Monday, 20 October 2025

My Conner McDavid Prediction of April 2024 – How did it Turn Out?

My Conner McDavid Prediction of April 2024 – How did it Turn Out?

Review of an Earlier Predictive Blog about Conner McDavid’s Extension Decision

Back in April 2024, I wrote a facetious blog suggesting that the Edmonton Oilers management actually wanted to trade Conner McDavid to an American team, and would frustrate him into going along with that idea, by ensuring that the team would never have a consistent goalie during McDavid’s tenure. The idea was that the NHL wanted their marquee player to go to a big market in the U.S. in order to "grow the game", rather than ‘waste’ their greatest talent in a small Canadian market. I drew some obvious parallels with the saga of Wayne Gretzky, another great Oiler who was traded in his prime, in the hopes of sparking more widespread interest in hockey in the U.S.. I have appended that blog to the end of this one, for a more detailed working-out of the theory.

Here are some of the detailed predictions from that earlier blog:

Prediction: "Oilers insist that Skinner is the man, this summer. McDavid decides “that’s it, I’m out of here”. Bonus: the wife goes to a bigger, more important city, as did Gretzky’s wife."

Outcome: The Oilers did insist that Skinner (or Skinner-Pickard) is their intended goalie solution for the next season, during the off-season between 2024-25 and 2025-26. However, instead of deciding "that’s it, I’m out of here", he decided "here’s enough money to get a top-level goalie so that my teammates and I can win a Stanley Cup. If we don’t get that goalie and win the Cup, I’m gone." I predict that Conner will be watching very intensely, to see if management gets the message.

Prediction: "McDavid does not go to the Leafs or any other Canadian team (sorry Leafs fans). The NHL (i.e. Bettman) sees no point in that, they want him in an American market."

Outcome: It’s true that McDavid didn’t go to the Leafs or any other Canadian team, since he did extend with Edmonton. However, the Leafs did lose Mitch Marner to a U.S. team (Las Vegas) over the off-season, so I think I deserve some part-marks for that.

Prediction: "Once this is accomplished, the Oilers will shop around for a new, better goalie, and obtain one. That will console the local fans, at least somewhat."

Outcome: Again, McDavid didn’t leave the Oilers, so that part is N/A. However the Oilers have done some limited shopping for a new, better goalie, resulting in the signing of Conner Ingram of Utah. It remains to be seen if that constitutes an improvement or whether the local fans are consoled by the signing of this goalie. It seems unlikely to me that this deal goes as far as McDavid wants. We will see what the Oilers management does over the next year or so. I predict that they will continue to drag their feet.

Prediction: "Which market? Probably one that is promising for expansion of the league’s presence in the U.S.. But probably not one where hockey is already firmly established (not New York, for example). Possible locations: Utah, Seattle, San Jose or Columbus."

Outcome: Again, McDavid didn’t leave the Oilers, so that part is N/A. It is interesting that Utah has had some involvement in the general scenario (via Conner Ingram), however.



Some Comments and Observations about Conner McDavid’s Actual Extension Decision

What actually happened, is that McDavid signed a 2 year extension to his contract, maintaining his pay at $12.5 million per year. It is widely agreed that, as hockey’s best player, he could have held out for much more than that. Some other marquee players signed for much more money, with the current maximum being $17 million. McDavid could have easily gotten that much, from the Oilers or just about any other team in the league.

So why did he do it? This is usually referred to as a home-town deal or a friendly deal. The idea is that the player wants to stay with his current team for one reason or another, so he gives them a sweetheart deal. That may be that he or his family really like the city that they are in, that he really likes the team and his teammates or perhaps really dislikes the alternative teams that can afford to pay him the maximum attainable salary.

