WestAir

One trick I always found to quickly discern dream from reality is to look at a clock or watch. (Digital or analog). I've noticed that the time always changes even if you only turn away for a split second. Look at your hand watch, look up, then look back down at it again. If it changes from 7am to noon, you're probably dreaming. AFAIK from the internet, this is a universal dream-state phenomenon.

Haha, you KSP goers are a tough crowd. I haven't seen that movie in years! Now let's blow this thing so we can go home.

Thanks for the link. I'll be honest I haven't read much into the controversy surrounding drones (mostly due to time constraints), but it's interesting to see how this stuff evolves.

TFR's and weapons are excellent and tested deterrents, true, but what about backlash that affects the average hobbyist? For instance: regulations restricting the sale of certain sizes of drones or drones with a certain range. Has that been a discussion now that drones are becoming more infamous in public opinion?

I'm not well versed on the range of these drones and UAV's, but I assume a good one could make it pretty far. That assumption made, I wonder how things will change once people start trying to fly them to places like the desert MOA and restricted area north of Las Vegas where Area 51 is. We've already had someone fly one over the White House. I imagine these incidences will spark some sort of regulatory backlash that can hamper or cripple hobbyist.

Get out of there Wedge, you can't do any more good back there! I'm not sure if "highly possible" is the right phraseology. Personally, I think there are probably thousands of alien planets in our Milky Way, but I also think the ones that are space fairing are just too far away to make contact within any reasonable timeframe. I think, millions of years from now, we'll get a message from a civilization that died out millions of years ago.

Is Starlite, the heat resistant polymer, a hoax? 10,000*C resistance seems pretty insane for any insulator.

Since you're a drone pilot, I want to ask: What's the appeal? As I understand it people like it for photography, but is that it? Was this teacher trying to film the game from the air and his drone crashed doing it? - - - Updated - - - I see what you mean, and I'm sorry I didn't explain what I meant better. I was talking about RC planes at that point. I was making a broad comparison between them crashing and drones crashing today. You're right that there are differences, and you're right that there has to be a sensible response to the growing number of incidences before there is a real tragedy. I often have difficulty properly explaining my p.o.v, so I apologize for the miscommunication.

I've never seen RC planes flown anywhere other than parks, and usually in the hands of novice fathers or their five year old sons. Handcuffs seem extreme for something that's been happening for decades, and I would question where the line is between acceptable accident and criminal mischief. All of that said, I've been playing devils advocate. I think the teacher should be charged and serve time. You don't fly stuff into stadiums like it's a joke.I had hoped our teachers were smarter than that. A little.

So if I'm flying an RC airplane and it goes out of range and smashes into an empty park bench, am I going to be arrested? Will someone think "Ok, it's over, I'm dying" as the 2 lb plastic projectile slices towards the ground at a neck-breaking 15 mph? Finally, is there a reason nobody has called high end RC airplanes drones until literally this decade? Edit: Just to clarify, I'm mostly joking here. I also firmly understand the difference between an autonomous or unmanned flying object and a radio controlled aircraft. Personally, I think the line separating the two is pretty thin and the FAA has had a difficult time classifying the difference between a drone and a recreational toy. They have an even harder time deciding at what point FAA oversight becomes mandatory. The line is thin enough for me to joke about it.

I dunno if it's sleep paralysis, but I have had several incidences where I wake up and am unable to move any part of my body except for my eyes. The harder I try to move, the "stronger" the paralysis becomes. I've never let it last more than 30 seconds or so, but the only way I can jolt out of it is apparently to try and move every muscle I can simultaneously. That seems to overcome the paralysis and let me move. I'm about 99% sure I'm not asleep during the moment of immobility. It usually happens when I sleep in and I keep trying to sleep after waking up several times - probably around hour 9+ of sleeping in.

Not really the point here. I'm specifically talking about the big picture. Whether or not Uganda or Turkey decide to follow the hypothetical trend of making an AI head of state, or if they decide to follow the hypothetical trend of supporting bio-engineered leadership instead is completely 100% irrelevant if the worlds leading superpowers (China, US, EU) all sway the same way. Not the type of AI I'm referring to. I think that's very clear here. Take the average person like you or I. Now realize that about half of the population is smarter than us. We cannot judge our species based on the lowest common denominator. There are still Issac Newtons and Albert Einsteins in the world today. In fact, since the population is exponentially higher than it was even 50 years ago, there are dozens more Einsteins and Newtons around today. Facebook does not change this. While I don't think I or anyone here was suggesting we bioengineer the entire population, doing so would increase the average global IQ, and that can only be a good thing. I think the phrase goes "Surround yourself with capable people - it challenges you to stay ahead." As an aside, I always find the "most people are dumb, but I'm not" argument to be rather arrogant. Out of the 7+ billion people in this world and I can openly admit at least 4 billion of them are smarter than me. If I could bio engineer myself smarter, believe me when I say I would. I'd also wager the majority of people would as well.

