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Are You Ready for Flying Cars and Floating Skyscrapers?

Supposedly this flying-saucer shaped aircar -- fans mounted in the disc around the driver's "pod" -- and has been "estimated" to fly at 120 miles per hour.

ufocar.jpg

All the pictures and videos appear to be mock-ups so I don't think this has been built yet. The article seems kind of elusive when it comes to directly stating that.

But that's not even the wild speculative news. We've seen dozens of "Flying Cars are Coming" articles.

But what about flying skyscrapers?

analemmatower.jpg

The "Analemma Tower," so named because the designer keeps thinking "This is gonna get me so much ass," is planned to be hanged from a large mass -- an asteroid put in earth's orbit -- so that it traces a figure eight as the earth turns and moves through the sky over New York City and then Florida and Rio De Janiero and back again.

Yeah yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, and it'll never happen. For one thing, how do you actually get down to the earth to go to work?

NP, they've got you covered, fam: You parachute down to work. Every day, I guess!

How do you get back up? And how do you get back up when you're done with your working day in New York City, but now your home in the clouds has migrated south down to Cape Hatteras?

I don't know. I guess that's why you're gonna need the UFO car.

Nevermind the whole "we just need cables strong enough but also light enough to not fall under their own mass" problem is the reason we can't have nice things like space elevators.

Still, pretty mindblowing, just the idea of it.

Meanwhile, remember when the Progressive Internet Scientists all went berserk over a dumb video proposing that we make roadways out of solar panels, which can then produce electricity either to pump into into the cars driving on it or just to light up our cities?

And they were all like YEAH LET'S DO THAT?!

And remember when more sensible people who don't #LoveScience enough told them, "You're so dumb"?

And they said, "No, YOU'RE dumb, you #ScienceH8rs!"?

Well it turns out that they were, get this, dumb.

Open Thread.

Posted by: Ace at 07:28 PM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 first

Posted by: TexasDan at March 29, 2017 07:30 PM (yL25O)

2 I'd buy one of those cars in a heartbeat!!!

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2017 07:30 PM (0tfLf)

3 3-D parallel parking?

Ugh!

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:31 PM (NOIQH)

4 Good god, women driving air cars would not be optimal

Posted by: NCKate at March 29, 2017 07:32 PM (f8sj6)

5 I'd even go for one of those drone motercycles I read about.
I dream of flying over Seattle's traffic with a big middle finger painted on the bottom.

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2017 07:32 PM (0tfLf)

6 not really a Skyscraper, is it?

Posted by: garrett at March 29, 2017 07:32 PM (MmiC2)

7 I read that floating skyscraper story earlier. That can't be real, can it?

I'm thinking they planned to publish it April 1 and they got their dates confused.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:32 PM (sBOL1)

8 >>A series of rechargeable batteries located in the I.F.O's outer disk power each engine.
Batteries. Huh.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:33 PM (NOIQH)

9 Damn. Motorcycles...stoopid keyboard.

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2017 07:33 PM (0tfLf)

10 How 'bout a washing machine that doesn't leak after a couple of months?

Fuck you, science.

Posted by: RKae at March 29, 2017 07:33 PM (4DpAT)

11 I think I read this same article in Omni about 35 years ago.

Posted by: Puddleglum at March 29, 2017 07:34 PM (MhLy8)

12 The buildings falling is a whole thing on Discworld IIRC.

Posted by: DaveA at March 29, 2017 07:34 PM (FhXTo)

13 I, for one, am ready for space elevators.

Posted by: The Kenyan Chocolate Arugula Farmer at March 29, 2017 07:34 PM (Tyii7)

14 You want the same people you're on the road with everyday to have the ability to fly around in a saucer at 120 mph?

Posted by: Nigel West Dickens at March 29, 2017 07:34 PM (FqgrG)

15 I would settle for phosphates back in my cascade

Posted by: NCKate at March 29, 2017 07:34 PM (f8sj6)

16 how stupid would having a floating skyscraper be? why would you want your apartment to wander off so you would have to chase it down when you wanted to go home?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:34 PM (cPsPa)

17 For one thing, how do you actually get down to the earth to go to work? (NP, they've got you covered: You parachute down to work. Every day, I guess!)

Okay. So how do you get back home at night?

Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (qJhUV)

18 And ace, you don't get down to go to work, you work right there in that thing. It's all self-contained.

It can't be for real. Windows that shape-shift and all that crap. Nope.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (sBOL1)

19 People can't even handle regular cars. Not just no, but fuck no, I do not trust most people to basically fly.

Posted by: Colonel Kurtz at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (/BTP8)

20 you'd have to be constantly accelerating the asteroid to keep it from losing orbit, no?

I don't see how you win in terms of physics by having a small mass suspended near the surface and a large mass in orbit. I guess it's geosynchronous so the friction with the atmosphere is as close to zero as you can get, but you'd still be subject to winds.

But everything we put up there has a decaying orbit no matter how slow. Pretty nasty to pull an asteroid into orbit because some day, eventually, that orbit will decay, when the skyhook building developers go out of business and stop paying the rocket fuel bill to maintain it where it needs to be.

Posted by: TexasDan at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (yL25O)

21 >>I think I read this same article in Omni about 35 years ago.

Yeah, and when are we all getting personal jet-packs to tool around in?

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (NOIQH)

22 sure it is for real but who wants it?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (cPsPa)

23 I don't want a flying saucer. I want a Harley to achieve liftoff.

...then, I'll buy when the price comes down.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (6gk0M)

24 Bailing out of that "drone" would be interesting...

Posted by: Skookumchuk at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (Cl0Of)

25 More 'Sciency Stuff To Dazzle the Retards' that the media luvs to run.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:36 PM (oVJmc)

26 If you can get the basic problems of the metal weight down, I don't see what this floating skyscraper is in any way better than a space elevator. One of the biggest reasons for a space elevator is the ability to cheaply send things into space. Having this unmoored from the ground seems to nullify that advantage.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at March 29, 2017 07:36 PM (Jj43a)

27 Biggest issue: where do the people in that tower pay taxes?

Posted by: TexasDan at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (yL25O)

28 The "Analemma Tower,"

Emma does butt stuff?

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (oVJmc)

29 If we go back just over a hundred years ago, and then march forward though time, the pace of magical technological advances was amazing. Planes, electricity everywhere, radio, phones.

Lately, except for phones to send snaps of our genitals, not so much.

We're due!

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (SIY7D)

30 I wonder if it will stay airborne with two simultaneous fan failures and is rated for mile high status?

Posted by: Tentotwo at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (JKoje)

31 Read the article. It can't be real.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (sBOL1)

32 The first commercial flying car should be called 'The Darwin.'

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (oVJmc)

33 We get to fantasize about the Jetson women again?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (IqV8l)

34 I'd buy the flying saucer car if it made the same noise the Jetzons' car did.

Posted by: rickl at March 29, 2017 07:38 PM (sdi6R)

35 But everything we put up there has a decaying orbit no matter how slow. Pretty nasty to pull an asteroid into orbit because some day, eventually, that orbit will decay, when the skyhook building developers go out of business and stop paying the rocket fuel bill to maintain it where it needs to be.
Posted by: TexasDan at March



well, it is part of your monthly maintenance fee for the co-op

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:38 PM (cPsPa)

36 That's an 8 rotor electric helicopter. If it was a good idea Sikorsky would already be making them.

Posted by: DaveA at March 29, 2017 07:38 PM (FhXTo)

37 Remember when the new world-changing invention turned out to be...the Segway?

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:38 PM (oVJmc)

38 In your Flying Saucer, there will be a Windows update that causes you to lose lift.

-Update now?
-Update after you have git the ground?

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 07:38 PM (6gk0M)

39 If we go back just over a hundred years ago, and then march forward though time, the pace of magical technological advances was amazing. Planes, electricity everywhere, radio, phones.

Lately, except for phones to send snaps of our genitals, not so much.

We're due!
Posted by: Ignoramus

----

Pretty much all we get now are toys, toxins and tyranny.

Posted by: RKae at March 29, 2017 07:39 PM (4DpAT)

40 I take it the tower inhabitants all drink their own recycled black water and so on? It's like a floating biodome nightmare.

When people die would they bury them at sky?

Posted by: TexasDan at March 29, 2017 07:39 PM (yL25O)

41 21 >>I think I read this same article in Omni about 35 years ago.

Yeah, and when are we all getting personal jet-packs to tool around in?
Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:35 PM (NOIQH)

I'm still waiting for moving sidewalks in the cities.

Posted by: rickl at March 29, 2017 07:39 PM (sdi6R)

42 It should be named Tyson Tower, in honor of me! Imagine the look on that racist Nazi's face every time I buzz the White House!

Posted by: Neil DeGrasse Tyson at March 29, 2017 07:39 PM (W8bn5)

43 I think I read this same article in Omni about 35 years ago.

Ace really pegged his wayback machine.

Posted by: The Kenyan Chocolate Arugula Farmer at March 29, 2017 07:39 PM (Tyii7)

44 *hit* the ground, even.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (6gk0M)

45 We get to fantasize about the Jetson women again?

Were we supposed to stop?

Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (qJhUV)

46 When people die would they bury them at sky?
Posted by: TexasDan at March 29, 2017




you put them on the elevator, take them up to the asteroid, put them in the asteroid or push them off and let them reenter on their own.

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (cPsPa)

47 my son is a pilot and he was almost hit by a drone last year while flying a Cessna; it would have broken the windshield and likely caused a crash, so more random assholes flying around is not what the future needs.

Posted by: the Butcher at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (AGJqR)

48 For one thing, how do you actually get down to the earth to go to work? (NP, they've got you covered: You parachute down to work. Every day, I guess!)

Okay. So how do you get back home at night?

Dude. Flying saucers man.

Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (B11vO)

49 Too bad Western Civilization will not be around to witness these marvels of science.

Posted by: Phone of Widespread Pepe at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (ve0bY)

50 >>>I read that floating skyscraper story earlier. That can't be real, can it?

