It would be the stuff of legend.
I'm mostly just happy a movie I liked won a lot of awards. That's never happened before.
Uh, everything it was nominated for?
Also "The Web Between the Worlds", by Charles Sheffield. Came out at about the same time as the Clarke story, and is a bit more realistic.
Funniest article I can recall. I really liked the caps, too. Italics would not have been nearly as fun for me.
Larger balls have larger free spaces, fewer of them.
If the balls are segregated the average density is the same.
A mixture of large and small balls is denser than either alone, so if density is the controlling factor a few large balls in among small ones should sink to the bottom. Similarly, a few small balls should sink to the bottom of a bunch of large balls.
So the questions is: Why do a few large balls in mass of small ones actually rise to the top?
Hubbert's peak for plutonium? We make plutonium in reactors, and I think Hubbert's peak should mostly be applied to raw materials (like oil and uranium).
As far as running out of uranium, we could switch to breeder reactors and have plenty for a long, long time.
It's more like a few tens of thousands of square miles. Still, if we can agree to cover half the desert of Arizona with solar cells we'll be there, if we can afford it.
But other options might be better.
The large balls floating to the top of a shaken mixture has been the subject of quite a bit of research lately. Since it is one of the rare areas of inquiry where the problem is easily explained, it has been covered a lot in the popular science press.
Firstly, all the balls are the same density. Also, the large balls are a small fraction of the volume, so it's not a matter of the small balls filling up the cracks. Finally, the large balls stick up a bit after the mix has been shaken for a while, so we are getting a higher than minimum energy result.
The most convincing explanation I have seen suggests that friction of the balls against the walls of the container causes the balls to circulate down the edges of the box and up the center. The large balls go along with the flow up the center, but have trouble moving down the sides. This leaves the large balls on top, mostly near the edges.
Why does the circulation pattern develop? As the walls of the container go down, gravity pulls the balls the same way, and there is enough friction with the walls to keep them moving together. When the walls start to move up, the inertia of the balls and gravity combined are enough to overcome the friction and keep the balls moving down. This is the same principle that lets you move a penny on a CD case just by moving the case back and forth (fast one way and slow the other).
Why do the large balls have trouble moving down the sides? One reason might be that the downward flow is strongest right at the walls, and the center of a large ball can't get as close to a wall as the center of a small ball. I'm not certain that this is the reason put forth in the article I read, though.
The half life of carbon 14 is 5700 years. Coal has been in the ground for millions of years; there is no significant carbon 14 in coal.
The point of #69 is not that the scene is not in the movie, but that it takes place in a different location. In the book, it take place while Frodo stops off in Rivendell on the way back to the Shire. In the movie, he claims it happens on the way to the Grey Havens.
This is one of those necessary changes that almost no one complains about. I guess he gets some credit for even noticing.
I would like to see some top Oscars for LOTR, but I am not very optimistic. What was the last fantasy to win best picture?
Knocking out satellites may not require access to space.
Back in the 80s, the USSR is thought to have tested a laser system designed to blind the US spy sats.
An operational laser system would not be easy or cheap, but it might be within the resources of smaller countries than space launches are. It would probably be much easier to conceal this type of satellite killing capability from outsiders, too.
Geek fun:
"Hey look! It's a deer!"
"Where?"
"A quarter pi radians to your left!"
"Huh?"
On the other hand, what about grads? I don't remember exactly what they are, but my calculator can convert degrees to them.