On Elon Musk

You may have noticed that he comes up a lot in things I have to say.  And I thought I'd take a moment and explain why.  

No doubt he's a lightning rod, but its more than that.  He's a modern day Thomas Edison to some degree.  He takes ideas from others and helps them to grow them, but then focuses attention on himself as "the guy" even though its mostly smoke and mirrors.  He may be smart, but he didn't invent the things that are attributed to him.

He's kind of got an evil genius thing going on, and maybe you could equate him to Lex Luthor from Superman. 

He started with some money from dad, and has managed to parlay that to be one of the worlds richest (and most recognizable) people.  

Maybe many people are over him in general, though he certainly gets a lot of "love" because of his wealth, and because he's "not afraid to speak his mind" (ie, act a little crazy, maybe).

But by many accounts, he's not a good person.  We heard reports that his father was racist, and there are certainly whispers that he is too.  It appears as though hes a misogynist too.  There was the nazi salute.  The drug use.  The absurd braggadocio.    

To me, though, the deal breaker is his family life. He has multiple children from multiple different women - that is what it is.  But he is at least guilty by association of being aligned with people who deride this from people who are not white.  And he has disowned HIS OWN child, when they identified as trans.  Everything else aside, that is inexcusable.  Its your child.  You love them unconditionally, and don't act like an ass hat when it comes to them.

So I continue to mention him because I loathe what he stands for.

Rewards programs

Remember when companies had programs that rewarded loyalty?  When companies wanted you to come in and use their product, buy their food, etc?  And the rewards programs were all about bringing you back?

So quaint.  Now, its all about spend!  

For my discussion, I'm going to talk about a few food loyalty programs.  

Starbucks at one point gave you points for buying drinks and food.  And the exchange was pretty good.  You could earn a free drink or food item after a few visits.  But then they switched it, so the points were based on how much you spent.  Then they increased the number so you had to spend more to get anything. And they added expiration to points so that you HAVE TO spend more if you want that free item.

Several companies changed from a simple means of getting points with a purchase to having to store a credit card in their app, and when you buy something using that card they'll give you points.  Which I suppose may be "easier" in a way, but isn't very consumer friendly.  And I'd rather not store a credit card in an easy to hack location, thank you.

Some, like Red Robin, used to have a loyalty program that would give you a free meal on your birthday.  It was good on anything on the menu and could be used in-restaurant or for takeout.  Then, they switched it to dine in only. Then, they added a minimum spend to get the reward.  Then, they added a requirement that you have to spend $10 during the year to get the same reward.  And I see now that they no longer have a free meal, its a free shake.  The value proposition went away, completely.

And then there was this change to the Wetzel's program .It was  previously a free pretzel for your birthday. And the email still says that it is. Except that its actually a $5 credit, and pretzels are $7.  

The nonsense about the space shuttle

This has been on my mind for a while now.

NASA had 5 space shuttles in their fleet that had actually been in orbit. 

Two of them had "rapid unexpected disassembly" during their lifetime:

Challenger  was lost in an accident 1986

Columbia was lost in an accident 2003

Leaving 3 to find homes after the shuttle program wound down.  I'll get to those in a moment.

There were also 4 other vehicles that were not used in space, and which require a little explanation because they "look like" a real shuttle.

Ambassador  was a scale model built to get an idea of the size of the vehicle before they built any "real ones."  The exterior looked right, but it had no other features.  This model was dismantled in the early 1990s and its whereabouts are unknown.

Inspiration was the first full scale mockup built.  It was a prototype of sorts, and had all the dimensions - interior and exterior right, and even had some simulated control panels.  It was sold, and is privately owned.  There is a plan for it to go on display in Downey, CA "soon"

Enterprise was an airworthy mockup.  It was used as a prototype in its flight characteristics and ability to land it on a runway.  While it didn't go into space, it was as close to the real thing you could get.  It was sold to the intrepid museum in New York.

Explorer This was a full scale replica, which I believe was built by Ringling Brothers (or perhaps it was only owned by them at some point).  It used all the blueprints  and plans in its design.  It had a flight deck with controls, a fabric covering, and some faux heat tiles.  It was on display at Kennedy space center until 2000, and I got to get the complete tour of it.  It LOOKED like a shuttle.  There was nothing about it that made it feel incomplete.  It just wasn't designed to go into space.  But if you didn't know, you might not know.  In fact, I remember people seeing it and thinking it was real.  

When Kennedy Space Center's visitor center was enhanced, this mockup was moved to Johnson and renamed Independence. I'm not sure of its ownership but NASA has it on display there, even today.  It is not a shuttle that flew in space, but, again, you wouldn't know unless you know. 

And then we have the remaining three that flew in space:

Atlantis - was left at Kennedy space center after its last mission and is housed in an exhibition building.

Endeavor - after a bidding process, this vehicle was sold to the California science center (in Los Angeles), where it is on display.

 

Discovery -  was "donated" to the Smithsonian

In summary, of the 9 total shuttles that were created from mockups to actual flight worthy machines, you have 3 that are no longer around, 3 that were sold to private organizations, 1 that is part of the Smithsonian collection, and the remaining 2 are owned by NASA.

Some politicians would like a "real one" at the Johnson Space Center, which is weird because they have one there that is as close to real as you can get.  The only other one they control is the one at Kennedy Space Center. 

The Smithsonian is not under the purview or control of NASA, and congress has no authority over their collection, so in a way its like its in a private collection.

So all of this rhetoric and angst is a big show about literally nothing.  Its stupid and makes no sense at all.  The time to have this discussion was a decade or more ago when they were deciding what to do with the shuttles. 

The cost to move any of these at this point is off the charts and serves no purpose.

Attacking political perceived political enemies goes against what we are all about.

Senator,

During her confirmation hearings, Pam Bondi was asked if she would go after Mr Trumps political enemies. There was some back and forth, but she ultimately said no, she would not.

And here we are around 9 months later, and she indicted former FBI director Comey on charges that can best be summed up as "political retribution."

And this comes 9 years after Mr Trump fired Comey for his carrying out the law as director of the organization. Talk about holding a grudge!

This is unacceptable and un American. And you are in the unique position to actually do something about it.

