Bill Angel

Actually, where the ice is stored is of secondary importance, as the technology exists to move huge amounts of cold materials about the globe via ocean going tankers. For example, in recent years the size and capacity of LNG ( liquified natural gas ) carriers has increased greatly. Modern LNG carriers have a cargo capacity of between 210,000 and 266,000 cubic meters and are equipped with re-liquefaction plants. So ships could be used to move the ice to sites of probable hurricane formation, where the ice would then be reloaded onto the airborne drones.

I was thinking more along the lines of using the ice to disrupt the formation of the hurricane. This article discusses how hurricanes form See Article :How & Where Hurricanes Form So the idea is to utilize the ice to keep the storm from feeding upon itself by supressing the "chimney effect".

Perhaps. Ice could be stockpiled in the winter in ice houses, having been created naturally by the cold weather. That way there would not be any heat dumped into the atmosphere by creating the ice via some artificial refrigeration process.

I should think that drones carrying ice crystals to disperse in areas of warm air would do a better job cooling those areas than would be accomplished by drones carrying liquid oxygen.

The fact that pumpkin pie is an aphrodisiac may offer an explanation for General Petraeus' behavior. As a Commanding General I bet he ate quite a few Thanksgiving dinners with the troops.

I don't understand how a huge sheet of plastic or plywood would dissipate the power of a hurricane. But I like your idea about using drones. One wonders if it would be possible to use cloud seeding techniques out at sea to dissipate or at least reduce the destructive power of a hurricane. One source of information on cloud seeding is this article: http://www.lightwatcher.com/chemtrails/cloud_seeding.html If the clouds were seeded early enough over the ocean, would the hurricane even form? One could use drones to perform the seeding.

The primary ingredient in pumpkin pie spice is cinnamon. Historically, cinnamon oil was used as a mood elevator, treatment for impotence and fatigue fighter.

If you are consuming pumpkin in the form of pie, it can reputedly have side effects. See my blog post Why Dorks Love Pumpkin Pie

Here is one article on how physicists know that quarks are real: http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/documents/PUS/dis/DIS.htm

I can understand how it might be possible to draw power if the high tension lines were carrying AC via induction, i.e. the way a transformer couples power from one set of coils to another. But it is difficult to see how he might draw power from the high tension lines if the lines were carrying DC.

“I think that there is just such a toxic atmosphere right now, specifically in the Republican party. I would love to say that it’s going to be all about ideas and solutions, but unfortunately a lot of it is about just being able to say, ‘I’m more angry at the Obama administration than somebody else.’ That’s not what motivates me politically or governmentally. I believe it ought to be about solutions.” --Mike Huckabee, former Gov of Arkansas

" The best way to stop people being killed by storms is to move the people out of the way." You are quite right. But in terms of protecting property, the same issue of tradeoffs has come up in the area of flood control. See: http://m.npr.org/story/136056393?url=/2011/05/09/136056393/army-corps-makes-tough-calls-with-floods

I'm still optimistic on this issue. I was involved in writing programs for supercomputers 25 years ago, and I still remain optimistic that super computers will become powerful enough, and meteorological models sophisticated enough to make control of the weather a reality. I hate to think that the best man can do, as far as the weather is concerned, is depicted in this image Perhaps pagan religious rituals might help keep the hurricane away?

I understand that if a private company did it, they would be liable for damages. But if the US Government does it, it's a different situation, as the US Government is going to,be involved in cleaning up the damage and helping the victims recover, wherever the Hurricane strikes.

One wonders if it would be possible to use cloud seeding techniques out at sea to dissipate or at least reduce the destructive power of a hurricane. One source of information on cloud seeding is this article: http://www.lightwatcher.com/chemtrails/cloud_seeding.html If the clouds were seeded early enough over the ocean, would the hurricane even form?

I'm certain others remember the "hanging chad" controversy in the Bush Gore Presidential election of 2000. Hopefully no more states are still using paper ballots.

How some politicians are like pigeons.

Presidential Debates...

