Let's hope they shoot it in Vancouver, because California doen't have that authentic spooky feel that the X-Files used so well in its first few seasons.
I don't know about that. Have you ever been to Richmond, California, you know, the one next to Oakland? It's pretty frickin' spooky there, but more in a "lock-the-doors-and-roll-up-the-windows" kind of way.
Doggett?! You liked Robert Patrick's rigidly wooden portrayal of Doggett? Watching Robert Patrick play John Doggett was like watching the T1000 impersonating a fence post.
I've a better idea. Let the disenfranchised hack the servers with an Orcish horde, laying waste as they go. The plan is that they lay seige to some wealthy town and threaten to put all of it's denizens to the sword unless they are allowed to open legitimate player accounts.
Actually, the official game this year is called "2005 NHL Picket Line," in which players hold press conferences, consult with lawyers, and drink beer in front of the television. I don't know about you, but I predict a flop.
The only place that might work well for this would be in Hawaii. Any guess how the greens would scream if you tired to bulldoze that track in paradise?
Check the website. There's are good arguments in favor of candidate sites, which include Vandenburg, White Sands, which both have acceptable mountain slopes, and yes, Hawaii. Carlton Meyer of skyramp.org thinks building a ramp on the barren slope of Mauna Loa may not be as big a deal with environmentalists as detractors think, and there is also the jobs issue in favor, as there aren't a lot of high-paying jobs on the big island.
Now, with respect to your point about launching rockets over water rather than land, don't space launches from Vandenburg AFB in California cross the continental United States? And now that Bezos guy from Amazon intends to start launching rockets from West Texas; those will spend at least some portion of their flight over land.
As for the old argument in favor of siting spaceports as far south as possible, what we have learned since building the installation in Cape Kennedy is that launching from sites with a lower air density (as in higher altitude) is more important than getting a little boost to velocity from a more southerly location's better angular momentum. This is why the Russian launch site in Kazakhstan is arguably better than Cape Kennedy, even though it's at like 40 degrees north. Of course, best of all would be a mountainside in Ecuador, but politics would never allow for a U.S.-funded site to be built there.
Couldn't agree more. The reason we're still using primitive vertical launch technology is in large part due to the U.S. military's choice of silo-based ICBMs for massive nuclear barrages, from which your typical space launch vehicle was derived. Werner von Braun advocated launching rockets from long inclined ramps in order to boost payloads and reduce costs, but didn't have the clout to make this happen. For full background, check out the link.
I find their arguments convincing. It's an incremental step using existing technology, but it's a big one.
Yeah, my hope was that humankind would adopt this hidden-in-plain-sight technology before the Moon people did. The idea actually belongs to Werner Von Braun, who advocated doing space launches with ramps to save energy, but the military wanted their vertical-launch ICBMs so that they could volley-fire nukes at the Russians. Heinlein, to be sure, is a visionary of a different kind.
Particularly if you're using this to get there. From my admittedly layman-oriented perspective, skyramp technology is an economical alternative to conventioal vertical-launch behemouths from the aerospace companies, which is why it needs a private, non-subsidized backer like Bezos in order to be built.
Agreed. I would even go so far as to say that if they told us about it in the first place, it's only because they have something worse going on
Exactly. Whenever government announces that it is considering doing something stupid/outrageous/evil, it means that they have probably already implemented it in secret. Why anybody continues to give them any credence is a riddle for the ages.
We have the tech. We could set up a base right now, if we could get there. (Development of a decent propulsion system is ongoing, nuclear rockets should be along soon.) As for being a waste of money... the entire Cassini mission cost 3.3 billion dollars. The war in Iraq is spending about that much every 20 days. Cassini's cheap.
An excellent idea. Space exploration is a productive diversion from warfare, and expanding the physical frontiers of a sentient race help expand it's intellectual and spiritual boundaries--just look at the conquest of the New World (not all good, I concede.) Somebody should post an "Ask Slashdot" discussion on building a Titan base.
What amazes me is that Mars, a planet with a third the mass of Earth, has two moons whereas we only have one. Saturn has 35 moons! And two rings!
I wish Earth were as cool as that.
Great, an Earth with 35 moons. Now try putting yourself in the shoes of the guy who would have to write the tide tables. And what would the added gravitational stresses do to our tectonic situation--see Io for example. And finally, just how fricking wierd and convoluted would our religions be with that many bright and gravely portentious celestial objects flitting around the heavens? So remember, before you go and start tacking on moons, think of the ramifications first.
I'm waiting for the Hollywood version of "Dennis the Menace" starring Sylvester Stallone as Dennis, Kevin Spacey as Dennis' Dad and Brad Pitt as Walter. Gnasher will, of course be provided by Hensons Animatronics.
I sense that you are attempting to mock my childhood heroes in some oblique way.
Don't forget the upcoming Keanau as John Constantine.
Forgetting to see a movie with Keanu in it is not necessarily the problem. Trying to forget that Keanu was in the movie is the problem. Believe me, I'm still trying to put behind me the memory of his attempt at a British accent in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
I almost forgot to mention Dr. Strange and Silver Surfer movie projects. Miramax is planning to make a Dr. Strange flick, and 20th Century Fox has a script for Silver Surfer. I hope Fox gets Brian Singer (X-Men) to direct.
Hollywood seems to be producing more and more movies based on classic cartoons.
Spiderman, Daredevil, X-Men, Incredible Hulk, etc, etc(might have missed some here), and now The Fantastic Four.
Indeed. And the world of hip-hop has as well, seeing as two different rappers (MF Doom & Kool Keith) have either used the name or likeness of Dr. Doom in thier work. MF Doom's recent album is replete with some pretty hysterical samples from the old Fantastic Four cartoon.
