"The somewhat higher density and viscosity of diesel fuels is due to their higher content of long-chain molecules. This reduces their volatility, which is needed to prevent premature detonation (knocking) during the fuel/air compression stroke." In a diesel, the fuel gets injected at the top of the compression stroke(near Top Dead Center), and keeps getting injected until the crank has turned to 20-30 degrees past TDC. This not only eliminates knocking on compression (there's nothing to knock) but keeps the pressure in the cylinder steady through more of the power stroke. (As the cylinder descends, more fuel gets added to maintain pressure.) Contrast this to a gas engine, where compression has to be limited to prevent knocking, and where the entire fuel-air mix is burned as soon as the spark plug fires (near TDC). Pressure drops rapidly during the power stroke of a gas engine, limiting its ability to create torque. This is why you have to "get on the gas" when towing anything with a gas engine. You need really high pressure at TDC, to get anything throughout the rest of the stroke. I often roll my eyes at commercials showing gas-powered pickups towing heavy things. It's a good way to wreck an engine.

At some indoor ranges, the only rifle you'll be allowed to shoot is a .22LR. Also, you can get 500 rounds of .22 LR for about $20, far less than other ammo. So, I'd go with the 10/22. If you can own a handgun, then Taurus' 9-shot .22 revolver might not be a bad weapon. I've fire 500 rounds through mine so far and not had any problems.

Considering that the original Israel was created through the use of force (i.e. Joshua and others slaughtering the people already living there)I'm not sure why Jews are now considered to be its rightful inhabitants. Why not the Romans? [HS: Those Bible stories are bogus myth, not real history.]

Am I the only one who hates protesters? I've always hated them, even back when I was a kid. I still do. As for OWS, amazing how self-righteous people can get when they're denying other people the use of public property. No amount of violence against these people is too much.

If we're aiming for equality of wealth, why stop at the border? Shouldn't the U.S. be required to send its money to Mexico and other poor countries?

Isn't hunting a much better way to save money on your food budget?

I've often thought about getting a tattoo of my USN rating symbol. I've never done it though, as I'm just not a tattoo type of guy. Things are odd indeed, when sailors don't have tats but everyone else does. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Controlman

Energy weapons have no lag-time, which means there would be no way for fighters to avoid getting hit by them. So fighters could weave around dramatically as much as they wanted, but would still be doomed when going up against big ships. Honestly, I can see the same thing happening soon in naval warfare. Already, what chance does a fighter have against a current destroyer or cruiser?

"The word "whom" is not as common online as it should be..." I would like to see the word "whom" discontinued entirely. I mean really, does it serve a purpose? Just replace it with "who" already. As for types of births, there are also "coffin births." (ugh)

But I don’t get the moral distinction. One of the big drivers of this morality, is that the SWPL types in this country are civilians, while the "wrong types" of white people make up our military. The SWPL's see the "wrong types" as expendable, themselves less so. They're just exporting this view worldwide. As if some cab driver in Benghazi listens to The Smiths and went to Wesleyan.

Coincidentally, I was born there. We moved when I was young though, so I have no memory of it.

Shouldn't Egyptian government be based on the rule of law, and not mob rule? Protesters should never be allowed to determine anything.

Finally, someone else who admits to liking Gossip Girl. I posted on it back in '08, but have fallen out of the habit of watching lately. Something I found intriguing about it, is how in some scenes where the perfectly-dressed cast is in the foreground, the cruddy reality of NYC is in the background. I don't recall seeing rats in any of the scenes, but there was definitely trash and dirt in some.

One thing I've been stunned by, is just how boldly managers will lie to employees about outsourcing and layoffs. I've seen machinery and tooling being sent out that back while management has insisted it isn't happening. Resulting layoffs (we've had two recently) get blamed on the economy. Lesson learned: management is the enemy.

Factors working for carriers: 1) Most, if not all, anti-ship missiles can be defeated by chaff. (The USS Stark got hit because they failed to fire any.) The stuff rides on the air for hours, clouding their radar-based guidance. (I've seen it.) 2) Any ship large enough to fire a missile shows up on radar. Not just on a ship's radar, but also on the Hawkeyes (small AWACS planes) that are launched from carriers. After they're detected, which should be hundreds of miles out, they can be easily destroyed. (This is why the USN abandoned using its Pegasus-class hydrofoils for anything other than patrolling the carribean for drug-runners.) 3) Torpedoes are noisy, and easily detected upon launch. Any sub that fires one betrays its own position--and sub captains know this. Though a UK sub did manage to torpedo an Argentinian cruiser during the Falklands war, the USN has had nuclear depth-charges since the 60's. (They're SUBROC's, in case you want to look them up. We also have ASROC's.) Just how willing is a sub captain to enter a suicide pact? 4) It's hard to imagine we don't have the ability to destroy or blind China's (or anyone else's) satellites. Remove them, and we're essentially back to WW2 tactics, where the enemy wouldn't even know what time zone your carriers were in, let alone be able to pinpoint them for a missile hit. So, China isn't dumb for pursuing carriers. They're doing it to protect their oil supplies, which are every bit as hard to protect as our own.