Interesting...and not so interesting.

[n2tattoos.lol]

Take a blind test to see whether you actually prefer Google, Yahoo!, or Bing search results. Techcrunch points out that people always think they prefer Google but will choose the results from other search engines when the branding is switched or obscured, so this is a neat way of actually putting that to the test. I got Yahoo!, and was secretly disappointed.

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[Five Inch Taint]

We've all asked this question at some point: How long would it take to travel to the stars? And could I do it in my lifetime? There are many answers to this possibility, some very simple, others in the realms of science fiction. To make this easier to answer, we'll address how long it would take to travel to the nearest star to the solar system, Proxima Centauri. Unfortunately, any route you take to the stars will be slow, even if you are powered by the most powerful nuclear propulsion technology?

In April, I examined how long it takes to travel to the Moon. We took the fast-track with New Horizons Pluto mission, powering past Earth's only natural satellite in a mere eight hours and 35 minutes. We also had the leisurely ion drive-propelled SMART-1 mission that trundled its way to the Moon for 13 months. So, from the speedy rocket-propelled spacecraft to the economical ion drive, we have a few options open to us when flying around local space (plus we could use Jupiter or Saturn for a hefty gravitational slingshot). But say if we build a dedicated mission to somewhere a little more extreme?


The nearest star to Earth is our Sun. It is a fairly "average" star in the Hertzsprung ? Russell diagram's "Main Sequence." Our Sun is surprisingly stable, providing Earth with just the right sunlight for life to evolve on our planet. We know there are planets orbiting other stars near to the Solar System, but could they support life as efficiently as our Sun? In the future, should mankind wish to leave the Solar System, we'll have a huge choice of stars we could travel to, and many could have the right conditions for life to thrive. But where would we go and how long would it take for us to get there?

First choice would probably be Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. Part of a triple star system called Alpha Centauri; Proxima is 4.22 light years from Earth. Alpha Centauri is actually the brightest star of the three in the system, and so the system is named after this star. Alpha Centauri is part of a closely orbiting binary about 4.37 light years from Earth, but Proxima Centauri (the dimmest of the three) is an isolated red dwarf star 0.15 light years from the binary. Red dwarf stars generate far less energy than our Sun, so we'd have to find a planet in a closer orbit to this red dwarf to sustain life as we know it.


Interstellar travel probably conjures up some outlandish theories about the technology we could use to get there. Star Trek's warp drive will have to wait and stay in the "sci-fi" category for now, it is more likely any deep space trip will take generations rather than a few days. So, starting with one of the slowest forms of space travel, how long will it take to get to Proxima Centauri? Remember, this is all conjecture as there is currently no benchmark for interstellar trips?

Slowest: Ion drive propulsion, 81,000 years
Ion drive propulsion was considered to be science fiction only a few decades ago. In recent years however, the technology to support ion propulsion has moved from theory and into practice in a big way. The ESA SMART-1 mission for example successfully completed its mission to the Moon after taking a 13 month spiral path from the Earth. SMART-1 used solar powered ion thrusters, where electrical energy was harvested from its solar panels and used to power its Hall-effect thrusters. Only 82 kg of xenon propellant was used to propel SMART-1 to the Moon. 1 kg of xenon propellant provided a delta-v of 45 m/s. This is a highly efficient form of propulsion, but it is by no means fast.


One of the first missions to use ion drive technology was the 1998 Deep Space 1 mission to Comet Borrelly. DS1 also used a xenon-powered ion drive, consuming 81.5 kg of propellant. Over 20 months of thrusting, DS1 was designed to reach a cometary flyby velocity of 56,000 km/hr (35,000 miles/hr).

Ion thrusters are therefore more economical than rocket technology as the thrust per unit mass of propellant (a.k.a. specific impulse) is far higher, but it takes a long time for ion thrusters to accelerate spacecraft to any great velocity. As the maximum velocity of ion thruster-powered spacecraft depends on the amount of fuel it can carry and the amount of electricity it can generate, although slow, if ion thrusters were to be used for a non-time critical mission to Proxima Centauri, the ion thrusters would need a huge source of energy production (i.e. nuclear power) and a large quantity of propellant (although not as large as less-economical forms of space travel, such as rockets). As interstellar ion engines do not exist yet, I will quickly calculate how long it would take for an interplanetary ion engine spacecraft, like Deep Space 1 to travel to our nearest stellar neighbour.


