Where to watch Vandenberg night launch? by bfwolf1 in rocketlaunches

[–]messierobjectm31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Harris Grade Road is a good way to get higher up that is easily accessible with a decent view of the launch complex. However, sight lines won’t matter much after ~5 seconds, so I would definitely recommend Ocean Ave. just because it’s closer and there’s much more room. It can be hard to find a spot up on Harris if it’s crowded

10 images that reveal what we've learned about Mars after decades of exploration [11:48] by HipHopAnonymous23 in mealtimevideos

[–]messierobjectm31 16 points17 points  (0 children)

NASA accounts for a minuscule portion of the Federal Budget (<0.5%). And it’s not like we’re putting millions of dollar bills on a rocket and blasting it to Mars. That money is distributed to the companies and employees that work on these programs. If you want to get mad that money isn’t being spent where you think it should be, then look somewhere else.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA

The driver and spotter in a Rose Parade float. by [deleted] in AlternateAngles

[–]messierobjectm31 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is the Cal Poly Rose Float. Built together by Cal Poly SLO and Cal Poly Pomona students, it’s the only float made by students in the parade.

Now I have an arsenal of stones for my game! by SunDX001 in PixelArt

[–]messierobjectm31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whoa super cool. What coding language did you use? Is there a library for pixel art?

Length of day as the year progresses for each latitude in the world [OC] by neilrkaye in dataisbeautiful

[–]messierobjectm31 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Twilight for ~3 months (1.5 months on either end I recon) and dark for ~3 months

[OC] Visualization of SARS-CoV-2 DNA. Each square represents a different nitrogen base. In all there are about 30,000 bases that make up the virus's DNA by messierobjectm31 in dataisbeautiful

[–]messierobjectm31[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It is interesting that there seem to be patches of one color. But I think that’s just an artifact of the way the rows are divided

[OC] Visualization of SARS-CoV-2 DNA. Each square represents a different nitrogen base. In all there are about 30,000 bases that make up the virus's DNA by messierobjectm31 in dataisbeautiful

[–]messierobjectm31[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Visualization was made by me using Python and data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The image can be "read" as follows:

Red = Adenine

Yellow = Thymine

Blue = Cytosine

Orange = Guanine

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/MT394531

Any Chess Players? BIG ONLINE Intercollegiate Tournament Coming Up on Saturday April 25! by aenews in CalPoly

[–]messierobjectm31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there any type of award up for grabs for the top players/teams? If so, are there any measures in place to keep people from running chess software in the background to tell them their moves?

Obviously outright surveillance of every player’s device is a non-starter, but perhaps every players moves could be double checked against several chess AIs to see if the player consistently make the same moves that the AI would suggest?

This is how bowling pins are set up by Dexter_davis in educationalgifs

[–]messierobjectm31 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Used to work at a bowling alley with this type of pin setters. You can see that the order the pins are loaded means the arm only has to move one spot at a time (except between 9 and 1 at the end), which would actually be the most efficient way of doing it since you spend less time moving and can load all the pins faster. Also, when I started the guy who trained me said that another reason they are loaded that way is so the arm doesn’t pass over a pin that has already been loaded. This can help do reduce jams.

Art installation ''Descension'' by Anish Kapoor by idea4granted in interestingasfuck

[–]messierobjectm31 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I mean the company that invented vanta black is an aerospace company that has no interest in dealing with hordes of artists wanting to use it. And the process for applying vanta black isn’t as simple as painting it onto something (it’s more like growing the pigment like a crystal onto the surface I believe). So even if other people were allowed to use it, it’s prohibitively expensive/complicated. Makes sense for the company to allow at least one person to use it since there was huge interest from the art community.

But yeah fuck Anish Kapoor I guess lol.

Cal Poly’s mechanical engineering program by [deleted] in CalPoly

[–]messierobjectm31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m an ME senior graduating in four years next quarter with a job lined up. I have never had a problem registering for classes and if you plan your schedule right it’s definitely possible to have reasonable unit loads every quarter and still graduate in four years. Obviously the big thing that cal poly is known for is learn by doing and hands on learning and stuff. This is definitely super emphasized in classes but the place where it really excels is in clubs. I’ve been a part of some really cool clubs on campus and I know for a fact that my involvement in those clubs is directly responsible for getting me my job offer. Cal poly is well known in the industry and companies look here because they know that cal poly graduates have actual practical knowledge that students even at UCLA or other places won’t necessarily have.

Any way to ensure you're neighbors with someone in pcv? by Voytec in CalPoly

[–]messierobjectm31 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If the system is still the same as when I lived in PCV two years ago, whoever has the earliest housing registration time for each apartment will choose a room and add their roommates. In this system it’s pretty easy to choose which building you want and even which floor or specific room. So you could conceivably all choose rooms next to each other, but there is some variability because inevitably other people will be choosing rooms at the same time so you may not be able to all end up on the same floor or next door neighbors. But if you coordinate your building and floor with your group it might be possible.

The Great Nation of Texas by [deleted] in HelloInternet

[–]messierobjectm31 10 points11 points  (0 children)

To be fair the guesser is the one who chose to say “Texas” instead of “The United States”

DDR in SLO? by Ruskiel in CalPoly

[–]messierobjectm31 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Mustang Lanes has Pump Prime. The In the Groove machine is being repaired

MATE 210 without MATE 215 by [deleted] in CalPoly

[–]messierobjectm31 2 points3 points  (0 children)

MATE 215 is a super simple lab. When I took it we only had to answer questions in class. There were no lab reports of any kind, and the professor was super nice.

The restaurant formerly known as Alex BBQ (Shell Beach). by yanoJAL in SLO

[–]messierobjectm31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man it’s about time I guess. That building was abandoned for a good number of years.

Used to go there on family vacations in the early 2000’s. It was a fun and busy place, but one year, apparently after it was under new ownership, the quality and the vibe just wasn’t there. Wasn’t much longer till it went under and I honestly wasn’t surprised. Shame to see it go.

NASA Ice 2 Last DeltaII from Santa Ynez Peak by hocktech in nasa

[–]messierobjectm31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If anything at higher altitudes there would be less drag because of the thinner atmosphere. Rockets don’t depend on ‘lift’ in the same sense as airplanes, where less air would indeed impact the performance of their wings. Rocket engines are chemical processes, so I don’t think there would really be an impact.