Impact Craters

[Greg]

I have always been fascinated by impact craters. Also by history. When I was snooping around for references to the era when the Greeks dominated Mediterranean culture, I ran across this map:

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/greece_pol96.jpg
(Large image)


The shape of the Aegean Sea surrounding the Cyclades Islands off the coast of Greece was very intriguing. I went search for images of the area and found this one. It's on a very nicely done personal travel site named Milos Is For Lovers (http://www.milosisforlovers.com/), but it's a satellite photo.

http://homepage.mac.com/andreasfmpro/.Pictures/Where%20is%20Milos/Greece_map1024.jpg
(Another large image.)


If I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing, it would appear that the Cyclades are the peaks of a central cone in a very large impact crater that made the Aegean Sea. The crater rim looks like to goes around Crete, Karpathos, Rhodes, through Turkey, across the Dardenelles, and back around down the spine of Greece. Now I'm wondering if maybe the Sea of Marmara and maybe even the Black Sea were formed in the same event, perhaps by other impactors accompanying the one that made the Aegean. :thinking:

[mikedelaney16]

The very rugged terrain around Gallipoli that caused so much trouble to allied troops in the Battle of Gallipoli (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gallipoli) (wikipedia link) in WWI would be fairly consistent with that theory. But then being at the place were continents collide the terrain would be rugged anyway.

[Greg]

The very rugged terrain around Gallipoli that caused so much trouble to allied troops in the Battle of Gallipoli (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gallipoli) (wikipedia link) in WWI would be fairly consistent with that theory. But then being at the place were continents collide the terrain would be rugged anyway.

Yeah. The import feature to look for is the distinctive topography of a crater rim. Craters are always circular with a raised rim and sometimes a central peak. Those mountains around Gallipoli definitely look like part of a huge crater rim that goes all the way around to the spine of Greece.

And it was the mountains in Greece that defined the Greek culture. The rugged terrain there was what made them a seafaring culture. Perhaps it was all due to some big impact that happened three billion years before.

[shorty943]

I've always thought just the same thing about Wilpena Pound, in the Flinders Ranges of SA.

From above, it is a great big bowl, with jagged cliff peaks all around the pound.

[Greg]

From that description, Wilpena Pound definitely sounds like an impact crater.

[shorty943]

This is from the Australian Museum Geoscience page.


Wilpena Pound is a huge natural amphitheatre in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia, 400 km north of Adelaide. It is a large basin-shaped structure ringed by cliffs, made up mainly of the Pre-Cambrian age Rawnsley Quartzite. It covers an area of 83 km2, and the interior measures 11 km by 8 km. Although it has a crater-like appearance, it is not a meteorite impact crater. The Rawnsley Quartzite (in the Pound Subgroup) is made up of quartz-rich sediments originally laid down in a large ocean. The structure was originally a huge dome pushed up by earth movements about 650 million years ago. The floor of the Pound is about 200 m above the surrounding plains, and the outer ring of cliffs rising 500 m from the plains is all that remains of much higher mountains surrounding the Pound, since eroded by many thousands of metres. The highest prominence is St. Marys Peak, at 1170 m above sea level.

Australian Museum Online
Copyright.


Apparently not an impact crater. No matter.

[Greg]

Aw darn. That's one that got away. Perhaps it's a sinkhole.

[shorty943]

Nope.:laugh:

The "Pound" is part of the Flinders Ranges. Geologists say the range is the remains of a mountain range that once stood higher than the Himalaya's.
But, we do have impact craters abounding. I'll chase a bit up for you later.

Pension day today. Today I give other people money so I can live, eat, etc.
Just like real people.:p :laugh:

[Miros1]

Now you've got me curious about how high the Appalachians were when they were young and proud...

[shorty943]

Pretty tall I reckon, but, they are only youngun's.
Dear old Oz, is the oldest landmass on the planet.

PS. I still haven't got off the farm yet. Went to shower, turned the tap (fawcett) no bloody water. Do the tour of 3 miles of waterline across the paddocks. Found 4 leaks. Bloody Hell.
Fixed now. Now, maybe, I can get spruced up, in the "sunday go to meeting clothes", and go pay some bills.:help1:

[Miros1]

Lol, looked 'em up on Wikipedia. 480 million years old, originally created during the formation of Pangaea. Eroded flat, uplifted again!

I'm actually in the "Allegheny Plateau" in southwest NY.

[shorty943]

Lol, looked 'em up on Wikipedia. 480 million years old, originally created during the formation of Pangaea. Eroded flat, uplifted again!

