Why Xinjiang Is Suddenly So Critical to China's Mars Strategy

If you're current on your reading, you know that liftoff for a SpaceX rocket consumes about 5 million lbs of TNT. Or, about 2 million kg or 2000 tonnes or 2 kilotonnes of TNT. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yup! A nuclear blast kind of energy release.

Sure, it doesn't, can't happen on the same timescale as a weapon of mass destruction, but, that's exactly what *has* to happen to get a useful enough (there must be a critical mass of useful material per mission to Mars) launch for a Mars mission. Or, why don't they just figure out a way (get help from Wal-Mart) to get truck loads of one thing at a time to Mars and then start building once you get there.

What am I saying? Traditional rocket engines aren't going to cut it for sending a space-ship to Mars. Think about it - if you need 27 rocket engines to send something to the moon, how many do you need to get to Mars?

So? Explode a nuclear weapon, and find a way to harness that energy over a reasonable duration to accelerate a massive rocket to escape velocity. This way, the rocket only carries minimal fuel for steering and entry-descent-and-landing.

So, why Xinjiang? Because that's where there's the Lop Nor nuclear weapons testing site - where you can be sure there isn't a soul around for 50 miles at least. Coz that's what you need if you're going to be blasting nukes to save humanity from a mass extinction event. 

So, now, how much uranium do you need? Work it out - you need to get 100 tonnes to escape velocity with a rate of acceleration that's safe for the crew. That tells you the time for which you need to apply the first - and, more importantly, the distance.

So, when the nuke goes off, underground, instead of wasting the energy heating earth and rock, you're going to have to find a way to compress fluids or save it in potential energy in a way that can be harnessed mechanically to lift a rocket - and accelerate it - so it shoots out of the ground at a high enough velocity so that it needs to use as little fuel as possible to get to EV. If it comes out at EV, so much the better.

That being said, is it possible for Russia to play spoil sport and put a few canons on Mars that can shoot down any incoming cargo? That way they could hold Trump and Xi and Musk hostage and get around sanctions with a nice ransom?

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David Horsager: Do You Know How to Earn Trust?

According to maestro, the eight pillars of trust:

1. Clarity: People trust the clear and mistrust the ambiguous.
2. Compassion: People put faith in those who care beyond themselves.
3. Character: People notice those who do what is right over what is easy.
4. Competency: People have confidence in those who stay fresh, relevant, and capable.
5. Commitment: People believe in those who stand through adversity.
6. Connection: People want to follow, buy from, and be around friends.
7. Contribution: People immediately respond to results.
8. Consistency: People love to see the little things done consistently.

William J. O'Neil : Why You Shouldn't Diversify (Too Much)

For years you have been told “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” haven’t you? However, my experience is that few people do more than one or two things exceedingly well. The jack-of-all-trades and master of none is seldom a dramatic success in any field.

The best example of diversification in the corporate world is the conglomerate. Most are not real winners. They are too big, too inefficient, too spread out, and are involved in so many businesses they have trouble concentrating and creating profitable growth. '

Would you like to go to a dentist who spent part of his time doing engineering on the side, wrote music, did a little cabinet making, and worked as an auto mechanic, plumber, and accountant on the weekends?

The more you diversify, the less you know about any one area. Many investors overdiversify. The best results are achieved through concentration: putting all your eggs in just a few baskets that you know a great deal about and continuing to watch those baskets very carefully. The more stocks you own, the slower you may be to react and take selling action to raise sufficient cash when the next serious bear market begins.

You're the man if you can say where these words are from. If you can, comment and brag about it!

The purpose of this book - written under the com peting pressure of daily professional work on invest- ment problems - is to help the layman to defend himself, and his own judgment, against this verbal assault and battery of the calamity howlers in one year and of the fatuous optimists in another. The layman should be able to determine the truth for himself.

It is my experience that a daily newspaper and a little simple arithmetic are all he needs for this purpose. He can then forget the terrifying ghosts paraded before him by politicians, financial gossipers, university theorists, and far too many well-intentioned bankers.

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Nice News : Happiness, Scavenged by Joyful

Untranslatable Words for Joy

A small collection of beautiful words from around the world that capture different shades of joy and contentment.

Word	Origin	Meaning
Joie de vivre	French	Keen or buoyant enjoyment of life.
Waldeinsamkeit	German	The feeling of solitude and peacefulness when alone in a forest.
Ayodele	Yoruba	Joy in the home.
Tarab	Arabic	Musically induced ecstasy.
Arbejdsglæde	Danish	Satisfaction and enjoyment derived from a good job or work.
Firgun	Hebrew	Happiness in another’s success; unselfish joy on behalf of someone else.
Schadenfreude	German	Enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.
Gökotta	Swedish	Rising early in order to go listen to birds singing outside.
Ikigai	Japanese	The things that give zest and joy to life.
Hygge	Danish	A cozy quality that makes a person feel content and comfortable.

Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? I Wasn't

Of the passengers on a plane, half of those who tested positive for COVID *had* been vaccinated and half of those who tested positive for COVID had *not* been vaccinated. What can you conclude about the effectiveness of the vaccine?

Did you blurt out something? I did :(

Look at it this way: Say there were 101 passengers. One had not been vaccinated and tested positive. The other 100 *had* been vaccinated and one of them tested positive. Now whaddaya say? See :)

1. All of Statistics by Larry Wasserman

2. Harvard’s free Stat 110 probability course

3. Khan Academy probability and statistics

4. Introduction to Probability by Grinstead & Snell

5. Brilliant.com interactive probability modules

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