At the episode's climax, Megas "joins" with the S-Force's robots by stuffing its arms and legs into their backsides, in what had to be the world's first animated fisting. O_o
Such a complete non-sense of scale...one minute the "chest" robot is nearly human-sized, the next a hovercar is driving into his chest...
I thought so too until I examined the transformation sequence in detail...
As the robots (Tor, Bort, Bo, Boo and Crunch) fly into formation, each one in turn grows several times their original size, as well as taking on a much bulkier, blockier physique before transforming up into the components of the combination Orbot.
In an episode where some mysterious force is causing the Orbots to involuntarily seperate almost as soon as they join together, their "combat ready" forms are readily evident as they repeatedly attempt (unsuccessfully) to combine in a test chamber, while their co-ordinator investigates the cause of their condition.
AFAIK, the restriction applies only to the Metro-North section of the Corridor. The track spacing is closer than on other segments, and Metro North restricts the allowable amount of tilt, although by how much I can't pin down at the moment.
I haven't heard of the extra width being a factor anywhere else.
Part of the reason for the 186MPH/300KPH limits in passenger service (and I mentioned this in a previous/. story on a similar matter) is that much above this speed, emergency stopping distances get so long that trains must be spaced an impractical distance from each other for safety. Service frequencies would suffer if each train had to maintain a 20 mile seperation (assuming a speed of around 250MPH/400KPH) from the next/ previous train.
The comical-looking air brakes on this experimental shinkansen are doubtless an attempt to reduce emergency braking distances at speeds above the current norm for high speed trains.
Not to mention that similar shennanigans happened all across the country. Google "National City Lines" for the full dirt.
A twist on this story I ran across during one of those searches of concerns an SEC rule that still exists today.
You see, many local electric utilities started out as privately-owned streetcar operations that employed their own generating facilities. In some cases, these companies sold their excess power to the communities they served.
Some of these companies found the power-generation business to be more profitable than the streetcar operations, and gradually evolved into local power utilities. But the SEC rule in question meant that these power companies could not subsidize their streetcar operations, but had to spin them off as independent entities.
So, at a time when the streetcar operations were clearly endangered, this rule ensured that many already-marginal operations were powerless to hold off the assault of well-heeled automotive interests looking to do them in, as if the adverse economic climate weren't anough
There are two problems with this in the US. Problem number 1, is that our passenger train system, Amtrak, does not own its own tracks. It is forced to "borrow" time on freight tracks, meaning it often sits and waits while freight trains go by.
Aggravating this problem is the fact that the freight railroads have so much business now that oftentimes their trains are longer than their passing sidings can accomodate. Amtrak pays freight railroads bonuses for getting their trains through on time, but too often the passenger train must take the siding because it's the only train short enough to fit there.
The Auto-Train is another profitable route, but it cannot be expanded as the auto carriers Amtrak uses are second or third-hand units (ex Canadian National and original Auto-Train) that are already overdue for replacement.
Naturally, the carrier doesn't have the money to replace the ones they have, let alone expand the fleet. Years ago, they were exploring the possibilty of extending the service to Philadelphia using bi-level autocarriers instead of trilevel. I'm guessing lack of equipment scuttled that plan.
In Metro-North territory (New Rochelle, NY-New Haven, CT) Acela Express trainsets are either prohibited from tilting, or have the function restrained (don't recall which one). Tilting is only really for passenger comfort--the reason the Acela Express can take turns faster is the flexible axle mounts which allow the axles to deviate from being perfectly parallel to one another in order to follow curves in the track.
Also, Metro-North restricts traffic to a maaximum speed of 90MPH within it's territory.
So, why is the Empire Builder train always full if it costs the same as flying and takes longer? Was the previous poster full of it when he said the trip took 8 hours?
Amtrak's own statistics indicate that the majority of long-distance train passengers are traveling between an endpoint and intermediate point, or between intermediate points. It's not too hard to keep a train packed if the passenger list is constantly churning at every stop, something our Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta conveniently ignores.
My JVC GRDVL 9500 hasn't encountered quite as severe a hit, but did have the unique distinction of being hit by a train...
...a model one, that is.
I was shooting "ground level" shots at a model railroad club (who'll remain nameless) by placing the camera trackside while the O-Gauge trains ran past it. With a three track mainline occupied by moving trains on all tracks moving in both directions, it became a bit of a juggling act to get the camera clear on certain shots.
