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Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


On the radio plus under the weather

Two things:

1. I will be on the Space Show with David Livingston tomorrow night for about two hours, beginning at 7 pm (Pacific). You can listen to it here. Please consider calling in. Conversations and questions are always fun.

2. I am a bit under the weather today, so it is likely I will not have the energy to do a blacklist column today or a cool image. This could change, as I get restless if not active. Regardless, I want to take some pressure off by making it voluntary, not a requirement for the day.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

15 comments

  • Lee S

    I honestly think we should have a fundraiser for David to update his website, and more importantly his audio gear…. Much better sound quality can be achieved for a couple of hundred dollars. I love the space show, but the sound quality is appalling. Such an important record deserves better!
    Anyway, back to the website… Can anyone give me a clue what time the show is on? ( Preferably GMT, but I have Google, so I’ll take anything…) .. impossible to find ( for me anyway !) If I can set my alarm, I might make a call in!
    Happy new year guys and gals… Let’s hope 2023 is better for all of us!

  • Lee S: I have added the time to the post. As I said, I am under the weather.

  • John

    Hope you feel better. I won’t tell the boss if you slack off a bit.

  • Glenn

    We are all wishing you to get well and have a healthy New Year.

  • wayne

    Mr. Z.,
    Hope you feel better! Anecdotally, had a cold before Christmas that lasted 10 days
    So… 7pm Pacific equates to 10pm Michigan time, correct?

    Lee
    Hope all is well in the old world!
    Ref: The good Doctor:
    Personally, I prefer the minimalist-esque website design, like we have here at BtB, but I have come to enjoy the Space Show website, in that I know where everything is. ( I’d vote no on a redesign. )

    –>Totally on board however with boosting the sound-quality, my media-player says the mp3 files are 16kbs, 11Hz. I’d prefer a minimum of 32.
    That being said, I have no idea how much traffic he has, but do I appreciate it can cost a bundle to deliver media files on your own dime, and they have a MASSIVE show archive.

  • Lee S

    Well, it’s currently 4.32 am here in Sweden, which I believe is 7.32 Pacific, (unless I’m totally stupid… Never a zero percent chance!) I can’t listen live… ( The link on thespaceshow.com produces nothing…) or call the show… Via Skype or regular telephone…. I’m running an Android phone, and an android tablet, and no joy on either… :-(
    I’ll keep at it for a while… But then it’s bed….

  • Lee S: The show is tomorrow, Tuesday, not tonight.

  • Lee S

    @wayne,

    I only use mobile devices… 99% of the time I have no need for a pc.. and if I do I use my work laptop, but the spaceshow website is almost unworkable on a small screen.
    I hope that the original sound files are stored in higher res, I get that bandwidth costs, but my teenage kids genuinely find the space show unlistenable due to the quality… It’s not just them being teenagers, they can’t pick out the words.
    Speaking of my teenage kids…. Just to flap and preen a little, my 14 year old daughter just recently got an A+ on her science project on Europa… I might have ended up driving a forklift truck, but hope springs eternal for the next generation!
    Once again, happy new year to you, yours, and all the readers here!

  • Lee S

    @ Bob,
    Ha ha ha ha ha!!!! I told you my stupidity should never be underestimated….. It is Tuesday here…. Bloody time zones!
    I guess I can go to bed again then.. have a great day or night then folks, and Bob, tell David to put that email I just sent him with questions for you on hold… I will have another go tomorrow!

  • Lee S

    @ Bob,
    Ha ha ha ha ha!!!! I told you my stupidity should never be underestimated….. It is Tuesday here…. Bloody time zones!
    I guess I can go to bed again then.. You all have a great day or night then folks, and Bob, tell David to put that email I just sent him with questions for you on hold… I will have another go tomorrow!

  • wayne

    Lee–
    Not my field of expertise, but I doubt the Space Show website is optimized for a mobile experience, but that’s a good question to ask!
    As far as I can tell, all the sound files are essentially the same quality. Just bumping it up to 32kbps would be a 100% improvement, and it wouldn’t require doubling the bandwidth, but again I have no idea how much that would impact costs.

    How many hours difference between you and the USA?

  • Lee S

    @wayne…. 9 hours regarding Pacific time between there and Sweden, (we are GMT +1) , and apparently we are PLUS 9 hours….

    I dated / long distance relationship with a girl from west Virginia, and have an old school friend in NC, so I should really know better, but I am self aware enough to no longer be surprised by my own stupidity;-)

    Regarding the sound quality of TSS, I agree, 32kbs would make a big difference with little cost… Someone should go give Dr Livingston a bit of help with his tech set up, I’m pretty sure the sound quality has a lot to do with his gear as well as lack of fidelity on the recordings. I’m sure the quality of recordings to date could be improved with a bit of processing, but as I’m sure we all agree here, the space show archive is a genuinely historically important thing… Interviews with some, indeed, with most of the important figures in the history of space exploration to date, and should be preserved in the best quality possible.

  • wayne

    Lee–
    holy cow–just started listening to the Space Show live-stream, and you are live!
    Great accent my man! I’m going to have to wait for the replay to hear your complete call, you were just saying goodbye.
    btw–> live-stream is being delivered to me at 80kbs, 44Hz, sounds really good. (on a PC)

  • Lee S

    Mission accomplished! ( And new years Resolution)

    Thank you Bob for finally getting to speak to you voice to voice… And thank you for your kind words… There is a reason I hang around Behind the black, and it’s not just for the space stuff… It’s because of the intelligence and willingness of you and the rest of readers to engage in robust but polite conversation… Never mind the subject.

    It’s nice to get the time and date correct for once, now off to bed. 04.54am, Wednesday morning

  • Jay

    In regards to the number of RS-25 engines. NASA had 16 engines, now there are 12.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

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