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efaardvark

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Status Updates posted by efaardvark

  1. There's some weird .. food(?) that shows up in the break room's "donations accepted" snack stack at work.  Anyone seen this one?  Is it safe to eat?  あやしい :D 

     

    WeirdSnacks.jpg

    1. Illusion of Terra

      Illusion of Terra

      listen to the turkey, it's already telling you how great it is 😂 

      What I find kind of weird is the whole anti-gluten trend that is so prominent in the US, and also starting in Europe. Are there so many gluten insensitive people in the US or what's up with that? 😂

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      I don't quite understand it myself.  There was a time when anything added to foods during processing automatically became a bad thing.  Extra sugar, extra salt, etc.  One of the things added was gluten, to bread to make it rise faster so the baking process can be started sooner, and a given "assembly line" at the factory can produce more bread per hour.  Of course, gluten was already in flour, but the manufacturers added more (and more yeast as well).  Because gluten was an added ingredient, it somehow became something to avoid, and from there a murketing buzzword. 

      That much I can kind of understand, though I think the issue was severely overblown.  Now though, even stuff that never had any gluten in it - like drinks, or candy, or meats - have the "gluten free" tag.  It has clearly gone far beyond anything rational at this point.

  2. Talking with a co-worker who doesn't like the ocean.  He won't go near it.  He won't travel by ship.  He won't go to the beach.  He doesn't even like flying over it.  The weird thing is he has no problems with a swimming pool or river.  He's a really good swimmer in fact.  Even used to be a lifeguard for the pool at a nearby YMCA.  So I asked him why he's afraid of the ocean.  He said, "I'm not afraid of the ocean.  I afraid of big things in the ocean."  :)

    1. viruxx

      viruxx

      This is what blows my mind about the ocean. That, and the critters that lurk within the depths are the things of nightmares. 😱

       

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      @viruxx

      If you think that's unnerving..

      Imagine extraterrestrial oceans like on Enceladus or Europa.  Even though it is a moon, Europa alone has more than twice as much water on it as Earth does.  It is permanently covered by ice so you would have to dig down maybe a couple dozen kilometers to even get to it, and from there it might be another 150km (90+ miles) or more before you'd reach the bottom of Europa's ocean.  That's over 10x as deep as any ocean here on Earth.  Of course being so far from the sun and covered by kilometers-thick ice besides those oceans will be completely dark from top to bottom.  However, at the bottom are probably hydrothermal vents like there are here on Earth.  It is quite possible that there is life - of some sort - lurking in those oceans as well.

       

  3. IMG_4222.thumb.JPG.7384026079b0c63d2d76e3e34af8e021.JPG

    1. Nono

      Nono

      Nice!

      Chevy Express?

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Largish van.. big enough for 8 of us.  Could be.

  4. When I was a kid we had no internet, no cellphones, no computers.  Forget Minecraft, we didn’t even have Legos! No seatbelts in cars.  Dodgeball, clackers .. and have you ever seen lawn darts?  Not those blunt-end, lightweight things sold under that name these days.  No, I’m talking about the lethal ones - heavy, pointy, metal things that killed thousands* before they were taken off the market. :) 
    4F89B641-2ED6-4B4A-A81B-38917301780D.thumb.jpeg.f0be4f61f5eb8c0430cc89936d369a49.jpeg

     

    *slight exaggeration for dramatic effect

    1. Ohayotaku

      Ohayotaku

      We had a set of those as well growing up. Good ol’ days :P 

  5. For now this is just rich boys and their toys. Significant only in that it is a private endeavor that can successfully reach space.  SS2 is just a rollercoaster ride, and an extremely expensive, suborbital one at that.  Same with Bezos’ rocket.

    What I am rooting for is SpaceX’s “Starship”.  100 tons to LEO on a totally reusable, completely private-sector vehicle that is even cheaper to fly than the revolutionary Falcon 9 is -really- going usher in a whole new era.

