Converting Uranium to Liquid Fuel

It is estimated that there is 1.5 trillion barrels of oil trapped in Western Shale. That is 300 years worth of oil at 5 billion barrels annual consumption. There are around a dozen private companies working on the technology to unleash this oil. Shell engineers have estimated that they can make a profit at $30/barrel price levels. That means it probably will be competitive at $100/barrel, but here we are.

The devil is in the details. Existing techniques include crushing the shale and treating it. But this produces massive amounts of toxic waste. New techniques are proprietary, but here’s one I’ve been able to find out.

It involves creating a ring of ice (freeze seal) around a deposit to keep out the groundwater. Once the freeze seal is in place, heating elements are inserted into the oil shale to heat it to 600-700F. At that temperature, the petroleum is released from the shale and would need to enter some type of collection system. Estimates are that 3 units of energy would be generated by one unit of energy. The output is light, sweet crude.

Small, portable nuclear power plants would be the perfect electricity source to provide the freeze seal as well as the electricity for the heating elements. Bill might just have to dust off the old patent pen and get to work on this one.

Update: The freeze seal does not keep groundwater out of the oil, it keeps the oil out of the groundwater.

New Respect for John McCain

Brilliant plan, brilliant execution, brilliant choice.

Brilliant Plan

Obama’s text message thing on Friday, oops I meant 10am Saturday, oops I really meant 3am, oops it got leaked to the press early was juvenile.

McCain used the various news outlets to spread rumors and kept himself above the fray and in the news during the Democratic convention. His message to Obama was classy.

Obama gave a pretty good speech (if you didn’t notice that his eyes were 20 degrees up and 45 degrees to the left or right, reading off of teleprompters during substance, this drove me nuts, check it out). The speech was at 10:30pm and was out of the news cycle when people woke up.

Brilliant Execution

John McCain kept the secret. Intrade bought the fakes. No leaks. His operational security allowed him to command the morning news cycle.

Brilliant Choice

1. The morning after Obama was talking about taking AK-47s away from the criminals who are not allowed to have them in the first place; there is a video of Palin firing an M-16. It was enough to give a gun nut like me goose bumps; Solidify Conservative Base.
2. She will bring over an unknown number of female voters just because of her gender. She is relatively immune from criticism because if she is criticized, the ugly female vote will swing hard victim; Win Women’s Vote.
3. #2 neuters Biden in the Vice Presidential debate; Win Debate.
4. Her son is an enlisted infantryman in the Army. People are sick of politican’s sons’ being military reporters and lawyers, earning their ‘war veteran’ status as REMFs. This will compliment McCain’s son’s service well; Win Working Class.
5. Former Ms. Alaska turned head-cracker with five kids. I don't think she's lost her looks; Win Win Win.

Good move, Senator McCain.

Four Marines

Brick Oven congratulates former- Marine Sergeant Jose Luis Nazario on his acquittal on all counts by a jury that seemed angry at the government prosecutors. Congratulations also to Ryan Weemer and Jermaine Nelson, for refusing to testify against Nazario at trial. Weemer was shot three times by the ‘innocent Iraqis’ he still stands accused of murdering. Semper Fidelis.

This is the piece of shit that sent Sergeant Nazario, who earned a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor at the Battle of Fallejah, to court. Lt. General Helland. He flew helicopters.

Why Russians Have Male Leadership

This is Patti Solis Doyle’s writing, Clinton’s fired chief of staff. It is an example of why I hate affirmative action, quotas, and the concept of multiculturalism in general. American standards have had to drop to accommodate people. When standards are lowered for some, they are lowered for all. This removes the positive societal force of shame, and increases our chances for personal failure.

These are the Clinton Internal Memos . I’ve kind of convinced myself that the status quo is unsustainable, that people will stop lending the federal government money, and that real ‘Change’ will be imposed upon us. These memos will probably be Exhibit ‘A’.

Have no fear, Barack hired Patti, so she’s still got a job.

This Is Spinal Tap

More Sheila

Hey, it’s “The Blogs Are Out of Control” Sheila again! She was going to take steps to fix them. She made Bloomberg today in any case:

"More banks will come on the list as credit problems worsen," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said;

"The results were pretty dismal, and we don't see a return to the high earnings levels of previous years any time soon,";

Lenders on the "problem list" had assets of $78.3 billion at the end of the second quarter, triple the $26.3 billion in the first quarter, the agency said.

