JoeSchmuckatelli

I think a lot of people missed the Romanian one; these things are new (ish) tech; certainly 'new' in deployment and given the emphasis on cheap/off the shelf tech they're bound to 'wander' a bit. Makes these situations dangerous. Mistakes happen, and yet if an uncontrolled warcraft ends up in another country and kills people, bad things can happen.

Sadly to the outside world, the last 20 years looks like NuSoviet although given the ineffectiveness of a council, NuTsardom might be more apt. The language used is even Catherine-ian.

Showing off a little USMC bias, I've often wondered which was the better aircraft: The Corsair or the Mustang. Despite having looked this up previously, this is the first I've run across an 'official assessment'. Enjoy: Mustang vs. Corsair – Inside the U.S. Navy’s 1944 Match-Up Between the Two Fighters - MilitaryHistoryNow.com

Is 'heavenly' in the Chinese mythical sense a place like Valhalla or synonymous with 'the heavens' (aka "place where the stars are that's not Earth ") How should a Westerner read 'heavenly' to get the gist of the actual meaning despite the literal word translation?

Mea Culpa: I was one of those who inadvertently wandered away from the theoretical.

There was a whole lot of PopSci speculation way back when... Mostly fear mongering speculation. The subsurface nuclear explosion does have a measurable seismic signature, but to my knowledge no detonation has triggered any secondary earthquake along any fault. Like volcanoes - faults aren't just waiting for us to jolt them for all hell to break loose. They are expressions of massive processes that need to have the 'just right' combination of factors to do something exciting. Think about this - we currently cannot predict either earthquakes or eruptions (outside of a few hours or days for some volcanoes). If you had the tech to perfectly predict where an earthquake was likely - given a buildup of pressure in a specific part of a strike slip fault or something - you could (maybe) target it to get it to go off when you want it to, as opposed to sometime randomly...but would that knowledge coincide with the political situation for which you want to launch the nukes? Also - what are you getting for that? A 3.2? A 6.4? No guarantee that you will get an 8... And even if you could the fact that humans are engaged in a global nuclear war would still be the headline

That's not how volcanoes work - the lava isn't kept down because it's corked... It's corked (or rather, crusted over) because the lava/magma is quiescent or has retreated. When the subterranean circumstances are just right - the volcano is going to blow (or ooze) regardless of what is going on at the surface; like water, it will find a way. So if you could pop the top of a volcano, the best you can hope for is an exposed lava lake... Not something exciting. That is reserved to the earth itself.

I read his writing differently: he's clearly aware of supervolcanoes and mass extinction events (having referenced the Deccan Traps and Siberian Traps in other discussions. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201110133152.htm#:~:text=The largest mass extinction occurred,marine animals such as mollusks. There is a virtually zero chance of a nuclear event triggering volcanic eruptions, FYI, and you cannot turn any mountain into a volcano with nukes. ... Let's try to dispel the nuclear winter thing. First off, when you decide to use a weapon - you want to get the maximum effect desired from it. There is a reason for the analog to KT of TNT - because functionally it's just a bomb, like any other bomb, and we use bombs to destroy or damage targets. Bombs do this by exploding and the shockwaves through the earth or the air transmit the force to the target. I'm going to skip a whole lot of explanation, but basically there are three 'altitudes' you kick off the bomb for specific effects. Generally, most will be detonated well above the surface (fireball gets close to the surface or just kisses it) in order to damage or destroy the widest possible area around the target. This leaves virtually no, or a very small crater, but maximizes damage to buildings and other surface installations. Not a whole lot of material gets pulled into the atmosphere for the vast majority of the bombs thrown. At certain places, planners decide to detonate the bomb at either subsurface / surface primarily to target subterranean facilities or hardened targets. This will have a fairly large crater, but the affected area will be very localized around the impact zone. These are the ones that have the highest probability of displacing material into the atmosphere. Most of it will be heavy and will drop locally - but some will reach the stratosphere and spread. Again - the surface /subsurface detonated bomb is specifically targeted, thus not general or common. Finally a few will be detonated high in the air for the EMP effect - which leaves no crater at all, and displaces no material into the atmosphere. These are done high enough that users don't need a whole lot of them to saturate the enemy country. So most bombs are not going to be creating deep craters or dragging tons of material into the stratosphere. Even the ones that do... Won't bring that much up, compared to what volcanoes do. You can Google Map search for the Nevada test site and see scores of craters left from near surface detonations and try to estimate how much material they displaced - and then compare that number to the five cubic kilometers of material lofted by Pinatubo. https://www.google.com/amp/s/eos.org/articles/pinatubo-25-years-later-eight-ways-the-eruption-broke-ground Certainly Pinatubo caused some cooling... But it didn't cause a year without summer.