    1. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      @Wedgy I read a science fiction story way, way back in the late 70s or early 80s.  It was actually a series of “hard” sf short stories, many brutal in fact, about the difficulties of building and maintaining a Lunar colony.  In among the stories about all the different ways to die, the difficult logistics, the politics, and the economics, there was a story about a huge underground cavern that  was described as an old magma chamber 1000s of feet in rough diameter.  Patched to be airtight and filled with atmosphere it was the setting for a largish settlement.  The story was full of insight and wonder, but the bit that stuck with me was the way the dwellings were arranged.  There were a number of “traditional” buildings laid out on the ground in the center of the area, but most of the people actually lived in “pigeonholes” drilled into the sides of the chamber.  There was a road and a system of cranes and elevators that serviced the dwellings, but mostly these were only used for freight.  The people themselves mainly traveled via personal wingsuits.. light-duty suits were self-powered by the muscles of the person wearing them to enable human-powered flight in the low lunar gravity.  There were also heavy-duty suits with small electric ducted fans that acted like small jet engines for speed or to carry light payloads.  And of course there were sport versions.  I’d pay some serious cash for a vacation in a place like that.

  6. Crap.  My crunchy list was about a kilometer long already, now it seems like the merger has brought in a ton of "new" (to crunchy) stuff as well.  Wish I could quit my job to focus on my anime backlog.

    whatwoulditamido.thumb.png.0272a999c9bab750b776d8d32afe1192.png

    1. Wodahs
    2. Soramee_

      Soramee_

      Pain (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)

  7. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.  (If it goes.. last I heard the weather at Tanegashima wasn’t great.)

     

    https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae

    1. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      It didn't go.  :(  Recycled for another try Thursday.  Probably at about the same time but Mitsubushi won't commit to an exact time more than 40 hours in advance so I probably won't know until tomorrow what my exact schedule will be for Thursday.

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      And now Saturday.  But probably not even then if the rain occurs as predicted,

      At this rate it might wind up going up with M20.  😮  (I hope not.)

  8. Drone + volcano + 4k = cool video.
     
    1. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      @Q-Tip amazing to see waves of liquid rock flowing like a river and crashing like water at the beach!

  9. Just saw Elon Musk's SpaceX anniversary talk.  The guy is crazy... in a good way maybe, but still crazy.  Hard to believe it was only a year ago when he announced his "BFR", and now he's already got an engineering prototype that's supposed to start test flights in a matter of months, and "to reach orbit in 6 months".  True, those are "Elon months", but still.  It'll be interesting to see if he actually gets 2 of these rockets done in time for an unmanned Mars test flight/mission at the next transfer window in 2022.  He's also previously said that he might land one on the moon during testing.. because "It may literally be easier to just land Starship on the moon than try to convince NASA that we can."  😮  

    https://arstechnica.com/features/2019/09/after-starship-unveiling-mars-seems-a-little-closer/

    1. Illusion of Terra

      Illusion of Terra

      It is absolutely insane how much he has accomplished in a few years (especially compared to ESA/NASA). If he actually manages to achieve his planned goals in the next 5-10 years, I seriously think NASA should just hand over their budget to him 😂 

      My uncle (worked on astrophysics stuff) is a huge fan of his, so I always get the latest updates from him 😂 

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      I would love to see that happen.  NASA has their own planes and such for research purposes, but they don't own and operate their own "NASA airlines".  In the same way I'd like to see NASA do the same for space R&D and regulation and just buy transportation to/from space like they do for air travel.  Cost-plus contracts and Congressional pork seem to be the main obstacles to commercial space these days.  Don't get me wrong, NASA does a lot for air travel, safety, research, and regulation.  That first "A" in "NASA" is for "Aeronautics" after all.  I'd really like to see NASA do things the same way for the "S" and drop the semi-operational, perpetually over-budget NASA-sponsored programs like SLS in favor of buying commercial services from the likes of SpaceX and Blue Origin.

