bb.king

It's all they have. Make up nonsense and continue to repeat it. 

Such a waste of time trying to argue with these Trump supporters. They can’t be reasoned with, bargained with, ever convinced that they are completely wrong in their beliefs, and unwilling to accept logic and cold hard facts. Biden and the Democrats need to realize this and honestly stop trying to placate them with “unite the country” talk. I find it hard to see anything redeemable about the Republican Party, so burn it to the ground while you have the liberal numbers. Kill the electoral college, eliminate gerrymandering, stack the Supreme Court. Republicans manipulated the rules without apology to their benefit and never sweated the fallout because these are their followers and they know people’s attention spans are too short for there to be repercussions. Time to bury this hateful segment of America once and for all. 
 
Monday rant over. 

Heh, looks like someone got relegated to the kiddie table.
 
 

One year ago today! Champions!!!
https://www.cfl.ca/2019/11/24/gc107-recap-winnipeg-33-hamilton-12/

I've heard about a number of "Super Battery" technologies, but this one seems to top them all:
How Could Nano-Diamond Batteries Revolutionize Power Generation?
Researchers have claimed that nano-diamond batteries could last for 28,000 years. Such batteries would not only be beneficial to the world of electric cars and mobile phones, but their application would also be useful in aerospace and medical technology. This article discusses the development, commercialization, and application of novel nano-diamond batteries.
In 2016, at the annual lecture of the Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, researchers, for the first time, demonstrated a novel technology that could use nuclear waste to generate energy. They named their product “diamond batteries”. In 2020, a California-based startup company, NDB, has developed a highly efficient nano-diamond battery that could last up to 28,000 years without charging. This battery is also based on the utilization of nuclear waste. 
Diamond Batteries
Commonly available electricity-generation technologies utilize energy for moving a magnet via a coil of wire to produce a current. However, the diamond battery can generate current when placed close to a radioactive source. A team of researchers from the University of Bristol has developed a human-made diamond. This material can generate a low electrical power when put under the influence of a radioactive field. 
The researchers at the Cabot Institute have used Nickel-63 as a radioactive source for demonstrating a prototype 'diamond battery'. The radioactive source is encapsulated inside a diamond to produce a nuclear-powered battery. However, the team envisioned using radioactive carbon-14 to obtain a battery with greater efficiency. Tom Scott, Professor in Materials at the University of Bristol, explained the advantages of the technology. He said that this technology would involve the long-term production of clean energy from nuclear waste and not require any maintenance as there are no moving parts or emissions.
Development of Nano-Diamond Batteries by NDB
In 2020, NDB announced two proof-of-concept tests conducted at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. As stated above, the nano-diamond battery from the NDB used nuclear waste to generate power. The radioactive core is protected with multiple layers of synthetic diamonds or polycrystalline diamond.
The polycrystalline diamond is an exceptionally thermally conductive material. This material also can contain the radiation within the device. The use of a polycrystalline diamond makes the nano-diamond battery immensely tough and tamperproof.
Technologies behind the development of nano-diamond batteries that ensure radiation, thermal, and mechanical safety are discussed below:
Diamond Nuclear Voltaic (DNV) is a device that consists of a semiconductor. Individual units are connected to form a stack arrangement and fabricated to create a positive and negative contact surface analogous to a standard battery system. This design improves the system's overall efficiency, which includes the generation of a substantial amount of electricity and a multi-layer safety shield for the product.  All radioactive isotopes can produce high amounts of heat energy. A single crystalline diamond (SCD) in the DNV unit and the strategic placement of radioactive source between the DNV units prevents self-absorption of heat by the radioisotope.  NDB technology has utilized alpha, beta, and neutron radiations using boron-10 doping, helping to convert the extra neutron into the alpha ray. This design also enables the rapid conversion of radiation to usable electricity. The advanced flexible structural design enables it to take any shape based on its application. This feature makes NDB extremely market-friendly. The utilization of radioactive waste is a subject that many have not researched. NDB uses radioactive waste and reuses them by reprocessing and recycling. This technology ensures sustainability and gives rise to a clean energy source, and Achieving this has the added advantage of ensuring environmental safety. Researchers believe that this technology would reduce the costs and challenges of storing nuclear waste in the most useful form. NDB envisioned the coexistence of innovation and restoration of a healthy environment. Implementing their innovative technology would improve the standards of living and pave the way towards the development of eco-friendly, green, and sustainable energy.
Applications of Nano-Diamond Batteries
Automotive: This battery could bring about a revolution in the world of electric cars. Researchers believe that this technology will benefit the electric car industry due to its immense longevity and efficiency, unlike any other existing batteries. 
Medical Technology: These batteries could immensely contribute to medical devices, especially implantable devices, for example, pacemakers and hearing aids. The long battery life of nano-diamond batteries would be extremely beneficial for patients using such medical implants.
Aerospace: Recent advancements in space technology include electric aircraft development that has created the demand for batteries with longevity and safety. Space vehicles and satellites are currently supported by solar power, which is subjected to an unsettling space environment. NDB powers electric aircraft, drones, and space stations for a more extended period.
Electronics: The use of NDB for powering standard electronic devices such as laptops and smartphones negates the need to charge such devices continually. NDB claims the use of their product would benefit the consumers by providing them with power outlet independent devices and increasing personal quantum computing and the device’s computational power.
Defense: NDB can be used in surveillance systems and electronics.
The Future of Nano-Diamond Batteries
As our day to day life is heavily dependent on mobile battery-powered devices, there is a rapid increase in the demand for efficient and cost-effective batteries. Conventional batteries have several concerns that include global warming and waste accumulation. The nano-diamond batteries overcome these limitations of conventional batteries in terms of longevity and widespread applications. Dr. John Shawe-Taylor, University College of London, stated that this technology could be the solution to the world's energy crisis with 'close to zero environmental impact and energy transportation costs.'
The team at NDB announced that the first commercial prototype battery would be available later this year. They further expressed the high demand for their product by stating that many organizations, including aerospace companies and a leader in nuclear fuel cycle products, are lined up as customers.
https://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5591

