Airships on Mars

 

An airship might fly on Mars with only its atmospheric components. Consider that Mars' atmosphere 95% carbon dioxide and 2.8% nitrogen. Nitrogen is the least dense of its major components, as the other minor components make up the balance of the atmosphere, and are therefore negligible factors. This means that nitrogen can be distilled out of the atmosphere, and since it is significantly less dense than carbon dioxide, the airship could have buoyancy.

Another factor to consider is that Mars is very cold. Heating up a nitrogen airship just a little will definitely allow it to fly.

What good would airships be on Mars? Once there's a colony there, it would be useful to have a transportation system that is simple and safe. A rocket or high speed plane would require a lot more infrastructure,

These things could be popular. You wouldn't have the Jetsons exactly, but it may be possible to construct one of these in a relatively compact form. It wouldn't work on Earth, because of the hyperabundance of nitrogen already present. That is, it wouldn't work unless it was heated up.

JP Aerospace is working on airships. They hope to take these to orbit. That is extremely ambitious, but the technology could definitely work on Mars, as it would be much easier to get to orbit in the shallower gravity well. Not to mention that JP is working on a high ISP rocket engine for his airships. This could be used on Mars as well with a personal transportation vehicle. JP has to use helium for his balloons on Earth. But nitrogen is much more abundant even on Mars, than helium. Could there be a market for these airships for Mars?

The Ingenuity helicopter is rather small. But they've had a lot of success flying around on Mars. So a transporation system for Mars seems feasible. A little tweaking here and there, and you might have something.

Countdown to the launch of Starship can begin

SpaceNews website says that SpaceX has received the launch license that they've been waiting for. Earlier this week, the news from Elon Musk came the declaration that Starship was ready. All the ducks are lining up, and they can light that gloriously huge frickin' candle.

Hopefully, we don't get an Earth shattering kaboom. If there is one, Marvin the Martian would be pleased.

No kaboom

Address by RFK Jr at Hillsdale College

This is an excellent speech and a sad speech at the same time. It is excellent in its defense of freedom, but sad that it is a rarity these days. The spirit shown in this video should be the norm, not the exception.

The spirit that was once common in this country is now quite uncommon. It think it is like the story from way back during the early 19th century. Thomas Jefferson was so alarmed by the sectionalism arising within the country, that he described it a like hearing a fire bell in the night. This cancel culture is going to be the end of us all if we don't get a handle on it.

The kinds of things happening today should be like a flashing red idiot light on your dash. Everybody should be alarmed at what's happening in this country. So I present things like this to try to get anybody out there who may read this to wake the hell up.

One thing that struck me about what he said was that 2/3rds of the people are willing to abandon everything they believe in order to comply with some authority. Doesn't seem to matter to them that they are violating their most strongly held beliefs. They just surrender to the authority. That's how you get an Adolf Hitler. That's how you get a Josef Stalin. That's how you get a Mao Tse Tung.

If this is an immutable fact, then we are doomed. I'd like to think otherwise. As long as there is the right to dissent, a mad cap leader, or clique of mad cap leaders cannot lead down the path of doom without our knowledge and consent. That is why the right to dissent is precious. Not so much anymore, but it once was.

Maybe we can get it back again. But it doesn't look good at the moment. Cancel the cancel culture. Put it on the trash heap of history like the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. There are those would do the opposite. Beware of those kinds of people.

The Night of the Long Knives

The Night of the Long Knives- Hitler's Rise to Power; A Documentary

The same story can be read by reading William Shirer's account of the rise of the Nazis to power before World War II. This video can be considered an alternative to reading the book, which is over 1000 pages. Folks may not have the inclination nor the time to read such a lengthy book, so it is my intention to present an alternative to that book's truth that must not be forgotten. It also must be understood, and counter measures taken, to insure as much as humanly possible, that this cannot happen again.

There are those who believe "it can't happen here". I would submit that it is indeed happening in this country right now. To me, this pursuit of Trump is following the same pattern that led to Hitler's rise. It is virtually being repeated verbatim by the Democrats ( along with Quislings in the GOP). All of this to prevent Trump from opposing their lust for absolute power.

Keep in mind that the "Night of the Long Knives" was a purge intended to dispose of someone who had become an inconvenience to Hitler's ambitions. That would be Ernst Rohm, the leader of the SA. The SA is perhaps better known as the Brownshirts. An accusation was made against Rohm that was cooked up in order to eliminate the possibility that Rohm could seize power in Germany, which Hitler wanted for himself. Rohm was no angel himself. For all intents and purposes, they might as well have been clones of each other. Therefore, the alleged plot of Rohm to take over Germany was not completely out of the question. Hitler used that fact to have Rohm destroyed, and by destroyed, that is quite literal. Hitler also used that to make himself unquestioned master of Germany.