It's real in the sense the guy wrote it down on a piece of paper and then did some awesome photoshopping.

Posted by: ace at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (8rNrN)

51 We get to fantasize about the Jetson women again?

----

Sorry, but I'm still stuck on Betty Rubble.

Posted by: RKae at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (4DpAT)

52 Why can't I build a large ultralight quad drone and strap it to my back and fight crime and shit?

Posted by: Max Power at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (q177U)

53 pilot and he was almost hit by a drone last year while flying a Cessna; it would have broken the windshield and likely caused a crash, so more random assholes flying around is not what the future needs.
Posted by: the Butcher




fly a bigger plane

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (cPsPa)

54 The "Analemma Tower,"

Emma does butt stuff?
Posted by: Mr. Peebles




She does now!

Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (4Utw1)

55 Remember when the new world-changing invention turned out to be...the Segway?

Yes.

Posted by: Al Capone's Vault and Trump's Taxes at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (Tyii7)

56 "remember when the Progressive Internet Scientists all went berserk over a
dumb video proposing that we make roadways out of solar panels"

A couple of years ago, one of the automakers put a photovoltaic array in place of the normal sunroof. As I recall it, the concept was that it could do things like run a small fan to remove heated air from the interior of the car when it was parked in the sun for a long time.

I was giving a ride to a pretty but vacant CA liberal New Age environmentalist type, and one of these things was parked next to my car in the lot, and I idly mused about it while unlocking the doors, oh, hey, look, there's one of the solar panel cars.

She, honest to Jeebus, thought the entire vehicle was powered and propelled by this tiny, probably 18 by 24 inch, panel.

People like this vote.

Posted by: torquewrench at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (noWW6)

57 >>I'm still waiting for moving sidewalks in the cities.


And those Segways that were the wave of pedestrian travel in cities...and Paul Blart, Mall Cop.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (NOIQH)

58 You want flying saucer cars and floating skyscrapers.
You'll settle for spinners and pyramidal skyscrapers.
You'll get minivans and Peach Trees.

Posted by: antisocial justice beatnik at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (V4Qfo)

59 Once we get sexbots, all human endeavor will cease.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (oVJmc)

60 Too bad Western Civilization will not be around to witness these marvels of science.

Posted by: Phone of Widespread Pepe

----

Yeah, they certainly do want to build a lot of interesting infrastructure for the All-Muslim Planet to enjoy!

Posted by: RKae at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (4DpAT)

61 We devised the design for the floating skyscraper after a weekly session of group therapy with adult coloring books.

Posted by: Cloud Architecture Offices at March 29, 2017 07:42 PM (FqgrG)

62 A detail they neglect on the hanging skyscraper crap:

An object in low earth orbit (like the asteroid they are hanging the skyscraper from) is moving FAAASSSTT!!!, like bullet from a gun fast.

So, the hanging skyscraper is supersonic. I can only imagine what the shockwave would be like from that crap.

Oh... The wind resistance on the skyscraper would produce drag, of course, which would be a brake on the asteroid, which would mean its orbit would decay....

Yeah.....

Posted by: ghbucky at March 29, 2017 07:42 PM (D2q91)

63 In the future you'll be able to buy injectable silicone to make your boobs bigger at home. They'll sell it at Lowes.

Posted by: Florida Woman at March 29, 2017 07:42 PM (8ZskC)

64 120 mi/hour ? big deal

Posted by: runner at March 29, 2017 07:42 PM (c6/9Q)

65 The floating skyscraper idea is stupid and impractical. I want asteroids in a distant orbit around Earth being mined for raw materials to construct spinning space stations and a moon base and ships to go to Mars.

Posted by: Colorado Alex In Exile at March 29, 2017 07:42 PM (Tnhbr)

66 I'll take "Anal Enemas" for $200, Alex...
like your granny last night!!!

Posted by: sean connery at March 29, 2017 07:42 PM (nlbfN)

67 So, what happens if everyone in the tower goes to the top floor? Center of mass shifts. Orbit drops.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:43 PM (oVJmc)

68 If the planet consisted entirely of immortal clones of me, this shit would have been invented millenniums ago!

Posted by: Neil DeGrasse Tyson at March 29, 2017 07:43 PM (W8bn5)

69 Ever seen people drive in Boston? Flying cars would be like the Battle of Britain.

Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 07:43 PM (qJhUV)

70 Residents all work for Spacely's Space Sprockets.

Posted by: socalcon at March 29, 2017 07:43 PM (WAnre)

71 what we should do is hook up san francisco's millennium tower to the asteroid so it yanks it off its foundation, instant floating skyscraper, and no more worries about the lean tower of san francisco.

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:43 PM (cPsPa)

72 You parachute down to work. Every day, I guess!

So in addition to all the other things I have to do each morning to get ready for work, I have to pack a parachute too?

Or will I have a robot servant to do that for me?

Posted by: rickl at March 29, 2017 07:43 PM (sdi6R)

73 The floating skyscraper idea is stupid and impractical. I want asteroids in a distant orbit around Earth being mined for raw materials to construct spinning space stations and a moon base and ships to go to Mars.
Posted by: Colorado Alex In Exile at March 29, 2017 07:42 PM (Tnhbr)

Build Ringworld using asteroids. Mars is too cold and distant.

Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at March 29, 2017 07:44 PM (B11vO)

74 you put them on the elevator, take them up to the asteroid, put them in
the asteroid or push them off and let them reenter on their own.

The anchor asteroid would be moving above orbital velocity to counter-pull the building up. So they'd just fly off into space.

Whether they'll space anybody on The Expanse tonight IDK, but it's almost as regular as Raylan shooting someone.

Posted by: DaveA at March 29, 2017 07:44 PM (FhXTo)

75 Emma does butt stuff?
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:37 PM (oVJmc)

Only if you use the muff oil.

Posted by: Colorado Alex In Exile at March 29, 2017 07:44 PM (Tnhbr)

76 56; that panel and a couple d cell batteries, good to go. it's science, man.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at March 29, 2017 07:45 PM (KP5rU)

77 I left a floating skyscraper swirling in the bowl this morning.

Posted by: Mikey Moore at March 29, 2017 07:45 PM (Tyii7)

78 Caption contest for the flying aircar:


"Pull!"

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 07:46 PM (SRKgf)

79 >>Ever seen people drive in Boston? Flying cars would be like the Battle of Britain.


"Huh..." *scribbles note to skip turn signals*
---- flying car engineer

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:46 PM (NOIQH)

80 It's real in the sense the guy wrote it down on a piece of paper and then did some awesome photoshopping.

Posted by: ace at March 29, 2017 07:40 PM (8rNrN)
----------

Okay, I'm not as dumb as I look. I realize the photos are not real as the thing hasn't been built yet. But this can't really be a valid concept.

It's an early April Fool's joke. Much like April the giraffe's alleged baby giraffe.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:46 PM (sBOL1)

81 66 Sean, I've never enjoyed a caughing fit with my hay fever , brought on by stifling a laugh... Never.

Posted by: socalcon at March 29, 2017 07:46 PM (WAnre)

82 I h8 it when people are too dumb to love science.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at March 29, 2017 07:47 PM (tHwdc)

83 All of that is a waste of money.

We should invest money in genetically engineering catgirls for domestic ownership.

Posted by: Society for the Genetic Engineering of Catgirls for Domestic Ownership at March 29, 2017 07:47 PM (rUIbB)

84 75; in the future everbody will do butt stuff.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at March 29, 2017 07:47 PM (KP5rU)

85 "Huh..." *scribbles note to skip turn signals*
---- flying car engineer
Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:46 PM (NOIQH)
-------

My (Masshole) husband says up there, if someone uses a turn signal before changing lanes, the other guy thinks "this jerk is going to cut me off and he has the nerve to tell me about it."

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:48 PM (sBOL1)

86 kay, I'm not as dumb as I look. I realize the photos are not real as the thing hasn't been built yet. But this can't really be a valid concept.

It's an early April Fool's joke. Much like April the giraffe's alleged baby giraffe.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:46




no it is real in the sense the some pr firm told their client to design something stupid, like the floating island yachts the naval architects float out every so often to get press.

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:48 PM (cPsPa)

87 in the future everbody will do butt stuff.

=============


Hollywood royalty is telling me that the future is now

Posted by: runner at March 29, 2017 07:48 PM (c6/9Q)

88 It's an early April Fool's joke. Much like April the giraffe's alleged baby giraffe.




I keep telling everyone that it's Dan the giraffe who self identifies as April.

Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:48 PM (4Utw1)

89 you put them on the elevator, take them up to the asteroid, put them in
the asteroid or push them off and let them reenter on their own.

The anchor asteroid would be moving above orbital velocity to counter-pull the building up. So they'd just fly off into space.
******************************
If a counter mass was used wouldn't this negate the potential issue of flying into space?

I would think a bigger issue would be orbital debris hitting that structure.

Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at March 29, 2017 07:48 PM (B11vO)

90 Put that flying car on a boom and you have an industrial strength hedge trimmer.

Paolo, be a good lad and trim the missus' bushes before you go.

Posted by: Fritz at March 29, 2017 07:49 PM (MF/hn)

91 The bottom of the skyscraper would be moving more slowly than the top, I assume, following a smaller circumference in the same amount of time. But if it's not a synchronous orbit, it would still be moving at some speed.

The real question is...why?

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:49 PM (oVJmc)

92 My floating skyscraper would be painted black, have laser weaponry and go 250 mph.

It would also have a bar area with outdoor seating.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 29, 2017 07:49 PM (8ZskC)

93 36 That's an 8 rotor electric helicopter. If it was a good idea Sikorsky would already be making them.
Posted by: DaveA at March 29, 2017 07:38 PM (FhXTo)

Every drone would have 8 rotors if 8 rotors was a super great idea.

