[BRIEF NOTE] On the questionable sense of transforming Mercury into a Dyson sphere

It's not often that I see megascale engineering projects like--say--the disassembly of the planet Mercury into a Dyson sphere--appear on my RSS feed, but appear it did via three posts: Alex Knapp's "Destroying Mercury To Build A Dyson Sphere Is A Bad Idea", james_nicoll following up with "'I emailed Astronomer Phil Plait' now officially a red flag", and Knapp following up with "A Few More Notes On The Impracticality Of Building A Dyson Sphere".

Both authors were reacting to a post by George Dvorsky, "How to build a Dyson sphere in five (relatively) easy steps", which argued that it would be possible to start taking Mercury apart in just a couple of generations (an upper limit of fifty years was mentioned).

Let’s build a Dyson sphere! By enveloping the sun with a massive array of solar panels, humanity would graduate to a Type 2 Kardashev civilization capable of utilizing nearly 100% of the sun’s energy output.

A Dyson sphere would provide us with more energy than we would ever know what to do with while dramatically increasing our living space. Given that our resources here on Earth are starting to dwindle, and combined with the problem of increasing demand for more energy and living space, this would seem to a good long-term plan for our species.

Towards the end, Dvorsky even suggests dissassembling the other planets of the solar system, to maximize the energy collected.

[W]hy go all the way? Well, it’s very possible that our appetite for computational power will become quite insatiable. It’s hard to predict what a post-Singularity or post-biological civilization would do with so much computation power. Some ideas include ancestor simulations, or even creating virtual universes within universes. In addition, an advanced civilization may simply want to create as many positive individual experiences as possible (a kind of utilitarian imperative). Regardless, digital existence appears to be in our future, so computation will eventually become our most valuable and sought after resource.

That said, whether we build a small array or one that envelopes the entire sun, it seems clear that the idea of constructing a Dyson sphere should no longer be relegated to science fiction or our dreams of the deep future. Like other speculative projects, like the space elevator or terraforming Mars, we should seriously consider putting this alongside our other near-term plans for space exploration and work.

And given the progressively worsening condition of Earth and our ever-growing demand for living space and resources, we may have no other choice.

The thing is, the resource shortages that are likely to be experienced are so trivial relative to the energy and resources that would be produced by a Mercury disassembled into energy collectors--and trivial relative to all of the dfferent resources required to develop the technology base capable of disassembling Mercury into energy collectors--that the overshoot is ludicrous. Knapp and Nicoll identify any number of failings, including the immense cost in resources necessary, the need to develop autonomous mining technologies capable of disassembling an entire planet in reasonable time, the question of what to do with the leftover debris of the planet and how, the problems involved with transmitting the produced energy to Earth (including the certainty that if the energy from the sphere was all transmitted to Earth the planet would superheat to a degree that would make Venus look clement), and, as Nicoll pointed out, the problems involved with unleashing self-replicating technology of such power: "[P]roposing we can do this any time soon is silly but yes, given improbable technology taking Mercury apart with solar energy might be doable in a surprisingly short time from first self-replicating machine lands on Mercury to final human tracked down in their Kuiper Belt bolt-hole and processed for raw materials for the Things the Replicators on Mercury Evolved into Thanks to Imperfect but Insanely Rapid Replication and Natural Selection".

[PHOTO] Neighbourhood watch

This is the second stencil of a security camera, white spraypaint against brick, that I've seen in my neighbourhood. Odd that these are the only cameras I can think of seeing in my neighbourhood. Or have I missed something: are there newer models about?

[ISL] "Is the Chamorro language dead?"

John S. DelRosario Jr.'s column in the Saipan Tribune is an interesting artifact from a society about to experience the death of its traditional language.

Saipan is the largest island of the United States' self-governing Micronesian commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Chamorro is a language of the Austronesian family distantly related to--among the better-known Austronesian languages--Filipino, Bahasa Indonesia, and Malagasy.

The Northern Marianas Island, along with adjacent Guam, has been under colonial rule for centuries--Spanish, Japanese, American. In the most recent century, any number of factors centering around the disruption of traditional societies by globalization has led to a full-fledged shift away from Chamorro towards English. In this article, DelRosario talks about his decision to stop writing a newspaper column in Chamorro.

