Gordon Lightfoot – Song for a winter’s night
An evening pause: With the approach of winter… and me being in cold, wintry Iowa today.
Year: 2012
A federal court has issued a temporary injunction halting enforcement by the federal government of the contraceptive mandate under Obamacare.
We’ve only just begun: A federal appeals court has issued a temporary injunction halting enforcement by the federal government of the contraceptive mandate under Obamacare.
“1,200 days and $5 trillion in new debt since Senate Democrats passed a budget.”
“1,200 days and $5 trillion in new debt since Senate Democrats passed a budget.”
An annual budget is required by law. Harry Reid’s answer: “It would be foolish for us to do a budget at this stage.” And what do the American people do? They reward the Democrats, providing proof positive that we are in very bad shape and heading for disaster.
Two more states have decided not to set up health exchanges, a key component of Obamacare.
The more the merrier: Two more states have now decided not to set up health exchanges, a key component of Obamacare.
That makes 22 states total have have refused to participate in this disaster of a law.
Messenger has found new and “compelling” evidence that there is water ice locked in the permanently shadowed craters of Mercury.
Messenger has found new and “compelling” evidence that there is water ice locked in the permanently shadowed craters of Mercury.
On Monday I had spoken to one of the project scientists for this discovery, David Lawrence, in connection with an article I am doing for Astronomy on the evidence of water on the Moon. I knew the Mercury announcement was coming, and asked him for some details. Based on what he told me, it struck me that the evidence for water on Mercury is actually more conclusive than the evidence for the Moon. (In fact, inconclusive nature of the lunar data is the point of my Astronomy article, based on previous posts here and here on Behind The Black.
The more intriguing aspect of this discovery on Mercury, however, is the unknown dark material that covers and protects some of this water ice. That some scientists believe it might even be organic material deposited there by comets and asteroids is most interesting.
The sad state of modern science
Two stories today illustrate the levels of corruption that now percolate through many fields of science, helped by a willing and sometimes ignorant press.
First, a final report has been issued in the investigation into the fraudulent research of social psychologist Diederik Stapel. Sadly, it appears the report condemns the entire field:
» Read more
South Korea scrubbed the launch of its own homemade rocket last night.
Cassini has taken some spectacular new images of the gigantic hexagonal vortex on Saturn’s north pole.
Cassini has taken some spectacular new images of the gigantic hexagon-shaped vortex on Saturn’s north pole.
Ralph Stanley and Patty Loveless – Pretty Polly
An evening pause: Some classic bluegrass of an ancient English poem: Pretty Polly.
On the road
I am off to Ames, Iowa, today where I will be giving a lecture tomorrow at Iowa State University to the Iowa section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The subject: Predicting the future of space travel based on the past.
The biggest black hole yet found, 17 billion times the mass of our sun.
The biggest black hole yet found, 17 billion times the mass of our sun.
The unusual black hole makes up 14 percent of its galaxy’s mass, rather than the usual 0.1 percent. … NGC 1277 [the galaxy] lies 220 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The galaxy is only ten percent the size and mass of our own Milky Way. Despite NGC 1277’s diminutive size, the black hole at its heart is more than 11 times as wide as Neptune’s orbit around the Sun.
Based on these measurements, it appears that this black hole is literally eating this galaxy whole.
52 Nobel Peace Prize winners have called for the boycott of Israel for its recent attacks in Gaza.
Intellectual bankruptcy: 52 Nobel Peace Prize winners, artists, and activists have called for the boycott of Israel for its recent attacks in Gaza.
And where were these so-called intellectuals when Hamas was lobbing rockets into Israel? For them, I guess it is all right to kill Jews. And God forbid the Jews decide to defend themselves.