Because it's a convenient reference that all Americans understand. We could say "as big as France" or "as big as Siberia," but it wouldn't mean much to Americans. And NASA is, after all, an American organization.
The Reaction Research Society pretty much did just this back in 1996. They launched a solid-fueled rocket carrying an amateur television transmitter to a height of approximately 280,000 ft., which is about 46 nm.; just three miles short of the official "boundary". They weren't going for an official record, although I believe it was and remains the highest amateur launch to date.
The rocket reached a maximum acceleration of 35 Gs, and attained mach 4.5 in 5 seconds. Their site has some good photos and video of the launch, both from the ground and from the rocket.
Well, I've got a Dell Inspiron 8100 w/ 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 and UXGA 1600X1200 screen, and it's about the best looking thing I've ever seen. I've had zero problems with blurring, and it's so crisp it puts my 21" trinitron to shame. I was worried about refresh when I got it, but everything I've played looks fantastic.
Blackout occurs in a normal individual at around 6-8 Gs. Fighter pilots wear special suits around their lower body which inflate during high G maneuvers. The suit constricts the lower extremities, forcing blood back to the head. They also learn how to tense the muscles in their legs and lower body to help keep the blood up in their head (similar to when you hold your breath really hard and/or scream - you get red in the face because the blood is being forced up into your head). 9 Gs is about the limit for fighter pilots. 12 Gs would probably cause rapid blackout in anyone.
As for the plane, a modern fighter jet is far more durable than the humans who fly them. A pilot would blackout long before he could pull enough Gs to tear the wings off. That's one of the reasons the military is so interested in unmanned aerial vehicles. They can maneuver far more violently than a manned plane, giving them a substantial edge over a manned enemy airplane.
FWIW, a space shuttle launch generates about 3 Gs of acceleration. Not bad at all. Fighter pilots, on the other hand, experience loads as high as nine Gs in tight turns, and they are also experiencing rapid acceleration changes during maneuvers.
"potentially harmful effects of large gravitational fields"
Roller coasters do not generate "gravitational fields." They generate no gravity whatsoever. The do create acceleration forces which cause effects similar to gravity, and we actually know quite a bit about those forces. Fighter pilots regularly undergo forces of up to 9 Gs, and this is an area that the military and NASA have studied extensively. They have things called "centrifuges" which can subject people to very high accelerations. All fighter pilots spend time in the centrifuge learning how to handle high G loads.
As for your cousin, I suspect he had some other nascent condition which the ride exacerbated. The fact is, you're probably more likely to be hit by lightning than to be hurt on an amusement park ride, and no one is saying we should make it a crime to go outside in the rain.
In related news, it has been discovered that the source code for Windows can be reconstructed by analyzing the arrangment of empty Mountain Dew cans in developer's cubicles.
"it's impossible to think when you have someone watching over your shoulder"
The person watching is supposed to be doing the thinking. The other guy is supposed to bang out the code. i.e., one guy is thinking of the "big picture" and how it all fits together, while the other guy concerns himself with the details of syntax and writing code that runs. You alternate the roles periodically so each person has a chance to contribute to the "big picture."
I find that in almost all cases, whether it's coding or testing, I get better solutions more quickly when I'm working with another person.
What a pure, unadulterated piece of festering, steaming horseshit. It's *MY* computer you fucking moron. You have absolutely NO SAY WHATSOEVER as to what I can and cannot install on my system, or what software can co-exist on it. Once I download your shitty pile of bit-rot I can do whatever the hell I please with it within the confines of my own system (not that any creature more sentient than a sponge would ever download it). You are an arrogant prick without the slightest notion of morality wafting through the pustulent mass you call a brain. There ought to be laws against shitstains like you having computers.
I'll second the vote for the Belkin OmniViews. Works great with my mix of Linux and Windoze boxen (with the exception that the mouse sometimes gets weirded out when I switch from a linux box to the windows machine - anyone know how to fix that? The mouse is an Intellimouse Explorer optical USB going through a PS2 adapter to the OmniView switch).
Consumer spending actually remained fairly consistent throughout the downturn. That's one of the reasons the 'recession' wasn't so bad, and in fact we technically didn't even really have a recession, since the conventional definition of 'recession' is two consecutive quarters of decline in the real GDP, and that didn't happen.
It's actually a really cool bookstore. It's positively huge - four floors, with comfy chairs and couches all over the place. They have successfully perservered as an independent bookstore in the face of competition from the big chains.
I recently got an 8100 with he UXGA display, and I had all of your fears, and they've all since been eliminated. It's flat out the best display I've ever used. Text is small, but it's so sharp that it's very easy to read. People who look at it are amazed. And I can't find a single dead pixel on the thing.
