David Almandsmith

Hello again, dear commendably curious person, NASA just announced that the ISS will be ‘deorbited’ in January 2030 using three Russian rockets, and that future space stations will be built and operated by private industry. NASA just released this somewhat premature In Memoriam. Where are the burning pieces of the ISS going to land? At Point Nemo, … Read more

Hello again dear science aficionados, Whew! The James Webb Space Telescope, JWST, folded open and made it to its destination orbit with no glitches. During the next few months, its 18 primary mirrors – each 1.3m across – will be wiggled and warped to become a single ‘perfect’ telescope mirror using wavefront sensing and control algorithms – … Read more

Greetings dear science-aware reader, I’ve always liked illustrations of plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. They look so lithe and strong, evoking visions of pelagic ballerinas with the lethality of a T Rex. The fossilized head above came from Cymbospondylus youngorum, an especially large (15-meter-long) ichthyosaur. I wonder whether, unlike Great White Sharks, they would have found humans palatable. ¿And what … Read more

5 Dec 2021 Welcome Dear Reader, I’m sitting in the comfort of an RV with near-freezing temperatures outside (elevation 2,100 m) as i write this SciSchmooze missive. The RV park has WiFi so it’s much like working from home. Here are a few observations you may find interesting. ONE: Renewable energy generation is obvious out in … Read more

Welcome to another SciSchmooze, dear reader. COP26 ends this Friday and has been highly successful in eliciting pledges to actively confront Climate Change from the governmental parties attending. (BTW, COP means Conference of Parties). But “pledges” are not policy; Brazil is a good example. However, i believe that pledges are more than ‘Greenwashing.’ I believe they … Read more

Happy Halloween, y’all. Take a look at the above illustration. To me it resembles a monstrous lupine head, jaws wide, confronting a screaming person or demon with arms held straight. In reality, it was lava flowing down the side of Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands last week. Here’s a truly scary thought: Dinosaur sex. ¿How … Read more

3 October 2021 If you are awed by volcanoes near as much as i, check out this live feed or this live feed of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma in the Canary Islands. (More interesting in daylight but more awesome at night.) Or view it from the perspective of a (suicidal) drone. Chunks of lava are being blasted … Read more

6 September 2021 Hello again friends, Last week the Caldor Fire came within two blocks of my friends’ home in South Lake Tahoe. The weather phenomenon Ida caused misery, deaths, and many billions worth of damage. It is the consensus of experts that climate change brought upon by heightened CO2 levels is largely to blame for … Read more

29 August 2021 Over in San Francisco is the SHARKS exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences. Please note that because of the pandemic, proof of vaccination is required for entry and capacity is limited. Also in San Francisco, the GOOD Meat company is ramping up its production of ‘cultivated meat.’ They are one of several companies intending to … Read more