Month: September 2012
“Often wrong but never in doubt.”
And they call this a maximum?
NOAA today posted its monthly update of the ongoing sunspot cycle of the Sun. This latest graph, covering the month of August, is posted below the fold.
The Sun continues to fizzle.
» Read more
The Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service has opened a $1.7 million pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanocrystals, which have the potential to be stronger, stiffer, and lighter than Kevlar or carbon fibers.
The Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service has opened a $1.7 million pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanocrystals, which have the potential to be stronger, stiffer, and lighter than Kevlar or carbon fibers.
It appears that the lab has been researching the useful properties of these nanocrystals, which is a good thing. However, I can’t help wondering why they are now building a production plant. Shouldn’t this be left to the private sector? What business is it of the Forest Service to be a producer of this product? It could be that the plant is aimed not at production but at figuring out how to make it affordable and practical, a goal that might make sense for a government agency to pursue. If not, however, it seems inappropriate for a government agency to use taxpayer dollars to run a facility aimed at selling a product to the private sector.
The article, as well as the lab’s webpage, do not make this clear.
The Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service has opened a $1.7 million pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanocrystals, which have the potential to be stronger, stiffer, and lighter than Kevlar or carbon fibers.
It appears that the lab has been researching the useful properties of these nanocrystals, which is a good thing. However, I can’t help wondering why they are now building a production plant. Shouldn’t this be left to the private sector? What business is it of the Forest Service to be a producer of this product? It could be that the plant is aimed not at production but at figuring out how to make it affordable and practical, a goal that might make sense for a government agency to pursue. If not, however, it seems inappropriate for a government agency to use taxpayer dollars to run a facility aimed at selling a product to the private sector.
The article, as well as the lab’s webpage, do not make this clear.
A family car for space.
Though this is a nice write-up describing Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, the part where they talk about using the vehicle like the shuttle to repair other orbiting satellites is a bit of a stretch.
Though this is a nice write-up describing Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, the part where they talk about using the vehicle like the shuttle to repair other orbiting satellites is a bit of a stretch.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an incredible video of an August 31 eruption on the Sun.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an incredible video of an August 31 eruption on the Sun. Video below the fold.
» Read more
The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an incredible video of an August 31 eruption on the Sun. Video below the fold.
» Read more
The head of the Russian space center that built the upper stage that failed on two recent Proton launches has been fired.
The head of the Russian space center that built the upper stage that failed on two recent Proton launches has been fired.
Putin’s action here suggests the Russians are taking these problems seriously. especially with the looming competition from SpaceX. At the same time, the boss doesn’t actually build anything, and firing him won’t fix anything if there aren’t also changes on the factory floor.
The head of the Russian space center that built the upper stage that failed on two recent Proton launches has been fired.
Putin’s action here suggests the Russians are taking these problems seriously. especially with the looming competition from SpaceX. At the same time, the boss doesn’t actually build anything, and firing him won’t fix anything if there aren’t also changes on the factory floor.
A California engineer and World War II veteran has developed a bat and bird safe wind turbine.
An 89-year-old California engineer and World War II veteran has developed a bat and bird safe wind turbine.
And it only cost him $550!
An 89-year-old California engineer and World War II veteran has developed a bat and bird safe wind turbine.
And it only cost him $550!
Bugs Bunny – Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)
An evening pause: “Silly, isn’t he?”
From 1944, with numerous references to the war effort. What I like most, however, is the brazen confidence. Bugs Bunny in more ways than can be imagined so clearly represents the American spirit of the war years.
“Healthy Ridicule.”
It is healthy for America that the president be criticized and even mocked. Deference to a Dear Leader has no place in a democracy. It’s healthy for race relations, too, that he be judged on his record rather than held to a lower standard in the name of racial progress. When a black politician is treated just like any other politician, that’s genuine progress.
And then there’s this:
Obama’s journalistic supporters live in a bizarre alternate reality in which a politician’s actual words mean nothing. When the president says something foolish and offensive, he didn’t say that. Meanwhile every comment from a Republican can be translated, through a process of free association, to: “We don’t like black people.”
Taranto’s second point above suggests to me that there are a lot of people on the left whose recent behavior is making them ripe targets for some very healthy ridicule.
Read the whole thing.
It is healthy for America that the president be criticized and even mocked. Deference to a Dear Leader has no place in a democracy. It’s healthy for race relations, too, that he be judged on his record rather than held to a lower standard in the name of racial progress. When a black politician is treated just like any other politician, that’s genuine progress.
And then there’s this:
Obama’s journalistic supporters live in a bizarre alternate reality in which a politician’s actual words mean nothing. When the president says something foolish and offensive, he didn’t say that. Meanwhile every comment from a Republican can be translated, through a process of free association, to: “We don’t like black people.”
Taranto’s second point above suggests to me that there are a lot of people on the left whose recent behavior is making them ripe targets for some very healthy ridicule.
Read the whole thing.
Eleven incredible navigable aqueducts.
Eleven incredible navigable aqueducts.
Not surprisingly, they are all in Europe, where the art of canal building has never died off.
Eleven incredible navigable aqueducts.
Not surprisingly, they are all in Europe, where the art of canal building has never died off.
Have scientists found an oral drug that can cure all strains of malaria?
Have scientists found an oral drug that can cure all strains of malaria?
Have scientists found an oral drug that can cure all strains of malaria?
Speed Flying down from Mont Blanc
Henri the cat and the videos about him has won the Golden Kitty, first place at the Internet Cat Film Festival in Minnesota.
News you can use: Henri the cat and the videos about him has won the Golden Kitty, first place at the Internet Cat Film Festival in Minnesota.
The winning video is below the fold.
» Read more
News you can use: Henri the cat and the videos about him has won the Golden Kitty, first place at the Internet Cat Film Festival in Minnesota.
The winning video is below the fold.
» Read more