Most people think that McDavid really wants to win a Stanley Cup and realized that by getting top dollar he would handicap any team that he signed with, as then they wouldn’t have the money to surround him with at truly top-notch team. So, he decided to sacrifice some money in order to win the championship trophy. (Note that teams have a maximum salary that they can pay (the cap), so low-balling his contract opened up cap-space (left money in the kitty for other top players to be signed)). Presumably he looked around and thought the Oilers were his best chance of realizing his goal, if they had enough cap-space to sign a top-flight goalie.

He is also known to be good friends with Leon Draisaitl, another Oiler who has signed a long-term contract with the Oilers. So he may be prioritizing friendship over money, at least for a while. Then there is family to consider. His wife has started up several businesses in Edmonton, so she might want to stick around to grow those businesses, both for the money and as a personal goal.

It is also worth keeping in mind that he could well earn a lot more money in the future, should he captain a Stanley Cup winning team. Yes, he is a great player either way, but there is something about winning the Cup that cements that reputation and supports any demands for even more money. So, it is possible that this plan might earn him more money in the long run than going for the gusto would have done in the present.

There is also the notion of legacy to consider. Winning a Stanley Cup in Edmonton would give him ‘Cup cred’ and would be extra-significant as it would be the first Stanley Cup to come to Canada since the early 1990’s. That would be an extra feather in his cap, or hockey helmet. He has expressed the desire to be on a winning Canadian Olympic Gold Medal hockey team, so some patriotism is probably mixed into the motivations.

A final consideration deals with the nature of money itself. He has already earned over $100 million up to this point in his career, not including endorsements or other non-hockey money. And $12.5 isn’t exactly small potatoes, so he is still increasing his overall wealth, rather handily. While many people think "the best must be payed the most", this rule of thumb is just that, not an actual rule that people must follow. He is demonstrating that with his extension signing.

How is it Turning Out so Far?

It has only been a couple of weeks since the season started (I am writing this on Oct 19, 2025). The Oilers are in one of their usual early-season skids, losing their last three games on the road. Does this mean that the deal isn’t working out?

Well, obviously it is far to early to say anything like that. However, it may indicate some issues about leadership. Perhaps coach Kris Knoblauch is having some difficulty with the situation. While it is true that top players are more important than coaches (e.g. they make more money), it is important to maintain the fiction that the coach is top dog. So, perhaps that’s an issue.

The whole business might have also placed a lot of unexpected self-imposed stress on Conner McDavid. He has called his shot, so to speak, so now he has to hit a home run (yes, I am mixing hockey and baseball metaphors, as well as dogsled teams). That could weigh heavily on Conner’s mind, at least for a while.

Having said all that, it is almost certain that the Oilers will pull out of the doldrums and begin winning again. At least this way, they need not fear the President’s Cup curse of the ‘peaking too early’ curse.

Appendix 1: Earlier blog post

A Modest Hockey Proposal – McDavid Leaves the Oilers, with the Hows and Whys (Apr 24, 2024)

Note: This is just meant in the spirit of fun and irony, not to be taken seriously by lawyers and such.

  • 1987 – Gretzky traded/sold after about 10 years with Oilers (including WHA).

  • He went to L.A. - the idea was to lock down hockey as a major league sport in the U.S., especially Southern California (and southern regions in general).

  • The deal was between Pocklington and McNall – but obviously the NHL brain-trust must have also been involved, at least to some extent.

  • Gretzky was “wasted” in Edmonton – he was a big draw all over North America, but it would create more publicity if he was playing in a larger market. More money and prestige for everyone.

  • Flash forward to 2020s.

  • McDavid has had about 10 years with the Oilers, came very close to a Stanley Cup.

  • McDavid is “wasted” in Edmonton – he is a big draw all over, but would create more publicity if he was playing in a larger American market. More money and prestige for everyone.

  • But how to move him to a different city?

  • Solution: Oilers owner and management (Katz and company) insist on keeping under-performing goalie(s), though it is obvious that this is not working.

  • This frustrates McDavid, so he wants to go to a contender with standard or better goal-tending.

