The Dragon just docked with the ISS!

whoosy · 2012-05-26T05:15:34.354002+00:00

Even if we optimized the hell out of our lander tech, I doubt we could do it for much less than apollo, weight wise. We'll have a leg up on electronics, and iPhone could run the entire command, launch, landing and return of a Saturn V.

But some material components can't be changed: metal frames, the heat shield on the command module, vacuum suits, and most importantly, the food, water and people will all weigh exactly the same.

So if we could get a 25% reduction in weight, we would still need three vehicles to lift all the material into orbit.

We we might have a real leg up is the super orbital booster. We could use solid fuel since it wouldn't need to be staged with the larger rocket. That might be a place where we could make enough savings to get down to two heavy's.

whoosy · 2012-05-26T05:08:16.080861+00:00

I actually like the second plan a lot, the practical hurdles have a lot more to do with leadership than money. We need five years to work up all the vehicles, which is at least two more sessions of congress and one presidential election. Congress treats Nasa like a jobs program, and consistant funding might no be available to see a lunar mission like this to completion.

whoosy · 2012-05-26T05:01:39.069510+00:00

The Falcon 9 and 10 have the same cargo bay (pod?) on top. The Dragon capsule is just one possible payload.

whoosy · 2012-05-25T16:08:05.090579+00:00

A lot. The Saturn V had about 34 million N of thrust. The Falcon 9 is thrusting at about 5 million. To give you an idea of scale, the Saturn V could life 262,000 pounds (119,000 kg) to Low Earth Orbit (where the ISS is), the Falcon 9 can lift 23,000 lb (10,450 kg) to LEO.

The Falcon Heavy (which is 3 Falcon 9s joined at the hip) is spec'd to lift 53,000 kg (120,000 lb) to LEO.

So we have two options:

1) Wait for the completion of the Falcon X, which (I can't find a link) is supposed to be in the same class as the Saturn V.

2) Use multiple Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy's to lift a command module, service module, lunar lander and super orbital buster into LEO and lego them together. All told, between testing and implementation, we would need about 8 launch vehicles to do this.

CNNisMSNBCMinusHats · 3 days

Don't feel bad for feeling bad or anxious, it isn't your fault that you are feeling this way.

I would bet a whole lot of money that your GF's parents know someone a lot like you. One of their friends growing up, or someone they knew in college lived a life that was very similar to your own. You don't have to pour your guts out, but you can tell them that having such a nice dinner is not what you're used to and that sometimes you aren't sure what they expect from you.

For more specific advice:

0) You're a guest. A guest isn't obligated to do anything, your there because they are trying to do something nice for you. You don't have to be entertaining, you are to be entertained. If you don't feel comfortable, that isn't your problem. The only thing you shouldn't be is rude. Don't insult anyone hobbies, cooking or furniture. When in doubt find something you like in the house and tell the wife that it is lovely, "What lovely couch, it is very comfortable."

1) When in doubt, use the utensils farthest from the plate.

2) It doesn't matter what fork you eat with. Utensils are there for your convenience. It you like to eat your rice with a spoon, go ahead. The only thing you shouldn't do is make a mess or slurp your food. And try to chew with your mouth closed.

3) When in doubt about how to eat or when, wait until someone else eats and do what they do.

4) When asked a question respond simply, factually and politely. They asked the question because they either wanted to learn something about you, or they are trying to put you at ease. If you don't have anything to say, then keep it short. As you become more comfortable, you'll find that there are some questions that you enjoy answering. If you are trying to hard, stop.

5) Always say thank you and offer to clear the table. If they say no, don't push it, but be sure to offer next time.

6) Never, ever, turn down a gift. It could be left overs, or a money, but always accept a gift freely given and say thank you. If you marry this girl, you can lay down new rules about what kinds of gifts you want, but you accept what you are given and you show them it is appreciated.

seaboat90 · 4 days

You make a good point, but I have to still disagree. Having good ethnic food is a beginning, but I want more. It is a matter of the scale. If you're in the Bay Area you won't be eating lunch at Au'Bon Pain or pot belly's, there are just too many better (non-chain) options.

Rasika on D street is the first restaurant in DC that has totally blown me away. I've eaten there twice and the food has been delightful in the literal meaning of the world: full of delight. Church Key has great beers, ambiance and food and Kitchen 8407 in Silver Spring is very promising (only tried the appetizer menu).

But as you suggested, these are all price-er places.

seaboat90 · 4 days

You make a fair point. Yosemite and the surrounding parks are all top tear parks and there are only a few spot in the country that compare. And I miss having easy access for that reason. The local parks are nice, I just don't get that excited about them.

As for the tubing, that is good to know. In Austin everyone hits the river in the summer, so it was easy to find people to go with. I don't know anyone who has gone tubing here.

seaboat90 · 4 days

For reference I've lived in SF/Bay Area, Austin (TX) and here. What I like:

1) The history. In CA, if a house is 100 years old, that is the most historic thing for miles. Most of the important events in the history of the US happened in and around DC. I really like that.