Like dry leaf bouncing erratically in the open waters, someday it would soak and sink to the bottom of the sea, never to be seen again. Sadly, this is how I see the demise of our native tongue. Up ahead, our children would see the loss of something intrinsically valuable as it recedes with the tide of neglect, so mutilated by the demands of modernity.

[. . .]

Understandably, folks have related how hard it is to read in their lingo. Indeed, it is humiliating! But many of us are victims of an educational system that teaches English as we move from grammar to high school. We developed literacy in English while we devolve into illiteracy in our own native tongue. It’s nobody’s fault. But look at the long-term effects of illiteracy in our own language. It’s our last hope to perpetuating our peoplehood, isn’t it?

I learned my Chamorro in the first and second grades. Learning the written aspect of it never waned in spite of the instructional discontinuation. I have struggled during the initial years of penning my thoughts to ensure some appreciable measure of being conversant on issues, written with clarity. It became a lot easier with constant writing exercises through the years. It felt good, though I still refuse to use the orthography from Guam. It isn’t representative of the Chamorro taught then nor is it anywhere near what the learned folks have shared and conveyed to us before moving on.

The decision to bury my written column in the vernacular is founded in the assessment that hardly anybody reads Chamorro these days. Specifically, I quiz if I’ve done justice in the use of the written Chamorro or did I exact the complete opposite-discouraged more than encouraged its use. It seems an issue often treated with the adage, "After all is said and done, a lot more is said than done." And unless there’s strong and wide support of encouragement to continue, it ends on the last week of April.

It is this sad assessment plus 40 years of walking up to the loneliest mound on earth that hastened ending this journey this year. I will prepare an obituary for it. It seems a useless journey I liken to the narrowing of the arteries. Eventually, it loses its use and function. But I think I’ve conquered my dream of writing in my vernacular. Thank God it came with the love of writing and tons of inspiration. To write successfully is to write. Proficiency comes with the routine and critical review or reasoning. Nothing else! That I will end my written Chamorro will not change, in any form or fashion, my being Chamorro.

The implications of this for identity in this part of Micronesia, especially given the heavy influences of colonial powers on what's now identified as "traditional" culture, is examined at length.

Go, read.

[URBAN NOTE] "What is Doug Ford doing for Ward 2?"

Doug Ford, Jr. is Toronto mayor Rob Ford's older brother and a city councillor in his own right, representing Ward 2 in northwesternmost Toronto (or, north Etobicoke). He has frequently appeared as his brother's lieutenant, doing his best to advance city-wide policy. But what, asks constituent Rahim Ladra at blogTO, has Ford been doing for the district he represents?

Whenever Doug Ford opens his mouth, he seldom (if ever) talks of solving issues in Ward 2. I hear dialogue of Port Lands development, or monorails, or shutting down libraries that are in supposed industrial areas, or subways for Sheppard. I hear him speaking of ambitions for running as an MPP in the next election, and looking ahead to the future without actually paying attention to the now, with pie-in-the-sky notions of building casinos at Woodbine as one of the few public statements with regards to anything in Ward 2 of recent memory.

I don't hear a single tangible idea of how he would stimulate employment in this chronically under-employed area. I don't hear him speaking of creating any community initiatives to clean the Humber River, or to the building of more affordable housing in Ward 2. I do not hear any active initiation upon the vague notions which he campaigned upon. I hear nothing. When I listen to other councillors (regardless of their political leanings) I at least hear of dialogue involving their own Wards.

[. . .]

The worst offense to a Ward 2 citizen at this present moment is the radio show that the Fords are involved in on CFRB 1010 every Sunday. I'm not going to fault the Mayor for this - he's the Mayor, and if the Mayor of the city wants to be on the air for a couple of hours every week, I wouldn't care what his name is - I'm fine with it.

[. . .]

Doug Ford is a rookie councillor. Instead of going on air, why is he not in Rexdale actively working on issues that matter to the citizens of his Ward? That is one entire day he has committed to being elsewhere that serves absolutely no purpose when it comes to serving in public office. There is nothing being solved here by his participation in that show, and to fail to even recognize that he could best spend that time working on behalf of the citizens of his ward instead of talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs not only shows the worst kind of judgment, it tells the citizens of Ward 2 that he has no interest in their welfare.