Assuming all the 81.5 kg of xenon propellant translates into a maximum velocity of 56,000 km/hr (assuming there is no other forms of propulsion, such as a gravitational slingshot, and this velocity remains constant for the duration of the journey), Deep Space 1 would take over 81,000 years to travel the 4.3 light years (or 1.3 parsecs) from Earth to Proxima Centauri. To put that time-scale into perspective, that would be over 2,700 human generations. So I think we can categorically say, interplanetary ion engine mission speeds are far too tiny to be considered for manned interstellar missions. But, should ion thrusters be made bigger and more powerful (i.e. ion exhaust velocity would need to be higher), with enough propellant for the spacecraft's entire 4.3 light year trip, the 81,000 years would be greatly reduced.

Fastest: Gravitational assists, 19,000 years

The 1976 Helios 2 mission was launched to study the interplanetary medium from 0.3AU to 1AU to the Sun. At the time, Helios 1 (launched in 1974) and Helios 2 held the record for closest approach to the Sun. However, to this day, Helios 2 holds the record for fastest ever spacecraft to travel in space. Helios 2 was launched by a conventional NASA Titan/Centaur launch vehicle (the craft itself was built in Germany) and placed in a highly elliptical orbit. Due to the large eccentricity (e=0.54) of the 190 day solar orbit, at perihelion Helios 2 was able to reach a maximum velocity of over 240,000 km/hr (150,000 miles/hr). This orbital speed was attained by the gravitational pull of the Sun alone.

Gravitational assists are a very useful spaceflight technique, especially when using the Earth or massive planets for a much needed boost in velocity. The Voyager 1 probe for example used Saturn and Jupiter for gravitational slingshots to attain its current 60,000 km/hr (38,000 miles/hr) interstellar velocity. Technically, the Helios 2 perihelion velocity was not a gravitational slingshot, it was a maximum orbital velocity, but it still holds the record for being the fastest manmade object regardless.

So, if Voyager 1 was travelling in the direction of the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, how long would it take to get there? At a constant velocity of 60,000 km/hr, it would take 76,000 years (or over 2,500 generations) to travel that distance. And what if we could attain the record-breaking speed of Helios 2's close approach of the Sun? Travelling at a constant speed of 240,000 km/hr, Helios 2 would take 19,000 years (or over 600 generations) to travel 4.3 light years.

Again, these speeds are prohibitively slow for any quick forms of transportation to the stars. Other technologies are required (wormholes, warp drives and teleportation will remain in the "sci-fi" drawer for now)?

Fastest (theoretical): Nuclear Pulse Propulsion, 85 years

Nuclear pulse propulsion is a theoretically possible form of fast space travel. Very early on in the development of the development of the atomic bomb, nuclear pulse propulsion was proposed in 1947 and Project Orion was born in 1958 to investigate interplanetary space travel. In a nutshell, Project Orion hoped to harness the power of pulsed nuclear explosions to provide a huge thrust with very high specific impulse. It is a major advantage to extract maximum energy from a spacecraft's fuel to minimize cost and maximize range, therefore a high specific impulse creates faster, longer-range spaceflight for minimum investment.


For archived prototype video of pulsed propulsion using conventional explosives, watch this video ?

The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 is largely attributed to the cancellation of Project Orion (due to the obvious design flaw that huge amounts of radioactive waste would be pumped into space), but what kind of velocities could a nuclear pulse propulsion spaceship attain? Some estimates suggest a ballpark figure of 5% the speed of light (or 5.4?107 km/hr). So assuming a spacecraft could travel at these speeds, it would take a Project Orion-type craft approximately 85 years to travel from the Earth to Proxima Centauri.

In conclusion, if you were hoping to travel to the nearest star within your lifetime, the outlook isn't very good. However, if mankind felt the incentive to build an "interstellar ark" filled with a self-sustaining community of space-faring humans, it might be possible to travel there in a little under a century if we developed nuclear pulse technology. So your descendents may touch down on a planet closely orbiting Proxima Centauri, but unless we make a breakthrough in interstellar travel (and science fiction becomes more like science fact), we'll be stuck with long-term, pedestrian transits for the foreseeable (and distant) future?

