zaitcev.mee.nu

The BBC Spaceman discussed today the upcoming launch of Cupola, and neglected to mention that ISS already has a rather big window in the Destiny. Certainly, Cupola is a superior piece of hardware. For one thing, its main window is bigger at 80cm diameter than Destiny's 50cm. For another, Destiny's window sits flush, even somewhat recessed, against the outside mould of the station. Still, it's an evolutionary step.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 07:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 72 words, total size 1 kb.

LOL:

<bramm> if nobody does anything about this I'm going to go public about it, freenode does NOT want the publicity of me being pissed off

What an ass.

Oh, and this:

Yes I can be blunt. []

Either Bram has no idea that he is being a jerk regardles of politeness, or he builds a politeness strawman on purpose. Not sure which is worse.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 70 words, total size 1 kb.

Went to Dell.com just now, and found that they only offer Ubuntu on Dell 10 ($299 deal). But a Dell 10v comes with Windows XP for $249. Same specs wrt. screen, RAM & HD.

BTW, ironically, "v" means "no Poulsbo". You'd think it were more amenable to Linux...

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 09:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 53 words, total size 1 kb.

You know why all the whining about the name "iPad" is dumb? Remember Wii. It was exactly the same thing with all the talk about wee-wee etc. And now? The best-selling console that made Nintendo even richer than they were despite solidly losing in power against its contemporaries.

That said, I am not at all interested in a locked-down device. I am only talking about the retarded laughter I hear across the Internet.

UPDATE: Rodney Sparks commented "You're right, but that doesn't mean chuckling about it now is a retarded thing to do..." Indeed, I only meant expectations for any (negative) correlation with the market success.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 11:54 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 111 words, total size 1 kb.

First of all, Lessig's ugly meltdown did not start yesterday. I noticed it back in September. Still, it's amuzing when this happens:

[in the spam] Lessig tells a heartwarming story about a speech he gave yesterday at the Cato Institute, which he erroneously but tellingly identifies as "a prominent conservative think tank."

What a tool (from Reason).

I share the concerns that Larry can do significant damage by expending his geek cred until his krugmanization becomes too obvious. I own the book that he wrote back when he cared about the freedom and I quoted from it, and I used to assign him a great credit.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 10:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 110 words, total size 1 kb.

Military-Industrical Courier reports:

Также завершены летные испытания ракеты-носителя «Рокот». В 2010 году комплекс будет принят в эксплуатацию. РН «Рокот» - это, можно сказать, переходное средство выведения легкого класса. «Рокот» будет использоваться до принятия в эксплуатацию перспективных носителей этого класса - РН «Союз-2.1В» и РН «Ангара-1.2».

Oh, brother. Russians and their nomenclature. At least real Soyuz-2.1 and Soyuz-2.1V are going to have more in common than Tu-22 and Tu-22M3 (e.g. Blok I and payload fairing are shared).

P.S. Just to pee into a westerner's soup, there exists Soyuz-2.1b (and it's a real booster that already made flights). Watch those encoding and case, folks.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 12:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 108 words, total size 1 kb.

We had 3 meetings of CS 591 with Prof. Dorian Arnold so far. The first two were rather dull, the third more fun. At first I pined for Prof. Bridges' class, but now I expect the class to get better once we're done with the basics.

One notable thing about the class discussion is that Prof. Arnold has a habit of explaining things in extremely general manner, covering all eventualities and using the broad language only. He says all the right things, but I have a strong suspicion that my classmates may have trouble with mapping the concepts that he discusses to the reality. Granted, if he simply says that non-consistent cache is just like DNS records (governed with TTL), students will think of that example whenever caching comes up, and perhaps miss some other ideas. But this may be an acceptable price for knowing at least one example.

The whole session reminds me about the story of Richard Feynman in Brazil, a bit. Light reflected from the surface of the bay, triboluminiscence, etc.

Another downside of abstract conversation is that I am not sure I understand it all myself. For example, when Prof. Arnold says "overlay network", I think "a bunch of IP-IP tunnels between some daemons" even before he ends the sentence. But is that right? Maybe he means something entirely different!

Papers weren't difficult so far, but I'm already slacking: made a note to read up on 2-phase commit protocol and didn't do it. Tsk, tsk. The next one is already Lamport's thing about timing (that guy didn't just invent LaTeX, you know). This is going to be fun.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 10:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 278 words, total size 2 kb.

Seen today (via):

It’s like a weird and terrible destiny [for Kerry]. Not quite a Kennedy, not much as a senator, not quite president, and now, when his party holds White House, House and Senate, and he’s racked up all the seniority, not quite relevant.

LOL.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 09:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.

Heard from someone working for an organization called "New Mexico First". Reportedly whenever the government wants something done, they call these people, and they organize town halls where everyone supports the government position. I asked, "so, you guys pretty much astroturf for the government?" The answer was, "what the heck is this astro-fuff-something?" Oh, brother.

Curiously, the Google cache for their webpage says:

"Statewide, non profit, non partisan organization whose mission is to build consensus between groups and inspire positive legislative action in New Mexico."

