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Comment Re:Translation (Score 1) 179

If there had been no side-mounted configuration, there would have been no disaster, whether or not the O-rings failed, or ice fell off of the ET. The basic design of the Shuttle stack prevented any form of crew escape, period, and it also subjected the crew vehicle to damage from the launch vehicle. Fortunately we're going back to capsules on top that can perform an emergency escape from the launch vehicle. It's not as sexy as an OMG SPACE PLANE but that was more trouble than it was worth.

Comment Re:Propaganda much? (Score 1) 179

And that's why it's a good thing that FH will be using the same parts as F9, only with a few struts added. Don't need heavy launches? Simply don't strut it together, and make three regular launches!

But don't limit your thinking to what we do now with what we have now. Just like with oil reserves increasing as the price of oil goes up (due to cost of recovery), the things people will want to launch rockets for will increase as the cost of launches goes down. And likewise, as the cost of heavy launches comes down, people will start building bigger stuff (or stacking multiple payloads) to make use of it.

Comment Re:My LED bulb didn't last! (Score 1) 328

I've only bought one LED bulb so far. It lasted maybe 3-4 years, but I would leave it on a good portion of the day. Of course the LEDs will last that long, but the weakest link is the power supply, specifically any electrolytic capacitors in it. I took it apart so I can play with the LEDs but haven't gotten around to it yet. I replaced it with an extra CFL I had lying around. Maybe I've been lucky, but I haven't had much problem with CFLs dying. If I had been having problems with CFLs, I would have bought more LED bulbs by now.

Comment Re:Write-only code. (Score 1) 757

It works really well for embedded programming, especially when you don't have a heap. And anywhere you would consider using a bunch of function pointers, using virtual methods instead will make for a lot cleaner code. Also, classes can be used as an API for hardware devices, something I learned after being introduced to mbed.

Comment Re:Good luck with that (Score 1) 66

3. Throw rocks or beanbags or some other kind of projectiles at it.

4. Point frickin' lasers at it, especially if it has a camera.

And #2 assumes that it would use GPS for guidance. If it's a video link to a human operator, it's not going to much. Better yet if the drone has a camera and computer vision using the street grid and buildings as a reference of where it is. After all, you only really need GPS when you're in the middle of nowhere.

Comment Re:Spock is an odd choice (Score 1) 223

The thing is, Canadians have been Spocking their five dollar bills for decades. What surprised me was that they're still doing it after the bill was redesigned.

And after doing a google image search, it seems there have been a few people who tried it with the US five dollar bill too. Abe Lincoln's beard makes him look like Mirror Spock though. And the new Canadian five has also been Snaped.

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