Debate: Does the world need nuclear energy?

http://www.ted.com/talks/debate_does_the_world_need_nuclear_energy.html

I'm pro nuclear power.  I simply think that the only realistic choices are between coal and nuclear and that coal isn't acceptable.  I won't go into too much detail here, but if you truly care I've discussed it here.

While watching this video debate here are some of the issues I had with the anti-nuclear arguments:
Didn't address the cost of wind/solar, which is by far the biggest problem.  Proliferation outside the US doesn't have any bearing on what we in the US should be doing.  In his graph about CA use of wind/solar for a year he mentions the use of hydro power.  Hydro power is often used as quick source of lots of power.  It is ideal for balancing the load from unpredictable sources like wind/solar.  The problem is that hydro isn't available in most places.  His argument about time lag is absurd, wind/solar has much greater time lag.  In two decades we could have coal completely replaced by nuclear.  Instead in two decades we will still have most of our power come from coal waiting for wind/solar to become practical.  Many appeals to emotion (nuking a city, glacier melting).  Why would we need to transport the waste as opposed to keeping it on site like it is now?

Mercury attacks Aluminum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Ilxsu-JlY

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2004-09/amazing-rusting-aluminum

But when aluminum rusts, it forms aluminum oxide, an entirely different animal. In crystal form, aluminum oxide is called corundum, sapphire or ruby (depending on the color), and it is among the hardest substances known. If you wanted to design a strong, scratchproof coating to put on a metal, few things other than diamond would be better than aluminum oxide.

Applied to aluminum’s surface, mercury will infiltrate the metal and disrupt its protective coating, allowing it to “rust” (in the more destructive sense) continuously by preventing a new layer of oxide from forming. The aluminum I-beam above rusted half away in a few hours, something that would have taken an iron beam years.

Should We Clone Neanderthals?

http://www.archaeology.org/1003/etc/neanderthals.html

Judge declares US gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/07/judge_declares_3.html

A federal district court judge in Boston today struck down a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as a union exclusively between a man and a woman, according to the office of state Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Judge Joseph L. Tauro, in a 36-page ruling that touched on the history of marriage laws, found that the federal Defense of Marriage Act violates Massachusetts’ right to recognize same-sex unions.

“This court has determined that it is clearly within the authority of the Commonwealth to recognize same-sex marriages among its residents, and to afford those individuals in same-sex marriages any benefits, rights, and privileges to which they are entitled by virtue of their marital status,” Tauro wrote. “The federal government, by enacting and enforcing DOMA, plainly encroaches upon the firmly entrenched province of the state, and, in doing so, offends the Tenth Amendment.”

I'm amazed that he mentioned the tenth amendment.  However, I have to guess this is more a case of wanting to allow gay marriage, than actually caring about limits on federal power.

Tallest Building In The World

Hours spent reading about buildings on Wikipedia.  Here's what my research has found:

The Burj Khalifa (aka Burj Dubai) is ridiculously tall.  At 2,717 ft it's taller than 17 state highpoints.

State	Peak	Height
Florida	Lakewood (Britton Hill)	345
Washington, DC	Fort Reno	410
Delaware	Ebright Azimuth	448
Louisiana	Driskill Mountain	535
Mississippi	Woodall Mountain	806
Rhode Island	Jerimoth Hill	812
Illinois	Charles Mound	1,235
Indiana	Hoosier Hill	1,257
Ohio	Campbell Hill	1,550
Iowa	Hawkeye Point	1,670
Missouri	Taum Sauk	1,772
New Jersey	High Point	1,803
Wisconsin	Timms Hill	1,951
Michigan	Mount Arvon	1,979
Minnesota	Eagle Mountain	2,301
Connecticut	Mount Frissell (South Slope)	2,380
Alabama	Cheaha Mountain	2,407

Its height exceeds the vertical climb of 36 highpoints (Florida, Washington, DC, Delaware, Mississippi, Ohio, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Rhode Island , Missouri, South Carolina, New Jersey, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, North Dakota, Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont , Minnesota, Maryland, Oklahoma, Virginia, South Dakota).

Next, Philadelphia continues to disappoint me.  Its tallest building doesn't even break 1000 ft.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Comcast_Center_%28office_building%29

Comcast Center is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The 58-story, 975 feet (297 m) tower is the tallest building in Philadelphia and the fifteenth tallest building in the United States.

