Posts by ML1
Posts by ML1 |
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1)
Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Kepler Telescope
(Message 1371353)
Posted 1 day ago by  ML1
"Nature" says it can't do much with 2 out of 4 gyroscopes not working. I wonder if the gyroscopes were not of the same quality of the gyroscopes of the Gravity Probe 2, probably much costlier because they were cryogenic. Very different gyroscopes between those two spacecraft. The gyroscopes on Kepler are 'control moment gyroscopes' that are spun up, spun down, and deliberately forcibly twisted around to 'push' the spacecraft in the opposite direction (by Newton's law of reaction) to deliberately orient the spacecraft. For Kepler, that is to keep a very steady orientation despite whatever buffet there might be from the solar wind and drift from radiation pressure. The gyroscopes on Gravity Probe 2 are smaller and are designed to run in complete isolation to all outside influences. The Gravity Probe 2 spacecraft was a very clever design to not disturb the gyroscopes to allow any spacetime perturbations to be detected. As it turned out, there was horrendous complexity introduced into the measured results due to the small uneven forces from unwanted electrostatic charging! Gravity Probe 2 used the exhaust from the cryogenic helium boil-off as reaction thrusters to "fly" the space craft around the gyroscopes all without the gyroscopes coming into contact with any of the protective housing surfaces. The multiple 'control moment gyroscopes' on the ISS are the size of big washing machines! Keep searchin', Martin |
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2)
Message boards :
Politics :
Japan Whale Slaughter 2012 - 2013
(Message 1371089)
Posted 2 days ago by ML1
In preparation for the worst from Japanese whalers: Sea Shepherd launches Operation Relentless, its 10th Antarctic whale defense campaign [Following] Sea Shepherd's most successful campaign to date, Operation Zero Tolerance that saved 932 whales, Sea Shepherd launches Operation Relentless. Like last season’s campaign, Operation Relentless will be managed and led by Sea Shepherd Australia... ... "Australia is now the focus of the biggest whale saving operation on Earth and funding depends on the generosity of whale loving Australians. These whales are Australia's responsibility. Sea Shepherd is acting where Governments have failed to intervene in the illegal slaughter of these magnificent creatures,” said Dr Bob Brown, Sea Shepherd board member. "Japan stated that the attempt to kill whales in the Antarctic whale sanctuary was abandoned due to 'relentless interference' by Sea Shepherd,” said Jeff Hansen, Sea Shepherd Australian Director. “Sea Shepherd likes that kind of relentless accusation, we like being relentless in the pursuit of finally bringing peace to the whales of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary... How corrupt are the Japanese whalers to continue? Only on our only one planet, Martin |
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3)
Message boards :
Politics :
DEAD. Murder? usa internet LAW REFORM REQUIRED!
(Message 1371087)
Posted 2 days ago by ML1
More bodies to be sacrificed? Press exposure of Federal data security hole leads to legal threats An investigation into a security slip that left the identity information for over 170,000 users of a US federal government program publicly available online has led to accusations of hacking and legal threats. ... ... two of the commercial companies in the scheme, TerraCom and affiliate YourTel America, had cached application forms for Lifeline on unsecured web servers – forms containing names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and details of other government programs potential users were registered for. "Every single piece of information that we either viewed, or used to view records, was all 100 per cent publicly accessible," reporter Isaac Wolf told The Register. "It was all freely posted online and was not password protected." ... Before publishing the story, Scripps got in contact with the companies involved and asked for an interview. While the security hole was quickly fixed and users' data password-protected, the investigative team received not an interview but a legal letter threatening prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). ... ... The controversial CFAA legislation – introduced in 1986, before the World Wide Web even existed – was the legislation used to prosecute internet activist Aaron Swartz. It's currently under review in Congress, although politicians are looking to extend its reach, rather than reforming the law. Under a strict interpretation of the CFAA, lying about your age on a dating site could be criminal as well as stupid, and a clever lawyer might argue that a script like Wget constitutes an attempt to hack a site. If so, then jail time and fines can be levied. ... SO... 170000 years in jail for that one then?! Or death, whichever comes first? Only in the USA? Martin |
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4)
Message boards :
Politics :
Windows8: The Beginning of The End? Or... Win9 v soon!?
