1010011010's New Writeups

drawing room (place)

2006-12-10T18:41:17Z

A room off of a primary entertaining parlour into which excitable Victorian lasses in too-tight corsets could withdraw to recover their composure and breath.

As the necessity of respiration was slowly recognized in women and the art of swooning fell into disfavour, the withdrawing room metamorphosized into a room, still adjunct to a great hall, into which cohorts might conduct business in a more private setting. Keeping in mind the previous function, and the predictably comfortable furniture for supporting persons in repose, you can imagine just what sort of "business" was often conducted. It wasn't accounting. Corsets were still loosened, if you get my drift.

In a modern era of baggy unisex clothing and sensible shoes, "drawing room" is a witty-sounding name for art supply stores. A parallel could be drawn between the withdrawing room and the chill-out room available at some dance clubs (first function) or champagne room at some strip clubs (second function).

USS Scorpion (thing)

2003-04-03T23:31:52Z

SSN-589

Only two nuclear powered US submarines have been unintentionally sunk. The other is the USS Thresher (SSN-593).

She was a 3500ton Skipjack class fast attack submarine comissioned in July 1960 and built in Groton, CT by the General Dynamics Corporation, Electric Boat Division.

Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, she made several European tours before settling into a schedule of war games to develop tactics for the Skipjack class submarines. Following an overhaul in 1967 she was again placed on Mediteranean deployment in 1968.

On return to Norfolk something catastrophic occurred 22MAY1968 and all hands were lost. What that "something" happens to be has not yet been conclusively determined. Current data generally favors the "hot-running" torpedo hypothesis, with the torpedo exploding either within the tube or being launched and turning on the nearest target in the vicinity- the Scorpion.

A secondary hypothesis, based on the…

USS Thresher (thing)

2003-03-29T19:07:29Z

SSN-593

Only two nuclear powered US submarines have been unintentionally sunk. The other is the USS Scorpion (SSN-589).

She was the first ship of a new class of submarine and was commissioned in 1961 after being built in Kittery, Maine, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Being the first ship of the class, her first two years were spent undergoing various tests and sea trials in the Caribbean and Atlantic.

As is normal, she was dry docked for overhaul following the initial trials, the crew refreshed, and sent out again for a second set of sea trials in 1963.

As air expands it cools, any moisture contained in the air or near the inlet port may be cooled below its freezing point. While undergoing emergency ballasting drills it is believed that the valves to the ballast tanks became ice bound, limiting the flow of air into the tanks below the level required to allow the ship to achieve the bouyancy necessary to surface.

Since it was on…

Gyrotwister (idea)

2003-03-29T00:05:36Z

If you put a gyroscope on the end of a hinged bar attached to a base that's free to rotate, with the hinged bar sticking a couple degrees off vertical something very interesting to watch happens. The whole assembly will rotate on it's base as the hinged bar with the gyroscope falls over.

You can also start the gyroscope with the bar horizontal and rotate the base back and forth by hand, and the hinged bar will move up and down.

I don't know where to begin with explaining the physics involved, but the gyrotwister works on a similar concept. As you change the angle (e.g. roll your wrist around) the gyroscope rotates radially (I.E. not along its axis) inside it's spherical casing. The spindle of the gyroscope is loosely fitted into a groove along the inside of the casing, and the radial motion in one axis increases the friction enough for there to be some grip between the spindle and it's guide track, while radial motion in the other axis rolls the spindle along…

Sexuality and biology (idea)

2003-03-21T04:48:41Z

biology != genetics

There are several avenues available to make a legitimate case that sexual orientation is biologically based without ever mentioning genes or, shudder, selective advantage. Furthermore, it's possible to mention genetics without having to bandy about the gay gene concept.

Talk about prenatal hormone exposure. Talk about the psychosomatic effect on a pregnant woman of perceived overpopulation. Talk about sex-swapping Amazonian frogs. Talk at length about the sexual habis of Bonobos.

And then get back to the original point: There's a bit of a contradiction in declaring being attracted to someone of the same sex is a choice, while also asserting being attracted to someone of a differing sex is not a choice. Besides a couple of fairly confused people I knew in highschool that thought it was trendy, I have never known of anyone that claimed to be able to choose to be attracted to someone... much less choose to be attracted to someone that's…

NACLC (thing)

2003-02-23T08:25:08Z

"National Agency Check with Local agency check and Credit check"
This is the minimum security investigation required to be granted a "Secret" clearance from the Department of Defense.

The investigation usually amounts to little more than a collection of your employment and residence history and running this information through the relevant law enforcement and financial institutions.

If this doesn't turn up anything suspicious the investigation is declared satisfactory and you'll get your security clearance. If anything does turn up, your records will be consulted to see if the incident is already disclosed and proper waivers included. If a previously undisclosed incident (or a significant discrepancy between the disclosed and investigated versions) is discovered you will be called upon to clarify the situation.

Outstanding past due debts must be brought current and kept there to acquire and maintain the clearance. A…