reporterpenguin

While many modern weapons do have mind boggling yields in to them megaton range, I’d guess those are mostly used as a manhood measuring contest. Should nuclear weapons ever be used in anger they would surely have yields closer to, or even below, those dropped on Japan. Unless you’re literally trying to wipe a country off the map what’s the point of using something with a yield measured in megatons? That said, trying to think rationally about how they’d be used probably isn’t the most representative way of considering it…

A classic

FIA seeks rule changes after president allegations https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cy89xevxp1jo The best way to answer questions about your conduct? Ban questions.

As our resident South Korean expert, what do you think he was trying to achieve?

I can't work out what I think of the Hunter Biden pardon. He's admitted guilt and there seems little doubt about it. However the argument that because of who his father is he has been subjected to the absolute fullest strength of the law, unlike 99% of similar cases, does hold water. The way the Republican's successfully campaigned for the plea deal to be withdrawn is also obviously partisan and done because of his name. On a human level I completely understand it, Hunter is obviously a deeply troubled soul and as the only surviving son you can understand Joe Biden doing whatever he can to protect him, especially as it seems a lot of these legal issues have been made so much worse because of his politics. But it does wreak of hypocrisy and isn't a good look... I suppose my head thinks it's wrong, while my heart thinks it's the right thing to have done.

It wreaked of them trying to keep the constructors championship close going into the final weekend. From what I've read, Leclerc didn't lift for the double yellows either, and I'd bet plenty of others didn't, but it was only the McLaren that got a penalty. For what it's worth I think he 100% deserved a penalty, it's a safety issue and yellow flag procedures have to be followed. But earlier in the season didn't Max only get a reprimand for not lifting in yellows? Whereas Norris effectively got a 35 second penalty. Somewhere in between a reprimand and a 10 second stop-go would seem fairer, either a 5 or 10 second time penalty? In the alternate universe where Sainz didn't get a puncture from the debris, I doubt Norris's penalty would have been so severe as to drop him to the back of the order... But as Ferrari were badly affected by the ridiculous decision not to throw a safety car to clear the track, they felt they had to handicap McLaren to keep the title race close. Reading that back does make me feel like I should be wearing a tin foil hat, but with the state the FIA is in at the moment it wouldn't surprise me.

Though Jenrick gave it a good go, arguing that "activist courts in Strasbourg" would interfere. The only smear on an otherwise sensitively held debate in the Commons yesterday, not that you'd expect anything else from him and his new ECHR hobbyhorse.

Assisted dying bill passes on to the next stage. Very happy with that, I think it's a travesty that we treat our pets better than our fellow humans at the end of their lives.

That was a clear penalty on Mavididi, even trying to be neutral I don’t understand how that isn’t given. And to be balanced, I thought Wilf was fortunate not to see red in the first half.

My favourite bit was when Radio Leicester’s commentary dropped out for 5 minutes in the second half

Or deny ever saying it declaring all the evidence of him saying it as fake news

And he wasn't born in the US which thankfully rules him out

That's the only slither of comfort I'm taking from it, while Musk has his ear (they'll spectacularly fall out at some point) it's going to be good for space exploration.

Trump himself said as much on Joe Rogan.

As others have said, think of it as an extra tax you only pay if, as it should, university has helped you be in a position to earn more. I got a great education and it’s my circumstances that mean I’m not earning enough to pay it back at this point. Most of my friends from uni are earning a decent wage because of their degrees and are paying something back. Good luck to your daughter, what’s she hoping to do?

I only look at my balance when I need a laugh. I was in the first year of £9k fees, ended up taking 5 years to do a 3 year course because of health stuff, so left uni with about £70k in loans. Fast forward a few years and it’s now nudging £100k which is hilarious, the interest for this financial year (so far) has added £3.5k. I’d love to be in a position to pay it back, but I’m not. It’s an extra tax that I’m happy to pay for the education I got, much better to see it that way rather than as a debt to be repaid.

