Posts by Struggling to find a different name

Cubans launching sonic attacks on US embassy? Not what we're hearing, say medical boffins

Re: Experimenting with Low Frequencies

Standing at the end of a runway as Concorde takes off over your head (looking straight up the exhaust of four Olympus 593 engines on afterburner) probably has a similar effect.

It happened to me one day many years ago: I was crossing the BAC airfield at Filton when one of the production aircraft was taking off (not on its maiden flight, as those were well controlled affairs and all local traffic was stopped well in advance). On this day, a routine flight, motorised traffic was stopped from crossing the end of the runway once an aircraft was rolling. I was the only person there, walking across when the warning siren sounded and barriers came down; I looked up to see if anything was coming in to land, and then along to see if anything was taking off. I saw Concorde, head on, coming over the slight rise in the runway. I was halfway across and there was no way I could run fast enough to get clear so I stood still (even Usain Bolt couldn't outrun Concorde on take-off)!

The pilot must have seen me there in my white lab coat; no extra risk as he'd be off the ground well before reaching me (else he'd also be flying through a chain link fence and end up on the A38 trunk road). The noise from those engines was something I'll always remember - felt more than heard; surprisingly, my hearing wasn't affected (neither short or long term).

Delayed, over-budget smart meters will be helpful – when Blighty enters 'Star Trek phase'

Couldn't have one even if I wanted it

We've had the blurb saying smart meters are coming but told, elsewhere, they won't work on our system. We're in Scotland and have THTC electric heating. It means we're shafted on price whatever we do. We're told we can get a better deal on Economy 7 but, for that to be as good (comfort-wise in winter) we'd need to invest in new heaters (best estimate of a breakeven in 10 years)*. We could then have a smart meter -but why do I want to know how much money I'm burning? We use what we need.

We routinely get offers of discounts to get gas and electric together - but there's no gas supply in our house. A new main was run part way along our street for one house, with the road dug up a second time a few months later for a couple others wanting gas. There would be a saving in price if we used gas, though one heck of an investment to get it installed. With the government wanting to phase out gas for home heating we'll stay all electric. It's probably the greenest option so, perversely, will be the most expensive.

I've considered solar panels but the most optimistic estimates of saving is 20 years to recover the initial investment - assuming no degradation in performance. Installing a battery pack for storage would help with savings, but the extra outlay wouldn't shorten the payback period. As pensioner, I'm not sure I'd see the savings myself and would rather have the money now to enjoy life while my wife and I are still fit!

Oops - strayed off-topic for a rant!

*With E7, all heater charging is done overnight and the stored heat has to be eked out during the day and evening. THTC provides heat throughout the day and evening - which is necessary in winter when folk are at home during the day. The older style heaters that never had a good reputation with E7 are fine with THTC. However, you get charged for the privilege of being comfortable.

2001 fiction set to be science fact? NASA boffin mulls artificial intelligence to watch over the lunar Gateway

I was asking myself the same question - they're talking about programmed automated control systems, not AI where you try to teach an initially "dumb" system to program itself from experience.

Programs can (and often) present unexpected outputs, because the underlying logic isn't correct and the particular combination and/or sequence of inputs received wasn't anticipated. AI won't protect against the unexpected and, when that occurs, it's probably harder to address because the actual logic is only known within the computer. Knowing the logic and the NI (Naturally Intelligent) meat (in situ or back on the ground) has a chance to manage the unexpected. HAL was fiction but, like a lot of ACC's ideas, was well thought through and should serve as a cautionary tale.

But, as you said, Buzzword bingo gets more funding dollars...

PS I had the same physics teacher as ACC, my claim to fame (along with several hundred other boys who were taught at that school over several decades).

Operation Desert Sh!tstorm: Routine test shoots down military's top-secret internets

Re: Recovering after loss of power - paper bootstrap.

Reminds me of the time I was conducting an audit of an offshore oil production platform. The company had introduced a document control policy whereby the only printed documents allowed were those issued as part of a formal work pack and permit (and valid for the day of issue only). I advised the OIM (Offshore Installation Manager) that this didn’t work for daily/routine operations (that were the focus of my visit) which didn’t require a specific work permit. But he was unmoved - that was company policy.

When I’m the control room I asked how they recovered from a power outage. “We start up from the recovery checklist,” was the response. You’ve guessed: that was reached via a desktop PC - the document itself being stored on the network. Neither PC nor network access was hooked to the battery backup as that needed to be devoted to maintaining platform safety. Then a confession - there was a printed copy in the desk drawer. My audit finding didn’t go down well but my case for a policy change got the OIM’s support.