Flying Pod

 

Alien Life

 

Company Wants to Pick Up Space Trash

In the middle of a space flight, an astronaut heard a massive bang. He looked up and saw a piece of space junk embedded in the window of the shuttle.

If the debris had been bigger, it could have blown out the window, and the crew would have all died, the astronaut told Joel C. Sercel, the founder and CEO of TransAstra.

"Space junk is one of the greatest perils that astronauts face in low Earth orbit today," Sercel told Insider.

TransAstra was recently awarded an $850,000 contract from NASA to explore the possibility of cleaning up space junk with a giant "capture bag" that the company has dubbed Flytrap, Sercel said.

"It's kind of like picking up trash on the side of the highway," Sercel said.

Only much, much more complex and expensive.

Earth's backyard is a giant dumpster
As humans expand into space, we're leaving a big mess.

The European Space Agency estimates over 330 million pieces of space debris are circling the Earth. Space debris can reach speeds up to 17,500 mph and pose a risk to astronauts, shuttles, and satellites.

TransAstra's Flytrap bags were initially developed to capture asteroids that, in the future, could be mined for rare elements, Sercel said.

But the more Sercel and the team looked into asteroid mining, the more they "became aware of the space junk problem, and we thought this is a really good solution for cleaning up orbital debris," Sercel told Insider.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

Examples of Socialism in the USA

1. 
   One of the rare examples of ownership of the means of production of a product in the USA is California’s recent announcement that it will produce its own insulin.
2. Up to 75% of water services in the USA are owned and operated by a government entity, employing public servants (Warner, 2009).
3. Public infrastructure—bridges, roads, electricity, water and sewer systems, and other government infrastructure—is considered socialist. It is usually owned and operated by the government and paid for by a mix of taxation and user fees.
4. Fire protection services and fire departments are socialist programs funded by tax revenue and provided free at the point of use.
5. Public transportation systems, including buses, subways, railway stations, etc., are another great example of socialism in America.
6. Like firefighting departments, police departments are fully socialized. No one directly pays the police to come out to their house or to patrol the streets. It comes out of general revenue.
7. Public parks belong to everyone. They are usually free to get into, although increasingly pay per use is being instituted to recuperate costs and minimize land erosion.
8. Public schools, universities, and community colleges are another form of socialism in the US.
9. The US Postal Service, also known as the USPS, the Post Office, US Mail, or simply Postal Service, is a government-run service that’s responsible for accepting and distributing postal services within the country.
10. Medicare and Medicaid may be considered government-run socialist healthcare programs. They help cover the medical costs for individuals with limited income.
11. Signed into law by former President Roosevelt in 1935, the Social Security Act replaces a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement income based on his/her lifetime earnings. It also ensures access to health care for the unemployed, the disabled, the sick, and the retired among others.
12. The US military is a socialist organization – in fact, it’s one of the biggest government-owned and operated employers in the world.

When the Republicans yell, piss, scream, and complain about the Democrats taking the country into SOCIALISM...  either they are stupid in their awareness of socialism, or they are trying to INTENTIOALLY MISLEAD the general public...

We are already up to our eyeballs in socialistic programs, and it has been this way since I was a little boy in the 1950s.

So, I am not really sure why the Republicans are against the Democrats as they push for more social programs unless it is because the Republican Party is typically against RAISING TAXES.

So, instead of focusing in on taxes, they have focused in on socialism.

However...  true socialism is when the GOVERNMENT OWNS ALL BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRIES...  and, no matter how bad the Democrats want socialism, I doubt they will ever create a situation in this country where the government business and industry...  it just will not happen.

The wild card here is the BILLIONAIRES and the MULTI-MILLIONAIRES...

It is possible that someone can convince these people to share their wealth with everyone else and that would increase the number of social programs without raising taxes.

Tiger

 

Escape Routes Get a Quantum Overhaul

When it comes to natural disasters, every second counts—and the clock may just be ticking a little slower following a collaboration between Terra Quantum and Honda Research Institute Europe (HRI-EU).

By entangling quantum computing with traditional algorithms, the team has paved a ‘superposition’ of escape routes designed to evacuate people more quickly and efficiently in emergency situations.

This hybrid approach fuses the world of quantum mechanics with the urgency of real-world crises, aiming to create not just the shortest path out, but the ‘quantum leap’ in emergency response we’ve been waiting for.

According to the Honda/Terra Quantum team, disasters have increased fivefold over the past 50 years, primarily due to climatic changes and extreme weather conditions.

In such high-stakes scenarios, emergency response measures like evacuation routes are essential for public safety. “Common” traditional algorithms, such as Dijkstra’s node-wise shortest path algorithm, often encounter limitations when applied to dynamic and unpredictable situations like natural disasters.

The project delved into the capabilities of hybrid quantum technologies in the context of emergency evacuations. A proof-of-concept (POC) was implemented, simulating an earthquake on a realistic small-town map. The problem was modeled as a dynamic computational graph, where the earthquake affects certain areas, creating changes in traffic flows, particularly near the exit points of the town.