(Message 1371083)
Posted 2 days ago by ML1
Technology (or should that be Marketing?) moves on, people don't? More than half of Windows 8 users just treat it like Windows 7 For all Microsoft's hype about The Interface Formerly Known As Metro (TIFKAM), more than half of all Windows 8 users ignore the new Start Screen and treat the OS as if it were Windows 7... IT is what we make it... Martin |
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5)
Message boards :
Science (non-SETI) :
Space Drive based on Selective Inhibition of Higgs Field
(Message 1370759)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_time Kinda spoils the "two short planks" phrase... :-P (Sorry, couldn't resist! :-) ) Keep searchin', Martin |
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6)
Message boards :
Science (non-SETI) :
Space Drive based on Selective Inhibition of Higgs Field
(Message 1370758)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
M-Theory proposes 11 dimensions. ... Except... There is one small detail you've missed... Those other dimensions, if they exist in any tangible way, exist at such small length and time scales as to not normally be in any way accessible from our comparatively vastly huge length and timescales. So... Great fun for subatomic particles. However, you'd not have anything recognizable as human left! Keep searchin', Martin |
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7)
Message boards :
Politics :
I have been slimed..
(Message 1370755)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
A prelude to Soylent grey? EU boffins in plan for 'more nutritious' horsemeat ice cream 'Disused' animal products ideal... ... a brilliant method of creating "enriched" ice-cream, fortified with "disused" animal products which are normally thrown away by the meat industry as being unfit for human consumption. A press release issued by an EU-funded "research media centre" breaks the news of the stunning developments achieved by Brussels' "Prospare" and "Rosano" projects. We are told... We are what we eat... All on our only one planet, Martin |
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8)
Message boards :
Politics :
Can we really trust IT?
(Message 1370753)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
Yet another example of you think you've bought something only to find that "You've been DRM-ed": If you've bought DRM'd film files from Acetrax, here's the bad news We hope you have plenty of spare time, you'll need it Sky will next month shut down Acetrax, a website that streams movies and offers downloads of DRM-encrypted films to paying punters. The closure has highlighted yet again one of the many flaws inherent in Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. In this case, users must go through the hassle of downloading all of their purchased video again... ... 21 June. After that, owners of Windows PCs can download their films. Mac users can forget it, as can anyone hoping to re-download HD films. Even on Windows, it’s standard definition only from that point. Movies that users have previously downloaded will cease to play from that date, so re-downloading films is mandatory if you want to continue to be able to watch them. Re-downloaded films will be tied solely to the machine on which they’re first played. Because they use Microsoft’s Windows Media Player DRM, the films can’t be transferred to any platform that doesn’t support the copy-protection technology. “You may only retain a copy of the content on the personal computer on which you make the original download. Resetting the factory settings on your PC will also result in removal... Defective by design?... IT is what we allow it to be... (Check out the link, it's your IT.) Martin |
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9)
Message boards :
Politics :
Climate Change, 'Greenhouse' effects: Solutions
(Message 1370713)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
Here's an interesting symbiotic twist: Rainforest plays critical role in hydropower generation Deforestation in the Amazon region could significantly reduce the amount of electricity produced from hydropower, says a new study. Scientists say the rainforest is critical in generating the streams and rivers that ultimately turn turbines. If trees continue to be felled, the energy produced by one of the world's biggest dams could be cut by a third. ... All on our only one planet, Martin |
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10)
Message boards :
Number crunching :
Best Linux for Windows users?
(Message 1370710)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
I am running VirtualBox on my Linux system and one of my Virtual Machines is Solaris 11.1 running a BOINC client and a SETI@home app by Dotsch. The BOINC client is a line command edition, no GUI. I think Solaris is vastly superior to Linux, but since it used to cost a lot of money, developers preferred Linux and so there are very few BOINC projects using it. There is an "OpenSolaris" that was formed to keep Solaris alive. For the purists and 'geeks', Plan9 is the only way to go! ;-) All good fun freedom! Happy freedom fast crunchin', Martin |
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11)
Message boards :
Politics :
DEAD. Murder? usa internet LAW REFORM REQUIRED!
(Message 1370592)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
Skype TOS "Fair" and "reasonable"? Or open abuse? Note how such conditions are very likely illegal/untenable for voice calls made over old fashioned wires... Why should the internet be any different? Only in the USA? Martin |
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12)
Message boards :
Politics :
Windows8: The Beginning of The End? Or... Win9 v soon!?
(Message 1370591)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
I'm not sure how serious this is, but rather apt, quite a giggle, and scarily true :-( Discontinue Internet Explorer To those that just use the internet: Those that have to put the internet together typically have to do whatever website design for the main group of web browsers. Then, as a very expensive second step, lots of special code must be added to work around the various funkiness for each individual Internet Explorer browser version... All merely my own personal observations as ever... IT is what we make it... Martin |
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13)
Message boards :
Number crunching :
Best Linux for Windows users?
