ridgeguy

56 ms·

571.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
I'll dodge specificity and just say I value HN for commentary by thoughtful people who contribute information and opinions on matters that interest me, but for which I have less than expert chops. This covers a wide range of topics. An
572.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
My father used dynamite in his work (geological exploration). He was susceptible to migraine headaches. I could always tell when he'd been personally setting charges, because he'd come home with a killer headache on those days. No
573.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Agreed. This seems like just another instance of "slow light", which has been a thing since 1998 [1]. Speed of light in tailored materials has been as low as zero. As in, stopped. And then restarted on command. [1] https:/&
574.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Path length differs from velocity. The speed of light in a medium varies according to the refractive index of the medium. [1] Free space (vacuum) has an RI of 1.0. Photons move fastest in free space, about 300,000km/sec. Water has an R
575.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
The fairing doesn't get carried to orbit. It's dumped as soon as aerodynamic loads are negligible. Since the fairing has the same energy requirement as the payload (in energy/kg), it's important to get rid of it the mome
576.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
There is a WW2 shipwreck [1] in the Thames estuary that apparently still has 1400 metric tons of explosives aboard. Remaining explosives include 286 2000lb bombs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery
577.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
As can your children under some circumstances.
578.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Seamless might have helped. Seams can act as slot radiators. In plasma deposition chambers I've built, getting continuous electrical contact all the way around mechanical access ports was essential to keep microwave power from getting
579.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
It seems this data leakage mode could be dealt with by combining the Faraday cage material (which blocks EM radiation) with a high magnetic permeability material (blocks B-fields, as discussed in the paper's ref [50] (paywalled)). Mu-m
580.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Kevlar thread. Less frequent replacement needed.
581.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Gerrymandering is arguably the principal corrosive agent in the gears of American democracy. It's in complete opposition to 'one person, one vote' as a foundational principle of electoral efficacy. See [1] and [2]: in [2], ab
582.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Your question is excellent and gets to the heart of the matter. How could Facebook, in a neutral way, cull crap and promote quality? I wish I had robust answers. All I have at the moment is opinions. • Algorithmic methods can't deliver
583.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Agreed. "Move fast and break things" is a bad strategy if you're operating in the sky. We've been accumulating data that support this view since Wilbur and Orville in 1903.
584.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
It seems like nobody at Facebook is allowed to play the long game. In the long game, quality wins. In the long game, an organization that puts quality of information at top priority persists and becomes a long-lived resource for civilizatio
585.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
neutron ≠ neutrino
586.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
This is another attempt at security by obscurity. Like others, it doesn't work. Open source (this time in the form of full disclosure and a prenup agreement) is the way to go.
587.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Take a lawyer with you. Mutter "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and a few other phrases s/he may give you. To me, it sounds like you're treating Coinbase as a friend who's hit a tough patch, rather tha
588.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
I had your experience at ages 6-9 in Alaska. The only available dentist had moral qualms about using novocaine. The resulting aversion conditioning kept me away from dentists until I was 36, when my then-girlfriend coerced me to see a denti
589.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
No worries. Thomas Piketty [1] presents a convincing case that Bill will continue to have resources to fund activities he thinks are helpful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Piketty#Capital_in_the_...
590.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Might be irrelevant per HN guidelines. I took it as a reminder that doing something good may require not only exceptional courage, but one's life. I'm ok with the off-topic aspect of the post. I continue to be amazed and grateful
591.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Curious about how it's worked for you. Why did you pick Bulgaria? How serious have you found language and cultural barriers to be? As an American (my assumption), how hard was it to open a bank account? Etc. Tnx.
592.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
I've found that after about 6 months I find the controls by touch with no need to look at them. Touch screens more than one level deep never have worked as well for me in that respect.
593.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Totally with you. My next "new" car will be something used that has physical dials and switches. I'll spend the differential $ on rebuilding engine/trannie and other wearable components. I do not ever want to look away f
594.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Thanks. I thought I was going nuts, too.
595.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
That link shows Meltdown in reference only to High Sierra, not Sierra. What am I missing?
596.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
I hate the Patriot Act too, but beware unintended consequences. How do you feel about laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964? I think that law continues to serve our society well. And I'm certain it would not be renewed by our current
597.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Room-temperature levitation with permanent magnets. A diamagnetic material repels external magnetic fields. Unlike other materials, superconductors have very high diamagnetic constants. [1] This is why one can float a magnet over a supercon
598.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
The post says astatine's radioactivity is so high a small sample would vaporize itself, so it can't exist in a condensed phase that would be convenient to study. It can be made by exposing bismuth-209 to an alpha particle beam. As
599.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
Specifics, please. Stross' contribution made me think. Yours didn't.
600.
by ridgeguy 9y ago
In wealthy regions, the cars might frequently be missing from StreetView. For example, in Woodside & Portola Valley (CA) most homes have garage or other off-street parking. A single home might house a Prius, a Hummer, a Volt, an extende

More ›