* Posts by Prive8 Citizen

6 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Feb 2011

How to choose the right screen size

Prive8 Citizen

720 .vs 1080 in my case

Our first HD set was a 50" 720p plasma. It hung on the wall about 10 feet from where we sit. We loved it - and the picture was stunning. However, I kept hearing about how much better 1080p was, so a few years later, we bought a 52" 1080p plasma. It's also beautiful, but frankly I can't tell the difference. The 1080p unit is now the living room unit, and the 720p unit is the downstairs unit, but I pretty convinced I could swap them and the family would never even notice.

IPCC report: Renewables can never meet energy demand

Prive8 Citizen
Alert

Energy .vs Power

Since we are discussing the total energy used in a year, Joules is appropriate. Watts are a rate - how many Joules in a second. Interestingly, the way the power company measures electricity is in kWh - which is back to energy - not a rate. This is because they charge you for how much you use, not how fast you draw it.

Anyway, I agree with the author, there is no way renewables will supply the majority of humanity's energy needs - unless there is a whole lot less of us, or our standard of living is greatly reduced.

US Navy laser cannon used to set boat aflame

Prive8 Citizen
Flame

Motors? Try meat.

I somehow doubt these lasers will used to start fires on pirate boats - the dwell time to ignite a flame retardant plastic housing is significant. However, the time required to permanently blind a pirate with a laser like that is probably measured in milliseconds. Blinding aside, a 15kW laser could probaly cause excruciating burns nearly instantly. Now, I ask you, which is the military more likely to target; the motor - or the meat?

Fukushima on Thursday: Prospects starting to look good

Prive8 Citizen

Fancy guesswork and spin

I am Pro-nuclear power, and I hate when a bad incident gives it a bad reputation. It's true that buckets of water kill more people (mostly small children) than nuclear accidents - but my oh my, a nuclear accident is way more scary.

Anyway, despite these leanings, I still think Mr. Page is a bit optimistic here. Sure, it 'may' work out just fine - but it may not. At this point, declaring "the worst is over" is quite optimistic. Sure, all predictions are basically fancy guesswork, but this could still get worse in a hurry. For example, the rods in reactor 4's pool could reach criticality and begin operating as an uncooled, un shielded reactor core.

I think the most interesting thing is the differnce in waht Japan is saying, and the rest of the world is saying. Japan is definiterly singing Mr. Pages tune, while the UK and the US are evacuating their personel.

Only time will tell, but for Japan's sake, I hope Lewis is correct.

Cobalt-barrel machine guns could fire full auto Hollywood style

Prive8 Citizen
Flame

Hammer Forging

This process sounds Very similar to hammer forging (invented in 1939). That's where the barrel is drilled and honed, a mandrel is put in the center, and rotating auto hammers pound on the outside until the bore takes the rifling shape.

http://www.lasc.us/RangingShotBarrelMakingFeature.htm

Anyway, this is a nice advance. From experience, I know barrels heat up Quick. This really doesn't fix that, it just allows you to get the barrel screaming hot without it failing. Of course, the weapon will have to fire from an open bolt, lest the heat alone fires the next cartridge - whether you mean too or not.

Flame, because this is hot stuff!

Three-day gaming session kills Chinese man

Prive8 Citizen
Terminator

holodeck=death of humanity

If an online game in a net cafe can drive a person to death, just wait and see what full virtual reality will do.

ROTMs, indeed.