Chase Million
@millionconcepts.com
CEO of Million Concepts. We empower teams to make better data-driven decisions under pressure. The mission won't wait for you.
Astronomer and planetary scientist. Software engineer. Project manager. Magician. Writer at sol-orietur.ghost.io
Astronomer and planetary scientist. Software engineer. Project manager. Magician. Writer at sol-orietur.ghost.io
Pinned
Last week, one of the worst plane crashes in American history occurred a few miles from my home. People died. Debris and ash fell in my neighborhood. It felt like just one more disaster in a blur of disasters. I needed to write down what I experienced so that I don't forget. Might as well share. 🧵
Reposted by Chase Million
Solar beats coal now, purely on physics, without subsidies. People find this hard to believe, including me! It takes 5-10+ years to build a coal or nuclear plant. But just 2-3 years to build a solar plant. We still need a lot of batteries to spread the wealth through the night, but they are coming.
This is the other one. With fossil fuels, discovery costs rise while tech costs fall, meaning prices stay roughly the same (inflation-adjusted) over time. With electrotech, discovery costs are $0, so the only dynamic is falling tech costs. Victory is inevitable.
November 11, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Solar beats coal now, purely on physics, without subsidies. People find this hard to believe, including me! It takes 5-10+ years to build a coal or nuclear plant. But just 2-3 years to build a solar plant. We still need a lot of batteries to spread the wealth through the night, but they are coming.
Reposted by Chase Million
🎉 Planetary Resarch, our diamond open access journal for #PlanetaryScience, will open for submissions on January 1, 2026 (or earlier for beta testers)! 🎉
planetary-research.org
planetary-research.org
December 1, 2025 at 10:40 AM
🎉 Planetary Resarch, our diamond open access journal for #PlanetaryScience, will open for submissions on January 1, 2026 (or earlier for beta testers)! 🎉
planetary-research.org
planetary-research.org
Advent of Code is annual maintenance for my programming abilities. The problems are incredibly well constructed, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. My personal rules are that I am limited to imports from the PSL and numpy, neatness doesn't count, and I can only use AI for documentation lookup.
Advent of Code 2025
adventofcode.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Advent of Code is annual maintenance for my programming abilities. The problems are incredibly well constructed, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. My personal rules are that I am limited to imports from the PSL and numpy, neatness doesn't count, and I can only use AI for documentation lookup.
I doubt most of these data centers will be built. And many that do will be abandoned inside of a decade. But the fastest and cheapest way to meet demand and drive down cost is to build solar plants. They take <3 years to build. Absent subsidies, solar beats both fossil fuels and nuclear on cost.
November 30, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I doubt most of these data centers will be built. And many that do will be abandoned inside of a decade. But the fastest and cheapest way to meet demand and drive down cost is to build solar plants. They take <3 years to build. Absent subsidies, solar beats both fossil fuels and nuclear on cost.
Reposted by Chase Million
I've written a short comment regarding this new MIT study that is being passed around and why it is horseshit. "11.7% of US workforce is being replaced by AI" my ass. Thought that might be of interest. Also - thanks for all your work, you are one of the best resources out there.
AI isn't coming for your job: Melting the Iceberg
Why the new MIT Study speaking of 11.7% automation is horseshit and why the way it's being reported is even worse
open.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I've written a short comment regarding this new MIT study that is being passed around and why it is horseshit. "11.7% of US workforce is being replaced by AI" my ass. Thought that might be of interest. Also - thanks for all your work, you are one of the best resources out there.
Reposted by Chase Million
Solar power made up 9.7% of US electricity this September, up from 7.6% last year
Over the last twelve months, solar has made up 8.3% of US electricity, a record high!
Over the last twelve months, solar has made up 8.3% of US electricity, a record high!
November 29, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Solar power made up 9.7% of US electricity this September, up from 7.6% last year
Over the last twelve months, solar has made up 8.3% of US electricity, a record high!
