nBodyProblem

joined 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (4 children)

There is a very reasonable explanation for this: If we are a topic of research for them, they could have simply stopped studying us in the same way

Take our own science for example. We pull out of studies when the funding dries up. Maybe the aliens’ government grant ran out. Or, perhaps they have a policy of avoiding interference with the subjects. They could have changed methodology in response to the threat of high resolution recording equipment

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

Yeah there is a reason why plane spotters use 400+mm lenses

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

For the longest time, Reddit allowed some of the most toxic, explicitly hateful, communities out there. It continued to grow very quickly under those circumstances. Furthermore, the more moderate communities continued to exist. It wasn’t until later, when they were trying to monetize, that Reddit started cracking down on the allowed content.

As much as I disagreed with those communities, I think Reddit was a better place when the admin had a looser hand on which communities could it could not exist

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Have you never heard of tunes?

Any idiot can make substantial software changes to almost any modern car with easily available inexpensive hardware. Look up Cobb, ECUtek, openflashtablet, Hondata, etc

You literally just plug it into a port and flash the software

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

And fifth/sixth derivatives are crackle and pop because some physicists thought it would be funny to have it be “snap crackle and pop”

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Oldest F-16 I have seen in the air is no more than 50 years old. Oldest biplane I have seen flying was over 100 years old

Ergo, wood and canvas is the superior construction method

 
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I spent most of my 20s doing grassroots campaigning, with a large part of it being protest planning and organization. You generally do not need a permit to conduct protests on public property, even large ones, in the USA.

The exceptions are very specific; i.e. blocking roads may require a permit.

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Businesses seeing a drop in revenue as a result of a random patchwork organized online effort for a temporary boycott won't have any effect?

No it won’t. This just means people buy the stuff the another day and is absolutely meaningless to their bottom line

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Absolutely.

I lived a lot like this during the 2008 recession. I was always looking for work, but there was none to be had. So we spent all day watching arthouse DVDs from the library, having sex, cooking, making art, and talking philosophy in our 250 square foot apartment. At times, it was truly beautiful.

However, there came a time after a year or so where the money really ran out and we got evicted. The relationship imploded and it all went to shit.

My takeaway is that, for long term happiness, stability is important too.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago

If you wanted it spelled right, you should have talked to an englisher

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The natural lifecycle of the Jedi Master is to retire on some remote planet to become a depressed asshole hermit, just as Yoda did before.

To me, The Last Jedi rejects the constant stream of fan service in most new Star Wars films to return to the roots of the series. IMO, it’s by far the best of the sequel movies.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

On the ULA engine topic, New Glenn was announced and BE-4 was under development years before they won the contract with ULA

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Car communities are always filled with people wanting to know what they need to do to get started with car activities like autocross, track days, or meets. To kick off useful/informative discussion over at /c/[email protected], I decided to write a series of “getting started” guides. I hope they might encourage some people to stop thinking about it, go out, and do fun stuff.

I feel like they might have some interest to the wider car community, so I’ll repost them here with some modifications to generalize anything that is 86/BRZ/FRS specific.

Autocross

What you need:

Autocross is often confused with track days, which is really far from the truth. Autocross is really no harder on a car than any number of normal on-street activities for a sports car. The runs are only ~40 seconds long with tons of cool down time between runs.

However, you do need a car in good working order that will pass tech. This means no bad wheel bearings, suspension that isn’t falling apart, and a properly secured battery. You are also responsible for ensuring you don’t have any major coolant or oil leaks. Nobody likes it when someone oils down the course and runs have to stop to do cleanup.

You also need a helmet if your region doesn’t have loaners. Most do, but it’s a good idea to ask if in doubt.

Nice to haves:

You probably want to bring a tire gauge for adjusting pressures.

Summer tires are good to have because all seasons are prone to chunking when driven hard. You don’t need to buy special autocross tires when just starting out, but if you are on all seasons keep an eye on the heat between runs and be carefully not to overdrive the car.

Bring lots of water, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and maybe a wide brimmed hat. You will be out working at most events and will get a lot of sun.

A helmet sock is nice to have if you are using a loaner helmet.

Additional prep info:

I’d like to discuss the issue of classing. Basically, don’t mod your car to prep for autocross if you aren’t experienced at the sport. The things that knock you into a higher class can be unintuitive and if you don’t mod with a class in mind it will quickly become impossible to be competitive without huge money outlays.

For example, any aero mod in SCCA classing will knock you into either prepared or xtreme street at minimum. Prepared allows full on racing slicks and stripped out interiors; it is VERY expensive to compete in. Xtreme Street allows unlimited powertrain modifications; in many regions the winners have widebody cars with 3x the stock power levels and it takes a ton of prep to win in that arms race.

It’s usually best to just show up in a stock car for awhile and build for a specific class once you have experience.

view more: next ›