TWO DOLLARS and eighty cents may not seem like much, but it has a greater signficance. Also, continuing advances in the price of Diesel fuel lead me to suggest that, while the combination of railway electrification and nuclear electricity is not a blanket solution to the problems of the world at the present day, it at least promises to make things better, being therefore a far better expenditure of money, materials, and effort than blowing people up.
Tag: a step farther out
(No) ASFO 2026–09–05
With aNONradio not functioning today, I have no show to offer you. Apologies for the disappointment.
ASFO 2026–08–29
Bill Nye the Science Guy™ caught in a lie? A Space Academy? A hinge–point in history? Also, progress I have made, reasons why progress is slower than I am happy with, the high cost of nuclear energy conferences and reasons why there is nothing similar to the ISDC, and advice on not getting shot.
ASFO 2026–08–22
Generative AI is not something I intend to devote much time and attention to, but I thought it worth while to consider in the light of an obstacle to electrification and energy transition, which implies asking what we are being offered for the cost. Not much, so far as I can see. Also you will hear a bit about printing and postage, in the context of my current activities.
ASFO 2026–08–15
The European water crisis continues to expand. While Central Europe is noteworthy for its heavily–populated inland regions, which can see no direct benefit from seawater desalting or seawater–cooled power stations, some of the areas of the continent most heavily affected can and should look to the sea. Also, an interesting look at the “tourist” streetcar line in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a note about the Peruvian mango harvest, and Mail Call!
ASFO 2026–08–08
Falling water levels in the Rhine and Danube systems : do they mean disaster for nuclear power in Europe? No (regardless of what Deutsche Welle might imply), but it’s not good news for thermal power plants of any kind, much less hydropower, and as a result, for European power grids generally. Also, more about my exploratory forays into medallic art.
ASFO 2026–08–01
JAMAICA is the third–busiest railway station in New York City, and the fourth–busiest in North America (after Toronto Union Station, but ahead of Chicago Union Station) as these things are measured. And yet, if you don’t live in NYC, you probably have never heard of it. After all, it’s in Brooklyn, and virtually all its traffic is to points on Long Island. If the United States were to emphasize long–distance passenger rail services over air services and driving, a re–routing of Northeast Corridor trains might make Jamaica a station of more than local importance.
ASFO 2026–07–25
MID–ATLANTIC, on my way from Southampton to New York. Despite heat waves in Northern Europe, the weather is foggy, rainy, and more than a trifle chilly.
ASFO 2026–07–18
HAMBURG, one day prior to boarding the Queen Mary for a nine–day trip across the Atlantic to New York City, and not coincidentally, the expiry date of my Eurail Pass. Once I come ashore, it will be another week before I am back in Texas.
ASFO 2026–07–11
FAREWELL to Munich? Trying to understand car ownership in Germany, and the continuing failure of the Bundes Ministerium to deal with successive oil crises, through the lens of on–street parking ; the incompatibility of austerity drives with AI hype, and the perennial question of why or how things which are bad for people in general should be good for business ; a misleading announcement about a “nuclear–powered commercial satellite”, which leads me into an explanation of a technology known as betavoltaics ; and a discussion of my medallic art projects.