More about grids, solutions which solve nothing (and which nobody really believes in anyway), the South Asian Brown Cloud, and urban leopards. Also a minute or two of confusion at the beginning.
Author: publius
Fools! I will destroy you all!!
A Journey in Other Worlds
Best–selling books written by very wealthy people are usually along the lines of “The Secrets of My Success” ― but this is a space–travel story!
A Romance of the Future
John Jacob Astor IV (1894)
- HNtW 092 (2021–08–13) : Author’s Preface, Book I Chapters I―IV
- HNtW 093 (2021–08–17) : Introduction by SM Stirling for a reprint edition (following the main content of the show, which is Chapter II of The Castle of Otranto)
- HNtW 094 (2021–09–02) Book I, Chapters V―VII
The Castle of Otranto
This is regarded as the first “Gothic novel” of terror and suspense. I had trouble restraining my laughter all through.
Horace Walpole (1764)
- HNtW 091 (2021–08–10) : Author’s Preface and Chapter I
- HNtW 093 (2021–08–17) : Chapter II (plus an introduction to A Journey in Other Worlds, written by SM Stirling)
- HNtW 096 (2021–09–10) : Chapter III ― we are now on even numbers, because of the special episode 95 for the 25th anniversary of aNONradio
For those who wish to follow along at home, the text is available on Project Gutenberg.
ASFO 2021–08–07
An intentional minute of silence to follow some unplanned dead air ; acknowledgements ; things worse than Venezuela ; Man, the animal who (for better or worse) creates his own environment ; Grid is Good.
ASFO 2021–07–31
Venezuela as a macroeconomic example, and the Parting of the Ways.
ASFO 2021–07–24
A restatement of basic principles, including why the Cosmos is the true home of Man ; and how Sesame Street and peanut butter demolish the “Marching Morons” ideology.
ASFO 2021–07–17
More about copper, as well as the development of ancient agricultural civilizations, and what those apparently unrelated things tell us about the concept of “overpopulation” ― also best wishes for Jeff Mezos’ ascent to the Bezosphere, planned for the Glorious 20th of July.
ASFO 2021–07–10
Gold, copper, value added, and the economy of Chile (with a digression into trains) ; the SpaceShip Two concept of operations, and Tim Pickens’ hybrid rocket motor ; the Karmann Line and the definition of “Outer Space” ― no, “explosive decompression” is not a thing spacemen have to worry about, unlike deep–sea divers ; and intellectual blind spots.
ASFO 2021–07–03
Personal spaceflight participants versus passengers ; the concentration of wealth and its consequences (good and bad), an expression of doubt regarding “employers” as a concept ; and the Xinjiang PV sanctions.
ASFO 2021–06–26
Is Brazil hoping that signing the Artemis Accords will get the USA to stop blocking its space program? Is Jeff Bezos going to get a chance to build a lunar lander for NASA? Is space settlement an existential threat to humanity? Is blue-green algae responsible for nuclear power?