Yeah--- another one of these

8/4/26:

"Doing something different" doesn't mean doing nothing at all, and counting that as different. /sermon off

8/3/26:

There are things that can be done around the house, so there's that.

One thing comes to mind today: If you get stuck in a rut, try something different.

Sermon/off

8/1/26:

Right after I wrote that I was getting the hang of it, I encountered a problem with this new version of the Construction Simulator.

The reason that I got stuck was so simple that it just blows my mind. I think that they may lose customers because of things like this.

The thing that I got stuck on was how to enter a building. This seems like it should be simple, and it is. But there's a little twist. In this version, you player can get out of a vehicle and walk around. All it takes to get in and out is to press a button. You'd think that it took only that in order to enter a building too, but no. You have to press the button for several seconds, and then you can enter the building. So simple, but it was enough for me to get stuck on it for a significant period of time. There are no hints to solve that problem. It seems that you have to figure it out for yourself. Same thing with the older version of the simulator. Just because it is a new version, that doesn't mean that there aren't little things like this that can trip you up.

Maybe I ought to have better things to do than this, but that's all there is.

7/26/26:

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It's been awhle since I fired up the old Xbox (bought in 2020). The Truck Driver simulator is missing, but the Construction Simulator is still there. But I've run that through so many times that it is a bore, so I actually bought a newer version of it.

It seemed to be bewildering at first, but that's how the other version was too. So I stuck with it for awhile and got the hang of it. It may turn out to be easier to use than the old version. One thing is certain already. It isn't the same game.

4/20/21:

For those who are wondering why I waste time on this, well the answer is that nothing else out there is interesting enough for me. So why not do this?

Look, we've beaten the absolute hell out of the conservative issues. People won't listen. I don't know about anybody else, but beating my head against a wall doesn't interest me. If they won't listen, then I am going elsewhere.

No, I'm not giving up. But when I find something that I want to comment upon, then I'll do it. But I won't join the "woe is me" crowd. Sure, things are bad. But when people get in the mood to listen, you may have better luck than right now.

This video is a continuation of what I posted yesterday. I wasn't satisfied with what I did. Maybe this will explain the issue with the Construction Simulator 3 on Xbox.

Bzzz. Buzzzzy as a bee.

Posting is lite, I know.

So much stuff to do, and so little time. On occassions like this, a bit more organization is to be desired. If it is desired, then it must be pursued. Once it is pursued, then what?

Don't want to be like the Joker, chasing my tail.   Have plans can be a good thing.  Not into doing bad things.   Know what I mean, Vern?

Announcement: Medical issues

6/9/26:

It is interesting to go back and read a post like this from the past... This was the first manifestation of symptoms of which would later be diagosed as cancer. The tests came short of what would have been necessary in order to discover it at that time. The test? An MRI was necessary. X-rays were simply inadequate. The X-rays did discover something unusual about my tailbone. I was asked if I had broken it at one time. To my knowledge, I had not.

The nature of chordomas is that they grow slowly and do not go metastatic like many other cancers. For that reason, it went undiagonosed for nearly five years! How would've things gone if I had gotten an MRI? Hard to say, but I thought about that. Five years earlier would've have meant no ObamaCare. It would've likely meant that surgery would've been prescribed, and from what I've heard, a wheelchair in my future.

The cancer grew bigger and more dangerous all the time. Yet things worked in my favor. I have pondered over that many times.

Sometimes there are no answers for why things happen the way they do.

May 4, 2012:

I've been dealing with a medical problem for the last few days that has kept me from my job.  It now appears that it may do more than that.  I thought it was manageable, but evidently it is not.  There is a likelihood of a lot of tests to determine what the problem is, and depending upon that, a possible hospital stay of an uncertain duration.

So this is a bit of a notification that there will be light posting until the situation plays out.

With respect to all my writing about political matters, and Obamacare, no matter what happens, I am content with my decisions.  I never expected a handout from anyone and have always did my best to give value for value.  I have lived my life in accordance with that.  I would have liked to have done better, but that may not have been in the cards.

