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Comment Re:No deaths? (Score 1) 174

I'm with you on everything up until " I'm pointing back to first principles of SMALLER government and PERSONAL responsibility. "

That's all well and good, and should definitely be a goal for all. However...what do you think we should do with those who will fail the 'personal responsibility test'? This is where conservatives start mumbling. Most seem to be of the opinion 'Fuck off and die'.

That's where I differ. I'm all for personal liberty and all that, but I also realize that there will be people who will fail that test and end up destitute, homeless, a danger to themselves and others. Instead of letting stay homeless I think we should have a decent social safety net including housing, rehab centers, etc. I'm even for the creation of boarding schools for kids who live in horrible situations where it's clear the 'parent' is their largest impediment to a successful life.

Where would we get the money for this? How about the plutocracy (the .01%)?

Comment Re:By far not the only design that does this. (Score 2) 200

Another huge problem is that they have no idea what to actually use to contain the coolant loop.

Lead and Lead/Bismuth coolants are VERY corrosive and require active purification in order to keep oxygen levels down to incredibly low levels. Otherwise it'll corrode steel in a matter of weeks.

There are several proposed alloys or coatings but as far as I can tell none of them have made it past initial research phases and all have their own downsides. Like, one may have good thermal characteristics but has a large neutron cross-section or another may have a small neutron cross-section but get very brittle with temperature differentials.

Couple this with the fact that the accelerator is pounding protons (H+) into a spallation source (lead typically) and you have a whole other host of problems. Hydrogenation of the metals can lead to really bad effects with some alloys.

As far as I can tell this is the primary thing that is holding back the Lead/Lead Bismuth fast reactors. Sodium cooled reactors have more research behind them but also contain their own host of problems (like exploding when in contact with air/water, nbd).

Comment Re:central storage or n^x security guard costs / s (Score 1) 191

Un-mined Uranium ore is still pretty toxic...but it's underground...This Uranium (not to mention all the other nasty shiz in coal ash) is put into the air and water table. I would consider that nuclear waste, yes. Considering the insane levels of regulation for even the tiniest levels of radiation surrounding nuclear plants, the fact that coal-ash gets a free pass to just store whatever in unlined pools next to lakes and rivers is pretty ludicrous.

Comment For Classrooms Too (Score 3, Interesting) 643

I'd like to see a camera in every public school classroom as well.

It would end the 'he said/she said' arguments when a kid is being disruptive and the parent refuses to believe their snowflake is anything other than perfect.

It could also allow for a better means of evaluating a teacher's performance. Currently it is done with in person audits by an administrator...teachers behave quite differently under that situation.

Comment Re:So what they need, then... (Score 1) 185

Exactly. I was just talking about this scenario the other day. While portable brain cases may be a bit far fetched and hard to imagine, I don't see immobile support systems for brains totally unfeasible. Of course waaay more science is needed, but we do seem to be advancing at an exponential rate.

Once it does become possible there are a bunch of strange milestones. Like, who were the first sucessful clinical trials? Would they become 'the elders' eventually? What about when there are more brains in buildings than people alive? Can brains own property? Would they have human agents in the 'real world' to do their bidding? What would it mean for prison sentences? How good would they be at first person shooters? ;-)

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