Ms Bondi clearly lied to you. You can and should remove her from her position.

Oh look another land grab. In your face people!

I'm so over all the nonsense and it's hard to care in a way.

But, of course the governor of Flori-duh wants to use eminent domain or something to take land from Miami dade county, and gift it to the orange menace, in order to build a hotel …. And *maybe* a museum dedicated to him. 

The plan is to situate the "presidential library" next to the freedom tower, because it's where the Cuban community came during the 1960s when they emigrated to Miami. 

Naturally that is right on the bay, in a location that sticks its middle finger at the city and county. 

Delightful.

The land he wants to use is currently a parking lot. I may be misremembering the details, but I think it remained "undeveloped" because there were Native American artifacts found on the site, and it was negotiated with the Seminole tribe to leave it as is and not develop a high rise on it. 

But who cares about that #AmIRight 

About another cultish move…

For some reason a group of Christians thought yesterday would be the rapture.

Yeah. How'd that work out for you? Buyers remorse much?

https://youtu.be/aIdlKjEDe0M

Climate change results in rare hybrid bird between green jay and blue jay: Study

How intriguing! Another example of adaptation happening before our eyes, and it is an evolutionary step. 

(Suck it people who don't believe in science) 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/climate-change-results-rare-hybrid-bird-green-jay/story?id=125821704

Watch "BOMBSHELL CLAIM: TRUMP DID NOT WIN 2024, ELECTION MANIPULATED" on YouTube

Well this aligns with some of my thinking. As I've noted before, it seems unlikely T-rump won every swing state, and look!, he also won heavily democratic districts by wide margins. 

And the answer to "how" may very well be that discovery in his 2020 election fraud lawsuits helped find the weaknesses in the systems. 

 

https://youtu.be/1nus5JA3Vh4?si=692s-706ULML6fkH

Stellantis Is Working on a Battery That Will Be More Efficient

The innovation here is that they have removed some of the mechanical charging components from the system. In current cars you need a power inverter and a means to distribute the power to each battery. 

Stellantis engineers have found a way to directly charge without the need for either part, and control more of the system through software. 

It's a nice evolutionary leap that should spur other innovations. 

The effect on the cars weight is under 100 pounds, and the mileage gain is around 2 extra miles of driving. So it's not really about that. It is about rethinking batteries. 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a67954661/stellantis-tests-new-ev-battery-details/

We really are this stupid

The man whose brain is controlled by a worm told us that he would get to the bottom of what causes autism! There had to be *a* reason for it. 

And last week, he did. RFK published some bullshit findings that the reason for it is use of Tylenol by pregnant women. 

There is nothing to back this up. Just trust him! He knows best. 

And meanwhile the science says something else entirely (ie that there is no specific link to any one thing, drug or otherwise). 

But science can suck it. He knows what's best. And then the orange menace repeated the claim as fact. So here we are. 

The makers of Tylenol are not feeling it since this has a direct impact on their business. 

And how long until aggrieved parents who have children that are autistic sue the manufacturer? And in today's climate, who knows, maybe they could win. 

I wonder what axe RFK and T-rump have to grind against Tylenol….

Elon Musk Says We'll All Have 'Best' Medical Care, Food, Housing and 'Everything Else' And A Universal 'High' Income When Robots Take Over By 2030

There have been stories about Musks drug use.  I think this may be one of them.

Dude.  In under 5 years, we'll all be unemployed and robots will do * everything * yet we'll have universal income?!

Is this a Wall-E joke? 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-says-well-best-230608267.html

EV range extender

On the surface, this seems trivial. A guy wanted to be able to buy a Tesla range extender, which Tesla teased at some point, but never delivered. 

[an EV has a battery pack that holds a charge, and allows for a "range" (ie, some number of miles that can be driven) based on the general characteristics of the car, climate conditions, speed of travel, etc. Like a gas powered engine, which needs to refuel when your tank is empty, an

EV needs to recharge when that battery is exhausted. A range extender would allow for you to go longer distances. It's like an extra battery pack - or in gas parlance, an extra fuel tank]

Since he still wanted one, he built it himself for $11,000, and can travel an additional 100 miles by using it. It's not integrated, so he has to stop and plug it in to his car. 

As many pointed out, it's more efficient to simply go to a supercharger than to plug in this device. 

But that's not really the point. This is about innovation and learning. He sees how (theoretically) it could be integrated. He also sees that he's had no change in the range he was getting, even though this device is fairly heavy and always in his car. 

And he's stirred some creative thinking on the part of others. So there's potential for future growth of innovation. 

Tesla Wouldn't Sell Me a Range Extender For Cybertruck, So I Built My Own, Giving Me Just Short of 100 Miles of Extra Range | Torque News https://www.torquenews.com/1/tesla-wouldnt-sell-me-range-extender-cybertruck-so-i-built-my-own-giving-me-just-short-100-miles

MIT’s Window-Sized Device Pulls Drinking Water From Thin Air, Even in the Desert

A while back, I found an article about a team of researchers that were looking at a lightweight graphene and calcium based concept for pulling water from the air. 

Well, here's another team that has been testing a hydrogel solution that essentially does the same thing. 

It's got a ways to go to scale, but they are already able to demonstrate it working. 

https://scitechdaily.com/mits-window-sized-device-pulls-drinking-water-from-thin-air-even-in-the-desert/

Landing on Titan a look back

The headline of the story is misleading. Yes, scientists aren't quite sure what is happening on the surface of Jupiter's moon. But that's not really what the story is about. 

This is more of a retrospective on landing on Titan, and what we learned about the atmosphere, the surface, and served as a leaning experience for the future. 

Image of Titan taken 20 years ago continues to surprise scientists - Earth.com https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-cassini-huygens-mission-captured-this-image-on-titan-20-years-ago/

Disney announces new details for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets

I am still skeptical of whether this will come to fruition, but the plan at the moment is to give the muppets a new home in the Rock N Rollercoaster, which until now has featured Aerosmith. The new ride will just replace that band with the Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. And have a few preshow scenes with familiar muppets. 

