wowbagger's recent activity

  1. Comment on Tildes Video Thread in ~misc

    wowbagger
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    A Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges – Practical Engineering As a structural engineer in a different industry, this one scratched every single itch for me. Some of those bridges are gorgeous! One...

    A Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges – Practical Engineering

    As a structural engineer in a different industry, this one scratched every single itch for me. Some of those bridges are gorgeous! One of Grady's best IMO

    3 votes
  2. Comment on I just turned 29 last month, what are some things I should be thinking about before my 30s? in ~talk

    wowbagger
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    I'm also turning 29 at the end of the month. Lots of 96ers around Tildes it seems!

    I'm also turning 29 at the end of the month. Lots of 96ers around Tildes it seems!

    2 votes
  3. Comment on US Space Force official warns there is not enough room to prep satellites as commercial and government missions ramp up in ~space

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    Kind of an inevitable problem as the US's presence in space continues to increase. We've been launching mostly from just Kennedy and Vandenberg for decades, and NASA's funding is in such constant...

    Kind of an inevitable problem as the US's presence in space continues to increase. We've been launching mostly from just Kennedy and Vandenberg for decades, and NASA's funding is in such constant jeopardy that infrastructure upgrades are at the very bottom of the priority list. If you want to be able to send more stuff to space, maybe give the space agency a respectable budget for once?

    I'm personally in favor of further increasing launch operations from Wallops. Currently nothing human-rated launches from there, it's just ISS resupplies and sounding rockets. It would be good not to have all of our launch facility eggs in one hurricane-prone Floridian basket.

    4 votes
  4. Comment on Looking for a visualization of North American political boundaries over time in ~humanities.history

    wowbagger
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    Not sure if this helps a whole lot, but the Wikimedia Commons page for that gif you posted links to this version, which is slowed down a bit. You can also extract each frame to an image album to...

    Not sure if this helps a whole lot, but the Wikimedia Commons page for that gif you posted links to this version, which is slowed down a bit. You can also extract each frame to an image album to let you scroll forward and back, like so.

    3 votes
  5. Comment on After a shaky debate performance top US Democrats talk about replacing Joe Biden on the ticket in ~society

    wowbagger
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    The two terms don't have to be consecutive. The 22nd amendment only specifies that you can't be elected president more than twice, so it applies even to non-consecutive terms.

    The two terms don't have to be consecutive. The 22nd amendment only specifies that you can't be elected president more than twice, so it applies even to non-consecutive terms.

    7 votes
  6. Comment on Faulty valve scuttles Starliner’s first crew launch in ~space

    wowbagger
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    I wouldn't say it's splitting hairs. It's a joint venture between LockMart and Boeing's Space Division, who aren't even the ones who have been in the news lately for QA issues. As...
    • Exemplary

    I wouldn't say it's splitting hairs. It's a joint venture between LockMart and Boeing's Space Division, who aren't even the ones who have been in the news lately for QA issues. As @PleasantlyAverage said, they're a completely different group of engineers. They've been operating the Atlas V and Delta IV since 2006 without a single launch failure, and they just launched the first Vulcan in January which was also a success.

    Launch scrubs happen all the time due to hardware, electrical, and weather issues. I know folks are out for blood when it comes to Boeing but ULA is a very reliable launch services provider and this particular scrub isn't really newsworthy. The very fact that they noticed the issue and postponed the launch means that they're doing things properly.

    7 votes
  7. Comment on Stops along a drive from Texas to Pennsylvania in ~travel

    wowbagger
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    I'd also add Mammoth Cave to the parks list, it looks like you'll be driving right past it. Just make sure to reserve a cave tour way ahead of the time; the self-guided section is really small so...

    I'd also add Mammoth Cave to the parks list, it looks like you'll be driving right past it. Just make sure to reserve a cave tour way ahead of the time; the self-guided section is really small so you don't get to see much of the cave unless you book a spot on a tour. And they sell out really fast.

    2 votes
  8. Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space

    wowbagger
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    Orbital period is super easy to calculate, it's just a^3/2 if you're using Astronomical Units. At 500 AU that's only about 11,000 years, which may be mind-numbingly slow on a human time scale but...

