California Governor Unveils Plan to Prevent Wildfires

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Nov. 17, 2008, Sacramento, California.   Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the development of a comprehensive plan to prevent the chronic and disabling fires prevalent in Southern California. The Governor spoke in his capacity as Titular Chairman of the La Brea Cinder, Sparks, and Soot Commission (CSSC). “The People of California are looking to its state leadership for putting an end to wildfires”, said the governor at the crowded press conference. “When our top scientists examined the fire triangle it became clear what must be done.”

Governor Schwarzenegger signed the Keep California From Burning Act which is to take effect June 1, 2010. In this plan, Los Angeles County and all adjoining counties will begin a comprehensive paving program with the goal of covering the entire metropolitan area with concrete and asphalt by the end of 2020. Eminent domain proceedings are scheduled to begin in early 2009. It is anticipated that approximately 15 % of the area targeted for coverage will be problematic due to citizen protest or Endangered Species Act issues.

The chairperson of the scientific advisory board to the CSSC, Dr. Pietr Detrietis, Director of Ignitions at the Jasper R. Heiny Institute of Flashpoint Studies at Pultroon College, disclosed the boards rationale in making this landmark recommendation.

“We have examined the problem very carefully and have come to the unavoidable conclusion that there are too many tonnes of fuel per hectare in the affected regions. The best solution appears to be paving over all of the fuel supply with concrete, brick, or asphalt.”

Dr. Detreitis continued with the observation that “the average Californian spends less than 2 % of their recreational time in the affected vegetated areas anyway, so paving over much of the state probably won’t be noticed.”

Governor Schwarzenegger added “The paving program will bring needed jobs to the people of California who are suffering from the effects of the economy. There will be horticultural exceptions for gardeners and a permitting process is in development for those who wish to plant approved ornamental shrubs and vegetables.”

The news was greeted with wild enthusiasm by garden centers who anticipate an uptick in demand for state approved plants. The California Paving Association was likewise enthused at hearing the news.

Not all are pleased with the news, however. The California Chapter of the American Fowl Society announced its intent to file an injunction which would block paving over certain areas known to be inhabited by Skarshanks Ground Parrot. This rare species of flightless bird is a distant member of the Parrot family and is one of the few Parrots known to be carnivorous and cannibalistic. Skarshanks Ground Parrot feeds primarily on lizards and geckos, though it has been known to attack and kill small pets. The parrot’s beak is adapted for tearing scaly flesh and dismembering skeletons. Known to inflict a serious wound, most hikers walk past the heavily camouflaged bird without realizing it is near.

Self-Regulating Nuclear Power Reactor

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Hyperion Power Generation (HPG) company has announced the commercial development of their Hyperion Power Module.  While there are numerous reports on the internet, it is more useful for curious and tech savvy folk to read the patent application (US 20040062340) for a detailed description of the device. While the idea has been knocking around for 50 years, it took the inventor, Dr. Otis G. Peterson, to work out the control issues for a safe, self regulating system.

The reactor uses the hydride of a fissile actinide like U-235 (as UH3 powder) at ~5% enrichment in U-238 to serve as a self-moderating nuclear pile. The marvels of chemistry, namely chemical equilibrium, play a large role here because the hydrogen content (as hydride) varies as a function of temperature. An increase in temperature of the UH3 leads to loss of hydrogen from the U to another hydrogen storing metal. Loss of hydrogen moderator leads to loss of reactivity and a downturn in heat generation. But the downturn in heat generation favors the return of hydrogen (as H2) to the uranium to make hydride. This causes the reactivity of the system to increase, so the rate of fission and heat generation rises as a result.

The system eventually reaches a steady state temperature where the rates of hydrogen gain and loss from uranium become equal and the rate of heat evolution reaches a steady output.

According to Table 1 of the appln, at 5 MW thermal the U-235 critical mass is 30 kg and at 50 MW thermal it is 215 kg. The table also discloses that at a loading of 30 kg U-235 the energy content is 78 MW years and at a loading of 215 kg U-235 the energy content is 540 MW years.

Of course, this is a patent and not a peer reviewed publication. But it was developed at Los Alamos so one would suppose it should have some credibility. The patent suggests that the reactor would be buried underground while in service. It is unclear if that is for shielding or security, or both.

