The Pod Bay

RhysW

09:20

morning peoples!

TildalWave

morning!

Happy World Space Week to all!

World Space Week

World Space Week {abbrv. WSW) is an annual holiday held from October 4 to October 10. It is observed from 4-10 October in most of the world, in continents including Europe, Russia and Asia. World Space Week is officially defined as "an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition." History On December 6, 1999, The United Nations General Assembly declared World Space Week as an annual event celebration to be commemorated between October 4-10. The choice of dates was based on recognition of two important dates in spa...

RhysW

world space week? awesome but why limited only to our world :/

@TildalWave oh also, not sure if you saw, but we wanted to know if the 'upvote our ads' still needs to be pinned, given that most have all the votes they need

TildalWave

Happy 55th to NASA too, MAVEN has received emergency exemption and work has already resumed!

@RhysW hehe yes it's like saying "female mother's day"

@RhysW I've seen it... and almost got away with ignoring it too :P

RhysW

@TildalWave ;) nothing gets by the almighty room owner! smashes staff into floor

TildalWave

actually, I see that the ad from @Undo didn't receive 6 or more votes everywhere which is a bare minimum to even rotate

RhysW

09:33

which number?

TildalWave

3

RhysW

we are 1 closer now

TildalWave

and 7 could also use an up

RhysW

done

TildalWave

6 is only 1 downvote away from 5, according to the number theory

RhysW

09:36

¬_¬ i upvoted it! now its 2 sets of 1 away from 5

TildalWave

@RhysW you integers well use my padawan

there, unpinned

shall I dust and vacuum too?

RhysW

if you wouldnt mind,

you and your mod parties have left quite the mess

TildalWave

556 clicks on our ads in total

RhysW

thats not bad, they havent been out there that long

TildalWave

@RhysW What needs cleaning? It looks all shiny to me :O

RhysW

09:44

there is spaghetti in the cieling fan

TildalWave

@RhysW that would be your gravatar

RhysW

hah, i suppose mine is the most default looking

but yours even has a bit that looks like spaghetti, the wiggly bit

TildalWave

my legs, my beautiful legs!

RhysW

out of curiosity why is your gravatar a worm reading a book?

TildalWave

a bookworm? it's a ~ tilde

RhysW

09:47

TildeWave

TildalWave

And that's a menu, I'm checking who to drink blood from tonight

RhysW

from Undo, definately undo

TildalWave

any good vintage around? :)))

Anybody? No? Anybody? No? Anybody? No? Anybody?

RhysW

i already suggested Undo!

TildalWave

►

10 bloody minutes!!! Who in hell listens to it all ??

RhysW

09:51

what is it?

TildalWave

little britain

RhysW

cant watch it where i am

TildalWave

"Anybody... no? Dust!" ... ad nauseum from a Fat Fighters sketch in the first series of Little Britain.

RhysW

oh fair enough

UV-D

10:40

hello @RoryAlsop

Rory Alsop

morning @UVD. I see you've hijacked Sec.SE and got a reptrain a'running :-)

UV-D

lol yes, I am everywhere

awesome site too!

Rory Alsop

:-)

UV-D

I am absolutely stoked by the great answers I have received!

Rory Alsop

10:56

We have some smart folks over there. Oh, and @Tildal (joke)

TildalWave

@RoryAlsop meh I'm just misunderstood

Rory Alsop

so - this <mention> tag that keeps popping up in the Pod Bay...what's all that about?

TildalWave

??

what's a <mention> tag?

Rory Alsop

When UV-D said hello, and when you responded to me just then It came up with a red button saying (mention) before the @RoryAlsop yada yada yada bit

and if I tap it (remember I am on the iPad) it vanishes

TildalWave

never saw it myself

Rory Alsop

11:02

it's probably a buggy thing specific to this pOS

TildalWave

some browser extension maybe?

Rory Alsop

this is stock chrome on ipad

TildalWave

wait lemme google for "what's that mention thing that keeps popping up in chats"

Rory Alsop

one result- and the link points here :-)

TildalWave

to me saying it?

LOL

I wonder what result I'd get on Google if I searched for "I wonder what result I'd get on Google if I searched for"

UV-D

11:05

the power I have

Rory Alsop

you have the power of Ultraviolet (and D must be at least 3 more than ordinary Ultraviolet)

TildalWave

it's x-ray

UV-D

hey @RoryAlsop and @TildalWave - the final answer by the new member, legit?

on Sec.SE

TildalWave

I mean, it isn't... but it it was, it would have been

UV-D

security.stackexchange.com/questions/43321/… the final answer has me wondering

Rory Alsop

11:14

I have commented on it - it is fundamentally incorrect.