    Orbital period is super easy to calculate, it's just a^3/2 if you're using Astronomical Units. At 500 AU that's only about 11,000 years, which may be mind-numbingly slow on a human time scale but in a cosmic sense it's nothing.

    1 vote
  9. Comment on US Congress approves bill banning TikTok unless Chinese owner ByteDance sells platform in ~tech

    wowbagger
    (edited )
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    How can you say this so confidently right after you say that you don't even use TikTok? I do use it, and I see loads of nuanced discussion from a wide range of the political spectrum. I also see...

    Algorithms don't allow for nuanced discussion. Issues get simplified down to black or white conflicts and it increases division in society.

    How can you say this so confidently right after you say that you don't even use TikTok? I do use it, and I see loads of nuanced discussion from a wide range of the political spectrum. I also see so much good science content, so much clever comedy, so many differing views on gender, mental health, and economic issues. There are many many passionate creators making high quality content for TikTok – the only way one ends up in an echo chamber is if one creates it for themself, and that can just as easily be done on Reddit or Tildes or whatever other non-"traditional" social media you refer to.

    9 votes
  10. Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space

    wowbagger
    (edited )
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    While there's no exact number1 associated with the mass required for a body to clear its orbit, something with a mass of 5 Earths would almost certainly qualify, even at 500 AU. For reference,...

    While there's no exact number1 associated with the mass required for a body to clear its orbit, something with a mass of 5 Earths would almost certainly qualify, even at 500 AU. For reference, Pluto (dwarf planet) is 0.0025 Earth-masses and Mercury (planet) is 0.0553 Earth-masses.

    1. There have been criteria put forward, however. If you use the method that doesn't require any empirical data, Jean-Luc Margot's Π, you get a Π-value of 3.3 for the parameters listed in the paper which is well above the Π=1 required to clear the neighborhood. Pluto has a Π-value of 0.028

    4 votes
  11. Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space

    wowbagger
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    Webb is exactly the wrong telescope for something like this, it has a very small field of view – more akin to a telephoto lens. What you need to find a planet is a survey telescope. I believe WISE...

    Webb is exactly the wrong telescope for something like this, it has a very small field of view – more akin to a telephoto lens. What you need to find a planet is a survey telescope. I believe WISE did briefly search for Planet 9 and came up empty, but that was only a 16-inch mirror. The upcoming Roman Space Telescope is also an infrared survey telescope and has a much better chance of finding something with its nearly 8-foot primary mirror.

    5 votes
  12. Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space

    wowbagger
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    That is much, much easier said than done. The baseline these researchers used for their simulations assumes a semi-major axis of 500 AU, an eccentricity of 0.25, and an inclination of 20 degrees....

    That is much, much easier said than done. The baseline these researchers used for their simulations assumes a semi-major axis of 500 AU, an eccentricity of 0.25, and an inclination of 20 degrees. So not only is their best guess at its location 10 times further from the sun than Pluto, it's also in a far less circular orbit than the other planets and tilted way out of the ecliptic. And it's only 5 earth-masses. And those are all still just guesses. Studies like these are really important for justifying and informing the search for this needle in the spatial haystack.

    27 votes
  13. Comment on Kroger’s panopticon: Making criminals of grocery shoppers in ~tech

    wowbagger
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    Sure, but the topic here is co-ops as an alternative to chain grocery stores. I'm probably more willing to accept additional friction to my shopping experience than most, and as I said in my first...

    Sure, but the topic here is co-ops as an alternative to chain grocery stores. I'm probably more willing to accept additional friction to my shopping experience than most, and as I said in my first comment I do still shop there with the understanding that it's going to be a lower quality and more expensive experience. But until the co-op can provide a similar level of service to the major chains then it's not going to be the main option for most. It's just another form of the personal responsibility argument vis-à-vis climate change or transit – unless the most sustainable option is either the most convenient or only option, most people are not going to choose it.

    10 votes
  14. Comment on Kroger’s panopticon: Making criminals of grocery shoppers in ~tech

    wowbagger
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    I understand that, but when my menu for the week includes a Mexican dish and the co-op is out of cilantro, avocados, and jalapeños, it stops being a mere inconvenience and just means I have to go...

