You assume RTG technology - I don't and I don't think the linked article does, either.

They discuss Energy Organs here, stating that (emphasis mine):

I'd say that's pretty good efficiency, and given the power levels and temperatures, I think non-RTG technologies should be used. If the system never drops below 0C, why not use a more conventional system?

Plus, you could just use the Gd148 to keep the craft warm and use other means to generate electrical power.

Gd148 is sexy as hell, but isn't exactly available in the corner drugstore. I quote:

Yes, I admit it.

I stopped using TurboTax when they decided they could write data outside my filesystem, as if it were their computer. I use H&R Block's TaxCut, and it's just as good as TurboTax ever was.

Cancer may not have to be the cause of death, but rather the cause of immortality.

Perhaps they can harness the same thing that keeps HeLa cells immortal - sort of a body-wide 'cancer' that makes you immortal?

The sound of a Saturn V ripping and rending it's way into space.

Lucky you. I have a huge notch in my hearing around 15 kHz thanks to flybacks.

Life is a "Grand Illusion" -- Styx, 1977

Check out Strong Spermin' ^H^H^H^H Strom Thurmond. He popped out 4 kids between the ages of 68 and 73.

Nothing in Ham radio requires encryption.

I would allow encryption on amateur satellite command uplinks and perhaps on repeater command functions, but not for general use.

Sorry, I wasn't clear - I meant they were leasing airtime, not towers. They're still beholden to the price that the 'big ones' place on leasing out their own infrastructure to what could be called competitors. When you lease airtime, you're implicitly leasing the towers, too.

To a point it exists, but there is still separate and competing infrastructure out there. Until every tower has generic transceivers for each allocated band on it and no cellular provider owns their own infrastructure, the big companies still have a huge 'leg up' over the virtual ones that have to lease from one of the biggies.

I never once mentioned the government running the infrastructure COMPANY. My local power company, Dominion, has two separate sides - a power generation side and a power distribution side. Both are heavily regulated by the Va State Corp Commission, and both have to apply for rate increases that are not always approved. The distribution company has strict performance requirements and fixed profit caps in exchange for being the only power distribution company that gets to run lines to your house. You can buy your power from any number of generation providers (including the generation side of Dominion) that all use the same distribution provider. Their rates are separate on my bill.

I could start "Dave's Power and Light" and provide my 'Green power from horse turds' over the same distribution network for not a whole lot of up-front cash. I propose the same structure for all utilities, including cellular.

I can think of lots of things that I'd like to socialize long before telco.

You realize that the same distribution company/provider company situation already exists in the landline telco industry, right? I can get my dialtone from anyone over my local telco's wires to my house.

I suggest we regulate it like most power/water/sewage companies are regulated - there's a single (very profit- and performance-regulated) company that is responsible for the infrastructure - towers, transceivers, and backhaul in this case. Carriers would then be able to lease access to spectrum from that company with little/no barrier to entry.

Just because you can't see most of the infrastructure it doesn't mean that you shouldn't manage it wisely like any other infrastructure, be it water/sewer pipes or power distribution lines.

I'd love to see this model applied to telephone/fiber/CATV and cellular towers - imagine being able to actually select an internet provider from a wide array of competing companies instead of being locked in to the one that your municipality made the best $$$ deal with.

Excellent analysis, Mr. Pillow. Thanks!