I'm actually in the "Allegheny Plateau" in southwest NY.

Yep, just puppies. Change the "m" to a "B" for billions of years, that's Aussie. Old, and a bit harsh at times, but beautiful.

[Miros1]

Aussie can't be more than 4.5 billion years old. That's how old the whole planet is! The bare rock from that era is also visible up around Hudson Bay; the glaciers have just bulldozed down to it.

[Greg]

:laugh: The whole universe is only about 20 billion years old!

[shorty943]

Maybe not lots of billions of years. Pretty damned old though.
Some of the oldest surface rocks on earth.
"Mungo man" remains predate most other human fossils found.
Cycad palms still living from the time of the dinosaurs.
"Wolami Pine", that was thought to be fossil only specimens, until a couple of years ago.

I'm a little hazy on the actual time frame of course, but it is something to do with when Gondwanaland split off from Antarctica.
I was pretty young at the time, so I don't recall it all that well.

Edit.

And now to get back on track we have this link.
http://www.angelfire.com/stars2/messier/Impact.html

The Wolf crater is very impressive.

[Greg]

:laugh: Yeah, not even my memory goes back that far!

Nifty impact craters! Those pix are also a nice view of what the terrain looks like. It doesn't look like the kind of place where a lot of people would be too terribly upset if I were to make a mess of it.

[Miros1]

You mean something like making another crater inside it?

[shorty943]

Not really. Be a change, to have something to talk about.

Picture the Sahara, colour it red.
Picture the Gobi, put a pile or two of really big rocks around.
Picture Death Valley, but LOTS bigger.
And every where there is Spinifex bush.

What is Spinifex? It bites. An innocent looking round needle leaved desert plant. Grows about knee high. Don't try to walk through it. It will eat you off at the knees.:laugh:

And the Goanna's. When frightened, they climb to the top of the highest thing they can see.
Um, that's you Tex, I'm only 5 ft 6 inches.
Goanna's have very good claws, for climbing when frightened.
What frightens Goanna's? Tall things.:laugh:

Ooh, ooh. Look. I use this as my Winslows desktop.
It's pretty typical of the inland.

[Greg]

Neat! It's kinda pretty in that picture, although not a place I'm hankerin' to visit any time soon.

I'm sure there are a few people would object to running a strip through the pristine desert wilderness, threatening the habitat of rare spotted spinifex and blocking the migration of the even more rare paisley goanna, but what the heck. I'm only talking about a blight on the landscape about the width of the right of way of a four-lane superhighway, sort of, mostly, more or less.
Erm... quite a bit more down toward the Alice Springs end.

Well, that the environmental impact statement, which is likely to include providing irrigation water for a few odd square miles of the desert at the risk of maybe tripling the amount of arable land on the continent. I can see as to how that would be a horrible thing.

[shorty943]

It is truly beautiful out there mate. I intend to do a 4WD trip, 3 to 4 months time.
Only a few days, after the rains this year, the wildflower show will be spectacular.
After a rain the deserts turn from red dust to the most vibrant and riotously colourfull place I've ever seen.

And personally, I don't see how an "interplanetary superhighway" can do any more damage than we already have.

Hell, the British blew half the southern end of the deserts away with A bomb tests during the 1950's. And the Monte Bello Islands off the North West Cape copped that treatment as well. What the hell else can we damage after that.

Aren't we just using a glorified railway line, and a couple of million superconductor magnetic impulse driver units? Solar powered of course, because we are environmentally aware, crazy people. Oops, I mean scientists.:laugh:

[Greg]

Well... I was thinking of using nuclear power. :o

[mikedelaney16]

I assumed nuclear power would be the only viable choice for something so large and power hungry.

[shorty943]

Well... I was thinking of using nuclear power. :o

Well. Something has to power all our "super conductive magnetic impulse engines".
And we all know damned well that SOLAR power is just not up to the job yet.

Geothermal?
Um, no. Cold water on hot rocks dug the Wells of Bathsheba.
I may be mistaken, but, I have a feeling that Geothermal power generation will only cause sisemic problems. There are experiments in the north of South Aust now.
Shorty don't like. Boffins, are doing "lab tests" on the real life mother earth. Not safe.

What else. Wind?
Doesn't always blow, then it blows so hard, the windmill falls over. Bugger.

Conventional coal or gas fire steam plants? Um, this is a desert. You need water, lots of very clean pure water, to make steam.

Yep, I agree. Just has to be a Natomic power plant.

