Starship update, 8/5/23

 

No narration in this video. The part most interesting to me was the spin prime test. This means that they are quickly checking off all the boxes for the next launch.

However, they still need a launch license. This may be a big stumbling block.

SpaceX Starship update 8-4-23

WAI covers the latest on the Starship, plus more news and developments.

The Conscience of a Liberal- Review

Update: 8/4/23

Oliver Darcy on the latest Trump indictment

There is a correlation here. Darcy is equating dissidence as violence. The correlation is the attitude towards dissent, which is shown in Krugman's book.

quote from Darcy : "The draconian rhetoric, once reserved for the likes of tyrants and dictators, has become commonplace in right-wing media when referring to President Joe Biden and the elected government he leads."

Let's suppose for a moment that the "draconian rhetoric" is actually true. Is it violence to point that out? If it is violence, then that is supposedly wrong in the face of tyranny and dictatorship. It would seem to fly in the face of the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence asserts the right of the people to alter or abolish forms of government that have become destructive to their happiness: quote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

The Constitution states unequivocally that "Congress shall make no law" regarding free speech. So, how is it that speech has now become illegal? For if it is "violent" to oppose liberals, then there can be no free speech. The freedom to agree with liberals is no freedom at all.

There is no argument that violence occurred on January 6th, but the truth behind what caused it is being hidden. To claim we cannot say that there may be nefarious intent behind their accusations of insurrection, is part of the problem. The protest itself was in consequence of the belief that the election was not honest, nor accurate. Is it illegal now to say that?

If so, we now have the tyranny that the Founders fought against in 1776. It would appear that we are to accept the coup against our rights and the true soveriegnty of the nation, which was founded upon "We The People".

Indeed, some of the devices that King George III used against the colonies in that time are being practiced today. These are "pretended" offenses, and judgment is going to be carried out in a place where the former President has little chance of prevailing. Washington DC votes for Democrats more than 90% of the time. This is no accident that this venue was chosen, because it is very unlikely that the Democrats would prevail anywhere else.

Washington DC is doing the same as King George III in trying to set up an unwarranted jurisdiction over all of us. WE THE PEOPLE have the RIGHT to oppose such designs. This is true regardless of what Krugman, Darcy or the rest of these people have to say against it.

The Declaration of Independence USA, 1776

Read the Declaration and see how a tyrant behaves, then examine the words of these people and decide for yourselves whether or not their behavior is coming very close to the same. It may well come to violence again in the near future, but it won't be insurrection, for the people want their rights back. A government that has repudiated its founding is the insurrection to be fought against.

originally posted on Nov 28, 2010

This is a political book, not a book about economics.  To begin this review
of Krugman's book, let's begin with these two quotes:

"Because in the end, democracy is what being a liberal is all about."

"...movement conservatism has been antidemocratic, with an attraction to
authoritarianism, from the beginning..."

This is Krugman's dichotomy in a nutshell.  It is a black and white definition.
Good and evil.  Good guys and bad guys.  There can be no place in between.  No
other way.

If democracy and liberalism is one and the same, and movement conservatism is
antidemocratic and authoritarian, there isn't much room for dissent. Therefore,
you must agree with liberals, or you must become an Eisenhower type Republican.
As Krugman said, Eisenhower Republicans offered no real opposition to liberalism.
Active dissent from liberalism means authoritarianism in his formulation.  Very
handy way of disposing of dissent.  Just attach a pejorative label upon opponents
who strongly disagree.

Krugman unabashedly seeks equality as a value in itself.  A question arises: Is
equality a worthy object of pursuit in its own right?  To Krugman, it would seem
to mean the absense of strife.  But what about the pursuit of wealth?  Is that
pursuit a worthy goal?  This book is mostly silent on that subject.  What little
that is said would indicate that the pursuit of wealth is a secondary issue.  If
inequality is a problem, how do you reconcile that with the pursuit of wealth?
Krugman's answer: sacrifice it to the greater value of equality.

He argues that inequality is the cause of the political nastiness that exists today.
Yet, it is entirely acceptable for liberals to be partisan, while it is not
acceptable to be partisan and against liberalism.  What if you don't want to be
equal?  What if you want to excel?  Does that make you at fault for disturbing the
community just because you want more for yourself?  Moreover, it does not follow
that shunning the pursuit of wealth creates abundance.  The abundance has to come
from somewhere.  Does it not come from those who want to excel?  It doesn't come from
those who just want to be equal and for everybody else to be equal.  If so, then
how can that be possible?  What reason is there to produce for no profit?  It cannot
come from those who demand equality and adherence to that standard from all.  In
the end, by that standard, all must remain at their stations.  If a little strife is to price
for pursuit of wealth, isn't it worth it?  Conversely, if equality for all is the
price of peace, then isn't that price too high?

