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[Quick_Nick]

Disk 0 (C:)

	TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100

	Capacity:	932 GB
	Formatted:	931 GB
	System disk:	Yes
	Page file:	Yes

	Read speed	1.8 MB/s
	Write speed	3.2 MB/s
	[COLOR="Red"]Active time	100%
	Average response time	784 ms[/COLOR]

The disk stays like this for hours at a time. Thank you, Windows Search Indexer. :facepalm:

I think iTunes used to, and maybe still does, sometimes cause crazy CPU and HDD usage possibly associated with the indexer.

 

[Matias Saibene]

Me at math Chapter 4 - super bad mathematics in economics

After many discussions MS Aerospace company has been chosen to refinance foreign debt of Argentina:

 

[mojoey]

 

[Quick_Nick]

Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012

It somewhat bothers me that this danger is ignored. And STEREO will be unusable for all of 2015, limiting our ability to forecast solar/geomagnetic activity.

"If an asteroid big enough to knock modern civilization back to the 18th century appeared out of deep space and buzzed the Earth-Moon system, the near-miss would be instant worldwide headline news.
Two years ago, Earth experienced a close shave just as perilous, but most newspapers didn't mention it. The "impactor" was an extreme solar storm, the most powerful in as much as 150+ years."

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012

It somewhat bothers me that this danger is ignored. And STEREO will be unusable for all of 2015, limiting our ability to forecast solar/geomagnetic activity.

"If an asteroid big enough to knock modern civilization back to the 18th century appeared out of deep space and buzzed the Earth-Moon system, the near-miss would be instant worldwide headline news.
Two years ago, Earth experienced a close shave just as perilous, but most newspapers didn't mention it. The "impactor" was an extreme solar storm, the most powerful in as much as 150+ years."

Forgive my skepticism that it would ever be dealt with in the right way even if people were worried about it

what exactly could be done about it, just hardening vital electronics systems so that they dont go down as quickly or at all?

 

[fsci123]

Forgive my skepticism that it would ever be dealt with in the right way even if people were worried about it

what exactly could be done about it, just hardening vital electronics systems so that they dont go down as quickly or at all?

Will just powerlines go down in such an event or would the damage extend to computers, iPhones, and care?

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

Will just powerlines go down in such an event or would the damage extend to computers, iPhones, and care?

Well I recall the famous one in 1850ish lit telegraph lines on fire for some reason, but I dont fully understand why.

 

[Artlav]

Changing magnetic field creates current.
The change is tiny, on the order of 100s of nanoteslas.
But it is on a planetary scale - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetically_induced_current"]Geomagnetically induced current - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

The current is induced in conductors on the planetary surface, proportional to the size of one.
At this scale, for things like power wires we are talking several volts per km.
But power lines run for 100s of km.

As a result, there is a quasi-DC current in the power grid during the field-change events.
This current can saturate or bias power transformers, designed to work at pure AC.
Saturation means loss of core magnetisation, bias means a drop in efficiency.

(Imagine an eardrum. AC means pressure going back and forth, the sound you hear, DC means constant pressure on one side. With no DC you can hear AC clearly, with some DC, like in an airplane, dive or other rapid change of pressure, eardrum flexes one side (bias) and you can hear worse, with sharp change like a bomb going off the eardrum pops (saturation) and you cease to hear anything. Similar thing with transformers and current.)

When we are talking about a multi-megawatt power station transformer, that means fire and molten metal, as it ceases to transform and starts to dissipate instead.

Lead time on replacement transformers of such scale can be years, and that with a working power grid.

Therefore, the doomsday scenario.

On the good side, such currents arise from natural changes in magnetic field, on smaller scale, so the power companies are aware of them, and have to take them into account.
So, getting prepared for the big CME is not technologically challenging, but only takes a certain amount of money and engineering to fit countermeasures of necessary scale.

ADHD version: In a solar storm large scale infrastructure burns, small scale things like phones, cars, etc don't notice anything unless plugged into the grid.

 

[MattBaker]

ADHD version

Back in my days we had tl;dr.

 

[Codz]

So, I was planning on moving to Riverside County, about 60 miles from Los Angeles proper. Any Orbinauts in the area?

 

[mojoey]

So, I was planning on moving to Riverside County, about 60 miles from Los Angeles proper. Any Orbinauts in the area?

I live in San Bernardino County, which is right next door. What do you want to know?

 

[jedidia]

Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012

Guy talks about a 12% chance to be hit by an event of that magnitude during the next 10 years. That's high enough in itself, but I wonder how it scales up to the next, say, 50 years? (after that I'll hardly have to bother anymore...)

 

[tl8]

Does anyone here play Planetary Annihilation. I am looking for a Co-op partner to play a few games with.

 

[mojoey]

 

[jedidia]

It's a goat... they're always where they aren't supposed to be. It's almost part of the definition :facepalm:

 

[mojoey]

It's a goat... they're always where they aren't supposed to be. It's almost part of the definition :facepalm:

Please. For the love of all things holy, tell me there's a Soviet plane with the NATO designation Goat.

 

[Urwumpe]

Please. For the love of all things holy, tell me there's a Soviet plane with the NATO designation Goat.

Sadly not.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gama_Goat"]Gama Goat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Also, everything that begins with G as NATO reporting name is a SAM.

The closest you can find there is the SA-3 Goa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_(antelope)

Almost looks like a goat. But seems to be way less mischievous.

 

[Codz]

I live in San Bernardino County, which is right next door. What do you want to know?

IIRC you've been to Atlanta, correct? How is Greater Los Angeles in comparison to Metro Atlanta?

 

[n122vu]

Please. For the love of all things holy, tell me there's a Soviet plane with the NATO designation Goat.

Also this from Arma3:

Do not feed the goats
Do not touch the goats
Do not go near the goats
Do not do what Pvt. Nelson did to the goats
Do no enrage the goats
------------------------------------------------------------
Right after you land and are told to speak to the Lt. go behind him and look at the board.
------------------------------------------------------------
Blacked out stuff are not spoilers, merely things you might find funny to look at yourself.

 

[mojoey]

IIRC you've been to Atlanta, correct? How is Greater Los Angeles in comparison to Metro Atlanta?

There are many differences, from cultural to how people drive, far too many to list in an RCT post . Give me a bit and I can shoot you a PM with the details.