December 31, 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY
Artist Unknown
Artist Unknown
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December 27, 2009
Yes...The Blog is Broke
I am working on the problem.
However, I think I just umm.....broke it more worser.
I'm beginning to strongly suspect that the problem involves a PEBKAC issue
UPDATE: Pixy's seems confident that the issues can be fixed, but I'm still missing the half the blog that is "below the fold" and none of the hyperlinks to the site work. I can post, but with limited functionality, and comments still don't work. I'll do another status post Saturday night (EST). Either everything will be resolved, things will be very close to being fixed or I'll have instructions for people to update their bookmarks.
In the meantime, Happy New Year!
However, I think I just umm.....broke it more worser.
I'm beginning to strongly suspect that the problem involves a PEBKAC issue
UPDATE: Pixy's seems confident that the issues can be fixed, but I'm still missing the half the blog that is "below the fold" and none of the hyperlinks to the site work. I can post, but with limited functionality, and comments still don't work. I'll do another status post Saturday night (EST). Either everything will be resolved, things will be very close to being fixed or I'll have instructions for people to update their bookmarks.
In the meantime, Happy New Year!
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December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas
The last of the presents are now on the brown trucks.
Whatever you are celebrating, may this holiday season be good to you.
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December 15, 2009
Keronus Americanus
The Anime/Manga franchise and merchandising juggernaut that is Sgt. Frog was commented upon by virtually everyone in 2005 when the anime started up. The show is still going strong in Japan and has been exceedingly successful. The oddball comedy has been surprisingly successful at appealing to audiences of all ages and has a lot of similarities to the long running Urusei Yatsura series from the 80s (which, indeed, was the stated intent of the Mangaka). The main difference is that the characters tend to be more likeable.
The show concerns several frog like aliens who are trapped on earth after
their ill-conceived invasion attempt went awry. Their leader now lives in secret as the sort of housekeeper for a comic book creator and her children. Other members of his squad are scattered around the neighborhood and similarly ensconced with various humans...all of whom possess significant normalcy deficits. Every week he contacts his teammates and they join forces to conquer the planet Pekaponia (Earth)... hilarity ensues. As an aside, the show teaches younger viewers important life lessons as well...such as the fact that women are scary and dangerous and best avoided....even if they are wearing sweatervests.
Given its spectacular success and very broad demographic appeal in Japan it was natural that somebody would try to bring this show to the U.S.A. The theoretical potential of the show to be a genre crossing hit was immensely appealing at first blush. However, there were major hurdles, most daunting being the fact that the pop culture references that litter the show are overwhelmingly Japanese specific.
As the target audience would be Americans the references would make as much sense as an episode of Robot Chicken would to a North Korean. This would seem to be a show stopper, but one must remember that US television has long made good ratings on incomprehensible stupidity so this was not necessarily an insurmountable obstacle. Additionally there was the fact that the company that actually bought this marketing conundrum was ADVision...and the people at ADV were geeks who dearly loved the show and really wanted it to succeed.
ADV seemes to have really tried to get the show released on television, which despite its niche appeal in the US was not an insane notion but merely a far fetched one at the time these decisions were being made. Cartoon Network was showing a lot of Anime then and a number of the in-jokes (perhaps as much as a quarter ) referred to those shows. ADV had assembled over the years a very fine cadre of voice actors and they were certainly capable of doing comedy well. The problem remained the very culturally specific nature of many of the verbal gags, The episodes required rather more extensive rewrites than usual though the basic plots and overall story arcs could be brought over with little trouble.
There was an even bigger problem that ADV did not foresee....ADV is no more.The show was one of those bought by Funimation and it is now being aggressively marketed by them....with a series of adds that don't quite do the show justice.
The show is one I found fairly enjoyable before this release and it should be noted that the subtitle track is a pretty straight translation of the Japanese, which is what most readers here will watch anyway.