Have you seen a pile in operation? So pretty. Such a pretty blue, it glows and shimmers, it's almost alive. And it sure is efficient. Yes, sorry, but I am a cautious advocate of NUKE power. I made that word cautious a bit prominent so people don't get the wrong idea.
Nuclear, (hey Mr Bush, NUCLEAR not NOOCOOLAR) Biological and Chemical warfare, defense and decontamination were a part of my speciality in the military. I know more than most, just how nasty it can be, if it gets out of control. Or if some "nutter" gets hold of dirty material.
So we clamp right down on security. No Monty Burns and Homer Simson types.
All "yes but what iffers" must be shot. Because they want the emotional not the factual to rule.

Oh, yes, and next elections, pick me as the worlds next benevolent dictator.:p :laugh:

[Miros1]

Yeah, I read somewhere about seismic effects caused by geothermal experiments. Definitely not something you want to do in highly populated areas. Not to mention, the tunnels (probably not the right word) cool off in about 20 years, so you need to drill new ones. And we've talked in the other thread about how well politicians pay for infrastructure repair, maintenance, and replacement.

You can't be benevolent dictator. That's interfering with my role as Goddess.

[shorty943]

Yeah, I read somewhere about seismic effects caused by geothermal experiments. Definitely not something you want to do in highly populated areas. Not to mention, the tunnels (probably not the right word) cool off in about 20 years, so you need to drill new ones. And we've talked in the other thread about how well politicians pay for infrastructure repair, maintenance, and replacement.

You can't be benevolent dictator. That's interfering with my role as Goddess.

As always, your humble servant My Lady.
But, I still want to be the boss of these fool mortals, before they blow my darling mother earth to pieces.

[mikedelaney16]

I get really angry when I hear people going on about limitless boundless energy from wind, tides, ocean currents and geothermal.

Don't they realize we can only take so much from those sources without noticeable adverse effect?

We have no idea what the limits are. Personally I fear over development of "renewable" power may be far more detrimental than our use of fossil fuels.

[shorty943]

For quite a few years now, I have wondered at what all the oil pumping, is doing to the deep core cooling of the planet.
It's only personal conjecture, based on high temperature engine cooling needs.
Oil is used, not water based coolants, because water just evaporates out to superheated steam at VHT.
And I suspect, we have been draining, the earths engines radiator. Not good.
So with a bit of luck we won't have to worry about for too much longer.

(See shorty running screaming "we're all doomed I tells thee, doomed we are".)

Oh hell. It's okay. Stupid TV show, too many Mormon wives or what ever it is called just started. Push button, change station, no more annoying melodrama.

Sorry, I seem to have digressed. Now where was I? Oh, yes.

"Doomed I tell thee".:p :laugh: Of course I could be wrong.

[Greg]

I'm not too worried about cooling Earth's radiator. The planet still has its radioactive core, which won't burn out until long after the sun goes nova.

From all I've read, we don't have to worry about solving the problem by next week, but in the very long view, humans have about 10,000 years before all the known reserves of carbon-based fossil fuels are exhausted. If they don't find some more stuff to burn before then, there will be no choice but to go nuclear or think of something else really clever.

Considering the advances in power technology of the past 200 years, the 10,000-year long view doesn't seem so scary.

[Greg]

I assumed nuclear power would be the only viable choice for something so large and power hungry.

Yeah, and maybe some hugely huge capacitors. A mass driver is sort of like a microwave oven. When it's turned it, it seriously sucks power.

It's not too horrible, though. Assuming 2.5 g of constant acceleration and a muzzle velocity of 25,000 ft/sec (circular velocity in low Earth orbit), and 80% power conversion efficiency, a 100,000 pound payload would need 1,152 megawatts for 311 seconds.

To put that into perspective, let's use one of my favorite power units--hoovers.* That is the peak power output of Hoover Dam, 2.074 gigawatts.

The power requirement comes out to 0.56 hoovers.

Conclusion: The mass driver needs a dedicated power source equivalent to a fairly large industrial power plant, but only for 5 minutes at a time. Since I doubt that it would be acceptable to brown out Perth every time we launch something, we will need a new power plant. Considering the location, solar dynamic power might be a viable option.


----------
*Hoovers are much more applicable here than another of my favorite energy units, fudgies. A fudgie is the energy equivalent of a Death By Chocolate (http://hullabaloo.sunsims.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=61) hot fudge sundae, 1500 kilocalories.

[shorty943]

Yeah, and maybe some hugely huge capacitors. A mass driver is sort of like a microwave oven. When it's turned it, it seriously sucks power.

