A Functional Death Ray

Or you could think of this as just another green bird killer. Back when I worked for a Big Aerospace Company, one of the cleverer mechanical engineers there got us into the "power Tower" idea. This involves several acres of mirrors focusing sunlight onto a heat  exchanger which would be used to boil water, etc, etc. It was fairly ambitious as it involved writing software that would control a lot of individual mirrors very precisely over a long period of time during which the sun inconveniently would appear in a different spot not only as it moved across the sky, but every day the arc would be slightly different, more so as the day does not mesh with the year on this planet.

Getting the thing started involved first bringing the mirrors part way up to a "cleaning" position to allow the window washers to remove the previous days dust, then bringing them up to a preliminary position with the entire field focused slightly off to the side of the tower with the heat exchanger in it while overall field orientation was checked, then swinging the entire field over to place the focus on the heat exchanger. If the field is not focused on a single spot, the power would be degraded. Likewise if the spot wasn't centered properly. One other thing: If the preliminary focus was good but the transfer to the heat exchanger ran slow or if the daily tracking algorithm didn't work during the preliminary setup, the focus of the beam would track slowly across the concrete tower. Concrete, though tough and generally durable, was never meant to stand up to this kind of heat.

I asked one of the engineers on the project and yes, the occasional bird would fly through the beam. Halfway through anyway, and would be replaced by a shower of burnt feathers. The local predators must have thought this was manna from heaven with KFC ranging from rare to well done falling out of the sky. The saving virtue of this is that the "stay out" zone varies in intensity and birds approaching from the right direction would quickly learn to stay away.

We sold one commercial installation to the Chinese who from what I heard, never finished it. Current estimates are that power produced in this manner will cost about twice what conventional power runs which in the green world is remarkably cheap. The local power company has a contract to buy the power and the costs will be passed along to the grateful consumers which would include Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

We have covered the roof of the building where I work with solar panels and while the fixed photovoltaic panels do not directly compare to the dynamic mirrors at the Ivanpah facility, there is a large screen inside that shows exactly what we are getting. Without exact numbers, I would guess that on a clear day we get about 2 hours of full rated capacity around noon, plus 3 hours of average 50% capacity in the morning and evening. This adds up to 5/8 rated capacity for an 8 hour period while the sun is up which further works out to 20.8% rated capacity over a 24 hour day. On a cloudy day this can drop by between 2/3 and 1/3 depending on the cloud cover.

Lotta money for something with 6-21% efficiency.

Big Win In Cali!

The Ninth Circus Circuit ruled that:

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that by requiring citizens to prove “good cause” — rather than just the right to self-defense — in order to obtain a concealed weapons permit, San Diego County is in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Cali sheriffs have been notoriously stingy with the permits, limiting them for the most part to celebrities, politicians, and campaign donors. The ruling is expected to severely curtail the current process.

Found at the Blaze, where the rest of the story lies.

Gun Reviews - How Not To

Here's a review of the Just Right Carbine. Hat's off to the fellow for going out in 11 degree weather to record his day at the range. The JRC is an AR-ish PCC that takes Glock magazines, like a Kel-Tec Sub 2000 in Mag Pul clothing. O.K. good start.

No muzzle velocity data. He has some nice gear, but no chrony? He mentions that the trigger is rough. Very rough. Also the mag release is located right at the center of gravity where it's most comfortable to hold the gun with the left hand.

Accuracy: Using the red dot sight and 10 rounds to determine holdover, it scores rather less than 50% hits on a 24" square target at 300 yards. This does not inspire much confidence, notwithstanding that those 9mm rounds aren't going to be traveling very fast at that distance anyway. 24" at 300 yards is 8 MOA which is mediocre at best. Next time put some paper up at 50 or 100 yards and show us your best group.

Price: MSRP is not mentioned. It is a blowback gun in spite of the AR-like construction so shouldn't be too expensive.

I like PCC's, they let you do all the carbine-y stuff without costing $1/round to pull the trigger. It would be nice to know a bit more about this one.

Petards, Hoisting Upon

This is a few days old, but still entertaining. An anti-gunner with a CCW (?) is caught carrying in a grade school in violation of a law he worked to help pass. He's charged with a couple of felonies which would disqualify him from doing any more discreet toting for the rest of his life.

What I expect next is for the "celebrity clause" to kick in that forgives the whole thing as an honest mistake on his part. Watch the news carefully. The exoneration will be reported on page 75 in the middle of the obituaries, in very fine print.

Hog Eggs

This is too good to pass up. It is now widely reported* that the latest breakfast sensation is a hog egg omelet since the hard-to-find eggs come with the bacon already infused into them.


*Indianapolis and Denver.

Nothing Suspicious Here

This sort of thing used to be a great example of black humor when someone was found dead and the coroner ruled the death a suicide from "3 self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the back". But no, it seems this sort of thing can actually happen:

A coroners spokeswoman Thursday said Talley was found in his garage by a family member who called authorities. They said Talley died from seven or eight self-inflicted wounds from a nail gun fired into his torso and head.

 Nothing to see here folks, move along now.

GOP Proposes Bill To Forbid EPA Use Of junk Science

This is unfortunately only a partial solution to an out of control agency.

Republican lawmakers in the House are pushing legislation that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing new regulations based on science that is not transparent or not reproducible.

Found this at Fox News.

The rest of the problem is the EPA encouraging greenies to file a lawsuit demanding that regulation of something should be implemented as it affects the environment and thus comes under their jurisdiction. The EPA pursues only perfunctory argument and the judge orders them to expand their mandate to cover whatever it was.

Agency expansion by judicial fiat needs to be curbed as well.

Olympics!

Let's see...
Russians and Turks competing? Check.
Down in the Crimea area? Check.
A visit by the Czar Putin? Check.
Mass distribution of condoms? Check.