Perhaps these arguments are probably too simplistic.  But that is generally what
Krugman is saying.  He blames inequality for our politics today.  He blames
inequality for poor economic performance.  But he fails to show why equality
produces wealth.  He can show the plausibility that inequality can contribute
to poor economic performance, but that is not the same as saying that equality
produces wealth.  To make that claim, it would stretch credulity to the breaking
point.  He blames strife on the inequality of wealth, but he shows no way to
reduce strife by having more production of wealth from all.  Instead, pursuit of
wealth must not be encouraged for the good of the community.

But is the pursuit of wealth is a problem?  Or is the reaction to it that must be
examined?  What are the possible reactions?  You can encourage it in order
that more might have it, or you can discourage it so that nobody can have it.
If pursuit of wealth is the problem in itself, then you must discourage it as Krugman
indicates.  There can be no other possibility.  If the pursuit of wealth is not the
problem, then there are other possibilities.  Such as encouraging it so that more
can have it.  But Krugman doesn't favor this.

In short, Krugman says that inequality distubs people, so it should be remedied.
He doesn't recognize that there are other ways to deal with this, and insists that
others must agree with him.  If not, they must be bad people.  It is hard to
reason with someone who thinks those that disagree are bad people and that they
are morally inferior, and that their moral view must be discouraged.  There has to
be a better way.  Krugman's book doesn't show the way.  It's his way or the highway.
But he is all for Democracy.  After all, he is a liberal.  The other guys are bad guys.

Quint's Song in Jaws

This is not good

 

This is not good

Looks like there's a movement afoot to put pressure on the Texas Legislators, who impeached Attorney General Paxton. All attention seems focused on the national scene, but if Texas is lost to the Democrats, then it's a one party state and national political scene for as far as the eye can see.

So I perused the actual impeachment articles and it didn't allay any suspicions about this being another one of the Democrat tricks. The seed for the impeachment may have sown by the DOJ, and the Texas Legislature, controlled by the GOP for a long time now, has decided to jump onboard this shit train.

The charges are pretty Mickey Mouse shit as far as I've read into them. There are a bunch of articles, which I suppose are intended to impress the public. Paxton must be some sort of beastly fellow, according to all this. Once I saw that the DOJ was in on it, my suspicions hit the bullshit region of the scale. This is coming from my representative in the state legislature. He was primaried last time, but won anyway. His literature claims that he is a conservative, but I smell a rat.

If Paxton did anything wrong, he should be held accountable. That's the ideal. But the reality is that all of this is one-sided. To join Democrats in a one-sided application of laws and standards is about the stupidest thing I can imagine. Yet, here they are doing it. I suspect that they are bought off, or they are terminally stupid.

Imagine that the DOJ in pursuing and indicting Trump, has now gotten the GOP to help them further their conquest. What a shit show. Anybody with any sense of justice should be offended. But the polls say Biden's approval is in the high 40's. Maybe it is, maybe it ain't. Since everything has turned to shit, it is hard to believe what anybody says these days. However, the Democrats are definitely committed to dishonesty. That's been true for a long time now. That's what happens in a war. If you try to play by honest rules against crooks, then the game is rigged.

If Paxton really did do something, it is Mickey Mouse shit that they're using to take over the state. This is how it works. The GOP tries to pose as knights in shining armor, with all their high scruples and other such rot, while they refuse to hold the Democrats to the same standards. We all get to feel good about upholding standards, while they plunge the dagger into our backs.

Then they come to us complaining about the Democrats "two-tiered" justice system. Well, if one exists, and it probably does, it's because they are helping the Democrats do it.

So what to do about it? A petition? No, that is not strong enough. There needs to be a major house-cleaning in the GOP. That may not even be possible, but the attempt should be made.

As of now, I think we are losing big time. Most people have their heads up their asses.

FAA says Starship Second Oribtal Launch is Not Happening Until...

 

...they get a report that hasn't been submitted yet? This seems odd.

The video may shed a little more light on the situation. It seems that the FAA and SpaceX have been at odds before.

SpaceX is getting to be a pretty important enterprise. But the government is bigger, and has deeper pockets.

We shall see where this leads. Hopefully, the differences can be smoothed out, and this candle can be lit up soon.

more here:

Former GOP congressman Will Hurd charges that Trump is only running to avoid prosecution.