I don't want to sound morbid here, but my condition may be serious.  If I am fortunate and it is not all that serious, I will be back soon.

One further thing.  I feel my latest work has been my best.  The bit about Seinfeld really does describe what is happening and it has a medical ( psychological) side to it, in Dr. Sanity's opinion ( and obviously I agree).  Frankly, I think the entire country and world is sick in spirit.  There needs to be a renewal.  But like my own situation, until one recognizes a problem, one can't begin to deal with it.  Hopefully a problem will be recognized and dealt with in time before it becomes too late to deal with it.

Breitbart died and some people seem to find satisfaction in it.  That is what I mean by a spiritual sickness.  By the way, I don't compare myself to Breitbart, but I have something in common with him.  Hopefully, I haven't made the same mistake he did.

Update:

I went to the doctor and at the moment, things do not appear to be as bad as I may have feared.  It appears though that the situation has still not completely resolved, as to cause and so forth, so more visits are likely in the near future.  I thought I might be in a hospital tonight, you see.

Blogging should resume on a light schedule over the weekend.

Rumble

It's been years since I posted anything on Rumble. Why? I purchased a new computer. The old one wore out. The old one had a video editing program included, so it was possible to make videos that can be uploaded. The new one didn't, but you could use Microsoft's "Clipchamp".

Clipchamp is not the same program that I had been using. Therefore, there was a learning curve to master. It also requires that you sign in to use it, which I frowned upon. Without any way to edit new videos, there was no reason to upload anything new. That explains why there's no new content being produced on Rumble.

Going back there to use it for uploads reminded me of what I'd done before. Some of the videos got some views, but nothing spectacular.

There is a way to monetize the thing and make money. I laugh as I write this.

Well, maybe that is not really a big joke. I suppose it is always possible that it could turn into a money-maker. But I didn't even think of that with respect to this last trip.

Maybe this should take some thinking...

Update (on next day):

I've done some thinking... Plus I did some work on ClipChamp again. I was successful in getting the video shortened. It may be useful for putting together disparate clips into one larger one, but I haven't checked into that yet.

If I post on Rumble, I'm not likely to make much money. But theoretically, I can make a little. I can't make money on Google because they didn't like what I did in the early history of this blog, and because of that, they won't allow me to make money here. It wouldn't have been much anyway.

In other words, I'm not counting on making money from this. But things could change. It's always possible, I suppose.

Robert Ringer

5/19/26:

Just watched something about Ayn Rand on Tubi. This made me want to review what I had already written on that subject, because of a rule I have; which is this: do not re-invent the wheel.

But not all rules are always followed...

Anyway, I wrote that Robert Ringer ( in the 2010 section of this post) made me aware of Ayn Rand. That is not entirely true. I remembered seeing Ayn Rand on television in the 70's on the Phil Donhaue Show. So I already knew a little of Ayn Rand before reading about her in Ringer's book.

Let's say he made me MORE aware of her. Mainly of her importance in his own success, which he wrote about in his book.

That's it as far as Ringer is concerned. The Tubi show was more of a biographical whole of Ayn Rand, from her very birth to her death. You can probably find it on Tubi with a search function which Tubi has, which most likely direct you to the person of Ayn Rand. Just in case anyone is interested in her works.

Ayn Rand was considered by her opponents to be "controversial". To which Ayn Rand would probably say "so what"? Yeah, I'd have liked to have known her personally.

So that's that on that subject.

1/16/26:

 

Update:

  In this post, at the third paragraph or so, there was a mention of Leonard Peikoff, who wrote a provocatively titled book.   The title is The Ominous Parallels.

  I'm sure that I've read the book, and may have owned it.  I don't think I have it now, though.  I've largely forgotten about the book, except the names, obviously.