Yup- the "It's easier to be a parent this morning... it's easier to be a dad..." that got me right from the start.

Sorry if this is a repost...  I may have had some dust in my eyes while watching this.

Giuliani, is the gift that keeps on giving... I am going to miss his antics.
 
 

The memes are just incredible.

10:25 am Saturday, as his Pennsylvania lead goes over 30,000, CNN has now officially declared that Joe Biden has been elected as the 46th President of America (I can’t really call it the “United” States anymore). 

Joe Biden:         Your hired
Donald Trump:  YOUR FIRED!

A little late to the party, but... **** it
 

Hi everyone, Riley Marra here from the Blue Bombers. We just announced that we will be replaying (commercial free) the WSF, WF & GC on our Facebook Page and website.
https://www.facebook.com/BlueBombers/posts/3897550863611179
 

It's West Semi-Final Week!! We've got Calgary in Calgary this Sunday afternoon. Call me crazy, but I just have a really good feeling that with a healthy Zach Collaros, we've got a shot in this thing. If Streveler is healthy enough to run some short yardage packages, it'll help, but having Collaros starting, we've absolutely got a shot. Weather is cold, but should be a good day for football. 
Can't wait for Sunday!!!!!! 

Tucker’s a sore ‘loser’...
Damn those nasty files.
 

I am reminded of Black Widow’s quote in “Avengers” in the New York City atack “None of this will make a damn bit of difference if we don’t close that portal”. Meaning adding 4 or 6 justices to the Supreme Court won’t change a thing if Republicans re-gain power and do the same themselves. SCOTUS will have 89 seats at this rate. Harry Reid blew up SCOTUS nominations when he reduced the vote to simple majority, and the Republican shenanigans with Garland and Barrett were payback. Reid’s move was payback for McConnell’s obstruction, and on and on. Each side will pick it’s “you started it” moment (Clinton impeachment vs Bork nom failing as two examples). 
Republicans do what they do because they know that even with a popular minority, they can game their numbers in the Senate to keep hold of power. And the electoral college, gerrymandering, and voter suppression tactics all assist in keeping that power. And they don’t worry about alienating their opponents because their base will seemingly follow them to the gates of hell and not waver, although Trump is testing that theory like rarely before. Democrats can’t seem to align under one common liberal banner, so we see in-fighting which splinters the party and allows the other side to slide through. This may explain Colin’s “I don’t support Trump and am not defending him, but....” defence of Trump. He matches the profile of a Bernie Bro, who would burn down the party of his choice out of spite because his guy did not get in, versus Republicans who hold their nose at Trump so long as their party pushes the conservative agenda of pro-life, religious freedom, low taxes, heavy capitalism, and save our guns, and all vote in unison. 
So how to beat this? Don’t just expand the Supreme Court, set expansion limits so Republicans can’t double down when they take back power. Set term limits, or set limits on how many appointments can occur in one Presidential term.
 
But beyond that, play the system to your advantage like Repubs did. There was nothing illegal about what McConnell and the Senate did with Garland, Kavanagh and Barrett. Sure they could have allowed the Garland hearing and then voted him down anyway, so the optics of denying a hearing then and ramming one through now highlights the hypocrisy, but again they don’t care. So where do Dems have the advantage? If you believe polls, the simple majority of Americans lean Liberal. So get rid of the Electoral College and have a simple majority vote. Expand the House seats to reflect the change in US population and allow one rep for every 500,000 Americans, rounding up or down by 1 for those in between the threshold. And change the Senate with proportional representation, or limit its function so that it does not hold the balance of power on so much with so few members (California has almost 40,000,000 people and 2 senators, while the 14 least populous reliably Republican states have the same population but 28 senators). Legislate out gerrymandering and make voting as easy and accessible as possible. As Trump himself said in an interview, if every person was allowed to vote, no Republican would ever hold office again. So make that happen. Change the system for good so it just won’t flip-flop again.  Too harsh? Well, if the people will it to be so, they will change who gets elected. But right now where 35% of the population controls 52% of the senate votes, and the party that has lost the popular vote in 6 of the 7 last elections has nominated 15 of the 19 last SCOTUS justices, the system as it is looks pretty broken to the majority of America. Clean house, there may not be another time to pull this off. And for those who say why should Canadians care what the US does, just think of the global impact of deregulation of US companies on environmental issues for but one example of the answer as to why we should care. 

