#38 A Week Into the Juice Fast

A week ago today, I started the next phase in my cleanse, a juice fast.  This is something that I try to do, at least once a year, to help me break food addictions, enhance my self discipline, change dietary habits and maybe even clean out my body a bit.  This year I’ve been integrating frozen, antioxidant rich smoothies as well, as a way of transitioning to lower calorie diet more gradually.

Its going really well so far.  I’m feeling great and don’t miss the typical foods that much.  I’d like to keep it going for as long as it feels right, maybe another week.  Then I’d like to spend a few days water fasting.

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

Hans-Hermann Hoppe is an Austrian economist and libertarian anarcho-capitalist philosopher who is known for his private law society, which advocates a radical transformation of the legal system where all parties are subject to the same rules and nobody is exempt from the same kinds of rules that govern everyone else.

He is a Professor Emeritus of economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Hoppe is the author of several widely discussed books and his work has been translated to 22 languages. He is currently living with his wife in Istanbul, Turkey.

Analysis of Democracy

In Democracy: The God That Failed, Hoppe compares monarchies with democratic states. Hoppe claims that the structural perverse incentives inherent in democracy make it more prone to destroy wealth than comparable monarchical regimes. A monarch, being a long term ruler and able to further bequeath his position, has interest in the long term well being of the economy, would often be hesitant to excessively accumulate debt, or otherwise engage in large-scale short-term capital consumption compared to a similar democratically elected ruler, who is more akin to a renter, or temporary custodian of the state due to the shorter time he has to use his power for his benefit. Hoppe further notes that the theoretical possibility of entrance into government also doles the citizenship resistance to excessive abuse of government power, as compared to monarchies, in which abusive monarchs where often overthrown and killed. Read the rest of this entry »

About to Take Podcasting to the Next Level!!

I now have a microphone, mixer, headphones and HD webcam on the way from Amazon. I’m planning on doing podcast related recordings on a more regular basis now that I have some better equipment.  Based on my own interest in other people’s podcasts, I can see the potential of audio/video as a means of delivering information.  It’s easier to absorb the information and it frees up people’s eyes/hands to do other things.

Up until now, I was using my computer’s built-in webcam and built-in mic and I didn’t want to create a whole lot of material with such relatively low-quality equipment, so I figured it was time to get something basic, yet much better, to improve the sound/video quality and open the door to possible co-hosts, interviews, etc.

Hopefully I made the right choices. I have no experience with any of this kind of stuff; but I was able to find some good info, such as theaudacitytopodcast.com and some various other reading/research. Read the rest of this entry »

MyStrangeMind.com is Evolving

After several years of relatively small changes to this site, I’ve decided to switch things up a bit. The most noticeable change is the new skin on the site. Alot has changed with WordPress, the content management system I use to run this site; so I decided I’d start evolving the site on a more up-to-date theme framework. I’m going to work on some more graphics, logos and other customizations as time progresses too.

I’ve been tinkering around and becoming more familiar with what is happening in the free / open source (FLOSS) community lately; in the process I’ve learned about some great software that I’m now utilizing on this and other domains that I run.

Friendika – decentralised, open source, secure, private, modular, extensible, and federated.

Friendika is a social networking platform which allows you to have a Facebook-like experience, without being tied to services like Facebook, or having your friends necessarily on the same server. In fact, you can connect to friends on other Friendika servers, or just about any other server that implements Ostatus, DFRN or any future protocols that the Friendika community developers can write a bridge for.

One of the neat things about this project, is it is evolving very quickly and the developers are very responsive to suggestions; quick to implement new features and improve the features the software already offers. Another neat thing about Friendika, is the fact that I’m now one of the regular contributers! So if you start using it and see an area that can be improved, you can always talk with me and I’ll see if I can come up with a solution for whatever you might need.

New Pubic Friendika Server Launched: OpenMindSpace.org

I now operate a public Friendika server on openmindspace.org, where you can connect to me on my new profile or anyone else on a friendika compatable system. Anyone who wishes is welcome to sign-up and start using it!

Status.net – decentralized open source microblogging platform

Status.net is another form of decentralized social software. Their software is a microblogging platform similar to Twitter, which allows you to share small blips with anyone else on a Status.net compatible system.

This is a project which is really taking off and may one day help the microbloggers to communicate in a more decentralized fashion, with people able to better cluster together in small groups.

New Status.net Server Launched status.mystrangemind.com

I’ve decided to join the federated microblogging revolution with my own Status.net install. You’re welcome to connect to me there from any Status.net compatible server so we can better share information and stay in touch. You may also notice that I have the microblog feed syndicated on the sidebar of this site; that way you can see what is going on easier.

I’m currently running the status.mystrangemind.com server in “single user mode” meaning it is not possible for others to sign up; but if there is enough interest in it, I’ll be happy to open it up to the public. If you want to get on an already established public status.net server, check out this list of status.net servers. One of the neat things about smaller more decentralized servers, is you can choose your server based upon the kinds of people on the server.

