New U.S. President

[garo]

Umm okay, if you want American children to learn science using 40 year old technology, WTG man you're going to be the scientific leaders of teh world. Do you have any idea how hard it is to source parts for 40 year old planetarium projectors? Do you want to wait till the whole thing breaks down and then put in a request to Congress and wait two years while it gets worked on and not have a projecter in a planetarium for that period?

[davieddy]

As a physics teacher, I lamented the decline in the
Geometrical Optics content of the syllabus.

When exactly did Carl Zeiss live?

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by garo

Umm okay, if you want American children to learn science using 40 year old technology, WTG man you're going to be the scientific leaders of teh world. Do you have any idea how hard it is to source parts for 40 year old planetarium projectors? Do you want to wait till the whole thing breaks down and then put in a request to Congress and wait two years while it gets worked on and not have a projecter in a planetarium for that period?

When I was in junior high school, one of the sciences teachers built
his own planetarium out of a slide projector, plastic gears, cardboard,
etc. etc. It was suspended from his classroom ceiling and the dome
was about 10' x 10' in size. It worked surprisingly well.

[garo]

I think there is a difference between a classroom model planetarium - I say well done to your teacher - and what we are talking about here. You cannot deny that the "real one" has the power to inspire and make things more interesting to the less motivated student.

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by davieddy

As a physics teacher, I lamented the decline in the
Geometrical Optics content of the syllabus.

When exactly did Carl Zeiss live?

1816-1888

[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by davieddy

1816-1888

Yeah, but even though he lived in the 19th century, I betcha he was a Nazi sympathizer ... just like his countryman, that Ree-shard Wagner dude. [Who similarly was against the Surge, as well as being skeptical of several other McCain policy initiatives.]

Getting back to the non-facetious: One small comfort I take from the economic implosion [besides the fact that housing may once again be semi-affordable in the next few years] is that it makes it less likely that McCain and Pretty-head-full-of-ugly-ideas [I am tempted to call her simply "that one", but that's McCain's latest pet dehumanizing euphemism for Obama] will win in November. That means I may not find myself forced to emigrate in the coming year.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by garo

Umm okay, if you want American children to learn science using 40 year old technology, WTG man you're going to be the scientific leaders of teh world.

For most of the teaching that most kids need, a $1,500 projector (like is in many classrooms today) and a $1,500 laptop (like is in most classrooms) running software that costs less than $200 (some is free) would do well. The person operating it makes a bigger difference than the projector.

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

Yeah, but even though he lived in the 19th century, I betcha he was a Nazi sympathizer ... just like his countryman, that Ree-shard Wagner dude. [Who similarly was against the Surge, as well as being skeptical of several other McCain policy initiatives.]

As Winshton Churchill once said:
In the morning I will be sober

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by mdettweiler

Well, I for one had never heard of this projector thing prior to the debate--could someone enlighten me as to what exactly this projector is supposed to do that their old one doesn't?

Easy to miss in the middle of the quote from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adler_Planetarium) was:

"The current Zeiss Mark VI projector is 40 years old and no longer supported by its manufacturer, Carl Zeiss AG."

It's mechanically complicated, and parts need repair or replacing once in a while, but can no longer be obtained from the manufacturer.

It's not so much a matter of the new one doing more than the old one (though it probably will), it's a matter of having a working one at all. Adler Planetarium (which was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark over twenty years ago) wouldn't be requesting a new one if they were able to keep the old one going.

[Zeta-Flux]

[Editor's Note: This is the first post in a deficit-spending discussion which arose in ther Subprime/Global-Fiscal-Crisis thread - I copied the first post of this discussion here, and physically moved the ensuing ones over.]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

But at least "they didn't raise your taxes" ... they just mortgaged the nation's future to pay for the profligate spending of their "smaller government".

ewmayer, the national debt was just about doubled, in one week, by congress and senate, run by democrats. I imagine that almost every Republican who voted for the bill and who comes up for re-election will be voted out of office. That's partially because a majority of Americans (but especially the Republicans) did not want the bill. I just don't understand how you can blame the debt solely on Republicans.

On the other hand, I personally am sick of the ones we've elected. They do not represent the party of low taxes and lower spending.

[Xyzzy]

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