Posted by: TexasDan at March 29, 2017 07:49 PM (yL25O)

94 OK, now to give credit where credit is due re solar power. A number of places here in SoCal have put up solar panels over their parking lots, thereby generating power during the day, and also keeping parked cars nice and cool. Win-win!

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 07:49 PM (SRKgf)

95 Has any moron asked if you can mount a weapon to the thing yet?

If not, I'm horribly disappointed in the Horde.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 07:49 PM (PY9jH)

96 I read that floating skyscraper story earlier. That can't be real, can it?

I'm thinking they planned to publish it April 1 and they got their dates confused.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:32 PM (sBOL1)

No, as someone pointed out, even if you could have strong enough cables, the friction will drag the asteroid out of orbit. It's just one of those stupid stories that sound like science but are crap.

Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at March 29, 2017 07:50 PM (J70i0)

97 My (Masshole) husband says up there, if someone uses
a turn signal before changing lanes, the other guy thinks "this jerk is
going to cut me off and he has the nerve to tell me about it."





Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:48 PM (sBOL1)

Having grown up in Massachusetts, I can confirm this to be true.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at March 29, 2017 07:50 PM (tHwdc)

98 >>My (Masshole) husband says up there, if someone uses a turn signal
before changing lanes, the other guy thinks "this jerk is going to cut
me off and he has the nerve to tell me about it."


It's giving secrets to the enemy!

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:50 PM (NOIQH)

99 I like to do sexual things to science.

Posted by: Bill Nye at March 29, 2017 07:50 PM (FqgrG)

100 Damn skyscraper's gonna tip.

Posted by: Hank Johnson at March 29, 2017 07:50 PM (Tyii7)

101 I'm picturing a Josey Wales type dude, with an especially large caliber Sharps rifle. taking aim at the support cables of the hangscraper and giving the residents 'a Missouri boatride'.

Posted by: GnuBreed at March 29, 2017 07:50 PM (wTwJ2)

102 Flying cars I get - but has anyone asked what the point of the crazy hanging skyscraper would be?

Posted by: Weasel at March 29, 2017 07:50 PM (Sfs6o)

103

Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels—bring home for AnalEmma

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (IqV8l)

104 How do you get back up?


Trebuchet.

We'll tell the liberals that we're going to help them get to the floating skyscraper, and that by doing so they will be doing their part to save the polar bears.

They're dumb enough they might go for it.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (SRKgf)

105 Flying cars I get - but has anyone asked what the point of the crazy hanging skyscraper would be?

==========

awesome views ?

Posted by: runner at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (c6/9Q)

106 Flying cars I get - but has anyone asked what the point of the crazy hanging skyscraper would be?
Posted by: Weasel



Cool factor to get a guy laid.

Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (4Utw1)

107 Every drone would have 8 rotors if 8 rotors was a super great idea.
Posted by: TexasDan at March 29, 2017 07:49 PM (yL25O)
***************************
Probably a compromise between lift, forward speed, and battery life.

Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (B11vO)

108 Has any moron asked if you can mount a weapon to the thing yet?
We're still discussing mounting Emma.

Posted by: andycanuck at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (nlbfN)

109 And those Segways that were the wave of pedestrian travel in cities...and Paul Blart, Mall Cop.
Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (NOIQH)

That was the biggest bust of new technology announcements.

That would make a good top 10 list.

Hhhmmm, mini-disks.

Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (J70i0)

110 Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels - bring home for AnalEmma
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (IqV8l)


Is Sulkowicz in the news again?

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (SRKgf)

111 Both ideas are beyond stupid. They "flying car" is basically held up entirely by thrust from its motors (not "engines"), and should more than one or two fail, it will become uncontrollable, and fall out of the sky like a rock. And there is no way that enough batteries could be packed into that disc to run its motors for 70 minutes.

And the goofy tower will be moving thousands of miles per day, at speeds approaching those of modern airliners. It's going to be streamed out behind that asteroid like the baits on a tuna boat. And the wind drag will slow it down, and generate a down force to deorbit the asteroid. There is no way the physics works.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (WDdjT)

112 Flying cars I get - but has anyone asked what the point of the crazy hanging skyscraper would be?

To house our Elite Overlords out of reach of us filthy proles.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (oVJmc)

113 >>How do you get back up?



Especially if it was floating above Miami when you departed and it's now hovering over Rio....

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (NOIQH)

114 Has any moron asked if you can mount a weapon to the thing yet?
We're still discussing mounting Emma.
Posted by: andycanuck



Faith in the Horde is restored!

Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:53 PM (4Utw1)

115 Really, there are only two futures:

1. Islamic domination, repression if you're not islamic.

2. Humans as AI slaves.

Of course, we can continue on our present course, where the rich get richer, the middle class becomes poor and the poor become fatter and have better electronics and cars than the middle class.

And "Soylent Green. It's Mother Gaia's favorite source of nutrients!"

Posted by: shibumi at March 29, 2017 07:53 PM (FkAXz)

116 Willowed from the last thread:

Hey Horde, now that the weather has broken, I'm looking to set up a Central Ohio Moron Meetup in the Columbus OH area sometime soon. If you have an interest, please email me at centralohmome atthingy email dot com.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 29, 2017 07:53 PM (tr2D7)

117 106 Flying cars I get - but has anyone asked what the point of the crazy hanging skyscraper would be?
Posted by: Weasel



Cool factor to get a guy laid.
Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (4Utw1)

But if the skyscraper is traveling 1000 mph, how is his girlfriend going to meet him there?

Posted by: rickl at March 29, 2017 07:53 PM (sdi6R)

118 this flying-saucer shaped aircar

Is it two lanes wide, and made of gleaming alloy?

Posted by: Neil Peart at March 29, 2017 07:53 PM (wpC7C)

119 Where does one get the asteroid?
Amazon?

Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 07:53 PM (rnOcr)

120 LMAO, they put the prototype for the solar "path, not road or even parking lot in Idaho" It like someone knew it was a horrible idea but couldn't tell the boss his grand idea "is total shit" so they set up the testbed in a harsh environment instead of Palm Springs or some other mild temps sunny desert where it not be pushed to failure fast or often enough.

Posted by: PaleRider at March 29, 2017 07:54 PM (eASYU)

121 reminds me of the jetsons

Posted by: concrete girl at March 29, 2017 07:54 PM (fZXYQ)

122 To house our Elite Overlords out of reach of us filthy proles.
--
Wasn't that a Matt Damon movie?

Posted by: shibumi at March 29, 2017 07:54 PM (FkAXz)

123 And those Segways that were the wave of pedestrian travel in cities...and Paul Blart, Mall Cop.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (NOIQH)


Lol. "Shrine of the Mall Ninja" that Gecko idiot. Funniest thing ever.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 07:54 PM (PY9jH)

124 Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels - bring home for AnalEmma




Fap, fire someone, & breakfast for Emma. After anal.

Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:54 PM (4Utw1)

125 Cool factor to get a guy laid.
Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (4Utw1)
---------
Seems like it'd be easier to go the conventional route and get a boat or a sports car.

Posted by: Weasel at March 29, 2017 07:54 PM (Sfs6o)

126
Hhhmmm, mini-disks.

Ha, just watched a vid about those the other day. Apparently, they bombed in the US but were reasonable successes in the rest of the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU3BceoMuaA

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:54 PM (oVJmc)

127 I'd hit it.

Posted by: Elroy Jetson at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (Tyii7)

128 116 tonypete

WooHoo!!

Posted by: ibguy at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (vUcdz)

129 It's giving secrets to the enemy!

It's like flipping you off. Try and stop me, asshole! I dare you!

Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (qJhUV)

130 And the goofy tower will be moving thousands of miles per day, at speeds approaching those of modern airliners. It's going to be streamed out behind that asteroid like the baits on a tuna boat. And the wind drag will slow it down, and generate a down force to deorbit the asteroid. There is no way the physics works.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 29, 2017 07:52 PM (WDdjT)
------
Forget about all that. Much easier fatal flaw: How do you get power to the damn thing. Extension cord?

Posted by: WisRich at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (OAlmw)

131 They should make this the United Nations' building, to remind us that we are all ONE.

Posted by: Shia La Beouf at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (W8bn5)

132 Imagine the fun you could have in the flying disc over a BLM riot.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (PY9jH)

133 And those Segways that were the wave of pedestrian travel in cities...and Paul Blart, Mall Cop.
Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 07:41 PM (NOIQH)

Remember the hype in the run-up to their debut? Yeah, that's what an obese nation needs: a way to get even LESS exercise than it does now.

And then when they revealed what the BFD was, it was a damp squib. A whole nation said, "Really?"

On the bright side, the CEO of the company accidentally banzaied off a cliff on one of the damned things, showing that God does have a sense of humor.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (SRKgf)

134 "what we should do is hook up san francisco's millennium tower to the
asteroid so it yanks it off its foundation, instant floating skyscraper,
and no more worries about the lean tower of san francisco."

I have a strong suspicion that when The Big One finally rolls through northern Commiefornia, that building -- and probably two dozen other recently constructed luxury high-rises in SF -- are going to simply fall down.

Posted by: torquewrench at March 29, 2017 07:56 PM (noWW6)

135 So how does this thing deal with the wind pushing against it? And getting snagged on power lines?

A space elevator is a real idea, but that would be geosynchronous. The base would be a huge ship on the equator. Then a ~40,000 mile tether is attached to the other end, held taut by centripetal forces.

But again, if you want to actually use the thing, presumably with vehicles full of cargo climbing up and down the tether, then aren't you pulling it out of orbit?

Posted by: BourbonChicken at March 29, 2017 07:56 PM (VdICR)

136 Cool factor to get a guy laid.
Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (4Utw1)
---------
Seems like it'd be easier to go the conventional route and get a boat or a sports car.
Posted by: Weasel



Yeah, if you had that kind of money, it'd be easier to just buy a hooker.

Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:56 PM (4Utw1)

137 132 Imagine the fun you could have in the flying disc over a BLM riot.
Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (PY9jH)


It'd be more fun if the props were free and not in those surrounds. Then you could land in the middle of the BLM riot and simultaneously get some entertainment and do the country a power of good.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 07:57 PM (SRKgf)

138 131 They should make this the United Nations' building, to remind us that we are all ONE.
Posted by: Shia La Beouf at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (W8bn5)

^^This. "You first".

Posted by: rickl at March 29, 2017 07:57 PM (sdi6R)

139 But does the saucer fly high enough to reach the skyscraper?

Posted by: Zombie Mohammed Atta at March 29, 2017 07:57 PM (W8bn5)

140 Yeah, if you had that kind of money, it'd be easier to just buy a hooker.
Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:56 PM (4Utw1)


Hell, for that kind of money you could hire hookers in battalion strength.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 07:57 PM (SRKgf)

141 Cool factor to get a guy laid.
Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 07:51 PM (4Utw1)




how hard is it going to be to get her to leave after you are done with her?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:57 PM (cPsPa)

142 do you get power to the damn thing. Extension cord?
_______________

Solar power duh.

Posted by: Bill Nye at March 29, 2017 07:58 PM (FqgrG)

143 We have friends in the neighborhood who bought their daughters Segways.

Now in our Historic District, you see all these nerdy looking tourists riding them, wearing Obama-style helmets, doing tours.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 07:58 PM (PY9jH)

144 119 Where does one get the asteroid?
Amazon?
Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 07:53 PM (rnOcr)
--------
Uranus!

Posted by: Weasel at March 29, 2017 07:58 PM (Sfs6o)

145 Forget about all that. Much easier fatal flaw: How do you get power to the damn thing. Extension cord?

Nuke plant on the asteroid.

And/or solar (which would be more effective outside the atmosphere).

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 07:58 PM (oVJmc)

146 Yeah, if you had that kind of money, it'd be easier to just buy a hooker.
Posted by: rickb223 at March



how convenient would owning a hooker be?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:58 PM (cPsPa)

147 It's like flipping you off. Try and stop me, asshole! I dare you!
Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 07:55 PM (qJhUV)
-------

Challenge accepted. I'll just drive away in the breakdown lane!

Dear lord, I don't know how people survive up there.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 07:59 PM (sBOL1)

148 The quadcopeter and hexcopter tech is really becoming quite mature.
I myself love my little aircrafts.
The ones with GPS, you don't fly them so much as you program them.
I can see that that they would be worthy of human transport in the not so distant future.

Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 07:59 PM (rnOcr)

149 wearing Obama-style helmets

Where can I get one?

Posted by: Mike Dukakis at March 29, 2017 07:59 PM (Tyii7)

150
They should make this the United Nations' building, to remind us that we are all ONE.

Then blow up the asteroid.

Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (qJhUV)

151 144; asteroid mine. or, unicorns will shit them out.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (KP5rU)

152 how hard is it going to be to get her to leave after you are done with her?



Chair. Button. Boing!

Posted by: rickb223 at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (4Utw1)

153 well, in most buildings the top floors are the most expensive, wonder if the top floors or bottom floors would be most expensive in this one?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (cPsPa)

154 Nuke plant on the asteroid.
______________

Yeah, that'd go over real well.

Posted by: Nigel West Dickens at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (FqgrG)

155 Dear lord, I don't know how people survive up there.


Because we all know the rules...

Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (qJhUV)

156 Here's a much more practical idea, as long as you don't drop your fork.

https://tinyurl.com/n3dy8vx

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (8ZskC)

157 >>They should make this the United Nations' building, to remind us that we are all ONE.


Benefits include: Gets 'em out of NYC and eliminates the line item on their budget for UN conference travel (UN building comes to Fiji for Climate Change Confab!).

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 08:01 PM (NOIQH)

158 Two hyphenated words:

Ham-Fisted.

I just got that in my head and I had to get it out of my system.

You're Welcome.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:01 PM (6gk0M)

159 Trump Tower: 2149 AD.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 08:01 PM (oVJmc)

160 Because we all know the rules...

Posted by: tu3031 at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (qJhUV)
---------

I break out in hives if I have to drive on 128 in rush hour.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 08:01 PM (sBOL1)

161 That hanging building thing is more pie-in-the-sky bullshit like space elevators, that will NEVER happen. Supposedly, materials theoretically can exist to make these a reality. That is assuming we know all the stresses involved along with many other factors. We do not. Anyone thinking we do is exhibiting the exact same hubris of the man-made global warming crowd.

Posted by: irright at March 29, 2017 08:02 PM (vqzjE)

162 There is diagreement about whether caulk is appropriate for a butt lift.

We should have a caucus to discuss it.

Posted by: Kim Kardashian at March 29, 2017 08:02 PM (W8bn5)

163 you would use turbines hanging on the exterior to get power as it moves through the atmosphere.

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:02 PM (cPsPa)

164 That skyscraper is probably cribbed from Neal Stephenson's "SevenEves." In the book, though, it was a small city on an asteroid, tethered to another mass in orbit, in geosynchronous orbit, and could dock with the earth and progress either way around the equator by altering it's system's center of mass.

Posted by: redsweater at March 29, 2017 08:02 PM (uNXrh)

165 you would use turbines hanging on the exterior to get power as it moves through the atmosphere.

More drag>>more deceleration>>more slowing of the asteroid>>lower orbit.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 08:04 PM (oVJmc)

166 solar road fail

sad!

Posted by: concrete girl at March 29, 2017 08:04 PM (fZXYQ)

167 How do you get in and out of that car? Moller may be on his 7th 5-year-plan for his skycar, but at least it makes physical sense.

The Asteroid skyscraper - it made sense when I thought it was scraping the upper atmosphere from the outside - the pictured version is as crazypants as those people who want tethered windmills floating in the slipstream.

Maybe they can put them all in one place, over a circular-runway airport (headdesk).

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:04 PM (wB8Tg)

168 143; they should make them carry umbrellas, jane.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at March 29, 2017 08:04 PM (KP5rU)

169 how hard is it going to be to get her to leave after you are done with her?
Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 07:57 PM (cPsPa)


Easy. Ask her to step outside to wait for the taxi you've called for her.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:04 PM (SRKgf)

170 Re: solar road

I'm guessing the firetrucks and repairs aren't factored in to the "green" equation when they're selling these sorts of things, right?

Posted by: Moron Robbie at March 29, 2017 08:05 PM (/f1mm)

171 The whole notion smacks of white scientific privilege.

Posted by: Neil Tyson DeChicken at March 29, 2017 08:05 PM (Tyii7)

172 "More drag>>more deceleration>>more slowing of the asteroid>>lower orbit."
-Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 08:04 PM (oVJmc)

We're gonna need a bigger asteroid.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:05 PM (6gk0M)

173 All the pictures and videos appear to be mock-ups so I don't think this has been built yet.

I hope so ... because it looks totally retarded.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:05 PM (zc3Db)

174 153 well, in most buildings the top floors are the most expensive, wonder if the top floors or bottom floors would be most expensive in this one?
Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (cPsPa)

I read somewhere that there was a story written in the 19th century before elevators were invented, that predicted that the upper floors in future tall buildings would be the least desirable, because of all the stairs people would have to climb.

Posted by: rickl at March 29, 2017 08:05 PM (sdi6R)

175 you would use turbines hanging on the exterior to get power as it moves through the atmosphere.

More drag>>more deceleration>>more slowing of the asteroid>>lower orbit.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March



you only have to have the building hang for one or two hundred years.

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:05 PM (cPsPa)

176 We have a "friend" who has a pricey toy drone that he brings to Every Single Outdoor Event. And everyone hates it.

At our last oyster roast, there were about 60 people standing around shucking roasted oysters, drinking, and having fun, and suddenly the damned thing would be right above you, filming everything you're doing.

Drone Boy has a good one-plus hours of people angrily shooting his drone the bird.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 08:06 PM (PY9jH)

177 But what about flying skyscrapers?

LOL. Talk about totally useless ideas ...

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:06 PM (zc3Db)

178 I read somewhere that there was a story written in the 19th century before elevators were invented, that predicted that the upper floors in future tall buildings would be the least desirable, because of all the stairs people would have to climb.
Posted by: rickl




heh. but the lower floors would be too close to the streets covered knee deep in horse manure.

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (cPsPa)

179 "you would use turbines hanging on the exterior to get power as it moves through the atmosphere"

Which of course will greatly increase the mass and drag.

Not to endorse this ludicrous nonsense, but under such a design scenario, why not simply pipe electric power from an SPS down the orbital cable?

http://www.nss.org/settlement/ssp/

Posted by: torquewrench at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (noWW6)

180 That skyscraper is probably cribbed from Neal Stephenson's "SevenEves."
___________________________

What an awful book. Such a letdown.

Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (B11vO)

181 One more word: Liability.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (wB8Tg)

182 But again, if you want to actually use the thing, presumably with vehicles full of cargo climbing up and down the tether, then aren't you pulling it out of orbit?

Posted by: BourbonChicken at March 29, 2017 07:56 PM (VdICR)

Counterweights. As a loaded car is raised up from Earth, a matching counterweight is winched down from the extreme end towards the geosynchronous orbit.

Enough smart people, notably Arthur C. Clarke, have crunched the numbers on the space elevator for me to accept that, in principle, it could work, should a sufficiently light and strong cable be invented.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (WDdjT)

183 What happens when your $150MM solar panel road gets chipsealed for $1.5MM the next year by a new batch of corrupt asshole politicians?

Harrumph!

Posted by: Fritz at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (MF/hn)

184 The solar FREAKIN road raising an additional 2 million in crowd funding is the real story, though. That money does not have to be refunded, right?

