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I'm pretty sure the "4" comes from mapping the letter grades A, B, C, D, F. "A" has the most points (4) and "F" the least (0). Most of the time -- but not always -- the letter grades have already been mapped from a numerical scale or percentage, e.g., A=[90-100], B=[80-89], C=[70-79], D=[varies?], F=[can't fudge a D].
I've even heard it more-broadly stated that there are NO long-term stable lunar orbits. It's an issue for orbital debris: since (1) objects don't burn up on entry, and (2) an uncontrolled orbit is impossible to predict in the long term, therefor all lunar orbiters should be removed rather than abandoned and lunar deorbits should be targeted rather than random.
My church just handed out (free!) 2013 calendars to parishoners. I was starting to worry about that Dec. 31st thing, but now I know we're good for another 12 months.
Besides, who with any business sense publishes a calendar that lasts 5000 years, and distributes it carved in stone?
I've heard that, in addition to smoke removal, fresh air (or water) lowers a room's temperature and can prevent flash-over. There must be an optimal solution among the inputs -- people get degrees in this stuff.
This is the best reply I've read here. I think that back when they built the current system (article says 1961) the military wanted to know where everything was so they could identify the military threats. (You also don't want to launch your counter-strike when that Russian rocket booster burns up over Alaska.) That's still the case, but the use for collision avoidance is becoming more important now. The data go into real-time calculations and also into long-term environmentalmodels.
The data (sure...minus classified) are already available to the public, with the caveat that these are averaged/low-res data not suitable for collision avoidance.
You didn't account for the "Aack! I look like that?!" factor that could easily lead to NO boobs (for you) at all. S.O. would need to already like mirrors/threesomes.
My utility sent out info about their on-going switch to smart meters. They'll save money by not having meter readers driving to each home! Yay! There's also a new line item on the monthly bill: Smart meter. They didn't say *I* would save money, after all. Plus I don't yet have a smart meter.