tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post3947474142158586025..comments2024-03-28T15:48:48.514-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: On Denialism, Altruism, Breaking filibusters and... space!David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50498560172930624752010-03-26T04:20:40.829-07:002010-03-26T04:20:40.829-07:00"But the american populist-falangist movement..."But the american populist-falangist movement is tempered by many essentially american features. e.g. the right shouts (screams) that it is the group fighting for freedom, individualism, anti-racism, and many other consensus goods. In these dissonances one can hope to find fracture points and draw many of them back into America."<br /><br />I sincerely hope you're right. Because with the purging of David Frum for intellectual dissent, the conservative establishment has definitely proven its outright descent into fascism. There isn't really any other name to call complete ideological uniformity, total disregard of fact and reality, and total refusal of dealing with the political enemy.<br /><br />If the GOP doesn't change its line, and still manages to retake Congress in November, I am afraid it will mean that a really important part of the American democratic spirit has died.<br /><br />And that isn't something you regain easily. <br /><br />On the other hand, always assuming an unchanged GOP, Americans could show the world what representative democracy really is about and elect yet more Democratic representatives, possibly restoring the filibuster-proof majority and making Congress functional again.<br /><br />There is more than enough political diversity within the Democratic party to ensure a lively, healthy political debate, without any extremist takeover.<br /><br />The next 6 months will be interesting to watch.Hypnoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01409179274970587232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13035506999172523942010-03-25T17:01:29.562-07:002010-03-25T17:01:29.562-07:00Another day another breathless report of a green t...Another day another breathless report of a green technology breakthrough.<br /><br />http://www.gizmag.com/glidarc-plasma-based-biofuel-reactor/14623/<br /><br />I'm slowly learning to be more skepticcal about these claims.<br /><br />This one sounds pretty impressive though:<br /><br />" ...a device called a GlidArc reactor has successfully been used to create clean fuels from waste materials, utilizing electrically-charged clouds of gas called “plasmas.” One of the fuels is a form of diesel that reportedly releases ten times less air pollution than conventional diesel."<br /><br />...<br /><br /><br />"The report suggests that the refrigerator-sized reactors could be fed materials such as post-harvest corn leaves and stocks, waste cooking oil from restaurants, or even the byproduct glycerol created in the production of other biofuels. The GlidArc-created biofuels could apparently be used in existing diesel, gasoline or kerosene engines, with no modifications.<br /><br />“Low-tech and low cost are the guiding principles behind the GlidArc reactors,” stated Czernichowski. “Almost all the parts could be bought at your local hardware or home supply store. We use common ‘plumber’ piping and connections, for instance, and ordinary home insulation. Instead of sophisticated ceramics, we use the kind of heat-resistant concrete that might go into a home fireplace.” He added that an average person could build one in a few days, for about $US10,000."Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01739671401151990700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-71689988426656601622010-03-25T15:37:06.746-07:002010-03-25T15:37:06.746-07:00Following up on Frum . . . he's been fired by ...Following up on Frum . . . he's been fired by the American Enterprise Institute.<br /><br />Fellow conservative Bruce Bartlett suggests why:<br /><br />http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/bruce-bartlett/1601/groupthink-right-would-make-stalin-proudStefan Joneshttp://home.comcast.net/~stefan_jones/kira_squirrel_lo.JPGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31919437494624652102010-03-25T15:33:30.902-07:002010-03-25T15:33:30.902-07:00Following up on Frum's comments . . . the guy ...Following up on Frum's comments . . . the guy has parted ways with the American Enterprise Institute:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/023055.php" rel="nofollow">TAKING THE 'THINK' OUT OF THINK TANK</a><br /><br />Take-away quote by Bruce Bartlett:<br /><i>" Since, [Frum] is no longer affiliated with AEI, I feel free to say publicly something he told me in private a few months ago. He asked if I had noticed any comments by AEI "scholars" on the subject of health care reform. I said no and he said that was because they had been ordered not to speak to the media because they agreed with too much of what Obama was trying to do.<br /><br /> It saddened me to hear this. I have always hoped that my experience was unique. But now I see that I was just the first to suffer from a closing of the conservative mind. Rigid conformity is being enforced, no dissent is allowed, and the conservative brain will slowly shrivel into dementia if it hasn't already.<br /><br /> Sadly, there is no place for David and me to go."</i><br /><br /><br />'phorines': Naturally occurring nanoreplicators found on surface of dead suns.Stefan Joneshttp://home.comcast.net/~stefan_jones/kira_squirrel_lo.JPGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32844913159640540732010-03-25T14:27:00.957-07:002010-03-25T14:27:00.957-07:00Russ Daggatt's latest is amazing..
