Robert Goulet – If ever I would leave you
An evening pause: From the Broadway musical, Richard Rogers’ Camelot.
Year: 2012
Space exploration and the unexpected consequences of government decisions
On Thursday, December 15, 2011, NASA management announced what seemed at first glance to be a very boring managerial decision. Future contracts with any aerospace company to launch astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) will follow the same contractual arrangements used by NASA and SpaceX and Orbital Sciences for supplying cargo to the space station.
As boring that sounds, this is probably the most important decision NASA managers have made since the 1960s. Not only will this contractual approach lower the cost and accelerate the speed of developing a new generation of manned spaceships, it will transfer control of space exploration from NASA — an overweight and bloated government agency — to the free and competitive open market.
To me, however, the decision illustrates a number of unexpected consequences, none of which have been noted by anyone in the discussions that followed NASA’s announcement back in mid-December.
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The tiny thrusters that could.
The quasicrystal from outer space
Presenting 2011’s Top 10 Most Corrupt American Politicians
Presenting 2011’s top 10 most corrupt American politicians.
The list is very non-partisan, and includes nine incumbents. And it also includes detailed information about why each is on the list.
For anyone to vote for any of these bums in 2012 shows not only a disgraceful willingness to be screwed, but a desire to bend over and thank the rapist who is screwing you.
Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals
Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals.
How to deal with the leftwing press
Rick Perry demonstrates how to deal with the leftwing press. With video.
Politico reporter: “These are members of your staff.”
Rick Perry: “You got a name?”
Politico reporter: “Who say –”
Rick Perry: “You got a name?”
[pause]
Politico reporter: “You won’t listen to –”
Rick Perry: “You got a name?”
Politico reporter: “Uh.”
Rick Perry: “If you don’t have a name to tell me this individual said this, then I don’t take that as a corroborating source.”
Politico is the same outfit that destroyed Herman Cain based on unnamed sources and undescribed charges. They are also the same outfit that has had plagiarism problems recently. Perry shows us how this kind of shoddy reporting deserves to be treated.
Top 10 Ways Hollywood Can Win Its Audience Back
The top ten ways Hollywood can win its audience back.
As someone who spent almost twenty years in the movie business, I think Nolte hits the nail on the head. I also think Hollywood will not do any of the things he suggests, mostly because it would require them to abandon their elite, leftwing ideology that for the past thirty years has become the only thing too many Hollywood people care about.
Fun with dry ice
An evening pause: Fun with dry ice.
The new Arctic ozone hole
An interesting and very informative paper was published by the American Geophysical Union this past Saturday, entitled “Arctic winter 2010/2011 at the brink of an ozone hole.” The first paragraph of the introduction essentially summed up the paper’s key points:
Large losses of Arctic stratospheric ozone have been observed during winter 2010/2011, exceeding observed losses during cold winters over the past decades, characterized as the first Arctic Ozone Hole. Although in general Arctic ozone is expected to recover because of the reductions in ozone depleting substances as a result of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments, the observation that apparently the cold Arctic winters in the stratosphere have been getting colder over the past decades raises some concern that Arctic ozone depletion may worsen over the next decades if the cooling trend continues while concentrations of ozone depleting substances remain sufficiently high. [emphasis mine]
Two important take-aways:
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A Saudi woman has been beheaded for “witchcraft and sorcery.”
Islamic justice: A Saudi woman has been beheaded for “witchcraft and sorcery.”
The top 10 tech ‘fails’ of 2011
Olympic VIPs will get 4000 BMWs and their own private traffic lanes in what the Olympics bill as the “green Games.”
Equality and environmentalism among the elite: Olympic VIPs to get 4000 BMWs and their own private traffic lanes in what the Olympics bill as the “green Games.”
It is understood that at least 250 VIPs will be given their own designated BMW, complete with a personal chauffeur, to escort them from their Park Lane hotels to the Games. Several thousand other officials, sponsors, dignitaries and athletes – known as the ‘Olympic family’ – will share the remaining pool of plush cars, worth up to £30,000 each.
Members of the public will be urged to walk or try to board crowded trains and buses.
Trinity University’s winning lateral play vs Millsaps
An evening pause: In honor of college football today, here is probably one of the most unlikely winning plays in the history of football.
The second Grail space probe has entered lunar orbit
The second Grail space probe has entered lunar orbit.
Iran claimed today that it has produced first nuclear fuel rod
Fiddling while Rome burned: Iran claimed today that it has produced its first nuclear fuel rod.
At the end of 2011, America, like much of the rest of the Western world, has dug deeper into a cocoon of denial.
“At the end of 2011, America, like much of the rest of the Western world, has dug deeper into a cocoon of denial.”
Tens of millions of Americans have yet to understand that the can can no longer be kicked down the road, because we’re all out of road. The pavement ends, and there’s just a long drop into the abyss. And, even in a state-compliant car seat, you’ll land with a bump. At this stage in a critical election cycle, we ought to be arguing about how many government departments to close, how many government programs to end, how many millions of government regulations to do away with. Instead, one party remains committed to encrusting even more barnacles to America’s rusting hulk, while the other is far too wary of harshing the electorate’s mellow.