Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - March 3rd

The news around the Orange Menace has not been good on any front.  There's very little we can say is going well at present, and yet MAGA defends him on pretty much everything, for reasons that make even less sense.

It feels like every day, there's a new series of questions, constitutional violations, laws broken,  illegal military action, corruption, coverups, and on and on.  It's a lot.

But underlying all of that is the continual grift.  I would argue that almost everything he is doing is for personal financial gain. 

I don't believe anyone would question that he's profited from his time in office. I've seen Senators, Congress People, former government officials (employed and elected) all stand up and detail out who is giving him money for access, for the sale of secrets, or just abusing the system by their donation.

And we hear crickets in response. Because who cares about the emoluments clause? 

Also known as the Title of Nobility Clause, Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits any person holding a government office from accepting any present, emolument, office, or title from any "King, Prince, or foreign State," without congressional consent. This clause is meant to prevent external influence and corruption of American officers by foreign States. A similar provision was included in the Articles of Confederation, applicable to both federal and state officers. The language of the modern clause, however, suggests that only federal government officials are prohibited from accepting any emoluments.


Which brings me to what now appears to be a quaint moment in history, around 50 years ago, when Richard Nixon stood in front of a group of reporters (at Disney world's Contemporary hotel by the way) and exclaimed that he was not a crook.  My how times have changed.…


And the short video of his quote:

===

Russian Scientists Build Plasma Engine That Could Reach Mars in 30 Days, Leaving Spacex's Starship Looking Obsolete


Here's a bit of an innovation in space travel. A new type of engine that could propel us faster in the vacuum of space. 

The system, which uses electromagnetic fields to accelerate hydrogen particles, represents a departure from conventional chemical propulsion. If it performs as projected, it may significantly shift interplanetary mission planning across both civil and defense sectors.



It's a photovoltaic milestone since 1839 — Canada develops bioluminescent "living" cells that work even on cloudy days


In the advancement of solar cells, here's an approach that takes its cues from 19th century research. 

Essentially, scientists have created a photovoltaic that uses organic matter to increase the output, and it can be used to collect energy even when "the sun isn't out" (ie hiding in the clouds) 

It's a pretty remarkable feat that could further increase the efficiency, and availability, of solar power. 




Why Scientists Are Rethinking 60 Years of Arctic Snow Data


Science is kind of awesome in that we keep updating what we know and adjusting theories accordingly. 

And while this might be hard to fit in to what (we think) we know, it's interesting to see that we probably need to look at the data we collected a little differently. 

Remember that the method for data collection was what we might call "suspect" until fairly recently. 

And I remain confident that at some point, we'll understand just what the data is really telling us.



The Walt Disney Company Hit with Record Fine by California DOJ - WDW News Today


This news item caught my attention at least in part because the state of California is doing what the federal government is derelict in doing: holding large companies responsible for acting as they should. 

Disney said that consumers could opt out of marketing, but then proceeded to sell information anyway. 

So Disney must pay a fine and change that practice. 

I'll take any small wins. 

And Disney -maybe- will do more to treat customers "right" and -again maybe- be a leader in the industry. 



Dutch students unveil an electric car you can diagnose and repair yourself | Euronews


This is cool. The students found a simple way to interface with an electric car via USB, in order to get diagnostic information about what's going on, and provide a visual for how to repair what might be wrong. 

Car companies are unlikely to implement something like this. But I like the idea, and surely there will be some after-market solutions in the future. 



Engineering at its finest!


Back in 1929, Bell telephone purchased an 8 story building to use as its headquarters in Indianapolis.  But, they wanted to make a central part of a planned campus and needed to move the building about 50 feet over and rotate it on the property. 

And they did just that over the course of several months, with jacks and hoists - while the building was occupied by employees of the phone company. 

This article from 1931 gets into the …. Nuts and bolts? Of it all.



Bonus: Nikola Tesla was an inventor very much ahead of his time. His scientific endeavors continue to astound today.

But many of his prolific works were stolen. Amazingly (even for his time) he took it in stride. At some point he said:

"I Don't Care That They Stole My Idea… I Care That They Don't Have Any Of Their Own."

It's a refreshing point of view, and reminds us that very few people see the world this way - for most, its always about some bottom line.  (And sadly, that may be part of the reason Tesla had his career ruined).

Bitchin' Dave's newsletter is published weekly.  Please feel free to forward it around. If you want to subscribe or unsubscribe, send an email to geezergamer92@gmail.com

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