I happen to like the muppets, but here's another instance where they will be unavailable to me because I can't do rollercoasters. Thanks Disney. Not. 

https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/attractions/2025/08/21/disney-announces-new-details-for-rock--n--roller-coaster-starring-the-muppets

The New Meta Ray-Bans Might Be Your Next Disneyland Tour Guide

An intriguing use of technology. But (a) I would assume Disney will try and monetize it, and (b) what of us that wear glasses? I guess I'll miss out on that tech. 

Aside: I am reminded of a scene from the first season of Star Trek: the next generation.  Geordi loses his visor (allowing him to see) and his adversary makes a comment to the effect of "you have no sight and your parents let you live?"… it feels kind of like that sleight every time I see new tech that excludes me. 

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/the-new-meta-ray-bans-might-be-your-next-disneyland-tour-guide/?pageview_type=RSS-yahoo-feed

My conflicted views on Disney

 I am still a fan of the theme parks.  Though, I have to admit that the way they've changed bothers me in some way - because its become somewhat of a playground for the wealthy.

But the company on the whole often rubs me wrong.  They are all about the bottom line, staying on top in entertainment (including sports), and currying favor poltically.

And then they made a decision to suspend (or is it fire?) Jimmy Kimmell from the show he hosts.  Which a certain orange menace cheered about.  

This should not be the accepted behavior of an entertainment company that has its hands in so many pots.  There is still freedom of speech, and Kimmell's show was still profitable.  But he made a political comment and that was the end.

Once again, here we are...

This whole story actually hurts…

The basic story is that a literature professor at Texas A&M was conducting a lecture about children's authors and in the context of the discussions used pronouns other than the two that the GOP seems to dwell on.

A student was incensed and a discussion ensued, that essentially was the student saying the law was broken in even discussing such matters.  The instructor politely offered for the student to leave if they were uncomfortable.  

And how do we know this?  Because "someone" in the class recorded it and posted it online.  To me, it feels an awful lot like a setup, but no matter.  There was additional fallout.

The student wound up calling the chair of the department and recording that conversation and posting it (not sure if that's a crime in Texas, but whatever).  The chair said nothing would happen, and wanted to move on.

She posted more to social media about how she was expelled from the classroom and how this was a violation of her rights (there was also some "I'm personally offended by the subject matter" thrown in there too - snowflake much?) 

But then various ideological political idiots in Texas inserted themselves and asked the president of the university to act.  The teacher in question and a few others were fired.  The chair was fired.  The curriculum came under scrutiny. 

And the president of the university was again called upon to do more... and since the attached was written, he, too, has been fired.

What have we become?

Like I said, this all felt like a setup.  And Texas can go fuck itself.

Gender-identity content in Texas A&M class leads to removals | The Texas Tribune https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/08/texas-am-video-professor-student-gender-identity-content/

A single college football matchup took place at two different stadiums this weekend

That's unique. And fun. 

  https://www.footballscoop.com/2025/09/15/division-iii-wabash-case-western-uniquevenue-change-small-college-football-jake-gilbert-crawfordsville-high-school

Disney Patent Targets AI Projection for Real-Time Animatronic Faces in Theme Parks

This is pretty cool. The idea is to make a fully animated face appear on the surface of a mask, to make animatronics even more life-like. 

A method includes determining an orientation of a mechanically animated surface relative to one or more projectors configured to project content onto the mechanically animated surface, dynamically rendering the content based on one or more parameters derived from the orientation of the mechanically animated surface relative to the one or more projectors, and presenting the content on the mechanically animated surface using the one or more projectors.

https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt-disney-imagineering/news/12sep2025-disney-patent-targets-real-time-projection-on-animatronic-faces.htm

Ok. That’s kind of amusing.

The Bills beat the dolphins last night and the bills tweeted this. 

It's kind of silly; in the past the dolphins have been known as "the fish" and I can recall them somehow being connected to tuna. But salmon? Huh. 

1972 Miami Dolphins

 Here's a current look at the players who are still with us...

http://disneyworldpodcast.net/1972Dolphins/

60 years after Gemini, newly processed images reveal incredible details

This is really, really cool. I think I have a new book for my wishlist. 

https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/09/60-years-after-gemini-newly-processed-images-reveal-incredible-details/

That’s just hilarious

This Choad owns the team. This was his expression late in the game. 

You signed Tua to a lucrative contract. And he sucks. 

You've kept the GM around for too many years, in spite of him being worthless (and possibly worse, because he is named in the lawsuit by former coach Brian Flores; this may be a way to "manage that")

And, there was a story during the preseason that Ross "expected" to be in the afc championship this year. Anything less and he'd fire the coach. And the rumor was that if they were below .500 at about 6 games, the coach would be gone. 

… and now that they're 0-2, you have to wonder what in the world he was thinking. You wasted the season on a weird expectation. 

This expression is a direct reflection on your ineptitude in running a football team. 

Call it a self own. 

DNA Revealed a Surprising Twist About Christopher Columbus

All of this is certainly debatable. But it's interesting that there continues to be evidence suggesting that Columbus was not who we thought he was, and that the history is more complicated than we might have assumed.  

https://www.sciencealert.com/dna-revealed-a-surprising-twist-about-christopher-columbus

'This does not look right': Scientists accidentally measure ultrahot ring around black hole using rare 'double zoom' technique

Woah. Using a telescope and a galaxy in between to enhance the image is a surprising way to see more detail around a black hole. 

It's a cool "trick" of using the corona edge to refract light.  

https://www.livescience.com/space/black-holes/astronomers-accidentally-use-rare-double-zoom-technique-to-view-black-holes-corona-in-unprecedented-detail

Workplace harassment attorney sues Syracuse airport authority for refusing her advertisement

The height of absurdity is that this ad for sexual harassment was not allowed because 

airport leadership told her they believed the ad might be viewed as "threatening" or "intimidating" to men and that "local politicians" might find it offensive.

Right. Better to let men just harass women - just like the guy at the top was convicted of doing. 

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2025/09/workplace-harassment-attorney-sues-syracuse-airport-authority-for-refusing-her-advertisement.html

How do you like that?

You may have seen this week that Jair Bolsonaro (former president of Brazil) was convicted of plotting a coup, and sentenced to prison. 

