Archive for the 'Infrastructure' Category
The 5G Dragnet
June 23rd, 2019Via: The Corbett Report:
GPS Outage Would Cost U.S. Economy $1 Billion Per Day
June 17th, 2019Via: Ars Technica: Since becoming fully operational in 1995, Global Positioning System technology has become widely adopted in the United States and abroad. The concept of satellite-based navigation has become so essential that other world powers, including China, Russia, the European Union, India, and Japan, have all started building their own regional or global systems. […]
Electric Grids Down in Argentina and Uruguay
June 16th, 2019In other news: U.S. Ramps Up Online Attacks on Russian Power Grid, NYT Says: The U.S. is stepping up digital incursions into Russia’s electric power grid in a warning to President Vladimir Putin, the New York Times reported, citing current and former government officials. While the U.S. has probed the Russian grid since at least […]
China’s Father of Electric Cars Says Hydrogen Is the Future
June 14th, 2019I doubt it, due to the hassles related to producing and storing hydrogen and the near total lack of hydrogen refueling infrastructure. Toyota’s deranged pursuit hydrogen, despite all the obstacles, has caused it to look like a chicken running around with its head cut off as the industry pivots to battery electric. Toyota has been […]
With Venezuela in Collapse, Towns Slip Into Primitive Isolation
June 10th, 2019With socialism like this, who needs EMP weapons? Via: Reuters: At the once-busy beach resort of Patanemo, tourism has evaporated over the last two years as Venezuela’s economic crisis has deepened and deteriorating cellphone service left visitors too afraid of robbery to brave the isolated roads. Gone are the vendors who once walked the sands […]
Trails Made by Starlink Satellites
June 7th, 2019“Please note that the density of these satellites is significantly higher in the days after launch (as seen here) and also that the satellites will diminish in brightness as they reach their final orbital altitude.” I would have added: Please note that this is from 25 of the first batch of 60 satellites of a […]
Project Kuiper Initiative: Amazon Will Spend Billions to Build Satellite Internet Service
June 6th, 2019Via: Bloomberg: Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend billions of dollars building a network of thousands of satellites to provide broadband internet service, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said. The Project Kuiper initiative, disclosed earlier this year, is the type of big bet the company needs to keep making as its massive scale renders smaller endeavors […]
Towing an Iceberg to South Africa
June 6th, 2019Via: Bloomberg: “To make it economically feasible, the iceberg will have to be big,” Sloane says. Ideally, it would measure about 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) long, 500 meters wide, and 250 meters deep, and weigh 125 million tons. “That would supply about 20% of Cape Town’s water needs for a year.” Sloane has already assembled […]
Astronomers Concerned About Starlink Light Pollution
May 27th, 2019Well, it’s not just me. Via: Forbes: SpaceX had kept the logistics of each satellite under wraps prior to the launch, but following the launch it was revealed that each satellite had a relatively large solar panel, perfect for not only gathering but reflecting sunlight back to Earth. This means anyone looking up at the […]
Rare Earth Metals: China’s ‘Nuclear Option’ In The Trade War
May 27th, 2019Via: oilprice.com: A simple visit to an obscure factory by Chinese President Xi on Monday is all it took to raise the specter that China could be contemplating cutting off supply of critical materials to the U.S. and potentially crippling large swathes of its industries. Also, fueled by political innuendo in Xi’s recent call for […]
