I wouldn't say that there is much problem with quality of life in America. We have one of the highest standards of living in the world. I just don't see the "chucking away" part.

I know that unemployment is high, but I'm speaking generally.

China has a fast growing nuclear submarine fleet, each armed with multiple ballistic missiles. If U.S. recon picks up a surfacing sub within 100 miles of the gun, we could get a shell there within 8 minutes...maybe fast enough to get 'em before they triple check the orders, launch codes, go through launch procedure, et al. Maybe not.

China also has a fairly large surface fleet, rivaled by only a few countries.

The race never stops, it just has clear leaders at certain points in history.

More like attack enemy fleets from out of aircraft range, but I like your nostalgic attitude. Yarrrr!

100 mile range? Put these on every U.S. Naval vessel within 20 years and we will have Oceanic Hegemony! Hahaharrr!

This. As long as you don't use the motherboard's DAC, you will get nice, clean digital sound with no interference. If you have an external receiver, motherboard sound is just as good as a discrete card. If you want to use the DAC in a computer, be prepared for a noisy environment.

I am hoping that the software needed to program the FPGA portion of the chip is available and that the FPGA itself is programmable by the end user. This would be a big leap in the kinds of projects that can be attempted by homebrew dudes and the like.

This is most likely a test. If it was a show of force, it would have been done close to North Korea or China to show the US's ability to project power. I don't think it's very intimidating for the US to show that they can launch a missile from their own territory.

So if it is a test, what were they testing? It would have to be something that mounts on a fairly small rocket. Submarine or ship based missiles are not huge like a delta.

Lately, the US has been testing the hypersonic craft such as the Darpa Falcon craft. They are usually air-launched on the back of a Minotaur rocket, but could probably be adapted for a naval missile. Part of these hypersonic tests is development of the prompt global strike capability, which is basically a program to create a non-ballistic hypersonic missile to hit anywhere in the world quickly (1-2 hours.)

It could also be a missile defense test. They often launch from Vandenburg AFB and use interceptors based in the Pacific (ship based midcourse defense) or Alaska (ground based midcourse defense.)

My guess: an HTV-2 or HTV-3 test.

I would think that the big concern with a system like this is the added weight. Is it more cost-effective to have an active cooling system such as this, but carry along the plumbing, tanks, etc.? Or is it better to simply have replaceable tiles like the shuttle, and save the weight...then have to perform all of the required maintenance to the leading edges before the next flight?

You are right in the sense of the racing being at the highest level. WRC, Le Mans, and MotoGP are some of the best racing ever. But from a purely technical level (as the topic of TFA focuses on) F1 is the highest. Look at Toyota's $200 million budget for the last years. And that is just one team...who knows what Ferrari spends.

The tech in F1 is outstanding. They are above and beyond all other forms of motor racing and car technology in general. The Le Mans Prototypes are the only thing approaching F1 levels.

There was a point a few years ago (before the new regulations went into effect) where they were worried that the intake speed of the air into the engine was approaching supersonic. Nobody really knew what that would do to the engines (read: intake manifold).

Last year, on Speed channel, Steve Matchett was interviewing a Red Bull engineer, and the engineer basically said that the real life "Q" from British Intelligence had approached them with questions about their tech. That really says something about the level that F1 plays at.

Here is an interesting fact: Despite all the limiting regulations that have been put in place, including reduced aero packages, no refueling, no traction control, etc., this weekend at Melbourne a new lap record was set by Vettel. The old lap record was set in 2004 with a V10 engine revving to probably 21,000 rpms. Current engine is a 2.4L V8 probably revving to 18,000 rpms. So, despite all the restrictions, the teams are still able to move the technology forward so drastically that they are basically nullifying the FIA's (sport governing body) efforts to slow the cars down.

As an American working with technology, I would hope that more of my peers appreciated the extreme cutting edge that F1 dances on.

Best F1 race I've seen in a while. Very exciting and TONS of passing. I guess rain is the answer to F1's boredom problem?

Probably a while ago, since he's been dead since the early 90's. Maybe zombie-Pablo got his hands on some missile technology?

According to Wikipedia it looks like we have spent a bit over 100 billion on all missile defense since the 80's star wars program. I imagine that the ABL only was a small fraction of this.

Actually, the American Polaris, Trident and Poseidon SLBMs are all two or three stage solid fueled. Titan II is not an SLBM but is indeed liquid fueled.

The ABL is meant to loiter near the launch site just outside of enemy airspace and engage when a launch is detected. During this time, you are right, there will be a massive heat signature. So the heat and the proximity to the target allow the ABL to track using radar and infrared. But remember that this is just a single layer of a multi-layered missile defense system. The "ballistic" phase you described is meant to be countered by the GMD (Ground based mid-course defense), which includes the EKV (Exo-atmospheric kill vehicle). And you are right that a warhead is significantly harder to hit at this stage.