Faraday cages don't care whether you run hundreds of thousands of volts outside them, or point a high gain antenna - as long as the cage is complete

UV-D

that's what I was thinking

TildalWave

@UV-D no, not really... faraday cage, if effective in some frequency range, wouldn't only make the signal weaker but completely stop that frequency range... so he'd only be amplifying noise with a ridiculously large and hardly inconspicuous antenna ... if this method wouldn't work, TEMPEST proofing wouldn't work either... yet it works for NATO, CIA, NSA, White House,...

oh... OK @RoryAlsop answered already

UV-D

lol, so if I see this guy dragging this huge antenna aimed at my metal wallet... I should then worry

someone should post that as an answer with a comic

TildalWave

@UV-D No, you should worry because it's likely that wallet doesn't do anything to stop RFID signals and it's just a marketing ploy ... I've read some reviews and guys said they were able to swipe their access cards through it easily

UV-D

I suspected that is the case, I like the aluminium foil idea, just to put that in the lining

TildalWave

11:21

the idea is sound tho, I'm just not convinced that particular one you linked is worth the money... still, looks pretty nice

UV-D

that's why I keep it - looks pretty nice and is waterproof

I might have to do my own experiment

TildalWave

@UV-D hmmm that won't work without testing it either, you might help amplifying it even... you have to get the thickness right... or at least separation between layers

there are US govt employee approved RFID sleeves tho

UV-D

good point - some experimenting needed

RFID sleeves?

TildalWave

UV-D

that is SO cool!

the chances of being RFID'd though is quite small I imagine

TildalWave

11:24

I have one but it makes the card just enough bigger that it won't fit in my fav wallet

UV-D

on of the replies suggested to keep tabs on transactions, which is excellent advice

I am going to source and order these

I am going to have to do an experiment

TildalWave

@UV-D Quite big and ever increasing... crowded public places, wallet in the back pocket,... you will likely be skimmed if any are scanning in the area. It's just too easy not to

UV-D

hmmm I have my wallet in front pocket (or in my coat), and hve a decoy in the back pocket

yeah I am paranoid

TildalWave

that's just cautious, being paranoid is an illness

UV-D

I am certain that Santa's elves are stalking me

TildalWave

11:28

that's not paranoid either ... just pretentious LOL

UV-D

LOL I like that

wait a sec... I am up to 226 here? with 2 accepted answers?

TildalWave

@UV-D nice

UV-D

it's almost like I write adequate posts...

almost

PearsonArtPhoto

12:29

Wow, I leave the room running when I went home, and almost 700 messages have been sent here since then...

This is a pretty active chat room.

UV-D

we're a bit chatty

PearsonArtPhoto

MAVEN work was re-started. Whew! spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av038/131003resumption/#.Uk61jn9jHSg

PearsonArtPhoto

12:49

9

A: Are Stack Exchange 2.0 sites remaining in beta for too long?

I asked this question 3 months ago, and I thought I'd post a few tidbits of some updated data. Since that post, there have been 2 sites that have graduated, Drupal Answers and Sharepoint, each of which was in beta for about 6 months. There are currently 13 sites which have been added in the last...

Rory Alsop

could do with updating with all the new ones that graduated, and the ones that didn't - you can see from those graphs which ones are trending an upwards curve

From the ones I mod (and using Sec.SE as a great example of how the triggers worked) it was obvious when certain turning points had been reached

PearsonArtPhoto

I'd love to see Jeff's trendlines updated.

Rory Alsop

The basic stats on Area51 are just that - basic. Once those are all green it's about long term upticks, visitor numbers, referrers etc

PearsonArtPhoto

Yeah, I've seen it myself, although it was far more obvious in retrospect.

There are many sites that graduate with stats that aren't all green.

Rory Alsop

Oh yeah - I'd like to see them as well. I always wanted mods to get a view across many sites

true - but they need to have a definite uptick

it makes it much simpler to argue the case if they are green

UV-D

13:01

good question @PearsonArtPhoto - I belong to Academia - that has 4 excellents and 1 okay in its stats and stil is in beta

just got a silver?

PearsonArtPhoto

Sites are frequently in beta for some time. When I asked this, I was in particular talking about Science Fiction and Fantasy, although I was noticing the general trend of more sites in beta for longer.

I only realized later that it was largely because Area 51 had only been around for a year when I first came in, if that, and that the reason there were no 3 year sites was because SE hadn't been around that long...

But I still think it's a valid question.