It's not too horrible, though. Assuming 2.5 g of constant acceleration and a muzzle velocity of 25,000 ft/sec (circular velocity in low Earth orbit), and 80% power conversion efficiency, a 100,000 pound payload would need 1,152 megawatts for 311 seconds.

To put that into perspective, let's use one of my favorite power units--hoovers.* That is the peak power output of Hoover Dam, 2.074 gigawatts.

The power requirement comes out to 0.56 hoovers.

Conclusion: The mass driver needs a dedicated power source equivalent to a fairly large industrial power plant, but only for 5 minutes at a time. Since I doubt that it would be acceptable to brown out Perth every time we launch something, we will need a new power plant. Considering the location, solar dynamic power might be a viable option.


----------
*Hoovers are much more applicable here than another of my favorite energy units, fudgies. A fudgie is the energy equivalent of a Death By Chocolate (http://hullabaloo.sunsims.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=61) hot fudge sundae, 1500 kilocalories.

Fudgies? Ooh boy. And trust me, you have totally confused our British cousins now.
To the British, a "hoover" is a vaccuum cleaner.
The power of the brand name don't you know!:asking06:

Okay, we need a Hoover generator? No problem.
North West is the Ord River, Lake Argyll, and the Argyll Dam.
We are talking about a monsoonal region, that measures rain in feet of water not inches.
Hydro power station already there, the backlog of water behind the dam wall is many times larger than Sydney Harbour.
I reckon we are halfway there mate. We can crank out a "Hoover " or two for you.

One for the girls.
Ask to be shown an Argyll Diamond. Pure Natural Diamond, in colour.
Yep, want champagne? Got champagne Argyll Diamonds.
Want pretty pink or pale blue? Argyll Diamonds come out of the earth in those colours.
REAL diamonds made by mother earth, but like nothing you have ever seen before.



Greg.
"I'm not too worried about cooling Earth's radiator. The planet still has its radioactive core, which won't burn out until long after the sun goes nova".

That's my worry exactly. Drain the radiator, the core goes "Chenobyl" on us. Or is it some how different, to other massive spinning metalic things? In that it can not induce heat via friction within itself?
Less cooling effect means greater heat build up, leading to more volcanic and sisemic action.
Maybe. It is something that has been in the back of my mind for almost 20 years now.

There does seem to be an increasing activity in that area.

One thing, "Solar Dynamic"? That, is a new one on me, must google.:)

[Miros1]

As always, your humble servant My Lady.
But, I still want to be the boss of these fool mortals, before they blow my darling mother earth to pieces.

Ok, you can be Secondary-to-the-Goddess-in-charge-of-prevention-of-large-scale-stupidity.

I get really angry when I hear people going on about limitless boundless energy from wind, tides, ocean currents and geothermal.

Don't they realize we can only take so much from those sources without noticeable adverse effect?

We have no idea what the limits are. Personally I fear over development of "renewable" power may be far more detrimental than our use of fossil fuels.

Mike, you haven't chosen your Secondary-to-the-Goddess title yet. You cannot have Prince Michael I.

Part of it depends on what you do with the waste-products and by-products. If you divert them too far from where they're supposed to be, yes, I can see long term problems.

I'm not too worried about cooling Earth's radiator. The planet still has its radioactive core, which won't burn out until long after the sun goes nova.

I figure the core is fairly safe from human tampering. However, I read something just a couple days ago about apparent seismic events stemming from drilling for a geothermal project in a populated area. The city fathers quickly said no more of that!

From all I've read, we don't have to worry about solving the problem by next week, but in the very long view, humans have about 10,000 years before all the known reserves of carbon-based fossil fuels are exhausted. If they don't find some more stuff to burn before then, there will be no choice but to go nuclear or think of something else really clever.

Considering the advances in power technology of the past 200 years, the 10,000-year long view doesn't seem so scary.

By then the styrofoam plates we ate supper off will have undergone metamorphesis and can be used as a fuel source. (Can you tell styrofoam plates are a bone of contention here?)

[shorty943]

Joy of joy's, our Lady of Goodness and Niceness has bestowed upon little old me a "title".

And, it's got big words.

[mikedelaney16]

Joy of joy's, our Lady of Goodness and Niceness has bestowed upon little old me a "title".

And, it's got big words.
Be sure to wear thine armor whilst she dubs thee:laugh:

[Miros1]

Oh, shush, I'm gonna wear my glasses while I dub Shorty! Hm, I better fix my title.

[shorty943]

I fear not our Lady, for she is of goodness and niceness.