      NASA does have a "COTS" - commercial off the shelf - program for some space operations like satellite launches and cargo delivery to the ISS, so there's some progress there.  I'm hoping space travel will quickly commercialize as a transport industry like it did for airplanes back in the day.  The time between the Wright Flyer in 1903 and the Ford Trimotor (airplane used in the first commercial airline in the US) was only about 8 years, and the DC-3 was in service by the end of the 1930s.  I'll make allowances for space travel being harder - not to mention that there's no established extraterrestrial destinations to justify a scheduled service to - and give them a little more time but I'm really looking forward to the first regular commercial "spaceline" service!  :) 

  10. There is no such thing as too many books!

    not-enough-shelving.thumb.jpg.31b373f870db76535884815bd14ae4b0.jpg

    1. Ohayotaku

      Ohayotaku

      Yomiko agrees

      spacer.png

      :P 

    2. kamomesan

      kamomesan

      Recently came across the Japanse concept of 積ん読 (tsundoku) that perfectly describes the pile of reading material I've acquired. One can never have enough books...

  11. Fully stacked! 

    Not since Apollo has anything this big sat on a launch pad.  😮

     

    1. Ohayotaku

      Ohayotaku

      I’ve heard of “food porn”. Is this an example of “aerospace porn”? 🤔

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Something like that, though that would be more a New Shepard thing than a Starship thing.  🤣🤣

  12. Aaaaand here we go with the brushfires now too.

    1. LonelyPoet

      LonelyPoet

      Think of it as a sign from god or nature or whatever you believe in to change your ways. Burning bush lol

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      This happens every season, often multiple times.  Especially like now when the hot, dry Santa Ana winds come down from the desert, sucking the moisture out of everything (some places are reporting relative humidity in the single digits) and fanning every spark and cigarette butt into a full-blown fire.  This latest started along a freeway so my guess would be a cigarette butt.  That or an accident, but nobody is reporting one.

    1. Illusion of Terra
    2. Nyxnine

      Nyxnine

      I.....would totally get this for the novelty of it. I miss having a rotary phone hahaha

  13. "Starman" cam...   :D
     

     

    1. Wodahs

      Wodahs

      Sucks to be NASA with the Mars range :P Rover xD

    2. efaardvark
  14. Weird.. today I've had several people ask me if my car is ok, or if I'm worried about it. 

    Ok, rewind a bit for some recent local history.  Over the past couple days my area has had some very dry, warm, high-velocity winds come through.  In the past these sorts of conditions have caused power lines to get knocked down into dry brush and the winds whip up the resulting fire(s) into extremely dangerous wildfires.  Fires, evacuations, and/or electricity outages have been a hot topic of conversation around here for the past couple days.  The power companies' web sites have hundreds of thousand of customers in the area on notice for potentially having their power cut off, either by the power company itself, ostensibly for preventing downed power lines from starting said fires, or by the fires and wind taking out the power distribution lines.

    So back to the strange question.  At first I was like, "huh?".  Did I not get a memo or something?  Did I park somewhere I shouldn't have?  Did they see my car on the news get run over or pushed off the road by a fire department bulldozer?  (Sometimes this happens when the fire department needs to get access to a fire and their trucks or other firefighting gear is blocked by cars parked on narrow streets.)

    In a word, no.  Apparently people are concerned that people like me with electric vehicles might have trouble evacuating if they have to because of the power outages that tend to accompany the fires.

    Again, "huh??", but with a different tone of voice this time.  Thanks for the concern, but of all the stupid things to worry about that's .... not a problem.

    First of all, I don't even have an EV.  I have a pluggable hybrid.  I do have an electric motor (or three) and batteries, and a charging socket on one side of the car.  I also have the usual slot for gas (petrol for you crazy furriners) on the other side, connected to a gas tank and a somewhat normal internal combustion engine.  Not worried at all here.  I'm covered either way.

    Second, if the power is out then gas cars would have exactly the same problem as pure EVs because gas station pumps run on electricity.  No electricity, no charging (duh), but also no gas.  I've actually had this problem before with my old (gas) car.  In fact, standard operating procedure around here is if you hear that high winds or dry/dangerous fire conditions are in the forecast then stop at the gas station on your way home from work and top off the tank, just in case.

