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* Posts by Ouldbob

5 publicly visible posts • joined 3 Apr 2008

UK inks space research deal with Russia

Ouldbob
Pirate

Ouldbob

I don't know about the UK government, but here at Cardiff University, a team from the Cardiff Center for Astro-Biology (CCAB) has been invited to collaborate on two new space missions, the Bion and the Foton, to run astrobiological experiments. Part of the purpose of these experiments is the investigation of exo-planetary bacteria and the ability of simple life-forms, such as tardigrades, to survive the large temperature variations, the radiation and the large acceleration-deceleration shocks. Our Russian counterparts have already visited Cardiff to set up the collaboration.

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Anonymous hackers' Wikileaks 'infowar' LATEST ROUNDUP

Ouldbob
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Pirate

Ouldbob

Waddaya mean "wouldn't allow someone with a criminal record for bank robbery run the bank"? Don't you read the papers? The biggest financial crooks in the world are those who are now running the bloody banks.

Also the biggest liars in the country are now running the country. Jeez, wake up! - or were you just born self-righteous?

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Reg hack insults the Parachute Regiment

Ouldbob
Paris Hilton

'ats

Always called mine 'me pink 'at', cos after a few years they fades from maroon to pink. Any way, jumpin out of hairyplanes is just a quicker way of getting to the place where people are waiting to shoot your arse off. They trained us to march long distances - which should give us time for the enemy to have run out of ammo, then they bungs us in a plane and shoves us out of the door while the enemy still has some left. Not fair. Also, you can't go back up and ask the pilot to turn it round and take you back. You've soddin-well got to walk back. Barstards. I've kept my 'pink 'at' for sixty years now as a warning not to be so stupid again - but guess what? Bugger the moaning - if I had the chance to do it all over again, nothing would stop me!

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Boeing's Honda-FCX-style fuel cell glider 'success'

Ouldbob

oggin

to Graham: not if you're a flyboy it ain't. It's up in the bright shiny blue.

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Ouldbob

oh, hang gliders!

Take some balsa wood, tissue paper, glue and aerodope: now find the plans for the "Skylon" free-flight, (nearly) glider. Build same. Instead of an ED Bee 1 c.c. engine, put a little d.c. motor on the engine mounts, and shove a propellor on the shaft: place around eight square inches of 1980s solar cell on the wing upper surfaces and solder leads to your motor. Put a small switch in if you want. It's probably better if you offset the rudder to make the plane fly in circles.

Launch your plane by hand on a sunny day. With just a small dihedral, she will climb gracefully up into the oggin, and won't come down til nightfall.

Who says you need money to build an electric plane?

Incidentally, without the rudder offset, you'll spend all day running for miles and miles and miles, because the bugger will not stop.

Not the sort of kite to carry a small strategic nuke, so it can't cause much harm, and the USG probably won't break your door down to borrow it to fly in Iraq.

Woops, - I should not have said that! (To quote Hagrid).

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