mindlar - Slashdot User

Simulation of the Mars Science Laboratory Sky Crane 195

Posted by kdawson on Monday October 20, 2008 @10:24PM from the rocket-science dept.

An anonymous reader points us to Gizmodo for a fascinating video of NASA's Sky Crane. "When I read that the UFO-looking Mars Science Laboratory's aeroshell would use a floating crane — called Sky Crane by NASA — to softly land the rover on Mars, I couldn't believe it. Now, watching this hyper-realistic NASA simulation, I still can't believe how the whole thing works. I don't know about you, but the whole operation mesmerizes me to no end."

Comment Re:What's that movie? (Score 1) 239

by mindlar on Thursday May 08, 2008 @12:14PM (#23338848) Attached to: NASA Offers $5000 a Month For You to Lie in Bed

NASA has been doing this program for at least a few years now. When I was working at JPL, some of the guys from Ames were helping out a group at JSC with the scheduling problems of what to do with the current set of participants. AFAIRC the participants were doing exercise, tests, etc. so it wasn't just lying in bed all day long. I believe that they had computers/books that they could use to kill the time between activities.

Man Hides Castle Behind Hay Bales

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday January 29, 2008 @03:26PM

A UK farmer built an entire mock castle and kept it hidden behind bales of hay for 4 years to avoid building regulations. The builder wants to take advantage of a provision of planning law that allows buildings without planning permission to be declared legal if no objections have been made after four years. The county council is not happy and is moving their mock seige weaponry towards the farm.

Introversion On Staying An Independent Games Studio 36

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday January 29, 2008 @01:26PM from the staying-sane-under-pressure dept.

Dr. Eggman writes "bit-tech.net has up an interview with Introversion Games, creators of Uplink, Darwinia, and Defcon, on the hard work it takes to make games independently. They discuss the challenges and rewards, ranging from developing new technologies for their upcoming game, Subversion, to defining their own style in Darwinia — and nearly bankrupting themselves in the process. 'When we first set out to write video games we knew the damage that publishers could do both to games themselves, and the people writing them, and we were not willing to let that happen to us. In order to ensure our creative freedom, we had to be independent from publishers and license holders, and that independence has become a guiding mantra for us.'"

Feed Schneier: MySpace and U.S. Attorney Generals Agree to Fight Sexual Predators (schneier.com)

From feed by bsfeed on Thursday January 17, 2008 @03:52PM

MySpace has has reached an agreement with the attorneys general of 49 states -- Texas sat out -- to protect children from sexual predators on the site. The attorneys general are all congratulating themselves, as is MySpace -- and there's...

Feed Wired: Chem Lab: Scientists Are Learning How Weed Causes Paranoia (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed on Thursday January 17, 2008 @03:33PM

Scientists figure out why too much marijuana sometimes causes feelings of paranoia. It involves the geography of the brain.

Feed Tom's Hardware: Google.org Focuses On Climate Change, Poverty And Emerging Threats (pheedo.com)

From feed by thfeed on Thursday January 17, 2008 @03:32PM

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has announced its first five major initiatives.

Submission + - Green Light for Human/Animal Hybrids

Submitted by Henneshoe on Thursday January 17, 2008 @03:11PM

Henneshoe writes: BBC News is reporting 2 research facilities have been given the green light to create part human, part animal embryos. According the the report, "Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells. The embryos would then be destroyed within 14 days." The decision to allow the embryos was made after research showed that people in large are OK with the idea.

Submission + - Bizarre self-destructing palm tree found

Submitted by

Smivs

on Thursday January 17, 2008 @02:01PM

Smivs writes: "A giant self-destructing palm tree has been discovered in Madagascar, that is so big it can be seen on Google Earth. The palm is 20m (60ft) high with leaves 5m (16ft) long, the tallest tree of its type in the country, but for most of its life — around 100 years — it appears fairly unremarkable apart from its size. However, when it flowers, it puts so much energy into an impressive flower-spike, that it eventually collapses and dies. Dr John Dransfield, who announced the tree in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, is baffled as to how the it came to be in the country. It bears a resemblance to a species of palm found in regions of Asia; 6,000km away.It is thought that the palm has gone through a remarkable evolution since Madagascar split with India some 80m years ago."

Submission + - Teleportation: Fact and Fiction (computerworld.com)

Submitted by

jcatcw

on Thursday January 17, 2008 @01:14PM

jcatcw writes: "Last night actor Hayden Christensen, of Star Wars fame, and director Doug Liman discussed teleportation with MIT professors to compare the reality to the special effects version in the upcoming movie, Jumper. Edward Farhi, director of the Center for Theoretical Physics at MIT, said, "It's a little less exotic than what you see in the movie. Teleportation has been done, moving a single proton over two miles. [But] teleporting a person? That is pretty far down the line. The quantum state of a living creature is pretty formidable. That is just not in the foreseeable future.""

Submission + - The impaticence of the Google Generation 1

Submitted by profBill on Thursday January 17, 2008 @12:49PM

profBill writes: As a fifty something professor who teaches introductory computer science, I am very aware that the 20 somethings in my class are much more at ease with computers than any other generation. However, does that mean they are more adept at using those computers? Apparently not, according to the researchers at University College of London (http://www.bl.uk/news/2008/pressrelease20080116.html). Their research indicates that while more adept at conducting searches, they also show "impatience in search and navigation, and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs". Moreover, this behavior "(is) now becoming the norm for all age-groups, from younger pupils and undergraduates through to professors".

The panel makes two conclusions: That libraries (and I wonder what a library will be come the future anyway) will have to adapt, and that the information processing skills of todays young people are lacking.

The question is, why are those skills lacking and, if they are, what can be done about it?

Submission + - Corkscrew cups could keep space drinks flowing

Submitted by holy_calamity on Thursday January 17, 2008 @12:46PM

holy_calamity writes: A Canadian chemical engineer has a novel solution to containing liquids in space. He has been experimenting with corkscrews of ribbon-like material that keep liquids suspended in their centre in microgravity thanks to surface tension. The helical containers allow the fluid to be sucked out of the coil in one go — unlike more conventional shapes like coffee cups where interaction between a liquid's internal pressure and the container makes it break into annoying globules you have to chase with a straw.

Slashdot Top Deals