My laptop has a 15" USVGA screen at 1600 X 1200 physical resolution. It's the best looking, sharpest display I've ever used. It puts my 21" trinitron monitor to shame.
The trial is set for July. I haven't been able to find any other info. Apparently the defence wants to call a 'mystery' witness who will testify that the principal has been disciplined in the past for his fanatical religious beliefs. The prosecution wants to put Brandi's mental state on trial.
She was suspended from school for successfully practicing witchcraft. She allegedly cast a spell which made a teacher sick. The ACLU is taking it to court.
He had a heart monitor. Even in a hospital setting they don't stick wires into you to monitor your heart. They tape them to your skin, which is what I understand Dr. Mann had. The tape being removed may have caused irratation and minor damage to the skin.
Not that I condone the airlines' actions, but this thing is getting blown way out of proportion.
Actually, the recovery time once the sensory-altering apparatus is removed is much faster than the the time it took to adjust to the change in the first place. Here's an interesting article that talks about a number of these types of experiments.
As someone who has worked extensively with patients who actually *are* brain damaged, I can assure you that the brain is very adept at compensating for radical changes. People who suffer traumatic brain injury (I'm not talking about losing a pair of fancy glasses here, I mean things like bullets in the head), can literally rewire their brains to compensate for the damage. Other parts of the brain take over from the nonfunctioning parts.
Now for something as relatively benign as the modification of sensory inputs, people are able to readily adapt to these changes. Others have mentioned the image-flipping glasses, and there have been many other experiments showing the same type of results. Blindfold someone for an extended period of time and their hearing will become more sensitive to compensate. Remove the blindfold and their hearing will return to normal. The brain is a remarkably adaptable organ.
"I recall experiments from many years ago where the people were wearing glases that flipped everything upside down. At some point the people completely adjusted."
Just so. There have been a number of experiments that have shown the human body is remarkably adept at adjusting to changes in primary sensory input. The flipped vision thing you metioned is just one of them. Subjects wearing glasses with prisms that flip everything upside down eventually begin to see everything as normal. Take them off and the recovery period is even quicker. Same with auditory senses. Expose people to a constant background noise and people eventually filter it out until, for them, it's no longer there.
I am highly skeptical of Dr. Mann's claims in this case. Certainly he may have been a little disoriented without his gear, but it shouldn't be anything that he wouldn't recover from in a few hours at most. As for the "implants," I think that's pure bull. My understanding was he had some electrodes taped to his skin and he suffered some skin damage when the tape was removed. Certainly nothing like the image of invasive torture the original article conjures up. Of course the airlines shouldn't have forcibly removed anything from his person (and were probably committing assault in doing so), but nothing was ripped out of his body.
Also, if he wears this stuff constantly, I have to ask why the latest picture from his continuously updated "eyecam" is dated August 14, 2001?
He may be suffering from depression at the thought of having his equipment damaged (I can only imagine the state I'd be in if someone broke into my house and trashed all of my computers), and may even be having symptoms of withdrawl, assuming his attachment to his equipment was something like an addiction. However that's a pathological condition that could be argued is not very healthy in the first place.
I also have to question the quoted figure of >$100,000 in damage. I simply can't believe he was wearing half a million dollars worth of equipment. In fact I strongly doubt you would have to pay more than a few grand to put together an identical system. If you look through his site, all the documentation seems to indicate that his sytems are made out of easily available off the shelf components. I see nothing referencing any piece of exotic or outrageously expensive equipment.
Finally, let's not forget that Dr. Mann is the same guy who came up with the "shooting Back" project wherein people take cameras into places that have video surveillance and "shoot back" by filming the filmers. Principles notwithstanding, this is designed from the outset to elicit confrontational situations.
So ultimately I'd have to chalk this up as a fine publicity stunt that perhaps went a little too far.
What about imposing a certain percentage drain on players based on their level/prestige? It takes a certain amount of cash to maintain a certain lifestyle. Food, clothing, taxes, amusements, etc. all add up, and they are higher the richer you get. Allowing players to have a ton of wealth, but not have to spend it is unrealistic IMHO. The drain doesn't have to be on specific things like rent, armor, etc. You could charge a base percentage on all wealth each time period.
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Because it's a convenient reference that all Americans understand. We could say "as big as France" or "as big as Siberia," but it wouldn't mean much to Americans. And NASA is, after all, an American organization.
The Reaction Research Society pretty much did just this back in 1996. They launched a solid-fueled rocket carrying an amateur television transmitter to a height of approximately 280,000 ft., which is about 46 nm.; just three miles short of the official "boundary". They weren't going for an official record, although I believe it was and remains the highest amateur launch to date.
