Caption: It makes me hungry for beef chowmein.
Identify the Aircraft
1
2
Chinese knock-off of #1
3
4
7,998 were built by Douglas and a further 380 by Boeing.
5
Bullet Points:
** If you’re going to be weird, be confident about it.
** Sagittarius C – (h/t Claudio) Thanks to instruments such as Webb, we can see things we’ve never seen before. Making sense of them in larger contexts is far more challenging.
** Tampon Tim: If you want to understand the dilemma of today’s Democratic Party, look at this comic book called Racial Capitalism and Prison Abolition. Thanks to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, this comic book, or its close equivalent, will soon be required reading for Minnesota’s students. Because Walz has just added an “ethnic studies” strand to his state’s social studies standards, all Minnesota schoolchildren must shortly be exposed to a “discipline” that is essentially a cousin of CRT. As part of their mandatory ethnic-studies training, Minnesota’s students will have to “develop an analysis of racial capitalism,” an abstruse concept created by theorists of “black Marxism.” The idea of “racial capitalism” is breathtakingly radical. It delegitimates America’s free enterprise system, America’s legal system, and even the very belief that there can be such a thing as “crime” under current circumstances. Implicit in the racial capitalism concept — and sometimes explicit — is the belief that America’s unjust system may need to be swept away by a violent rebellion or revolution. It’s all in the comic book.
** Storied and honored Sgt. John Basilone (MOH) did not attend US Marine Corps boot camp. As was common practice pre-war, his prior US Army service sufficed. He first joined the 5th Marines, which was with the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines. As he always told stories of his Philippine times, the other Marines nicknamed him Manila John.
** Can someone explain why the VA employs more people than the active-duty Army?
** How do you know when you’ve found the right woman?
** (zerohedge) The wealthy are leaving Seattle like it’s a leper colony, and all that’s left are millions of broke activists, poverty-stricken residents, and illegal immigrants. Some blame the constant riots or the steady stream of welfare recipients. Others say that the draconian COVID mandates caused people to jump ship. However, a primary factor in businesses (and money) leaving the city was the institution of a progressive “Payroll Expense Tax“. The PET is a quarterly tax approved by the Seattle City Council in 2020 during the COVID hysteria. It increases taxes on businesses depending on how many employees they hire and how much their employees get paid. In other words, it punishes companies that hire more people and pay them a good salary. The conditions of the PET are very similar to what Democrats say they want for their “Wealth Tax” – An extra tax on top earners and large companies beyond the income tax. Democrats were high on their supply in the early 2020s. In their fervor to destroy conservatives, they instituted every suicidal policy imaginable, from defunding police to near-zero prosecution for property theft under $1000. Unsurprisingly, wealth taxes were established simultaneously to “stick it to the capitalists”. What they seem to have forgotten, though, is that communist tactics don’t work if people and businesses can walk away, and that’s precisely what has happened in Seattle.
** What is the point of Title IX if we allow men to compete against women? Why have women’s sports at all if any mediocre male athlete who dyes his hair, puts on a dress, and claims to be a woman is allowed to compete against ACTUAL WOMEN? Why are there no women in the NBA? Why do we have a WNBA? How many women play in the NFL? The whole thing is crazy. I mean, live your life, be who you want to be, but don’t steal titles and scholarships from ACTUAL women. This is an 80% issue: girls and women – half the human race – deserve to be protected from the .05% who don’t know what sex they are and, more importantly, want to impose their mental illness on the rest of society. Do your thing, but when you beat up on women, it’s just not going to fly. Sorry. Seek counseling.
** Federal worker layoffs made up 79% of the 275,240 jobs U.S. employers eliminated in March, a new report shows. The executive placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday that 216,670 of the March job cuts stemmed directly from President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency’s actions to shrink the government’s size. Last month’s job cuts are up 60% from 172,017 in February and 205% from 90,309 in March 2024. It’s the highest number of March job cuts since the firm began tracking in 1989 and the third highest of any month on record.”