  There's a lot of mention about a rise of fascism in this country.  It has certainly gotten a lot of mention, but not this book.  If you want to discuss fascism, and what it actually is, you should at least have a philosophical basis for that discussion.  This book could provide some information on that topic.

  A study of history could be in order as well. In my opinion, too many people flap their gums without knowing of what they speak.

12/21/10:

Ringer is the guy who wrote "Winning Through Intimidation".  I mentioned this guy in an earlier post, but I can't remember which one offhand.   Or how to find it in my own blog.  But it is in here somewhere.

But my own disorganization aside, I recall writing that his book made me aware of Ayn Rand.  Eventually, I got around to reading "Atlas Shrugged", and another one of her books, "Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal".  I can't say that I became an Objectivist.  But I can say that her works convinced me, even though I did not need all that much convincing.  When Ronald Reagan said that the Soviet Union was the Evil Empire, it could have come out of my own mouth.

I read a book by Nathaniel Branden, who is or was an Objectivist.  And in an earlier version of this blog, back in 2004, I reviewed a book by Leonard Peikoff, who was closely allied with Ayn Rand.  So, I am familiar with that philosophy.  Not necessarily a fully fledged member of it.  This is not to say that I am against it in any way. I tend not to be a joiner, nor a Kool Aid drinker or any flavor.  I tend toward an independence that runs almost to an extreme.

It would be easy to dismiss me as a kook.  Perhaps that is what many people think.  If so, then so be it.  I can't be who I am by pleasing other people, and in the process, sacrificing myself for their approval.

I favor Capitalism, but I am not going to drink that Kool Aid either.  So, when I suggest that we use the external tank from the shuttle derived launcher, I feel it is in the spirit of Capitalism, but not necessary in the letter of it, down to the last dotted "i" and crossed "t".  To me, there is no need for that kind of purity of principle.  For I am a practical man.  Some have said "too practical", but it is what it is.

I mention these names so as to inform people of the direction from which I am coming.  With a few caveats sprinkled in.  For what it's worth, the last thing I would suggest is to keep a boondoggle or create a new one.  If I thought this is in effect of what I was proposing with these external tanks, I would drop the idea in a heartbeat.

Update:

One of the commenters yesterday asked why put up one of these big stations?

Here are 4 reasons:
1) To use it to generate artificial gravity.  Tethers could be used, but a solid structure could be better.
2) To use the huge volume for storage and habitation.  Machines could be installed as well to enhance capabilities.
3) Cheaper to reconfigure what is already in orbit as opposed to building it and launching it from Earth
4) Want to use it for deep space missions.  Take this station to the asteroids and mine platinum for profit.

Here are few more:
Testing techniques for in situ resource extraction using the ET's for that purpose.
Testing techniques for tethers while constructing the station.
Testing skills for managing artificial gravity systems.

Pondefecate: translation don't talk out your ass

4/29/26:

This is a "no-shit" zone. Know what I mean, Vern?

5/25/12:

A bit of urban lingo there.  It is also a pun, because the word sounds like "pontificate", which has a somewhat different meaning.

I try not to, so I'll link to sources frequently.  By the way, I am updating the index for navigating this blog.  Always striving to make improvements in the blog.

More Sitemeter Statistics- A Great Month- Thank You Very Much!

4/19/26:

This is a very old post from the early days of the blog's second iteration. The first iteration was in 2004. This is a very hard slog to get any traction and pageviews. In the early days of the blog, there were many days with (0) views. It took several months, but it finally did start get some views.

I was plenty happy about that little bitty success that I did have. It didn't grow much more though, but I kept at it for all these years.

There has been times when views have gone up, or seem to have gone up. The trouble is, I'm not too sure of what the actual number is, as I have stated several times before. The sitemeter thing fell out of favor after awhile. I don't remember why I set it aside. Maybe it was Google who made it impossible. It has been a long time since I've used that.

