Saturday, December 7, 2013

The Once Great City of Havana

Michael J. Totten, World Affairs

comment:

Great comments in the comment section.  The article is also well worth the read.


Bubble-like conditions in the stock market for the last nearly 20 years


Stocks were returning to reasonable valuations near the end of the last bear market.  Note: "reasonable" valuations.  You'd have to go back to the early eighties to get cheap valuations.  The last bear market didn't get all that close, and didn't stay there very long.

Are Stocks Cheap?


Wind-to-Hydrogen-to-Ammonia Hybrid - Reese

Expensive form of hydrogen production.  I'd guesstimate about 9 bucks a kilogram.  The big cost comes from electrolysis of water, no doubt.  Nuclear production from LFTRs would beat the pants off this idea.  But nuclear ain't kosher for the greenies.


Wind-to-Hydrogen-to-Ammonia Hybrid - Reese from ELO @ Iowa State University on Vimeo.


Ammonia Cracker for Fuel Cell Hydrogen Supply

pesn  ( 2005 article )

The rather obvious question is why hasn't this caught on?  What's holding it back?


How Robots Will Change the World - BBC Documentary

The video cuts off in mid story.  Robotus interruptus.



Get set for the rise of the machines

Jonah Goldberg, New York Post

quote:

The robot future is coming no matter what, and it will require some truly creative responses by policymakers. 

comment:

What's going to happen when more than half of the population is unemployable?





Friday, December 6, 2013

Private company plans US's first controlled moon landing in 40 years

foxnews via Behind the Black blog

quote:
Moon Express is just one of many private companies planning space missions. Tourism, orbiting hotels and more have exploded -- but no area has burgeoned more than the moon. Astrobiotic Technology also plans to mine the moon, for example. Bigelow Aerospace wants to sell property there, a Japanese firm suggested a solar panel power ring, and China on Monday launched the Chang’e 3 lander, which should touch down on the moon in mid-December -- the first controlled landing since the Soviet Union’s Luna-24 mission in 1976.

What’s behind the surge in interest? Overpopulation, one expert says.

Perhaps it just makes a lot of sense.