** (zero hedge) On Friday, the Supreme Court overruled an activist judge in Boston, allowing the Trump administration to slash $250 million from more than 100 teacher training grants for DEI and other wake programs. In a 5-4 decision nine days after the request, the Supremes sided with the Trump administration’s emergency request to stay the court order by judge Myong J. Joun of the federal District of Massachusetts – who had ordered the Trump administration to “immediately restore” the “pre-existing status quo prior to the termination.” Chief Justice Roberts sided with the three communists. According to the ruling – which is likely to narrow the ability of district courts to halt agency actions involving grant function- Joun lacked authority to order the Trump admin to restore the funding.”
** Economist Steve Moore told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Friday that China is the “real villain” responsible for Friday’s sharp market downturn. “The real villain here is China. And, as you know, the reason the market tanked today is that China tried to retaliate against it. I think that was like an economic declaration of war against the United States,” Moore said. I’ve said it before on the VM blog. The US must quarantine China.
Denmark Reconsiders its Situation
We all know Denmark cannot defend their colony on Greenland from the Russians or the Chinese. We all know (or should know) that Russia and China want Greenland for many reasons, both strategic and commercial. Now that the US is putting pressure on the situation, they want to purchase 21 (small, nearly toothless) ships to defend their strategic interests, including their colonial holdings. I applaud their posture change, but the new grand fleet will be inadequate unless they create the equivalent of a DDGs or FFGs (adapted for arctic conditions). Maybe a blend of both? They had three ice breakers but decommissioned them in 2010. Maybe add half a dozen to the purchase order and arm them appropriately for surface-to-air and surface-to-surface warfare. They also need to develop a marine corps (naval infantry). They had one but disbanded it in 2000. A Marine Corps is only as good as the equipment that it has to deploy in an expeditionary way. Do they have the capacity to recreate this in addition to their new grand fleet?
Denmark has a 150-person force that acts as a commando unit within the Royal Danish Army (Jaeger Corps). For comparison, A standard Marine Corps company typically consists of around 243 Marines, commanded by a captain, and includes three or more platoons. So, the entire Jaeger Corps is the equivalent of a reinforced platoon commanded by a USMC lieutenant.
The Royal Danish Navy has a Frogman Corps of about 100 sailors, established in 1957 and based on the UK’s Special Boat Service. I’m not criticizing the Danes or their service. I’m not discounting the missions that frogmen can undertake in small numbers.
In times of peril, the Danes can call up a Home Guard—a voluntary and unpaid force that responds to national crises and disasters. The Danish Home Guard is headquartered in Vordingborg, Denmark, and comprises 12,800 active volunteers and 30,000 reserve members. I can’t speak to their military readiness level or equipment (TOE).
Denmark maintains approximately 16,000 active-duty personnel, distributed among the Army (8,000), Navy (3,000), Air Force (3,000), and other support units (2,000).
Denmark’s military posture is predicated on support from NATO, a codeword for the United States of America, for its defense and the defense of its colonies on the Faroe Islands and Greenland. If Denmark wants to project power across Arctic seas to Greenland, it needs a credible sealift capacity and must protect its amphibious, expeditionary ships. Denmark has no submarines. It retired its last submarine in 2004. Given the weather conditions in the Arctic, aircraft can’t fly to the pole every day. In addition to 21 ships in the new grand fleet, and the half dozen ice breakers they need to transport their newly formed Marine Corps, they should consider half a dozen or more submarines. We all know there are only two kinds of naval vessels – subs and targets.
What about Anti-Submarine Aircraft (while I’m on the subject)? Denmark has four modified business jets (Canadair 604) that they feel can double in an ASW role. Given that three aircraft equals one in the air, what about twelve P-8 Poisidons to patrol the G-I-UK Gap and defend the Greenland approaches? As of 2024, they lacked ASW torpedoes for their few SH-60 helicopters (which don’t fly in Arctic weather).
Or maybe suggest to the United States of America that they handle Greenland’s defense requirements. The Danes can cocoon themselves and rely on their neighbors to defend them if things go sideways, saving the cost of a grand fleet.