Then there’s this, also from today:

"I do worry that some of the investors have taken short positions on the ABX," an index based on subprime-mortgage-backed securities, Ms. Bair said in an interview.

Ms. Bair, who was a leading figure in developing the mortgage-rescue plan, didn't identify specific investors who she believes are shorting the market. She said she had no evidence to back up her concern...

'Ms. Bair' is married to Scott Cooper. Feeling any better?

Housing Report

“Home Prices Drop by Sharpest Rate Ever”

Not really. As we have been tracking, cities that are not being inundated with new immigrants are seeing their real estate values rise, not fall. Dallas is an exception because of high oil prices. I do not have an explanation for Portland and Seattle, but their losses are negligible (0.2% for the month).

Cities Up
Denver
Atlanta
Chicago
Boston
Minneapolis
Charlotte
New York
Cleveland
Dallas

Cities Down
Phoenix
Los Angeles
San Diego
San Francisco
Washington DC
Miami
Tampa
Detroit
Las Vegas
Portland
Seattle

This is a good time to buy real estate in rural areas. Rural real estate is now safer than cash.

Democratic Convention

I hate fascists. People should speak freely, short of hateful speech, and hateful speech should be Constitutionally protected. But I am gaining a certain level of respect for Leon Trotsky.

Everybody should read Animal Farm, where Mr. Jones is the Czar, Napoleon is Stalin, and Snowball is Trotsky. Animal Farm is a good book. But the reality is more interesting.

Trotsky was first exiled to Kazakhstan. His supporters were sent to Siberia and most were shot during the great purge. Why do people continue to harp on Germany when Russia did the same thing under less economic duress? Then Trotsky was sent to Turkey for four years. In 1933 they sent him to France. Then they kicked him out of France and he went to Norway. Then they put him on a freighter and sent him to Mexico.

In Mexico, he was put up by a painter, and nailed the painter’s wife.

In 1936, Stalin called Trotsky a, no kidding, terrorist, and sentenced him to death in abstentia.

In 1940, Trotsky survived an assassination attempt by the Mexican painter and a Soviet agent.

Then, later that year, another Soviet agent got him in the head with an, again no kidding, ice axe. But it wasn’t a clean kill and Trotsky physically defended himself until his security forces overwhelmed the Soviet. As his security was preparing to disembowel the assassin, Trotsky told them to stop. Trotsky said:

"Do not kill him! This man has a story to tell."

Trotsky died the next day. In 1987, his books were again published in the Soviet Union.

The Hittites

Genesis 26:34
And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

The Hittites were around from 1800 BC to 1200 BC in the landmass currently known as Turkey. They peaked around 1300 BC. Their capitol city of Hattusa, shown above, had walls that were twenty feet thick. They were able to build twenty-foot thick walls through the clever use of casements. They would build 10’ by 10’ block squares and then fill the hollow squares with earth. These walls were never breached.

The end of the Hittites came with the arrival of the Sea People. There is debate as to who the Sea People were, but they were probably Greeks (1200 BC is when Troy was conquered) or Italians (Rome wasn’t founded for another 500 years). The Sea People cut the Hittite supply lines to their capitol. Hattusa literally burned from within as resources ran out. The Hittites descended into a brutal civil war.

There are parallels between the Hittites and the US, but it does not have to do with the Sea People. The parallel is with oil, which is the 21st Century equivalent of mines and farmland. Oil is the Sea People that can cut us off from the resources we have come dependent upon. Mexicans are not Sea People as the Sea People were more advanced than the indigenous Hittite population.

Using Abraham Lincoln

Barack Obama is using the legacy of Abraham Lincoln to forward his Citizen of the World belief system. This kind of offends me because I personally do not believe that Obama has earned the right to use the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln took a bullet in the back of the head for the black race, and is unable to voice his opinion of Obama’s speech. So here is part of his debate with Douglas. For the record, I am more liberal than Lincoln with regards to race relations.

"Now, gentlemen, I don't want to read at any greater length, but this is the true complexion of all I have ever said in regard to the institution of slavery and the black race. This is the whole of it, and anything that argues me into his idea of perfect social and political equality with the negro, is but a specious and fantastic arrangement of words, by which a man can prove a horse-chestnut to be a chestnut horse."

"I will say here, while upon this subject, that I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and the black races."

"There is a physical difference between the two, which, in my judgment, will probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality, and inasmuch as it becomes a necessity that there must be a difference, I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favor of the race to which I belong having the superior position."

