Help this make sense

Maybe it's just me. But.

5 or so years ago we were talking about the orange menace and his fitness to serve. There was some (mostly idle) talk about removing him using the 25th amendment because there was a sense that maybe he didn't have the mental acumen to be president.

And here we are today .. and it's all this talk about how crazy his policies are and how much harm he's doing.

But where did we lose the focus on his mental abilities? He's 5 years older. It's not like there's some magical cure. And that he somehow "got better" and whatever mental issues he had went away.

It's just weird how the conversation changed from HIM not being fit, to HIS POLICIES being ridiculous.

How is no one reporting on the actual problem: his declining mental abilities?

Why are we not talking about him having whatever issues he has - and that's the reason he's acting this way? 

SuperSonic flight

This is cool. 

Chinese researchers have unveiled a supersonic aircraft so quiet that it can zip passengers at 1.6 times the speed of sound and still be as quiet as a hairdryer

https://luxurylaunches.com/travel/china-whisper-quiet-supersonic-airliner-04012025.php

Senators: uphold and defend the constitution

I remind you, again, that there are three branches of government. 

The executive is acting like a dilettante as it relates to being in a a position of power. The judicial is holding the executive branch accountable as is prescribed in the constitution. But the executive is literally thumbing his nose at judicial and ignoring them. 

That leaves the 3rd branch, the legislative, in which is not doing much, and tacitly approving of the executive doing whatever he wants, and undermining the constitution. And worse, some members have openly discussed removing justices who stand in the way of the executive branch, which is subverting the constitution. 

Do your job Senator. Uphold, protect and defend the constitution. The three branches are equal in power. Don't let one branch simply take over and become a dictatorship. 

To our senators on tariffs and the economy

Mr Trump continues to run roughshod over the economy. His tariffs and related uncertainty about his policies are having a damaging effect on everyday Americans.  And tariffs on uninhabited islands show what utter nonsense this all is. 

Prices for nearly everything are on the rise. It would appear as though we are headed quickly toward a recession. Consumer confidence is at a low point. And the stock market is tumbling in a way we haven't seen in our lifetime. 

There is no reasons for this to be happening. The economy was in a good place, and there was no need for tariffs like these. Especially only a few months after he took office. 

It's your job to represent Floridians, and really all Americans, in ensuring that he doesn't destroy the economy. 

He himself said years ago that any president who oversees a Dow drop of *a lesser magnitude* should be impeached. That's his own standard, and yet you aren't even willing to have a meaningful moment of standing up to him for his actions. Or even of taking back control over tariffs. 

Seniors in our state are struggling. Workers are seeing their retirement saving investments being wiped out. And it's expensive to put food on the table. 

I can only imagine the uproar you would be in if, say, Kamala had won and was doing something like this. 

Don't put politics ahead of everything else and let our country be financially ruined and perhaps scarred forever. 

A lesson in why it’s hard for companies to adapt quickly

Here's a (not so well written) story about how India changed its laws so that beverage giants have to use recycled materials in their plastic bottles. 

They must be 30% recycled material this year, ramping up to 60% in three years. 

But there are only a few companies that can make recycled bottles at scale - and not enough to meet the demands of the likes of coke and Pepsi. 

One executive notes that:

"We are investing in capacity, but capacity increases are two-three years away."

And so in India, the beverage companies want to take legal action because they know they can't meet the need. 

Which leads us back home. T-rump has imposed tariffs to encourage growth of American made products. He's been in office for about 3 months and expects there to be some "pain" while this gets sorted out. 

If we use the situation in India as sort of a guide, we should realize that it will take *years* for companies to figure it out and be able to make products at scale. And that is if they can do it all. 

These tariffs, then, hurt everyone. The company, the consumer, shippers, the places from whence products come. For a very long time. 

It's insanity. 

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/recycled-plastic-mandate-india-beverage-giants/

Thanks obi wan. 

Another Japanese breakthrough.

Scientists in Japan have been discussing the possibility of using a material called perovskite for solar panels as opposed to the traditional silicon-based cells.

And now they have had their first trials and seen the results. The panels are cheaper, more lightweight, and bendable so they can go on more surfaces. 

Plus, they have a max output 1.5 times traditional silicone collar cells. 

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/japan-super-solar-panel/12474/

Retrieving lithium from used batteries

Taking the materials out of batteries is a tricky proposition and no one has yet mastered it. 

But here's a team that is using cooking oil and water to break down the materials and allow for the removal of lithium in a simple, environmentally friendly, quick, and easy way at room temperature.  

