log☇︎
738700+ entries in 0.415s
asciilifeform: would never be able to stray more than fifty miles from a major water source
asciilifeform: accommodate huge water tanks holding whole lakefuls of water. Even so, it
asciilifeform: found the best to be ordinary water. The _Leviathan_ was now redesigned to
asciilifeform: before moving. After months of experimentation with expensive agents, they
asciilifeform: agent to hold the topsoil in place; _Leviathan_ would spray the stuff out
asciilifeform: solve the topsoil problem. A chemical firm then went to work on a binding
pLambert: guesses as to whether it will repeat a third time?
asciilifeform: expensive monitoring equipment to regulate each fan, but this never seemed to
asciilifeform: dust storms and buried small towns in soildrifts. A computer company suggested
asciilifeform: powerful that they blew away the topsoil for miles around the craft, created
asciilifeform: which were to lift the craft were at first too weak, then (redesigned) so
asciilifeform: From the start, there were problems called "teething troubles". The fans
asciilifeform: while the bill was railroaded through.
asciilifeform: who continued to oppose it was sent on a factfinding mission to Antarctica
asciilifeform: commercial arguments rolled the project over all opposition as one day
asciilifeform: millions of workers. The combined force of industrial, political, military and
asciilifeform: would devastate any land over which it happened to hover. But by now the Armywanted it as badly as any of the dozens of states, thousands of companies and
asciilifeform: were objections that _Leviathan_ would cost too much, would be a sitting duck,
asciilifeform: Both houses of Congress shoved through the necessary legislation. There
asciilifeform: the rubber company settled for a contract to provide the giant hovercraft
asciilifeform: the alternative suggestions#the entire ship would have to hover. Grumbling,
asciilifeform: hundred yards). Unless a complete rubber factory were taken on board#one of
jayk: my eyes cannot keep up with this shit
asciilifeform: turned out to be 135 million, plus spares (a tire change would be needed every
asciilifeform: the interests of a large rubber company. But the number of tires required
asciilifeform: In the first design, _Leviathan_ was to run on wheels, thus promoting
asciilifeform: it would be capable of fast movement around the countryside.
asciilifeform: state of Delaware. It would launch both missiles and planes of all types, and
asciilifeform: would be a monster platform, some fifty miles across and equal in area to the
pLambert: oh shit, he is repeating the whole thing again
asciilifeform: the largest unions, then the senators and congressmen from every state where
asciilifeform: then the right project at the right time. Two big aircraft manufacturers were
asciilifeform: The idea of a land ship of that size may seem ridiculous now, but it was
asciilifeform: up costing every man, woman and child in the United States over twenty grand.
asciilifeform: _Leviathan_ was the most successful commercial defense project ever; it ended
asciilifeform: Department of Agriculture now knew much more about binding topsoils. But
asciilifeform: argue eloquently for his monster. He pointed to valuable spin-offs: the
asciilifeform: results, trimming would begin. Doddly went before a Congressional committee to
asciilifeform: the project had too much momentum to cancel, but unless there were visible
asciilifeform: entire US gross national product would be spent on the land boat. Of course
asciilifeform: had doubled every six months: five more years like the first two, and the
asciilifeform: (though thousand-mile flexible pipelines were considered).
asciilifeform: would never be able to stray more than fifty miles from a major water source
asciilifeform: accommodate huge water tanks holding whole lakefuls of water. Even so, it
asciilifeform: found the best to be ordinary water. The _Leviathan_ was now redesigned to
asciilifeform: before moving. After months of experimentation with expensive agents, they
asciilifeform: agent to hold the topsoil in place; _Leviathan_ would spray the stuff out
asciilifeform: solve the topsoil problem. A chemical firm then went to work on a binding
asciilifeform: expensive monitoring equipment to regulate each fan, but this never seemed to
asciilifeform: dust storms and buried small towns in soildrifts. A computer company suggested
asciilifeform: powerful that they blew away the topsoil for miles around the craft, created
asciilifeform: which were to lift the craft were at first too weak, then (redesigned) so
asciilifeform: From the start, there were problems called "teething troubles". The fans
asciilifeform: while the bill was railroaded through.
asciilifeform: who continued to oppose it was sent on a factfinding mission to Antarctica
asciilifeform: commercial arguments rolled the project over all opposition as one day
asciilifeform: millions of workers. The combined force of industrial, political, military and
asciilifeform: would devastate any land over which it happened to hover. But by now the Armywanted it as badly as any of the dozens of states, thousands of companies and
asciilifeform: were objections that _Leviathan_ would cost too much, would be a sitting duck,
asciilifeform: Both houses of Congress shoved through the necessary legislation. There
asciilifeform: the rubber company settled for a contract to provide the giant hovercraft
asciilifeform: the alternative suggestions#the entire ship would have to hover. Grumbling,
asciilifeform: hundred yards). Unless a complete rubber factory were taken on board#one of
asciilifeform: turned out to be 135 million, plus spares (a tire change would be needed every
asciilifeform: the interests of a large rubber company. But the number of tires required
asciilifeform: In the first design, _Leviathan_ was to run on wheels, thus promoting
asciilifeform: it would be capable of fast movement around the countryside.