When you start to eat your own 
 

The town that built back green
By Annie Gowen  OCTOBER 23, 2020   After a tornado demolished Greensburg, Kan., it rebuilt without carbon emissions. Can its lessons help communities and economies rebound from fires, hurricanes and covid-19?   GREENSBURG, Kan. — After powerful tornadoes swept through Nashville earlier this year, killing 25 and leaving a trail of destruction for miles, one of the first calls officials made was to tiny Greensburg, population 900.
A wind-swept farming community in southwestern Kansas, Greensburg rebuilt “green” after an EF5 tornado — the most violent — barreled through at more than 200 miles per hour and nearly wiped it off the map in 2007.
A decade later, Greensburg draws 100 percent of its electricity from a wind farm, making it one of a handful of cities in the United States to be powered solely by renewable energy. It now has an energy-efficient school, a medical center, city hall, library and commons, museum and other buildings that save more than $200,000 a year in fuel and electricity costs, according to one federal estimate. The city saves thousands of gallons of water with low-flow toilets and drought-resistance landscaping and, in the evening, its streets glow from LED lighting.
It’s exactly the kind of community Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden envisions when he talks about the need to conserve energy and transition away from fossil fuels towards wind, solar and other sources that do not emit the greenhouse gases driving climate change. President Trump has dismissed global warming and disparaged wind turbines as well as LED lighting and other forms of energy conservation.
Greensburg is no liberal bastion. It sits in Kiowa County, where Trump handily beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, carrying 83 percent of the vote.
But leaders there now are routinely consulted by communities around the world grappling with devastating weather events from wildfires, tsunami, earthquakes and floods — in Australia, China, Japan and Joplin, Mo. In March, the city council member in Nashville wanted to ask what kind of building codes or regulations could make its buildings more tornado-resistant going forward.
(more)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/10/22/greensburg-kansas-wind-power-carbon-emissions/?arc404=true

Watching with interest....a lot of Banana Republicans, in the last couple of weeks......inching and crawling their way....away from Donald J. Trump
Well, over the last four years, they ignored one chance after another to stand up to Trump.   Turned a blind eye (or simply averted their gaze) to Trump's xenophobia, conspiracy theories, exploitation of racial divisions, and personal corruption..... all the while, swallowing his insults.  Former staunch critics like Ted Cruz and Lindsay Graham, morphed into total bootlicking MAGA men.
Not that there was any shortage of opportunities to make at least some sort of a stand.....to name just a few:
Denigrating American allies and cozening up to dictators
Muslim ban
End run around the Legislative branch to fund some of his Wall (all 6 new miles of it)
Downplaying Russian attacks on elections, throwing US intelligence agencies under the bus, for Putin, at Helsinki
Separating families at the border, putting kids in cages
Bypassing the Senate to name multiple acting Cabinet members, against the law
Helping the Saudis and their bone saw Prince, cover up the murder of a Washington Post Journalist
Calling American soldiers “suckers and losers.”
Trying to extort the Ukrainian president to help Trump dig up dirt on a political opponent
Gutting the ranks of inspectors general, to stifle genuine accountability of the executive branch,
Calling on his Attorney General to jail political opponents
Teargassing peaceful protesters, to make room for a photo-op
Not allowing witnesses or evidence at Trump's Impeachment Trial

All this, of course.... without even going into all the lies, deception, coverups and willful ignorance by Trump and many in his administration, which led to the disastrous US response on Covid.  Which, in terms of denying science and spreading disinformation, and displaying total hypocrisy..... still continues to this day.
Do these people really think it is going to be that easy to wash all that stink off?  Pretend that Trump was just the guy who brought the red hats and the tanning oil?   Or hope that history will somehow fail to record and narrate their total cowardliness and lack of integrity?
My advice to these GOP flunkies.....is to just shut up, and prepare to take the medicine.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

He certainly is a fascist and an aspiring dictator. The man who self professes to never joke has how many times talked about getting a third term? Or 12 more years? A man who has openly pondered about pardoning himself? A guy who is ignoring the laws of the land and daring anyone to do something about it? You really think he doesn't want to be just like Putin? As for the extra-judicial killings, I am talking about the left winger who was killed by federal marshalls amid all the protests. Trump has bragged about how they solved the problem in minutes. Vigilante groups like the ones who hatched a plot to kidnap a governor he didn't like for being a democrat. You can't hand wave these things away because it doesn't fit your world view. 
We're not talking about stupid **** he says on twitter, we're talking about his real actions. Don't be one of those people who dismisses the dog whistles because it's not explicitly said. Trump has always loved his weasel words. 

So the fact that Fox News killed the story due to questions about authenticity...does what for your point, exactly?