What I find interesting about that is this is a modern story about a 1st world nation, where the former president plotted a means to regain control of the office. He hadn't actually taken many tangible steps, but there was enough to convict him and prevent him from going at it again. 

While in our (supposed) 1st world nation here in the US, we had a former president actually stage a coup.  It started to happen, but got thwarted.  And yes, there was supporting evidence that this was all planned by him and he started it in motion. A coup. In the US. That people shrugged at. 

But our government failed to actually do anything about it. He wasn't charged. He wasn't held accountable. And then, he managed to win another election and has now subverted the government, effectively finalizing the coup, after a 4 year gap. 

Why in the world did the Biden administration do nothing about those actions?! 

Once someone sets up a coup, they never stop coming. Until they are charged and arrested, or wind up dead. 

And here we are. 

Brazil was better at handling the situation than we were. 

That's insane in my book. 

From flatscreens to bioimaging: Putting sargassum seaweed to good use

Here's a story about a couple of scientists who are working on a method to heat sargassum and shaping it to use as light points on a flatscreen tv in place of other materials, like plastics.

Gotta love the innovative thinking!

https://news.miami.edu/stories/2025/09/from-flatscreens-to-bioimaging-putting-sargassum-seaweed-to-good-use.html

Lawsuit says Musk's Tesla hires visa holders instead of Americans so it can pay less

In a shock to no one, Elon bends the rules to his liking. 

https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/lawsuit-says-musks-tesla-hires-visa-holders-instead-americans-so-it-can-pay-less-2025-09-12/

Shell promises 10-minute EV charging with its magical battery fluid

This is a pretty remarkable breakthrough. Shell has developed a means to cut EV charging time down to 10 minutes, which would be much closer to the time to gas up a car. 

Excellent. Hopefully they can prove this in the field. 

 

https://newatlas.com/automotive/shell-10-minute-ev-charging-battery-fluid/

Study links frequent, severe heat waves to pollution from major fossil fuel producers

Worth a minute of your time:

A new study has determined that 55 heat waves over the past quarter-century would not have happened without human-caused climate change

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/study-links-frequent-severe-heat-waves-pollution-major-125442762

Why a non-Pride mural in West Palm Beach remains untouched by the Florida Department of Transportation

Funny how this works. The FDOT is inconsistent in its effort to "remove all murals" from the streets. 

Here's a large mural that isn't about pride - and they haven't said a thing about it. 

I guess it really is about attacking gays after all. 

https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/why-a-non-pride-mural-in-west-palm-beach-remains-untouched-by-the-florida-department-of-transportation

Exclusive: US warns hidden radios may be embedded in solar-powered highway infrastructure

Apparently, we've reached a point where "the powers that be" are seeing the boogeyman everywhere. 

Hidden radios in solar power led highway signs … for what purpose? And of course we have tools to intercept and disrupt radio waves. So are we trying to understand (if these exist) how these are being used?

Or is it just "hey it's a problem" with nothing to back it up?

I'm quite certain it's the latter. Dumbassery is alive and well. 

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-warns-hidden-radios-may-be-embedded-solar-powered-highway-infrastructure-2025-09-10/

Did the Perservance Rover find life on Mars?

The headlines would certainl;y suggest that they did.

But the truth (as always) is a little more complicated.  What they found were possible bio signatures.

"The combination of these minerals [ iron-containing minerals vivianite and greigite], which appear to have formed by electron-transfer reactions between the sediment and organic matter, is a potential fingerprint for microbial life, which would use these reactions to produce energy for growth."

These samples were collected after analysis, and will be part of the payload that NASA intends to return to Earth at some point in the not-too-distant future.  These samples will then be analyzed here on Earth, and we can decide if they do, in fact, indicate there is life.  

So for now, set aside the hyperbole.  It may be that these are building blocks.  But we won't know for at least a few years.   

https://www.space.com/astronomy/mars/did-nasas-perseverance-rover-actually-find-evidence-of-life-on-mars-we-need-to-haul-its-samples-home-to-find-out-scientists-say

I'll take victories, large and small

Two groups - PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper - filed a lawsuit against a company called Styropek, for the dumping of plastic particles in the waterways around their factory near Pittsburgh.

The National Environmental Law Center handled the suit, and said this:

Concerned citizens first found plastic pellets floating in the Ohio River and nearby Raccoon Creek. They eventually traced the plastic upstream to a Styropek facility that manufactures plastic pellets. Outside the facility, they documented the pellets floating in the water and covering aquatic vegetation and the banks of the creek.

 

Now, with this settlement, Styropek is agreeing to completely redesign its stormwater collection to capture all of its pellet waste. This will have a direct impact on the Ohio River Basin and help protect clean water in western Pennsylvania.

 

After the redesign, Styropek must install new, cutting-edge monitoring technology to track and capture any plastic pellets that otherwise would have escaped the property and entered local waterways like Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River. The settlement imposes an automatic fine if that tech should detect even a single pellet.

 

In addition, Styropek will pay a $2.6 million penalty for violating the Clean Water Act. That penalty is one of the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania history, and will support efforts to clean up the plastic pellets that are already polluting the Raccoon Creek and Ohio River watershed.

Plastic pellets, frequently referred to as "nurdles," are typically about the size of a lentil. Once released into the environment they act as "toxic sponges," absorbing toxic substances from the surrounding water, including pesticides, heavy metals, and even bacteria and viruses. Fish, birds and other wildlife can then accidentally swallow these toxic plastic bits.

I object to stupidity

I am no fan of Elon Musk.  But, moon landing conspiracy theorists taking his comments about starship out of context and saying he just proved the moon landing is fake are really extraordinary. And ridiculously stupid.

The actual context is that musk sees that to get to the moon with starship, the craft will have to refuel in space.  This was always part of the plan for starship (though of course the goal was and is to get to mars). 

 

While it is the most powerful spacecraft man has ever made, it is also very heavy and very large. This is intentional to carry large payloads to a high orbit.

In order to achieve orbit, it uses its 33 rockets and burns all of the fuel it can carry. To get out of earths orbit would take more fuel, and therefore a refueling is required. How much refueling (and how many times in orbit it would need to dock up) would depend on the mission.  His estimate to get to the moon would be 4 refueling stops, as I understand it; that would allow that spacecraft to land on the moon and have enough fuel to return to earth. 