    Predictions:

  • Oilers insist that Skinner is the man, this summer. McDavid decides “that’s it, I’m out of here”. Bonus: the wife goes to a bigger, more important city, as did Gretzky’s wife.

  • McDavid does not go to the Leafs or any other Canadian team (sorry Leafs fans). The NHL (i.e. Bettman) sees no point in that, they want him in an American market.

  • Once this is accomplished, the Oilers will shop around for a new, better goalie, and obtain one. That will console the local fans, at least somewhat.

  • Which market? Probably one that is promising for expansion of the league’s presence in the U.S.. But probably not one where hockey is already firmly established (not New York, for example). Possible locations: Utah, Seattle San Jose or Columbus.

Questions:

  • Is this crazy conspiracy thinking? No, this makes perfect sense from the NHL’s point of view. Furthermore, pro sports are “entertainment” so questions about fairness are irrelevant.

  • Why would Katz do it? He has his new hockey arena. He doesn’t need McDavid to draw fans in Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl will still remain with the Oilers, so that will assuage the local fans (especially if the Oilers sign a new goalie, shortly after McDavid leaves).

  • What’s in it for Katz and Oilers management?

    • Many possible hockey or non-hockey business opportunities or positions might suddenly open up (though it would just be a coincidence).

    • Plus, there would be a status gain for this development “it was best for the good of the league and the game”. Edmonton fans would grumble, but they will always show up at the rink and on the TV.

  • Would this be considered anti-trust behaviour on behalf of Katz and Bettman (possibly others as well)? Hard to say, but it would be difficult to prove anyway.


Friday, 17 October 2025

The Recent Windows 11 Upgrade and Related Technology

 The Recent Windows 11 Upgrade and Related Technology Shenanigans That I have Known and not Loved 

We have just passed the Day of Doom for Windows 10 computers (Oct 14, 2025), wherein they will no longer be supported by Microsoft, via updates to the operating system. There is the possibility of getting a reprieve for a year, if you pay a $30 shakedown fee and diligently sign on to your MS account (which must now have, even if your system is a standalone one). To compound the high-handed nature of this MS move, EU and UK users will not have to pay the $30 fee.

So, what happens if you just ignore all this and go ahead with using your W10 computer without the benefit of upgrades? There is a potential cost and benefit:

  • Cost – you may get hacked, as you don’t have the Microsoft updates, which are (in part) meant to block such attacks.

  • Benefit – You won’t have to pay 30 bucks, be forced to have an MS account or have to suffer through bad upgrades of Windows 10 or 11.

Bad Windows upgrades are a problem. Within the past few months I have lost the Bluetooth drivers for two devices – one a radio/audiobook device and the other a wireless mouse. A Windows 10 update blew away the radio/audiobook drivers and a Windows 11 upgrade blew away the wireless mouse upgrade. I still haven’t got the radio working and I switched to a regular cabled mouse to solve that problem. (I do have a Windows 11 machine in the house as well as my regular Windows 10 machine).

To compound the Windows 11 problem, my HP printer (Laserjet Pro MFP M227 fwd) won’t work with W11, due to driver incompatibility. HP has discontinued this model of printer (its about 7 years old, lightly used, works fine), so there are no drivers available.

A Solution

The most obvious solution to these problems is to just desert the Windows system, in favour of some version of Linux. So that’s what I did with the orphaned Windows 10 machine.

To be precise, I set up a dual boot on that W10 computer that can’t be updated to W11. There seemed to be no point in getting the one-year extension for $30, as Microsoft has said that this is a one-year shot and nothing more. After that, you are on your own, against the hacker ecosystem.

I put Linux Mint on one partition and W10 on the other. The machine has a big hard drive, so space isn’t a problem. It took a while, but it seems to be working. We will see if that continues.