Pre-Crime Division

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Good lord. The erosion of liberty continues to accelerate. Consider the case of Chambers v. United States.  SCOTUS is weighing in on the case of a defendant who failed to appear for confinement and was subsequently charged with committing a “violent” crime under the Armed Career Criminal Act.  The justices listened to arguments as to whether the act of failure to appear for confinement is an aggressive or a passive act and whether it should contribute to a felony escape charge.

“Deondery Chambers, who pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, had prior convictions for drug distribution and for robbery and battery. He challenged whether his conviction under an Illinois escape law for failure to report for confinement was a violent felony that supplied the third predicate conviction for enhancement of his sentence under the ACCA.” [Laurel Newby, Law.com]

The attorney for the defendant asserted that failure to appear does not constitute a violent crime. However-

“Assistant to the Solicitor General Matthew D. Roberts argued, however, that failure to report carries the risk of violent confrontation between the defendant and police officers who may come to bring the defendant into custody. He compared it to burglary — an enumerated offense under the ACCA — calling it ‘purposeful, violent, and aggressive in the same way as burglary.'” [Laurel Newby, Law.com]

To his credit, Justice Scalia commented in a very reasonable manner-

“Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out that Chambers was serving his sentence only on the weekends. “[I]t’s not common sense that the person who has been guilty of a crime so gentlemanly that they only made him report to prison on the weekends would confront the policeman with violence when he comes.”

“This guy doesn’t sound to me like Jack the Ripper. He really doesn’t,” Scalia said. [Laurel Newby, Law.com]

Obviously the defendant is not a choir boy. He must serve his sentence and suffer some consequence for failure to appear. 

“Statistics show that the number of robberies increases during the holiday season,” Chief Justice Roberts pointed out. The audience in the courtroom laughed.

“There is no indication, Mr. Chief Justice, that any further robberies were committed [by Chambers] during that period,” Hochman said.

“Well, there is no indication he meant to spend time with his family over the holidays,” the chief justice retorted.” [Laurel Newby, Law.com]

What makes the situation so disturbing is the glee with which an aggressive organ of the state exhibits in asserting that a passive violation can be equated to a jail escape and can thus carry the threat of a felony conviction. Most disturbing is the comment by the Assistant to the Solicitor- “failure to report carries the risk of violent confrontation between the defendant and police officers who may come to bring the defendant into custody“.

What!!?? Because there may be future risk to a police officer, the defendant should be charged with a felony? Excuse me?? This sounds like the movie Minority Report.

There should be a consequence for Chambers inaction, but the assertion that it was a type of violent act is wildly out of line and sets a terrible precedent for civil liberties.

Danes … in Space!

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Copenhagen Suborbitals announced the the successful static test firing of their XLR-2 hybrid rocket motor on October 19th, 2008. The company states: “Our mission is very simple. We are working towards launching a human being into space.”

The rocket motor is comprised of a system that injects liquid oxygen into a solid epoxy core to generate combustion and thrust.  The victim astronaut assumes the position a semi-squatting position with their head in the clear plastic nose cone.  The passenger compartment is lifted into a parabolic trajectory topping the magic altitude of 100 km. I guess you get to call yourself an astronaut if you fly above 100 km.

( You see, the purpose of the rocket motor is to deliver the passenger to the scene of the disaster.)

I think I’ll pass my ticket to someone else this time.

Graphite Items

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Graphite and other refractory materials can be found at the Graphite Store. A large variety of components, crucibles, tubes, etc., fabricated from SIALON, zirconia, alumina, or graphite, can be found.  Graphite items are surprisingly inexpensive. Great for that dungeon or backyard foundry.

Notes from the A.I. Meyers Symposium

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I was able to attend only the afternoon sessions of the AI Meyers Symposium, sponsored by the Chemistry Department at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins. Peter Beak from the University of Illinois spoke about organolithium chemistry related to CIPE- Complex Induced Prioximity Effect. Along the way, Beak made a few comments about the state of the science of chemistry in America in terms of the lack of a unified voice. He pointed out that the astronomers seem to be quite successful in geting major projects funded because they band together and make a unified case for funding. Beak observed that during difficult times, chemists tend to “circle the wagons and shoot inwards”.