2) Beer culture. When I got here in 2002, there wasn't much to do in the city if you weren't part of the staffer community. The city was all work and no play. I have found that the beer culture (and the hipster culture in general) loosened a lot of spines.

3) Easy access to the eastern sea board. DC has trains, planes and automobiles to get you where you need to go. NYC has plenty of public transportation, but before you can drive anywhere you need to get a car. Owning a car in NYC is a difficult to impossible proposition. I have never had any real trouble finding parking, or getting around while I've been here. I should note that I have always been a city driver, so my standards might be different.

What I don't like:

1) The food. While this is changing, finding good food in this city is still a challenge compared to CA and Austin.

2) It's still a one note town. So much of life in DC is government related, which make sense and is unavoidable. That being said, the nice thing about SF is that no one asks you what you do for a job. Who you are in a place like the bay area is determined by what you're interested outside of work.

3) People work a lot. Almost everyone I knows works a fifty hour week and has long commute. Making friends can be tricky if you don't have any free time.

4) People drink a lot. Sometimes I want to have sober fun.

5) The great outdoors isn't that great. Shenandoah has nothing on Yosemite and I've never seen anyone tubing down the Potomac.

b00nj4m00n · 8 days

Have you considered downtown Silver Spring? There are a mess of apartments in the area and it is only 15 minutes to downtown silver spring.

IAmSoMeanMwahah · 8 days

No need to worry about it. Freud and Jung thought that these types of dreams meant something and obsessed over them for years. It turns out almost everyone has similarly inappropriate dreams and they don't mean anything. Your brain focuses on things that have a lot of emotions associated with them (that is what emotions are for) and will freely combine them together in the dream world (because your brain is an idiot).

iamlouisck · 11 days

Not a question, just an observation. Your physical comedy has gotten a lot sharper in the last few years and I really like it. I assume it is because you had to watch yourself so much during the editing of your show.

funkminister · 16 days

Oh, that's rough. Good luck!

funkminister · 16 days

usajobs.gov is the website for government jobs. usajobs.gov is its own ecosystem and requires a carefully constructed resume if you want to get a job. Everything is based off of keyword searches and technical qualifications, so google the best way to construct your resume.

You should also check out the museums that aren't government jobs:

National Gallery of Art

Newseum

Hillwood Estate

...there are a ton

As far as internships are concerned, this is an intern town, but if you play your cards right you can get a paying one (not that it will pay very much).

ThatKevinSmith · 17 days

I caught the end of an interview on NPR where you said you were done with film making for the foreseeable future, unfortunately, I didn't hear very much about what you were planning on doing next. So what are you planning on doing for the next couple of years professionally?

roopGary · 18 days

Every relationship is different, so I could be entirely wrong, but this is what I got.

1) Don't make this about her, whatever you say should sound something like, "I would feel more comfortable if we had more savings,"; "I am more financially conservative than I used to be."; "I need more financial stability." If you make this about her, then you run the risk of making this a fight about your whole relationship. I would avoid that.

2) Split your savings. You can have a fund for just you, and/or your family and/or just her. I know most people have totally joint finances, but just because it works for them doesn't mean it will work for you (and I don't know that it works for them either). And this isn't about trust, this is about comfort. If you need to have x dollars on hand to feel secure, and she needs y, then you and her need to respect that. Your married, not the identical twins joined at the hip. If she wants to spend more money, work together so that she can do that in reasonable way. Don't forget that frugality isn't the same thing as being cheap.

3) Find out why your wife opened a card without talking with your first. If she didn't realize it would make you upset, then see 1) and 2). You have to communicate your boundaries to her, she isn't a mind reader. If she didn't tell you because she thought you would say no, then you have relatively serious problem on your hands.

My girlfriend of many years was buying health insurance and I was of the opinion that she should get the top dollar plan. I always go Cadillac when it comes to health care. After a couple of days of back and forth, I realized that our whole fight was about trust: I didn't trust her to make the right decisions about her life and that was slowly killing our ability to communicate effectively. I let up and she opened up, about her finances and her life. I am not saying that this is your problem, but finances are closely ties to issues of trust in a relationship.

tl:dr Talk to your wife about what you need to feel comfortable and then give her room to make her own decision.

dsnchntd · 24 days

Just bear in mind, you save the most money where you spend the most money. By that I mean, don't worry about the brand of tooth paste you're buying, focus on how much your paying for rent, utilities, parking, commuting.

I prefer apartments with utilities included because I have trouble monitoring how long my showers are, or how often I use the dish washer.

Large apartment complexes tend to be more expensive up front, but offer a lot of perks, i.e., free parking, free gyms, etc. Converted basements and house shares tend to be cheaper, but you might lose a lot of time (=money) to house politics or bickering.

Don't get cable. There is no reason to get cable anymore (it'll come out on DVD eventually).

Consider having only a smart phone or only internet. If you go with the phone, you can tether your computer at home. If you go with internet, get a burner phone for making calls.

Get the furniture you need to be comfortable. It is one thing to buy cheap furniture, it is altogether different to get furniture you can't use. And it is always a waste of money to get a matching bedroom set.

