I just received my annual TCP-1 letter from LLNS and a summary of the LLNS Pension Plan. Looked in pretty good shape in 2013. About 35% overfunded (funding target attainment percentage = 134.92%). This was a decrease from 2012 where it was 51% overfunded (funding target attainment percentage = 151.59%). They did note that the 2012 change in the law on how liabilities are calculated using interest rates improved the plan's position. Without the change the funding target attainment percentages would have been 118% (2012) and 105% (2013). 2013 assets = $2,057,866,902 2013 liabilities = $1,525,162,784 vs 2012 assets = $1,844,924,947 2012 liabilities = $1,217,043,150 It was also noted that a slightly different calculation method ("fair market value") designed to show a clearer picture of the plan' status as December 31, 2013 had; Assets = $2,403,098,433 Liabilities = $2,068,984,256 Funding ratio = 116.15% Its a closed plan with 3,781 participants. Of that number, 3,151 wer...
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It was also pointed out, on a hopeful note, that most good physicists believe in the many worlds theory, and some of these worlds would dodge the problem, and that many Americans believe in a so-called "rapture" prior to anything bad happening.
Furthermore, of course, Americans have a deep dislike for various authoritarian forms of governance hence the statement "better dead than red". This indicates a possible utility of a so-called doomsday device in case of a communist takeover.
At the same time, of course, global governance of an intrusive nature may be necessary in the future to prevent the development of dangerous technologies such as this.
No, they don't.
Also is the 7.04 AM a bot? Is it possible that a bunch of postings on blogs, Reddit, and Facebook are not not from real people. For about a year or so, I keep seeing posts like 7.04 AM that seem to be off. Weird.
https://purl.stanford.edu/cv716pj4036
It does mention some of the hypothetical ideas previously discussed on this blog, for example, an overgrowth of cyanobacteria taking CO2 out of the atmosphere so that there is a global ice age, other species in the oceans could die out, and similar to the blight in interstellar ordinary plants would not be able to grow. See section 8.5, which claims the full extent of this is uncertain but can't be ruled out.