The dub fascinated me as I was very curious as to how they were going to play it given what to the target audience is the alien nature of much of the shows humor.
I don't know how many episodes ADV dubbed before they lost (or found out they didn't have) the rights in the Sojitz fiasco but the first 8 episodes are using most of the same voice actors that appeared in a preview ADV put on you tube some years ago. I am pretty sure that what we are seeing is very close to ADV's plan for the show, if so it is a worthy legacy because the dub is quite good. Funimation, which has a good reputation in its own right seems to have kept the bulk of the voice talent and there has been no jarring change in quality as of yet.
The dialog on the English track is fast paced,almost like a '40s screwball comedy. The acting is good and although the dialog has indeed been tweaked, the the Woolsyism's generally work quite well. All in all I was very impressed. In my initial viewing I watched all but the first two dubbed and felt it did not suffer at all , in particular I...oh wait...you aren't reading this....
You clicked on the Woolsyisms hyperlink above and your mind is now trapped in an endless information overload loop at TV tropes...foolish Pekaponian...your planets defeat is inevitable!
The show concerns several frog like aliens who are trapped on earth after
their ill-conceived invasion attempt went awry. Their leader now lives in secret as the sort of housekeeper for a comic book creator and her children. Other members of his squad are scattered around the neighborhood and similarly ensconced with various humans...all of whom possess significant normalcy deficits. Every week he contacts his teammates and they join forces to conquer the planet Pekaponia (Earth)... hilarity ensues. As an aside, the show teaches younger viewers important life lessons as well...such as the fact that women are scary and dangerous and best avoided....even if they are wearing sweatervests.Given its spectacular success and very broad demographic appeal in Japan it was natural that somebody would try to bring this show to the U.S.A. The theoretical potential of the show to be a genre crossing hit was immensely appealing at first blush. However, there were major hurdles, most daunting being the fact that the pop culture references that litter the show are overwhelmingly Japanese specific.
As the target audience would be Americans the references would make as much sense as an episode of Robot Chicken would to a North Korean. This would seem to be a show stopper, but one must remember that US television has long made good ratings on incomprehensible stupidity so this was not necessarily an insurmountable obstacle. Additionally there was the fact that the company that actually bought this marketing conundrum was ADVision...and the people at ADV were geeks who dearly loved the show and really wanted it to succeed.
ADV seemes to have really tried to get the show released on television, which despite its niche appeal in the US was not an insane notion but merely a far fetched one at the time these decisions were being made. Cartoon Network was showing a lot of Anime then and a number of the in-jokes (perhaps as much as a quarter ) referred to those shows. ADV had assembled over the years a very fine cadre of voice actors and they were certainly capable of doing comedy well. The problem remained the very culturally specific nature of many of the verbal gags, The episodes required rather more extensive rewrites than usual though the basic plots and overall story arcs could be brought over with little trouble.
There was an even bigger problem that ADV did not foresee....ADV is no more.The show was one of those bought by Funimation and it is now being aggressively marketed by them....with a series of adds that don't quite do the show justice.
The show is one I found fairly enjoyable before this release and it should be noted that the subtitle track is a pretty straight translation of the Japanese, which is what most readers here will watch anyway.
The dub fascinated me as I was very curious as to how they were going to play it given what to the target audience is the alien nature of much of the shows humor.
I don't know how many episodes ADV dubbed before they lost (or found out they didn't have) the rights in the Sojitz fiasco but the first 8 episodes are using most of the same voice actors that appeared in a preview ADV put on you tube some years ago. I am pretty sure that what we are seeing is very close to ADV's plan for the show, if so it is a worthy legacy because the dub is quite good. Funimation, which has a good reputation in its own right seems to have kept the bulk of the voice talent and there has been no jarring change in quality as of yet.
The dialog on the English track is fast paced,almost like a '40s screwball comedy. The acting is good and although the dialog has indeed been tweaked, the the Woolsyism's generally work quite well. All in all I was very impressed. In my initial viewing I watched all but the first two dubbed and felt it did not suffer at all , in particular I...oh wait...you aren't reading this....