Vinegar will clean almost everything.

Always go shopping with a least of 4-7 meals in mind. You don't have to stick to the list throughout the week, but it will keep you from making unnecessary purchases at the store.

Eat less meat. It's expensive and you don't need it for every meal.

Eat more vegetables. They're cheaper than the processed boxed food.

Spend the money for 100% cotton dish cloths. They'll last longer and work better.

Go to a kitchen supply store for your cook utensils.

And lastly, the more time you spend being frugal at home the more time you spend at home. Don't over do it, being frugal is about paying for the things you really want, not being cheap.

shizdan8177 · 29 days

Also consider the buses. If you want to get over to 14th st, it will almost certainly be fast to catch a bus across town (look into the Maryland Ride On, much more reliable than metro buses).

Professor_Oak_ · 1 month

I'm in, just send up the flare.

needtomove121 · 1 month

Check out Summit Hills, possibly the Blairs (they tend to be more expensive). Those are the two whose names I can remember. If you have time, go to the corner of East West high and 16th st and head towards the metro, you'll several complexes on your way to the metro. When you get to the metro head north on colesville and check out the high rises on the west side of the street, they tend to be the cheaper ones.

HarryJohnson00 · 1 month

Don't forget to check the saved threads on the right!

WTF_RANDY · 1 month

Let me preface by saying I could be wrong. I have enough of a technical and scientific background to get the geist of the things, but I am no nuclear engineer.

I think there are three issues when it comes to poisoning:

1) LFTR is a breeder reactor

2) There isn't a lot of fuel in the reactor

3) There isn't a way to dynamically adjust the graphite moderator.

LFTR is in the class of molten salt reactors, specifically it is a uranium breeder. LFTR has an eta of 2.22. To burn the uranium in the core as well as breed uranium in the blanket takes 2 eta (eta 2?). In the 1958 report on the first prototype, .11 eta was absorbed by the reactor vessel, leaving .11 eta for...whatever.

If the Xenon is bubbled out, LFTR fuel only needs to be 0.7% UFi_4 by mole percent. The remaining reactor mass is neutron blind lithium or beryllium fluoride salt, or the fluoride salts of the material in the decay chain of uranium. I think they wanted low fuel percentage as a safety concern; that early prototype was originally conceived as an aircraft engine.

And for the last point, rather than dynamically regulate the core with control rods, the fuel in LFTR naturally condenses and disperses by fluid convection. If you get the right balance of salts, the core will tend toward critically passively. The only active process involves moving thorium and Protactinium-233 from the core to the blanket and moving uranium from the blanket to the core (all done via gas volatility columns). If you don't do that, the core will shut down when the fuel runs out.

You could build a molten salt reactor that wasn't a breeder. The original '64 reactor ran on a low enriched uranium fuel. In testing the breeder idea, the '64 prototype switched to U-233 for several months (possible as long as 6). You could build a non breeder MSR as a garbage disposal for all that U-238 and U-233 that is sitting in the waste pools at LWR, then you could up fuel density or ignore the poisons.

As for the Samarium, I have never read anything about it. Krypton was an issue at one point when they were using mixed uranium fuels, but it bubbled out with the Xenon.

TL:DR I have no idea what's going on.

edit: spelling

WTF_RANDY · 1 month

you dropped the end of the quote there:

The key thing we want to get across is that it shouldn’t be a contest between “fund fusion” or “fund thorium research”. Fusion is extremely important for humankind and should be funded – if thorium fission also has promise, it should be funded too.

WTF_RANDY · 1 month

LFTR doesn't have a small change of meltdown, the fuel is already in a molten state, it has a 100% change of meltdown. The advantage of LFTR is that it anticipates the molten state of the fuel and uses it to make power more efficiently.

WTF_RANDY · 1 month

That isn't exactly what was happening inside of LFTR. With the exception of the Th-229 and Pu-238, the elements in the decay chain of the U-233 were left in the core. Helium was used to bubble the Xenon out of solution, gas volatility columns were used to remove stable elements.

The modular part comes from the graphite moderator (among other things) The core itself, if they follow the old prototype design, will have a graphite moderator that will need to be replaced every eight years. The original designers thought it would be easier to pull the entire core/blanket assembly, install a new one and pump the old reactor mass into the new core/blanket assembly. The old core will be pretty radioactive and will need to be store for months/years, but the fuel will remain in use.

some papers: http://moltensalt.org/references/static/downloads/pdf/NAT_MSRintro.pdf http://www.energyfromthorium.com/ORNL4528_sec1-2.html http://www.ornl.gov/~webworks/cppr/y2001/pres/119930.pdf

WTF_RANDY · 1 month

Not at all. The simple TL:DR on thorium is that we were ready to build a utility grade prototype reactor in 1974 or 1976. The program wasn't scraped because of feasibility, rather, we were just interested in putting out money into other technology.

If we went gang busters we could rebuild the prototype in 18-24 months, give us the utility prototype in ~5 years. That would be full Manhattan style development. More likely, will see a prototype in the next 5-10 and a utility grade in the next 10-20.

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