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Submission + - Vermont Microbrewery vs. Monster Energy

nrozema writes: On September 14, just six days before his birthday, Matt Nadeau, owner of Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville, [VT] received an unusual email. Attached to it was a PDF full of legalese in which an attorney for the Hansen Beverage Company — maker of Monster brand energy drinks — demanded that the Vermont brewery “cease and desist” its use of the name “Vermonster” for a high-test barley wine.

Comment Re:the little ice age (Score 1) 232

It would be like claiming that the thermostat in your house is slowly increasing the temperature in your room so therefore there's no harm in raising the thermostat further.

But I don't see any harm in that. I may actually like a 1 degree annual average increase. Possibly improve my comfort, and possibly save me some money if spaced correctly (when considering the air conditioning). Thanks for the idea.

Comment Re:It will never happen (Score 1) 567

And finally because there's no station anywhere near most people homes (I have to walk an hour to get to my station), you have to figure out how to get the people to the train, which is even more overhead to add to the trains' cost.

You conveniently left out the part of the additional overheard required to get all those cars to that 12 lane highway you hold near and dear to your heart. I have to drive 30 minutes to get to the highway. Just like there is no rail station near most peoples homes, there is also no highway near most peoples homes. Just like you have to "figure out how to get the people to the train" you have to figure out how to get people to the highway.

people could kill themselves tripping over the rails when trying to board the train.

What train stations do you frequent that requires people to cross the rails? Every station I've ever been to has bridges over/tunnels under the rails. And to increase capacity, more cars on the trains, and have them come more frequently normally does the trick. Then you add another rail where its needed just like you do for the highways.

Google

Submission + - Google expunges Pirate Bay from search results (pcpro.co.uk) 7

Barence writes: Google has removed links to notorious file-sharing site The Pirate Bay in its search results. The move is a reaction to a takedown notice issued under the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), although it's unclear who filed the complaint. The ban isn't particularly effective: The top result is now The Pirate Bay's Wikipedia entry, which provides a prominent link to the site's homepage. It's also possible to search The Pirate Bay itself using Google, by typing "site:http://thepiratebay.org" into the search bar.

Comment Re:I for one... (Score 1) 102

Actually U-234 decays to Th-230, from Th-230 to Ra-226, then Ra-226 to Rn-222. And the half lives of Th-230 and Ra-226 are in the thousands of years, where Rn-222 is like 4 days. The Rn-222 produced from the decay chain of Uranium-234 should thus deplete much faster than the chain creates more.

Comment Re:Talk is cheap (Score 1) 206

My post was in response to the hostility of the two environments. Saying the hostility is on par, means the cost to implement should in theory be on par. To jump to the conclusion that the mass of the solutions should be on par is a strange jump.

The mass is unavoidable on a sub that has to withstand that kind of pressure. Take the pressure swing away, and the mass goes down drastically. Space vessels don't need as thick of a pressure hull because the drop isn't as great. And all submarines do is transit, have you not heard of the incidents of subs running into fishing vessels and underwater terrain they didn't know was there?. Why would they need a propeller or control surfaces if they didn't transit? And when your main purpose is transit, don't you want a better safety record than that?

I do know a way to get something that massive into space for the about same price of a sub, and surprise, it uses the same power source. The US developed nuclear powered rockets in the 60's, only problem is the wake of radiation they left behind. Thankfully those who had to make the decision saw this wasn't the best road to follow in the interest of the general public. Getting stuck on launching something as massive as a sub is a weak argument, because there is no need for it to be that massive. There is however a need for a sub to be that massive. The parallel was drawn to show that a US program was able to find a solution to building a vessel for a similarly hostile environment for less than NASA and with a better safety record.

Comment Re:Talk is cheap (Score 1) 206

Orders of magnitude more dangerous based on what?

Lets take at look at pressure. Pressure at sea level is 1 atmosphere (14.7 psi, ~100kPa, whatever units you prefer). Space is considered to be a vacuum, thus 0 atmosphere, or 100% change from sea level. When you go under water you add 1 atmosphere of pressure for every 10m or ~32/33 feet. Virgina class subs have a 34 foot hull diameter. So the pressure change just from top to bottom of the sub is 1 atmosphere different, equal to the difference seen from going from sea level to space. Virginia depth capability is listed as greater than 800 feet. Going down 800 feet at 1 atmosphere of pressure per 33 feet gives ~24 atmosphere, 2400% change from sea level, compared to 100% to go to space.

As far as naked human survivability in space vs the ocean, they're equal. Can't breathe, body can't take the extreme pressure differences. You can natural sunlight in space, light doesn't penetrate very deep in the oceans (at 330ft light is about 0.5% of that at the surface.). These things mean you need support systems to do anything useful. And then the pressure becomes a big deal.

You calling the comparison stupid was based on what now? The comparison is adequate.

Comment Re:Talk is cheap (Score 2, Interesting) 206

And the buoyancy counteracts..... the weight. I did say that if you add weight you need to add length to give enough volume to float that weight, meaning you need to add buoyancy. Anyways the point was, subs could be made a lot smaller and cheaper if they didn't have to worry about coming up, because weight (read:buoyancy) will not matter, thus all those ballast and trim tanks (and associated pumps and piping) can go, the machinery can be packed in different to cut volume.

To relate it back to NASA, it takes a lot to get payload into space. Once its up there, it doesn't cost nearly as much to move around. Point in the right direction, do a short burn and you're on your way. Similar to come back to Earth. A sub however (almost) always needs to be powered if it wants to move anywhere.

Comment Re:Talk is cheap (Score 1, Informative) 206

First off, i cost next to nothing to get payload to the bottom of the ocean, just grab a penny and drop it. The cost comes in bringing it back up

The weight of a sub is actually quite a critical parameter that is watched like a hawk. Don't forget these thing need to go up an down through great pressure swings and thermal variants for over 30 years (not to mention possible battle conditions). The design is not just "well lets bulk it up". If it adds weight, you have to add length to give enough volume to float that weight, and that costs a lot more money than you think. Lets not forget the newest ones carry all the fuel they will need for 30+ years. So yea, it may be a touch easier, but they're also carrying 30 years worth of baggage.

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