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[Five Inch Taint]

Bible Answer: Just recently I came across a passage of Scripture that seems to deal with masturbation.

"'When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. (Lev 15:16-18)

Notice verse 18 deals with seminal emission during sexual intercourse, but verse 16 is speaking of a seminal emission that does not occur as a result of intercourse. If this is indeed a reference to masturbation, the matter-of-fact way in which God deals with this matter certainly indicates that no feelings of shame should be attached to it. He simply said, "Go take a bath."

It seems to me that if God were really bothered by such a practice, then He missed a teachable moment here in this passage. Since He clearly condemns sexual intercourse between men in Leviticus 18:22 and says "that is detestable", I think that if He had really wanted us to avoid this particular practice, He would at least have said something like "That is disgusting" instead of "Go take a bath."

Masturbation has been around for a long time, and since God does not clearly condemn it, I would not be too bothered with it either. Masturbation is practice far more than adultery or fornication yet God is practically silent on the issue. This ought to tell you that God is not overly concern with it.

However, let me caution you against addiction to masturbation. Just like most things, masturbation can turn into an addiction. If you find yourself constantly?several times a day?masturbating then you can be reasonably sure that you have a sexual addiction. Paul said, "'Everything is permissible for me'?but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Cor 6:12). This includes masturbation. Also, you should never use pornography to masturbate, and if you are married, keep your thoughts on your wife. It is the same sin to make love to your wife while thinking about another woman as it is to masturbate while thinking about another woman. Concerning single people, I have no advice other than a prohibition to pornography.

If a believer uses masturbation to alleviate sexual temptation that's far better than actually being tempted to commit fornication or adultery. I would rather have a man masturbate than go to a prostitute.

Another thought, if masturbation is sinful, then you would expect there to be bad health consequences to it, such as found in adultery, homosexuality, and fornication (diseases for one thing). Instead, research has found that masturbation serves to release sexual tension. If a man is prevented from having sexual release, then the seminal fluids can back up, causing increased sexual tension and physical discomfort. It also increases the risk of prostate inflammation. This might explain why priests who practice celibacy and who view masturbation as sinful have a higher rate of prostate cancer.

Since there are proven medical benefits to masturbation, it is difficult to make a biblical and reasonable case against it.

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[n2tattoos.lol]

[FortySuz&Two]

COOL FACTS ABOUT HUMAN BODY

Scientists say the higher your I.Q. The more you dream.
The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.
You use 200 muscles to take one step.
The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man.
Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.
A pair of human feet contains 250,000 sweat glands. There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.
The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.
The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopaedia Britannica
It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.
The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.
Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.
At the moment of conception, you spent about half an hour as a single cell.
Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.
The enamel in your teeth is the hardest substance in your body.
Your teeth start growing 6 months before you are born.
Your thumb is the same length as your nose.
If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side, and vice versa.
If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.
The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45 percent when a person looks at something pleasing.
The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.
Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die.
Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.
The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.
Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
In one day, a human sheds 10 billion skin flakes. This amounts to approximately two kilograms in a year. Every square inch of the human body has about 19,000,000 skin cells.
Every hour one billion cells in the body must be replaced.
The human body makes anywhere from 1 to 3 pints of saliva every 24 hours.
The adult human body requires about 88 pounds of oxygen daily.
The width of your arm span stretched out is the length of your whole body.
There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. You don't see all of them because most are too fine and light to be noticed.
The average persons heart rate increases when they hear the word 'Orsm'. It's not uncommon for hot girls to pass out due to the excitement.
Dead cells in the body ultimately go to the kidneys for excretion.
By walking an extra 20 minutes every day, an average person will burn off seven pounds of body fat in a year. Also the same amount of calories are burned by doing 6 sessions that are 5 minutes each of an activity and doing 1 session of that activity for 30 minutes.
There are approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.
Each day 400 gallons of recycled blood are pumped through the kidneys.
The slowest growing finger nail is on the thumb nail and the fastest growing is the finger nail on the middle finger.
The human liver performs over 500 functions.

[FortySuz&Two]

how many of you just held you thumb to your nose?

[McHookerino]

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sonofabitch!

[Five Inch Taint]

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I did compare my bladder to a softball.

[Five Inch Taint]

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.

[strommsarnac]

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"Your thumb is the same length as your nose."

My thumb is longer. Good thing my penis is too.