On that subject, for anyone desperate to make a guaranteed whopping 1% return, the best odds from a couple of different bookies (via OddsChecker) allow that at the moment if you bet in the right ratio. Yes, I need to get out more.

Amen to this, fascinating hearing her perspective and understanding what the teams are weighing up in real time. It's a good reminder that however much we focus on the drivers or to a lesser extent the team principals their's an army of people behind the scenes making it all happen. She's got a lot more relaxed the more she's been part of their team as well, fits in well.

I hate to say it, but he has had bad luck so far this weekend with the timings of the flags prior to the race. Karma in action I guess…

Lance Stroll truly should be an inspiration to each and every one of us. If he can be a professional F1 driver the sky is the limit for all of us*. *If your dad is a multibillionaire

I did get to use this once which was pretty cool Though as it came with its own building and was on top of a volcano I'm guessing it might be a bit out of your budget?

I've got that Skywatcher and it's a decent beginner scope. Plus points: - It's a good sized aperture, - Nice and compact - You're spending the money on optics rather than fancy electronics or mounts - I'm a big fan of the red dot finder, especially once you get used to it Downsides: - I'm not a fan of the focus, it's a screw rather than a rack and pinion which is more common. This can make it hard to maintain the focus and is easily knocked. - It's not particularly evenly balanced so making fine adjustments to where you're looking can be tricky - Being a partially truss tube it can get some funny reflections if there's an inconvenient light source around. They do a slightly smaller 100P which has a better focuser, better balanced, is a solid tube, and is cheaper. The downside of course is that you're losing a lot of collecting area (~40%) so what you see will be a lot dimmer. I'd definitely recommend considering what @leicsmac and @SpacedX suggested about binoculars, they're a great way to get going. Again though, you're getting a lot less collecting area and, as they say, size really does matter... It also depends on what you want to look at. If you want to see faint objects like galaxies, clusters, and nebulae, you want as much collecting area as you can which generally means a Newtonian (like those Skywatchers). If you're more interested on seeing things like planets and the moon which are a lot brighter by need more magnification you need a longer focal length, so a reflector is better suited. You can look at anything with either of those, but each has advantages. There are all sorts of fancy designs that use a combination of lenses and mirrors, but they start off eyewateringly expensive and only go up in price from there. A final point I'd make, genuinely without sounding negative, is to have realistic expectations about what you'll see. The moon does pretty much look like the photos, but even things like Jupiter are basically large dots with some hazy features. Galaxies and nebulae often look not a much more than faint smudges, but you do learn how to see more detail in them as you get used to using a telescope. On a clear night with dark skies you can just about discern the bands of dust in Andromeda with the 130P. That is not in anyway to say it's not spectacular though, there's something incredible about seeing with your own eyes objects so unimaginably enormous and far away. It's can be a very powerful experience that makes you feel both very very small, and strangely huge that you're seeing them with your own eyes.

Verstappen dropped to 4th after getting a 5 second penalty for the VSC infringement. Poor Max, so unfair that the rules apply to him. I assume that’ll be something like Horner’s response?

Maybe they could split it like in a divorce? Trump gets it on the weekend and every third Friday?

The best way I have seen it described is that the workers of today support the retired previous generation through their taxes. We may like to think that what we pay in is kind of stashed away for us for when we're older, but in reality that's not how it works. Accordingly the circumstances of the time affect the whole population, working and retired. As the ratio of workers to pensioners gets ever smaller, it's currently 3.5 workers per pensioner, the strain on supporting pensioners gets ever harder. And that's not even taking into account that we're living so much longer, and are costing more and more in terms of healthcare. It's not saying the aged are the problem, it's just acknowledging that we're now in a time where the cost of supporting those who are deservedly retired after years of paying in are unfortunately a greater cost as a whole. The support today's retirees saw, and paid for, their predecessors to get isn't possible due to the changing demographic. It's not their fault and it may not be fair, but it's the way it is.