The Propaganda War
The New York Times reported that the European Union is considering levying a $1 billion fine against Elon Musk’s X, alleging that the social media company has violated its law against disinformation and illicit content.
According to the Times, the E.U. would demand that X change its product in addition to the hefty fine. The newspaper cited “four people with knowledge of the plans.”
If the E.U. moves forward, it would be the first fine imposed by the body using its Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA “regulates online intermediaries and platforms … to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. Slandering the Prophet Mohammed is one of those harmful activities – like suggesting that he was a pedophile or a tranny or that his beard was a fake.
If the E.U. does that, Starlink should deny service to Europe, and SpaceX should prohibit European participation in any of its activities. Tesla automobiles are robots on wheels, and their computers can be disabled remotely. About a million are on the road in European countries. The E.U. fears free speech. Its militaries are weak and anemic. Potentially hostile aliens have overrun them. But it’s very woke, and they are bullies.
Long Range Strike
The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) represent key components of the U.S. military’s long-range precision strike inventory. Developed by Lockheed Martin, both missile types share a standard airframe and propulsion system but are optimized for different mission profiles. In March 2025, the U.S. Air Force awarded a $1.93 billion contract modification to Lockheed Martin for additional production of JASSM and LRASM, bringing the total contract value to $5.18 billion. The AGM-158 family enables air-launched strikes against fixed, relocatable, or maritime targets from standoff distances, supporting operations against advanced air defense systems.
OPEC
Brent crude fell below $68 a barrel on Friday — its lowest in over three years — after OPEC+ surprised markets with a larger-than-expected supply hike and the US announced new tariffs. The group said it would restore 411,000 barrels daily in May, nearly triple the planned 137,000. Bloomberg reported that the move was intended to force members producing more than their quotas, primarily Kazakhstan and Iraq, to comply. The twin shocks sent prices tumbling and led analysts to revise their forecasts amid rising supply and potential demand risks. OPEC+ will reassess the market when it meets again on May 5.
Identify the Rifle
A
Parting Shot
(h/t WSF)
End
Leaving the community – our county tax assessor sent notice that our house has now almost doubled in value, and the property tax has been raised considerably. Thinking of selling and moving somewhere closer to the grandkids.
Lee Ho Fook – but is your hair perfect?
Yes (by Jove), my hair is perfect, and I wear sunglasses at night because the sun shines wherever I am. I think I’ll head to Trader Vic’s and get a pina colada because the sun is over the yardarm somewhere on the planet.
.
Ideally, as we (including myself in this) get older, you need a one-story place convenient to children and healthcare. Children have a habit of moving for work or other considerations…
I’d like to meet your tailor!
Completely agree, as I wait on back surgery…sigh
Tell them to cut straight. Better if the surgeon isn’t coming down from a three day bender when he/she/they operate.
I don’t know if you can appeal your county taxes, but if you can, do it. It gives you the opportunity to stare the bureaucrats that live on your money in the the eyes…if they don’t refuse to do so because of their shifty nature. From my experience, they have little idea of how much of a burden they place on property owners, and do what they’re told. When confronted, they have all types of excuses, computer programs, and an unwillingness to back down. They may not give you all the relief you want, but you may find you can negotiate with them down to a tolerable level.
Warren Zevon’s voice is gonna be stuck in my head all day now..thanks a lot.
Another thought – it would be nice if the county had to cough up the difference between their evaluation and what the house actually sells for :)
Yeah, exactly…excellent idea. But that would require leverage by WTP, except for that tiny detail that ‘The They’ believe residents rent from them all bets are off on such a concept. Colorado’s TABOR was half this year over last year due to some Democrat held Statehouse smoke-n-mirrors finagling. Time to eliminate Property taxes…nothing but theft by tax. (Haven’t gotten a response to my Assessor’s office ‘poke the dog’ inquiry…never will as a Peon SubClass 2.)
Right now, getting closer than the current 12 hour drive to the grandkids means more to us. As a plus, we can look for a ranch style house that would cost much less, and be taxed much less, and without the stairs obstacle course that’s becoming more of an issue. Right now looking at places a couple hours drive south of KC.