So there.:p :laugh:

[mikedelaney16]

I fear not our Lady, for she is of goodness and niceness.
Yes, but those bifocals effect her perception, and the dubbing sword is both real and sharp :D

[shorty943]

No problem, Ironbark eppaulettes.

Tape the ears to the head Rugby style.

Don the trusty fire helmet.

Purchase a pair of Zaphod Beeblebrox anti panic glasses.:laugh: :laugh:

The part I'm struggling with is working my title into my signature. It's a big one.:confused:

[mikedelaney16]

The part I'm struggling with is working my title into my signature. It's a big one.:confused:
Hmm, Secondary-to-the-Goddess-in-charge-of-prevention-of-large-scale-stupidity.
STTGICOPOLSS, still a bit long.

[shorty943]

Yeah. That's the trouble with self glorification isn't it.:rofl:

[Greg]

Maybe you could shorten it to something pronounceable like "Stiggyploss."

[shorty943]

Yeehar.

We've even got the sys admin into hijacking his own threads.:laugh:

We, they confusing multitude win. Woohoo.

Stiigyploss, damn, that's no good. I can't bloody well even spell it propper good like wot it's ment .:booboo:

But it does sound about right. Late pre-historic, like one's self.:laugh:

[Greg]

:lol: Well, really, how long could a topic like "Impact Craters" last before being threadjacked?

[shorty943]

Found it. Post number 8 by



Me.

[Greg]

We didn't even make it off the first page! :rofl:

[shorty943]

Make room on the floor.:laugh: :p :help1:

[Greg]

(Here's where we need an emotie for low-flying thoughts zipping by just over my head. :lol: )

[shorty943]

(Here's where we need an emotie for low-flying thoughts zipping by just over my head. :lol: )

Um, like this?:confused:
It's the confused one, just call it shorty.

[Greg]

Yup, that one will do until we have one with thoughts zipping by! :lol:

[shorty943]

Ah good coz I resemble that remark.

[shorty943]

Am I allowed to make an impact crater of my own?

Hang on a second, If I do that, then there will be nobody left to repay the outstanding loan.
Bugger.

Plan D. Needed.

[Greg]

The effectiveness of the Ultimate Weapon lies not in its use, but rather in the threat of using it.
That's a hint.

[shorty943]

Damn this good side effect.

[Greg]

But which side is the good side, effectively speaking?

[shorty943]

Dilema's.

Can't even go rape livestock and stampede the woman folk. They have no livestock.

I did check out some spectacular impact craters on the moon last night. Somebody has been off road driving around a couple of them. There are some very big radial traces out from some craters.

[Miros1]

That's ejecta!

[Greg]

Naw, it's those Martian Monster Trucks. These are the same guys that go around gleefully planting selected minerals in the path of our robots.

[Miros1]

You mean those RC robots they sell at Radio Shack? Martian Explorers, I think they're called...

[shorty943]

No, it's the real Martians. They are impish little blokes and blokettes.

[Greg]

Yup. They're the ones who keep building these red desert stage sets around our landers, hoping we'll get discouraged and go away.

[Miros1]

Then why do they keep sweeping the dust off the solar panels on the rovers?

And do we get to hear the good dirt about the new job, or is that restricted to InSimAdult?

[Greg]

Actually, I'd rather talk about my new job here because my day job really doesn't fit over there.

The whole process is rather an interesting story. In April I learned that NASA was not going to continue the task I was working on, so I started searching for a new job then. After a bit of introspection, I made a list of the top five characteristics that I wanted in a job: (1) in Houston, (2) at the Johnson Space Center, (3) working for a major aerospace contractor, (4) working in America's space programs and preferably the Constellation program, (5) working on mechanical systems and preferably EVA or crew systems, not necessarily in order of priority.

There were lots of other features that would make a job more attractive. I rather enjoy being in a leadership role but I'd like to dodge the management bullet if I could; managers have the broader view but they don't get to play with the toys much and they have a mountain of administrivia to deal with. Having a great boss is always a top consideration, as is the rest of the management chain all the way to the top. If I couldn't get into aerospace, well, I've long been fascinated by the oil industry, especially upstream marine systems. Heck, failing all that, maybe I would consider being a history teacher.

The past few months have involved looking through at least 1000 job descriptions and submitting my resume for about 100 of them. Each one is a story all by itself, but I'll just touch on the most amusing ones.

In April I thought I had a job working in the Robotics group on the Engineering & Sciences Contract. It fit many of the criteria, though it would have been with Jacobs Technology* instead of one of the big boys and didn't get the extra half star for EVA or crew systems. Then that one started dragging on, waiting for the hiring manager to make a decision. I was expecting a formal offer any moment when a fellow who had been working on those specific robotic systems applied and the job got shot out from under me; or so that was the story.