They are not targeted because they are dispersed. It is a waste of assets in a world of uncertainty and redundancy. The only thing a good Cold Warrior would do is to make sure that an air burst EMP covered the region. A. Singular. No 'big wind' events

Ummm... Most transmission lines and windmills are 'in the country' / out in the boonies. They're not jam-packed around the targets (city centers, military installations, or ports, rail yards, hydroelectric or other point sources of power generation / economic activity). Recall that anything outside of the blast zone remains standing and even some of the stuff in the overpressure zones remains standing - especially if cylindrical. So the windmills are fine. The smart thing to do is to 'harden' them against EMP so that afterwards people can rebuild easier.

Wasn't that built before Google Maps was a thing? I suspect it still uses dials. (grin)

I'd really like to believe that; but I suspect that both sides have legacy 'priority targets' for the main systems... which include 'making sure the other side doesn't win/survive'. Perhaps a lot of the 'overflow' / redundancy warheads were eliminated... but we are still, even after decommissioning and force reduction in a 'let's just don't' scenario for everyone involved.

Question: the Chinese Female Astronaut. Is she being treated in the media as 'just an astronaut' or some kind of special case 'look what Women can do' thing?

@sevenperforce I really don't want to do this... because it depresses me. First off; all the plans were developed in the Cold War. The legacy of all of that is that everything since is built off of it. FYI: Soviets targeted ship builders along the Ohio River because they contributed to WWII warship (LST) production and have 'maritime' ports (economic targets). LA is a target. New York is a target. So is Paducah, Kentucky. And the Greenebrier in WV. Detroit, because Automotive (and tank) production. Etc. Etc. Way back when Super Power competition was an existential threat, the US and USSR took that shtuff seriously. So they (both) have detailed targets of military, economic and population centers that are all targets. Do you really think that (inherently lazy) people since then completely redrew the target maps after the USSR collapsed? - - or did they rely upon the detailed work of their predecessors? People might add new 'priority targets' based off of new intel, but most of the 'old targets' are not off the list. Because for one reason or another - they are still valid targets. (US/Western bias is the only reason to not target population centers, btw. Cynical, yes. Realistic? Yes. Population centers are targets via the old WWII and Cold War mindset - not current sensibilities) Okay - Israel. Lives solely on the promise that it is supported by the West. On its own, it faces an existential threat for the stupidest reason possible: religion. Human history is replete with people doing stupid things in the name of religion, so I don't need to belabor that point. But absent America or other external allies, Israel is on its own. Maybe? they act with kindness and discretion and hold their nukes in reserve to keep out their enemies... and maybe they don't. Pakistan and India. Don't necessarily have to start trading blows because everyone else is... But the problem is - once we start launching nukes, there's nothing really to stop it. They'd have to have a flurry of assurances back and forth with both sides terrified and trusting for them to not launch... but... Let's say something stupid happens. RU decides they are at existential risk and makes a first strike, the US response is catastrophic for them; so they launch everything. They include China. China launches theirs too - and because the ColdWar targets are still in effect - they add their own to... what? Russia, of course. Japan? Maybe. India? Sure, why not (for the same reason RU nukes China). The US? Absolutely. If China launches on India, and India retaliates; does Pakistan know the launch is NOT aimed at them? ... I just don't see the rational happening once we kick over this wasp nest; we are conditioned to 'once it goes you have 1/2 hour to kiss your A goodby' mentality. The only 'upside' is if the US has WAY better nuclear defense than we think or has been published. If that is the case, the US President might (MIGHT) have the luxury of making rational, proportionate decisions. Again - the only way to win 'is to not play the game'.

