The dawn of the space age is upon us🚀 pic.twitter.com/BfAVRzbwdL
— Austin Barnard🚀 (@austinbarnard45) October 23, 2020
Oct 252020
Oct 242020
At last, the US doesn’t seem to suck so bad at the whole “dealing with the Pinko Pox” thing when compared to our European Betters:
ZOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!
(Note for those dense enough to think that 2+2=5 is a valid proposition: this post is less “ha-ha look at them” and more “holy crap, look at that”)
Oct 242020
That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.
Gay male penguins steal lesbian couple’s eggs at Dutch Zoo
A pair of two male African penguins at a Dutch zoo, who made international headlines last year when they stole an egg from a heterosexual couple, have now stolen the nest of a lesbian duo … the gay couple is taking turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. But, Drost said, the eggs are likely unfertilized and will not hatch because they were laid by a lesbian penguin couple.
Oct 232020
Just what does Gropey Joe mean here?
Joe Biden: "As president, I'll mandate mask-wearing in all federal buildings and all interstate transportation" pic.twitter.com/NX6t6spI20
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) October 23, 2020
What “interstate transportation” does he mean? Doe he mean that if you drive across state lines you will need to be masked up while alone in your car? Sounds stupid, but it also sounds like the sort of governmental overreach we’ve come to expect.
Oct 232020
I suppose they can. And they get to vote.
Wait until they find out about drug mules, snakeheads and the Navy SEALs.
Tonight on blue checkmark twitter, they don’t know what coyotes are.
(This isn’t even half of all I found 🥴) pic.twitter.com/Jsh57jSBb1
— Sophia Narwitz (@SophNar0747) October 23, 2020
Oct 232020
News article:
How genetic variation gives rise to differences in mathematical ability
Summary: gene sequence ROBO1 is found to be associated with the development of gray matter in the right parietal cortex, which is associated with mathematical performance.
Suggested hypothesis: people who argue that 2+2 does not necessarily equal 4, or that “2+2=4 is an expression of white supremacy or the patriarchy or western imperialism or INSERT DUMBASS IDEOLOGICAL NONSENSE HERE” have ROBO1 gene sequence variabilities that lead to *reduced* formation of that right parietal cortex gray matter. Suggested experiment: do some genetic testing and see.
The question would then become what to do about it. If it turns out that genetics leads to a difference in mathematical ability *and* differences in political ideologies, will that mean that people will start voting for candidates based on their genetic testing results? Will that mean that science and engineering firms will not be allowed to “discriminate” by not hiring candidates who fail math tests if they have the gene sequence for bad math abilities? Will it mean that math test results will be driven in part based on your genes… this person has to give mathematically correct answers, that one doesn’t, in order to achieve the same grade?
Oct 222020
A post yesterday linked to a paper on space warfare. Relevant to that discussion is the concept of hiding spacecraft from detection. Space is obviously dark and the background radiation is cold, about 3 Kelvin. Compared to that, any spacecraft in the inner solar system, even one with no active power sources, is going to be something of a lighthouse in infra-red. Put a nuclear reactor or any kind of meaningful active propulsion system on it, and any spacecraft would stick out like a sore thumb. Stealth should be impossible.
But it is, in fact, possible. it’s hard, it’s limited and its often temporary, but hiding a spacecraft, even one with a functional reactor and running engines, should be possible. There are simply some limits to keep in mind.
In order to hide from radar or lidar, all your spacecraft needs to be is dark and preferably angled int he way we’ve come to understand from stealthy aircraft. This is relatively easy. But the real problem is infra red. Being dark makes your spacecraft both absorb and emit electromagnetic radiation; sunlight falling on a dark spacecraft gets absorbed, stepped down, and emitted back out as infra red. In order to hide your spacecraft, you need to either look like a space rock (probably easy to do, but a space rock that suddenly appears on the charts on a suspicious orbit will likely merit further attention), or you need to be roughly as cold as the background. Actually making your spacecraft 3 Kelvin is insanely unreasonable… but you *can* make a balloon filled with helium that cold. And if you put that dark, cold balloon between your ship and the enemies sensors, you shouldn’t show up
Teledyne got a patent in 1994 for sort of that sort of thing:
Satellite signature suppression shield
The invention here is an inflatable fabric cone that a satellite could hide behind. Coated with something reflective like aluminum or gold, you might think that it would be visible; but for the most part all that shiny reflective surface has to reflect is the black of space. Point the cone at the enemy, and all they’ll see is a dark reflection and if they point lasers or radar at it, the beams will reflect off into space and not back at the receiver. The surface will, however, emit IR, so it’ll be visible that way. But if you fill the balloon with helium *and* if you have an active refrigeration system on the far side, cooling the helium to below 3 Kelvin and directing the waste heat out into space the other way… the cone will be dark *and* cold. So from a narrow cone, your spacecraft will be effectively invisible. From every other angle, though, your spacecraft will be a bright hot target. So… pick your targets. A system like this would probably work well for missiles… only need to operate for a short period, and all they really care about is hiding from the target.
The Crazy Years: German Edition
AARRRGH, art, Crazy, dumbassery, Gah., Hmm..., news, politics, ಠ_ŕ˛
No Responses »
Oct 222020
I *guess* it’s a bit comforting to know that insanity is world wide, not restricted just to the likes of Portland and Chicago…
Dozens Of Artifacts Apparently Vandalized At Berlin’s Museums
On or about October 3 someone, or several someones, squirted an “oily liquid” onto objects such as ancient Egyptian sarcophagi, 19th century paintings and stone statues. Why? Authorities aren’t sure, but they seem to be linking this weirdness to a German vegan chef conspiracy theorist who believes that the Pergamon Museum is the “throne of Satan” and that Angela Merkel is a Satanist who conducts human sacrifices.
One of the museums was also the site of a theft in 2017 of a gold coin worth $4 million. What made this coin so valuable? because it was *220* pounds of solid gold. The coin has not been recovered… and doubtless never will be. Damn thing was certainly chopped up and melted down about ten minutes after it slipped out the back in someone’s pocket. A photo of this trinket is HERE.
The conspiracy theorist in question is an odd one. He’s a German nationalist who thinks that Bill Gates is trying to use WuFlu to take over and Da Jooooooooz are out to exterminate the German people, but he’s actually ethnically Turkish, adopted by a German family. He was originally an omnivore but became a passionate vegan. Hmmm. I wonder if there were ever any other “German nationalists” who didn’t actually match up to their ideal of German ethnicity and who became vegetarians and went bonkers? Maybe there’s some combination of the German language with veganism, or perhaps being a vegan surrounded by people eating tasty sausage that makes some people go a little “funny.”
Oct 212020
I have not read this paper through yet, but it looks interesting:
The Physics of Space War: How Orbital Dynamics Constrain Space-to-Space Engagements
A writeup about it:
What Would a Realistic Space Battle Look Like?
In short: less Star Wars, more The Expanse.
Oct 202020
Two years ago I released US Transport Projects #8 that had a piece on an SST designed by staff of the NACA for Life magazine. To make the best possible diagram I did the best job I could of scanning and stitching together several pages from a vintage issue of Life. I’ve finally gotten around to uploading the full-rez version of that to the APR Dropbox, into the 2020-10 APR Extras folder. This is available to any APR Patron or Subscriber at the $4 level and above.
The full-size version is six times wider than this one:
If this sort of thing is of interest, sign up either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program. If you know of someone who might be interested, be sure to nudge them this way… I could do with an infusion of new patrons/subscribers and as is blisteringly obvious I stink at marketing.