But the page itself contains nothing about being "non-buzzword". Change!

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 98 words, total size 1 kb.

Rand's post on Launch Escape is a quality work, and he continues to improve it (fascinating).

One of the important points is the struggle about the absolutization of the human life, rooted in The Right Stuff, Galactic Single Combat General and the associated mythos[1]. Here's a choice comment by a reader "Godzilla":

AFAIK there was only one Soyuz lost to depressurization, but they considered it important enough to add the Sokol suits for every flight ever since at considerable cost. From what I understand the suits are also useless for anything but emergencies, and use considerable space. I see no problem in adding these and the escape tower if it makes people more confident in the system.

The story of the Soyuz 11 flight and the reaction to the tragedy is considerably involved. I think that the same classification of cosmonauts as national assets as in America, and the resulting loss of prestige when one was lost, played a role in overreacting to the fault. Still, who is to say that Sokol is useless? Reading memoirs -- such as that of Prof. B. E. Chertok -- leave no room to doubt that cosmonauts themselves were a) eager to fly when it is not safe, and b) are quite unhappy when they percieve sloppy work on safety. Turning it arounud, they did not want mathematical safety, they wanted everyone in the design office and factory doing their part. In other words, they were irrational just like the public.

BTW, no commenter asked why we put ejection seats in military airplanes, even though they are quite obviously reusable.

[1] In the years since I read The Right Stuff, I learned a few facts about Neil Armstrong in particular, that throw a heavy schadow on his negative portrayal in the book as a kind of "computer man", unable to improvise with the best of Edwards. The book is clearly biased and not reliable. Nonetheless, it serves to depict the cult of the astronaut.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 09:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 335 words, total size 2 kb.

Looks like I losing interest in Pretty Cure after only ep.5. Pisard was a pretty bad villain, with his main purpose being presented clumsily just to let Cure White an opportunity to preach. Even worse, they seem to be collecting stones now. *facepalm*

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 10:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 48 words, total size 1 kb.

That means, she's going to ruin more lives of the innocents, proudly. It's what she does.

On the other hand, I am sorry that I did not believe into the people of the Commonwealth.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 42 words, total size 1 kb.

Seen in passing at at blog in England, talking about imminent melt-down of Japan:

We all know that Japan has been racking up debt for Two Lost Decades, yet the sky has refused to fall. Borrowing costs have slithered down to 1.36pc on 10-year JGBs and under 1pc on shorter debt, though they are not as low as they were .. nota bene. This seeming defiance of gravity has emboldened the Krugmanites and Keynesian prime-pumpers to call for a repeat in the US, UK, and Europe. There lies a great danger.

LOL, right? But look at what Democrats have done to American debt since taking over the purse strings in 2006. Forget the gray bars, they are over here. Red ones are here.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:33 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 128 words, total size 1 kb.

On the official blog:

We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

What about the DNS? Do liberals still want the root servers out of American hands and in control of U.N. where Chinese hold the bribe power?

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 12:49 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 100 words, total size 1 kb.

Just look what Instapundit decided to highlight from Hot Air: "[] Attorney General feel free to commit assault and battery on a reporter" and then again "assault and battery". I watched the video. I've read the reporter's own goddamn account. Where is assault and battery? My human sympathies are entirely on the side of the poor persecuted hyper-powerful unaccountable bureaucrat... individual, against my better judgement. Damn paparazzi!

On the other hand, perhaps it is going to make people think about the "assault and battery" charges treshold being irresponsibly lowered this much. What Democrat thugs of SEIU did to Ken Gladney was assault and battery. This was not.

UPDATE: Predictably, the Republican side attempts to run with it (see Legal Insurrection for a list of links). You know, I hate when the only thing that matters is victory in some elections. Coakley is bad enough as she is. Why don't you guys talk about some serious issues, like her record on the RKBA?

UPDATE: The guy who pushed the reporter aside apologizes (according to some Dem blog anyway).

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 11:50 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 180 words, total size 1 kb.

CNN wins the SLOWPOKE.JPG today for Avatar blues:

Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.' "

Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality.

There is nothing new to self-loathing liberals being depressed and suicidal, and in fact an early review of Avatar captured it all perfectly -- without the implied surprise of CNN:

[Avatar is] a suicide fantasy, the Hollywood blockbuster equivalent of a troubled teenager’s notebook sketches, scribbled by someone who hates himself only marginally less than he hates the rest of the world.

During the big battle scene, as dinosaurs were chowing down on soldiers, the middle-aged couple seated next to me were grinning happily… delighted by the defeat and destruction of their own miserable species.

No wonder Republicans have more satisfying sex lives.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 09:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 162 words, total size 1 kb.

So, the Strike Witches. The show ruined by its fanservice before it was ruined by its ending.

Still, even if GONZO (R.I.P.) never[1] knew how to end their anime, they certainly knew how to begin.

[1] Except in Vandread.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 04:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 42 words, total size 1 kb.