Sitemeter is still around, but they're asking for an account to use it. If I have an account there still, I don't remember how to access it. I could try to sign on again, perhaps with a different sign-on credential. I did that with W3Schools, but it wasn't easy with them to get back on. Maybe sitemeter is the same.

But why do that if Google supplies me with data anyhow? Google can strip out the noise and give me the scoop. Should I trust Google or should I move on to Sitemeter? Only if Google is not telling me the true story. But what IS the true story? Why would Google lie about it? ( I blush as I write this) Anyway, I might check into it. On the other hand, maybe I won't. Either the blog does okay or it doesn't. I'm not going to worry about it. As long as some folks are coming, I'll blog. If it goes to zero again, maybe then I'll stop. If you like this blog, keep on coming by.

5/30/11:

visitors and pageviews last 30 days

Traffic predictions

Last 100 visitors, approx 1 1/2 days

Question: For those of you who are new, would you like to see these numbers continue to improve?  Here are a few ways to help

1) Go to the bottom of the page and click on some videos- the cartoons are the ones I made, watch these, that will help my YouTube stats
2) Go to the Facebook badge on the left, near the top of the screen.  Click on the badge and like my Space Colonization Page.  It has only 7 likes so far.  It may look a lot better if there were a lot more.
3) Like this page by following it.  There are only two followers of this page.  It would look a whole lot better if there were more.
4) Comment upon posts.  You can comment anonymously if you prefer.  Comments look better than no comments.
 5) Click on some Amazon links.  These are in italics, so they should be easy to spot.  Even if you don't buy anything, it may be helpful, I think.
6) Get your friends to do the same.
7) I'm not asking for money, or your email address, or your name, or much of anything.  But this blog does need support to survive.  Please help in any way you can.  Thanks for your support.

Ice storms possible, may have a problem

 

  It's not unheard of around here that storms can cause a loss of power. Usually, that is but for a few hours, when the power company restores service. But this is different. If an ice storm knocks out power, it could last for a few days. This will be quite inconvenient around here.

  This is something I didn't think about until this very morning, which means I have to figure out something relatively fast. I'm really not prepared at this moment to ride it out here. I'd rather not have to stay over at anyone's house, so the thought occurred to me to head south for a few days.

  If that is my decision, then it's going to be a bit inconvenient to blog. That's why I mention it. If I lose power, I could be off line for a few days.

  Anyway, I have to come to a solution and quick.  This storm starts to blow through tomorrow.  I have got one day to get ready.

How to integrate the new coding skills into the blog

 

    According to W3Schools, I must be some kind of whiz.  But I don't agree.  As of now, the integration of these new-found skills just hasn't translated into much of significance.  What little of significance that was indeed accomplished, had to take place outside of their system.  But that isn't really relevant, except as a way to explain.  So there it is.

  Now that the calendar project has concluded, what's next?  Integration into my blogs, of course.  But how?  Well, better organization is a good thing, so let's try that.

  It so happens that the one thing I've learned in making the calendar was how to manipulate a small database.  But this blog is much bigger.  If I could manage this blog outside of blogger, perhaps I could improve it.  That's the idea.  So the idea is this, construct a database of posts that I want to include in a database.  The database can be queried in order to find whatever I cannot find while using blogger.

  Yep, blogger cannot help me find some posts.  It's happened before on this blog, so likely, it will happen again.  Maybe this will help, or maybe not.

  I don't know if I'll retro-fit the blog with this database.  I'll start small, and then move to bigger things if it works okay.

  I'll start with videos.  One thing I've noticed is that video embeds tend to get obsoleted a lot.  I'd like to start doing a check on embedded videos.  If one gets taken out, I can updated it with another.

  So, to begin I will start with embedded videos.  These embeds will go into a database. That's all for now. Time=12:02 PM local

1:26 PM:

   Ok, the posts are in, and the database is created, and now has two videos (posts) in it. What's next? Some python code to access it. That should be easy. Famous last words? Nope. The single-machine offline is very predictable. That thing they got over at W3Schools isn't.

