The Random Image Thread (keeping it PG-13 at the worst)

[DEyncourt]

Emily Lakdawalla on the damage to Curiosity's wheels:



So: not unexpected though a bit faster when compared to wear and tear that happened to Spirit and Opportunity.

The good news is that a better choice of terrain can substantially prolong expected wheel lifetime. [Project Manager Jim] Erickson told me that they tested wheels on a wide variety of terrains, and came up with the following lifetimes. Keep in mind that these are conservative estimates, because there were no rover drivers working to steer around pointy rocks -- this assumes blind driving over all the worst rocks.

• Bedrock with lots of rocks: ~8 kilometers
• Lots of rocks, not on bedrock: 13-14 kilometers
• Bedrock with few rocks (think flagstones): 30-40 kilometers or more
• Smooth or sandy, with few or no rocks: indeterminate (causes no damage)

[Warin]

Well that is stick fiddling adorable.

[mmaverick]

That's Dutch Gretzky for you.

[ukimalefu]

[Kirk]

[DEyncourt]

Boy band tweet.

[maurvir]

[maurvir]

[maurvir]

[juice]

That is awesome. But I don't drink enough beer at home to make it worthwhile. And I'm certainly not inviting people over to drink it for me.

[Aaron_R]

why is alcohol and guns mixing?

[TOS]

why is alcohol and guns mixing?

my guess: israel

[TOS]

[mmaverick]

That is awesome. But I don't drink enough beer at home to make it worthwhile. And I'm certainly not inviting people over to drink it for me.

I was going to do this, but when I got the new keg fridge it no longer made sense.

[obvs]

[DukeofNuke]

How does that magazine work?

[Kirk]

That's a safety feature. The plastic plug portion is engaged, making it clear there are no rounds loaded. The real and probably loaded magazine is held such that its easily accessible in case of need. So she can't accidentally shoot herself in the foot.

[Pithecanthropus]

When I see photos of people carrying rifles in public, I can only think of one thing: stick fiddling cowards.

[ukimalefu]

[Geesie]

I've done something similar.

[DEyncourt]

That's a safety feature. The plastic plug portion is engaged, making it clear there are no rounds loaded. The real and probably loaded magazine is held such that its easily accessible in case of need. So she can't accidentally shoot herself in the foot.

Sooo...basically she could be disarmed--well, aside from her using her rifle as a club--by yanking that clip out and tossing it away?

Good to know.

[dv]

When I see photos of people carrying rifles in public, I can only think of one thing: stick fiddling cowards.

I think there are slightly different rules about that when the Israeli reservists do their one weekend a month or whatever.

[ukimalefu]

[TOS]

That's a safety feature. The plastic plug portion is engaged, making it clear there are no rounds loaded. The real and probably loaded magazine is held such that its easily accessible in case of need. So she can't accidentally shoot herself in the foot.

Sooo...basically she could be disarmed--well, aside from her using her rifle as a club--by yanking that clip out and tossing it away?

Good to know.

a very common sight in israel ... they're reservists and off-duty soldiers, and they're under orders to carry their weapons at all times

[ukimalefu]

[maurvir]

[Kirk]

Ooooh, that's neat

[TOS]

this isn't a death video ... i don't think

[Kirk]

That was waaaay too close to the rocks at the bottom

[TOS]

"wtf is this thing"

[maurvir]

It's not kind to make fun of the mentally challenged.

[dv]

No visual-spatial relationship skills. It only fits in one way.

He clearly didn't spend enough time playing with Lego as a kid.

[ukimalefu]

"wtf is this thing"

1. Go search youtube for "teens react" and "kids react".

2. Feel old.

[TOS]

[Kirk]

Too Tron-like. Though I do look forward to gyroscopically balanced / computer controlled autopilot bikes. Once that tech evolves, we might even get better passenger protection with two-wheel 'cars'.

[maurvir]

[Yori]

Too Tron-like.

*struggles to grasp the concept of something being too Tron-like*

[Kirk]

That happens when one trades functionality for looks.
Let's start with the ridiculously minimized fenders

[maurvir]

That bike looks pretty cool to me, though I'm at a bit of a loss as to how a "flex frame" works. However, the problem is that no amount of AI in the world is going to solve the problem of OTHER drivers not seeing you in time - and an electric drive is actually going to make that worse.

[Kirk]

Flex frame probably means Nylon with the right amount of glass fiber reinforcement to provide some rigidity. What I got from reading that, is they're counting on the flex for steering. Though I can't see that being enough for tight cornering in say, parking lots.