Other stuff – Page 17 – Outrun Change

News from the wide open frontier of space exploration

Cygnus capsule, ready to dock with ISS. Courtesy of Orbital ATK.

Recently I’ve seen a number of fun articles on space exploration. Here are a few to share: successful resupply launch to ISS after several failures across the industry, competition between spaceplane and reusable boosters, and China developing a new manned capsule.

12/6 – ABC News – Liftoff: 1st US Shipment in Months Flying to Space Station – Orbital ATK’s cargo ship launched on top of a ULA Atlas 5 rocket. Cygnus is carrying 7,400 pounds of supplies to the ISS.

Orbital lost a supply run in October 2014, Russia lost one earlier in 2015, and SpaceX lost one in June 2015. Keep in mind that launching rockets into space is the difficult task that is behind the putdown of ‘it isn’t rocket science’.

12/8 – NASAspaceflight.com – Berthing Complete: OA-4 Cygnus arrives at the ISS – the Cygnus cargo ship has been docked at the ISS. Article gives good explanation of the complexity of getting a supply ship to exactly match the orbit of the ISS and the very careful process of trying to close and then grab for docking. Continue reading “News from the wide open frontier of space exploration”

Update on the wide open frontier of technology – 12/21

Lots of amazing things going on in the technology open frontier: military countermeasures to combat drones, registration requirement for small drones goes into effect today, and lots of federal agencies use cellphone spying technology.

12/14 – Space War – Venom could address UAV threat to ground forces –

Continue reading “Update on the wide open frontier of technology – 12/21”

Update on status of Keith Graves – 12/18/15

Just checked the docket for now-convicted human-trafficker Keith Graves on the federal PACER system. The only new item since my last update is a forfeiture order. I don’t see indications that he has filed an appeal.

Continue reading “Update on status of Keith Graves – 12/18/15”

Follow-up on athletic fiascos at Penn State and UNC Chapel Hill

Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Fisher Fine Arts Library building. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Historic Old Well at UNC Chapel Hill. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

I’ve not been watching closely for updates, but have seen a few articles on the massive scandals at Penn State and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

12/1/15 – Newsworks – Penn State, insurer scuffle over paying Sandusky victims – Penn State may have skated by with the serious consequences from NCAA getting reversed, but the legal liabilities are adding up. The University has already paid $92.8M to settle 32 cases, with many more still in the works with an unknown number of unresolved cases.

Their insurer is refusing to cover the full tab. As a result, the school and insurer will be going to court in 2016 to address their cross-claims.

Continue reading “Follow-up on athletic fiascos at Penn State and UNC Chapel Hill”

Update on marijuana regulation – use of pesticides in Colorado – #22

My hypothesis is that state legalization of recreational marijuana sales is a giant natural experiment to test whether heavy-handed state regulation will constrict a newly legalized industry.

My interest in this topic is limited to watching how regulation slows economic development. Recreational marijuana is a new enough and small enough industry that we can actually watch the impact of regulation. Here are a few articles on recent news I have noticed:

10/4 – Denver Post at The Cannabist – Deep dive: Why Colorado has struggled to regulate pot pesticides – Article points out the EPA has provided no guidance on what pesticides are safe on marijuana.

According to the article, this left state regulators and the marijuana industry arguing about what pesticides are allowed and what is banned. Multiple comments indicated regulators wanted more restrictions and industry wanted very light restrictions.

The article follows the typical arguments you would expect for any industry that is regulated by the state or federal government. See if the following sounds like the same story as in dozens of other industries:

Continue reading “Update on marijuana regulation – use of pesticides in Colorado – #22”

Mali and Central African Republic update – 11/30

Map of Mali. Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

A few articles I’ve seen on Mali and Central African Republic:

(Update: Oops. Title of post corrected. I dropped an “n”.)

11/28 – AP at Bismarck Tribune – Mortar attack on UN base in North Mali kills three, injures 20 – An estimated six mortar rounds were fired at a UN base in Kidal, killing two UN peacekeepers and 1 contractor, with 20 people injured. The two soldiers were from Guinea.

Kidal is in the far northeast corner on the above map. The terrorist attack earlier in the month took place in the capital, Bamako, which is in the far southwest corner of the country.

Article reports the government has arrested two suspects allegedly involved in the November 20 hotel attack.

Central African Republic outline inset into a map of Africa over a white background. Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

11/29 – Bismarck Tribune – The Latest: Pope welcomed to Central African Republic – Continue reading “Mali and Central African Republic update – 11/30”

Delightful news on the wide open frontier of private space exploration shows why I am so optimistic about the future

Recovered first stage, which landed a mere 4 1/2 feet from where planned. Photo courtesy of Blue Origin. Used with permission. — Recovered first stage, which landed a mere 4 1/2 feet away from planned impact point. Photo courtesy of Blue Origin. Used with permission.

Lots of fun news in the past week about the wide open frontier of space exploration. Three huge developments are:

SpaceX landed a contract for a manned flight,
Blue Origin successfully recovered a first stage, and
Japan successfully launched a commercial satellite.

What I describe in this post is the reason I am so wildly optimistic about the future. The astounding progress here stands in stark contrast to the foolishness and ridiculousness we see dominate the news every hour of every day.

The absolute best news:

11/24 – New York Post – The new space race is a private-sector affair – Editorial celebrates Blue Origin successfully recovering a first stage, SpaceX has already flown several resupply missions to the International Space Station, and Boeing & Virgin Galactic are also in the game.

