Paying attention to energy discussions on Twitter

I apologize for the virtual silence here over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been keeping up a fairly active presence on Twitter, posting short updates and getting involved in a few serious conversations as time allows. Even if you do not have a Twitter account, you can read my feed at https://twitter.com/Atomicrod?s=17 One topic…

Duke TIP Nukes at GA Tech

Duke TIP Nukes at GA Tech

As mentioned a few days ago, I spent the first three weeks of July teaching Nuclear Science to a group of interested, bright, open-minded teenagers who have the inherently questioning attitude that makes working with them so rewarding. We got to know each other pretty well during the nearly 100 hours of class time that…

Teaching Nuclear Science to bright, open-minded, questioning teenagers

Some of you might have been missing irregular, but frequent, updates here on Atomic Insights for the past few weeks. You may have wondered why most comment threads have been closed. You may have even noticed that the Twitter tool in the right hand column didn’t include any new tweets for days on end. I…

Who is reading Atomic Insights these days?

Every once in a while, I skim through Google Analytics to learn a little more about the people who are visiting Atomic Insights. (My title is making the assumption that most visitors are actually reading the pages that they land on.) Here is the most recent global map. I’m not sure why the east coast…

Personal reflections of September 11, 2001- ten years later

This is a personal reflection of an event that altered world history. If you are already overwhelmed by other stories and coverage of the event, please forgive me, read something else and come back to Atomic Insights later. In July 2001, I was transferred from my job as the Associate Chairman of the Weapons and…

Dr. James Hansen Explaining Why Cap and Trade Will Not Work

Dr. James Hansen is one of the world’s leading climatologists. He recently wrote a book titled “Storms of My Grandchildren” explaining the need to take effective action to reduce the potential danger of building up CO2 in the atmosphere. He is opposed to international agreements for capping and trading emissions and offsets and instead recommends…

Sorry for the silence – will correct soon

Some of you have graciously let me know that you are impatiently awaiting the next episode of the Atomic Show after a long period of silence. Please rest assured, there will be a new show soon. My goal is to get it produced and posted by Tuesday morning – US east coast time.

The Podcast Network Deserves Your Support

As we come close to the holiday season, several listeners have very generously asked what they can do to show their appreciation for The Atomic Show. I am actually quite humbled by those requests. Since March of 2006, a loosely connected team of people has been working with available time to provide you with the…

Video – Failure of a wind turbine

This video should provide some food for thought for people who believe that wind energy is clean and safe. Here is another video that details some of the mechanical and business risks associated with wind energy developments. This is not a spectacular failure, but one where a manufacturing or engineering problem has resulted in a…

Follow-up from Atomic Show 105 – The Promised Elephant Kiss

While working in South Africa on the PBMR project, Hans and Mary Lou Gougar are taking full advantage of the opportunity to try new experiences and visit new places. During Atomic Show #105, Hans, ever the devoted husband, offered to share a video of Mary Lou being kissed by an elephant. I have her permission…

Taking some time off – hope someone notices

I apologize for my lack of shows during the past couple of weeks. Summer is always a challenging time – there is less news, potential guests are out of town, and there are always competing activities that can take the place of putting together a show. I hope you all forgive me, but it sure…