  

Obligatory post, 12/12/25

 

The entire day today was spent wrestling with the computer coding for a small-time project. I don't know if I losing my shit, or what. It shouldn't be this hard.

It's very time inefficient, to say the least. There is very little feedback from the system as to what is wrong with the code. If there's a grammatical error in the syntax, the thing just stops working, with no indication of what is wrong.

Aggravating to say the least. There are other things to do, but this is taking up all my time.

Anyway, bear with me. Maybe I'll figure the doggone thing out, and finish the project before the first day of the New Year. I cringe as I write this.

Keyboard warrior

12/9/25:

   Uh oh! It does look like a lot of keyboard warrior-ing is going on with this here blog. Time to re-assess what I'm doing. It is really easy to get caught up in the emotion of factionalism, and ultimately and maybe tragically; thereby going too far.

   Has it gotten to that point yet? Maybe. I will henceforth be vigilant in opposing this tendency. There is no doubt the ease of how one can fall into this deadly trap.

   At the best, this blog is about solutions to problems. Fighting is not a good solution. Better to solve our problems peacefully, as opposed to letting it slip into violence.

   But there is a very strong urge to do just that. Political violence should be resisted and condemned. This is why it is so worrisome that so many people today view that as a justifiable way of resolving differences.

   We have freedom of speech in order to handle our differences, but that requires that all agree to settle our issues with each other through debate. However, debate can devolve into the scene that resulted in Dan Quayle getting insulted in front of a national audience, and folks cheering it all on.

   That was then, nearly 40 years ago; but now it is seen as okay to kill your opponent. What's next? Whatever that is, it isn't good.

   It's always "those other guys". But the blame can be affixed on us all.

   I can only state what I believe with a certain amount of passion. But when that passion is judged to be too dangerous for anybody to see, then what? If that be the case, we are all in a very bad spot. In truth, I was getting in despair awhile back. But things seems to right themselves almost like magic. Maybe it was all a mirage. A trick upon my senses.

   What does the future hold for us with Trump? I think it should at least be given a chance. There are very many against his vision, and have gone to great lengths to stop him. I think that is unfortunate, because I think he can help America a whole lot. Our current leadership, if it can be called that, has managed to run this country into the ground.

   We need a new direction, and Trump has been stymied thus far. To judge him a failure at this point is really not fair to him, nor to OURSELVES. We owe it to ourselves to see how this will turn out. If the mid-terms produce a Democrat victory, it will all be swept away, and I fear a real downturn will commence at that point.

   That's my point of view. It will not be changed, because if there's one thing I feel pretty sure about, the current regime (not Trump but his opposition) has let this country down.

   There's a real effort to stop the guy yet again. But what is so great about the direction we were going that so many think it should continue?

   That is all for now. I don't advocate violence, but persuasion. But if it comes to violence, then there's nothing to do but be prepared for it, and meet it on its own terms.

3/24/16:

The idea for this post has been floating in my head for the last few days.  Since I haven't posted anything today, why not start now?

It is easier to write something than to say it to somebody's face.  It is lot safer to deliver an insult in the safety of one's home.  Lots easier to be brave when there is no real risk.

I am pretty hard on some folks because of their lack of action.  Don't recall if I ever called anybody cowards, but I know I have insulted groups of people here before.  Probably more than a few times on this blog.  Yet, I want to keep that to a minimum.

This is a blanket apology for any of those times.

One group I know I insulted is the so called conservatives.  Not that they don't deserve criticism.  Only that I may have gone too far with some of what I said.

I don't want anything from the conservatives.  The only thing I'd like to see from them is a bit more forcefulness in their approach.  Interesting how they focus in on those who'd rather be on their side, but pull their  punches when going after Democrats.

While saying that here, I don't want to be the keyboard warrior.  No sirree.  I won't kid anybody here about my capabilities.  All I wanted to do here is to help.  Don't want to fight world war three on the keyboard.

