jmiki8

I keep 3G/4G network connection, mobile data and wifi turned off (if I don't need them). My cheapo Huawei sh*tbrick can stay awake for days with this method, with normal usage (some 10 mins of web browsing, 1-2 calls per day). Also, I always clean the RAM when I stop using the phone. I don't use task killers at all.

These sprites are pretty cool! I'm making a 3D airliner in Blender. It still misses most of its textures, and the illumination needs to be readjusted: I've also given my bicycle some care. Now it looks like new, despite being 35 years old (Now I should find a better lock instead of my current krap) Click the pictures for imgur albums.

It's a trap! My computer is way too old for Windows 10. I had to struggle in order to get everything work even in Windows 8, and I'm sure I would get serious compatibility errors in Windows 10.

Isn't it the flag of the Manchu dynasty? On the first day after the exams I visited a nice train spotting place on the Budapest-Vienna main line near the village of Szár:

Mother of gawd, awesomeness overload!!!

The Avrocar, which looks like a flying saucer for unrivaled kerbalness:

+1 to Camacha. I study at the Transportation Engineering branch of the Budapest University of Technology, therefore I have a lot of friends who already got the PPL, CPL or even the ATPL. I also know some pilots flying with the Wizz Air (Hungarian-Polish LCC), and some who had flown with the Malév (the Hungarian flag carrier which went bankrupt in 2012). As far as I know, most of them spent ~20-30 million Forints (around £50-70k) on trainings - PPL, CPL and in many cases, ATPL, before they could become first officers. They also had to acquire type rating and flying hours, which meant additional costs. Those ones who found a job can easily make a living, and most of them got rid of their debts after some years of work. However, there are some guys who couldn't complete their training (nobody said it was easy) while they still had to pay their debts. AFAIK, those who finished their training could usually find a job, and get employed as a first officer and later, as a captain. Many of them had to go abroad (mostly to middle eastern airlines - Turkish, Qatar, Emirates, etc-) to start their career, however. IMHO, you should acquire a nice degree first in some other field (maybe transport/aircraft engineering?) which you could use as a plan B if your plan A (becoming a commercial pilot) fails. If you accumulate a lot of debt, you could still get a nice job and earn enough money to maintain financial stability.

I'd just sit in my room and hope my small country with its tiny army and almost 0 economic output isn't worth a nuke.

I always wanted to buy a Dobsonian telescope. Its primary task would be spotting planes flying at 30 000+ ft, not stargazing, though. Too bad I live in a city with high light pollution, and this beast isn't very mobile... These telescopes are very simple, yet powerful. You can get a new one with an aperture of ~f/5 for ~$400 in Hungary, which is even cheaper in the U.S., I guess. The downsides are the constant need for collimation, moisture & dust sensitivity (the primary mirror is in contact with the ambient air), size & weight, and the unusual mount which makes star tracking a pain. So basically I would use it as a gigantic 1200mm f/5 lens for my camera.

F1 and the Isle of Man TT. The latter is super exciting. The racers push everything out of their motorbikes, as they were on the race track. But on the TT, they do this on the local road network. The fastest racers complete the race with 200 km/h (~124 mph) + average speed. Accidents, and even deaths are not uncommon, as this is probably one of the most difficult races in the world.

Those pictures are pretty cool! I take a different approach, as I don't have a telescope. I tried to take photos of star fields with a camera. I have an old-ish Nikon D80, which doesn't have the ISO capability for the job (ISO 800+ is a no-no in terms of IQ). I'm going to replace it with a D7100 in weeks, which has a 3+ stop improvement over the D80 in terms of noise. I really hope I'll be able to shoot nice photos of the stars with it at lake Balaton, where light pollution is almost nonexistent. I'm going to use a 35mm f/1,8 lens, which is fast and wide enough to take long (~10-15s) exposures without a tracking mount. Soon, you'll be mine...

One of my grandfathers also fought in the WWII. ...On the opposite side. He flew a Messerschmitt BF-109 G-1 and G-2 in the Royal Hungarian Air Force. He fought only on the eastern front and destroyed 7 planes, including 3 IL-2s, 2 MiG-3s, one Yak-1 and 3 unknown aircraft. He survived the war, and died in the 80s. I don't know how this relates to the topic, I just wanted to mention that along the allied soldiers, the enemies (except their leaders) also deserve respect, as many of them haven't fought for Hitler and the nazis (or their local government), but for their homeland and family just like the allied men. However, I salute all the allied men who fought in WWII, Europe would be a much worse place without their sacrifice.