UV-D

I agree

hello @called2voyage

called2voyage

hey everybody

that's great that MAVEN got an exception

2

TildalWave

13:29

@PearsonArtPhoto that post from Atwood is possibly the most worrisome "answer" I've ever seen on mSO

Statistics: Lesson 1->(n-1): F Lesson n (drawing red lines): A+ — TildalWave 1 min ago

had to comment

because... it is EXACTLY the same as answering your question with "because"

UV-D

lol

RhysW

@TildalWave yeah it wasnt an answer just 'well you try to do my job then mr smarty pants' thats the impression i got

PearsonArtPhoto

@TildalWave Worrisome, maybe, but interesting.

TildalWave

@PearsonArtPhoto I'm sorry but I don't find complacency interesting at all

PearsonArtPhoto

Just True enough, the only think I found interesting was the plots.

RhysW

13:33

would have been better with labelled Axis, i doube they were all measured on the same scale because of those peaks

PearsonArtPhoto

They are starting to come around, but it's taken some of the SE staff a bit of time to give the attention to new sites they need.

TildalWave

how about statistics #6: correlation does not imply causation?

RhysW

@PearsonArtPhoto ive noticed the CM's a lot more in the last 2 weeks around beta sites

TildalWave

or abusing the sample?

like... #1, #2, #3 and #4 all in one?

called2voyage

I just called out Manishearth on his physics. :) It's a good day for me.

4

RhysW

13:35

@called2voyage :O linky?

called2voyage

@called2voyage Damn, forgot completely about the QM considerations. Edited, thanks :) — Manishearth 3 mins ago

PearsonArtPhoto

@RhysW They go through waves.

TildalWave

wow, we're totally retrograde! :D

PearsonArtPhoto

I'd really like to know what the SE process is behind launching a new site, from start to finish.

I've got some of the pieces together, but not everything.

called2voyage

@RhysW If you click on the "3 min ago" it will take you to the post.

RhysW

13:37

@PearsonArtPhoto would certainly be interesting to know, but I doubt we will find out for fear of somehow gaming the system

UV-D

@TildalWave up to 12 upvotes on the Sec.SE question

PearsonArtPhoto

@RhysW I already know a fair part of it, but I do know what you mean.

1

Q: What is the Stack Exchange (Staff) process of launching a site?

I've heard bits and pieces from various sources, but I would really like to know, what does the Stack Exchange staff do to launch a new site? What are the milestones? I'm talking about Area 51 milestones, reviews to leave private and public beta, other reviews that might happen along the path dur...

UV-D

@PearsonArtPhoto upvoted

RhysW

hah 4 votes already, talk about community support

TildalWave

@UV-D nice!

called2voyage

13:43

@UV-D Mason Wheeler's comment on the top answer is priceless. I would have said something similar.

PearsonArtPhoto

I've given what I know, I'm sure there's more.

UV-D

omg just noticed that - that is epially awesome

epically

PearsonArtPhoto

I could probably find sources for most of that too. I'm just curious what else there is.

RhysW

step 3.5 make everyone feel bad about their posts

thats a step right?

PearsonArtPhoto

It almost always happens...

called2voyage

13:48

You mean Step 3.66 "Make RhysW feel bad about his posts"?

RhysW

thats step 3.14

called2voyage

lol

RhysW

also known as the 'slice of the pi' rule

UV-D

badum tshhhh

RhysW

sigh, in like 10 mins pearsons post got about as much attention as mine did in 2 days. Pays to have a well known gravatar and a good question! :P

PearsonArtPhoto

13:51

Not always. Check out my other question from today, for instance.

1

Q: The questions/ answer vote up are too close to the same color

I was looking at some of the plots in the Moderator Tools Analytics today, and I noticed that I was having a really hard time telling the difference between question up votes and answer up votes. They are both a green color, and while I was eventually able to tell the difference, it would be nice...

bug moderator-tools design color

RhysW

I almost said "Thats why i appended 'and a good question'" then i realised that incinuates that that isnt one, so i decided to make a meta comment about my comment

PearsonArtPhoto

Besides, my gravatar is fairly knew.

I've only had it for around 3-4 months, no more than 6.

RhysW

oh really? i've only ever seen you with it, blue diamonds symbolise space to me now

and that's totally your fault!

PearsonArtPhoto

LOL. Before that, for a long time, I was an Aardvark.

2

gravatar.com/avatar/…

RhysW

I know you mean gravatar, but i can't help but picture an aardvark in a space suit doing shuttle repairs in orbit

@PearsonArtPhoto Is that a semi conducting diode?

PearsonArtPhoto

13:57

Actually, that was going to be done at one point in time.