Obama

Obama is a juvenile attention whore.

Three Men

Scott L. Silliman was in Air Force ROTC and then served in the military as a lawyer. He is now a law professor at Duke University. Mr. Silliman decided to comment on the prosecution of Marine Sergeant Jose Luis Nazario:

"From a legal point of view, there is no difference in law between war and peace."; Mr. Silliman said.

Sergeant Nazario fought in Fallujah, where 33 of his fellow Marines were killed by an enemy that did not wear uniforms and fought among the women and children. His squad took a house that was firing upon his men until the shooters put down their AK-47s in the middle of a firefight. Sergeant Nazario is alleged to have killed the shooters. He was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor for his actions in the Battle of Fallujah. He is now being prosecuted by the United States of America in civilian court.

"They train us, and they expect us to rely back on that training. Then when we use that training, they prosecute us for it?"; Sergeant Nazario asked.


John Adams defended the British soldiers who shot Colonist agitators in the Boston Massacre. Six of the soldiers were acquitted and two were convicted on reduced charges. A decade later, the King gave Lord Richard Howe a list of American Rebels that were to be pardoned. John Adam’s name was not on that list. John Adams was to hang.

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."; John Adams said.

“[They Will] Make Me Out To Be a Risky, Scary Guy.”

I’ve noticed a new weapon in the PC wars. People who noted human biodiversity used to be called ‘ignorant’ by the left. Post-Reverend Wright, the left has changed its word to belittle talk of human biodiversity to ‘being scared’. The good old ‘they’ is still hanging around though.

I think it is a positive step forward for an honest talk on race relations in this country. I think that Obama’s candidacy is healthy for America-2008.

Reviewing Freud as an amateur, I believe that the new ‘scared’ line is actually a Level 2 Defense Mechanism (fantasy, projection, passive aggression, acting out). Quoting Wiki:

These are the so-called "immature" defenses and overuse almost always lead to serious problems in a person's ability to cope effectively.

I think President Bush has this too, to be fair to Obama. Come to think of it, so does McCain. The Secretary of State is a clear Level 1. Notice how Russian leadership does not seem to have this problem.

Grid-Down Dining

Electricity has done lots of things, but it has not necessarily resulted in better food. After a decade of refinement, here is the best food I’ve figured out how to make:

1. Build the oven pictured to the right. The only tricks are (1) making the wooden arch templates, which you can do by placing the bricks in an arch face-down on a piece of paper, and tracing out a template; (2) use refractory brick and mortar near the hot parts; and (3) the ratio of door height to oven height should be 0.62 (this is for airflow and heat retention). The materials cost around $600.
2. Pizza dough: 1000g flour; 600g water; 3tbs yeast*; 3tbs olive oil; 1tsp salt; 1tsp sugar. *Yeast is critical and the best I’ve found is at Sam’s Club (the yeast that comes two large bricks per package and needs no activation).
3. Pizza sauce: 4 parts tomato (either crushed or diced); 1 part olive oil; 1 can tomato paste; lots of basil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. The pizza above cooked in about 75 seconds as the fire shown is pretty hot. As the fire dies down, the pizzas take a few minutes. Rotate pizza during cooking to prevent edges from burning.
5. Switch from pizzas to bread when you can keep your hand inside the oven for ten seconds.
6. When done with bread, switch to an overnight roast and cap the chimney and door.

We entertained yesterday, and it was so good we cooked outside again tonight. I have a refrigerator full of pizza.

If cooking during an actual long-term, grid-down situation, don’t forget to carry a semi-automatic rifle. The yummy smells travel far.

Democratic VP

The smart money is on Tim Kaine for Democratic VP. I see Barack as insecure and consumed by image. As Kaine is shorter, fatter, with worse hair, Obama would be comfortable around him.

He could defend the Kaine decision as a strategic counter to the Paris and Britney commercial, but it would really be all about Obama and his self-image.

Update: Missed that one. The hair-plugs are probably reassuring though. Biden should make it a fun election to watch.

"Let Me Be Clear: I Will Let No One Question My Love of this Country"

Brick Oven has had an impressive set of predictions over the last year:

Housing market down 30-35% (prediction made a year ago)
Russian invasion affects Obama’s chances (OK, I thought it would be Kosovo)
Sell Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac at $60/share
Maine would go 60-40 for Obama (nailed that one)
Buy Gold, rural real estate, and ammunition (all up from the time of the recommendation)
Sell stocks and bonds (both down)
Housing bottom in white and rural areas, drop to continue in immigration areas (holding for now)

In interest of full disclosure, I missed the banking failure Friday prediction, but give it time. Some of these predictions were made in another forum, but go ahead and challenge me. Google is my friend.

