calbiterol

My point was the same as yours, vrus. Wikipedia never says that making one at home would be anywhere near possible.

Many exploseive gasses (such as propane) can be used as refrigerants. These also have the added effect of being highly combustible when diffused in air - meaning that you could freeze bomb something and then flash burn it. Very effective, if it were ever practical.

Before doing my research like a good little student, I was about to post this: "You would be highly surprised. It can be done at home, and not just a pulsejet."

Then I did my research.

A pulse detonation engine, or PDE, is a type of propulsion system that is designed primarily to be used in high-speed, high-altitude regimes. To date no practical PDE engine has been put into production,[/b'] but several testbed engines have been built that have proven the basic concept. In theory the design can produce an engine with the efficiency far surpassing gas turbine with almost no moving parts.

I have seen pictures of those prototype testbed engines, and they are quite fascinating. My curiosity with these is also thanks to PopSci. Anyways, long story short, PDE's are a LOT more complex than pulsejets.

Wikipedia article on PDE's

Kenel, about that: In the past three months, my situation with the site has been the following: 1.)Massive development spurt, almost finishing an entire site in less than a month; 2.)gone for a month; 3.) very little work while preparing for school to start.

I've also hosted random images there that I call upon remotely, for pages that support remote image requests but not local hosting (like a forum). The entire time (except, of course, when I was on vacation) I was doing limited testing and debugging. So, long story short, I have no idea what my traffic will be like. It could be quite large or quite small. I just simply don't know.

One more thing - I am currently hosting both a (sub)domain and a subdomain. The first subdomain is a subdomain of their site; this is my personal site. The subdomain of that is one that I run for some of the fine arts at my school. Either of these could generate large amounts of traffic, and if I go the pay route (which I know I will do sometime, and now is probably the time) then I will register these as seperate domains.

Thanks loads for all the help. It's looking like I'll have a day or two of downtime on my site (not that it really matters all that much at this point ) while I decide what to do.

P.S.: if anyone's wondering, I do all of my webpages by myself using source code, and I'm completely self-taught. I don't use any development app's (unless you count WordPad, or a souped-up version of it with syntax coloring). I write web code in PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, PERL, and do a bit with SQL/mySQL db's.

The issue with hosting it on my own machine is that it's not my just personal site, and I expect a chunk of bandwidth, and a lot of the people who will view it have dsl. My dsl isn't the best upstream, and I need something with a high data transfer. The two sites that have been given look great, keep posting stuff like that. I really appreciate the help. Molotov and Stusi were right on the dot.

Thanks much.

Calbit

I don't know how practical this is, but you might be able to use PHP to write each message to a file. Each file could be the category, perhaps? Password protecting stuff like that is pretty easy. I know exactly how one would go about doing it in PHP, and if I had the time I'd go about explaining it. For now, however, it is probably a better idea to ask people's ideas on the feasability of this. The basic synopsis is that you have a write page append to a file, and the file then reads it's contents (people's posts) onto the page. In order for a new post to be made, the username/password fields must be filled in, which PHP checks against a database or usernames and passwords. If it checks out, the file is appended; if not, it isn't. You could organize the files however you wanted - each file a category, etc. To save space and loading time, it is often a good idea to have a single index page, and then call upon the content pages. In other words, your entire layout goes on one page, which calls for the page that contains the text/content. This can be done by adding the category after "filename.php" - for example, mylayout.php?bootstraps would pull up a page about bootstraps. Anyways, that part is tried and true. The part I'm unsure about is the appending part. If you aren't worried about file size / load time then it's absolutely viable; otherwise, I couldn't tell you with absolute certainty. Despite all my mindless babbling, though, I think this would be a viable solution.

Calbit

P.S.: Sorry 'bout all the rambling...

I just got an email from my free server today. In short, it said that my host will no longer be offering free hosting. This is a true shame; this particular host was by far the best I have ever had. I have until the end of this week (the 28th) to find a new host. The majority of what I have now is listed below:

Hosting package: Free;

Subdomains: 1 / 20;

Parked Domains: 0 / 3;

Addon Domains: 0 / 3;

Mysql databases: 0 / 10;

PostgreSQL Databases: 0 / 10;

Disk usage: 3.46 / 100.00 MB;

SQL Disk usage: 0.00 MB;

Disk space available: 96.54 MB;

Bandwidth usage: 3.57 /5000 MB;

Email accounts: 1 / 10;

Email forwarders: 0 / unlimited;

Autoresponders: 2 / unlimited;

Email filters: 0 / unlimited;

Mailing lists: 0 / 2;

FTP accounts: 1 / 10;

This is essentially what I need for a server. Is there any host that someone can recommend to me? I realize that it is extremely unlikely that I'll find another free host for free; as such, I am willing to pay up to about $5 monthly. Added DNS service would be a plus as well, although that cost does not need to be figured into the $5. I should add that the host must allow PHP, .htaccess/custom error pages, password protection, and index management, and must NOT have ads. It would also be a nice plus if I could add my own adds. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions. Any questions, feel free to ask. Any help will be deeply appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Calbit

P.S.: Yes, I had all that in a free host. Like I said, the best free hosting service I've ever seen.

