IntrepidWorm (u/IntrepidWorm)

IntrepidWorm commented on Carl Sagan, nuking the moon, and not nuking the moon eukaryotewritesblog.com/2... · Posted by u/freediver

jchanimal · 2 years ago

I liked your comment but then I "fact-checked" it. OT but curious how wrong this is: https://chat.openai.com/share/638e5461-7a4d-4c12-9103-da1b81...

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

Although curiously, most processes theoretically capable of exposing large amounts of lunar mantle would likely generate a decent fraction of that heat just on their own merit.

IntrepidWorm commented on The company building a rotating detonation engine is pushing the tech forward arstechnica.com/space/202... · Posted by u/CharlesW

jtriangle · 2 years ago

All of these hypersonics companies are targeting mach 5 for a reason, which is that the material science hasnt caught up yet. The bet seems to be that they'll either be ready once it is, or they'll be the ones to develop it and start raking in a mountain of military industrial complex cheese.

Not a bad goal, but the thin vernier of 'passenger flight' leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This tech is for munitions delivery first, the meatbag ferry is squarely a side hustle, and I wish they'd be honest about it.

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

It does feel disingenuous, but its also nothing new. Military research has always been the one of the primary driving forces behind critical technology.

Commercial tech is vulnerable to all sorts of disruptions, regulations, and setbacks. If you make something that will make killing a whole bunch of people easier, rest assured theres a global market for it.

IntrepidWorm commented on Research shows plant-based polymers can disappear within seven months today.ucsd.edu/story/biod... · Posted by u/geox

woodruffw · 2 years ago

Sure. But the reality is that cotton is expensive and resource intensive compared to other materials; absent a global effort to ban plastic clothes, it seems worthwhile to make those clothes less environmentally damaging.

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

Cotton also shrinks when wet and has poor thermal properties - polymer blend fabrics perform better in the cold, and are lighter and cheaper than wool. Goretex is wonderful stuff, but its also made of '"forever-plastics" and is known to slowly leach into runoff. Finding a polymer that can be cleanly manufactured for a competitive price with similar properties would be wonderful, as long as theres also a method for it to degrade safely when discarded.

IntrepidWorm commented on EPA bans asbestos, a deadly carcinogen still in use decades after partial ban apnews.com/article/epa-as... · Posted by u/anigbrowl

robocat · 2 years ago

> we aren't evolved to breath large amounts of dust

We are doing that evolution at present!

The best way to do evolution is something that kills children before they breed. Second best for evolution is killing adults before they breed. Mostly ineffective is killing adults after they breed: although in theory loss of an adult can affect the population breeding chances downwards for children.

Just a reminder that evolution is about breeding children and not so much about death.

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

I'm just spitballing here, but I'd wager that the human toll required to evolve effective resistance to regular and prolonged asbestos exposure is more than most of us would be willing to pay.

We already evolved these massive craniums filled with (to date) the most intricate and powerful general computers in the world - it seems like the solution to asbestos exposure is simply engineering a way to avoid it. No evolution necessary.

IntrepidWorm commented on Bats of the Midnight Sun hakaimagazine.com/feature... · Posted by u/Vigier

_ZeD_ · 2 years ago

>>> since bats are mammals, they literally turn mosquitoes into milk.

and now I'll never have breakfast anymore. Thanks

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

Unless you are pouring bat milk on your Cheerios, I'd reckon you're not going to be affected by that particular fun fact.

The same can't be said for the legally acceptable portion of rat feces that makes its way into pretty much all processed grain products.

IntrepidWorm commented on EPA bans asbestos, a deadly carcinogen still in use decades after partial ban apnews.com/article/epa-as... · Posted by u/anigbrowl

asdff · 2 years ago

Mechanics should be wearing sufficient PPE if they are working with particulate pollution. Take asbestos out of the brake dust but they still do things that generate plenty of particulate, which is only an occupational hazard when coupled with improper ppe.

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

Sure, but ensuring all mechanics everywhere have access to use PPE, and then enforcing its correct use is way less effective in practice than removing the hazardous material from the workplace entirely. Being exposed to any fine particulate matter over long periods will be detrimental to health (we aren't evolved to breath large amounts of dust), but not every particulate is an acute carcinogen.

IntrepidWorm commented on Hurried Thoughts: You're Wrong About Tidal-Locking worldbuildingpasta.blogsp... · Posted by u/sohkamyung

jonathanlydall · 2 years ago

The stars would still rotate around the planet, but the rotation would be that of the planet rotating around its star.

So one would need timekeeping to track where you are in that cycle.

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

Since the cycle of stellar observation repeats each solar year, the observation would itself be a method of time keeping. One would need only to track the azimuth of a series of regularly positioned star constellations to determine time, and from there one could then ascertain location.

IntrepidWorm commented on Bioluminescent petunias now available for U.S. market lgrmag.com/news/light-bio... · Posted by u/geox

rini17 · 2 years ago

I was like...mkay the wind was one time plot device. Bigger issue is that he seemed to grow potatoes inside with no mention of lighting at all? That was major omission for me, grow lights require plenty of energy and thus waste heat.

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

More damning would be the perchlorates found in Martian soil, toxic to most Earth-plants, not to mention Earth-humans.

IntrepidWorm commented on Bioluminescent petunias now available for U.S. market lgrmag.com/news/light-bio... · Posted by u/geox

dvh · 2 years ago

Meanwhile in real world we go completely opposite direction - degenerate munchkin cats

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

im not sure I want a lithe hunter stalking through my house, marking every surface and attacking everything that breathes. I much prefer my dopey dander machines that sleep on my chest, flop around on the ground chasing the pocket lint they dug out of my trashcan, and superhero-leaping off their tree onto the couch to wake the other one with a screech.

If I owned a farm and needed a ratter, I'd likely feel different.

IntrepidWorm commented on iPod 'squeaks' betray software secrets (2005) newscientist.com/article/... · Posted by u/emigre

demondemidi · 2 years ago

Sure skipped over a lot of details. Like how did they reprogram the iPod code to play the boot rom as Audio? Why not just desolder the flash chip and read it out with a programmer?

EDIT: I missed the fact that there was already a "Linux on iPod" distro to build upon.

IntrepidWorm · 2 years ago

Found this:

http://www.ipodlinux.org/stories/piezo

    I got an iPod for christmas. The ipodlinux project was one of the main reasons for my choice and so I started exploring the iPod as far as I was able to. I patched the bootloader and got some basic code to run but there was no way to access any hardware other than the two CPUs yet. To get the LCD, Clickwheel and the harddisk working we needed to reverse engineer the bootloader in the flashrom. But to do that we first had to find a way to get that code. Seems quite impossible without any knowlegde about the IO-Hardware but I found a solution...

u/IntrepidWorm

KarmaCake day287June 9, 2021View Original