We could go further with electric if we didn't have to worry about the environmental impacts of disposed batteries. 

https://tech.yahoo.com/articles/scientists-revolutionary-breakthrough-cooking-oil-111535092.html

Transparent solar cells

A group of researchers in Japan have come up with a means to create small, lightweight, and clear(!) solar cells that can be adapted for most situations - including putting them on homes or cars, while not changing the aesthetic or the ability to see through a windshield. 

"Our approach improved the power conversion efficiency over 1,000 times compared to devices using standard ITO electrodes," 

Now that's something that could revolutionize the solar industry. 

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/transparent-solar-cells-generate-power-1000x-more-efficiently-than-traditional-panels-2/

American culture and return to office

There have been many, many, many articles about forcing workers to return to offices, chiding them for not putting in "enough" time, of companies and ceos being bullies because they can. 

They say things like "We are more productive" or "we can collaborate" when what they mean is that they can control everyone who works for them. 

And now we're seeing articles about how it's impacting these companies. More pushback. More incivility. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/workplace-incivility-spiraling-companies-rile-161658844.html

And meanwhile in Europe, they're taking a different approach. Here's one outcome in Germany that suggests treating employees well pays off. 

https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/04/73-of-german-companies-tried-four-day-workweek-now-theyre-not-going-back/

But we'll never get there. Instead we will all become a kind of indentured servant to the large corporations. 

Rocket radar?

DARPA's AtmoSense program seeks to use Earth's atmosphere as a global sensor by measuring acoustic and electromagnetic waves propagating through the atmosphere, and attempting to trace them back to a specific disturbance event that took place on Earth. In doing so, DARPA hopes to be able to trace underground explosions or other national security threats using the signals detected from the atmosphere.

https://gizmodo.com/darpa-unintentionally-invents-new-rocket-radar-thanks-to-spacex-2000584008

Watch "Propellantless Propulsion Device | Charles Buhler" on YouTube

Dr Buhler thinks he has found a new force that allows for a a drive system that has no propellant. 

 

"Essentially, what we've discovered is that systems that contain an asymmetry in either electrostatic pressure or some kind of electrostatic divergent field can give a system of a center of mass a non-zero force component.

 "So, what that basically means is that there's some underlying physics that can essentially place force on an object should those two constraints be met."

Which is somewhere between an interesting theory and just using jargon to obfuscate. 

Personally, I'm learning toward this being hokum. But I am willing to keep an open mind and see if there's any merit to what he's saying. 

https://youtu.be/WhsKMWOYuYo?si=Cot8r7DYD7tHk_HO

Innovative new design in wind energy production

Spanish company, Vortex Bladeless Ltd., has designed turbines that are entirely without blades. They generate electricity by jiggling.

The structure of these bladeless turbines works by attracting whirlwinds. Depending on the speed and direction of the wind, these whirlwinds develop at certain frequencies. At the base of the bladeless turbine are two rings of repelling magnets. When the wind pulls the turbine in one direction, the magnets pull it in another, causing the tube to wiggle.

Energy reaches a peak when the frequency of the vortex or whirlwind coincides with the frequency of the turbine. This peak is established due to the aeroelastic coupling that arises at this point. It is at this moment that the energy is absorbed and converted from kinetic energy into electrical energy.

To simplify, the whirlwinds produced by the wind cause the turbine to vibrate. This kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy and used to power our homes.

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/say-goodbye-wind-power-unlimited-energy/12905/

Simple question

What is wrong with us?

An anonymous social media post tells a made up story about some college girl and it goes viral; the story even appeared on a national show. 

And then her life gets upended. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/university-mississippi-student-speaks-about-viral-rumor-rcna199330

Rice and food scarcity

Here's another example of how the food supply is being disrupted by climate change. 

This is going to become the norm. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/officials-sound-alarm-major-staple-111500167.html

Elon 🖕🏼

You tried to buy an election, presumably for your own personal gain. 

But Wisconsiners? Wisconsinites? Aren't having it. 

Suck it. 

Here's to hoping they come after you for breaking the law, ya blatherskite 

April Fools

 

I was admittedly a bit of a prankster in college.  I perpetrated several different elaborate pranks just because, and on April Fools I tried to think "bigger."  

For several years running on April Fools, I would look for a free-standing newspaper machine (like the one pictured here).  I would switch 10 copies of the paper - 9 from the stack, and the one that was facing the world in the window - with ones from the previous year.  (this prank took some serious planning!).

I would then take the 10 current ones, and return home with them, and save them for the following year.

And for the record, since this was a prank, not a theft, I also carefully considered how to ensure everyone came out "even" on the deal.  I paid for the newspapers! (they only cost $.25 a the time, so I didn't see it as a big deal for a fun prank)