Comment What, they can be friends offline! (Score 1) 415
Submission + - .NET Gadgeteer - Microsoft's Arduino killer? (i-programmer.info)
Is this an Arduino killer?
Submission + - IMF Chief Calls on US to Raise Borrowing Limit (go.com)
Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the lending institution, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that it would cause interest rates to rise and stock markets to fall. That would threaten an important IMF goal, which is preserving stability in the world economy, she said.
The U.S. borrowing limit is $14.3 trillion. Obama administration officials say the U.S. would begin to default without an agreement by Aug. 2.
Lagarde, who took over as managing director July 5, also addressed the fallout stemming from the sexual assault charges filed against her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn."
Comment Oh, it was Voluntary! (Score 2) 209
Submission + - Watch IBM's Watson on Jeopardy - tonight! (jeopardy.com)
Check IBMWatson.com for more details from IBM. This could be it — the computer that can finally talk and answer ambiguous questions. Who needs another search engine when IBM markets Watson?
Capcom 'Saddened' By Game Plagiarism Controversy 163
Embedded Linux 1-Second Cold Boot To QT 141
High Fructose Corn Syrup To Get a Makeover 646
Comment Easy excuse for parents with misbehaving kids? (Score 2, Insightful) 711
Like everyone else is saying I also would have put on drugs. All my elementary report cards said, "Johnny talks to much in class!" With enough positive and negative reinforcement -- I learned to control my behavior.
I was an Honor Graduate of the Air Force Academy and a jet instructor pilot -- and a programmer in my later years! I hate to think what would have happened if I'd been drugged.
Why NASA's New Video Game Misses the Point 205
Comment My degree in "Hotel Front Desk Admin" - no good!? (Score 1) 1138
Seriously - nothing wrong with being a receptionist or a lot of other jobs. But college catalogs seem to be more like vocational training schools -- just a lot more expensive!
Comment Re:What the X-37 is REALLY doing in orbit... (Score 1) 234
Technically, yes it is possible. However, it would require a massive amount of delta-v to rendezvous with a significant number of enemy sats. And, that doesn't provide any reason to make something that can return to earth. You could launch a vehicle capable of your proposed mission on a normal rocket. Also, the enemy would notice that you launched something that is visiting all of their sats. At least, they would know you were doing close-pass espionage runs. They will be monitoring the space near their sats to see if anything is on an intersecting orbit that they need to maneuver away from in order to avoid a collision.
You don't have to visit all of them in one mission and given the complexity -- why not reuse the vehicle (it would be cheaper). Regarding ground radar, it is not as easy as you think to keep a continual monitor and we probably have the best system there is. The X-37B also has a stealthy shape. The dual rudders is pure F-22. They said it was to fit into the nose of the Atlas for launch -- but it may also reduce radar signature.
Comment What the X-37 is REALLY doing in orbit... (Score 3, Interesting) 234
This is just conjecture. On a 'big' war day we are going to want to disable enemy satellites. We have ground based interceptors -- but there can be delays in launch windows, plus the 'bad' guys are going to be on guard and can take some evasive actions.
How about our little X-37 with a cargo bay and manipulator arm goes and pays those 'nasty' satellites a visit right now and attaches a few pounds of high explosive with a radio detonator. When the war starts you push a button and they all disappear!
Just in case they send a maintenance flight up, our little bomblets can also be equipped with a radio controlled 'spring' that detaches them from the satellite. No one is the wiser.
Possible?