Technology and Society

An Interesting New Airplane

Does anyone know if this is for real, or vaporware?

There is no doubt a significant market for a supersonic business jet. The problem is, they still haven’t found a solution to the sonic boom problem. They’re finessing it with this airplane by (as the Concorde did) flying supersonic over water only, but enhancing performance by flying it just slightly below sonic velocity (almost transonic) over land, which gives them a faster trip than a conventional subsonic jet. But the advantage isn’t all that great, since they’re restricting it to Mach 1.5 (presumably because their fuel costs would go through the roof, and their range to almost nothing, if they went faster).

If you look at the comparisons of trip times, in some cases, it doesn’t make that much difference, and because they haven’t solved the wave drag problem, they still don’t have trans-Pacific range–they have to make a stop to refuel, so it only drops the trip time from fourteen to nine hours or so. Also, they only show a route from the east coast to Japan. If they wanted to fly from, say, LA to Down Under or Taipei, it’s not obvious to me where they’d stop for a refuel. Hawaii’s too far from Asia for their range, and Society Islands are too far from the US. It’s interesting, though, that they claim to have the same range at Mach 1.5 as as Mach 0.85. They really get killed in that transonic region, as expected.

A true supersonic bizjet (say, Mach 2.4, which is about as fast as you could go with aluminum), with adequate range to get across the Pacific, could do it in about five hours, which would be a huge revolution.

Still, there will be a market for this thing, I think, if their cost numbers are valid. They seem to be claiming that they’re comparable to a G550 on a per-mile basis (which also means on a passenger-mile basis for the eight-passenger configuration). I’d like to understand more about them, though. What are they calling “fixed” and “direct” costs?

While they drink a lot more Jet A than the Gulfstream, they claim to have lower fixed costs for supersonic flight. Is this because they spend less time to travel a mile, and get more miles per maintenance? That would explain why they have higher “fixed” costs and lower “direct” (mostly fuel, I assume) costs for the high subsonic mode.

I think they can make some money with this, but it’s not the real breakthrough we need.

Political Commentary

Venezuela Vote

Let’s hope there are a lot of traitors there:

Brandishing a little red book listing his desired 69 revisions to Venezuela’s charter, Chavez exhorted his backers to redouble their efforts toward a victorious “yes” vote in the Dec. 2 ballot.

“He who says he supports Chavez but votes ‘no’ is a traitor, a true traitor,” the president told an arena packed with red-clad supporters. “He’s against me, against the revolution and against the people.”

People here who support this budding despot, like Jimmy Carter, should be ashamed of themselves. But I think they have no shame.

[Update a few minutes later]

Here are some of the potential traitors standing in food lines, waiting for milk.

[Another update a couple minutes later]

I wonder if the leche lines are why he’s lost his lead?

…the survey was the latest blow to Chavez. He has suffered a series of defections over his plan, including an ex-defense minister who had restored him to power after a brief 2002 putsch but who called Chavez’s reforms a new “coup.”

“The debate over voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ has burst into the very heart of Chavez’s support base,” Leon said in an interview. “We can see moderate Chavez backers ready to vote ‘no’ even though they like him.”

The question is, what will he do if he loses? Have the “traitors” shot?

Popular Culture

I Hadn’t Been Paying Much Attention To LSU

…but if Michigan doesn’t end up with Les Miles as its new coach, maybe it will be lucky:

Given the job description of a college football head coach, Les Miles qualifies as a good example for his colleagues across the country. The way Miles handled this past week of questions from an aroused media corps was exemplary. The personal integrity of the man who led LSU through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is considerable. Miles is a stand-up individual who does a great job of handling a lot of the duties of a head coach. From this big-picture perspective, the man is a good coach.

However, when championships are there to be won and statements are to be made, Arkansas ambush made one thing perfectly and overwhelmingly clear: Les Miles can’t strategize his way out of a paper bag.

He’s a fine human being, which should count for more in the long run than one’s performance when wearing a headset on the sideline. But for the record, this loss to Houston Nutt’s Hogs proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Les Miles is certifiably loony as a play caller, clock manager and timeout juggler. In those three aspects of coaching (not the job description as a whole), Miles is a flunkie. Period.

Lloyd Carr made a lot of questionable play calls over the years as well. The Wolverines ought to be looking to improve in that department, not get worse.

