willard

....and for those who need a little more information- http://www.bunganutlake.org/newenglanders.htm

Actually, you're pretty much right there. There's cold. And then there's FUCKIN' cold. We experience the latter. But we still have the balls to keep moving. Maybe this will help clarify the difference.

In West Virginia all male relatives are either "kin" or "cousin". Female relatives are potential wives.

Ice is no fun to drive on, but at 32 degrees we just roll our sleeves down a bit. But we don't button 'em....still to warm for that.

But what is the most-used four letter word while doing crossword puzzles?

????COWS???? What were cows doing in the landing area? Wouldn't anyone help them gather their chutes?

That seems to be a commonality among those who have held the office of President. I think it's actually in the job description.

It's too bad you let the people you obviously hate so much totally ruin your life like they have. "Half the people you hate don't know, and the other half don't care."

That used to happen here in the States with some regularity until a scientific approach was taken to hanging and a table was drawn up giving suggested lengths of drop according to body weight. Even then an occasional hanging would be botched. Shit happens.

Hmmmmm.....I see what you mean. I think. Kinda like tattoos used to be a way for people to express their individualism. Now it seems like everybody has one and now when I go into a bar or club i am the unique person in the room because I don't have a tatt.

Back in '94 I met a guy from Texas who had broke his back while ejecting from an F-4 in Viet Nam. That don't sound like much fun to me.

Correct beats fast any day. Can't be wrong fast enough to get full credit.

They didn't make a claim! They made a slogan, something about beating gravity or something like that sort of vague nonsense. As you said, the IMPLICATION is that it is a "1 G" car. If a car accelerates at 1G doing a 1/4 mile, it would get there in just over 9 seconds. The Lexus SC ($65,000 sport coupe) claims to need 14.3 seconds. Even if there is a faster Lexus, the result will not be very close to 9 seconds. Here's a little physics puzzle/riddle for you: How do cars accelerate faster than 1 G when we have all been taught that the coefficient of friction for surfaces varies from 0 to 1, and friction = weight * coefficient of friction, so by the standard model, you can't get more frictional force than the weight of an object. This means that the tires of a car should never be able to push harder than the weight of a car, which means that it should never be able to accelerate at more than 1 G. Of course we know that plenty of drag racers do it a lot faster than 1 G which would equal a 9 sec 1/4 mile. So, how do they do it? Simple. Static friction in a rubber/asphalt combination is higher than a coefficient of 1 due to molecular interaction. Heat the tires a bit and the cf goes up higher. Now add downforce from an airfoil perched above those tires so the vertical loading increases with speed and you end up with a car that can accelerate at much higher than 1 G. In fact, a lot of drag cars don't reach maximum Gs until well past the start lights. Notice how they "back pedal" the throttle for the first part of the race? Exceeding 1 G is common on dirt tracks as well. The sprint cars I raced carried a 25 square foot wing on top and a 6 sq.ft. on the nose. Combined with a tire that worked in the traction medium (moist clay) and 1G acceleration was easy...and a hell of a lot of fun!

The implication of the commercial is that the Lexus is a "1 G" car. Is that possible by any car? Yes. Absolutely. Is that possible by that particular Lexus? My guess is yes, since a "1 G" car is kinda of a buzz-word for performance cars and I seriously doubt that they'd make that commercial if it didn't live up to the claim. Getting 1 G acceleration is not hard to do, as you said. But what is hard is sustaining the acceleration rate as speed builds. Power required rises as the square of the increase in speed (roughly). If you want to go 3 times as fast, you need 9 times the power.

Just a quick half-asleep calculation.... Figure 10 seconds to drop first 1000, then 5 sec./thousand after that would give 25 seconds from release to ground strike. The car on the ground would have to average 109 mph over it's 4000 foot run to get to the target at the same time. If the Lexus on the ground could cover 1/4 mile in 13 seconds (I'm giving the car a lot of extra credit) that leaves 12 seconds to cover the remaining 2680 feet. To do that would require an average speed of 152 mph, well out of range for a Lexus. I assumed a lot of specs, so don't hold me responsible if I'm wrong. If you use these figures to place any bets, and you lose, you will make me look bad and I will file a lawsuit. If you read all of this and don't use it to place a bet, I will take that as an insult and will file a defamation of character suit.

Cuz there's only one Smurfette.

Sig figs can get confusing. I go by a few simple rules. 1. Zeros at the beginning of a number are never significant. They only show the position of a decimal point. 2. Zeros between non-zero digits are always significant. 3. Zeros at the end of a number and zeros after the decimal point are always significant. 4. When a number ends in zeros but has no decimal point, the zeros may or may not be significant. Consult your instructor on this one. Calculations. Pretty easy, really. When multiplying or deviding the answer cannot contain more sig figs than the measurement with the fewest sig figs. example....(6.221)x(5.2)=32.3492, round off to 32 When adding or subtracting you cannot have more sig figs after the decimal than the measurement with the fewest sig figs after the decimal. 20.4+1.322+83=104.722, round off to 105 Just like the Lewis structures, sig figs become second nature from repitition. Keep practicing, they will come to you. In these days of computers and calulators the importance of sig figs can become lost. When using a slide rule it was very important to be able to accurately count sig figs and round properly. Keep up the good work!

Ditto. Plus the name is easy to spell. Other than that I'm not much help. Sorry

I'd do it for free just to scare the hell out of a couple old girlfriends!

A good chug of Captain Morgan.

Ah yes, Lewis structures. I remember working those out. It just takes practice and repetition. Keep at it and you'll learn them. Do a few each morning and some more each evening. Better a few short sessions than one long session. Get a good understanding of ions, cations, and their interactions. Much, if not most, of what lies ahead of you will require a good basic understanding of what's going on. I've been through those courses and feel your pain. But this is not a good time to let yourself get lazy, though it is very easy to do so. Hit the books, get the basics down, and you will find that later on your job will be easier and you will be able to get your assignments done much quicker. In other words, a little extra effort now will save a lot of effort later.

Just to remind everyone, during the impeachment process our Constitution requires the immediate removal from office those found guilty. I remember very clearly that well over the required 2/3 majority were convinced beyond a doubt that Clinton had perjured himself, yet they felt that his offense did not warrant removal from office and thus voted "not guilty". Though I despise the very mention of Clinton's name I felt the Senate had done the right thing. Impeachment is not something to be taken lightly.

Kinda hard to think of something from my childhood that didn't lead toward skydiving. It just took me a while to work my way through everything else first.

I thought I was done learning for the day. That was interesting....pretty neat the way it was removed.

But...but...but...that just makes too much sense. Ever notice that the things that were supposed to make voting easier and more accurate are the things that screw the whole mess up?