    I understand that, but when my menu for the week includes a Mexican dish and the co-op is out of cilantro, avocados, and jalapeños, it stops being a mere inconvenience and just means I have to go to the other store anyway. So not only did I take the extra time to walk there and back, and pay the 25% premium, I also have to get in the car and drive somewhere afterwards. After that happens enough times it makes me less likely to go to the co-op at all, unless I know for a fact they're going to have everything I need.

    10 votes
  15. Comment on Kroger’s panopticon: Making criminals of grocery shoppers in ~tech

    wowbagger
    (edited )
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    Co-ops are not a silver bullet. My closest grocery store is a co-op. I can walk there easily in under 20 minutes without crossing any major roads. Despite that I still typically get in the car and...

    Co-ops are not a silver bullet. My closest grocery store is a co-op. I can walk there easily in under 20 minutes without crossing any major roads. Despite that I still typically get in the car and go to one of the chain stores, for two reasons:

    1. They're much cheaper. I spend 20-30% more at the co-op, and there doesn't seem to be any single driver. All items are just slightly more costly. That's despite each co-op member being required to make a $100 deposit into the development fund. They just don't have the scale to compete on price.

    2. The variety is much better. I'm guessing it's for similar economy-of-scale reasons, but the co-op just doesn't have certain things and other items they sell out of quickly. For instance, I can almost never find cilantro at the co-op unless I make a point of going early on a weekday. Other things are less important but still enough to make me prefer the large chains – like a specific brand of seltzer that I can only find at Safeway or Giant.

    It's really a bummer, because I much prefer to support the local business. Oftentimes I bite the bullet and shop there anyway, just accepting that I likely won't find everything I want. But that's hard to stomach when it also comes at a premium.

    10 votes
  16. Comment on Two years to save the planet, says UN climate chief in ~enviro

    wowbagger
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    Aren't we creating new water every time we burn a hydrocarbon? I don't remember much chemistry either but I thought the products of simple combustion were CO2 and water vapor.

    Aren't we creating new water every time we burn a hydrocarbon? I don't remember much chemistry either but I thought the products of simple combustion were CO2 and water vapor.

  17. Comment on Megathread: April Fools’ Day 2024 on the internet in ~talk

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    SCP Foundation is now Spicy Crust Pizza!

    SCP Foundation is now Spicy Crust Pizza!

    Despite previously being a writing website, SCP staff has decided to pivot the platform to the art of making delicious pizzas with perfect crusts and melty cheesy toppings. Located in the city center of the Three Portlands, this new pizza chain is sure to be a great restaurant to bring the whole site to.*

    *Please note that no anomalies are allowed inside the restaurant except trained service anomalies.

    16 votes
  18. Comment on Early spring brings a ‘hungry gap’ for bees – here’s how you can help in ~enviro

    wowbagger
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    They're native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica – none of which are part of South America. I'm so tired of people assuming North America == the US and Canada.

    they're native to South America

    They're native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica – none of which are part of South America. I'm so tired of people assuming North America == the US and Canada.

    4 votes
  19. Comment on This super-Earth is the first planet confirmed to have a permanent dark side in ~space

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    I find it fascinating to ponder what life would be like on a tidally locked planet. You'd have to choose your preferred light level by longitude, and there'd be a strip of land on each side of the...

    I find it fascinating to ponder what life would be like on a tidally locked planet. You'd have to choose your preferred light level by longitude, and there'd be a strip of land on each side of the globe that's in perpetual sunset/sunrise (is it even still called that if the sun never actually sets or rises?). It's very odd to think about a planet where the sun never moves from its spot in the sky, where shadows never move or shorten or lengthen. I think it would be exceedingly difficult for humans to adjust to, just based on how hard it is for us to deal with the huge daylight swings at the higher latitudes of our own planet.

    10 votes
  20. Comment on Nobody warned electric vehicle owners how quickly they would burn through tires in ~transport

    wowbagger
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    Right, but in that situation you'd already be braking anyway. What I mean is that it doesn't result in additional deceleration overall. The total amount you slow down over a drive doesn't change...

    Right, but in that situation you'd already be braking anyway. What I mean is that it doesn't result in additional deceleration overall. The total amount you slow down over a drive doesn't change with the braking mode because you have to stop in the same spots along your route no matter what. That's the point that I think I'm having trouble getting across. If anything I think the drag you're describing would result in less tire wear, because the deceleration is more gradual. But it's probably negligible.

    4 votes