It's the symbol for Amateur Radio, albiet a different color.

RhysW

ahh, not something I was aware of, radios were definately not part of my childhood

called2voyage

Just noticed this:

1

Q: Why is there an inconsistency between SE and SX to represent Space Exploration?

I understand why SX might be chosen over SE, since SE is already a famous acronym for Stack Exchange, but I don't understand why SE and SX are both used for Space Exploration. For example, in the title bar in the browser, both SpaceEx main and meta use "SE", but the chat uses "SX". On the user ...

bug

PearsonArtPhoto

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pearsonartphoto.AJEG

lh3.ggpht.com/…

RhysW

Oh! I vaguely remember that!

i remember everyone by icon though, not name, so you changed it and i didnt make the link

PearsonArtPhoto

LOL. Yeah, I was an aardvark for about 2 years.

RhysW

14:02

yeah i remember now, i'm a bit scatterbrained at times

PearsonArtPhoto

My avatar and name has been chosen to attempt to make me a little bit of money the entire time I've been here.

RhysW

honestly i didnt make any connection or thought about any connection atall, i presumed it was an art gallery somewhere i didnt know about

PearsonArtPhoto

I should state, stress the little. I've never made much money from the internet, but I haven't really tried...

One of these days I really should finish my Aardvark Game... I was going to put an Aardvark in a spacesuit at some point in time...

RhysW

oh god, i think i will fail miserably at it, i always fail when i need to click something different to whats written

Stack Exchange

2

Q: Why is there an inconsistency between SE and SX to represent Space Exploration?

I understand why SX might be chosen over SE, since SE is already a famous acronym for Stack Exchange, but I don't understand why SE and SX are both used for Space Exploration. For example, in the title bar in the browser, both SpaceEx main and meta use "SE", but the chat uses "SX". On the user ...

bug

PearsonArtPhoto

14:04

My next program no doubt will be an Amateur Radio program, I really should work on that...

RhysW

yeah i should get started on my personal project too, though i should have picked something smaller to start with

but eh, i like a challenge

PearsonArtPhoto

Sweet! Grace Note is going to write up an answer to my question, including full details!

10

Q: What is the Stack Exchange (Staff) process of launching a site?

I've heard bits and pieces from various sources, but I would really like to know, what does the Stack Exchange staff do to launch a new site? What are the milestones? I'm talking about Area 51 milestones, reviews to leave private and public beta, other reviews that might happen along the path dur...

discussion area51 stackexchange beta-phase

called2voyage

awesome

@UV-D Your security question is number 3 on the SuperCollider

PearsonArtPhoto

My Venus question is about half-way up there.

A few more views/votes might get it up there enough.

called2voyage

I noticed that too

UV-D

14:17

excellent!

PearsonArtPhoto

MSO repcap almost certain for me today:-)

RhysW

@PearsonArtPhoto consider it done!

UV-D

where is that collider again?

RhysW

top left, same place where your inbox is

UV-D

aaaah yes

RhysW

14:20

the little arrow pointing down next to the StackExchange logo

wait, planetary science questions are on topic here?

UV-D

yup, got it - oh I am famous

PearsonArtPhoto

I need to say bye to SE for now. It's too distracting for the moment. Will be back when I can be here and not be distracted...

RhysW

cya Pearson

UV-D

autographs are $400 each or the equivalent in ice cream

PearsonArtPhoto

6

Q: Science in / vs space exploration - is there a boundary?

There is at least one question, which really bugs me: How hard is the Lunar surface? Yes, this is science. Yes, it is planetary science. Yes, it is about space instruments, landings, engineering, data, modelling, understanding space objects and space exploration in the first place. I have a har...

discussion scope

RhysW

14:21

@UV-D autographed ice-cream please

UV-D

cya soon @PearsonArtPhoto

@RhysW yes, yes indeed

RhysW

@PearsonArtPhoto brilliant, that gives astro even more overlap here than i thought

maybe i have more use here than i thought then

called2voyage

@RhysW Where have you been? ;)

RhysW

@called2voyage when i 'left' planetary science wasn't in the scope, so assumed it still wasn't

called2voyage

@RhysW Ah, now I feel bad for having never noticed that you 'left'.

RhysW

14:25

when im part of a site, im here daily, so its usually easy to spot when i 'leave' :P

less so here though, a busy chat

UV-D

now @RhysW your homework is to answer my Mars supervolcano question... chop chop!

RhysW

there is a mars super volcano question?

UV-D

there is a mars supervolcano question!

written by yours truly

RhysW

linky linky?

UV-D

3

Q: What are the resource implications of the prevalence of supervolcanoes on Mars?