That's a pretty interesting thing to ponder.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (/f1mm)

185 This asteroid skyscraper is totally going to work. The only thing holding it back is climate change.

Posted by: Bill Nye at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (hYjJg)

186 Well, this thread is way too sciency for me. Later, all.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (PY9jH)

187 I read somewhere that there was a story written in the 19th century before elevators were invented, that predicted that the upper floors in future tall buildings would be the least desirable, because of all the stairs people would have to climb.
Posted by: rickl at March 29, 2017 08:05 PM (sdi6R)


It wasn't predicted, it was true. The first floor was the most desirable, whereas the plebs had to schlep up to the top of the building, kinda like me carrying our luggage up to the 14th floor of a hotel in the USSR.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (SRKgf)

188 Besides, you would be four years younger when you got to the top and everybody you know and love would be long dead an buried. This was Einstein's Theory of Selectivity.

Posted by: Neil Tyson DeChicken at March 29, 2017 08:08 PM (Tyii7)

189
6 not really a Skyscraper, is it?

Posted by: garrett at March 29, 2017 07:32 PM (MmiC2)







It's a giant Swizzle Stick.

The problem is gonna be to dump enough margarita mix into the Hudson to make a decent drink.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 29, 2017 08:08 PM (cuZZW)

190 ..."Drone Boy has a good one-plus hours of people angrily shooting his drone the bird."
-Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 08:06 PM (PY9jH)

Step #1. Bring shotgun.
Step #2. Shoot drone.
Step #3. Profit.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:08 PM (6gk0M)

191 184 The solar FREAKIN road raising an additional 2 million in crowd funding is the real story, though. That money does not have to be refunded, right?

That's a pretty interesting thing to ponder.
Posted by: Moron Robbie at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (/f1mm)

Look on the bright side: it was liberals who got hosed.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:08 PM (SRKgf)

192 In Gunm they were not so grandiose in some respects. Tiaphranes only 'floated' over the Scrapyard. It was tethered there by giant conduits.

Still this uh floating skyscraper has to have plenty of personal injury lawyers drooling.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:08 PM (V/rjX)

193 >>....that predicted that the upper floors in future tall buildings would be
the least desirable, because of all the stairs people would have to
climb.


Well, it does suck when there's a power outage and only the service elevator works w/back-up power (lived on 18th floor condo for a while).

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 08:09 PM (NOIQH)

194 well, in most buildings the top floors are the most expensive, wonder if the top floors or bottom floors would be most expensive in this one?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:00 PM (cPsPa)

You want to hear something funny ... a lot of the penthouses in old New York co-ops were ... servants' quarters!

Whenever you go in an old building and the elevator doesn't go to the top floor, that's why. Pretty funny. Those servants had the best life ...

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:09 PM (zc3Db)

195 Drones are lightning rod items, people either love them or hate them.
I saw two kids a couple days ago, they were brothers like about 9 or 10 years old. They had a drone that I dream of owning, the DJI Mavic. Like about $1k.
They were having a blast, one was flying it and the other had the First Person Viewing goggles on.
I was jealous as heck.
That is a nice item, and is pretty quiet.

Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 08:09 PM (rnOcr)

196 188 Besides, you would be four years younger when you got to the top and everybody you know and love would be long dead an buried. This was Einstein's Theory of Selectivity.
Posted by: Neil Tyson DeChicken at March 29, 2017 08:08 PM (Tyii7)


Don't be so negative. On the bright side, everyone you know and hate would be dead, too.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:09 PM (SRKgf)

197 Well, it does suck when there's a power outage and only the service elevator works w/back-up power (lived on 18th floor condo for a while).
Posted by: Lizzy at March




heh. we had some friends that were on the 50th floor. great view. cuold not go home during black outs though.

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (cPsPa)

198 The first floor was the most desirable, whereas the plebs had to schlep up to the top of the building, kinda like me carrying our luggage up to the 14th floor of a hotel in the USSR.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (SRKgf)
---------

Shouldn't have gone there for your honeymoon, Bernie.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (sBOL1)

199 And I also like that we can't put a solar panel in a road without it bursting into flame, but we're going to hang a skyscraper from an orbiting body.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (/f1mm)

200 What happens if the asteroid suddenly leaves orbit after being attracted by another passing asteroid?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (IqV8l)

201 Any analysis yet on gravitational factors for an astoroid that large. For the moons orbit and the earths? Affect on tides?

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2017 08:11 PM (0tfLf)

202 --
--

Step #1. Bring shotgun.

Step #2. Auction off the opportunity to ----Shoot drone.

Step #3. Profit.





Now we're talking profit.

Posted by: irright at March 29, 2017 08:11 PM (vqzjE)

203 Drones are lightning rod items, people either love them or hate them.

Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 08:09 PM (rnOcr)

I'm ambivalent.

Maybe it's because I'm not people.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:11 PM (wB8Tg)

204 Most obvious asteroid skyscraper problems (some mentioned probably)

How much fuel does it take to guide a giant asteroid into the desired orbit?

It said like 38,000 miles of high tensile steel cable to hold the skyscraper ... how much does that weigh? plus the building, utilities, illegals for waiters ...

A geosynchronous orbit is 22,236 miles high, so the 38,000 mile orbit has to be to put the center of mass at 22,236 (or a little higher, since gravity is stronger closer to earth). And any winds would take it out of orbit, so they would need big jet engines on the skyscraper to correct the course.

But sure, we'll get this done before high speed rail.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 29, 2017 08:11 PM (TmCOq)

205 Someone should ask Buzz Aldrin what he thinks of this asteroid project. Might melt a microphone.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:11 PM (V/rjX)

206 Will there be transgender bathrooms along the way?

Posted by: Neil Tyson DeChicken at March 29, 2017 08:12 PM (Tyii7)

207 200 What happens if the asteroid suddenly leaves orbit after being attracted by another passing asteroid?
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (IqV8l)

The RENT GETS TOO DAMN HIGH!

Posted by: That Guy at March 29, 2017 08:12 PM (NgKpN)

208 well who would want to have an apartment outside the atmosphere? would upper floors have low gravity?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:12 PM (cPsPa)

209 Drone Boy has a good one-plus hours of people angrily shooting his drone the bird.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at March 29, 2017 08:06 PM (PY9jH)

Tiny slingshot, a pocketful of 1/4-20 nuts, each tied to two yards of fine monofilament fishing line. Hilarity ensues.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 29, 2017 08:12 PM (WDdjT)

210

Where does all the poop go in that skyscraper?

Posted by: otho at March 29, 2017 08:12 PM (lmIoG)

211 *waves to Merovign*

Are you a meat popsicle?

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:12 PM (V/rjX)

212 "What happens if the asteroid suddenly leaves orbit after being attracted by another passing asteroid?"
-Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (IqV8l)

I don't know about where you come from, but I have used the phrase, "The Next Passing Asteroid", exactly none times.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:13 PM (6gk0M)

213 well, what happens when a meteor shower swings through?

Posted by: yankeefifth at March 29, 2017 08:13 PM (cPsPa)

214 Shouldn't have gone there for your honeymoon, Bernie.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (sBOL1)


Nah. He shouldn't have come back.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:13 PM (SRKgf)

215 Why bother with making a solar road? When solar ditches would be so much easier/cheaper.

Posted by: OXY Moron at March 29, 2017 08:13 PM (hYjJg)

216 What happens if the asteroid suddenly leaves orbit after being attracted by another passing asteroid?

Baby asteroids!

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 08:13 PM (oVJmc)

217 Drones are lightning rod items, people either love them or hate them.
I saw two kids a couple days ago, they were brothers like about 9 or 10 years old. They had a drone that I dream of owning, the DJI Mavic. Like about $1k.
They were having a blast, one was flying it and the other had the First Person Viewing goggles on.
I was jealous as heck.
That is a nice item, and is pretty quiet.
Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 08:09 PM (rnOcr)

=======

I have a side business that does UAS aerial photography/ videography. We have a Mwvic on the way for evaluation. Can't wait to play with it.

Posted by: Flyboy at March 29, 2017 08:14 PM (duuPH)

218 What an awful book. Such a letdown.
Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at March 29, 2017 08:07 PM (B11vO)
I enjoyed the first third or so, despite of the obnoxious NdGT-inspired character. But yeah, everything in act 3 was disappointing.

Posted by: redsweater at March 29, 2017 08:14 PM (uNXrh)

219 Someone get Hank Johnson on the line to see what he thinks of this skyscraper/asteroid idea.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:14 PM (V/rjX)

220 210; they save it for rio.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at March 29, 2017 08:14 PM (KP5rU)

221 Drones as a photography platform are definitely here to stay. NYC even has drone film festival coming up. Every time I turn on the news they have drone footage.
Guys are fishing here in Hawaii using drones, first to spot the fish, then deliver the lure or bait directly to the fish. All the while on shore, no boats.

Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 08:14 PM (rnOcr)

222 Pro tip, if you're not 20 gazillion dollar's in debt. You can spend some on infrastructure.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 29, 2017 08:14 PM (6Ll1u)

223 >>>Where does all the poop go in that skyscraper?

I use it as fertilizer while I wait for the rescue ship.

Posted by: Matt Damon at March 29, 2017 08:15 PM (W8bn5)

224 With the floating skyscraper you would pretty much need a job in every city that you passed. So you would go to work in New York for one day, then somewhere in Delaware the next and so on. A little inconvenient but it would break up the monotony.

Posted by: StrawMan at March 29, 2017 08:15 PM (lidp8)

225 "Pro tip, if you're not 20 gazillion dollar's in debt. You can spend some on infrastructure."
-Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 29, 2017 08:14 PM (6Ll1u)

What do the dollars own?

/Pedant

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:15 PM (6gk0M)

226 What happens if the asteroid suddenly leaves orbit after being attracted by another passing asteroid?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:10 PM (IqV8l)

The "building" has space suits ... just in case.

I really object to calling these things "buildings". They aren't. Maybe we're going to have to switch to stalactites and stalagmites ...