asciilifeform: state of Delaware. It would launch both missiles and planes of all types, and
asciilifeform: would be a monster platform, some fifty miles across and equal in area to the
asciilifeform: the largest unions, then the senators and congressmen from every state where
asciilifeform: then the right project at the right time. Two big aircraft manufacturers were
asciilifeform: The idea of a land ship of that size may seem ridiculous now, but it was
asciilifeform: up costing every man, woman and child in the United States over twenty grand.
asciilifeform: _Leviathan_ was the most successful commercial defense project ever; it ended
mircea_popescu: ally, a successful strike would deeply wound American prestige, especially if it went unanswered. Domestically, the deaths of six thousand crewmembers would generate almost unbearable political pressures for revenge. Our entries into WWII and the Global War on Terror were sparked by less.
mircea_popescu: Specifically, our bargaining chip against Beijing is to make things uncomfortably apocalyptic. The point is less what the carrier can do and more what an attack on it promises—full retaliation, and a war that may quickly get out of hand. As ASPI analyst Harry White observed last month [11], “the idea is that anyone who attacks as valuable an asset as a US carrier should expect a significant response.” Internation
mircea_popescu: Like the US garrison in West Berlin, aircraft carriers are relatively defenseless, but they have a separate function as a highly visible warning about US resolve. Today, a strategy of mobile “tripwires” is neither credible nor prudent, but it is worth studying because it may actually be implemented.
kakobrekla: <ThickAsThieves> kako, it was me that suggested the wiki and categories, thx for making it < get to werk then!
mircea_popescu: bounce in the end this isn't such a very good argument.
bounce: explains it better than I could. if reduced at absurdum it's inevitably too expensive to ever fly well, and it very much looks like lockheed martin deliberately aimed for that because a project that looks it'll succeed Real Soon Now but never really does is the ultimate goose with the golden eggs for the military industrial complex
mircea_popescu: true, true.
kakobrekla: <mircea_popescu> kakobrekla: the brick and mortar trick is still something new in btcland << hardly. mtgox had them, bitcoin foundation had them (before running of to the uk at any rate) < perhaps, but thats is not the reason people fell for them
bounce: where's that piece reporting on the incoming chief de mission that dug a bit and found fscktons of rot?
Mats_cd03: if murica didnt want politicians building airplanes, they shoudnt have elected politicians to build airplanes
bounce: the f35 is made of the same sort of undeliverium
Mats_cd03: (fastest fixed-wing craft in the army iirc due to two rotors)
bounce: if I'd wanted to be mean I'd point out that the space shuttle looked spiffy enough but didn't do a very good job of shuttling, n'mind at a suitably low price tag. not that hard to argue it set humanity's progress toward colonising space back a good score years or so.
Mats_cd03: its certainly not as efficient as the chinook
Mats_cd03: jurov for some relative value of short, it doesnt go very far and i dont think you can carry much of a payload either
ThickAsThieves: “And because we don’t know all the algorithms, because we don’t know the end factorial and all of the different ways they may interact, there are negative consequences that occur as a result. That introduces a market risk. That market risk has an unquantifiable cost. We saw it in one instance with the flash crash. We see it every day with little mini-flash crashes.”
ThickAsThieves: “The risk isn’t so much about the small investor,” Mr. Cuban said. “The risk is all these different high-frequency traders playing a game with their algorithms, trying to trick each other, to get in front of each other to make that trade.
asciilifeform: what does it need to do, fly the 'full spectrum dominance' squid flag?
jurov: such fail. two heli blades would likely be lighter and more efficient
bounce: leadership isn't easy to come by, no. random democratic and/or republican countries haven't managed it in a long time for the usual positions either
jurov: wait, the VTO is only for short distance move?
bounce: alright, an inequality, and there's an epsilon, but sheesh.
mircea_popescu: the usual problem is that there's no capable criminals to make a guild in the first place, nothing else.
mircea_popescu: but in general, the crime guild does much better a job of regulating crime than any other guild.
bounce: oh I get the point that there'll be some equilibrium or other (pterry's vetinary letting the crime guild regulate the crime) but I don't think the equation is that simple
ozbot: First F-35B Vertical Takeoff Test | Military.com