New Technical Blog: chriscase.cc

Something I’ve been angling towards, as I learn more about building websites, is the idea of specialized content. When I first started mystrangemind.com, it covered a wide array of topics and it still does is to some extent. Recently, I’ve started writing more technical posts about programming, software, linux, databases, etc.

I decided beforehand that these kinds of posts just wouldn’t fit in well here; since many of the people who would go to a site like this aren’t interested in programming and the like. That is why I started another blog at chriscase.cc.

This new website functions as a more technically oriented professional site for me, where I can focus solely on topics such as programming, open source software, databases, and other computer-related topics. It also functions as a sort of resume for me, so people interested in working with me on freelance or open source projects can see how I think, the way I code and what kinds of projects I’ve worked on in the past.

Part of my intent is to document things that I’ve done or had to figure out; both for my future reference and for the benefit of others who may be researching how to do things. I’ve already found it useful myself on many occasions, I like being able to go to the site and just search for the topic and some detailed information instead of having to research and rediscover everything again on articles that may come and go on other people’s websites.

Vision for the Future

Like most webmasters, I’d really love to see my sites get more hits and have more participation from others of like mind. It would be great if more people used Friendika and contributed to the enrichment of that community of ideas too. Together, we can explore the kinds of topics discussed here and have a great time in the process.

I am going to keep working diligently, to not only add useful functionality to the sites; but also to regularly contribute high-quality content. With perseverance and a little good fortune, even more interesting people will come visit and contribute their ideas, creating a synergy which will add to the community as a whole.

The Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor: What Fusion Wanted To Be

Google Tech Talks

November 18, 2008

ABSTRACT

Electrical power is, and will increasingly become, the desired form of energy for its convenience, safety, flexibility and applicability. Even future transportation embraces electric cars, trains, and chemical fuel production (jet fuel, hydrogen, etc.) based upon an abundant electrical supply. Although existing energy sources can and should be expanded where practical, no one source has shown to be practical to rapidly fulfill the world’s energy requirements effectively. Presently there is an existing source of energy ideally suited to electrical energy production that is not being exploited anywhere in the world today, although its existence and practicality has been know since the earliest days of nuclear science. Thorium is the third source of fission energy and the LFTR is the idealized mechanism to turn this resource into electrical energy. Enough safe, clean energy, globally sustainable for 1000’s of years at US standards.

This talk is aimed at explaining this thorium energy resource from fundamental physics to today’s practical applications. The presentation is sufficient for the non-scientist to grasp the whole subject, but will be intriguing to even classically trained nuclear engineers. By providing the historical context in which the technology was discovered and later developed into a power reactor, the story of thorium’s disappearance as an energy source is revealed. But times have changed, and today, thorium energy can be safely exploited in a completely new form of nuclear reactor.

The LFTR is unique, having a hot liquid core thus eliminating fuel fabrication costs and the need for a large reactor. It cannot have a nuclear meltdown and is so safe that typical control rods are not required at all. This design topples all the conventional arguments against conventional energy sources in such areas as:

• Waste Production
• Safety
• Proliferation
• Capital Costs and Location
• Environmental Impact
• Social Acceptance
• Flexibility
• Grid Infrastructure
• Efficiency

Should America take this step toward a New Era in Nuclear Energy Production? Hear the case for “The Electricity Rock” and then decide.

Speaker: Dr. Joe Bonometti

Dr. Bonometti has extensive engineering experience in the government, within industry, and in academia over a 25-year career. Recently completing an assignment as the NASA Chair Professor at the Naval Post graduate School, he supported a ship design study that utilized advanced nuclear power derived from thorium. Working at NASA for ten years as a technology manager, lead systems engineer, nuclear specialist, and propulsion researcher, he lead several NASA tiger teams in evaluating the Nuclear System Initiatives fission demonstration vehicle and missions. He managed the Emerging Propulsion Technology Area for in-space systems, the Marshall Air Launch team, as well as a variety of other power and propulsion assignments and is now the Lead Systems Engineer for the Ares I-Y flight. After earning a Doctorate degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Alabama in Huntsville, he spent several years as a Research Scientist & Senior Research Engineer at the UAH Propulsion Research Center where he served as a Principal Investigator and manager for the Solar Thermal Laboratory. He has worked as a Senior Mechanical Designer at Pratt & Whitney supporting aircraft engine manufacturing and at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory within the laser fusion program. A graduate from the United States Military Academy, at West Point, where he studied nuclear physics and engineering, Dr. Bonometti served as an officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers; both in combat and district engineering management assignments. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Virginia, and has authored numerous aerospace technical publications, particularly propulsion and space systems technologies. His technical expertise includes nuclear engineering, specialized mechanical & materials research, space plasmas & propulsion, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and space systems engineering.

This Google Tech Talk was hosted by Boris Debic.

More Holes Shot In Global Warmist Propaganda

The chicken little theory that the ice cap will disappear permanently appears to have been disproven; as someone who has a modicum of intution, I could have told you that viewpoint was to be taken with a grain of salt. Unfortunately for many of the cherry picking “climate scientists”, the earth isn’t as dumb of a system as they would think; it actually balances itself out quite nicely.