A 12 hour trip is just too far, Frank.
Used to be able to knock it off in one day. Now I need to stop a couple of times for sleep.
My rule of thumb if I’m by myself and we’re not driving in shifts is a nine hour drive-then I get a room. Presuming that there is a room to be had then. I could push it longer but I’d rather not. Maybe 8 and 4 if I was driving 12 by myself. The last time I visited LSP in Texas, I drove the 24 hours home only stopping for gas, no sleep. And it wasn’t healthy.
There are states, like Florida, that have a homestead exemption (removes a fixed amount from the value of the property) and rules not allowing radical increases, only percentage increases yearly until the taxed value equals the appraised value.
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Any other way is just true robbery.
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Governor DeSantis is looking into getting rid of FL’s property tax system completely.
Nevada had gambling pay the taxes (the wages of sin subsidized the State). Hefty bed taxes and “tourist taxes” keep the Silver State running, but Nevada constantly complains of the need for a state income tax and a corporate tax, which it doesn’t have. Nevada levies a state gross receipts tax with a 6.85 percent state sales tax rate and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 8.24 percent. Nevada has a 0.44 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
.
Wyoming has traditionally had the oil industry carry the load. Its state sales tax rate is 4.00 percent, and the average combined state and local sales tax rate is 5.44 percent. Wyoming also has a 0.55 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
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If Florida eliminates property taxes, who will do the heavy lifting?
Cargo ports picking up California’s forced slack, make the run around to Florida instead of sitting off shore for months waiting to get a slot to offload only to have no “compliant” semi’s to transport the Conex containers inland for unloading.
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Eurofighter Typhoon
2. Chengdu J-10 Firebird
3. Sukhoi Su-57 Felon
4. Douglas A-20 Havoc
5. Supermarine Spitfire, perhaps a Mk Vb
Yes! Well done. Care to take a stab at the rifle the partisan is carrying?
that does not look like a Spit to me. More like a P40.
Identify the Rifle:
PPSh-41
No.
.
It’s at a difficult angle to ID – Mitra MAB M38A42
Doubt if I would have gotten that. My storage is almost solely aircraft, armor and ship info.
Those Yugoslav Partisan women make it so hard!
I was thinking that too, but it didn’t look quite right.
My guess on what the young lady is carrying is the Beretta m38a. The earliest version had the folding bayonet as this seems to have. I wonder what pistol she’s carrying?
Beretta M-34, .380 ACP
They make for a nice pair.
Small point of order, L-L: “Chief Justice Roberts sided with the OTHER three communists.” There. Fixed it for ya.
X2
Of course, WWW. It was a slip of my keyboard. Mia Culpa! Robert hasn’t been happy since Epstein shut down his island.
My guess is that if China wanted Greenland, they’d have it. The population of Greenland is like 60,000 people, and Denmark’s is 100 times that, 6 million – plus Denmark’s military is around 30,000, by your numbers. It would be messy for China and the world might start insisting they don’t want to buy from China anymore, but (IMO) China simply loses more people in a year by bad counting or bad policy than the entire Danish military.
China most definitely wants Greenland. I have exclusive knowledge of that, and they want to mine uranium there (currently a ban). Sending a military expedition from the worker’s paradise and supporting them in the field would be a bridge too far for the termites, but they haven’t given up on taking the island by ‘peaceful means’ – One Road and all that. It’s closer to Russia, but they were diminished by the Ukraine war, no matter how hard they push the propaganda. on that one. The point is that Denmark has allowed their military to rot, particularly their navy.
Plus the Chinese want pork and fish, which the Danes have in abundance, unlike their military gear.
I flipped over to the actual text of the Commie Comic. Same, demonstrably false “Labor Theory of Value” that is the core of Marxism. It was wrong when he came up with it and is still just as wrong today. They just slathered a layer of environmental hysteria and racial grievance over the Marxist core and congratulated themselves for being ever so enlightened.
Comic book required reading.
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“the very belief that there can be such a thing as “crime” under current circumstances. Implicit in the racial capitalism concept — and sometimes explicit — is the belief that America’s unjust system may need to be swept away by a violent rebellion or revolution.”