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December 06, 2009
Chaos Subsiding...As Christmas Begins
Lucky Star girls are from...well... Lucky Star...(duh!)
more...
Banal Brickmuppet banality is below the fold. The above picture is unrelated.
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December 05, 2009
IJNS Yamato
Behold....
6 years, 4 months, uncounted LEGOs and phenomenal patience.
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A Coastie From Newport News Made Good
Built in 1914 by Newport new Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.as the freighter Medina, the Motor Vessel Dullos has passed through countless storms, Braved the U boats of both the Kaiser and the Furher while bringing supplies across the Atlantic and survived the ravages nearly a century at sea. Additionally, during World War 2, the old vessel was operated as an auxiliary for a time by the US Coast Guard.
Renamed Dullos by her current owners, the vessel is now the oldest operating passenger vessel in the entirety of the Earths oceans.
Such a long and storied history would be worthy of comment on its own, but Dullos is doubly remarkable. Operated by the German charity GBA , her passenger list consists not only of fare paying travelers but volunteers who see to her cargo. That cargo consists of tons of books for Dullos is a floating library and bookstore traveling the world hosting floating bookfairs.
Bangkok, Manilla, Kuching, Hong Kong, Phuket, and more than a hundred other ports have been visited by the ship and her crack crew of globetrotting salty-dog librarians. Additionally, while in no way a hospital ship, her medical staff performs some dental and other medical services in the less affluent ports of call.
Now, in the ships 95th year her long voyage is at an end. The inexorable toll exacted by the corrosive and violent sea has accumulated over the years and it was decided after her latest survey that the old vessel is to be decommissioned on Decenber 31, 2009.
Of course...if any of you have 10 million Euro laying around, there is a campaign to preserve the historic old girl.
95 years....the shipping industry, indeed the world has become unrecognizable since the time this ship first split the waves. If ships could talk...
Renamed Dullos by her current owners, the vessel is now the oldest operating passenger vessel in the entirety of the Earths oceans.
Such a long and storied history would be worthy of comment on its own, but Dullos is doubly remarkable. Operated by the German charity GBA , her passenger list consists not only of fare paying travelers but volunteers who see to her cargo. That cargo consists of tons of books for Dullos is a floating library and bookstore traveling the world hosting floating bookfairs.
Now, in the ships 95th year her long voyage is at an end. The inexorable toll exacted by the corrosive and violent sea has accumulated over the years and it was decided after her latest survey that the old vessel is to be decommissioned on Decenber 31, 2009.
Of course...if any of you have 10 million Euro laying around, there is a campaign to preserve the historic old girl.
95 years....the shipping industry, indeed the world has become unrecognizable since the time this ship first split the waves. If ships could talk...
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November 21, 2009
My Hat is in the Ring
With the wave of citizen activism sweeping the country in this time of crisis I can no longer sit idle.
I hereby announce my candidacy for the seat in the United States House of Representatives that will represent the unassigned congressional district of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Among my qualifications:
As I am currently homeless, I am able to meet the strict residency requirements for a congressional district that has not existed since 1935.
My legislative experience is, likewise, nonexistent.
I have no degree at this time.
*I will also work to protect "you" (my constituents) from the existential threat of the Dero who even now conspire against our democracy.
*I oppose listing the Mothman as an endangered species due to the principle that PEOPLES SAFETY MUST TAKE PRIORITY!
*I oppose deportation for the Bat Child as he is a natural born citizen.
*I support composting toilets.
* I support the teaching of the number eleventy in our schools.
THEREFORE
I hereby announce my candidacy for the seat in the United States House of Representatives that will represent the unassigned congressional district of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Among my qualifications:As I am currently homeless, I am able to meet the strict residency requirements for a congressional district that has not existed since 1935.
