I suppose THEY will just start forgetting about the leap seconds. In around 100 thousand years, just as the sun reaches its zenith over New York, they'll remember leap seconds again. UTC by stealth.
When linguists use lexicon to find the relationship between languages, they are looking at core lexical items that are very unlikely to be replaced (for example, 'sun', 'head', 'water' and so on). There are only a few hundred of these words.
The problem with determining language relationships is the length of the time frames. Languages can change radically in a thousand years. One of the slowest changing features are these core words, which are replaced more slowly than grammatical features (of course, sound systems can also shift). So in English for example, most of these core words are still of Anglo-Saxon origin, even with the influx of Norman French and Classical language items in the last thousand years.
Another issue is that features from languages can be borrowed from other languages, rather than undergo an 'evolutionary' change. An example is that of tonal systems, which tend to cross even language families. Just having features in common does not make languages more closely related.
So using grammar to relate languages raises complex issues. It might be suited to Papuan languages (where the time frame is reasonably shallow), and where borrowings are controlled because of short trade routes. But it is not the best approach in general.
We can't even set up substantial infrastructure in the deserts of the world (let alone under the ocean).
This makes the mining of asteroids look implausible. Just because it _can_ be done doesn't mean it is practical.
Perhaps we should ignore it. If sending people instead of robots is worthwhile enough, I'm reckon there'd be a few volunteers for the honor of being the first to Mars, even if it is a one way trip!
Depending on the purpose of the maps, it might be better just keep notes of where places are with respect to geographical landmarks, and use a satellite image to place them when you return from location.
Once the coverage of the world (eg google satellite maps) is detailed enough, you'll be able to locate individual huts! For example, in a remote area (no power, 2 days walk from the nearest road) that I lived in for a couple of years in Papua New Guinea, I can locate the rivers and crop areas, and then figure out the location of the villages.
I'd also be surprised if there weren't already topological maps with some villages marked that you could add to. Or is that sort of thing classified in the USA?:-)
Some GPS equipment also provides 3D velocity measurements, which are calculated through doppler rather than derived from 3D position. In fact, it can sometimes be more accurate to integrate the velocity than to use raw position.
that your enthusiasm for our map service continues unabated, and so we would like to assure you that the IRC worms currently converging with your site are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients, and the fully armed virus payloads are of course merely a courtesy detail.
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This must be some new meaning of the word encrypted that I was previously unaware of.
I suppose THEY will just start forgetting about the leap seconds. In around 100 thousand years, just as the sun reaches its zenith over New York, they'll remember leap seconds again. UTC by stealth.
Is it really that expensive to rebuild Aardman studios? They've already had one successful extraterrestrial trip...
When linguists use lexicon to find the relationship between languages, they are looking at core lexical items that are very unlikely to be replaced (for example, 'sun', 'head', 'water' and so on). There are only a few hundred of these words.
The problem with determining language relationships is the length of the time frames. Languages can change radically in a thousand years. One of the slowest changing features are these core words, which are replaced more slowly than grammatical features (of course, sound systems can also shift). So in English for example, most of these core words are still of Anglo-Saxon origin, even with the influx of Norman French and Classical language items in the last thousand years.
Another issue is that features from languages can be borrowed from other languages, rather than undergo an 'evolutionary' change. An example is that of tonal systems, which tend to cross even language families. Just having features in common does not make languages more closely related.
So using grammar to relate languages raises complex issues. It might be suited to Papuan languages (where the time frame is reasonably shallow), and where borrowings are controlled because of short trade routes. But it is not the best approach in general.
So does this mean that the strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were illegal? Or is this a retrospective authorization?
just trolling...
We can't even set up substantial infrastructure in the deserts of the world (let alone under the ocean). This makes the mining of asteroids look implausible. Just because it _can_ be done doesn't mean it is practical.
Perhaps we should ignore it. If sending people instead of robots is worthwhile enough, I'm reckon there'd be a few volunteers for the honor of being the first to Mars, even if it is a one way trip!
And I thought it was the 'uvula'... (yes, I know, I need to get a life)
because of course, property rights are more important than human life?
Pity she's going to have to learn Longhorn by the time she is 10...
Depending on the purpose of the maps, it might be better just keep notes of where places are with respect to geographical landmarks, and use a satellite image to place them when you return from location. Once the coverage of the world (eg google satellite maps) is detailed enough, you'll be able to locate individual huts! For example, in a remote area (no power, 2 days walk from the nearest road) that I lived in for a couple of years in Papua New Guinea, I can locate the rivers and crop areas, and then figure out the location of the villages. I'd also be surprised if there weren't already topological maps with some villages marked that you could add to. Or is that sort of thing classified in the USA? :-)
Some GPS equipment also provides 3D velocity measurements, which are calculated through doppler rather than derived from 3D position. In fact, it can sometimes be more accurate to integrate the velocity than to use raw position.
that your enthusiasm for our map service continues unabated, and so we would like to assure you that the IRC worms currently converging with your site are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients, and the fully armed virus payloads are of course merely a courtesy detail.
(with apologies to the late Douglas Adams)