There is a significant amount of science and math that goes into the calculations, much as there was for Apollo. 

Apollo was purpose built to launch, get out of earths atmosphere, then have a burn that sent it toward the moon, a burn to get "lunar insertion," and a burn to get home.  There was some fuel expenditure to do adjustments, but that was mostly planned.  It carried enough fuel for this purpose - and remember that the capsule did not land on the moon, only the lander did, and carried enough fuel for the weight of the craft in order to descend and launch again.

The math here was on paper, and done to the point of precision, using momentum and gravity pulls to their advantage.  And remember that on Apollo 13, the fuel situation was such that a simple return to earth once they encountered the problem was not possible.  They had to continue to the moon and around it, in order to return to earth. That's how precise the calculations were. 

Anyway, the moon landing hoax idiots are taking what musk said out of context.  Essentially "If he says it would take refueling, then he is also saying that the Apollo moon landings could not have happened."

That's really drawing with a broad brush and not understanding the math and science. And not caring about it because they simply have to be right.

That's not what he said, at all.   Though to be fair, he hasn't really disputed it either (he does like to stir the pot). But why let facts, the hard work of men (and women!) who got us to the moon, or science get in the way of a good story?!

A Utah factory received tax breaks to create high-paying jobs. Soon it will furlough most of them.

Here's a story about the possible downside to "bringing manufacturing back to the US."

This company got tax breaks and hired people to good paying jobs. 

But the reasons for these job cuts aren't entirely clear.  If I'm reading between the lines correctly, it would seem the company got the tax breaks and decided to enjoy higher profits once they fulfilled their obligation on the length of time people had to be employed. 

In any case, the business environment where companies are encouraged to "self-regulate" while also allowing for obscene profits and rising prices is a recipe for disaster. 

And with limited competition due to import tariffs, guess who gets screwed?

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/09/09/an-insulation-maker-is-furloughing/

You can win a dream Disney vacation

Disney is running the Worlds of Infinite Magic Sweepstakes, available through Disney+

Now through October 2, enter for a chance to win a 4-Day, 5-Night dream vacation at Walt Disney World® Resort, The Most Magical Place On Earth. 

 

Here, you'll discover a world made up of infinite worlds. Discover worlds of thrills for those who seek them out, from the coaster climbers of Expedition Everest—Legend of the Forbidden Mountain®, to the daring droppers at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™. Journey through worlds of flavor for every foodie, from the Mickey-shaped treats to seasonal culinary creations, and dining destinations where every course tastes like a dream come true. And enter worlds for Heroes, Villains, Jedis, or Princesses. Because no matter who you are, or what you love, infinite worlds of magic await at Walt Disney World® Resort. 

 

Vacation Package Includes: 4D/5N at Walt Disney World® Resort (Concierge Level Deluxe Room); Coach airfare for 4 people; Ground transportation for 4 people; Four 4-Day Park Hopper® Tickets; VIP Tour Guide for 1-eight-hour day; Four $400 Disney Gift Cards

Disney+ subscribers can enter the sweepstakes from the Disney+ Perks dashboard.

For more information about the sweepstakes, including how to enter if you're not a Disney+ subscriber, check out the terms and conditions.

Disney to Pay $10 Million to Settle FTC Allegations

This is an unexpected turn of events.  In short, Disney was accused of allowing personal data to be collected from children who viewed kid-directed videos on YouTube without notifying parents or obtaining their consent as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. 

The rules don't allow for any collection of data unless the parent opts in, though I have to say the rule is a little confusing in how its implemented.  

But its good that there are at least some sort of general protections for kids. The world is scary enough without soliciting directly to them.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/09/disney-pay-10-million-settle-ftc-allegations-company-enabled-unlawful-collection-childrens-personal

UFO hearings?

On September 9th, the US Congress convened hearings on UFOs. Because, you know, what could possibly be more impactful to everyday Americans? 

"The American people deserve maximum transparency from the federal government on sightings, acquisitions and examinations of UAPs and whether they pose a potential threat to Americans' safety."

Right. Our safety. Never mind about public health. Guns. The rise of extremism. Or the orange menace himself. No! We gotta worry about things that don't matter. 

They also said:

"It is time to give Americans the answers they deserve, which is why I am honored to lead this bipartisan task force that seeks truth and transparency."

Fooking hilarious.  Transparency in this day and age is part magicians deception (hey look over here, while I do something over there!) and part whatever those in power say something is. 

Oh. But what's this? It's not all about UFOs? There's stuff buried in the agenda that are other conspiracies that they want to manipulate:

"We will also investigate UAPs/USOs, the Epstein client list, COVID-19 origins, and the 9/11 files."

We are all so screwed. 

So fucking stupid

So the idiot in charge posted this to his social media. 

Because nothing screams that I'm a competent leader like posting stupid movie quotes when it comes to real world events AS HE SEES THEM, not as they appear in reality. 

Setting aside the nonsense that is the illegal and unconstitutional invasion of Chicago for no reason, I think there's another point here. 

He has now idea what apocalypse now is about….and I'm sure he doesn't get to the "heart of darkness" story and that this might be a terrible analogy in every respect. 

Is he saying that he is in Martin Sheen's role, the hallucinatory journey? With "drugs" replaced by "dementia"

Or is he in Marlin Brando's role, the man who has gone mad?

In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.

A little context

The notion of getting that sack of skin one trillion dollars as some kind of fair compensation to run Tesla is one of the most laughably absurd things I've ever heard. 

Among other things, they want to "keep him from leaving" to which I say that they should instead have a vote to make him leave. 

He's a tool and manages to ruin so much around him. 

But anyway, a trillion dollars. Thats a 1 with 12 zeros behind it. 

A quick bit of math says that you could randomly pick 50 million people from the phone book (that's roughly 15% of the population by the way) and issue them a check for $20,000. Which would be life changing for most of them. And have spent the same amount. 

Instead of giving it to one jackhole that seems like a better use of the money. 

But what do I know?

