Tag: weekly post

ASFO 2024–09–07

The triumphant (?) return to Earth of the Boeing CST–100 “Starliner” ; a long discussion of British energy policy and the implications of the “Contract for Difference” mechanism ; and benefits afforded to my Patreon supporters, in the form of postcards from unusual and even unique post offices. All while I eat an ice–cream cone!

Supplementary Show

2024–09–10 After occupying the first quarter of the hour with something else, we hear from the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, and a recently published report on “Technology Monitoring of Nuclear Energy”. This is officially part of the “Energy Strategy 2050”, which calls for Switzerland to decarbonize its whole energy supply while withdrawing from nuclear power, which currently supplies more than a third of Swiss electricity. Recent decisions by the Federal Council will hopefully lead to a reconsideration of this “Strategy”.

ASFO 2024–08–24

Service is resumed, huzzah! (You may all now commence rejoicing.) I talk about what I’ve been doing the past few weeks, notably my visit to Torness, with photos here and here ; the continuing CST–100 debacle ; some decidedly unsatisfactory engineering in the vicinity of Amsterdam ; and an extraordinary and deplorable matter in Britain.

ASFO 2024–08–03

Greetings from Munich! Not the most coherent show, but I manage to allude to the major Power Outrage in Omaha, “battery trains” (the new secret sauce for solar power), the October 1987 storm in Britain, and A Trans–Atlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! by Harry Harrison. You also learn details of how I’ve handled blast №2, and a new order of stickers.

ASFO 2024–07–20

Hail to the Glorious Twentieth of July! “In peace for all mankind” is the topic of this episode. There is a great deal I could have chosen to talk about, but it can wait for another day. Here is the document with all the goodwill messages, of which I read out a few. The list of world leaders is fascinating — there are emperors, dictators, governments in exile, all pledging their hopes and best wishes. Let us always rededicate ourselves to that end!

ASFO 2024–07–13

Power outage? Power outrage! (Not me, this time.) Also, another instalment of “don’t trust anyone who uses the word quantum” ; no news on the Boeing CST–100 is… no news ; the Ariane 6 is new but hardly novel ; uranium from a mine in Finland, but not a uranium mine ; implications of an obscure legal topic known as “Chevron deference” ; and so on.

ASFO 2024–07–06

Thanks to another aNONradiator, stug, host of “Flux” (Thursdays at 2000 UTC), I spend most of the show ruminating on the process of engineering design. In the process, I give a word–picture of my own pet design for a small nuclear “package power” plant, suitable for ship propulsion or modest shore–side requirements. Also, a change in policy on the part of data center operators which is really little more than a change in framing ; and the question of what constitutes “sustainable” aviation fuel.

Scans mentioned at the beginning of the episode can be found here

ASFO 2024–06–29

Closely– versus loosely–coupled systems, as illustrated by two different nuclear power plants ; the possibilities of orbital data centers ; the continuing travails of the Boeing CST–100 “Starliner” ; an update on my travel and exhibition plans for the summer ; and Mail Call! If you want to send me mail, don’t feel that you have to use invisible ink.

ASFO 2024–06–22

Must nuclear projects always take longer and cost more? Ontario’s Darlington refurbishment says “no”, and I venture to suggest that this should be the expected result. Also, a listener comment elicits a digression into the problem (if it is one) of weapons proliferation and the plutonium economy ; a reminder that Famine is the harshest of teachers, and the lessons of ecology have been learnt primarily at her hand ; and I address a misconception about grid frequency control, and wonder about on–line enlightenment.