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Forcing a belief is far different than 1A.
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What ” educators” are doing and trying to instigate IMHO are criminal and worthy of attributable punishment.
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” the chief minister of India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh announced plans to impose the death penalty on those convicted “of forced or fraudulent religious conversions.”
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“International Women’s Day on March 8, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav equated such conversions with child molestation, adding that “both crimes warrant the imposition of capital punishment.”
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The 2% Christian population in India has concerns. “Militant groups have stirred up violent mob attacks against Christians, falsely claiming that the believers were involved in bribery and other ways of tricking people into converting,”
Sources; VOMC and Worthy News
👍
Comic book. Didn’t Tampon Tim require one by Tai Neshi Coates? How racist! And forgotten.
Denmark needs to decolonize. Surely Europe agrees with decolonization.
Colonization is always good if it’s YOUR colony. It’s terrible if it’s somebody else’s. It’s like China asserting that only Imperialists have navies—then they built a big navy, saying that it’s okay for communists to have navies but nobody else. Everything they spout reminds me of an Animal Farm slogan. You’d think that they’d tire of the same old rhetoric, but it’s all they have. The Chinese copy other people’s stuff and call it their own.
Iceland managed to decolonize.
Iceland is a completely different issue, but yes they did.
Well, they do have all those nice volcanoes to toss the trash into, so to speak.
Be careful of the Red Mist tho…suck you right into an alternative reality.
I was just wondering that when you started off today with Planes. They even copied clock technology back in the 1700’s. Do you know of anything healthy or inventive, efficiency, ect… that a body could appreciate from their culture(s) past or present? Robotic termite tunnels clear to Greenland?
Greenland can be developed as you point out, largely though the use of advanced robotics. I think that once excavated, Greenland can be exploited from the inside out. Think of it as practice for developing other planets and moons.
The Boring Company.
Yes, The Boring Company.
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Musk is doing things here on Earth in order to set up what he wants to do on the Moon and on Mars and other places.
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Cheap but good tunneling is a viable method to go from one deposit to another.
“Do you know of anything […] that a body could appreciate from their culture”
—
Ai ya! Always with the anti-Sinotism. ☹️ Thirty million dead in the Great Leap Forward is how much the Chinese have suffered. And (say it with me) For No Reason At All. Plus, be careful, because if you say 29,999,999 then that’s GLF revisionism 😡. Not yet a felony. But IT WILL BE.
—
Also: 1) the Chinese invented gun powder; 2) Americans are known for having robust gun culture. Therefore, from now on alla y’all are required to say “Sino-American gun culture”. Those who support 2A must say “our Sino-American values”.
I’ll start referring to the Second Amendment as the Sino-American Amendment at your suggestion…
Except back then, the Chinese didn’t use clocks the way Europeans did at the time (and vastly expanded upon later). They were merely toys to be admired, not also as tools to be used.
Larry, your hot link for Sagittarius C was not working…
Here is the link I found on the interWebby thingy:
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-sagittarius-webb-closet-milky-extreme.html
Thanks, MSG Grumpy
Thank you, MSG.
Excellent Danish military review. Times are changing and they need to adapt or have a problem. This: “Or maybe suggest to the United States of America that they handle Greenland’s defense requirements.” Excellent mid-steam compromise….send this outline to King [Kong] Frederick, he could quickly gain a partial “win” for Denmark and Greenland while looking strong for the Danes in his first year.
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Incidentally, MrsPaulM’s mother sat next to Denmark’s Consul General last year at a Danish Home (Chicago) event, she related that he mentioned they were quite concerned (polite company term) with China. Last year. Hasn’t gotten any better. Point being, with your interim suggestion, PDJT has leverage to make your proposed deal a reality.
