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The Club PUBlication 04/29/2019

4/29/2019

Husky refinery explosion in Wis. prompts recommendation to review use of hydrogen fluoride

After Husky Energy incident led to evacuation, panel asks EPA to revisit guidelines.

By Mike Hughlett Star Tribune

APRIL 26, 2019 — 7:10PM

The Husky Energy oil refinery in Superior, Wis., suffered major damage during a fire and explosions on April 26, 2018.

Prompted by the Husky refinery explosion in Superior, Wis., federal chemical safety investigators are advocating a review of the oil refining industry's use of hydrogen fluoride, a highly toxic chemical.

The fiery accident a year ago this week led to an evacuation of large parts of Superior, as public-safety officials feared a release of hydrogen fluoride. In the end, storage tanks full of the chemical were never breached.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board this week said it "strongly encourages" the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review whether refineries' risk-management plans are sufficient to prevent "catastrophic releases" of hydrogen fluoride.

The letter also asks the EPA to determine if there are "commercially viable" alternatives to using hydrofluoric acid in the oil refining process. The Chemical Safety Board essentially wants the EPA to review and update the agency's 1993 study on the hazards of hydrogen fluoride, which was done at the behest of Congress.

Accidents involving hydrogen fluoride are rare. But the chemical can cause severe burns and, in a worst-case scenario, create a deadly gas cloud.

Hydrofluoric acid, which is hydrogen fluoride dissolved in water, is used as a catalyst to boost octane in gasoline at about half of the nation's refineries. The other half use sulfuric acid for the same purpose — which poses its own hazards but doesn't vaporize as fast hydrofluoric acid.

Marathon Petroleum's refinery in St. Paul Park uses hydrofluoric acid; Flint Hills Resources' oil refinery in Rosemount uses sulfuric acid.

The Chemical Safety Board's request to the EPA came after its investigations of the conflagration at Husky Energy's refinery and a 2015 explosion at the former Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, Calif.

"In the course of our investigations … we have become aware of community concerns about the use of hydrofluoric acid at these refineries and the adequacy of their risk management programs to protect against the release of this hazardous substance," the Chemical Safety Board wrote to the EPA.

The EPA said it is reviewing the letter.

The Chemical Safety Board is an independent agency that investigates chemical accidents and makes recommendations to companies and regulatory agencies, including the EPA.

The 2015 explosion at the Torrance refinery spewed debris that nearly hit two tanks containing modified hydrofluoric acid, the Chemical Safety Board concluded. At the Superior refinery, which Calgary, Alberta-based Husky Energy bought in 2017, an explosion hurled shrapnel into a tank containing asphalt, which leaked and ignited.

The Superior refinery's hydrofluoric acid tank was closer to the explosion point than its asphalt tank, the Chemical Safety Board found.

Husky Energy announced early this month that it will spend more than $400 million to rebuild the refinery, but it declined to stop using hydrogen fluoride. The company said it's not commercially viable to switch from hydrofluoric acid to sulfuric acid or any new octane-boosting technologies.

Mike Hughlett covers energy and other topics for the Star Tribune, where he has worked since 2010. Before that he was a reporter at newspapers in Chicago, St. Paul, New Orleans and Duluth.

mike.hughlett@startribune.com 612-673-7003

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The Club PUBlication 04/22/2019

4/22/2019

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BUSINESS Owner of Minnesota glass company launches Facebook alternative

The Horn's founders say it's most useful to members who join with other people, such as an organization or affinity group.

APRIL 20, 2019 — 7:37PM

James Touchi-Peters, Berant Meyer and Jeff Meyer, partners in the Horn, are offering an alternative to Facebook that is private.

_____________________________________________________

NEAL ST. ANTHONY@STANTHONYSTRIB

Small business owner Jeff Meyer of White Bear Lake and 10 of his relatives and friends are upset with Facebook.

So upset that they’ve launched an alternative private social network.
We’ve learned through stunning revelations that the $55 billion-revenue company, ostensibly formed to bring the world closer together through online-interest groups, isn’t just a virtual gathering place for people who like peace, pecans or Pekingese.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg, a billionaire at 34, has made Facebook a huge commercial success.

However, we’ve learned over the last couple of years that the reason we get Facebook for free is because we are the product Facebook is selling to third parties, as well as advertising.

In addition to allowing Russian interests to run bogus election-related news, Facebook was slow to police its site against stuff like pedophilia and hate mongers. Cambridge Analytica, the now-defunct political-data firm, was able to procure private information of 80 million-plus Facebook users, and Facebook has acknowledged a security breach that left some 600 million user passwords readable to its employees.