Then there was another job on the ESC, a solid 3.5 stars, system engineering on EVA for the Constellation program, emphasis on lunar EVA requirements, where I would count among the world's leading experts.** Great boss, among the best, but the management chain gets weaker toward the top. I really, really wanted that job; working EVA on the Constellation program gets a lot of weight in my mind. The hiring manager wanted me. The other guys in the group wanted me. (Some of them had worked for me before.) NASA really, really wanted me. The requisition was all signed off but at the last minute it was blocked by a fellow in an acting senior management position who would lose face if I got hired and did a good job. I'm sure that sounds as insane to you as it did to the NASA customers who wanted me in that job, but that's the way office politics works in companies that can't control it.

And another, which is actually still open. This one is working in space station biomedical systems for Wyle Laboratories, a really solid company that well deserves the prestige it enjoys in America's space program. In the area of crew and biomedical systems, when Wyle speaks, NASA listens; and wisely so. Again, great boss, this time backed up by a solid chain of management. Almost certain to end up working in the Constellation program. It's a job I would really enjoy. I expected to hear for sure from them last week but I'm rather glad I didn't because of what happened next.

As it turns out, about an hour before I heard about the demise of the job in EVA system engineering, Lockheed Martin called. Now, any position at Lockheed Martin would speak to me with a loud voice--just about everything the company does is beyond fascinating--but this was as good as it gets. They didn't putz around. I had an interview within a few days and an offer (which I enthusiastically accepted) just a week later. That was yesterday.

So here we are. If all goes according to plan, I just need to wait for them to get done with the background-checking administrivia and I'll get to go to work for Lockheed Martin, at JSC in Houston, in the EVA & Crew Systems group, as lead engineer on Orion EVA systems. :D :D :D :D :D


----------
*Decidedly not a major aerospace contractor. To the best of my knowledge, the Engineering & Sciences Contract is their first venture into the industry.
**I was manager for EVA integration on the space station program and am the founder of the Artemis Project and the Moon Society. My crimes against normalcy are legion.

[Greg]

Hmm... maybe I should also mention that Orion (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html) is the crew exploration vehicle in NASA's Constellation program and Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor.

http://www.sunsims.com/images/167093main_orion_lunar_orbit_small.jpg
Image: NASA

[mikedelaney16]

That sounds so you! Congratulations.

Of course now you wont be able to tell us much of anything due to the NDA.

[Greg]

I'll keep confidential things that need to be confidential just as I always do, but NASA's programs are very open, so there might be some interesting tales to tell. On the other hand, you already know that I'm not one to generate fodder the scandal sheets. CNN does a fine job of making up their own drama without my help! :lol:

[Miros1]

Lol, just keep us informed, so I don't have to copy and paste from InSimAdult!

(Wondered why you were telling them, and not a peep here!)

But you didn't answer this one:
Then why do they keep sweeping the dust off the solar panels on the rovers?

[yuppiesim]

:occasion14:

Congrats Greg! I'm glad everything worked out for you.

[mikedelaney16]

Oh I wouldn't be interested in scandals, nor top secret stuff. But I'd sure be interested in space/lunar progress reports, and the odd technical tidbit when permitted.

[Sita]

That's great news. Well done.

:grilledcheese:

[Greg]

Thanks, Yuppie and Sita! I have a friend who kept telling me, "Sooner or later, the universe will give you a break!" It looks like the universe decided I had earned a really big break! :D

No worries, Mike. The Constellation program is not classified so folks working on it can talk about their work fairly freely. Propriety is a greater concern than proprietary. I've been looking for information on it on the public web and it seems to be pretty sparse; but then, the program is just getting started. Heck, NASA awarded the contract to build the Ares I upper stage just this week.

As for the EVA project, I do know that the requirements are not fully defined. The scenario for EVA changes depending on the mission. Orion will be used to transport crew to and from the ISS as well as to the moon. The EVA scenarios are different. If it's going to the ISS, Orion doesn't really need EVA capability because it can the space station's resources. Going to the moon is rather a different issue.


It must be time to dust off this old plaque!
http://www.sunsims.com/images/misc/eva.gif

[shorty943]

Sounds good Greg. Very best of luck with the administrivia.

We'll look forward to progress reports on the mission.

[Greg]

That's the good part, Shorty. At least for now, I dodge the management bullet, so I get to play with the toys. :D

That has long been my difficulty when applying for a job. I have a lot of fancy titles so I have to convince people that I don't seek those positions; I end up doing them because I'm good at it.

