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Comment Doesn't have to pay off immediately (Score 1) 531

I don't think the first foray into space mining needs to be profitable. Just think of it as R&D for future space mining projects. Everything learned from the first trip could make later trips much more efficient and worthwhile. How profitable was landing on the moon?

One danger would be that a badly managed project could kill everyone's interest in future projects.

Comment Re:Still not truly green (Score 2) 172

by OnionFighter (#39746051) Attached to: NASA Unveils Greenest Federal Building In the Nation

I read the papers (http://alpha.chem.umb.edu/chemistry/ch471/evans%20files/Net_Energy%20solar%20cells.pdf). They assume slightly below average conditions for a variety of different areas, and different types of cells. The worst scenario was still under five years for payback.

You keep stating "assuming constant peak utilisation according to the source." The source doesn't assume this.
Privacy

The Dead Past: the Biggest Threat To Privacy Is Us 130

Posted by timothy from the norm-isn't-just-that-guy-on-cheers dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals candidly discusses the future of privacy law in an essay published today in the Stanford Law Review Online. Referencing an Isaac Asimov short story, Kozinski acknowledges a serious threat to our privacy — but not from corporations, courts, or Congress: 'Judges, legislators and law enforcement officials live in the real world. The opinions they write, the legislation they pass, the intrusions they dare engage in—all of these reflect an explicit or implicit judgment about the degree of privacy we can reasonably expect by living in our society. In a world where employers monitor the computer communications of their employees, law enforcement officers find it easy to demand that internet service providers give up information on the web-browsing habits of their subscribers.'" (Excerpt continues below.)

Comment Re:Yoda says.... (Score 1) 1069

by OnionFighter (#39601473) Attached to: EA Defends Itself Against Thousands of Anti-Gay Letters

if a person wants to mod their game or do whatever to enable it that's on them and I completely support that, but i don't think it should be forced on everyone, that's not really right.

You are correct, nobody should force you to play a game that has content you don't want to see. So who is forcing you to play this game?
Space

New Engine Raises Possibility of Cheap Travel To the Moon 100

Posted by timothy from the how-many-altarian-dollars-though dept.
shreshtha writes with this intriguing bit from The Daily Mail: "A tiny satellite thruster which can journey to the Moon on just a tenth of a litre of fuel could usher in a new low-cost space age, its creators hope. The mini-motor weights just a few hundred grams and runs on an ionic chemical compound, using electricity to expel ions and generate thrust. The tiny motor isn't built to blast satellites into orbit — instead, it's to help spacecraft manouevre once they're in space, which previously required bulky, expensive engines."
Your Rights Online

Submission + - US asks scientists to censor reports to prevent te (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by Meshach
Meshach writes: The United States is asking scientific journals publishing details about biomedical research to censor articles out of feat that terrorists could acquire the information. The panel cannot force the journals to censor their articles, but the editor of Science, Bruce Alberts, said the journal was taking the recommendations seriously and would most likely withhold some information. Are we heading for another rorschach-style cheat sheet being developed?
Education

Goodbye Textbooks, Hello iPad 396

Posted by samzenpus from the out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new dept.
PolygamousRanchKid writes "Students and teachers in grade school through higher education are using the iPad to augment their lessons or to replace textbooks. Jennifer Kohn's third grade class at Millstone Elementary School in Millstone, New Jersey, mastered the iPad with minimal training. For the most part, the students didn't need to be taught how to use their apps, Kohn says. College students are also turning to the iPad to do what they do instinctively well: saving themselves money. Marianne Petit, a New York University staff member, recently began taking credits in pursuit of another certification, and uses her iPad in place of textbooks. 'The price of the iPad pays for itself after a single semester,' Petit said. 'iPad books cost so much less it's a legal alternative for students who are using BitTorent [to pirate books].' Like the PC before it, Kohn noted that the iPad isn't a panacea for educators: It has its appropriate time and place. 'I don't use them with every lesson or even day. It's not always appropriate to lesson or objective of what I'm trying to teach,' Kohn noted."

Submission + - Software to Rate How Drastically Photos Are Retouc (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by OnionFighter
OnionFighter writes: From the Article:
"Dr. Farid and Eric Kee, a Ph.D. student in computer science at Dartmouth, are proposing a software tool for measuring how much fashion and beauty photos have been altered, a 1-to-5 scale that distinguishes the infinitesimal from the fantastic. Their research is being published this week in a scholarly journal, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

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