My legislative experience is, likewise, nonexistent.
I have no degree at this time.
ON THE ISSUES
*As
your Representative...whoever "YOU" are....I pledge to work tirelessly
to reduce the deficit through budget policies that are flexible...yet
firm....bendable yet straight...and FAIR TO EVERY AMERICAN! *I will also work to protect "you" (my constituents) from the existential threat of the Dero who even now conspire against our democracy.
*I oppose listing the Mothman as an endangered species due to the principle that PEOPLES SAFETY MUST TAKE PRIORITY!
*I oppose deportation for the Bat Child as he is a natural born citizen.
*I support composting toilets.
* I support the teaching of the number eleventy in our schools.
NO ONE IS MORE OBJECTIVELY QUALIFIED TO LEAD NOTHING THAN THE BRICKMUPPET!!
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As I Get Older
...I note that I understand what they were REALLY saying in some of those artsy videos from my youth.
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November 19, 2009
Everything has a Silver Lining
I can has skylight!!
OK...a tinfoil lining.
Most everything was indeed lost. It rained like cats and dogs for days and I was not allowed to re-enter the trailer to move stuff out of the affected areas until Sunday.....
Well I laughed....
Most everything was indeed lost. It rained like cats and dogs for days and I was not allowed to re-enter the trailer to move stuff out of the affected areas until Sunday.....
...by which time the damage was done.
The city has cut off the power to the end of the cul de-sac and forbidden anyone from being in the trailer after 5pm. The last few days have revolved around salvaging what little I can...some were surprising. Protected by their wrapping and the drawer they were in, which itself was in the closet, two long forgotten 2003 and 2004 Masamune Shirow calenders were unscathed...The thing is, they'll be good again in 2010 and '11.
The city has cut off the power to the end of the cul de-sac and forbidden anyone from being in the trailer after 5pm. The last few days have revolved around salvaging what little I can...some were surprising. Protected by their wrapping and the drawer they were in, which itself was in the closet, two long forgotten 2003 and 2004 Masamune Shirow calenders were unscathed...The thing is, they'll be good again in 2010 and '11.
Well I laughed....
It's official. The chassis is bent, whole frame is warped, ergo the trailer is totaled.
Blogging has been and will be quite light for a few more days. I have to have everything out in a few days and make arrangements to haul away my home of the last 9 years for scrap.
Thanks to everyone for the kind thoughts.
Blogging has been and will be quite light for a few more days. I have to have everything out in a few days and make arrangements to haul away my home of the last 9 years for scrap.
Thanks to everyone for the kind thoughts.
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November 13, 2009
Does anyone know
...the artist who did this cute take on Beethoven's 5th
It's evidently not from DDR.
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November 12, 2009
Argh
My day began at 3 when I headed off to work. The current inclement weather caused several delays with incoming loads and I was, as a result a little late getting out. I went home to be greeted by 3 police cruisers, 2 ambulances 4 fire trucks and a patrolman who informed me that I could not drive down the dead end road where my house resides.
Hampton Roads was and still is being clobbered as I type this. Hurricane Ida, now a tropical depression, has hooked up with a nor'easter and the two have hit it off and decided to do the barometric boogie all over Southeastern Virginia.
It has rained unrelentingly for 2 days. Totals as high as 12 inches are expected by tomorrow evening. The wind is gusting as high a 67 kts.This is worse in some ways than the Hurricanes Floyd and Isabel. Total damage seems to be less but, whereas both of those storms passed fairly quickly this storm is lingering and actually intensifying a bit. Norfolk is flooded. Tides as much as 8 feet above normal have occurred and are expected. In Portsmouth the seawall was holding as of an hour and a half ago but as I drove through I noted a sand blow coming out of a manhole. The ground is supersaturated and is turning into something with the consistency of pudding. This is not a good thing as the trees have nothing to hold them against the fierce wind.
To wit....
Suck...