***
VA v. Army personnel: Same question – anymore – with School Board’s and Teachers v. Parents….bureaucracy, like many corporate structures, metastasize to become top heavy, which become self protective in maintaining under the argument “it’s needed” whereas prior a lean shop…un-bloated…ran efficiently. DOGE is an excellent – albeit common sense – concept being employed by Musk to ‘X’ the government “Twitter” bloat. Think of it as a typical Everest Expedition, two types; full blown huge basecamp for paying customers, with 100 Sherpas to do all the work – or – a Reinhold Messner ‘alpine’ lean approach with one Sherpa, hardly knew he was there. I have always been in the latter camp, not a ‘joiner’.
***
ID the weapon: Have no idea, but the tan, sundress, and sandals…marrying material right there.
If you want colonies, you must commit to their defense. Defaulting to NATO is insufficient while you spend your GDP on social welfare. The alternative is to turn their defense over to the US. At the moment, Denmark subsidizes Greenland. The US plan is to industrialize Greenland more completely so they pay their way. It will bring more prosperity, security, and Denmark can allow the Swedes, Fins, Norwegians, Dutch and Germans defend their sovereignty.
Agreed…gotta have or be forced to have skin in the game of ones sovereignty and protection. Under PDJT this would be a good deal, assuming the limp d—k R’s decide to get their act together and actually codify something instead of talking all day about nothing.
The Danes are failed Vikings. They can either step up to the plate or be sidelined (sort like Belgium) as insignificant.
Shortened old joke re: Dane-Swede mutual [humorous] disdain:
– Swedish King seeing a Dane across the channel standing on a hill taunting them, “Send some of the army over there and take care of that!”
– ONE Swede soldier crawls back all beaten up and bloody.
– King: what happened, where’s my men?”
– “They’re all dead sir and I barely escaped!”
– King: “How could this be possible?!
– “Sir, we were ambushed…there were TWO of them.”
Not the least in not having the military might to follow through, they don’t have the public might. The Danish people are basically “Meh” over Greenland.
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And quite truthfully, Denmark has not treated Greenland and Greenlanders well at all. Not that the ChiComs would, either.
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Time, past time, to make Greenland great again. Truthfully it should have been ceeded to us during and after WWII for saving Denmark’s butt and all the ‘aid’ (re: tax money and blood and sweat and tears) we sent to them.
The Danish national pride has been piqued. I don’t think that President Trump gives a fig for Danish Pride. They could make Denmark Viking again, but I don’t think there’s much of an appetite for that. I have a friend who lives there (expat married to a Dane) who has a foot on both continents and struggles somewhat.
For me it’s simple: Their power outlets, ligth switches, and doorknobs are weird…a hard no, but nice to visit, reminds me of where I grew up, Bucks County, PA, only surrounded by water…and Swedes…danged Swedes, driving over for cheap liquor. (heh)
I find it amusing when an American contends Putin was not legitimately elected ( with zero evidence) after I lived through the antics of the last three presidential elections in the disunited states. American exceptionalism needs to see the beam in it’s own eye.
Luther’s Turd
Putin remains popular in Russia despite the narrative in the mainstream media which lies about everything else. Imagine honest news…?
totally off-topic
perhaps sometime within the next fifty years (I’d like to be around to see it) we’ll be able to stop wasting “nuclear power” to boil water to turn turbines to move the US Navy
https://physicsworld.com/a/photovoltaic-battery-runs-on-nuclear-waste/
just a thought
Most navy ships burn navy distillate (jet fuel) that burns and turns gas turbines. Submarines need to travel long distances submerged silently and quickly. I’m not aware of a power alternative to some sort of nuclear reactor (light water, heavy water, liquid sodium, etc.). Littoral SSN boats that typically travel shorter distances and don’t need to submerge for six months have other propulsion options.
Aircraft carriers require a lot of sustained power. Their jets burn navy distillate so they carry petroleum fuel too.
What is the efficiency of a nuclear powered steam generator?
I read 45% at best.
Fusion energy is the answer but reliable containment is elusive.
You still have to get useful power out of a fusion system. And since no functional fusion system has been created, well…
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Even 45% efficiency, attainable by modern plants (not the 2nd or 3rd generation systems we’re stuck with because nukes are bad…) is still a massive amount of power considering the scale we are talking about.