An open letter to our senators

Senator,

Over these last few months, we've seen Mr Trump continue his assault on literally everything we hold near and dear as citizens of this great nation. He continues with unchecked executive power to simply try and change things with a stroke of a pen. 

We haven't heard much from you, and yet, we've seen the courts continue to hold him accountable, as most of these actions are unconstitutional!

I also want to call attention to the fact that Mr Trumps physical health has been declining, very publicly, comments from the Whitehouse to the contrary not withstanding. 

And then there is his "brain health."  His speech is slurred. He goes off on wild tangents. More than 5 years ago there were questions about his mental faculties; he has aged, and as we all are well aware, it's not possible to have somehow "gotten better."

It appears to some of the public (and from what I gather some elected officials as well) that he is unfit to serve. Maybe you should take that into consideration as you look at his deeds and actions. 

Don't remain on the sidelines and simply allow him to remain unchecked.  I might remind you that one of your primary jobs is to protect and defend the constitution. 

I ask you to do just that; protect the constitution *from* him. 

Digging into the Epstein case

I'm setting this up by saying that I can't vouch for the truth in all of this. The guy has some details that line up with what we generally know about Epstein. 

But is it factual? I don't know. 

It's a nice story in a way. And probably has some general truth in it. 

So I'm sharing. 

Part 1

https://youtube.com/shorts/9NqFD6_pyiY?si=emmXwewOZRgfVw2g

Part 2

https://youtube.com/shorts/rE90leBYSi4?si=d8oBcolcfncqEq56

And speaking of Karen’s …

A group of teens (including some of my kids) went to the "Hamilton in the movie theater"...

This is the premise - "yes, this is unlikely to be your normal theater-going experience, but that's a good thing…. in that prologue, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom, Jr., and the rest basically encourage you to sing along, applaud, and feel your feelings however you feel them as you watch Hamilton in a whole new way."

The group took it literally and made it a sing-a-long!!

But of course, there was a Karen who told them to be quiet, to shut up, and got nasty. She got the manager at one point, and they held up the film for a couple of minutes while they resolved it.  

It did NOT go as she hoped,  and the film resumed along the the sing along. 

The entitled joyless jackhole, frustrated, got up and left.

It's a fun show. Get over yourself. Why you gotta be that person?!

Watch "Wh!te Woman Breaks Down Why Karens Love Trump" on YouTube

The first 9 or so minutes are quite good; the woman talks about Karen's. 

The remainder is someone's analysis. So whatever. 

 

https://youtu.be/qcwvtU8fC8c?si=ijp0U1-3OVNEHSB0

These “plastivore” caterpillars can devour a plastic bag in just 24 hours

Here's another way that we (collectively) are trying to deal with plastic waste. Waxworms are capable of eating through certain types of plastic and digesting it. 

It's not quite ready for a wide scale solution, but as one researcher notes, it sets the stage for finding potential organisms that can be used in various ways to help with the plastic problem. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250827010736.htm

After ‘humiliating’ raid, Burkina Faso halts ‘gene drive’ project to fight malaria

This is one of those unbelievable stories that show the problem with fake news extends well beyond our borders. 

The summary is that the government of Burkina Faso was funding research into how to reduce the spread of malaria. 

Since mosquitos are the way the disease ia spread, the research team focused on eradicating the mosquito population. They did some genetic manipulation and made it so that the offspring would all be male, and therefore they couldn't reproduce. 

And then came the fake news. Ten research team was accused of creating a synthetic virus that they were using the mosquitos to spread in order to (something something). 

The government stopped the research. Hassled the scientists. And accused them of various nefarious deeds. The mosquitos they created were killed off. 

And we're right back to where we were. With no means to stop the spread of malaria. 

https://www.science.org/content/article/after-humiliating-raid-burkina-faso-halts-gene-drive-project-fight-malaria

AI paves the way toward green cement

First off, I had no idea that cement production accounted for 8% of all CO2 emissions. 

Second, this is an appropriate and good use of technology to improve life. Using modeling, and machine learning to try and find new ways to reduce emissions without having to spend a lot of time and money on trial and error is pretty cool. 

And they think they've found a way to reduce their carbon footprint. Very nice.  

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-ai-paves-green-cement.html

US in real danger of losing the moon race to China, experts tell Senate

The US Senate convened a hearing about the space program which they titled "Bad Moon on the Rise."  Because, you know, there are no other pressing needs for the senate to tackle right now.  <sarcasm=high>

The central theme was that without Artemis (the planned moon mission that is waaaaay behind schedule), and the Lunar Gateway Space Station (that is intended to replace the ISS, and which just started construction and should be ready for a 2030 space deployment) adhering to the planned schedules,  China will reach the moon before the US.

The important takeaway is: 

Witnesses underscored that delays, budget uncertainty, or wavering commitments could undermine both U.S. industry and international alliances, warning that uncertainty could drive partners and suppliers toward China's accelerating lunar mission technologies.

And that right there. That's exactly what this administration set out to do with budget cuts, installing stupid people at the head of the agency, and generally not having a clue what they are doing.

Having a Senate committee look into it is nice, but doesn't change the facts.  China will win this battle and get to the moon before we return.  But hey, maybe we can be first to Mars.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/us-in-real-danger-of-losing-the-moon-race-to-china-experts-tell-senate

Make the plague great again!

Flori-duh is doing what it does best: leading the world in stupidity. 

Yep, Florida announced an end to any and all vaccine mandates for any public type things. Which includes schools. 

Adults get sick and die, that's on them. But kids dying as a result of poor decisions by parents? That's just sad. 

Funny how the gop is all about being pro-life before birth, but afterwards not so much. 

Woman loses thousands of dollars to romance scammer posing as astronaut in distress, police in Japan say

While I do feel bad for this poor lady, the story is actually kind of hilarious. 

In short: the guy said he was an astronaut *in space* and needed money to buy oxygen. 

Ummmm. From where, exactly? The convenience store around the corner? Another space station? 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-romance-scam-fake-astronaut-distress-japan/

Rare ancient gold discovery made by Florida student at archaeological site

The student archaeologists went into the field and were given some parameters on what to do. And one student managed to make a find from 1,500 years ago almost right away. 