Former GOP congressman Will Hurd charges that Trump is only running to avoid prosecution. He says that to a torrent of boos. But why boo him??? /sarc

Compare that with this story in Gateway Pundit--- Trump confronts Biden in 2020 debate about Hunter getting 3.5 million donation from Moscow's mayor's wife.

None of this is new. It is almost if the GOP that opposes Trump are die hard Democrats. Yet, they run as Republicans.

Recall that Trump was being accused of colluding with the Russians. But here's Hunter Biden taking money from the Russians. Also, Brandon lied about it all, and in the debate, called Trump a "clown".

The GOP should be CRUSHING the Democrats. But the Rasmussen Poll has Brandon at 47 percent yesterday. Obviously, Hurd and others like him, are helping give Brandon a LOT of cover.

People need to wake up now.

Douglas Macgregor - Russia will Cross the River and Take Odessa

 

If this guy is right, then Ukraine has lost this war.

If Ukraine has lost this war, what does it say about our leadership in Washington? Nothing good, I am sure.

In the meantime, with another failed military adventure, the "leadership" has managed to just about wreck this country. While doing so, people are kept happily sedated, thinking that the good times will never end.

There could be a rather rude, and painful awakening. By that time, it could be too late.

Rome is burning, and these people are lighting the torches to everything. This includes not only Brandon, but a good many so-called "conservatives" who won't oppose it. The opposition in this country doesn't really exist. It is all fake.

So I agree that this cannot end well for us, but we still have a chance to get rid of those who are making all of this nightmarish stuff happen. People need to step forward and run against these bastards.

Once caveat here: I don't know what the real truth is. But I DO know that there are a lot of folks who are hiding it.

Question: Is water vapor a gas, or a type of liquid?

The reason for this is related to the possibility that global warming could be more related to water than to carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a gas, but what if water vapor is not?

A gas is a phase of matter, that includes solids and liquids. In order to get to a gas, there must be a phase change, and this is often related to temperature. Consequently, ice melts, and thus changes phase from a solid to a liquid. Likewise, water boils, and changes phase from liquid to a gas when it becomes steam. But if steam is a gas, is water vapor a gas? Water vapor occurs at a low temperature. Could it still be in a liquid phase, then?

Actually, it is considered a gas.

A bit of a segue here. The link points to another link about Kinetic theory of gases. It shows that the temperature of the ideal gas is proportional to the average kinetic energy of its particles. Gases are always in motion, then. All matter is in motion, but what makes gases different?

What makes a gas a gas, a liquid a liquid, and a solid a solid?

That question relates to the energy issue behind AGW. Energy relates to thermodynamics, and to entropy. Recall that entropy is the tendency of energy to spread out.

Something has to prevent entropy from spreading out the energy so that temperatures can go up. What is it about gases that make this impossible? ( my hunch, by the way) Gases do not have the limatations to its motion that liquids and solids have. It the motion that involves kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is simply matter in motion.

By the way, there is a lot more water in terms of mass, than there is matter in the atmosphere. This could explain periods of warmth or coldness, such as in ice ages.

Yellow goes belly up

 

via revolver news

Bad stuff is just going to keep happening.  Hopefully there will be something left when people wake the hell up.

What's Stopping Us From Building a Warp Drive?

List of six obstacles that would have to be overcome before such a device could be realized. Some are so formidable that such a device may, for all intents and purposes, be infeasible.

However, a sub-luminal warp drive may be an easier task. For whatever that is worth.

After all, it was just a television show...

Beam me up, Scotty.

Gas Prices are Skyrocketing

Yet, Crooked Joe wants to implement a "climate emergency". Actually, it is his own failed policies that are the cause of the problem.

You have to wonder how much Joe got from China to implement policies that hurt America. How much for our hides? We've been sold out.

It's going to be a rough ride. You may want to buckle up.

First Starship Hot-Stage testing

Whoa! Back up there podnah! The narrator suggests that the maximum stress on the hot staging ring is not at MaxQ, but at stage separation. Which caught my attention. Where is the greatest stress on that part of the rocket structure? The hot staging ring has the Starship directly above it. It has the weight of the Starship on top of it, which is always at whatever its wet mass is.

If the wet mass of the Starship is 1200 tons, and it experiences 3G, then it needs to be able to support 3600 tons. Or, if not that, then what? I'm thinking that the G forces would be LESS on the ring, because it is at separation, and the weigh is no longer on it.

