shutdown zingers in the noosphere

Before the shutdown, there was normal business as usual -- the usual mix of good and bad things.

On the positive side, there were two breakthroughs of a sort, for the first time giving
a reasonably clear and credible path to getting to 9 cents per kwh baseload electricity from space,
based on three web sites I find very exciting (based on my knowldege of the background):

www.nasa.gov/pdf/716070main_Mankins_2011_PhI_SPS_Alpha.pdf 

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2013/09/17.aspx

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=b50e849928286ce2f53e44cdaf43d8c7&tab=core&_cview=0

Maybe there is hope for humans in space after all (though the key meeting may be cancelled due
to government shutdown.).

On the downside, I was really bummed out by the official video (which still a very important
document):

http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/bioethics/130819/

They really do want to put wires into people's heads to control them... and it really is scary...
but that's not the main theme of today. Discussions of how to keep this from getting dangerously out of control have also been cancelled.

===========
============

So what is this shutdown, really?

Technically, it's partly a function of rules which allow a "majority of a majority" to
do whatever they want, in the House. Since 30% of the nation really beelive in Adam and Eve,
and want to get rid of other viewpoints... if 30% believe that government should ONLY
do police and military work, they may simply WANT to shut down all the rest. That's
the real program for many of them; the rets is just an excuse. It's a shame they don't understand that
there are OTHER sources of excess power in our world, which can go out of control
(like the newly forming "clone armies") without countervailing power, as Galbraith noted long ago.

It was a bit depressing for me yesterday, watching the House by CSPAN, seeing and
understanding what was really going on. They will pick and choose just a few things to maintain..
planning for a very long shutdown, maybe permanent..
and science and space simply aren't on the list. What do you expect, with Adam and Eve and many folks who don't believe a man ever landed on the moon? (It's been awhile since I read polls on the latter, but they were similar. Same old 30%. Al Qaida and the old Communist Party also illustrated what a determined minority can sometimes do.)

So yes... those thoughts are very strong in the noosphere. "Let's just shut it down permanently."

But there are also thoughts coming from China. "Hey, you guys... if the US government will
no longer support science and space... we believe we can save you and humanity. Just come and work for us..."

Also: "... the French revolutoin all over again. It started with aristocarts pulling off a legal/politiocal
coup from the right, showing great pride in their ability to screw the rest of the nation...
and they were able to push very far... generating an equal and opposite reaction..."
Oh Lord, not the bloody heads again... please.. not that...

But can we stop it?

But... plan for today... back to study of photons ...
now that I really understand two-photon circuits

http://arxiv.org/abs/1309.6168

moving up to three and four, which actually can allow more surprising effects than folks have noticed yet...

and a quick trip to the embassy of China to pick up a visa.

Best of luck,

    Paul