Beak made another point about the perpetually weak state of physical organic chemistry. He suggests that the norbornyl cation controversy between H.C. Brown and Saul Winstein in the 1960’s had a deleterious effect on the field. I have heard this argument elsewhere. I can only assume that Beak means that funding for physical organic research dried up.

Victor Sniekus, Alfred Bader Professor of Chemistry at Queens University, spoke about his work with orthometallation in various projects. Daniel Comins, a Meyers post-doc, talked about alkaloid synthesis.  Much of the work from the Meyers labs was related to directed metallation or pre-coordination of R-Li with a substrate to accomplish some kind of selectivity. It was AIM’s habit to prove the merit of a transformation with an application to some kind of natural product synthesis- usually an alkaloid. I spent a year and a half struggling unsuccessfully with tylophorine and crypotpleurine.

The afternoon was rounded off with talk by Paul Reider, formerly a VP of Process Research at Merck and now teaching at Princeton University. Reider spoke in his typical entertaining manner.  What stands out above the technical details is a statement he made in regard to getting buy in for a process. He was trying to get somebody to try a reaction series-“I said it with such sincerity, they went ahead and did it! ” This is funny because you don’t get the idea that Reider or any of his colleagues are easily swayed by sincerity.

There was a fair turnout of Meyers alumni, post-docs and grad students as well as folks from other groups in the department.

Microsoft Telescope Effect

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As I plod along in my daily swim upstream, I have the occasional epiphany that makes me pull over into an eddy behind a rock and contemplate my situation. Gradually, I have been making better use of the Microsoft Office suite of products generously provided to me. Among those tools is MS Access. I have been devising database tools to help me keep various kinds of data available for quick retrieval as well as access to the source documents. For some of us, it helps for retrieval tools to be as visual as possible.

As I put the finishing touches on my latest creation, it dawned on me what a rube I was. Again I had fallen into the technology trap. Instead of making a case for administrative help, I had merely taken another step along the path of telescoping increasing job responsibilities into my work week.

It suddenly became crystal clear. Microsoft products have facilitated the near complete extinction of whole job descriptions. In times past, highly trained employees were given assistants to leverage or multiply their activity. Assistants would attend to organization of information and limit access to their boss. In this way, employees could focus on performing the expensive skills they were hired for.  To a very large extent, personal computers have rendered obsolete what used to be an ordinary working duo- a manager/specialist and an administrative assistant.

This working pair has been replaced with “personal productivity tools” that allow- require, really- that the specialist take care of all of the correspondence, filing, categorization, phone-tag, drop-in visitors, requisitions, expense reports, etc., required for the job. In most organizations I am familiar with, expensive specialists are expected to be their own office managers, file clerks, and receptionists.

Th’ Gaussling can be a bit slow on the uptake, so I’m sure others have already noted this effect long ago.

In a similar vein, James Kunstler writes about another consequence of technology. Here, he is making reference to electronic voting machines, but the notion applies well to another marketing scam: compulsory excess capacity or capability. Another way to say it is, a high tech “solution” to a low tech problem.  

  What many people are nervous about, of course, is the chance of shenanigans with the voting tally. Just one minor feature of the general paralysis gripping this society has been our inability to get rid of those mischievous Diebold computerized voting machines that leave no paper trail. By the way, these touchscreen voting units are an example of the diminishing returns of technology. There was nothing wrong with the old mechanical units, but by making over-investments in complexity we’ve just created more problems for ourselves. This ought to be a warning to those in the thrall of techno-triumphalism.

How many people make full use of most of the features of, well, any of their software? When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When you are the largest software company in the Milky Way Galaxy, everything looks like a software solution opportunity.

Michael Crichton, Dead at Age 66

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I was sorry to learn of the passing of the writer Michael Crichton. My first introduction to his work was The Andromeda Strain, which I read as a student in high school. It was a good read in the 1970’s and many of us enjoyed it. The movie remains in my top 20 list. Juriassic Park was another enjoyable book.

I will say that some of his more recent books were constructed in a way that was a bit too much like television. But he was a talented writer for the scientifically tolerant mass market and I am sorry to hear that we will not be treated to more of his work.