The Russia / China relationship is... fraught. I doubt RU, knowing a nuclear exchange with US/NATO will result in catastrophe leaves an untouched China at its southern border. Similarly, the US isn't likely to act in the most restrained manner if RU is launching its arsenal at the US & NATO... so again, 'out of an abundance of caution' the US might act aggressively defensive and preemptively launch - which China would respond to. The problem we have is - once they all start going up; no one knows where they are going to land in enough time to make rational decisions. So... If they go - we all go. Israel? Without restraint and knowing they'll have no powerful friends after? What do they do? Pakistan and India? Maybe they can set aside generational animosity... maybe they cannot. (How about we all just Don't)

In light of the preceding, I'll add this. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/prepping-in-style-kentucky-mansion-huge-fallout-shelter/amp/ What would have been /should have been a fun 'news of the weird' sadly has a tragic ending thanks to a nut job ... Also, because it's timely - I'll repost this; https://www.readyventuracounty.org/stay-informed/nuclear-blast/ (Fairly recent good advice in case bad things happen)

U svakom selu izgradi kucu! So - totally non sequitur and off topic... I spent a fantastic week in Croatia back in '94. Went there as a backpacker hoping to find a way to do humanitarian aid work, and along the way met a local guy who told me not to stay in Zagreb because all the hotel prices were jacked up because of Western press and diplomats. He managed to talk a hotelier down to a reasonable price, but it didn't matter because they had no rooms available anyway. So he took me to his aunt's place in Kozice. Fell in love with Croatian beer and local food. And the coffee! I did get to spend a day poking around in Zagreb, seeing some beautiful churches and other stuff as a tourist... but it was a mixed-reality time. Really, really want to go back sometime and see it now.

James Webb Space Telescope (nasa.gov) For those of us hoping, in effect, for a 'Hubble 2.0' (lots of pretty pictures along with cool science) it seems Webb's main goal is looking at the early universe & trying to find first generation stars:

Honestly, I've never tried the sound on my monitor. I feel like monitor speakers are a complete afterthought put on there to attract non-gamers so they can hear what's going on in a zoom call or a YouTube video. Lolz! Give it a month; it will feel perfect.

Oh - and sad news; if your power fluctuations and low power PSU did do a number on your system; it's devilishly hard to figure out what components still work if something is indeed fried. However; if you plug in a decent PSU and everything works - thank whatever lucky stars it was that easy! (I effectively and unintentionally got a new computer b/c I'd neglected the PSU for too many generations)

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Your PSU is underpowered (opinion). I'm one of those folks who value a bit of overhead in power supply after having a weak PSU fry my Mobo. Except fry is the wrong word - the thing would still post but performance became wonky. Still, 250 watts is serious weaksauce for any gaming or graphics intensive rig. https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwibqYKisr72AhViDK0GHTHqBn4YABAIGgJwdg&ae=2&sig=AOD64_2kZEpjKYiwLH7GpjLzLz4wd_zDkg&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwic-Pmhsr72AhXyOn0KHSiRD9IQwg96BAgBEC0&adurl= $82 usd for 750 watts Also - not an expert, but I feel like higher power PSU's handle fluctuations better (?). I have a UPS - but it's weird. Sometimes when the power goes out, it just keeps humming, and others... It goes out with the power. Probably user error - but they're not as plugnplay as most computer stuff... So RTFM (which I threw away... So don't be like me!)

Are you talking about the over-the-ears strapping? Because people have been wrapping their faces to keep out dust/sun/ etc. for... ever?

Interesting thought: related to current events - any chance ESA decides to license some rockets from SX to avoid reliance on RU engines?