I'm sure what they are talking about is WILD animal herbivore populations, not domesticated herbivore populations. I think US populations have been decreasing slowly (probably an attempt to force prices up) but globally they're still increasing. I find it highly unlikely that there is any chance of a beef/pork/chicken die out unless purposely done or there is a global natural disaster (meteorite, supervolcano, etc).
News agencies fact checking government press releases? Not likely. And looking at the video links you provided they're showing the same 2 fires (CVS, Senior Center) and the same cars (Police Cruiser/Van fire, Police cruiser swarmed, black car on fire) over and over with a couple dozen people throwing stuff (pop bottles, rocks, etc) at something (cars/police), less than dozen actually on top/near it destroying and hundreds around it watching/video taping.
Those are the same numbers portrayed on every website & news service, but as your excerpt noted they're all directly from the mouth of the City government which has every reason in the world to embellish them. First off the fires, I can find only 4 considerable fires, a CVS, an under construction senior center, a liquor store and an abandoned warehouse (right next to the senior center). Cars? I can only find images/footage of about a dozen cars with heavy damage, though there are definitely a lot more cars with minor damage (slashed tires, broken windows, etc). Most of the damage to those cars is being caused by a very few people, one youtube video shows a single individual smashing 3 car windows in under 5 seconds. Officer "injuries" are a bit harder to track, but of the "98 injured" is being thrown around, of those at most 41 required "some form" of medical attention and only 13 apparently had injuries significant enough to take time off of work. And as far as the arrests, the BPD has released over half of those arrested, While I admit my numbers may be a bit low for Baltimore specifically, but the numbers/impressions out of the press & city government seem to be extremely high.
"......are not Constitutionally protected activities"
Of course they aren't, but really what percentage of the protestors in Baltimore are taking part in those activities? I'd wager that I can display that percentage on one hand. Yet we're told that its necessary to equip police like they're fighting a war, suspend civil liberties and arrest hundreds/thousands all because of the massive amounts of footage of the same 2-5 burning cars and 5-15 damaged businesses probably caused by no more than a few dozen miscreants.
Just put a small version of this thing on some spacecraft/satellite (ISS, Progress, Dragon, etc) and run it for a while, if it works the satellite should show some noticeable change in its orbit if it doesn't its garbage. Unfortunately the supposed thrust of this thing is so miniscule that it is the only way we're going to get definitive proof that there is an actual thrust from this thing.
I wonder if they'll last any better as a fixed battery vs a car mounted battery, I think the car mounted ones loose 20-30% of their capacity after 10 years. For example I've heard that a lead acid battery that will typically only last 5 years in a car will last 20 years in a backup battery bank for a home/business. If the pack only lasts 10 years then I highly doubt this will be economical ($108 a month? that's more than my entire electric bill) except in very specialized applications. If it lasts 20 or 30 years ($54-$36 a month) then we're starting to get into the realms of sanity especially in areas with high peak usage costs.
The SuperDraco may not be a "primary launch motor" but you wouldn't know it seeing a test firing. I didn't realize there was a 3D printing system out there that even came close being able to produce components that could take the kind of temperature/pressure you find in a rocket engine chamber. I'm sure there is some catch somewhere (heavier, longer individual production time, etc) but at least from what I can find it can't be much of a catch.
Having a dedicated radio as well is of course a good idea but if its inconvenient to carry some headphones you're not going to carry around a dedicated radio and keep good batteries with it.
Its a kit, besides a small tent "shelter" isn't exactly something you can stuff into a duffel bag. And its a FEMA list, no one said it was perfect. Though I'd guess that the intent of most preparedness lists/kits is for immediate survival & getting out of the disaster area. Shelter would be provided afterwards by emergency services, in theory.
You do realize that for less than the cost of a burger and fries you could stop by a dollar store and pickup a half dozen headphones and distribute them throughout your life (home, work, car, etc) in case of emergency? No doubt that the chances of it actually being necessary aren't all that high but I can't think of any cheaper method of disaster preparation either. By the way a radio is #3 on the FEMA disaster preparedness kit right behind Food and Water.
I think the article is either miswritten or FEMA/NAB misdirecting their blame. I highly doubt the manufacturers of the phones (LG, Samsung, etc) are the ones pushing for the disabling of the FM chip but requirements from the mobile service providers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc) who as the article noted are far more inclined to rake in profits if customers use data services instead of over the air reception and have a long history of locking down phone features for their own enrichment. FYI I tried to load the app National Association of Broadcasters is noting in this article (NextRadio) and I couldn't, apparently even though FM is enabled on my phone their app is only supported on a a select set of phones.
"The net effect on SLS’s development, both in terms of cost and possible delays"
Sounds like the taxpayers are the ones who are going to get to pay for this "miscommunication" (see attempted fraud). Ah, "cost plus" contracts, you never cease to amaze. I hope someone waves this, that A-3 test stand debacle and all of the other "miscommunications" in the faces of all of the people trying to get money diverted from the CCDev program, a contract based program, to SLS.
You seem to be assuming that standard burial practices are less intrusive, generally they're not. In the US embalming is pretty standard and for that first they slap the deceased onto a metal table and strip off their cloths. Then they wash the body, sew/glue the eyes and mouth shut and hook the body up to a machine that pumps the blood out and formaldehyde in. Then they take rather large needles and inject large amounts of formaldehyde into each organ. And thats if the body came in good shape, if the body was damaged (car wreck, industrial accident, murder, etc) they have to do a lot less pleasant things to prepare the body for viewing.
Cryonics is basically like any death ritual (cremation, burring, funerals, etc), Its about the (unlikely) hope of some life after death and giving some measure of closure to the living. Sure its extremely unlikely to go anywhere, chances are some bankruptcy, economic collapse or natural disaster is going to destroy the brains/bodies long before technology advances to a point where they can be revived but who cares? If push comes to shove at a minimum we'll have some fairly well preserved bodies/brains in a few decades/centuries for future scientists to study assuming the company goes bankrupt. If we have a major economic collapse these bodies/brains can join a significant portion of humanities other "accomplishments" (fashion, popular culture, modern movies, etc) in decay. And on the long shot maybe these people will give direct witness to the time period in which they lived if it happens to succeed.
Wow, that's close. Just looks like they have to tweak the navigation software to not over-correct the thrust vectoring so much and they've got it. A larger landing area would probably be immensely helpful as well, it looks like the rocket is having to fight pretty hard to land in such tight quarters.
The rule on staying alive as a program manager is to give 'em a number or give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once.