Well, on one shot, I had just finished a shot when out of nowhere came one of the members' passenger trains roaring around a curve at close to 100 scale MPH...on the track where my (then) $1500 camcorder was sitting. Now, these are U.S. O-gauge trains, 1/48th scale. Locomotives weighing several pounds each (a little bigger than three of these camcorders placed end-to-end), driven by twin motors and designed to haul trains far longer than most residential layouts can accomodate, towing maybe another 10-15 pounds of passenger cars. They don't hit with a gentle tap when moving near full speed.
Needless to say there was a spectacular pileup in that corner of the layout, the camera smacked around like a hapless truck stuck on a grade crossing. The camera (and the train) survived without a scratch, though I wish I had still been recording when it got hit, as the lens was facing the oncoming train.
The assumption was that other factors, like the train's excessive speed, caused the wreck. Nobody saw my camera there since I quickly snatched it up to see if it was still among the living. To this day, the club doesn't know it was the cause of the derailment.
And yes, I'm pretty sure none of their members reads/.:)
I live in Hong Kong and our metro (http://www.mtr.com.hk) has gone into computerized like that for over ten years I believe.
I have never seen a conductor in our train, simpily no such things...But I don't see it's a problem. FYI, our train is 8 cars long, ~200 meters per train I believe. I am not sure about how long is NYC train?
IND/BMT, aka 'B' division:
-75 foot cars: Eight car trains (183m)
-60 foot cars: Ten car trains (ditto)
IRT, aka 'A' division
-51 foot cars: ten car trains (155m), except for the 7 line, which runs 11 (171m)
So in NY does everyone just crowd the doors, inside and out, side and have at it once they open?
In busier stations, they've painted yellow boxes with "Stand Clear" lettering in the spots where car doors are positioned when the train makes a proper stop, so commuters can stand next to the opening doors in advance of the train's stop.
In practice, they generally gather next to the doors anyway as the train stops. Departing passengers stream through the center of the crowd, and as soon as the traffic lets up, people start moving in at either side of the door, gradually pinching off the outflow as it winds down.
As for rats, which I gather NYC has some cat-sized rats and Nokia-sized roaches (probably bigger than those in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic islands), I only saw ONE rat underground (or, surface, for that matter), somewhere on the Asakusa line when I was leaving Ueno. I only saw it's eyes, and it was, like so many other things there, miniature. It probably was more afraid of hyoomons and light and than the tracks noise as the train approaches
Can't say I've seen any cat-sized ones (maybe kitten-sized if you count the tail), but I can attest to their boldness--they generally aren't in any hurry to get out from under arriving trains, and in one particular station (149th/3rd Ave, Bronx 2/5) I actually spotted a pair of rats having sex on the trackbed. Could actually hear one of 'em squeak too. Funniest thing I ever saw underground.
In my experience (I've been using MC's since they were light blue) the swipe works best when you slide them through at about walking speed. It's just like as if you were walking next to a railing and you casually let your fingers slide on top of it. I've rarely experienced a failure this way, and I make something like 60-80 trips a month (between commuting, lunch runs and weekend activities)
I've lost count of the number of times I've gotten the aforementioned tourists through by telling them the above, and in a typical month, it might fail once or twice, but in those cases it turns out the reader was dirty (I turn the card over and quickly sweep it back and forth in the slot a couple of times--with the roughened area on the back for the expiration date facing the reader--and most of the time it removes just enough crud to read my card on the next swipe.)
Though yeah, the readers should be able to handle a wider range of speeds.
That ons was Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, and the timeframe was about 74,000 years ago.
And while Googling Toba to verify it's location, I come across this little gem on Yahoo News.
Seems it lies on the same faultline that caused the last two big quakes out by Indonesia, and well, some are warning that if the fault continues to break toward the south in successive earthquakes, Toba could concievably get cracked open.
(although IMO, being that nobody seems to know the eruption interval for Toba, 74,000 years could very well be insufficient time to pressurize it enough to do much of anything even if the fault were to break aross it)
No, it won't be enough anymore. Why? Because state ID's are easy to fake. Especially to someone who isn't necessarily a resident of a given state. How reliable do you think it is for someone at the border to have to check each and every ID to make sure it matches one of the 50 valid formats that we have? Personally, I'd rather have one, reliable, reasonably difficult to counterfeit, piece of evidence that's easy to recognize for what it is and easy to spot if it's fake.
