If you want to understand the far right political shift in Texas, read this. From Pro Publica.
Return to Ramen
It’s been too hot for ramen, but it’s finally cooling off a little. Had some leftover pork roast, some noodles and chopped veggies. Not bad!
Solar + Batteries on the California Grid
An interesting graph showing how batteries are extending solar power and eliminating the “duck curve”.
This Chart Shows How California Is Massively Extending Solar Use Into The Evening
Regenerative Braking on Subways
This is pretty amazing. Did not know that this was happening. Regenerative braking saves about a third of the energy used by trains and also keeps the tunnels cooler. From Grist.
Barcelona is turning subway trains into power stations
FLIR Nightvision
My first job out of school involved working on military hardware. I came to decide that I didn’t want to work on weapons. When I told my boss this he sold me (for a while) on our project saying it had great commercial uses. It was Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) imaging used for military night vision. I’ve seen the old 512 x 512 black and white images from war zones many times over the years. I remember my boss telling me the company wanted to sell commercial versions to sherrifs departments to find “little children lost in the woods at night”. Yeah, ok. But I suppose it has happened. From BBC.
Drone captures rescue of girl, 10, who sleepwalked into woods
The Contingency Contingent
I like N+1. Need to make it a point to read more of these. The story of a young recruit and the effort to avoid the “Y2k” disaster. Has it already been a quarter century?
The Contingency Contingent
Nuclear AI
No this isn’t The Onion. I know Mr Gates has invested in nuclear tech, but after decades and billions (trillions?) on government investment, nuclear has been a loser. When can we stop beating this dead horse? There are better, cheaper proven alternatives.
Steven A. Guccione 