April 2022 - DC Document Reports

Elon Musk has bought Twitter, oh my!

Post author:Mark
Post published:April 30, 2022
Post category:Opinion

I knew little about Elon Musk before 2019. Tesla and SpaceX are Musk's creations. Electric cars don't thrill me, nor do electric-powered aircraft. The issue with any vehicle that is battery powered is the batteries' weight remains throughout the trip. In liquid-fueled vehicles, the fuel weight lessens as the fuel is burned for propulsion, and thereby extends the range of the vehicle, as well as, the possibility of going faster because of the diminished weight. The additional drawback to battery power is the charge time.What thrills me is SpaceX rockets. It is wondrous to see the boosters…

We have lost so much more than we have gained.

Post author:Mark
Post published:April 22, 2022
Post category:Opinion

In my lifetime, the above picture represents the technological progression to date. For the youngsters from left to right, vacuum tube, transistor, and integrated circuit. When I was a young boy, the world ran on vacuum tubes. TVs were huge and the vacuum tubes needed a minute to warm up to produce a picture and sound. Those early TVs needed periodic maintenance too. We had a TV repairman who came every so often to change out the vacuum tubes that were getting weak.By no means, this era was not perfect for everyone. Our Black sisters and brothers…

GM Hikaru Nakamura, what a nice person.

Post author:Mark
Post published:April 14, 2022
Post category:Opinion

Hikaru's chess prowess is only eclipsed by his even temperament and his humility. My first interaction with Hikaru was to admit how wrong I had been about my own chess-playing skills. Hikaru was playing without his queen by sacking his queen for a lowly pawn against low-rated players at first and then for a minor piece against high-rated players. I had wrongly thought I could be Magnus Carlsen without his queen.In the chat stream, I wrote how mistaken I was to Hikaru after seeing him vanquish player after player that was as much as 600 or more…

Mark’s current grievances with America.

Post author:Mark
Post published:April 8, 2022
Post category:Opinion

MadonnaI haven't forgotten what Madonna said on stage in front of the White House the day Donald Trump was sworn into the presidency. Nor will I ever forgive her. Forget who was sworn into the presidency. What is important is what Madonna said. Madonna mused about killing dogs, children, people of color, and women all to kill one man, President Donald J. Trump. Madonna wasn't speaking off the cuff. Madonna read from a paper she was holding. Madonna is very bright. So, what she said can't be pardoned for stupidity. "I have thought a lot about blowing up…