Quite a lucky find. And definitely worth sharing. 

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/archaeology-student-finds-rare-ninth-century-gold-within-the-first-90-minutes-of-her-first-excavation

100-year-old chemistry rule proven false, textbook updates needed

I love the fact that scientists understand that what we know and observe is sometimes subject to change based on new information. 

It's what mouth breathers use to try and undermine scientific endeavor, because they really do not understand what makes it great. 

Here's a case where a chemist wrote rules around chemical bonds. And that rule held up to scrutiny for about 100 years and thus chemistry always taught it to us. 

But now, we've discovered that this rule is *not always* true and it upends some of what we know. 

I appreciate that the article notes this:

Next time someone says something is impossible, ask whether anyone has actually tried it recently. You might be surprised by what is possible when you stop assuming and start experimenting.

Yes! Experiment and learn! 

https://www.earth.com/news/100-year-old-chemistry-rule-bredts-rule-double-bonds-bridge-ring-system-proven-false/

Ancient Greek skull rewrites human evolutionary timeline | The Jerusalem Post

Setting aside for a moment that this article was at least partially written by AI and its sourcing is a little hard to track down, the notion that a skull was found in Greece that doesn't (appear to) conform with what we know about early humans and their migratory patterns, is interesting. 

And finding a skull of a humanoid that old is always intriguing. 

But some things I noticed while researching the article sources: 1. scientists are apparently a little split on what humanoid this skull descends from and how it got into this cave. So there may be more to this story than we are seeing here. 2. People called out the misleading nature of the headline and the story supporting it. And 3. People in The US, unlike other places that simply want to know more, also reacted to finding a skull from a humanoid that is many tens of thousands of years old because "there is no such thing as evolution," "the earth is only 3,000 years old so the method to date it must be wrong," and "god created man. Full stop"

Why can't we simply accept some science and seek to understand more?!

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-866012

Scientists Engineer Yeast to Create Honey Bee Superfood – Colonies Grew 15-Fold

What an interesting way to help prevent - and likely reverse - the problem of bee colony collapse. 

If we can engineer food that helps them grow, then maybe we can save the plant life that ultimately depend on the bees. 

That's cool. 

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scientists-engineer-yeast-to-create-honey-bee-superfood-colonies-grew-15-fold/

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche

You're the person in charge of (arguably) the greatest nation. By definition, the president is expected to be the representative of all American people.

And he's really not leading or representing any of us, except maybe those that are in on the grift.  Instead, we have rising prices. Dehumanization. People suffering. And on and on.  

And this is what he chose to rail about.  Essentially acting like an entitled arse. It is one of the "let them eat cake" moments…

"Let them eat cake" is a quote attributed to queen Marie Antoinette before the French Revolution. The story goes that the queen said this when told her starving peasants had no bread, highlighting her obliviousness to their plight.

It's unclear if she actually uttered the phrase, but the context is that she really didn't understand the people who she was supposed to be leading. 

  

Disneyland Handcrafted.

Disney has announced a potentially interesting documentary series called "Disneyland Handcrafted," about the design and construction of the original Disneyland, which is in the midst of its 70th anniversary.

The documentary is by Leslie Iwerks, who descends from Disney "royalty" - her father was Don Iwerks, inventor of the CircleVision 360 camera, and her grandfather was Ub Iwerks who was one of the original animators who worked for Walt, and he helped create Mickey Mouse.

But Leslie is no slouch.  She is an Oscar- and Emmy-nominated documentarian who created the "The Imagineering Story" series for Disney+.

The new documentary will run on Disney+ and YouTube this fall. 

Trailer here: https://youtu.be/7rP3FVnGtfg

Starship Update

Back at the end of August, Starship had a fairly successful launch, which achieved all of the objectives that were set forth by SpaceX.  

Its exciting to see a rocket of that scale lift off and return.  It may very well herald a new era for space exploration.

But can we talk for a minute about how the media simply said this is redemption for all Musk has done?  I mean...really?  After all the nonsense, having one successful flight absolves him?  He owns the company and invested heavily in the success and there's a lot to be said for essentially letting his smart rocket scientists do their thing. But its *their* accomplishment.  The guy is still a turd.

And even the shirt he was wearing during an interview should remind us of that.  

Can someone please tell me, other than ego, what the purpose of going to Mars actually is?  He has a whole timeline because he wants to.  And he's rich.  And it serves his ego.  But lets have a purpose.  Unless you want to send yourself and some of the other jackholes who are in power to the planet... then please have at it.

He Beached an Old Cruise Ship and Turned it into $18 Million Beachfront Hotel with Love

What a weird and oddly wonderful hotel he created … I recommend watching the video tour near the end of the page. 

 

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/he-beached-an-old-cruise-ship-and-turned-it-into-18-million-beachfront-hotel-with-love/

Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds

Not to be an alarmist … but this ain't good. 

Anyone care to actually do something? Or should we just say our goodbyes now so some can have some obscene wealth, with a short time to use it. 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/28/collapse-critical-atlantic-current-amoc-no-longer-low-likelihood-study

Disney caters to the wealthy

The New York Times wrote a piece about how Disney has changed, and I thought it was worth sharing.  

As a frequent visitor, I 100% agree with this assessment. I've watched them go from being a park for any and every one, at an affordable price, to being an expensive playground for the wealthy.  I had noted along the way, that the company was doing everything in its power to "tip the scales" toward the affluent.

Everything is an upcharge, and you can get more if you pay more. That's not to say its not fun, its just more expensive, and you really have to temper your expectations going in.

For reference, I took my daughter back in March, and over three days, we managed to see almost every attraction we wanted, without any upcharges.  Yes, it was complicated.  We had to criss cross the parks, start early, and stay late, and make some changes on the fly.  And yes, it seemed like it wouldn't be possible at times. But we had a ball and managed to squeeze a lot in.  But in this case, I was the advantage because of my own experiences....not everyone has that. And there was definitely some amount of luck involved.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/opinion/disney-world-economy-middle-class-rich.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

We Call It Imagineering Episode 3: How Rides Come to Life

This is an intermittent series and it feels a little "edited for the masses" (so they eschew some technical details), but it's still a little fun to hear about the development process imagineers use in their craft. 

https://disneyparksblog.com/disney-experiences/stories-in-motion-we-call-it-imagineering-episode-3-debuts/

Another day of stupidity

I am amazed at the breathless coverage of the truck driver who (very unfortunately and sadly) killed three people. And it's hard to follow but maybe he didn't have the right license or wasn't a citizen or couldn't read English. Whatever any of that has to do with anything. 