But calling these things "buildings" kind of goes with that goofy article Drudge linked to a few days ago about "the world's 'longest' building", which was one of the stupidest things I've read in a while. It was a neat looking building but this new measure of the "longest" was friggin asinine. And, it's nice to look at but I wouldn't spend 5 minutes in that building, I can tell you that.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:15 PM (zc3Db)

227 >>Where does all the poop go in that skyscraper?


The Burg Khalifa has to truck their waste out because (unless they've fixed it recently), it isn't hooked up to a municipal wastewater treatment system.

Ick!

http://inhabitat.com/
the-incredible-story-of-how-the-burj-khalifas-poop-is-trucked-out-of-town/

Posted by: Lizzy at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM (NOIQH)

228 223 >>>Where does all the poop go in that skyscraper?

I use it as fertilizer while I wait for the rescue ship.
Posted by: Matt Damon at March 29, 2017 08:15 PM (W8bn5)


Poop and Hollywood scripts. Pretty much the same thing, basically.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM (SRKgf)

229 Someone should ask Buzz Aldrin what he thinks of this asteroid project. Might melt a microphone.

If it can't fuckin' rendezvous with the floating skyscraper, I want no part of it!

Posted by: Buzz Aldrin at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM (Tyii7)

230 Matt Damon in Red Elysium?

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM (V/rjX)

231 I can't accept that the solar-panel road fiasco was officially called "Solar FREAKIN' Roadway."

Seriously, check out the link:

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/29first-solar-freakin-roadway-in-the-us-breaks-again/

And even with that name, the Obama Administration funneled $2.2 million of MY taxpayer dollars to it.

And then of course, it utterly failed -- a Flat Solyndra for the record books.

They should have named it "Solar FREAKIN' Swindle!"

Posted by: zombie at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM (DQ4Fv)

232 Flyboy, from what I've seen and heard, the Mavic is great.
Quiet and a helluva range, like 4 miles or so.
4k resolution camera.
Yeah, I may have to give them some $.

Posted by: navybrat at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM (rnOcr)

233 I hate when that happens:

Stolen gun falls from inmate's body cavity during search at north Alabama jail

Posted by: weft cut-loop at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM (GgzGa)

234 Nah. He shouldn't have come back.
--------

Who was it during the campaign that said he never came back? Was it Ted Cruz? It was funny, whoever it was.

Posted by: bluebell at March 29, 2017 08:17 PM (sBOL1)

235 Any analysis yet on gravitational factors for an astoroid that large. For the moons orbit and the earths? Affect on tides?

Posted by: Diogenes at March 29, 2017 08:11 PM (0tfLf)

Not to mention interaction between the asteroid and the moon.

That was *how* many gigatons in LEO? And let's see what happens when it gets out of balance and starts to deorbit.

I'm not normally a catastrophist, but I am a "what could possibly go wrong"-ist.

"Ten thousand years later, the descendants of the survivors still fought over precious resources, but none knew why until Thag and his band of cave-raiders discovered evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization... that had lived on and ruled the burned-out surface!"

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:17 PM (wB8Tg)

236 --
--
Poop and Hollywood scripts. Pretty much the same thing, basically.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM
------------

Poop can actually be useful.

Posted by: irright at March 29, 2017 08:17 PM (vqzjE)

237 Why bother with making a solar road? When solar ditches would be so much easier/cheaper.
Posted by: OXY Moron at March 29, 2017 08:13 PM (hYjJg)

Wouldn't a car with solar panels on it make more sense? And then every road is a solar road. Of course I doubt you can carry a solar panel big enough on a car to make it run but you can't have everything.

Posted by: StrawMan at March 29, 2017 08:18 PM (lidp8)

238 Merovign, I thought that story was a cartoon called Thundarr the Barbarian?

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:18 PM (V/rjX)

239 Fan car + flock of birds = death

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at March 29, 2017 08:18 PM (hVdx9)

240 Oooooops, the asteroid holding up the skyscraper wobbled 200 feet in its orbit, and the skyscraper as a result carved a 20-mile-long gouge through New York City, killing 78,000 people and causing $15.2 billion in damage.

Sorry! Unexpected!

Posted by: zombie at March 29, 2017 08:18 PM (DQ4Fv)

241 If you could put a small wind turbine over each of those drone propellers, you could generate electricity as you fly to the opera or cock fight and help save the planet!

Posted by: Bill Nye at March 29, 2017 08:19 PM (n3hky)

242 , it could work, should a sufficiently light and strong cable be invented.

We could build one on Mars now. But it'd be on Mars.

Posted by: DaveA at March 29, 2017 08:19 PM (FhXTo)

243 -Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:17 PM (wB8Tg)

LMAO @ "Thag and a band of Cave Raiders."

That's Restaurant Quality Lemonade right there.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:19 PM (6gk0M)

244 >>The Burg Khalifa has to truck their waste out because (unless they've fixed it recently), it isn't hooked up to a municipal wastewater treatment system.

Welcome to the Middle East. Trucking shit out is pretty much the definition of the place.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 08:20 PM (/tuJf)

245 "The Solar Road to Unlimited Insolvency", by

Posted by: not the Grateful Dead at March 29, 2017 08:20 PM (WDdjT)

246 Stolen gun falls from inmate's body cavity during search at north Alabama jail

Sort of gives a whole new meaning to "packin' heat".

Posted by: That deplorable guy who always says... at March 29, 2017 08:20 PM (Tyii7)

247
S O L A R
R O A D

by

Ray Bradbury

Posted by: new this week from Penguin! at March 29, 2017 08:20 PM (wpC7C)

248 Are you a meat popsicle?

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:12 PM (V/rjX)

*waves back*

Naw it's kind of temperate outside here.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:20 PM (wB8Tg)

249 And on the surface the troglites are mining the zenite.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (IqV8l)

250 We could build one on Mars now. But it'd be on Mars.
Posted by: DaveA at March 29, 2017 08:19 PM (FhXTo)

Then move Mars to orbit Earth, and build the skyscraper even higher!

Posted by: redsweater at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (uNXrh)

251 --
--

I hate when that happens:



Stolen gun falls from inmate's body cavity during search at north Alabama jail


Posted by: weft cut-loop at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM

-----

Which cavity?

Posted by: Sandra Fluke at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (vqzjE)

252 Why don't we just hook up lights to shine on the solar panels in order to create electricity?

You're welcome.

Posted by: Neil Degrasse Tyson at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (/f1mm)

253 Oooooops, the asteroid holding up the skyscraper wobbled 200 feet in its orbit, and the skyscraper as a result carved a 20-mile-long gouge through New York City, killing 78,000 people and causing $15.2 billion in damage.

Sorry! Unexpected!

Posted by: zombie at March 29, 2017 08:18 PM (DQ4Fv)


When can we build it?

Posted by: Berserker- Dragonheads Division at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (aMlLZ)

254 An 18 wheeler slamming on the brakes would do wonderful things to a solar roadway, I'm sure.

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (hVdx9)

255 The last of the astronauts living are more than Happy to tell you that Aliens live, oh yeah they do.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (ZK6ey)

256 Seattle suing Trump Admin over sanctuary city executive order.

Posted by: Bicentennialguy at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (nILVB)

257 Oh, SURE, we can build an orbiting skyscraper, but we can't do high-speed rail from Sacramento to Oxnard.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (oVJmc)

258 Not to mention interaction between the asteroid and the moon.

That was *how* many gigatons in LEO? And let's see what happens when it gets out of balance and starts to deorbit.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:17 PM (wB8Tg)

It'll stay in balance. They are going to put some of those little lead rim weights on it.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (zc3Db)

259 Not buying a floating skyscraper, but flying cars are being worked on.

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (GPaiX)

260 Wouldn't a car with solar panels on it make more sense? And then every road is a solar road. Of course I doubt you can carry a solar panel big enough on a car to make it run but you can't have everything.
Posted by: StrawMan

Solar-powered cars have been around since the '70s. They're pretty efficient by now. Plenty of videos showing them cruising through the Mojave at about 12 miles per hour, purely on solar power.

They're not actually "cars" as we know them -- most are basically 4 titanium bicycles tires holding up an immense solar array, and a tiny pod for the "driver." It has to be as lightweight as possible to become mobile. And of course they only work at noon in the desert. But the idea is cool, admittedly.

Posted by: zombie at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (DQ4Fv)

261 And on the surface the troglites are mining the zenite.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (IqV8l)

Sure and all the good looking people are living up in the clouds and pooping on the troglites. Its a story played over and over again.

Posted by: StrawMan at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (lidp8)

262 Stolen gun falls from inmate's body cavity during search at north Alabama jail

Sort of gives a whole new meaning to "packin' heat".


Posted by: That deplorable guy who always says.
****

Ruger Redhawk?

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (hVdx9)

263 Merovign, I thought that story was a cartoon called Thundarr the Barbarian?

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:18 PM (V/rjX)

That was Overused Plot #3 from The Big Book of Plots (203rd Edition).

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (wB8Tg)

264 Seattle suing Trump Admin over sanctuary city executive order.

Following the law is HAAARRRDDD and constitutes an undue burden on our illegal immigration schemes.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (oVJmc)

265 ...SCIENCE!!!

Posted by: Dr. Magnus Pyke at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (v+/ty)

266 >>>Sorry! Unexpected!

lol

Posted by: concrete girl at March 29, 2017 08:23 PM (fZXYQ)

267 The Burg Khalifa has to truck their waste out because (unless they've fixed it recently), it isn't hooked up to a municipal wastewater treatment system.

LOL.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:23 PM (zc3Db)

268 "Seattle suing Trump Admin over sanctuary city executive order."
-Posted by: Bicentennialguy at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (nILVB)

I'll sue you for making me uphold the law.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:23 PM (6gk0M)

269 --
--

I hate when that happens:





Stolen gun falls from inmate's body cavity during search at north Alabama jail




Posted by: weft cut-loop at March 29, 2017 08:16 PM

-----

Which cavity?


Posted by: Sandra Fluke at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM
-----------------------

Don't just leave us hanging.