Last night I was in a rage.  At least I didn't give vent to it.  Now was as good a time as anybody to swear off the keyboard warrior routine.

FYI about the blog

12/9/25:

Houstonians have a long-running joke about the Gulf Freeway (I-45 South). The joke is that it is always under construction. This little calendar project is beginning to feel like the Gulf Freeway--always under construction...

It will get finished, but the time for that is not yet.

12/7/25:

Rut roh! Looks like I have to take it down again. Under construction! Sorry about that...

12/5/25:

On the left column under the "Navigation Pages", there's a link to a certain "Design Page". If you click on it now, it will display a forbidden link. Fear not! The Design Page is being re-worked. (I have it locked down while under construction.) I'll update when it can be seen again (I hope). That is all.

12/4/25

12/5/25: Note: There's no longer any reason to have it private, so the design page can be seen again.

This blog isn't about getting pageviews

10/14/25:

This bears repeating...

8/27/24:

That almost sounds ridiculous. If you aren't after pageviews, then what's the point?

Awhile back, I alluded to why I seem to be doing this blog, even though there's no payoff. But there's got to be a payoff, right?

I'd be a liar if I were to say that fame and fortune doesn't matter to me. It's like somebody saying they don't do it for the money, but if a lot of money became available, would they turn it down? No.

But that doesn't mean I'd sell out for money. Only that I'd take fame and fortune if that was my portion. If it is not to be, then what other reason would there be to do this?

I would really like things to be going well when I pass to the hereafter. It isn't good to leave things worse than you found them. However, there is a limited amount that any one person can do.

So I'm just trying to say what's on my mind, and have the hope that it might register somewhere. If it doesn't, then I don't have to feel badly about not trying. I can truthfully say that I tried. And besides, it DOES matter for me. I do mean it.

Something's going on

10/14/25:

 

What was going on has apparently stopped. The numbers are probably back in synch, but I haven't looked real close at that. It's an on-again, off-again type situation. I won't speculate as to its meaning.

 

6/28/25:

 

With respect to this blog. I won't go into specifics, but there does appear to be some monkey business out there.

Just saying that so that if anyone is wondering about anything.

Update a bit later...

Ok, I'll describe the situation briefly. There's a huge discrepancy in the audience numbers from figures that Google supplies itself. Both of these cannot be right. So it is saying something that these numbers do not add up. What it says I don't know.

Blogging standards

9/10/25:

Note: This was intended to be an aspiration type post to myself for a blog that did not have an audience at all in the beginning. Since then, it has grown a little, but the extent to that growth is indeterminate as far as I'm willing to research it. In other words, maybe all the audience I get now is bots. Nobody comments here.

I suspect that the post is out of date. I thought of removing it, but that would violate my standards of complete candor. Removing it would be denial, and that is what I try to avoid if at all possible.

Anyway, I don't review these standards very often at all. I notice it is getting attention as far as clicks go, therefore some commentary needs to be applied to this basic admission or mea culpa.

The tendency to be full of shit has affected everyone, even me, which bugs me a bit. It's a pandemic of bullshititis. Now, that's funny.

Update, 4/5/25:

This will be the new featured post. Overall, the blog is meant to be a personal resource. It is also open to anyone who'd like to research a topic that I've researched a bit. Not claiming to be an authority though. You could also use the chatbots, as I do, but this one is done by a human. For what that's worth.