http://dagg...Russ Daggatt's latest is amazing..<br />http://daggatt.blogspot.com/2010/03/bipartisan-health-care-reform-law.html<br /><br />or<br />http://daggatt.blogspot.com/2010/03/<br />then<br />bipartisan-health-care-reform-law.html<br /><br /><i>Frum also makes the point that Republicans had worked their base into such a crazy rage over the last year that they couldn't back down. How do you compromise with "totalitarianism" or a "socialist takeover of the country" or "death panels"? The Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh/Sarah Palin crowd is now calling the shots. As Frum observed,<br /><br /> "Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us, and now we are discovering we work for Fox."<br /> <br />Republicans now seem to be doubling down on the partisan division and obstruction. There is the whole phony "repeal" effort (Republicans would need 69 votes in the Senate to overcome a presidential veto which they couldn't achieve even if they won every Senate seat up this year). Then there is the frivilous litigation challenging the constitutionality of the act. But my favorite is John "Hey You Kids Get Out Of My Yard!" McCain's threat, "There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year." As opposed to all that Republican cooperation before. And what has made McCain more churlish than usual? Democrats overcame a Republican filibuster with 60 votes in the Senate. An OUTRAGE!<br /> <br />Jonathan Chait makes a good point regarding McCain's threat:<br /><br />[I]f we believe McCain [and other Republicans], they're saying that there are areas in public policy where Republicans would help make legislative changes that they believe would make the country a better place, but they are refusing to do so out of pique ... In other words, their own claim is that they are deliberately choosing to create suffering -- not merely preventing legislation the Democrats want, but preventing legislation they agree would help people and would otherwise support -- in order to punish the Democrats. This sounds like something the Democrats would accuse them of doing, not something they'd boast about.<br /><br />This is the guy whose presidential campaign slogan was "Country First."<br /><br />Senate Republicans are already acting on their threat of total obstruction by invoking an obscure Senate rule to prevent any Senate committee meetings from taking place after 2pm. (In sympathy with their cause, I call on all Americans to join Senate Republicans by heading home from work every day at 2pm.) Seriously. <br /> <br />You couldn't come up with better material for a Gail Collins column if you tried -- and she has a great one today. As she reminds us:<br /><br />This could go on for some time. Meanwhile, feel free to remind Rush Limbaugh that he promised to move to Costa Rica if health care reform gets implemented. <br /> Once you’re done, you can go back and remind him that Costa Rica has national health care.<br /><br />For that alone, we should all be grateful that health care reform was finally signed into law.</i>David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-38110976108927374672010-03-25T13:57:15.490-07:002010-03-25T13:57:15.490-07:00http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/
then
joe_conaso...http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/<br />then<br />joe_conason/2010/03/25/militia/index.html<br /><br /><br />!!!David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20851771707902880062010-03-25T05:53:30.146-07:002010-03-25T05:53:30.146-07:00Well, Dr. Brin, it looks like Congress is refusing...Well, Dr. Brin, it looks like <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704896104575139891578682472.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5" rel="nofollow">Congress is refusing to allow their golden eggs in NASA fly away</a>; they are refusing the budget for NASA that Obama laid out, finding it "unreasonable" that we'll have to rely on private industry to return to space. (Funny, that. Guess Republicans aren't pro-business after all. Or at least, not pro-aerospace industries looking to go into orbit without NASA.)<br /><br />So. Seeing that we are going to have some form of Ares V and the like, what do you think can be salvaged from the Constellation project and what should be scrapped wholescale? And how do we do this without breaking enough eggs to cause whiny Congressmen to rise up in revolt?<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3727250056833525882010-03-24T21:54:43.874-07:002010-03-24T21:54:43.874-07:00Patrick Farley is taking pledges to restart Electr...Patrick Farley is taking pledges to restart Electric Sheep Comix:<br /><br />http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2052006434/electric-sheep-reloaded-0<br /><br />Electric Sheep Comix?<br /><br />As in: The Spiders, Apocamon, and many other brilliant stories:<br /><br />http://electricsheepcomix.com/<br /><br />'rocajej:' We don't talk about things like that in public young man!Stefan Joneshttp://home.comcast.net/~stefan_jones/kira_grinning_lo.JPGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11905093927409904482010-03-24T16:03:12.449-07:002010-03-24T16:03:12.449-07:00Yes, there are parallels and commonalities. Many ...Yes, there are parallels and commonalities. Many of them. But the american populist-falangist movement is tempered by many essentially american features. e.g. the right shouts (screams) that it is the group fighting for freedom, individualism, anti-racism, and many other consensus goods. In these dissonances one can hope to find fracture points and draw many of them back into America.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58006488324558435402010-03-24T14:38:19.057-07:002010-03-24T14:38:19.057-07:00Check out the 14 tracts which according to Umberto...Check out the 14 tracts which according to Umberto Eco define Fascism:<br /><br />http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_blackshirt.html<br /><br />They seem to mirror pretty closely the current thinking of the wingnuts who have overrun the GOP.Hypnoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01409179274970587232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-76782221913255126762010-03-24T12:10:57.214-07:002010-03-24T12:10:57.214-07:00@ Illithi Dragon