[shorty943]

Don't you just hate that. Just because we have lots of letters after our names, they always assume we don't like getting our hands dirty.

Give me any engine room over any board room any old day.:zipped:

So, the job is a "cert" then? A certainty?

[Miros1]

It sounds like it, unless they decide that hanging out with Simmers is a security risk.

You know, Anja just might be smuggling top secret documents in her virtual bra!

[Greg]

Yup, as certain as anything. Once they have made a formal offer something really weird would have to happen to stop it. I suppose I might fail the drug test (never used drugs) or the background test (never committed any crimes) or the government could cancel the contract (not likely). Or I could die. (Who knows?) Those are the only plausible show-stoppers I can think of.

Nevertheless, I've had such an adventure just getting to this point that I'm really paranoid. Silly me.

[shorty943]

Point 1 = clean.

Point 2 = clean.

(checking Greg for life signs. Hm, all in the green).

Point 3 = clean, as a government contract can be.
(This is the flagship. This is the new cold war. This is the sixties space race all over again, but this time, we are all in the same team pits).

Point 4 = Hmm, we could ask the Goddess. But, I think she and the "big fella", keep pretty mum about that sort of thing.

I hope it all goes well for you Greg.

[Miros1]

Stay away from the poppyseed bagels and the Advil! Both can produce false positives (opiates and Darvocet).

[Greg]

Right. No poppy seeds, no Advil. Got it.

As long as caffeine and chocolate don't make it to the controlled substance list, I should be good to go! :lol:

[shorty943]

As long as you're not going for sporting gold, I think you're in the clear.

By the way, I think we've hijacked your NASA thread.

[Greg]

Yeah, that one didn't last too long; but then, it was a survey of very small audience.

[shorty943]

Yeah, that one didn't last too long; but then, it was a survey of very small audience.


I have noticed that.
Select little group aren't we.:salute:

[Greg]

Yup! I expected Sun Sims to be a rather quiet, eclectic-but-esoteric community with a very high ratio of folks who sign up just to download things that aren't available elsewhere.

I envisioned it as a friendly little local pub, in contast with the huge multistory community centers like Insimenator.net (http://www.insimenator.net/forums.php) and The Sims Resource (http://www.thesimsresource.com/), and it makes me happy that it seems to have turned out that way! :D

I do have great respect and admiration for the awesome folks who run the big boards, but I am also very happy to leave the trials and tribulations of running megasites to them! :lol:

[shorty943]

Oh that's right, there's a downloads section.:lol:

Hmm, well, before I go back there, I've got to obtain myself a new base game.:confused: :dontknow:

All set up, start the entire game installation, a real fresh install onto a brand new formatted disk installed for the purpose. Well, alright new to this machine, removed from another for Sims 2 specifically.

THUD. 91% installation complete and it crashes with

"unable to transfer file ~\~\objects00.pkg from installation media".

I broke disk 3.:pale:

Now I'm in strife. :banghead:

[Miros1]

EEK! I think you can order a new CD from Maxis for a minimal charge if you're registered...

[shorty943]

Ha ha, you funny lady, ha ha.

At the moment, MichaelG of EA support, and I are in email WWF.
That was my first question after making sure it was the disk faulty.
The reply was, had I tried installing again? Had I tried installing to a different machine to test the disks? Had I this, had I that?
Maybe it is the second-hand, ex-government Intel Pentium chipped machine. I've never had an Intel machine before. My first computer, a 286, was a genuine IBM chip, with 80287 math co-proccessor. And I ran DOS 6.22 and Windows 3 on that old girl. The 486 and 586 were Cyrix or IBM Blue Lightning chips, and I have used AMD "64 bit" CPU's, and Nvidea graphics exclusively, for many years for Linux.
Maybe I'm holding my mouth wrong, for Intel to work right?
Or it could actually be something crusty in this, this, this, I'm lost for words to describe this, Acer version of Winslows. It's gunky Charlie Brown, it's gunky.
How gunky you ask? My Acer AMD Sempron laptop at 1.8 Ghz, with Mandriva as the only operating system, out paced my AMD Athlon 2.8 Ghz machine on Windows.

Worst case? $90 Aust for a new base game set.
With a Bonus FFS pack if you please.

[Miros1]

Tell him you looked very carefully at the disk and it has a shallow scratch all the way across it?

[Greg]

My guess is that it would less expensive to EA if they'd just replace the disk without worrying about it.