Enter Meyer & Co., who have launched TheHorn.net, a private-network alternative to Facebook.

In March, Zuckerberg touted a new “privacy-focused vision” for the social network that would emphasize private communication over public sharing. However, security experts question whether a company that couldn’t manage to encrypt passwords can take on a tougher task.

“We don’t know how many people are dissatisfied with Facebook,” said James Touchi-Peters, a software programmer, former conductor of the Minnesota Philharmonic, and member of Meyer’s investor group who has spent nearly a year working on TheHorn.net. “About 1 percent of Facebook membership is 28 million people. We only need about 100,000 to make the Horn work.”

“The Horn is walled off from the public internet,” said Meyer. “You make your connections directly. We’ve turned off the analytics. We don’t need the ‘network effect.’ ”

There’s no indication that outrage and dissatisfaction has led to a mass exodus from Facebook among users, despite lawsuits, congressional hearings and even Zuckerberg’s admission that it may be time for stepped-up government regulation. It’s still making billions in profits.

TheHorn.net, which seeks 10,000 members this year, is an ad-free file sharing and social network that charges $3.99 a month, or $30 a year paid in advance, by credit card. It pledges to never sell or give away user data to third-party advertisers or other vendors.

Meyer and Touchi-Peters believe they are different because of the monthly-fee model that is separated from the public web and not indexed by search engines. Individuals and affinity groups are allowed to privately communicate, share and post photos and other communications.

The Horn’s founders say it’s most useful to members who join with other people, such as an organization or affinity group. It somewhat resembles a team-chatting environment, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. But Horn.net uses a “distinctly different format for private communication, closer to the format the public is used to with free social networks,” the company says.

The privacy controls default to “colleagues,” what social networks call “friends.” TheHorn.net boasts file sharing and cloud-based storage space, is easy to quit, and history is erased with three clicks, according to the owners. Facebook can be tough to quit and delete account activity.

The Horn seeks disaffected former Facebook patrons, as well as those who just want a second, more-secure private network.

“When people read our terms of service, they will understand,” Meyer said. “We don’t need the ‘big network’ effect where most of the people looking at your page are really not your ‘friends.’

“Facebook is broadcasting. We have a small group of personal friends that’s walled off from the internet. Google can’t search it. Employers can’t find it. We want people who want privacy. And we have an app that sends out invitations. The Horn is about private communications.”

TheHorn.net invested about $500,000 over the last year to build, test and launch the service.

Most of that has gone to legal fees, grumbled Meyer, who underestimated the complexity of the endeavor.

“We’re not about to replace Facebook,” quipped Touchi-Ross. “That’s where you have 500 ‘friends.’ The Horn is a place to which you drag your 10 real friends, to share information privately.”

Meyer, 53, went from worker to owner of White Bear Glass with his wife when they bought it in 1994. He’s not betting the glass business on the Horn.

“This isn’t tied to the construction industry,” Meyers said. “And I’ve always liked plenty of plates spinning.

“We have a crew of young investors who understand social media. I think there’s a need for this.”

Neal St. Anthony has been a Star Tribune business columnist and reporter since 1984. He can be contacted at nstanthony@startribune.com.

Neal St. Anthony has been a Star Tribune business columnist/reporter since 1984.

Neal.St.Anthony@startribune.com 612-673-7144 @StAnthonyStrib

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The Club PUBlication 04/15/2019

4/15/2019

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SCIENCE BEHIND UFOS?

More scientists open to applying grounded scientific theory, such as physics, to UFO ones.

By CHABELI HERRERA Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla. — He appeared as if a hologram at first — then solid — suddenly there and clear at the edge of the forest behind Trish Bishop’s home in Kissimmee in 2013.

When he turned around, it was his face, she remembers, that stopped her. Bulging eyes. Skin white as chalk. And massive jaw.

“I’ve got a freaking alien in my backyard,” she thought.

And then he was gone.

It would be four years before she told her story, before she’d discover the Mutual Unidentified Flying Objects Network, a nationwide organization 50 years old, and file her report under case number 84886.

But she worried: Who would believe her? These days, more people than you’d think.

In pursuit: Kathleen Marden has dedicated her life to her aunt and uncle’s story. The Hills’ alleged alien abduction once gripped the nation.

Across U.S. restaurants and meeting rooms, MUFON groups gather every month with the enthusiasm that once gripped the nation during the Cold War. The Space Coast group, made up of some former NASA employees and engineers, has 118 members. Across the nation, they number 3,500, with additional offices in 42 countries.

For many years, they were alone entertaining UFO theories. No more.