Ford was elected with about 72% of the vote in the last municipal election. Will he get re-elected? Someone in the comments suggests that he's planning to run for the Ontario Provincial Parliament. Joy.

[URBAN NOTE] On the Toronto Maple Leafs apology to the hockey fans

Of Toronto's many generally sub-par professional sports teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the worst. I've commented in the past about how the fans have come to accept subpar performances from the team's players and coaches, linked to a management policy aimed at maximizing profit as opposed to athletic success, notwithstanding a ticket sales policy that ties up seating for Toronto games not for fans but for corporate events. The Maple Leafs have been able to get away with anything.

That's why I'm surprised that the Toronto Maple Leafs actually issued an apology to their fans, publshing an open letter in the various dailies.



The team did very badly.

[The] Maple Leafs team [sat] sixth in the Eastern Conference on Feb. 6 but plummeted to 11th place and five points out of both a playoff spot and last-place in the 15-team conference.

It didn’t end there as Toronto went on to lose a franchise-record 11 straight games on home ice, dropping 12 of 18 starts after head coach Randy Carlyle replaced the fired Ron Wilson on March 3, and finishing a once-promising campaign 26th of 30 teams with a 35-37-10 record and seventh straight season out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Refreshingly, the fans don't seem to have been placated by this.

A Twitter poster who uses the handle HockeyHumor said “Q: What do college students and the Maple Leafs have in common? A: They've both finished their year by April.”

CBC News showed copies of the newspaper apology to fans. Their reaction was mixed.

“That’s sports, you win some, you lose some,” said a fan taking a break outside the Air Canada Centre shortly after Burke’s press conference.

“Go Blue Jays,” said another.

Another fan who spoke to CBC outside the Air Canada Centre said the team needs "less apologies, more action."

Might things be made to change?

[BRIEF NOTE] On the death of Commodore founder Jack Tramiel

CTV News' Andy Johnson shares the news about the death of Jack Tramiel, the businessman who founded Commodore International and started off the world on computing. My first exposure to computers in the strict sense, excluding game machines like the Atari, was to my cousin Derrick's Commodore 64, and my first personal computer was a Commodore 64.

For those who grew up as the personal computer was beginning to make its first appearances in homes and classrooms, the words "Commodore 64" have special resonance.

The early version of the personal computer was fun, educational and affordable and put digital technology in the hands of many, for the very first time.

Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore and the man who helped popularize the personal computer, died on Sunday at the age of 83, his son Leonard Tramiel has confirmed.

"Jack Tramiel was a larger than life character whose motto was 'computers for the masses, not the classes,'" Brian Bagnall, author of "Commodore: A Company on the Edge," told CTVNews.ca.

"He was instrumental in getting computers into the hands of millions of teenagers, families on tight budgets, people on low incomes -- people who would later become famous such as (Linux inventor) Linus Torvalds, whose first computer was the VIC-20."

The Polish-born son of Jewish immigrants, Tramiel survived the Auschwitz concentration camp before moving to North America where he became an entrepreneur, inventor and businessman.

He began his career in the U.S. in the late 1940s maintaining typewriters for the U.S. army, before eventually moving to Toronto in 1955 and starting his own typewriter company, Commodore Business Machines International.

Tramiel, at the vanguard of the electronics movement, then shifted his business to California's Silicon Valley in the late 1960s and began manufacturing calculators.

He eventually launched the Commodore 64 in 1982, after first releasing the PET in 1977 and the VIC-20 in 1980. The precursors never achieved the popularity of the C64, which still qualifies as one of the most popular PCs ever made, having sold over 20 million units.

It's a pity that the Commodore didn't survive as a viable brand into the 1990s and later. I don't think it would have helped to have avoided Tramiel's deposition in a shareholder coup in 1984, since the success of PC clones drove out every computer system with its own operating system apart from Apple. The memories, though, are great.

Incidentally, Johnson pointed out that William Shatner was a spokesperson for Commodore, appearing in a TV commercial for the VIC-20 model.

In the ad, Shatner asked parents why they would waste their money on a gaming device for their children when they could learn and have fun with a Commodore.

"Why buy just a video game from Atari or Intellivision? Invest in the wonder computer of the 1980s for under $300," Shatner says in the futuristic looking commercial.

"Unlike games it has a real computer keyboard. With the Commodore VIC-20 the whole family can learn computing at home."