Over the last twelve months, solar has made up 8.3% of US electricity, a record high!
About ~20% of the time that I serve as a reviewer, I find big flaws and am then really surprised to find that the other reviewers just green lit with minimal comments. Colleagues of mine have reported similar experiences. Am forced to conclude that some large fraction of reviewers _simply don't_.
Holy fucking shit this is a *real* image from a *real* (presumably peer-reviewed) paper in [Nature] Scientific Reports.
How many people had to sign off on this figure?
The editor, one hopes, the reviewer(s)? The copy editor?
What had to happen for THIS to get published?
How many people had to sign off on this figure?
The editor, one hopes, the reviewer(s)? The copy editor?
What had to happen for THIS to get published?
Hey @nature.com, have you got an explanation for how the hell THIS happened? & especially why you accepted a paper with such a bizarre piece of genAI slop in it?!
& more to the point, why we should take you seriously at all going forward?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
& more to the point, why we should take you seriously at all going forward?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 28, 2025 at 5:46 PM
About ~20% of the time that I serve as a reviewer, I find big flaws and am then really surprised to find that the other reviewers just green lit with minimal comments. Colleagues of mine have reported similar experiences. Am forced to conclude that some large fraction of reviewers _simply don't_.
Reposted by Chase Million
![Comic. Panels up to the 10-year point are grayed out. New panels since the Ten Years comic, which chronicles the first ten years of PERSON 1's journey with cancer: (1) [two people in bed] PERSON 1 (woman): One more chapter? PERSON 2 (man): Don’t we both have to get up early? PERSON 1: Nnnnnggggh PERSON 2: Sure, good point. (2) [many people wearing masks, walking while looking at graphs on their phones] (3) [birds landing on people] PERSON 2 in beanie and scarf: Hah! They like *my* seeds best. PERSON 1 in scarf holding phone with a bird sitting on it: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one? (4) [two people rowing boats with tree landscape] (5) [Person 1 carries overflowing stack of things to Person 2 in bed] PERSON 1: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a– PERSON 2: It was just Appendicitis, I’m really– PERSON 1: *It is my turn to take care of you and I am going to do it right!* (6) [Two people in car] (7) [still in car) PERSON 1: Oh my god. PERSON 2: Oh my god. (8) [car driving] PERSON 1: Pull over! PERSON 2: I am! (9) [both people get out of car] (10) [Large colored panel of aurora borealis over water with both people looking on] (11) [Person 1 sits against tree while Person 2 lies on the ground] PERSON 1: Fifteen years. No sign of the cancer. (12) I *am* having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I’m losing my close-up vision. PERSON 2: Yeah. Me too. (13) PERSON 2: I think we’re getting old. (14) PERSON 1: I guess that’s okay. PERSON 2: It’s all I wanted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihwhjblp5lyiwp63ouar7ocfea7evmckytoeo7rkfuoo4gw5rnrra@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Chase Million
The more I learn about the Roman Space Telescope, the more excited I am about the mission. Roman will observer #exoplanets and their host stars (and more). How can you not be excited?!
(That's assuming that the Trump administration doesn't cancel the mission.)
🧪
www.space.com/space-explor...
(That's assuming that the Trump administration doesn't cancel the mission.)
🧪
www.space.com/space-explor...
NASA's next-gen Roman Space Telescope is surprising scientists with its capabilities. It hasn't even launched yet
"Asteroseismology with Roman is possible because we don't need to ask the telescope to do anything it wasn't already planning to do."
www.space.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:56 PM
The more I learn about the Roman Space Telescope, the more excited I am about the mission. Roman will observer #exoplanets and their host stars (and more). How can you not be excited?!
(That's assuming that the Trump administration doesn't cancel the mission.)
🧪
www.space.com/space-explor...
(That's assuming that the Trump administration doesn't cancel the mission.)
🧪
www.space.com/space-explor...