The language thread, book thread, and history thread would not be science[/i']. I believe that is why they have not been created.

At the very least, history definitely falls under the anthropology category, which is (IIRC) considered a science.

Doesn't matter. As long as the thing forms a closed loop (in other words, a closed circuit) when the ring touches the wall, it doesn't matter. Just make sure if your buzzer has polarity (+/- terminals) that you line it up correctly.

Make sure the end of the ring/handle thing is connected to the battery. On the pic by Kniteli, it's a little hard to tell where the handle connects (or if it does at all.)

Just clarifying.

I thought bigelow's full-size station was going to be quite roomy -- at least, that's what the various articles I've read on it have pointed to.

Awesome. Exactly how I think it should be. I really wish I had the cash for some more advanced projects these days, but seeing as I don't have time for a job, either, that isn't looking like it's going to happen. So, it's back to the computer - or xbox - just like any other high schooler. I honestly don't know if my dad would have been overly-helpful or just guiding me along - part of the reason I never got much help was that my dad worked insane hours. Anyways... Good luck to your son.

Think of some american indian tribes.

Now think of server software.

Alternatively, we could play wheel of fortune. Category is "same name." There are 101 letters in the puzzle, and 4 contestants.

Lol. This is a lot like Neutonian's post.

Klay, it could be a lot worse. You could have hair like Einstein in his later days. Or you could wear neon yellow socks and neon pink pants.

[Edit: completely forgot why I posted in the first place. Klay, you should protect your indexes. With the address you just handed out, you can view the contents of everything on your site in no time at all. Just FYI.]

Yeah, but I've known plenty of 9-year-olds (myself included, back when I was one) that could have handled this on their own. I guess it just bugs me when stuff like this happens because I was always the kid who did something on their own with very little/no help and, as a result, my display wasn't quite as pretty-looking than everyone else's.

That reminded me of something we did back in.. 4th-grade-ish: we were 'sposed to "invent" something. So, after being called on my first idea as too outlandish (a miniature flying car), I settled for making a remote-control locator. You pressed a button, and the remote beeped. I did it by reassemling a walkie talkie with a beep button. I don't think I had more than five minutes worth of help on that project.

Anyways, that's my rant. Ink, don't take it personally or anything, I understand what makes you do it... I just always remember that I had more fun doing things on my own than having a pretty display.

Its a joke' date=' its been around for years. Type "is your child a hacker" into Google, and you get almost 2,000,000 hits.

 

Its funny because the person who wrote it is insanely computer illiterate (i.e. claiming that "Lunix" was based on the Microsoft software "Xenix", and claiming the AMD chips are inferior to Intel).

 

Dont question the joke, just laugh.[/quote']

 

Yep. Swansont showed this fine. It's kinda hard to tell - I still can't tell if the original (or at least the one he showed) is satire or not. That entire forum seems to be composed of a) insanely overprotective parents, and b) those people who feel the need to "re-enlighten" (ie laugh at) the insanely overprotective parents.

 

 

In other news, here is how to tell if your kid is not a hacker:

1) He communicates in l33t

2) He calls himself a l33t h@><0r (or if he's a girl - or wants to be really badly -, a ch1><0r)

3) Uses file sharing programmings to search for keyloggers to put on friends computers

4) Has used "WindowsNuke"

5) Claims to "program in binary"

6) Claims to have "hacked into the Pentagon"

7) Cant install Linux

8) Thinks programming a TI-83 makes him a computer programmer

9) Is a registered Republican

10) Uses Windows98

 

Lol. Or, he has AOL. [Edit: sad thing is, I (used to) know kids who fall under almost all of the above.]

So it is, in fact, a joke.

Thank you, God.

That was my thought, too.

As a modern parent, I try to be as involved as possible in the lives of my six children. I attend their teen parties with them to ensure no drinking or alcohol is on the premises. I keep a fatherly eye on the CDs they listen to and the shows they watch. My children have never failed to make me proud.

It was after reading this that my immediate response was, "I sure hope this is a joke." By the time I got down to the stuff about "lunix" I was pretty sure it was a joke.