Posted by: Karl Malden at March 29, 2017 08:23 PM (vqzjE)

270 The asteroid/skyscraper will probably cost less than the high speed rail.

Glad it is temperate for you Merovign. Add this to the 'what could go wrong category.' Science boffins have created two artificial amino acids and now have a strain of E. Coli that can reproduce with those artificial amino acids.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:24 PM (V/rjX)

271 Which cavity?

How many has he got?

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2017 08:24 PM (GPaiX)

272 Not buying a floating skyscraper, but flying cars are being worked on.

Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (GPaiX)

Harrison Ford is already looking for a sidewalk to land on.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:24 PM (zc3Db)

273 Wouldn't a car with solar panels on it make more sense? And then every road is a solar road. Of course I doubt you can carry a solar panel big enough on a car to make it run but you can't have everything.
Posted by: StrawMan

Solar-powered cars have been around since the '70s. They're pretty efficient by now. Plenty of videos showing them cruising through the Mojave at about 12 miles per hour, purely on solar power.

They're not actually "cars" as we know them -- most are basically 4 titanium bicycles tires holding up an immense solar array, and a tiny pod for the "driver." It has to be as lightweight as possible to become mobile. And of course they only work at noon in the desert. But the idea is cool, admittedly.
Posted by: zombie at March 29, 2017 08:22 PM (DQ4Fv)

Why don't we just make bicycle powered ultra-light cars made out of saran wrap like that plane a few years back. It could be pedaled by a hippie that comes with each car.

Posted by: StrawMan at March 29, 2017 08:24 PM (lidp8)

274 249
And on the surface the troglites are mining the zenite.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM (IqV8l)

What about the Spice?

Posted by: Baron Harkonnen at March 29, 2017 08:25 PM (n3hky)

275 I didn't know that stolen gun was in my ass. Prove it.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:25 PM (6gk0M)

276 Are you sure it was Alabama and not Michigan?

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:26 PM (6gk0M)

277 Ha. Florence was somewhat unexpected. I would've figured Sheffield.

Posted by: Neil Degrasse Tyson at March 29, 2017 08:26 PM (/f1mm)

278 Latest news from the People's Republic of Retardia: Jerry Brown is proposing raising gasoline taxes to raise $5.2 billion (new taxes? yes! hard to believe, I know) to repair "crumbling roads and bridges."

What the fuck are we paying for now? Gasoline in the People's Republic costs about the same as Scotch, and yet clearly we need to pay more.

Meanwhile, this asshat is still pushing that idiotic Chowchilla Express. Hey, we're only $64 billion short, and then we'll have something that will be the wonder of the world: the world's largest and most expensive white elephant.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:26 PM (SRKgf)

279 Ruger Redhawk?

Nebelwerfer.

Posted by: That deplorable guy who always says... at March 29, 2017 08:26 PM (Tyii7)

280 164 That skyscraper is probably cribbed from Neal Stephenson's "SevenEves." In the book, though, it was a small city on an asteroid, tethered to another mass in orbit, in geosynchronous orbit, and could dock with the earth and progress either way around the equator by altering it's system's center of mass.
Posted by: redsweater at March 29, 2017 08:02 PM (uNXrh)

I first read about something like this - a "skyhook" - in a Star Wars novel back in the 90s.

Posted by: Hugh Jorgen at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (6GTWP)

281 Science boffins have created two artificial amino acids and now have a strain of E. Coli that can reproduce with those artificial amino acids.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:24 PM (V/rjX)

Standing by.

Posted by: Wildfire Base hidden in the desert at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (oVJmc)

282
Which cavity?

How many has he got?
Posted by: Skip

One more after the gun hit the pavement.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (IqV8l)

283 Darned sock.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (/f1mm)

284 Glad it is temperate for you Merovign. Add this to the 'what could go wrong category.' Science boffins have created two artificial amino acids and now have a strain of E. Coli that can reproduce with those artificial amino acids.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:24 PM (V/rjX)

Well, as long as they aren't nihilistic radicals or and don't attempt to transport it on a supersonic plane's maiden voyage with a plucky band of lucky winners who have complex lives, *or* on a high-speed train or the world's largest ship in arctic waters.... we should be fine.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (wB8Tg)

285 The Martian

Posted by: Matt Damon at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (W8bn5)

286 The asteroid skyscrapper idea is something a 8 year old would come up with. I can't believe the Scientific Community is coming close to considering this to the point of spending money to make a fancy graphic art design.

Posted by: Phone of Widespread Pepe at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (ve0bY)

287
Standing by.
Posted by: Wildfire Base hidden in the desert

Andromeda Stand Breakout

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:28 PM (IqV8l)

288
Seattle suing Trump Admin over sanctuary city executive order.


======

nice double Irish you have there, Microsoft/Starbucks/Amazon, shame if anything were to happen to it

Posted by: runner at March 29, 2017 08:28 PM (c6/9Q)

289 Which cavity?

Posted by: Sandra Fluke at March 29, 2017 08:21 PM


Sandra Fluke could pack a whole arsenal.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:28 PM (SRKgf)

290 Will there be a pay per view to watch Stephen Hawking die in Space? I think so.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 29, 2017 08:29 PM (6Ll1u)

291 Prayer service up above just started.

Posted by: Beartooth at March 29, 2017 08:29 PM (lRNBd)

292 What the fuck are we paying for now?

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:26 PM (SRKgf)

The ultimate in Rich-Poor disparity, as everyone who isn't either a crony or Hollywood star or Magnate or service-sector worker or welfare recipient is driven out by insane over-governing.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:29 PM (wB8Tg)

293 Think it was Ringworld had a floating pyramid.

Also in one of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker books there was a floating city that was a continual party that had looted the whole planet it floated over.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:31 PM (V/rjX)

294 Well, as long as they aren't nihilistic radicals or
and don't attempt to transport it on a supersonic plane's maiden voyage
with a plucky band of lucky winners who have complex lives, *or* on a
high-speed train or the world's largest ship in arctic waters.... we
should be fine.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:27 PM (wB8Tg)


I saw Nilhilistic Radicals open for Crotchless Pancakes back in '98. And they were a plucky band indeed!

Posted by: Johnny Rotten at March 29, 2017 08:31 PM (n3hky)

295 Hey, I got a crazy idea. Instead of building a skyscraper from an asteroid hanging down, why not build them on the Earth going up? It would be easier and cheaper!

Posted by: StrawMan at March 29, 2017 08:32 PM (lidp8)

296 Most strains of E. Coli are harmless according to wikipedia.

Posted by: Matt Damon at March 29, 2017 08:33 PM (W8bn5)

297 "Will there be a pay per view to watch Stephen Hawking die in Space? I think so."
-Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 29, 2017 08:29 PM (6Ll1u)

Wanna Take A Ride?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et4sMJP9FmM

Posted by: Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Hadden Enterprises at March 29, 2017 08:33 PM (6gk0M)

298 295
Hey, I got a crazy idea. Instead of building a skyscraper from an
asteroid hanging down, why not build them on the Earth going up? It
would be easier and cheaper!



Posted by: StrawMan at March 29, 2017 08:32 PM (lidp


Thats just crazy talk.

Posted by: Buckminster Fuller at March 29, 2017 08:33 PM (n3hky)

299 I should be dead by now according to Matt Damon.

Posted by: John McCain at March 29, 2017 08:34 PM (wpC7C)

300 Merovign, shall we work up a script built around that to sell to Amazon Studios?

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:35 PM (V/rjX)

301
I should be dead by now according to Matt Damon.
Posted by: John McCain

We'll send you some vibes.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 29, 2017 08:36 PM (IqV8l)

302 Merovign, shall we work up a script built around that to sell to Amazon Studios?

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:35 PM (V/rjX)

Nah I already got $5.

But I *am* going to work on my book here shortly. Just wasting my time on an internet now.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at March 29, 2017 08:36 PM (wB8Tg)

303 Everyone of these stupid "We need to colonize space" bullshit plans is developed just like this one, from a couple goobers living in the middle of a huge city. In this case NYC.

It probably never occurs to them that there are hundreds of millions of undeveloped acres of land on this very planet, just not in Manhattan.

Idiots.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 08:36 PM (/tuJf)

304 Neu thread, I'll skip it.

See everyone later.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 29, 2017 08:37 PM (V/rjX)

305 296 Most strains of E. Coli are harmless according to wikipedia.
Posted by: Matt Damon at March 29, 2017 08:33 PM (W8bn5)


Matt, they're harmless if they're in your gut.

If they're in your chow, you're going to do your Mount St. Helens impression.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:38 PM (SRKgf)

306 Ringworld had a floating pyramid.

A civ of several that fell.

Vs Star Trek aluminum wrapped underboob.

http://tinyurl.com/ksclczw

Posted by: DaveA at March 29, 2017 08:38 PM (FhXTo)

307 303 Everyone of these stupid "We need to colonize space" bullshit plans is developed just like this one, from a couple goobers living in the middle of a huge city. In this case NYC.

It probably never occurs to them that there are hundreds of millions of undeveloped acres of land on this very planet, just not in Manhattan.

Idiots.
Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 08:36 PM (/tuJf)


Not so. If we push this enough we can get retards to get into space ships and then be rid of them.

I know it sounds implausible, but if you can convince them that global warming is real, you can convince them of anything.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at March 29, 2017 08:40 PM (SRKgf)

308 My God, you're animals! How can you talk about forty-five floors of madness when a man just jumped off the Asteroid?

Correction: Forty-four, not counting the mezzanine.

Posted by: Slapweasel, (Cold1) (T) at March 29, 2017 08:40 PM (6gk0M)

309 I'm actually enjoying watching.. Dead Like Me.. on Comet TV, Tuesday's of course

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at March 29, 2017 08:41 PM (6Ll1u)

310 "Jerry Brown is proposing raising gasoline taxes to raise $5.2 billion
(new taxes? yes! hard to believe, I know) to repair 'crumbling roads and
bridges.'"