I had a dual boot Windows7/Linux system on a laptop some years back and liked that. But eventually neither Windows nor the version of Linux that I had would recognize the internet. The hardware was too old to upgrade to new version of Linux and/or you needed an internet connection to do so, which of course, I no longer had on that machine. However, at about that time I had to get a new computer to work from home (i.e. Covid lockdowns) so it wasn’t actually an issue anymore. That said, I might try to rescue that old laptop out of curiosity, now that I have more experience with the Linux install. Of course, that might be impossible by now. 

Earlier Operating System Computer Shenanigans

This stuff has been going on for a long time. Here are some examples from my past experiences:

  • My Microsoft Surface tablet quit working after I had attempted to use an aftermarket power supply unit, when replacing the original unit, as the cord had frayed badly. I don’t know if MS even makes these anymore. Besides, had W8 on it, which Microsoft has cast to even farther outer limits than Windows 10.

  • My Apple iPad quit working, for the most part. Its Amazon app was good for reading books, but it and/or Amazon quit supporting it, so it was no longer useful for that. Then, it went into some weird loop upon opening it up, telling me that "AppleTunes space is full", over and over again. So now, all it is good for is as a clock and alarm. It lets me know when it is 8:00 a.m., since I set up the alarm to do that long ago. Basically it has died (or been killed), with only the ghost of the alarm clock duck remaining (on weekdays). I guess that’s something.

  • An ink jet printer quit working when I used a recycled ink unit some years back. It (the ink) was sold by the University of Alberta bookstore, so presumably it was not a sketchy ink unit. But it seems as if some of these printers had a way of identifying a non-OEM ink supplies and were programmed to shut down when that happened.

I could add more, but you get the point.

Summary

Big corporations routinely decide that your device is no longer to be supported, regardless of what condition it is in (e.g. the Windows 11 forced transition). Added to that, there is issue of Bluetooth drivers constantly being clobbered by updates (MS has a notoriously poor Bluetooth stack). Consumers have a natural wariness of technology because of these practices.

Consider the so-called "Internet of Things". Imagine that one day you discover that your refrigerator or oven stopped working because it doesn't have the latest software or chip. But, hey, you can just buy another appliance from the company that discontinued your current one. And it will be great because there has been some trivial change that you didn't want or need. Ditto for your furnace, your water heater, your AC, your toaster, your light bulbs, your dishwasher, your wall clock, etc.

So not only is this stuff not needed, it also makes you captive to forced obsolescence on a huge scale. I think most consumers know this explicitly, or at least intuit it. So, they simply don't trust the concept of internet of things.

This feeds into cynicism about corporations and governments. For example, why do governments insist on banning plastic bags and plastic straws, but allow corporations to force people to throw a way hundreds of millions of working computers, printers and other peripherals? From an ecological standpoint, it makes no sense.

Anyway, I could continue the rant, but I will leave it at that (for now). Though I could go on and on about how we are having unwanted AI shoved at us constantly...

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

And here is a somewhat related book which I wrote, that deals with what might happen if and when computer companies really take AI to the logical limit:

Tuesday, 30 September 2025

Energy and Other Constraints on a 3I/Atlas Type Object, if it is of Artificial Origin

 Energy and Other Constraints on a 3I/Atlas Type Object, if it is of Artificial Origin

There have been speculations that the interstellar object 3I/Atlas might be of artificial origin, rather than being a natural object. This is obviously highly contentious, but I thought it would be interesting to see just how likely it would be for a civilization much like the Earth’s to send an object on an interstellar journey.

Even now, we know that Earth has already sent an interstellar object or two on their way out of the solar system. These are rather small probes, such as Voyager, Pioneer or New Horizons, that were sent to study the outer planets and as a result of those missions, are now proceeding out of the solar system. So, clearly it can be done, though it must be kept in mind that gravity assists (so called sling-shots) increased the velocity of these craft, such that they were significantly faster than they would have been with launch energy alone. That required some very specific orbital manoeuvres and planetary alignments – those conditions would not necessarily exist for other hypothetical journeys out of our solar system or out of any similar solar system.