Something that isn't mentioned on the US Customs site is when you apply for a passport, a state DMV-issued photo ID is not considered 'primary identification', but a driver's license is. The funny part is (at least in New York State) the same burden of proof is needed to apply for both DMV-issued state ID's or driver's licenses.
At the time I applied for a passport, a state DMV-issued ID was all I had (it being easy to get by without driving in NYC). The first post office passport window clerk I spoke to brought up this issue, and pointed out I would need some extra documents (social security, insurance card, etc) and bring along a relative posessing a driver's license to fill out and sign a form attesting to my identity. When I went to a different (closer) post office (with extra documents and my father in tow), the clerk didn't ask for the extra proof of ID I had brought, and of course, the State Dept sent me back a freindly letter essentially saying "We need more proof that you are you", with a list of documents that "have proved in the past to be helpful in establshing identity". After stuffing the return envelope with everything from copies of old (more than 5 years) utility bills, pay stubs, high school diploma, selective service registration acknowlegement letter (I think that one clinched it) the application went through without any additional comment.
Returning from my second trip from Canada (traveling via Greyhound bus) one passenger was detained at the border because he had apparently flown to Canada from Cuba and was now attempting to enter the US. Needless to say, our bus left without him.
Amtrak is kind of a poor example. In their case, nobody is interested in providing the service they do.
---PCJ
Easy Question (maybe)
on
Ask mc chris
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· Score: 1
What's the name of the track that Cartoon Network used behind many of their promos for 'Justice League Unlimited'?
---PCJ
Re:Why build more roads for long-haul transportati
on
The Super Superhighway
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· Score: 1
Each trailer had a set of railway wheels attached to its rear and its front connected to the trailer in front of it. The road tires skimmed along a couple of feet above the track. The trailers were obviously purpose-built, but it was cool to see a new(?) method used to move stuff.
RoadRailer. The concept has been around in some form since the '60s or so.
Yes, Sony used to be known for the quality of their products... back in the 80s.
Or maybe not...
Bought my first VCR back then, a Sony SLV-585UC. Cost about $469, a little more than average at the time, but I soo wanted that jog-shuttle dial for making frame-accurate edits while archiving cartoons off TV. 3 months later, it broke down. Took it to an authorized service center under warranty. 3 months later it started displaying an interference pattern on playback, that looked like flickering horizontal white lines scattered about the screen. It didn't affect the recording, but it at times made the playback so bad the unit would blank it's output (the way it would when not recieving a signal). Repaired under warranty, worked another three months and the same interference came back. Oddly enough you could occasionally "fix" the problem by pounding on the top of the case. Each smack would alter the interference pattern, either intensifying or diminishing it. Occasionally it would disappear altogether, but would only stay this way for a few minutes. At this point I retired the unit.
A year later I figured maybe Sony cleaned up their act. Bought a SLV-686HF. Same price, more features. This time around it was different. Three months later it started chewing up the edge of tapes. This is not good when you're attempting to archive TV shows that you just know are going to get canceled any minute now. Same song and dance followed. Authorized repair, three months of function, breakdown. Lather, rinse, repeat. Almost like clockwork.
Someone told me at the time that Hitachi made the guts of Sony's VHS machines around that time, which made me a bit nervous about my Hitachi VM2500 full-size VHS camcorder. But the Hitachi, enormous as it is, still functions without any noticable isues (when I care to fire up the beast--the thing even uses lead-acid batteries(!) ). The Sonys, OTOH, are landfill.
Needless to say, I avoid anything made by Sony now. In fact, any time I see an ad for a Sony product, I remember those two VCR's and think to myself "Blow Me".
Slashdot Mirror
"Bad Guy"
At the episode's climax, Megas "joins" with the S-Force's robots by stuffing its arms and legs into their backsides, in what had to be the world's first animated fisting. O_o
---PCJ
I thought so too until I examined the transformation sequence in detail...
As the robots (Tor, Bort, Bo, Boo and Crunch) fly into formation, each one in turn grows several times their original size, as well as taking on a much bulkier, blockier physique before transforming up into the components of the combination Orbot.
In an episode where some mysterious force is causing the Orbots to involuntarily seperate almost as soon as they join together, their "combat ready" forms are readily evident as they repeatedly attempt (unsuccessfully) to combine in a test chamber, while their co-ordinator investigates the cause of their condition.