Here’s the new prediction: Obama will experience a Nicholas Cage Moment (NCM) within two weeks. This isn’t really fair, since I retain the right to define what a NCM is. All I can say is that you will know it if you see it.

John McCain just pulled ahead of Obama in the Real Clear Politics no toss-up states contest. That is the big thing, but also listen to the things Obama is saying:

"Let me be clear: I will let no one question my love of this country." [Ed: ?]

"One of the things that we have to change in this country is the idea that people can't disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. I have never suggested that Sen. McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I have not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. Now, it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same.”

"He can talk all he wants about Britney and Paris, but I don't have time for that mess."

“John McCain doesn't know what he's up against."

Notice all the "I"s. John McCain has his problems, but he knows exactly what he is up against. And he learned to spin that thing up in the Navy by pressing all the right numbers.

Mr. Physics

I was a ‘C’ student in High School, a ‘B’ student at college, and went on to have good academic success in a very challenging and competitive post-graduate program.

I only remember two of my early teachers. One was a seventh-grade biology teacher who made us walk around prairies and memorize plant genus and species names. He went on and on about how we should live in the mountains and grow food on fertile land. He might have had a point. But I later found out that he was kind of crazy.

The other is a person who will be referred to as ‘Mr. Physics’. He was my best teacher. His thing was the difference between what we know and what we think. Mr. Physics was probably three hundred pounds and would accent his lessons by putting his index finger on students and leaning on them. Although Mr. Physics meant well and was an excellent teacher, he would probably be jailed in 2008 on some sex charge.

But every day was about the difference between what we know and what we think. “Do you KNOW that or do you THINK that?” Over and over and over. The lesson was that we only know what we see. Early in the year, he pointed his finger at a girl named Lisa in the second row and pretended that his finger was a pistol, and yelled BAAAMMMM, and staged blowing her brains all over the wall.

He asked us what we know. Somebody said that Mr. Physics had shot Lisa in the head. Mr. Physics very correctly told that person that he was wrong and poked him with his index finger. All we knew was that a pistol had made a loud noise. We did not see a bullet. I think about Mr. Physics quite a bit these days. I think about the crazy guy sometimes when I tend my garden.

On that note, here’s some graphic photos from Georgia.

Celebrating Diversity

"Some groups are essentially organized crime families, while others concentrate on racist ideology. But they all contribute to a prison world that is divided by race and largely ruled by violence. Even for a new inmate uninterested in racist ideology, it is often a matter of survival to join up with one or another gang. Failing that, many weaker inmates fall prey to rape, extortion and violence from those around them."
– The heros at Southern Poverty Law Center

Kind of sounds like, um, the Balkins?

I thought John McCain did well in the debate last night. If he continues to do well, expect Obama to start acting huffy. These instances will be referred to as Nicholas Cage Moments (NCMs). If Obama really blows up, like if somebody photographs him smoking a cigarette, that will be defined as a Jack Nicholson Moment (JNM). We’ll track these as the election progresses.

MSNBC did very little coverage after the debates last night and I don’t know why. Instead they did a special on Corcoran Prison and focused on, really ironically, race wars in prison. I did not know that prisons are segregated according to race. When people go the common area urinal, they have two same-race prisoners to guard him. Diversity and close quarters seem to lead to violence.

Kind of makes you wonder what would happen in the cities in the case of a government break-down, where diversity and close quarters already lead to violence (in the good times). Hopefully everybody will celebrate diversity.

Why Did Putin Move in August?

It doesn’t make any sense on the surface. He could have gained PC sympathy points by extending ‘diplomacy’ out past the American election and showing pictures of dead Russians. He wants Obama to be elected President and his early move would benefit McCain. So why has he already moved?

August 2008 only makes sense if he is moving chess pieces in advance of something coming up quickly. I believe that Putin is deploying his forces in advance of an attack on Iran, which he must sense as being imminent.

He wants the option of denying oil to the West. A case of beer says that there are Spetsnaz in the Saudi sand tonight.

Operation Brimstone

The USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Ronald Reagan have just completed Operation Brimstone (as in Fire &). They will join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf. There are reports of the USS Enterprise going to the same place from Japan.