Energy Constraints

So, I did a very high-level (i.e. approximate) analysis of the energy budget possible for a craft, using the energy various sources that we now have or could soon have, here on Earth. Those are:

Energy Available

Fuel                                              Mass Density (Kg/M3)     Energy Density MJ/Kg

Methalox (Methane/Oxy)             810                                         10

RP-1 with Oxidizer                     2074                                          12

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX             641                                         17

U-235 (25% enriched)                 4000                                     3,900

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)             4000                                     15,600



Here are the escape velocities from some points within the Solar System.

Energy Required to Escape the Solar System

Initial Point     Escape Velocity (km/sec)

Earth             42.1

Mars              34.1

Ceres             25.3

Jupiter          18.5

Saturn          13.6

Uranus           9.6

Neptune         7.7

Pluto             6.6

The basic idea is simple (below is the example of a 10 km radius "spacecraft", similar to the 3I/Atlas speculations):

  • given a radius for the object, calculate the volume (assuming a sphere)

  • make some of this the fuel mass and some of it the object mass, using representative densities for both.

  • This example postulates a very high porosity in which a metholox (liquid methane and liquid oxygen mix) fuel supply could be contained.

Radius

- km 10

- m 10,000

Volume (assuming sphere)

- km3 4,189

- m3 4.19E+12

Mass (kg)

Fuel Methalox

- mass density (kg/m3) 810

- porosity 90%

- total fuel mass 3.05E+15

Non-Fuel (rock/metal)

- mass density (kg/m3) 3,000

- pct non-porosity 10%

- total non-fuel mass 1.26E+15

Total Fuel & Non-Fuel Mass

- porosity 90%

- Mass 4.31E+15Energy

Energy density (MJ/kg) 10.0

- Total (max avail, MJ) 3.05E+16

- porosity 90%

- Total, given porosity est. (MJ) 2.75E+16



For a very rough estimate of the velocity that could be obtained by burning this much fuel, given the mass of the object, a simple kinetic energy calculation is used. This assumes that all of the available energy could be "somehow" converted to the kinetic energy of the object:



Escape Velocity (km/sec)

- from solar system

Starting at Pluto

- km/sec 6.6

- m/sec 6,600

Escape Velocity – Kinetic Energy Required

- from solar system

Earth

- 6.65E+16 MJ



So, about 6.6 X 10E16 megajoules would be needed, but only about 2.8 X 10E16 megajoules would be available, even given simplistic and unrealistically optimistic estimates of the theoretically available energy. That gives an Energy Available/Required ratio of only about 0.41, not even half of what is needed to escape the solar system, even from the distance of Pluto.

Perhaps a significant payload could be launched out of a sun-like star’s solar system with a long series of gravity assists, though that would probably be extremely complicated and time consuming. Perhaps a long series of "stepping stones" might work, moving slowly to the outer parts of the system, always making use of local resources, such as dwarf planets, comets and asteroids.

However, if nuclear energy could be used, the situation would be dramatically different, due to the huge energy density of nuclear energy sources. Even from Earth distance, it could probably be done if enough enriched uranium was available and the object was assembled far from the Earth’s gravitational influence. I think the surface or near-surface of the object would have to be festooned with nuclear reactors, at least of the power of hundreds of nuclear submarines. At any rate, the energy would potentially be there, if it could be converted into kinetic energy (maybe by accelerating ions in a strong electric field).

The case is improved further, if the object was powered by fusion energy from deuterium-tritium reactors, should those actually be feasible. The main advantage would be availability of fuel. That would be even more true for deuterium- deuterium reactors. Again, the object’s surface and near-surface would probably have to contain hundreds of such reactors and devices for accelerating ions in strong electrical fields.

Detailed calculations for several fuels and several solar system distances from the sun are given in an appendix at the end of the blog.

Other Constraints

The next obvious question is "who would want to do this, given the vast expenses and the long time scales involved?". After all, even at fantastic velocities (e.g. 1000 km/sec) it would take millennia to get anywhere interesting. (e.g. at about 30 billion km per year, it would take about 1000 years to get to Alpha Centauri).