Historical accuracy aside, this attire would have made a great Halloween costume for Nixon!

In the DVD edition of Star Wars III "Revenge of the Sith", George Lucas and his associates provide a running commentary to the movie as a separate audio track. On that track he explains the philosophy and motivation behind the Star Wars motion picture saga. He makes a statement that Richard Nixon, when he was President, wanted to get the Constitution amended so that he could serve a third term. This was evidence of a power grab on Nixon's part similar to what Lucas believes is embodied in the Star Wars Republic Chancellor's plot to become Emperor. The problem is that I am not familiar with any documentation that Nixon ever entertained the notion of getting the Constitution amended and consequently then serving a third term. So does George Lucas have a bogus grasp of certain aspects of American History?

As a supporter of "Obamacare" you can guess how I'm going to vote in the election. But I was somewhat put off to get this "personal" message from Joe Biden at 1:30 AM today: I do a lot of photography of street performers in Baltimore. These are situations where if you find their act entertaining, they hope that you will drop some money in their pail ($5 would be very much appreciated) It's like Biden was putting on a performance for his Democratic supporters, who if they found it entertaining should drop $5 in his pail. I'm still voting for him, however.

interested readers may wish to check out the following article Quantum Computing with Ions [Re-Post] One of the authors of this article was the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics. Assuming that building such a quantum supercomputer is doable, it sounds like the kind of machine that the National Security Agency would be very much interested in acquiring to break codes and to do very extensive database searches extremely quickly. For them the cost to build and operate such a machine is no cause for concern. I don't know if a quantum supercomputer will help, but it would be great if scientists could utilize it to do a better job at earthquake prediction and weather forecasting.

Startling choice of ad displayed by the Christian Science Monitor Startling choice of ad displayed in the online edition of the Christian Science Monitor I went to read an article on my cellphone this morning titled "Israel strikes Gaza after exchange of air strikes Sunday". This article appeared in the online edition of the Christian Science Monitor. The Google program that selects ads to display along with this article picked one supplying information to individuals interested in carrying a concealed firearm. If I were so interested, and clicked on the advertisement, then some revenue would go to the Christian Science Monitor. Is the idea here that as an American living in Baltimore (and I have an Android phone, so Google has collected a lot of information about me) who is interested in reading about violence in the Middle East, I would also be interested in purchasing and carrying a concealed firearm?

I see your point, and if any of those students have become physicians they are likely contributing more to alleviating America's health care problems than are most other people (including myself). Keep in mind though that there is no NHS in the USA, so there is no assurance that their medical practice is necessarily benefiting the less affulent. And if the Republican challenger wins the Presidential election he has promised to repeal Obamacare, which attempts to get everyone enrolled in the health insurance system. In my opinion these students look like the type of people who would support the repeal of Obamacare. ;-)

I would first point out that the phrase "intensely weak" is problematical Here are some meanings of the word intense: 1. Possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to an extreme degree: the intense sun of the tropics. 2. Extreme in degree, strength, or size: intense heat. 3. Involving or showing strain or extreme effort: intense concentration. 4 (a) Deeply felt; profound: intense emotion. 4 (b) Tending to feel deeply: an intense writer.. By weak I assume you mean "lacking persuasiveness; unconvincing". I would suggest that "the argument being made is totally unconvincing" is a better choice of phrase than "the argument being made is intensely weak". But to address the substance of your criticism: A recent study (March 2010) posed the following question to college students: "THINKING ABOUT NATIONAL ISSUES FOR THE MOMENT, WHICH ISSUE CONCERNS YOU THE MOST?" The responses were the following: Economy: (46%) Health Care: (21%) National Security (8%) Education (3%) Energy and the environment (2%) During the interviewing period, the health care debate was the major political issue covered in the media. I would expect that the students' major concern being about the economy reflects their worries about their ability to find employment upon graduation. The fact that there is no longer a military draft makes the issue of national security of much less interest to them than it was to me and my fellow students back when I was in college during the era of the Vietnam War.