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News Briefs 19-12-2008

A wrinkle in time, a crack in the pavement or just water under the bridge…

Huge thanks, happy holidaze and a stellar new year to Greg, RPJ, RMG, Kat, Perceval, Jameske and all TDG’ers great and small.

Quote of the Day:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all…”

A. Lincoln

  1. The road that generates electricity.…
    …at the expense of the cars driving on it.

    Altering the road conditions so it flexes even minutely will increase petrol consumption.

    Let a little air out of your tyres and see what happens to your petrol consumption. Or conversely add some air.

    Studies comparing asphalt and concrete road surfaces have shown that a harder therefore less flexible surface gives better petrol efficiency.

    In addition you need OIL to make asphalt… (oops)

    You don’t get something for nothing.

    🙂

    Cheers

    1. Asphalt…
      Yes, you need oil for asphalt. However, that’s a red herring. Concrete also requires oil, or, rather, petroleum products as well. It uses them in the manufacturing process, to power crushers and mixers, to power the equipment used to mine the aggregate and gypsum, to power the delivery vehicles, etc. It’s all relative.

      One bright spot is that many companies are returning to an old standby of adding crushed glass to pavement as aggregate in both asphalt and concrete. Between 10 & 40% of the normal aggregate can be replaced with crushed glass. It’s an excellent way to recycle it, and the industry (glass) has shown numerous other uses for the recycled material.

      Respects,
      Gwedd

  2. Greenland
    Personally, I’m not worried about the ice melt on Greenland. There is, after all, a reason that it was called Greenland vice Iceland. Those trillion tons of ice aren’t ancient glaciers and weren’t around when the Vikings started to colonize the country.

    It’s all part of the naturally cycle of cooling/warming that the planet goes through.

    Respects,
    Gwedd

    1. He!
      The rise and fall of civilizations is also part of the natural cycle, too! 😉

      —–
      It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
      It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

      Red Pill Junkie

      1. true, but
        The IPCC tells us that if we give them enough money, they can tell us how to control these climate cycles.

        I should check again if they are willing to reveal their experimental tools. Last time they were not willing. That is why, at the time, my suspicion was strong that they are faking it.

        —-
        It is not how fast you go
        it is when you get there.

    2. The way I heard it…
      >> There is, after all, a reason that it was called Greenland vice Iceland.

      The way I heard it, they named it Greenland so other people would go there instead of mucking up the good thing they had going on in Iceland, which was so-named to further discourage other immigrants.

  3. Monkeys beating the s**t out of their trainer
    I would’ve paid good money to see that!! 🙂

    —–
    It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
    It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

    Red Pill Junkie

  4. NASA’s Garage Sale
    What if China wants to buy a shuttle? Or Iran?

    —–
    It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
    It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

    Red Pill Junkie

    1. parts is not parts
      I am sure they will remove all the interesting parts, like the electronics and control stuff.

      The airframe is pretty boring, everyone knows what that is like. Just go to a library.

      —-
      It is not how fast you go
      it is when you get there.

  5. Shuttle
    NASA is selling the shuttles without the main engines. FWIW, China or anyone else could buy one, but the question would be why? They won’t have many miles left on them, as the airframes are only rated for so many hours, and when those are up, they’re up. Additionally, how would they get them to orbit? It’d probably be less expensive to build a new system than try and refurbish one of these old girls. 🙂

    Respects,
    Gwedd

    1. Exactly
      You buy one of these old birds, dismantle it, copy the tech and make a brand new shuttle for yourself.

      That’s why I’m wondering if the auction would be TRULY open to anyone.

      —–
      It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
      It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

      Red Pill Junkie

      1. yes but
        I think all you get is the airframe. No engines, no control electronics, no hydraulics, no software, nothing but the skin.

        But hey, call NASA and ask what you get for the $42M. No need to speculate 🙂

        —-
        It is not how fast you go
        it is when you get there.

        1. Too steep
          If that’s all you get for it, it’s too expensive. You can get a 1:1 mockup for a fraction of the prize; plus there’s the extra cost of transporting the damn things. Maybe some rich mogul with a passion for space memorabilia would like to decorate his mansion’s front yard with one of them, simply because of their historical relevance —and because “it went to space, man!” :0)

          —–
          It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
          It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

          Red Pill Junkie

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