Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Japan To The Moon

September 27, 2018 Rand Simberg 2 Comments

…privately. Yes, it’s ambitious, but I don’t think this is the problem:

The longer-term goals are laudable, but the company seems to seriously underestimate the difficulty of reaching lunar ice, harvesting it under extremely cold conditions, and producing propellant from ice. These are all significant engineering challenges in unprecedented conditions. Moreover, even under optimistic circumstances, NASA’s plans to return to the Moon wouldn’t put a handful of humans—let alone hundreds—on the lunar surface before the late 2020s, and China doesn’t intend for such landings until the early 2030s.

I don’t think that NASA’s or China’s plans are relevant to private lunar plans.

Business, Mathematics, Technology and Society, War Commentary

The Latest Russian Malware

September 27, 2018 Rand Simberg 8 Comments

…embeds itself in the BIOS. It seems to be a Windows issue, though, which is another reason I use Linux.

History, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, War Commentary

Trump’s Triumph

September 26, 2018 Rand Simberg 7 Comments

…at the UN.

It’s long past time that someone spoke truth to mendacity and hypocrisy.

General, Technology and Society

Local Crime

September 24, 2018 Rand Simberg 18 Comments

Still working on the house in Florida. Went to a sports bar to watch the ~~Kids~~Lions (damn you autocorrect) game last night. When I got back to the house, my Dell notebook was missing. But not obviously anything else. They left the SSD, fortunately, which had the OS and my data on it. I’m sure they were disappointed that a $200 notebook with a bad battery was the most expensive electronics in the house. This morning, I noticed that the kitchen window was wide open, which was how they got in.

[Afternoon update, from my new computer]

For those asking, yes, I called the Sheriff’s department (we’re in an unincorporated part of Palm Beach County). They sent out a deputy who took some fingerprints off the window sill.

I went out to Best Buy this afternoon, and found a duplicate of the stolen machine, open box, for $160. Plus, as a bonus, unlike the previous one, its battery charges. So it was a blessing in disguise. I had to go through the pain of setting up Windows on it, but once I finished that, I booted into Linux from a USB SSD, and all is back to normal, with the additional ability to unplug it without losing it,

Business, Culinary, Education, General Science, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Government Nutritional Advice

September 23, 2018 Rand Simberg 2 Comments

Maybe it should just stop giving it.

To paraphrase Inigo Montoya: It killed my father. It should prepare to die.

Business, Culinary, Health, Media Criticism, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Hospital Food

September 22, 2018 Rand Simberg 9 Comments

There’s no doubt it could use a lot of improvement, but I think this is bogus:

Dr. Eisenberg says the jury is no longer out on the benefits of eating a more plant-based diet with less refined foods, sugar and red meat. A study published last year in JAMA estimated that nearly half of the deaths from heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes are caused by poor diet.

They are, but there’s zero evidence that red meant causes any of them. Patricia had to spend a night in the hospital for a procedure a few weeks ago, and her breakfast was terrible, nutritionally.

[Update a few minutes later]

Related: Incorrect diagnoses kill 80,000 people per year.

The medical profession gets far too much respect.