---PCJ
Digital AML or DAML. It is pronounced "damel", though (still dunno what 'AML' by itself stands for.)
---PCJ
Truth can be as strange as fiction:)
---PCJ
I haven't heard of the extra width being a factor anywhere else.
---PCJ
The comical-looking air brakes on this experimental shinkansen are doubtless an attempt to reduce emergency braking distances at speeds above the current norm for high speed trains.
---PCJ
A twist on this story I ran across during one of those searches of concerns an SEC rule that still exists today.
You see, many local electric utilities started out as privately-owned streetcar operations that employed their own generating facilities. In some cases, these companies sold their excess power to the communities they served.
Some of these companies found the power-generation business to be more profitable than the streetcar operations, and gradually evolved into local power utilities. But the SEC rule in question meant that these power companies could not subsidize their streetcar operations, but had to spin them off as independent entities.
So, at a time when the streetcar operations were clearly endangered, this rule ensured that many already-marginal operations were powerless to hold off the assault of well-heeled automotive interests looking to do them in, as if the adverse economic climate weren't anough
---PCJ
Aggravating this problem is the fact that the freight railroads have so much business now that oftentimes their trains are longer than their passing sidings can accomodate. Amtrak pays freight railroads bonuses for getting their trains through on time, but too often the passenger train must take the siding because it's the only train short enough to fit there.
---PCJ
---PCJ
Naturally, the carrier doesn't have the money to replace the ones they have, let alone expand the fleet. Years ago, they were exploring the possibilty of extending the service to Philadelphia using bi-level autocarriers instead of trilevel. I'm guessing lack of equipment scuttled that plan.
---PCJ
Also, Metro-North restricts traffic to a maaximum speed of 90MPH within it's territory.
---PCJ
Amtrak's own statistics indicate that the majority of long-distance train passengers are traveling between an endpoint and intermediate point, or between intermediate points. It's not too hard to keep a train packed if the passenger list is constantly churning at every stop, something our Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta conveniently ignores.
---PCJ
I was shooting "ground level" shots at a model railroad club (who'll remain nameless) by placing the camera trackside while the O-Gauge trains ran past it. With a three track mainline occupied by moving trains on all tracks moving in both directions, it became a bit of a juggling act to get the camera clear on certain shots.
Well, on one shot, I had just finished a shot when out of nowhere came one of the members' passenger trains roaring around a curve at close to 100 scale MPH...on the track where my (then) $1500 camcorder was sitting. Now, these are U.S. O-gauge trains, 1/48th scale. Locomotives weighing several pounds each (a little bigger than three of these camcorders placed end-to-end), driven by twin motors and designed to haul trains far longer than most residential layouts can accomodate, towing maybe another 10-15 pounds of passenger cars. They don't hit with a gentle tap when moving near full speed.
Needless to say there was a spectacular pileup in that corner of the layout, the camera smacked around like a hapless truck stuck on a grade crossing. The camera (and the train) survived without a scratch, though I wish I had still been recording when it got hit, as the lens was facing the oncoming train.
The assumption was that other factors, like the train's excessive speed, caused the wreck. Nobody saw my camera there since I quickly snatched it up to see if it was still among the living. To this day, the club doesn't know it was the cause of the derailment.
And yes, I'm pretty sure none of their members reads /. :)
---PCJ
Music
Movies
Microcode (software)
High-speed Pizza delivery"
Looks like we're down to three.
You forgot "lawsuits"
---PCJ
Not to support Disney's position, but currently airing on Toon Disney: House of Mouse
(note: lots of Flash used)
---PCJ
IND/BMT, aka 'B' division:
-75 foot cars: Eight car trains (183m)
-60 foot cars: Ten car trains (ditto)
IRT, aka 'A' division
-51 foot cars: ten car trains (155m), except for the 7 line, which runs 11 (171m)
---PCJ
In busier stations, they've painted yellow boxes with "Stand Clear" lettering in the spots where car doors are positioned when the train makes a proper stop, so commuters can stand next to the opening doors in advance of the train's stop.
In practice, they generally gather next to the doors anyway as the train stops. Departing passengers stream through the center of the crowd, and as soon as the traffic lets up, people start moving in at either side of the door, gradually pinching off the outflow as it winds down.