The rocket reached a maximum acceleration of 35 Gs, and attained mach 4.5 in 5 seconds. Their site has some good photos and video of the launch, both from the ground and from the rocket.
-Jeff
Er, um, If they outlaw cheats, then only outlaws will have cheats!
Yeah, that's the ticket.
-Jeff
Well, I've got a Dell Inspiron 8100 w/ 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 and UXGA 1600X1200 screen, and it's about the best looking thing I've ever seen. I've had zero problems with blurring, and it's so crisp it puts my 21" trinitron to shame. I was worried about refresh when I got it, but everything I've played looks fantastic.
"Need everything everyone else has, but need it there RIGHT NOW? Marines."
Unless you need it REALLY RIGHT NOW! - call the 82d Airborne Division. Wheels-up on their way to anywhere in the world in 18 hours or less.
Hoo-ah.
:)
-Jeff
Blackout occurs in a normal individual at around 6-8 Gs. Fighter pilots wear special suits around their lower body which inflate during high G maneuvers. The suit constricts the lower extremities, forcing blood back to the head. They also learn how to tense the muscles in their legs and lower body to help keep the blood up in their head (similar to when you hold your breath really hard and/or scream - you get red in the face because the blood is being forced up into your head). 9 Gs is about the limit for fighter pilots. 12 Gs would probably cause rapid blackout in anyone.
As for the plane, a modern fighter jet is far more durable than the humans who fly them. A pilot would blackout long before he could pull enough Gs to tear the wings off. That's one of the reasons the military is so interested in unmanned aerial vehicles. They can maneuver far more violently than a manned plane, giving them a substantial edge over a manned enemy airplane.
FWIW, a space shuttle launch generates about 3 Gs of acceleration. Not bad at all. Fighter pilots, on the other hand, experience loads as high as nine Gs in tight turns, and they are also experiencing rapid acceleration changes during maneuvers.
Personally, I can't think of anything more fun.
"potentially harmful effects of large gravitational fields"
Roller coasters do not generate "gravitational fields." They generate no gravity whatsoever. The do create acceleration forces which cause effects similar to gravity, and we actually know quite a bit about those forces. Fighter pilots regularly undergo forces of up to 9 Gs, and this is an area that the military and NASA have studied extensively. They have things called "centrifuges" which can subject people to very high accelerations. All fighter pilots spend time in the centrifuge learning how to handle high G loads.
As for your cousin, I suspect he had some other nascent condition which the ride exacerbated. The fact is, you're probably more likely to be hit by lightning than to be hurt on an amusement park ride, and no one is saying we should make it a crime to go outside in the rain.
In related news, it has been discovered that the source code for Windows can be reconstructed by analyzing the arrangment of empty Mountain Dew cans in developer's cubicles.
"it's impossible to think when you have someone watching over your shoulder"
The person watching is supposed to be doing the thinking. The other guy is supposed to bang out the code. i.e., one guy is thinking of the "big picture" and how it all fits together, while the other guy concerns himself with the details of syntax and writing code that runs. You alternate the roles periodically so each person has a chance to contribute to the "big picture."
I find that in almost all cases, whether it's coding or testing, I get better solutions more quickly when I'm working with another person.
What a pure, unadulterated piece of festering, steaming horseshit. It's *MY* computer you fucking moron. You have absolutely NO SAY WHATSOEVER as to what I can and cannot install on my system, or what software can co-exist on it. Once I download your shitty pile of bit-rot I can do whatever the hell I please with it within the confines of my own system (not that any creature more sentient than a sponge would ever download it). You are an arrogant prick without the slightest notion of morality wafting through the pustulent mass you call a brain. There ought to be laws against shitstains like you having computers.
I'll second the vote for the Belkin OmniViews. Works great with my mix of Linux and Windoze boxen (with the exception that the mouse sometimes gets weirded out when I switch from a linux box to the windows machine - anyone know how to fix that? The mouse is an Intellimouse Explorer optical USB going through a PS2 adapter to the OmniView switch).
Consumer spending actually remained fairly consistent throughout the downturn. That's one of the reasons the 'recession' wasn't so bad, and in fact we technically didn't even really have a recession, since the conventional definition of 'recession' is two consecutive quarters of decline in the real GDP, and that didn't happen.
It's actually a really cool bookstore. It's positively huge - four floors, with comfy chairs and couches all over the place. They have successfully perservered as an independent bookstore in the face of competition from the big chains.
I recently got an 8100 with he UXGA display, and I had all of your fears, and they've all since been eliminated. It's flat out the best display I've ever used. Text is small, but it's so sharp that it's very easy to read. People who look at it are amazed. And I can't find a single dead pixel on the thing.
