Tsar Bomba

A dose of calm from Jerry Pournelle

Wealthy civilizations have costs. They are small compared to the grinding costs of poverty. Low productivity produces poverty. High energy costs lower productivity. Before we call for any drastic reduction in energy production, it would be well to see what the maximum disaster costs might be, and what can be done to mitigate or prevent such in future. That does not appear to be the advice the media is giving us.

Tsar Bomba, refers to the 50 megaton hydrogen bomb deployed 10-30-1961 by the Soviets in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The most powerful nuclear bomb every detonated. 50 megatons is estimated to be one quarter of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. (The Soviets design Tsar Bomba to yield 100 megatons but they reduced the yield for the test because they were worried about fallout).

A reverse-order timeline of the nuclear problems in Japan

Norwell Boys have a fine season

The Knights ended the season 16-7 on Saturday, losing a close one to Harding in the Regional opener 52-53.  Harding, in turn, lost to Columbia City who advanced to the semistate in Huntington and will play Culver Academy.

Norwell averaged 59 points a game this season against their opponents' 52 points a game.

Prayers for Japan

The destruction is nearly unfathomable.

Additional photos

Printable 2011 NCAA Brackets

Click on the picture above to go to larger, printable 2011 NCAA Brackets.

Nazi-Mayan Crystal Skull Found in German Rafters

Whew, what a timely find, what with 2012 so near!

Helium Woe

A fascinating article about Helium, why America has so much and another instance of Congress not having a clue about science.

Norwell Boys Win Sectional

For the first time since 1995, the Norwell Knights are Sectional victors! Congratulations, guys, and good luck in the Blackford Regional at noon on Saturday against Harding (in their final year).

The Death of the Music Industry

A very interesting article at Business Insider on the death of the music industry.  As you can see, people aren't spending near as much as they used to.  The article thinks this is due to people only  downloading individual songs instead of entire albums.  There are tons of charts and facts in the article, but still, I think, something is missing.

I'd like to see similar charts for different styles of music.  I have the impression, and perhaps it's just me, that the music industry spends a lot of money on the technology of recording and post-processing music.  Perhaps this is sustainable for artists who hit a sweet spot in the population (like we Baby Boomers), but is unsustainable for niche markets.  The music industry rose with the Baby Boomers, spiked when we converted our favorite albums to CD, and now falls as fewer pop artists try to please us. 

Just a thought.

Obama's 2012 Budget Proposal

Either click on the picture above, or go here to examine President Obama's 2012 Budget Proposal. Just as last year, red represents cuts, green represents increased spending... the darker the color, the steeper the cut or increase. Notice the huge blocks of green on the left for Social Security and Medicare and the large block of green on the right for Interest on the Debt.

Thanks to Rose McAfee for the nice picture of Norwell's Sectional Victory. The 20-2 Lady Knights continue to the Peru Regional tomorrow (Saturday 2/19) against Yorktown (16-7) at 10:00am. Go Knights!

Jarrod Parker News

Diamondbacks'  Parker plots full-speed return after Tommy John surgery:

General manager Kevin Towers said Parker will not be held back this spring.

"I think sometimes you can tend to coddle people too long," Towers said. "I mean, this guy's almost two years post-op. He threw very good in instructional ball. he's been working his tail off here in the off season at Chase Field. He's a special pitcher. We're going to do what's right for him, but this guy's chomping at the bit."

Parker's fastball hit 97 mph in workouts last fall. In a two-inning instructional league appearance, he hit 95 mph 10 times, striking out three and walking one without allowing a hit.

"Parker was Arizona's No. 1 pick, the ninth selection overall, in the 2007 draft after going 12-0 with a 0.10 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 70 innings at Norwell High School in Ossian, Indiana. He was selected Indiana's Mr. Baseball on a team that went 35-0 and won the state title."

Free Iran!