publius @publius@mastodon.sdf.org

#introductions (1/2)

Unashamed space colonist & atomic energy enthusiast. Getting ourselves out of tight spots using technology is pretty much what we humans DO. Appeared in the 2012 documentary “Lunarcy!” & still occasionally get contacted by people who have seen it recently on CBC. Low-key supervillain, looking to build a better world that will be worth conquering. Not a typography nerd, but enjoy using LaTeX.

#thestarsareours
#lunacityorbust
#atomicpowertothepeople

I'm a bit disappointed that nobody apparently tuned in last night to see me read a book, hold a serious conversation with a plushie, & drink Mexican restroom cleaner. But you can still watch the recording for two weeks!
https://www.twitch.tv/publiuslector/videos
#hearnowthewords

@gemlog
Somebody had reversed the wires on the A & K terminals. Redrawing the circuit doesn’t satisfy me that this should make any difference, but with it corrected, the phone still rings, & now goes off-hook when the hookswitch is lifted ― at least with a jumper wire across C & F. I haven’t tried this with a real handset, as the connector is still busted. A grain-of-wheat incandescent with wire leads would have been better, but that bin isn’t accessible at this hour.

Greetings Mastodonians!
If you’re stuck for something interesting to do Sunday afternoon, you could do worse than to watch me read a classic science fiction novel : this time around, AUF ZWEI PLANETEN by Kurd Lasswitz (in English translation).
22h UTC
https://www.twitch.tv/publiuslector
#hearnowthewords

The States of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, & the Isle of Man are not part of the United Kingdom. As such, if Westminster has snarled things up sufficiently, they may find themselves on their own in the EU, possibly calling upon the Royal Mint to supply them with Queen’s-head Euro coins.

From the very beginnings of the United States comes down the cry, “millions for defence but not one cent for tribute!” Now, however, it is our own President demanding tribute.
We used to think it made America great that we had the longest land borders in the world without fortifications ― not because we could not build them, but because we chose not to. Not once cent for walls! Not one cent for camps! Not once cent to make America small!

The romantic ideal of the Nation has long since outworn whatever value it once had. If we continue in the pretense that human nature is divided by arbitrary lines on maps, by mother tongue, or other such nonessentials, how can we face the challenge of the stars?

@maiki So, I see you writing pretty frequently about something called “HUGO”. The Web site, unfortunately, seems a bit vague as far as what this thing does or can be used for. The description “a modern flatfile CMS that supports [various things I either am not interested in or don’t know about]” leaves me with no clear answer as to whether I can use it for what I want, which is to semi-automate the production of unstyled no-frills HTML pages, or whether there is some better tool. Any advice?

I just muted someone with the username of “morrissey”, partly for rudeness, partly for having terrible taste.

Just a quick reminder :
Useful electric power was first generated from nuclear fission on 20 December 1951, at the Experimental Breeder Reactor №1, in Idaho, USA. This reactor also proved the possibility of converting the fertile materials (uranium-238 & thorium-232) into fissile materials (plutonium-239 & uranium-233) faster than the fissile is consumed, unlocking a truly immense fuel resource, orders of magnitude greater than all the fossil fuels taken together.
#atomicpowertothepeople

@snowdusk OK, I think I have successfully updated the archive links on my show pages.
https://anonradio.net/hear-now-the-words/

(2/2) Of course, the only plutonium ever on site was contained in irradiated fuel elements, slugs of uranium metal canned in magnesium alloy. Once unloaded, these were held about a hundred days, then sent on to Windscale (on the Irish Sea) for reprocessing. Only there could Pu have found a path to the outside world.
#atomicpowertothepeople

(1/2) This is why it is impossible to debate fission energy.
The cretins at “Beyond Nuclear” are screaming that mud, dredged from the English side of the Bristol Channel near the site of a nuclear power station & dumped on the Welsh side, was not tested for plutonium.
The clear implication ― what they wish the public to believe ― is that the station somehow emitted Pu to the environment in the course of its operation. Unsurprisingly, nothing of the kind is true.

Can you imagine how horrifying the song “Puff the Magic Dragon” would be to dragons? Here you are, enormously powerful, more or less immortal, but if you allow yourself to get involved with one of these humans, you suddenly find yourself at the mercy of the weak & ephemeral…

“Whereas [chapters] 1―83 are a guide to the actual court ceremonial of the 10th century, 84―95 are of purely antiquarian interest.”

So, Elon says nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week? Well, he’s supposed to be the big innovator. Time to get into that space & disrupt something!