Cally
@callys.bsky.social
SFF reader, model rocketeer, tabletop gamer. She/her.
Personally, I think Vance wants him to last 2 years and one day.
January 3, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Personally, I think Vance wants him to last 2 years and one day.
Oh, absolutely. Super, super fine. And they'll be able to pull salt-cured fish straight out of the ocean!
January 3, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Oh, absolutely. Super, super fine. And they'll be able to pull salt-cured fish straight out of the ocean!
And that energy is ONLY for the reverse osmosis. All the REST of the energy usage of the plant, like, say, to run the massive pumps to move the water, whether salt, fresh, or extra briny, is NOT included. I've no idea what the actual energy costs are.
January 3, 2026 at 2:02 AM
And that energy is ONLY for the reverse osmosis. All the REST of the energy usage of the plant, like, say, to run the massive pumps to move the water, whether salt, fresh, or extra briny, is NOT included. I've no idea what the actual energy costs are.
According to Zoo Atlanta, you don't have to shear camels. They shed.
January 3, 2026 at 1:22 AM
According to Zoo Atlanta, you don't have to shear camels. They shed.
Dunno how much it cost (LOTS). They say they produce about half the volume of fresh water as seawater they pump in, and pump doubly-brined water back out.
January 3, 2026 at 12:23 AM
Dunno how much it cost (LOTS). They say they produce about half the volume of fresh water as seawater they pump in, and pump doubly-brined water back out.
Note that the San Diego County desalinization plant doesn't give total energy costs anywhere I could find, and those "energy savings" numbers from which I calculated the energy numbers are for the reverse osmosis process, so there is likely some more energy use not accounted for. No idea how much.
January 3, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Note that the San Diego County desalinization plant doesn't give total energy costs anywhere I could find, and those "energy savings" numbers from which I calculated the energy numbers are for the reverse osmosis process, so there is likely some more energy use not accounted for. No idea how much.
So you can check my math; I don't claim to be infallible:
Colorado River: 3.76 million ac-ft/yr
SD Desal Plant: 56,000 million ac-ft/yr
= 67.14 plants.
energy is harder:
"saved 146 million KW-h/yr"
"reducing energy consumption by 46%"
146 million = 46%
54/46*146 million = 164.25 million KW-h/yr
Colorado River: 3.76 million ac-ft/yr
SD Desal Plant: 56,000 million ac-ft/yr
= 67.14 plants.
energy is harder:
"saved 146 million KW-h/yr"
"reducing energy consumption by 46%"
146 million = 46%
54/46*146 million = 164.25 million KW-h/yr
January 3, 2026 at 12:15 AM
So you can check my math; I don't claim to be infallible:
Colorado River: 3.76 million ac-ft/yr
SD Desal Plant: 56,000 million ac-ft/yr
= 67.14 plants.
energy is harder:
"saved 146 million KW-h/yr"
"reducing energy consumption by 46%"
146 million = 46%
54/46*146 million = 164.25 million KW-h/yr
Colorado River: 3.76 million ac-ft/yr
SD Desal Plant: 56,000 million ac-ft/yr
= 67.14 plants.
energy is harder:
"saved 146 million KW-h/yr"
"reducing energy consumption by 46%"
146 million = 46%
54/46*146 million = 164.25 million KW-h/yr
And then you have to pump most of it uphill to the farms, assuming you want to still have agriculture. So that's a lot more energy.
January 2, 2026 at 11:56 PM
And then you have to pump most of it uphill to the farms, assuming you want to still have agriculture. So that's a lot more energy.
I did some quick calculations, and to replace the Colorado River water they'd need 65-70 desalination plants the size of the San Diego County desalination plant, with each one requiring 135-140 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Trivial, clearly.
January 2, 2026 at 11:55 PM
I did some quick calculations, and to replace the Colorado River water they'd need 65-70 desalination plants the size of the San Diego County desalination plant, with each one requiring 135-140 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Trivial, clearly.
I remember reading that they've found it in house mice. Of course directionality of transfer is a thing. If we give it to them more easily than they give it to us, we could maybe get it down to, say, hantavirus levels.
January 2, 2026 at 8:38 PM
I remember reading that they've found it in house mice. Of course directionality of transfer is a thing. If we give it to them more easily than they give it to us, we could maybe get it down to, say, hantavirus levels.
No, I'd been talking about fusion power, under the impression that that was what he was talking about, with all that talk about being clean and environmentally safe. Looking back, turns out he was talking about fission after all, so <shrug>. Do fission plants do well with waves rocking them?
January 2, 2026 at 8:36 PM
No, I'd been talking about fusion power, under the impression that that was what he was talking about, with all that talk about being clean and environmentally safe. Looking back, turns out he was talking about fission after all, so <shrug>. Do fission plants do well with waves rocking them?
I've also typo'd fission for fusion in this thread. Twice. He hasn't blocked me yet, but I suspect it's just a matter of time.