Popular Culture

I Hadn’t Been Paying Much Attention To LSU

…but if Michigan doesn’t end up with Les Miles as its new coach, maybe it will be lucky:

Given the job description of a college football head coach, Les Miles qualifies as a good example for his colleagues across the country. The way Miles handled this past week of questions from an aroused media corps was exemplary. The personal integrity of the man who led LSU through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is considerable. Miles is a stand-up individual who does a great job of handling a lot of the duties of a head coach. From this big-picture perspective, the man is a good coach.

However, when championships are there to be won and statements are to be made, Arkansas ambush made one thing perfectly and overwhelmingly clear: Les Miles can’t strategize his way out of a paper bag.

He’s a fine human being, which should count for more in the long run than one’s performance when wearing a headset on the sideline. But for the record, this loss to Houston Nutt’s Hogs proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Les Miles is certifiably loony as a play caller, clock manager and timeout juggler. In those three aspects of coaching (not the job description as a whole), Miles is a flunkie. Period.

Lloyd Carr made a lot of questionable play calls over the years as well. The Wolverines ought to be looking to improve in that department, not get worse.

Popular Culture

I Hadn’t Been Paying Much Attention To LSU

…but if Michigan doesn’t end up with Les Miles as its new coach, maybe it will be lucky:

Given the job description of a college football head coach, Les Miles qualifies as a good example for his colleagues across the country. The way Miles handled this past week of questions from an aroused media corps was exemplary. The personal integrity of the man who led LSU through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is considerable. Miles is a stand-up individual who does a great job of handling a lot of the duties of a head coach. From this big-picture perspective, the man is a good coach.

However, when championships are there to be won and statements are to be made, Arkansas ambush made one thing perfectly and overwhelmingly clear: Les Miles can’t strategize his way out of a paper bag.

He’s a fine human being, which should count for more in the long run than one’s performance when wearing a headset on the sideline. But for the record, this loss to Houston Nutt’s Hogs proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Les Miles is certifiably loony as a play caller, clock manager and timeout juggler. In those three aspects of coaching (not the job description as a whole), Miles is a flunkie. Period.

Lloyd Carr made a lot of questionable play calls over the years as well. The Wolverines ought to be looking to improve in that department, not get worse.

Popular Culture

Forget The Leftover Turkey

That’s what Jill Hunter Pellettieri says:

Every November, magazine editors and food writers, cooking gurus and TV personalities, foist turkey leftover recipes upon us. Unless we put our tired, picked-over turkey carcass to good use, they tell us, we’re wasting some precious opportunity. But don’t be fooled. Do not be tempted by that recipe for turkey and leek risotto. Those stringy last bits of gristle and meat that cling to your bird are better suited to the raccoons who rummage through your garbage. Do you really want to morph the centerpiece of your most ceremonial meal of the year into turkey bundles (stuffed with turkey, cream cheese, dill weed, and water chestnuts, among other things)?

…many try to compensate for turkey’s shortcomings by getting creative in the kitchen: We’ll deep-fry, grill, brine, even spatchcock in an effort to zest up this bird. But I challenge you to count on more than one hand all the times you’ve made a turkey entr

Technology and Society

Glad To Hear That

Apparently the iPhone isn’t that great for blogging (if I’m allowed an understatement).

Well, neither is the Treo, with the Palm OS. I did a blog post once, just to see if I could do it, but I can’t imagine doing it routinely. It would help if they would come up with a better browser than Blazer. Or maybe they have, and I’m just not aware.

On the other hand, as Stephen Green points out, perhaps it’s just as well.

Philosophy

The New Shakers

They don’t abjure sex, but the effect is the same:

At the age of 27 this young woman at the height of her reproductive years was sterilised to “protect the planet”.

Incredibly, instead of mourning the loss of a family that never was, her boyfriend (now husband) presented her with a congratulations card.

While some might think it strange to celebrate the reversal of nature and denial of motherhood, Toni relishes her decision with an almost religious zeal.

“Having children is selfish. It’s all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet,” says Toni, 35.

It’s hard for me to feel regret that this moron wants to end her line.

But here are some people that I’d hope would be even more proactive than the Shakers, and really get on with the job:

We endorse a more “healthy” hatred of humanity

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!