The old ones were definitely atrocious, but a VPP on an icebreaker in general isn’t a good design choice. From what I’ve heard the USCG/Navy will make an explicit requirement that bars VPP from the next icebreaker design. And you’re absolutely right, it’s the dry docking that’s killing their budget. It means that…

Not quickly. The Canadians finished their design over a year ago, and that ship is 7th on the waiting list at that yard to be built. And honestly none of the existing designs are really a good fit for the USCG’s needs.

“gas turbine exhaust would blow the snow off the ice rather handily...”

We already have carrier gaps due to sequestration (and more gaps on the way). We don’t need more.

The problem with the Polar Class is inherent in their design. Particularly the choice of Variable Pitch Propellers (VPP). They breakdown constantly and as a result the Polar Star’s sister ship has been cannibalized to keep her afloat. She’s also had a handful of significant mechanical failures since that refit in ‘12.…

That would be incorrect. These icebreakers will be billion dollar ships. Their hulls are expensive, we don’t have any shipyards with experience building an icebreaker, and their machinery takes a massive beating (as this article touches on). The list kind of goes on, but the bottom line is these things will be pricey.

Wow. Fascinating stuff. Thanks for the info.

This brings up an interesting precedence. If someone sets up a website with said GIF, and someone with epilepsy that visits that site suffers a seizure, is the site operator liable? Obviously this was intentionally directed toward the journalist, but the scenario is interesting nonetheless. Do folks with epilepsy…

“as soon as any state has viable method of preventing a second strike reprisal the whole thing becomes a race to see who can get their reprisal in before the strike they are avenging hits.”

Padmasree Warrior, CEO NIO US

“But the U.S. Navy has made steady cuts to its anti-submarine capabilities for years now.”

“what you identity with will be changed as we slowly realize we are all connected and shades of brown does not dictated if you have African blood or not.”

“You aren’t talking about utilizing an existing, properly functioning device anymore, but compromising a object for malicious ends.”
 
That’s the case for any CIA exploit. You’re augmenting the software/firmware in some way to allow exploitation. If Amazon managed to design their units to be resistant to this sort of…

“I need some proof of that.”

“She’s a believer that it’s the micro ovens that are doing it.”

“ie the 8 seconds following the trigger word is all it can, physically, record and transmit”

I have no idea what the CIAs capabilities are WRT microwave imaging using commercial microwaves, but from a physics standpoint the theory makes it feasible. In the simplest form, it’s radar (specifically S-band for a commercially available microwave). For more detail, read up on what MIT Media Lab pulled off a few…

Another technical reason for having the OEM do the repair (although certainly not the biggest/deciding factor) is reliability data. If it weren’t for MSFT receiving all of those red ring units, they would never have discovered the root cause. I like the idea of independent repair shops, but I don’t know if there’s…

New to this whole series. Just discovered two movies/episodes on Netflix that are from the “Arise” incarnation. I’d like to work my way through the films. Does anyone know where I might find it streaming in English (preferably without having to buy/rent it)? I’ve got Netflix, Hulu, and HBO subscriptions.