Pakled, Long time no see! Glad to see you still around these parts. Hope everything's going fine. Back on topic: I don't think Nibb31 is suggesting the FDR won't show us the flight from pushback to crash. I think he's trying to suggest that the FDR won't tell us anything we haven't already gathered from the evidence at hand. Personally I disagree with him. I think that while the CVR may be silent like Nibb31 suggests, the FDR will tell us if this crash was intentional or accidental.

Like this? It's an interesting thought game but I've got to go with K^2 on this. I will admit, however, that I personally I always (incorrectly) thought brightness decreased with distance to the point that very distant objects just weren't bright to us anymore. Thanks for the good read guys,

I think the argument for genetic engineering will become a lot easier to get behind once artificial intelligence begins to overtake us in the workforce, sports, politics, philosophy and engineering. We'll have the simple choice of letting AI take the helm, or, advancing ourselves to stay competitive. I imagine it to be analogous to an arms race; and personally I wish I could still be alive to watch it unfold.

Orbit. Starting with a larger-than-ISS modular colony. Imagine if you will a self sufficient, ever expanding modular station. As its population grows we add to it. It would have no upper limit of size and its modular structure allows quick repair and replacement of aging infrastructure. If done right any moon colony might seem underwhelming in comparison. Edit: The idea here being that running a lunar mining expedition via away team from a station is easier than starting one from Earth.

The most likely cause of oh-my-god particles and all similar particles is, obviously, the Death Star.

You're right; there is no reason to expand into space. When we are being perfectly clear, honest, and reasonable, we have to conclude that space construction is the single most expensive, dangerous, and technologically straining endeavor society can undertake. By that measure, it would be exceptionally easier (no, orders of magnitude easier) to construct a city the size of New York at the bottom of the Indian Ocean than it would a small colony on Luna or Mars. But we don't want to build another city on Earth, we want to do it amongst the stars - not because it's economically feasible or because it's beneficial, but because it's inciting. There's no concept more romantic than to conquer the heavens.

If I'm not mistaken, the 777's digital CVR holds 2 hours of voice communication. In any case, the flight data recorder potentially holds everything from pushback to impact.

9 Galaxies 1/9th the size of the observable?

Aircraft, especially heavies, often request an exemption from this rule. The 250/10,000 is only applicable if the controller wants it to be.

Query: Is it possible to make a modern submarine self sufficient? An aircraft carrier? A city? If any of the above are "no", I imagine the answer to your own question is no. That said, I firmly believe a space station or lunar colony can be made self sufficient. It seems to me like there may be an initial threshold of resources and infrastructure that must first be obtained before this happens - analogous to the amount of energy required to get a self sufficient fusion reaction going.

Personally I don't quite believe the theories that the flaperon, or any airfoil, fell off in flight. It may have been dislodged by aerodynamic forces if the aircraft exceeded certain G forces or airspeeds - it may also have been dislodged due to an explosion (though the evidence of such a blast, like on MH 17, may have been quickly apparent in the form of shrapnel damage). I don't fly 777's nor do I know anything about ETOPS and oceanic flying, but this looks more to me like the Helios or South Dakota Learjet crash than anything else. I must admit that I rarely try to guess the cause of a crash this vague, and I'm rarely right when I do. It's just so odd to me to see a crew say nothing over the radio, or to the company, then vanish without a trace only to be found a year later washed ashore. It just sounds like no one was at the controls during the most crucial, defining moment of this flight.

Personally I keep my phone on during flight. I think I've only heard complaints about it twice now. I find putting it on airplane mode and keeping it stowed during departure and arrival is enough to keep cabin crew content. Security doesn't mind any type of electronic device though they may swipe it with explosive trace detection equipment if you have too many wires or it's (obviously) modified with parts added/removed. Back to the main topic of radiation: That's pretty amazing. I remember your first thread and it made me wonder why I don't bring a lead apron on board!

Absolutely not. Not in this form, anyways. Super genetically-perfected immortal transhumans? Maybe, but not todays homo sapiens. Personally I think that's a good thing. People today are very notably illogical in decision making. Anyone who deals with people day-to-day can write a book on the imperfections of man. I don't know what type of "person" will exist a Billion years from now, but it can't be any worse. I only wish I were around to meet our more-perfect descendants.