In the past two years, scientists, politicians and professionals have increasingly been willing to touch the taboo subject and perhaps lend a little credence to believers.

In December 2017, the New York Times uncovered that the U.S. had funded a secret, $22 million, five-year project to study UFO claims.

What’s changed, said Robert Powell, an executive board member on the nonprofit Scientific Coalition for Ufology, is our understanding of the universe. As scientists have discovered more Earthlike exoplanets and begun to delve into the options for interstellar travel, the conversation has been shifting.

“We still think of ourselves, as a species, as the center of everything,” Powell said. “Once you at least start to discuss interstellar travel, you have to admit that, if there is intelligent life out there, then they have to be able to travel interstellar, too.”

The challenge with alien sightings has always been the lack of evidence. Psychologists say common explanations include a person projecting their unconscious desires onto something, or a predisposition to believe in conspiracy theories, said Alvin Wang, a psychology professor at the University of Central Florida. People who believe they witnessed something may seek out others who reaffirm that belief, like “being in an echo chamber,” he said.

In 1961, Kathleen Marden was 13 when she got the call: Her aunt and uncle — Betty and Barney Hill — said they’d seen a UFO in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Betty’s dress was torn and Barney’s shoes were scuffed. There were two hours they couldn’t account for and Barney Hill was sure he’d seen eight to 11 figures that were “somehow not human,” Marden said.

It wasn’t until the Hills were put through a hypnosis session by Boston psychiatrist Dr. Benjamin Simon that their story was revealed.

The Hills’ alleged UFO abduction was made public in 1965 — and the story gripped the nation. “Did They Seize Couple?” the Boston Traveler posited. “I Was Quizzed in ‘Space Ship,’ ” another headline said.

Marden has dedicated her life to uncovering the truth behind what she says was government tampering with the Hills’ case.

“I absolutely do think that there is a shift, that people are giving more credence to this,” she said, pointing to the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, revealed by the New York Times, as the turning point.

The program was run by military intelligence official Luis Elizondo in partnership with Bigelow Aerospace to study cases of U.S. military personnel observing unknown objects.
One case in particular garnered attention when it was declassified because videos showed a craft with no apparent propulsion moving at fast speeds. It was filmed in 2004 by two Navy F/A-18F fighter jets off San Diego. Navy pilot Commander David Fravor said in late 2017 that it was “something not from Earth.”

Historically, NASA has not weighed in on the issue much. But scientist Silvano Colombano of NASA Ames Research Center argued in a March 2018 white paper that the scientific community should be more open to “consider the UFO phenomenon worthy of study” and engage in “speculative physics” grounded in solid scientific theories but with some “willingness to stretch possibilities as to the nature of space-time and energy.”

Sighting: Trish Bishop said she was stunned to see a tall, muscular alien lingering in her backyard. She waited four years to tell anyone.

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The Club PUBlication 04/08/2019

4/8/2019

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NATION 508125762

University student's death brings attention to assaults by people posing as ride-share drivers

On busy streets outside bars or clubs, people often hop into a car without a second thought.

By Jack Healy New York Times APRIL 6, 2019 — 10:29AM

Two men console each other before funeral services for Samantha Josephson at Congregation Beth Chaim in West Windsor, N.J., on Wednesday, April 3, 2019. Authorities say Josephson, a college student, ordered an Uber ride early Friday but mistakenly got into a similar car, was kidnapped and killed in South Carolina.

Suarez;
She had done it countless times. But that night in July 2018, as the man veered off course toward a deserted parking lot, as he cranked up the radio and ignored her questions, as her real driver called her wondering where she was, Suarez said she realized with horror: This was not an Uber.

“That’s when he said, ‘Give me your wallet, give me your phone, give me everything you have,’ ” Suarez, 28, said.

Josepheon;
On busy streets outside bars or clubs, people often hop into a car without a second thought. But the killing of Samantha Josephson, a 21-year-old college student in South Carolina who was stabbed to death after getting into a car she mistook for her Uber last weekend, has brought national attention to a rash of kidnappings, sexual assaults and robberies carried out largely against young women by assailants posing as ride-share drivers.

These attacks turn a simple mix-up into a nightmare, showing how easily bad actors can exploit the vulnerabilities of a ride-sharing culture that so many people trust to get them home safely.

There have been at least two dozen such attacks in the past few years, according to a tally of publicly reported cases, including instances where suspects have been charged with attacking multiple women. In Connecticut, a man was arraigned last week on charges that he kidnapped and raped two women who believed he was their ride-share driver. In Chicago, prosecutors said a man who posed as an Uber driver sexually assaulted five women, climbing into the back seat and pinning them down.

