Author Archive for Grumpy Old Techie

Depleted Cranium
Bad Science And Scary Science

Discovery Channel Bomber Modivated By Anti-Humanist “Green” Views
You may have heard by now that a man entered the Maryland offices of Discovery Communications, the parent company of The Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet and several other television channels.   The man carried firearms and had explosives strapped to his body, which he threatened to detonate.   The standoff ended when police sharp-shooters [...]
AP Story on “Older activists, younger crowd” Anti-Nukes
I’m not sure why this was even reported, although I suspect it was just a reporter with some kind of agenda.   The Associated Press usually reports news stories that are actually topical and related to current events – not just random lifestyle and interest stories.   However, a recent report from the AP has been making [...]
Be sure to watch “Bad Universe” tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 ET
Tomorrow night, the 29th of August, the show “Bad Universe” will premier on the Discovery Channel at 10 o’clock eastern time.  If you don’t live in the eastern US, check your local listings.   The show looks pretty cool, and it stars my friend Phil Plait, (AKA The Bad Astronomer) who is a very active member [...]
Ridiculous Uranium Scare in Moldova Gets Internatonal Attention
This is the kind of ignroance-based story that drives me nuts: Via The Associated Press: 3 arrested in Moldova in uranium smuggling plot CHISINAU, Moldova — Two former policemen and another person were arrested in Moldova on suspicion of trying to sell four pounds (nearly two kilograms) of uranium on the black market, authorities said Wednesday, although the [...]
Anti-Nukes Claim Zirconium Alloy Will Burst into Flames at VT Yankee
Some of the anti-nuclear energy interest groups in Vermont are trying a new tactic against Vermont Yankee, demanding that the NRC order the reactor temperature lowered and thus the power output dramatically cut. Their argument is that the zirconium-based alloy used to clad the fuel can oxidize rapidly (basically burn) at the temperatures the [...]
Detox that actually works…
People seem to forget that there’s actually an easy way to rid your body of toxic substances, metabolic byproducts, pharmaceuticals and other substances.  Foot pad and, herbal remedies and even enemas all claim to do the trick, but there’s a much easier way to get those substances out of your body and restore balance.   It’s [...]
Even worse waste of mirrors than concentrated solar..
What can you do with a huge array of mirrors mounted on a precise optical-tracking platform?    You could make a telescope for one thing.   That would sure be useful. This, however, is not… Moonlight, by the way, is almost entirely composed of sunlight that is reflected from the moon, with negligible amounts coming from starlight or lights [...]
The “HumanCar 2011″ and Why It’s NOT the Future
Interested in your own Humancar 2011?   They’re already taking deposits, which are just fifty US Dollars, although the actual unit will set you back more than fifteen grand!   Unfortunately, a closer look at the concept shows it to be about as unrealistic as most “alternative transportation” concepts out there.   Not only is it hyper-expensive, but [...]
How can a Homeopathic product be dangerous?
Homeopathic products are often pointed to as scams for being a complete waste of money or damaging to health by displacing real medicine, but generally they are harmless because the active ingredients are so dilute that there’s less than a 50% chance that even a single molecule is present in the final product. So how can [...]
An Extraordinarily Dangerous Quack Product
Most quack products are fairly harmless in and of themselves.  Homeopathy, for example, may displace legitimate treatments but will not cause harm on its own, since it’s just water.  Herbal remedies sometimes do cause harm due to impurities from shoddy manufacturing or the occasional allergic reaction, but this is rare.  Normally products that can harm [...]
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