Yes, that is a tree...in MY manufactured home.
In reality I'm lucky. The neighbors child was pinned. The tree fell around 5:30AM and they were still extracting him at 9. He survived, but I don't know anything about his current condition.
As for my house, the roof is peeled back like a sardine tin, and although it does not show up on these pictures it was (and still is) raining intensely. After they finished pulling the injured out of the other trailers I briefly inspected it and tried to cover a window that had popped out. I left to get a tarp and was immediately stopped by a fireman who informed me that all three trailers are condemned and I need a safety inspection to enter again. I can't even get my stuff out and try to salvage my things from the rain....and most ominously, the rising water.
Suck...
While crossing the Monitor/Merrimack bridge tunnel, my newly acquired Cressida got pummeled with brown water as a wave actually broke over the bridge. The car began acting...odd...and would not start when I tried to head back home. I jumped it and took it to the repair place in Churchland.
Dead alternator and solenoid. Not entirely astonishing given the age of the car ( 27 years) and immersion in brackish water but damned poor timing.
Because I've been house sitting and was helping my folks deal with medical issues earlier in the year I have a few changes of clothes at my folks house and a couple of DVDs and books too but I may have lost nearly everything else.
Still, I have a job which is a very good thing in this day and age and I was not impaled by the tree. I've got crash space at my folks for now which is most fortuitous. Even if the trailer is totaled, I'll be able to get it hauled away thanks to the insurance.
But...damn. A tree ate my house.
Hampton Roads was and still is being clobbered as I type this. Hurricane Ida, now a tropical depression, has hooked up with a nor'easter and the two have hit it off and decided to do the barometric boogie all over Southeastern Virginia.
It has rained unrelentingly for 2 days. Totals as high as 12 inches are expected by tomorrow evening. The wind is gusting as high a 67 kts.This is worse in some ways than the Hurricanes Floyd and Isabel. Total damage seems to be less but, whereas both of those storms passed fairly quickly this storm is lingering and actually intensifying a bit. Norfolk is flooded. Tides as much as 8 feet above normal have occurred and are expected. In Portsmouth the seawall was holding as of an hour and a half ago but as I drove through I noted a sand blow coming out of a manhole. The ground is supersaturated and is turning into something with the consistency of pudding. This is not a good thing as the trees have nothing to hold them against the fierce wind.
To wit....
Suck...
Yes, that is a tree...in MY manufactured home.
In reality I'm lucky. The neighbors child was pinned. The tree fell around 5:30AM and they were still extracting him at 9. He survived, but I don't know anything about his current condition.
As for my house, the roof is peeled back like a sardine tin, and although it does not show up on these pictures it was (and still is) raining intensely. After they finished pulling the injured out of the other trailers I briefly inspected it and tried to cover a window that had popped out. I left to get a tarp and was immediately stopped by a fireman who informed me that all three trailers are condemned and I need a safety inspection to enter again. I can't even get my stuff out and try to salvage my things from the rain....and most ominously, the rising water.
Suck...
While crossing the Monitor/Merrimack bridge tunnel, my newly acquired Cressida got pummeled with brown water as a wave actually broke over the bridge. The car began acting...odd...and would not start when I tried to head back home. I jumped it and took it to the repair place in Churchland.
Dead alternator and solenoid. Not entirely astonishing given the age of the car ( 27 years) and immersion in brackish water but damned poor timing.
Because I've been house sitting and was helping my folks deal with medical issues earlier in the year I have a few changes of clothes at my folks house and a couple of DVDs and books too but I may have lost nearly everything else.
Still, I have a job which is a very good thing in this day and age and I was not impaled by the tree. I've got crash space at my folks for now which is most fortuitous. Even if the trailer is totaled, I'll be able to get it hauled away thanks to the insurance.
But...damn. A tree ate my house.
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November 11, 2009
Thank You
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November 02, 2009
KAIJU NEWS ALERT
The marine Kaiju threat level has been raised to eleventy off of Chiba.