The exhaust of the Starship upon it at one half thrust would mean it would be like a braking force against the booster. This would give it a G force of some magnitude, but what? Whenever you slow down real fast, you experience G force. Whenever you speed up real fast, you experience G force. If it is going at such and such a velocity, the amount of deceleration imposed upon it by the Starship's exhaust will be the correct amount of G force, I would think.

It would be like hitting the brakes real hard at 120 MPH. The G's would be in how fast you are decelerating. You know, this is quite clever. The booster needs to slow down. Instead of user booster's fuel, it is user the Starship's fuel. It's getting the deceleration for "free". This might be why it will help in increasing payload capacity. That's more fuel that can be used for payload, and less for recovering the booster.

That Elon Musk is a fart smeller. Or smart feller. Whatever.

Brandon said to be considering "climate emergency"

First, it's the COVID mania, now there's this. It's hot in a few places, but I guess the pinkos never heard of "summer". It gets hot in the summer. It's like the bathroom thing, they seem to have trouble with the most basic of concepts. If its an outie, then its a boy. Otherwise, it is a girl. It comes that way from the womb.

Anyway, they're trying to whip up a frenzy of panic over "climate change". We've got to "do something". Try standing in the shade. That might help.

So Greta Thunberg is in Congress, or so it appears. The GOP guy is questioning her. She needed help from someone, so this girl next to her says something about "looking at your kids in the eye" about stopping the USA from burning any fossil fuels, but not China. If China emits a lot more, then why not go after them instead? Oh, no! Can't do that. We've got to look those kids in the eye and make sure that we don't burn any fossil fuels. Maybe there was a question or two afterward, but I got the impression the girl won that exchange. That's why it was on YouTube. If it went badly for her, they would have censored it.

Why can't they look their kids in the eye and tell them that we stopped China? Oh, no! Can't do that.

The point seems to be missed, but we've got to feel good about ourselves. But how do you feel good about yourself, and still fail? Unless the objective really isn't about climate change, but sabotaging America, and promoting Communist China. But we'll all feel good about it.

If they really cared about "climate change", and they really wanted to stop burning fossil fuels, then why do they oppose nuclear energy? Oh, no! We can't have nuclear energy because it isn't "green". By the way, what does the damned color have to do with anything? Does it use fossil fuels? No. Then why not use it? Because it is not "green", they'll say. It melts down, they'll say. Well, that's because it is old technology, and they have managed to stop progress on new technology that can overcome those problems. They stopped it by making everybody scared shitless of the meltdowns. There has been nuclear accidents, but the world didn't end. The COVID madness ended too.

Not that we should accept meltdowns. But we cannot get real progress on that technology because of the fear being ginned up. The fear is being used to stop all energy production. That's because it will hurt American interests, and that is what shutting down fossil fuels is really all about.

So I don't know if the GOP is asking these kinds of questions. My guess is that they aren't. If they were, the media and YouTube wouldn't be showing Greta Thunberg, because her group got creamed in that committee. By the way, the girl who said that about the kids should have been asked if she had any kids herself. From the looks of it, I kinda wonder if she's interested in having kids herself. Most kids these days seem to be against the idea.

Maybe the kids would prefer to eat bugs and starve. That's because that's where we are going. Something like that has already happened in Sri Lanka.

NEW NUCLEAR REACTOR! Safe Nuclear Energy for 1200 Years!?

No, it's not new. It's only "new" because the tech was given away during the Obama Administration. Looks like it won't be developed here in the US. Shame on our "leadership".

Hot staging ring makes debut

Getting closer to the finish line... Once this gets bolted on, or welded on, then the Starship may be ready to rumble.

There's quite a bit more info here than what is necessary for me, but perhaps not for somebody who doesn't scan for these things on a regular basis as I do. So I started it where the first hot staging ring can be seen, which is being rolled out to Massey's for testing.

That's all for me right now.  Quick update:  FAA says no launch this summer!

Hot staging

 

The video says "new design", but it looks like an "older" one. Actually, an older one is a newer one, because iterations run so fast.

It may sound critical, but it isn't really. Not everybody is a spacex junkie, and follows this stuff so closely that they'll notice little things like that. Besides, I could be full of crap, and it IS the new design. But it looks older to me.

It's a good video. Never mind me.

Merle Haggard -- Rainbow Stew

Methinks there's a pattern here...

Johnny Cash--- Big Rock Candy Mountain

Interesting short talk at the beginning...

The Coupon Song

Those coupons don't seem to be any good for anything. The song seems to be a dark joke.

Graphene Batteries

Intriguing developments

SN-15 is dismantled

Puzzling...