This is speculation, but one scenario makes sense to me. Iran is coming to a head and the move will come after the election. These ships are part of the move. Russia knows what’s going on and seized the Georgia land bridge between Middle Eastern oil and the West ahead of the move.

Our strategic goal is to blockade Iran and impose magical regime change by cutting off the gasoline (won’t work unless a dictator is to be installed). Russia could have a goal as well. Closing the Strait of Hormuz would isolate the West from the oil its current form needs to survive.

Iran, with its speedboats, could shut down the Strait for a short period of time. Backed up by the Russians, Iran could shut it down for a longer time. Putin is still furious about Afghanistan.

Checkpoints, Foot Patrols, and Knock & Talk

Freedom is not all things to all people. Mayor James Valley has put Helena-West Helena, Arkansas under 24-hr curfew. At first, it was only over the worst ten blocks. The City Council voted 9-0 on Tuesday to extend 24-hr curfew over the entire city. People are routinely stopped on the streets and questioned by police with M-1s.

Here’s Yahoo. Notice how there is no mention of the City’s demographics and no photos of the population (dutifully fixed here). Hint: Helena used to be called ‘Little Chicago’. Notice the total absence of talk of Helena on a national level. Now why would that be?

Here is a black web-site that discusses the loss of freedom. Note the comments. People support it. They are happy that the government took away the people’s freedoms.

President Bush’s plan for world democracy and freedom and love and happiness isn’t working out too good. Not all people handle freedom well. Freedom requires hard work.

Solar Power 2

I was wrong about solar power. Solar power is not subject to thermodynamic limits based on heat sources and heat sinks because the photovoltic process is not a heat cycle; it is a combination of quantum physics and semiconductors. Photons from the sun are converted to electrical current directly. It appears that current theoretical efficiencies are around 33% and practical efficiencies are around 20%.

There is talk of theoretical efficiencies being up to 60%, but those studies seem to be pretty pointy-headed. One potentially significant concept is a technique to convert solar power into hydrogen gas. This would be important because hydrogen gas could be bottled and used for transportation fuel via a fuel cell.

But I remain skeptical of solar power for two reasons:

(1) Solar power in its current form, developed through decades of research, is still a very expensive way to produce electricity. Meaning to me, that if (when) the SHTF, mankind will abandon it because it is relatively inefficient.
(2) We have discussed how wind energy can provide between 15% and 20% of the electrical grid. Solar power is competing with wind power to provide that portion of our electrical power. Perhaps the addition of solar power could bring the ‘renewable’ portion of our electricity to 25 or 30%.

If the world goes to fuel cells, the most efficient way to provide transportation would probably be:

(1) Nuclear power to create electricity;
(2) Electricity to create hydrogen;
(3) Hydrogen to power fuel cells;
(4) Fuel cells to power transportation

Kool Aid's History

Barack Obama and Jim Jones

Church
-Barack Obama attended Trinity United.
-At the People’s Temple, “Jim Jones preached a 'social gospel' of human freedom, equality, and love, which required helping the least and the lowliest of society's members. Later on, however, this gospel became explicitly socialistic, or communistic in Jones' own view, and the hypocrisy of white Christianity was ridiculed while 'apostolic socialism' was preached."

Position in the Church
-Barack Obama tells us that we are the ones that we have been waiting for.
-Jim Jones developed a belief system called ‘Translation’. In this belief system, everybody goes to another planet and lives a life of bliss in the end.

Money
-Barack Obama wants to take more of your money, for starters.
-Jim Jones took all of your money.

Security
-Barack Obama still hasn’t corrected the record about his call for a domestic security agency. He corrects reporters who discuss his ears though. He threatens those who discuss Michelle’s political speeches.
-Jim Jones killed members of a Congressional delegation and hung children upside down in wells when they misbehaved.

Followers
-Barack Obama’s base is blacks, the downtrodden, and gullible white women.
-Jim Jones’ base was blacks, the downtrodden, and gullible white women.

Do some research on the “People’s Temple”. It is very interesting.

Inflation

The government wants to keep the inflation figure low since its fixed expenses are tied to the inflation figure. I believe that this is why they have come up with the term ‘owner’s equivalent rent’ (‘OER’) and tied 25% of the inflation figure to it.