Investments into "AI" continue to be made based on magical thinking. This appears to be the same. But, I think this has two more immediate goals: 1) backstop the drain from DOE following the end of ECP, 2) further subsidize the unprofitable AI companies that are propping up the U.S. stock market.
Astro friends: how long until our data required to be included in Genesis? How long until we have to prove our work requires human effort beyond humble prompts to the AI Overlord?
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Launching the Genesis Mission
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose.
www.whitehouse.gov
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Investments into "AI" continue to be made based on magical thinking. This appears to be the same. But, I think this has two more immediate goals: 1) backstop the drain from DOE following the end of ECP, 2) further subsidize the unprofitable AI companies that are propping up the U.S. stock market.
Introduce yourself with four spaceships.
November 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Introduce yourself with four spaceships.
Reposted by Chase Million
the doomed boat would infallibly be dragged down after him into the profundity of the sea; and in that case no town-crier would ever find her again
November 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM
the doomed boat would infallibly be dragged down after him into the profundity of the sea; and in that case no town-crier would ever find her again
Reposted by Chase Million
The CDC is lying to you about vaccines and autism. The CDC webpage about vaccines and autism now misrepresents the science and lies to the public about vaccines and autism. It’s just part of RFK Jr.'s ongoing war on vaccines. sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-cdc-is-l...
The CDC is lying to you about vaccines and autism
The CDC webpage about vaccines and autism now misrepresents the science and lies to the public about vaccines and autism. It's just part of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s continuing war on vacc
sciencebasedmedicine.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The CDC is lying to you about vaccines and autism. The CDC webpage about vaccines and autism now misrepresents the science and lies to the public about vaccines and autism. It’s just part of RFK Jr.'s ongoing war on vaccines. sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-cdc-is-l...
Of course 95% of AI projects fail. That’s the point.
YouTube video by Alberta Tech
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 7:47 PM
I still don't understand "rapid iterative development" of space vehicles. This kind of failure should never happen in 2025. I cannot think of any way in which it wouldn't have been both possible and better to discover and prevent this problem before it exploded on the test stand.
lol this image from last night shows SpaceX is popping open LOX tanks during routine pressure testing. The Starship program was being hyped as closing in on rapid commercial launch cadence 2-3 years ago
November 21, 2025 at 3:13 PM
I still don't understand "rapid iterative development" of space vehicles. This kind of failure should never happen in 2025. I cannot think of any way in which it wouldn't have been both possible and better to discover and prevent this problem before it exploded on the test stand.
Reposted by Chase Million
You learn more from failure than success is a phrase that has been thrown around a lot the past few years in the world of spaceflight.
Incredible to look back on this sentiment today and see which programs are succeeding and which ones are failing.
Incredible to look back on this sentiment today and see which programs are succeeding and which ones are failing.
November 20, 2025 at 1:16 AM
You learn more from failure than success is a phrase that has been thrown around a lot the past few years in the world of spaceflight.
Incredible to look back on this sentiment today and see which programs are succeeding and which ones are failing.
Incredible to look back on this sentiment today and see which programs are succeeding and which ones are failing.
"[I]n Europe space systems development and manufacturing is hardly a profitable business for the majority of companies [...] Even when setting aside the 21 startups of our dataset, whose abysmal level of losses makes their rendering into a chart very complicated, [...]"
November 19, 2025 at 8:47 PM
"[I]n Europe space systems development and manufacturing is hardly a profitable business for the majority of companies [...] Even when setting aside the 21 startups of our dataset, whose abysmal level of losses makes their rendering into a chart very complicated, [...]"
I think that "Venture Predation" is one of the most important ideas for understanding the current space economy. I wish policy-makers and administrators would read it before making big bets on the perceived value of "new space" and FFC contracts. It might be a gambit. Enshittification awaits.