A Japanese fishing trawler has been sunk by giant jellyfish.
Now although I have wanted to be able to truthfully report something like this since I was six, I was initially skeptical.So, I read the article to find out if:
A) the source was the Weekly World News or Pravda
B) what REALLY happened
To my surprise the source is the London Telegraph and what seems to have happened is that giant jellyfish have sunk a Japanese trawler. Fortunately no one was hurt.
See also here and here.
The culprit seems to be the infamous nomura jellyfish, which has been in the news before.
There was a huge infestation of the things in 1958 and 2005. Unlike the 1958 infestation, their numbers have remained rather high for the last several years and they have caused considerable difficulties for the Japanese fishing industry.
This year, another very large infestation has hit Japan.
Now in fairness to the jellyfish, were I doing a marine casualty investigation of this (assuming the facts as reported are true) I'd be disinclined to issue a finding of fault against the jellyfish. However, it is important to keep a sense of perspective and focus on what is surely the most important thing to take away from this bizarre occurrence. To that end, one of the Brickmuppets crack team of science babes has some insightful thoughts on this incident.
A Japanese fishing trawler has been sunk by giant jellyfish.
Now although I have wanted to be able to truthfully report something like this since I was six, I was initially skeptical.So, I read the article to find out if:
A) the source was the Weekly World News or Pravda
B) what REALLY happened
To my surprise the source is the London Telegraph and what seems to have happened is that giant jellyfish have sunk a Japanese trawler. Fortunately no one was hurt.
See also here and here.
The culprit seems to be the infamous nomura jellyfish, which has been in the news before.
There was a huge infestation of the things in 1958 and 2005. Unlike the 1958 infestation, their numbers have remained rather high for the last several years and they have caused considerable difficulties for the Japanese fishing industry.
This year, another very large infestation has hit Japan.
Now in fairness to the jellyfish, were I doing a marine casualty investigation of this (assuming the facts as reported are true) I'd be disinclined to issue a finding of fault against the jellyfish. However, it is important to keep a sense of perspective and focus on what is surely the most important thing to take away from this bizarre occurrence. To that end, one of the Brickmuppets crack team of science babes has some insightful thoughts on this incident.
Giant jellyfish have sunk a trawler!!1!...That is SO freaking cool!
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October 31, 2009
Nashtie Trixie Spammszerzes
Amongst the spams I just deleted....
and...
In addition to the irony of the second one, I note they are copies of comments left by Steven....but with the word "thanks!" added.
*******************************
In other news, I'm heading out of state...to get a new (to me) car.
Small loss.Thanks!!!
and...
You seem to be taking spam below the waterline, though. thanks!
In addition to the irony of the second one, I note they are copies of comments left by Steven....but with the word "thanks!" added.
*******************************
In other news, I'm heading out of state...to get a new (to me) car.
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October 29, 2009
The Miracle of SCIENCE!!!
One of the Brickmuppets crack team of science babes brings us a collection of cool, potentially game changing developments in the field of SUPER SCIENCE!
Magnetic Monopoles?
Tony Stark call your office. This has been one of the holy grails of physics for some time, now 4 different teams have produced considerable evidence that they exist. More on the discovery can be found here and Brian Wang has an overview of the implications, if this can eventually be replicated commercially here.
Metallic Hydrogen?
Researchers at the University of Buffalo have found that adding lithium to hydrogen they can vastly reduce the pressures at which it becomes metallic. IF this can be made stable at reasonable pressures, the implications for this are potentially game changers for both rocketry and electronics. As a rocket fuel it would theoretically have performance heretofore never attained by man. As explained here it's applications for electronics are something that has been long sought.
Wow! There are certainly hurdles to be overcome....
...still, this takes metallic hydrogen from the purely theoretical to something that might well be made practical with refinements in stabilizing it. As a fuel it is, like regular H2, not an energy source, but an energy carrier albiet one with high density, it would require a lot of power to produce...power that might best come from....