A marvellous contest was set for the day,
a visit was made by the Czar.
The streets they were lined
with harlots reclined,
in honor of Ivan Skavar.

Sorry, but once you've heard the other lyrics to some of the old classics, you tend to forget the originals and when you do hear the original, you have a hard time not laughing. It's like listening to Dance Of The Hours and not thinking of Camp Granada.

Polar Ice

This is the year in which Pope Al assured us we would see no polar ice unless we elected him and raised our taxes. I have no idea how the polar region is doing, bit just have a look at the Great Lakes. The polar bears will be trotting across in search of Detroiters to eat any day now.

More pix at the link. I bet the folks in Buffalo wish Erie would freeze which would temporarily stop the lake effect snowfall.

Next we'll be seeing the pack ice sliding down over the Canadian border.

I hate winter.

Sub Station Attack

A fellow called into a talk show I was listening to and described himself as a power company employee who actually works at the sub station in question. He made some excellent points:

1. The substation is normally unmanned. These are transformers, and don't require people in lab coats to watch them.
2. Significant layoffs had just been imposed on the workforce by the power company and some of the targets were upset over this.
3. Anyone who ever spent more than a little time at the station would know about the safeguards and alarms that are normally installed there.

This points to an inside job by a disgruntled former employee to me and makes the idea that some non-connected terrorist has somehow become an expert on sub station operation seem a bit remote.

Much was made of the use of an "AK-47" to shoot up the transformers. Keep in mind that the media can't tell an AK-47 from a '71 Gremlin, and that the SKS is every bubbas favorite truck gun. I'm sure that the shell casings were 7.62 x 39 but so what.

What bugged me was when the employee was asked if the FBI had interviewed him since he was working in the district at the time of the attack, and he answered "no". I suppose that exonerating the IRS was taking up all their resources, and still is.

Thanks to the scandal-like coverage of the event, every one in the country now knows how to attack a sub station. FWIW: In an earlier report* I read, about 2-3 months ago, it was suggested that surrounding substations with opaque fencing and an alarm on the gate would at least provide a credible first line of defense at minimal cost.


*Yes, it was reported much earlier than last week. No one cared to comment at the time. To me this is all old news.

Occam's Razor, folks.

Fighting Robots

Some 28 years ago the Denver Mad Scientists Club (tm) invented fighting robots as a nerdly diversion. It entertained us and kept us off the streets and (mostly) out of trouble. What could go wrong, right?

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal has seen the future, and it ain't pretty. They're a regular read for me.

QOTD - Nincompoopery

While it is true that Texas has produced some of the greatest of the great, is it not also true that it has produced its fair share of crooks and buffoons?

As she spoke, Jackson Lee claimed that she hoped that Congress could “give President Obama a number of executive orders that he can sign.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who in spite of a lengthy career in the House, still seems a bit unclear on her job description.

Found at Wizbang.

Doing Something About The Weather

This is great news indeed as I'm thoroughly fed up with week after week of sub-freezing temperatures. The Obama administration has announced plans to open multiple "Climate Hubs" around the country:

The new climate hubs will be established in Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, and New Mexico.

There will also be three sub-hubs in Michigan, Puerto Rico and California.

So if you're having problems with the weather, like drought, floods, low temps or high ones, simply trot down to your regional climate hub and file a complaint. Operators are standing by to handle your particular problem. Press 1 for weather-related problems, press 2 for help with Obamacare, and press 3 for voter registration information in Spanish.

The Democrats: Taking care of you the Chicago way.

Remember, the next recall election is November 4th.

Colorado Gun Law

Several pro gun bills have been introduced this year with SB-94 already consigned to the "kill committee" with the execution scheduled for 1 PM Monday. Here's a summary:

GOP gun bills in the house:

HB 1041: allows carrying concealed handguns without permits, Reps. Jared Wright and Chris Holbert.
HB1151: repeals ammunition magazine prohibition, Reps. Holbert and Lori Saine.
HB 1097: sales and use tax holiday for firearms, ammo and accessories, Rep. Clarice Navarro-Ratzlaff .

GOP gun bills in the Senate:
SB 094: repeals requirement for background checks for private transfers and repeal fees for checks, Sen. George Rivera.
SB 038: prohibits governments from restricting firearms in an emergency, Sen. Scott Renfroe.
SB 090: expands exemption on background checks to include step, Sen. Randy Baumgardner.
SB 100: repeals magazine ban, by Sens. Baumgardner, Rivera.
SB 135: allows firearms purchases from non-contiguous states if legal in both states, Sen. Greg Brophy.

The Dems are scaring up some clergy to testify against HB 1151 apparently on the premise that if a thug should bust a cap in your ass, you should do the Christian thing and turn the other cheek. I personally would favor the advice of Gandhi and return the miscreant's fire.

At this point all bills are being read once in chamber and referred to committee. In the Senate, that would be the Veterans and Military Affairs given the current makeup of the chamber although I heard that HB 1401 had been sent to the Judiciary committee. The Dems hold a solid majority in the House, so I don't hold out much hope for the bill there in any case.

If you write to a committee member but you don't happen to live in his or her district, be sure to mention that you are VERY seriously considering moving to that district, which qualifies you for a ballot in that district under the Vote Fraud Act of 2013.

Further detail at the Denver Pest.

Horrorscope

Found this at the Shoe site:

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

* Your guardian angel is on vacation...drunk on her butt in Cancun. She'll be back in a few days but give her another week before you try something stupid. Massive hangover.

Sounds like good advice for any day.

Visited my new indoor range, the Arvada Rifle and Pistol Club. They now have electricity. Still no heat though, so Tuesdays meeting will be another 2-jacket affair.