OER inflation is supposedly rising at 2.6%. Reported month-over-month inflation is running at about 10% on an annual basis. If you took OER inflation out of the equation, the inflation would be:

10% times (10% / (10% - 2.6%)) = 13.5%

OER inflation, I suspect, is just part of the creative accounting that is used to keep the inflation figure low. Most of my spending goes for food and gas. Grains are reportedly up 15%, dairy is up 10%, and gas is up 26%.

Since tax revenue is already pretty much maximized, the only way for the government to gain more money is to deflate the currency. Which is what they are doing.

Logistics

The poster above is from sixty-some years ago when America was a less nice, but more free place. America’s new idealism basically runs on the inertia generated by a bunch of smart Judeo-Christian work ethic guys working with abundant resources. These are the guys who came up with the above poster.

Russia never had a problem with idealism. Russia had a problem with money back when commodity prices were low. Commodity prices are now high, and will go higher. But Russia will not become idealistic.

Vladimir Putin is moving to nationalize grain exports. He is a very smart man.

Majority Minority

The government projects that whites will be the minority in 35 years.

"What it says is there are going to be more people who belong to minority groups looking for housing on Long Island. And basically that's going to create pressure to desegregate predominantly white areas. ... Can ethnic minority groups translate their greater numbers into greater political and legal power to challenge systemic discrimination in housing?"
-Gregory Maney, a Hofstra University sociology professor, said of the projections

I project that the government is wrong. Whichever government bureaucrat wrote this has limited situational awareness. Two events will define the next thirty years:

1. The collapse of the social welfare system.
2. The failure of our national energy policy.

These events will change our world and bring us from an era of surpluses to an era of shortages. Professor Maney blames segregated white areas on discrimination. That may be, but it is not based on skin color. It is discrimination based on IQ because smart people make more money, and are able to afford homes in more expensive neighborhoods.

If you believe the IQ tables, and I do because the government has stopped collecting IQ data, white averages come in at 102, Mexicans at 87, and blacks at 85. I was in the fancy part of the Hamptons earlier this year and there was a strong Jewish presence. Surprise surprise, the IQ tables put Jews at 114.

The other reality is that smart people make more money, and pay more taxes, than dumb people. Dumb people tend to be a burden on the State, and smart people tend to be an asset to the State. This is not saying all blacks and Mexicans are dumb. The tables indicate that 15% are smarter than the average white. But it is saying that a government with budget problems does not solve those budget problems by dumbing down the Citizenry.

Human evolution has everything to do with resources and competition. Competition has been eliminated from the equation for the last seventy-five years because of the flood of resources resulting from the use of the planet’s oil resources.

Those resources are going away. History also has everything to do with resources. So there will be a lot of history in the next thirty years.

Solar Power 1

Solar power powered everything up until somebody started splitting atoms underneath a sports field in Chicago and I bet that the graphic above is accurate. Oil and coal are solar power stored over millions of years. Wind is solar power absorbed differentially across the earth and evening itself out. Fuel cells are mostly solar power that is converted into electricity by the process of coal or oil making hydrogen gas, whose energy is released in the fuel cell. Hydrogen energy generated by nuclear electricity that is released by fuel cells is not solar power though.

So nuclear-based fuel cells are not solar power. But solar power is nuclear power. All power boils down to the binding energy of atoms, which is released as heavy and light atoms move closer to an atomic weight of 80 atomic mass units. When most atoms are near 80 atomic mass units, everything is over. But that will take zillions of years. So bullets are still a good thing to buy in 2008.

But the solar power graphic above is idealistic and does not forward the national debate. It does not take into account the thermodynamic realities involved in converting raw energy to useful work.

"I’m Sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to France"

The President forgot to tell the Russians that Condi has a doctorate. A doctorate in Russian Studies!

Solar Power

“Hey Vlad, didn’t you get the memo about the New World Order? You are supposed to be importing southern peoples to destabilize social order and lower wages, not subjugate southern peoples and take their stuff.”

Putin is brilliant. He is now in the position to use Iran as a proxy to close the Strait of Hormuz, when the Iran-nuclear issue comes to a head. The stability of the West is entirely dependent on the Strait of Hormuz and the Georgia land-bridge.

A friendly reminder about financial security, food security, and physical security. Don’t expect your government to provide it for you.

In light of this, Bill’s research project this week will be the viability of solar power. My initial impression is that solar is not going to be a large part of the solution because thermal efficiency is dependent upon the difference in temperature between the heat source (hot part) and heat sink (cold part), which is probably relatively small in a solar panel. We’ll see.