Current sea ice measurements indicate:

…at the south pole the sea ice around Antarctica is actually increasing. The ice there has been covering another 100,000 square km more sea each decade for the last 30 years, despite the well-publicised losses of ice shelf in the Western Antarctic.

Here’s the full article:

No ‘tipping point’ for Arctic sea ice – latest science

Polar cap would be back 2 yrs after an ice-free summer
By Lewis Page

OK, so the floating Arctic ice cap appears to be shrinking. Catastrophe if it goes on, right? As white ice reflects heat into space, past a certain point more and more heat will not be reflected, more and more ice will melt. Past such a “tipping point”, the ice cap would never recover – it would vanish completely, taking with it the ice cover of Greenland which would cause huge rises in sea levels and Biblical flooding worldwide.

Not so much, according to the latest research by German climate scientists. It seems that even in the case of a completely ice-free summer with the sun shining down onto an unprotected Arctic Ocean 24 hours a day (as it does in summer time up there), the heat absorbed by the sea would not be enough to permanently remove the ice cap. It would recover, in fact, within two years: there is no tipping point.

According to Steffen Tietsche, a polar ice expert at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, this is because removal of ice works two ways. It lets the sun’s rays warm the ocean beneath more strongly, but it also lets heat escape from the sea more easily. Thus, following an ice-free summer the Arctic will shed the extra heat fast due to the lack of its usual igloo-like ice blanket. Soon it will be so cold that the ice will reappear.

Tietsche and his colleagues write:

We examine the recovery of Arctic sea ice from prescribed ice-free summer conditions in simulations of 21st century climate in an atmosphere–ocean general circulation model. We find that ice extent recovers typically within two years.

The excess oceanic heat that had built up during the ice-free summer is rapidly returned to the atmosphere during the following autumn and winter, and then leaves the Arctic partly through increased longwave emission at the top of the atmosphere and partly through reduced atmospheric heat advection from lower latitudes. Oceanic heat transport does not contribute significantly to the loss of the excess heat.

Our results suggest that anomalous loss of Arctic sea ice during a single summer is reversible, as the ice–albedo feedback is alleviated by large-scale recovery mechanisms. Hence, hysteretic threshold behavior (or a “tipping point”) is unlikely to occur during the decline of Arctic summer sea-ice cover in the 21st century.

Details of the full paper in Geophysical Research Letters can be read here.

So the gradual decline in ice extent seen in recent decades may continue, but even if a very hot summer seriously eats away at the sea ice – even so much as to completely melt it all – it will recover; there will be no sudden disaster this century.

Meanwhile down at the south pole the sea ice around Antarctica is actually increasing. The ice there has been covering another 100,000 square km more sea each decade for the last 30 years, despite the well-publicised losses of ice shelf in the Western Antarctic.

Open Letter to CONgressman Mo Brooks: His Vote to Re-Authorize the “Patriot” Act

Congressman Brooks,

When you were sworn into office, you took an oath to the Constitution of the United States of America. Your vote to reauthorize the so-called “Patriot Act” shows that you don’t take that oath seriously.

You and the others who voted to reauthorize this Constitution defying bill are a disgrace. Please consider your oath of office before you vote on a bill. It is your duty to follow the Constitution and just because others are not doing so does not give you the excuse to follow suit.

The People’s Republic of California

Rioting in LA because of a stupid ball game. Cali is so full of jerk offs, bums and commies. Perhaps those words are interchangeable.

It’s no wonder that:

• The Cali government is hopelessly bankrupt. Yet they continue to raise people’s tax in order to fund the government’s fruitless excess.
• People are living in homes they borrowed 500k to 1 million dollars for, which are worth a fraction of the cost anywhere else in the country. Of course, they got adjustable rate interest only loans for many of these homes. They’ll just walk away scott free and drag their community down in the process. They don’t care, they don’t have to face the consequences and that’s all that matters.
• They have a huge socialist tax & spend state which they can’t afford, yet when they try to cut it back to more reasonable levels, the leftists come out into the streets to protest. A state which is soon to fail and be bailed out with an old favorite tool, other people’s money.
• They pump water hundreds of miles, at great expense, so they can grow oranges in the desert.

I tell ya, I was in my rental car earlier today (in San Diego) just in a parking space looking at a map, and some lady came up behind and started honking her damn horn, trying to pressure me to leave the spot. She even had cars piling up behind her waiting for her to get her ass out of the way.

To top it all off, I saw a bum crapping on the sidewalk of a busy street. This must just be the last place one can stumble to, before they fall completely into the Pacific Ocean!

They need to just shut this asylum down and figure out how to produce something or provide something of value. Some really deep thoughts into realistic solutions that aren’t pie in the sky BS are going to be necessary if they are to pull things together around here.

National Security, Swiss Style

Nick Bradley | LewRockwell.com
June 11, 2007

Contrary to popular belief, history has repeatedly shown that societies do not need full-time, government-funded militaries to defend themselves – a heavily-armed populace will suffice. Let us look at Switzerland. Since 1291, Switzerland has defended itself through the use of a heavily-armed populace and a robust militia. Throughout the past 800 years, the Swiss citizenry has defended their liberty against threats both foreign and domestic. Read the rest of this entry »