    Third, that typically doesn't matter because gas or electrons, there's always going to be something left in the "tank".  (Unless you're one of those people who is always running on "Empty", but that's a whole other discussion.)  When the police/fire department comes pounding on your door and tells you to evacuate then you just get in your car and leave with what you have.  Gas or electric doesn't enter into it any more than the color of your socks.

    (That said, even if you're one of those "I'm not out of gas the car is still moving" people, chances are better your electric car will be at least somewhat charged.  More than when you parked it anyway.  Unlike a gas car, you can "refuel" an EV at home by plugging it in, and most take only a few hours at most to fully recharge.  Assuming you're not so extremely lazy that you can't even be bothered to plug in your car when you park it in your garage, chances are that by the time the power goes out and/or you have to evacuate you'll have at least a partial charge on your EV.  A gas car's gas gauge of course would still be on "E", and the nearby gas station that's out of power is not going to be able to help.)

    There is one actual problem with gas cars however.  It has even been reported on the local news, and warned about at press conferences with the fire department spokespeople.  Sometimes when people wait a bit too long to evacuate there's so much smoke in the air that it can clog the air filter and cause a car to stall.  Cars have to breathe too you know.  At least gas cars that rely on oxygen in the air for combustion do.  EV cars obviously don't have this problem.  (And again, don't worry about me.. my hybrid has an EV-only mode that's only a button-push away.)
     

    1. Illusion of Terra

      Illusion of Terra

      Interesting, never knew people would think of something like that just because someone has a (semi-)electric car. Probably seems still unusual for them?
      If Tesla brings out its 1 million miles battery out and graphene batteries really turn out to be all they are supposed to be (allegedly there already are car batteries that charge over 30x fater and go over 500 miles with one charge), or any other superior battery type, most gas cars will quickly become a thing of the past anyway.

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Apparently there was a "news" story citing losing electricity during an emergency as one of the drawbacks of EVs.  Probably FOX.. they're always pushing the "burn, baby, burn", anti-climate agenda.

      And yes, EVs are the future. Not only do they make city planning SOOO much easier, their TCO is much lower because there's none of the complicated or fiddly mechanical bits like crankshafts, timing belts, or transmissions to go bad.  The writing is on the wall.  Daimler ("Mercedes") has already announced that they're not going to develop their internal combustion engines any longer.  Going forward all their R&D is going into electric drive trains, and eventually all their cars will be exclusively electric.  Even planes will be electric in a few decades.

  15. Found out a coworker tested + for C19 so I’m getting myself tested as well.  No symptoms <knock knock> but I’ve got a big week ahead at work and an 82yo mother in memory care that I have to visit regularly & I need to know.

    1. Animedragon

      Animedragon

      Oh, not good news.  I hope your test comes back negative.

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Me too.  🤞 

  16. And now they’ve expanded the curfew in Los Angeles to the surrounding areas.  I am so done with 2020. :veryangry:
     

    edit: oh, and they’re bringing in the national guard.

    1. OtakuKid

      OtakuKid

      Well, during quarantine, were you really going to be out past eight (or whatever time your curfew starts)?

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      If I were one of these work-from-home types then that might apply.  I’ve still been commuting however.  It is a 24/7 job too.  I’ve managed to stay off the mid shift, but I’ve done a few swings.  If this turns out anything like the Rodney King riots it won’t matter anyway.  We could hear gunfire and smell tear gas even at home back then.  Last thing I want to have to deal with after a long shift in the NOC is a “papers please” moment on the way home at 11:30 at night.  (Or worse.)

  17. Moderately excited to hear about a feature-length Red Dwarf movie...
     

    1. Illusion of Terra

      Illusion of Terra

      I was always more of a Stargate guy (at least when I was a child, then I somehow dropped all of it).

      On an unrelated note, don't link to that 'newspaper' 😂 

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      I kind of did the same with Stargate.  The first couple/few seasons were ok, but it succumbed to the mindset that said every season had to be "better" than the last and eventually went off the rails entirely.  By the time the Ori came along I had pretty much stopped watching.

      As for embarrassing media outlets, at least you don't have FOX.  :D

       

  18. Thanks for the points, though I have lots & didn't need them.  I'll donate them back.  :D

    also thanks for the follow & the yt link.. listening to it now in the background.