(Message 1370571)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
Unless you are very familiar with PCs and the quirks of Windows, I'd caution against 'dual booting'. So far, I've had one experience with multi-boot on a UEFI system and... Although everything works fine, getting everything to work fine was a surprise for the extra little twiddles needed and the very specific partitioning needed. That said, many Linux distros can be tried by running 'live' from a CD/DVD or memory stick. Performance is abysmal, but hey that's to be expected for running off such slow media rather than from a HDD! Some good first look ones to try are: Kubuntu (but note the Amazon tie-in) Mint Mageia and if you really still want the "Windows look", then there is Zorin. As any good IT person will always tell you: Back up all your data FIRST. And for feeling your way around for the first time, try the helpful forums that come with each of those Linux distro versions. There will be all the familiar features there on the desktop and menus, only that some of the names will be humorously or punningly different (often for the sake of the threat of legalities from the proprietary world). And really, there is no anti-virus and sometimes no firewall (none needed for normal use). You get a monthly selection of distros to try on DVD from the Linux Format Magazine. You should be able to find one in your newsagents (newspaper shop). Good luck, Martin |
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14)
Message boards :
Science (non-SETI) :
Mars Curiosity Rover - Mission Progress
(Message 1370567)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
Is that my imagination or does there look to be damp patches in the dust and tailings that looks like fluid has flowed from upper right towards bottom left... The raised dark streaks/finger-like areas look very typical of when you add a few drops of water onto a dusty-sandy surface... The darkened edges to the tailings look like the tailings were/are damp. Heat from the grinding action of the drill causing water-ice to melt? Any more pictures to check out?! Keep searchin', Martin |
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15)
Message boards :
Politics :
DEAD. Murder? usa internet LAW REFORM REQUIRED!
(Message 1370563)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
So by the USA rules, why does this: Skype with care – Microsoft is reading everything you write ... The server indicated a potential replay attack. It turned out that an IP address which traced back to Microsoft had accessed the HTTPS URLs previously transmitted over Skype. Heise Security then reproduced the events by sending two test HTTPS URLs, one containing login information and one pointing to a private cloud-based file-sharing service. A few hours after their Skype messages, they observed the following... ... meant that Skype would have to comply with US laws on eavesdropping... not mean a similar death to those corporate perpetrators?... Only in the USA? Martin |
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16)
Message boards :
Politics :
I have been slimed..
(Message 1370562)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
This is a good reminder for how important is the quality of our food. And for how vulnerable we are for how that food is processed or adulterated: Iodine deficiency 'may lower UK children's IQ' ... It had been thought that the UK had dealt with its iodine problem decades ago by "lucky accident". Changes to dairy farming meant cows' milk contained more iodine and at the same time the government was encouraging people to drink more milk. Other countries - including the US, Denmark and the Netherlands - added iodine to salt so that bread and processed foods became a major source of iodine. However... We are what we eat... All on our only one planet, Martin |
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17)
Message boards :
Politics :
Can we really trust IT?
(Message 1370560)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
Is Microsoft going too far with this little scam?... Skype's ominous link checking Our discovery that URLs sent through Skype are then visited by Microsoft has caused quite a stir. A little more information has now emerged and leads to even more questions. Early this week, The H reported on how heise Security had discovered that links sent in private Skype chat sessions were being visited by a Microsoft system shortly afterwards... IT is what we make it... Martin |
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18)
Message boards :
Politics :
Can we really trust IT?
(Message 1370559)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
To follow on from those: - That's a scary one... It's gobsmacking amazing how some utility workers are so completely aloof and uncaring about locking or protecting equipment that hundreds or thousands of customers depend upon... Someone is bound to have a 'little fun' to hit the headlines... IT is what we make it... Martin |
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19)
Message boards :
Number crunching :
Heptabad Cruncher part 2
(Message 1370423)
Posted 4 days ago by ML1
I'm not sure how 108G will use both antennas, ones an aux and the other is the main as I said earlier... Depending upon the device, it may well use each aerial for one 'channel', so for 54Mbit/s you use one aerial, and both aerials get used to give 54 + 54 Mbit/s. To minimize interference between them and so gain the strongest signals, they should be 90 degrees to each other. And to keep your cats off them, add a large plastic (not metal!) container to cover over and protect the aerials? Happy fast crunchin', Martin |
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20)
Message boards :
Number crunching :
Heptabad Cruncher part 2
(Message 1370421)
Posted 4 days ago by ML1
That is a very true bit of knowledge. I'm impressed when anyone knows that. Thanks for that. However, such detail is hopeless for pub quizzes! And I'm dismayed by how few people realize their mobile phones are radio transceivers... Radio waves and propagation, what's that?!... It's all Magic!?... Keep searchin', Martin |
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