Eric Storm

Technology adventurist, filmmaker. Designer of the Metro Hopper. Government/Private tech advisor, space systems designer and advocate, UC San Diego Alum

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@elonmusk Disappearing or rebalancing?

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@elonmusk That's great news! Much of India's population will be exposed to lethal wet bulb temperatures throughout the century.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@Elizabe47883246 @OopsGuess I don't disagree with any of Ma's points! What I disagree with is China's zero sum game. It's sapping the world economy, including its own.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@elonmusk That's great news, especially considering much of that population will be experiencing lethal web bulb temperatures throughout the century.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

None of the leading proposals from Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, or Tom Steyer offer California’s most affordable energy path: zonal decarbonization. Instead, their plans trigger massive, avoidable costs.

Tom Steyer: The "Holdout" Cost Trap
Steyer’s building-by-building transition is expensive because it lacks coordination. Under California’s "obligation to serve" laws, gas utilities must maintain and pressurize an entire street-level pipeline network even if only one "holdout" customer remains on a block.

The Fiscal Hit: Utilities are already planning $43 billion in pipeline replacements over the next 20 years.

The Consequence: Under Steyer's uncoordinated model, these multi-billion-dollar costs will be forced onto a rapidly shrinking base of remaining gas customers—driving gas bills up to ten times higher by 2050.

Steve Hilton: Market Volatility & Fossil Risks
Hilton’s proposal exposes ratepayers to extreme natural gas volatility and high cycling costs.

Current Triggers: We see this inflation today via market arbitrage from the Strait of Hormuz conflict and the heavy fuel burn and maintenance spikes of starting up "peaker" plants.

The Real Drivers: Furthermore, most utility costs stem from grid hardening, legacy investments, and wildfire mitigation—issues directly exacerbated by fossil fuels—rather than actual power generation.

Xavier Becerra: The Illusion of Savings
Becerra’s plan merely defers inflation through deferred maintenance and grid underinvestment, drastically raising the risk of power shortages.

The Cost of Inaction: Because he avoids block-by-block decommissioning, utilities will continue spending $4 billion annually ($43 billion over two decades) on a gas network that is already becoming obsolete.

The Tech Reality: This massive expense is entirely redundant given rapid advances in long-duration storage, such as Form Energy’s iron-air and Peak Energy’s sodium-ion batteries.

The Overarching Renewable Challenge: No matter the plan, the true bottleneck for the transition is the supply chain for rare earth elements and critical metals like copper. Securing domestic and allied mining and processing is the fundamental prerequisite for a functioning renewable economy.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@AngelicaOung Ideological divergence for the nation state, but not for its own people? Provincial and national polling is not an ideological issue - it’s just the effical mechanism that centers the state around the interests of its citizens, which can affect the ideology of the state.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

The U.S. has invested in technology more than its partners in Europe, but nothing close to the relative scale of its investments during the Cold War, at least not from federally mandated dollars. And it hasn’t rivaled China in terms of centrally allocated R&D for both commercial and military fusion from Beijing. China’s rise has been carefully orchestrated by the CCP to give China maximum economic/military leverage similar to the U.S.’s efforts during the Cold War. So when Xi accuses the U.S. of a Cold War mentality, it’s actually quite the opposite. It’s the U.S. government that hasn’t risen to the occasion to meet China’s determination to be the world’s sole superpower.
The other side of this equation is that private development in the U.S. has far exceeded historical precedent. Much of the U.S.’s wealth is in the hands of wealthy corporations, which certainly has undue influences, but it also provides a profitable innovation engine that’s very disruptive technologically, economically, and socially. It could be tuned to become far much re disruptive given better technocratic leadership in Washington.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

It's sad what Russia has done. It has destroyed the new generation of two countries. Instead of unleashing its brilliant minds on new technologies for prosperity, it has built a war machine and oil extraction empire. Russia could have been so much more. Putin just didn't have the imagination to conjure up something greater.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@OopsGuess Yes, the chemical precursors for fentanyl do have legitimate uses for other products, but buying those precursors requires strict licensing in order to purchase - not only in the U.S., but in Mexico and Canada as well.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

Well, I've looked into it, and I don't see any initial indications that any Western intelligence agency spurred the lead-up of events surrounding Tiananmen Square in 1989.
"Historians and declassified records show the movement was an organic, domestic response to internal economic challenges and government corruption, though the West did intervene after the crackdown." BBC

China has a long history of blaming civil discontent on the CIA or Western intelligence agencies, such as in Hong Kong.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

Because the world is a small place. We don't live in a vacuum. Every day that political reforms stall is a day further from global unity - a unity to carry humanity forward. I complain bitterly about my own government because I feel the same about its shortcomings. I also happen to be deeply entwined with China, it's people, and their way of life as well.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