I think it would have to be a long-lived species, very possibly a non-organic one, that could make plans and then execute those plans on time scales like this. That assumes that members of a machine species could actually exist without breakdown for those kinds of time scales. On Earth, I don’t think we have kept any machine running for even centuries, let alone millennia.

So, my conclusion is that something like 3i/Atlas could conceivably be artificial, but it would indicate many technologies that we have still not achieved and planning horizons and motivations that we can’t even begin to comprehend.

That said, I suppose if something is possible, it might well be done, eventually.








Appendix

Below is a table with back-of-the-envelope calculations for various types of fuel and various distances from the sun-like central star.

Assuming Asteroid Radius=10 km






Starting from 1 AU (Earth Distance)






Initial Point

Earth

Earth

Earth

Earth

Earth

Initial Point escape Velocity

42.1

42.1

42.1

42.1

42.1

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

2.71E+18

6.93E+18

2.14E+18

1.34E+19

1.34E+19

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.010

0.012

0.017

3.96

15.84







Starting from 1.52 AU (Mars Distance)






Initial Point

Mars

Mars

Mars

Mars

Mars

Initial Point escape Velocity

34.1

34.1

34.1

34.1

34.1

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

1.78E+18

4.55E+18

1.40E+18

8.77E+18

8.77E+18

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.015

0.019

0.026

6.04

24.15







Starting from 2.77 AU (Ceres Distance)






Initial Point

Ceres

Ceres

Ceres

Ceres

Ceres

Initial Point escape Velocity

25.3

25.3

25.3

25.3

25.3

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

9.77E+17

2.50E+18

7.73E+17

4.83E+18

4.83E+18

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.028

0.034

0.05

10.97

43.87







Starting from 5.2 AU (Jupiter)






Initial Point

Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter

Initial Point escape Velocity

18.5

18.5

18.5

18.5

18.5

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

5.23E+17

1.34E+18

4.14E+17

2.58E+18

2.58E+18

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.05

0.06

0.09

20.51

82.05







Starting from 9.6 AU (Saturn)






Initial Point

Saturn

Saturn

Saturn

Saturn

Saturn

Initial Point escape Velocity

13.6

13.6

13.6

13.6

13.6

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

2.82E+17

7.23E+17

2.23E+17

1.39E+18

1.39E+18

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.10

0.12

0.16

37.95

151.82







Starting from 19.2 AU (Uranus)






Initial Point

Uranus

Uranus

Uranus

Uranus

Uranus

Initial Point escape Velocity

9.6

9.6

9.6

9.6

9.6

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

1.41E+17

3.60E+17

1.11E+17

6.95E+17

6.95E+17

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.20

0.24

0.33

76.17

304.69







Starting from 30.0 AU (Neptune)






Initial Point

Neptune

Neptune

Neptune

Neptune

Neptune

Initial Point escape Velocity

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.7

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

9.05E+16

2.32E+17

7.16E+16

4.47E+17

4.47E+17

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.30

0.37

0.51

118.40

473.60







Starting from 39.5 AU (Pluto)






Initial Point

Pluto

Pluto

Pluto

Pluto

Pluto

Initial Point escape Velocity

6.6

6.6

6.6

6.6

6.6

Fuel

Methalox

RP-1 with Oxidizer

Hydrogen, Liquid & LOX

U-235 (25% enriched)

Hydrogen, Fusion (DT)

Porosity

90%

90%

90%

90%

90%

Energy Available:

2.75E+16

8.47E+16

3.68E+16

5.29E+19

2.12E+20

Energy Required:

6.65E+16

1.70E+17

5.26E+16

3.28E+17

3.28E+17

Energy Index (Avail/Required)

0.41

0.50

0.70

161.16

644.63


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And here's a book promotion for a book that is premised on (guess what) an invasion of the solar system by an AI entity that plans to destroy humanity with an asteroid, among other methods.