Original post of 5/26/12 at the earliest:

1. Read this list before I make any more posts.  Each new post, review this list first in order to see if the new post adheres to these standards.
2. I won't talk out my ass.  If I do, I'll put a speculation alert in the body of the post.
3.  Whatever I do, I won't include my personal feelings in any of this stuff, it is supposed to be about the future, and how that future may unfold, not how I feel about it 
4. With respect to politics, I won't electioneer.  Sure, I'd like to see Dems lose, but if they don't, that is the way it is.  This country has been moving in the wrong direction for a long time, nothing I can do about that now. 
5.  Try to be professional.  This is a weak point because I tend to be sloppy and careless.  Try to be more careful and exact.  Always.
6. Don't let myself get caught up in the latest fad.  Fads don't have staying power or they wouldn't be fads.
7. Nobody reads blogs anyway.  Outside their own church, that is.  Write as if nobody is reading.  In case anybody is, that may be considered a plus, but don't count on it.  Don't write for popularity.  Write for accuracy.  Nobody's interested in accuracy.  That's why this blog will never be popular.
8. This world reminds me of the Simpsons.  Yeah but, remember the sense of humor.  That's cuz you're gonna need it.

Update:

Note on the above standards:  I don't adhere to them rigorously, but the conventions below, I do:

Throw in a few conventions with respect to links here:

1. Links to posts in this blog are in bold like this: Blogging standards
2. new! Google are in italics , like this Amazon link:  Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think  (It's not a google link, but it is italicized for this example --- maybe both will be italicized)  Look at it this way, if I mark a Google link with a different background color, the be aware that there will be more than one Google link.)
3. Links to pdf files are in green, like this:  The Microwave Thruster Concept

Lite posting

Notice: This post should've been posted at the other blog because of its speculative nature. Consequently, any further posting on this subject will take place at that blog, not here.

8/24/25:

Doing some research. The rumors of the death of this blog have been greatly exaggerated.

8/25/25:

7:37 AM:

The research was to do further feasibility study of the Aldrin Cycler Concept in terms of cosmic radiation shielding. The whole thing is to be enclosed within a structure with no more mass than 100,000 tons. That much mass can be lifted to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with the Starship being developed by SpaceX. Assumption is that cost goals per launch will be met.

Propulsion to about 4.3 km/sec delta-v has already been discussed. Wouldn't that be enough delta-V to establish an Aldin Cycler orbit so that it will only have to be done one time? That question has yet to be discussed.

Cosmic radiation shielding gave me a few fits, but I think I have a proposition. Checking it out still. The good news is that I think FULL shielding may be possible for 100,000 people per cycle. The bad news is that the only way may be to put passengers in hibernation.

If I ever get around to posting my calcs, I will do that. At present, I have a busy day ahead with mundane stuff. No time for a lot of head scratching on this problem.

7:42 PM:

Nope.  I don't think it will work out for the 100k passengers.  Trouble is with the shielding not being as good as I thought it would be.   You couldn't put in as much shielding, and the half-thickness of iron isn't as good as I thought.  I figured it would be close to lead, but it isn't really.  Having to use lead is going to blow it up as a concept.   It also doesn't work quite the way I thought with gamma rays.

You could try it with fewer people...  But then you'd have to get 1 million on Mars some other way.

More Aldrin Cyclers, perhaps.  Disappointing.  I spent some time on this.
 

Lite posting--- nothing going on

 

No posts yesterday. It doesn't happen that often, but sometimes it does. There was no reason, other than the thought of blogging did not occur to me yesterday.

Seems that I was busy with a problem with the solar panels. But that doesn't explain everything. Seems that there wasn't anything that I wanted to blog about.

One thing I might mention is that I was just now thinking of what makes people tick. It's a fascinating subject. But too deep for me. I have enough troubles of my own, than to try to figure out why people act the way that they do.

P.S.

Here's another instance in which I try to embed a tweet, and is blocked somehow by X. What's up with that anyway? X doesn't want you to criticize the government for some reason? One of the things I did yesterday was related to World War Two. It does appear that we are drifting towards that now. Could it be that there are those in the government that are pushing us in that direction? It's a fair question, I would think.

With respect to a certain criticism

 

I wrote before that I thought that the bombing of the Iranian nuclear bomb plants was a good idea. It seems that some folks think that Trump and the rest of the crew in DC have been co-opted by the Israelis to do their work for them. Perhaps the crew in DC are even compromised somehow by the JOOOOOZ.