Atomic Power Plants: We here at Brickmuppet Blog really like atomic power and we are overjoyed to report that mass production of some of the small reactors we've blogged about before is indeed iminent. Hyperion's nuclear reactors are finally going to enter production, albeit in the UK. In Japan, Drudge reports that small reactors are taking off, Toshiba (with Westinghouse) is planning to mass market their 4s Reactor. While the reactor itself is old news it appears that Toshiba no longer considers it experimental and is looking beyond Alaska to the third world. Mitsubishi is also developing small mass produced reactors for third world consumption. Such reactors dispersed around the US could provide a robust, redundant, reliable, decentralized and nearly carbon free source of power if it were pursued aggressively, particularly if domestic reprocessing facilities were developed. This would be a vital and necessary investment if one genuinely considered global warming to be a transcendental threat and a damned good one if one was more concerned about the well being of the U.S.A. with regards to infrastructure, strategic, and economic (cheap power=jobs) well being. Those in power seem to have little concern about any of that.
Alas...
Well...back to the miracle of SCIENCE!
Touchy Feely Bionics!
The BBC reports on the first prostetic arm with a sense of touch!
Caves on the Moon!
Japans Kayuga lunar probe seems to have spied a cave....no word on the presence of amazons, diamonds and giant spiders...but we'll keep you posted.
Finally, via Jerry Pournelle, comes this astonishing powerpoint presentation of the earth from space....look.
Science Babe is the scientist Yayoi from Mouse by Satoru Akahori
Magnetic Monopoles?
Tony Stark call your office. This has been one of the holy grails of physics for some time, now 4 different teams have produced considerable evidence that they exist. More on the discovery can be found here and Brian Wang has an overview of the implications, if this can eventually be replicated commercially here.
Metallic Hydrogen?
Researchers at the University of Buffalo have found that adding lithium to hydrogen they can vastly reduce the pressures at which it becomes metallic. IF this can be made stable at reasonable pressures, the implications for this are potentially game changers for both rocketry and electronics. As a rocket fuel it would theoretically have performance heretofore never attained by man. As explained here it's applications for electronics are something that has been long sought.
Metallic hydrogen is predicted to be a high-temperature superconductor. A superconductor is a state of matter where electrons, and thus electricity, can flow indefinitely and without resistance.
Wow! There are certainly hurdles to be overcome....
The calculations also predict that LiH6 could be a metal at normal pressures. However, under these conditions it is not stable and would decompose to form LiH and H2.
...still, this takes metallic hydrogen from the purely theoretical to something that might well be made practical with refinements in stabilizing it. As a fuel it is, like regular H2, not an energy source, but an energy carrier albiet one with high density, it would require a lot of power to produce...power that might best come from....
Atomic Power Plants: We here at Brickmuppet Blog really like atomic power and we are overjoyed to report that mass production of some of the small reactors we've blogged about before is indeed iminent. Hyperion's nuclear reactors are finally going to enter production, albeit in the UK. In Japan, Drudge reports that small reactors are taking off, Toshiba (with Westinghouse) is planning to mass market their 4s Reactor. While the reactor itself is old news it appears that Toshiba no longer considers it experimental and is looking beyond Alaska to the third world. Mitsubishi is also developing small mass produced reactors for third world consumption. Such reactors dispersed around the US could provide a robust, redundant, reliable, decentralized and nearly carbon free source of power if it were pursued aggressively, particularly if domestic reprocessing facilities were developed. This would be a vital and necessary investment if one genuinely considered global warming to be a transcendental threat and a damned good one if one was more concerned about the well being of the U.S.A. with regards to infrastructure, strategic, and economic (cheap power=jobs) well being. Those in power seem to have little concern about any of that.
Alas...
Well...back to the miracle of SCIENCE!