According to the article "Supervolcanoes Rocked Early Mars" (Vergano, 2013), there is evidence that supervolcanic activity has occurred on the red planet. Also, it is believed some features identified as craters are in fact the collapsed remains of ancient supervolcanic eruptions (calderas). ...

mars colonization resources

RhysW

14:32

i never can understand what your questions are :P mind dumbing it down so someone with the IQ of a rock can understand it? (as a summary in here of course, not changing the actual question)

called2voyage

basically he's asking two questions

RhysW

ooooh bad uv-d

called2voyage

1) What are the minerals and other raw materials left on Mars by supervolcanoes?

UV-D

a tl:dr?

called2voyage

2) How would these be useful to missions on Mars?

RhysW

14:33

@UV-D no i read it all, i just didnt understand the question

thanks c2v

UV-D

I think I'll edit them in

called2voyage

@RhysW It's not bad, the two questions are close enough together to share unity. And the second question is the central one, it just relies on the first.

RhysW

i swear my brain takes days off, some days i just dont understand anything atall

UV-D

bam

RhysW

is that the sound of you smacking sense into me with a rock?

UV-D

14:37

nah, that would be a kerthump

called2voyage

lol

RhysW

...if anyone teaches manish's bot to smack me with a rock i will be sad :P

UV-D

wait a sec... I have forgotten to do something

called2voyage

Edit looks great, UV-D now we have a solid technical title

UV-D

sadness.... hiss..... spit

haven't hissed and spat all day

called2voyage

14:39

and a differently worded question in the body for clarity

RhysW

@called2voyage maybe i should apply my stupidity to every question if it leads to nice edits like that :D

UV-D

@RhysW that sunds like wisdom

RhysW

i do love sunds

called2voyage

@RhysW In all seriousness, yes. If something is difficult to understand, then clarification never hurts.

Obviously there are limits to how far we should "dumb things down"

RhysW

im always wary of edits though, making it appeal to novies might not make it appeal to experts who would search the technical terms

called2voyage

14:40

But generally it is good to have at least a common explanation of things

@RhysW It doesn't hurt to have both.

As long as the common explanation is technically accurate, it shouldn't scare away experts.

UV-D

@called2voyage model of a technical heading and a generalised question in body sounds good

called2voyage

@UV-D Generally, yes. Sometimes we do retroactively edit posts to have common-language headings when they become popular.

UV-D

holy crud my question on Sec.SE has had 577 views

called2voyage

It makes them easier to process on the SuperCollider

UV-D

true

I have to go back to work on Tuesday :(

called2voyage

14:43

aw, no furlough for you? ;)

RhysW

:P

you could always quit

called2voyage

We're not being very supportive.

lol

UV-D

HA HA HA HA AHA HA HA

i'll set my 9th graders on to you

RhysW

ah you teach, im sorry :P

David Freitag

@UV-D oh please god no

called2voyage

14:45

David pops in just because he's afraid of some 9th graders.

David Freitag

Nah, i just got to work

UV-D

worse, i'll set my 8th graders on to you

called2voyage

@DavidFreitag just got to work...time to procrastinate. ;)

David Freitag

@UV-D I'll build a barricade of washing machines around your home.

@called2voyage It's never not time to procrastinate.

called2voyage

@DavidFreitag It's always never time to never not have time to procrastinate.

UV-D

14:47

procrastination..... hiss...ah I'll spit tomorrow...

called2voyage

And now we're all procrastinating to post a reply.

UV-D

I noticed that

David Freitag

Procrastination is an art form.

called2voyage

Procrastination is a...I'll decide what it is later.

UV-D

later .... hiss......spit

called2voyage

14:51

I thought you weren't going to spit until tomorrow?

UV-D

got clogged up

David Freitag

So they're tearing up the parking lot at work

UV-D

hmmm got a downvote on the Sec.SE question

David Freitag

all i can hear is a thousand hammers smashing pavement and all i can smell is... burning pavement.

@UV-D linky?

called2voyage

Mmm, the fresh smell of burning pavement in the morning.

Oh, wait...that's the coffee pot at work.

UV-D

14:56

12

Q: Can a steel woven wallet prevent RFID scanning of credit card information?

According to the Popular Mechanics article RFID Credit Cards and Theft: Tech Clinic, the fact that many new credit/debit cards have a RFID chip embedded on it, there is a risk (albeit, small according to the article) that the card would be 'skimmed' - from the article: RFID cards do have a un...

credit-card protection rfid

David Freitag

wow, Sec.SE jumped at the opportunity to answer that one... weird.

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