I won't comment upon that one. That's because I try not to speculate, but sometimes I do anyway. When I do indeed speculate upon a matter upon which I know something about, I try ( but not always succeed ) to remember to add a speculation alert. I know of no evidence to support that Trump is beholden to the JOOOOOZ. But I cannot prove it one way or another.

Also, for the record. Neither am I. In fact, if anyone tried to get me by the gonies, they find an unwilling participant. That's putting it mildly. I'm just as likely to try to hang them with the rope that they are trying to ensnare me with.

So I repeat, and just referring to myself, that I think that the bombing was a good thing for OUR country---the good old US of A ( or what's left of it). If it helps the JOOOOOZ, then that is just a coinky dink.

If nobody else can or will do it, perhaps it is an opportunity for me

With respect to the first post of the day, I note that few sources that I look at will take something of a more serious dive into the news of the day-- in this case SpaceX's Starship. It's feast or famine for SpaceX, in more ways than one. If you support them, you'll get a lot of fan boys/girls who won't really do anything deep in terms of news. But you might get the advocacy on the other side, meaning Musk haters.

So I've been looking for news about what actually happened with the last two flights, and this was the only thing that seemed to be anywhere close to a serious explanation. Otherwise, it is the fan boys/girls v the Musk haters. The point is that nothing much is being learned. Unless of course, you are determined about finding out something or anything about what actually happened.

So I can segue from the particular to the general. It is advocacy journalism's weakness. You are with one side or the other. In case of Musk, who has allied with Trump, it is the same garbage that masquerades as "news", and provides no insight whatever in what is actually going on out there in the world.

If nobody else will do it, I will make an effort to do it here.

So what exactly did happen?  There's only my speculation and the one mentioned above.  If it is POGO, then it isn't a show-stopper.  Musk haters would like it to be, but all rockets have POGO problems, as it is a fairly common problem.  Therefore, solutions are pretty well known.  What may be the real news is that SpaceX isn't saying that it is POGO.  Why not?  I detect a pattern.  SpaceX doesn't necessarily follow best practices.

They launched the first test flight without a flame trench. Flame trenches are pretty well established in launching rockets. Why did SpaceX follow the path that produced the "rock tornado"? It must be some sort of hard-headed attitude of doing it their own way that sometimes gets SpaceX into trouble.

Best practices would also have included well-established ways of dealing with POGO. But if SpaceX didn't follow those practices, then why not? It may well be understandable that they'd rather not be upfront about mistakes. Not accounting for POGO would have to be considered a major mistake. Not having a flame trench is also a major mistake. Notice a pattern?

Fortunately, if POGO is the case, it isn't a show-stopper.

You won't read anything like this on fan boys/girls hangouts. But you will get it here, as well with whatever else happens out there in the world. I'm not going to be a fan boy.

Proposition: People see what they want to see

 

We live in interesting times. Events seem wild and out-of-control. To others, a much needed change is taking place. Yours truly is somewhere in the middle of those two points of view. Yet, you'll find me condemning the Marxist Paradigm. The Marxist Paradigm is based upon the dialectic, from which the left v right phony model is advocated as the true one. So I don't know how the things that I write here may be perceived. It may drive people off for all I know. Or it might not. Everything these days seems to be a psyop.

What I'm getting at is this: The blog is my viewpoint of what the truth actually is, as opposed to what I would prefer it to be. If I'm partisan about anything, it is about the truth.

A Marxist is partisan about other things first, even the truth. That is my opinion. Until I see something persuasive enough to convince me otherwise, I will continue to think so. Yet the left acts as if the truth matters to them. My view is that the truth often gets in their way, and therefore, if the truth suffers, they will sacrifice to their God. Their God is not the Christian one. Christ is about the truth.

Does that clarify matters? I don't know. I don't think I've ever presented anything on this blog that would indicate something else. But I think that someone may see what they want to see, and try to read into things I write as being something else.