Comment Re:Start with Venus... (Score 1) 319
Transferring an ice moon across Earth's orbit is something I'd rather avoid for the next 50 years or so. You are welcome to play planetary billiards when I'm gone. Thanks.
Comment Re:Placebo effect? (Score 2) 154
How do you know it's not a placebo effect, though?
Test it against people with fake brains.
Comment Re:islam (Score 1, Funny) 1350
Marxism is a religion? If that is the case then Capitalism is a religion.
OK, I see your point.
Hands On With MakerBot's 3D-Printed Wood 72
angry tapir writes: 3D printing has lost a bit of its novelty value, but new printing materials that MakerBot plans to release will soon make it a lot more interesting again. MakerBot is one of the best-known makers of desktop 3D printers, and at CES this week it announced that late this year its products will be able to print objects using composite materials that combine plastic with wood, metal or stone.
Comment Re:ASN.1/SMI (Score 1) 242
Well, they are not languages that you will be paid to program in either. The are domain-specific knowledge that a programmer in a common language (C++, Java) may need to know for a specific job. Companies may be looking for a "C++ programmer for network development that preferably knows ASN.1". If they are hiring an "ASN.1 programmer for network development that preferably knows C++", run away fast.
Comment Only Semi-Autonomous? (Score 1) 182
If it were autonomous, you'd be free and clear. But this "semi-autonomous" bit leads me to believe you were semi-involved.
Comment Re:some modern electronic gagets can not be fixed (Score 1) 840
With the exception of BGA a decent soldering iron is fine for SMD. I can solder a 144 pin 0.5mm QFP quicker than I can solder a through hole 40 pin DIP component.
I would love to see you fix a board with a bad QFP with only a soldering iron. A hot-air rework station is a far more appropriate tool for removing said QFP if it is in need of replacement. We are talking about fixing broken electronics after all.
Comment Re:Also (Score 2) 840
And they're terrible with cave drawings.
We call it "graffiti" these days. And, yes, I agree it is terrible.
Comment Re:some modern electronic gagets can not be fixed (Score 1) 840
A soldering iron? You are using the wrong tool. We have new tools for handling surface mount components that work just as well as a soldering iron does for through-hole work. Real humans can and do fix surface mount electronics.
Comment Re:Optometrist? (Score 4, Funny) 464
You totally massacred the recent research that was in the news
Take it up with my lawyers: Dewey, Cheetham and Howe.
Comment Re:Optometrist? (Score 4, Interesting) 464
This is "the boat payment is due" theory of medical and automotive malpractice first postulated by Click and Clack, the Tappet Bros. This was later bolstered in a recent landmark article in JAMA. The upshot is when the doctor is away and unable to schedule unneeded costly procedures, the patient is more likely to survive. The corollary is that the doctors have their best interest in mind, not the patient's.
Comment Global Cops (Score 1) 312
We need the global equivalent of a police force. We no longer live in a world divided by borders. We need an elected (not appointed) global government, with global laws, and with a world police force that can go after people whose crimes cross international boundaries.
OK.. now tell me one reason why this is a really bad idea. And then tell me how you would address that specific problem.
Comment The Drinking (Score 1) 155
If you can't make a drinking game out of it, it's not worth playing.
Submission + - The Ultimate Tech the US, Russia, China and India All Want: Hypersonic Weapons (nationalinterest.org)
An anonymous reader writes: They can hit any target in 30 minutes or less. They travel anywhere from Mach 5 to Mach 25. All the major powers want them and many look at them as a military game changer--if only they can make them work. Are hypersonic weapons the future of military doctrine?
Hypersonic weapons--or ballistic weapons that can hit a target flying many times faster than the speed of sound have been hyped since the 1970s. Currently almost all of the major powers are trying to build them. The US and China seem to be the furthest along and are working on various types of systems. China hopes such weapons could be a game changer and deter any US actions in Asia.
There is however one big problem (besides the insane amount of technology to make them work considering their speed): a possible arms race and the threat they could lead to a nuclear war:
"According to some analysts, the development of hypersonic weapons creates the conditions for a new arms race, and could risk nuclear escalation. Given that the course of hypersonic research has acknowledged both of these concerns, why have several countries started testing the weapons?"
Hypersonic weapons--or ballistic weapons that can hit a target flying many times faster than the speed of sound have been hyped since the 1970s. Currently almost all of the major powers are trying to build them. The US and China seem to be the furthest along and are working on various types of systems. China hopes such weapons could be a game changer and deter any US actions in Asia.
There is however one big problem (besides the insane amount of technology to make them work considering their speed): a possible arms race and the threat they could lead to a nuclear war:
"According to some analysts, the development of hypersonic weapons creates the conditions for a new arms race, and could risk nuclear escalation. Given that the course of hypersonic research has acknowledged both of these concerns, why have several countries started testing the weapons?"
Comment Martian Maintenance Infrastructure (Score 1) 105
It is time to start building out the martian rover maintenance infrastructure so these guys can be towed in for repairs and upgrades.