BME (Budapesti Műszaki Egyetem - Budapest University of Technology and Economics), producing depressed people since 1782! The average of all students combined was 2.3 in the last semester at the department of transport engineering, where I study. The best grade is "5", and the worst is "1" (= fail). Most people complete their studies 1-2 (or even more) years late, but usually less than 50% reach the diploma. Btw, that stereotype regarding the parties, drinking and drugs is so wrong. Personally, I haven't attended a single party for 2 months, and I couldn't go out with my friends for weeks, as everybody had a lot of work to do. Classes at daytime, studying/drawing/programming/doing homework at night. Students here feel themselves fortunate if they can afford a 7 hour sleep.

I've observed the ISS once, with my uncle's professional 300/1500 (300 mm is the primary mirror's diameter!) Newtonian telescope. I used its motorized tracking mount to follow the ISS, as it rushed through the sky in some seconds.

I'm using the same method as Longbyte1 mentioned: Monitor brightness on the lowest setting + enough ambient light (sunlight at day, desk lamp at night) + keyboard and chair placed far away from the screen (1-1,5m) + ~hourly (drinking) breaks. I only use higher brightness if the sun is illuminating the screen, or if I need good color rendition (e.g. while editing photos). No headaches, eye strains after hours of work, 20/20 vision.

I'm not that lucky. My exams start on Monday (25th of May), and end in the middle of June... I start with applied mechanics, continue with linear algebra, and end with materials science. Many subjects' final grades are based on midterm grades instead of exams.

Wow, nice pictures! Did you take them with a Nikon D7000 + Tammy 70-300 VC?

Nobody beats RAINBOW STALIN! (Click the image to visit the website)

My first flight was on the Budapest (BUD) -> Larnaca (LCA) route , on a Malév Boeing 737-200. My first (and only) intercontinental flight was from Budapest (BUD) to Santo Domingo (SDQ) via Amsterdam (AMS) and New York (JFK), just 3 months after the september 11 attacks. I had the chance to fly with a KLM 747-200, an American Airlines 767-300, and a Martinair MD-11!

I first met the Internet when we got our first dial-up Internet connection at home in 1996. Internet became available only in 1995 for Hungarian households (by Westel), and we were one of the first families to have a connection at home.

True words. I study transport engineering at a not quite Harvard/MIT/etc-grade Hungarian engineering university (BME), therefore I always meet some people who study in the field of aerospace engineering. Even from here, numerous people went to work with the European Space Agency to work on big projects like the Rosetta probe's control system. Please note that (as you probably know) not only aerospace engineers work on space related projects. For example, my university sends mostly electrical engineers to the ESA. And for one more time: this is not in the USA, but a far less developed Central European country with underfunded universities. Of course I'm not saying to come here to study, I just wanted to tell an example. While you'll probably have better chances after studying at a renowned school, you won't avoid hard work. Studying is only one half of that hard work: companies (mostly) aren't looking for human robots, but for ones who seem to have real interest in the field. This applies specially to aerospace companies, where innovation (and thinking outside of the box) is crucial. This means that you will have to do something productive apart of studying which gives you something extra compared to other students at the job interview/in the CV. For example, one of my A&P student friends was accepted for a well-paid job at Lufthansa Technik, because apart of having decent grades, he built model airplanes in his free time.

Btw, why is it good to turn one streetlamp off? Even in little towns the light pollution is so high that you can only see the brightest sky objects. I usually go out for astrophoto trips in Balatonalmádi (it has a population of 9000), next to a large lake (Balaton), yet I have to move 5-10 kms away from there in order to see most stars.

2003 Honda Accord with 2.4 liter petrol engine. 100% reliability and elegance. It has pretty low fuel consumption considering it's powered by a 2,4 liter, 190 HP engine. Look, how timeless the shape is. You couldn't tell it's a 12-year-old design. Too bad they'll stop selling it (the latest generation) in Europe, cause people rather buy a stripped down "poor man's" BMW (3 series without extras) cause it's a BMW, instead of buying a fully equipped Accord for a very good price. Looks like the brand is more important than the car itself...

Turbo Outrun for Sega Megadrive

Vladimir Putin visited my hometown yesterday. He brought 3 IL-96s (2 -300PUs and one -300), and an IL-76 which transported his car. I skipped/swapped all of my classes yesterday in order not to miss this very-very rare occasion. It was really difficult to get even into the vicinity of the airport, therefore I couldn't get to a good spotting location without the fence. I know it isn't the most efficient aircraft, but look, how gorgeous it is. Angela Merkel visited us just ~2 weeks ago, and in contrast with Putin's 4 large aircraft, she came with an A319. krappy quality, I know Both leaders stayed just for hours, leaving on the same day they arrived.