Sierra UAV, Folate, Hoki Hokum

Sierra UAV

The Science Instrumentation Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) is a medium class, medium duration UAS originally designed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Researchers at the NASA Ames Research Center developed a partnership with NRL to evaluate the utility of this class of aircraft to the NASA earth science community. The relatively large payload (~100lbs) coupled with a significant range (500 miles) and small size (20ft wingspan) makes it an attractive observational platform that complements the current suite of modified NASA science aircraft. This UAS conducts very low altitude missions for tropospheric chemistry sampling and remote area urveys such as arctic ice reconnaissance

- this looks rather like the Aerosonde UAV that was designed(?) in Australia. That had a longer range(!) it flew across the Atlantic
The Aus govt thought it wasnt macho enough for spying on Indonesia et al, so they opted for much bigger 'predator' style uavs. - donr know if they actually bought any. I guess the USA bought up the small UAV
- the Aus Govt web site for the 'Aerosonde' is now deleted.

... I expect Hezbollah to fly a bunch of these into a Tel Aviv football stadium some day soon. Maybe they could release some powder that would pass the UV Anthrax test of the Ceeker™ - a handheld detector designed by New Zealand-based company Veritide Ltd. That would cause a big laugh.
....Apparently the NZ govt hasnt bought any Ceekers, despite the fact that the Taxation dept has a "Powder room" where they put letters containing suspicious white powders. I had no idea that sending white powder through the mail had become so popular, since Yoo & Cheney pioneered the idea in Dec 2001 - of course they used actual military grade anthrax spores, which killed a few mail clerks and put the frighteners on a couple of Senators who were thinking about opposing the "Patriot Act"


nasa



bbc


PS:
rising-hegemon
chasers punk John Yoo

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Folate Supplements

"There is no evidence that supplements of any type reduce cancer risk, and increasing evidence that they may increase the risk for some cancers in some people," said Kristal, who is a professor of epidemiology and associate director of the cancer prevention program at Fred Hutchinson. "The only exception is calcium for recurrence of colorectal polyps , where there is solid evidence that calcium can reduce risk."

I hope that Quickease counts as calcium...
"folate pills may be increase Prostate cancer risk" - but note this is in the USA where bread is already fortified
But 10-year study also showed having enough folate in diet might offer protection...
And as my old man the doctor said.... every man over 70 has prostate cancer...
eating fish or other sources of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may decrease a man's risk of being diagnosed with more advanced prostate cancer.
The entire epidemological testing of supplements, asking a bunch of old guys to take, or not, for 10 years seems sus. I tend to act on biochemistry [Vit A may actually be bad for smokers but...]

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Mandrax Mansion
The real(sic)estate section of the nyt features a "mansion" in St Mary's Bay Auckland which has an asking price of NZ$2.2M (dream on!)
...This looks suspiciously like "Mandrax Mansion" , a run down (in 1972) wooden pile where Hello Sailor introduced "Gutter Black" - which is now the theme of "Outrageous Fortune" a rather unusually good TV series.
Sheer luck that the song turned out so well - believe me, I was there... Hello Sailor werent that good. Mostly they tried to do a Reggae beat, which in this one rare instance turned into a shambolic minor gem. Otherwise it was "Sweet Jane" again and again, fueled by Mr Asia early imports.
In those days you could fill a talcum powder tin in Thailand with pure #4 heroin, add a covering letter "happy birthday" and mail it to yourself. Not that Graham B himself did that... Im just saying it was possible.
nytimes


Actually not the same place?
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Hoki Hokum
hoki are bottom trawled, hence not sustaimable??

..Upmarket grocery chain Waitrose has refused to stock New Zealand hoki because the "destructive" method of bottom trawling did not fit with its sustainable suppliers programme....
New Zealand orange roughy was already not accepted by a variety of retailers in Europe and North America because of non-sustainable fishing practices....

Maybe I need to reconsider my enthusiasm for Hoki fishing, which was based on a good word from a chap from MinAgFish
How bad is the seabed damage? to 8% of NZs zone? Worse than the damage to forests caused by wheatfields?
nzherald
stuff

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Mothers Pension Domestic Purposes Benefit

The domestic purposes benefit should be axed to discourage young women from getting pregnant, a Business Roundtable paper on Maori and welfare argues.

dpb cuts so as to cut pregnancies? Abortion rights cut so as to increase pregnancies?
As the developed world, with educated women, proceeds towards negative population growth...
A prediction: Lots of frantic confusion will arise - reactionary forces will swing wildly - see contradictory policies above.
The obvious answer to population growth is to allow immigration, but that presses another reactionary button...
they like immigration as it lowers wages demands, but they like even more to ride racist attitudes amongst the proles
Basic principle: Fewer hilux consumers are essential
If rich people want babies, they could 1) steal babies by stealing them from poor people in the tropics or 2) bring in families and become godparents - the immigrant parents might become maids and gardeners?

the DPB was radical. in the 1970s in NZ heaps of young women were scurrying about, hiding their boyfriend's clothes, when the welfare dept inspectors popped in to ensure they werent in a couple.

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Climate:
The oil-crash, aka Olduvai die-off will likely trump climate change. The best response is to concentrate on efficiency, particularly oil efficiency.

Less emphasis on animal-methane and trees? But keep a sharp eye on coal.
Amery Lovins "Factor 4" is a good read on efficiency... theres a lot to be gained by designn of pumps, ducts, electric motors and insulation.
Transport has some easy fixes: 1) 30kph traffic speeds... this will allow lightweight bubble cars in towns. Existing cars could be re-chipped to run on 2 cylinders.
Lovins is big on lightweight cars, but he wants to keep that 100kph speed. Where does that come from? It appears to be the highest speed that we can achieve for a tolerabel death rate.
....Traffic death rate in the 70s was around 200 per million. Since then belts, airbags, breathtests ,crushzones and better brakes have cut the death rate to 90 per million
Also helicopter transfer to hospitals with better surgery procesured have switched many deaths to injuries.
....There is no absolute natural right to drive at 100kph. Its just that at 180kph theres heaps more petrol used and heaps more injury crashes. "heaps" is a value-laden term. We feel sort of in control at 100kph.
Meanwhile society is transformed into a racetrack.
30kph could be achieved with existing vehicles
Bus lanes also work with little investment. The idea is to put actual physical walls on motorways, to enforce the lanes.
- see George Monbiot for his ideas on fast busses.

Can industrial society avoid the crash long enough to build wind turbines, bulldoze some terraces and storage ponds? Can it survive long enough to invent cheap PV and batteries?

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60th anniversary of Wellington Trolleybusses

How I went to school...
c/o poneke
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Mercedes hybrid S-Class..
"The powerhouse comes in the well known V6 petrol engine combined with a compact hybrid module that grinds out 299 HP, punched with a maximum torque of 385 Newton meters"
pointless greenwash

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The coupistas have expelled the Venezuelan embassy. Update3: The Venezuelan diplomats have refused to leave! They say that they don’t recognize the coupistas as a government. This amounts to daring the coupistas to roust them from the embassy. If the coupistas did roust them, it would technically be an act of war.

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dailymail

Everest 1991 kodachrome
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