Touchy Feely Bionics!
The BBC reports on the first prostetic arm with a sense of touch!
Caves on the Moon!
Japans Kayuga lunar probe seems to have spied a cave....no word on the presence of amazons, diamonds and giant spiders...but we'll keep you posted.
Finally, via Jerry Pournelle, comes this astonishing powerpoint presentation of the earth from space....look.
Science Babe is the scientist Yayoi from Mouse by Satoru Akahori
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Bad Day in the Kanmon Straits
JS Kurama, a Japanese Shirane class helicopter destroyer, has collided with a Korean container ship in the narrow Kanmon strait between Kita-Kyushu and Shimonoseki. (H/T: Information Dissemination)
This is why we do those drills. (Pic via)
This is why we do those drills. (Pic via)
The collision reportedly touched off a fire in the forward paint locker off Kurama which seems to have fared the worse of the two.
I've seen the Kanmon strait. It is very narrow and astonishingly busy. I understand it has very severe tidal currents as well. The total width
of the strait (not the shipping channel) is only 650 meters. The Daily Yomuri reports that around 70 accidents occur in the straits every year. Heads will no doubt roll over this, but it is not obvious that this is the example of flaming incompetence that such an event normally would be.
It is unclear how much of the damage was due to the collision vs the fire, but if paint thinner in sufficient quantity had a steady supply of air then the fire could have easily reached blast furnace temperatures. With the close proximity of the 5 inch magazines and the sheer intensity of the fire, the fact that the ship is pier-side rather than on the bottom is a testament to her damage control team.
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It is unclear how much of the damage was due to the collision vs the fire, but if paint thinner in sufficient quantity had a steady supply of air then the fire could have easily reached blast furnace temperatures. With the close proximity of the 5 inch magazines and the sheer intensity of the fire, the fact that the ship is pier-side rather than on the bottom is a testament to her damage control team.
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JS Kurama in happier times
At sea, even in peacetime, things can go south in an instant. There are few more dangerous things than a fire on a ship.
Damage control is vital and this requires DC teams. This brings up a related point that our staffing gurus need to be beat over the head with.
A warship is designed to go into harms way, which generally refers to threats greater than a merchant ship. A warship needs to be able to fight while hurt and have enough crew to do damage control while others are fighting the enemy. The number of personell to do this must take into account those killed by the weapons that caused the damage. Given the difficulties that current staffing policies cause in rather benign conditions, "optimal manning"....isn't.
Damage control is vital and this requires DC teams. This brings up a related point that our staffing gurus need to be beat over the head with.
A warship is designed to go into harms way, which generally refers to threats greater than a merchant ship. A warship needs to be able to fight while hurt and have enough crew to do damage control while others are fighting the enemy. The number of personell to do this must take into account those killed by the weapons that caused the damage. Given the difficulties that current staffing policies cause in rather benign conditions, "optimal manning"....isn't.
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Pixy is Teh BOMB!
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October 22, 2009
Dialup SUCKS! But there are far more hideous things to have to deal with.
Via Cdr Salamander, some powerful perspective from Penn Gillette.
Do watch the whole thing.
Do watch the whole thing.
In the last few years, I've lost friends over similar conversations that had many of the same elements. Patronizing condescension, backhanded compliments and finally....the ultimatum. I know what he's going through...and it is very very hurtful.
I should note that Beck, while certainly bit of a loon, is very civil with his guests and lets them talk even if he disagrees with them. This utter departure from current opinion journalism procedures ought to be encouraged rather than boycotted.
UPDATE: Related item here. Though, thankfully, not as related as I previously thought.
I should note that Beck, while certainly bit of a loon, is very civil with his guests and lets them talk even if he disagrees with them. This utter departure from current opinion journalism procedures ought to be encouraged rather than boycotted.
UPDATE: Related item here. Though, thankfully, not as related as I previously thought.
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October 20, 2009
Suck
more...
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