But Rohm was in no position to actually carry out such a threat. It is true that the Brownshirts were a terror group, and was quite useful in stifling opposition to the Nazis, but by 1934, he was essentially powerless. Rohm was in no position to carry out any coup. The Nazis had Rohm and his followers DISARMED. In fact, the Nazis had the entire country disarmed, with the only exception being the state.

How Hitler carried out his plan is terrifying to behold. That's because it was conceived of in deceit, and executed with the full knowledge and understanding of the power structure in Germany. He could not have been successful without their assistance. However, their assistance was made to appear legal and above reproach. But it was certainly not the case. In other words, Hitler used the apparatus of the state to destroy the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic wasn't perfect, but it had civil liberties. It had opposition parties, and it had an element of democracy. Hitler destroyed all that, and made the civil authorities partners in his crime.

The question should be why didn't the civil authorities stop Hitler? Indeed, they HELPED him immensely. Given the extraordinary deceit of the man, it might be explained that these "leaders" couldn't understand the nature and intent of Hitler's deceit. He got everybody to go along with him. Once he had them under his power, they lost all ability to resist. The rest became an unfortunate history.

That they didn't understand is even harder to believe when Hitler wrote it all down in his book-- Mein Kampf. It is hard to believe, but it must be true. It is the nature of deceit that it can only succeed when people allow themselves to be deceived. Without this succeptibility to being deceived, Hitler could have been stopped.

It has been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Alarmingly enough, types like Hitler will erase that history if they could. After all, the winners write the history books. Keep in mind that there are those in this country right now who are trying to keep the truth from being told. They are also trying to write a history that favors themselves. It is being done right under our noses. The pattern is very close to what Hitler did in his rise to power, and is being done right now in this country.

It was all being done in the name of the rule of law and democracy. But it was far and away the Big Lie that the Nazis loved to peddle to a gullible public. History may not repeat, but it often rhymes.

Instapundit won't comment on this gun control move by Tennessee?

Strange silence at Instapundit

Why is it that Instapundit won't comment on this gun control move by Tennessee? For the longest time, I noticed that Glenn Reynolds wrote about the relaxing gun control laws in his home state, but now where is he?

Tennessee had a wacko tranny shoot up and kill a bunch of kids and teachers, and this is an excuse to increase restrictions on guns?

It was followed by a bunch of wackos in the Legislature who took over the floor, and resulted in an expulsion of two of the three who did it. But the Legislature let them back in with no other punishment. What gives here?

I saw this story on Behind the Black blog, and have seen it nowhere else.

It looks like me that the GOP, who controls 75% of the legislature of that state, is going to go belly up on this just because the Democrats made a stink about it. Who was in the wrong here? It was one of the Democrats' core constituency that did the crime, so why do law abiding people get the punishment?

Moreover, why was Glenn Reynolds so loud about it before, and why is he so quiet now?

Houston Texas is losing population

Just watched a video about the fact that my old hometown, Houston, is now losing population. The video mentions that this is a big deal, because the population loss has been a rarity in Houston since its beginning. The question was posed as to why this is happening.

The usual reasons were given. But mind you this: none of them involved anything that couldn't have been said previously, yet the population was always growing before. The question should have been this: What changed? Why would a boom town start to take on the appearance of a bust?

Consider the proposition of what it is that causes growth in the first place. Houston was about economic opportunity. This is made Houston a boom town. The thing that must have changed is that Houston is no longer booming. Again, the question is why is it not booming anymore?

Anybody want to venture an answer to this? I'll do it for you. It is the same reason why the world is almost in a catastrophic global war. It is why the dollar is about to lose its status as a reserve currency. It is why the US economy is in mess, and getting worse. It is simply the leftist jihad against oil, which is referred to as the Green New Deal.

Houston is known for its oil and petrochemical based industries. The Us government has declared war on oil, which means war on Houston. Houston is beginning to lose population. Surprise, surprise.

There are many canaries in the coal mine that are dropping. Houston could be another. It won't be long before other things start dropping dead. Know what I mean, Vern?

Free agency starts in NFL

Mock draft update. 4-13-23:

This is a neat little tool to wile away your free time. Or should it be a big waste of time? Whatever the case may be, NFL mock drafts are quite popular with a few folks out there. For yours truly, it is especially useful to forget the really crappy state of affairs in the world.

Anyway, here's my latest mock draft with the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator. The way it works is that you select your team ( or you can choose them all), and the simulator will fill in the gaps of the others that you don't select. If you pick one, as this one does ( Houston), then the rest of the picks are filled in from the simulator.

I chose the Texans, and decided to choose Anthony Richardson as the top pick. There are no trades, and the following is the first round. The Texans have two picks in the first, and three more picks in the later rounds. This pick is only the first round for all teams. Another pic will show the picks for the final rounds for the Texans.

