Messages

21

Off-Topic / Re: Today's Smile

2017 Mar 31, 23:54:58

I'm very surprised that most the organic food and drug crowd isn't railing against synthetic meat. I thought for sure they'd fanatically oppose  it and try to get it banned just like they do with genetic engineering, vertical farming, artificial sweeteners, and vaccines. I guess they see the animal welfare benefits and lesser strain on farmland as a fair trade for less 'natural' food. Fine by me, if we in the science-based community can find common ground with them on something then I'll roll with it.

I really hope synthetic meat takes off, I'd gladly pay a premium for it out of principle.

22

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Mar 29, 22:23:20

Elite: Dangerous actually bothers with realistic limitations? Colour me interested.

Right up until you run out of fuel, deplete all your oxygen, and explode spectacularly.

23

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Mar 28, 21:56:28

Yup, I understand all of that for traveling faster then light speed. Its just FTL sensors and communications that bother me. That and the majority of sci-fi sensors are all active sensors that function like some futuristic space radar, and radar is pretty useless because it has to bounce off something then come back, doubling the amount of time for information to reach you then if you just looked out a window.

That's actually what baffled me more than anything about Elite Dangerous. With a top-level scanner you can't scan every object in a star system in a few seconds. RF current travels at exactly light speed (since they are essentially the same thing), so it should take hours to scan an entire star system, unless the radar current somehow utilizes the FSD.

Also, plotting course for a star 10s of light years away is a more subtle oddity. You plot course for right where you see the star, which is where it was 17 years ago, not where it is now. Plotting course for where a star appears to be should spit you out in the middle of nowhere, since the star is long gone.

Curious I dare say, curious...


Come to think if it, why do we even call it the speed of light? Visible light is a relatively tiny frequency range on the electromagnetic spectrum, what makes light so special, eh? Why is it not called the speed of ECM? Discriminatory name, I tell you.

24

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Mar 27, 20:07:36

Something that actually has been bothering me more and more of late is how often the limit of light speed is disregarded by Sci-fi writers. They can and will happily hand over lots of explanations about faster then light travel, but they just about never explain, or are simply unaware, how the can send over information across star systems or see whats happening on the far side of solar system in real time. Im afraid hard sci-fi has ruined a decent amount of sci-fi for me.

It's my understanding that apparent faster-than-light travel is theoretically possible due to the flexibility of space. Your ship is not actually traveling through space that fast, but that you are actually traveling in a 'tunnel' or 'bubble' of warped space. Within said bubble you are not traveling anywhere close to the speed of light ('absolute' light speed), but the combination of forward momentum and space being warped toward the ship pushes the apparent travel speed above the speed of light. All very theoretical, but it doesn't violate general relativity.

Midnight, was it air force, army or navy pt test?

I'm Chair Force.

25

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Mar 26, 20:11:28

I hate the overuse of the adage "Life isn't fair". In response to completely legitimate complains. That saying serves little purpose other than to enrage its recipients. I consider it to be little more than a trollish brush-off, akin to "You mad, bro?"

I obviously already know that life isn't fair if I'm complaining about it being unfair. If something isn't fair then don't give me a pointless adage, FREAKING MAKE IT FAIR!

I'm not unrealistic, I don't expect everything to be 100% equitable all the time, but I DO expect the powers that be to at least make an honest effort to make things more equitable when it's within their power to do so, I hardly think that's an unreasonable request.

26

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Mar 15, 00:05:41

27

Off-Topic / Re: Today's Smile

2017 Mar 10, 19:14:58

I aced another exam, that makes 3. If I get one more 100% I'll get an award from the flight chief for academic excellence. I've got 3 exams left, I just need to ace one of them.

28

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Mar 09, 19:17:48

Our power was knocked out for 14 hours all because they had to flip a switch, but it took them that long because they didn't want to pay their workers overtime.

Our power company sucks, they only have 6 workers for 14,000+ people.
We talked to these people and they just told us "That's the way it's always been and that if you don't like it then move."
Yet we got 9 outages in 2015 because they just had poor service, they also have the highest prices out here.

They're the only ones out here in this county too so they can pull whatever they want.

You must live out in the boonies. Rural vs urban power grids are light night and day in my experience.