The more competitors, the better.

First stages can be recovered after launch:

Blue Origin launch. Photo courtesy of Blue Origin. Used with permission.

Continue reading “Delightful news on the wide open frontier of private space exploration shows why I am so optimistic about the future”

Terrorist attack in Mali capital of Bamako is ended

al-Qaeda attack on hotel in Bamako is over. Hostages are free.

11/20 – AP – Islamic Extremists Attack Hotel in Mali’s Capital – Militants, “Islamic extremists” is the AP’s approved word, attacked a luxury hotel in Bamako taking over a hundred people hostage. The Malian army quickly moved to take back the hotel. At the time the article was filed, the rescue efforts were still underway.

Interesting tidbit is the Malian army troops were being supported by US and French special forces. A quote from an official spokesman from the U.S. Africa Command said special forces are training the Mali troops.

Continue reading “Terrorist attack in Mali capital of Bamako is ended”

Updates on open frontier of private space exploration

Private space launch of privately developed rocket. Photo courtesy of SpaceX.

I am fascinated by the wide open frontiers in so many areas of life. We’re at the point where private enterprises are taking the lead in space exploration.

Here are several fascinating articles I’ve read recently on legislation to legalize space mining, how to colonize Mars, thumbsats (which are smaller than cubesats), and competition for launching GPS satellites.

Asteriod mining

11/13 – Jurist – Senate approved the bill to legalize space mining – Bill would be huge step in providing a legal framework for mining asteroids. This would not allow for ownership of asteroids, but would give a clear title to anyone who mined resources and removed them from the asteroid.

Continue reading “Updates on open frontier of private space exploration”

More comments from winner of this year’s Nobel award in economics

Cover of Prof. Deaton's book, used under fair use, courtesy of Amazon.com — Cover of Prof. Deaton’s book, used under fair use for this review, courtesy of Amazon.com

Prof. Angus Deaton won the 2015 Nobel award in economics. Mentioned this earlier.

His contribution to expanding the frontier of economics knowledge is to study development and poverty from the consumption side instead of income side. This approach looks at what can people buy instead of what income they have.

Fun article talking about some of his ideas was in the Financial Times on October 12: Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton shares 3 big ideas.

Inequality

Continue reading “More comments from winner of this year’s Nobel award in economics”

Background on new Williston airport and opposition to even building it

This is the size plane the Williston airport can handle. Notice the size of the door for scale. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

The Bismarck Tribune has a good article on the new Williston airport, which is being built outside of town and will handle medium-sized jets. It will replace the current airport, which is in town and has a runway that can only handle smaller regional jets. I picture a runway that can handle 150 passenger jets versus a runway limited to jets that can carry 50 passengers, like the CRJ above.

Two county commissioners don’t see any reason to build the new airport.

The article: Williston airport proponents chart aggressive course.

Current funding plan for new airport:

Continue reading “Background on new Williston airport and opposition to even building it”

Update on marijuana regulation – Ohio says no, North Dakota thinking about it – #21

Haven’t seen much news from Colorado or Washington on regulating marijuana. On the other hand, I haven’t been looking much. As a reminder, I’m watching this topic to see how badly heavy-handed regulation restrains a new industry.

Some news from other states moving toward legalization. North Dakota is taking some steps. Ohio stops.

1/2 – Rob Port at Say Anything Blog – Read What Medical Marijuana Supporters Are Hoping To Put On North Dakota’s Ballot – Article summarizes the proposed initiative to authorize medical marijuana in North Dakota.

Continue reading “Update on marijuana regulation – Ohio says no, North Dakota thinking about it – #21”

Wild guesses on possible sentence after Keith Graves is convicted – part 2

Now that Mr. Graves has been convicted on five counts of human trafficking plus possession and distribution of meth, I have started to think about what sentence he has rightfully earned and will be justly delivered to him in full.

Previous post discussed why I am paying such close attention to Mr. Graves’ case. Short answer is this expands my understanding of the federal legal system, extends my detailed discussion of the documentary The Overnighters, and overlaps my interest in the shale boom in North Dakota.

This discussion looks at the offense level and my wild guess on possible sentence. Previous post discussed the concept of criminal history level.

Offense level

Continue reading “Wild guesses on possible sentence after Keith Graves is convicted – part 2”

Wild guesses on possible sentence after Keith Graves is convicted – part 1

Now that Mr. Graves has been convicted, I will start to think about what sentence he might earn.

Having noticed how closely I am following the case of now-convicted human trafficker Keith Graves you may wonder why I am paying such close attention to his case. ~~After reading this post, you will be really curious.~~ (12-19-15 update) I hope this post explains my curiosity.

Why am I paying such close attention? Continue reading “Wild guesses on possible sentence after Keith Graves is convicted – part 1”

More details from last day of Keith Graves’ trial

After the string of tweets I mentioned yesterday, Andrew Sheeler filled us in on conviction day for Keith Graves: Jury convicts Graves on 8 counts.

The verdict

The difference between the 8 counts mentioned in the article and the 7 mentioned earlier is the forfeiture allegation. The feds alleged that a toy bb gun, a miniature baseball bat, and an assortment of cell phones and computer tablets belonged to Mr. Graves. The allegation in the indictment could force a surrender of the items. Feds alleged he used all those items during the course of the crimes which the jury has now definitively determined he did in fact commit. Goal is to seize all the electronics he used in the commission of the crimes he was just convicted of.

Continue reading “More details from last day of Keith Graves’ trial”