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Comment Re:Lua[0]? (Score 0) 729

Bookkeepers, shepherds, scientists and mathemaitcians have for centuries counted starting with 1. It is recent computer scientists that started this crazy standard break, as if they knew better how to count.

No. Computer scientists count starting from one, just like normal people. What we do not do is confuse cardinal numbers (which you use for counting) with ordinal numbers (which you use for coordinates, such as the position in an array).

Comment Re:By far not the only design that does this. (Score 1) 200

I agree that burning the crap off is a good thing, but why tack on an expensive piece of extra equipment when pretty much the same effect can be achieved by being smarter about core design? I'm just not seeing the big advantage here.

By all means, let's move forward on the smarter core designs. However, we still have lots of waste from the older cores to deal with.

Comment Re:Already commented on this elsewhere (Score 1) 200

option A: moderate toxicity/radioactivity for (hundreds of) thousands of years
option B: EXTREME toxicity/radioactivity for decades

Toxicity and Radioactivity do not necessarily correlate positively. You might wind up with highly toxic, low radioactive waste, or waste that has low toxicity but high radioactivity.

Comment Re:Competition is good. (Score 1) 211

fuel costs are a small portion of launch costs.

Really? What is the expensive part then?

Engine development/manufacture, mostly. The shuttle used 610 tons of oxygen and 100 tons of hydrogen which cost approximately $200,000 based on market prices. The cost of the solid rocket booster fuel is unknown, but one estimate is about $2,000,000. The cost to launch that bird was $450,000,000, so the fuel was half a percent of the launch costs.

Comment Re:Book burning... (Score 1) 158

Thanks for the thoughtful post.

Christianity definitely didn't start at 0 AD. If wikipedia serves, started at about 300 AD when Constantine started recognizing the group.

Um... no. You're probably thinking of Roman Catholicism, the state religion of Rome instituted by Constantine in 313AD.

Christianity started in the mid first century.

Comment Re: Nature is fighting against gays... (Score 1) 134

There is no widespread practice of beastiality within the countries where HIV developed. Current operating hypothesis is that it came from improper animal handling procedures resulting in blood-to-blood contact between SIV-infected apes and ordinary humans, allowing the virus to jump hosts.

It doesn't have to be widespread. All it takes is one instance.

Current operating hypothesis is that it came from improper animal handling procedures resulting in blood-to-blood contact between SIV-infected apes and ordinary humans, allowing the virus to jump hosts.

Probably somebody cut themselves while butchering infected bush meat. Although, such accidents must have happened numerous times throughout history. Why is HIV only around now?

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