The team used a hybrid quantum machine learning model, specifically employing feature-wise linear modulation (FiLM) neural networks. These networks were split into classical and quantum components running in parallel, imitating the node-wise Dijkstra’s algorithm on dynamically changing graphs. The FiLM layer used earthquake coordinates as input features to modulate the traditional neural network, thus making real-time adjustments to the evacuation routes.

The model was trained on simulated data that replicated a town map impacted by an earthquake, collecting routing data generated through Dijkstra’s algorithm.

According to Honda Research, this ML architecture managed to work with less than 1% of the total map data, an advantage in an evolving emergency scenarios.

The team claims their quantum hybrid model demonstrated superior performance in comparison to purely classical approaches.  READ MORE...

Perpetual Motion

 

Free Will

 

Smallest Known Way to Guide Light

Scientists at the University of Chicago found a glass crystal just a few atoms thick can trap and carry light—and could be used for applications. The material is visible as the thin line in the center of the plastic, held by study co-author Hanyu Hong. Credit: Jean Lachat



2D optical waveguides could pave the way for innovative technology.

Channeling light from one location to another is the backbone of our modern world. Across deep oceans and vast continents, fiber optic cables transport light containing data ranging from YouTube clips to banking transmissions—all within fibers as thin as a strand of hair.

University of Chicago Prof. Jiwoong Park, however, wondered what would happen if you made even thinner and flatter strands—in effect, so thin that they’re actually 2D instead of 3D. What would happen to the light?

Through a series of innovative experiments, he and his team found that a sheet of glass crystal just a few atoms thick could trap and carry light. Not only that, but it was surprisingly efficient and could travel relatively long distances—up to a centimeter, which is very far in the world of light-based computing.

The research, recently published in the journal Science, demonstrates what are essentially 2D photonic circuits, and could open paths to new technology.

“We were utterly surprised by how powerful this super-thin crystal is; not only can it hold energy, but deliver it a thousand times further than anyone has seen in similar systems,” said lead study author Jiwoong Park, a professor and chair of chemistry and faculty member of the James Franck Institute and Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. “The trapped light also behaved like it is traveling in a 2D space.”

Guiding light
The newly invented system is a way to guide light—known as a waveguide—that is essentially two-dimensional. In tests, the researchers found they could use extremely tiny prisms, lenses, and switches to guide the path of the light along a chip—all the ingredients for circuits and computations.  READ MORE...

Sailing

 

Our New Abode - 90 Days Later

We have lived in our new home for over 90 days, but it is far from new construction as it is over 20 years old.  We have spent a lot of money getting it fixed up the way we want but have used not one penny of our own money, but we spent the profit made on our old house.  

It was so well maintained that we did not have to do anything at all if we did not want to, but since it is going to be our last house, we decided the makeover was what we needed to do.  While the house is a tad larger than our old house, it is better laid out an the yard is 1/4 the size of our old house.  Plus, there are no staircases to climb up and down.

And, while I have mentioned this all before in previous posts, I had not had the opportunity to live here a while.  So far so good as they say.  This house did fine over the summer once we got a portable AC/heating unit for the sunroom.  Now, the final test is to see how this house fairs over the winter.

Our three cats like this house better as well, even though they no longer have access to a basement.  How do I know this?  All three cats are displaying a more outgoing behavior since we moved here.  And all three cats are venturing outside whereas only 1 venture outside before.  Our backyard is not as big for one thing plus there is a tall barrier of trees and bushes that acts as a fence between us and the house behind us.  The cats seem to appreciate that closed in concept.

We no longer have a pool, a large deck, and a hot tub but neither my wife nor I miss that...  and we especially will not miss it during the winter when we have to put bricks on the tarp to hold it down and then remove those bricks in the spring when we open it up.  Those bricks weight about 12-15 pounds and there were 50 of them that we used.

Needless to say, we are pleased with our move and are confident that it will continue to be that way.

Blast of Rain

 

Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine

Some agree that batteries are the clear winner in the race against hydrogen technologies, while others think the opposite. There's no such debate among internal combustion engine proponents. Almost all of them believe that replacing fossil-fuel-based fuels with H2 is feasible. However, there are some significant caveats to H2ICEs.

The Latin phrase "Inter duos combatentes, tertius vincit" translates to "between two combatants, the third wins." I always feared the fierce debate between battery-electric propulsion enthusiasts and hydrogen-powered systems supporters would benefit the internal combustion engine devotees.

And I was not wrong, as recently, e-fuels seduced many to believe that phasing out of an almost obsolete technology is not necessary anymore. Moreover, these people believe that internal combustion engines deserve not only a top spot in history but also a bright future, along with new high-tech-green technologies.

That's because many in the transport industry and policymakers believe more and more in the potential of combining hydrogen and ICEs.

The fuel-cell sand castle
Currently, Toyota is the most stubborn carmaker willing to keep on investing big money in hydrogen technology for passenger cars. Besides small evolutions in fuel-cell technology – which are marketed as giant leaps, but analysts agree it's not the case – the Japanese also make efforts to use hydrogen for internal combustion engines.