The Magnetic Anomaly – A Science Fiction Novel


The novel version of The Magnetic Anomaly is now available onAmazon (ebook, print version to come soon, also audible version).

This novel began life as a short story, similarly by not exactly titled The Magnetic Anomaly – A Science Fiction Story (note “the novel” vs “story”). Some reviewers were interested to know where the short story would go, once it was turned into a novel.

To be honest, I didn’t know myself, until I started writing it. But often the process of writing takes on a life of its own. I think it turned out quite nicely, in my humble but obviously not disinterested opinion. Fortunately, my beta readers agreed with that assessment. I hope other readers agree as well.



Summary

Below is an excerpt from the short story, which is also the first chapter of the novel:

A geophysical crew went into the Canadian north. There were some regrettable accidents among a few ex-military who had become geophysical contractors after their service in the forces. A young man and young woman went temporarily mad from the stress of seeing that. They imagined things, terrible things. But both are known to have vivid imaginations; we have childhood records to verify that. It was all very sad. That’s the official story.”

As the summary above indicates, the main characters, geophysicist Alex and geologist Mary, survived their ordeal in the northern exploration camp. However, there was much more involved, behind the scenes, than they could imagine at the time.

The novel version of the story expands greatly on this.

Alex and Mary get caught up in a vast conflict and exciting adventure, one of literally cosmic proportions. During this time, they encounter a variety of enigmatic persons, as well as other entities, all of whom are also engaged in this struggle. With some of them they end up allying; with others, they contend in deadly conflict. The struggle takes them around the world, and eventually to the far reaches of the solar system.

During this time their relationship continues to evolve and deepen. Circumstances demand that they grow in courage and confidence, though within the scope of (mostly) normal people, as has been the case for countless people throughout history.

The story also showcases some historical events, relating to different versions of what went on in Antarctica, shortly after World War 2. Several versions of these events, official and unofficial UFO lore are given. This becomes a springboard to much of the action. Some philosophical and scientifica ideas are also explored, though not in such a way as to get in the way of the action for long.

Amazon:

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

India:  https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0F9J3HHFW

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Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Some Interesting (and Somewhat Spooky) Events, Concerning Clocks

Some Interesting (and Somewhat Spooky) Events, Concerning Clocks

Sept 2025: In the evening, my wife Helena and I were standing near the drip coffee maker in the kitchen. She wanted me to put coffee in the filter and water in the reservoir, as she wasn’t feeling all that well and thought she might spill something if she did it herself. However, she did stick around to make sure that I wouldn’t automatically turn the machine on after refilling it, as I often did, just by habit. The coffee was to be used in the morning, we were just setting it up that evening, for that purpose.

As a joke, I pretended I was going to turn it on after filling it up and pointed my finger at the on switch, as if I was about to turn it on. I said something like "now I stab at thee, on switch", riffing off the quote from Moby Dick ("From Hell’s heart I stab at thee").

At exactly that moment the clock on the wall suddenly fell down, with a loud thud as it hit the floor. The clock was in the same general direction as I was ‘stabbing’, as it was behind the coffee maker, a bit above and to the left. However, my finger was still a good foot away from the wall, as was my wife’s hand.

The timing was so precise that it was hard not to think that there was some significance to it. Helena wondered if it presaged a death. If nothing else, it presaged purchasing a new wall clock.

Some time in the 2010s: We had had a similar experience some dozen or more years earlier, while watching a TV show late one night. A comedy skit came on, featuring some black humour about a funeral. Just at that time, a different clock fell off a bookshelf near the TV. That clock had been owned by my mother, who had passed away a few months before.

Related to this was another occasion, when a book about War Brides fell off the bookshelf at another strategic time, again one that had significance my mom, who had been a war bride. Unfortunately by now my memory is a bit vague on the details around that one.

 

Perhaps all clocks are really time vultures in disguise.