However, what I find really interesting is this.  "Leasing 1,094,212 square feet (100,000 m²), Comcast takes up 89 percent of the building."  That's equivalent to a square 1046 ft on a side.  Or, as the ever helpful Google tells me, 185 football fields.

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures_in_the_world#History
The history of the world's tallest building is always fun to look at.  However, today I noticed something I hadn't noticed before.  The Washington Monument, in 1884, was the first non religious building to be the world's tallest.  Since then, no religious building has been the tallest.

Also I discovered this, which at first I thought was ridiculous.  But, now I think it is pretty sweet, although still ridiculous.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Aerium

Mt Washington's Weather Doesn't Look So Bad Now Does It?

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Mount+Washington&state=NH&site=GYX&textField1=44.2706&textField2=-71.3047&mp=1

Paperless Tickets Flourish Despite 'Grandma Problem'

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/07/06/0040208/Paperless-Tickets-Flourish-Despite-Grandma-Problem?art_pos=13

 "Is a concert ticket a piece of property that its holder has the right to buy and sell as he sees fit, or is it merely a seat-rental contract subject to restrictions determined by its issuer? The Washington Post reports that in an effort to thwart scalpers and dampen ticket reselling on the so-called secondary market, musicians as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus, and Metallica have adopted 'paperless ticketing' for some or all of the seats at their live shows. Ticket issuers Ticketmaster and Veritix tout paperless tickets as a way to eliminate worries about lost, stolen, or counterfeit tickets, and to banish long will-call lines. But paperless tickets aren't really tickets at all, but essentially personal seat reservations, secured electronically like airline tickets. Fans buy tickets with a credit card and must then go to the venue with the same credit card and a photo ID to gain admittance. The problem is that Ticketmaster's paperless tickets can't be transferred from a buyer to a second party. The inability to pass along a seat creates what has become known in the industry as the 'grandma problem': it's almost impossible for a grandma living at one end of the country to buy a paperless ticket to giver to a grandchild living at the other end. Without the ability to transfer virtual tickets, brokers and dealers fear being run out of business, and consumers have a harder time selling unwanted tickets. 'People should be free to give away or sell their tickets to whomever they want, whenever they want,' says Gary Adler, a Washington attorney who represents the National Association of Ticket Brokers. 'An open market is really best for consumers.'"

Prince Says Internet Is Over

http://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/07/06/1331247/Prince-Says-Internet-Is-Over

"According to the artist currently known as Prince, 'The internet's completely over.' At least that what he says in an interview with the British newspaper Mirror. Quoting Prince: 'The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you.'"

At first I didn't know why this was on Slashdot, but numbers can't be good for you is too good to pass up.

Swedish Pirate Party To Run Pirate Bay From Parliament

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/07/02/1517256/Swedish-Pirate-Party-To-Run-Pirate-Bay-From-Parliament?art_pos=4

rdnetto sends in this clip from TorrentFreak. To pursue these plans the Pirate Party needs to win 4% of the seats in Parliament in an election coming up in September. "After their former hosting provider received an injunction telling it to stop providing bandwidth to The Pirate Bay, the worlds most resilient BitTorrent site switched to a new ISP. That host, the Swedish Pirate Party, made a stand on principle. Now they aim to take things further by running the site from inside the Swedish Parliament. ... The party has announced today that they intend to use part of the Swedish Constitution to further these goals, specifically Parliamentary Immunity from prosecution or lawsuit for things done as part of their political mandate. They intend to push the non-commercial sharing part of their manifesto, by running The Pirate Bay from inside the Parliament, by Members of Parliament."

Google To Add Pay To Cover a Tax For Gays

http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/07/01/0314223/Google-To-Add-Pay-To-Cover-a-Tax-For-Gays?art_pos=14

"Starting on Thursday, Google is going to increase the salaries of gay and lesbian employees whose partners receive domestic partner health benefits, largely to compensate them for an extra tax they must pay that heterosexual married couples do not. Google is not the first company to make up for the extra tax. At least a few large employers already do. But benefits experts say Google's move could inspire its Silicon Valley competitors to follow suit, because they compete for the same talent."