There may be good reasons why the knob is not removable, but they aren't the ones you suggest. Personally, I'm wondering why engineers rather than machinists are working on this problem. Engineers don't have the appropriate hands-on skills to deal with it. Machinists do.
I run into this attitude a lot as an engineer; there is this perception (typically amongst technicians and workshop staff) that engineers are hopeless for anything than high falutin' maths with no real application. It bugs the hell out of me.
An engineer who has no understanding of practical systems does not stay employed for long. I'll wager most people do not undergo the years of training necessary to be an engineer unless they have a real interest in what they're doing and the desire to make stuff that works (or else they become consultants). I have yet to meet an engineer who does not build things in his own time for the pleasure of it, and who has no hands-on skills whatsoever.
We may not be machinists (although many of us are in our spare time - I drive a CNC mill for fun) but give us some credit - we're not completely clueless.
Regarding the problem at hand, how many machinists do you know who are materials surface micro-structure experts with experience in the fracture mechanics of material interfaces? Any?
I used Audioforge to read the CD as an audio stream... although from reports it doesn't work with more modern CDs (I don't know for sure because I haven't -bought- any copy-protected CDs since).
The Achilles heel of pseudo-CDs is that CD players still need to be able to play them. If a CD player can't read them, it's unplayable; if a CD player -can- read them, the audio stream can be captured.
I think the collective hallucinations of geology, biology and paleontology that support evolution are especially fascinating. It's amazing how so many scientists imagined into being so much demonstrable evidence for their delusion.
blacks vs whites vs christians vs atheists vs global warming followers vs global warming deniers vs pro-life vs pro-choice vs republicans vs democrats vs whatever
Wow... um. Wow. Almost all of the serious geeks I know are gay. Now, I might be self-selecting there, since I move in those sorts of crowds, but I have serious trouble finding a geek that's straight! I seriously started wondering if the severe disconnect between nerdy boys and the rest of society made them turn to each other for comfort. I have yet to meet a geeky girl, or a geek guy with a girlfriend. I've kinda given up hope of meeting a maker chick.
This is precisely why I -don't- buy CDs anymore. I used to faithfully buy CDs from a band published through EMI. I play all my music from my PC and it's Very Fine (TM) sound system I spent a bunch of cash putting together. I do not own a stereo. One day, I bought the latest CD by this band and was surprised and confused as to why it stubbornly refused to play... turned out that EMI had put some copyprotection shit on the CD that resolutely refused to work with my CD playing software.
Now, I'm technically literate so it was a simple thing to rip the CD bit-wise and produce lossless files from it and burn them to a CD, but I was so incensed by the whole experience that I swore an oath never to buy from EMI again, nor any company that put protection on its CDs. I PAID for that CD, dammit - I did the right thing because I wanted to support what they were doing. And yet I, the person who actually paid cash for it, was the one who couldn't enjoy it while Teh Evul Piratez could.
Not only was their copy protection a waste of time, it was also lost them a faithful customer.
We must certainly dispense with this notion that US interests somehow trump the rest of the world's nations' sovereignty. They have no more right to be world internet czars than they do to be world police. For what its worth, our national borders protect us from becoming them and that's something I, and other nationalists, appreciate.
Lift provided by bouyancy depends on displacement of fluid. To lift 1kg, you need to displace 1kg of air with your gasbag. At high altitude low-pressure atmosphere, that 1kg of air takes up an awful lot of volume you need to enclose and fill with your equally low-pressure -but still less dense- helium.
it clearly SAID it would be bigger dan 100m in diameter: "230 meters in diameter"
Eventually you get to the ridiculous point where your tower is >100 m wide because the atmosphere is so thin
Clearly they've done the same calculations I have and come up with the same ballpark answer. Last time I checked 230m was still bigger than 100m, so my post is correct. The only difference here is that they believe they can realistically build a 230m diameter inflatable structure, which I decided was too impractical to implement.
I trust an engineer's years or study and careful planning over a pilot's hastily considered last-second decisions. It's not that I don't trust the pilots, it's just that an engineer has had more time to put together a solution and implement it in the computer. They know the limits of their craft intimately and I trust them to know how to keep them in the air.
Oh, and also, to make the helium-filled sections carry their own weight, you need to make the sections increasingly large in volume to account for the decreasing pressure of air that can support less mass per cubic meter. Eventually you get to the ridiculous point where your tower is >100 m wide because the atmosphere is so thin. It's a structural nightmare, gyroscopes or not.
I'm also joining the me-too choir on this one. I had the idea a couple of months ago and ran simulations that said it was unfeasible at best. I'll be very interested to see if they can actually make it work.
I don't know, society has a way of filtering out people that are destructive or at least finding creative ways to embrace the destructive nature of particular individuals
Where else would we find police and armed forces recruits?
Unfortunately, most recreational drugs remain illegal irrespective of medical oversight. They are only 'legal' if they are serving a medicinal purpose greater than just 'feeling good'.
It is true that motivation doesn't correlate one to one with competence but it is a positive indicator. I'd certainly rather consult a physician who was genuinely interested in medicine than one who was only interested in both. I have seen examples of both in my time and almost without exception the motivated doctor provided better care.