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In comparison, a typical coal plant is 33-42% efficient. A gas plant, depending on what type and what load is on it, go from around 30-60%, though a lot of the same factors that increase the efficiency of the more modern and efficient gas plants can be transferred to modern nuke plants and we’d see a bigger efficiency factor (a nuke just runs a steam turbine, not a gas turbine.)
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All power plants are potentially inefficient. The actual power is very efficient, it’s transferring the energy from X to transmission is where the major loss of efficiency. Fix that transfer issue and you’ll increase the efficiency of any power system.
V.A.
Had a recent visit for a blood test. Big change in attitude; positive. To the last man and woman, they were friendly and eager to help. Last year, stood at the same counter, and was ignored for nearly five minutes.
👍
X2…winning is good.
You mean putting the fear of God into employees who can suddenly be fired for inefficiency actually works? Whoda thunk?
I’ve always believed the Americans and Russians have far more in common than America does with most of its “friends”. On the other hand, Americans aren’t even friends with themselves. Which foreign powers will side with which Americans in the coming “red vs blue” war? (or US vs EU war?)
Not that I’m cynical or anything …
Spoiler for Kratman/Watson/Ezell’s alt history wherein some of the Romanovs survive:
—
“The Russian people are very like you Americans, you know. We are each a strong, proud people inextricably linked to our vast nations, with all of their diverse regions and resources. We are a people who value strength and laugh defiantly in the face of death.”
-Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova addressing the Joint Congress of the United States.
—
I don’t know how much we have in common with the Rooskie on the street. But I AM pretty sure he doesn’t call me a subhuman animal-that-speaks who was put on earth by G-d for the sole purpose of serving Rooskies.
The Russians I have known who live in Russia are almost always depressed. The pretty women in Russia are mainly concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It’s where the money and power are concentrated, so there you go.
That chick eating the steak…..my kind of woman!
She’s a keeper.
Scary.
It was a red flag clue…she-devil hiding in plain sight…Ruuunnn!
Attractive red devil.
I’m just gonna hang around and talk to her….
…at least thru dessert, anything less would be sacrilege. Besides, it’s a public place, what could possibly go wrong after the flaming molten chocolate cake has been shared?
Incidentally, the answer differentials prove that all men are not created equal, at least in the risk-reward department…better than a Meyer-Briggs or Inkblot test…and quicker.
I was waiting for the beef juice and condiment drip into that almost nonexistent cleavage…
She’s hungry. At least you know what makes her happy, and I’ll bet she’ll answer you right off when you ask her where she wants to go for dinner.
She could at least show us her knife skills.
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And not having table manners in public is a no-no. Basic table manners and proper use of cutlery is a needful thing.
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What impresses me, though, is stick-girl is willing to actually eat her own damned steak, rather than ordering a mini-salad and then eating half your steak and most of your fries.
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Still, not in public, babe. Not in public.
She has poor impulse control, Beans, which can be an asset in some circumstances.
The US must quarantine China.
What if we take control of the Straits of Hormuz? Partner with the U.A.E. Stop China bound oil?
Hammer the Beards at the same time?
That would require the good ‘Beards’ siding with us and actually not stabbing us in the back by funding terrorist organizations. That would require a commitment on other nations to support a total blockade, which would require them also having ships in the game, and what nations can do that now? Nobody but the US has the navy possible, and we don’t have the navy capable of doing it and taking care of all our other interests like, oh, say, protecting the Pacific.
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Seriously, even the US Navy doesn’t have the ships to hold a multi-front war. Even with the backing of the US Air Force and other services, we sent a lot of our stores of munitions over to the Ukraine.
You are, of course, correct. I just put that out to stir a little shit, as I’m known to do.
You and PDJT…stirring is good, so is poking the yippy dog at will.
This is a great post, not least because of the restaurant header photo. The place is gone, sadly, and Gerrard Street is worse without it. Still, last I looked, Trader Vic’s is still open for business. So’s the STAFFORD off St. James, which used to be brilliant and awesome but’s now rubbish. My call? To have civilized old school fun in London you’ve got to go clubbing. More on that anon.