Quoting a year-old article on LSA Show in InFlight USA, by Michael Leighton:

I did not get the opportunity to fly the new Remos as the demo plane was book solid on Thursday, the opening day of the show. Unfortunately a Remos GX crashed on Sunday morning, the last day of the show. The accident killed a British photographer covering the event for a U.K. publication and sent the pilot to the hospital. The NTSB said it would release a preliminary report in 10 days and the final report could take up to nine months, so we won’t know the exact cause for a while. But the accident does serve to highlight the Light Sport Aircraft industries dirty little secret. That is the fact that the insured loss rate is “absolutely horrid” to quote Mike Adams from Avemco Insurance Company, who spoke at an LSA insurance forum during the show. He explained that loss of control accidents on takeoff and landing in LSA type aircraft have compelled Avemco to require five hours of dual instruction from a type current instructor before a pilot can fly the aircraft on his own. He went on to say that though this requirement has helped, there was a long way to go. His comments can be heard on an excellent podcast on Avweb.com.

So, while nobody is saying that LSAs are unsafe as such (consireding that Piper J-3 is an LSA), the proficiency of their pilots is an issue. BTW, note the 5 hours on the type requirement.

UPDATE: The NTSB preliminary report for the accident on 2009/1/25 hints a mechanical malfunction rather than lack of training:

Control continuity could not be established to the left aileron. Examination revealed that there were no mechanical failures of the bell crank or push pull rod, but it was discovered that unlike the elevator's and right aileron's quick release rod-connectors, the left aileron's quick release rod-connector was not connected to the quick connector release fork.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 09:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 333 words, total size 2 kb.

Some guy at BBC posted an article about "death of netbook" about two or three weeks ago. His point was that overgrown cellphones will usurp the personal communication role and personal computing will return to real laptops (only small ones). He thought consumers cannot live without merging functions, so they demand one universal device to carry.

I carry a cellphone and a camera at all times, so perhaps I'm not one to consult about it, but anyway, here goes. I had a chance to play with Moto[rola] Droid. It's quite impressive, but as far as personal communication device goes, I cannot stand its small screen and keyboard (love the resolution slash pitch though: NLQ displays FTW). I did not really know it until I tried, but my ideal device would be something twice, maybe three times bigger than Moto Droid (or a general smartphone). But then, you ask, how would I carry it? Certainly it becomes too big for a pocket.

Well... I don't carry anything in my pockets anyway (except keys). A belly pack is so much better. So, unsurprisingly, I would rather adapt to carrying a bigger device in a holster of some kind, than adapt to pitifuly small screen and keyboard. Come to think about it, Droid is about 2 times smaller in both directions than a rectangle into which a regular 1911 would fit. Say, if I have a shoulder holster on the left side, I can carry my ideal communicator on the right side. Other arrangements are possible too (such as carrying it in a utility poach on the belt, purse, etc.).

Of course, my 2x format communicator cannot be brought to one's ear as a cellphone, but it's nothing a little Bluetooth earpiece cannot handle.

UPDATE 2010/1/20: Another hilariously retarded article from a guy who has the same amount of clue as a BBC journo (via). Also, it refers to... Katie Seirra! Yes, the lady who presented at LCA 2007 and made me rage so hard. He's right about one thing though: it is quite likely that smartphones will continue to undermine the market for my "ideal communicator" and thus make it non-viable, so I will never get it.

UPDATE 2010/1/27: Apple unveiled iPad today. It is somewhat bigger than, for example, Kimber Custom II. iPad is 9.56 by 7.47 inches, whereas Kimber is only 8.7 by 5.25 inches. However, iPad is 37% lighter at 24 versus 38 ounces. I still think I can carry something like iPad easily. Unfortunately, I really need a keyboard and I'm not sure I can live with an on-screen one. On the other hand, a virtual keyboard designed for thumbing might be interesting.

UPDATE MOAR: Look at input methods in Gizmodo post. The two-thumb virtual keyboard ("DialKeys") seems promising (right until I lose a thumb in a freak accident).

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 10:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 475 words, total size 3 kb.

Somehow I got to thinking about getting a Sport Pilot certificate in the last few days. It's not like I expect to fail the medical, but the mere idea repulses me (think Bob Hoover can't happen to you?). But the picture is rather bleak: 60% of the expense of low-end GA (at best), poor availability of rentals (how about $2400 for 2-day vacation). Basically the only way to make it affordable is to buy a used J3 Cub from a bank's repo list.

This is amusing, too (although deals with the tort, not FAA directly):

4) The US purchase price of LSAs are largely influenced by three factors. The cost to recoupe R&D, the cost to actually make the aircraft and the dollar to euro. New sLSA companies need to recoupe a lot of money for equipment, R&D, etc. Some aircraft are clearly built better than others. Some use high grade steel, composites, compenents, etc. Most sLSA cost 50% more now than 3 years ago becaues of the dollar to euro.

Three factors? How about the fourth one? I heard that for certificated airplanes, a third or more of the price is liability insurance.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 09:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 198 words, total size 1 kb.