On that line, you ARE joking, right?

Kinda weird sense of humor. But it was pretty funny. And that whole thing about video games creating violence is total bull and it drives me nuts to hear it! Which just makes it all the funnier - in retrospect, at least.

It's possible, I guess. It just means more competition - and more jobs. Somebody's got to be responsible for the mining of the asteroids, too - even if robots do the actual mining, there have to be human managers and technicians. We are definitely not to the point of having fully autonomous mining facilities (read:AI-controlled mines).

Personally, I think there's plenty of money out there other than launching satellites to orbit. Tourism is a huge economy-booster throughout the world, and if it were fiscally viable for the average family to stay a week in space, we'd see a lot more "astronauts" out there.

Scaled is backed by one of the founders of Microsoft.

The two companies I listed are backed by people with hundreds of millions of dollars at their disposal, and have IMHO a better plan for expanding their operations than scaled composites does

So is Scaled Composites. A lot of their operations go into R&D. I'm not very familiar with SpaceX, though, so I can't really talk.

also bigelow aerospace is building the first private space station, one of the modules for it is scheduled for launch next year.

I was under the impression that if this launch takes place, it is purely a proof-of-concept / test of the design, and that the actual station will not be in place 'till around 2010, hence the deadline for Bigelow's competition.

NEA stands for near earth asteroid, these things are solid iron-nickel with "impurities" of platinum gold and other precious metals. they are also the size of the largest mineral deposites on earth, and all you have to do to get at it is cut a chunk of it off, and bring it back (a space elevator would be the best option for bringing it to earth). If only mining companies could see the tremendous oppurtunity that they have here, considering the start up costs of a mine run into the hundreds of millions of dollars

I absolutely and completely agree with you. There's BIG money to be made in space.

Dunno. I have to rebuild my computer, and I'm going to partition the hard drive, with one partition linux and the other windows. Anything and everything online will be done on linux (except online gaming) - I've had too many problems with viruses, spyware, adware, etc on windows, even with antivirus. I'm going to try a live install (boot off CD) of ubuntu after I get it up and running again, and if I like it better than the SUSE I'm going to originally install, then I can play around and let you know. Look for something about the user interface.

I don't want to sound like I'm going ballistic on you, but...

problem with a space elevator, is that it would cost several hundred billion dollars to build in the first place. possibly several trillion. with the launch cost projected to go bellow $500 a pound pretty soon it will make the argument for a space elevator pretty difficult to make.

About the elevator, this is just plain wrong. Based on a study by Bradley Carl Edwards, using current technology (or technology extrapolated about 5 years from current technology), a feasible, operational space elevator could be constructed in 10-15 years for a mere US$10 billion or so, including legal costs. A second could then be built for as little as $3 billion and with construction timetables compressed to as little as six months. Costs and construction time continually decrease after each elevator is built, according to this study.

Also, where on God's green earth are you getting your figures for launch costs?! Mine point to US $20 000 per kilogram for geostationary orbit, and $6-12 thousand per kilogram for low earth orbit. That's a LOT more than $1000 a pound, down to "$500 pretty soon." Any craft would have to be put even further out than geostationary.

Sources: August 2005 issue of IEEE Spectrum, "A Hoist to the Heavens" and http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/HumanExplore/Exploration/EXLibrary/docs/ISRU/04Making.htm

with the amount of material you could send into space without a space elevator for the cost of 1 you could probably build a whole assembly line for building things in space from the NEA's.

NEA's? Forgive me if it's a dumb question, but what is an NEA?

And as to the rest: actually, no. Especially since "launch" costs could be potentially brought below $10 per kilogram with space elevators. To put the small figure of $10 billion into perspective, NASA's annual budget is $15 billion. The US government's annual budget (based on the Office of Management and Budget's figure for the current economy) is upwards of $12 trillion. So, with only a shade more than 0.1% of the US budget/economy, two space elevators could be constructed. The shuttle's launch cost is $400-500 million. The cost in launches for the ISS is much higher than that of building a space elevator, and the space elevator is a much larger structure (and, quite frankly, much more important) than the ISS.

if your interested you may want to look up spacex and bigelow aerospace. there two companies founded by very very wealthy people for the purpose of either space launches or space manufacture

In my own defense... You're forgetting a few. Scaled Composites/Tier One, the companies responsible for the first private suborbital flight by Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne. Needless to say, I'm already pretty well versed in these companies. (I plan to become a private sector aerospace engineer in a few years.)

I don't mean to sound hostile, but it's a very common (and annoying) misconception that space elevators are immensely expensive and unpractical. They aren't, and we could start construction on one in less than five years, if the government was motivated to do so.