Day: June 2, 2009

Two Letters Re: Protection from EMP Effects for Photovoltaic Panels and Communication Gear

Jim, I’m not very certain Solar Panels or photovoltaic (PV) Modules if you prefer) are up to surviving electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Solar Panel manufacture is akin to basically creating large scale photosensitive semiconductors and few manufacturers will quote even static electricity resistance, much less EMP resistance. Additionally, most PV modules have bypass diodes to protect cells. Some designs put these diodes in the junction boxes, while others incorporate them more integrally in the PV assembly. Obviously the controllers are at great risk, but the modules themselves are not free from risk. About the only references to PV and EMP you …


Letter Re: Anesthesia for Traumatic Times

Jim – I’ve been reading your blog for a while now. Just thought I’d weigh in briefly on the anesthesia issue. For background, I am a general pediatrician with experience in emergency pediatrics. Also, I am a fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. Three quick points: 1. Under the vast majority of circumstances it is possible to work on mild to moderate traumatic injuries in children without anything more than local anesthesia. Papuses work great and should be considered as part of an advanced medical kit that is intended to treat children. If a papuse is too expensive or …


Economics and Investing:

In what must be one of the the most monumentally bad investments in history, the American taxpayers are now the majority owners of General Motors (GM), which presently has a market capitalization of around $480 million. The cost? We bought our 70% stake in GM for a paltry $50 billion. When I last checked, shares of GM were selling at 64 cents each, and GM (now nicknamed “Government Motors”) has filed for bankruptcy protection. I suppose that they’ll tell us that we can “make up for it, on volume.” Not wanting to miss out on a piece of the action …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Lorraine sent us a link to an informative video clip on how to use a Food Saver to vacuum pack mason type jars. The creative part is in the second half of the video. Don’t miss it.    o o o The Risk of Coastal “Pop-up” Hurricanes . (Thanks to Roy D. for the link.)    o o o Seth sent us a link to an interesting PDF: Freedom Rankings of 50 States


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Once again, recall the story of banks hiding explosive risks in their portfolios. It is not a good idea to trust corporations with matters such as rare events because the performance of these executives is not observable on a short-term basis, and they will game the system by showing good performance so they can get their yearly bonus. The Achilles’ heel of capitalism is that if you make corporations compete, it is sometimes the one that is most exposed to the negative Black Swan that will appear to be the most fit for survival." – Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The Black …