[Miros1]

Yeah, it's one disk out of 3, and they don't give you a new license code, and you're paying like $10 US, so it's really no skin off their noses!

[Greg]

Yup, whereas having customer support people invest their time in futile excercises in trying to find out if the disk is really broken definitely costs them money.

[shorty943]

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Stupid ratzin fratzin Intel, jump up and down, shoot it, shoot it.:zipped:

Oh, hello, didn't see you there.:angel12:
Well, I managed to get the game installed. At least I think I did, it crashed on load up, so I don't really know if it installed properly or not.:p
Follow EA support instructions.
Load the disks, all 4 of them, one by one, make disk set copies, install from,,,, hell, that was fast.:asking06:
Start the game, kachoonk. That awefull Windows, "I just crashed it" sound.

That's it, tomorrow, the instruction book gets dusted off.:laugh:
And the optical drive gets upgraded, and it gets a better video card, and the 2.2 Ghz processor the motherboard can take, another 512 Mb of RAM.
And then, if it doesn't play nice, out in the workshop there is a nice, loud, nine inch angle grinder.:weg:

Did I mention I don't seem to get on with Intel very well?:p

[Greg]

Is it too trivially obvious to ask if you have an fan-created content installed when you're starting the game? :thinking:

[mikedelaney16]

And then, if it doesn't play nice, out in the workshop there is a nice, loud, nine inch angle grinder.:weg:
Or over on the corner shelf in the office is a Mandriva disc :)

Speaking of discs, when was the last time you cleaned the lens in the CD/DVD drive?

[Miros1]

Interesting that this discussion of angle grinders and Mandriva discs is in a thread entitled "Impact Craters"...

[mikedelaney16]

With some effort, one could probably produce an impact crater on an angle grinder with a mandriva disc.

[Greg]

Or if one is into chemistry more than physics, one might study the development of impact craters on CD's caused by compounds containing fulminate of mercury.

[shorty943]

Hmm, fulminate of mercury, hmm.

Pour it all over stupid Intel machine.

No wait, I have do a DVD of Mandriva on the desk.


Impact craters avoided.

Got game fixed. I still don't get it. It just will not work on that Acer branded Intel chipped machine.

Now, I have a powerhouse XP games box, with an x86 64 bit 3.4 Ghz Athlon, 1 Gb of DDR2 RAM, an Nvidea 7600 GT with 512 Mb of VRAM, and 400 Gb of raided hard drives. EAGames, has its own 40 Gb Western Digital Caviar drive.
My Documents\EAGames\The Sims 2, now resides on a 120 GB SATA disk, of its own.
Three days of nothing but EA repairs, all fixed now, all EP's and SP's re-installed. Even got back my back-up downloads and Neighborhoods, all fully functional.
I'm going to send them on vacation next week, update patches depending of course.

But, my big beautiful server is no more. Make the Intel a Mandriva box.
That'll teach it. All it had to do was play a game.
Now, it will have to do math and real compute functions. So there.

[Miros1]

BV won't be patched by next week. It just won't.

[Greg]

Maybe if you surround it with citrine and threaten to install MS-DOS, it will start paying attention.

[shorty943]

Maybe if you surround it with citrine and threaten to install MS-DOS, it will start paying attention.

Hey, you leave DOS alone. It's the last thing MS did that worked right.:laugh:
It didn't work much, but at least it worked right.

What did fit in the angle grinder a treat, was the Acer XP disk.
But, XP Pro is installed on the AMD now, the game is re-installed, all my downloads are back in place, and I have not lost a thing.
Don't you just love lots of backed up, "known good" setups. Luckily, I do backup, before I do a mod install, and all installs are done into a test directory first.

So now I install Linux to an Intel machine. I can do that.:) I have the DVD of Mandriva 2008 Beta 2.

I might see if a singing crystal can help the Intel. They do tech stuff.
So I'm told.

[Greg]

That's where having an operational CD burner would come in really handy! At least then it would be easier to store and organize all the backups!

[shorty943]

That's where having an operational CD burner would come in really handy! At least then it would be easier to store and organize all the backups!

Let me count the rays.

1, DVD/CD-RW combo drive in the laptop.
1 DVD +_ R, and 1 DVD/CD-RW, in the AMD.
And a snotty 52x CD-ROM in the Intel.

Oh oh. I foresee a problem with Mandriva installation.
Mandriva on DVD, Intel only has CD.
I see a swap job happening, and a case paint job.
Beige CD-ROM in black and silver tower case, not a nice look.
Silver DVD/CD-RW in beige and blue case? Must find black paint can.