Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Post by Ian Pearse on Feb 16, 2008 15:27:50 GMT -4
Thanks, Gillianren, for the info. I wonder how it got to be used in it's present incarnation?
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Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Post by Ian Pearse on Feb 16, 2008 10:21:15 GMT -4
You'll all no doubt be aware of the word "shill", as in "...government shill.." Does anyone know where that word came from? I'm curious to know. I'd not seen it before reading these forums.
Could it be related in some way to "taking the Kings Shilling?" - the expression that used to be used to denote being accepted into the Army or Navy?
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Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Post by Ian Pearse on Feb 21, 2008 4:36:36 GMT -4
Cloudy here too. Last time, although I watched it, the pictures I took were all over-exposed. I was hoping to correct it this time... rats!
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Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Flying
Feb 7, 2008 9:02:43 GMT -4
Post by Ian Pearse on Feb 7, 2008 9:02:43 GMT -4
Don't forget the old pilots adage: take-offs are optional, landings are mandatory. ;D
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Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Post by Ian Pearse on Nov 30, 2007 8:51:25 GMT -4
I'd forgotten about the general relativity effects... out of curiosity, can someone who is up on this sort of thing estimate what sort of margins we're talking about here?
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Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Post by Ian Pearse on Nov 28, 2007 5:27:28 GMT -4
Apologies if this has been looked at before. I've just been skimming through "To Rise From Earth" by Wayne Lee, borrowed from my local library. The section about GPS satellites and how GPS receivers fix their position on Earth mentions "clock skew", the positional error produced by the difference in accuracy between the satellite clocks and the GPS receiver clock. This necessitates a fourth satellite lock to correct it. It doesn't mention any differences due to relativistic effect - moving clocks go slow. Is it safe to assume the relativistic difference would be too small to matter?
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Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Post by Ian Pearse on Sept 13, 2007 16:41:42 GMT -4
Some of you may remember a TV series from a while back called Space: 1999. it was by gerry Anderson, known for Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and many others. For those who don't know the series, the basic idea was that the Moon was blasted out of Eath's orbit by nuclear explosions (I know, I know...) I found a DVD with 4 episodes on it and have been watching. One of the is called The Last Sunset, where a passing planet sends devices that give the Moon an atmosphere. In one sequence, the inhabitants of the Moonbase are watching a sunrise through their new atmosphere. Someone in the base opens a window to let the breeze in. Who would design a moonbase with opening windows? ? But, apart from the odd moment like that, it's not a bad series really.
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Ian Pearse
Mars
Apollo (and space) enthusiast
Posts: 308
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Babies!
Mar 14, 2008 8:37:36 GMT -4
Post by Ian Pearse on Mar 14, 2008 8:37:36 GMT -4
Just picked up on this thread. Congratulations Peter (and family). Children are a mixed blessing (!). I have two of my own, one of each, and despite all the traumas, heartaches, arguments, you name it, I wouldn't trade them for anything or anyone.
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