I think that foil/toothpick mode...@ Illithi Dragon<br /><br />I think that foil/toothpick model on Mythbusters (Daughter's fav show) was basically ionizing air, causing a flow downwards. The problem with this is the large amount of electricity required for lift. Hard to do with self contained power source. 'Course, this was the problem with original heavier than air flight; a light enough power plant and fuel with enough energy density.JuhnDonnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06795417373366495092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-78324157674906909282010-03-24T12:06:10.097-07:002010-03-24T12:06:10.097-07:00Oh, wonderful:
FBI Investigating Cut Gas Line At ...Oh, wonderful:<br /><br /><a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/fbi_investigating_cut_gas_line_at_home_of_dem_reps.php?ref=fpblg" rel="nofollow">FBI Investigating Cut Gas Line At Home Of Dem Rep's Brother</a><br /><br />(Why the rep's <i>brother?</i> Because the VA tea party goons put the wrong address on their "here's who to harass" web site.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/22/1830379/democratic-offices-vandalized.html" rel="nofollow">Democratic offices vandalized across the country</a><br /><br /><br />'plorsnex': Leader of the Bleep Blorp of Orion V.Stefan Joneshttp://hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13032719244466404442010-03-24T11:03:34.293-07:002010-03-24T11:03:34.293-07:00"... I'll defer to you, rewinn, because I...<i>"... I'll defer to you, rewinn, because I'm sure I'm not completely right about this...."</i><br /><br />No, no don't defer to me just because ....<br /><br />...wait a minute. What am I SAYING??? ...<br /><br />...yes, yes, defer! Definitely!<br /><br />heh-heh. I promise to use this power ONLY for good!<br /><br />Trust. Me!<br /><br />(P.S.. Lawyer jokes? Love'm! it's better if they aren't just generic "I-don't-like'm" jokes with the labels changed, but are more about actual lawyering. My favorite comes from the Icelandic Njal's Saga, (from before 1000 A.D. !!) which at the climax has basically a wrongful-death suit that goes sideways on procedural grounds. After about 4 chapters of Viking verbal maneuver and counter-maneuver (jury selection, venue, etc), it becomes clear that by sharp lawyering and some skulduggery, not only will the killer escape judgement but the complainants will be punished instead; therefore the plaintiff's legal consultant finishes with an argument sharp and to the point: <b>"My Spear Thru Your Gut"</b>. See <a href="http://www.sagadb.org/brennu-njals_saga.en#141" rel="nofollow">Njal's saga chapters 141-145</a><br /><br />OK, to us moderns it's not that funny, but it must've had them rolling in the mead-hall aisles!rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-83464202280465540342010-03-24T07:27:22.562-07:002010-03-24T07:27:22.562-07:00Well, it's more around the same time than earl...Well, it's more around the same time than earlier, but Ben Bova's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cyberbooks-Ben-Bova/dp/0312931816" rel="nofollow">Cyberbooks</a> was a novel entirely devoted to the idea of e-readers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-17558177268603265282010-03-24T04:23:21.806-07:002010-03-24T04:23:21.806-07:00OECD comments on health care costs in the US:
htt...OECD comments on health care costs in the US:<br /><br />http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/5/34/43800977.pdf<br /><br />Haven't had a chance to read this myself yet.Ian Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04352147295160200128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-2635038128713749442010-03-24T03:07:03.048-07:002010-03-24T03:07:03.048-07:00On a different front: Bill Gates and Toshiba are p...On a different front: Bill Gates and Toshiba are partnering to produce a travelling wave reactor.<br /><br />This has many of the benefits of the Sandia reactor we discussed here a couple of weeks ago but minus the hassles of working with liquid sodium.<br /><br />A Travelling Wave reactor is similar in concept to a breeder reactor but instead of converting U-238 to Plutonium which then needs to be extracted and concentrated before it can be used as fuel the Travelling Wave reactor converts Thorium or U-235 to U-238 which can then be used in fuel in situ.<br /><br />http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Bill_Gates_Toshiba_in_early_talks_on_nuclear_reactor_999.html<br /><br />Supposedly Gates is considering investing up to several billion dollars.<br /><br />That's serious money even for Bill.Ian Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04352147295160200128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-41522176125553475742010-03-24T02:28:39.180-07:002010-03-24T02:28:39.180-07:00(In case it wasn't obvious, I don't entire...