The question above suggests that the suspect, at least at some point, beat his wife.

The question posed at left implies that Biden has an “anti-gun” agenda.  Note that the “poll” is organized by people who assert that concealed carry saves lives, as if this goes without saying.

In any case, between 80% and 90% of all Americans (depending on how the questions are phrased) approve of what the Biden administration is trying to accomplish re: guns.

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Here’s a piece on a subject we haven’t talked too much about recently: energy storage.  In this case, it’s analogous to pumped hydro (see left) or advanced rail energy storage, both of which take off-peak energy and use it to raise a mass against the force of gravity, increasing its potential energy.  Then when needed, the mass can be allowed to fall, transferring that energy into electricity.

This guy proposes to install systems like these in abandoned oil wells, making use of the fact that the holes in the Earth’s surface have already been dug.

Is this a big deal?  I doubt it.

Yes, energy storage of this type requires elevation change, and thus cannot be sited in places like Kansas.  Yet this technology, which comes from Newton (ca. 1660) and Faraday (ca. 1830) doesn’t appear to hold much promise in a world in which battery technology is improving every day.

Btw, the piece linked above is called “Batteries that run on gravity.”  I don’t know whether this is an innocent mistake or a deliberately misleading attempt to explain the concept, but it’s incorrect.  Obviously, it doesn’t invoke batteries (electrochecmical storage) of any kind. But more to the point, it doesn’t “run on gravity.”  There is no energy in gravity; it’s rather a force, and moving objects around in a force field either requires external energy or releases energy, according to whether the objects are moved opposing or in the direction of the force.

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As our educational system continues to fall into an abyss, more and more Americans lack a basic understanding of science, and thus accept ideas like this as perfectly feasible.

Where does the energy come from? The roots of the plants on which you set up the system?

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Remind me to stay far away from this guy’s house.

The sad/funny part of this: If his house is burning down, the government fire department will be there as soon as humanly possible to extinguish the blaze.

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At left is something that I hope you will find to be worth your time.

The problem is the common Republican is completely unaware that he’s sold anything.

He sees what’s happened since Trump was elected as perfectly honorable.

This dichotomy is where the current-day United States comes crashing down into so much rubble.

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At left is the clock tower of the William Penn Charter School, founded in Philadelphia in 1689. Tomorrow I’ll be traveling back there for my 50th reunion.

Over the last 334 years, William Penn and the Quaker heritage has had a profound influence on each of the members of its student body, by means of an education built on principles of nonviolence, honesty, racial equality, brotherly love, and respect for the natural environment.

Some say that progressives’ brains are hard-wired to care about these ideals.  The old “nature vs. nurture” argument has been a part of science and Western philosophy for the last 2500+ years.

I can’t cast the deciding vote, but I can tell you that nurture, having been imbued with these values in my K – 12 years, has shaped me into a better person.

 

 

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Kathi Horton sent the meme here and adds, “Yet another reason not to go EV at this point – they really haven’t thought through all the impacts of this technology.”

Actually, “they” have a pretty good grasp on this, but you don’t.

EV charging, where it’s not offered for free, is priced according to the energy used, i.e., dollars / KWh. In California, the cost to the user in a commercial (for-profit) setting is typically $0.30 / KWh for Level 2 charging.  A typical EV with a 100 KWh battery goes 340 miles, meaning the cost is 8.8 cents per mile.

Again, this is a worst-case scenario; most charging is either done at home, at much lower rates, or is provided gratis.

Think of the context in which Marcus Aurelius said these words 1900 years ago.

There was no social media, no QAnon, no cults built around the rejection of science.

Yes, I’m sure there were “bulls*** artists,” but they didn’t represent a threat to the entire society of Rome.

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Exactly who actively participated in the attempt to overthrow the U.S. government remains to be seen, but this guy is 100% correct that these efforts have not stopped.

First, we need each one of these traitors to face justice, and then we need legislation that eliminates all forms of voter suppression.

 

 

 

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Here are people whose platform reads as follows:

There is a revolution of light that is breaking forth out of the heart of our nation and it’s overtaking the darkness! There is a divine shift taking place RIGHT NOW! We are living in the midst of the beginning of a Great Awakening!
God has established a purpose and a plan for us and for the nations! God needs US to be HIS hands and HIS feet here on earth to STAND IN FAITH against those who seek to spread the lies of the enemy!
Join hands with fellow believers and SIGN THE DECREE to STAND IN FAITH!
• STAND IN FAITH that righteousness, truth, and justice shall reign in this land!
• STAND IN FAITH that no weapon formed against God’s people shall prosper!
• STAND IN FAITH believing that the best is yet to come for the United States of America!
God is not done with this nation, and neither are we. The best is yet to come!
And guess what?  They need your money!
I’m reminded of the late, great social critic George Carlin who said, “God is all-knowing and all-powerful, but He just happens to have trouble handling His money!
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