That, and it takes nerve for the Columbia University Law Graduate-President of Georgia to sue Russia after the war. Are Columbia grads that out-of-it? Putin is going to kill him. Putin led this war from the front after the picture.

Don't Drill

Before Obama went on his European tour, his RealClearPolitics lead was 4.5%. After the exposure, his lead was 2.1%. Since going on a weeklong Hawaii vacation, his lead is now up to 4.8%.

Obama is correct in that we should not drill for our own oil. We should save that oil for a more important time. Like in a few years.

At the risk of being vaporized, I think that his rear tire is under-inflated.

Columbia University, the USA, Saakashvili, and Putin

Mr. Saakashvili graduated from Columbia law school in 1994. Fourteen years later, after much positive television and some strong money backers, he decided to shell Russians. Then he declared war in response to Russian aggression. Those were bad moves.

There are lessons that the State Department and Goldman Sachs could learn from Mr. Saakashvili’s experience.

Saakashvili’s photo second from top is from the Columbia University website for distinguished alumni. He was on the BBC tonight. He has grown up quickly in the past week. But he is still claiming victimhood.

Strait of Hormuz

With the land bridge secured, all that is left is the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is 21 miles wide. The Strait of Hormuz is all that maintains order in the West. This is a good time to keep a full tank of gas.

Update---------------
That wasn’t a fair post. After the reflection provided by a glass of Wal-Mart wine, I should qualify it.

The Strait of Hormuz and Russian goodwill are all that maintain order in the West.

Lawyers, Guns, and Oil

The guy at the bottom of the pile is the Georgian President. He is an American-trained lawyer.

"They seem to have gone beyond the logical stopping point," one senior Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic protocol.

We have dumb diplomats. The key to the 21st Century is oil, and the Russians want to block the land-bridge that connects Middle Eastern oil reserves to the West.

Putin Says "Logical Conclusion"

Launching the invasion when the President was away from his advisors, and alongside Putin at a social event was a brilliant move.

Notice how Cheney is the one who is alarmed.

This Is a Machete

A guy was hacked to death with a machete in Guatemala the other day.

I was involved in a Central American machete fight a few years ago. The machete man was of Jamaican descent and wanted to talk with me (I think he really wanted to talk with my wife). It was a pleasant conversation but he used profanity.

The person on whose land we were standing did not like the profanity. In a lot of ways, standards are higher in parts of Central America then they are in the states. The landowner kicked the Jamaican off of his property.

But the Jamaican came back, with a machete. He went after the landowner’s woman. The landowner and his relative beat the living crap out of the Jamaican with 2 by 6s. The Jamaican was swinging the machete at the other mens’ heads before he went down. He was bleeding out of his head, unconscious, when things stopped. I think they killed him after we left.* It was a remote location.

Just another reason to take advantage of the 2nd Amendment. Order can break down here too. I think that it is inevitable, at least for a few months. Read the Grapes of Wrath. Juxtapose that book against the Rodney King riots. I recommend a 1911 for starters.

* To be clear, the landowner was a person of color. He held a position of authority in local government.

Fred and Vlad

Georgia has declared a state of war. This was a bad move by Georgia. Georgia’s President is a US-trained lawyer. If our higher education hadn’t been so dumbed-down, he might not have made that mistake.

War involves reparations. This conflict has nothing to do with 70,000 people in a country of 5 million. It has to do with resources.

Listen to how smart Putin is:

The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who arrived in the North Ossetian city of Vladikavkaz last night, accused Georgia of committing "genocide", seeking "bloody adventures", and trying to involve other countries in a military conflict in its separatist region of South Ossetia. "Georgia's aspiration to join Nato... is driven by its attempt to drag other nations and peoples into its bloody adventures," he said.

The Washington Post’s editorial page editor, Fred Hiatt, is personally threatened on an emotional level by Putin’s strength. Putin doesn’t care what Fred thinks.

The Russians Don’t Take a Dump, Son, Without a Plan

Glenn Beck is a good analyst. He had an oil exec on Friday and it was a pretty good show. The oil exec referred viewers to the National Petroleum Council’s report. You can Google it. It is pretty good. But it is flawed.

It makes the assumption that the global supply of oil will continue to be freely traded. This is a fatal assumption because as oil becomes more scarce, countries will nationalize their oil supplies. This is why we should not drill for our oil now.

