So I happen to be re-reading Larry Niven / Jerry Pournelle “Footfall”, and I am struck by this passage:

“…as far as I know, though, Michael is the only quick and dirty way we have to get a battleship into space.”

“Michael?” The President asked.

“Sorry, sir. We’ve already given it a code name. The Archangel Michael cast Satan out of Heaven.”

“Appropriate enough name. However, our immediate problem is to get them out of Kansas…”

Everything costs more and takes longer.

Pournelle

Some good news from USA Today, utilities are starting the process to build twentysix new Nuclear Power plants here in the United States.

A recent Gallup Poll shows a record 59% of Americans favor nuclear energy.

Dr. Pournelle nailed the truth of Nuclear Engergy:

I have to say it again: cheap energy will cause a boom. The only cheap energy I know of is nuclear. Three Hundred Billion bucks in nuclear power will do wonders for the economy. We build 100 1000 MegaWatt nuclear power plants — they will cost no more than 2 billion each and my guess is that the average cost will be closer to 1 billion each (that is the first one costs about 20 billion and the 100th costs about 800 million). The rest of the money goes to prizes and X projects to convert electricity into mobility.

Expanded Nuclear Power is the only practical way to supply the level of electrical power needed to support wide spread use of electric and plug in hybrid electric cars.

Also posted at the Urbin Report.

You know, I need to read some of Jerry Pournelle’s work. The guy has quite the resume, and his speculative fiction looks right up my alley. He also dabbles (OK, more than dabbles) in political discourse, and I respect his ideas quite a bit. Instapundit reminded me of this when he linked to something that Jerry had re-posted — from an early 1980’s preface to a sci-fi anthology. Let me get the “read the whole thing” out of the way — that’s obvious. I’d like to explain why this is so relevant today, and not just through the lens of the Cold War.

Two key paragraphs jump out at me as timeless, and at the same time, very timely. The first:

With the latest CBO projection on the deficit, well, it’s apt. Consider this: under the President’s plan, less and less people will pay any income taxes at all. I know what you’re thinking: a good thing, right? No, it’s not. People who don’t fund the Federal Government’s programs are much more likely to want those programs to grow larger. I mean, why not? It’s self-interest winning over group interest. The percentage of Americans paying zero income taxes (or actually getting a check!) has been steadily rising for a long time. The higher this number goes, the less stable our democracy is. And here’s the second part of Jerry’s post that really hits home:

Sound like anyone you know? Not that our current President on par with any of the 20th century nasties, but cult of personality married to dreams of Utopia is always a dangerous thing. Always.

Hvis du endnu ikke er kommet i gang med at lytte til podcast, så er det på tide. Lyt mens du træner, er på vej på arbejde eller slår græs.

En af de mest kendte tech podcast er This Week In Tech (TWIT) og denne uges episode er et must. Leo Laporte inviterer hver uge nye gæster ind i sit virtuelle studie og debatterer, hvad der er sket siden sidste uge inden for technologi.

Denne uges gæster er Jason Calacanis, Jerry Pournelle og Wil Harris. Specielt Jason Calacanis er enormt inspirerende og har en helt enorm viden og indsigt i startup strategier og om hvad der er hot inden for tech. Man kan mene om ham hvad man vil, men hans bramfri måde at udtale sig på og hans kompromisløse tilgang til business, er bestemt interessant.

Hvis ikke du allerede lytter til TWIT, så er dette en god episode at starte med.

Hvis du hellere vil have et hurtigt overblik gennem en podcast, så vil jeg anbefale at du lytter til CNETs “Buzz Out Loud” . Her får du leveret gårsdagens overskrifter på en sjov og en let fordøjelig måde.

Få Buzz Out Loud i iTunes – ganske gratis

I picked up a copy of Footfall, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Only 50p from our local cancer-based charity shop. That’s a little more than the heart-disease inspired 20p shop down the road, but cancer charities are always a bit flush, and can afford to aim for the more discerning second-hand book buyer.

At 700 pages, I was pretty sure it was great value for money, until I came to this passage:

Ted Griffin was a big man, tall and beefy and built like the football player he’d been. He looked as if he might shout a lot, but in fact he almost never did.

I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed the book so far, but this is clearly one of the worst things that has ever been written. They sure like the word ‘beefy’. Can’t wait until the aliens arrive.