FastCargo

I have this Meteor (me) and cockpit (Dels) that is (as far as I know) completely unreleased.  It was awaiting skins from Kulbit80 and they were beautiful...

 

 

Also, Russ was working on updating his F-84E and G models, and retrofitting those changes to the B/C/D models that I had built from his original MAX files...

 

 

I don't want to delay a comprehensive pack...but these models have been sitting...just waiting for a release...

 

FC

I've sent a PM to Russ and Kulbit to see what the status is on these and how much work it would be to get them to release status. I can do decals if we need them.

 

FC

I have this Meteor (me) and cockpit (Dels) that is (as far as I know) completely unreleased.  It was awaiting skins from Kulbit80 and they were beautiful...

 

 

Also, Russ was working on updating his F-84E and G models, and retrofitting those changes to the B/C/D models that I had built from his original MAX files...

 

 

I don't want to delay a comprehensive pack...but these models have been sitting...just waiting for a release...

 

FC

Thanks for your quick answers, I assume the turn is made with extend flaps?

 

Most assumptions are clean unless the aircraft has flaps/slats for the specific purpose of maneuvering (most modern fighters).  The reason was given in the link provided by manukar...but basically, flaps provide extra lift but at the expense of a lot of increased drag.  It may work for a emergency 'snap' maneuver, but you will kill a lot of energy doing it.  It is not something you would plan a sustained turn on, again, unless the flaps/slats were designed to be used in this way.

 

FC

Tac Pack won't impress me until there is something other than drone AI...I'm under the impression that there still isn't any combat AI for Tac Pack.

 

FC

Interesting article:

 

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196152-who-really-hacked-sony-pictures-it-probably-wasnt-north-korea

 

FC

Come on down to Texas...we don't have 'The Interview', but we will be showing the next best thing...

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/17/alamo-drafthouse-team-america_n_6345156.html
 

 

Sony may have pulled "The Interview" in wake of hacker threats, but at least one movie theater isn't letting North Korea off the hook. The Alamo Drafthouse is planning to run "Team America: World Police" in its place at its Dallas/Forth Worth location.

 

 

"We'll have subtitles for all the songs and all of our favorite quotes, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to scream out 'AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!' at the top of your lungs. And yeah, we will have American flags, red white and blue streamers, balloons, and more for everyone. And THAT is how true American heroes will be celebrating this year, but if you want to let the terrorists win...well, that's your prerogative."

 

FC

On C-SPAN, two brothers who are on opposite sides of the political spectrum (Brad and Dallas Woodhouse) are in a debate, and a special caller decides to weigh in:

Yeah, that would be their mom, basically telling them to get it out of their systems before they come visit for Christmas!

I'm still laughing at this...no matter what side you fall on, your mom laying the smackdown on you on national television is funny.

FC

So can someone brush up my canon here, didnt the empire fall after Return of the Jedi? I was under that impression at least. Or did it revert into the Republic again and the stormies are good guys now? Ahh confusion. Anyways, I'm pretty amped even if I have some reservations.

 

Technically, no one really knows.  The emperor, the second Death Star, and one Super Star Destroyer were all destroyed.  A statue was pulled down on Coruscant and you see celebrations everywhere.

 

But that kind of means nothing really.  Politics abhors a vacuum...and if a new Republic could not be formed quickly, the galaxy could splinter into a lot of factions.  Remember, in Episode 4, it's mentioned that the Senate is gone...the local governors control the systems.  Which means power was pretty consolidated.  Old rivalries and animosities that were quashed in the Empire could reassert themselves.  And I guarantee not all or even necessarily a lot of the Empire's fleet was at the Battle of Endor.

 

FC

I've known about this for a while.  I told my wife I wanted to do it for retirement...

 

She said after I retire from my airline job...not the military job.

 

Dang it!

 

FC

It's nice to want new franchises and new ways of telling stories.  But having an old franchise doesn't prevent you from telling new stories in new universes.  Pacific Rim, Edge of Tomorrow, Big Hero 6, etc.

 

Two things:

 

1) The idea of retelling old stories in new ways is nothing new.  Shakespeare is a prime example.  Many of his stories have been told and retold through all the various media, updating them for the ages.  And guess what...a lot of times, it has worked well.  In that sense, Star Trek getting updated for more modern times is also nothing new...TOS updated with the movie franchise.  Let's not get started when TNG first came out...the howls of protest when that happened could be heard across the universe.  But now it can be argued that there is just as much of a fanbase for TNG as there was for TOS.