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There may be good reasons why the knob is not removable, but they aren't the ones you suggest. Personally, I'm wondering why engineers rather than machinists are working on this problem. Engineers don't have the appropriate hands-on skills to deal with it. Machinists do.
I run into this attitude a lot as an engineer; there is this perception (typically amongst technicians and workshop staff) that engineers are hopeless for anything than high falutin' maths with no real application. It bugs the hell out of me.
An engineer who has no understanding of practical systems does not stay employed for long. I'll wager most people do not undergo the years of training necessary to be an engineer unless they have a real interest in what they're doing and the desire to make stuff that works (or else they become consultants). I have yet to meet an engineer who does not build things in his own time for the pleasure of it, and who has no hands-on skills whatsoever.
We may not be machinists (although many of us are in our spare time - I drive a CNC mill for fun) but give us some credit - we're not completely clueless.
Regarding the problem at hand, how many machinists do you know who are materials surface micro-structure experts with experience in the fracture mechanics of material interfaces? Any?
Hah! A dark star reference - made my day.
That's actually a well thought out and considered post. Thank you!
The Achilles heel of pseudo-CDs is that CD players still need to be able to play them. If a CD player can't read them, it's unplayable; if a CD player -can- read them, the audio stream can be captured.
Virtually all the 'weird' people I know are geeks (including me!)
I think the collective hallucinations of geology, biology and paleontology that support evolution are especially fascinating. It's amazing how so many scientists imagined into being so much demonstrable evidence for their delusion.
blacks vs whites vs christians vs atheists vs global warming followers vs global warming deniers vs pro-life vs pro-choice vs republicans vs democrats vs whatever
One ring, one winner. Tonight on ESPN.
which is still a form of socialism, since the kids themselves are relying on someone else
I don't think socialism means what you think it means. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
If the economy continues its downward spiral, in two years of inflation $50000 will buy you either a Tesla car or two loaves of bread.
Also, you back then you could probably buy a burger and a coke for $1.50
Wow... um. Wow. Almost all of the serious geeks I know are gay. Now, I might be self-selecting there, since I move in those sorts of crowds, but I have serious trouble finding a geek that's straight! I seriously started wondering if the severe disconnect between nerdy boys and the rest of society made them turn to each other for comfort. I have yet to meet a geeky girl, or a geek guy with a girlfriend. I've kinda given up hope of meeting a maker chick.
Now, I'm technically literate so it was a simple thing to rip the CD bit-wise and produce lossless files from it and burn them to a CD, but I was so incensed by the whole experience that I swore an oath never to buy from EMI again, nor any company that put protection on its CDs. I PAID for that CD, dammit - I did the right thing because I wanted to support what they were doing. And yet I, the person who actually paid cash for it, was the one who couldn't enjoy it while Teh Evul Piratez could.
Not only was their copy protection a waste of time, it was also lost them a faithful customer.
I tried to stone someone to death once, but I couldn't afford that much pot.
We must certainly dispense with this notion that US interests somehow trump the rest of the world's nations' sovereignty. They have no more right to be world internet czars than they do to be world police. For what its worth, our national borders protect us from becoming them and that's something I, and other nationalists, appreciate.
I guess that explains the Fermi Paradox.
Lift provided by bouyancy depends on displacement of fluid. To lift 1kg, you need to displace 1kg of air with your gasbag. At high altitude low-pressure atmosphere, that 1kg of air takes up an awful lot of volume you need to enclose and fill with your equally low-pressure -but still less dense- helium.
it clearly SAID it would be bigger dan 100m in diameter: "230 meters in diameter"
Eventually you get to the ridiculous point where your tower is >100 m wide because the atmosphere is so thin
Clearly they've done the same calculations I have and come up with the same ballpark answer. Last time I checked 230m was still bigger than 100m, so my post is correct. The only difference here is that they believe they can realistically build a 230m diameter inflatable structure, which I decided was too impractical to implement.
I trust an engineer's years or study and careful planning over a pilot's hastily considered last-second decisions. It's not that I don't trust the pilots, it's just that an engineer has had more time to put together a solution and implement it in the computer. They know the limits of their craft intimately and I trust them to know how to keep them in the air.
Oh, and also, to make the helium-filled sections carry their own weight, you need to make the sections increasingly large in volume to account for the decreasing pressure of air that can support less mass per cubic meter. Eventually you get to the ridiculous point where your tower is >100 m wide because the atmosphere is so thin. It's a structural nightmare, gyroscopes or not.
I'm also joining the me-too choir on this one. I had the idea a couple of months ago and ran simulations that said it was unfeasible at best. I'll be very interested to see if they can actually make it work.
I don't know, society has a way of filtering out people that are destructive or at least finding creative ways to embrace the destructive nature of particular individuals
Where else would we find police and armed forces recruits?
Then give them an energon cube.
We'll really be screwed when they change it to the 'Ministry of Peace'.
Unfortunately, most recreational drugs remain illegal irrespective of medical oversight. They are only 'legal' if they are serving a medicinal purpose greater than just 'feeling good'.
It is true that motivation doesn't correlate one to one with competence but it is a positive indicator. I'd certainly rather consult a physician who was genuinely interested in medicine than one who was only interested in both. I have seen examples of both in my time and almost without exception the motivated doctor provided better care.