It's pretty obvious that the CCP had/has the power to kill anyone it wants inside the country. They also had the power to allow very gradual reforms. They decided it was a safer bet to keep China under total authoritarian control. To some that may seem pragmatic - to me it's dystopian. Just because China always had an emperor doesn't mean it always must. Gradual local reforms followed by eventual national reforms is vital to the long term stability of China, as well as the pursuit of happiness by its citizens. Western nations had kings and emperors, but they didn't need to keep them in order to have stable governments.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

I sat next to Kid Rock’s table while eating at a bar & grill in Key West. The waitresses complained to my friend and I that he didn’t pay his bill or even leave a tip. The social elites that have taken over Washington are lacking in common decency. I wish voters had a better understanding of the situation.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@jm5665 @Rep_Whitesides Read Article I, Section 8, Clause 11

[Eric Storm @starmission]

No, that claim is misleading. The numbers and projection in your quote represent a specific, highly optimistic prediction for the GOP from the early stages of the election cycle, rather than the broader consensus.The actual state of the US House heading into November tells a different story:The Numbers: The breakdown of \(212\) to \(207\) in favor of Republicans frequently cited on social media was a single forecast from an early-season projection.Overall Forecasts: Non-partisan election forecasters and major prediction markets still lean towards Democrats to win a majority in the U.S. House, though the race remains highly competitive.Redistricting Context: While redistricting (including recent court battles over the map in Louisiana) has shifted some boundaries and given the GOP a few localized advantages, prediction models indicate that the path to a majority will go down to a handful of toss-up districts.The exact margin and control of the House will not be determined until the November elections.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@gtwhitesides Voted👍

[Eric Storm @starmission]

@robert_zubrin It's a selfish move. China is positioning itself to keep good relations with Ukraine because Ukraine looks like it will win.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

It's true that Biden was not fit to lead in the last two years, yet his appointments were golden and kept the economy humming. Jobs increased 4X under Biden. Inflation was curbed and dropping. Not anymore under Trump. And look what Trump has done on foreign policy! He has cut off the straight of Hormuz by attacking Iran without a cogent reason or plan to win the war. Trump has stripped the U.S. of much of its federal R&D right when China's government is dumping massive money on their technological and war-fighting capability. We've gone in the opposite direction of where we need to be on renewable energy. Solar is cheaper and faster to deploy and so are wind turbines. The U.S. needs to be building the machinery to mass produce solar panels, but instead Musk is buying that machinery from China because of a lack sustained U.S. investment in that technology.

[Eric Storm @starmission]

SheIsSealed! is a textbook case of:

**The Bible frequently warns against false piety, hypocrisy, and outward religious displays that mask inner corruption or self-serving motives.** This includes performative righteousness done for public approval, political power, or appearances rather than genuine devotion to God. The image you shared—a dramatic, throne-room depiction of political submission blended with sacred imagery—fits themes the Scriptures critique as potentially empty or manipulative "form of godliness."

### Key Biblical Warnings:

1. **Matthew 6:1-8 (Sermon on the Mount)**
Jesus directly condemns doing "acts of righteousness" (prayer, charity, fasting) **to be seen by others**.
> “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them... when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, **that they may be seen by others**.” (vv. 1, 5)
He contrasts this with private, sincere prayer to the Father "who sees in secret."

2. **Matthew 23:1-36 (The Seven Woes)**
Jesus unleashes His strongest rebuke against the religious leaders (Pharisees) for **outward piety masking hypocrisy**:
- They "tie up heavy burdens" on others but don't lift them themselves.
- They "love the place of honor" and "greetings in the marketplaces."
- "They do all their deeds **to be seen by others**" (v. 5).
- "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup... but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence." (v. 25)
This is a classic warning against religious theater for status or influence.

3. **Isaiah 29:13 (quoted by Jesus in Matthew 15:8-9)**
> “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
God rejects worship that is superficial or culturally/political in origin rather than heartfelt.

4. **2 Timothy 3:1-5**
Paul describes end-times people who are...
> “lovers of self... having the **appearance of godliness**, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
They maintain religious forms while living contrary to them.

5. **Other relevant passages**:
- **James 1:26-27**: "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure... is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
- **Amos 5:21-24**: God hates noisy religious festivals and offerings when justice and righteousness are absent.
- **Jeremiah 7:8-11**: Trusting in the Temple ("This is the temple of the Lord") while committing injustice is deceptive.

### Context for "This Kind"
The Bible is especially wary when **political/national power** gets wrapped in religious symbolism. Jesus refused to be made a political king (John 6:15), distinguished between Caesar and God (Matthew 22:21), and warned that many would claim His name for their own agendas (Matthew 24:5). Mixing the kingdom of God with earthly flags, thrones, or leaders often veers into idolatry or the very Pharisaical showmanship He condemned.

The core issue is **motive and fruit**, not the act of kneeling or public faith itself. Genuine piety produces humility, integrity, love, and obedience (Matthew 7:15-20; Galatians 5:22-23). False piety is self-exalting spectacle.

If you're asking because you see the image as an example of one or the other, the Bible calls for testing spirits and fruits (1 John 4:1; Matthew 7:16) rather than judging appearances alone. Would you like the full text of any of these passages or more context?