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Comment Re:Blacksmithing (Score 1) 737

A decent blacksmith needs nothing but raw materials.

Think real hard jackass - where do the raw materials comes from? What do you think infrastructure is? And yes, I've met real blacksmiths and seen them at work - and very, very few of them work from scratch. (And if you think making decent quality charcoal is easy... I've got a bridge to sell you.)

Graduating from apprenticeship requires actually making your own tools from raw materials.

Assuming they graduated from an apprenticeship program in the first place. The individual to whom I replied had merely taken classes.

Comment Re:Hiring A War Criminal highlights something else (Score 1) 448

What it really shows is that Dropbox is COMPLETELY BLIND, to the direction of international public opinion. Other US service providers are hemmoraging international accounts, because of distrust, after the Snowden fiasco. And they bring a former National Security Advisor on board, from the Administration which began ramping up abuses? It's complete ignorance. It's a middle-finger to the people they're trying to get to be their customers. These guys are totally out of touch with reality. Not only would I never use their service, if they had stock, and I owned any, I would immediately divest.

Comment Re:Problem solving (Score 1) 737

I find that even though the specifics are different, the fundamental skill is the same..problem solving

The steps are the same..clearly identify the problem, look at the tools and materials that are available, then find a solution using what you have to work with

Well, if "what you have to work with" isn't "the skill to use the tools and materials available", then your "fundamental skill" is fundamentally fucking useless. (Not to mention that someone who lacks the "the skill to use the tools and materials available" isn't all likely to have the information needed to find a solution in the first place.) The real world isn't an MBA case study. You need actual skills.

Comment Not fragile: Redundant. (Score 1) 33

This actually looks good to me. Most helicopters can be shot down with a rifle. They are huge engines with large fuel tanks and large, whirling blades, and it is not that difficult to get them to destroy themselves with their own momentum, height, or fuel.

I concur. Helicopters are a collection of single-points-of-failure, disasters waiting to happen. (Particularly the pilot - they have to be continuously controlled and crash almost instantly if anything incapacitates him.) Their vulnerability is justified only because their extreme usefulness oughtweighs it. With eight rotors I'd be surprised if this vehicle couldn't at least come to ground safely with at least two of them destroyed, and the multicopter approach has been under autonomous computer control from the start - made practical only by the automation.

I envision this thing's missions as being primarily extreme rough-country ground transport, with short hops to bypass otherwise impassible terrain, reach otherwise inaccessible destinations or targets, attack from above, or put on a burst of speed when time is of the essence. Think a truck-sized "super jeep" ala Superman. Being primarily a ground vehicle lets it perform longer missions and reduces its visibility and vulnerability compared to a helicopter.

Just because you CAN fly doesn't mean you DO fly all the time. As is pointed out in the webcomic Schlock Mercenary: "Do you know what they call flying soldiers on the battlefield?" ... "Skeet!"

Comment all this said. . . (Score 1) 325

I have to say that among most of the states in which I've driven, California cops seem to be the most lenient. And by that, I mean; California has some high-limit roads... 70, 75. Actual average speeds are more like 80-85 on these highways. Some other states seem to be stuck at 55 for most roads, and their cops seem to be real assholes about driving more than 5 over. (specifically, Utah, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, where I've either been a driver or passenger in a car getting pulled over).

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