Venture Predation
Predatory pricing is a strategy firms use to suppress competition. The predator prices below its own costs to force its rivals out of the market. After they exi
papers.ssrn.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:26 AM
I think that "Venture Predation" is one of the most important ideas for understanding the current space economy. I wish policy-makers and administrators would read it before making big bets on the perceived value of "new space" and FFC contracts. It might be a gambit. Enshittification awaits.
I was a software engineer for the data processing for GALEX. It is an incredible mission and data set. It was a Medium Explorer (MidEx) mission crammed into a Small Explorer (SmEx) budget. It nearly didn't make it to launch, and then batted really far above its weight on science impact. Still does.
I love this GALEX ultraviolet view of Andromeda. I wrote about it a few years back: slate.com/technology/2...
November 15, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I was a software engineer for the data processing for GALEX. It is an incredible mission and data set. It was a Medium Explorer (MidEx) mission crammed into a Small Explorer (SmEx) budget. It nearly didn't make it to launch, and then batted really far above its weight on science impact. Still does.
Reposted by Chase Million
The Planetary Society's Casey Dreier provides some added perspective on all the changes that are swirling around NASA and the plan to put American astronauts on the moon. Here's a report from #ScienceWriters2025 ... cosmiclog.com/2025/11/14/n...
NASA faces another shift in its leadership — and its vision
NASA is facing increasingly sharp challenges as it pursues its goal of landing astronauts on the moon again before this decade is out — and as the space agency braces for another leadership change,…
cosmiclog.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:08 AM
The Planetary Society's Casey Dreier provides some added perspective on all the changes that are swirling around NASA and the plan to put American astronauts on the moon. Here's a report from #ScienceWriters2025 ... cosmiclog.com/2025/11/14/n...
Reposted by Chase Million
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Chase Million
Clean Energy accounted for all electricity growth this year. Gas/Coal were basically a wash and will be for years to come for electricity generation.
We need to ramp up batteries because they are 90% cheaper than distribution grid upgrades which is the main reason we have rate increases.
We need to ramp up batteries because they are 90% cheaper than distribution grid upgrades which is the main reason we have rate increases.
November 14, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Clean Energy accounted for all electricity growth this year. Gas/Coal were basically a wash and will be for years to come for electricity generation.
We need to ramp up batteries because they are 90% cheaper than distribution grid upgrades which is the main reason we have rate increases.
We need to ramp up batteries because they are 90% cheaper than distribution grid upgrades which is the main reason we have rate increases.
Reposted by Chase Million
Here's the blooper version I mentioned. (I have no idea who the uploader is or how they got a copy of this. But I am glad that it survives.)
Mars Rover Blooper Reel
YouTube video by theropod
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Here's the blooper version I mentioned. (I have no idea who the uploader is or how they got a copy of this. But I am glad that it survives.)
It's the Mars Exploration Rover video (aka Spirit and Opportunity). Dan Maas created this video by himself (in consultation with the PI Steve Squyres) while an undergraduate (at 16yo!), using a bunch of tech that he built himself, including significant advances to 3D animation. He won an Emmy.
November 14, 2025 at 12:49 AM
It's the Mars Exploration Rover video (aka Spirit and Opportunity). Dan Maas created this video by himself (in consultation with the PI Steve Squyres) while an undergraduate (at 16yo!), using a bunch of tech that he built himself, including significant advances to 3D animation. He won an Emmy.
Reposted by Chase Million
Blue Origin just landed booster on 2nd orbital launch. 99,000lb to LEO compared to 110,000lb for 3 booster Falcon Heavy with all 3 landing. This is a leap frog. Today's payloads are headed to Mars in the next few hours. Different dev approach than Starship. Slower but cheaper, and ultimately faster.
November 13, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Blue Origin just landed booster on 2nd orbital launch. 99,000lb to LEO compared to 110,000lb for 3 booster Falcon Heavy with all 3 landing. This is a leap frog. Today's payloads are headed to Mars in the next few hours. Different dev approach than Starship. Slower but cheaper, and ultimately faster.