    1. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      btw, like your spirited away theme.  anything Ghibli is ok with me.  I just watched Whisper of the Heart a while back.

    2. Loli

      Loli

      Sweet N no problem.They really make me nostalgic eehee. Gracias agan. 

  19. Finally gave up AT&T and called Spectrum.  They're definitely the second choice in terms of uplink and downlink speed and ping times.  OTOH, they actually managed to get their shit working, unlike that other utility.  And OTGH pretty much anything beats AT&T's old 8mbit DSL.

    1510803432_Screenshotfrom2020-03-1220-40-43.thumb.png.00e0ffd8864c65eae40ca3fb4d59f084.png

    FLCLsmile.gif.f3b5f684b271f685252a01cc73f16c0a.gif

    1. Illusion of Terra

      Illusion of Terra

      hold on, are you saying AT&T never got you that internet connection you mentioned quite a while ago? what on earth were they doing? 😂

      well glad to see you got a decent connection now

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Quote

      hold on, are you saying AT&T never got you that internet connection you mentioned quite a while ago? what on earth were they doing? 😂

      It is such a long story.  By the end the local sheriff got involved and even the AT&T supervisor who came to the house was saying that maybe it would be better if we went with Spectrum.  How much time do you have?  :D

      Short version.. we now have trimmed trees - at least in the easement area directly behind our house - and Spectrum Internet.  Soon we will have our old phone #s ported over and be rid of the last vestiges of AT&T.  Good riddance.

  20. The universe is now available on Steam...

     

    1. Seshi

      Seshi

      Thanks for sharing 

    2. LonelyPoet

      LonelyPoet

      There's an app for that.

  21. zombie-apocalypse.jpg.823601981262dff0a240b826954af25b.jpg

    1. Ohayotaku

      Ohayotaku

      ElderlyThunderousAxolotl-size_restricted

      <cue Working for the Weekend by Loverboy>

    2. efaardvark
  22. The filing deadline for California state taxes has been moved back two months to June 15th.  When the government delays taking your money you know things are getting serious!  :D

     

    1. Ohayotaku

      Ohayotaku

      Of course if you get a refund it means they’ve been using your money interest free all year anyway.

    2. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Not really a problem.  I mean, if interest rates were anything like normal then yeah but these days my bank is only giving me 0.01% APY interest on savings anyway.  Last year I only made about $6 in interest payments on *both* my savings and checking accounts combined.  With most investments being so overpriced I'm not buying anything with it either.  I do get a refund most times, but not enough to make a stink over.

  23. Los Angeles city has shut down bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, gyms, and fitness centers.  Grocery stores, pharmacies, and food banks will remain open. Restaurants are allowed to serve take-out, but no dine-in service.

    Santa Monica ordered the temporary closure of its pier.

    Even some Las Vegas casinos are shutting down.

    If nothing else the economic fallout from all this will be significant.

     

    1. Ohayotaku

      Ohayotaku

      The bars/restaurants & carryout/drive thru situation is the same here. Walmarts & Krogers are shortening their hours of operation so they have more time for restocking & cleaning. Some local communities are recommending 8:00 pm - 5:00 am curfews for nonessential activities.

    2. RuthisianCodex

      RuthisianCodex

      Yep, this could get insane.

  24. Just applied for a job working for JPL!  I've actually been working -at- JPL for years now but as a contractor, not as a direct employee.  This will mean my paycheck comes directly from JPL.  (Well, CalTech actually since the university manages JPL as a NASA center.)  It will also mean I'll probably wind up being even more busy but it'll be pretty much the same job with more money, better benefits, and fewer contract management chiefs to deal with.  And in fact my immediate boss will probably be one of my old bosses too so that will be a nice side-benefit since I got along pretty well with him back in the day.  🤞 Really hoping I get this "lateral promotion" 🤞

    1. efaardvark

      efaardvark

      Looks like it’ll happen.  2 interviews went well and I am currently waiting for an offer.  Should know for sure by next week.  🤞

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