These attacks turn a simple mix-up into a nightmare, showing how easily bad actors can exploit the vulnerabilities of a ride-sharing culture that so many people trust to get them home safely.

Samantha Josephson was killed after getting into a car she mistook for her Uber.

The drivers troll nightclubs and bars late at night to find people scanning the dark for their ride, according to law enforcement descriptions of the assaults. They wave to passengers and say, “I’m your driver.” Some even hang ride-share decals in their windows.

The attacks represent a tiny fraction of the millions of uneventful rides that Americans hail every day. But Josephson’s murder has forced ride-sharing companies to address renewed safety concerns, led to legislative proposals and public efforts to reduce future attacks and prompted passengers across the country to weigh the risks of climbing into a stranger’s back seat.

It could be any one of us,” said Kate Lewis, a junior at the University of South Carolina, where Josephson had been a senior about to head to law school.

State lawmakers in South Carolina have proposed a law named for Josephson that would require all ride-share drivers to display a lighted sign from their company. Her father, Seymour Josephson, has become an outspoken advocate for stronger safety measures, saying at a vigil this week, “I don’t want anyone else to go through it as a parent.”

Samantha Josephson had last been seen at 2 a.m. Friday in a busy downtown neighborhood in Columbia, S.C., getting into a black Chevrolet Impala. Police said Saturday that they had found Josephson’s body in the woods 70 miles away.

The police charged Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, with kidnapping and killing Josephson. They said they had found Josephson’s blood and her cellphone in Rowland’s car, along with bleach and cleaning supplies. The child-safety locks had been engaged.
Rowland has not entered a plea, and his lawyer declined to comment. He was not an Uber driver, the company said.

“Everyone at Uber is devastated to hear about this unspeakable crime,” Grant Klinzman, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail. “We … will be partnering with the university to raise awareness on college campuses nationwide about this incredibly important issue.”

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The Club PUBlication 04/01/2019

4/1/2019

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Fabric cools or heats as it reacts to the user
By PETER HOLLEY
Washington Post

Researchers from the University of Maryland say they have created a fabric that responds to its wearer, regulating the amount of heat that passes through the material.

If the wearer is sweating , for example, the fabric allows heat to escape. But when the temperature is cooler and the air drier, the fabric becomes more compact, retaining heat from the wearer’s body, researchers said. The researchers’ paper was published in the journal Science.

YuHuang Wang — a professor of chemistry and biochemistry who co-wrote the study — said he envisions a time when clothing becomes a “secondary skin” that helps people save energy and reduce the costs of air conditioning and heating by relying on them less intensely or shut them off entirely.

“This technology would allow you to regulate your local environment, and that would give people a much wider tolerability for the heating and cooling conditions inside a building,” Wang said.

Three-quarters of U.S. homes have air conditioners, which use about 6 percent of all electricity produced in nation , said the Department of Energy. In addition to costing homeowners $29 billion annually, air conditioners release about 117 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year, the agency said .

The research also offers a potential solution to another long-standing challenge, one that has inspired countless Inspector Gadget-like patents over the years: creating clothing that actively cools the wearer.

The fabric created by the Maryland researchers doesn’t rely on batteries or liquid.

It starts with a specially engineered yarn coated with a conductive metal. When conditions are warm and humid — such as when the wearer is working out — the strands of yarn activate the coating, which in turn warps the strands of yarn, bringing them closer together. Once that happens, researchers say, pores in the fabric open, allowing trapped heat to escape. When conditions are cold, however, the process is reversed and heat remains close to the body.

Though the fabric has been in development for about five years, Wang said researchers are just beginning the process of turning it into a commercial product, probably as a type of athletic wear initially. He said the fabric can be dyed, knitted and washed . Wang said he believes this clothing could have applications beyond athletics. “The performance may be effective for babies who need constant temperatures or perhaps the elderly or people who are sick,” he said.

6% Electricity produced in the U.S. that is used by air conditioners
$29 billion Annual cost to homeowners from air conditioning usage
117 million Metric tons of carbon dioxide released by air conditioning each year

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The Club PUBlication 04/29/2019

The Club PUBlication 04/22/2019

The Club PUBlication 04/15/2019

SCIENCE BEHIND UFOS?

More scientists open to applying grounded scientific theory, such as physics, to UFO ones. By CHABELI HERRERA Orlando Sentinel​

The Club PUBlication 04/08/2019

The Club PUBlication 04/01/2019

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More scientists open to applying grounded scientific theory, such as physics, to UFO ones.

By CHABELI HERRERA Orlando Sentinel