Science & Technology

Member Post

Chuck
Chuck
249
 

Some history: My Macbook Pro recently died.  I replaced it with a Macbook Air. My wife and I each have an Ipad Air. Now here’s my question:  What is the difference between an Apple ID, an Apple Password and an Apple passcode?  Which of them, if any, can be the same?  Does that work for […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Member Post

John H.
John H.
43
 

It is well to review one’s posts. Y’know, like if you reproduced a tweet, go back later to see if it’s still there. If not, you may need to downsize or obscure the heartiness of your original point, in its day so slam-dunkingly upheld by social media but now looking a lot frailer. I guess. […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Member Post

John H.
John H.
56
 

I lead a quiet life, as I always say when I’m at the gun range or in downtown Calcutta or anywhere near a helicopter. Nevertheless, I sometimes get out and meet remarkable people, and now I would like so to remark about one, a guy who used to make pasta. For a living. He only […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Do Something Appropriate

9thDistrictNeighbor
9thDistrictNeighbor
1011
 

The world of Apollo 8 was in some ways very different than the world in which we find ourselves today; in others, not so much.  In 1968 there was war, same as today.  Then there was civil strife, same as today.  But the men of Apollo were forged in the crucible of the Depression and World War.  They were daring and brilliant.  They went about their astronaut business with drive and returned from space to pick up where they left off.

I know there are many here who have far more knowledge of the space program than I do. I have the love of Apollo forged by new color televisions and Major Matt Mason, Mattel’s Man in Space. Yet the tiny fraternity of men who traveled to the moon is getting smaller. Last week, Ken Mattingly died. Yesterday, Frank Borman died.

Preview Open

Member Post

Internet's Hank
Internet's Hank
2011
 

(This post won’t make much sense unless you’ve read Part 1. Sense not guaranteed even if you have.) The Keys to a Shiny New Australia Let’s say I’m in a no-holds-barred game of RISK with @SaintAugustine.* He’s fortified Australia, but I’ve got cards. I plop the cards down; after a grueling campaign it’s come down […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Member Post

Richard Easton
Richard Easton
64141
 

This is your opportunity to speak with a Space legend (and me). you can listen live over the internet or download the podcast. He has stories about Wernher von Braun and Elon Musk. Here he talks about the first ELINT satellite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQpEAUmd4Go He leads off a discussion about GPS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2oB6–ZlBQ Preview Open
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

Fun with Markov Chains

Internet's Hank
Internet's Hank
5720
 

Wait, what’s a Markov Chain, and why do I care? A Markov chain is a tool for understanding probabilities. Specifically, it’s useful for calculating sequences of probabilities. We’re going to look at three cases:

  • Easy: Russian Roulette
  • Slightly harder: Fetching a beer
  • Complicated: Conquering Australia

Ready to begin? Let’s go!

Preview Open

Artificial Confidence

WillowSpring
WillowSpring
54
 

I have stayed away from the various conversations about AI or Artificial Intelligence.  My take is that it is a technology that has been enabled by the enhanced processing power we have now, but is basically nothing very new.

First, my background with ‘AI’.  For the first 10 years of my career (starting in the mid-60s), I worked with a company that did military pattern recognition – projects like the identification of aircraft from radar returns, and sonar signal processing.  I managed (and wrote code) for these, as well as seismic identification of tanks and trucks and the identification of the individual sender of Morse code by the ‘fist’ or individual timing of dots, dashes, and spaces.  In the pre-barcode days, we built a system that would recognize different paperback books from the covers for the purpose of accounting for returns to the wholesalers.

Preview Open

Blood Types and Groups from A to Z

Seawriter
Seawriter
167938
 

Blood is the essence of life. It forms an important part of our culture. If it bleeds, it leads. Blood is thicker than water. Blood will have blood. The word carries spiritual significance. But what do you actually know about blood?

“Bloody Blood Groups!” by Hugh Graham explains blood. Graham is a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science, and a leading Biomedical Scientist in Haematology and Blood Transfusion.

Preview Open

Member Post

Mark Alexander
Mark Alexander
17219
 

Just take a moment to imagine what lengths purely materialistic, wealthy, amoral, might-makes-right elites would go to with this knowledge.  Yes, it’s understandable that we shy away from such evil, but there are too many pieces that fit together too easily. We need more Tim Ballards who can stand up and look this evil in […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

The Federalist Botches the GPS Story or, Say it Ain’t So, Mollie

Richard Easton
Richard Easton
10121034
 

Brad Parkinson has claimed for the past 40 years that he and 12 other people invented GPS at the Lonely Halls Meeting at the Pentagon over Labor Day 1973. This week, an article in The Federalist and a video by Scott Manley accepted this story. But is it true?

GPS developed out of my father, Timation Navsat, and the Air Force’s Project 621B. Phil Klass in the 20 August 1973 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology described the two systems.

Preview Open

Putting a Spin on Things

Seawriter
Seawriter
78
 

Spin: it is not just for politicians anymore. It dominates all aspects of our lives.

“The Science of Spin: How Rotational Forces Affect Everything from Your Body to Jet Engines to the Weather,” by Roland Ennos makes this clear. He shows how rotation affects everything, from the way you move to the existence of the Universe.

Ennos starts with a prologue exploring the difficulties created by spin, including our difficulty in understanding it. He then splits the book into three main parts: how spin affects our world and the universe, how technology uses it, and how it affects the human body. He then wraps things up by putting spin into perspective, its impact and how to teach and explore spin.

Preview Open

Journal-hysteria

Garth
Garth
1115
 

Old timers in SoCal remember infrequent, irregular, but periodic tropical storms reaching our area. Today, an online database of rainfall records shows rainfall in mid-late summer through September once in a while. It is not unique, not rare, and has happened for 100-plus years.

What’s different? Too lazy to do research? Climate hysteria?  Enjoy sounding alarming?  Need to feed the threat/danger scenario?

Preview Open

Member Post

John H.
John H.
34
 

Context matters. Now, exactly how it matters may not be obvious. Reading about hemocyanin, the most common invertebrate analogue to hemoglobin, I lit on a passage about alternate uses for this molecule, one of which was as a bladder cancer treatment. From the way this datum was plunked down, I got the impression that whoever […]
Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.