The Maelstrom wasn't spectacular, but was easily one of the ride highlights of EPCOT circa 1991 when I visited. It was fairly short, and kind of a cross between a scenic boat ride like the (infamous) Small World and a flume ride. The most impressive part was the three-headed troll encounter at the end. First you were startled by the appearance of the troll, which then "cast a spell" on your boat which strikingly sparkled through the air over you (hidden lights in the dark, but really dazzling at first glance). Then you went down a fairly typical flume slide, made a bit more exciting by being unexpectedly backwards in semi-darkness. Fun, though not something you felt compelled to ride over and over.
Back in the '80s, in the parking lot of the Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey, I saw a car with the NY plate: "QQOQQOQO" which I assume was someone's attempt at what the xkcd strip above was depicting. I wonder how it worked for him?
As I said to my wife the other day at the Wal-Mart, while the self-checkout kept telling us to put down items we'd already put down, and to wait for assistance after scanning each item -- "Oh, yeah. We'll have those self-driving cars any day now..."
No foreseeable self-driving car is going to have the breadth of knowledge necessary to make high-level ethical judgements about the consequences of its actions. It might be able to choose what it's going to hit, but determinations about deaths and their likelihood are going to be a matter of guesswork on the part of the programmers at best. I don't see it as worthwhile to kludge-up the already complicated programming with attempts at ethical calculus. The car should try to avoid accidents -- never mind weighting its determinations based on how many people are in which car.
They also have the rubber science of "deflector shields" to work with. Quite possibly the area of the thermal exhaust port, being a hole in the armored hull, is very heavily shielded from a direct attack. The Rebels' trick is to push their fighters through the shields at a weaker point (over some more heavily armored or less vital part of the hull) and then scoot, using the trench as cover, to the secondary thermal exhaust port. Note that there might be numerous secondary thermal ports, but this one is conveniently located right at the end of the trench -- that being the "design flaw" referenced in the film.
When I was about five or six my parents took me to a "live" appearance (recorded voices and what were probably local actors in suits) by the Banana Splits at Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ. At one point the emcee asked the crowd who their favorite was, and somehow I, a moment before any of the several hundred other kids could respond, blurted out "Snorky!" at the top of my lungs. Snorky, who didn't speak, of course, reacted bashfully, and the poll was ultimately completed with the emcee's determination being that Fleegle, the leader, had been the winner. There was a speech recorded for him, of course, but I was happy to have gotten my opinion heard.
I compared it elsewhere to Clint Howard wearing plastic Devo hair. But I just realized the greatest enigma of the thing -- The artist actually seems to have gone to the trouble of trying to depict Lucy's clothing, down to her necklace, as it actually appeared in the Vitameatavegamin sketch, but didn't even bother with the hair.
I can accept that the features are hideous and bear no resemblance to Lucy -- that's just a matter of talent. But what's with the hair? Did he run out of time?
That official backstory presumably predated the casting, as Bob Denver's Gilligan clearly wasn't old enough to have served in WWII, which was about 25 years prior to the time of the show.
The Skipper could easily have served on in the Navy after the war, though, to be saved by draftee doofus Gilligan, and keep his Little Buddy around after mustering out and buying a tour boat.
"Oh, yeah. We'll have those self-driving cars any day now..."
No foreseeable self-driving car is going to have the breadth of knowledge necessary to make high-level ethical judgements about the consequences of its actions. It might be able to choose what it's going to hit, but determinations about deaths and their likelihood are going to be a matter of guesswork on the part of the programmers at best. I don't see it as worthwhile to kludge-up the already complicated programming with attempts at ethical calculus. The car should try to avoid accidents -- never mind weighting its determinations based on how many people are in which car.
I can accept that the features are hideous and bear no resemblance to Lucy -- that's just a matter of talent. But what's with the hair? Did he run out of time?
The Skipper could easily have served on in the Navy after the war, though, to be saved by draftee doofus Gilligan, and keep his Little Buddy around after mustering out and buying a tour boat.