My laptop has a 15" USVGA screen at 1600 X 1200 physical resolution. It's the best looking, sharpest display I've ever used. It puts my 21" trinitron monitor to shame.
Read the article again. It's a 3-inch bug, not 13.
I'd have a really hard time believing any 13-inch long critter has gone undiscovered in Southern California.
The trial is set for July. I haven't been able to find any other info. Apparently the defence wants to call a 'mystery' witness who will testify that the principal has been disciplined in the past for his fanatical religious beliefs. The prosecution wants to put Brandi's mental state on trial.
This is merely bizarre. For a truly surreal story, look at the case of Brandi Blackbear.
She was suspended from school for successfully practicing witchcraft. She allegedly cast a spell which made a teacher sick. The ACLU is taking it to court.
Yeah, it's offtopic, but it is interesting.
He had a heart monitor. Even in a hospital setting they don't stick wires into you to monitor your heart. They tape them to your skin, which is what I understand Dr. Mann had. The tape being removed may have caused irratation and minor damage to the skin.
Not that I condone the airlines' actions, but this thing is getting blown way out of proportion.
Oh yeah, just what we need. Some guy behind the wheel of a car with his vision filtered through a camera strapped to his head.
-Jeff
Actually, the recovery time once the sensory-altering apparatus is removed is much faster than the the time it took to adjust to the change in the first place. Here's an interesting article that talks about a number of these types of experiments.
As someone who has worked extensively with patients who actually *are* brain damaged, I can assure you that the brain is very adept at compensating for radical changes. People who suffer traumatic brain injury (I'm not talking about losing a pair of fancy glasses here, I mean things like bullets in the head), can literally rewire their brains to compensate for the damage. Other parts of the brain take over from the nonfunctioning parts.
Now for something as relatively benign as the modification of sensory inputs, people are able to readily adapt to these changes. Others have mentioned the image-flipping glasses, and there have been many other experiments showing the same type of results. Blindfold someone for an extended period of time and their hearing will become more sensitive to compensate. Remove the blindfold and their hearing will return to normal. The brain is a remarkably adaptable organ.
"I recall experiments from many years ago where the people were wearing glases that flipped everything upside down. At some point the people completely adjusted."
Just so. There have been a number of experiments that have shown the human body is remarkably adept at adjusting to changes in primary sensory input. The flipped vision thing you metioned is just one of them. Subjects wearing glasses with prisms that flip everything upside down eventually begin to see everything as normal. Take them off and the recovery period is even quicker. Same with auditory senses. Expose people to a constant background noise and people eventually filter it out until, for them, it's no longer there.
I am highly skeptical of Dr. Mann's claims in this case. Certainly he may have been a little disoriented without his gear, but it shouldn't be anything that he wouldn't recover from in a few hours at most. As for the "implants," I think that's pure bull. My understanding was he had some electrodes taped to his skin and he suffered some skin damage when the tape was removed. Certainly nothing like the image of invasive torture the original article conjures up. Of course the airlines shouldn't have forcibly removed anything from his person (and were probably committing assault in doing so), but nothing was ripped out of his body.
Also, if he wears this stuff constantly, I have to ask why the latest picture from his continuously updated "eyecam" is dated August 14, 2001?
He may be suffering from depression at the thought of having his equipment damaged (I can only imagine the state I'd be in if someone broke into my house and trashed all of my computers), and may even be having symptoms of withdrawl, assuming his attachment to his equipment was something like an addiction. However that's a pathological condition that could be argued is not very healthy in the first place.
I also have to question the quoted figure of >$100,000 in damage. I simply can't believe he was wearing half a million dollars worth of equipment. In fact I strongly doubt you would have to pay more than a few grand to put together an identical system. If you look through his site, all the documentation seems to indicate that his sytems are made out of easily available off the shelf components. I see nothing referencing any piece of exotic or outrageously expensive equipment.
Finally, let's not forget that Dr. Mann is the same guy who came up with the "shooting Back" project wherein people take cameras into places that have video surveillance and "shoot back" by filming the filmers. Principles notwithstanding, this is designed from the outset to elicit confrontational situations.
So ultimately I'd have to chalk this up as a fine publicity stunt that perhaps went a little too far.
What about imposing a certain percentage drain on players based on their level/prestige? It takes a certain amount of cash to maintain a certain lifestyle. Food, clothing, taxes, amusements, etc. all add up, and they are higher the richer you get. Allowing players to have a ton of wealth, but not have to spend it is unrealistic IMHO. The drain doesn't have to be on specific things like rent, armor, etc. You could charge a base percentage on all wealth each time period.