 

2) Though people say they want new stories and new universes...they don't necessarily reward quality with high box office numbers.  One example is Edge of Tomorrow.  This is a movie that had a lot of positive things for it...great action, humor, interesting sci-fi plot, and a character who grows through the film.  Yet, it only did okay at the box office instead of being a big draw for really no discernible reason other than it was different.  Same with something like Cloud Atlas.  And do you think 2001 could do well if released at the box office today?

 

People can complain about 'kids today' and 'storytelling matters', etc.  But people have ALWAYS complained when the world moves on without them.  The difference is that unlike the old days, where seeing it in theatre or listening to it on the radio or TV was the only way to get it, now everyone has their personal copies of ST or SW to watch at home.  Those aren't going away, no matter what happens to the franchise.  Literally nothing they do now can remove your personal copies if you want to hermit up and watch them to the end of your days.

Frankly, I'm glad I don't work in the entertainment industry, especially in a franchise that has a rabid fan base.  A lot of times, it can be a zero sum game...some folks saying "It's too different...I don't recognize it!".  Others saying "It's too much the same...no innovation!".  And tell me this doesn't sound familiar in the gaming community....

 

I keep an open mind, and judge each on its own merits when it arrives.

 

FC

I am way more sceptic because of known facts (some of them are of course my opinion):

 

- what happened to Star Trek;

- frakking Disney;

- J.J "let's flare all things" Abrams;

- Current cinema tendencies since the 2000's. 

 

It would be hard for the new SW not to sucks. I admit there is a few cool things in the trailer, like the X-Wings and the Troopers in the transport. The rest is like meh.

And the triple bladed lightsaber is just a no-go. 

 

And as a joke : 

 

 

I certainly share some of those concerns.  JJ flare and some cinematic trends, sure.

 

However, I enjoyed the new Star Trek films, and based on the inflation corrected box office, I'd say most people do too...JJ Trek takes the 1 and 2 spots internationally, and 1 and 4 domestically.  A franchise that doesn't get new fans will eventually die...and Star Trek had been consistently heading downward, especially the movies, before JJ trek arrived.

 

In addition, several references have mentioned that in other than outright funding (ie cancelling), Disney tends to be 'hands off' in its various properties...Pixar, Marvel, etc.  As long as the properties make money, Disney lets them run things the way they want.  Star Wars isn't expected right now to be any different.

 

Finally, just because something is a follow on to a previous iteration doesn't mean it auto-sucks.  There have been awesome follow ons (BSG, Aliens, etc), and not so awesome follow ons (Tron Legacy, any of the AvPs).  Even Star Wars Clone Wars (which is mostly based in the Ep 1-3 time period) has been given high praise from critics and fans.

 

Just because something is new, doesn't mean it is going to suck, and just because something is old, doesn't mean it was good (TMNT anyone?).

 

FC

Oh, yeah. So one can't have an opinion, eh? 

 

Let's see who's gonna have the last laugh when in the too-much-flared Star Wars the new lightrapière armed (what's next? lightaxes? Lightforks?) sith turned out to be Jar Jar binks. 

 

If I thought you couldn't have an opinion I would have deleted your post.

 

You stated an opinion (even though you stated it as fact) and I stated mine.

 

Unlike you, I reserve judgment until I see the final product.

 

FC

Lucas or not, they're going to rape Star Wars. 

 

Period. 

 

Haters gonna hate.

 

FC

This is better and yes it does look good.

 

 

Nice fan made trailer...

 

FC

That should give me enough time to finally build my X-Wing model rocket...

 

FC

See...fuck that shit.

 

My time and my sanity are worth far more then any deal I can make from any store.

 

A few years ago, in protest of the fact that Black Friday was creeping earlier and earlier into Thanksgiving, I instituted a Thankful Thursday and Family Friday rule.  No fucking shopping during either of those days unless it's an absolute necessity (medicine).

 

If people want companies to stop doing this stuff...stop feeding the machine.  Dumbasses.

 

FC

Nice summary Eric!