BMW and Hyundai are still in the game, but the new iX5 Hydrogen demonstration vehicles failed to impress, while Hyundai Nexo's future is uncertain. Honda took everyone by surprise when the main rival of Toyota in the fuel cell realm announced it put the hydrogen program on hold to prioritize hybrids and EVs.

As for Volkswagen, their conclusion is sharp: "In the case of the passenger car, everything speaks in favor of the battery, and practically nothing speaks in favor of hydrogen." Mercedes-Benz also joined the "ditch the fuel-cell" bandwagon after 30 years of pursuing the H2 dream.  READ MORE...

Pleasure and Happiness

 

Somewhat Political

 

Making Do With What We Get

Today, my wife and I are going to Perkins Restaurant.  It is a franchise but is owned locally so it does not operate like a franchise since corporate gives their owners a chance at making some changes if they want to.

My wife will get the Tremendous Seven plate with two eggs (cooked anyway she wants) 2 strips of bacon, and three pancakes.  I will get the Everything Omelet with breakfast potatoes and three pancakes.  I will eat half my omelet and half the potatoes and take the other half home along with the 3 pancakes.  She will eat all of her breakfast except for one pancake that she will give to me.

On Monday, I will have the other half of my omelet and potatoes and then on Tuesday and Wednesday, I will eat two pancakes for breakfast each day.  The total cost with beverages is about $30...  however, we get 5 meals out of it, so each meal costs about $6.  The price has gone up because each meal used to cost between $3-$5.  It is still a good deal.

We have plenty of money to eat all of the food at one time, should we chose; however, for me, that is or seems to be unhealthy.  One of the reasons why so many people are obese is that they eat too much at each meal.

Diets will help you lose weight, but you gain it back over time.  Exercise will help you lose weight but that is because you are starving yourself in the process.  The ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT IS TO EAT LESS at each meal.  Some nutritionists suggest that you should eat FIVE small meals a day and no snacks.

One way to help you eat smaller meals is to count your calories and eat UNDER 2000 calories each day.  Your main source of calories should come from vegetables, but you should also eat proteins, starches, breads, and fruit.  Proteins come from meat, beans, eggs, fish, nuts, etc.  And you should avoid red meat.

But this is not about losing weight it is about making do with what you have.  Instead of eating all your food at one time, eat half...  not only will you become healthier, but your money will last longer.

The other big deal is DONT BUY WHAT YOU WANT...   ONLY BUY WHAT YOU NEED...

If you recall the musical group, The Rolling Stones had a song with lyrics that touched on that same subject.  What do you think they knew back in the 1960s that you don't know today?

If you learn to make do with what you have, your life will become happier, you will have less stress, and you will live longer to enjoy that happiness.  Wealth and owning stuff will not make your happy.

Sunday Morning Classic Newspaper Cartooons

 

Don't Trust or Believe Politicians

 My experience with politicians began in the early 1960s when JFK became President.  I was a Democrat then, mainly because both my parents were Democrats.

Over the years, I came to realize that ALL POLITICIANS whether Democrats, Republicans, or Socialists do not give a rat's ass about the American public...  all they care about is getting re-elected.  They promise you what you want to be promised.  They tell you what you want to hear.

Therefore, they cannot be TRUSTED.

Furthermore, if I were to look back at the problems Americans faced in the 1960s and compare them to the problems Americans faced in 2020, they would damn near be identical.

In other words, politicians have had over 50 years to improve the situation and nothing has improved.

For example,

• We had racial issues in the 1960s
• We had illegal drug issues in the 1960s
• We had wage discrepancies in the 1960s
• We had educational problems in the 1960s
• We had healthcare problems in the 1960s
• We had crime and violence issues in the 1960s

Do any of these problems sound familiar with the problems that we have today?

Of course they do...

We did not have illegal immigrant problems back then nor did we have WOKE or CRT issues.

The politicians have not changed anything that benefits the American Public and many of them have been in office for more than 20 years...

What the hell have they being doing up there?

Over those 50+ years, we have had an enormous amount of inflation...

• gasoline was $0.18/gallon and not self-serve
• Cigarettes were $0.25/pack
• Beer (PBR)was $1.25/six pack
• Hamburgers were $0.15
• Movie tickets were $0.25
• Wages were $0.75/hour soon to be raised to $1.25/hour
• Appliance were made to last 30 years
• Sears had no need to offer warranties
• The cost of an automobile was about $2,500
• The cost of a home was about $12,000
• In 1966, my college tuition was $500/semester which included books but not room and board

Our Politicians allowed these prices to increase.

Why?

Do you think they cared about our welfare?  No.

The corporations had lobbyists to persuade politicians not to be concerned with rising prices - and in turn they would contribute to their re-election fund.

If police solved all the crime and violence, they would have to lay off employees.

If crime and violence increased, they would be able to hire more employees.

If this country really wanted to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the USA...  They could do that in a heartbeat...  but they don't.

Too many people laid off would hurt the economy.

That is the dilemma that Biden has to deal with regarding the UAW.  Only 13,000-15,000 are striking.  Can you imagine to blow to the economy if all 150,000 auto workers went on strike?

Ocean Waves