ANH

22 ms·

121.
by ANH 15y ago
Cassini was launched by the IV-B variant of the Titan. Given that only one IV-B launch had taken place prior to Cassini, I'm guessing they applied a pretty big risk factor to the launch vehicle.
122.
by ANH 15y ago
I agree with your assessment if you're talking about perception, not actual risk. Shortly before Cassini was launched there were some people on my college campus protesting the mission on grounds of risk of radioactive debris spreading if t
123.
by ANH 15y ago
I prefer not seeing the number of votes, and think lukifer's idea of a "view count or vote" model is great. A visible score attached to each comment seems to me somehow demeaning. But I've never been much for grades... And has been stated m
124.
by ANH 15y ago
To me, Netflix streaming is like some alien technology from the future. I live in a rural area with terrible broadband (miniscule monthly cap). However, I have an unlimited data plan for my phone and with a composite video cable I can plug
125.
by ANH 15y ago
plus with a solar sail, how do you get back? Install reflectors on the surface of Mars, shine super-big lasers at Mars, sail home on reflected light.
126.
by ANH 15y ago
The cloud might not be perfect but the baseline is already very good and should only get better. Do we have reason to believe that it will only get better? I think it's possible the complexity of the systems we are building and the traffi
127.
by ANH 16y ago
I'm going to be launching soon with PayPal's Digital Goods Express Checkout dealio. In theory, integration is simple, but I've found the documentation to be lengthy, incomplete, and just plain wrong in some cases. I've had speedy support re
128.
by ANH 16y ago
Great points. I wonder, though, if "the effort to rationalize and simplify crosses almost all Enlightenment era or modern political ideologies", how do we still end up with such a tangle of laws?
129.
by ANH 16y ago
I don't think that invalidates his main point that the morass (whether it's the Microsoft ecosystem or US healthcare) not only limits us but serves as a lever by which we can be taken advantage of.
130.
by ANH 16y ago
> Society demands assessment. Government demands assessment. Employers demand assessment. My college didn't hand out GPAs and all evaluations were narrative. Only on rare occasions has the lack of numbers attached to my performance pre
131.
by ANH 16y ago
Freeman Dyson wrote this of Richard Feynman: "The reason Dick's physics was so hard for ordinary people to grasp was that he did not use equations. The usual way theoretical physics was done since the time of Newton was to begin by writing
132.
by ANH 16y ago
Only nuclear power? What about the BP oil spill? Exxon Valdez? Coal slurry wiping out homes in West Virginia?
133.
by ANH 16y ago
Historically, coal-fired power plants have been much more dangerous for humans than nuclear power plants. I think the record shows that nuclear power is on the whole pretty safe. Regarding proof: I don't think anything has been proven, ye
134.
by ANH 16y ago
> ...nuclear power is the only viable option that is available today... Nuclear power in itself is unlikely to solve our energy problems. It is only a part of the solution. We will not be able to supply the world with enough energy usin
135.
by ANH 16y ago
Dyson does have a point about "fudge factors" incorporated into current models, which is why it's such a shame the recent Orbiting Carbon Observatory and Glory satellite launches failed. Climate change is real, but we still need more eyes
136.
by ANH 16y ago
Dubai is emblematic of excesses that have led major developed countries into a major recession. It's about terrible investments in land and energy. That ski park the article mentions? It consumes the energy equivalent of 3,500 barrels of oi
137.
by ANH 16y ago
Very nice. I'm not familiar with the game, but I spent a couple of days in the real Carcassonne and it is amazing. If you can find a hotel room in the city walls it is well worth it.
138.
by ANH 16y ago
Make the roof a lighter color (aka, a "cool roof") -- especially if you're in a warmer climate -- to reduce energy consumption: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_roof A cool roof energy savings calculator from DOE: http://www.ornl.gov/sc
139.
by ANH 16y ago
This is practically useless for my semi-rural location. The listed speeds are so wrong it's hilarious. Yes, Verizon is a service provider here, but the only option is Mobile Broadband which peaks at about 1.3Mbps on a good day. The site mak
140.
by ANH 16y ago
I registered real first name, real last initial and they demanded I change in a couple of emails. Sorry, not gonna do it for a site I'm still on the fence about. I promptly deactivated my account and don't plan to return.
141.
by ANH 16y ago
In addition to line-of-sight, your AM station is transmitting more or less omnidirectionally. Significant gains (pun intended) can be had by narrowing your beam. Check out the Link Budget Equation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_budget
142.
by ANH 16y ago
Quora hasn't hooked me yet. What impresses me most about SO is the quality of the Q's and A's, yet there are minimal barriers to entry; it's all right there to see. Quora, on the other hand, is pretty much a brick wall until you give creden
143.
by ANH 16y ago
On a recent vacation I was photographing my nieces and nephew making funny faces. After the first shots they ran up behind me, looked at the back of the camera, and said, "Can I see?" They gave me bewildered looks when I told them it was a
144.
by ANH 16y ago
H.G. Wells predicted this in The Time Machine (okay, I'm being slightly tongue in cheek). He wrote of far future human descendants, the Eloi, who had undergone severe mental and physical degradation due to no longer being required to solve
145.
by ANH 16y ago
It may be because I write (sometimes buggy) code for a living, but I always expect my iPhone alarm to fail. It never has, but the idea of having a second iPhone alarm as a backup is laughable.
146.
by ANH 16y ago
This was one of the pages that helped me formulate my current recipe. High moisture content and not overworking the dough are key for me. It can be a sticky situation while kneading with all that water, but the result is worth the messy han
147.
by ANH 16y ago
Amazing. On maximum zoom, nearby blades of grass can be distinguished, but the atmospheric distortion of distant objects makes them look like part of an impressionist painting.
148.
by ANH 16y ago
He doesn't say that the CnD was actually sent. Legal teams have zero incentive not to draft such letters. It's up to the executives at the company to have the courage to ignore the attorneys' advice. Of course, odds are it was sent and no
149.
by ANH 16y ago
The eight books of the House of Niccolo series by Dorothy Dunnett. Swashbuckling 15th-century entrepreneurship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_Niccol%C3%B2 And once you've finished that, there's a sequel series (actually writte
150.
by ANH 16y ago
Yes, the author of the article must not have watched the video he linked to. The CEO of Bahnhof himself jocularly admits it wouldn't survive a direct hit.

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