January 2, 2026 at 8:22 PM
I've also typo'd fission for fusion in this thread. Twice. He hasn't blocked me yet, but I suspect it's just a matter of time.
I did it again. Read "fusion" for "fission". Stupid fingers.
January 2, 2026 at 8:16 PM
I did it again. Read "fusion" for "fission". Stupid fingers.
Sorry, that "fission" above was a typo for "fusion".
January 2, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Sorry, that "fission" above was a typo for "fusion".
People have been saying "fusion will be great" for well over 40 years, but nobody's succeeded in actually, you know, BUILDING a working, viable, commercially sound fission plant yet, at least not that I'd heard of. So who built one, and where is it? How much power does it produce?
January 2, 2026 at 8:13 PM
People have been saying "fusion will be great" for well over 40 years, but nobody's succeeded in actually, you know, BUILDING a working, viable, commercially sound fission plant yet, at least not that I'd heard of. So who built one, and where is it? How much power does it produce?
Wouldn't the constant motion and flexing of the power lines from floating power plants would be detrimental to the life of the cables? Not to mention the immersion in seawater? I've got hypotheses, but I'm no expert.
Did you address the problem of desalinization brine poisoning the coastal waters?
Did you address the problem of desalinization brine poisoning the coastal waters?
January 2, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Wouldn't the constant motion and flexing of the power lines from floating power plants would be detrimental to the life of the cables? Not to mention the immersion in seawater? I've got hypotheses, but I'm no expert.
Did you address the problem of desalinization brine poisoning the coastal waters?
Did you address the problem of desalinization brine poisoning the coastal waters?
Nuclear fission; the energy source that has been 20 years away from commercial viability for at least the past 40 years. That's nice. Meanwhile, while waiting for fission reactors to be viable, what are your new country's citizens going to drink? Will you even TRY to water crops?
January 2, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Nuclear fission; the energy source that has been 20 years away from commercial viability for at least the past 40 years. That's nice. Meanwhile, while waiting for fission reactors to be viable, what are your new country's citizens going to drink? Will you even TRY to water crops?
We can't get rid of the A strains with masking, as you probably know (too many animal reservoirs), and it's unlikely we could wipe out Covid-19 (ditto), but it would be GREAT to wipe out all the Influenza B strains! We got one of them, can we PLEASE try for all of them?
January 2, 2026 at 7:06 PM
We can't get rid of the A strains with masking, as you probably know (too many animal reservoirs), and it's unlikely we could wipe out Covid-19 (ditto), but it would be GREAT to wipe out all the Influenza B strains! We got one of them, can we PLEASE try for all of them?
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that water rights go in an oldest-agreement-first priority. So even if they DID negotiate new water rights, they'd be lower priority than literally every other state on the Colorado River. Or they want to carry WY, CO, UT, NM, NV and AZ? Good luck with that.
January 2, 2026 at 6:20 PM
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that water rights go in an oldest-agreement-first priority. So even if they DID negotiate new water rights, they'd be lower priority than literally every other state on the Colorado River. Or they want to carry WY, CO, UT, NM, NV and AZ? Good luck with that.
I wonder if he realizes that if California DID succeed in seceding they'd instantly lose all their water rights agreements? Talk about an own goal. It's a good thing that southern California isn't hugely dependent on the water from the Colorado River. Oh, wait.
January 2, 2026 at 6:07 PM
I wonder if he realizes that if California DID succeed in seceding they'd instantly lose all their water rights agreements? Talk about an own goal. It's a good thing that southern California isn't hugely dependent on the water from the Colorado River. Oh, wait.
A two liter bottle of Mountain Dew froze solid in the passenger footwell. It was literally leaning against my leg.
January 2, 2026 at 5:58 PM
A two liter bottle of Mountain Dew froze solid in the passenger footwell. It was literally leaning against my leg.
As I recall, he doesn't want any more animals he has to shear. So camels are OK, but alpacas aren't.
January 2, 2026 at 2:49 PM
As I recall, he doesn't want any more animals he has to shear. So camels are OK, but alpacas aren't.
In the US the CDC has a page with wastewater testing for COVID, influenza A, bird flu, measles, and monkeypox. You can see graphs over time for individual states so you can see trends. Since it's wastewater, it's not based on "I think it's the flu". I don't know if Brazil has something like that.
NWSS Wastewater Monitoring in the U.S.
U.S. wastewater monitoring, National Wastewater Surveillance System
www.cdc.gov
December 31, 2025 at 4:28 PM
In the US the CDC has a page with wastewater testing for COVID, influenza A, bird flu, measles, and monkeypox. You can see graphs over time for individual states so you can see trends. Since it's wastewater, it's not based on "I think it's the flu". I don't know if Brazil has something like that.
I missed three, but had I thought a little harder I would have only missed two. Not at all bad for someone raised Presbyterian.
December 28, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I missed three, but had I thought a little harder I would have only missed two. Not at all bad for someone raised Presbyterian.