The National Petroleum Council graphic above illustrates where the oil is supposed to come from. It also illustrates why Russia may be fighting tonight. Russia has used oil as a weapon against the former Soviet states, and will not hesitate to use it against the West.

They control their own reserves. If they control Georgia, they then cut off the land link between Middle Eastern oil and the West. Submarines could handle the rest. George Bush is playing girls volleyball. Notice how Vlad didn’t get his picture taken playing girls volleyball.

La La Land-East

As Russian leadership is playing chess, American leadership cannot even be given the credit of playing checkers. American leadership is playing girl’s volleyball.

I judge that the President has used his faith to help form his policy positions. He is having a hard time reconciling his faith with the outcomes of his policy positions. He seems tired and confused. He should have realized how silly these images would look.

Back in La La Land

Bernie Mac is dead at fifty from undisclosed causes. Bernie is best known from a recent campaign appeareance in support of Barack Obama when he gave an offensive introduction:

"Being a president is tough 'cause you're not just running the country. You got to run your family too," Mac said. "Having a black first lady is different. You're still going to have to do the dishes and the laundry and all that … 'You got to pick up the kids. You didn't pick up the kids?' "

At one point a heckler protested and asked Mac to step down after an irreverent riff with crude jokes.

America’s reporters dutifully did not report the irreverant riff. But Barack then addressed Bernie, telling him to:

"clean up your act next time,"

But later, to avoid offense, said:

"By the way, I'm just messing with you, man."

Now, everybody put your hands in front of your head and form an O.

This is an Su-37

"Russian fighter jets targeted the the major Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline which carries oil to the West from Asia but missed, Georgia's Economic Development Minister Ekaterina Sharashidze said on Saturday."

Allow for me to translate:

Help us Henry Paulson’s buddies. Putin means business. He wants to have the potential to cut off your oil. He’s got submarines to handle the tankers.

Russians don’t miss when they aim at big pipes.

Why Russians Win Wars

“Condoleezza Rice released a coarse anti-Russian statement. This is because she is a single woman who has no children. She loses her reason because of her late single status. Nature takes it all.

“Such women are very rough. They are all workaholics, public workaholics. They can be happy only when they are talked and written about everywhere: “Oh, Condoleezza, what a remarkable woman, what a charming Afro-American lady! How well she can play the piano and speak Russian! What a courageous, tough and strong female she is!

“This is the only way to satisfy her needs of a female. She derives pleasure from it. If she has no man by her side at her age, he will never appear. Even if she had a whole selection of men to choose from she would stay single because her soul and heart have hardened. Like Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, or Alexander the Great of Macedon Ms. Rice needs to fight and release tough public statements in global scale. She needs to be on top of the world.

“Ms. Rice was always interested in Russia. Now she needs to prove that she does have a certain amount of knowledge about Russia. Her goal number one is to observe USA's interest. If Russia rises, it means that the USA falls down. Europe has united, China is growing speedily and Russia possesses immense power in terms of fuel resources. The US administration cannot do anything about it.

“The USA experiences the crisis of ideological and moral values. Americans try to talk about positive family values, although the actual state of things is disastrous. That is why they need to protect themselves with such public personas as Condoleezza Rice who gains pleasure from political commotions.

“The civilized world needs to think about a decision when single politicians are not allowed to stay in power. This was a common practice in the Soviet political system. The matter of international relations is very subtle and exquisite. One single word or phrase may play an extremely important role in politics. This is not the place, where one can sublimate their personal sexual problems.

“Complex-prone women are especially dangerous. They are like malicious mothers-in-law, women that evoke hatred and irritation with everyone. Everybody tries to part with such women as soon as possible. A mother-in-law is better than a single and childless political persona, though.

“This is really scary. Ms. Rice's personal complexes affect the entire field of international politics. This is an irritating factor for everyone, especially for the East and the Islamic world. When they look at her, they go mad.

“Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers. She needs to be taken to barracks where she would be satisfied. On the other hand, she can hardly be satisfied because of her age. This is a complex. She needs to return to her university and teach students there. She could also deal with psychological analysis.

“The true reason of Ms. Rice's attack against Russia is very simple. Condoleezza Rice is a very cruel, offended woman who lacks men's attention. Releasing such stupid remarks gives her the feeling of being fulfilled. This is the only way for her to attract men's attention,” Vladimir Zhirinovsky said.

Update: Rice responds to the current conflict-

"We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia's territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil," she said.