SonicScrub

I don't really see how the Highway 17 situation is unique in the context of winter storms though. As per the comment above this, most transit of East and West goods occurs via other means, meaning the Highway 17 bottleneck is hardly some vital artery. A winter storm shutting down Highway 401 for example is much more economically chaotic, and has the practical impact of making travel through its corridor impractical (and in some circumstances just as impossible as if it were a single bottleneck). This scenario does periodically happen, and people manage just fine since the closures are expected to be short-lived.

So I don't buy the argument that Canada needs the US because of the threat of transit networks being completely cut off. I am much more amiable to the argument that reciprocal road tolls like this would be stupid because they'd increase the cost of goods for all of us (Canadians and Americans alike). As noted earlier, the fastest route between East and West is through the US due to geography. But or course things like this are stupid, and I doubt an argument as to why is required here. Maybe we should pull back and stop doing all this nonsense like arbitrary tariffs on close allied nations? Especially those who's explicit purpose as described by the elected head of state is to threaten the sovereignty of the other?

> before giving up and flying away.

Careful! That's not always a given!

As much as I would love this to happen, a high-speed rail network has been discussed along this corridor for decades at both federal and provincial governments, with no tangible actions to making it actually happen. Given the current Prime Minister is on his way out, and the party likely to follow (barring some large swing in the polls), this is unlikely to go anywhere. I'd love to be wrong though.

If your concern is editorial preference, then wouldn't a social media application explicitly controlled by a State apparatus be a concern?

I fail to see how anything going on at Twitter is relevant to what I mentioned. Does Twitter shifting its content priorities somehow make the plethora of excellence sources unavailable?

> The ideal world order isn't the one where Chinese can't find out what happened on Tiananmen square and Americans can't find out what happened in Gaza.

I don't see how this law banning a social media site brings us at all closer to a world where Americans cannot get access to accurate information about major global conflicts. This is so far down the imagined "slippery slope" as to be absurd. In fact, I'd strongly argue that this law would achieve the opposite. If you're relying on Tik Tok for accurate information like this, then you are opening yourself to echo chambers, biased takes, and outright propaganda. There are many excellent sources out there in America freely available and easily accessible.

Escape into the woods for at least 1 week out of the year with no internet connection. It rekindles my love for reading, and helps keep that fire burning throughout the year.

There used to be a TV channel back in the cable days for this, so this sort of thing is hardly new. It's excellent ambiance for your Christmas party.

It's been a while since I've read the book / seen the movie, but I believe the ship intercepted a resupply payload launched from earth as it was performing it's slingshot.

The 2D model alone maybe be sufficient for OPs needs, but I'd advocate for going at least a little further with some form of 3D model. The wing tip effects are significant enough to warrant some form of "next step" after the initial 2D analysis. Although simple algebraic relationships are likely good enough to satisfy this end.

However, the 3D tools above give you a little bit more, that I feel warrant their consideration by the op. These models can yield performance of wing-tail-body configurations that include wake effects. They also can give stability analysis in both longitudinal/lateral axes. The stability effects being especially important if OP wants to design a flying-wing, which are a tad more challenging to get right than just slapping a "good-enough" sized tail on a classic config plane.

Using a computational fluids model like OpenFOAM is overkill for reasonable estimates of aerodynamic performance and stability, provided you stick to normal-ish designs. The term you want to Google is "vortex lattice" and/or "potential flow" solvers, of which there are many open source softwares available specifically geared towards typical aircraft configurations, with simple, easy to use interfaces.

Some good ones to look at to get started with nice guis

- VSP Aero

- XFOIL (for 2D airfoil analysis only, also generates inputs for 3D VLM solvers)

- AVL

And some others if you want perhaps a little higher fidelity, and don't mind text/code interfaces:

-FreeWake

- Datcom (not technically a potential flow models, but a database)

To get the most value out of these softwares, you will need some background in aeronautics. You need to have an understanding of what a potential flow models can and cannot accurately model. It also helps to have knowledge about what forms aircraft stability/control and performance data is typically communicated in, as these softwares will use that terminology.

Cool stuff for sure! But cheeky comments like this (and others I personally have made in this thread) are to do with the "AI" branding aspect of a thing that is just bog standard mechanical engineering work. Hooking up optimizers to simulation work is far from new. But that's being called "AI" now to drive news article clicks (and presumably to fish for investor capital).

The definition of AI changes depending on what I am trying to sell you today.

Probably some sort of optimization algorithm that's been defined for centuries, and comes standard with any mathematical computing tool. The kind of thing used every day by engineers as routine, but I guess that's "AI" now.

> import scipy.optimize

Look ma! I made an AI!

This is phenomenal! As an avid bike packer, I've always wanted this. Eagerly awaiting the expansion to North America. Please don't forget about Canada when building ;)