JoeSchmuckatelli

So trying it out next time! (Course, I already make mine with brown mustard... So - perhaps I'll make two!)

Speaking of which - to my wife's horror, I swapped out the vegetable oil called for in a Waffle recipe with melted lard and they were glorious! (of course I also added a bit of honey, vanilla and a pinch of brown sugar which were not listed in the ingredients) Oh - and speaking of such stuff... If anyone hasn't tried it - pick up some ghee at the farmers market! https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-ghee

Truth.

. Ummmm. As someone who has both received and spent a LOT of tax-payer money... No. (I get it - seeing rocket stuff is cool... But there is no legal or other onus for them or anyone to share videos for the entertainment value) ... (I know you know... and you know, I get it)

JWST program director nominated for a 'Sammie' From the Blog

Adding this as an edit: You're not alone. If I'm reading / interpreting correctly: let me assure you that the dire popular mythology is an incorrect prediction. If you ever want to discuss actual likely scenarios (and have missed my quibbling with @SunlitZelkova ) let me know. I'm always up for speculative fiction!

Well - it kind of depends on the metal of the spoon how workable it is. FWIW - in my misspent youth I discovered that my dad's shop contained a bunsen burner, a jewelry anvil and a clutch of hammers. I flattened and 'worked' a bunch of stuff. My parents 'silverware' worked beautifully. The metal spoon stolen from the school cafeteria broke. Copper pipes (I just recalled this!) that barely fit over a dowel can be smashed into a point and when the unsmashed end is placed back on the dowel form an arrow that can be launched into a tree with a bow made from a length of wood and a kite string. (btw - if you are in your youth... Do stuff like that!)

It would absolutely work for a makeshift arrowhead. Not something you could shoot through armor - but for hunting / killing it would work (albeit with a higher failure chance / saving roll for the target - depending on how you make it). Anything about the size of a flint arrowhead, as long as you ground a point and edge on it (which you can do with a convenient bit of sidewalk and time) will actually be quite effective with a low failure rate. Anything the size of a full soup spoon with a point? Grin. I mean we started out with sharpened sticks, then broken rocks and only later settled on steel. So, frankly if the need arose you could make several from a spoon with a hammer and chisel and some dedicated grinding

Good - because we need those points to open up the next branch of the tech tree!

Wow

Frankly until that video I really had no idea what could be behind the delay of the BE-4. I'll read some of our fellow Forumites trading theories and feel kinda like the kid at Sears moving his head back and forth trying to understand what the grown-ups are talking about... Seeing the weight comparison was telling, too. Thing is - if he's right about the fuel (soot and polymerization) and BE-4 ends up not being a reusable or efficiently reusable rocket... Is BO 'pot committed' to building /producing these? Can they bespoke a few to ULA to close out the contracts and take the lessons learned and iterate a new version that will be efficiently reusable as the New Glenn engine? ... (The part I just don't know enough about is whether the problems he identified are actually the issues, and if so, whether they can be fixed... Or whether (if correct) they'd be better served by a new design)

That made me laugh! I just pictured how little response I would get by going on the GMC forums and demanding that the '23 Yukon Denali get the nose of the AT-4, the steel bumpers of the Sierra with front and back tow hooks and a No S Tailgate with power window (read: NOT lift-gate... TAILGATE ) because that's what I want. Good analogy.

That and the chemistry section were the parts where I realized that he was talking to Neanderthals like me, without talking down to us. A lot of the other videos either assume the audience knows way more than I do or talks to my 12 year old. I'll have to check his channel for more.

I don't know enough about the issue - but I understand a heck of a lot more now! That was one of the more informative vids I've seen. Combining that with what I gleaned from the excellent vid someone showed recently about the Soviet engines I'd say that the theory may have merit. (That vid went into the problems and solutions for different sizes / numbers of combustion chambers and pumps). ... Aside from the number commercials - enjoyed the vid!

Orbits host every 2.7 days? Mercury's slackin!

Yeah - that's something I had no idea about... Never even dawned on me that they'd be significantly different

There is an interesting phenomenon happening in the Midwest that I almost think of as cynical. Companies are buying/long-term leasing farmland and covering the ground with solar panels. A lot of it is happening in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Places that - at least from the map in this article (and my experience) aren't ideal from a sunlight (average sunny days) standpoint. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/13/map-where-americas-sunniest-and-least-sunny-places-are/ The states I referred to are in 'blue(ish)' zones. The cynicism is so that they can claim 'our power comes from renewable energy'... Even though they, and much of their use is in California or scattered around the country - including places like Texas. (The issue is that while the power might be hitting the grid - its not the most efficient solar (just cheaper land) and isn't necessarily reducing their actual reliance on non renewable energy supply). These installations do not allow for agrivoltaics - even if there was a way to efficiently farm under the structures. Agrivoltaics is a cool idea - but currently better suited to a 'community farm' or 'personal veggie patch' rather than commercial farming. Until / unless dedicated machinery is developed to work with a standard of photovoltaic installation - I think it will remain a quaint idea instead of a good practice / multisector partnership program. (that is, at least in the US... Places with a lot of readily available farm labor may differ)

@SunlitZelkova @kerbiloid @DDE Guys - thanks for the answers! I had no idea and really appreciate the info

Ummmm... NASA may not be able to acknowledge receipt... But...

Can someone who knows the history maybe explain the dramatic difference between the US and Soviet flight cadence shown in the graph? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_spaceflight Between 1967 and 1995 the Soviet launch cadence dwarfed that of the US.

Yup. I'll add that altruism is actually a human survival trait. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/2012/11/human-nature-crisis/amp So... People will take care of themselves, and their family, and their communities first - they address the needs they see - but they will also take care of the other when the need arises Also (not entirely contra) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09713336221080624

ZOMG! I can't wait for the false color images... But... THE STARS! SO MANY STARS!

Oh and about this - the article I linked addresses this directly: "In subsequent research conducted before the pandemic, Motta and his colleagues found possible paths to countering vaccine hesitancy. “One way we can try to get skeptics on board with vaccinating is to just make an effort to understand why they’re skeptical, and portray the benefits of vaccinating in those terms,” Motta said. For example, Americans who felt that vaccines tainted their moral/bodily purity were given information about how viruses also attacked and invaded the body, which raised their opinions of vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines, however, were rolled out without much of that targeted messaging. Worsening the matter, then-President Donald Trump... " At our Moderators: I'd like to request a little leeway in the current discussion. I think the players can handle this - and of course I accept any decisions made if we can't... But thus far we are having a productive dialog!

@HvP good ones! Although: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/10/climate/driving-emissions-map.html "Every city has some workable strategies to lower vehicle-related greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr. Niemeier said, but the right mix depends on local conditions, including existing development patterns and infrastructure. “What works in New York City will not work in Dallas-Fort Worth,” she said. No matter the mechanism, Dr. Gately of Boston University said, “Big, long-term change needs to happen in America’s cities"

Let me cherry pick this one (as hopefully less emotionally charged). I'm betting you can come up with a dozen 'good ideas' that would help city dwellers reduce fossil fuel dependency. How many of those are practicable in areas where there are 5-15 miles between towns?