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Showing posts from November, 2024

Insurance and housing collapse

  A Housing Market “Black Swan” Event In The Making? “Warning The Insurance Collapse Could Trigger a Housing Market Meltdown” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bcvWs7LOalw&pp=ygUrd2FybmluZyB0aGUgaW5zdXJhbmNlIGNvbGxhcHMgY291bGQgdHJpZ2dlcg%3D%3D

Fusion update

 Could scientists have solved the fusion problems? This article is too technical for most of us but I am hoping someone can make sense out of it. Thank you! https://scitechdaily.com/quantum-upgrade-scientists-may-have-just-solved-fusions-biggest-problem/

"DOGE" impact

  How will the DOGE impact current federal dollars that support the CA “Bullet Train” and BART, both of which are in a deluxe financial mess, and likely deemed by the DOGE to be grossly inefficiently managed?

Project 2025 could mean the end of science at LANL and LLNL

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/what-might-project-2025-mean-for-n-m-non-nuclear-cuts-at-national-labs/article_956aa830-8506-11ef-b30c-6bbad5000761.html But tucked in the 922 pages of its report, “Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise,” is one recommendation that centers squarely on New Mexico. The document, penned by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, contemplates pulling funding from any work unrelated to nuclear weapons at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and sister facility Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Basically all non-nuclear science is to be cut. Mello is kind of cynical about the whole thing.

Limitless energy

  A New Zealand-based company just took one step closer to creating a working nuclear fusion reactor. Is New Zealand more advanced than the US? This should get the Labs' attention. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/openstar-technologies-nuclear-fusion-reactor/

The truth about fusion

  This article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist on Fusion and NIF is an interesting read and may interest your readers. - https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-11/ferreting-out-the-truth-about-fusion-interview-with-bob-rosner/

LLNS “Empire Building”

 LLNS “Empire Building” began in 2007 You have “empire building” on steroids at LLNL, and lots of waste through misdirected resources to maintain the empires as a result. It started with the “gray march” mass lay off in 2008, and has only gotten worse. And now the NNSA is planning to reward LLNS with a 5 year contract extension? Looks like a race condition with the new DOGE.

The end of LANL and LLNL?

  The end of LANL and LLNL? "After host Maria Bartiromo questioned whether the two plan to “close down entire agencies,” Ramaswamy said “mass reductions” will be made. “We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright,” he said. “We expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated. We expect massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government.” Ramaswamy added, “I think people will be surprised by how quickly we’re able to move with some of those changes, given the legal backdrop the Supreme Court has given us.” The founder of Roivant Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, who ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, told Bartiromo that he and Musk will assess the roles of America’s 4 million civil servants, claiming “there’s just too many of them.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vivek-ramaswamy-elon-musk-delete-government-agencies_n_673a5d9de4b0ebe12e367050 Maybe not the end, but big cuts....big...

Oil boss to be DOE boss

  https://nypost.com/2024/11/16/us-news/trump-taps-oil-boss-chris-wright-as-secretary-of-energy/ “As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new ‘Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace,'” Trump said in a statement.

LLNL contract extension

  11-14-24 ExchangeMonitor “NNSA 'working on' LLNL contract extension;SRS final RFP out January, administrator says WASHINGTON, D.C. - Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, told the Exchange Monitor it 'feels like we're close' to finalizing an extension for a management and operations...” Note: Nothing beyond this is available to read for non-subscribers https://www.exchangemonitor.com/nnsa-working-on-llnl-contract-extensionsrs-final-rfp-out-january-administrator-says/

Department of Government Efficiency

  A new Manhattan project. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14075357/donald-trump-elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-government-efficiency.html Trump put out a press release Tuesday night saying that Musk will co-lead the 'Manhattan Project of our time' with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. 'This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!' Musk said in a statement.

Have you heard of PACIFIC FUSION?

  Pacific Fusion. Latest hyped-up fusion company with LLNL roots: https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-pacific-fusion-eric-lander/ Based on the Z machine MAGLIF. Curious how Eric Schmidt is involved as he’s mainly been concerned with DoD projects.

The most expensive substance in the world

 Here's some videos on a novel clock of another type: https://youtu.be/n_8MmQShWnU?si=KGL2uEScYHkGBwet https://youtu.be/1-_NHKCzbEA?si=6IY1PVUg5LUd5KTz 11/11/2024 7:03 PM Reply

Funding of fission power plants

  Should we increase funding of fission power plants with newer safer designs to serve as bridge technologies, while fusion research continues? As amazing as the “How NIF Works” video is, it does not begin to detail the tens of thousands of optical, electrical, and mechanical components requiring constant maintenance and replacement, just to keep NIF firing ~1 shot every 24 hours, which is a far cry from the fusion power plant 10 shots per second needed with actual wall plug gain. While we wait (and wait) for a viable 10Hz fusion power plant, will “safer” sodium cooled, molten salt cooled, fission power plants in the USA, China’s “meltdown proof” type fission power plants, or other designs, serve as acceptable bridge technologies for the next 30-100 years? How would a NIF to LIFE fusion power plant reliability “stress test”, expect to compare to that of these newer safer fission plant technologies?

US firm sets record with plasma fusion

1) I am impressed when I see this type of breakthrough but have no idea how its applies to real life. 2) Did any of the National Labs contribute?   https://interestingengineering.com/energy/plasma-fusion-record-by-quantum-kinetics Your input us appreciated.

Security clearances

 Do you remember how hard it was to get a Q clearance? You needed a good reputation, good credit and you couldn't lie about anything. Well, the next president,  with his 34 felonies, lies, hatred and racism, will have access to anything he wants and (he said it) help his sycophants get one. This should scare and outrage anyone having or needing a clearance.  Your thoughts and reactions?