So we simply must have more rules and tests because we can't allow an immigrant to kill people while driving a truck. We need more laws!

But yet the feds have decided they don't need to follow *existing* laws on gun ownership, licensing, and usage. Because that's a burden. 

Submitted for your consideration

In the US, we have the major sports (the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA at the top) and there are teams that play in those leagues.

But the wild part is that there's no threat of being demoted or being discharged from the league.  Some teams, then, are basically incentivized to not even bother trying to win (and just roll with it),  to keep payrolls low, or to  do what is known as "tanking" where they attempt to lose on purpose in order to get some return in the long-term

As fans, sometimes you get stuck wanting to root for the team you "love," but there's never going to be a championship, and you just accept it and maybe even remain hopeful that someday your team's fortunes will change.

For their part, the leagues also see an opportunity to generate revenue, by imposing hefty fees to relocate or to bring in a new franchise to that league (when they think it's the right time).  

But meanwhile, in many other leagues (the English Premier league of soccer being the most notable), there's a promotion and relegation system so the teams that are at the top have to play hard to stay at the top - and if they lose, they will get relegated down to a lower league.  And teams in that lower league can be promoted up to that higher league if they play well and win enough. 

So they're incentivized to put their best foot forward and always try and win because there's a threat that if they lose, they're going to get demoted and have a lower income level.

And why am I mentioning this?  Well, to put it bluntly, leagues that have promotion and relegation are a capitalist type of economy. You win to stay relevant. You win to keep making money.  You win to have the biggest TV contracts. You win to have the biggest fan bases. And there are no salary caps. So big money can (and must!) be spent to stay at the top.  Even a "small market" team can have success because that's capitalist way.

Whereas teams in the United States are essentially a socialist system. TV contracts are negotiated by the league, and every team benefits from them through revenue sharing.  There are salary caps, and salary floors to ensure a level playing field. Teams are guaranteed an equitable portion of all proceeds from the league in which they play, so some teams are able to just coast along.

And the reason this amuses me so much is that most Americans rail against socialism as really, really bad! The worst thing ever! And yet sports are essentially socialist constructs in this country and people love the leagues, their teams, and could never imagine their team having to play just to stay at the top. I don't want my team to be considered an also-ran (just like I don't want to see my team abandon my city!). And the capitalist owners just see the money and don't care, either. 

To me, it's so funny how people get so hung up on an ideal that they can't even see it happening in something they get passionate about.

OK, this may sound a conspiracy adjacent but…

The 2024 election was peculiar in that Kamala lost every swing state by a margin that seemed unlikely. And of course. that's in spite of her having led in all of those same states as late as a week or two before the election

And in reviewing the results, there were some voting districts in those states where there were zero votes for Kamala.  Zero.  Sure, on the surface, It's certainly possible that this was the case, but it doesn't feel right in a way.

To that point, over the last few months, there have been reported vote totals results that raised some eyebrows - people who claim to have voted for Kamala see that there were no votes for her in their district.  They have signed affidavits, and are suing to get into discovery.  And just to be clear, this is more than just a couple of people who are saying their vote wasn't counted.  

Look, I'm not saying there's anything to it.  But there is something odd about all of it, and the evidence suggests its worth a look.

And here's where my "tin foil hat moment" comes in.  You may recall that after the 2020 election, T-rump filed very many lawsuits against the companies that supply the voting machines. Of course, the stated purpose for the suit was that they wanted to make sure the vote totals were correct and blah blah blah...

But what if their actual goal was to use discovery to understand the voting machines more thoroughly.  To get at how they connected to the systems that tabulate the votes.  What if the intent was to find a flaw in the security - in order to manipulate future outcomes?  

Wouldn't that be something?  

Yes, its unlikely, but not improbable.  

Just my two cents for today.

You are being lied to.

Here's a good synopsis on social security and all the lies we're being told. 

https://youtu.be/fzs3Myqprx0?si=IJGPMLGapx3fOvRs

Bizarro world

In his stupidity, the gov'na of Florida hates everything he considers woke. The definition varies a lot, but always includes anything in the lgbtq space.

He and the legislature decided that there can be no rainbows displayed anywhere that he can control. (And I while I think he means related to pride, I suspect he's against rainbows because they signify happiness).

Anyway, outside the pulse nightclub in Orlando where there was the shooting, there was a tribute added by the city: a rainbow crosswalk.

Dingleberry didn't like that and had his henchmen tell the city and club that it had to be removed.

They said no. He sent a team one night and just painted over it in black (like his soul).

But locals turned out to simply repainted it. In broad daylight. With the media in tow. 

And here we are. 

I'm sure he'll paint over it again and then start threatening people who defy him.

African Union backs campaign to replace Mercator map that distorts Africa's size

This is an intriguing problem. The way we create two dimensional maps distorts the sizes of some areas. Especially a continent that spans across the equator. 

And as a result, we tend to think of Africa as "small" which clearly isn't right. 

Food for thought. 

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/21/nx-s1-5508358/mercator-map-africa

Scientists may have found a powerful new space object: 'It doesn't fit comfortably into any known category'

While studying a nearby galaxy, astronomers noted a peculiar object that they couldn't identify. The called it punctum (or "point") and continue to study it. It's some kind of light source, but isn't like other light sources we've seen before.  

"At the moment, Punctum truly stands apart — it doesn't fit comfortably into any known category, and honestly, nothing like this has appeared in any previous millimeter surveys, largely because, until recently, we didn't have anything as sensitive and high-resolution as ALMA."

Ooooohhhh. Something new that was discovered using higher tech / more sensitive equipment. Gotta love it!

https://www.space.com/astronomy/scientists-may-have-found-a-powerful-new-space-object-it-doesnt-fit-comfortably-into-any-known-category