When I was a teenager I remember having rolling blackouts almost daily during the summer, which is almost unheard of in this day and age outside the developing world. When I moved into town in my early 20s I only had outages during severe weather or PEBCAM issues at the power plant, then when I moved to DWF I only remember having one outages in 28 months due to a severe thunderstorm.

"If you don't like it then move." Yeah...and people wonder why younger generations are flocking to cities.

29

Off-Topic Archive / Re: It's not dumb, or a smile.

2017 Mar 03, 21:13:49

Every time I read articles or watch videos about bio-engineering, cryonics, transhumanism, or future technologies in general, I can't help but imagine this music nonstop:

30

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 28, 18:45:35

I got new ABUs because my old ones were insanely tight, now these new ones are super baggy.

There's a sweet spot somewhere between wearing trash bags and wearing the newest H&M slim-fit ABU print jeans. Unfortunately, I can't seem to hit that sweet spot very well.

31

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 26, 13:16:14

XCOM 2 is so stressful...plus, I caught the flu...

At least you're not infected with rhinovirus and norovirus at the same time like I was. It's like the influenza virus couldn't infect me since I'm vaccinated, so it hired two of its partners in crime to do the job for it.

32

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 25, 18:54:00

For Honor is poorly optimized for PC. Looks like a game designed for console and badly ported to PC.

Whatever, refunded. I'll get it on Xbox One when I actually have a TV again.

33

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 22, 20:58:47

I'm JUST recovering from an upper respiratory tract infection today, and now I'm coming down with gastroenteritis. This blows.

34

Off-Topic / Re: Today's Smile

2017 Feb 21, 22:57:04

Telling people I have rhinovirus and having them get super afraid because they think it's something serious.

It's like daring someone to drink a vial of dihydrogen monoxide.

35

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 18, 13:26:43

Well dang. I learned yesterday that I won't be going to Europe like I wanted. I'm staying right here in the States - in one of the most boring places known to man. I'm not sure if I can say exactly where I'll be going without Uncle Sam gettig angry, but it's a dull place to be sure.

Well, whatever. At least it's a moderately temperate climate if nothing else. And this way I can just drive there and keep my car instead of getting ripped off trying to sell it.

36

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 17, 20:15:46

This forum. Because they give out illegal bans and every single admin abuses their power.

Who are you?

37

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 14, 21:47:31

As a backshop avionics technician I feel like the weird black sheep of the field. Flightlight technicians outnumber backshop technicians by more than 10 to 1, so people often forget we exist.

Flightline Technician: So, what airframe do you work on?

Me: Did you just assume my AFSC?!?! *Triggered*

Not that I want to be flightline, that job frickin' sucks. I lucked out getting put in the backshop. All we do is sit around all day watching movies and playing video games in our climate-controlled, windowless room with a little bit of actual work thrown in every now and then to mix it up, all while the flightliners pull 12 hour shifts out in the weather all day.

38

Off-Topic / Re: Today's Smile

2017 Feb 08, 23:25:52

I graduated from my basic electronics course and started my follow-on avionics training. My new school is sooo much better. The building is only 2 blocks away from my dorm, so I don't have to spend a dang hour every morning marching clear across the universe in sub-zero temperatures.. And don't get me started on that dead march we had to do to and from lunch...don't have to deal with that anymore.

I really lucked out with scheduling. I started classes as soon as I got here and moved between courses immediately. I haven't had to waste a single day on details like most people have too. Thank goodness, I want to get off this cancerous base ASAP. The drama is real.

39

Off-Topic / Re: Dumb things that annoy you

2017 Feb 04, 12:13:39

I busted my butt so hard at this month's PT test. I got 100% on strength, as usual, and I was determined to do better at my run. I killed myself, knocking off a full minute from my run time and ended up with a 91 overall score on the test (which is considered "excellent").

...but the MTL in charge of it decided to go and put me on the list for remedial PT anyway....WTF?!?!

I think I'm going to have a little talk with that MTL. I blew away all the standards, I get the suspicion they think I'm lying about my strength scores, since I'm so much better at strength than average and so much worse at running that average. Most people find running way easier than strength, but for me it's the exact opposite. I don't know why, that's just how it is.

40

Off-Topic / Re: Today's Smile

2017 Feb 04, 01:05:29

I significantly overpaid on income taxes in 2016, which means I'll probably get a mastodonic refund. As in $2000+ dollars, enough to pay off all my credit card debt.