(In case it wasn't obvious, I don't entirely know what I'm talking about.)David McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16603857353437134459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31609803704398561642010-03-24T02:24:57.682-07:002010-03-24T02:24:57.682-07:00And you said mathematicians were useless!!!!!! ;-)...And you said mathematicians were useless!!!!!! ;-)David McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16603857353437134459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-21745361249070214392010-03-24T02:23:58.482-07:002010-03-24T02:23:58.482-07:00Ordinary English is Turing-complete. Proof: Turing...Ordinary English is Turing-complete. Proof: Turing's papers on the Turing machine are written in English. QED.<br /><br />More seriously: Turing-completeness is a property of a system of rules for doing calculations. It simply means that the system can perform all calculations that can be performed by a Turing machine.<br /><br />There is no magic that makes the formal systems we ordinarily think of as Turing-complete different from any precisely-defined English jargon. A computer seems like a paragon of deterministic, precisely-defined behavior: but all the specs are written in English. All the parts are made of atoms. It only appears to be the embodiment of pure logic because it's very well engineered.<br /><br />Any formal mathematical system is a subset of the natural language in which the axioms are given. For example, the spec for ANSI C is given in English; therefore, ANSI C is in essence an elaborate jargon, and the set of C programs is a subset of the set of English utterances. If you are uncomfortable with this, consider replacing the punctuation and abbreviations of C with equivalent and equally well-defined English phrases.<br /><br />The meaning of a given C program is defined by a particular English document, the ANSI C spec. Its meaning is subject to all the ambiguities of English, except insofar as these pitfalls have been diligently avoided. Thus, C is only different from ordinary English because we have built machines that can execute C programs with high--but imperfect--predictability.David McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16603857353437134459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8016185159195344552010-03-23T20:03:02.255-07:002010-03-23T20:03:02.255-07:00Ian
I know, I know.
But I stand by my earlier pre...Ian<br /><br />I know, I know.<br />But I stand by my earlier prediction as well. Heh,if you look at the polls comprising the RCP average you will note that Fox News polls congressional approval four points higher than CBS!<br /><br />Tacitus2Tacitus2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10563608964705924732010-03-23T18:37:16.308-07:002010-03-23T18:37:16.308-07:00"Twinbeam, it's comparing spending on ent..."Twinbeam, it's comparing spending on entire population, even tho the US doesn't actually cover its entire population. Which makes it all the more remarkable.<br /><br />Just to cover its elderly, the US gov spends MORE than any other OECD country does to cover its entire population."<br /><br />Precisely, the amount the US currently spends to cover the elderly, some children and the military would pay for coverage for the entire population if the money were spent as efficiently as it is is other developed countries.Ian Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07666385933765478081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-41464908671208590062010-03-23T18:32:34.413-07:002010-03-23T18:32:34.413-07:00"Robert, RCP approval rating of Congress now ..."Robert, RCP approval rating of Congress now stands at 17.4%. Although our original wager is off, since Deem and Pass went down, I assert: "For the finest in Political Punditry, Tacitus, accept no substitutes"."<br /><br />Tacitus you';ll remeber there's a two week period in there - and you might also want to mote that the polls that show that result were taken last week before the legislation was actually passed.Ian Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07666385933765478081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-7595391332456615092010-03-23T17:36:28.272-07:002010-03-23T17:36:28.272-07:00Not yer lawyerin' talk; most all Americans are...Not yer lawyerin' talk; most all Americans are convinced that lawyers make for good jokes.<br /><br />(Still and all, as a software guy, the field is intriguing...)<br /><br />I'm talking about judging talk, which appears to be much more precise. Turing-complete doesn't mean "expressible in Pascal", after all. <br /><br />Even so, I'll defer to you, rewinn, because I'm sure I'm not completely right about this.Rob Perkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618647194288598056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46365807662858194732010-03-23T14:35:06.082-07:002010-03-23T14:35:06.082-07:00again, on electric planes:
www.evworld.com/articl...again, on electric planes:<br /><br />www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1248Marinonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-73854716235916044092010-03-23T14:25:29.755-07:002010-03-23T14:25:29.755-07:00For Illithi Dragon
In Brunner's Shockwave Rid...For Illithi Dragon<br /><br />In Brunner's Shockwave Rider the author featured planes (both passenger planes and a ground attack military plane, iirc) propelled by something like electrostatic jets.<br />Once I stumbled upon a paper by an Indian engineer, about various forms of electrical propulsion for planes, from electric ducted fan to jets accelerating air by difference of potential (something like the fictional "silent drive" of the Red October, but in air)<br /><br />MarinoMarinonoreply@blogger.com