It's easy for iceland to claim 70% "green" because geothermal heating is a real option for them. The air is cold, the earth is hot. It doesn't work for most of the rest of the world. There's nothing for me to dig into but cold muck and the chesapeake watershed.
Yeah, but you guys can dig for clams in the runoff from the hog and poultry farms.
Is this really something that people are concerned about? moreover, do you really think you could prevent this from happening in any way?
Events of that kind are uncommon but not unheard of. But home-invasion robberies do happen, though they are markedly less common in localities with lax gun control. Here's an amusing but little-reported fact: every state that passed a concealed-carry law immediately experiences a significant (20%) drop in violent crime rates. I would never do it, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest if the citizens around me are packing heat; it keeps muggers away.
A: that's pretty much impossible in a day with Apaches;
You don't remember the incident from the initial phase of the Iraq war when a whole battalion of them was shot up by a bunch of militia with small arms--one shot down, the rest damaged to varying degrees.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know about that. Have you ever been to Richmond, California, you know, the one next to Oakland? It's pretty frickin' spooky there, but more in a "lock-the-doors-and-roll-up-the-windows" kind of way.
Doggett?! You liked Robert Patrick's rigidly wooden portrayal of Doggett? Watching Robert Patrick play John Doggett was like watching the T1000 impersonating a fence post.
Excellent!
That'll show 'em.
Actually, the official game this year is called "2005 NHL Picket Line," in which players hold press conferences, consult with lawyers, and drink beer in front of the television. I don't know about you, but I predict a flop.
Check the website. There's are good arguments in favor of candidate sites, which include Vandenburg, White Sands, which both have acceptable mountain slopes, and yes, Hawaii. Carlton Meyer of skyramp.org thinks building a ramp on the barren slope of Mauna Loa may not be as big a deal with environmentalists as detractors think, and there is also the jobs issue in favor, as there aren't a lot of high-paying jobs on the big island.
Now, with respect to your point about launching rockets over water rather than land, don't space launches from Vandenburg AFB in California cross the continental United States? And now that Bezos guy from Amazon intends to start launching rockets from West Texas; those will spend at least some portion of their flight over land.
As for the old argument in favor of siting spaceports as far south as possible, what we have learned since building the installation in Cape Kennedy is that launching from sites with a lower air density (as in higher altitude) is more important than getting a little boost to velocity from a more southerly location's better angular momentum. This is why the Russian launch site in Kazakhstan is arguably better than Cape Kennedy, even though it's at like 40 degrees north. Of course, best of all would be a mountainside in Ecuador, but politics would never allow for a U.S.-funded site to be built there.
I find their arguments convincing. It's an incremental step using existing technology, but it's a big one.
Man, I don't know about that. Have you seen Kirstie Allie lately?
I believe the original Greek name was "Grunting Under The Burden of Astronomy."
Yeah, my hope was that humankind would adopt this hidden-in-plain-sight technology before the Moon people did. The idea actually belongs to Werner Von Braun, who advocated doing space launches with ramps to save energy, but the military wanted their vertical-launch ICBMs so that they could volley-fire nukes at the Russians. Heinlein, to be sure, is a visionary of a different kind.
Particularly if you're using this to get there. From my admittedly layman-oriented perspective, skyramp technology is an economical alternative to conventioal vertical-launch behemouths from the aerospace companies, which is why it needs a private, non-subsidized backer like Bezos in order to be built.
Exactly. Whenever government announces that it is considering doing something stupid/outrageous/evil, it means that they have probably already implemented it in secret. Why anybody continues to give them any credence is a riddle for the ages.
An excellent idea. Space exploration is a productive diversion from warfare, and expanding the physical frontiers of a sentient race help expand it's intellectual and spiritual boundaries--just look at the conquest of the New World (not all good, I concede.) Somebody should post an "Ask Slashdot" discussion on building a Titan base.
Bribes.
I'm in, as long as there's no coding involved.
Great, an Earth with 35 moons. Now try putting yourself in the shoes of the guy who would have to write the tide tables. And what would the added gravitational stresses do to our tectonic situation--see Io for example. And finally, just how fricking wierd and convoluted would our religions be with that many bright and gravely portentious celestial objects flitting around the heavens? So remember, before you go and start tacking on moons, think of the ramifications first.
Kirk: Onscreen, Mr. Spock.
[shows linked image from parent]
Kirk: Great Scott!
Spock: I am sensing an element of mockery here, Captain.
You forgot step 13: Profit! (Well, not exactly.)
I sense that you are attempting to mock my childhood heroes in some oblique way.
Forgetting to see a movie with Keanu in it is not necessarily the problem. Trying to forget that Keanu was in the movie is the problem. Believe me, I'm still trying to put behind me the memory of his attempt at a British accent in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
I almost forgot to mention Dr. Strange and Silver Surfer movie projects. Miramax is planning to make a Dr. Strange flick, and 20th Century Fox has a script for Silver Surfer. I hope Fox gets Brian Singer (X-Men) to direct.
Indeed. And the world of hip-hop has as well, seeing as two different rappers (MF Doom & Kool Keith) have either used the name or likeness of Dr. Doom in thier work. MF Doom's recent album is replete with some pretty hysterical samples from the old Fantastic Four cartoon.
Yeah, but you guys can dig for clams in the runoff from the hog and poultry farms.
Events of that kind are uncommon but not unheard of. But home-invasion robberies do happen, though they are markedly less common in localities with lax gun control. Here's an amusing but little-reported fact: every state that passed a concealed-carry law immediately experiences a significant (20%) drop in violent crime rates. I would never do it, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest if the citizens around me are packing heat; it keeps muggers away.
You don't remember the incident from the initial phase of the Iraq war when a whole battalion of them was shot up by a bunch of militia with small arms--one shot down, the rest damaged to varying degrees.