Yes. Such as the "crumbling" new eastern span of the Scum Scamfrisco-Croakland Bay Bridge.

Which the state mandarinate had triumphantly opened to motorists less than four years ago!

Wonder how long the "Brown Streak" high speed rail is going to be in service before it requires expensive unbudgeted overhauls? My guess would be eighteen months, probably after a truly spectacular crash.

Posted by: torquewrench at March 29, 2017 08:41 PM (noWW6)

311 >>>Crotchless Pancakes

:::blinks:::
:::blinks:::

Posted by: Banana Splits Guy at March 29, 2017 08:43 PM (RrhD2)

312 303 Everyone of these stupid "We need to colonize space" bullshit plans is developed just like this one, from a couple goobers living in the middle of a huge city. In this case NYC.

It probably never occurs to them that there are hundreds of millions of undeveloped acres of land on this very planet, just not in Manhattan.

Idiots.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 08:36 PM (/tuJf)

Likely the same people who believe we're running out of landfill space. I remember reading that a landfill the size of a small city out in the middle of nowhere could manage the trash of the entire US.

Posted by: AP, Reuters, etc. at March 29, 2017 08:45 PM (/f1mm)

313 Still these socks persisted.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at March 29, 2017 08:46 PM (/f1mm)

314 For those still having sex with Science here, I suggest that this floating-skyscraper might work better for Venus.

Venus has lower gravity, so the asteroidal anchor would be orbiting closer to the planet, reducing the amount of material needed, and also the building's weight (of the lower mass needed) will be pulling less hard. The bottom of the skyscraper meanwhile will be in easy reach of the floating cities.

The orbit of that asteroid should track the winds of the upper atmosphere. That's something for the engineers to work out...

The asteroid itself meanwhile has shipyards and docks (as should be the case in the Earth version).

If you do that, you get easy access between the floating cities and the shipyards in space. And if they fuck up and land the asteroid into the middle of Aphrodite Terra, who cares, it's not like there's a biosphere.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at March 29, 2017 08:49 PM (6FqZa)

315 Colonizing space is not bullshit. We certainly do need to do that. No doubt. But that has nothing to do with retarded ideas about hanging "buildings".

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 08:52 PM (zc3Db)

316 314 For those still having sex with Science here, I suggest that this floating-skyscraper might work better for Venus.

Venus has lower gravity, so the asteroidal anchor would be orbiting closer to the planet, reducing the amount of material needed, and also the building's weight (of the lower mass needed) will be pulling less hard. The bottom of the skyscraper meanwhile will be in easy reach of the floating cities.

The orbit of that asteroid should track the winds of the upper atmosphere. That's something for the engineers to work out...

The asteroid itself meanwhile has shipyards and docks (as should be the case in the Earth version).

If you do that, you get easy access between the floating cities and the shipyards in space. And if they fuck up and land the asteroid into the middle of Aphrodite Terra, who cares, it's not like there's a biosphere.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at March 29, 2017 08:49 PM (6FqZa)

Yep. Cloud cities could be viable as well. At the altitude where Venus's atmospheric pressure and temp approximate Earth's, air is a lifting gas.

Posted by: Jackal at March 29, 2017 08:54 PM (NiR1r)

317 >>Colonizing space is not bullshit. We certainly do need to do that. No doubt. But that has nothing to do with retarded ideas about hanging "buildings".

Why? Most of our planet is covered with water and a hell of a lot easier to inhabit than space and we already have the technology to do it. And that ignores the vast open spaces on land that have yet to be inhabited.

What is the pressing need to move to Mars in the next say 1000 years?

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 09:01 PM (/tuJf)

318 One more word: Liability.

Counter-word: jurisdiction.

A floating city that traverses national borders could claim sovereignty, like Singapore.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at March 29, 2017 09:02 PM (6FqZa)

319 What is the pressing need to move to Mars in the next say 1000 years?

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 09:01 PM (/tuJf)

Because Man's job is to spread as far as He is able and inhabit every region of the universe that he can. There's absolutely no reason for us to stay chained to the Earth. We must expand. We must move. That's what we do. We do it for us and we do it for the universe.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 09:06 PM (zc3Db)

320 Yep. Even accounting for population growth, a landfill about the size of Raleigh - Durham with trash 400 feet deep would manage all of the United States' trash for the next 100 years.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at March 29, 2017 09:09 PM (/f1mm)

321 >>Because Man's job is to spread as far as He is able and inhabit every region of the universe that he can. There's absolutely no reason for us to stay chained to the Earth. We must expand. We must move. That's what we do. We do it for us and we do it for the universe.

Well that sounds like a great Star Trek episode but doesn't really answer the practical reason. We don't even understand our own oceans, maybe we should check them out before lifting off.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 09:09 PM (/tuJf)

322 just a little less than back of the envelope figuring, I doubt any cable could support its own weight hanging even 50 miles. They plan to hang it 38,000 miles, plus attach a skyscraper.

Making it thicker doesn't help ... the tension increases proportionately to the weight.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 29, 2017 09:11 PM (TmCOq)

323 Well that sounds like a great Star Trek episode but doesn't really answer the practical reason. We don't even understand our own oceans, maybe we should check them out before lifting off.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 09:09 PM (/tuJf)

Go ahead. Check out the oceans all you want. But I really can't believe that you are against colonizing space. I have to say that I don't understand that position, at all. Who doesn't want to go out into space?? I mean, seriously. Who doesn't want OTHERS to go out into space?

Man is built to travel and expand the world he occupies. Sure, there are oceans that some people seem to be interested in living in ... knock yourself out, but the future of Man is clearly in space.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 09:14 PM (zc3Db)

324 We're one Chicxulub away from extinction. That's a good reason to get some of us off world. That, and you own personal pleasure replicant.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at March 29, 2017 09:19 PM (LTHVh)

325 What is the pressing need to move to Mars in the next say 1000 years?

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 09:01 PM (/tuJf)


Zombies.

Posted by: Zombie Bill Nye at March 29, 2017 09:20 PM (n3hky)

326 >>Go ahead. Check out the oceans all you want. But I really can't believe that you are against colonizing space. I have to say that I don't understand that position, at all. Who doesn't want to go out into space?? I mean, seriously. Who doesn't want OTHERS to go out into space?

No, you go ahead and explore space all you want. On your nickel because the only way we ever go to space is on the government dole, something I'm surprised you support. I'm not against it, I'm against paying for it.

>>Man is built to travel and expand the world he occupies. Sure, there are oceans that some people seem to be interested in living in ... knock yourself out, but the future of Man is clearly in space.

Man is build to live and explore. That has nothing to do with going to space. And no, I do not agree with your assertion, because that's all it is, that the future of man is space.

After decades of spending countless dollars, we are no closer to finding any intelligent life or a planet where complex life can be supported. At best all we hear after spending a few billion dollars is there might have been water on Mars a thousand years ago. Well that's interesting if only because where there is water there is life. But that's about it.

If we spent a fraction of that money on ocean exploration we would be much further ahead on not just living but huge food sources at much less cost. We have plenty to explore right here.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 09:24 PM (/tuJf)

327 There was another Mars movie where the planted algae on Mars and over years it produced a breathable atmosphere. Not sure where they found the water, but something like that would be a feasible to introduce humans to another planet. But I doubt we could transport a million people there.

Africa and South America have opportunity for vast development, if they would adopt western ways. S Africa is going backwards at the moment.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 29, 2017 09:29 PM (TmCOq)

328 On your nickel because the only way we ever go to space is on the government dole, something I'm surprised you support. I'm not against it, I'm against paying for it.

Eh ... most space-related expenditures in the 20th century were pretty much integral to defense. They were legitimate federal outlays.

After decades of spending countless dollars, we are no closer to finding any intelligent life or a planet where complex life can be supported. At best all we hear after spending a few billion dollars is there might have been water on Mars a thousand years ago. Well that's interesting if only because where there is water there is life. But that's about it.

Who cares about extraterrestrial life? That has nothing to do with Man's NEED (and natural drive) to colonize space.

If we spent a fraction of that money on ocean exploration we would be much further ahead on not just living but huge food sources at much less cost. We have plenty to explore right here.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 29, 2017 09:24 PM (/tuJf)

You've got some odd fixation on the oceans. But I will tell you that most people look at the very tiny area of the Earth and then the almost endless expanse of space and the place that they think of exploring and colonizing and inhabiting is ... space.

As Grump pointed out above, at the very least getting people off of the is planet is very simply required as a survival strategy. There really is nothing to argue with on this. If Man wants to insure his continued existence then space is the place he HAS to go. Not the oceans. Space.

There's no question that we're going to colonize space. The only real questions are who are going to do it, what sorts of governmental structures will be taken out into space colonies, and what sorts of cultures are going there (or going to be taken there)?

Any nation that is serious will have its own space program and will encourage private space-faring companies.

Posted by: ThePrimordialOrderedPair at March 29, 2017 09:39 PM (zc3Db)

329 Hey everybody.

Love the hanging building. Will it have artificial gravity, so that everyone inside of it can do everything upside down?

Posted by: qdpsteve at March 29, 2017 09:42 PM (qazQh)

330 Were tax dollars spent on developing this 'concept'?

Posted by: profligatewaste at March 29, 2017 10:28 PM (+yY4e)

331 Apart from how to get down to go to work (perhaps this is where the flying car comes in) I have a more fundamental question: when you go to the washroom, and flush, where does it go?

Posted by: Blaise MacLean at March 30, 2017 08:37 AM (D5EHC)

332 The floating skyscraper is 'cute', but Coriolis effect would have it moving east at 400 mph as it passed over New York City, and west at the same speed at the other extreme of its swing. Air drag would use up its kinetic energy pretty quickly, and the whole thing would de-orbit.

Posted by: PersonFromPorlock at March 30, 2017 01:55 PM (84MDv)

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