---PCJ
Can't say I've seen any cat-sized ones (maybe kitten-sized if you count the tail), but I can attest to their boldness--they generally aren't in any hurry to get out from under arriving trains, and in one particular station (149th/3rd Ave, Bronx 2/5) I actually spotted a pair of rats having sex on the trackbed. Could actually hear one of 'em squeak too. Funniest thing I ever saw underground.
---PCJ
I've lost count of the number of times I've gotten the aforementioned tourists through by telling them the above, and in a typical month, it might fail once or twice, but in those cases it turns out the reader was dirty (I turn the card over and quickly sweep it back and forth in the slot a couple of times--with the roughened area on the back for the expiration date facing the reader--and most of the time it removes just enough crud to read my card on the next swipe.)
Though yeah, the readers should be able to handle a wider range of speeds.
---PCJ
And while Googling Toba to verify it's location, I come across this little gem on Yahoo News.
Seems it lies on the same faultline that caused the last two big quakes out by Indonesia, and well, some are warning that if the fault continues to break toward the south in successive earthquakes, Toba could concievably get cracked open.
(although IMO, being that nobody seems to know the eruption interval for Toba, 74,000 years could very well be insufficient time to pressurize it enough to do much of anything even if the fault were to break aross it)
---PCJ
Something that isn't mentioned on the US Customs site is when you apply for a passport, a state DMV-issued photo ID is not considered 'primary identification', but a driver's license is. The funny part is (at least in New York State) the same burden of proof is needed to apply for both DMV-issued state ID's or driver's licenses.
At the time I applied for a passport, a state DMV-issued ID was all I had (it being easy to get by without driving in NYC). The first post office passport window clerk I spoke to brought up this issue, and pointed out I would need some extra documents (social security, insurance card, etc) and bring along a relative posessing a driver's license to fill out and sign a form attesting to my identity. When I went to a different (closer) post office (with extra documents and my father in tow), the clerk didn't ask for the extra proof of ID I had brought, and of course, the State Dept sent me back a freindly letter essentially saying "We need more proof that you are you", with a list of documents that "have proved in the past to be helpful in establshing identity". After stuffing the return envelope with everything from copies of old (more than 5 years) utility bills, pay stubs, high school diploma, selective service registration acknowlegement letter (I think that one clinched it) the application went through without any additional comment.
Returning from my second trip from Canada (traveling via Greyhound bus) one passenger was detained at the border because he had apparently flown to Canada from Cuba and was now attempting to enter the US. Needless to say, our bus left without him.
---PCJ
Amtrak is kind of a poor example. In their case, nobody is interested in providing the service they do.
---PCJ
---PCJ
RoadRailer. The concept has been around in some form since the '60s or so.
---PCJ
Or maybe not...
Bought my first VCR back then, a Sony SLV-585UC. Cost about $469, a little more than average at the time, but I soo wanted that jog-shuttle dial for making frame-accurate edits while archiving cartoons off TV. 3 months later, it broke down. Took it to an authorized service center under warranty. 3 months later it started displaying an interference pattern on playback, that looked like flickering horizontal white lines scattered about the screen. It didn't affect the recording, but it at times made the playback so bad the unit would blank it's output (the way it would when not recieving a signal). Repaired under warranty, worked another three months and the same interference came back. Oddly enough you could occasionally "fix" the problem by pounding on the top of the case. Each smack would alter the interference pattern, either intensifying or diminishing it. Occasionally it would disappear altogether, but would only stay this way for a few minutes. At this point I retired the unit.
A year later I figured maybe Sony cleaned up their act. Bought a SLV-686HF. Same price, more features. This time around it was different. Three months later it started chewing up the edge of tapes. This is not good when you're attempting to archive TV shows that you just know are going to get canceled any minute now. Same song and dance followed. Authorized repair, three months of function, breakdown. Lather, rinse, repeat. Almost like clockwork.
Someone told me at the time that Hitachi made the guts of Sony's VHS machines around that time, which made me a bit nervous about my Hitachi VM2500 full-size VHS camcorder. But the Hitachi, enormous as it is, still functions without any noticable isues (when I care to fire up the beast--the thing even uses lead-acid batteries(!) ). The Sonys, OTOH, are landfill.
Needless to say, I avoid anything made by Sony now. In fact, any time I see an ad for a Sony product, I remember those two VCR's and think to myself "Blow Me".
---PCJ