Wednesday Night ONT - June 11, 2026 [TRex]

Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans. The bar is open and freshly re-stocked.

Welcome to the Wednesday night ONT which means another edition of random overnight fun and games. Pull up a chair and join the fun. Good will offerings of amusing puns are encouraged. Pants are optional but why would you be wearing pants for the ONT? Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors. This is a Tucker, Candace, Megyn and Bill Kristol free zone. Please.

Will reading the ONT content improve your odds of winning the Powerball lottery? Dunno but couldn't hurt to read the content and ensure you're right with the universe.

[Top photo credit: AgnieszkaMonk]

Wednesday ONT Science News Desk

This seems newsy...

Antares Achieves Criticality of Mark-0 Reactor

Antares today announced that its Mark-0 microreactor achieved initial criticality at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) authorization - making Antares the first private company to bring an advanced reactor to criticality under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. The demonstration was conducted in partnership with DOE, INL, and BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), with integration and observation support from the U.S. Army.

This reactor validates key reactor physics parameters for Antares' reactors and contributes verification and validation data back to the Department of War's Project Pele. The Mark-0 was authorized by DOE under the Reactor Pilot Program, with the U.S. Army integrated throughout as a future end user. This model of interagency coordination directly supports the Army's microreactor deployment timeline.

The demonstration and the licensing pathway it establishes represent a key step toward deploying electricity-producing microreactors for U.S. military installations by September 30, 2028.

Aliens are Among us

Wednesday ONT Space News Desk

Shakeup at JPL? Control over iconic NASA center could change for 1st time in nearly 100 years

NASA plans to open up competition for control over the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which has historically been operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This move is part of an even larger reorganization by the agency (though NASA asserts that this doesn't mean layoffs).

"NASA announced today that they will compete the contract for operating JPL, with Caltech's current agreement ending on Sept. 30, 2028," reads a statement today (May 22) from JPL. Caltech has managed JPL since the lab's inception in the 1930s, and has done so for NASA since the agency was established in 1958. According to the JPL statement, Caltech has been preparing for this possible transition since last summer, so the news "comes as no surprise." But the potential change is part of a larger shakeup for the agency.

Until now, JPL and Caltech have been heavily intertwined, with mission personnel, scientists, leadership, and others working closely "across the pond" between JPL and Caltech. JPL mission and program meetings often include Caltech employees and sometimes even take place on its Pasadena campus.

Wednesday ONT Department of Resting Places

Never seen this before, not new, and don't have any idea how it found me. Pretty sure that means that I must share it with you.

A visit to Plot E - final resting place of the the dishonored dead.

Plot E of the Oise-Aisne American cemetery in northern France.

Go ahead and look. You won't find it listed on the Veterans Administration website, nor any of the literature provided by the cemetery. Maps will show Plots A, B, C, and D only, those containing 6012 American dead from WWI. Google Earth will just show an expanse of green. It's like it doesn't exist, which is exactly what its creators intended.

But it's very much there, and serves a necessary if somewhat unsavory purpose.

Plot E is where American servicemen are buried who were executed - by firing squad or hanging - for capital crimes committed in the European theatre during or shortly after WWII.

Some of the victims were children. Many were women. Most are forgotten by the modern age, though at least one - Sir Eric Teichman, killed on his ancestral estate confronting two U.S. soldiers poaching on the land - was a prominent member of society who still has his own Wikipedia page.

Wednesday ONT Fashion Thread

Bona fide T. rex leather purse is going up for auction - and it could fetch $500K

Bidding paddles are sure to go flying in the air as auctioneer Alexandre Giquello of Hôtel Drouot in Paris, France, accepts offers on the first-ever handbag made with collagen from lab-grown Tyrannosaurus rex fossils, which were reportedly exhumed in the US...

With an asking price ranging from €300,000 to 500,000 ($347,081 to $578,469), the ancient accessory is an expensive, albeit exclusive piece that will go to the highest bidder with the deepest pockets.

Following an extensive process - including harvesting T. rex DNA, conducting phylogenetic analyses, inserting the materials into a specialized bio-leather cell line genome, transforming the cells into skin and sustainably tanning the skin to create the leather - the scientists have managed to make primeval magic.

Should I be impressed with the scientific homage to prehistoric dino ancestors or horrified at the involuntary transformation of T. rex DNA into a purse?

Eess next...dino wear. Very nice.

YouTube is filled with niche channels. When anyone can broadcast their own content, the barriers to entry are low. The possibility of monetization creates incentives to create content. Of course, easier access does not mean higher quality. There is a staggering amount of garbage, but there are gems out there.

People with very specific content somehow get connected to others with sympathies for that specific content. Instead of "broadcasting," it is called "narrowcasting." More to say about this in coming ONTs, but we're going to feature one niche YouTube channel with a surprisingly (at least to me) large following each Wednesday.

Tonight's feature is Matt Horn, the drum tech. 96k+ subscribers and videos that often exceed 100k views each. His videos are usually his point of view as he goes about his working day and does his job. Nothing fancy. No highly polished graphics or editing. No bad narrator or overhyped dramatic background music.

The Pittsburgh police scanner keeps giving. Tonight's offering is particularly bountiful. Thank you people of Pittsburgh and thank you Pittsburgh scanner!

Speaking of aliens and space... the Beastie Boys provide the big ONT finish:

Contrary to rumors, TRex has not been charging tourists to see the new and improved DC reflecting pool. Written correspondence can be sent to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Are you lurking ?? No refunds.

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM

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