 

One other thing...just because a utility falls under Title II, doesn't mean there still won't be competition.  We have competition now in other things in our city...electricity, telephone (landline), etc.  It is a false assumption that competition will go away just because they are reclassified.  But like Eric said, there has already been real evidence of ISPs being unsavory.

 

AT&T is trying to bluff.  And they will lose...Verizon, Google, etc will gladly build out if AT&T tries to take it's toys and go home.

 

FC

You can still have competition even with Title II utilities.  There are options for electricity and landline phones, both considered Title II utilities.  Making something a utility doesn't end competition and driving down prices.  What it does prevent the electric company that laid the wiring to your house from trying to screw you over because you went with another electric company for your actual electric needs.

 

And 'having a choice in ISPs' is ludicrous when one is a sailboat, one is a rowboat, and one is a powerboat.  You aren't going to use a sailboat or rowboat unless you are forced to, I don't care how much cheaper it would be.

 

Net neutrality is simple...it prevents an ISP from trying to shape where you get to go on the internet.  They can't block or throttle you.  If anything, this is having more freedom...not less.

 

FC

Lexx,

 

What if your electric company and told you that you only had a limited amount of electricity to use for your TV and DVDs?

 

Or, what if your favorite website, Nightwatch, was throttled by your ISP because it started getting a lot of hits because of some revelation?  Think about that...you could be cut off from that website because your ISP said so.  Period.

 

Like it or not, net neutrality even affects your analog self.

 

Also, I think there is some fundamental misunderstandings here.  Net Neutrality rules aren't necessarily a "one price for unlimited data" issue.  Rates are still rates, even in other Title II utilities such as the phone company, water, electricity, etc.  The difference is that those companies can not decide HOW you use the utility once it is inside your house.  If you want to phone your grandma long distance while lubing your electric drill powered sex toy with hot water, those utilities can't say you can't do that.  Right now, ISPs can do that...and because like Erik said, a lot of ISPs are functional monopolies, there isn't squat you can do about it.

Another analogy, is putting in a toll road, then putting speed bumps and traffic signals on the non toll roads.  Yes, ISPs can do this...and if they are the only game in town for you...nothing you can do about it.

 

FC

I have to say I'm with the majority here...ISPs suck in general.

 

One only has to look at the customer ratings and practices of AT&T, Verizon, TWC, Comcast.  Arbitrary price increases with no recourse for most customers.

 

The best and closest analogy to the internet is the electrical system.  Watts are watts and bytes are bytes.  What net neutrality is designed to prevent is preferential treatment of different types of data.  Just because I get my electricity from the solar panels on our community's solar farm does not mean the electric company can throttle how much I get because I'm not using their preferred coal generated electricity (this is just a fictional example).   

 

If there is not strong net neutrality in place, the ISPs will be able to do exactly that...slow down your Hulu because they want you to use their cable TV instead.  This wasn't a big deal when 56k dial up was state of the art, and a T1 line was a five-digit investment.  Not so much nowadays.

 

Finally...there is effectively only one internet.  For all intents...it functionally is a monopoly with the ISPs as gatekeepers.  Without net neutrality, those gatekeepers can dictate just how much 'internet' you can get, depending on what site you visit.

 

This is an issue that reaches across all aspects and levels of our modern society.  We cannot afford to fuck this up.

 

FC

Far as I know, you can't overlay two bumpmaps on the same piece of mesh.

 

But having a bumpmap that shows ups and downs is easy.

 

FC

Those engines, just like a good old F-4 Phantom in military power.

 

I was thinking the same thing...that seems like a lot of smoke for a modern fighter.

 

FC

CAD/CAM really does only take you so far.  Sometimes, it takes the real world to bring out real world issues that then can be addressed and solved.

 

FC

I want to thank MigBuster by his links to articles about aviation, is a pleasure to read them!

 

BTW, anyone know of a sim or mod that I can use to replicate X flights? Specially If I can launch from the mother aircraft.

 

X Plane 10

 

Orbiter

 

FC

I have both the X-15 and XB-70 books by Specialty Press and I'd agree, fantastic books.

 

Also, hypersonic is easy (which is why we don't do it anymore)...with rockets and high altitudes.

 

It is MUCH harder at low altitudes with air breathers...that's why success has been more limited.  Not due to efforts in efficiency...which are important.

 

FC