I chose Calijah Kancey with the second pick of the first round. The Texans need a lot of players, and this iteration of the simulation had Kancey falling right in my lap. So I took him. In the second round, another need is filled with another player who fell into my lap. Keeping up with that theme, there was an opportunity to pick up a bell cow prospect running back in the third. Charbonnett fills that bill, but it isn't exactly a need for the team. With the last pick comes another need filled with a receiver.

This mock draft version would have the Texans addressing most of their needs in the first three rounds, with plenty more picks giving them an opportunity to try other prospects as well.

Update on Mar 13th post

Pro Football Focus has a mock draft simulator, which I've been messing around with today. The trouble with mock drafts is that they attempt to predict what will happen, and this is pretty close to unpredictable. Anything can and will happen.

After fooling around with this for several hours, I ran through many simulations. I kept six or so on file. Again, this isn't any prediction on how things will go.

There was one simulation in which had CJ Stroud at pick 12, so I had the Texans take him there. That simulation began with the Texans taking Will Anderson Jr with the 2nd pick of the draft. Most folks think that Bryce Young will be taken instead with this pick. My own preference is to take the best player available ( besides Young, who I think is too small). That player could be someone other than Anderson, but that fellow has some issues that should be avoided.

After Stroud, the picks went Mazi Smith in the second round, with Jalin Hyatt and John Michael Schmitz finishing up the 3 round mock.

Such a draft would fill the Texans needs with high quality prospects. Also, such a draft is quite improbable.

For instance, the betting world has CJ Stroud going first in the draft. If he isn't available, my other mocks having the Texans take Hendon Hooker. But Hooker may be a reach in the first round, so he could slip into the later rounds. For instance, he could be taken in the third round, and have the draft go pretty much the same otherwise. Such a draft may be more probable, but still could end up being way off.

I should mention that if Hooker wasn't taken with the Texans' second pick, then who? He could be replaced by Calijah Kancey. Schmitz and Hooker could be interchangeable, but Hooker should probably be selected before Schmitz.

In that arrangement you'd have 1) Anderson 2) Kancey 3) Smith 4) Hooker 5) Schmitz. Still mostly improbable, but such a draft would give a good mix of the type players the Texans need. But no receivers! There are other possibilties, but such things would take a lot longer post to flesh out. For instance, instead of taking Smith in the third, there'd be an opportunity to select a wide out. But there probably won't be any first round quality wide outs unless the Texans drafted one with the 12th pick. Needless to say, I don't like that option.

A defense heavy draft may not be the ticket, so maybe Smith at 3 could be replaced with Jalin Hyatt or Rashee Rice.

mar 13th 2023:

This isn't going to be a mock draft type of post. Instead, I will focus on what I think the Houston Texans will do. The Texans have the 2nd pick in the draft, and the consensus is that they will select a QB. The QB is expected to be the franchise QB going forward.

Nothing happened today that will change this consensus. The Texans will sign Case Keenum, who is a veteran QB, and would be considered about an average NFL QB. He is over 30, and so he isn't going to be a long term solution, nor is he likely to carry the team as a franchise QB is expected to do. In other words, he is the bridge guy for the first year or two for the rookie QB they expect to take.

Which bring the discussion to who the Texans will take. They probably have their guy in mind, but he may not be there. The Panthers traded up, and are expected to take a QB with the first pick. I thought it over, and I think the Panthers would not have traded up and used up all those picks just to get an ordinary prospect. They would do this in order to get the top prospect in the draft. Of the QB's in this year's draft, the QB with the highest ceiling is Anthony Richardson. But he may not be ready to be the starter. He needs some polish, it is said.

If the Panthers don't take him, would the Texans? It would be an interesting scenario, should that be the case. My guess is that it won't be. It makes no sense to make the trade unless they believe the guy was special. The others may not have the upside that this guy has. This is why I think the Panthers will take him as the first pick in the draft. So the Texans won't get the opportunity, unless they trade up. I would consider that unlikely. If Richardson is available, then having Keenum in the fold will allow Richardson to develop without shattering his psyche, the way David Carr was when he was drafted first by the new expansion team in 2002.

The next two QB's may be pretty close to each other, so it may not matter that much as to who they take. Let's just say that it will be either Bryce Young or CJ Stroud. To tell the truth, I don't like Bryce Young's size, and so my preference is for Stroud.

Not much of a mock draft. To recap, it is Richardson, then Stroud. After that, I don't give a hoop. At least, not for the moment.

The Texans own the 12th pick, virtue of the Deshaun Watson deal. They're going to lose two edge guys to free agency, one is already gone. Most likely, they'll replace him with an edge guy. There is likely to be one available. Plus the got an edge guy today in free agency. The team's defense is getting set, so the offense will get the rest of the attention, I would think. A receiver may be taken with the 2nd round pick. Two third round picks may be spent on the offensive line.

Won't take it much further. Even though I am following this a lot closer than recent years, I am not really up on the NFL these days.

It may be interesting to review this when the draft takes place in late April.